ML19225D255
| ML19225D255 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Pilgrim |
| Issue date: | 08/13/2019 |
| From: | Annette Vietti-Cook NRC/SECY |
| To: | Markey E US Congress, US SEN (Senate) |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| 50-293-LT, 72-1044 -LT, License Transfer, RAS 55165 | |
| Download: ML19225D255 (5) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 The Honorable Edward J. Markey United States Senate Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Markey:
August 13, 2019 On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of August 8, 2019, to Chairman Svinicki regarding the pending Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station license transfer request from Entergy and Holtec (Docket Nos. 50-593 and 72-1044). Your letter requests that the NRC delay its decision on the license transfer application until after the Commission rules upon the license transfer intervention petitions filed by the State of Massachusetts and Pilgrim Watch as well as the stay motion filed by the State of Massachusetts.
Because your request bears on the contested adjudication pending before the Commission, it would be inappropriate for the Chairman to discuss or comment at this time. This is because the Commission must remain impartial during the pendency of the adjudication.
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
EDWARD J. MARKEY MASSACHUSETIS COMMITIEES:
EN VIRONMENT AND P UBLIC WORKS FOREIGN RELATIONS tlnitcd ~tatcs ~cnatc RANKING MEMBER:
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EAST ASIA, THE PACIFIC, AND INTERNATIONAL CYBEASECURITY P OLICY COMM ERCE, SCIENCE, AN D T RANSPORTATION RANKING M EMBER:
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SECURITY SMALL B USINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP CHAIRMAN:
U.S. SENATE CLIMATE CHANGE TASK FORCE The Honorable Kristine L. Svinicki Chairman Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop 0-1604 Washington, DC 20555-0001
Dear Chairman Svinicki,
August 8, 2018 SUITE SD-255 DIRKSEN B UILDIN G WASHINGTON, DC 20510-2107 202-224-2742 975 JFK FEDERAL BUILDING 15 NEW SUDBURY STREET BOSTON, MA 02203 617-565-8519 222 M ILLIKEN BOULEVARD, SUITE 312 FALL RIVER, MA 02721 508-677-0523 1550 M AIN STREET, 4TH FLOOR SPRINGFIELD, M A 011 03 413-785--4610 I write to urge you to direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff to delay ruling on the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station license transfer request from Entergy and Holtec (Docket No.
50-293 & 72-1004) until after the Commission has ruled upon the petitions and motion currently in the proceeding docket.
NRC staff are currently evaluating an application to transfer the Pilgrim license from Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. to Holtec International and Holtec Decommissioning International. As part of these proceedings, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Pilgrim Watch, a local citizens' organization, both filed petitions to intervene and for hearing requests. On August 2, 2019, the Commonwealth additionally filed a motion to ask the NRC to stay its activities on the license transfer to allow the Attorney General's office more time to discuss a settlement with Entergy and Holtec.
The petitions and motion were filed in the correct fashion and within all relevant deadlines, as laid out in the Federal Register notice announcing the application. However, in recent correspondence with my office, NRC staff have said that they can reach a decision on the license transfer without waiting for a ruling on either motion or the petition. Issuing a decision on the license transfer request without input from either the Commonwealth or the local community would be an unacceptable undermining of the public's ability to weigh in on NRC actions and would undercut the promise of a rigorous evaluation of the license transfer request. As a result, I ask that NRC staff hold on their decision to approve or deny the transfer until all the NRC has ruled upon relevant petitions and motions. I also urge the Commission to grant the petitions for hearings in order to improve transparency and provide an opportunity for the interveners to get answers to their questions about the applicants.
If the NRC is serious about its process for soliciting comments and requests for hearings in its proceedings, it will wait for rulings before deciding on the application. The NRC should not put industry timelines above the statutory requirement for a thorough process that includes the opportunity for public involvement.
Sincerely, United States Senator
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of
)
)
ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC.
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ENTERGY NUCLEAR GENERATION
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Docket Nos. 50-293 and 72-1044 LT COMPANY, HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL,
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and HOLTEC DECOMMISSIONING
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INTERNATIONAL, LLC
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)
(Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station
)
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing Letter from Commission Secretary Annette L. Vietti-Cook to Senator Edward J. Markey have been served upon the following persons by Electronic Information Exchange.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication Mail Stop: O-16B33 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: ocaamail@nrc.gov U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of the Secretary of the Commission Mail Stop: O-16B33 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 E. Roy Hawkens, Chairman E-mail: Roy.Hawkens@nrc.gov U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop - O-14A44 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Tison A. Campbell, Esq.
Anita G. Naber, Esq.
David E. Roth, Esq.
Rebecca A. Susko, Esq.
Jeremy L. Wachutka, Esq.
Jennifer E. Scro, Esq.
E-mail: Tison.Campbell@nrc.gov Anita.Naber@nrc.gov David.Roth@nrc.gov Rebecca.Susko@nrc.gov Jeremy.Wachutka@nrc.gov Jennifer.Scro@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 Letter from Commission Secretary Annette L. Vietti-Cook to Senator Edward J. Markey 2
Balch & Bingham LLP 1710 Sixth Avenue North Birmingham, AL 35203-2015 Peter R. LeJeune, Esq Alan D. Lovett, Esq, E-mail: plejeune@balch.com alovett@balch.com Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP 1200 Seventeenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 Meghan Hammond, Esq.
David R. Lewis, Esq.
E-mail: Meghan.Hammond@pillsburylaw.com David.Lewis@pillsburylaw.com Pilgrim Watch F148 Washington Street Duxbury, MA 02332 Mary Lampert, Director E-mail: Mary.Lampert@comcast.net Counsel for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
Energy and Environmental Bureau Office of the Attorney General One Ashburton Place, 18th Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Joseph Dorfler, Esq.
Seth Schofield, Esq.
E-mail: Joseph.Dorfler@state.ma.gov Seth.Schofield@mass.gov
[Original signed by Krupskaya T. Castellon]
Office of the Secretary of the Commission Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of August 2019