ML19247A977
| ML19247A977 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | New England Power |
| Issue date: | 03/12/1979 |
| From: | Parr O Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Harrington J NEW ENGLAND POWER CO. |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7908060088 | |
| Download: ML19247A977 (7) | |
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[pa'Fcg'y UNITED STATES
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NUCLEAR BEGULATORY COMMISSION
_. ! f WASMINGTON, D. C. 20555
%Jjh/'1 o,
MAR 121979
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Docket Nos. STN 50-568 and STN 50-569 Mr. Joseph Harrington Project Manager New England Power Company 20 Turnpike, Road Westborough, Massachusetts 01581
Dear Mr. Harrington:
SUBJECT:
REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE By your letter dated February 9,1979, you submitted Revision 3 to the NEP General and Financial Information section of your application. A portion of the financial information submitted with the letter was classified as privileged and confidential, and thus you requested that the information be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.790.
Your reasons for requesting our withholding of this information were:
1.
The information was designed to be a managerial tool, not a public announcement.
2.
The release of the information will obligate the company to periodically publish revisions and corrections.
3.
It is difficult to accurately and completely report the assumptions and limitations on which the forecasts have been made, and therefore, investors may not have full and current information.
4 The release of the information would give some investors an unfair competitive advantage, would undermine investor cor.fidence in the capability of management, and would adversely affect the market for company securities.
5.
The release of the information might prejudice pending rate cases.
6.
No public interest would be served by the release of the information.
We have reviewed your request and find that you have not provided a suffi-cient basis for us to conclude that public disclosure of the information would likely cause substantial harm to your competitive position. We have determined that you did not show how the information disclosure would adversely affect the market for company securities or affect the pending 421 163
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i 7908060089 -
MAR 12 B79 Mr. Joseph Harrington rate cases. Moreover, we have had no indication that either one of these results has occurred for other applicants who have, in the past, provided us with the same type of information. With regard to your reasons 2, 3. and 4 above, we recently received advice from the Securities and Exchange Commission which is enclosed for your information.
Since you are aware of the enclosure to the SEC letter, SEC Release No. 5992, it is not includt herein.
Because we cannot conclude that the information sought to be withheld meets 10 CFR Part 2.790, your request to withhold the financial information from public disclosure is denied.
If you do not provide us with information which will establish a sufficient basis upon which to approve your application, you are advised that in not less than thirty (30) days from the date of this letter, the subject documents will be placed in the Public Document Room.
If, within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter, you request withdrawal of the documents in accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 (c), your request will be considered in the light of applicable statutes and regulations and a determin-ition made whether the documents will be withheld from the Public Document Room and returr.ed to you.
Sincerely, 5b an u. Parr, Chief Light Water Reactors Branch No. 3 Division of Project Management
Enclosure:
As Stated cc w/ enclosure:
See next page 421 164
Joseph Harringcoa Edmund L. Al ves, Esquire cc: Mr. G. Frank Cole Gorham & Gorham, Esquires Project Manager c / o To wn Ha l l United Engineers and Constructors, Inc.
Victory Hi ghway 30 South 17 th St reet West Greenwich, Rhode Island 02816 P. O. Box 8223 Philadel phia, Pennsyl vania 19101 "anning, nest, Santaniello & Pa ri 711 Industrial Eank b. tiding Fr. W. E. Wri ght Providence, Rhode Island 02903 NEPCO 'roject Manager Westinghouse Electric Corporation Sister Arlene Violet Box 355 18 7 Wes tninster Mail Pittsburgh, Pennsyl vania 15230 Suite 507 Providence, Rhode Island 02903 Thomas G. Dignan, Jr., Esq.
John A. Ri tsher, Esq.
H 1 son A. F 1 ttn, Es q.
k.
K. Gad Ill, Esq.
r C. tinder, Esq.
Rcres and Gray
.ngland Legal Foundation 225 Franklin Street 110 Tremcot Street Boston, Massachusetts 02110 Boston, Massachusetts C2108 Joseph T. Turo, Esq.
Philip W. t:oel, Esc.
Town Solicitor f or the 15 Westminster St reet Town of Westerly Provicence, Rhode Island 02913 47 High Street Westerly, Rhode Island 02891 Fenry Shel ten, E s q.
Coal: tion f or Consumer Justice Rhoce Islanders for Safe Power 4!0 Broad Street c/ o Ms. Emma Sacco Central Falls, Rncde :sland 02863 Eox 69 Wakefield, Rhode Island 02880 Cynthia Col' ins, Esq.
Eoorley, Gi f'ord A raci Ms. Katerine Spencer Dcherty 40 Wes tminster Street Aquidneck Island Ecology Providence, Rhoce Is l and 02903 Box 573 Newport, Rhode Island 02840 Urso & Adamo, Es qs.
42 Granite Street Richard A. Poirier, President Westerly, Rhode !sland 02391 Rhode Island Association of Conservation Com11ssioners James 0. watts, Eso.
