Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation & Development Commn. case brief

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation & Development Commn. case brief summary

461 U.S. 190 (1983)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Respondent federal agencies appealed an adverse judgment. The Unites States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed and held that the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act (Act), Cal. Pub. Res. Code §§ 25000-25986 (1977 and Supp. 1983), specifically Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 25524.2 (1977), was not preempted by 42 U.S.C.S. §§ 2018 and 2021(k) of the Atomic Energy Act.

CASE FACTS
The Act, specifically Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 25524.1(b) (1977), required the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to determine if adequate capacity for the storage of spent nuclear fuel rods was available before the building of additional nuclear plants. Also, Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 25524.2 (1977) placed a moratorium on building until the long term storage of those rods was demonstrated.


DISCUSSION

• The Court granted certiorari, finding only § 24424.2 ripe for review of whether it was preempted by 42 U.S.C.S. § 2018 of the Atomic Energy Act (ACE), and 42 U.S.C.S. § 2021(k) of the ACE. 
• The Court held that Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 25524.2 was not preempted by the ACE because § 25524.2 was concerned with the costs of long-term storage, while the ACE pervasively regulated the radiological safety aspects of the construction and operation of nuclear plants. 
• Therefore, § 25524.2 did not interfere with the objectives of the ACE.

CONCLUSION
The Court affirmed the judgment that held the nuclear moratorium provisions of the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act were ripe for judicial review and not preempted by the Atomic Energy Act.

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