ML13150A413
| ML13150A413 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Indian Point  |
| Issue date: | 05/30/2013 |
| From: | Sherwin Turk NRC/OGC |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| 50-247-LR, 50-286-LR, ASLBP 07-858-03-LR-BD01, RAS 24599 | |
| Download: ML13150A413 (6) | |
Text
May 30, 2013 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of )
)
ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. ) Docket Nos. 50-247-LR/ 50-286-LR
)
(Indian Point Nuclear Generating )
Units 2 and 3) )
NRC STAFFS RESPONSE TO ENTERGYS MOTION FOR LEAVE TO SUPPLEMENT ITS MOTION FOR DECLARATORY ORDER INTRODUCTON Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.323(c), the Staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Staff) hereby responds to the motion filed by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy or Applicant) for leave to supplement its July 30, 2012 motion for a declaratory order that it has already obtained its required Coastal Zone Management Act consistency review for license renewal of Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3 (IP2 and IP3).1 For the reasons set forth below, the Staff does not oppose Entergys Motion to Supplement.
DISCUSSION On July 30, 2012, Entergy filed its Motion for Declaratory Order,2 in which it requested that the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (Board) issue a declaratory order finding that New York State (NYS or New York) has already reviewed the operations of IP2 and IP3 to 1
Entergys Motion for Leave to Supplement Its Motion for Declaratory Order that It Has Already Obtained the Required New York State Coastal Management Program Consistency Review of Indian Point Unit 2 and 3 for Renewal of the Operating Licenses (May 20, 2013) (Motion to Supplement).
2 Motion and Memorandum by Applicant Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. for Declaratory Order that It Has Already Obtained the Required New York State Coastal Management Program Consistency Review of Indian Point 2 and 3 for Renewal of the Operating Licenses (July 30, 2012) (Motion for Declaratory Order).
2 determine their consistency with the New York State Coastal Management Program, as required under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA), 16 U.S.C. § 1451, et seq.
Entergy attached to its Motion for Declaratory Order a total of 29 attachments, including various documents pertaining to environmental reviews that were conducted by New York State agencies concerning the operations and/or license transfers of IP2 and IP3. In accordance with the Boards scheduling Orders, answers in opposition to Entergys Motion for Declaratory Order were timely filed (a) by New York and Riverkeeper, Inc. (Riverkeeper), on April 5, 2013,3 and (b) by the NRC Staff, on April 15, 2013.4 In addition, on April 5, 2013, New York filed a Cross-Motion for Declaratory Order; answers to that motion were timely filed by Riverkeeper and the Staff on April 15, 2013, and by Entergy on May 6, 2013.
In its current Motion to Supplement, Entergy seeks leave to submit four additional documents for the Boards consideration, concerning New Yorks previous reviews of IP2 and IP3, which it contends (a) help clarify the scope of the environmental review of IP2s operations by the New York Public Service Commission (NYSPSC) before the unit was transferred . . . to Entergy in 2001, and (b) reflect information about the context of the New York Power Authoritys (NYPA) consistency review of IP3 in anticipation of the units transfer from NYPA to Entergy in 2000. Motion to Supplement at 1.
The Staff does not oppose Entergys request that the Board consider these additional documents in its evaluation and ruling on Entergys Motion for Declaratory Order. As Entergy notes (Id.), the Staff previously observed that additional documentation and/or consultation with 3
See (1) State of New Yorks Response to Entergys Request to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board for a Declaratory Order Concerning Coastal Zone Management Act Issues and Cross-Motion for Declaratory Order (Apr. 5, 2013) (New Yorks Response); and (2) Riverkeeper Answer in Opposition to Motion and Memorandum by Applicant Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. for Declaratory Order that It Has Already Obtained the Required New York State Coastal Management Program Consistency Review of Indian Point 2 and 3 for Renewal of the Operating Licenses (Apr. 5, 2013)
(Riverkeepers Response).
4 NRC Staffs Answer to Applicants Motion and Memorandum for Declaratory Order that It Has Already Obtained the Required New York State Coastal Management Program Consistency Review of Indian Point 2 and 3 for Renewal of the Operating Licenses (Apr. 15, 2013) (Staffs Response).
3 the State would assist in understanding the meaning and effect of the documents submitted in support of Entergys Motion and would help to resolve this issue. Staffs Response at 13.
Entergys Motion to Supplement provides additional documentation which it contends may assist the Board in resolving the complex and novel issues raised by Entergys Motion for Declaratory Order. Accordingly, to whatever extent these four documents may shed additional light on Entergys assertion that the State has previously reviewed the consistency of IP2/IP3 operations with the States Coastal Management Program, the Staff does not oppose their consideration by the Board.5 Finally, the Staff notes that Entergy asserts that none of these four documents were available when it filed its Motion for Declaratory Order on July 30, 2012; that three of the documents were produced by NYPA on February 27, 2013, seven months after Entergy filed its motion; and that it received the fourth document (a Declaration by John H. Smolinsky, a former NYS official), only recently. Motion to Supplement, at 2. While Entergys Motion to Supplement does not establish that it submitted these documents within the 10-day period specified in 10 C.F.R. § 2.323(a) for the filing of motions, the Staff considers that the additional delay caused by Entergys filing of these documents is insignificant, given (a) the substantial delay that has already occurred due to the parties 8-month delay in filing responses to Entergys Motion, (b) the States 9-month delay in filing its Cross-Motion for Declaratory Order; (c) the fact that no party has previously argued that Entergys Motion for Declaratory Order was itself untimely, and (d) the importance that the Board be able to consider all of the available, relevant evidence in deciding the difficult issues raised by Entergys Motion for Declaratory Order.
5 The Staff expresses no opinion herein as to the effect of these four additional documents on Entergys Motion for Declaratory Order. As Entergy states, if the Board grants its Motion to Supplement, the other parties (New York, Riverkeeper and the Staff) seek leave to file answers thereto on or before June 21, 2013. See Motion to Supplement at 3.
4 CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, the Staff does not oppose Entergys motion for leave to supplement its July 30, 2012 Motion for Declaratory Order.
Respectfully submitted
/Signed Electronically by/
Sherwin E. Turk Counsel for NRC Staff U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop O-15 D21 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Telephone: (301) 415-1533 E-mail: Sherwin.Turk@nrc.gov Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 30th day of May 2013
5 CERTIFICATION OF COUNSEL Counsel for the Staff certifies that he has made a sincere effort to make himself available to listen and respond to the moving party, and to resolve the factual and legal issues raised in the motion, and that his efforts to resolve the issues have been successful.
Respectfully submitted,
/Signed (electronically) by/
Sherwin E. Turk Counsel for NRC Staff U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop O-15 D21 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Telephone: (301) 415-1533 E-mail: Sherwin.Turk@nrc.gov Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 30th day of May 2013
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of )
)
ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. ) Docket Nos. 50-247-LR/ 50-286-LR
)
(Indian Point Nuclear Generating )
Units 2 and 3) )
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE Pursuant to 10 C.F.R § 2.305 (as revised), I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing NRC STAFFS RESPONSE TO ENTERGYS MOTION FOR LEAVE TO SUPPLEMENT ITS MOTION FOR DECLARATORY ORDER, dated May 30, 2013, have been served upon the Electronic Information Exchange (the NRCs E-Filing System), in the above-captioned proceeding, this 30th day of May, 2013.
/Signed (electronically) by/
Sherwin E. Turk Counsel for NRC Staff U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop O-15 D21 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Telephone: (301) 415-1533 E-mail: Sherwin.Turk@nrc.gov