ML19085A331

Intervenors' Joint Motion for Partial Reconsideration of Initial Scheduling Order

ML19085A331
Person / Time
Site:	Turkey Point
Issue date:	03/26/2019
From:	Ayres R, Curran D, Fettus G Friends of the Earth, Harmon, Curran, Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP, Miami Waterkeeper, Natural Resources Defense Council, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
SECY RAS
References
50-250-SLR, 50-251-SLR, ASLBP 18-957-01-SLR-BD01, RAS 54887
Download: ML19085A331 (5)

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, 50-251-SLR Turkey Point Units 3 and 4 )

_____________________________________)

INTERVENORS JOINT MOTION FOR PARTIAL RECONSIDERATION OF INITIAL SCHEDULING ORDER I. INTRODUCTION Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. §§ 2.323(e), 2.329(e), and the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards (ASLBs) Initial Scheduling Order of March 21, 2019 (Order), Intervenors Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Friends of the Earth, and Miami Waterkeeper, hereby request the Board to reconsider and revise the Orders schedule for summary disposition motions, in order to make it consistent with other related provisions of the Order that were established by the ASLB in response to the parties Joint Motion Regarding Hearing Schedule, Mandatory Disclosures, and Hearing File Obligations (March 19, 2019)

(Joint Motion). As demonstrated below, this motion presents compelling circumstances, as required by 10 C.F.R. § 2.323(e), because the current schedule may have prejudicial effects on Intervenors ability to participate in this proceeding in a fair and meaningful way.

As requested in the Joint Motion by all of the parties (Intervenors, Florida Power & Light Co.

(FPL), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Staff), the ASLB established deadlines for new and amended contentions based on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that would fall either 30 days after the issuance of the DEIS or 30 days after the May 10, 2019, deadline for Initial Disclosures, whichever date is later. This provision was proposed in the Joint Motion to balance the parties interests: while FPL and the NRC Staff wanted more

time to prepare and submit Initial Disclosures beyond the regulatory deadline of April 8, 2019, Intervenors wanted to avoid any prejudice that might occur to them as a result of having to submit new or amended contentions on the DEIS without the benefit of the information provided in the Initial Disclosures. By delaying the deadline for filing new and amended contentions until the later date of DEIS issuance or Initial Disclosures, the parties ensured that the Initial Disclosure deadline could be moved without prejudice to the Intervenors.

While the Board granted the parties requested schedule for new or amended contentions on the DEIS, it added a provision to the schedule, not proposed in the Joint Motion, calling for summary disposition motions within 30 days of issuance of the DEIS. See Order at 3. This provision would upset the balance of parties interests that the Joint Motion proposed, to the potential prejudice of the Intervenors. First, it would effectively force Intervenors to seek to amend their contentions prematurely (i.e., in advance of the Initial Disclosures) in order to avoid termination of their participation in the case. This is especially true for contentions of omission (such as SACEs Contention 2).

Second, allowing summary disposition to proceed before the scheduled time for filing new or amended contentions based on the DEIS would also prejudice the Intervenors by forcing them to respond to summary disposition motions without the benefit of the Initial Disclosures. If Intervenors sought to delay summary disposition based on the expectation of receiving relevant information in the Initial Disclosures, they would be handicapped by their lack of knowledge regarding what specific information might be included in those Initial Disclosures. See, e.g.,

Pub. Serv. Co. of N.H. (Seabrook Station, Units 1 & 2), CLI-92-8, 35 NRC 145, 152 (1992) (a party seeking to conduct discovery to respond to a summary disposition motion must identify by affidavit what specific information it seeks to obtain.). See also 10 C.F.R. § 2.710(c).

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Intervenors respectfully submit that these potentially prejudicial effects constitute compelling circumstances under 10 C.F.R. § 2.323(e), thereby warranting the ASLBs consideration. Furthermore, they may be ameliorated by changing the deadline for summary disposition from 30 days after the issuance of the DEIS to 30 days after issuance of the DEIS or Initial Disclosures, whichever date is later.

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 for Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

___/signed electronically by/__

Geoffrey Fettus NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL 1152 15th Street, NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20005 202-289-2371 gfettus@nrdc.org Counsel for Natural Resources Defense Council and Miami Waterkeeper

___/signed electronically by/__

Richard E. Ayres FRIENDS OF THE EARTH 2923 Foxhall Road, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20016 E-mail: ayresr@ayreslawgroup.com Counsel for Friends of the Earth March 26, 2019 3

CERTIFICATE OF COUNSEL Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.323(b), I certify that on March 26, 2019, I consulted counsel for FPL and the NRC Staff in a sincere effort to resolve the issues raised by this motion. Counsel for FPL stated that FPL opposes the motion. Counsel for the NRC Staff stated that the Staff neither supports nor opposes the motion.

___/signed electronically by/__

Diane Curran 4

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 March 26, 2019, I posted copies of the foregoing INTERVENORS JOINT MOTION FOR PARTIAL RECONSIDERATION OF INITIAL SCHEDULING ORDER on the NRCs Electronic Information Exchange System.

___/signed electronically by/__

Diane Curran 5