ML19066A315

Letters from Commission Secretary Annette Vietti-Cook to Senators Edward J. Markey, Elizabeth Warren, and Bill Keating

ML19066A315
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim
Issue date:	03/07/2019
From:	Annette Vietti-Cook NRC/SECY
To:	Keating B, Markey E, Warren E US HR (House of Representatives), US SEN (Senate)
SECY RAS
References
50-293, 72-1044 LT, License Transfer, RAS 54844
Download: ML19066A315 (17)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 SECRETARY March 7, 2019 The Honorable Edward J. Markey United States Senate Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Markey:

On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of March 4, 2019, to Chairman Svinicki regarding concerns raised at the January 15, 2019, Government-to-Government meeting with officials representing the NRC about the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as it pertains to the pending application to transfer the plant's operating license and the decommissioning process. Your letter requests information pertinent to these matters.

Specifically, the NRC is reviewing an application filed by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

(ENOI) received on November 16, 2018. The application seeks NRC approval of the direct and indirect transfers of the renewed facility operating license for Pilgrim as well as the general license for the Pilgrim Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation. ENOI on behalf of itself and Entergy Nuclear Generation Company, Holtec International (Holtec), and Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI) requests that the NRC consent to (1) the indirect transfer of control of the Licenses to Holtec; and (2) the direct transfer of ENO l's operating authority to HDI. The NRC is also considering amending the renewed facility operating license for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer.

On February 20, 2019, the NRC received two hearing requests on the license transfer application, from the State of Massachusetts and Pilgrim Watch. These hearing requests raise substantially the same issues raised in your letter, particularly relating to financial assurance for decommissioning Pilgrim and the environmental review associated with the license transfer application. Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the pendency of the proceeding. Due to the nature of the Commission's adjudicatory role, I trust that you will understand that it would be inappropriate at this time for the Chairman to discuss or comment on issues involved in this matter.

A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the Pilgrim license transfer proceeding.

Sincerely, Annette L. Vietti-Cook

Identical letter sent to:

The Honorable Edward J. Markey United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Elizabeth Warren United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Bill Keating United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

C!!nugress of tl1c l~uitc~ ~tute.s tDtusl1i11gtn11, IDC!r 20515 March 4. 2019 The Honorable Kristine I.. Svinicki. Chair Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mai I Stop 0-1604 Washington. DC 20555-0001 Dear Chair Svinicki.

We write today to follow up on concerns raised at the Government-to-Government meeting held in Plymouth. Massachusetts on January 15. 2019 regarding the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report ( PS DAR) filed by Entergy for the decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim). A sustained discussion of the financial health of the Pilgrim Decommissioning Trust Fund (DTP) occurred at this meeting. and many of our state and federal colleagues had questions about the discrepancy between the level of the DTF (approximately $1.05 hill ion as of October 3 L 2018) and the decommissioning costs.

Entergy estimates that the site*s decommissioning will cost $1.66 billion. using the SAFSTOR method. If the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approves the I loltec International license transfer request. I loltec has estimated that the total decommissioning, including spent fuel management and license tem1ination. will cost $1.134 billion. using the DECON method.

We understand that under NRC regulations. the DTF only needs to cover expenses related to radiological decommissioning. but we have repeatedly expressed our desire to work with the licensee(s) and relevant state and federal agencies towards the goal of restoring the site to productive use in an affordable. safe, and expedient manner. Additionally. the state has adopted some stricter rules for site restoration and institutes a IO millirem per year limit lor its licensees - a limit that should be adopted and observed for the decommissioned Pilgrim site.

We therefore seek assurances that the fund's growth over time will be sufficiently robust to accommodate all related expenses. or. if not. that the Iicensec(s) will be held solely financially responsible by the NRC for all decommissioning-related costs. We also believe that the licensee(s) should ensure that state and local officials and other local stakeholders such as the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel will he regularly supplied with detailed infonnation regarding the DTF and how expenditures during the decommissioning process arc impacting the fund .

