ML19246A312
| ML19246A312 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 04/17/1979 |
| From: | Bickwit L NRC OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL (OGC) |
| To: | Gilinsky V, Hendrie J, Kennedy R NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7906070012 | |
| Download: ML19246A312 (8) | |
Text
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.f UNITED STATES 3%
1 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 3,,
j WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555
.?
E April 17, 1979
+
t MEMORANDUM FOR:
Chairman Hendrie Commissioner Gilinsky Commissioner Kennedy Commissioner Bradford Coamissioner Ahearne d$hLeonardBickwit, Jr., General Counsel FROM:
SUBJECT:
TMI-2 TRANSCRIPTS We have reviewed the April 5, April 6 and April 9 transcripts of closed Commission meetings.
The April 5 transcript deals with Harold Denton's report from the site (9:37 a.m. meet-ing), the B&W generic issue (11:00 a.m. meeting), drafting j
the Rancho Seco letter (3: 14 p.m.
and 5: 25 p.m. meetings),
a brief status report of conditions at the site (5: 25 p.m; meeting, pp. 7-11), more on the Rancho Seco letter (5: 25 p.m.
~
meeti: C, and Sunshine Act discussions about the "ationale for clasing proposed maetings about a Commission-sponsored TMI-2 investigation (5: 25 p.m. meeting, pp. 32-end).
(s The April 6 transcript deals with Harold Denton's report from the site (9:51 a.m. meeting), preliminary discussions about structuring a Commission-sponsored TMI-2 investigation, suggestions of people to head up the investigation (11:05 a.m.
I meeting', and further discussions as to the structure of a Commiss:.on sponsored investigation (3: 23 p.m. meeting).
I The April'9 transcript deals with Harold Denton's report l
from th? site (9:37 a.m. meeting) and more on the structure i
of a Conaission-sponsored investigation (3: 00 p.m. meeting).
Discussion i
The April 5 transcript presents to us the clearest case for immediate disclosure.
It enccmpasses Harold Denton's site reports and the B&W generic issue.
The Denton site re, ports
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have routinely been disclosed and the B&W generic issue is covered by the Moffitt/Hendrie letter of understanding.
227 29i CONTACT:
Stephen F.
Eilperin 4-1465 7906070012.
I
v.au The Commission 2
i Disclosure would not impinge on any privacy interest; nor would it frustrate Commission action since the most plausible frustration claim -- consideration of the B&W generic issue --
l has already been resolved for the present.
In short, we think the April 5 transcript should be disclosed in its entirety both to Congress and to the public.
We note one caveat.
The April 5, 5: 25 p.m. meeting reflects a brief discussion about the prospect of putting an operating plant in a mode similar to TMI-2 in order to provide data for the natural circulation mode of operating the TMI-2 plant.
(5: 25 p.m. meeting, pp. 7-11, attached).
The offer seems to have been made in confidance (we were not privy to -
the discussions and hence do not know) and a frustration of pu cose case could be made for withholding the discussion if t'.t is so.
Nevertheless, unless disclosure would involve breach of a confidenca, which the offeror is unwilling to forgo, we favor discl cure.
The discussion seems much like other plans considered i rejected for bringing TMI-2 to a cold shutdown.
And an L.empt to withhold it from the public (we would be disclosing it to Congress under the Moffitt/Hendrie understanding) we '.ld most probably be ineffec-tive ana would unduly emphasize the significance of one particular plan to obtain some useful information for con-sidering alternative cold shutdawn plans.
We also suggest that when releasing the April 5 transcript, the Commission shou]'. attach to it the April 4 discussions about Rancho Seco and the B&W generic issue.
Release of an entire Rancho Seco package (including the April 4 s.taff briefing, ACRS/NRC meeting and NRC meeting -- all of which are already public) would give context to the Commission decision reflected in the April 5 transcript not to close down the other B&W plants at this time.
The April 6 and April 9 transcripts present a distinct issue.
Both transcripts (beginning with the 11:05 a.m.
April 6 meeting) deal with structuring a Commission-sponsored investigation.
(Later transcripts not yet reviewed also deal with this issue).
The Commicaion has a colorable case for withholding the transcripts in their entirety both frcm the public and Congress.
The rationale essentially would be that the Commission's desire to settle upon a sound structure for its own investigation would be frustrated by premature disclosure of its deliberations -- relying upon Section 9(B) of the Sunshine Act vis-a-vis the public and that exemption as well as a separation of power argument vis-a-vis the Congress.
