The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has decided to stop issuing licenses for nuclear power plants until it addresses problems with its nuclear waste policy, which were raised by a recent federal appeals court decision.
This decision could affect up to 19 reactor licensing decisions, of which nine are construction and operating licenses, one operating license, and one early site permit. It could also affect eight reactors with pending license renewal applications: Indian Point 2 & 3 (NewYork), Crystal River 3 (Florida), Diablo Canyon 1 & 2 (California), Seabrook (New Hampshire), Davis-Besse (Ohio), South Texas 1 & 2 (Texas), Limerick 1 & 2 (Pennsylvania), Grand Gulf (Mississippi) and Callaway (Missouri).
In June 2012, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out the NRC rule that permitted licensing and re-licensing of nuclear reactors based on the following suppositions that the US would find a way to dispose permanently of spent reactor fuel. The NRC having no long term plan other than hoping for a geological repository - the proposed facility at Yucca Mountain was abandoned due to lack of funding - the licensing process is then interrupted.
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