Pole 95, Stillwater Road To wn Solicitor, Iown of Charlestosn Smithfield, Rhode Island 02917 567 "a in St reet Wdkefield, Rhode is l and 0:379 421 165
-. 2- -
Joseph Harrington cc: Archibald B. Kenyon, Jr., Esq.
John P. Toscano, Jr., Esq.
Town Solicitor, Town of South 23 Canal Street Kingston Westerly, Rhode Island 02891 51 Tower Mill Road Wakefield, Rhode Island 02879 Karin P. Sheldon, Esq.
Harmon, Shelcon & Rotsman Physiciens Concerned About 1025 15th Street, N,'.
Nuclear Power Washington, D. C.
20005 c/o Robert L. Conrad 130 Kenyon Avenue Anthony J. B rosco, Esq.
Wakefield, Rhode Island 02879 Town Solicitor Tcwn of E xeter Eric D. Schneider 293 South Main Street Claudine C. Schneider Providerice, Rhode Island 02903 56 Central Street Narraganset, Rhode Island 02882 John T. Scanlon, fxecutive Director Save the Bay, Inc.
655 Main Street East Greenwich, Rhode Island 02818 Samuel Seeley, President Concerned Citizens of Rhode Island Box 525 Charlestown, Rhode Island 02813 Edward H. Newman, Esq.
Town Solicitor Town of Richmond 42 Granite Street Westerly, Rhode Island 02691 Raymond L. Thorp, Jr.
Chairman for Intervention The Taxpayers and Voters of Charlestown RFD Bradford, Rhode Island 02808 James D. Thornton, Esq.
Thornton & Thornton, Inc.
Washington Trust Building Westerly, Rhode Island 02891 Sean Kelleher Energy Advisor 7
Of fice of the Governor k2}
}bb State House Providence, Rhode Island G2903 gai-
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIR.
.,,,,f WASHINGTON, D.C.
20549 Division or co. Onsison FinsNcx December 14, 1972 Milton J.
Grossman,' Esquire Chief Hearing Counsel Office of the' Executive ilegal Director Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington.
D.
C.
20555
Dear Mr. G ossman:
I am wr.
'ng in response to your letter of Auaust 9.
1978 and several subsequent conversations with members of the staff regarding the public availability of certain
. financial information supplied to the Nuclear Reaulatory Commission ("NRC") by Duke ' Power Company. Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, and other applicants for nuclear facility construction permits and operating licenses (the " applicants").
The facts, as more fully detailed in your letter and enclosures, are as follows.
. Pursuant to sect ion 182(a) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and NRC rules and recula-tions, the NRC staff must determine the financial cualifi-cations of applicants for nuclear f acility construction permits.
Accordingly, the NRC requests aoplicants to submit certain additional > financial information which includes a projected source of funds statement over the relevant construction period, with underlyinc assumotions.
showing how anticipated construction expenditures micht be covered by internal and external financinc sources.
'Your previous letter dated January 2.
1976 CEnclosure 1 with your August 9.
1978 letter) indicates that the NRC staff does not consider the sources of funds statement as a financial' forecast, but rather looks to the state-ment for a demonstration of one cossible way by which further construction projects, including the subject ifacility of the application, might reasonably be'fi-nanced Applicants generally have included a d i ncl a ime r on their sources of funds statements to the effect that they should not be considerediforecasts.
421 167
.; /
Milton J.
Grossman.'Escuire
'Page 2 The NRC has a general policy of full public d is-closure regarding any information submitted to or ore-pared by it that forms par t of the basis of its reaulatory decisions regarding nuclear reactors.
You indicate that the applicants have reg.ested the withholding from public avai';bility of por tior s of their projected sources of funds cual.ments over the petiod of construction.
.In support of these requests, the applicants have argued that (1) the federal securities laws as currently administered by t"is Commission prohibit or mater ially restr ict the publication of projections and (2) if the NRC places these projections
- i. the public domain, thase applicants will have to comply with all duties and liabilities of making projections on a reasonable basis and keeping t h e r..
to date by proper puolic revision.
As you are aware. in Securities Act Release No.
5992.
(copy enclosed) November 1, 1978, the Commission issued a statement gr 2 rally encouraaing companies to disclose projectiorn coth in their filings with the Commission and in general.
To that end, the Commission also adonted revised guidelines for the disclosure of projections in Commission filings and proposed for comment a " safe-hat'or" c
rule that would provide protection from the liability provisions of the federal secur ities laws fo r reasonably based projections that are disclosed in good faith,
.In Release No. 5992, the Commission s pe c i. f i c a l l y noted that issuers have raised guestions regardina their obliga-tions under the federal securities laws with respect to projection information recuired to be submitted to other federal and state regulatory authorities.
The Commission further stated that in its view, the submission of this type of information to federal or state regulatory authori-ties pursuant to their requirements under circumstances in which it would be oublicly available would not in and of itself violate the federal securities laws or reauire issuer s to, make public proj ec tions in filings with the Commission or otherwise.
The Commission also reminded issuers of their general obligation to assure that material facts concerning their financial condition are 421 168
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