Regional Group Wants into SC Lawsuit Over Nuke Fuel Project

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) –An economic development group wants to be part of South Carolina’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy for the agency’s failure to meet a Jan. 1 nuclear fuel deadline.

South Carolina Alliance filed papers in federal court Thursday seeking to intervene. The group is a nonprofit that represents impoverished areas near the Savannah River Site and says it will be affected financially if the mixed-oxide project is completed or not.

The yet-to-be completed plant is intended to turn weapons-grade plutonium into commercial nuclear reactor fuel. South Carolina sued earlier this year, seeking to force the Energy Department to remove plutonium from the state or pay up to $1 million in daily fines.

The Alliance says its constituents would benefit from the plant’s productivity, as well as the fine money.