227 292
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The Commission 3
n A more limited claim would insist on withholding only the names and evaluations of those being considered to head up the investigation -- again, the frustration of purpose rationale is applicable, but >>"e more pointedly as to picking a particular person for an important job; addition-ally, the invasion of privacy rationale is applicable.
We much prefer the limited claim of confidentiality relati:.g to discussions about specific people.
The general claim reems not much different from the kinds of arguments the Commis-sion could muster whenever it is considering acting in the same general sphere as other agencies of government (e.g.,
the Commission's relation to Executive Branch actions on low-level radiation or waste mana5ement), and in our judg-ment is relatively weak.
The more compelling Ergument is that the Commission's attempt to choose investigators will seriously be hampered by premature disclosure of those under consideration and that the disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy.. ewe have marked and attached to this memorandum the portions of the April 6 transcript which would be withheld under this m' ore limited claim.
Reccamendation:
Disclose the April 5 and April 9 transcripts in their entirety.
Disclose the April 6 transcript in its entirety except those bracketed portions of the 11:05 a.m.
meeting.
Discuss further with OCA and OGC later this after-noon the issue of whether matter we would delete should be deleted from transcripts to be sent to Congress.
cc:
QPE OCA SECY (2) 227 293
=m CHAIRMAN EENDRIE:
The other item which I would ask all of you present in the room to hold in absolute confidenct 1 r
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,. is that the -- They re looking, Bill Lee has said what 2
II 3
he wants to do is to take one of the Oconee units down, I;.
f'letalittledecayoccurtogetanearmatchtotheThree
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7 ll Mile conditions and carry out scne evolutions which wculd 5
- 1. provide data for the natural circulation -- some baseline 6
t l data for the natural circulation mode.9 7
h The staff has been looking at it.
They see no 8
i safety problems or technical specification limits t' _t wculd 9
i:
I 10 El impede that prerequisite.
Our completion of the staff judgme p
that that is, in fact,_an acceptable thing, and Lee will have e
1 1
i s to talk to the ---
12 lii.
e li COMMISSIONER BR'LDFORD:
Well, why at.Oconee. Joe, 13 j A
instead of -- Is there something with Arkansas lI ---
p 14 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE:
Yes. It turns out that Arkansas is
- 15 [d has been down too long and will be anotherk s
16 ti couple of week.s --
17 :y, they have already--
because they are in scme maintenance i
y and assor 'd other operations, it would take them a week to 18 J 'two weeks to put things back together, 'and you have_ got furthc l
19 f decay, and then there's that delay in 'getting data.
20 t
Furthermc I must say if somebody's going to do this evolution, I think, i
I 2~1 I'I the Duke operating unit is the right crowd to do it.
22 il cowever, it's dependent upon Lee being able to 23 N
9
- bring the Governor of South Carolina along.
- -cd. hat's why n
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.l I would ask for absolute condidence ---
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i CO.NDiISSIONE2 A I_ARNE:
Knat kind of. hazard and risk g
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.e He will want to explai cob 24ISSIONER 3RADFORD:
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- what he has in mind very c'arefully.
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3-i' (Simultaneous voices.)
4 CHAIm1AN HENDRII:
I think, relatively littl(.
5
~~
They can do it in very careful stages, come back ---
6 (Simultaneous voices) 7 8
CHAIRMAN HINDRIE:
-- shut down or ccme back, two 9
pump circulatio', look at some things, one pump circulation, n
10 simulating the Three-Mile, look, get some data there ---
ll 11 (Simultaneous voices) 12 1
13 j, CEAIM1AN HEJDRIE-
-- and then go very carefully 14 [l'at this stage of the time over toward natural circulation, 1
15 and able at all times to recover from whatever stage they 16 are and go back and do a ---
17 COF24ISSIONER AEEARNE: What is it, then, that recui t
1 18 the Governor of South Carolina to be brought clong?
A 19 CHAIRMAN HENDRIZ: Well, I supposa in' principle, 20 nothing formally and legally, but ---
21 COMMISSIONER AEEARNE:
No. I'm asking it poorly.
l Is it that they think that the Icss of the volunta 22
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cutting of the pcwer is scmething the,r want to make sure he
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2.,,. I acrees with, or is it that they are concerned he mav ---
i (Simultanecus conversation between Ccmmissioner
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l! Ken.3edy and Cc nissioner Gilinsky.)
l[l 7 9,7,
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1 Ec'oncludethat there is'a substantial risk ---
1 2
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CHAIRMAN EENDRIE:
It's the latter.
