Opinion ID: 415261
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Review of the district court order

Text: 60 After NRC issued its February 1982 order, the district court dismissed the City's motion for a preliminary injunction. 542 F.Supp. 13. The court found, first, that Counts V-XII of the City's complaint were in effect challenges to the license amendment, and that under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2342(4), the court of appeals is the exclusive forum for review of final NRC orders entered in any proceeding for the granting, suspending, revoking, or amending of any license, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2239. See Rockford League of Women Voters v. NRC, 679 F.2d 1218, 1221 (7th Cir.1982); Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. NRC, 606 F.2d 1261, 1264-1266 (D.C.Cir.1979). The City apparently agrees that the NRC order was a final one reviewable exclusively in this Court (City Br. at 40). 21 61 Second, the district court found that Counts I-IV were not ripe for judicial review. Those Counts asked the court to exercise its mandamus power to compel NRC compliance with NEPA. When there has been no final agency action permitting review in the court of appeals, we may assume that the district court has jurisdiction to order declaratory or injunctive relief if the NRC violates a clear, non-discretionary legal duty contained in NEPA, and there is no other adequate remedy. Gage v. AEC, 479 F.2d 1214, 1222 (D.C.Cir.1973); Izaak Walton League v. Schlesinger, 337 F.Supp. 287, 291 (D.D.C.1971). It is evident from the face of the complaint that NRC is in the process of complying with NEPA; it has in fact issued a draft EIS on KM's proposed decommissioning and stabilization plan. Yet because the City requests the court to order NRC to complete both the EIS and the plan by a date certain, their real complaint seems to be that NRC is improperly delaying the EIS and the final proposal. 22 62 Although there are no express time limits in NEPA, we may assume that a district court has jurisdiction to compel agency action if NRC unreasonably delays issuing an EIS. Here, however, the City faces a different roadblock: exhaustion of administrative remedies. Under 10 C.F.R. Sec. 2.206(a) any person may request that NRC institute a proceeding to modify, suspend or revoke a license, or for such other action as may be proper. The City could have petitioned NRC to expedite the licensing proceeding and the EIS process. If the petition were denied, 10 C.F.R. Sec. 2.206(b), that final order would be appealable to this Court, rather than the district court. Rockford League of Women Voters v. NRC, 679 F.2d 1218, 1219-1221 (7th Cir.1982); see also Justice Rehnquist's dissent from the denial of certiorari, General Pub. Utilities Corp. v. Susquehanna Valley Alliance, 449 U.S. 1096, 101 S.Ct. 893, 66 L.Ed.2d 824. Consequently the district court properly dismissed Counts I-IV. 63 The orders under review in Nos. 82-1575 and 82-1684 are affirmed.