ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20076
No(s). 23-1300 (U.S. Jun 18, 2025)

The U.S. Supreme Court, 6-3, held that the state of Texas and a private business, which petitioned to review NRC's decision to grant a renewable 40-year license to a private entity seeking to store spent nuclear fuel at an off-site facility in West Texas, were not entitled to judicial review because they were not parties to the licensing proceeding. Texas and the business sued in the Fifth Circuit, arguing that federal law did not authorize storage of spent nuclear fuel at private off-site facilities. The Fifth Circuit concluded the petitioners could challenge ultra vires agency action regardless of whether they qualified as parties aggrieved under the Hobbs Act, and held that NRC lacked authority to license a private off-site facility for spent fuel storage. The Supreme Court concluded the petitioners did not qualify as parties to the licensing proceedings because they were not license applicants and they did not successfully intervene in the proceeding, and thus were not eligible for judicial review. It reversed, but did not decide the underlying dispute over whether NRC has authority to license private off-site facilities. Kavanaugh, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C.J., and Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, and Jackson, JJ., joined. Gorsuch, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Thomas and Alito, JJ., joined.