ML090560649
| ML090560649 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Indian Point  |
| Issue date: | 02/05/2009 |
| From: | Filler S, Greene M, Matthews J, Musegaas P, Sipos J, Snook R Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Riverkeeper, State of CT, Office of the Attorney General, State of NY, Dept of Environmental Conservation, State of NY, Office of the Attorney General |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| 50-247-LR, 50-286-LR, ASLBP 07-858-03-LR-BD01, RAS E-223 | |
| Download: ML090560649 (8) | |
Text
DOCKETED USNRC February 5, 2009 (4:55pm)
OFFICE OF SECRETARY RULEMAKINGS AND UNITED STATES ADJUDICATIONS STAFF NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD x
In re: Docket Nos. 50-247-LR; 50-286-LR License Renewal Application Submitted by ASLBP No. 07-858-03-LR-BD0l Entergy Nuclear Indian Point 2, LLC, DPR-26, DPR-64 Entergy Nuclear Indian Point 3, LLC, and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
February 5, 2009 x
JOINT MOTION REQUESTING ESTABLISHMENT OF A DATE CERTAIN FOR THE FILING OF NEW OR AMENDED CONTENTIONS RELATED TO THE DRAFT SAFETY EVALUATION REPORT AND AUDIT REPORTS Pursuant to 10 CFR §2.323, the State of New York, State of Connecticut, Riverkeeper, Inc., and Hudson River Sloop Clearwater ("Petitioners") file this joint motion to request that the time within which they would be required to file new or amended contentions based on the NRC Staff's Draft Safety Evaluation Report (SER) and Audit Reports be no later than March 18, 2008. As noted in the section on Consultation pursuant to §2.323(b) below, Petitioners bring this motion after engaging in substantial discussions among the parties in an attempt to resolve the issue. Despite the series of discussions, the parties were unable to come to a resolution.
The NRC Staff served its SER and accompanying Audit Reports on the parties on January 15, 2009. See Letter from Brian Holian, Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, to Joseph E. Pollock, Vice President, Operations, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Jan. 15, 2009) (ADAMS Accession No. ML090060045); Letter from Kimberly Green, Safety Projects Manager, Project Branch 2, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, to Vice President, Operations, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Jan. 13, 2009) (ADAMS Accession Nos.
I
ML083540648, ML083540662). Although the Board, in its Memorandum and Order Summarizing Pre-Hearing Conference issued February 4, 2009 in this proceeding did not specify a specific time-frame within which new contentions based upon newly available information must be filed, other ASLB Panels have adopted schedules specifying that new contentions filed within 30 days of the issuance of major documents, such as the draft SER, will be deemed timely filed within the meaning of 10 C.F.R. §2.309(c) and need only meet the requirements of 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f), particularly § 2.309(f)(2). See, e.g., In the Matter of Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC, Docket No. 50-271-LR, ASLBP No. 06-849-03-LR, Initial Scheduling Order (Nov. 17, 2006) at 7.
Using that analysis, new contentions based on the SER, if any, would be due no later than February 17, 2009. Petitioners' request for additional time to file new or amended contentions based on the recently issued SER is entirely reasonable, in light of the following. First, the SER is complex and voluminous, reaching almost 900 pages in length. It covers a multitude of issues that require review by the Petitioners' technical experts. In the SER, the NRC Staff has performed analyses and reviews that must be examined to determine what, if any, additional contentions Petitioners believe are warranted. The requested extension will allow a careful review of the SER, which will improve the quality of the contentions that Petitioners may file, and will facilitate the Board's consideration of the admissibility and merits of any new contentions offered. In addition, the Audit Report for Plant Aging Management Programs and Reviews ("Audit Report") includes an extensive list of Entergy documents reviewed by the NRC Staff during the onsite audits. See Audit Report pgs. 92-94. Based on discussions with NRC counsel, Petitioners believe many of these documents were not taken into possession by 2
the NRC Staff, and thus were not entered into the ADAMS database or are not otherwise publicly available, unless they were included in Entergy's initial discovery disclosures in this proceeding. Determining which relevant documents are included in Entergy's disclosures will take additional time, as will requesting the relevant documents from Entergy and reviewing them thoroughly.
