Power Plant Cases - Press Releases

June 26, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Andrea Kott (914) 478-4501 x 239 akott@riverkeeper.org NY State Supreme Court Affirms that Indian Point Adversely Impacts Fish Riverkeeper and DEC claim victory in effort to bring plant into compliance with CWA (Tarrytown, NY) On June 22, 2009, The Supreme Court of the State of New York ruled in favor of Riverkeeper and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and dismissed Entergy’s petition to overturn a decision by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). That decision, released on August 15, 2008, determined that Indian Point’s cooling water intake system causes … Learn More

(Washington, D.C.) The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that cost-benefit analysis is not categorically forbidden by the Clean Water Act provision governing cooling water intake structures, but also that EPA has the authority to decide not to engage in such analysis. The Court, therefore, left it to the Obama-Jackson Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to decide whether and how to compare costs to benefits when it issues a new regulation for existing power plants. Learn More

Today, Riverkeeper filed written comments with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), challenging its assessment and conclusion that environmental impacts caused by Indian Point’s operation are not severe enough to prevent relicensing of the plant for 20 more years. The commission’s conclusion appeared in its December 2008 draft environmental analysis. Learn More

(Washington, D.C.) On December 2, 2008, Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc. will be argued in the United States Supreme Court. The case will determine whether or not the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is authorized to compare costs with benefits in determining the “best technology available” (BTA) for the cooling water intake structures of existing power plants. Richard Lazarus, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Supreme Court Institute at the Georgetown University Law Center, will argue the case on behalf of Riverkeeper. Learn More