ML18332A429
| ML18332A429 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Seabrook  |
| Issue date: | 11/28/2018 |
| From: | Annette Vietti-Cook NRC/SECY |
| To: | Nord C C-10 Research & Education Foundation |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| 50-443-LA-2, ASLBP 17-953-02-LA-BD01, RAS 54657 | |
| Download: ML18332A429 (6) | |
Text
Via electronic mail November 26, 2018 Kristine L. Svinicki, Chair U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001
Dear Madam Chair:
Thank you for accepting these comments on behalf of the C-10 Research & Education Foundation (C-10).
We have worked under contract with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 1995 to operate a real-time airborne radiological monitoring network in the states communities within Seabrook Stations 10-mile emergency planning zone. We also advocate for upgraded safety and security at Seabrook, and serve as an educational resource for our members and the public, and a partner to local and state governments.
On October 6, 2017, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) granted standing to C-10i in the docket regarding NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLCs License Amendment Request 16-03 (LAR), concerning their proposed management of the serious concrete degradation problem, known as alkali-silica reaction (ASR), that affects all major structures at Seabrook Station.
Since that ruling, C-10s board of directors and other volunteers have invested many hundreds of volunteer hours to: research discovery documents in support of our case; seek out and interview prospective expert witnesses; and raise needed funds to pursue this case. We bring this to your attention simply to underscore the serious effort our organization continues to make, in order to give the best possible presentation of our objections to the LAR during the adjudicatory hearing expected to be held in our region next summer.
Through C-10s standing as a pro se party to the LAR docket, we learned that issuance of the draft Safety Evaluation for the LARii triggered the hearing on October 31, 2018, bringing NextEra before the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). The committees purpose was to review the LAR prior to the ACRS issuance of their final Safety Evaluation, a milestone in the process of the ASLBs ruling on NextEras License Renewal Application (LRA). On behalf of C-10, I traveled to Rockville, Md. to participate in the hearing. C-10s written testimony can be found here.
It became apparent during the course of the hearing that a glaring discrepancy exists between the timeline that leads to a decision on Seabrooks license extension, and the timeline that leads to a decision on the LAR itselfwhich, because it falls within the parameters of the current operating license, has been consigned to a separate track. As shown in figure 1 below,iii the final Safety
C-10 letter on Seabrook licensing timeline 2 Evaluation is scheduled to be issued in December 2018, subsequent to the ACRS committee review in November 2018.
Figure 1: Slide from the ACRS presentation, 10/31/18 Following the Current License timeline, it appears that C-10 may not have the opportunity to provide expert testimony to support our opposition to the LAR until early next summerfully eight months after the ACRS hearing, and six months after the Safety Evaluation is finalized.
From C-10s perspective, this discrepancy is important for a number of reasons. The requested twenty-year license extension for Seabrook depends on the resolution of a methodology for dealing with the ASR problem thereand the proposed resolution offered by NextEra is the LARfor which C-10 opposes adoption by the ASLB. Therefore, the ACRS is compelled to make a judgment on the efficacy of the LAR without the benefit of the expert testimony provided by C-10, which challenges the technical underpinnings of NextEras LARbased on not having met crucial standards for representativeness. Of course, this is made more difficult because the methodology underpinning the LAR is unprecedented, since there are no NRC regulations for how to manage ASR at nuclear plants.
C-10 Research & Education Foundation / 44 Merrimac Street, Newburyport MA 01950 / www.c-10.org / (978) 465-6646
C-10 letter on Seabrook licensing timeline 3 Due to the lack of precedent for the LARs methodology, it would be not only crucial, but conventional, that prior to adoption by NRC, the LAR be subjected to a truly independent peer reviewjust as any such methodology would normally be scientifically and skeptically appraised before being implemented in the field. Because this kind of review has been blocked by NextEras LAR having been granted proprietary status, the only opportunity for an independent peer review has fallen to C-10 to provide.
