A federal court Monday ruled against the government’s latest effort to throw out a lawsuit against the proposed Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF) planned for Los Alamos National Laboratory. The National Nuclear Security Administration previously won a lower court ruling that allowed work on the project to proceed, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled Monday that an appeal of that decision by the Los Alamos Study Group can proceed. The Study Group argues that the government has failed to conduct the proper environmental reviews of the project under the National Environmental Policy Act. A lower court disagreed, throwing out the Study Group’s lawsuit. Monday’s decision means the Study Group’s appeal of that ruling will now be heard. "This is good news, very positive for us," said Study Group director Greg Mello. "The Tenth Circuit has decided to hear our appeal and the federal agencies, which we believe are grossly violating NEPA, must now explain themselves before a panel of senior judges in Denver."