ML061310196

Letter from Annette L. Vietti-Cook to Alice E. Moore Responding to Her 04/12/06 Letter (Also Enclosed) Urging the Commission to Reconsider Its Decision to Make the Power Uprate for Vermont Yankee Immediately Effective

ML061310196
Person / Time
Site:	Vermont Yankee
Issue date:	05/02/2006
From:	Annette Vietti-Cook NRC/SECY
To:	Moore A State of MA, Office of the Attorney General
Byrdsong A T
References
50-271-OLA, ASLBP-04-832-02-OLA, RAS 11639
Download: ML061310196 (5)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 May 2,2006 DOCKETED USNRC May 11,2006 (8:21am)

SECRETARY OFFICE OF SECRETARY RULEMAKINGS AND ADJUDICATIONS STAFF Alice E. Moore, Esquire Docket No. 50-271 -0LA Chief, Public Protection Bureau Office of the Attorney General The Commonwealth of Massachusetts SERVED May 11, 2006 One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108-1598

Dear Ms. Moore:

This is in response to your letter to Chairman Nils J. Diaz dated April 12, 2006, in which you urge the Commission to reconsider its decision to make the power uprate for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station immediately effective. You recommended a delay in making the decision immediately effective in order to allow the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board in the Vermont Yankee proceeding to address the contentions accepted for hearing. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will address some of the concerns referenced in your letter and will reply directly to you.

Under NRC procedural rules for adjudications, the Commission has an appellate role in proceedings commenced before its Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards. Because of that role, the Commissioners must remain impartial during the pendency of a case, whether it is before a Licensing Board Panel or on appeal to the Commission, and it would be inappropriate for any of them to discuss or comment on issues involved in the proceeding.

A copy of your letter and this response, as well as the response of the NRC staff, when issued, will be served on the parties to the proceeding.

Sincerely, Annette L. Vietti-Cook cc: Vermont Yankee Service List

THE COM~~ONWALTK OF ~!IASSACHUSETTS OFFICEOF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ONE ASKBWTONPLACE BasTos, ~ss;.ck-dssrrs 62! 08-1 598 Nils Diaz

-Chairanan bnited States N L I C ~Regulztory V Commission Washington, D , C XOO5-OOO 1 Re: Vermont Yankee Nuclear POW& Station - Extended Power Uprate We urge you to reconsider your decision to make the license anendrnent allowing Vmcpnt Yankee's extended power uprate immediately effectwe. We ask that you instead defer Pbe effectiveness of the mendrnmr.

until aAeb your agency has decided on the important safety contentions raised by the State of Vermont and the New England Coalition in the pending adjudicatory hexing.

As Corriimi~sionGregory Jaczko stated in his Mmch 8, 2006 memorandum {"Jaczko Menaorandum")

to the Csnmissioners, the Atomic Energy Act allows a lic.ense amendment to become inmediately effective prior to a hearing only if iL does not involve any significant hazards considerations. See Atomic Energy Act, sectro~!% S9a(2)(A). The decision whethsr to make the amendment immediately effective should not piejudge the merits s f s safe? contention. Instead it should bc based on whether the zpplication raises significant hazards cansideratio~as-.See Saczko Memorandum. In a complicated case such as this, where parties have raised signifi.cmt safety contentions; and in which the staff has imposed numerous Iicense conditions, it is inappropriate ro nmakc the amendment effective before the adjudicatory process is complete, The imponmce of addrzssing these safety contentions in advance of hrther uprates is highlighted by csrly i.tdicaeions that power increases may cause excessive urbrat~onsin the plmt. Indeed, the NRC tmporarily h z e the power increase at 105% in light of these vibrations Although b e initial freeze was lifted, it now appears that a subsequent power increase produced additional vibrations, resulting in ye: another fieeze of t h e upraic at 112.5%. Fbese %ribrationsshould casi serious doubt on the NRC's decision to make the amendment inmediately effective We ask that you give seiious consideration to each of the contentions raised by intwenors; including Vermont's contention that t h e uprate puts certain conditions in place that cm make the mefgmcy core cooling

~jstm,ineffective or less effective. Since the emergency core cooling system is crucial for plant safety, a son~pleteam! deta~ledanalysis of this potential efkct is warranted Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely, Alice E. Moore Chief* j?&lic P;iji~~kefi Eu;ez:;

TEE CQIB~MONWT H OF MASSACHUSETTS OFFICEOF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL O m ASEELTTON PLACE B o s ~ sR~~. S S A C ~ C ~ E~TS 021C9-l598 FACSIMILE COVER SHEET ORGANZATBON: United States Nuclea Regulatory Comnlissioa TELEPHONE #:

FACSIMILE #: 301-415-1757 FROM; Alice Moore, Chief BUWPLU/DIB',~ Public Proxection Burca,u FACSIMILE #: (617) 727-5762 TBT.4L NO, OF PAGES SENT Cinciuding this cover page): 2 CQMMELPiFS: Please see thc a t t a ~ k e dletter. Thank vou.

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of )

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ENTERGY NUCLEAR VERMONT YANKEE L.L.C. ) Docket No. 50-271 -0LA and ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. )

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(Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station) )

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing LETTER FROM ANNETTE L. VIETTI-COOK TO ALICE E. MOORE RESPONDING TO HER 04/12/06 LETTER (ALSO ENCLOSED) URGING THE COMMISSION TO RECONSIDER ITS DECISION TO MAKE THE POWER UPRATE FOR VERMONT YANKEE IMMEDIATELY EFFECTIVE have been served upon the following persons by U.S. mail, first class, or through NRC internal distribution.

Office of Commission Appellate Administrative Judge Adjudication Alex S. Karlin, Chair U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Washington, DC 20555-0001 Mail Stop - T-3 F23 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Administrative Judge Administrative Judge Anthony J. Baratta Lester S. Rubenstein Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel 4270 E Country Villa Drive Mail Stop - T-3 F23 Tucson, AZ 8571 8 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Sherwin E. Turk, Esq. Raymond Shadis Steven C. Hamrick, Esq. New England Coalition Office of the General Counsel P.O. Box 98 Mail Stop 15 D21 Edgecomb, ME 04556 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001

2 Docket No. 50-271-0LA LETTER FROM ANNETTE L. VIETTI-COOK TO ALICE E. MOORE RESPONDING TO HER 04/12/06 LETTER (ALSO ENCLOSED) URGING THE COMMISSION TO RECONSIDER ITS DECISION TO MAKE THE POWER UPRATE FOR VERMONT YANKEE IMMEDIATELY EFFECTIVE John M. Fulton, Esq. Sarah Hofmann, Esq.

Assistant General Counsel Special Counsel Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. Department of Public Service 440 Hamilton Avenue 112 State Street - Drawer 20 White Plains, NY 10601 Montpelier, VT 05620-2601 Anthony Z. Roisman, Esq. Jay E. Silberg, Esq.

National Legal Scholars Law Firm Matias F. Travieso-Diaz, Esq.

84 East Thetford Rd. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Lyme, NH 03768 2300 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20037-1 128 Jonathan M. Rund, Esq. Terence A. Burke, Esq.

Law Clerk Associate General Counsel Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Entergy Services, Inc.

Mail Stop - T-3 F23 1340 Echelon Parkway U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Jackson, MS 39213 Washington, DC 20555-0001 a.

Office of thd Secretary of the ~ o t # n i s s i o n Dated at Rockville, Maryland, day of May 2006 this 1lth