The latest legal challenge against the National Ignition Facility under construction in Livermore, Calif., has come from an unlikely source -- the US government itself.
On behalf of the National Academy of Sciences, the US Department of Energy has asked a federal judge to convert a temporary injunction into a permanent injunction so that the agencies might better appeal the decision.
In March, a federal district court issued the injunction that prevented the DoE from using an academy report on the technical feasibility of the facility. Academy officials say that while the injunction has had little or no effect on the project, it could endanger their group's autonomy.
Plaintiffs in the case assert that the academy violated federal law by conducting the study behind closed doors.