Description: Challenge to decommissioning plan for nuclear generating station in California based in part on climate change risks.
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Public Watchdogs v. Southern California Edison Co.
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 12/06/2021 Order List Download Certiorari denied. Supreme Court Declined to Hear Case Concerning Decommissioning of California Nuclear Plant. The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in a case in which a district court and the Ninth Circuit held that the district court did not have jurisdiction to consider claims challenging the decommissioning process for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California. The plaintiff’s allegations had included that projected sea level rise could have “catastrophic” results due to the planned storage of spent nuclear fuel in cannisters within 108 feet of the ocean. 11/01/2021 Brief Download Brief in opposition filed for federal respondent. 10/29/2021 Brief Download Brief filed by respondents in opposition to petition for writ of certiorari. 07/01/2021 Amicus Motion Download Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law Environmental Advocacy Clinic. 05/28/2021 Petition for Writ of Certiorari Download Petition for writ of certiorari filed. -
Public Watchdogs v. Southern California Edison Co.
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 12/29/2020 Opinion Download Dismissal with prejudice affirmed. 04/13/2020 Reply Download Reply brief filed by plaintiff-appellant. 03/31/2020 Brief Download Answering brief filed by appellee U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 03/31/2020 Brief Download Answering brief filed by appellees Southern California Edison Co. et al. 02/10/2020 Brief Download Opening brief filed by appellant Public Watchdogs. -
Public Watchdogs v. Southern California Edison Co.
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 12/03/2019 Order Download First amended complaint dismissed with prejudice and motion for preliminary injunction denied. 09/24/2019 Complaint Download First amended complaint filed. 08/30/2019 Motion Download Plaintiffs filed amended motion for preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order. 08/29/2019 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Citing Sea Level Rise and Other Risks, Nonprofit Group Filed Suit to Block Decommissioning Plan for Nuclear Plant. A nonprofit group filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of California to block implementation of the decommissioning plan for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The defendants are the utilities that own SONGS, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the manufacturer of canisters used for storage of spent nuclear fuel. The complaint asserted that the NRC’s approval of the plan violated the Administrative Procedure Act and that the plan constituted a public nuisance. The complaint also asserted a strict products liability claim against the canister manufacturer. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants were “risking the lives of millions of California residents and the prospect of irreparable harm to the environment by removing spent nuclear fuel from a storage location specifically designed and used for that purpose for decades,” transporting it into defective canisters, and “dropping it into holes a mere 108 feet from one of California’s most populated public beaches, within a tsunami zone, surrounded by active fault lines.” Among the risks alleged in the complaint were that if sea levels rise at the rate projected by climate change experts, the results could be “catastrophic.”