Calvert Cliffs Coordinating Committee v. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
449 F.2d 1109 (1971)
The Atomic Energy Commission (defendant) required nuclear plant applicants to prepare an environmental report, which the Commission would supplement with its own detailed statement, but its rules excluded both documents from consideration by the actual licensing board deciding whether to grant the permit. Calvert Cliffs (plaintiff) petitioned for review, arguing this procedure failed NEPA's requirement that environmental factors be genuinely weighed throughout the decision-making process.
Whether the National Environmental Policy Act requires a federal agency to consider environmental factors at every important stage of its decision-making process, including in the actual licensing determination.