1



# In th e United States Court of Federal Claims N o. 04- 09C ( Fi l ed: N ovember30, 2012) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * P O R T L A N D G E N E R A L E L E C T R IC CO M PAN Y, CI TY O F EUG ENE, O R E G O N , act i ng byand thr ough the E U G E N E W A T E R A N D E L E C T R IC BO A RD , a nd PA CI FI CO RP,

P l ai nti ffs,

v. TH E U N I TED STA TES,

D e f e n d a n t. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** G overnm entC ont r act s ; Spent N ucl earFuel ; N ucl earW as t e; N uclearR epo si t ory ; D am ages; Pi ckup Exchanges

B r ad Fagg , W a s h in g to n , D C , f o r p la in tif

f s . P a u l M. B e ss e tte , of c o u n se l. P atr i ck B. B r

yan , U n ited S tate s D e p a rtm e n t o f Ju stic e , C iv il D i vi s i on, W as hi ngt on, D C , w i t h w hom w er e StuartF

. D el ery , A ct i ng A s s is ta n t A tto rn e yG e n e ra l, Jeanne E

. D avi ds on , D ir e c to r, Ha r o ld D. L est er, Jr. , A ss ista n t D ire c to r f o r d e f e n d a n t.

_________ OP I NI ON

_________ B R U G G IN K , Judge

. T hi s i s an ac t i on for par t i al br eac h of contr act bas ed on the D epart m ent of Ener gy ’ s ( “D O E ”) fai l ur e t o pi ck up and di s pos e of s pentnucl earfuel fr om pl ai nt i ffs ’ nucl ear - fuel ed el ectr i c gene r at i on fac i l i t ybegi nni ng on J anuary31, 1 9 9 8 . A n u m b e r o f

re late d c a se s h a v e b e e n d e c id e d b yth e c o u rt. L iab ili ty w a s e s ta b lis h e d p re v io u s ly an d is n o t a t is s u e . See Me. Y ankee A t om i c Pow er2

C o. v. U ni t ed St a te s , 225 F. 3d 1336, 1337- 40 ( Fed. C i r . 2000) ( “M ai ne Y a n k e e ” ); N

. Stat es P ow erC o. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 2 2 4 F

. 3 d 1361, 1367 ( Fed. C ir. 2 0 0 0 ). A tw o -w e e k trial o n d a m a g e s w a s h e ld O c to b e r 3 1 , 2 0 1 1 , to N ovember10, 2011, w i t h addi t i onal t es t i m ony hear d on J anuary 5, 2012. T he par t i es have s ubm i t t ed pos t
- t r i al br i efi ng, and pos t -tr i al or al ar gum entw as h e a rd Ju n e 5 , 2 0 1 2 . F o r th e re a so n s s e t o u t b e lo w , p lain tiff s a re e n tit led to j udgm ent pur s uant t o t he rul i ngs her ei n, but i n an amount t o b e d eterm i ned w ith f u rt h e r i n p u t f

ro m th e p a rt ie s .

BA CK GR OUND Pl ai nt i ffs ar e j oi ntow ner s of the Tr o j a n N ucl earPow erPl ant( “Troj an”) nearR ai ni er , O r egon. Por t l and G ener al E l ectr i c C om panyoper at ed Troj an on b e h a lf o f its f e llo w o w n e rs f

r o m 1 9 7 5 u n til its sh u td o w n a n d d e f u e lin g in J anuary1993. T he pl antw as or i gi nal l y l i cens ed t o oper at e unt i l February8, 2011, but w as s hut dow n ear l i erforr eas ons notr el at ed t o defe ndant ’ s br eac h. I

. T he St andar d C ont r act In 1 9 8 2 , C o n g ress e n ac ted th e N u clea r W aste P o li cyA ct (“N W P A ”), 42 U

. S. C

. §§ 10101- 10270 ( 2006)

. T he N W PA co d ifi ed t he fe der al governm ent ’ s “r es pons i bi l i t yt o pr ovi de fort he perm anentdi s pos al o f hi ghlev e l ra d io a c tiv e w a ste a n d su c h sp e n t n u c lea r f u e l as m a yb e d is p o se d o f in or dert o pr ot ectt he publ i c hea l t h and s afe t yand the envi r onm ent

. ” I d. § 10131( a) ( 4)

. T he N W PA pr ovi ded a pr oces s for s t or age and di s pos al of hi gh leve l w aste a n d sp en t nu clea r fu el (he rea fter ref erred to co ll ec ti v elyas “ S N F ”). T h e N W P A a u th o r iz e d th e S e c re tar yo f E n e rg yto e n ter in to c o n tra c ts w ith ow ner s and gener at or s of SN F t o di s pos e of s uch mat er i al

. Pur s uantt o s ect i on 302 of the N W P A , t he St andar d C ont r actfort he di s pos al of SN F w as d e v e lo p e d ; it is p u b lis h e d a t 1 0 C .F .R . § 9 6 1 .1 1 (2 0 1 2 ). O n J une 13, 1983, Por t l and G ener al E l ectr i c C om pany( “PG E ”) , on b eh alf o f it self, th e E u g en e W ater an d E lectri c B o a rd , an d P ac ifi c P o w er & L i ght( a pr edec es s or - i n- i nt er es tof Paci fi C orp) , ent er ed i nt o a w r i t t en contr act w i t h defe ndantknow n as t h e “C o ntr actforD i s pos al of SpentN ucl earFuel and/ orH i gh L evel R adi o ac ti v e W as t e, U

. S. D epart m entof Ener gyC ont r act N o. D E

- C R 01- 83N E 4406” ( the “St andar d C ont r act ”)

. T he mat er i al t erm s of th e S ta n d a rd C o n tra c t ar e p u b lish e d a t 1 0 C .F .R § 9 6 1 .1 1 . In th is c o n tra c t, pl ai nt i ffs agr eed t o pur chas e D O E ’ s s ervi ces for di s pos al of SN F pr oduced by t h e T r o j a n f a c i l i t y . T h e c o n t r a c tr e q u i r e d d e f e n d a n tt o b e g i n d i s p o s i n g o f S NFT h e 1 9 8 7 D O E A c c e p tan c e P rio rityR a n k in g a n d A n n u a l C a p a c ity 1 R e p o rt (“ 1 9 8 7 A C R ” ) d e taile d th e “ p rojec ted a n n u a l w a ste re c e iv in g c a p a c ity for D O E and t he annual acc ept ance r anki ng r el at i ng t o D O E contr act s forthe di s pos al of SN F. ” Y

ankee A t om i c El ec. C o. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 679 F. 3d 1354, 1 3 5 8 ( F e d

. Ci r . 2 0 1 2 )

. Th e F e d e r a l Ci r c u i th a s h e l d t h a tt h e 1 9 8 7 ACR a c c u ra te ly re f

le c ts th e p a rt ie s ’ in te n tio n s a t th e tim e o f c o n tr a c t. P ac. G as & E l ec. C o. v. U

ni t ed Stat es , 5 3 6 F .3 d 1 2 8 2 , 1 2 9 1 -9 2 (F e d . C ir . 2 0 0 8 ). 3 byJ anuary31, 1998

. 42 U

. S. C

. § 10222( a) ( 5) ( B )

. D efe ndanthas noty et begun di s pos al of SN F. T hat start d at e w as s har ed w i t h the ent i r e nucl ear i ndus t r y . A r t i cl e V I

. B

. 1 of t he S t andar d C ont r act es t abl i s hed t he O l des tFuel Fi r s t( “O FF ”) p ri or i t ys y s t em. U ndert hats chedul e, i n conj unct i on w i t h the 1987 A nnual C apac i t yR epor t r at e, D O E s houl d have pi cked up the l as tof 1 T roja n ’s f

u e l in 2 0 1 0

. T h e S tan d a rd C o n tra c t a lso c o n tain s a p ro v isio n a llo w in g u til iti e s, w ith D O E ’ s appr oval , to excha nge thei ral l ocat ed SN F pi ckup dat es . T hat pr ovi s i on s t at es t hat t he “Purc has ers hal l have the r i ghtt o excha nge appr oved del i verycomm i t m ents chedul es w i t h par t i es t o othercontr act s w i t h D O E for di s pos al of SN F and/ orH L W ; pr ovi ded, how ever , t hatD O E s hal l , i n advanc e have t he r i ght t o appr ove or di s appr ove, i n i t s s ol e di s cr et i o n , an ysuch excha nges . ” St andar d C ont r act , art

. V ( E )

. I n r efe r r i ng t o thi s pr ovisi on, t he Feder al C i r cui tnot ed , “[t ] he St andar d C ont r acti ncl uded pr ovi s i ons s ett i ng pr i or i t yfo ra c c e pt a nc e of w a s t e ( ge ne r a l l ythr ou gh a n o l de s tfu e l fi r s t( O FF) s cheme) and al l ow ed uti li t i es t o s w ap appr oved del i verycomm i t m ent s chedul es ( t he Exchanges pr ovi s i on)

. ” P ac. G as & E l ec. C o. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 5 3 6 F .3 d 1 2 8 2 , 1 2 8 5 (F e d . C ir . 2 0 0 8 ). Co u r t s h a v e h e l d t h a t th e NWP A c r e a t e d a d u t yo n th e p a r to f th e DOE t o begi n di s pos i ng of SN F. I n I ndi ana Mi chi

gan P ow erC o. v. D epar tm ent of E ner gy , 8 8 F

. 3 d 1 2 7 2 (D

. C

. C ir

. 1 9 9 6 ), u ti li ty co m p an ies ch all en g ed D O E ’s in terp re tatio n o f

th e N W P A

. T h e a g e n c y h a d tak e n th e p o sitio n th a t itw o u ld be unabl e t o acc eptSN F byear l y1998 and thati thad no duty t o do s o i n t he abs ence of a f

unct i oni ng nucl earr epos i t ory . T he D

. C

. C i r cui tdi s agr eed a nd h eld th at sec ti o n 3 0 2 (a)(5)(B ) of the N W P A cre ated an o b li g ati o n o n the p art o f DOE , r e c i p r o c a l t o t h e u t i l i t i e s ’ o b l i g a t i o n t o p a y , t o s t a r td i s p o s i n g o f S NF b yJ a n u a ry 3 1 , 1 9 9 8

. Id

. a t 1 2 7 7

. D es pi t e the rul i ng i n I ndi ana Mi chi

gan , D O E in f

o rm e d u til ity compani es t hati tw ou ld n otbegi n t o col l ectt he SN F byt he 1998 dea dl i ne.“P X ” re fe rs t o P lai n ti ff s’ E x h ib it a n d “D X ” re fe rs t o D ef en d an t’ s 2 E x h ib it. 4 T he compani es t hen s ought a w r i t of m andamus t o compel D O E t o di s pos e of t h e SN F. I n N

or ther n Stat es P ow erC o. v. U ni t ed Stat es D epar tm ent of E ner gy , 1 2 8 F

. 3 d 7 5 4 , 7 5 6 (D

. C

. C ir

. 1 9 9 7 ) (“ N orthern S tates I

” ) , t h e D. C. C i r cui tr eaf

fi r m ed i t s rul i ng i n I

ndi ana Mi chi

gan , n o ti n g that “[ p ]eti ti o n ers have es t abl i s hed t hatt heyhave a cl earr i ghtt o r el i ef. ” I d. at 7 5 6

. T h e c o u rt ref u sed to g ran t th e b roa d er m an d am u s reli ef so u g h t by the u ti li ti es, ho w ev er, n o tin g th a t th e S tan d a rd C o n tra c t “ p ro v id e s a p o ten tiallya d e q u a te r e m e d yif D O E fai l s t o ful fi l l i t s obl i gat i ons byt he dea dl i ne. ” I d. N e v e rth e les s, it h e ld t h a tt h e p e t i t i o n e r s ’ a b i l i t yt o e n f o r c e t h e c o n t r a c t“ wo u l d b e f ru s t r a t e d i f

DOE w e re a llo w e d to o p e ra te u n d e r a co n stru c tio n o f th e c o n tra c t in c o n sis ten t w ith [i t s ] pr i or concl us i on t hat t he N W PA i m pos es an obl i gat i on on D O E ‘ w i t hout qual i fi cat i on orcondi t i on. ’ ” I d. at759 ( quot i ng I

ndi ana Mi chi

gan , 88 F. 3d at 1276)

. C ons equent l y , t he courtor der ed “D O E t o pr ocee d w i t h contr actual r e me d i e s i n a ma n n e rc o n s i s t e n tw i t h th e NW PA’ s c o mma n d t h a t[ DO E] u n d ertak e a n u n co n d it ion al o b li g ati o n to b eg in d ispo sal o f th e S N F b yJan u ary 31, 1998. ” I

d. at760. T he m andamus “pr ecl ude[d] D O E fr om concl udi ng that i t s del ay[w as ] unavoi dabl e on the gr ound t hati th as n o t y etpr epar ed a perm anentr epos i t or yort hati thas no author i t yt o pr ovi de s t or age i n the i nt er i m . ” I

d. II. P lain tiff

s’ M iti g a tio n E f

f o rts Pl ai nt i ffs m ade t he deci s i on t o cl os e and t hen ful l ydecomm i s s i on t he T r oj a n p l a n ti n 1 9 9 3

. Byt h e mi d

- 1 9 9 0 s , P GE h a d n o c o n f i d e n c e t h a tDOE w oul d begi n pi cki ng up s pentfuel i n 1998 oranyt i m e s oon t her eaf t er . St ephen M

. Que n n o z , Vi c e Pr e s i d e n to f Nuc l e a rOpe r a t i ons a n d Gen e r a t i o n a tPGE, tes ti f ied th a t P G E e stim a ted it t o b e a t lea st 1 6 y e a rs b e f o re a D O E f

a c ili ty w o u ld b e o p e ra tio n a l. T r. 1 6 3 7 -3 8 . P G E p e rf o rm e d a risk -a d

ju ste d e c o n o m ic anal y s i s of fi ve s torag e o p ti ons and ca m e t o the conc l us i on t hatdrys t or age w a s th e m o st e f

f icie n t o p tio n . P X 1 7 3 (P G E IS F S I A u th o riz a tio n f o r P rojec t) ;

2 T r . 1640- 43 ( Q uennoz)

. T he r es ul t i ng r epor t , pr es ent ed t o PG E ’ s boar d of d ir ec tors, assig n s a p rob ab il ity to D O E ’s p ickin g u p fu el i n a sp ec ifi c y ea r. For1998 t o 2003, PG E as s i gned a tw o per centchanc e and f r om 2004 t o 2019, a s i x per centchanc e. M r . Q uennoz e xpl ai ned that , as a r es ul tof the l ow l i kel i hood of D O E per form ance , drys t or age w as t he mostbenef i ci al opt i on b e c a u se , “th e lo n g e r th e f u e l sta y s in d ry sto ra g e , th e m o re th e sa v in g s w o u ld acc rue w i t h r egar d t o t hats y s t em over w et s t or age. ” Tr. 1643. PG E w i t nes s es5

w ere u n eq u ivo ca l i n th e ir te sti m o n ythat theyw o u ld n o t hav e b u il t a dry s t or age f aci l i t yabs entdefe ndant ’ s br eac h. PG E ul t i m at el ydeci ded t o cons t ructand l i cens e an i ndepende nts pent fuel s t or age i ns t al l at i on ( “I SFS I ”) s y s t em for both SN F st or age a nd forl at er t r ans por tt o D O E ’ s s t or age f aci l i t y . T hi s dual purpos e appr oach w oul d al l ow t he addi t i onal eff

i ci encyof onl ypacki ng the T r oj an fue l i nt o a ca ni s t eronce. B y us i ng a drys t or age c ani s t erdes i gned and l i cens ed fort r ans por t , PG E hoped t hatD O E w oul d acc eptt he cani s t er s and t r ans por t t hem offsi t e w i t houtfur t her m o d if ic a tio n o r r e p la c e m e n t. P G E sel ect ed S i err a N uclearC orporat i on (“SN C ”) as i t s drycask vendorand aw ar ded the contr act in 1995. I tbegan c ons t ruct i on i n 1996 by rem o vi ng an exi s t i ng w as t e s t or age bui l di ng, a por t i on of a mai nt enanc e b u ild in g , an d se v e ra l sm a ller m a in ten a n c e stru c tu re s u se d b yo n - s ite cont r a c t o r s . Th i s was d o n e t o c l e a rs p a c e f o rt h e I SF SI p a d a n d a s s o c i a t ed buffe rzone. T he pr oj ect hi t an ear l y s nag. SN C exper i ence d i nt ernal fi nanci al d if f icu lti e s in e a rly1 9 9 6 , to w h ich P G E re sp o n d e d b yse n d in g its o w n sta f f to as s i s tSN C and byhol di ng m eet i ngs w i t h SN C ’ s C E O and ow ner J ohn M as s ey to “k ee p h im f

o c u sed o n the e n g inee ri n g d etail s” o f th e T rojan p rojec t. T r. 1650 ( Q uennoz)

. M r . Q uennoz e xplai n ed t hatbeca us e M r . M as s eyw as t he s ol e ow ner of SN C , hi s at t ent i on w as oft en di ver t ed byot herconce r ns s uch as m a r k e t i n g h is c o m p a n y ’s p ro d u c ts e ls e w h e re . See T r . 1651. SN C ’ s and PG E ’ s eff

ort s w er e furt her compl i cat ed w hen t he N R C r ej ect ed SN C ’ s us e of its z in c -b a s e d c o a tin g f o r t h e c a rb o n s te e l in te ri o r o f T roja n ’s c a n is te rs . B y1 9 9 7 , itw as c le a r to P G E that S N C w as n o t m ee ti n g n ec essa ry qual i t y s t andar ds

. PG E and t he N R C caughts ever al err or s i n SN C ’ s l i cens i ng a p p li c a tio n s. T r. 1 5 6 0 (N ich o lso n ). S N C a lso f a iled to in su re q u a lity sta n d a rd s f

ro m its su p p liers , w h ich re su lted in S N C re p lac in g its q u a lity a s s u r a n c e ma n a g e me n ta tP GE ’ s i n s i s t e n c e . T r . 1 6 6 2

- 6 3 ( Qu e n n o z )

. P GE w e n t s o f a r a s to is s u e a s to p w o rk o rd e r t o S N C o n J u ly 1 5 , 1 9 9 7

. See PX 216 a tP GE 3 1 7 6 2 3

. P GE wa s a wa r e a tth e t i me i ta wa r d e d t h e c o n t r a c tt o S NC t hata nucl earfuel and ene r gycompany ow ned bythe B r i t i s h governm enthad a n o p t i o n t o p u r c h a s e S NC

. T h a tf a c tp l a y e d a p a r t i n a s s u r i n g P GE t h a tS NC c o u ld m e e t its c o n tra c tu a l o b lig a tio n s, a n d P G E re q u ire d B ritish N u c lea r F u e ls L im ite d (“ B N F L ” ) t o a c t a s a f in a n c ia l b a c k e r o f

S N C f o r t h e c o n tr a c t. See T r. 499- 500 ( L acke y ) ; 1747 ( Q uennoz)

. A ft erthe l i cens e appl i cat i on err or s and sto p w o rk o rd e r, P G E p re ss u re d B N F L to b a c k sto p S N C b yp u rc h a sin g it.6 SN C w as pur chas ed byan af fi l i at e of BN FL i n M ar ch of 1998 a nd w as s ubs equent l y r enamed B N FL Fuel Sol ut i ons ( “B FS”)

. D es pi t e an i nfus i on of new r es ou r ces and a r e- s t aff i ng atB FS, pr obl ems cont i nued w i t h t he Troj an I FSF I pr oj ect

