ML18192A692

Applicant'S Response to Intervenor Acec'S Motion for Financial Assistance

ML18192A692
Person / Time
Site:	Palo Verde
Issue date:	05/20/1975
From:	Norton B Arizona Public Service Co, Snell & Wilmer
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
References
Download: ML18192A692 (16)

Text

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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ARIZONA PUBLXC SERVICE ) Docket Nos. 50-528 COMPANY, 'et al. ) 50-529

) 50-530 (Palo Verde Nuclear Generating )

Station, Units 1, 2, and 3)

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APPLI T'S RESPONSE TO INTERVENOR ACECes MOTION FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE On April 28, 1975, Intervenor ACEC, through its coun-sel, Barbara E. Fisher, inquired by letter of Chairman Head if there were funds available "for our (ACEC's) participation in the hearings". By letter dated May 8, 1975, Chairman Head in-formed Applicants and Staff that this inquiry would be treated as a Motion For Financial Assistance'nd that the parties would have ten days from receipt of the May 8th letter to respond.

The letter was received by Applicants on May 13, 1975.

Applicants respectfully request that the Board deny the Motion For Financial Assistance as prematurely filed, all as more fully set out in the attached Memorandum of Points and Authorities.

SNELL 6 WILMER By Bruce Norton 3100 Valley Center Phoenix, Arizona 85073 Attorneys for ARXZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY

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MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES Intervenor ACEC's request, for "funds for participation in the hearings" should be denied as premature. Tfhile the re-quest does not state specifically for what purposes the funds are to be used or how much, Applicants assume that ACEC is ask-ing for monies for such things as attorneys'ees, expert witness fees, copying costs, and the like. Similar requests have been the subject of one Commission ruling, Consumers Power Com an (Big Rock Point Nuclear Plant), CLI-74-42, RAI-74-11 820 (Nov-ember 20, 1974) and a recent Appeal Board decision, Biaciara Mohawk Power Co'r oration (Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Unit 2), ALAB-264, BA2-74-,, (April 8, l975) .

In Consumers Power,-?ntervenor groups in three separate cases petitioned for financial assistance from the Commission in aid of their participation in those proceedings. The Commis-sion held that:

Payment in advance would reverse the pro-cedure long followed by the courts in awarding costs and, in the narrow classes of cases, at-torneys'ees. Such awards are made only after trial, when all of the circumstances of record can be assessed. Ne think the same approach should govern here pending the outcome of the rulemaking in which this issue will be reexamined.

For present purposes, therefore, requests for pay-ment should be considered following entry of a final agency order in the particular adjudica-tions. RAI-74-11, 825.

The Commission noted that overall questions of funding for intervenors should be explored in a rulemaking proceeding.

RAI-74-11, 824.

The counsel and the expert witnesses who assisted the intervenors in this pro-ceeding did so without charge. Intervenors now ask that we award them sufficient funds to enable them to pay reasonable fees and expensesf for those services "retrospective-ly." The right to such an award is claimed on the ground that intervenors made a material contribution to the proceeding and thereby served a valuable public purpose. We believe the request premature.

While it has been discussed, it has not been decided whether the Commission is author-ized to make such payments and if whom, under what conditions and in what so to amounts. The matter is under consideration now and the Commission has referred it to a rulemaking proceeding. See Con'sume'rs'ower 74-42, RAI-74-11, 820 (November 20, 1974).

In these circumstances the wisest course is to abide the outcome of that proceeding. We therefore deny the intervenors'equest at this time, but without prejudice to its renewal before the Licensing Board in light of the Commission's ultimate decision. We thus need express no opinion about the Com-mission's authority to make such an award or the intervenors'ntitlement to receive one.

In light of these two decisions, the fact that the question of the award of costs is being studied and the matter is the subject of a general rulemaking proceeding< it is respectfully requested that Intervenor ACEC's Motion be denied.

DATED this '

day of May, 1975.

