ML19210C934

Responds,On Behalf of Applicant,To NRC 791011 Ltr Addressed to ASLB Re Unavailability of NRC Witness.Requests Scheduling of 791031 or 1101-02 & 05 Hearing Session Re ASLB Questions Pending Since Mar 1979.Urges Publication of SER Schedule

ML19210C934
Person / Time
Site:	Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant
Issue date:	10/18/1979
From:	Cowan B, Daugherty T, Kenrick J ECKERT, SEAMANS, CHERIN & MELLOTT
To:	Bright G, Schink D, Wolfe S Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
References
NUDOCS 7911200342
Download: ML19210C934 (6)

Text

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• O' somn J. MPEmS October 18, 1979 Sheldon J. Wolfe, Esq., Chairman Atomic Safety and Licensing Board

[K U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission \ .

Washington, D. C. 20555 d,$y? o

'i Dr. David R. Schink, Member Atomic Safety and Licensing Board f,

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Department of Oceanography ,, a fic Texas A & M University College Station, Texas 77840 yp y Mr. Glenn O. Bright, Member Atomic Safety and Licensing Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20555 In the Matter of Offshore Power Systems (Floating Nuclear Power Plants)

Docket No. STN 50-437

Dear Mr. Chairman and Members of the Board:

The Applicant, Offshore Power Systems, herein responds to the NRC Regulatory Staff letter to the Board dated October 11, 1979.

While the Applicant is greatly disappointed that a Staff witness will not be available for a hearing session on October 26, 1979, it is the Applicant's understanding from informal discussions with counsel for the Regulatory Staff that the Staff's witness panel will be available on October 31 and November 1-2 and 5-6, 1979. In view of this near term availability, the Applicant respectfully requests the Board to schedule a hearing session which will address

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7911200 3 ~

dheldon J. Wolfe, Esq., et al.

October 18, 1979 Page Two Board questions pending since March,1979. It is the Applicant's view that a manageable segment of the hear-ing process should be carried out when the Staff and the Board are available to address the matter. As a conse-quence, the Applicant urges the Board to reschedule an early hearing session.

As the history of this proceeding clearly dem-onstrates, Regulatory Staff representations as to the availability of the SER Supplement No. 3 "until at least the end of this year" indicates a vaguely defined goal.

The Applicant respectfully requests that the Board order the Staff to publish a schedule leading to the availabil-ity of SER Supplement No. 3 and periodically report to the Board and the parties progress on the schedule. It is the Applicant's firm conviction that in the absence of such a schedule and periodic reporting, Staff expectations respecting the publication of documents will lose visibAl-ity and result in untoward delays.

As the Board is well aware, the manufacturing license application of offshore Power Systems has been pending before the NRC for more than six years. In this proceeding there has been a history of delay in the pub-lication of various Staff document ~. nected to complete the hearing record. That history ga'm rise to a dispute between Applicant and Staff conce rning the scope of this Board's authority to assure that elecision-making in this case by the Commicsion is both sound and timely. This dispute was resolved by the Atomi.: Safety and Licensing Appeal Board (" Appeal Board") in dffshore Power Systems (Floating Nuclear Power Plants), 8 NRC 194 (1978), ALAB-489, where the Appeal Board held: inter alia, that:

"Once an application in on its wny through the hearing process . . . the Licensing Board must be able to insure the " prompt and orderly dispatch of [this] public busi-ness' and a ' sound and timely' decision.

Especially in the face of numerous and pro-lcuged delays, one ste!p toward that end can be a properly executed scheduling order."

(8 NRC at 206; citati( ns and footnotes omitted.)

509

Sheldon J. Wolfe, Esq., et al.

October 18, 1979 Page Three Applicant submits that what the Appeal Board said about the long pendency of this proceeding in ALAB-489 in August, 1978, is more than ever the case today:

"Beyond doubt, the proceedings here hardly exemplify timeliness.

Without either finding fault with the staff for revising documents that were initially unsatisfactory or assigning blame for the numerous delays, we can certainly state the obvious : the current state of these pro-ceedings is beneficial to no one and is antithetical to Commission policy." (8 NRC at 204 and accompanying footnote 29.)

In view of the numerous delays which have plagued this matter in the past six years, Applicant submits that is-suance of a scheduling order and Board monitoring of ad-herence thereto will significantly assist in insuring de-cision-making which is both " sound and timely" in this proceeding.