The PSDAR filed by I loltec as a supplement to the Entergy PSDAR states that the amount of funding in the DTF is sufficient, but does not account for the likelihood that decommissioning activity costs will increase faster than the rate of general inflation. The expedited timeline orthe I ll ir,lllO (" II Hf r tCi f [; rt.Pl n

Holtec DECON process-taking eight years rather than the 60-year SAFSTOR timeline-means that the DTF will have fewer years in which to accrue interest.

Holtec also submitted a request for an exemption from the NRC's DTF requirements, which would allow it to use the DTF for spent fuel management and restoration activities. If the company receives this exemption and uses DTF funding for long-term spent fuel management, any money recovered from the U.S . Judgment Fund for spent fuel management should be required to be reinvested in the DTF for monitoring, security, and other restoration activity-not put into Holtec' s company coffers. If possible, this should be included as a stipulation on any potential approval of the exemption request.

Regardless of the financial health ofthe DTF, the licensee(s) must assume complete financial responsibility for the site and its decommissioning. Any licensee must be ultimately responsible for ensuring the decommissioning plan conducted by its subsidiaries is completed within the financial constraints of the Pilgrim trust fund or must be held responsible for any cost overruns.

Affiliates and subsidiaries of the same overarching conglomerate must not be allowed to play a shell game with their LLC status or corporate structure to avoid fulfilling their financial obligations. The NRC must require the licensee(s) to retain sufficiently robust insurance policies for the site, the spent fuel pools, the casks, and the concrete pad to cover the costs for repairs of any leaks or previously unknown radiological conditions identified at the site in the short-term or in the long-term.

We continue to urge the NRC to hold the Pilgrim licensee(s) to the highest standards of safety and security as the plant approaches its closure and eventual decommissioning. The cessation of power generation operations will lessen, but not eliminate, the safety risks presented by the plant.

Security protocols and staffing must remain at robust levels to ensure the physical security of the site and the inviolability of the plant's electronic and cybersecurity systems, as well as monitor the integrity of the storage casks. The NRC should obligate Pilgrim operators to meet the more stringent cybersecurity protocols required under 10 CFR 73 .54, as any information systems used at the plant post-shutdown must be impervious to outside attack.

In addition, we urge that, after June I, 2019, the licensee(s) should be required to maintain the 10-mile emergency planning zone for Pilgrim, the public safety protocols, offsite emergency planning, funding of communications, and staff training that have been required during power generation operations. Spent fuel rods in cooling pools present a continued risk even after power generation operations have ceased. A system failure that leads to inadequate watering of the spent fuel rods in the pool raises the risk of a disastrous fire, one which could expose communities within (and possibly outside) the current I 0-mile emergency planning zone to unacceptable risks. Those communities must have access to the resources they would need to address such a calamity as long as fuel rods remain in the spent fuel pools.

Finally, and most importantly, the people most affected by the Pilgrim closure and the safety threats posed by radiation should have meaningful input into its disposition as a decommissioned plant. As the people of Massachusetts and residents of the Town of Plymouth remain concerned for the health of their environment and the safety of their families, they deserve clear, accurate information about the decommissioning process and an opportunity to voice their concerns about its impact on their Jives.

We ask for answers to the following questions by March 8, 2019:

I . What regulatory or statutory authorities ensure that licensees will bear any costs of decommissioning and site maintenance above the funds available in the DTF?

2 . What guarantees has the NRC required (or will require in the future) from the licensee(s) to ensure that it will pay for any shortfall between the costs of decommissioning and site maintenance and the funds available in the DTF?

3. Will the NRC require the licensee(s) to update the environmental impact statements to include new infom1ation, including climate impacts, from the past decade? If not, why not?

4. Will the NRC require additional research on or monitoring of the high-burnup spent fuel that will be stored at the Pilgrim site? If not, why not? If yes, will this affect the cost of the decommissioning process?

