ML081360553
| ML081360553 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Indian Point  |
| Issue date: | 05/15/2008 |
| From: | Collins S Region 1 Administrator |
| To: | Rainwater L Riverkeeper |
| References | |
| EDATS: SECY-2008-0280, G20080330, LTR-08-0269, SECY-2008-0280 | |
| Download: ML081360553 (5) | |
Text
May 15, 2008 Lisa Rainwater, Ph.D.
Policy Director - Riverkeeper, Incorporated 828 South Broadway Tarrytown, New York 10591
Dear Ms. Rainwater:
I am responding to your letter to Chairman Dale Klein dated May 6, 2008. Your letter raised concerns regarding the notification period for the upcoming May 20, 2008, public meeting in Cortlandt Manor, New York, to present the results of the NRCs most recent inspection and assessment of Entergys performance relative to characterization of the contaminated groundwater conditions at the Indian Point Energy Center, including its radiological assessment and remediation plans.
The NRC views nuclear regulation as the publics business, and as such, NRC meetings are transacted openly and candidly. The NRC understands there is a high level of interest among the communities surrounding Indian Point regarding plant operations and the NRC staff has held a number of meetings near the site for this reason on a range of subjects. In the past year, the NRC held two public meetings on the license renewal process as well as a meeting to discuss the status of the new siren system. Two additional meetings are planned in the next two months following the May 20th meeting. The first meeting, scheduled for June 18, 2008, will be a public meeting discussing elements of the license renewal and review process. In addition, on July 2, 2008, the agency will conduct the Annual Assessment Meeting for the Indian Point Energy Center to discuss the results of the NRCs assessment of overall licensee safety performance within the context of the Reactor Oversight Program. Each of these meetings offer the public an opportunity to raise questions and concerns to the NRC staff, as well as to interact with the staff on a one-on-one basis during pre-meeting informational poster sessions. The published agenda for the meeting on May 20th affords the public two hours to meet with the staff before the meeting, as well as approximately two hours to ask questions of the NRC staff and Entergy management at the conclusion of presentations.
The meeting notice for the May 20th meeting was issued on May 5, 2008, or fifteen (15) calendar days in advance of the meeting, which is in accordance with NRC policy regarding the timely notification of meetings. While the staff endeavors to notice such meetings as much in advance as possible, issues with the desired meeting facility (which just reopened on May 1st following a fire) did not allow for a longer notification period. As mentioned above, more advanced notification is being provided for the next two public meetings on Indian Point. Due to the high level of interest by the public in Indian Point, the NRC staff moved the venue for Indian Point public meetings to a much larger facility, located several miles from the plant, almost two years ago. To date, the comments received regarding this larger facility have been positive and we have not identified an equivalent facility in that area.
Regarding the categorization of this upcoming public meeting, the meeting was properly noticed as a Category 1 meeting since it is being held to discuss a particular regulatory issue regarding Entergys Indian Point facility. The purpose of the meeting is to inform the public of the status of
L. Rainwater 2 NRCs most recent inspection of Indian Point and next steps with respect to continued oversight relative to the groundwater conditions, and provide the public an opportunity to ask questions on this matter. Entergy representatives have voluntarily agreed to stay and address questions relative to their actions and plans to remediate the conditions at Indian Point. Category 3 meetings are typically held for the public to engage and participate in a proposed regulatory decision, such as during rulemaking or license renewal scoping meetings. We attempt to be consistent with categorization of our meetings in accordance with our public meeting policy.
Independent of the classification of the meeting, the meeting agenda for May 20th allots considerable time for public interaction with the NRC.
Please note that the NRC has undertaken a number of methods to encourage and facilitate public participation in the regulatory process for Indian Point on the groundwater contamination issue. The public meeting scheduled for May 20, 2008, is the second public meeting on this subject, the first having occurred in March 2006. Information on our inspection efforts in this matter have been published in two detailed NRC inspection reports, the most recent on May 13, 2008. In addition, the NRC has maintained a location on the NRC website to provide information on the Indian Point groundwater contamination issue, as well as general information on tritium leakage at other sites, for the last two years and has provided information on other issues of interest at Indian Point, including the siren replacement project and the Entergys license renewal application. All of these avenues, as well as existing communication and regulatory avenues such as e-mail and written correspondence to the staff and the Commission, 10 CFR 2.206 petitions, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) hearing process, among others, are available to the public and your elected representatives and have been used in the Indian Point regulatory process to date.