. M r . Q uennoz de s cr i bed the r ootof the cont i nued pr obl ems as a la c k o f a d e q u a te f

u n d in g . See T r. 1 6 6 7 -6 8

. D e sp ite it s b a c k in g , B N F L d id notfund B FS t o t he l evel t hat PG E ant i ci pat ed. T he pr obl ems ca m e t o a hea d in Ju lyo f 1 9 9 9 w h e n P G E a ttem p ted to lo a d th e f irst sp e n t f

u e l as se m b lies in to a SN C / B FS-made ca nni s t er . A pr obl em w i t h t he new chr om e- bas ed i nt er i or c o a ti n g c a u se d th e w a ter in th e w e t p o o l to b e c o m e so c lo u d yf ro m ra p id c o rro sio n th a t P G E a b a n d o n e d lo a d in g th e c a sk . T h is e v e n tu a llylea d B F S to hal tr emai ni ng fabr i cat i on of the cas ket i nt er i or s i n M ar ch 2000 af t ernear l y70 per centof the i nt er i oras s em b li es w er e compl et ed. PX 255 atPG E 100596 ( C om pl et i on of the Troj an I SFS I P roj ect- A Suppl i erE val uat i on, Sept

. 18, 2000)

. T he l oadi ng fai l ur e t ouched off i nves t i gat i ons by PG E , B FS, and the NRC. I n J a n u a r y 2 0 0 0 , PGE u n d e r t o o k a r i g o r o u s i n v e s t i g a t i o n of t he ci r cumst ance s s ur r oundi ng t he l oadi ng fai l ur e. T hi s “r oot caus e ana l y s i s ” w as c e n ter e d o n P G E ’s o w n in v o lv e m e n t an d w h a t itc o u ld h a v e d o n e b e tter to pr eventt he fa i l ur e butnotw hatSN C coul d have done t o pr event i t

. PX 245 a tPG E088 98 9- 08 89 90

. The r oo tc a us e a na l y s i s “st art [e d] fr om the I SFSI cont ai ner ’ s [fa i l ur e]

. . . A nd w or k[ed] back t o t he poi nt w hen PG E s el ect ed [SN C ] as i t s vendor

. ” I d. a t P G E 0 8 8 9 8 9 . It “ f

o c u se d o n th o se f

a c to rs w ith in t he contr ol of PG E m anage m entt o corr ect

. ” I d. atPG E 088990. T he exe cut i ve su m m aryo f th e f

ind ing s states th at th o se c au ses o f th e f ail u re w ith in P G E ’s contr ol w er e “i nadequa t el y i m pl ement ed pol i ci es for bus i nes s r i s k as s es s m ent and chart er i ng of pr oj ectper s onnel , and l es s t han ade quat e i dent i fi cat i on and us e of r eadi l yavai l abl e t echni cal inf o rm ati on dur i ng t he pr oj ect

. ” I d. at P G E 0 0 8 8 9 8 8 ; T r. 1 5 6 3 -6 5 (N ich o lso n ). T h e re p o rt a lso id e n tifie d sc h e d u le pr es s ur e r es ul t i ng i n l i m i t ed “que s t i oni ng orhi gh l evel con side r at i on of compl ex i s s ues . ” PX 245 atPG E 089004. T her e w as an i nadequa t e bal ance b etw ee n sch ed u le an d q u ali tyassu ran ce . T h e inv esti g ators d id n o t, h o w ev er, f in d fa u ltin P G E ’s selec ti o n o f S N C as it s ca sk v en d o r giv en the im m ature s ta te o f th e in d u s tr ya t th e tim e . See T r. 1 5 5 9 (N ic h o ls o n ). N R C ’ s i nves t i gat i on r es ul t ed i n a N ot i ce of V i ol at i on w hi ch i dent i fi ed PG E as havi ng s ubm i t t ed “i nacc ur at e i nform at i on t o the [N R C ] ” r egar di ng t he “i m p lem ent at i on of the qual i t yas s ur ance r equi r ement s dur i ng t he coa t i ng qual i fi cat i on pr ogr am. ” PX 2 88 atPA C 007099 ( A ugus t6, 2002 N ot i ce of V i ol at i on)

. T he N R C di d not e thatPG E w as notaw ar e thatthe t es t i ng of theT he compl et ed I SFS I hel d 34 cas ks , eac h of w h ic h hol ds up t o 24 3 s p e n tf u e l a s s e mb l i e s . T h e p r o j e c t wa s o r i g i n a l l yd e s i g n e d t o h o l d two a d d iti o n a l ca sk s, w h ich w e re m e a n t to sto re th e m o st h ig h lyra d io a c tiv e p a rts of th e r e a c t o rv e s s e l a n d i n t e r n a l c o mpo n e n t s . PGE d e c i d e d t o k e e p t he re a c to r v e s s e ls in w h o le f o rm a n d s h ip th e m o f

f s ite a s lo w le v e l w a s te

. 7 i nt er i orcont ai nercoat ing w as i nadequa t e, and i tdi d notas s es s a fi ne forthe v io latio n , citin g P G E ’s r a p id a n d c o m p re h e n siv e c o rr e c ti v e a c tio n a n d its e x c e lle n t r e c o rd w ith th e N R C p ri o r t o t h e in v e s tig a tio n . See i d. a tP AC 0 0 7 1 0 0

. BF S wi t h d r e w i t s a p p l i c a t i o n f o ra t r a n s p o r t a t i o n l i c e n s e f r o m th e NRC i n lat e 1999 and then r epudi at ed i t s contr actw i t h PG E

. PG E hi r ed out s i de c o u n se l an d th re a ten e d B F S w ith leg a l ac tio n . P G E e stim a te d th a t it w o u ld i ncur$24- $40 m i l l i on i n extr a w ets t or age c os t s due t o t he I SFS I cons t ruct i on del ay . T R

. 1681 ( Q uennoz) ; PX 249 atPG E 317082. PG E eventual l ys ett l ed i t s di s put e w i t h B FS for $9, 000, 000 and, cr i t i cal i n PG E ’ s vi ew , i tr ece i ved the equi pm ent , intell ectual pr oper t y , and pr opr i et arydat a gene r at ed orus ed by S N C /B F S o n th e p roje c t. Gi v e n t h e s l i p p a g e o f

t i me a n d BF S ’ i n a d e q u a t e p e r f o r ma n c e , P GE c o n sid e re d f

in ish in g th e IS F S I p rojec t w ith a n e w c o n tra c to r. It ev e n tu a lly se le c ted H o ltec In ter n a tio n a l as its c a sk e t v e n d o r a f ter re c e iv in g p ro p o sa ls fr om o n e o thervendorand cons i der i ng fi ni s hi ng t he pr oj ectw i t h B FS. T he contr act w as aw ar ded t o H ol t ec on M ar ch 7, 2001. PX 268 at P G E 2 7 3840. O f i m por t ance to P G E w as thatH ol t ec a l r eadyhel d both N R C l i cens es ( s t or age a nd t r ans por t at i on) nece s s aryfori t s cas ketdes i gn. T r . 1260 ( N i chol s )

. T he T r oj an I SFS I w as compl et ed and c as ketl oadi ng began a new 3 on D ece m ber31, 2002. PG E compl et ed the l oadi ng i n ear l ySept ember2003. T he T r oj an fa ci l i t yw as offi ci al l ydecomm i s s i oned w hen the N R C appr oved th e te rm in a tio n o f

th e T roja n o p e ra tin g lic e n s e in 2 0 0 5

.

DI S CU S S I ON P lain tiff s c laim d a m a g e s o f $ 1 1 2 ,6 6 4 ,5 3 2 c a u se d b yD O E ’s f a ilu re to r e mov e a n d d i s p o s e o f s p e n t n u c l e a r f u e l b e g i n n i n g J a n u a r y 1 , 1 9 98, as r equi r ed byD O E ’s St andar d C ontr act

. T he cl ai m ed damages r epr es ent p lain tiff s’ c o st to m iti g a te d a m a g e s f ro m th e b re a c h . P lain tiff s’ c laim c o n sis ts of $77, 581, 895 r el at ed t o I SFS I cons t ruct i on cos t s t hr ough 2009, $20, 691, 537T his i ncludes an $ 8 3 ,0 0 0 d edu ct i on for the co stof N orthw est 4 D e m o litio n a n d D is m a n tlin g . 8 for I SF SI o p e r a t i o n s c o s t s t h r o u g h 2 0 0 9 , a n d wet s t o r a g e c o s t s of 4 $ 4 0 , 4 8 2 , 0 6 8 fro m 2 0 0 0 to 2 0 0 3

. Itred u ce s the total b y $ 1 1 ,1 9 0 , 9 6 8 fo r a pol l ut i on contr ol fac i l i t yt ax cr edi t and $14, 900, 000 for t he cos t t o excha nge a llo c a tio n s . T hi s cour thas j ur i s di ct i on over pl ai nt i ffs ’ cl ai m pur s uantt o t he Tucker A c t, 2 8 U .S .C . § 1 4 9 1 (a ) ( 2 0 0 6 ). S ee PSE G N ucl ear, LLCv. U

ni t ed Stat es , 465 F. 3 d 1 3 4 3 ( Fe d

. Ci r . 2 0 0 6 )

. Def e n d a n t ' s l i a b i l i t y f

o r p a r t i a l br eac h of c o n t r a c t h a s b e e n e s ta b lis h e d

. S e e Ma in e Y a n ke e , 2 2 5 F .3 d a t 1 3 3 7 -4 0 ; N. Stat es P ow er , 224 F. 3d at 1367. D amages ar e t her efor e t he onl y i s s ue l eftfor d e c is io n . T h e w itn esse s in o rde r of ap p ea ran ce d u ri n g tr ial w ere JayP

. F isch er, T roja n IS F S I M an ag er; M icha el L ac k ey , fo rm er T rojan G en era l M an ag er; F ra n k C . G ra v e s, P rin c ip a l o f T h e B ra ttl e G ro u p a n d p lain tiff s’ e x p e rt; K e v in Poi r er , Speci al i s ti n PG E ' s Pow erSuppl yE ngi neer i ng Suppor tG r oup and Lead A ccount ant ; S te ven B

. N i chol s , form erT r oj an I SFS I Pr oj ectM anage rand form erG ener al M anage r ; J os eph M

. M i hel i ch, form er M anage rof Engi neer i ng at T r oj an; J err y C

. C ooper , form er engi neer and form er Sp ec ial N ucl ear M at er i al s C us t odi an atT r oj an; W i l l i am O

. N i ch ol s on, V i ce Pr es i dentof D i s t r i but i on O per at i ons forPG E ; S teph en M

. Q uennoz, V i ce Pr es i dentof Pow erSuppl yand V i ce Pr es i dent o f N ucl earO per at i ons and G ener at i on at P G E ; S te v e n A . S c h n e id e r, f o rm e r T roja n O p e ra tio n s D ep artm en t M an ag er; D r. Jo n a th a n N e u b e rg e r P h .D

. , P ri ncipal of E con om i st s I nc. and d e f e n d a n t’s e x p e rt; W arr en B rew er , C ons ul t antand Pr i nci pal of A B Z , I nc. ; R ober tA

. Pet er s on, M anagi ng D i r ect orof Li t C on G r oup L L C ; and D avi d Z abr ans ky , D i r ect or O f f ice o f S tan d a rd C o n tra c t M a n a g e m e n t. I

. St andar ds forR evi ew “The r emedyforbr eac h of contr acti s damages s uffi cien t to pl ace the i nj ur ed part yi n as g o o d a p os i t i on as i tw oul d have be en had the br eac hi ng par t yful l yper form ed. ” I nd. Mi ch. P ow er C o. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 422 F. 3d 1369, 1373 ( Fed. C i r . 2005) ( ci t i ng San C ar l os I r r igat i on & D r ai nage D is t

. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 111 F. 3d 1557, 1562 ( Fed. C i r . 1997) )

. I ti s i ncumbentupon the nonb re a c h in g p a rtyto e sta b lish th a t: “ (1 ) th e d a m a g e s w e re re a so n a b lyf o re se e a b le byt he br eac hi ng par t yatt he t i m e of c ont r act i ng; ( 2) t he br eac h i s a s ubs t ant i al9

c a u sa l f a c to r in th e d a m a g e s; an d (3 ) th e d a m a g e s a re sh o w n w ith re a so n a b le cert ai nt y . ” I

d. ( ci t i ng E ner

gy C api talC or

p. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 302 F. 3d 1314, 1320 ( Fed. C i r . 2002) )

. “‘ [T]he gener al pr i nci pl e i s t hatal l l o sses , how ever des cr i bed, ar e r ecove r abl e. ’ ” I d. (q u o tin g R e sta tem e n t (S e c o n d ) o f C o n tra c ts § 3 4 7 c m t. c (1 9 8 1 )). T h e n o n - b r e a c h in g p a rtym a yth e re f o re re c o v e r its m i t i gati on l osses and it s general l osses. A . F o re se e a b ili ty F o re s e e a b ility is d e te rm in e d a t th e tim e th e c o n tr a c t w a s e x e c u te d

. See I nd. Mi ch. P ow erC o. , 4 2 2 F .3 d a t 1 3 7 3 ; B ohac v. D ept

. of A gr i c. , 2 3 9 F. 3d 1 3 3 4 , 1 3 4 0 (F e d . C ir. 2 0 0 1 ); P r udent i alI ns . C o. v. U

ni t ed Stat es , 801 F. 2d 1 2 9 5 , 1 3 0 0 (F e d . C ir. 1 9 8 6 ); N

. Hel ex Co. v. U

ni t ed Stat es , 524 F. 2d 707, 714 ( C t

. C l

. 1975)

. T he non- br eac hi ng par t ym us tdem ons t r at e thatbot h t he m agni tude and type of da m ages ori nj uryw er e for es eea bl e at the t i m e of c o n tr a c t f

o rm a tio n . S ee L a n dm a rk L a n d C o . v. F D IC , 256 F. 3d 1365, 1378 (F e d . C ir. 2 0 0 1 ); W

el l s Fa r go B ank v. U

ni t ed Stat es , 88 F. 3d 1012, 1023- 24 ( Fed. C i r . 1996)

. H ow ever , t he non- br eac hi ng par t yneed not demonstr at e that a p a rt ic u la r m e a n s o f

re s p o n d in g to th e b re a c h w a s f o re s e e a b l e . S e e , e .g ., C i t iz ens Fed. B ank v. U ni t ed Stat es , 474 F. 3d 1314, 1321 ( Fed. C i r . 2007) (c iti n g Jo se p h M . P e r illo , 1 1 C o rb in o n C o n tra c ts § 5 6 .7 a t 1 0 8 ) (“ W h a t is r equi r ed i s m er el yt hatthe injury ac tual l ys uffe r ed mustbe one of a ki nd t hat t he defe ndant had r eas on t o for es ee and of an amount t hat i s not bey o n d the b o u n d s o f

re a so n a b le p re d ictio n .”); see al so S. N uclear O per at i ng C o. v. U

ni t ed Stat es , 77 Fed. C l

. 396, 405 ( 2007) ( “W h i l e the gene r al r es pons e t o a br eac h m us tbe for es een, t he part i cul arw ayt hat a m i t i gat i ng deci s i on i s i m pl ement ed n ee d n o t. ”). B

. C aus at i on T h e p o tential stan d ard s b y w h ich th is co u rt m ay d eterm ine ca u sati o n are t he “butfor ” t es tand the “s ubs t ant i al fac t or ” t es t

. T he “butfor ” t es tfi nds t he b re a c h in g p a rt ylia b le f o r d a m a g e s th a t it d ir e c tly c a u s e d

. See Ci t iz ens Fed. B ank , 4 7 4 F .3 d a t 1 3 1 8

. T h e “ su b sta n tial f a c to r” tes t h o ld s th e b re a c h in g p a rty lia b le if th e b re a c h w a s a s u b s ta n tia l c a u s a l f a c to r o f th e d a m a g e s . I

nd. Mi ch. P ow erC o. , 422 F. 3d at1373 ( ci t i ng E ner gy C api tal , 302 F. 3d at1320)

. “That i s not t o s ay t hat t he br eac h m us t be t he s ol e fac t or or s ol e caus e i n t he l os s of pr ofi t s . T he exi s t ence of ot her fac t or s oper at i ng i n confl uence w i t h the br eac h w i l l not nece s s ar i l y pr ecl ude re covery bas ed on the br eac h. ” C al

. Fed. B ank v. U ni t ed Stat es , 395 F. 3d 1263, 1268 ( Fed. C i r . 2005) ( ci t i ng Farns w or t h on10

C o n tra c ts § 1 2 .1 , at 1 5 0 -5 1 (3 d e d . 2 0 0 4 )); s ee al s o B ank of

A m . , F SB v. U ni t ed Stat es , 7 0 F e d . C l. 24 6 , 2 5 1 ( 2 0 0 6 ). T h is c o u rt m a yse lec t an a p p ro p ria te c a u s a tio n s ta n d a rd in its d is c re tio n . C i t iz ens Fed. B ank , 474 F. 3d at1318. T he c o u rt w ill a p p ly th e “ b u t f o r” te s t. C . R e a so n a b le C e rta in ty R eas onabl e ce r t ai nt yas t o t he amount of damages i s al s o a ques t i on of f a c t. B l uebonnet Sav. B ank, F

. S. B

. v. U ni ted S tates , 266 F. 3d 1348, 1356- 58 ( Fed. C i r . 2001)

. “C er t ai nt yi s s uffi ci enti f the evi dence adduce d en ab l es the cour tt o m ake a fai rand r eas onable ap p roxi m at i on of the damages

. ” Locke v

. U ni t ed Stat es , 283 F. 2d 521, 524 ( C t

. C l

. 1960)

. Fur t her , i ti s es t abl i s hed that “w her e r es pons i bi l i t yfordamages i s cl ear , i ti s notes s en ti al thatt he amount there o f b e a sce rt aina b le w ith ab so lute ex ac tnes s o r m athe m ati ca l prec isi o n .” Sa n C a rlo s Irr ig a tio n & D ra in a g e D ist. , 111 F. 3d at1563 ( ci t i ng E le c . & Mis s i l e Faci l i t i es , I

nc. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 4 1 6 F

. 2 d 1 3 4 5 , 1 3 5 8 (C t. C l. 1 9 6 9 ).