5. If the NRC approves the exemption request for using the DTF on spent fuel management.

will the NRC require the licensec(s) to reinvest any potential federal settlement funds for spent fuel storage back into the DTF? If not. why not?

6. Will the NRC require that the liccnscc(s) include the state' s IO millirem limit in its calculations of decommissioning costs? If not, why not?

We will continue to pursue legislative avenues to protect the people of Massachusetts from any unforeseen physical, financial , environmental or other ham, resulting from the decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. We also look forward to hearing in more detail how the NRC will work with the people of Massachusetts to ensure that these protections are in place, leading towards a future where the former site of Pilgrim is a productive property that the residents of Plymouth and surrounding towns can point to with pride.

Sincerely.

~ ~-~ Edw .I. Markey l Jnited States Senator Jnitcd States Senator

~~ &~

U.S. Representative

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 March 7, 2019 The Honorable Elizabeth Warren United States Senate Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Warren:

On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of March 4, 2019, to Chairman Svinicki regarding concerns raised at the January 15, 2019, Government-to-Government meeting with officials representing the NRC about the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth ,

Massachusetts, as it pertains to the pending application to transfer the plant's operating license and the decommissioning process. Your letter requests information pertinent to these matters.

Specifically, the NRC is reviewing an application filed by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

(ENOI) received on November 16, 2018. The application seeks NRC approval of the direct and indirect transfers of the renewed facility operating license for Pilgrim as well as the general license for the Pilgrim Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation. ENOI on behalf of itself and Entergy Nuclear Generation Company, Holtec International (Holtec), and Holtec Decommissioning International , LLC (HDI) requests that the NRC consent to (1) the indirect transfer of control of the Licenses to Holtec; and (2) the direct transfer of ENO l's operating authority to HDI. The NRC is also considering amending the renewed facility operating license for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer.

On February 20, 2019, the NRC received two hearing requests on the license transfer application, from the State of Massachusetts and Pilgrim Watch . These hearing requests raise substantially the same issues raised in your letter, particularly relating to financial assurance for decommissioning Pilgrim and the environmental review associated with the license transfer application. Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the pendency of the proceeding. Due to the nature of the Commission 's adjudicatory role , I trust that you will understand that it would be inappropriate at this time for the Chairman to discuss or comment on issues involved in this matter.

A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the Pilgrim license transfer proceeding .

Sincerely, Annette L. Vietti-Cook

Identical letter sent to:

The Honorable Edward J. Markey United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Elizabeth Warren United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Bill Keating United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

O!ougress of t11c l~uitc~ §tutes tnfu.sl1i119to11, IDQC 20515 March 4 , 2019 The Honorable Kristine I.. Svinicki. Chair Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop 0-1604 Washington. DC 20555-0001 Dear Chair Svinicki.

We write today to follow up on concerns raised at the Govemment-to-Govemment meeting held in Plymouth, Massachusetts on January 15. 2019 regarding the Post-ShutdO\vn Decommissioning Activities Report ( PSDAR) tiled by Entergy for the decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim). A sustained discussion of the financial health of the Pilgrim Decommissioning Trust Fund (DTF) occurred at this meeting. and many of our state and federal colleagues had questions about the discrepancy between the level of the OTF (approximately $1 .05 hi Ilion as of October 31.2018) and the decommissioning costs.

Entergy estimates that the site's decommissioning will cost $1.66 billion. using the SAFSTOR method. If the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approves the I loltec International license transfer request. I loltec has estimated that the total decommissioning, including spent fuel management and license tennination. will cost $1.134 billion, using the DECON method .

We understand that under NRC regulations. the DTF only needs to cov er expenses related to radiological decommissioning. but we have repeatedly expressed our desire to work with the licensee(s) and relevant state and federal agencies towards the goal of restoring the site to productive use in an affordable. safe, and expedient manner. Additionally. the state has adopted some stricter rules for site restoration and institutes a IO millirem per year limit for its licensees - a limit that should be adopted and observed for the decommissioned Pilgrim site.

