ML19210B509

Applicants' Answer to AEC Motion for Scheduling.Modifies Applicants' Oral Response to Motion at Prehearing Conference.Does Not Object to Deferment of Evidentiary Hearing Subsequent to Issuance of Suppl to SER

ML19210B509
Person / Time
Site:	Three Mile Island
Issue date:	08/30/1973
From:	Trowbridge G METROPOLITAN EDISON CO., SHAW, PITTMAN, POTTS & TROWBRIDGE
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
References
NUDOCS 7911090277
Download: ML19210B509 (5)

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August 30, 1973 s

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of )

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METROPOLITAN EDISON COMPANY, et al. ) Docket No. 50-289

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(Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, )

Unit 1) )

APPLICANTS' ANSWER TO REGULATORY STAFF MOTION FOR SCHEDULING

1. The Regulatory Staff has filed a Motion for Scheduling, dated August 28, 1973, and delivered copies of the motion in person to members of the Board and to counsel for the parties toward the close of the Prehearing Conference held in this proceeding on the same date. This answer will amplify and in some respects modify Applicants' oral response to the motion at the Prehearing Conference.

2. The Regulatory Staff's proposed schedule is geared to the expected issuance of a supplement to the Y

Staff's Safety Evaluation Report during the second week in October and contemplates that no evidentiary hearing on any of the issues or controversies to be decided by this Board would commence until November 5, 1973. In explanation of its proposed schedule the Staff's motion 1566 014 7D11090 D J

states that there are three matters which bear upon Inter-venors' contentions which have not yet been resolved to the satisfaction of the Staff and which will presumably be covered in the supplement to the Safety Evaluation Re-port, namely, (a) possible tendon bearing plate depression into concrete, (b) further analyses of fuel densification and (c) various uspects of the emergency plan. There is no suggestion that other issues and contentions before this Board are not now ripe for an evidentiary hearing.

3. Applicants have no objection to the defer-ment of an evidentiary hearing with respect to the fore-going three matters identified by the Staff until after the issuance of the Staff's supplement to the Safety Eval-uation Report. In addition, since Intervenors have only recently requested and have not yet availed themselves of an opportunity to review the Applicants' industrial security plan, Applicants would have no objection to deferral of the evidentiary hearing on Intervenors' contentions related thereto. Thus, Applicants would have no objection to de-ferral until after the issuance of the Staff's supplement to the Safety Evaluation Report of an evidentiary hearing on Intervenors' revised contentions 1, 2 and 9 and so much of Intervenors' revised contention 3 as relates to Appli-cants' onsite industrial security plan. Applicants request that the Board schedule in accordance with paragraph 4 1566 015 2

3 4 below 4: cris : ry hearing on all of Intervenors' other revised con ' ins which may be allowed by the Board in this proceeding.

4. Applicants proposed at the close of the Aug-ust 28 Prehearing Conference that the evidentiary hearing on all issues and contentions, except those to be addressed in the supplement to the Safety Evaluation Report. be scheduled toward the end of September. After reviewing the transcript of the Prehearing Conference, and particu-larly after taking into consideration the extension of time allowed by the Board for the submission of a Staff position on the allowability of revised contention 10 and the fur-ther opportunity afforded other parties to comment on the Staff position, Applicants now propose that the evidentiary hearing commence not later than the week beginning October 8.

Applicants further urge the Board promptly to establish the exact date for commencement of the October hearing after consultation with counsel for the parties without awaiting the Board's final ruling on the allowability of all of Inter-venors' revised contentions. Scheduling the hearing at this time will allow the members of the Board and the parties to arrange their busy schedules around fixed hearing dates and would avoid delays which are otherwise likely to occur as a result of other schedule ecmmitments if the setting of the hearing date is deferred. For the same reason, 1566 016 3

G Applicants propose that the Board now adopt November 5, 1973 (the date proposed by the Staff for commencement of the entire evidentiary hearing) as the date of com-mencement for that portion of the hearing to encompass matters covered by the supplement to the Safety Evalu-ation Report.

5. Completing as much of the evidentiary hear-ing as possible in early October would be consistent with the he ring schedules contemplated by all parties at the P.i;chearing Conference held on May 24, 1973, and with d!.scovery schedules and schedules for the submission of revised contentions pursuant to that Prehearing Conference.

Applicants see no prejudice to any party in conducting a hearing covering the bulk of the contentions and issues before this Board in early October. There are a number of discrete contentions which could in themselves be time-consuming and which can be readily covered in an October hearing. These would include, for example, Intervenors' contentions with respect to protection against airplane crash, the environmental impact oi cooling towers, the

-question of whether low level radioactive effluents will be "as low as practicable", and the protection of the facility against flooding. Each of these items will re-quire specialized witnesses who can complete their testi-mony at the October hearing and who need not then be called 1566 017 4

again to complete the proceeding in November.

6. As proposed by the Regulatory Staff, Appli-cants request that each party who sponsors a witness shall present written testimony to the Board and the other par-tiec one week in advance of that phase of the hearing to which the testimony relates.

Respectfully submitted, SHAW, PITTMAN, POTTS & TROWBRIDGE By h,ff/ '_ NY d

'N Greorge F.' Trowbridg6 Dated: August 30, 1973 1566 018 5