“ P ro o f n e e d o n ly s u p p o rt a f a ir a n d re a s o n a b le a p p ro x im a tio n o f its d a m a g e s .” D ai r yland P ow er C o -op . v. U ni t ed Stat es , 90 Fed. C l

. 615 ( 2009) ( ci t i ng E ner gy C api talC or

p. , 3 0 2 F .3 d a t 1 3 2 9 ; H ughes C om m c’ n G a laxy , Inc. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 2 7 1 F .3 d 1 0 6 0 , 1 0 6 7

– 6 8 (F e d . C ir. 2 0 0 1 ); A ce–F ed. R epo rt ers, I nc. v. B ar r am , 2 2 6 F .3 d 1 3 2 9 , 1 3 3 3 (F e d . C ir. 2 0 0 0 ); Locke , 2 8 3 F

. 2 d at 52 4 ). R e c o v e r y f

o r s p e c u la tiv e d a m a g e s , h o w e v e r, i s p re c lu d e d

. San C ar l os Irr ig a tio n & D ra in a g e D ist. , 1 1 1 F .3 d a t 1 5 6 3 ; s ee al s o I nd. Mi ch. P ow erC o. , 422 F. 3d at1373. D

. A ppl i cat i on of St andar ds forR evi ew A s w e have found on num er ous occa s i ons pr evi ous l y i n SN F cas es , the c o st o f p ro lo n g e d o n site f u e l sto ra g e is f

o re se e a b le w h e n th e o th e r p a rty br e a c h e s i t s a g r e e me n tt o p i c k u p , t r a n s p o r t , a n d s t o r e th a tf u e l e l s e w her e. D e f e n d a n t h a s n o t m e a n in g f u llyc h a llen g e d a n yp a rticu lar e lem e n t o f p lai nti ffs’ cl ai m as u nfo res eeable an d w e need no t add res s it further; w e fi nd t hat the co st of w et pool s t or age as w el l as bui l di ng and oper at i ng a dry s t or age fac i l i t yw as f o re se e a b le to d e f

e n d a n t at th e tim e o f

c o n tra c t. D efe ndantchal l enges caus at i on and t he r eas onabl e cert ai ntyof var i ous el ement s of pl ai nt i ffs ’ cl ai m , pr i m ar i l yt he pr opounded damages m odel bas ed on an ac cel er at ed pi ckup s chedul e made pos s i bl e bythe r obus t excha nge ofD efe ndantal s o chal l enges ca u sat i on and r eas onabl e ce r t ai ntyof 5 several m ore speci fi c cost item s c laim ed b yplai nti ffs. W e exam i ne these i t ems a f t e rd e a l i n g wi t h t h e mor e g e n e r a l i s s u e s p r e s e n t e d b yth e e x c h ange m o d e l. N ot abl y , M r. G rav es has pr es ent ed s i m i l art es t i m onyand a s i m i l ar

6 e c o n o m ic m o d e l re g a rd in g th e e x c h a n g e s p ro v is io n in s e v e ra l c a s e s . See T r. 555- 56. 11 D O E pi ckup al l ocat i ons . I n defe ndant ’ s vi ew , undert he O FF sche dul e, 5 T r oj an’ s fuel w oul d not have been pi cked up ent i r el yunt i l 2010, w hi ch means t hatT r ojan w oul d have ha d t o s t or e fue l ons i t e unt i l then i r r es pect i ve of w hetherD O E per form ed. D efe n d an t a l s o chal l enges m anyel ement s of the G ra v es M od el as speculat i ve an d ther efore l acking t he requ i si t e cert ai n ty r equi r ed t o aw ar d damages bas ed on i t

. W e t urn now t o t he part i cul ar s of the d a m a g e s m o d e l an d a p p lyth e sta n d a rd s f o r c a u sa tio n a n d re a so n a b le c e rta in ty b e lo w . I I

. E xchange s Pr ovi s i on In teg ra l to p lain tiff

s’ c laim is th e p ro p o sitio n th a t a r o b u s t m a rk e t to excha nge D O E acc ept ance al l ocat i ons w o u ld have de vel oped among t he v a rio u s u til it ie s in th e “ b u t-f o r” w o rld . T h is w o u ld h a v e b e e n d riv e n , in pl ai nt i ffs ’ vi ew , byan i ndus t ry - w i de i ncent i ve t o m axi m i ze e ffi ci encythr ough cons ol i dat i on of D O E pi cku p s an d t he s al e of unne eded e ar l ypi ckup al l ocat i ons . A t tr ial , p la i nt i ffs offe r ed a model fort he exc hange mar kett hat al l ow s PG E t o buyal l ocat i ons r es ul t i ng i n t he pi ck up of al l of T r oj an’ s fuel by t he end of 1999, an ac cel er at i on of 11 y ear s as compar ed t o the O FF sche dul e. T he t esti m o n yatt r i al and the foc us of the br i efi ng pos t
- t r i al cent er ed on the hypot het i cal excha nge mar ket and t he par t i es ’ di s agr eement as t o how hel pful it w o u ld h a v e b e e n to p lain tiff s, b o th in th e a v a ilab ili tyo f a llo c a tio n s a n d th e ir c o s t. P la in tif

f s ’ m o d e l w a s s p o n s o re d b yits e x p e rt , M r. F ra n k G ra v e s , a p ro f e ss io n a l ec o n o m ist, an d a p rin c ip a l o f th e c o n su lti n g f

irm , T h e B ra ttl e G rou p . M r. G rav es h as m u lt iple ac ad em ic de g ree s an d the c o u rt q u ali fied M r. G r aves as an expe r t i n ener gy i ndus t r y economi cs , el ectr i c ut i l i t ypr act i ces , and m arket s and m odel i ng. M r . G r aves has ext ens i ve expe r i ence as a t es t i fy i ng e x p e rt w itn e ss in sp e n t n u c lea r f u e l d a m a g e s c a se s. H e tak e s th e p o sitio n th a t, 6 i n t he “butfor ” w or l d of D O E ful l per form ance , pl ai nt i ffs w oul d have us ed the12

excha nges pr ovi s i on t o advanc e t hei r pl ace i n t he O FF S chedul e s o t hatal l of t hei rs pent nucl ear fuel w oul d have been r emoved by 1999, t he s econd y earof f u ll D O E p e rf

o rm a n c e . H e p roje c ts th a t it w o u ld h a v e c o s t p l a i n t i f f s $ 1 4 .9 m illio n to p u rc h a s e e a rl ie r s lo ts in th e p ic k u p q u e u e f ro m o th e r u tilit ie s . M r . G r aves des cr i bed hi s m odel as an att empt t o quant i fythe

re a so n a b le e x p e c tatio n th a t n u c lea r u til iti e s c o u ld h a v e h a d a s to w hatD O E per form ance w oul d h av e l ooked l i ke i n t he non- br eac h w or l d and w hat t he i m pl i cat i ons of thatw oul d have b e e n f o r th e f u e l o u td a tes , tha t is th e y e a r in w h ich a u til ityc o u ld h a v e e x p e c te d D O E to re m o v e a ll o f its s p e n t f

u e l. T r. 5 5 8 . W e w ill re f

e r to th is a s th e “ G ra v e s M o d e l.” T h e G ra v e s M o d e l is bas ed on M r . G r aves pr edi ct i on of how the for ces of s uppl yand demand for D O E S N F a c c e p tan c e a llo c a tio n s w o u ld h a v e c re a ted a m a r k e t f o r th e ir excha nge. M r . G r aves dr ew upon pool capa ci t y dat a and I SFS I dat a atvar i ous site s. T o e stim a te c o st, M r. G r a v e s u se d u til ityc o st d a ta f ro m th e p u b lic do m ai n for fou r cat ego ri es of cost s. T r. 56 0 (G raves)

. In 200 7 n om i nal dol l ars , his est i m at es ar e as foll ow s, 1

. W et po o l op era ti o n s an d m ainten an ce co sts - $ 8

. 7 m il li o n p er y ea r; 2

. D ry storag e o p era ti o n s an d m ainten an ce co sts - $ 4

. 4 m il li o n p er y ea r: 3. I SFS I cons t ruct i on cos t s - $43. 3 m i l l i on; 4. V ar i abl e ca s k cos t s ( t he cos tof addi ng a ca s k) - $800, 000. T r. 8 7 0 -7 1 (G ra v e s ). D emand i n M r . G r aves ’ m odel i s dr i ven bythe ex ist ing SN F st or age s p a c e a t th e v a rio u s n u c lea r u til iti e s a t an yo n e tim e d u rin g th e y e a rs in ques t i on. H e i dent i fi ed thos e poi nt s i n t i m e w hen “there w i l l be a c ons t r ai nt fac ed byei t heran oper at i ng pool ora s hut dow n faci li ty that cr eat es an economi c nee d fors pent fuel r emoval

. ” Tr. 587, 599. T hati s t o s ay , he i dent i fi es w hen pl ant s w oul d ei t her run outof s t or age s pace orcea s e oper at i on, gi vi ng t he oper at ort he ec onom i c i ncent i ve t o di sp o se of i t s s pentfuel asW e a g re e w ith h is a ss u m p tio n th a t, on c e a p lan t c e a se d o p e ra tin g , it 7 had eve r yi ncent i ve t o hand i t s fuel over t o D O E s o t hat i tcoul d el i m i nat e as m uch of i t s oper at i ng cos tas pos s i bl e. A non- oper at i ng pl antcan n o t de fr ay th e e x p e n se o f

sto rin g sp e n t f

u e l th ro u g h r e v e n u e . It th u s m a k e s e c o n o m ic s ens e fora cl os ed pl antt o t r ade f orthe ea r l i es tpi ckup al l ocat i ons avai l abl e.

A “ m u st m o v e ” n e e d is w h e n a u til itylo se s th e sto ra g e c a p a c ityto 8 unl oad i t s curr ent r eac t or cor e i nt o a w etpool i n the eve ntof emer gency , and t hus needs t o ei t herm ove fue l offs i t e ors t or e i tel s ew her e ons i t e, s uch as an IS F S I. 13 q u i c k l ya s p o s s i b l e . M r . Gr a v e s r e f e r s t o th i s f

u e l a s “ mu s tmo v e ” f

u e l

. He 7 t hen t oo k represent at i ve operat i on s and m ai ntenance ( “O & M ”) w etpo ol cost s, t he cost of bui l di ng an ISFSI, and t he cost of m ai nt ai ni ng an exi s t i ng I SFS I , or addi ng a s t or age c as k t o an I SFS I , t o est i m at e the cos t s fac i ng ut i l i t i es i n a “mustm o ve” s i tuat i on. B ycombi ni ng t he “mustm ove” ne eds and r epr es ent at i ve cos t s , M r . G r aves a s s ert s t hati ti s pos s i bl e t o s or tut i l i t i es and r ank them on t he bas i s of thei rw i l l i ngnes s t o payt o m ove up i n t he queue

. T he M odel as s um es t hatt hos e w ho w oul d “pr es um pt i vel yhave s oughtand n eg o ti ated an d p rev ail ed in a m ark et p ro c e s s to o b tai n ri g h ts i f th eyw ere f u n g ib le” a re th e u til iti e s w ill in g to p a yth e m o st. T r. 6 3 7 (G ra v e s); see al so g e n e ra lly PX 334 atPG E _E X P000013. T h e “ s u p p l y ” s i d e o f

th e mo d e l i s p r o v i d e d b yth e a v a i l a b l e DOE a c c e p ta n c e a llo c a tio n s , a s i d e n tif ie d in th e 1 9 8 7 A C R

. See PX 107. T he G r aves M odel a ssu m es thatanyut i l i t yw i t hout“mustm ove” ne eds w oul d be w i l l i ng t o sel l i t s pi cku p all ocati on s. 8 T hatas s um pt i on in pl ace , M r . G r aves found the i nt er s ect i on of the s uppl yand demand curves and ca l cul at ed a c l ear i ng pr i ce f o r th e exchange s m ark et. A cc o rdin g to M r. G rav es, th e c learing p ri ce is th e p ri ce at w h ich a ctors in a ra tio n a l m a rk e t w o u ld a g re e to e x c h a n g e th e ira llo c a tio n ri g h ts

. See T r. 605. M r . G r aves t hen appl i ed that cos t “annua l l y t o the r i ght s t hat[ea ch nucl ear re a c to r site ] w o u ld n e e d to b u y o r se ll in o rd e r t o c u re th e ir p ro b lem s in a tim e ly fas hi on. ” Tr. 605. T he ava i l abl e ca paci t yof the pr ogr am for e ach y eari s t hen appl i ed t o the above- des cr i bed r anki ng of ut i l i t i es “i n the m arket ” w ho w oul d be s eeki ng acc ept ance al l ocat i ons fort hei r m us tm ove fue l t haty ear . I n t he ca s e of Tr oj an,14

t he G r aves M odel pr edi ct s t hatthe netpr i ce t o P G E to pur chas e ac cept ance al l ocat i ons s uffi ci entforal l 359 M T U ’ s of i t s SN F t o be rem o v ed bythe end of 1999 w oul d be $14. 9 m i l l i on. PX 1 atG r aves 22. T he i m p o rt an ce o f an e a rlier f u e l-o u t d a te is th a t ita llo w s p lain tiff s to c laim a s d a m a g e s a ll rea l w o rld cos t s i ncurr ed af

t ert he dat e of pr oj ect ed pi ckup. D e f e n d a n t o p p o se s an y a w a rd o f d a m a g e s b a se d o n a n e x c h a n g e m o d e l. I t t hus di d not offe r a compet i ng m odel

. I ns t ead, defe ndant ar gues t h at the G r a v e s M o d e l i s u n r e l i a b l e a n d d o e s n o t s a t i s f y t h e t e s t f

o rr e a s o n a b l e c e r t a i n t y. T he F ederal C i rcui thas up held dam ages aw ards based on t he ex chan ges cl ause a n d th e G ra v e s M o d e l, s ee Y ankee A t om i c E l ec. C o. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 679 F. 3d 1 2 5 4 , 1 3 5 9 -6 0 (F e d . C ir. 2 0 1 2 ); D ai r yland P ow er C o- op. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 645 F

. 3 d 1 3 6 3 (F ed

. C ir

. 2 0 1 1 ), alth o u g h the m o d el ha s n o t m et w ith u n ifo rm e n th u s ia s m in th is c o u rt , s ee Kan. G as & El ec. C o. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 9 5 F e d . C l. 257, 291 ( 2010) , aff’ d i n par tand re v’ d i n par t by F. 3d 1361 ( Fed. C i r . 2012) (rev ersing tr ial co u rt ’s refu sal o f ce rt ain ov erh ea d co sts an d af firm ing the re st)

. D efe ndant i ns i s t s t hat the O FF S chedul e i s the onl yr el i abl e met hod for d e ter m in in g w h e n D O E w o u ld h a v e p ick e d u p th e las t o f p lain tiff s’ s p e n t f u e l. A ccor di ng t o defe ndant , i n t he “but

- for ” w or l d, pl ai nt i ffs w oul d have be en r equi r ed t o oper at e a w etpool unt i l D O E pi cked up the l as tof the SN F fr om T roj an in 201 0. D efen dan tat t acks t he assum pti on s behind M r. G raves’ e x c h a n g e m a rk e t in p rin c ip le a n d a lso c h a llen g e s th e su f f icie n c yo f

h is d a ta s a m p lin g f

o r s e v e ra l k e ym o d e l in p u ts

. T hes e compet i ng ar gum ent s l eave thi s courtw i t h the t as k of det erm i ni ng w h at w o u ld h av e h ap p en ed h ad D O E p erf o rm ed ac co rdin g to the stan d ard c o n t r a c t

. T h i s r e q u i r e s t h e c o u r tt o d e t e r mi n e wh e t h e ra ma r k e tf o rDOE S NF pi ck- up al l ocat i ons w oul d have de vel oped, w hetherPG E w oul d have par t i ci pat ed i n t hi s m arket , how m uch i t w oul d have cos t , and w hen al l ocat i ons w oul d have be en ava i l abl e t o PG E

. W e turn fi r s tt o t he quest i on of w hetheran e x c h a n g e m a rk e t w o u ld h a v e d e v e lo p e d

. A

. T he Exchanges M arket D e f e n d a n t b e g in s it s as sa u lt o n th e G ra v e s M o d e l b y p o in tin g o u t th a t, undert he St andar d C ont r act , D O E coul d r efus e i n i t s so l e di s cr et i on t o al l ow an excha nge r eques t for any purpos e. D O E encour aged ut i l i t i es t o p ur s ue e x c h a n g e s, h o w e v e r, b yc re a tin g a n e lec tro n ic b u lletin b o a rd to f a c ili tate e x c h a n g e s. A n d b o th D O E a n d th e u til iti e s w o u ld b e n e f it fro m e c o n o m ic15

ef ficien cies of sca le in a red u ce d n u m b er of p ick-u p tr ips pe r y e a r. See T r. 2730- 31 ( Z abr ans ky )

. K ei t h K l ei n, w ho w as t he m anage r of D O E ’ s R i chl and O per at i ons O ffi ce i n R i chl and, W A fr om 1999 t o t he pre s ent , t es t i fi ed thatthe ex ch an g es p rov isi o n all o w ed fo r th e o p era tio n o f “ c o m m o n sen se” in D O E ’s p i c k u p o f

s p e n tf u e l a s s e mb l i e s . P l s ’ De s i g n a t e d T e s t i mo n yA- 1 7

. He e x p lain e d th a t stric tly f

o llo w in g th e O F F sc h e d u le w o u ld h a v e b e e n “ d if f icu lt to im p le m e n t” a n d th a t it d id n o t m a k e s e n s e o p e ra tio n a lly. I d. In M r. K lei n ’s vi ew , t he deve l opm entof an al l ocat i on excha nge w as a pot ent i al amel i or at i on t o t he oper at i onal di ffi cul t i es pr es ent ed byt he O FF sch ed u le. H e s t at ed that D O E w as open t o th e exch ang e of a l l ocati on s as l on g as i tdid not i ncrease D O E ’s p ic k u p c o s ts

. See i d. a t A -1 7 to A -1 8

. W e a re e n tit led to a ss u m e th a t D O E w o u ld c o o p e ra te in g o o d f a ith to benef i ti t s ut i l i t y cus t om er s , t axpay er s , and i t s el f. W e al s o cr edi tt he evi dence th a t D O E w o u ld h a v e e n c o u ra g e d e x c h a n g e s a n d b e e n c o o p e ra tiv e w ith excha nge r eques t s . T h ere w oul d have be en no i ncent i ve fori tnott o have c o o p e ra te d

. A s forpot ent i al pol i t i cal and comm uni t ypr es s ur es t o r emove spe ntfuel as s oon as pos s i bl e, w e have no re as on t o t hi nk thatthos e pr es s ur es w oul d be g r e a t e rt h a n t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d c o mm u n i t yd e s i r e t o e l i mi n a t e e x p o s u r e t o S NF dur i ng r epea t ed s hi pm ent s . C ert ai nl y , SN F cont ai ned i n a contr ol l ed pool and s h i p p e d i n f

e we rt r i p s , mo s tl i k e l yo n e t r i p , i s a tl e a s ta s d e s i r a b l e a s S NF cont ai ned i n a contr ol l ed pool and s hi pped i n par t i al l oads overt en y ear s . T hus t he courtcr edi t s evi dence t hatpol i t i cal and comm uni t ypr es s ur es w oul d not p re v e n t th e o p e ra tio n o f a S N F p ick u p a llo c a tio n e x c h a n g e m a rk e t. N ordo w e ac ceptdef

en dant ’ s cr i t i ci s m thatpl ai nt i ffs s houl d i dent i fy s p e c i f i c t r a d i n g p a r t n e r s t h a twou l d h a v e e x c h a n g e d SNF a l l o c a t i o n s wi t h PGE. D O E was t o b e g i n p e r f o r ma n c e i n 1 9 9 8 a n d h a s y e t t o b e g i n . D O E has not pr ovi ded a r el i abl e es t i m at e of w hen i tw i l l beg in p ickin g up SN F. For pl ai nt i ffs t o have a ny o ppor tuni t yt o i dent i fySN F exchange par t ner s , the nucl ear i ndus t r y w oul d need s om e i ndi cat i on thatD O E w i l l per form and w hen. “The defe ndant w ho has w r ongful l y br oken a contr acts houl d notbe perm i t t ed t o r eap a dvant age f

r om hi s ow n w r on g byi ns i s t i ng on pr oof w hi ch byr eas on of hi s br eac h i s unobt ai nabl e. ” Locke , 2 8 3 F .2 d a t 5 2 4

. D e f e n d a n t’s b re a c h is th e re a so n th a t p lain tiff s c a n n o t id e n tifysp e c if ic tra d in g p a rtn e rs. It is s uffi ci enti f pl ai nt i ffs can s how t he economi c l i kel i hood of an a l l ocat i on m arket a n d th e a b s e n c e o f

s e ri o u s im p e d im e n ts to th e irp a rt ic ip a tio n .T h e term “b ase ca se” ref ers to tha t i terati o n o f h is m o d el th at M r. 9 G ra v e s p re s e n te d to b e th e m o s t lik e ly sc e n a ri o .