We therefore seek assurances that the lund's growth over time will be sufficiently robust to accommodate all related expenses. or. if not. that the licensee(s) will be held solely financially responsible by the NRC for all decommissioning-related costs. We also believe that the licensee(s) should ensure that state and local onicials and other local stakeholders such as the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel will he regularly supplied with detailed infon11ation regarding the DTF and how expenditures during the decommissioning process arc impacting the fond.

The PS DAR filed by I loltec as a supplement to the Entergy PS DAR states that the amount or fundinu in the DTF is sufficient. but does not account for the likelihood that decommissioning acti vity costs will increase faste~ than the rate or general int1ation. The expedited time line or the I HUH I O(l l t tl d l i [ rAPI H

Holtec DECON process-taking eight years rather than the 60-year SAFSTOR timeline-means that the DTF will have fewer years in which to accrue interest.

Holtec also submitted a request for an exemption from the NRC's DTF requirements, which would allow it to use the DTF for spent fuel management and restoration activities. If the company receives this exemption and uses DTF funding for long-term spent fuel management, any money recovered from the U.S. Judgment Fund for spent fuel management should be required to be reinvested in the DTF for monitoring, security, and other restoration activity-not put into Holtec' s company coffers. If possible, this should be included as a stipulation on any potential approval of the exemption request.

Regardless of the financial health of the DTF, the licensee(s) must assume complete financial responsibility for the site and its decommissioning. Any licensee must be ultimately responsible for ensuring the decommissioning plan conducted by its subsidiaries is completed within the financial constraints of the Pilgrim trust fund or must be held responsible for any cost overruns.

Affiliates and subsidiaries of the same overarching conglomerate must not be allowed to play a shell game with their LLC status or corporate structure to avoid fulfilling their financial obligations. The NRC must require the licensee(s) to retain sufficiently robust insurance policies for the site, the spent fuel pools, the casks, and the concrete pad to cover the costs for repairs of any leaks or previously unknown radiological conditions identified at the site in the short-term or in the long-term.

We continue to urge the NRC to hold the Pilgrim licensee(s) to the highest standards of safety and security as the plant approaches its closure and eventual decommissioning. The cessation of power generation operations will Jessen, but not eliminate, the safety risks presented by the plant.

Security protocols and staffing must remain at robust levels to ensure the physical security of the site and the inviolability of the plant's electronic and cybersecurity systems, as well as monitor the integrity of the storage casks. The NRC should obligate Pilgrim operators to meet the more stringent cybersecurity protocols required under 10 CFR 73 .54, as any information systems used at the plant post-shutdown must be impervious to outside attack.

In addition, we urge that, after June 1, 2019, the licensee(s) should be required to maintain the 10-mile emergency planning zone for Pilgrim, the public safety protocols, offsite emergency planning, funding of communications, and staff training that have been required during power generation operations. Spent fuel rods in cooling pools present a continued risk even after power generation operations have ceased. A system failure that leads to inadequate watering of the spent fuel rods in the pool raises the risk of a disastrous fire, one which could expose communities within (and possibly outside) the current 10-mile emergency planning zone to unacceptable risks. Those communities must have access to the resources they would need to address such a calamity as long as fuel rods remain in the spent fuel pools.

Finally, and most importantly, the people most affected by the Pilgrim closure and the safety threats posed by radiation should have meaningful input into its disposition as a decommissioned plant. As the people of Massachusetts and residents of the Town of Plymouth remain concerned for the health of their environment and the safety of their families, they deserve clear, accurate information about the decommissioning process and an opportunity to voice their concerns about its impact on their lives.

We ask for answers to the following questions by March 8, 2019:

I. What regulatory or statutory authorities ensure that licensees will bear any costs of decommissioning and site maintenance above the funds available in the DTF?

