ENERGY

Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Approved: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an order allowing the Long Island Power Authority to begin dismantling the $5.5-billion Shoreham nuclear power plant in New York. It was issued a day after the NRC dismissed all appeals in the long and tortuous case of the Long Island power plant. The order allows LIPA to begin the $186-million task of removing radioactive waste and dismantling the plant. The order gives LIPA six years to remove all radioactive waste from the site. The plant has never operated at anything above a 5% power test, mainly because of a dispute over whether eastern Long Island could be safely evacuated in case of an accident.