ELR Citation: 43 ELR 20040
No(s). 11-1449 (D.C. Cir. Feb 19, 2013)

The D.C. Circuit held that NRC's transfer of authority to New Jersey over nuclear materials within the state was arbitrary and capricious. The NRC may transfer regulatory authority over classes of nuclear materials located within a state to the government of that state. But here, the agency failed to clearly define how the owner of a licensed nuclear facility should decommission the facility and safely dispose of its radioactive materials. Given the court's inability to understand the key regulatory materials purportedly guiding the agency's exercise of control over decommissioning, the court vacated the transfer and remanded the case.