ML19250B804
| ML19250B804 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Allens Creek File:Houston Lighting and Power Company icon.png |
| Issue date: | 10/09/1979 |
| From: | Sohinki S NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE LEGAL DIRECTOR (OELD) |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7911050257 | |
| Download: ML19250B804 (10) | |
Text
D Q IDIT E GM 10/09/79 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD y
j'-
.o 1
- P Dg%
In the Matter of
)
)
fd C.
W N /
HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER COMPANY
)
Docket No. 50-466 M
9.</ k
'4' v
)
(Allens Creek Nuclear Generating
)
h h
Station, Unit 1)
)
f,
' %\\
NRC STAFF'S RESPONSE TO PETITION FOR LEAVE TO INTERVENE FILED BY DONALD WEAVER By letter dated July 17, 1979, Donald D. Weaver petitioned the Commission to halt licensing of the Allens Creek facility based upon the present lack of long term storage repositories for nuclear waste..He stated that he is an aiea resident and showed an address in Simonton, Texas. By a second letter dated August 9,1979, Mr. Weaver additionally stated that he considers the proposed plant to be a threat to the health of his family. After request for clarification of his intention concerning intervention in this proceeding, Mr. Weaver submitted an additional letter on August 28, 1979.
In that letter, he stated that he wishes to intervene as a full party; h!.s pot-ticular interest concerns the long tenn waste disposal problert and his desire for a maritorium on construction of nuclear plants until a waste disposal repository is available.
As an attachment to his August 28 letter Mr. Weaver submitted a " contention" development of three pages. Thereafte, by an undated letter received on September 18, 1979 by the Coninission's Docketing and Service Section, Mr. Weaver submitted three contentions which he wishes to have admitted as issues in controversy in this proceeding.
As discussed below, the NRC Staff believes that although Mr. Weaver has demon-strated an " interest which may be affected by the proceeding' he has failed to set forth at least one valid contention as *equired by 10 CFR 52.714 j } }/ g 14 (3 7911050 2
. Standing Contention 1 contained in the latest undated letter received from Mr. Weaver is actually not a contention at all but a statement of his interest in the captioned proceeding. The petitioner states that he and his family reside less than 15 miles from the proposed site of the Allens Creek facility and that he will be adversely affected by radioactive er assions from the plant which will pose a health hazard to his wife, his children, and himself.
10 CFR 62.714(a)(2) requires that a petitioner for leave to intervene set forth his or her interest in the proceeding and how such interest may be affected by the results thereof.
In this regard, consideration is to be given to the nature of the petitioner's right to be made a party, the nature and extent of petitioner's property, financial or other interest in tht: proceeding, and the possible effect on such interest of any order entered in the proceeding.
In addition, the petition must identify the specific aspects of the subject matter of the proceeding on which intervention is sought.
The Commission and Appeal Board have prev'ously emphasized that judicial conceots of standing are controlling in determining whether a petitioner has satisfied the foregoing requirements for intervention as of right. Portland General Electric Company (Pebble Springs Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2), CLI-76-27, 4 NRC 610, 613-614 (1976); Public Service Comoany of Oklahoma, et al. (Black Fox Station, Units 1 and 2), ALAB-397, 5 NRC 1143, 1144-1145. Specifically, a petitioner must show
" injury in fact" (which has occurred or wili probably result from the licensing
,70 lk) of the facility) and that his alleged interest is " arguably within the zone of interest" protected by either the Atomic Energy Act or # EPA. Pebble Springs, suora.
