ML13154A533

NRC Staffs 16th Status Report in Response to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board'S Order of February 16, 2012

ML13154A533
Person / Time
Site:	Indian Point
Issue date:	06/03/2013
From:	Sherwin Turk NRC/OGC
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
SECY RAS
References
RAS 24641, 50-247-LR, 50-286-LR, ASLBP 07-858-03-LR-BD01
Download: ML13154A533 (7)

Text

June 3, 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/286-LR

)

(Indian Point Nuclear Generating )

Units 2 and 3) )

NRC STAFFS 16TH STATUS REPORT IN RESPONSE TO THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARDS ORDER OF FEBRUARY 16, 2012 In accordance with the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards (Board) Order (Granting NRC Staffs Unopposed Time Extension Motion and Directing Filing of Status Updates)

(Order), issued on February 16, 2012, the NRC Staff (Staff) herewith provides its 16th monthly status report to the Board.

1. As stated in Staff Counsels letter to the Board of May 14, 2013, 1 the Staff has transmitted the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) Supplement (Volume 4) related to license renewal of Indian Point Units 2 and 3 (IP2 and IP3) to the NRC Office of Administration; the Staff expects that document to be issued on or before June 30, 2013. As stated previously, the FSEIS Supplement will address aquatic impacts, including a discussion of the Staffs consultations with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy or Applicant) under Section 7 of the Endangered 1

Letter from Sherwin E. Turk to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (May 14, 2013).

Species Act (ESA), regarding endangered species at IP2 and IP3, and NMFSs issuance of a Biological Opinion on January 30, 2013. 2

2. As stated previously, inasmuch as the FSEIS Supplement will address aquatic impacts (including impacts to endangered species), the Staff will be unable to proceed to hearing on Contention RK-EC-8 (Endangered Species) until the FSEIS Supplement is issued.

The FSEIS Supplement does not affect any admitted contention in this proceeding other than Contention RK-EC-8, which has not yet been scheduled for hearing. 3

3. As also stated previously, 4 the Staff is planning to issue a supplement (Supplement 2) to its Safety Evaluation Report (SER) related to license renewal of IP2/IP3. In SER Supplement 2, the Staff expects to address the information provided in the Applicants responses to Staff requests for additional information (RAIs) following the issuance of SER Supplement 1 in October 2011, including information concerning the Applicants Reactor Vessel Internals (RVI) Aging Management Program and Inspection Plan.

4. The Staff previously reported to the Board that it expects to issue SER Supplement 2 by July 31, 2013, based upon its expectation that the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) would issue technical and guidance documents concerning MRP-227-A by May 31, 2013, and that the Applicant would provide additional information concerning its RVI Aging Management Program in consideration of those documents. 5 More recently, the Staff has learned that EPRI did not issue those documents in May, and that EPRI currently expects 2

See (1) NRC Staffs 15th Status Report in Response to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards Order of February 16, 2012 (May 1, 2013) (15th Status Report), at 1-2; (2) Letter from John K.

Bullard (Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), to Dr. Amy Hull (NRC) (January 30, 2013) (ADAMS Accession No. ML13032A256).

3 See NRC Staffs 15th Status Report, at 2.

4 Id.

5 See NRC Staffs 15th Status Report, at 2 n.5.

to issue the documents by June 30, 2013. As the Staff stated previously, 6 once EPRI issues those documents, the Staff expects to issue further RAIs to the Applicant regarding its RVI aging management program and MRP-227-A. In addition, the Staff has received and is currently evaluating other RAI responses submitted by the Applicant on May 7, 2013, regarding its RVI program. 7 Given the ongoing and presently incomplete status of the Staffs review, and the likelihood that the Staff will need to obtain further information from the Applicant on RVI issues, the Staff is currently unable to provide a reliable projected date for issuance of an SER Supplement on RVI issues. The Staff will provide further information to the Board regarding this matter as it becomes available.

5. The Staff believes that hearings on Track 2 safety issues related to the Applicants RVI aging management program (Contentions NYS-25 and portions of NYS-38/

RK-TC-5) should be deferred until the Staff has completed its evaluation of this matter. In addition, to promote efficiency and conservation of resources, and to assure there is no overlap in the issues or testimony, the Staff believes that evidentiary hearings on the remaining Track 2 safety issues (Contentions NYS-26B/RK-TC-1B and remaining portions of NYS-38/RK-TC-5) should be deferred to coincide with hearings on Contention NYS-25 and RVI-related portions of Contention NYS-38/RK-TC-5.

6. As the Staff noted previously, 8 the Commission has undertaken further consideration of its Waste Confidence Decision, and has stated that it "will not issue licenses dependent upon the Waste Confidence Decision or the Temporary Storage Rule until the court's remand [in State of New York v. NRC, 681 F.3d 471 (D.C. Cir. 2012)] is appropriately 6

Id.

7 Letter from Fred Dacimo (Entergy) to NRC Document Control Desk, NL-13-052 (May 7, 2013)

(ADAMS Accession No. ML13142A202).

8 Id.at 3.

addressed." 9 Following issuance of the Court of Appeals decision, the Intervenors in this proceeding filed new contentions related to waste storage and/or disposal, to which the Applicant and Staff responded on August 2 and 3, 2012. On August 8, 2012, the Board ordered that all other pleadings concerning these contentions be held in abeyance, pending further order. 10

7. As the Staff has also observed, 11 in July 2012 the Applicant filed an amendment to its license renewal application (LRA), 12 in which it revised its discussion of its Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) consistency determination for IP2/IP3. 13 In addition, the Applicant filed a motion seeking a Declaratory Order that it has already obtained the required New York State Coastal Management Program consistency review for license renewal of IP2/IP3; 14 on April 5, 2013, New York filed a Cross-Motion for declaratory order on CZMA requirements; 15 9

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Project, LLC (Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3), CLI-12-16, 76 NRC ___, ___ (Aug. 7, 2012) (slip op. at 4).