Second, the requested extension will not have a material impact on the schedule for completing these hearings. As a result, it does not appear that harm or prejudice will result to Entergy or the NRC Staff. Although no full schedule has yet been set for the adjudicatory hearing in this proceeding, typically, the adjudicatory hearing is not held until after the final SEIS and final SER are released by the NRC Staff. See, e.g., 10 C.F.R. Part 2, Appendix B, Model Milestones for hearing under Subpart L. According to the NRC' s current review schedule for the Indian Point License Renewal Application, the completed SER is not scheduled to be released until July 27, 2009, and the final SEIS is not scheduled to be complete until February 2010. See NRC's Indian Point License Renewal Application webpage, at http://www.nrc. gov/reactors/operatina!/Iicensing/renewal/applications/indian-point.html, last accessed February 4, 2009. Extending the time for filing contentions based on the SER will not interfere or cause unreasonable delay with either of those dates.
Third, an unusual confluence of a number of other deadlines and obligations relevant to this proceeding presents significant challenges to Petitioners in meeting the February 17, 2009, deadline. Specifically, the Petitioners are involved in the following related activities:
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(1) Thursday, February 12 -- NRC has scheduled two public meetings on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Indian Point,
("DSEIS"), which require preparation and attendance by Petitioners.
(2) Monday, February 16 (the day before new SER contentions are currently due) is a national holiday.
(3) Wednesday, March 4 -- The NRC's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards ("ACRS") subcommittee meeting on the Indian Point license renewal is scheduled to be held in Rockville, Maryland. Petitioners are preparing to attend this meeting, and expect that NRC Staff and potentially Entergy personnel will also be in attendance.
(4) Wednesday, March 18 -- Written comments are due on the draft Supplemental EIS for the Indian Point license renewal application.
Consultation with Parties Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.323(b)
On January 26, counsel for Riverkeeper and New York State first telephoned and spoke with counsel for Entergy to raise the issue and determine whether Entergy would consent to the extension of time. Riverkeeper counsel left a phone message for NRC Staff counsel on January 27, with a request to confer regarding this request. On January 29, Entergy counsel suggested continuing the discussions via a conference call, which took place on Monday, February 2. A further conference call among the parties was held on Tuesday, February 3. Various alternative scheduling proposals were e-mailed among the parties during the first part of this week. Parties discussed among themselves and with their clients, where relevant, the possibility of a three-week extension, along with a three-week extension of time for answers to contentions to be filed. On Tuesday, February 3, counsel for Entergy, Martin O'Neill, contacted parties by electronic mail indicating that "Entergy continues to believe... that a 2-week extension of time (with a commensurate 2-week extension of time for Entergy to respond to any amended or new contentions) is reasonable under the circumstances." Sherwin Turk, counsel for the NRC 4
Staff, indicated that Staff does not oppose petitioners' motion as long as Staff is given a commensurate extension of time (specifically, through April 27, 2009) within which to respond. Petitioners would not oppose the Staff's request in this regard.
Petitioners submit that a four-week extension is appropriate, and that a two-week extension will not alleviate the burden on counsel for Petitioners, who are already preparing to meet the above-referenced deadlines. Petitioners respectfully request that the Board establish a filing date of March 18, 2009, for any new or amended contentions based on the draft SER and Audit Reports, and specify that contentions filed by that date will be deemed timely within the meaning of 10 C.F.R. §§ 2.309(c) and 2.309(f)(2)(iii) and no further showing under those provisions will be necessary.
For all the reasons stated and in the interest of justice, Petitioners respectfully request that their joint motion be granted.
Dated: February 5, 2009 Albany, New York Respectfully submitted, State of New York ALEXANDER B. GRANNIS Commissioner New York State Department of Environmental Conseriation
>EARY MATTHEW ssociate Commissioner New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Office of Hearings & Mediation Services 625 Broadway, 14th Floor Albany, New York 12233-5500 (518) 402-9190 jlmatthe(-gw.dec.state.ny. us ANDREW M. CUOMO Attorney General for the State of New York AOHN J JPos-Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General The Capitol Albany, New York 12224 (518) 402-2251 iohn.siposaoag.state.nv. us 5
JOHN L. PARKER Region 3 Attorney New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Region 3 Headquarters 21 South Putt Corners Road New Paltz, NY 12561-1620 (845) 256-3037 j lparker(',gw. dec. state.ny.us JANICE A. DEAN Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General 120 Broadway New York, NY (212) 416-8459 i ani ce. dean (oag. state. n V.us State of Connecticut Robert D. Snook Assistant Attorney General Federal Bar No. ct10897 55 Elm Street P.O. Box 120 Hartford, CT 06141-0120 Tel: (860) 808-5020 Fax: (860) 808-5347 Robert. Snook@po.state.ct.us Riverkeeper, Inc.
Phillip Mfisegaas, Esq. Y 71 Hudson River Program Director Riverkeeper, Inc.
828 South Broadway Tarrytown, NY 10591 914-478-4501 (ext. 224)
Phillip(ýDriverkeeper.or Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.