The Appeal Board has recently held that an allegation of close proximity to a proposed facility is deemed enough, standing alone, to satisfy the interest re-qu *ements of 10 CFR 52.714. Virginia Electric Power Company (North Anna Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2), ALAB-522, 9 NRC 54, 56 (1979). Although no specific distance from a nuclear power plant has evolved from Comission decisions to define the outer boundary of the geographic " zone of interest" distances up to 60 miles have been found not to be so great as to preclude a finding of standing based' on residence. See e._q., Tennessee Valley Authority (Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2), ALAB-413, 5 NRC 1418,1421, n. 4 (1977).
g,. Virginia Electric and Power Comoany (North Anna Power Station, Units 1 and 2), ALAB-146, 6 AEC 631, 633-34 (1973): Northern States Power Comoany (Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and ?), ALAB-107, 6 AEC 188, 190, 193, reconsid. den., ALAB-110, 6 AEC 247, aff'd,CLI-73-12, 6 AEC 241 (1973)
Therefore, the Staff believes that Mr. Weaver has satisfied the minimal require-ments of 10 CFR 52.714 regarding interest, as those requirements have been inter-preted by the Appeal Board.
Contentions As the Staff has discussed above, we believe that contention 1 submitted by Mr. Weaver is not a contention at all but is merely a statement of his interest 12/0 '48
. in the proceeding. Therefore, we address only contentions 2 and 3 below.
Contention 2 Mr. Weaver alleges that the proposed cooling lake will increase the pecbability of Brazos River overflow, increasing the danger of flooding to his property.
However, he provides no basis for his statetent that the cooling pond will contribute in any manner to tha flooding of the river. More importantly, the subject of possible flooding and its impacts were specifically dealt with in the partial initial decision (PID) in this matter, and Mr. Weaver has established no reason which would dictate a reassessment of the findings made by t"is Board in that decision. See Houston Lighting & Power Company (Allens Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 and 2), LBP-75-66, 2 Nk; 776, 784 to 785 (1975).
Indeed, the size of the proposed lake has been substantially reduced from the which was originally envisioned for two units, and the flooding potential should be even less as a result.
Further, the Appeal Board has made it clear that unless the petitioners in this pro-ceeding can demonstrate a material change in circumstances since the date of the PIU, matters considered and decided in that decision should not be relitigated. Houston Lichting & Power comoany (Allens Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 1), ALAS-535, 9 NRC _, Docket No. 50-466 (April 4,1979) slip op. at 15-16. Therefore, this contention should not be adnitted as an issue in controversy by this Board.
Contention 3 Mr. Weaver asserts that alternative locations "may not have been adequately con-sidered folleving the reduction in size of the proposed site. He also asserts that the present and future population of the area dictates against the constructionf] h9 r of a nuclear facility at de proposed site. The Staff believes that this con-tention should be rejected by the Board for two reasons. The first, Mr. Weaver's statement concerning alternate sites is a bald assertion without any supporting basis; it is entirely conclusory. With regard to the petitioners' assertions concerning population growth, this Board considered demographic issues in the PID, 2 NRC at 798, and the findings which the Board made concerning site suita-bility took into account this demographic data. In addition, updated population projections are presented in the Staff's supplement to the Final Environmental Statement in this proceeding in Section S.2.1 and Tables S.2.1 to S.2.4. Mr. Weaver has presented nothing which would dictate the necessity for a re-assessment of the site suitability findings aad more specifically the demographic data contained either in the PID or in the supplement to the Final Environmental Statement and therefore this contention should be rejected by the Board.1 Respectfully. submi tted, l ? iIlM tep'.an M. Schinki Counsel for NRC Staff S If Mr. Weaver's statements c..ncerning the need for a waste repository prior to resumption of licr.ising (contained ir. his August 28, 1979 letter) were intended as a contention, the issue raised is clearly not litigable in this proceeding since as this Board has previously recognized, the Court in Natural Resnurces Defense Council, Inc. v. NRC, 582 F.2d 166 (2nd Cir. 1978), affirmed the decision of the Commission in NRDC, " Denial of Petition for Rulemaking" Docket No. 50-18, 42 Fec'. Reg. 34391 (July 5,1977) in holding that the Commission is not required to withhold action on pending or future applications for nuclear power reactor licenses until it makes a determination that high level radioactive waste can be pemanently disposed of safely. See " Order Ruling Upon Intervention Petitions" dated February 9, 1979, p. 27. It should be noted however, that in State of Minnesota v. NRC, F.2d Docket No. 78-1269, (D.C. Ci r., May 23,1979), tne U.S. CoiiH of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently remanded a case involvino a spent fuel expansion license amendment to the Commission for further pro-ceedings regarding the feasibility of proposed long tem waste discosal solutions. While this decision did not overturn the Commission's deter-mination that licensino should continue absent a current solution to the waste disposal problem, it required the Comission to reexamine the feasi-bility of long term waste disposal plans in that context. 2 / n F^0 1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY C05"iISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER C0iPANY ) Docket No. 50-466 (Allens Creek Nuclear Generatiag Station, Unit 1) ) CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of "NRC STAFF'S RESPONSE FOR LEAVE TO INTERVENE FILED BY DONALD WEAVER" in the above-captioned proceeding have been served on the following by deposit in the United States mail, first class, or, as indicated by an asterisk, through deposit in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's internal mail system, this 9th day of October,1979: Sheldon J. Wolfe, Esq., Chairman
- Jack Newman, Esq.
