FINDLAW RECENT CASE SUMMARIES

ENVTL. LAW & POLICY CTR. V. US NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMM'N
7th Circuit, Case No. 06-1442

NRC dismissal of environmental groups' intervention in early site permit proceedings for new nuclear power facilities is affirmed where: 1) the NRC was not arbitrary or capricious in adopting the applicant's goals as the purpose behind the site permit; 2) it was reasonable for the NRC to conclude that NEPA did not require consideration of energy efficiency alternatives; 3) it was reasonable for the NRC to delay the need-for-power analysis until the combined license application; and 4) the Board satisfied NEPA's procedural requirements and rendered a decision that thoughtfully considered all reasonable alternatives.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/061442p.pdf


OREGON NATURAL RES. COUNCIL V. US BUREAU OF LAND MGMT.
9th Circuit, Case No. 05-35245

In an action under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) challenging an Environmental Analysis conducted in connection with a logging project in Oregon, summary judgment in favor of the Bureau of Land Management on mootness grounds is reversed where the case was not moot, and an environmental assessment (EA) was inadequate as it: 1) failed to disclose and consider quantified and detailed information regarding the cumulative impact of the logging project combined with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable logging projects; and 2) it was tiered to other documents that did not contain the requisite site-specific information about cumulative effects.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0535245p.pdf