ML19007A266

Petitioners' Response to NRC Staff Clarification

ML19007A266
Person / Time
Site:	Turkey Point
Issue date:	01/07/2019
From:	Ayres R, Cox K, Curran D, Fettus G, Rumelt K Ayres Law Group, Friends of the Earth, Harmon, Curran, Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP, Miami Waterkeeper, National Resources Defense Counsil (NRDC), Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Vermont Law School
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
SECY RAS
References
50-250-SLR, 50-251-SLR, ASLBP 18-957-01-SLR-BD01, RAS 54740
Download: ML19007A266 (4)

Text

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD

)

In the Matter of )

Florida Power and Light Company ) Docket Nos. 50-250/251-SLR Turkey Point Units 3 and 4 )

_____________________________________)

PETITIONERS RESPONSE TO NRC STAFF CLARIFICATION Petitioners, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Miami Waterkeeper, hereby respond to NRC Staffs Clarification of its Views Regarding the Admissibility of Joint Petitioners Contention 1-E and SACE Contention 2 (Alternative Cooling Systems) (Dec. 18, 2018) (Staff Clarification). The Staff has clarified its position that Friends of the Earth/Natural Resources Defense Council/Miami Waterkeepers Contention 1E and SACEs Contention 2 are admissible to the extent they seek consideration by Florida Power and Light Co. (FPL) of mechanical draft cooling towers as an alternative means of cooling the Turkey Point Units 3 and 4 reactors.

The Staffs clarified position is consistent with the position taken by the Staff in NRC Staffs Corrected Response to Petitions to Intervene and Requests for Hearing Filed by (1)

Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Miami Waterkeeper and (2)

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy at 29-31 and 67-69 (Dec. 18, 2018) (Staff Response).

While subsequent oral statements by the NRC Staff counsel seemed to retract or otherwise alter the Staffs position (see, e.g., transcript of December 4, 2018, oral argument at 158 (statement by Staff Counsel Sherwin S. Turk that there is nothing in NRC regulations that would require consideration of a cooling tower alternative)), it is now clear that the Staff did not intend those statements to make any change to their original position. Accordingly, the Staff agrees with 1

Petitioners regarding the admissibility of their contentions central assertion that FPLs Environmental Report is deficient for failing to consider mechanical draft cooling towers. See Staff Clarification at 7.1 Under the circumstances, Petitioners respectfully submit that in ruling on the admissibility of their contentions, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board should rely on the Staff Response and Staff Clarification and disregard any inconsistent statements made during the oral argument.

Respectfully submitted,

___/signed electronically by/__

Diane Curran Harmon, Curran, Spielberg, & Eisenberg, L.L.P.

1725 DeSales Street N.W., Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20036 240-393-9285 dcurran@harmoncurran.com Counsel to SACE

___/signed electronically by/__

Richard Ayres 2923 Foxhall Road, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20016 202-744-6930 ayresr@ayreslawgroup.com Counsel to Friends of the Earth 1 The Staff also suggests that if the impacts of the cooling canal system are insignificant, consideration of a cooling tower alternative may not be necessary under a principle of proportionality. Staff Clarification at 8. Without conceding the merits of the Staffs proposed proportionality principle, Petitioners respectfully submit that the Staff raises a merits question that is not appropriately addressed at this admissibility stage. Petitioners contentions of omission should be admitted for hearing that may include Staffs merits claim that consideration of the mechanical draft cooling tower alternative is not justified under NEPAs rule of reason.

2

___/signed electronically by/__

Geoffrey H. Fettus NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL 1152 I Street, N.W., Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20005 202-289-2371 gfettus@nrdc.org Counsel to Natural Resources Defense Council

___/signed electronically by/__

Professor Ken Rumelt Vermont Law School 164 Chelsea Street, PO Box 96 South Royalton, VT 05068 802-831-1000 krumelt@vermontlaw.edu Counsel to Friends of the Earth

___/signed electronically by/__

Kelly J. Cox Miami Waterkeeper 2103 Coral Way, 2nd Floor Miami, FL 33145 305-905-0856 kelly@miamiwaterkeeper.org Counsel to Miami Waterkeeper January 7, 2019 3

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD

)

In the Matter of )

Florida Power and Light Company ) Docket Nos. 50-250/251-SLR Turkey Point Units 3 and 4 )

_____________________________________)

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on January 7, 2019, I posted copies of the foregoing PETITIONERS RESPONSE TO NRC STAFF CLARIFICATION on the NRCs Electronic Information Exchange System.

___/signed electronically by/__

Diane Curran 4