Florida Power & Light Company

Outcome: Application processed and approved in record time.

Description: We served as lead house counsel for Florida Power & Light, who retained us to prepare, expedite and process an application for zoning approvals to permit the construction of two nuclear reactors at Florida Power & Light's existing Turkey Point facility. The property consisted of 11,000 acres of land with numerous land use, zoning and environmental entitlements and encumbrances stemming from a 40-year history of local, state and federal regulations. Although the Florida Public Service Commission and state legislature encouraged utilities such as FPL to take substantive steps towards greater fuel source diversification to maintain electric supply reliability and cost stability for customers, environmental and safety concerns remain a significant challenge for the development of the first nuclear facility in the State in over 30 years. As lead counsel, I supervised a team that conducted in-depth land use, zoning and environmental research and audits on the 11,000 acres of land; expedited the review and processing of the public hearing application; reviewed all legal aspects of the application's processing to ensure compliance with local regulations to avoid any appeals or additional litigation; and coordinated with a team of consultants to address concerns raised by county administrators as well as public and environmental groups.