Lawyers for three public interest groups, at the request of the federal judge in the case, filed an amended complaint on July 11, 2022 against DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) over its plans to expand plutonium pit production for new nuclear weapons..
The South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP) on July 11, 2022, filed the “AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF” on behalf of SRS Watch, Nuclear Watch New Mexico (focuses on the Los Alamos National lab) and Tri-Valley CAREs (focuses on the Livemore National lab in California).
The complaint calls on a federal judge in Columbia, South Carolina to order DOE to prepare the required Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on pit production. While that PEIS is being prepared, the groups asked that work on new pit-production facilities at Los Alamos and SRS – where the abandoned plutonium fuel (MOX) building is proposed to become the SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant – be halted.
The groups reinforced their earlier filing of June 29, 2021, charging that NNSA did not properly conduct environmental analyses as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), including all impacts at all DOE site that would be involved in pit production. In addition to environmental-review deficiencies at both SRS and Los Alamos, DOE simply failed to analyze impacts at such sites as the Livermore National Lab and the site where plutonium pit waste (transuranic waste, TRU) would be disposed on, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), in New Mexico.
Below, see what has been posted in the docket (case # 1:21-cv-01942) over the past three weeks. The complaint by the plaintiffs is posted here: https://srswatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/amended-complaint-plutonium-pit-PEIS-with-court-marking-July-11-2022.pdf
| Date Filed | # | Docket Text |
| 06/27/2022 | 20 | TEXT ORDER: Pending before the Court is Defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim. 13 . In Plaintiff’s response 16 , they request an opportunity to amend their complaint. The request is GRANTED. Therefore, Defendants’ motion is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Not later than July 11, 2021, Plaintiffs shall file their amended complaint. IT IS SO ORDERED. (Amended Complaint due by 7/11/2022) Signed by Honorable Mary Geiger Lewis on 6/27/2022. (cbru, ) (Entered: 06/27/2022) |
| 07/11/2022 | 21 | AMENDED COMPLAINT against Jennifer Granholm, National Nuclear Security Administration, The, United States Department of Energy, Jill Hruby filed by Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, The, Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, Savannah River Site Watch, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Tom Clements. Service due by 10/11/2022 (Lenhardt, Leslie) Modified to edit text on 7/12/2022 (cbru, ). (Entered: 07/11/2022) |
Our amended complaint, July 11, 2022: amended complaint filed in docket July 11 2022
DOJ/NNSA response to our amended complaint, July 25, 2022: DOE amended filing July 25 2022
Our response of August 15: response to MTD filed August 15 2022
More documents in the complaint are posted in the “general documents” section on the SRS Watch website – scroll down just a bit: https://srswatch.org/savannah-river-site-watch-document-library/savannah-river-site-watch-general-documents/
Update – August 30, 2022:
The complainants (including SRS Watch) responded to the plaintiffs (DOJ/NNSA) filing on August 15, 2022, in which we made a strong case that the three parties have standing and challenging the claims of the plaintiffs.
The DOJ response of August 29, plows old ground and includes little additional argumentation to challenge our amended complaint. See DOJ filing here: DOJ filing on MTD August 29 2022
| 08/01/2022 | 26 | TEXT ORDER granting 25 Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply as to 23 MOTION to Dismiss Amended Complaint. (Response to Motion due by 8/15/2022, Reply due by 8/29/2022) Signed by Honorable Mary Geiger Lewis on 8/1/2022.(cbru, ) (Entered: 08/01/2022) |
Now, the matter is in the hands of Judge Mary Geiger Lewis in the federal court in Columbia, SC and she could rule for either part or rule that a hearing will be held. Stay tuned.