P or t l and G en. E l ec. C o. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 100 Fed. C l

. 46 ( 2011) 10 (c o n tin u e d ...) 16 D efe ndant ’ s chi ef ex per t , D r . N euber ger , agr eed thatt he exc hanges pr ovi s i on of the St andar d C ont r actm ade the exc hange mar ketbot h pos s i bl e and lik e ly . T r. 2 0 8 2

. H e a lso c o n f irm e d th a t a s h u ttere d p lan t th a t h e ld i ns uffi ci ent l ycool ed s pentfuel w oul d be l i kel yt o t r ade a nypi ckup al l ocat i on o f w h ich it co u ld n o t a c tu a llym a k e u se . H e f u rth e r c o n f

irm e d th e e c o n o m ic v a l u e o f a n e x c h a n g e ma r k e t t o u t i l i t i e s s u c h a s P GE wh o we r e f u r t h e rd o wn th e p ic k u p q u e u e . W e fi nd t hatt he exc hanges pr ovi s i on w oul d m os t l i kel yhave be en us ed byt he ut i l i t i es i n t he “but

- for ” w or l d of D O E per form ance t o es t abl i s h a mar ket forexcha ngi ng al l ocat i ons . E vi dence w as pr es ent ed t o es t abl i s h t hatnucl ear ut i l i t i es act i vel y so u g h t a nd bar gai ned fort he addi t i on of the exc hanges pr ovi s i on t o t he St andar d C ont r act

. I t i s no s t r et ch of i m agi nat i on t o fi nd that a ll p a rties in v o lv e d w o u ld h a v e b e e n w ill in g to e x c h a n g e a llo c a tio n s to m axi m i ze s avi ngs and ef fi ci ency . W e conc l ude thatut i l i t i es w oul d have t aken advant age of

t he excha nges pr ovi s i on and t hat D O E w oul d have c ooper at ed, as it s ta rt e d to d o in 1 9 9 5 w h e n it c re a te d its e le c tr o n ic b u lle tin b o a rd

. T hat is n o tt o s ay , how ever , t hatt he exc hange mar ketw oul d have oper at ed pr eci s el yas M r . G r aves pos i t s i n hi s m odel

. D efe ndantpr es ent ed the cour tw i t h a numberof cr i t i cism s ai m ed atcr i t i cal poi nt s of the oper at i on of Gr a v e s M o d e l

. We e x a mi n e th o s e b e l o w. B

. D efe ndant ’ s A r gum ent s A gai ns tT he G r aves M odel 1

. M r . Gr a v e s Ha s I n c o n s i s t e n t l yP r e d i c t e d T r o j a n ’ s Ye a rOf Fuel R emoval M r . G r aves has t es t i fi ed i n a numberof SN F cas es and pr es ent ed vary i ng i t erat i on s of his m od e l. O f n ecessi t y , T roj an’s behav i or i s predi ct ed in tho se m odel s . D efe ndantpoi nt s outthatthe “bas e ca s e” i n t he G r aves M odel has 9 i ncons i s t ent l y pr edi ct ed T r oj an’ s fuel

- outdat e. I n pr evi ous cas es , the G r aves M odel pr edi ct ed thatT r oj an w oul d nothave i t s fuel r emoved befor e 2000 or 20 01

. D efen dan tassert s that because plai nti ffs’ “ b ase case” fl uctuat es,

10(

. . . cont i nued) 10 (1 9 9 9 T rojan f

u e l-o u t d a te) ; Kas . G as and E l ec. C o. , 95 Fed. C l

. 257 ( 2010) (“ Kans as G as ” ) (2 0 0 0 T rojan f u e l-o u t d a te) ; P aci

f i c G as and E l ec. C o. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 9 2 F ed

. C l. 1 7 5 (20 1 0 ) (“ P aci f i c G as ”) (20 0 0 T r oj an fue l

- out d a te) ; Y ankee A t om i c El ec. C o. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 94 Fed. C l

. 678 ( 2010) ( 2001 T rojan f u e l-o u t d a te) ; s ee T r . 824- 26 ( G r aves ) ( M r . G r aves ’ t es t i m ony c o n c e rn in g h is e s tim a te o f T roja n ’s f

u e l- o u t d a te in p ri o r c a s e s ). 17 p lain tiff s h a v e f a iled to c a rryth e ir b u rd e n to p ro v e th a t th e G ra v e s M o d e l is re liab le o r th a t p lain tiff

s w o u ld h a v e u til ize d e x c h a n g e s to a c h iev e a 1 9 9 9 f u e lo u t d a te a t a c o s t o f

$ 1 4 .9 m illio n . Pl ai nt i ffs r es pond byexpl ai ni ng t hatT r oj an’ s fuel

- outdat e of 2000 pr es ent ed i n Kans as G as and P aci f i c G as w as due t o 19 M T U s t hats pi l l ed over i nt o t hat y ear . Pl ai nt i ffs ar gue t hatanydi ffe r ence s betw een thos e ea r l i ercas es and the curr entcas e r efl ect s i ncr eas ed pr eci s i on as t he model has been r efi ned and i m pr oved. Pl ai nt i ffs fur t herexpl ai n tha tthe G r aves M odel w as adj us t ed bys w i t chi ng fr om an “M T U b ase d m odel ” t o one i n w hi ch i ndi vi dual a s s e m b l ie s a re th e u n it o f in p u t, p ro v id in g m o re p re c is io n . See T r . 809 ( G r aves )

. I n addi t i on, pl ai nt i ffs expl ai n t hatthe sp il lover“mi ghteas i l yhave been a ccomm odat ed i n ot herw ay s t hatdi d noti m pl yanydi ffe r ence i n r emoval dat e –e. g. , w i t h t he +/

- 20% ‘ s w i ng’ i n acce p tanc e vol um e thatt he C ont r act al l ow s ut i l i t i es t o exer ci s e. ” PX 354 atPG E 2- 00000080. Pl ai nt i ffs expl ai ned that the 2001 T r oj an fue l

- outdat e pr edi ct ed i n Y a n ke e A to m ic w as d u e to

“ o v e rlyc o n se rv a tiv e a ss u m p tio n s” a b o u t h o w m u c h th e G E /M o rris f a c ili ty w o u ld b e w il li n g to payto h av e f u el i ts r em o v ed

. P ls’ R ep lyB r. 1 7 (cit ing T r. 810 ( G r aves ) )

. M r . G r aves expl ai ned that , i n Y ankee , he treated the cos t s of storag e a t th e G E /M o rri s fa cil itya s e q u a l to the c o sts th at th e p lai n ti ff there incu rred fo r w et po o l st o rag e, resu lt ing in G E /M o rri s b eing w il li n g to p aym o re t han i t ot herw i s e m i ght have a nd thus t aki ng al l ocat i ons otherw i s e ava i l abl e for p u rc h a s e b yT roja n . See T r. 8 1 0 -1 1

. W e ar e notent i r el ycomfort ed bythes e expl anat i ons . T o t he court , they i l l us t r at e the f

rag il it yand el as t i ci t yof the model

. Pl ai nt i ffs bar el yfi ti nt o t he 19 99 pickup a l l ocati on s i n M r. G rave s’ m od el

. W e are consi derabl yl ess s a n g u i n e t h a n h i m t h a th i s p i c k s h o u l d b e tr e a t e d w i t h t o t a l c e r t a i n t y.Pl ai nt i ffs fur t herpoi ntoutt hat , al t hough defe ndantas s ert s t hat 11 pol i t i cal , s oci al, and ec onom i c r i s ks m ayhave pr event ed ut i l i t i es fr om par t i ci pat i ng i n an exc hanges m ark et, d efe ndantm akes no att empt t o m odel th o se risk s o r e x p lain h o w th o se risk s w o u ld a f f e c t th e G ra v e s M o d e l. 18 2. T he G r aves M odel A s s um es U ni ver s al Par t i ci pat i on D efe ndantas s e rt s th a tth e Gra ves M odel as s um es uni ver s al par t i ci pat i on i n the m arketfor exch ang e of S N F al l ocati on s. D efen dan tpo i nts t o p l ai nti ffs’ us e of a “s ens i t i vi t y anal y s i s ” t hat as s um es onl y hal f par t i ci pat i on i n t he mar ket as a t aci tadmi s s i on bypl ai nt i ffs t hatt he “ba s e ca se” assum es uni ver s al par t i ci pat i on. D efe ndantfur t herarg u es thatt he as s um pt i on of uni ver s al par t i ci pat i on m ake s the G r aves M odel unr el i abl e bec aus e of va r i ous m arket r i s ks t hat w oul d di s cour age s om e ut i l i t i es fr om par t i ci pat i ng i n the exc hange m a rk e t. Pl ai nt i ffs r es pond t hatthe G r aves M odel d o es notas s um e uni ver s al p a rt ic ip a tio n in th e m a rk e t, p o in tin g to te s tim o n yo f M r. G ra v e s , s ee T r . 642- 43, 830- 31, buthe admi t t ed that it is li kel yt hatl es s t han 100 per centof ut i l i t i es w oul d have par t i ci pat ed i n t he mar ket : “Sur e. I n the end, s om e w oul dn’ tneed t o b u yo rs e l l t o c h a n g e t h e i rp o s i t i o n a n d y o u ’ d g e ta s i mi l a r ou t c o me t o my m odel

. ” T r . 834. Pl ai nt i ffs d is m i s s t hi s as notfat al t o the G r aves M odel

11 b e c a u se th e n o n -p a rticip a tio n ra te w o u ld b e lo w . P lain tiff s d ire c t th e c o u rt to D r . N euber ger ’ s agr eementt hatexcha nges of D O E acc ept ance al l ocat i ons w oul d, i n fac t , enabl e ut i l i t i es t o r educe or avoi d cert ai n i m por t ant t ypes of r i s k, w hi ch is to sayt hatthe i ncent i ve t o excha nge al l ocat i ons appl i ed ac r os s the i ndus t r yand s uppor t s t he as s um pt i o n of a hi gh l evel of part i ci pat i on i n the m a rk e t. See T r . 2 0 8 8 , 2090- 91 ( N euber ger )

. “H i gh” part i ci pat i on i s not uni ver s al par t i ci pat i on, how ever , and M r . G r aves’ m odel i s s o t i ght l yw ound th a t w e a re u n w illin g to a c c e p t h is a s s u ra n c e o f its p re c is io n . 3. O m i s s i on of the Li m i t ed Suppl yScenar i o Pr es ent ed i n E ar l i er C ases A not hers cena r i o w as projec t ed byM r . G r aves i n P aci f i c G as and Kans as G as . T her e, pl ai nt i ffs i ncl uded a l i m i t ed suppl ys ens i t i vi t yanal y s i s t hat res ult ed in a T roj an fu el -outdate of 20 05

. T hat s cenari o w as pres ented i n those ca s e s t o a d d r e s s “ a n u mbe ro f p o t e n t i a l b a r r i e r s t o e x c h a n g e s , i n c l u d i n g the pot ent i al t hats om e exc hanges m aynothave be en appr oved byD O E , ort hat s om e ut i l i t i es m ayhave been u n w i l l i ng t o offe rt hei rr i ght s forexcha nge, orD efe ndantal s o ques t i ons w hether t hi s w as t rul yal l of the i nform at i on 12 t hatw as r eadi l yavai l abl e t o pl ai nt i ffs. I n i t s pos t
- t r i al br i efi ng, defe ndant s ugges t s a var i etyof t act i cs thatm i ght have be en empl oy ed t o gathergr eat er co st i n fo rm ati o n , m o st of w h ich h av e to d o w ith p lai n ti ff s’ co u n sel’s (c o n tin u e d ...) 19 ot herr eas ons t hat the m arketm aynothave be en per fec t l ycompet i t i ve or eff i ci ent

. ” D X 165 atA

- 13. T he s cena r i o w as one “w i t h s ever el yr es t r i ct ed s uppl yof exc hanges

. ” I d. T he sce nar i o us ed a D O E acc ept ance r at e hal f that o f the rate estab li sh ed in th e 19 8 7 A C R as a “co n serv ati v e pro x y ” fo r a situ a tio n in w h ich m a n yu til it ie s a re “ e n tirelyu n w ill in g ” to se ll th e ir a llo c a tio n s . I

d. Pl a i n t i f f s r e s p o n d b y c i t i n g t e s t i mon y f r o m M r . Gr a v e s i n w hi ch he expl ai ns t hatt he Li m i t ed Suppl yScenar i o d escr i bed i n thos e ca s es pr es ent ed a s ever e ca s e i n w hi ch the mar ketw as onl yhal f of w hati tw oul d actual l ybe u n d e r t h e 1 9 8 7 A C R ra te s . See T r . 812. H e bel i eves t he s ens i t i vi t ys cena r i os p re se n ted in th is c a se a re m o re d ire c tlyre sp o n siv e to d e f e n d a n t’s s p e c if

ic c ri tiq u e s . See T r . 811. W e con side r th e om i s s i on of thi s s cena r i o i n our h o l d i n g b e l o w.

4 . S to ra g e C o st E stim a tes A re U n re liab le O ne s peci fi c s ens i t i vi t yi n the G r aves M odel conce r ns t he cos tof s t or i ng SN F atvar i ous ut i l i t i es acr os s t he c o u n tr y beca us e i tr epr es ent s a fi gur e that u ti li ti es w o u ld h av e so u g h t t o av o id by p u rch asin g all o ca ti o n s. Itis th u s v ery im p o rta n t to M r. G ra v e s’ e stim a te o f h o w m u c h th e u til iti e s w o u ld h a v e p a id to p u rc h a se th e a llo c a tio n s. D e f e n d a n t c o n ten d s th a t th e sto ra g e c o sts u se d in M r. G raves’ m od el are unrel i able because (1) theyare es t i m at es of co st s acr oss t he ent i r e i ndus t r yr athert han anyone ut i l i t y ’ s actual cos t s , ( 2) t heyar e der i ved fr om a veryl i m i t ed dat a sampl e, and (3) t hr ee of the dat a poi nt s us ed t o aver age w e t p o o l O & M c o s ts a c ro s s th e in d u s tr ya re m is c a lc u la te d

. T he fa ctt hat M r. G raves em ploy s est i m at es d eri ved from sam ples across t he i ndus t r y , w hi ch ar e then appl i ed t o s peci fi c ut i l i t i es i ndi vi du al l yt o m odel t hei ri ndi vi dual economi c behavi or , i s i nappr opr i at e i n defe ndant ’ s vi ew . For defe ndant , s peci fi c cos t s fora s peci fi c u ti li t youghtt o have be en us ed, esp ec ial lyfo r P G E b ec au se p lai n ti ff s h av e a ctua l cos t data f

o r T rojan

. F u rth er, defe ndantvi ew s t he number of ut i l i t i es fr om w hi ch M r . G r aves dr ew dat a t o be w h o lly in su f

f icie n t. M r. G ra v e s tes tifie d th a t h e e m p lo y e d th re e d a ta p o in ts

12(

. . . cont i nued) 12 re p re s e n ta tio n o f

o th e r u tilit ie s o r M r. G ra v e s ’ w o rk f o r o th e r u tilit ie s . 20 for the categoryof w etpo ol O & M cost s and 1 4 d ata p oint s for I S F S I cost s. See, e. g. Tr

. 87 1- 72 , 87 4. Thi s i s w ho l l yi na de qu a t e w he n the un i ve r s e of U

. S. nu cl ear ut i l i t i es i s approx i m at el y 1 2 0, i n d efen dan t ’s view

. D efen dan tal so ch all en g es M r. G rav es’ e sti m ate o f w et po o l cos ts ba sed o n M r. N eu b erg er’s t es t i m onyt hatM r . G r aves s er i ous l ym i s cal cul at ed thos e cos t s fro m the t hr ee dat a poi nt s he us ed. D r . N euber gert es t i fi ed that , had M r . G r aves corr ect ed t hes e err or s , t he cos t s o f w et p o o l O & M w oul d have r i s en by“35 t o 45 p e rc e n t,” w h ich w o u ld h a v e “ in c re a se [ d ] . . . e x c h a n g e c o sts ” f o r P G E d u e to i t s s peci fi c s ens i t i vi t yt o w etpool cos t s atT r oj an. T r . 2041. D efe ndantur ges th e c o u rt to re

je c t th e G ra v e s M o d e l b a s e d o n th e s e d e f e c ts

. P lain tiff s re sp o n d th a t M r. G ra v e s u se d 1 0 0 p e rc e n t o f th e a v a ilab le d a ta att he t i m e he cr eat ed t he m odel

. T her e w er e onl y14 ut i l i t i es s egr egat i ng w et pool cos t s att he t i m e and on lys i x oper at i ng drys t or age f aci l i t i es . B as ed on t hi s , pl ai nt i ffs ar gue thatM r . G r aves per form ed as tho rough and a ccur at e an es t i m at e as pos s i bl e. Pl ai nt i ffs poi ntout t hat nei t her D r . N euber gernorany one el s e pr es ent ed bydefe ndantpr ov ided addi t i onal ordi ffe r entdat a poi nt s that w oul d cal l i n t o ques t i on M r . G r aves’ w o rk. M r . G r aves r es ponded t o t he as s er t i on t hati tw oul d have be en more ap p r opr i at e t o us e ac tual cos t s by ar gui ng t hatut i l i t i es w er e not aw ar e of t hei r actual cos t s foroper at i ng w etpool f a c ili ties o r c o n stru c tin g IS F S Is b e c a u se u til iti e s w ith o p e ra tin g w e t p o o ls d id not br eak out t hei r cos t s i n t hat m anner and becaus e ver yfew I SFS I s exi s t ed, m eani ng t hatt he ut i l i t i es have be en oper at i ng w i t h gr os s es t i m at es themsel ves in d e te rm in in g th e irw illin g n e s s to p a yf o r e x c h a n g e s . M r . G r aves di d admi tthatone of hi s i nput s forw ets t or age c os t s had an i n c o n s i s t e n c yi n i t s a c c o u n t i n g f o r i n f l a t i o n . He t e s t i f

i e d th a tth e o t h e rtwo i nput s us ed t o es t i m at e w ets t or age c os t s w er e ac cur at e. H e expl ai ned thatt he d ata w ith w h ich h e h ad to w o rk w as in co m p let e a n d im m ature d u e in larg e p art t o t he fa ctt hat , pr i ort o t he l at e 1990s , ut i l i t i es di d notbr eak o u t w ets t or age c o s ts f ro m o th e r O & M c o s ts

. T r. 8 9 8

. In o rde r t o d em o n str ate tha t suc h erro rs w er e mi nori n i m pact , M r . G r aves r an var i ous s ens i t i vi t y anal y s es t o cons i der a ra n g e o f co sts–u p to d o u b le th o se u sed in the b ase ca se. T h e re su ltw as “ v ery in sig n if ica n t” in h is v iew : a 1 9 9 9 to 2 0 0 0 f u e l-o u t d a te a n d a ra n g e o f c o sts f ro m $ 6 .4 m ill io n to $ 2 5 .4 m ill io n . W e tak e th is r a n g e o f o u tco m e s in to cons i der at i on i n ourfi ndi ng r egar di ng the fue l outdat e and c os tt o excha nge.21 5. T he M odel A s s um es U t i l i t i es W oul d M axi m i ze Thei rPool C a p a c i t y D efe ndantar gues t hatt he G r aves M odel i s unr el i abl e bec aus e i tus es t he m a x im u m c a p a c ityd a ta f ro m D O E ’s 1 9 9 5 S p e n t F u e l S to ra g e R e q u ire m e n ts r epor t( “SFSR ”)

. U s i ng t he maxi m um capac it y d at a as s um es thatal l ut i l i t i es w o u ld b e a b le to lice n se th e ir sp e n t f u e l p o o ls u p to th e ir m a x im u m c a p a c ity and w oul d pur s ue t hi s s t r at egy r egar dl es s of cos t

. T he 1995 SFSR m axi m um capa ci t ydat a w as excl uded purs uant t o Feder al R ul e of E vi dence 702 i n Kans as G as beca us e the courtfound i t t o be unr el i abl e, both beca us e pl ai nt i ff a s s um ed t hatt hi s extr a s pace w as avai l abl e and w oul d be us ed byal l of the otherut i l i t i es i n t he i ndus t r yand bec aus e r el i ance on i t w oul d caus e i nacc ur at e es t i m at es of t he ut i l i t i es ’ need t o m ove thei rfuel orl os e ade quat e r ese rve d stor age s pace . See 95 Fed. C l

. at 289- 91. D efe ndant al s o as s ert s t hatM r . G r aves coul d have obt ai ned updat ed di s char ged dat a fr om hi s cl i ent s and fr om i nform ati o n now av ail ab le ab o u t th e a ctua l op era ti o n o f th e n u c le ar p o w er ind u strym o re g e n e ra lly. Pl a i nt i ff s r e s po nd byr e i t e r a t i ng t ha tt he pu rpo s e of us i ng t he 19 95 SFSR dat a i s “t o det erm i ne w hen ea ch fa ci l i ty w o u l d [have ] fac e[d] a cons t r ai nt r equi r i ng s pentfuel r emoval , i dent i fy i ng t he t i m i ng and the quant i t y of fue l t hat w oul d need t o be r emoved t o r es ol ve the M ust M ove condi t i on. ” PX 334 at P G E

_ E X P 0 0 0 0 1 0 .2 8 . P lain tiff s f u rth e r c o n ten d th a t D O E d e v e lo p e d th e d a ta f o r th e p u rp o se o f d e ter m in in g w h e n u til iti e s’ w e t p o o ls w o u ld re a c h c a p a c ity and w hen theyw oul d have had t o expl or e others t or age opt i ons . D r . N euber ger conce ded thathe had not col l ect ed anyupdat ed pool capa ci t ydat a, “s o [he doe s n o t] k n o w ex ac tl yh o w theyw o u ld . .