Atomic Safety and Licensing Lowenstein, Reis, Newman & Axelrad' Board Panel 1025 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. U.S. Nuclear Reaulatory Com , ion Washington, D. C. 20037 Washington, D. C. 20555 Richard Lowerre, Esq. Dr. E. Leonard Cheatum Asst. Attorney General for the Route 3, Box 350A State of Texas Watkinsville, Georgia 30677 P. C. Box 12548 Capitol Station Mr. Gustave A. Linenberger
- Austin, Texas 78711 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Hon. Jerry Sliva, Mayor U.S. Nuclear Reculatory Commission City of Wallis, Texas 77485 Wash ngton, D. C.
20555 Hon. John R. fiikeska R. Gordon Gooch, Esc. Austin County Judge Baker & Botts P. O. Box 310 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Bellville, Texas 77418 Washington, D. C. 20006 Atomic Safety and Licensing J. Greaory Copeland, Esq. Appeal Board
- Baker & Botts U.S. Nuclear Regulmtory Corriission One Shell Plaza Washington, D. C.
20555 Houston, Texas 77002 1270 151
.- Atomic Safety and Licensing Carro Hinderstein Board Panel
- 8739 Link Terrace U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Houston, Texas 77025 Washington, DC 20555 Docketing and Service Section
- Texas Public Interest Office of the Secretary Research Group, Inc.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission c/o James Scott, Jr., Esq. Washington, DC 20555 8302 Albacore Houston, Texas 77074 Mr. John F. Doherty 6renda A. McCcrkle 4327 Alconbury Street 6140 Darnell llouston, Texas 77021 Houston, Texas 77074 Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Framson 4822 Waynesboro Drive Mr. Wayne Rentfro Houston, Texas 77035 P.O. Box 1335 Rosenberg, Texas 77471 Mr. F. H. Potthoff, III 1814 Pine Village Rosemary N. Lemmer Houston, Texas 77080 11423 Oak Spring Houston, TX 77043 D. Marrack 420 Mulberry Lane Laura Lewis Bellaire, Texas 77401 1203 Bartlett #4 Houston, TX Mr. Jean-Claude De Bremaecker 2128 Addison Houston, Texas 77030 Mrs. Karen L. Stade Gregory J. Kainer P.O. Box 395 11118 Wickwood Guy, Texas 77444 Houston, TX 77024 Jon D. Pittman, Sr. Gayle De Gregori 2311 Bamore 2327 Goldsnith Rosenberg, Texas 77471 Houston, Texas 77030 Ms. Ann Wharton Mrs. W. S. Cleaves 1424 Kipling 8141 Joolin Street Houston, Texas 77006 Houston, Texas 77017 Barbara Karkaki 1411 Lamonte 1917 Wentworth Houston, Texas 77018 Houston, TX 77004 1270 ~52