2. What guarantees has the NRC required (or will require in the future) from the Iicensee(s) to ensure that it will pay for any shortfall between the costs of decommissioning and site maintenance and the funds available in the DTF?

3. Will the NRC require the licensee(s) to update the environmental impact statements to include new information, including climate impacts. from the past decade? If not, why not?

4. Will the NRC require additional research on or monitoring of the high-burnup spent fuel that will be stored at the Pilgrim site? If not, why not? If yes. will this affect the cost of the decommissioning process'?

5. If the NRC approves the exemption request for using the OTF on spent fuel management will the NRC require the licensec(s) to reinvest any potential federal settlement funds for spent fuel storage back into the DTF? If not. why not?

6. Will the NRC require that the liccnscc(s) include the state's IO millirem limit in its calculations of decommissioning costs? If not. why not?

We will continue to pursue legislative avenues to protect the people of Massachusetts from any unforeseen physical, financial, environmental or other hann resulting from the decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. We also look forward to hearing in more detail how the NRC will work with the people of Massachusetts to ensure that these protections are in place. leading towards a future where the former site of Pilgrim is a productive property that the residents of Plymouth and surrounding towns can point to with pride.

Sincerely.

~ ~-~ Edw .I.Markey United States Senator Jnitcd States Senator

~A&~ U.S. Representative

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 March 7, 2019 The Honorable Bill Keating United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Keating :

On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of March 4, 2019, to Chairman Svinicki regarding concerns raised at the January 15, 2019, Government-to-Government meeting with officials representing the NRC about the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as it pertains to the pending application to transfer the plant's operating license and the decommissioning process . Your letter requests information pertinent to these matters.

Specifically, the NRC is reviewing an application filed by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

(ENOI) received on November 16, 2018. The application seeks NRC approval of the direct and indirect transfers of the renewed facility operating license for Pilgrim as well as the general license for the Pilgrim Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation. ENOI on behalf of itself and Entergy Nuclear Generation Company, Holtec International (Holtec), and Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI) requests that the NRC consent to (1) the indirect transfer of control of the Licenses to Holtec; and (2) the direct transfer of ENOl 's operating authority to HDI. The NRC is also considering amending the renewed facility operating license for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer.

On February 20, 2019, the NRC received two hearing requests on the license transfer application, from the State of Massachusetts and Pilgrim Watch. These hearing requests raise substantially the same issues raised in your letter, particularly relating to financial assurance for decommissioning Pilgrim and the environmental review associated with the license transfer application. Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the pendency of the proceeding . Due to the nature of the Commission's adjudicatory role , I trust that you will understand that it would be inappropriate at this time for the Chairman to discuss or comment on issues involved in this matter.

A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the Pilgrim license transfer proceeding.

Sincerely,

~v~~

Annette L. Vietti-Cook

Identical letter sent to:

The Honorable Edward J. Markey United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Elizabeth Warren United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Bill Keating United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

otougress of t11r l~uite~ ~tate.s ttifa.slyington, IDC!t 20515 March 4, 2019 The Honorable Kristine I.. Svinicki. Chair Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mai I Stop 0-1604 Washington. DC 20555-0001 Dear Chair Svinicki.

We write today to follow up on concerns raised at the Government-to-Government meeting held in Plymouth. Massachusetts on January 15. 2019 regarding the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) filed by Entergy for the decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim). A sustained discussion of the financial health of the Pilgrim Decommissioning Trust Fund (DTF) occurred at this meeting. and many of our state and federal colleagues had questions about the discrepancy between the level of the DTF (approximately $1.05 billion as of October 31. 2018) and the decommissioning costs.

Entergy estimates that the site*s decommissioning will cost $1.66 billion. using the SAFSTOR method. If the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approves the I loltec International license transfer request. I loltec has estimated that the total decommissioning, including spent fuel management and license termination. will cost $1.134 billion. using the DECON method.

