November 19, 2013 —
D.C. Circuit Directs DOE to Suspend Fees for Nuclear Waste Fund Today, the D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the Nuclear Energy Institute in a case challenging the Department of Energy's (DOE) continued collection of fees under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA). The Court agreed with NARUC, ruling that the Secretary of Energy had “decline[d] to carry out his basic statutory obligation” and directing DOE to suspend collection of the fees. Although the Court pointed to inadequacies in DOE's latest fee assessment, such as the range of costs (for disposal of nuclear waste) that was “so large as to be absolutely useless as an analytical technique . . . ” the bulk of the decision focused on DOE's inconsistent position regarding Yucca Mountain as the site for a high-level radioactive waste repository — http://www.winston.com
November 13, 2013 — Federal court orders suspension of US DOE nuclear waste fund feeWashington (Platts) A federal appeals court on Tuesday granted a request by the nuclear power industry and electric utilities to suspend collection of fees for the Nuclear Waste Fund by the US Department of Energy. "Because the secretary [of energy] is apparently unable to conduct a legally adequate fee assessment, the secretary is ordered to submit to Congress a proposal to change the fee to zero until such a time as . . .
Related Information — NEI Welcomes Federal Court's Denial of DOE's Waste Fee Appeal
Read the Decision — United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit [7 Page PDF]
[Web Source]
