Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Admits Ecology Party Contentions to Levy Nukes
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Admits Ecology Party Contentions to Levy Nukes
In a ruling released July 8th, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB), allowed several environmental contentions to be admitted in the process to construct and operate two new nuclear reactors on wetlands in rural Levy County. By allowing the contentions, the ASLB ensured that environmental issues ignored by Progress Energy Florida, the utility seeking the new reactors, must be addressed during the lengthy licensing process.
The contentions admitted deal with impacts on wetlands, waterways, and habitat, and with the proposed disposal process for hazardous nuclear waste. The Ecology Party spearheaded the contentions dealing with water and habitat impacts, while the Nuclear Information Resource Services addressed waste disposal.
Besides requiring significant additional information on the environmental impact of the Levy plant, the ASLB also made several rulings which may impact the future of other power plant projects.
In one ruling the ASLB rejected the proposition that the Environmental Report can properly exclude any environmental impact that is regulated by another Federal or State entity or that, because NRC has no jurisdiction to regulate an environmental impact, it can be excluded, per se, from the ER. The ASLB wrote "Despite the clarity of the law on this point, the opponents of contention admissibility keep repeating this pernicious canard".
In another ruling, the ASLB states "It appears to us that some of Petitioners' allegations represent genuine disagreements concerning qualitative judgments or conclusory statements in the ER (e.g., that the impacts will be SMALL, or negligible, or not excessive, or that best management practices automatically assure that no environmental impacts occur). [The] applicant, as the proponent of the license, bears the burden of proof."
Cara Campbell, Chair of the Ecology Party, is pleased with the results. " We presented hundreds of pages of contentions and supporting documentation, but only a few were accepted by the ASLB. This shows how difficult it is to square off against huge corporations. The fact that the Nuclear Regulatory commission staff supported the industry on every single point should be a warning flag to all Americans about the supposed independence of governmental organizations."
Gary Hecker, Treasurer of the Ecology Party, agrees. "This is a huge victory for the environment and American citizens. We aren't lawyers, and didn't use one. But this shows that determined, dedicated people can still make a difference."
CONTACTS:
Cara Campbell, Chair, Ecology Party of Florida
954-525-4522
[email protected]
In a ruling released July 8th, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB), allowed several environmental contentions to be admitted in the process to construct and operate two new nuclear reactors on wetlands in rural Levy County. By allowing the contentions, the ASLB ensured that environmental issues ignored by Progress Energy Florida, the utility seeking the new reactors, must be addressed during the lengthy licensing process.
The contentions admitted deal with impacts on wetlands, waterways, and habitat, and with the proposed disposal process for hazardous nuclear waste. The Ecology Party spearheaded the contentions dealing with water and habitat impacts, while the Nuclear Information Resource Services addressed waste disposal.
Besides requiring significant additional information on the environmental impact of the Levy plant, the ASLB also made several rulings which may impact the future of other power plant projects.
In one ruling the ASLB rejected the proposition that the Environmental Report can properly exclude any environmental impact that is regulated by another Federal or State entity or that, because NRC has no jurisdiction to regulate an environmental impact, it can be excluded, per se, from the ER. The ASLB wrote "Despite the clarity of the law on this point, the opponents of contention admissibility keep repeating this pernicious canard".
In another ruling, the ASLB states "It appears to us that some of Petitioners' allegations represent genuine disagreements concerning qualitative judgments or conclusory statements in the ER (e.g., that the impacts will be SMALL, or negligible, or not excessive, or that best management practices automatically assure that no environmental impacts occur). [The] applicant, as the proponent of the license, bears the burden of proof."
Cara Campbell, Chair of the Ecology Party, is pleased with the results. " We presented hundreds of pages of contentions and supporting documentation, but only a few were accepted by the ASLB. This shows how difficult it is to square off against huge corporations. The fact that the Nuclear Regulatory commission staff supported the industry on every single point should be a warning flag to all Americans about the supposed independence of governmental organizations."
Gary Hecker, Treasurer of the Ecology Party, agrees. "This is a huge victory for the environment and American citizens. We aren't lawyers, and didn't use one. But this shows that determined, dedicated people can still make a difference."
CONTACTS:
Cara Campbell, Chair, Ecology Party of Florida
954-525-4522
[email protected]