ML13246A345
| ML13246A345 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Indian Point  |
| Issue date: | 09/03/2013 |
| From: | Amitava Ghosh NRC/OGC |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| RAS 25001, 50-247-LR, 50-286-LR, ASLBP 07-858-03-LR-BD01 | |
| Download: ML13246A345 (7) | |
Text
September 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 19TH 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 19th monthly status report to the Board.
- 1. Contention RK-EC-8. Contention RK-EC-8 challenges the Staffs issuance of its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) related to license renewal of Indian Point Units 2 and 3 (IP2 and IP3),1 prior to completing its consultations with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). As summarized by the Board, Contention RK-EC-8 alleges that the NRC Staff has failed to complete its formal consultation process with NMFS before issuing its . . . FSEIS, and that, without the input from NMFS, the NRC Staff was unable to take a hard look at those impacts as required by NEPA.
1 Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 38, Regarding Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units Nos. 2 and 3, NUREG-1437, Supp. 38, Vol. 4 (June 2013).
On January 30, 2013, NMFS issued a final Biological Opinion for endangered species in the vicinity of IP2 and IP3, and in June 2013, the Staff issued a Supplement (Volume 4) to the FSEIS, in which it described the completion of its consultation process with NMFS and incorporated NMFSs views in its evaluation of the impacts of license renewal on endangered and threatened species under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). On July 17, 2013, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy or Applicant) filed a motion to dismiss Contention RK-EC-8 as moot;2 answers to the Applicants motion were filed by the Staff and Riverkeeper on August 6 and August 20, 2013, respectively. A Board decision on that motion is pending.
- 2. Amended Contention RK-EC-8. On August 20, 2013, Riverkeeper filed a motion seeking to amend Contention RK-EC-8, in accordance with the Boards Order of July 9, 2013.3 Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(h), answers to Riverkeepers motion and its proposed amended contention are due by September 16, 2013.
- 3. SER Supplement 2. As stated previously,4 the Staff plans to issue a further supplement (Supplement 2) to its Safety Evaluation Report (SER) related to license renewal of IP2/IP3. As stated,5 the SER Supplement is expected to address the information provided by the Applicant in its responses to Staff requests for additional information (RAIs) following the issuance of SER Supplement 1 in August 2011; this will include information concerning the Applicants Reactor Vessel Internals (RVI) Aging Management Program and Inspection Plan (AMP), as well as changes made to the LRA since the issuance of SER Supplement 1 in 2
Entergy Motion to Dismiss Riverkeeper Contention RK-EC-8 (Endangered and Threatened Aquatic Species) as Moot (July 17. 2013).
3 Riverkeeper, Inc. Consolidated Motion for Leave to File Amended Contention RK-EC-8A and Amended Contention RK-EC-8A (Aug. 20, 2013).
4 See NRC Staffs 18th Status Report in Response to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards Order of February 16, 2012 (Aug. 1, 2013) (18th Status Report), at 2.
5 Id.
August 2011.6 The Staff currently expects to issue additional RAIs concerning RVI and other issues this fall, and to issue the SER Supplement in early 2014. The Staff will provide further information to the Board regarding this matter as it becomes available.
- 4. Track 2 Safety Issues. As stated previously,7 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.
- 5. Waste Confidence. 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 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, respectively. On August 8, 6
Following the Staffs issuance of SER Supplement 1, the Applicant revised its LRA and/or RAI responses in various areas, including (a) the One-Time Inspection and Selective Leaching programs; (b) the Metal Enclosed Bus Inspection program; (c) the IP2 Auxiliary Feedwater Pump Room Fire Event; (d) the Buried and Underground Piping and Tanks Inspection program; (e) RVI issues; and (f) other matters identified in the Applicants annual LRA updates.
7 See, e.g., NRC Staffs 18th Status Report, at 4.
8 Id.
9 Calvert Cliffs 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and Unistar Nuclear Operating Services, LLC (Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3), CLI-12-16, 76 NRC 63, 67 (Aug. 7, 2012).
2012, the Board ordered that all other pleadings concerning these contentions be held in abeyance, pending further order.10 On August 5, 2013, the Commission issued a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM), directing the Staff to publish a proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on waste confidence issues, upon making certain revisions to previous drafts thereof.
The Staff will provide further information concerning this matter when available.
- 6. CZMA Issues. As stated previously,11 on June 12, 2013, the Board denied the Applicants motion,12 and the State of New Yorks (New York) cross-motion,13 seeking a declaratory order regarding the need for a review of the IP2/IP3 license renewal application to determine its consistency with the New York State Coastal Management Program pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA).14 The Board noted that no consultation has occurred between the Staff, New York and Entergy, pursuant to 15 C.F.R. § 930.51(e), and left open the possibility that the motions might be refiled after such consultation occurs. The Staff expects to initiate consultations with New York and Entergy this fall, and will provide further information to the Board regarding this issue as it becomes available.
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, 76 NRC at 68-69.
11 NRC Staffs 18th Status Report, at 5.
12 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).
13 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).
14 Order (Granting New Yorks Motions, Denying Clearwaters Motion, and Denying CZMA Motions) (June 12, 2013). In its Order, the Board ruled that its denial of Entergys and New Yorks motions does not trigger the time for filing new contentions. Id. at 4 n.16, citing Order (Granting State of New York Motion for Extension of Time to File New Contentions) (Aug. 31, 2012) (requiring the filing of new contentions on Entergys LRA amendment regarding the need for a CZMA consistency determination within 30 days after the Board rules on Entergys motion).
- 7. Contention NYS-35/36. As also stated previously,15 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.16 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)].17 The Applicants submittal thus has the potential to affect litigation of Consolidated Contention NYS 35/36.
On July 9, 2013, the Board ruled that adjudicatory submissions based on NL-13-075
[Entergys letter of May 6, 2013] are due no later than 60 days after the Staff issues its draft FSEIS supplement or an equivalent document discussing its review of NL-13-075, or alternatively, no later than 60 days after the NRC Staff notifies the parties that it will not issue a written evaluation of NL-13-075 in any form.18 In this regard, the Staff currently expects to commence a review of the Applicants new cost-benefit information this Fall, and to complete its evaluation in the Spring; the Staff has not yet decided whether it will present its evaluation of that information in an FSEIS Supplement. The Staff will provide further information to the Board regarding this issue as it becomes available.
15 NRC Staffs 18th Status Report, at 5-6.
16 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).
17 Id. at 1 and 2.
18 Order (Granting Entergys Motion [for] Clarification) (July 9, 2013), at 2.
- 8. Track 1 Contentions. As the Board is aware, the parties have filed proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law on all nine safety and environmental Track1 contentions.
The record on those contentions is currently under review by the Board.
- 9. 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/
Anita Ghosh Counsel for NRC Staff U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop - O-15D21 Washington, DC 20555 Telephone: (301) 415-4113 E-mail: anita.ghosh@nrc.gov Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 3rd day of September 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. 50-247/286-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 19TH STATUS REPORT IN RESPONSE TO THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARDS ORDER OF FEBRUARY 16, 2012, dated September 3, 2013, have been served upon the Electronic Information Exchange (the NRCs E-Filing System), in the above- captioned proceeding, this 3rd day of September, 2013.
/Signed (electronically) by/
Anita Ghosh Counsel for NRC Staff U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop - O-15D21 Washington, DC 20555 Telephone: (301) 415-4113 E-mail: anita.ghosh@nrc.gov