In February 2012, the NRC approved the construction license of the two proposed AP1000 reactors at Vogtle. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko cast the lone dissenting vote on plans to build and operate the two new nuclear power reactors, citing safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, saying, "I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened." One week after Southern Company received the license to begin construction, many environmental and anti-nuclear groups sued to stop the expansion project, claiming "public safety and environmental problems since Japan's Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear reactor accident have not been taken into account". On July 11, 2012, the lawsuit was rejected by the Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.