Progress Energy Florida’s plans to build two nuclear power plants in Levy County may have been foiled again! Back in May of 2009, Progress Energy announced that the project would be delayed by at least 20 months, as the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) would not give them a limited work authorization for preparation work, due to the fact that all of the site and safety reviews were not complete.

This week, more road blocks have been set in place. Back in February, The Green Party of Florida along with the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) and the Ecology Party challenged the deficiencies in Progress Energy Construction and Operation License Application (COLA). This petition to intervene was indeed granted and has caused another setback to Progress Energy’s plans for the Levy County reactors.

Progress Energy’s environmental report fails to address things such as: Where will the new plant’s radioactive waste go? What is the impact of building the plant on a 100 year old floodplain? What effects will paving over hundreds acres of wetlands have on the Florida aquifer, the Withlacoochee River and the Waccasassa River?

Even though the plant will not begin producing power until some time in 2018 Progress Energy customers are already paying for it. In January the utility gave a monthly increase of $12.11 per 1,000 KWH, however soon after lowered them to $4.31 per 1,000 KWH after many customer complaints.

According to Tim Leljadel, spokesman for Progress Energy, “Progress Energy Florida has received and will review the ruling, and we’ll soon make a decision on whether to file an appeal.”