ELR Citation: ELR 20162
No(s). s. 05-1419 et al (D.C. Cir. Jun 26, 2007)

The court held unripe a petition challenging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) decision to grant a license permitting the construction and operation of a spent nuclear fuel storage facility on land belonging to the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians in Utah. After the NRC approved the license, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs denied applications for rights-of-way and a lease, respectively. Because it is speculative whether the project will ever be able to proceed given these denials, the petitioners' challenge is unripe. The court, therefore, directed that the case be held in abeyance.