Page:Alabama v. North Carolina, 560 U.S. (2010) slip opinion.pdf/19

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which suggests that it would not have been appropriate to make North Carolina proceed on its own.

Nor was North Carolina required after December 19, 1997, to continue to expend its own funds at the same level it had previously (which Plaintiffs concede had satis­fied North Carolina’s obligation to take “appropriate steps”). Once the Commission refused to provide any further financial assistance, North Carolina would have had to assume an unlimited financial commitment to cover all remaining licensing costs. Even if it maintained its prior rate of appropriations going forward, it would not have come close to covering the at least $34 million needed for the last steps of the licensing phase. And since the income from the South Carolina facility had been termi­nated, there was no apparent prospect of funding for the construction phase (expected to cost at least $75 million). In connection with its August 1997 refusal to provide further assistance, the Commission itself had said, “[I]t will be imprudent to continue to deplete Commission resources for this purpose if a source of funds is not estab­lished soon for the ultimate completion of the project.” Id., at 306, 307; Joint Supp. Fact Brief App. 36, 37. And in March 1998, the Commission “strongly” reiterated that “it would be imprudent to spend additional funds for licens­ing activities if funds will not be available to complete the project.” Id., at 59. What was imprudent for the Commis­sion would surely have been imprudent (and hence inap­propriate) for North Carolina as well. The State would have wasted millions of its taxpayers’ dollars on what seemed to be a futile effort.

JUSTICE BREYER would uphold Plaintiffs’ challenge on this point. He believes that the Compact obligated North Carolina to fund and complete the licensing and construction of a nuclear waste facility. Post, at 2, 4–6 (opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part). In fact, how­ever, North Carolina was not even contractually required