ML25197A578
| ML25197A578 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Consolidated Interim Storage Facility, HI-STORE |
| Issue date: | 07/16/2025 |
| From: | Brooke Clark, Curran D, Goldstein M, Gustafson A, Kanner A, Lodge T, Taylor W Don't Waste Michigan, Emory Univ School of Law, Harmon, Curran, Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP, Kanner & Whiteley, Law Office of Terry J. Lodge, Law Offices of Wallace L. Taylor, NRC/OGC, Sierra Club, Turner Environmental Law Clinic, US Dept of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources Div |
| To: | US Federal Judiciary, Court of Appeals, for the District of Columbia Circuit |
| References | |
| 20-1187, 2125749, 20-1225, 21-1104, 21-1147 | |
| Download: ML25197A578 (1) | |
Text
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
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BEYOND NUCLEAR, INC., et al.,
)
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Petitioners,
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No. 20-1187, consolidated with
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Nos. 20-1225, 21-1104, and
- v.
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21-1147
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UNITED STATES NUCLEAR
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REGULATORY COMMISSION and the
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
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Respondents,
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FASKEN LAND AND MINERALS, et al., )
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Intervenors
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JOINT MOTION TO GOVERN This case involves the issuance by Respondent Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of a license to Intervenor Holtec International to possess spent nuclear fuel at a facility in New Mexico. A panel of this Court issued a decision denying the Petitions for Review on August 27, 2024 (Doc. #2071886).
The case has been in abeyance since November 4, 2024, when the Court suspended consideration of a petition for en banc review filed by Petitioner Beyond Nuclear, Inc., pending the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Courts review in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, 78 F.4th 827 (5th Cir. 2023), cert.
granted, No. 23-1300, 145 S.Ct. 177 (U.S. Oct. 4, 2024) (Texas). See Doc.
USCA Case #20-1187 Document #2125749 Filed: 07/16/2025 Page 1 of 5
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- 2085324 (corrected on Oct. 17, 2024 in Doc. #2080545). This Court placed the case in abeyance based on Beyond Nuclears assertion, which neither Respondents nor Intervenor contested, that the request for en banc consideration would become moot if the Supreme Court ruled in Texas, as the Fifth Circuit had held, that the NRC lacked statutory authority to issue a license for a materially identical spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Texas. Doc. #2079676 at 3.
On June 18, 2025, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Texas, 145 S. Ct.
1762, reversing the judgment of the Fifth Circuit. The Court did not rule on, nor was it presented with, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act question regarding spent fuel ownership identified by Beyond Nuclear in its Petition for Review; nor did the Court resolve the issue of whether Congress has authorized the NRC to license away-from-reactor spent fuel storage facilities. Instead, the Court based its decision on a determination that neither petitioner before the Fifth Circuit was a party aggrieved within the meaning of 28 U.S.C § 2344. Id. at 1776-77.
The parties agree that the issue that Beyond Nuclear raised in its Petition for Review, and for which it seeks en banc review, is not moot and is ripe for the Courts consideration. As a consequence, the parties propose that the Court remove the case from abeyance status and proceed to the consider the petition for en banc review.
Respectfully submitted, USCA Case #20-1187 Document #2125749 Filed: 07/16/2025 Page 2 of 5
/s/ Diane Curran Diane Curran Harmon, Curran, Spielberg &
Eisenberg, LLP 1725 DeSales St. NW, Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20036 Tel: (240) 393-9285 dcurran@harmoncurran.com
/s/ Mindy Goldstein Mindy Goldstein Turner Environmental Law Clinic Emory University School of Law 1301 Clifton Road Atlanta, GA 30322 (404) 727-3432 magolds@emory.edu Counsel for Beyond Nuclear
/s/ Allan Kanner Allan Kanner Annemieke M. Tennis KANNER & WHITELEY, LLC 701 Camp Street New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 524-5777 a.kanner@kanner-law.com a.tennis@kanner-law.com Counsel for Fasken
/s/ Terry J. Lodge Terry J. Lodge Law Office of Terry J. Lodge 316 N. Michigan St., Suite 520 Toledo, OH 43624 (419) 255-7552 Tjlodge50@yahoo.com Counsel for Dont Waste Michigan et al.
/s/ Wallace L. Taylor Wallace L. Taylor Law Offices of Wallace L. Taylor 118 3rd Ave. SE, Suite 326 Cedar Rapids, IA 52401 (319) 366-2428 wtaylor@aol.com Counsel for Sierra Club
/s/ Andrew P. Averbach Brooke P. Clark Andrew P. Averbach U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852 (301) 415-1956 andrew.averbach@nrc.gov Counsel for U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
/s/ Justin D. Heminger Adam R.F. Gustafson Acting Assistant Attorney General Justin D. Heminger Environment and Natural Resources Division U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Post Office Box 7415 Washington, D.C. 20044 (202) 514-5442 justin.heminger@usdoj.gov Counsel for United States of America USCA Case #20-1187 Document #2125749 Filed: 07/16/2025 Page 3 of 5
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/s/ Anne Leidich Jay E. Silberg Anne Leidich PILLSBURY WINTHROP SHAW PITTMAN LLP 1200 Seventeenth Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 663-8000 jay.silberg@pillsburylaw.com anne.leidich@pillsburylaw.com Counsel for Holtec International July 16, 2025 USCA Case #20-1187 Document #2125749 Filed: 07/16/2025 Page 4 of 5
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE Pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure Rule 27(d)(2)(A), I certify that the attached Joint Motion to Govern is proportionately spaced, has a typeface of Times New Roman, 14 points, and contains 346 words. This figure includes footnotes and citations, but excludes the cover page, table of contents, table of authorities, glossary, and signature blocks. I have relied on Microsoft Words calculation feature for this calculation.
___/signed electronically by/__
Diane Curran Harmon, Curran, Spielberg, & Eisenberg, L.L.P.
1725 DeSales Street N.W., Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20036 240-393-9285 Email: dcurran@harmoncurran.com July 16, 2025 USCA Case #20-1187 Document #2125749 Filed: 07/16/2025 Page 5 of 5