Connecticut Attorney General's Office

Press Release

Attorney General's Statement On Appeals Court Decision To Defer To NRC On Storage Of Nuclear Waste

December 21, 2009

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he will continue legal actions before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to fight for a central national site to store nuclear waste, and stop the current practice of on-site storage of waste at nuclear facilities near suburban areas throughout the nation.

Parallel to Blumenthal's legal actions before the NRC, he and other attorneys general appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to compel the NRC to consider the environmental impact of the current scattered site storage of high-level radioactive waste. The court has declined to rule on the merits of the case, instead deferring to the NRC's decision.

"We will continue to challenge the NRC for allowing large pools of nuclear waste to accumulate at our nation's power plants -- rather than create one secured, safe and centralized national storage facility.

"The NRC's failure to create a centralized national storage facility has resulted in 58,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel now being stored at 130 sites across the country -- including in Connecticut -- close to homes and businesses. I am disappointed that the court has declined to consider this case, deferring to the NRC.

"Neighborhood nuclear waste storage is irrational and intolerable -- and our multi-state coalition remains determined to fight this practice through ongoing cases in court and before the NRC."