Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit erred in holding that South Carolina lacked standing to challenge the DOE's final action and that the challenge is not ripe

QUESTION PRESENTED The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) shipped massive amounts of weapons-grade plutonium to South Carolina for a decade in anticipation of building a facility there—the “MOX Facility”—to process it. After running way behind schedule and far over budget, DOE sought to mothball the still-uncompleted MOX Facility. In response, Congress enacted a statute requiring DOE to keep building the MOX Facility unless DOE gets a “waiver” of that requirement. This lawsuit arose from DOE’s decision to halt construction of the MOX Facility permanently after purportedly satisfying the statute’s requirements for a waiver. South Carolina claims in this suit that DOE’s decision violates the statute, which was specifically designed to protect South Carolina’s interests, and the National Environmental Policy Act. The question presented is whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit erred in holding that South Carolina lacked standing to challenge the DOE?’s final action and that the challenge is not ripe.