Unfortunately, we have not been given a place to provide this review until our adjudicatory hearing next yearmuch too late for our experts to shed any light on the shortcomings of the LAR for the benefit of the ACRS.
C-10 believes that no meaningful judgment on the suitability of Seabrook Station for a license extension can be made until our opposition to the LAR is presented before the ASLB, for the reasons stated:
- The approval of the license extension depends on approval of the License Amendment Request, for dealing with ASR at Seabrook;
- The License Renewal timeline did not allow the ACRS access to C-10s expert testimony before their Final Safety Evaluation is due; and,
- The only opportunity for a truly independent peer review will not be provided until C-10s expert witnesses can give their testimony during the adjudicatory hearing.
Thank you for considering our serious concerns with the License Amendment and License Renewal timelines. C-10 hopes that the NRC Commissioners will ensure the adjudication of our contentions its rightful place in a fair process, on which Seabrooks License Renewal Application must depend.
Sincerely, Christopher Nord Chairman, C-10 LAR Task Group Resident of Newbury, Mass.
i ASLB No. 17-953-02-LA-BD01, 10/06/2017 ii ADAMS Accession No.: ML182226A205, NRC, Seabrook Station, Unit No. 1Submission of Alkali-Silica Reaction License Amendment Request Draft Safety Evaluation to Support the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Review of Seabrook License Renewal, 9/28/2018 iii USNRC, Timeline of NRC Activities, 2018 C-10 Research & Education Foundation / 44 Merrimac Street, Newburyport MA 01950 / www.c-10.org / (978) 465-6646
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of )
)
NEXTERA ENERGY SEABROOK, LLC ) Docket No. 50-443-LA-2 (Seabrook Station, Unit 1) )
)
(License Amendment) )
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing Letter from Commission Secretary Annette Vietti-Cook to Christopher Nord have been served upon the following persons by Electronic Information Exchange.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication Office of the Secretary of the Commission Mail Stop: O-16B33 Mail Stop: O-16B33 n Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 ocaamail@nrc.gov Hearing Docket hearingdocket@nrc.gov U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop: T-3F23 Mail Stop: O-14A44 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Ronald M. Spritzer, Chair Anita Ghosh, Esq.
Administrative Judge anita.ghosh@nrc.gov ronald.spritzer@nrc.gov Jeremy Wachutka, Esq.
jeremy.wachutka@nrc.gov Nicholas G. Trikouros David E. Roth, Esq.
Administrative Judge david.roth@nrc.gov nicholas.trikouros@nrc.gov Krupskaya Castellon - Paralegal krupskaya.castellon@nrc.gov Dr. Sekazi K. Mtingwa Administrative Judge sekazi.mtingwa@nrc.gov OGC Mail Center: Members of this office have received a copy of this filing by EIE service.
Sarah Ladin, Law Clerk sarah.ladin@nrc.gov Joseph McManus, Law Clerk joseph.mcmanus@nrc.gov
NEXTERA ENERGY SEABROOK, LLC (Seabrook Station Unit 1) - Docket No. 50-443-LA-2 Letter from Commission Secretary Annette Vietti-Cook to Christopher Nord NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC C-10 Research & Education Foundation 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., #220 44 Merrimac Street Washington, DC 20004 Newburyport, Mass. 01950 Steven C. Hamrick, Esq. Natalie Hildt Treat steven.hamrick@fpl.com natalie@c-10.org NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC 700 Universe Boulevard Juno Beach, FL 33408 William Blair, Esq.
william.blair@fpl.com NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004 Paul M. Bessette, Esq.
paul.bessette@morganlewis.com Ryan K. Lighty, Esq.
ryan.lighty@morganlewis.com Grant Eskelsen, Esq.
grant.eskelsen@morganlewis.com
[Original signed by Clara Sola ]
Office of the Secretary of the Commission Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of November, 2018 2