. p u sh the m o d el. ” T r. 2 0 9 5 -96

. In r es pons e t o t he cour t ’ s excl us i on of the 1995 SFSR i n Kans as G as , M r . G r aves c o m p a re d w h a t th e 1 9 9 5 S F S R p r e d ic ted a n d w h a t ac tu a llyh a p p e n e d in h i n d s i g h ta s t o wh e n s t o r a g e c a p a c i t i e s we r e r e a c h e d a t t h e v a r i o u s u t i l i t i e s . He found t hat “the di ffe r ence betw een actual and proj ect ed di s char ges i s l es s than t w o per centcumul at i v ely , i n anyy earbetw een 1993 a nd 2002. ” Tr. 747- 48. M r. G rav es c o n clud ed that a m o d el ba sed o n the 1 9 9 5 S F S R d ata w as v ery a c c u ra te e v e n 1 0 to 1 5 y e a rs a f te r t h e d a te o f

th e d a ta

. S ee T r. 747- 48. P lain tiff s f u rth e r p re se n t a s e n sitiv itys c e n a rio th a t u se s th e lice n se d c a p a c ity dat a fr om t he 1995 SFSR

. U nders ensit ivi t ys cena r i o num ber3, us i ng the l i cens ed ca paci t y i ns t ead of m axi m um capa ci t y , t he r es ul tforT r oj an i s thatthe fi nal fuel

- outdat e s l i ps t o 20 01, and the netcos tof exc hanges r emai ns t he sam e, $1 4. 9 m i l l i on . P D X 1 at G raves27 ( see “ c a se 3 ” ); see al so PX 334 atD e fe nd a nta l s o a r gu e s tha tM r . G r a ve s ’ c ompa r i s on of the 19 95 SFSR 13 d a ta a n d th e 2 0 0 4 A C R is n o t v e ryp ro b a tiv e b e c a u se th e 2 0 0 4 A C R o n ly r e p o r t s d is c h a rg e d a ta th ro u g h 2 0 0 2 , s ee T r. 20 63 -64 ( N eub erger ), w hich is w e ll b e f o re th e d isc re p a n c yb e tw e e n th e 2 0 0 6 a n d 2 0 0 9 f u e l-o u t d a tes in Kans as G as . D r . N euber gert es t i fi ed that t he D O E / othercat egoryr epr es ent ed fue l 14 f ro m “ e ig h t o r m o re s ite s .” T r. 2 0 4 5

. 22 PG E

_ EXP0 0 0 0 2 7

. W e f i n d th e a s s u mpt i o n ma d e b yM r . Gr a v e s ’ i s r el evant to o u r n e e d to a d

ju s t th is m o d e l a s w e d o b e lo w . 6 . U n re liab le D isc h a rg e D a ta D efe ndan tc r i t i c i z e s M r . Gr a v e s ’ u s e o f d i s c h a r g e d a t a f

r o m t h e 1 9 95 SFS R i n hi s m odel , w hi ch, l i ke the maxi m um capa ci t ydat a, i nfl uence s t he m odel ’ s pr oj ect i on of w hen a ut i l i t yw oul d r eac h i t s s t or age c apac i t yand nee d t o m ove i t s fuel

. T hi s w as t he s ame appr oach t aken by M r . G r aves ’ fi r m i n t he Kans as G as cas e. D efe ndantpoi nt s outthatthe evi dence at tr i al i n Kans as s how ed a ve r y di ffe r ent fuel

- out dat e for t he re l evant pl antas compar ed t o the date pr esent ed b yt he 1 99 5 S F S R

. In that cas e, D r. M urphy(M r. G raves’ coll eagu e) m anu al l yadjust ed the fuel- ou tdate i n hi s m od el bu tdid not adj ust othe rda t e s pr e s e nt e d byt he SFSR. D e fe nd a ntpo s i t s tha tthi s s ho w s the SFSR di s char ge dat a t o be an unr el i abl e bas i s fr om w hi ch t o der i ve i ndus t r ydemand in th e p re s e n t c a s e . Pl ai n t i f f s a n s wert hatM r . G r aves , i n r es pons e t o t hi s cr i t i ci s m , compar ed t he 1995 d isch ar ge dat a i n hi s m odel w i t h t he ac tual di s char ge dat a gl eane d fr om t he 2004 D O E A C R

. H e found thatthe di ffe r ence betw een the tw o w as “less than tw o p erc en t cum u lat ively , in an yy ea r be tw ee n 1 9 9 3 an d 2 0 0 2

. ” T r. 13 7 4 7 . T h is f

a c to r i s c o n s id e re d in o u r a d ju s tm e n t o f

th e m o d e l b e lo w . 7

. T rea tm en t of

F u el L ab eled “D O E /O ther” D ef en d an t also ch all en g es M r. G rav es’ trea tm en t o f t h e “ D O E /othe r” fuel cat egoryi n hi s m odel as i f i t w er e fuel fr om a s i ngl e s i t e. T he D O E / other cat egoryi n fac tr epr es ent s s pent fu el s tor ed atvar i ous s i t es ar ound t he 14 c o u n try , the lar g e st o f w h ich is a t a f a c ili ty k n o w n a s “ G E M o rris.” G E M o rris i s a comm er ci al SN F s t or age f aci l i t yoper at ed byG ener al E l ectr i c and l ocat ed i n M or r i s , I l l i noi s . M r . G r aves t r eat s al l of t he fuel fr om t he “D oe/ other ” s i t es23

a s o n e site a n d u se s h is $8 .7 m ill io n w e t p o o l O & M c o sts f ig u re f o r o n e site to det erm i ne how m uch the ow ner s w oul d payt o avoi d cont i nui ng t o s t or e the fue l l ocat ed at t he var i ous s i t es . D efe ndant i ns i s t s t hat t hi s t r eatm ental l ow s T r oj an an ea r l i erfuel r emoval dat e underthe G r aves M odel than Troj an w o u ld have had i f the ac tual cos t s fort he var i ous components i t es w er e em p loy ed in the m odel

. I ti s unr eas onabl e, i n d ef en d ant ’ s vi ew , forM r . G r aves t o tr eatal l of t hi s fuel as havi ng onl y one $8. 7 m i l l i on cos tt o be avoi ded. D efe ndantar gues t hatt hi s ar t i fi ci al l y l ow er s t he pr i ce thatm i ghthave otherw i s e bee n pai d bythe var i ous ow ner s of the D O E / otherfuel , w hi ch i nur es t o pl ai nt i ffs ’ benef i ti n t he G ra v e s M o d e l b yre d u c in g c o m p e tit io n a n d lo w e rin g th e p ric e th a t P G E w o u ld h a v e h a d to p a yto h a v e th e T roja n f u e l p ic k e d u p e a rl y . D efe ndantal s o aver s thatM r . G r aves tr eat ed the D O E /otherfuel di ffe r ent l yi n t he Y

a n ke e A to m ic cas e. D r . N euber gers t at ed that , i n Y ankee , M r. G ra v e s u se d th e a c tu a l co sts p a id b y h is c li e n t to sto re f u e l at G E M o rris and us ed s om e s epar at e cos t s as s oci at ed w i t h ot hers i t es as w el l i n r anki ng t he u tilit ie s ’ w illin g n e s s to p a yf o r e a rl ie r a llo c a tio n s . See T r . 2051. D r . N euber ger s t at ed t hat t he r es ul t i n t he Y ankee cas e w as t hat s ever al ut i l i t i es m oved i n fr ont of Troj an i n M r . G r aves ’ r anki ng of w i l l i ngnes s t o payt o b u y ear l ypi ckup a llo c a tio n s. T h u s, in d e f e n d a n t’s v iew , the a p p lica tio n o f th a t m o re p re c ise d a ta to th e G ra v e s M o d e l p r e s e n ted in th is c a se w o u ld m o v e T rojan ’s p ick u p d a te l at ert han 1999. Pl ai nt i ffs r es pond t hatt he D O E / other fuel cat egoryi n M r . G r aves m odel is a g o o d e stim a te b e c a u se a p p ro x im a tel y 9 0 p e r c e n t o f th e sp e n t f

u e l w ith in t hatdat a poi nti s s t or ed att he G E M orr i s fac il it y , an d m uch of the r emai ni ng 1 0 p e rc e n t is o w n e d b yD O E , the re f o re tre a tm e n t o f “ D O E /o th e r” a s a sin g le s i t e pr ovi des t he bes tr epresen ta t i on of how i tw oul d acti n t he exc hanges m arket

. Pl ai nt i ffs s t at e thatt he s t or age c os t s forG E M orr i s ci t ed bydefe ndant “ar e br eac h w or l d cos t s i n a s i tuat i on w her e ut i l i t i es w i t h s pentfuel s t or ed at M or r i s l ack a l t ernat i ves forhavi ng thatfuel r emoved, and t her e i s no as s ur ance t he cos t s w oul d have be en the s am e in the non- br eac h w or l d. ” PX 354 at PG E 2- 00000081. A ddi t i onal l y , M r . G r aves p erf o rm ed a “ doubl e expa nded sto ra g e O & M c o st” se n sitiv ityc a se , w h ich “ m o re th a n su b su m e s w h a t w o u ld happen i f al l t hat ot her w as t e t hat w e know i s pay i ng fee s [t o G E ] tr i ed t o get o u t ah e a d o f

T rojan .” T r. 7 8 1 (G ra v e s); s ee ge ner al l y PX 354 at P G E 2 -0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 -8 2 ; P X 3 3 4 a t P G E

_ E X P 0 0 0 0 4 1 . T h a t se n sitiv itysc e n a rio r efl ect s a fuel

- out dat e of 2000 and a netcos tt o T r oj an of $12. 9 m i l l i on, w hi ch p l a i n t i f f s s t a t e c a n n o tj u s t i f

yw h o l e s a l e r e

j e c t i o n o f

th e G r a v e s Mo d e l

. We h a v e c o n s i d e r e d t h e e f

f e c to f th i s s c e n a r i o i n o u rh o l d i n g b e l o w.24 8

. Ac c o u n t i n g f

o rI n c e n t i v e t o Co n s o l i d a t e S h i p me n t s t o DOE D e f e n d a n t as se rts th a t th e v a rio u s u til iti e s’ in d iv id u a l in c e n tiv e to cons ol i dat e s hi pm ent s w oul d cr eat e add it iona l demand forexcha nge al l ocat i ons . U nder defe ndant ’ s theory , ut i l i t i es w oul d be mot i vat ed notj us tby m u st-m o v e c o n sid e ra tio n s b u t als o b y a d e sire to c o m b in e sh ip m e n ts e v e n if it m eant m ov i ng som e S N F earl y . T his m akes t he G raves M od el u n re liab le b e c a u se M r. G ra v e s d id n o t tak e in to a c c o u n t th e a d d iti o n a l d e m a n d th is c o u ld g e n e ra te a n d th e im p a c t itw o u ld h a v e o n c o sts a n d a v a ilab ili tyto P G E f o r e a rly a llo c a tio n s . P l ai nti ffs agree t hat exchan ges of D O E accep t ance a l l ocati on s w o u ld r es ul ti n cons ol i dat i on of s hi pm ent s , t o the bene fi tof bot h the i ndus t r yand D O E

. Pl ai nt i ffs ar gue thatt hi s i ncent i ve su p p or t s t he dynami cs behi nd t he G r aves M o d el. A ddi t i onal l y , pl ai nt i ffs s t at e thatdefe ndanthas pr es ent ed no evi dence s how i ng how t he i ncent i ve t o cons ol i dat e w oul d eff ectt he model one w a yo r th e o th e r a n d p o in t to v a rio u s a ttem p ts a t trial to g e t D r. N e u b e rg e r to d o s o . See T r . 2 0 9 2 -93 ( N euber ger ) ( m ade no e ffortt o quant i fys uch an i m pact ) ; T r . 2093: 11- 15 ( N euber ger ) ( coul d nots ay“w hi ch w ayi ncorpor at i on o f th o se c o n v en ienc e c o sts m igh t pu sh the m o d el. ”). O th e r u ti li tie s’ in c e n tiv e s to c o n so lid a te s h ip m e n ts to D O E is n o t a r e a s o n t o r e

j e c t t h e Gr a v e s M o d e l

. I t d o e s , h o wev e r , a l s o me a n t h a thi gher d e m a n d m a yh a v e lim ited su p p ly , es p e c iallye a rlier in tim e . W e tak e th a t in to c o n s i d e r a t i o n b e l o w.

9. D O E A ppr oval of Exchanges D efe ndantal so as s er t s thatthe G r aves M odel does notacc ountforthe risk th a t D O E m ig h t h a v e d isa p p ro v e d c e rta in e x c h a n g e s. D e f e n d a n t p o in ts to th e re su lt o f

th e lim ited su p p lysc e n a rio p r e s e n te d b yM r. G ra v e s’ f irm in pr evi ous SN F cas es t hat pr edi ct ed Troj an’ s fuel

- outdat e as 2005 as evi dence t hatt he G r aves M odel i s unr el i abl e. T hats cena r i o w as pr es ent ed as an ans w er t o t he pos s i bi l i ty , among ot herthi ngs , thatD O E m igh t di s appr ove of va r i ous excha nges i n t he P aci

f i c G as c a s e . See D X 1 6 5 at A -13 (G rav es’ E x p ert R ep o rt i n P aci f i c G as ) Pl ai nt i ffs r es pond t hat t he G r aves M odel does not r equi r e 10 0 per cent D O E a p p ro v a l o f

e x c h a n g e s b e c a u s e , a lth o u g h “ th e re c o u ld b e d is a llo w a n c e s ,” th e re a re “ m a n y p o ss ib le e x c h a n g e s tha t w o u ld a c h iev e th e sa m e u ltim a te25

r es ul t

. ” Tr. 713- 14 ( G r aves )

. T heynot e thatD r . N euber gerdecl i ned t o m odel th e e f f e c ts o f D O E d isa p p ro v a l an d th a t h e d id n o t k n o w w h a t e f f e c t itw o u ld have ha d on excha nges “one w ayorthe other

. ” Tr. 2133. Pl ai nt i ffs al s o di r ect t he courtt o ourdeci s i on D ai r yland , i n w hi ch w e found a s i m i l argovernm ent cr i t i ci s m t o be unava i l i ng: T he G overnm entcompl ai ns t hatM r . G r aves di d nott ake i nt o acc ount t he pos s i bi l i t yt hatD O E m i ghtnotappr ove of a r eques t ed exc hange or t he cost s t o D O E of fa ci l i t at i ng excha nges . H ow ever , the C our tcannot s ee a r eal i s t i c w ay forM r . G r aves t o have i ncorpor at ed the pos s i bi l i t yof non- appr oval s orG overnm ent cos t s of appr oval s i nt o hi s m odel , and the G overnm enthas notoffe r ed anys ugges t i on of how i tcoul d have done s o. D ai r yland , 9 0 F ed

. C l. at 63 3 (cit ati o n s o m itted). W e fi nd t hatD O E ’ s contr actual r i ght t o di s appr ove of excha nges i s not a r eas on t o r ej ectt he G r aves M odel

. T he i ndus t r yand D O E s har ed s i m i l ar i ncen t i ves t o c on sol i date s hipm ents and t hu s excha ng e al l ocati on s. A ddi t i onal l y , w e agr ee w i t h t he s t at ementi n D ai r yland t hatt he governm enthas notoffe r ed a s ugges t i on of how i t s houl d aff ect t he m odel and t hus w e dec l i ne t o as w el l , ot her t han t o s ay t hat t he poss i bi l i t y of di s appr oval i s nota r eas on to re jec t th e e x c h a n g e s m o d e l.

10. T r eatm entof Fai l ed Fuel D r . N euber gerobs erved t hat t her e i s no s epar at e t r eatm ent of fa i l ed fue l in th e G ra v e s M o d e l. See T r . 2068. A s m ent i oned ea r l i er , M r . Z abr ans ky t est i fi ed thatfai led f

u e l requi red di fferentl i censi ng and han dli ng . T hese di ffe r ence s m i ghthave r equi r ed D O E t o acc eptfai l ed fue l on a bas i s ot hert han p lain tiff s’ e x c h a n g e -a c c e ler a ted sc h e d u le. T h is , in d e f e n d a n t’s e y e s, c a sts do ub ton M r. G raves’ m od el , m aking i tan u nrel i able s cenari o o n w hich t o b ase a damages aw ar d. Pl ai nt i ffs r es pond byar gui ng t hat defe ndantdi d notnorcoul d i tal l ege how fa il ed fue l w oul d actual l yaff ectthe pi ckup s chedul e orthe exc hange of al l ocat i ons . Pl ai nt i ffs poi ntoutt hatnear l yever y n ucl earpow ergener at i ng f a c ili tyh a s so m e so rt o f f a iled f u e l, w h ich d id n o t ap p e a r p a rticu lar lyto tro u b le D O E w h e n it es tab lish e d th e O F F s c h e d u le n o r sh o u ld it af f e c t th e sc h e d u le aft eral l ocat i ons w er e exc hanged. Pl ai nt i ffs al s o r emi nd us of the t es t i m onyof26

M r . Fi s hert hat , i n t he r eal w or l d, PG E w as abl e t o handl e t he Troj an fa i l ed fue l w ith o u t a n ys p e c ia l a c c o m m o d a tio n . See T r. 1 4 5 , 1 5 1 ; see al so T r . 1728 ( Q uennoz)

. I n addi t i on, t her e w as t es t i m ony t hat “vi r tual l y every pl anti n t he c o u n tryh a s s o m e typ e o f f a iled f u e l.” T r . 2 8 4 3 (Z a b ra n sk y ). W e a g re e w ith pl ai nt i ffs t hat t her e i s no r eas on t o t hi nk thatthe s t or age a nd s hi pm entof fa i l ed fuel w i l l pr es enta pr obl em t hatr ender s the exc hange mar keti nadequate for P G E a n d o th e r u tilit ie s ’ n e e d s .