Manna Jo G-Keene, Environrr/eiial Director Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.
112 Market Street Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 845-454-7673 (ext. 113)
Mannaj o(ccl earwater.orgc Stepen C. Filler, Esq.
7.*'
Board Member Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.
303 South Broadway Suite 222 Tarrytown, NY 10591 sfiller( anylawline.com 6
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of ENTERGY NUCLEAR INDIAN POINT 2, LLC, ENTERGY NUCLEAR INDIAN POINT 3, LLC, and ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC.
INDIAN POINT NUCLEAR GENERATING UNITS 2 & 3 Regarding the Renewal of Facility Operating Licenses No. DPR-26 and No. DPR-64 for an Additional 20-year Period Docket Nos.
50-247-LR & 50-286-LR ASLBP No.
07-858-03-LR-BDO1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on February 5, 2009, copies of the foregoing Joint Motion Requesting Establishment of a Date Certain for the Filing of New or Amended Contentions Related to the Draft Safety Evaluation Report and Audit Reports were served, on behalf of Petitioners State of New York, State of Connecticut, Riverkeeper, Inc., and Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. on the following persons by regular first class mail and e-mail:
Lawrence G. McDade, Chair Administrative Judge Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mailstop 3 F23 Two White Flint North 11545 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 Lawrence.McDade@nrc.gov Richard E. Wardwell Administrative Judge Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mailstop 3 F23 Two White Flint North 11545 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 Richard.Wardwell@nrc.gov Zachary S. Kahn, Esq.
Law Clerk Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mailstop 3 F23 Two White Flint North 11545 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 Zachary.Kahn@nrc.gov Kaye D. Lathrop Administrative Judge Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 190 Cedar Lane E.
Ridgway, CO 81432 Kaye.Lathrop@nrc.gov Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mailstop 3 F23 Two White Flint North 11545 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mailstop 16 G4 One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 ocaamail@nrc.gov Office of the Secretary Attn: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 hearingdocket@nrc.gov
Sherwin E. Turk, Esq.
Brian G. Harris David E. Roth, Esq.
Beth N. Mizuno, Esq.
Marcia J. Simon Jessica A. Bielecki Office of the General Counsel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mailstop 15 D21 One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 set@nrc.gov brian.harris@nrc.gov der@nrc.gov bnml@nrc.gov marcia.simon@nrc.gov jessica.bielecki@nrc.gov Kathryn M. Sutton, Esq.
Paul M. Bessette, Esq.
Martin J. O'Neill, Esq.
Mauri T. Lemoncelli, Esq.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004 ksutton@morganlewis.com pbessette@morganlewis.com martin.o'neill@morganlewis.com mlemoncelli@morganlewis.com Elise N. Zoli, Esq.
Goodwin Procter, LLP Exchange Place 53 State Street Boston, MA 02109 ezoli@goodwinprocter.com William C. Dennis, Esq.
Assistant General Counsel Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 wdennis@entergy.com Robert D. Snook, Esq.
Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General State of Connecticut 55 Elm Street P.O. Box 120 Hartford, CT 06141-0120 robert.snook@po.state.ct.us Justin D. Pruyne, Esq.
Office of the Westchester County Attorney Michaelian Office Building 148 Martine Avenue, 6th Floor White Plains, NY 10601 jdp3@westchestergov.com Daniel Riesel, Esq.
Thomas F. Wood, Esq.
Jessica Steinberg, Esq.
Sive, Paget & Riesel, P.C.
460 Park Avenue New York, NY 10022 driesel@sprlaw.com jsteinberg@sprlaw.com Manna Jo Greene, Director Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.
112 Little Market St.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 Mannajo@clearwater.org Stephen C. Filler, Esq.
Board Member Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.
303 South Broadway Suite 222 Tarrytown, NY 10591 sfiller@nylawline.com Diane Curran, Esq.
Harmon, Curran, Speilberg & Eisenberg, LLP Suite 600 1726 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 dcurran@harmoncurran.com Phillip Musegaas, Esq.
Victor Tafur, Esq.
Deborah Brancato, Esq.
Riverkeeper, Inc.
828 South Broadway Tarrytown, NY 10591 phillip@riverkeeper.org vtafur@riverkeeper.org dbrancato@riverkeeper.org Daniel E. O'Neill, Mayor James Seirmarcho, M.S.
Village of Buchanan Municipal Bldg.
236 Tate Avenue Buchanan, NY 10511-1298 vob@bestweb.net Michael J. Delaney, Esq.
Vice President - Energy Department New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) 110 William Street New York, NY 10038 mdelaney@nycedc.com J*Jy(4n Leary Matthews'