If you have any further questions or concerns in this matter, please contact Richard Barkley, of my staff, at (610) 337-5065. The NRC staff looks forward to addressing your questions and concerns in the coming months regarding the Indian Point facility.
Sincerely,
/RA/ Original Signed by Marsha Gamberoni for Samuel J. Collins Regional Administrator
ML081360553 After declaring this document AAn Official Agency Record@ it will/will not be released to the Public.
To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without attachment/enclosure "E" = Copy with attachment/enclosure "N" = No copy OFFICE RI/DRS RI/DRS RI/ORA RI/DRP RI/RC RI/RA NAME JWhite (JRW) MGamberoni RBarkley (RSB) ECobey (DEJ for) KFarrar (KLF) SCollins/MKG for DATE 05/15/08 05/ /08 05/12/08 05/13/08 05/14/08 05/15/08 L. Rainwater 3 cc w/encl:
Senior Vice President, Entergy Nuclear Operations Vice President, Operations, Entergy Nuclear Operations Vice President, Oversight, Entergy Nuclear Operations Senior Manager, Nuclear Safety and Licensing, Entergy Nuclear Operations Senior Vice President and COO, Entergy Nuclear Operations Assistant General Counsel, Entergy Nuclear Operations Manager, Licensing, Entergy Nuclear Operations P. Tonko, President and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority C. Donaldson, Esquire, Assistant Attorney General, New York Department of Law A. Donahue, Mayor, Village of Buchanan J. G. Testa, Mayor, City of Peekskill R. Albanese, Four County Coordinator S. Lousteau, Treasury Department, Entergy Services, Inc.
Chairman, Standing Committee on Energy, NYS Assembly Chairman, Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation, NYS Assembly Chairman, Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions M. Slobodien, Director, Emergency Planning P. Eddy, NYS Department of Public Service Assemblywoman Sandra Galef, NYS Assembly T. Seckerson, County Clerk, Westchester County Board of Legislators A. Spano, Westchester County Executive R. Bondi, Putnam County Executive C. Vanderhoef, Rockland County Executive E. A. Diana, Orange County Executive T. Judson, Central NY Citizens Awareness Network M. Elie, Citizens Awareness Network D. Lochbaum, Nuclear Safety Engineer, Union of Concerned Scientists Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project M. Mariotte, Nuclear Information & Resources Service F. Zalcman, Pace Law School, Energy Project L. Puglisi, Supervisor, Town of Cortlandt Congressman John Hall Congresswoman Nita Lowey Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton Senator Charles Schumer G. Shapiro, Senator Clinton's Staff J. Riccio, Greenpeace P. Musegaas, Riverkeeper, Inc.
M. Kaplowitz, Chairman of County Environment & Health Committee A. Reynolds, Environmental Advocates D. Katz, Executive Director, Citizens Awareness Network K. Coplan, Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic M. Jacobs, IPSEC W. Little, Associate Attorney, NYSDEC M. J. Greene, Clearwater, Inc.
R. Christman, Manager Training and Development J. Spath, New York State Energy Research, SLO Designee A. J. Kremer, New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (NY AREA)
L. Rainwater 4 Distribution:
W. Borchardt, EDO B. Mallett, DEDR M. Virgilio, DEDMRT D. Ash, DEDIS V. Ordaz, AO K. Cyr, OGC S. Burns, OGC E. Leeds, NRR B. Sheron, RES S. Williams, OEDO J. Boska, NRR S. Collins, RA M. Dapas, DRA M. Gamberoni, DRS R. Barkley, ORA M. McLaughlin, SLO K. Farrar, ORA D. Screnci, PA N. Sheehan, PAO J. White, DRS E. Cobey, DRP J. Noggle, DRS D. Jackson, DRP G. Matakas, ORA K. Gallagher, DRS G20080330/EDATS:SECY-2008-0280/Ltr-08-0269