(ENS) – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must permit public participation in decisions about exempting nuclear power plants from federal regulations or explain to the public why it will not do so, following a ruling by a federal appeals court this week. With this ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has created a new legal standard and legal presumption in favor of public participation in “exemption” decisions at nuclear power plants.The appeals court ruled in a case brought by Richard Brodsky, a former New York State Assemblyman representing Westchester County who is currently a senior fellow at the progressive think tank Demos in New York City and at the NYU Wagner School for Public Service. Brodsky v. NRC challenged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s practice of issuing “exemptions” to its own health and safety regulations at Entergy’s Indian Point nuclear power plant on the Hudson River in Westchester County, and doing so in secret. The coalition that brought the litigation to court includes the Sierra Club-Atlantic Chapter and Westchester’s Citizens Awareness Network, or Westcan.The plaintiffs argued that federal law requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to notify and involve the public before it allows Entergy to violate NRC health and safety requirements. In its ruling, the appeals court agreed with the plaintiffs, and expressed grave concern about the NRC’s ongoing practice of making safety decisions in secret.The court ruled that the NRC is bound by the requirement that “federal agencies examine and disclose the potential environmental impacts of projects before allowing them to proceed, which process “must involve the public.” The ruling states, “public scrutiny [i]s an “essential” part” of NRC actions, which “must insure that environmental information is available to public officials and citizens before decisions are made and before actions are taken.”
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