. Mr. James H. Robinson Dick Day 1228 Bomar 3603 Drummond Houston, Texas 77024 Houston, Texas 77025 Ms. Bonny Wallace Niami Hanson 614 Meadowlawn 6441 1/2 Mercer LaPorte, Texas 77571 Houston, Texas 77005 Mr. Rcbert C. Kuehm 1155 Curtin Houston, Texas 77018 Ms. Dana Erichson Dr. .orlene R. Warner 327 Hedwig 6026 Beaudry Houston, Texas 77024 Houston, Texas 77035 Ms. Nancy L. Durham Mr. Eugene E. Mueller Box 328 15602 Corsair Road Simonton, Texas 77476 Houston, Texas 77053 T. E. Elder Mr. William J. Schuessler 2205 Hazard 5810 Darnell Houston, TX 77019 Houston, Texas 77074 Helen Foley D. B. Waller, Jr. 3923 Law #16 1708 Kipling Houston, TX 77005 Houston, TX Marjorie A. Gurasich Jeffery R. West Route 1 Box 410 10903 Sageberry Wallis, TX 77485 Houston, TX 77039 Mrs. R. P. Erichson Janice Blue 327 Hedwig Road 1708 Rosewood Houston, TX 77024 Houston, TX 77004 Abraham Davidson Gabrielle Cosgriff 704 Hyde Park 5203 Crystal Bay Houston, TX 77006 Housten, TX 77043 Susan G. McGuire Charles Andrew Perez 8837 Larston 1014 Montrose Blvd. Houston, TX 77055 Houston, TX 77019 Margaret Bishop Leotis Johnston 11418 Oak Spring 1407 Scenic Ridge Houston, TX 77043 Houston, TX 77043 1270 'S3 i
Robin Griffith Barbara Blatt 1034 Sally Ann 4314 1/2 Bell Street Rosenberg, TX 77471 Houston, TX 77023 Ron Waters Laura Brode 3620 Washington Avenue 5422 Olana Drive No. 362 Houston, TX 77032 Houston, TX 77007 Stephanie M. Brown Glen Van Slyke 3510 E. Broadway #612 1739 Marshall Pearland, TX 7'/s18 Houston, TX 77098 James Chilcoat J. Morgan Bishop 4319 Bell Street 11418 Oak Spring Houston, TX 77023 Houston, TX 77043 Barbara J. Ginn Mrs. Connie Wilson 4309 Bell 11427 Oak Spring Houston, TX 77023 Houston, TX 77043 Dorothy J. Ryan Patricia L. Streilein 4309 Bell Route 2, Box 398-C Houston, TX 77023 Richmon, TX 77469 Rachel Weinreb-Kuehm Carolina Conn 1155 Curtin 1414 Scenic Ridge Houston, TX 77018 Houston, TX 77043 John and Jeanette Beverage 13031 Harwin Houston, TX 77072 Mary L. Fuller Stephen A. Doggett, Esq. 614 Bienville Lane Pollan, Nicholson & Doggett Houston, TX 77015 P.O. Box 592 Rosenberg, TX 77471 Frances Pavlovic 111 Datonia J. Michael Ancarrow Bellaire, TX 77401 4310 Bell Houston, TX 77023 W. Matthew Perrenod 4070 Merrick Virginia Lacy Perrened Houston, TX 77025 2704 Beatty #112 Houston, TX 77023 Bryan L. Baker 1118 Montrose Jeanne Ecbertson Houston, TX 77019 23 Nueces Street Bay City, TX 77417 Fern Barnes 2406 Morning Glory Pasadena, TX 77503 1273 '54 Janes R. Piepmeier Roy E. Loyless 618 West Drew P.O. Box 249 Houston, TX 77006 Simontoa, TX 77476 Elinore P. Cumings Donald D. Weaver 926 Horace Mann P.O. Drawer V Rosenberg, TX 77471 Simonton, TX 77476 Mr. and Mrs. Larry yl. Scott Dorothy F. Carrick Route 2, Box 31 H.Q. Box 409 Wagon Road Richmond, TX 77469 RFD #1 Wallis, TX 77045 Ms. Gertrude Barnstone 1401 Harold Mr. Robert R. Edgar Houston, Texas 77006 Rt. 2 Box 31-HS Richmond, Texas 77469 Ms. Kathryn Ottie Rt. 2 Box 62L Richmond, Texas 77469 ~ 6tephery M. Schinki Counsel for NRC Staff 1270 '55}}