The Supreme Court Takes a Nuclear Waste Case Almost Too Wild to Believe
SlateThe Supreme Court took up a spate of new cases last week as the justices regrouped for a new term. Although the court is obviously trying to duck controversial disputes before Election Day, it took up some strange and important appeals—including a case that poses the curious question: What if a federal court—in this case, yet again, the hyper-reactionary U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit—declared that the nation’s entire system of nuclear waste storage is actually illegal? Here’s what happened: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensed a temporary storage facility for nuclear waste in Texas. The 5th Circuit sided with Texas in this case, declaring that the commission is actually powerless to grant licenses for the temporary storage of nuclear waste offsite from the plant. But it’s funny to me because 5th Circuit decisions now make up more than 20 percent of the Supreme Court’s docket for this term, per Steve Vladeck’s calculation.
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