A federal court judge has criticised the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s plan to streamline its review of Baltimore Gas & Electric’s application to renew the licence of the Calvert Cliffs plant (2 x 825 MWe PWRs), pictured below. The comments, by Judge Patricia M Wald, came during a suit brought by the National Whistleblowers Center.
The group accused the NRC of trying to exclude critics via a process that does not allow for formal public hearings. The group also argued that the NRC’s schedule is impossible for intervenors to meet. NRC attorneys retorted that the process is not aimed at “excluding meaningful participation” by the public, but rather at “excluding meaningless participation for people who don’t do their homework”.
BGE is the first utility to apply for licence renewal.
