Friends of the Earth v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a challenge to license renewals for the Turkey Point nuclear generating station in Florida as “incurably premature.” The court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction because administrative appeals that raised the same legal issues were still pending before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Among the issues raised by the petitioners was whether the plan for protecting groundwater would be effective in a changing climate.

Petitioners challenging the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) license renewals for the Turkey Point nuclear generating station in Florida filed their initial brief. The renewals extend Turkey Point’s operating time into the 2050s. The petitioners’ arguments include that the “freshening plan” for protecting groundwater was not effective in drier and hotter conditions and that changing climate conditions would worsen the situation. The petitioners also contended that NRC failed to model anticipated climate conditions in its analysis of groundwater impacts even though it had modeled climate impacts in an earlier environmental impact statement for different reactor units.