ML053190223
| ML053190223 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Indian Point  |
| Issue date: | 11/08/2005 |
| From: | Matthiessen A Riverkeeper |
| To: | Diaz N NRC/Chairman |
| Shared Package | |
| ML053270321 | List: |
| References | |
| G20050777, LTR-05-0557 | |
| Download: ML053190223 (4) | |
Text
EDO Principal Correspondence Control FROM:
DUE: 12/07/05 EDO CONTROL: G20050777 DOC DT: 11/08/05 FINAL REPLY:
Alex Matthiessen RiverKeeper, Inc.
TO:
Chairman Diaz FOR SIGNATURE OF :
GRN **
CRC NO: 05-0557 Collins, RI DESC:
ROUTING:
November 16, 2005, Meeting with Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3 DATE: 11/14/05 Reyes Virgilio Kane Silber Dean Cyr/Burns Dyer, NRR ASSIGNED TO:
RI CONTACT:
Collins SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS OR REMARKS:
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I OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY CORRESPONDENCE CONTROL TICKET Date Printed: Nov 14, 2005 15:39 PAPER NUMBER:
ACTION OFFICE:
LTR-05-0557 EDO LOGGING DATE: 11/14/2005 AUTHOR:
AFFILIATION:
ADDRESSEE:
SUBJECT:
ACTION:
DISTRIBUTION:
LETTER DATE:
ACKNOWLEDGED SPECIAL HANDLING:
Alex Matthiessen NY Nils Diaz November 16, 2005 meeting with Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3,50-247,50-286 Direct Reply SECY, RF 11/08/2005 No Made publicly available via SECY.....
NOTES:
FILE LOCATION:
ADAMS DATE DUE:
12/07/2005 DATE SIGNED:
EDO -- G2005077"7 I
- ~
RIVERKEEPER.
Nils J. Diaz, Ph.D.
Chairman U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738 Re: November 16,'2005 Meeting with-EntergyNuclear Operations, Inc.; Indian Point.------
Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3, Docket Nos. 50-247, 50-286
Dear Chairman Diaz:
I am writing on behalf of Riverkeeper and its members to express my concern over the Commission's continuing failure to properly notify the public ina timely manner of upcoming opportunities for public participation at NRC meetings. The most recent example involves the above-referenced meeting between the NRC and Entergy regarding Entergy's compliance with the requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and their plans to address chronic problems with the ANS system at Indian Point. The operability of the em'ergency siren system at Indian Point is a matter of great concern to all citizens living within the ten mile EPZ of the plant, who are dependent on the sirens' ability to provide initial notification of an emergency. On February'23, 2005, Riverkeeper and fifteen other organizations, including region-Al elected officials, petitioned the NRC to require plant owners, including Entergy, to provide backup power to emergency sirens.
The Commission denied our petition, which led to Senator Hillary Clinton's involvement and the eventual amendment to the 2005 Energy Act requiring backup power to sirens "for any-liienhsed
'uclajiwr plants located where there is a permanent population...
in excess of 15,000,000 within a 50-mile radius of the nuclear power plant, no later than 18 months after enactment of this Act."'
Riverkeeper continues to play a crucial role in the public's campaign to ensure that the siren system at Indian Point is fixed. Despite this role, we were never notified of the upcoming meeting, which deals exclusively with the siren issue. Instead, a member of our staff discovered a mention of the meeting in the Region I 'Deviation Memo' of October 28, 2005 to the EDO, requesting enhanced oversight of Indian Point due to the
' siren issue and the 1P2 spent fuel pool leak. This document was posted on the NRC's Indian Point website, http://vww.nrc.gov/reactors/plant-specific-items/indian-point-issues.html, on October 28. Subsequent enquiries by our staff to the NRC found that the, 828 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 0o591
. 914.478.4501
. f: 914.478.4527 i
~ww.riverkeeper.org 0
meeting notice was posted on the NRC's website under the Public Meeting calendar on October 4, 2005. An examination oftihe enclosure list to the memo announcing the meeting revealed that the only member of an advocacy group directly notified was Jim
- Riccio of Greenpeace in, Washington, D.C. Only three members, bf the New York State government were notified, all based in'Albany..- The only local elected official onl the list I
was the mayor of Buchanan, N.Y. the towni in which Indian Point is located. Everyone else slated to receive this notice either worked for the NRC or Entergy.
- To be clear, Region I of the NRC routiniely~ includes Riverkeeper and other local
- advocacy groups in its distribution of a wide range of documents relating to Indian Point, including Inspection Reports, License Amendment applications, and performance reviews. In Addition, a member of Riverkeeper's staff has been in regular contact with several officials at NRC headquarters-since 'October 4 by phone or e-mail, and the upcoming meeting was never mentioned.
- .------ Pverkeeperi ca-take-a-le-d role indisse'minaiting-n-otice of such-a-meeting-t a-large~
number of local citizens and our own members,'through press releases and e-mail alerts.
To leave this org'anization out of the loop, for whatever reason, does the NRC and the
~licensee a disservic'e and crcates the appearance of a federal agency purposely trying to limit public involvement in its regulatory affatirs. Such an approach is unacceptable, because it only serves to deepen'the public's mistrust and sense of disempowerment from
-the regulatory process. Indeed, the'dearth of-public notice is surprisingintscaeOe
-. would think the NRC and Entetgy would welcome a large public turnout to a meeting
- announcing a plan to resolve the ANS problemnsat Indian Point. To reiterate, a single~
posting in one section of the NRC's website is insufficient public notice. Including
- Riverkeeper in this type of correspondence is essential to building an atmosphere of transparency, in which the local citizens affected by these decisions feel that their participation matters.- Unfortunately, this has not been the case.
Thank yu for your time. I urge you to consider areine'wed effort to increase public participation in these matters, and I look, forward to your re~ponse to my concerns..
Sincerely,--
Alex Matthiessen
- Hudson Riverkeeper
'&President