ML19256B815

Appeals Initial FOIA Decision Re Continued Noncompliance W/Ucs FOIA Request for Tapes & Transcripts of Conversations Recorded at Incident Response Ctr During TMI Incident. Requests Release of Transcripts

ML19256B815
Person / Time
Site:	Crane
Issue date:	07/18/1979
From:	Weiss E SHELDON, HARMON & WEISS
To:	Gossick L NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
References
FOIA-79-100, FOIA-79-167, FOIA-79-A-16 NUDOCS 7908310586
Download: ML19256B815 (2)

Text

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Sii r.tnoN, IIA IO!ON. ROISMA N & WIM SS 1725iSTREET,N.W.

S LJI T C 506 Totte"u"t KARIN P SHELOON WA SII I NGTon, D. C. cocos G AIL M. HARMON (202) 833-9070 ANTHONY Z. ROi S M A N cotvN n. Wciss July 18, 1979 WILLIAM S. J O H O AN,1814 ADMif f E D IN M ICH'G A N O N LY '

Mr. Lee Gossick

oP2LAL OF INITIAL FOIA DECISION

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79&K (7tko a /67)

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory M #d '.7h7f Commission Washington, DC 20555 Re:

Appeal from Initial FOIA Decisions NRC References79-100 and 79-10*

/67

Dear Mr. Gossick:

On April 5, 1979, and May 4, 1979, respectivaly, the attached Freedom of Information Act Requests were hand-delivered to the office of Mr. Joseph Felton, Director, Division of Rules and Records, Nuclear Regulatory Commisssion.

Mr. Felton's office has confirmed to us by telephone that the documents described in these requests include the tapes and transcripts of conversations recorded at the Incident Response Center during the days after the accident at Three Mile Island.

However, we have not yet received or been given access to copies of either the tapes or the tran-scripts.

The deadline for response to these requests has long since passed, ar.a we now appeal to your office to order the immediate releNe of these documents.

In an offort to cooperate with the Commission, we have not formally pressed this appeal until now.

We appreciate the massive task that Mr. Felton's staff has faced in responding to FOIA requests related to the Three Mile Island accident, and we have simply kept up to date on their progress through periodic conversations with Mr. Grimsley and Ms. Reed.

It appeared that release of the Incident Response Center transcripts was in sight when, on Friday, June 29, 1979, Mr. Grimsley explained that the first day's transcript was ready for review by the I&E staff and should be available that day or early the next week.

We have now learned that the I&E staffer assigned to review the material has been re-assigned to respond to a subpoena issued by the Kemeny Commission, that no one else from I&E is capable of reviewing this material, and that we cannot expect release of the transcripts any time in the near future.

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s; SlHU. DON, ll AHMON, ROISM AN & WEISS Mr. Lee Gossick July 18, 1979 Page 2 I find it impossible to believe that there is only one person on the staff of Nuclear Regulatory Commission who is capable of reviewing these transcripts.

Even if that is true, however, legally the deadline for producing this in-formation passed months ago.

The Commission has an obliga-tion to assign to this job the necessary manpower to com-plete it expeditously.

If all that is left to be accomplished is reviewing one transcript, any further delay is inexcusable.

Therefore, I appeal the continued noncompliance with UCS' FOIA requests and ask you to direct the immediate release of the transcripts of the Incident Response Center activities.

Sincerely, (0,/;I,.,

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Ellyn R. Weiss ERW/dll 1885 547

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• April 6, 1979 Mr. Joseph Felton, Director Division of Rules and Records Office of Administration U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C.

20555

Dear Mr. Felton:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, the U,nion of Concerned Scientists requests copies of the following records:

1/

1.

All communications'~betueen the Three Mile Island Project Manager, and the Operat-ing Reactors Division of NRR from March 28, 1979 through~the present.

2.

All communications between Region 1 of I&E and I&E Headquarters relating to the ThYee Mile : Island situation between March 28, 1979 and the present.

