Trifecta: Pillsbury Scores Three Nuclear Waste Litigation Victories Print E-mail
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Highlighting the economic and energy stakes surrounding secure management of U.S. nuclear plants’ spent nuclear fuel, attorneys in Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP’s Energy and Government Contracts & Disputes practices successfully helped U.S. utility clients sue the federal government for breach-of-contract in 2007, resulting in more than $174 million in aggregate damages awards from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Pillsbury Scores Three Nuclear Waste Litigation Victories

The three litigations brought against the Federal Government sought to recover financial losses incurred as a direct result of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) failure to take delivery of utilities’ spent nuclear reactor fuel, under terms of contracts utilities signed with the DOE shortly after the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982. Under these agreements, utilities began paying spent-fuel disposal fees to the DOE, in exchange for DOE’s promise to take the utilities’ spent-fuel for permanent disposal beginning in 1998. Under these contracts, the utilities have paid billions of dollars to the Federal Government. The DOE’s latest schedule indicates that it will miss the 1998 deadline by at least 22 years.

“Our utility clients are bearing significant financial burdens while the government fails to honor its commitments and provide a centralized repository facility that supports the nation’s energy needs,” explained Alex Tomaszczuk, a partner in Pillsbury’s Government Contracts & Disputes practice representing the utilities. “We hope that these wins are just the first in a series of victories for utility companies.”

  • Helped utility client Entergy Corporation secure a $48.6 million damages award in a case stemming from the DOE’s failure to remove spent-fuel from Entergy’s Arkansas Nuclear One power plant.
  • In a separate Entergy claim, the court awarded the client $10 million for the added costs incurred at its Grand Gulf nuclear facility
  • In one of the largest judgments ever awarded for this type of litigation, the court awarded $116 million to Pillsbury client Northern States Power Company (now part of Xcel Energy), for the DOE contract breaches affecting Northern States Power’s Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear facilities in Minnesota.

“In each case, our utility client brought suit against the Government to recover the significant extra costs that they incurred in managing their spent-fuel on an interim basis, as DOE has been unable to meet the date set by Congress and our clients’ contracts with DOE to begin taking their spent nuclear fuel,” said Energy partner Jay Silberg.

Source: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP release

 
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