Respectfully submitted, SNELL Er WII2KR By Bruce Norton 3100 Valley Center Phoenix, Arizona 85073 Attorneys for ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY

f CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE It is hereby certified that true and correct copies of the foregoing Applicant's Response to Intervenor ACEC's Motion For Financial Assistance have been placed in the United States Mails, postage prepaid, this'LO day of May, 1975, to the following:

Daniel M. Head, Chairman Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington,, D.C. 20555 Dr. Maxvin M. Mann Technical Advisor Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Dr. Quentin J. Stober Research Assoc. Professor Fisheries Research Institute University of Washington Seattle, Washington 98195 Thomas M. Bruen, Esq.

Michael W. Grainey, Esq.

Regulatory Staff Counsel U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Ms. Barbara E. Fisher, Esq.

Arizona Public Law Advocates 201 North Stone Avenue Tucson, Arizona 85701 Andrew W. Bettwy Assistant Attorney General 159 State Capitol 1700 West Washington Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Mr. Carmine P. Cardamone, Jr.

1415 North Third Avenue Tucson, Arizona 85705 Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Docketing and Service Section Office of the Secretary U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

'Washington, D. C. 20555 SNELL & WILIER By

Bruce Norton

I MAY 1 6 1975 Barbara E. Fisher, Esq.

Arizona Public Law Advocates 201 North Stone Avenue Suite 210 Tucson, Arizona 85701 Re: Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Statipg, Units 1, 2 and 3 . g~ 7 ~5 Q

Dear Hs. Fisher:

Reference is made to your letter of April 16, 1975 requesting certain documents from the NRC Staff. The requests, and our responses thereto. are indicated below.

(1) The ualit assurance ro rams for the Ndland arid Calvert Cl ffs ants.

Enclosed are the quality assurance programs for the Midland and Calvert Cliffs plants, as described in the 8afety. Analgs'i.s.'.'-

Reports for these facilities. Also enclosed are copies of corres-pondence related to the flidland g/A program.

(2) Documents on c acit and availabi lit fi ures for'uclear Enclosed are: (1) Office of Operations Evaluation, U,S.A. E.C.,

"Evaluation of Nuclear Power Plant Availability", January, 1974 and (2) U.S.N.R.C., "Operating Units Status Report Data for Decisions", February 21, 1975. Both documents contain general statistics on nuclear powt!r plant capacity and availability over a period of years.

(3) Volume 6 of the Federal Ener Administration's "Pro ect Inde endence Re ort.

The FEA has informed us that this volume, dealing with solar energy, is out of print. Enclosed for your information is the sugary section on solar energy contained within volume 81.

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0 DISTRIBUTION NRC Central File barbara E. Fisher, Esq.

OELD Read)ng File PDR/LPDR OELD FF-2 Shapar Engelhar'dt (4) 0 eratin histor of U.S. nuclear ower reactors for 1973 and 1974.

The 1973 data is contained within the document by the Office of Operations Evaluation, U.S.A.E.C., "Nuclear Power Plant Avail-ability and Capacity During 1973," ROE-OS-002. This document is out of print, but may be obtained for a fee from:

DA11ison, L National Technical Information Service U. S. Department of Commerce 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, Virginia 22161 in document form.

The 1974 data has not ityetis been issued Copies cari be obtained when available by writing:

Office of Operations Evaluation U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Again, general information regarding this matter is contained in the documents forwarded in response to your request 0(2) above.

If i can be of any further assistance in this matter, please do not hesitate to ask.

Sincerely, (s(

Thomas H., Bruen Counsel for NRC Staff

Enclosures:

As stated cc w/o enclosures:

Daniel H. Head, Esq. Atomic Safety and Licensing Dr. Narvin N. f1ann Board Panel Dr. quentin J. Stober Atomic Safety and Licensing Arthur C. Gehr, Esq. Appeal Board Nr. Carmine F. Cardamone, Jr. Docketing and Service Section Andrew W. Bettwy, Esq.

OPPICE~ I.D TH u NURNAMC~

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