Diane Curran, Attorney
Since 1981, Diane has represented citizen groups, state and local governments, and individuals in a wide range of licensing and enforcement cases relating to nuclear facilities. A nationally recognized expert in the field of nuclear safety and security regulation, Diane has spent her career litigating the requirements of the Atomic Energy Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and other public safety and environmental protection laws in administrative proceedings before the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and judicial appeals to the federal court system. In NRC licensing cases and federal court appeals, Diane has won significant improvements to the NRC’s regulation of public health and safety, security and environmental protection. Major victories include:
Diane has represented many national and regional environmental organizations, including Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining, Friends of the Earth, Georgia Women's Action for New Directions, the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Native Americans for a Clean Environment, Nuclear Watch South, Riverkeeper, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, the Sierra Club, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Diane’s current and former government clients include the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; the State of Utah; Eureka County, Nevada; and Orange County, North Carolina.
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EducationYale University, B.S. 1976 University of Maryland, J.D. 1981 List of Awards2013 – Mother's Day for Peace Honoree from Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions (Georgia WAND); Certificate of Honor from Alliance for Nuclear Accountability 1997 – Finalist for Trial Lawyer of the Year, awarded by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice Recent PressLawsuit Challenges NRC Rules on Waste Storage, by David McCumber in CT Post (Oct. 30, 2014) Watchdogs Say NRC Rushing Nuclear Waste Report, by David McCumber in Rutland Herald (Jan. 13, 2013). Nuclear Waste: Industry, Activists Gird for Fallout from Waste Debate, by Hannah Northey in E&E News (Aug. 10, 2012). America's Nuclear Nightmare, by Jeff Goodell in Rolling Stone (April 27, 2011) Status of Spent Nuclear Fuel in Question at Crippled Japanese Power Plant, by John Sullivan in Pro Publica (March 14, 2011). Did the Nuclear Industry and Politicians Learn Anything from the BP Oil Spill?, by Zachary Shahan in CleanTechnica.com (June 24, 2010). PublicationsHelen Caldicott, Loving This Planet (The New Press: 2012). Author, The Re-Licensing of Nuclear Power Plants, in O'Very et al., Controlling the Atom in the 21st Century (NRDC/Westview Press: 1994) Author, Silent Sirens: Report on 1992 Accident at Sequoyah Fuels Uranium Processing Facility (Native Americans for a Clean Envionment: 1993) Author, The Public As Enemy: NRC Assaults on Public Participation in the Regulation of Operating Nuclear Power Plants (Union of Concerned Scientists: 1992). Court Decisions and BriefsCourt decision vacating Waste Confidence rule, NRDC v. NRC, 681 F.3d 471 (D.C. Cir. 2012). Opening brief for Petitioners in NRDC v. NRC, 681 F.3d 471 (D.C. Cir. 2012). Court decision ordering NRC to consider environmental impacts of attacks on spent fuel storage facility, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace v. NRC, 449 F.3d 10176 (9th Cir. 2006). Opening brief for Petitioners in San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace v. NRC. Email
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