3 COMMISSIC';ER BRADFORD:
The other ---
l 4
l CHAIEMAN HENDRIE:
The Governor of South Caro' lina his_
I 9
1 5
j three of the B&W plants operating l
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COMMISSIONER AHEARNE:
I know.
at the Oconee Station in his
.7 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE:
g state, he is concerned that they don't want to do anything g
without him being on board.
COMMISSIONER BRADFORD:
If it were said carelessly, 10
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11.l f r example, that this plant were going to be put into a t
-j configuration similar to Three-Mile Island in order to run 12 i g
lests --
j 13 ?
i i
(Laughter.)
1 4 ;j CHAIRMAN BENDRIE:
They can see a substantial i
problem.
They feel it necessary, from their own standpoint I
.of being level with the loca1 authorities that they be on 17 board on this kind of tihing.
I l-o I-Furthermore,pLee says they need the power _from the 19 Oconee units and he would'not, as the result of this evolution.'.
l 20 i
unless something untoward happens, want them to be tied from-21 on line afterwards.
So it --
not allowed to ccme back and get one of the things that we all understand is that if this is to'
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, go, and I think it highly desirable that that data be 24 l'.available to the calculators of natural circulation, --
ll 25 l
COMMISSIONER AHEARNE:
Is there anybody ---
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CHAIFF.AN HENDRIE:
.J he not then be trapped 4
2 5 in a. continued shutdown ---
i 3-COMMISSIONER GILINSKY: Right.
4 COMMISSIONER AEIARNE:
Is there somebody in NRR l
5 who isn't so intgrally involved with TMI who has taken a 6
look at that and to conclude:
- Yeah, there really is no 7
serious risk in it"?
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1 8
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CHAIR'GN EINDRII:
Well, they've got the -- they
)
l are looking hard at it down there, and have got all the
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9 I
10 senior staff at hand -- They have got the cream of the talent 11 down there and'are undoubtedly working -.they are wbrking i
12 it back through into the Bethesda shop.
Tedesco is running 13 i
.it at the Bethesda shop, because t'he site -- the TMI site 1
14 w n't have, you know, the tee spec folks and all of the i
m stuff on Oconee.
e 115 l I
16 COMMISSIONER A='U E.: Yes.
77 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE: So that has to be worked at Hethesda.
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-19, COMMISSIONER AEEARNE:
Earold and Vic, basicallv
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those originally assigned, don't seem to mind.
20
. (Commissioner Gilinsky discussing another subject at table with some other person.
Difficult to distinguish t
voices.)
{
23
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24]b CHAIEMAN EENDRII: Okay, so I simply inform you of I
i that and we will see how that crocresses.
I told Roger f
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i hl that it was my judgment that contingent ~on a continued clean
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j:! bill from the staff, who will have to issue a judgment, that '
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3 l it is an acceptable set of maneuvers and so on, and stand
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l behind it in the normal way.
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And contingent on'LLee's ability <.)
I 4
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to c' lear with this Governoz that as a very. desirable aduitiodal 5
6 l assurance of the. calculations and analysis that's being done for Three. Mile in preparation for the natural circulation mode.
7 COMISSIONER AHEARNE:
An immediate payoff then for
.E m
I having brought i_r 9
l
~
Lee.,
W COMMISSIONER GILINSKY:
Can I ---
10 l 11 l
.l CHAIRMAN HENDRIE:
Yes.
~-
i COMMISSIONER GILINSKY:
I wonder if I can quickly
- ,run over this then I would put it in to be typed.
_13.
14lI.
CHAIRMAN HENDRIE:
Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER GILINSKY:
I would change paragraph
' 15
'2 to say:
"On the basis of a preliminary analysis, our t.t-2f 16 s
' is reasonably confident that it has identified the principle
- -17
. 1 2 '....
12' t-factors..." --
- 18 l' l
COMMISSIONER KENNEDY:
You say:
"... is now 19 reasonably confident..."
COMMISSIONER GILINSKY:
... now reasonably con-
- 21 fident..."
1 22 COMMISSIONER AHEARNE:
In the absence of the staff l
4 23 L
we are now committing them to being reasonably confident.
24 (Laughter.)
I I
25 i
COMMISSIONER KENNEDY:
They said that before.
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