ML051300086
| ML051300086 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Millstone  |
| Issue date: | 05/06/2005 |
| From: | Poole B NRC/OGC |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| Giitter R | |
| References | |
| 50-336, 50-423, ASLBP 05-837-01-LR, RAS 9941 | |
| Download: ML051300086 (5) | |
Text
May 6, 2005 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of )
)
DOMINION NUCLEAR CONNECTICUT, INC. ) Docket Nos. 50-336, 50-423
)
(Millstone Power Station, Units 2 & 3) ) ASLBP No. 05-837-01-LR NRC STAFFS STATUS REPORT INTRODUCTION On April 12, 2005, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (Licensing Board) conducted a telephonic prehearing conference with the participants in this matter. Following the completion of oral argument, the Licensing Board directed the participants to attempt, in the next three weeks, to:
. . .agree upon a Memorandum of Understanding, or other similar arrangement, that would not only guide the resolution of any current controversy among them but would, more importantly, provide a framework for cooperative solutions of similar emergency planning matters that might arise over the coming years . . .
Dominion Nuclear Conn., Inc. (Millstone Power Station, Units 2 & 3), Memorandum of Conference Call (April 15, 2005), slip op. at 2. The Licensing Board indicated that it would hold this proceeding in abeyance pending a progress report on the parties discussions. Id. The Staff herein provides its status report.1 DISCUSSION The Staff has been working with counsel for the applicant and Suffolk County to establish a mutually convenient date to meet, pursuant to the Licensing Boards direction. Although, to date, 1
As discussed further below, because the participants have not yet met, a joint status report was not formulated. Staff counsel advised counsel for both the applicant and Suffolk County of the content of this status report prior to filing.
the participants have been unable to meet due to schedular conflicts, the Staff remains committed to engaging in discussions with the participants, particularly Suffolk County, in the near future. The Staff regards its interactions with the County on emergency preparedness concerns to constitute performance of the NRCs ongoing regulatory processes.
Therefore, the Staff is of the view that such discussions should be divorced from this proceeding.2 As the Staff has argued in its papers3 and at the prehearing conference,4 there is no matter in controversy in this proceeding for which relief can be granted to the County. The Countys Petition was impermissibly late without good cause and otherwise procedurally deficient.
Moreover, and more importantly, the proposed contentions raised by the County are plainly outside the scope of this license renewal proceeding. For this reason, even as the Staff continues to 2
As the Commission recently reiterated, [L]icensing boards do not sit to . . . supervise or direct NRC Staff regulatory reviews. Duke Energy Corp. (Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 & 2),
CLI-04-6, 59 NRC 62, 74 (2004), citing Baltimore Gas & Elec. Co. (Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 & 2), CLI-98-25, 48 NRC 325, 349 (1998); Curators of the Univ. of Mo., CLI-95-1, 41 NRC 71, 121 (1995)(As a general matter, the Commissions licensing boards and presiding officers have no authority to direct the Staff in the performance of its safety reviews.). See also Carolina Power & Light Co. (Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1, 2, 3 & 4), CLI-80-12, 11 NRC 514, 516 (1980); Rockwell Intl Corp. (Rocketdyne Division), ALAB-925, 30 NRC 709, 721-22 (1989), affd, CLI-90-5, 31 NRC 337 (1990).
3 See NRC Staff Answer Opposing the Petition for Late Intervention of the County of Suffolk of the State of New York, dated February 28, 2005; NRC Staff Motion to Strike, in Whole or in Part, the Reply of the County of Suffolk of the State of New York and Response to Request for Waiver Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.335(b), dated March 18, 2005.
4 See Tr. at 1-96.
engage the County outside the confines of this proceeding, the Staff requests that the Licensing Board lift its stay regarding this matter and issue a decision on the matters briefed by the participants.
Respectfully submitted,
/RA/
Brooke D. Poole Counsel for NRC Staff Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 6th day of May 2005
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of )
)
DOMINION NUCLEAR CONNECTICUT, INC. ) Docket Nos. 50-336, 50-423
)
(Millstone Power Station, Units 2 & 3) ) ASLBP No. 05-837-01-LR CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the NRC STAFFS STATUS REPORT in the captioned proceeding have been served on the following through electronic mail and with copies by deposit in the NRCs internal mail system, or through electronic mail with copies by deposit in the U.S. Postal Service as indicated by an asterisk, this 6th day of May, 2005:
Michael C. Farrar, Chief Alan S. Rosenthal, Administrative Judge Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Mail Stop: T-3F23 Mail Stop: T-3F23 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: mcf@nrc.gov E-mail: RSNTHL@comcast.net Peter S. Lam, Administrative Judge Office of the Secretary Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel ATTN: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff Mail Stop: T-3F23 Mail Stop: O-16C1 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: psl@nrc.gov E-mail: HEARINGDOCKET@nrc.gov Office of Commission Appellate Lillian M. Cuoco, Esq.*
Adjudication Senior Nuclear Counsel Mail Stop: O-16C1 Millstone Power Station U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Building 475/5 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Rope Ferry Road (Route 156)
Waterford, CT 06385 E-mail: Lillian_Cuoco@dom.com
David R. Lewis, Esq.* Christine Malafi*
Matias F. Travieso-Diaz, Esq.* Suffolk County Attorney Timothy J.V. Walsh, Esq.* H. Lee Dennison Building, 6th Floor Shaw Pittman, LLP P.O. Box 6100 2300 N St., NW 100 Veterans Memorial Highway Washington, DC 20037-1128 Hauppage, NY 11788 E-mail: david.lewis@shawpittman.com E-mail:
matias.travieso-diaz@shawpittman.com Christine.Malafi@suffolkcountyny.gov timothy.walsh@shawpittman.com
/RA/
Brooke D. Poole Counsel for NRC Staff