ML19071A323
| ML19071A323 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Seabrook  |
| Issue date: | 03/12/2019 |
| From: | Annette Vietti-Cook NRC/SECY |
| To: | Healey M Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, Office of the Attorney General |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| 50-443-LA-2, ASLBP-17-953-02-LA-BD01, RAS 54854 | |
| Download: ML19071A323 (5) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 SECRETARY March 12, 2019 The Honorable Maura Healey Attorney General The Commonwealth of Massachusetts One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108-1598
Dear Attorney General Healey:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of March 10, 2019, to Chairman Svinicki regarding NextEra Energy Seabrook's (Seabrook) requests for a license amendment and renewal of Seabrook's operating license for an additional twenty-year term. Your letter requests that the Chairman delay action on both the license amendment and the license renewal requests for Seabrook until the pending adjudicatory hearing has been completed.
As you know, the license amendment application is the subject of a current adjudication with the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB). Under agency regulations, the Commission has an appellate role in adjudications pending before the ASLB. Additionally, C-10 Research and Education Foundation (C-10) filed an emergency petition with the Commission on February 13, 2019, which remains pending before the Commission.
Because of these matters, the Commission must remain impartial during the pendency of the proceedings . It would be inappropriate at this time for the Commission to discuss or comment on issues involved in these matters.
A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the Seabrook license amendment proceeding.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ONE ASHBURTON PLACE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02108-1598 MAURA HEALEY (617) 727-2200 A TIORNEY GENERAL www.ma.gov/ago March 10, 2019 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL The Honorable Kristine L. Svinicki Chairman, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop 0-16B33 Washington, DC 20555-0001 RE: Seabrook Nuclear Power Station License Amendment and License Extension Requests
Dear Chairman Svinicki:
I am writing to urge the U .S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) to preclude NRC Staff from acting on NextEra Energy Seabrook's (NextEra) requests for a license amendment and twenty-year extension ofits existing operating license prior to issuance of a final decision in the upcoming adjudicatory hearing before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (Licensing Board) on concrete degradation at the plant. A decision to act on either request prior to a final adjudication of that matter would constitute an affront to the public interest and undermine public trust in the NRC ' s ability to protect public health and safety.
Documented concrete degradation at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station due to an alkali silica reaction (ASR) is the source of significant justified and understandable public concern. To that end, on October 6, 2017, the Licensing Board granted a petition by C-10 Research &
Education Foundation, Inc. (C-10) for a hearing on issues related to the concrete degradation in the license amendment proceeding and admitted five of C-10' s contentions. In re NextEra Energy Seabrook, L.L.C. , LBP-17-7, 86 N.R.C. 59, 67-68 (2017) (Adams Accession No. MLl 7279A968). The Commission affirmed that decision on April 12, 2018 (Adams Accession No. MLI 8102A097). Not only has there been no final decision re~dered on the matter by the Licensing Board, no adjudicatory hearing has yet occurred. Neither the NRC Staff nor NextEra has offered a meritorious reason why either request should be granted with this live issue still pending before the Licensing Board.
The Commission and the public would benefit greatly from allowing the adjudication to proceed before acting on either the amendment or the extension requests. C-10 has retained one of the world ' s leading experts on ASR. That expert is also the same person whom the NRC itself
Chairman Kristine L. Svinicki March 10, 2019 Re: Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant Page 2 of 2 previously retained to study this issue. In his declaration supporting the organization's February 13, 2019 Emergency Petition, C-IO ' s expert raises a series of serious and legitimate concerns about NextEra' s analysis of the ASR issue at Seabrook. The Licensing Board is poised to hold an adjudicatory hearing during which the parties can test those expert opinions and render a fmal decision following the hearing to which C-10 is now entitled.
There is simply no reason for the NRC Staff to act on the amendment or license extension requests at this time. NextEra' s existing license does not expire until March 15, 2030-eleven years from today. Yet, despite the pendency of that adjudicatory hearing, NRC Staff have informed the Commission that they plan to act on the license amendment request on Monday, March 11, 2019, and grant a twenty-year license extension the following day-again, on a license that does not expire until eleven years from now. Given the public interest in the unsettled safety issues at the plant, the Staff recommendation is bewildering.
I respectfully ask that you delay any action on either NextEra's license amendment or license extension requests until at least after a final decision in the pending adjudicatory hearing has issued.
Please contact Seth Schofield, Assistant Attorney General in my Energy and Environment Bureau, by e-mail (seth.schofield@mass.gov) or by telephone ((617)-963-2436) if you have any questions or would like to discuss the subject of this letter further.
Cc: NRC Commissioners Jeff Baran, Stephen G. Bums, Annie Caputo, David A. Wright Annette L. Vietti-Cook, Secretary of the Commission David C. Lew, NRC Regional Administrator, Region I Douglas Tifft, NRC Regional State Liaison Officer The Honorable Elizabeth Warren The Honorable Edward Markey The Honorable Seth Moulton The Honorable Bruce Tarr The Honorable Diana DiZoglio The Honorable James Kelcourse The Honorable Leonard Mirra
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 THE COMMISSION SECRETARY TO MASSACHUSETTS ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY 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 Jennifer E. Scro, Esq.
Jennifer.Scro@nrc.gov Dr. Sekazi K. Mtingwa Krupskaya Castellon - Paralegal Administrative Judge krupskaya.castellon@nrc.gov sekazi.mtingwa@nrc.gov Taylor Mayhall, Law Clerk OGC Mail Center: Members of this office have Taylor.Mayhall@nrc.gov received a copy of this filing by EIE service.
Joseph McManus, Law Clerk joseph.mcmanus@nrc.gov
NEXTERA ENERGY SEABROOK, LLC (Seabrook Station Unit 1) - Docket No. 50-443-LA-2 LETTER FROM THE COMMISSION SECRETARY TO MASSACHUSETTS ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY 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 Harmon, Curran, Spielberg, & Eisenberg, LLP Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 1725 DeSales Street, NW, Suite 500 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20036 Washington, DC 20004 Diane Curran, Esq.
Paul M. Bessette, Esq. dcurran@harmoncurran.org 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 12th day of March, 2019 2