With respect to requirements relating to TMI-2 ,

it is the Applicant's understanding that rather than a case-by-case review of each license, the Staff is encour-aging owner group participation in generic resolution.

There is such a Westinghouse Owner group in communication with the Staff on generic resolution. The Applicant be-lieves that such generic resolutions will be applicable equally to the Floating Nuclear Plants. More importantly, the Applic&nt is not aware of any lessons learned from TMI-2 that would be applicable to the design and manu-facture of the Floating Nuclear Plants that could not be handled subsequent to award of a license to manufacture, but prior to a license amendment for final design under 10 CFR 50, Appendix M (see specifically paragraph 5 (b) and paragraph 7) .

• Applicant notes that the Commission has recently published interim guidance as to how licensing proceedings should be conducted during the pendency of TMI-2 investigations, see U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission " Interim Statement of Policy and Procedure", 44 Fed. Reg. 58559 (October 10, 1979).

, ,t  ?*q J.U

Sheldon J. Wolfe, Esq., et al.

October 18, 1979 Page Four In summary, the Applicant urges the Board to reschedule a hearing session during the Staff's availa-bility on October 31 or November 1-2 and 5-6, 1979, to address Board questions pending since March, 1979. Ad-ditionally, the Arolicant respectfully urges the Board te order the Regulatory Staff to publish a schedule lead-ing to the availability of SER Supplement No. 3 and to require periodic reporting of progress by the Regulatory Staff to this schedule. The Applicant believes that these two actions are essential and may be the only hope of the eventual completion of Staff review and closing of the re-cord in this proceeding which has suffered so many delays.

Respectfully submitted,

_M .

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~ 4. M. bbb/pt e fit -

Cdqungel for App 12. cant, Offshore Power Systems cc: Per OPS Service List, Attachment 1

• 7/' 7i

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ATTACHMENT 1 OPS SERVICE LIST Sheldon J. Wolfe, Esq., Chairman Director Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Division of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Washington, D.C. 20555 Dr. David R. Schink, Member Docketing and Service Section Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Office of the Secretary Department of Oceanography U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Texas A & M University Washington, D.C. 20555 College Station, Texas 77840 Stephen M. Schinki, Esq.

Mr. Glenn O. Bright, Member Marc R. Staenberg, Esq.

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Office of the Executive Legal U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Director Washington, D.C. 20555 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Dr. David L. Hetrick, Alternate Member Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Barton Z. Cowan, Esq.

Professor of Nuclear Engineering John R. Kenrick, Esq.

The University of Arizona Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott Tucson, Arizona 85721 600 Grant Street Forty-Second Floor Alan S. Rosenthal, Esq., Chairman Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219 Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board Panel Thomas M. Daugherty, Esq.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Offshore Power Systems Washington, D.C. 20555 8000 Arlington Expressway P.O. Box '000 Alternate Chairman Jacksonville, Florida 32211 Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board Panel Carl Valore, Jr., Esq.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Valore, McAllister, DeBrier, Aron &

Washington, D.C. 20555 Westmoreland Mainland Professional Plaza Chief Hearing Counsel 535 Tilton Road Office of the Executive Legal P. O. Box 175 Director Northfield, New Jersey 08225 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 4 7/72 Page 1 of 2

Richard M. Hluchan, Esq. Mr. Harold P. Abrams, President State of New Jersey Atlantic County Citizens Council Department of Law and Public Safety on Environment 36 West State Street 9100 Amherst Avenue Trenton, New Jersey 08625 Margate, New Jersey 08402 . David S. Fleischaker, Esq. Dr. Willard W. Rosenberg, Chairman Natural Resources Defense Council Energy Committee Suite 709 Atlantic County Citizens Council 173F I Street, N.W. on Environment Washington , D. C. 20006 8 North Rumson Avenue Margate, New Jersey 08402 Keith A. Onsdorff, Esq. Assistant Deputy Public Advocate Mr. John H. Williamson State of New Jersey Energy Committee Post Office Box 141 Atlantic County Citizens Council Trenton, New Jersey 08601 on Environment 211 Forest Drive Mr. George B. Ward Linwood, New Jersey 08221 Nuclear Power Plant Committee City Hall Brigantine, New Jersey 08203

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