Ninth Circuit Oral Argument set for November 4

The Ninth Circuit Oral Argument has been set for November 4, 2010 at 2pm. It will take place in San Francisco, Courtroom 1, 95 7th Street.

Like the 2006 ruling in favor of San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (SLOMFP), the outcome of this case involving the dry cask storage facility at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant has the potential to affect policy for all 104 nuclear facilities in the nation. If Mothers for Peace is successful, the case will set a major new precedent for government accountability with respect to security-related decision-making in the post- 9/11era.

SLOMFP’s objectives are twofold:

• to force the NRC to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement that thoroughly analyzes the potential environmental effects of attack on the dry cask storage facility;
• to restore an appropriate balance between the influence of the nuclear industry and the public over the NRC.

After the 9/11 attacks, the increased level of secrecy at the NRC tilted the playing field even more dramatically in favor of the industry, which now has virtually unlimited access to sensitive information while the public has been completely shut out. We believe that our lawsuit could give members of the public a powerful new tool in making the government accountable for its decisions regarding security by allowing access to classified and other sensitive security information in closed hearings. (A closed hearing allows only attorneys and expert witnesses with appropriate security clearances to attend. SLOMFP attorney, Diane Curran, has the necessary clearances.)

More information about SLOMFP’s lawsuit in the Ninth Circuit of the U. S. Court of Appeals is available at http://mothersforpeace.org/20090211nrc