South Carolina wants a U.S. District Court judge to reconsider her recent opinion that she has no jurisdiction to rule on the $100 million the state is seeking in its lawsuit over disposition of DOE plutonium stored at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. State Attorney General Alan Wilson sued the Energy Department, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz, on Feb. 9 – more than a month after the Jan. 1, 2016, deadline set under a 2003 federal-state agreement for removal or processing of 1 metric ton of plutonium from South Carolina.
The material was to have been processed at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) at SRS, which remains under construction. The Obama administration has sought to cancel the project, saying a DOE alternative would save tens of billions of dollars and years of time.
The state, in its lawsuit, is seeking $100 million and removal of 1 metric ton of plutonium from SRS. During a June 30 hearing, Judge Michelle Childs heard arguments concerning South Carolina’s pursuit of the money and plutonium removal, and DOE’s reasoning against the state case. On Oct. 31, Childs said she was not prepared to rule in the lawsuit and would need additional briefings before moving forward. The order explained that Childs believes her court has jurisdiction to rule on the removal of plutonium but lacks jurisdiction to rule on the $100 million sought by the state. “The court believes it is in the interests of justice and judicial efficiency to receive further briefing on the next step in this litigation,” the order states.
On Nov. 28, the state filed a motion asking Childs to reconsider her decision to withhold a ruling. “The Court erroneously concluded that it lacked jurisdiction over the relief sought,” Wilson, and fellow attorneys Randolph Lowell and William Davidson, wrote in the motion.