3.

All communications between Region 1 of I&E and NRR between March 28, 1979 and the present.

4.

All communications between NRC and the Metropolitan Edison Company between March 28,.1979 and the present.

5.

If not already included in the response to the above requested, all communications from Metropolitan Edison to the Three Mile 1/ For the purposes

.)f this FOTA request, "communica tions" in defined to include all written memos and notes as well as records of telephone conversations, telegrams, mailgrams telex messages.

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g SII$I DON, }IAHMON, ROISMAN & WEISS Mr. Joseph Felton, Director

' April 6, 1979 Page 2 Island Project Manager between March 28, 1979 and tho'present.

6.

All log books of the Licensing and Operating Project Managers 'for Three Mile Island, Units 1 and 2.

UCS has an inunediate need for these documents.

We iould therefore very much appreciate it if you would waive the 10-day response period and forward the natorial as it becomes available, rather than wait until it is all assembled.

Also, instead a+

rollowing our usual procedure of placing the material..i a special file in the Public Document Room,

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please call me as soon as you have a fair portion of the response assembled and I will arrange for a courier to pick it up.

Thank you very much.

Very truly yo6rs, Ellyn R. UeSan ERW/dmw e

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Gall M.HARMON SUITE 506 AN THr* **Y 2. ROIG M AN WASli1NOToN, R C. coooG E L L YP. H. WEIGS Wit tf AM S. JORDAN, til a ADNs TTE D IN MICHIC AN gg[jl3 ["[.,o ONLY '

7M7 May 4, 1979 Mr. Joseph Felton, Division Director Office of Administrationof Rules and Records United States P Washington, aclear Regulatory Commission 13. C.

20555 Re:

Freedom of Info'rma' tion'A~ t

Dear Mr. Felton:

c ygties t this Freedom of InformatiOn behalf of the Union oncerned Scientis ts, related to the recent accident on Act request for further do In I submit a letter of April 6,1979 I requested communicationsat Th log books cumen ts specifically to documentsrela ted to the accident

1. 2 Inspection and Enforceme t This request relates and and other records produced by th n

staff or its agents.

Please provide e

copies of the following:

1 I&E staff concerning theAll documents 'or other re accident at TMI.#2, cords prepared b and the actions that have becluding' interview in'-

a ors and other personnel' respect to that reactor en or may be taken with 2.

All documents I&E staff that concern oth structed by Babcock and Wilor other records prepa er nuclear reactors cone to or reflect the occurrecox and that are related

1. 2 nce of the accident at TMI these documents as providI request that the NRC w i ed by 5 USC $552 (a) (4) (A)a ve any fees further that you assure th t complete as a

on of up to date on developmentsof the date of your responsethe records provi I~ request reactors.

us are so that we will be fully concerning TMI

1. 2 and the other B&W that your staff is hardI understand from conve rsa tions with Mr.

FOIA requests the IIRC is nowpressed to respond to Grimsley and others 31 that ll receiving conc.e larr,e numbers l

kil of erning Three Mile

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Joseph Felton May 4, 1979 Page 2 Island.

I suggest a procedure that should simplify their effort and help you avoid extra paperwork involved in re-sponding to new individual requests or to supplementary requests.

If the Commission will commit itself to place all documents related to Three Mile Island and to other B&W reactors on the public record within one week of the date on which they are received or prepared, I am sure that UCS and other interested groups would feel less need to file formal FOIA requests, and particularly, they would feel less need to fil^ supplementary reques ts to assure that they have all documents that have come to light since the Commission's response to their earlier requests.

Of course, if the Commission were to determine that some documents should not be released, it would have to gcve pub-lic notice of that decision so that UCS and others c ould consider whether they should formally reques t those docu-ments.

I hope that this procedure meets with your approval.

I.believe that it is the interest of all involved.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

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4 Ellyn R. Weiss ERW/gc O

1885 351

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