11. M r . G r aves ’ Sens i t i vi t yScenar i os T he governm entar gues thatM r . G r aves ’ var i o u s s ens i t i vi t ys cena r i os do notbol s t erhi s m odel beca us e ea ch s cena r i o onl yt akes i nt o acc ountone par t i cul arcr i t i ci s m oreventual i t yi n i s ol at i on. T he ar gum enti s t hatt he model fai l s t o acc ountform ul t i pl e unce r t ai nt i es w or ki ng i n combi nat i on. D efe ndant f u rth e r p o sits th a t th e sc e n a rio s d e m o n stra te th a t th e b a se c a se is h ig h ly s e n s itiv e , e s p e c ia lly w ith re g a rd to c h a n g e s in c o s t. See P X 3 3 4 at PG E _E X P000035; T r . 934- 35 ( G r aves )

. D efe ndantpoi nt s t o t es t i m onyfr om M r. G ra v e s a n d M r. N e u b e rg e r c o n c e rn in g th e p re v io u slym e n tio n e d a n a ly sis p e rf o rm e d b yM r. G ra v e s in o th e r liti g a tio n in w h ich h e p re se n ted a sc e n a rio that m o d eled the cu m u lat ive ef fe ct of m u lt iple erro rs (l im it ed su p p lysce n ario), re s u ltin g in a T roja n f

u e l- o u t d a te o f

2 0 0 5

. Pl aint i ffs r epl yt hatD r . N euber germ ade no a t t empt t o m odel t he c u mul a t i v e e f

f e c to f a n y c o mbi n a t i o n o f d i f

f i c u l t i e s t h a tmi g h th a v e f a c e d PGE. Pl ai nt i ffs fur t herr el yon ourconcl us i on i n D ai r yland w hen fac ed w i t h a s i m i l ar s cena r i o: O f cour s e, had t he G overnm entw ant ed t o s how the C our tthata per fec t m odel , one t hat acc ount s for every conce i vabl e cont i ngency , y ie l ds d if f e re n t re su lts f

ro m th o se o f M r. G ra v e s, th e G o v e rn m e n t w a s f re e to pr es ent t he C our t w i t h a s uper i or s tudy of i t s ow n. B ut t he G overnm ent el ect e d n o t t o d o s o . I n s t e a d , t h e Gov e r n me n t s e e k s o n l y t o s h ow t hat M r. G rav es’s stud yis c o m p let ely u n reli ab le a n d o f n o v alue w h atso ev er. I thas nots ucce eded. 9 0 F e d . C l. at 6 3 4 . W e c o n s id e r th e c u m u lativ e e f f e c t o f th e se n sitiv ity s c e n a r i o s b e l o w.27 C

. O urH ol di ng T he part i es ’ r es pect i ve vi ew s of the pi ckup dat e for T r oj an’ s s pentfuel lie to e a c h e n d o f

th e sp e c tru m o f

p o ss ib le D O E p e rf

o rm a n c e . P lain tiff

s c laim t h a t a l l o f T r o

j a n ’ s S NF wo u l d b e p i c k e d u p i n 1 9 9 9 , t h e s e c o n d y e a r o f DOE pe r fo r manc e ; de fe nd a nta r gu e s t hat w e mus tno tde vi a t e fr om t he O FF s chedul e, r es ul t i ng i n a fi nal T r oj an pi ckup i n 2010. W e ar e rem ind ed of the W i ns tarl i t i gat i on and t h e F eder al C i r cui t ’ s admoni t i on i n G l endal e Feder al B ank, F SB v. U ni t ed Stat es , 3 7 8 F .3 d 1 3 0 8 (F e d . C ir. 2 0 0 4 ), th a t “[ i]t w o u ld benef i t t he [ut i l i t i es ] and t he G overnm ent , s i nce i t i s not i n t he i nt er es tof ei t her t o have endl es s l i t i gat i on, for bot h t o s t op ar gui ng extr eme pos i t i ons and pr om pt l yr es ol ve thes e ca s es in a fa ir and eve n- handed manner

. ” I d. at 1313- 14. B eca us e the part i es have i ndi cat ed that s uch r es ol ut i on i s not pos s i bl e, w e ar e l eftt o deduce damages bas ed on a r eas onabl e appr oxi m at i on. W e b e g in b ya c c e p tin g th e b a sic p re m ise o f M r. G ra v e s’ m o d e l: i t is m or e l i kel y tha n nott hatan exc hange w oul d have de vel oped. W e r ej ect d e f e n d a n t’s c o n ten tio n th a t D O E w o u ld h a v e e x e rc ise d its c o n tra c tu a l rig h t to r ej ect excha nges i n gener al or any i n par t i cul ar . O n t he otherhand, w e r ej ect M r . G rav es’ as s er t i on t hatt he exc hange model w oul d have ope r at ed, as he p ro p o s e s , w ith th e p re d ic ta b ility o f a S w is s tr a in

. Pl ai n t i f f s ’ mod e l o p e r a t e s u n d e re x t r e me l yc l o s e t o l e r a n c e s . E ven t hough PG E ’ s pos i t i on i n t he O FF sche m e as s ur ed i tof no s oonert han a 2010 f i n a l p i c k u p d a t e , p l a i n t i f f s ’ mo d e l a s s u me s t h a ta l l o f T r o j a n ’ s 3 5 9 M T Us w oul d be pi cked up i n t he fi r s t y ear aft er D O E w as s chedul ed t o begi n pi cki ng u p , 1 9 9 9 , d e sp ite th e f

a c t th a t o n ly 2 4 0 0 M T U s (1 2 0 0 in 1 9 9 8 a n d 1 2 0 0 in 1999) w er e avai l abl e for al l ut i l i t i es i nt er es t ed i n acc el er at i ng their pickup s chedul e dur i ng t he fi r s t t w o y ear s . J t

. St i p. ¶ 8 ( 1987 A C R )

. A s l i ghtchange i n nu mber s a nd t he pr oj e c t e d pi c ku p w ou l d r ol l i nt o 20 00

. U nd er t he O FF s chedul e, T r oj an w as onl ys chedul ed t o have one hal f of one M T U , orone s pent f u e l a s s e m b ly, re m o v e d b yth e e n d o f 2 0 0 1

. I d. A not hergener al obs ervat i on w e have i s t hat t he cons t i tuent el ement s of th e G ra v e s M o d e l ar e v e ryp re c ise , an d in d e e d c ritica l n u m b e rs, b u t th e ir s peci fi ci t ybel i es t he i m pr eci s i on of t hei r devel opm ent

. D efe ndanthas pr odded t he G r aves M odel s uffi ci ent l yt o cr eat e doubt as t o w hetherT r oj an w oul d have had al l of i t s S N F rem ov ed by 19 99

. T his do es not m ean thatthe m od el m ust b e re jec ted in w h o le. T h e F e d e ra l C irc u it h a s in stru c ted th a t:28 [t ] he as cert ai nm entof damages i s notan exa cts ci ence , and w her e re s pons i bi l i t y for damage i s cl ear , i ti s notes s ent i al that t he amountt her eof be as cert ai nabl e w i t h abs ol ut e exa ctnes s or m a th e m a tica l p re c isio n : “ It is en o u g h if th e e v id e n c e a d d u c e d is su f f icie n t to e n a b le a c o u rt o r j u ry to m a k e a f a ir a n d re a so n a b le a p p ro x im a tio n .” B l uebonnet

Sav. B ank , 266 F. 3d at1355 ( ci t i ng E l ec. & Mis s i l e Faci l i t i es , I nc. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 4 1 6 F

. 2 d 1 3 4 5 , 1 3 5 8 (C t. C l. 1 9 6 9 )). A s o u r pre d ec esso r co u rt expl ai ned, “[i ] n es t i m at i ng damages , t he C our tof C l ai m s occupi es t he pos i t i on o f a ju r y u n d e r lik e c irc u m sta n c e s; a n d a ll th a t th e lit ig a n ts h a v e a n yrig h t to expec ti s t he exe rcise o f t he court ’ s bes tj udgm entupon the bas i s of the evi dence pr ovi ded byt he part i es . ” Speci al ty Ass em bl i ng & Packi ng C o. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 355 F. 2d 554, 573 ( C t

. C l

. 1966) ( ci t i ng U n itedS ta tes v . Sm ith , 9 4 U .S . 2 1 4 , 2 1 9 (1 8 7 6 ))

. M r . G r aves ’ s ens i t i vi t ys cena r i os pr es entt he co u r tw i t h an arr ayof o p tio n s to a ss e ss d e f

e n d a n t’s c o n c e rn s a b o u t th e o p e ra tio n o f a “ b u t f o r” w o rld a n d a rr iv e a t a re a so n a b le e stim a tio n o f p lain tiff s’ d a m a g e s. T h e se n sitiv ity anal y s es pr edi ctan arr ayof fuel

- out dat es fr om 1999 t o 2002 bas ed on cha nges i n di s char ge and c apac i t ydat a, storag e cost s , s t r at egi c beha vi or , and u n e c o n o mi c b e h a v i o r . T h e s e a n a l y s e s a l s o p r e d i c tth a tt h e s u p p l yo f DOE al loca ti o n s w o u ld ex ce ed d em an d fo r th e a ll o ca ti o n s, so m ew h ere b etw een 2002 and 2005. W e are also pr es ent ed w i t h cos t s fort he pur chas e of e xchange a llo c a tio n s in a ra n g e b e tw e e n $ 6 .4 m illio n a n d $ 2 5 .4 m illio n . A s n o ted e arli er, de fe n d an t’ s o w n ec o n o m ic ex p ert, D r. N e u b e rg er, a d m itt e d th a t h e b e li e v e d a n e x c h a n g e m a rk e t w o u ld d e v e lo p . W e re jec t, h o we v e r , M r . Gr a v e s ’ p i c k o f 1 9 9 9 a s t h e mo s tl i k e l yd a t e a l l o f p l a i n t i f f s ’ S NF w oul d have be en pi cked up. T haty earr epr es ent s w hatm i ght have ha ppened in th e v e rym o st o p tim istic sc e n a rio c o n c e iv a b le, a n d o n e in w h ich th e re w o u ld be 100 per centm arketp arti cipat i on. I n otherw or ds , M r . G r aves ’ l es s - t hancompl et e dat a on eac h ut i l i t y ’ s pr eci s e economi c ci r cumst ance s l ead t o w hathe o f f e r s a s a p e r f

e c tg u e s s . I n o r d e r t o r e a c h a 1 9 9 9 f u e l

- o u td a t e , h o we v e r , we w o u ld h av e to a cc ep t th at no n e o f the p o tential lyco n tr aryjud g m en t fac tors di s cus s ed above w oul d s l ow dow n any ut i l i t y ’ s enthus i as m for excha ngi ng 100 per cent of i t s “unnee ded” capa ci t y ; w e w oul d have t o i gnor e M r . G r aves ’ pr i or gues s es as t o T r oj an’ s fuel

- out d ate; w e w oul d have t o as s um e thatut i l i t i es w oul d have modi fi ed thei rs t or age pool s i f nece s s ary t o l i ne up t hei r actual and l i censed capac i t i es; and t hat t he ad van t ages of con sol i dati on w ou l d n ot i ncrease29

t he costt o pur chas e al l ocat i ons i n a mar ketcompri s ed of s i m i l ar l ys i tuat ed ut i l i t i es . W e w oul d s i m i l ar l y be for ced t o r el yon M r . G r aves ’ us e of di s char ge dat a that w as bas ed on the as s um pt i on of m axi m um r atherthan l i cens ed pool capa ci t y ; we wou l d h a v e t o a c c e p twi t h o u tq u e s t i o n h i s t r e a t me n to f the “D O E / ot her ” fuel ca t egoryas one cons ol i dat ed s i t e r athert han as s catt er ed a b o u t th e c o u n trya s it a c tu a ll y is; an d w e w o u ld b e f o rc e d to e n d o rse h is t reatm ent of st orage co st s as uni form across the indust ry . E ach o f t hese assu m p ti o n s is pro blem ati c; co ll ec ti v elytheycre ate sign ifi ca n t do u b t abo u t M r. G ra v e s ’ c o n c lu s io n . M r . G r aves ’ anal y s i s s how s thatthe s uppl yof ex ch ange a l l ocat i ons w oul d exce ed demand for t hem ats om e poi ntpr i ort o 2005. I n s hor t , underno ci r cumst ance s w oul d t he l as t dat e for r emoval of SN F be l at erthan 2005. 1999 i s a dat e t oo s oon, how ever , beca us e i tw o u ld req u ir e us t o i gnor e t oo m any pot ent i al di ffi cul t i es , as des cr i bed above

. 2000 and 2001 w er e al t ernat i ve dat es i n M r . G r aves ’ m odel pr es ent ed i n ot her cas es . H e al s o pr es ent ed i nform at i on sh o w in g th a t, ev e n if u til iti e s a c ted a t lea st p a rtiallya g a in st th e ir e c o n o m ic in ter e st b yp u rc h a sin g m o re e x c h a n g e a llo c a tio n s th a n n e c e ss a ry , T rojan w o u ld h a v e b e e n a b le to p u rc h a se su f f icie n t ex c h a n g e a llo c a tio n s to h a v e a ll o f its SN F pi cked up byt he end of 2002. T r . 721 ( G r aves ) ( acc el era t ed demand s c e n a ri o ). By2 0 0 2 , i n t h e “ b u tf

o r ” wo r l d , DOE wo u l d h a v e b e e n p i c k i n g u p S NF forfoury ear s . T hi s w oul d have a l l ow ed the exchange m arkett i m e t o devel op and t he ut i l i t i es t i m e t o become comfort abl e w i t h D O E per form an ce . T he u til iti e s w o u ld m o st lik e lyh a v e so u g h t to e x c h a n g e u n n e e d e d a llo c a tio n rig h ts pr i ort o 2005 w hen the val ue of a l l ocat ion ri g h ts w oul d have dr opped t o a n o m i n a l v a l u e b e c a u s e t h e c u r r e n t s u p p l y w o u l d h a v e e x c e e d e d d e m a n d

. We a l s o n o t e t h a tt h e l a t e s tf u e l

- o u td a t e p r e d i c t e d b yMr

. G r a v e s i s 2 0 0 2

. We t her efor e fi nd t hatpl ai nt i ffs have pr oved t o a r eas onabl e cer t ai nty t hat , butfor defe ndant ’ s br eac h, al l of Troj an’ s SN F w oul d have been pi cked up bythe end o f 2 0 0 2 . A n yd a te in a d v a n c e o f th a t is s u b

je c t to to o m u c h d o u b t. T h e p ric e to e x c h a n g e m u s t als o b e a d ju ste d f ro m th e G ra v e s M o d e l. M r. G ra v e s’ o p in io n th a t av o id e d c o s ts w o u ld n o t b e th e d e f in in g f a c to r in se tti n g th e p ric e o f

a llo c a tio n s n o tw ith sta n d in g , the tes tim o n yb yP G E o f f icia ls as t o w hatt heyw oul d have be en w i l l i ng t o payi n or der to avoi d t he cos tof s t or i ng t he fue l i s m or e convi nci ng. T hat s ugges t s t o t he courtthatthe s t art i ng poi ntfort he pr i ce t o excha nge i s avoi ded cos t s . H er e, M r . L acke yt es t i fi ed that t he num ber w as around $9 0 m i l l i on . T r. 5 3 6 -3 7 ; see al s o T r . 1735- 3730

( Q uennoz)

. T hatnum berm us tt hen be a dj us t ed dow nw ar ds t o acc o untfor compet i t i on i n the m arketpl ace and t o cr edi tM r . L acke y ’ s t es t i m onyt hatm any u tilit ie s w o u ld n o t h a v e h a d m u s t m o v e c o n d itio n s e a rl yin th e s c h e d u le , s ee T r . 535, w hi ch w oul d have i ncr eas ed the s uppl yand dr i ven dow n t he pr i ce. T he val ue of the al l ocat i on r i ght s w oul d have f ur t herdecr eas ed as the mar ket devel oped and D O E cont i nued w i t h ful l per form ance . T hi s w oul d have ha d a s ubs t ant i al i m pacton t he pri ce of excha nge r i ght s by2002 as the dat e i n w hi ch s uppl yw oul d have e xcee ded demand appr oache d. T h e val ue of a l l ocat i on r i ght s w oul d have appr oache d a nom i nal val ue once s uppl yexce eded de m and. W e ther efor e as s i gn a cos tof $20 m i l l i on t o the al l ocat i on r i ght s thatpl ai nt i ffs w o u ld h a v e n e e d e d to s p e n d in o rd e r t o h a v e a ll S N F p ic k e d u p b y2 0 0 2

. P l a i n t i f f s c l a i m th a te a c h y e a ro f d e l a yi n p i c k i n g u p T r oj a n ’ s S NF caus ed appr o x im atel y$10 m i l l i on pery eari n addi t i onal w etpool oper at i on c o sts . T h e 2 0 0 2 f

u e l o u t d a te w o u ld th e re f o re re d u c e T rojan ’s d a m a g e s c laim o f $ 1 1 2 , 6 6 4 , 5 3 2 b y $ 3 0 , 3 6 0 , 3 5 1 ($1 0 , 1 2 0 , 1 1 7 p er y ea r fo r 20 0 0 , 2 0 0 1 , 2 0 0 2 ). See J t. S tip . ¶ 2 5 . A d d itio n a lly, p la in tif f s a c c o u n t e d i n th e irc la im f o r $ 1 4 .9 m i l l i on t o acco un tfor the av oided co stof p urchasi ng al l ocati on s; w e i ncrease t hat amount t o $20 m i l l i on as expl ai ned above. T hi s r es ul t s i n a netr educt i on o f $ 3 5 , 4 6 0 , 3 5 1 mi l l i o n f

r o m p l a i n t i f

f s ’ d a ma g e s c l a i m. III. O th e r C o sts D efen dan t ’s hav e chall eng ed a li t anyof o t her cost s i n p l ai nti ffs’ d a m a g e s c laim

. A lth o u g h se v e ra l o f th e se c o sts h a v e b e e n a c c e p ted re p e a ted ly i n pri or S N F l i t i gati on , defe nd ant co nti nu es to den ythe recov erabi l i t yof those c o s ts . W e w ill a d d re s s th e d is p u te d c o s te d c o s ts in tu rn b e lo w . A

