ML25168A172
| ML25168A172 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Point Beach  |
| Issue date: | 06/12/2025 |
| From: | Rund J Nuclear Energy Institute |
| To: | Cislak C NRC/OGC, US Federal Judiciary, Court of Appeals, for the District of Columbia Circuit |
| References | |
| 24-1318, 2120452 | |
| Download: ML25168A172 (1) | |
Text
Phone: 202.739.8144 Email: jmr@nei.org Jonathan Rund Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary June 12, 2025 VIA CM/ECF Clifton Cislak, Clerk of Court United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse 333 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001 Re:
Rule 28(j) Response in Beyond Nuclear v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, No. 24-1318 (Oral Argument Not Yet Scheduled)
Dear Mr. Cislak:
In accordance with Rule 28(j) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Nuclear Energy Institute, Florida Power & Light Company, and NextEra Energy Point Beach, LLC (collectively, Intervenors) submit this response to the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRC) June 6, 2025, letter concerning the Supreme Courts decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, No.23-975 (U.S. May 29, 2025). Intervenors agree with the NRC that the decision supports its position and requires heightened deference to agency decisions about the scope of review. Put simply, Courts should afford substantial deference and should not micromanage those agency choices so long as they fall within a broad zone of reasonableness. Seven County, slip op. at 12.
The Court also emphasized that an environmental impact statement (EIS) need not meander on for hundreds or thousands of pages, and that federal law now strictly prohibits an agencys EIS from going on endlessly. Id. at 10 & n.3. Intervenors made the same point: the NRCs Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (GEIS) embodies Congresss mandate for timely, efficient, and focused NEPA reviews. See Br. at 13-14, 27, 41. Even so, the 2024 GEIS devotes over 100 pages to accident risk analysis alone, building on hundreds of pages in prior GEIS iterations and nearly seventy plant-specific supplemental EISs. See id. at 9, 14. That level of analysis USCA Case #24-1318 Document #2120452 Filed: 06/12/2025 Page 1 of 2
U.S. Court of Appeals June 12, 2025 Page 2 Nuclear Energy Institute confirms that the NRCs approach not only meets but far exceeds the streamlined and bounded NEPA review framework endorsed in Seven County and falls well within the broad zone of reasonableness the Court endorsed.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Jonathan M. Rund Jonathan M. Rund Counsel of Record for Intervenor-Respondent Nuclear Energy Institute USCA Case #24-1318 Document #2120452 Filed: 06/12/2025 Page 2 of 2