We understand that under NRC regulations, the DTF only needs to cover expenses related to radiological decommissioning, but we have repeatedly expressed our desire to work with the licensee(s) and relevant state and federal agencies towards the goal of restoring the site to productive use in an affordable. safe, and expedient manner. Additionally. the state has adopted some stricter rules for site restoration and institutes a 10 millirem per year limit for its licensees - a limit that should be adopted and observed for the decommissioned Pilgrim site.

We therefore seek assurances that the fund's growth over time will be sufficiently robust to accommodate all related expenses. or. if not. that the licensee(s) will be held solely financially responsible by the NRC for all decommissioning-related costs. We also believe that the licensee(s) should ensure that state and local officials and other local stakeholders such as the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel will he regularly supplied with detailed infommtion regarding the DTF and how expenditures during the decommissioning process are impacting the fund.

The PS DAR filed by J loltec as a supplement to the Entergy PS DAR states that the amount of funding in the DTF is sufficient, but does not account for the likelihood that decommissioning activity costs will increase faster than the rate of general intlation. *1*he expedited time line or the

• • m rJT lO (" IJ Hf YLll [ f APrR

Holtec DECON process-taking eight years rather than the 60-year SAFSTOR timeline-means that the DTF will have fewer years in which to accrue interest.

Holtec also submitted a request for an exemption from the NRC's DTF requirements, which would allow it to use the DTF for spent fuel management and restoration activities. If the company receives this exemption and uses DTF funding for long-term spent fuel management, any money recovered from the U.S. Judgment Fund for spent fuel management should be required to be reinvested in the DTF for monitoring, security, and other restoration activity-not put into Holtec' s company coffers. If possible, this should be included as a stipulation on any potential approval of the exemption request.

Regardless of the financial health of the DTF, the licensee(s) must assume complete financial responsibility for the site and its decommissioning. Any licensee must be ultimately responsible for ensuring the decommissioning plan conducted by its subsidiaries is completed within the financial constraints of the Pilgrim trust fund or must be held responsible for any cost overruns.

Affiliates and subsidiaries of the same overarching conglomerate must not be allowed to play a shell game with their LLC status or corporate structure to avoid fulfilling their financial obligations. The NRC must require the licensee(s) to retain sufficiently robust insurance policies for the site, the spent fuel pools, the casks, and the concrete pad to cover the costs for repairs of any leaks or previously unknown radiological conditions identified at the site in the short-term or in the long-term.

We continue to urge the NRC to hold the Pilgrim licensee(s) to the highest standards of safety and security as the plant approaches its closure and eventual decommissioning. The cessation of power generation operations will Jessen, but not eliminate, the safety risks presented by the plant.

Security protocols and staffing must remain at robust levels to ensure the physical security of the site and the inviolability of the plant's electronic and cybersecurity systems, as well as monitor the integrity of the storage casks. The NRC should obligate Pilgrim operators to meet the more stringent cybersecurity protocols required under l OCFR 73.54, as any information systems used at the plant post-shutdown must be impervious to outside attack.

In addition, we urge that, after June I, 2019, the licensee(s) should be required to maintain the l 0-mile emergency planning zone for Pilgrim, the public safety protocols, offsite emergency planning, funding of communications, and staff training that have been required during power generation operations. Spent fuel rods in cooling pools present a continued risk even after power generation operations have ceased . A system failure that leads to inadequate watering of the spent fuel rods in the pool raises the risk of a disastrous fire , one which could expose communities within (and possibly outside) the current I 0-mile emergency planning zone to unacceptable risks. Those communities must have access to the resources they would need to address such a calamity as long as fuel rods remain in the spent fuel pools.

Finally, and most importantly, the people most affected by the Pilgrim closure and the safety threats posed by radiation should have meaningful input into its disposition as a decommissioned plant. As the people of Massachusetts and residents of the Town of Plymouth remain concerned for the health of their environment and the safety of their families, they deserve clear, accurate information about the decommissioning process and an opportunity to voice their concerns about its impact on their lives.

