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ARTICLE · 23 NOVEMBER 2013

D.C. Circuit Orders DOE to Stop Collecting Nuclear Waste Fee

McDermott Will & Emery
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The D.C. Circuit issued an opinion this week in National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners v. United States Department of Energy ordering the Secretary of Energy to submit a proposal to Congress to change the nuclear waste fee to zero.

United StatesEnvironment
Martha Pugh
Martha Pugh
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The D.C. Circuit issued an opinion this week in National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners v. United States Department of Energy ordering the Secretary of Energy to submit a proposal to Congress to change the nuclear waste fee to zero.  Tuesday's decision was the most recent in a string of court cases following the Obama Administration's decision in 2009 to defund the Yucca Mountain repository.

Nuclear utilities have been paying statutorily mandated fees into the Nuclear Waste Fund since 1983.  The fee is 1 mill per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, and the Department of Energy collects approximately $750 million annually.  In January, the fund was valued at $28.2 billion.

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