Opinion of BREYER, J.
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
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No. 132, Orig.
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STATE OF ALABAMA, STATE OF FLORIDA, STATE OF TENNESSEE, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, AND SOUTHEAST INTERSTATE LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, PLAINTIFFS v. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
ON EXCEPTIONS TO THE PRELIMINARY AND SECOND REPORTS OF THE SPECIAL MASTER
[June 1, 2010]
JUSTICE BREYER, with whom THE CHIEF JUSTICE joins, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I join Parts I, II–A, II–B, and III of the Court’s opinion. Unlike the Court, however, I believe that North Carolina breached the Southeast Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Compact (Compact) when it suspended its efforts toward building a waste disposal facility. (THE CHIEF JUSTICE joins all but Parts II–D and III–B of the Court’s opinion.)
Article 5(C) is the critical term of the Compact. It states:
“Each party state designated as a host state for a regional facility shall take appropriate steps to ensure that an application for a license to construct and operate a facility . . . is filed with and issued by the appropriate authority.” Omnibus Low-Level Radioactive Waste Interstate Compact Consent Act (Consent Act), 99 Stat. 1877.
In September 1986, North Carolina was “designated as a host state for a regional” low-level nuclear waste disposal “facility.” Ibid.; see also App. 417, 432. Soon thereafter, North Carolina’s General Assembly enacted legislation