10 Order (Holding Contentions NYS-39/RK-EC-9/CW-EC-10 and CW-SC-4 in Abeyance)

(Aug. 8, 2012). The Commission has similarly held such contentions in abeyance in other proceedings.

See Calvert Cliffs, supra (slip op. at 6).

11 Id. at 3-4.

12 Letter from Fred Dacimo (Entergy) to NRC Document Control Desk (July 24, 2012),

Subject:

Supplement to License Renewal Application - Compliance with Coastal Zone Management Act (NL-12-107) (ADAMS Accession No. ML12207A122).

13 The Staff transmitted RAIs to the Applicant concerning this matter on August 13, 2012. See Letter from Michael Wentzel (NRC) to Vice President, Operations (Entergy),

Subject:

Request for Additional Information for the Review of the [IP2 and IP3 LRA] Environmental Review (Aug. 13, 2012)

(ADAMS Accession No. ML12221A155). The Applicant submitted its response to these RAIs on September 11, 2012. See Letter from Fred R. Dacimo (Entergy) to NRC Document Control Desk,

Subject:

Response to Request for Additional Information for Review of [IP2 and IP3 LRA] Environmental Review - Compliance with Coastal Zone Management Act (Sept. 11, 2012) (ADAMS Accession No. ML12258A232).

14 Motion and Memorandum by [Entergy] for Declaratory Order that It Has Already Obtained the Required New York State Coastal Management Program Consistency Review of [IP2 and IP3] for Renewal of the Operating Licenses (July 30, 2012).

15 State of New York 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) (Cross-Motion).

and on May 20, 2013, the Applicant filed a motion to supplement its motion for declaratory order. 16 In accordance with the Boards Order of August 31, 2012, contentions on Entergys LRA amendment regarding the CZMA consistency determination are due 30 days after the Board rules on Entergys Motion. 17

8. As the Board is aware, on May 7, 2013, the Applicant notified the Board that it had submitted to the Staff the results of its completed engineering project cost estimates for Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives (SAMAs) which it had previously identified as potentially cost-beneficial. 18 In its Board notification, the Applicant noted that it was submitting the new information to support resolution of certain issues identified by the Board in its July 14, 2011 decision granting New Yorks motion for summary disposition of Consolidated Contention NYS-35/36 [LBP-11-17, 74 NRC 11 (2011)], and that its letter to the Staff also addressed certain statements by the Commission in its December 22, 2011 ruling on Entergys Petition for Review of that same decision:[CLI-11-14, 74 NRC 801 (2011)]. 19 The Applicants submittal thus has the potential to affect litigation of Consolidated Contention NYS-35/36.

9. On May 17, 2013, New York filed a Motion for Leave to File an Additional Exhibit and Supplemental Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law on Contention NYS-16B, based upon the Applicants recent submission of its completed engineering project cost estimates. Therefore, in New Yorks opinion (which the Staff does not share), the 16 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).

17 Order (Granting State of New York Motion for Extension of Time to File New Contentions)

(Aug. 31, 2012).

18 See Letter from Kathryn M. Sutton, Esq., et al., to the Board (May 7, 2013), attaching Letter from Fred Dacimo (Entergy) to the NRC Document Control Desk, NL-13-075 (May 6, 2013) (ADAMS Accession No. ML13142A014).

19 Id. at 1 and 2.

Applicants completed engineering project cost estimates could affect the litigation of Contention NYS-16B.

10. As the Board is aware, following the conclusion of hearings in December 2012, motions for leave to submit additional exhibits have been filed regarding various Track 1 contentions. 20 Those motions could affect litigation of the contentions to which they pertain.

11. The Staff is not currently aware of any other matter that has the potential to impact the schedule for hearings in this proceeding. In accordance with the Boards direction (Order, at 2), the Staff will notify the Board as soon as any other event with potential to alter the hearing schedule arises.

Respectfully submitted,

/Signed (electronically) by/

Sherwin E. Turk Counsel for NRC Staff U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop - O-15D21 Washington, DC 20555 Telephone: (301) 415-1533 E-mail: sherwin.turk@nrc.gov Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 3rd day of June 2013 20 In addition to New Yorks contested motion to supplement the record on Contention NYS-16B (discussed in the text above), the following motions have been filed: (a) on January 18, 2013, the Staff filed an unopposed motion to file corrected exhibits on Contention NYS-17 and NYS-37; (b) on February 14, 2013, New York filed revised exhibits on Contentions 12 and 16B, without opposition; (c) on March 20, 2013, Entergy filed an unopposed motion to supplement the record on Contention NYS-5; (d) on April 22, 2013, the Staff filed an unopposed motion to supplement the record on Contention NYS-5; (e) on May 3, 2013, New York filed a contested motion to supplement the record on Contention NYS-37; and (f) on May 17, 3013 Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. filed a contested motion to supplement the record on Contention EC-3A.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of )

)

ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. ) Docket Nos. 50-247/286-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 16TH STATUS REPORT IN RESPONSE TO THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARDS ORDER OF FEBRUARY 16, 2012, dated June 3, 2013, have been served upon the Electronic Information Exchange (the NRCs E-Filing System), in the above- captioned proceeding, this 3rd day of June, 2013.

/Signed (electronically) by/

Sherwin E. Turk Counsel for NRC Staff U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop - O-15D21 Washington, DC 20555 Telephone: (301) 415-1533 E-mail: sherwin.turk@nrc.gov