City Of West Chicago, Illinois v. Nrc

701 F.2d 632 (1983)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

KM operated a milling facility for the production of thorium and thorium compounds from 1967 to 1973. There is approximately 5 million cubic feet of contaminated waste material consisting of building rubble, contaminated soil, and tailings from the milling of thorium ore presently on the site. The current NRC license for site is a 'source material' license. In March 1980 and March 1981 KM submitted emergency requests to demolish Buildings Nos. 1 and 3 at the site. D granted these requests as Amendment No. 1 to KM's existing license. Amendment No. 3, was issued in September 1981 and allowed demolition of six additional buildings on site in a non-emergency situation. Amendment No. 3 also authorized receipt and storage on site of contaminated material that was formerly taken from the site for use as landfill. P brought suit challenging the issuance of Amendment No. 3 as well as the delay in adopting a final decommissioning plan for the site and issuing an EIS (environmental impact statement) for the plan. P claimed violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) because no EIS was issued before approval, and that P had no notice of KM's request for the amendment and consequently had no opportunity to request a hearing. The judge temporarily enjoined KM's activities and ordered D to give notice to P and consider any request for hearing. D considered written materials only and denied P’s request for a formal trial-type hearing. D considered the issues raised in writing and approved Amendment No. 3. P appealed; D violated its own regulations, NEPA, and the Atomic Energy Act (AEA).