We ask for answers to the following questions by March 8, 2019:

I. What regulatory or statutory authorities ensure that licensees will bear any costs of decommissioning and site maintenance above the funds available in the DTF?

2. What guarantees has the NRC required (or will require in the future) from the licensee(s) to ensure that it will pay for any shortfall betv,1een the costs of decommissioning and site maintenance and the funds available in the DTF?

3. Will the NRC require the licensee(s) to update the environmental impact statements to include new infom1ation, including climate impacts. from the past decade? If not, why not?

4. Will the NRC require additional research on or monitoring of the high-burnup spent fuel that will be stored at the Pilgrim site? If not, why not? If yes. will this affect the cost of the decommissioning process?

5. If the NRC approves the exemption request for using the DTF on spent fuel management.

will the NRC require the licensec(s) to reinvest any potential federal settlement funds for spent fuel storage back into the DTF? If not. why not?

6. Will the NRC require that the liccnscc(s) include the state ' s 10 millirem limit in its calculations of decommissioning costs'? If not. why not?

We will continue to pursue legislative avenues to protect the people of Massachusetts from any unforeseen physical, financial, environmental or other hann resulting from the decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. We also look forward to hearing in more detail how the NRC will work with the people of Massachusetts to ensure that these protections are in place. leading towards a future where the former site of Pilgrim is a productive property that the residents of Plymouth and surrounding tov..,ns can point to with pride.

Sincerely,

~~-~ Edw J. Markey United States Senator Jnitcd States Senator t~ &~~

lJ .S. Representative

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of )

)

ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. ) Docket Nos. 50-293 and 72-1044 LT

)

(Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station )

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing Letters from Commission Secretary Annette Vietti-Cook to Senators Edward J. Markey, Elizabeth Warren, and Bill Keating 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 General Counsel Mail Stop: O-16B33 Mail Stop - O-14A44 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: ocaamail@nrc.gov Tison A. Campbell, Esq.

Kayla J. Gamin, Esq.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Anita G. Naber, Esq.

Office of the Secretary of the Commission David E. Roth, Esq.

Mail Stop: O-16B33 Eric A. Ruesch, Esq.

Washington, DC 20555-0001 Rebecca A. Susko, Esq.

E-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov Jeremy L. Wachutka E-mail: Tison.Campbell@nrc.gov Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Kayla.Gamin@nrc.gov U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Anita.Naber@nrc.gov Washington, DC 20555-0001 David.Roth@nrc.gov E. Roy Hawkens, Chairman Eric.Ruesch@nrc.gov E-mail: Roy.Hawkens@nrc.gov Rebecca.Susko@nrc.gov Jeremy.Wachutka@nrc.gov Entergy Services, Inc.

101 Constitution Ave., NW Suite 200 East Washington, DC 20001 Susan H. Raimo E-mail: sraimo@entergy.com

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Docket Nos. 50-293 and 72-1044 LT Letters from Commission Secretary Annette Vietti-Cook to Senators Edward J. Markey, Elizabeth Warren, and Bill Keating Balch & Bingham LLP Pilgrim Watch 1710 Sixth Avenue North F148 Washington Street Birmingham, AL 35203-2015 Duxbury, MA 02332 Peter R. LeJeune, Esq Mary Lampert, Director Alan D. Lovett, Esq, E-mail: Mary.Lampert@comcast.net E-mail: plejeune@balch.com alovett@balch.com Counsel for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Energy and Environmental Bureau 1200 Seventeenth Street, NW Office of the Attorney General Washington, DC 20036 One Ashburton Place, 18th Floor David R. Lewis, Esq. Boston, Massachusetts 02108 E-mail: David.Lewis@pillsburylaw.com Joseph Dorfler, Esq.

Seth Schofield, Esq.

E-mail: Joseph.Dorfler@state.ma.gov Seth.Schofield@mass.gov

[Original signed by Clara Sola ]

Office of the Secretary of the Commission Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of March, 2019 2