. F u e l L o a d in g C o sts , F u e l B u ild in g M o d if ica tio n s a n d C a sk P it C l ean- U p, and C os t s A s s oci at ed w i t h M odi fy i ng C r ane D efe ndantchal l enges t he $12, 905, 449 i n c o s t s a s s o c i a t e dwi th r emovi ng spent fuel f

ro m the w etpo ol and l oad i ng i ti nto m ult i pu rpose canis t ers , $547, 783 i n cos t s r el at ed t o fuel bui l di ng m odi fi cat i ons and cl eani ng, $37, 126 forcas k pi t cl eanup, and $928, 440 forcos t s r el at ed t o cr ane modi fi cat i ons and heavyl o ad an aly s es . D efe ndantas s ert s t hatpl ai nt i ffs w oul d have i ncurr ed t hes e cos t s i n t he w or l d of D O E per form ance and ther efor e the co s t s ar e not re c o v e ra b le. A lth o u g h p lain tiff s d o n o t d e n yth a t th e ya re c o n tr a c tu a lly obl i gat ed t o l oad the SN F w hen D O E per form s , theyas s ertthatD O E has m ade n o e f f o rt to e sta b lish w h a t typ e o f c o sts it w ill re q u ire . A s w e h e ld p re v io u sly31

w hen cons i der i ng s i m i l ar ci r cumst ance s , “[t ] he uncert ai nty i nher ent i n t he type o f c a s k DOE wo u l d h a v e u s e d a s we l l a s th e me t h o d o f c o l l e c t i n g th e S NF thw arts th e re q u ir em en t of rea so n a b le ce rt aintyn ec essa ryfo r de fe n d an t’ s p ro p o s e d re d u c tio n . D om i ni on R es . , I nc. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 84 Fed. C l

. 259, 278 ( 2008) ( ci t i ng Sys

. Fuel

s , I nc. , 79 Fed. C l

. at71)

. C ons equent l y , t hi s cour t“has uni form l yr ej ect ed def

endant ’ s p r o p o s e dr e duct i on forl oadi ng cos t s i n pr evi ous s pentfuel deci sion s beca us e ‘ t hes e l oadi ng cos t s have mer el ybeen de ferr ed’ notavoi ded. ” Id

. ( quot i ng C ar ol i na P ow er & LightC o. , 8 2 F e d

. C l. at 5 2 ), s ee al s o Sys

. Fuel

s I nc. , 7 9 F e d . C l. at 7 0 -7 1 ; Sys

. Fuel s , I nc. v. U ni t ed Stat es , 78 F e d . C l. 76 9 , 7 9 7 (2 0 0 7 ); N

. Stat es P ow er C o. v. U

ni t ed Stat es , 78 Fed. C l

. 449, 4 6 8 -6 9 (2 0 0 7 ); P ac. G as , 7 3 F e d . C l. at 4 1 6 ; Sacr am ento Mun. Ut i l

. D is t

. v. Uni t e d St at es , 7 0 F e d . C l. 33 2 , 3 7 2 (2 0 0 6 ); T e n n . V a lley A u th

. , 69 Fed. C l

. at 5 4 2

. P l ai nti ffs at t em pted t o o btai n clar i fi cat i on on w hethert he m ult i -purpose cani s t er s w oul d be a cc ep te d byD O E and w er e i nform ed i n w r i t i ng t hatt hey w e re n o t a c c e p ta b le u n d e r t h e c u rr e n t c o n tr a c t. See P X 1 9 3 a t P G E 1 1 7 9 9 1 ; s ee al s o T r . 2753 ( Z abr ans ky )

. Pl ai nt i ffs m ay have avoi ded t hes e cost s orpl ai nt i ffs m ayhave to rep roduce t hes e ac t i vi t i es i n t he futur e. T hi s uncert ai ntyw as c re a ted b y d e f

e n d a n t’s b re a c h . W e f

in d th a t all o f

th e se c o sts a re su b sta n tially re la ted to p lain tiff

s’ lo a d in g o f

th e S N F . In v iew o f

d e f e n d a n t’s in a b ili tyto sp e c if yw h a t D O E p e rf

o rm a n c e w ill e n tail, w h a t k in d o f c a sk s D O E w ill p rovi de, and w hen per form ance w i l l begi n, w e fi nd t hat , butfordefe n d an t’ s b re a c h , p lain tiff

s w o u ld n o t h a v e in c u rre d th e se c o sts . T h e se c o sts a re f u lly re c o v e ra b le

. B

. SpentFuel Pool C l eanup a nd R ack Rem oval T he g o v e rn me n ts e e k s a deduc t i on fr om pl ai nt i ffs ’ cl ai m of $344, 257 for cos t s s t emm i ng fr om t he 1998 r emoval of tw o of the tw el ve r acks in t he fue l pool

. R emovi ng t he tw o r acks al l ow ed PG E to insp ectand cl eart he pool of fuel pel l et s l eaked from da m a ged assem bli es, w hich w as i m po rt ant because PG E w ant ed “t o m ake s ur e t hat al l fuel

- r el at ed component s had bee n col l ect ed forpl ace m enti n t he I SFS I

. ” Tr. 361 ( Fi s cher )

. D efe ndant co nt ends t hat r emoval of thes e r acks w oul d have been r equi r ed even i f D O E had per form ed becau se P G E w ou l d have t o cl ean the poo l befo re l oad i ng t he fi n a l ca sk i r r es pect i ve of w hethert he ca s ks w er e meantfors hi pm entt o a D O E fac i l i t yor s to ra g e o n s ite a t th e T roja n IS F S I.H ol t ec pe r form ed the actual l oadi ng of t he fuel fr om t he pool t o t he 15 I SFS I

. T he H ol t ec cre w h ad t o be puton s t and- by e w hi l e PG E cl eane d the p o o l. $ 2 2 6 ,7 3 3 is th a t c o s t. See T r. 1 3 1 3 -1 5 (N ic h o ls ). W e al s o not e t hat pl ai nt i ffs have not cl ai m ed cost s as s oci at ed w i t h the 16 r emoval of the 10 other fuel r acks fr om t he cool i ng pool norcos t s as s oci at ed w ith th e g e n e ra l cle a n u p o f th e p o o l. 32 Pl ai nt i ffs r es pond t hatthe cos tof r emov ing t he r acks and cl eani ng t he p o o ls are p rop erly ch arg ed to the IS F S I l o ad ing p rojec t as th eyw ere n ec essa ry s t eps forl oadi ng the fue l t o the I SFS I

. Pl ai nt i ffs expl ai n that$17, 524 of the governm ent ’ s r educt i on i s r el at ed t o t he purc has e of c ont ai ner s fors hi ppi ng and d is p o s a l o f

th e re m o v e d f

u e l r a c k s . See D X 207 atE PG 014 000161. Pl ai nt i ffs fu rth er inf

o rm ed the c o u rt that $ 2 2 6 , 7 3 3 is th e c o st of the H o lt ec load ing cre w ’s demobi l i zat i on dur i ng t he p o o l c l eanup a nd s ubs equentr e- m obi l i zat i on aft erw ards. 15 P l a i n t i f f s ’ c i t a t i o n s t o M r . Fi s c h e r ’ s t e s t i mo n ya r e u n c o n v i n c i n g . He tes tifie d th a t th e re m o v a l o f th e to p tw o ra c k s w a s n e c e ss a ry to e n su re th a t all S N F m a te ri a ls w e re p la c e d in c a s k s a n d lo a d e d to th e IS F S I. See T r . 3 6 1

. He di d not , how ever , t es t i fy t hat t hi s s t ep w as uni que t o PG E ’ s l oadi ng of the fue l t o t he I SFS I

. T he fa ctt hatt hi s w as done i n connec t i on w i t h t he I SFS I l oadi ng pr o j e c t i s i n s u f

f i c i e n t t o p r o v e c a u s a t i o n . M r . Fi s c h e r , i n f a c t , c o n f i r me d on cr os s - exami nat i on t hatr emoval of the ra cks t o cl ean the pool w oul d have be en n e c e s s a ry re g a rd le s s o f D O E ’ s b r e a c h

. See T r . 375. M r . N i chol s confi r m ed t hatt he r ack r emoval w as nece s s aryforT r oj an dec om m i s s i oni ng. H e t es t i fi ed th a t all 1 2 ra c k s h a d to b e re m o v e d a n d sh ip p e d o f f site f o r sto ra g e in o rd e r to d ec o m m issi o n the p lant. T r. 1 3 0 9 -10

. W h ethe r it w o u ld hav e b ee n n ec essa ry 16 t o d em ob i l i ze t he H o ltec c rew for a peri od of ti m e absen tthe b reach w as a ques t i on t hatM r . N i chol s w as notcl eari n ans w er i ng: Q

. So i f D O E had per form ed, T r oj an w oul d have t o demobi l i ze a n d re m o b ili z e in o rd e r to d o th e p o o l su rv e y , rig h t? A

. Pot ent i al l y . I gues s i tdepen d s o n t he s chedul e, w hatt he sc h e d u le f

o r o f f -lo a d w a s u n d e r D O E ’s s c e n a rio a s c o m p a re d to w hatw e ac tual l ydi d. Y ou w oul d have t o go es s ent i al l ythr ough t he same act i vi t i es . W hetheri n thatpr oces s y ou’ d actual l yhave t o d em ob e and rem ob e w i t ho ut r eal l yl oo king atho w the p rocess a n d s c h e d u le w o rk s , I c o u ld n ’t g iv e y o u a g o o d a n s w e r.33

T r . 1316- 17. D efe ndant ’ s experton s pentfuel m anage m entand decomm i s s i oni ng act i vi t i es , W arr en B r ew er , a nucl earengi neerand pr i nci pal ata nucl eari ndus t r ycons ul t i ng fi r m , w as as ked t o opine o n w hatt he decomm i s s i oni ng and fue l t ran sp o rt pr oces s w oul d have l ooked l i ke i n t he w o rld o f D O E p e rf

o rm a n c e . A s p a rt o f

th a t w o rk , h e c o n sid e re d th e n e c e ss ity o f d e mo b i l i z i n g a n d r e - mo b i l i z i n g t h e l o a d i n g c r e w h a d DOE p e r f o r me d

. He c o n c lu d e d th a t, i f

D O E p e rf

o r m e d u n d e r th e O F F sc h e d u le, m u lti p le m obi l i zat i ons and dem obi l i zat i ons w oul d have been neces s ary overt he 10- y ear per i od t hatD O E w o u ld ha ve pi cked up the Troj an SN F. T r . 2255- 56. I n t he eventt hatt he exc hange mar ketpr ovi ded fora r api dl yacc el er at ed pi ckup s chedul e, M r. B rew ert houghtt hatt he i ncr eas ed l evel of ac t i vi t yi n t he pool w oul d l ead t o t he nec essi ty o f at l eas tone demobi l i zat i on t o al l ow the r ack w o rk n e c e s s a ry f

o r p o o l s u rv e ya n d c le a n u p . S ee T r. 2 2 5 4 -55. H e al so concl uded thatM r . N i chol s ’ pos s i bl e s cena r i o t hata demobi l i zat ion o f t he lo a d in g c re w m ig h t n o t b e n e c e ss a ryin a w o r ld o f D O E p e rf o rm a n c e w o u ld depend e nt i r el yon a l ow l evel of act i vi t y at any one t i m e i n t he fue l pool , w hi ch M r. B re w e r e x p lain e d w a s e n tir e lyin c o n sis ten t w ith th e id e a o f th e ra p id ly acc el er at ed pac e pos i t ed byt he G r aves M odel

. T r . 2254- 55. W e a g ree w ith d ef

en d an t th at rack rem o v al an d p o o l cl ea n u p w ere nece s s arys t eps r egar dl es s of D O E per form anc e. The cos tof r emovi ng and s hi ppi ng t he tw o r acks r emo v ed dur i ng I SFS I l oadi ng i s pr oper l yborne by pl ai nt i ffs

. T he cos t of demobi l i zi ng and r e- m obi l i zi ng the H ol t ec l oadi ng cr ew is lik e w ise n o t p ro p e rlyc h a rg e d to d e f e n d a n t. T h a t co st w a s a ss o c iate d w ith t he ra ck re m oval and pool cl eanup, w hi ch w e fi nd t o be gene r i c t o t he Troj an d e c o m m iss io n in g p ro c e ss a n d n o t sp e c if ic to th e IS F S I p r ojec t. M r. N ich o ls wa s u n a b l e t o s t a t e t h a td e mob i l i z a t i o n wo u l d b e u n n e c e s s a r yh a d DOE per form ed, and M r . B r ew erexpl ai ned the hi gh l i kel i hood t hati tw oul d be nece s s ary . I n s um , t he cos tof r emovi ng and s hi ppi ng t w o r acks ( $17, 524) and t he cos tof the r es ul t i ng demobi l i zat i on of t he l oadi ng cr ew ( $226, 733) w er e not p ro v e n to b e c a u s e d b yD O E ’s b re a c h

. T hatl eave s a $100, 000 i nvoi ce f r om H ol t ec f

or rad iat i on t echni ci ans u s e d d u ri n g th e ra c k re m o v a l. See D X 1 1 5 a t P G E 0 0 6 8 0 5 . D e f e n d a n t ac c e p ts t h a tP GE di d pay $100, 000 t o H ol t ec for decomm i s s i oni ng cos t s i n 2003, but i t ar gues t hat pl ai nt i ffs have not pr ovi ded suppor t fort he $100, 000 cl ai m ed as a n e x p e n se o f th e IS F S I p rojec t in 1 9 9 8

. P lain tiff s h a v e n o t r e sp o n d e d to th is as s er t i on. W e w er e unabl e t o fi nd a conne ct i on s peci fi cal l y b etw een the $1 0 0 , 0 0 0 i n v o i c e a n d t h e I SF SI p r o j e c ti n th e r e c o r d o t h e rth a n th e g e n er al34

n e e d t o r e mo v e t h e r a c k s a s a p a r to f T r o j a n d e c o mmi s s i o n i n g , wh i c h , a s we expl ai ned above i s nota r es ul tof D O E ’ s br eac h. Pl ai nt i ffs have notes t abl i s hed th e ire n title m e n t to re im b u rs e m e n t o f th is c o s t. C

. Fees A s s es s ed bythe N R C orO r egon D epart m entof Ener gy D e f e n d a n t ch a llen g e s p lain tiff s’ c laim f

o r $1 ,4 2 2 ,2 5 0 in f

e e s th e yp a id t o t he N ucl earR egul at or yC om m i s s i on ( “N R C ”) as w ell as $ 873, 350 i n fee s pai d t o t he O r egon D epart m ent of E ner gy ( “O O E ”) beca us e, i f D O E had pi cked up T r oj an’ s fuel pur s uantt o the O FF sche dul e, pl ai nt i ffs w oul d have i ncurr ed t h e s a me NR C a n d OOE f e e s t h a tt h e ya r e c l a i mi n g i n t h i s l i t i g a t i o n . As we have pr evi ous l ys t at ed, T r oj an’ s fuel w oul d not have been pi cked up a ccor di ng t o t he O FF s chedul e. T r oj an w oul d have a cqui r ed al l ocat i on r i ght s t hr ough t he excha nges m arkets o t hat al l of T r oj an’ s SN F w oul d have been pi cked up byt he e n d o f 2 0 0 2 . W e f

in d , the re f

o re , th a t th e f

e e s p a id a f

ter 2 0 0 2 a re f

u lly recoverabl e byplai nti ffs. D efe ndantal s o chal l enges the O O E fee s o n the addi t i onal gr ound t hat t he am ount of fees at t r i but abl e t o D O E ’ s part i al br eac h cannotbe det erm i ned w i t h r eas onabl e ce r t ai nt y . E vi dence w as pr es ent ed t o es t abl i s h thatO O E s ent inv o ices to p lai n ti ff

s to c o v er the co st of

o v erse eing an d reg u lat ing T rojan

. T r. 178: 10- 20 ( Fi s ch er). Pl ai nt i ffs r ece i ved the i nvoi ces , and thei rl i cens i ng de pa r t mentt he n s pl i tt he bi l l s , a l l oc a t i ng a po r t i on of t he fe e s t o the I SFSI p rojec t and a p o rt ion o f th e f ee s to g e n era l dec o m m issi o n ing ac co u n ts. T r. 1 9 1 -9 2 ; 2 8 3 (F isc h e r). T h e re is n o re c o rd e v id e n c e , h o w e v e r, o f h o w th a t sp lit w a s d e te rm in e d o r w h yth a t s p lit w a s u s e d b yth e lic e n s in g d e p a rt m e n t. See T r. 282, 285 ( Fi s cher )

. I n r es pons e, pl ai nt i ffs pr es ent ed t he t es t i m onyof M r . Poi r er t o expl ai n how t he li cens i ng depart m entw oul d s pl i tt he fe es betw een the var i ous cos tcent er s . M r . Poi r er w as not t he em pl oy ee t hat m ade the al l ocat i on o f f e e s, h o w e v e r, an d h e c o u ld n o t ex p lain th e ra tio n a le b e h in d th e f e e sp lit

. N ordi d pl ai nt i ffs pr es entt es t i m onyfr om a M r . D us ek w ho w as r es pons i bl e for t he al l ocat i on of O O E fee s . W e t her efor e agr ee w i t h defe ndantthatpl ai nt i ffs have notdemonstr at ed w i t h r eas onabl e ce r t ai ntyw hatpor t i on of the O O E fee s i s at t r i but abl e t o defe ndant ’ s br eac h. T hus pl ai nt i ffs ca n n otr ecove rt he $8 73 , 50 0 fo r the O O E fees. D . C e rta in S e c u rityC o sts D ef en d ant ques t i ons $70, 585 r el at ed t o s ecur i t yupgr ades m ade by pl ai nt i ffs i n 1997, cont endi ng t hatthes e upgr ades w er e r el at ed t o gener al pl antT hes e bui l di ngs ar e the Troj an N o r t h B ui l di ng, T r oj an Tra i ni ng 17 B u il d ing , an d T rojan V isi tor C en ter. 35 deco mmi s s i o n i n g a n d n o t t h e I SF SI p r o j e c t

. Pl a i n t i f

f s r e s p o n d e d wi t h t he t es t i m o n y o f M r . M i hel i ch t o the ef fec tthatthe upgr ades w er e t o al l ow the I SFS I t o be moni t or ed fr om t he A cces s C ont r ol Faci l i t y( “A C F”) , w hi ch w as t he s ecur ed entr ypoi ntt o t he prot ect ed ar eas of t he T r oj an faci l i t y . T r . 1381- 8 2 . P lain tiff

s a lso p o in t o u t th a t o n e w o u ld h a v e to tra v e l th ro u g h th e A C F in or deracc es s t he I SFS I , w hi ch l eads t o the conc l us i on that t he s ecur i t yupgr ades w e re a re s u lt o f

th e IS F S I p roje c t. See T r . 1470 ( M i hel i ch) ( s t at i ng thatone had to tr av el th rou g h the p rotec ted a rea s to rea ch the IS F S I). A fter a re v iew o f th e testi m o n yo f M r. M ihelich a n d the d o cu m en tary r ecor d, w e conc l ude thatdefe ndant is c o rrectthatthe 1997 s ecur i t yupgr ades w er e notr el at ed t o I SFS I cons t ruct i on. I n 1997, M atr i x Sy s t ems, I nc. upgr aded T roj an’s access sy st em at t he A C F t o use a key card sy st em . P X 20 8 (purchase or der s and M atr i x Pr opos al forkeycar d acc es s u p g rad e). M r . M i hel i ch confi r m ed thatt he upgr ades r el at ed t o m ovi ng the s ecur i t ym oni t or i ng funct i on t o t he A C F and upgr adi ng t he ac ces s s y s t em ther e, w hi ch w as par tof the ge ne r a l de c omm i s s i on i ng pr oj e c t

. Tr

. 14 69

. The fa c tt ha ta c c e s s t o t he I SFSI i s al s o t i ed t o t he A C F i s i ns uffi cien t to e s t abl i s h the nec es s arycaus al l i nk betw een D O E ’s breac h a n d 1 99 7 u pg rade becau se the u pg rades t o the access s y s te m w o u ld h a v e b e e n n e c e s s a ry a b s e n t th e b re a c h

. I n 1999, PG E i ns t al l ed t he I SFS I s ecur i t ys y s t em, i ncl udi ng r out i ng t he se c u rityc a m e ra f

e e d s to th e A C F . P X 2 3 4 (d e sc rip tio n o f 1 9 9 9 se c u rity upgrad e); T r . 1381- 82 ( M i hel i ch)

