Day in Court Nears for Nevada's Yucca Mountain Challenges
Oral arguments are slated Jan. 14 in a federal appeals court for Nevada's six-pronged challenge to the planned underground nuclear waste depository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain.
Nevada officials told reporters at a Dec. 19 briefing in Washington that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has consolidated six separate lawsuits filed by the state and will hear their side and the federal governments counter-arguments at a January session. Joseph Egan, Nevada's lead outside attorney, said, "We're expecting a resolution of these cases in mid-2004." But he said its likely that whatever the appeals court decides, there will be appeals to U.S. Supreme Court.