A company developing a potential site for Utah's first nuclear plant will face another court challenge to its water rights.
On Wednesday, environmental groups filed a case with the Utah State Court of Appeals seeking to overturn an earlier district court ruling that upheld a state decision granting water rights from the Green River to Blue Castle Holdings. The judge in the original case noted that the 50,300 acre-feet in question represent 1.22 percent of the average flow, and that the river has not faced water shortages. Groups lead by HEAL Utah opposed to the plant, though, contend that level of water use is unsustainable, the Deseret News reported.
Blue Castle is pursuing a combined license for multiple reactors at the site in Emery County that the company would then transfer to another company that would build them. Last month, Blue Castle announced a memorandum of understanding with Westinghouse to use its AP1000 reactor design in developing the site.