. Pl ai nt i ffs confl at ed thi s pr oj ectw i t h the 1997 keycar d acc es s s y s t em i ns t al l at i on i n thei rbr i efing

. T h e 1999 upgra de i s n o t ch al l enged bydefe ndant

. W e fi nd t hatt he 1997 s ecur i t yupgr ade w as par tof the gene r al T r oj an decomm i s s i oni ng pr oj ect and thus nota r es ul tof the b re a c h . $ 7 0 ,5 8 5 m u s t b e s u b tr a c te d f ro m p la in tif

f s ’ c la im

. E

. M ai nt enanc e of Tr oj an Faci l i t i es D efe ndantas s er t s t hat$280, 368 in di r ectcos t s , and $6, 659 i n i ndi r ect l abor co s t s c l a i me d b yp l a i n t i f f s f o rma i n t e n a n c e o f

t h r e e b u i l d i n g s a tt he T r oj an s i t e fr om 2000 t o 2003 ar e notr el at ed t o the br eac h. D efe ndantal l eges 17 that the testi m o n ial an d d o cu m en tary ev iden ce sh o w s tha t th ese b u il d ing s w ere us ed pr i m ar i l yfor funct i ons r el at ed t o the gene r al decomm i s s i oni ng pr oj ectand notI SFS I cons t ruct i on oroper at i on. D efe ndantpoi nt s to test im onythattheI ti s notcl earfr om t he re cor d w hatfunct i ons w er e per form ed atthe 18 T rojan V isi tor’s C en ter. I tal s o bear s not i ng t hat our hol di ng t hat T r oj an’ s fuel w oul d nothave 19 b e e n p ic k e d u p u n til 2 0 0 2 m o o ts m o st o f th is iss u e b e c a u se p lain tiff s w o u ld notbe ent i t l ed t o cos t s pr i ort o t he end of 2002. 36 b u i l d i n g s we r e u s e d t o s t o r e d o c u me n t s r e l a t e d t o o t h e rl i t i g a t i o n a n d o t h e rP GE fac i l i t i es as w el l as us ed t o hol d t r ai ni ng forthe gene r al decomm i s s i oni ng p rojec t. P lain tiff s c o u n ter th a t tw o o f

th e b u ild in g s w e re u se d to sto re d o c u m e n ts r el at ed t o T r oj an’ s N R C oper at i ng l i cens e fort he w et pool , w hi ch w oul d have been unne ces s aryaft er1999 i n pl ai nt i ffs ’ “but for ” w or l d. Pl ai nt i ffs al s o al l ege th a t th e b u ild in g s w e re u se d to sto re re c o rd s f o r th e IS F S I lice n se a n d to h o ld tr a in in g re g a rd in g IS F S I o p e ra tio n a n d m a in te n a n c e . T her e i s no d i s put e thatcos t s as s oci at ed w i t h the I SFS I oper at i on and ma i n t e n a n c e a r e c h a r g e a b l e t o t h e g o v e r n me n twh e n p r o p e r l ys u p p o r t e d

. At least tw o o f th e b u il d ing s w ere u s e d fo r fu n cti o n s related to the IS F S I. 18 D efe ndanti s al s o corr ect , how ever , i n poi nt i ng outt hatt he bui l di ngs w er e us ed forpurpos es notr el at ed t o the br eac h. G i ven s ufficien t p r oof, s om e of the cl ai m ed cos t s w oul d be att r i but abl e t o defe ndant

. W e have no bas i s fr om the r ecor d, how ever , t o s ay w hat per cent age of t hos e cos t s r es ul t ed fr om t he br eac h and w hatw oul d have be en borne bypl ai nt i ffs abs entthe b rea ch

. T hus pl ai nt i ffs have notes t abl i s hed these co sts t o a r eas onabl e ce rt ai nty , and they m ustbe sub t ract ed from plai nti ffs’ dam ages. 19 F. N U PI C and Sci ent ech D ues De f e n d a n ts e e k s t o b a rp l a i n t i f f s ’ r e c o v e r yo f

d u e s p a i d t o two vol unt ar i l yj oi ned or gani zat i ons . T he fi r s ti s the N ucl earPr ocur ementIssues C om m i t t ee ( “N U PI C ”) , a gr oup m ade up of ut i l i t i es t hat s har e cos t s bypool i ng r es our ces t o audi tvendor s and s uppl y m at er i al s as r equi r ed bythe N R C

. T he s econd vol unt aryas s oci at i on i s Sc i ent ech, w hi ch i s a t echni cal i nform at i on p ro v id e r th a t ap p rise s it s cu sto m e rs o f d e v e lo p m e n ts in th e in d u stry . T h e re is n o su g g e stio n th a t th e se d u e s w e re n o t an a p p ro p ria te a n d c o st ef f e c tiv e w a yto a d d re ss n u c lea r re g u lato ry c o m p lian c e . M r. F isc h e r te stif ied th a t th e re w o u ld have be en no nee d t o r emai n a m ember of t hes e gr oups aft er D O E pi cked up the T rojan f u e l.D ef en d an t draw s the ad d it ion al 20 m o n ths f rom M r. F isch er’s 20 t es t i m onyt hati ttoo k the N R C 20 m onths t o appr ove the t erm i nat i on of the o p e ra tin g lic e n s e . T r. 1 7 5

. 37 W e s ee no r eas on t o ques t i on the appr opr i at enes s of thes e cos t s as t hey w ere b o th r elated to eff

ici en t o p era ti o n o f th e plan t. P lai n ti ff s are n o t, h o w ev er, ent i t l ed t o rec o u p d u es pai d pr i ort o the end of 2002 gi ven ourhol di ng r egar di ng T r oj an’ s fuel

- outdat e. W e w er e notpr es ent ed w i t h a br eak dow n of t hes e fee s byy earand thus have no a bi l i t yt o s epar at e the cos t s notas s oci at ed w i t h defe ndant ’ s br eac h. T he part i es ar e di r ect ed t o cons ul tand pr opos e the corr ectal l ocat i on. G . L e g a l C o sts D efe ndantnextchal l enges l egal depart m ent di r ect cos t s , overheads , and out s i de couns el fee s . T hes e l egal cos t s ar e cl ai m ed bypl ai nt i ffs t o be r el at ed t o t he mai nt enanc e of the N R C l i cens e of the w etpool

. D efe ndant aver s t hat pl ai nt i ffs w oul d have mai nt ai ned i t s Par t50 w etpool l i cens e for20 m ont hs a f ter th e f u e l w a s re m o v e d , w h ich , e v e n u n d e r M r. G ra v e s’ s c h e d u le w o u ld 20 have be en A ugus t2001 atthe ea r l i es t

. D efen d an t arg u es thati ti s not re sp o n sib le f

o r th e c o st o f

m a in tain in g th e lice n se th a t P G E p lan n e d to m a in tain re g a rd les s o f

D O E ’s p e rf

o rm a n c e . P lain tiff

s’ a n sw e r is s im p lyth a t th e se c o sts w e re re late d to w e t p o o l o p e ra tio n a n d w e re c h a rg e d a s th e yw e re in c u rre d to th a t p rojec t. W e agree w i t h d efen dan t

. P G E had a du t yt o m ai ntai n it s Part50 l i cense a s lo n g a s it o p e ra ted a w e t p o o l. O u r f in d in g o f

a 2 0 0 2 f

u e l-o u t d a te nece s s i t at es t hatl egal cos t s r el at ed t o m ai nt ai ni ng thatl i cens e pri or t o the end o f 2002 ar e notchar geabl e t o defe ndant ’ s br eac h. W e ac ceptdefe nd an t’ s su g g esti o n o f 2 0 m o n ths a s the li k elyd elayin ap p rov al t im e. T h e p arti es a re di r ect ed t o cons ul tand pr opos e an a ppor t i oned amountof l egal fee s t o be d e d u c te d f

ro m th e c la im

. H

. I ns pect i ng T r oj an’ s T op N ozzl es T he govern m en t se ek s t o deduct$56, 382 forcos t s r el at ed t o the t op nozz l e i n s p e c t i o n s p l a i n t i f f s c o n d u c t e d i n 2 0 0 2 , c o n t e n d i n g th a tp l a i n t i f fs w oul d have pe r form ed thos e i ns pect i ons even i f D O E had t i m el yper formed. I n r es pons e t o an N R C I nform at i on N ot i ce i n 2002, PG E vi s ual l yi ns pect ed the t o p n o z z l e s o f 9 3 f

u e l a s s e mbl i e s u s i n g a c a me r a s y s t e m p u r c h a s ed fr om38

E ver es tV I T

. PX 287 atPG E 095642- 43. B eca us e the courthas found that T r oj an’ s fuel w oul d nothave b ee n rem oved unt i l 2002, T r oj an w oul d have i ncurr ed thes e cos t s i n t he “butfor ” w or ld. T r oj an, ther efor e, cannotr ecove r t he $ 56 , 38 2 rel at ed to the top no zzl e i nspecti on s. I

. Fai l ed Fuel C ani s t er s and Fuel C har act er i zat i on T he g ov ernm ent propo ses a ded ucti on of $ 15 6, 25 4 fo r fai l ed fu el cans, beca us e i tas s er t s pl ai nt i ffs w oul d have s tor ed Troj an’ s fai l ed fue l i n s uch cont ai ner s as par t of t he dec om m i s s i oni ng pr oces s , r egar dl es s of the t i m i ng of D O E ’ s per form ance . E ven as s um i ng thatw er e true, the governm entcannot a f f irm a tiv e lysta te th a t th o se sa m e f a iled f u e l c a n s u se d a t T rojan w ill f it i n to a D O E

- s uppl i ed ca s k, beca us e D O E has notpr ovi ded pl ai nt i ffs anyi nform at i on on ei t hert he type of c as k i tw i l l s uppl y or t he s peci fi cat i ons of the fa i l ed fue l c o n tain e rs p lain tiff

s n e e d to su p p ly

. T r . 1 5 0

- 5 1 ( F isc h e r); s ee al s o T r . 1842 ( Schnei der )

. D O E has an exp ress cont r actual dut yt o pr ovi de “s peci fi cat i ons on Pur chas er - furni s hed ca ni s t er s forcont ai nm entof fa i l ed fue l

. ” PX 100 at PG E 2- 000001077. I f D O E had notbr ea ch ed , p l ai nt i ffs w oul d have us ed the su p p lied c a n s. N o d e d u c tio n f o r th e c o st o f

f a iled f u e l c a n s is w a r ra n ted in th e s e c ir c u m s ta n c e s . See D om i nion R es. , 84 Fed. C l

. at275. D e f e n d a n t als o a ss e rts th a t $ 1 9 3 ,8 5 3 in f u e l ch a ra c ter iza tio n c o sts s houl d be deduc t ed from pl ai nt i ffs ’ cl ai m beca us e pl ai nt i ffs w oul d have i ncurr ed t hes e cost s even i f D O E had per form ed. Pl ai nt i ffs do notdi s put e that t heyw oul d need t o conducts om e type of fue l i ns pect i on befor e l oadi ng T r oj an fuel t o a D O E cas k. I ti s unknow n, how ever , w hetherthati ns pect i on w oul d be t he s ame i ns pect i on actual l yper form ed. D O E has n o t pr ovi ded fue l cl as s i fi cat i on cr i t er i a gui dance

. Pl ai nt i ffs h av e no w ayof know i ng w hether th e yw ill b e re q u ire d to p e rf o rm th is e x e rc ise in th e f u tu r e o r to w h a t ex ten t. “W e v iew t he fue l char act er i zat i on cos t s as conce ptual l ys i m i l art o cos t s for l oadi ng fuel

. ” I

d. at 2 7 9

. P lai n ti ff

s rem ain c o n tr ac tuallyo b li g ated to p erf o rm nece s s arychar act er i zat i on pr i ort o l oadi ng SN F w hen D O E per form s . W e vi ew t hes e cos t s notas avoi ded butdefe r r ed. T heyar e thus ful l yr ecove r abl e. J. In ter n a l O v e rh e a d C o sts D efe ndant ’ s pos i t i on i s that$13, 574, 866 i n overhead c os t s cl ai m ed by pl ai nt i ffs ar e notat tr i but abl e t o D O E ’ s fai l ur e t o pi ck up Troj an’ s SN F. T he b u l k o f t h e s e c o s t s , $ 1 2 , 8 4 6 , 6 4 0 , a r e r e l a t e d t o c o rp o r a t e a d mi n i s t r a t i v e a nd g e n e ra l o v e rh e a d (“ A & G ” ). T h e re st a re c h a rg e d a s g e n e ra l site m a ter ials c o stsSom e of t hes e cos t s ar e al s o chal l enged f orotherr eas ons as expr es s ed 21 a b o v e . 39 of $728, 226, w hi ch ar i s e fr om t he oper at i on of a w ar ehous e of ge ner al s uppl i es u se d f o r th e o p e ra tio n o f

th e T rojan f

a c ili ty . D e f

e n d a n t’s g e n e ra l ch a llen g e is t hatt hes e tw o cat egor i es of cos t s w er e not pr oven t o have been r es ul t ed fr om th e b re a c h

. W e ar e r emi nded of ourhol di ng i n D om i ni on R es our ces : “I f overhead cos t s w er e not al l ow ed, ‘ [p] l ai nt i ffs ’ other pr oj ect s w oul d be more expens i ve t han ant i ci pat ed. ’ ” 84 Fed. C l

. at281 ( quot i ng Car o l i n a Po we r & LightC o. , 82 Fed. C l

. at48)

. “A bs entD O E ' s par t i al br eac h, pl ai nt i ffs coul d have a l l ocat ed t hei r r es our ces t o ot her pr oj ect s . A ccor di ngl y , cos t s as s oci at ed w i t h overhead s hal l be i ncl uded i n t he damages aw ar d. ” I d. T he onl y di ffe r ence her e i s that ourhol di ng r egar di ng t he fue l

- outdat e nec es s i t at es thatthr ee y ear s of overheads ar e notchar geabl e t o the governm ent

. T he part i es ar e thus di r ect ed t o p ropose p roperl yreduced ov erhead co st s. K

. V ar i ous Speci fi c I nvoi ces L astl y , d ef

en d an t objects to $ 6 1 8 , 4 7 9 in co sts asso ciated w ith w o rk per form ed byt hi r d- par t ycontr act or s atT r oj an. T hi s chal l enge i s bas ed on 21 M r . Pet er s on’ s r evi ew of pl ai nt i ffs ’ document aryevi dence

. I n hi s opi ni on, p lai n ti ff s o u g h t t o b e re q u ir ed to sh o w ev iden ce d o cu m en ti n g the s co p e of w o rk pe r f o r me d , t h a tt h e wor k was p e r f o r me d , a n d th a tp a yme n twas i n f a c tma d e. See T r . 2462- 63. D efe ndantbel i eves thatpl ai nt i ffs ’ i nt ernal acc ount i ng s y s t em is i n su ff ici en t t o m ee t th e b u rde n o f p roo f b ec au se it is subject t o h u m an erro r. P lai n ti ff s an sw er tha t d ef

en d an t ask s the co u rt to i m p o se a n ev iden ti ary s t andar d bey ond w hati s r equi r ed byt he l aw . T heypos i tt hatno par t i cul ar d o c u m e n tatio n is req u ire d a s lon g a s w h a t is su p p lied b yp lain tiff s is a “ re liab le i ndi cat or of i ncurr ed cos t s . ” P. ’ s Post T r i al B r . 1 1 4 (qu o t i ng Sys t em Fuel s v. U ni t ed Stat es , 7 9 F ed

. C l. 3 7 , 5 9 -60 (20 0 7 )). P lai n ti ff s arg u e th a t P G E ’s a c c o u n tin g s y s te m is ju s t th a t, a re lia b le in d ic a to r. W e ar e agai n r emi nded of ourhol di ng i n D om i ni on R es our ces , i n w hi ch w e s t at ed thati tw oul d be i deal for a cost t o be prove n byboth an i nvoi ce a nd p ro o f o f a c tu a l p a ym e n t, bu t w e w o u ld a c c e p t tes tim o n y as to th e o v e ra ll rel i abil i t yof clai m ant’ s accou nti ng sy st em , i n com binat i on w i t h ei t her of those f o rm s o f d o c u m e n ta tio n . See 84 Fed. C l

. at284. Pl ai nt i ffs h ere pr es ent ed40

extensi ve co streport s and t est i m on y from M r. P oir i er as t o the cr eat i on of those r epor t s al ong w i t h i nvoi ces foral l but t w o of thes e cha l l enged c os t s . W e r ej ect defe ndant ’ s ar gum ent and fi nd t hat t hes e cost s ar e suppor t ed suff i ci ent l y i n t he re c o rd

. I V

. C os t s A s s oci at ed w i t h t he Fai l ur e of the SN C / B N FL D r ySt or age Sy s t em I t i s unnece s s ary for t he cour t t o det erm i ne the i m pact , i f any , of del ay in c o m p letio n o f th e I S F S I d u e to p ro b lem s w ith S N C . T h e q u e stio n e d c o sts are al l associ at ed w i t h w et st orage. B ecause t he cou rthas fo un d thatplai nti ffs’ SN F w oul d not have been pi cked up unt i l 2002, t heyw oul d have be en r equi r ed t o m ai nt ai n a w etpool dur i ng thi s t i m e i n t he butforw or l d. CO NC L US I ON Pl ai nt i ffs have pr oved thatus e of a n excha nge w oul d have a cce l er at ed pi ckup s o t hatal l SN F w oul d have be en gone f r om t he Troj an fa ci l i t ybyt he end of 2002. Pl ai nt i ffs w er e ther efor e onl yr es pons i bl e f o r w et pool s t or age cos t s t hr ough 2002. T hi s r es ul t s i n a re d u cti on fr om pl ai nt i ffs ’ cl ai m of $ 3 5 ,4 6 0 ,3 5 1 . O th e r c laim e d c o sts w h ich a re d isa llo w e d : $ 3 4 4 ,2 5 7 f o r c o sts ste m m in g f

ro m th e 1 9 9 8 r e m o v a l o f tw o o f th e tw e lv e ra c k s in th e f u e l p o o l; $ 7 0 ,5 8 5 f

o r 1 9 9 7 se c u rityu p g ra d e ; $ 8 7 3 ,5 0 0 f o r O O E f e e s; N R C f

e e s p rio r to 2003; l egal cos t s r el at ed t o m ai nt ai ni ng PG E ’ s nucl earl i cens e pri or t o the end o f 2 0 0 2 , an d f

o r 2 0 m o n th s th e re a f

ter ; $ 2 8 0 ,3 6 8 in d ire c t co sts , an d $ 6 ,6 5 9 in i ndi r ectl aborcos t s for m ai nt enanc e of t hr ee bui l di ngs atthe Troj an s i t e fr om 2 0 0 0 to 2 0 0 3 ; $5 6 , 3 8 2 related to top n o zz le i n sp ec ti o n s; d u es pa id to N U P IC and Sci ent ech f

or2000, 2001, and 2002; t hat p o r t i on of pl ai nt i ffs ’ overhead c o sts a ss o c iate d w ith th e y e a rs 2 0 0 0 , 2 0 0 1 , an d 2 0 0 2 . A ll o th e r c laim e d c o sts ar e al l ow ed. T he part i es ar e di r ect ed t o cons ul tand pr opos e by Jan u ary7, 2013, a fi gur e forpl ai nt i ffs ’ r ecove r yw hi ch i m pl ement s the court ’ s rul i ng.

s /E r i c G

. B ruggi nk E r i c G

. B ruggi nk J u d g e