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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2002

American taxpayers will be responsible for billions of dollars in liability owed to private nuclear reactor owners, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.

In a unanimous decision, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals forbade the Department of Energy from using a special fund to pay out the industry. The owners themselves contributed to the fund.

The DOE potentially owes billions because it has breached contracts to accept nuclear waste. The Yucca Mountain federal repository in Nevada won't open until 2010 at the earliest.

Get the Story:
Taxpayers to Owe Billions for Nuclear Waste Storage (The New York Times 9/26)
Username: indianz.com, Password: indianz.com

Get the Case:
ALABAMA POWER CO. v. US DEP'T OF ENERGY, No. 00-16138 (11th Cir. September 24, 2002)

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