ML19283C955
| ML19283C955 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Pilgrim |
| Issue date: | 09/11/2019 |
| From: | Keating B US Congress, US HR (House of Representatives) |
| To: | Kristine Svinicki NRC/Chairman |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| 50-293-LT, 72-1044-LT, License Transfer, RAS 55357 | |
| Download: ML19283C955 (5) | |
Text
WILLIAM R. KEA TING WAS HINGTON DC OFFI CE 235 1 R AYBURN H OUSE O FFICE BUILDING 9TH D ISTRICT, MASSAC H USETTS WASHINGTON, DC 20515 (202) 22 5-31 11 COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEES CAPE AND ISLANDS OFFICE RANKING MEMBER 259 STEVENS STREET, SUITE E T ERRORISM, NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE H YANNIS, MA 0 2601 EUROPE, EURAS IA, AND EMERGING T HREATS (508) 77 1-6868 COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY SUBCOMMITTEES Oiougrcss of iqc ~niicb ~+/-ates New BEDFORD OFFICE 128 U NION STREET, SUITE 103 COUNTERTERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE T RANSPORTATION S ECURITY ~nusc nf ~cprcscnhdiftcs NEW BEDFORD, MA 02740 (508) 999-6462
~asqin_gton, ~([ 20515 PL VMOUTH OFFICE 170 COURT STREET PLYMOUTH, MA 02360 (508) 746-9000 September 11, 2019 The Honorable Kristine L. Svinicki, Chair Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop O- l 6G4 Washington, DC 20555-0001
Dear Chair Svinicki,
I write today to express my support for the incorporation of public input into the Commission's decision-making process, especial!y durin.g the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant.
Under the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, the NRC is required to consult with stakeholders and report to Congress on best practices for community advisory boards (CABs) in areas surrounding nuclear power plants that have ceased operations and begun decommissioning.
- In anticipation of the announced cessation of power generation operations at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts established the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (NDCAP) in 2016. NDCAP has had an important role in discussing the impacts of decommissioning on local communities and residents and has amassed a large body of fact-based information through its hearing process. NDCAP has conducted its meetings with transparency and with fairness to all parties, including the licensee. By inviting the testimony of stakeholders from residents, from environmental regulators, from local businesses, and from other states dealing with the decommissioning process, NDCAP has developed recommendations geared towards maintaining public safety and environmental integrity.
The NDCAP process also allowed for a full airing of concerns by the host community (Plymouth), as well as activist groups concerned about a range of issues, including radiological testing, water and air quality monitoring, and support for emergency planning resources. For the last year or so, these discussions occurred with the pending possibility of a license transfer that would allot responsibility for the decommissioning of Pilgrim to Holtec DCI, LLC. This pending license transfer shaped the discussions and afforded the participants the opportunity to share concern*s regarding the inexperience of Holtec and its partners in the decommissioning process.
Despite concerns expressed by NDCAP members and by the community at NDCAP meetings, the NRC moved rapidly ahead to approve the license transfer last month. The NRC did so despite Holtec' s refusal to enter into discussions with the Commonwealth or with the host community regarding its commitments to environmental protection, emergency planning support, and site redevelopment. In addition, the NRC approved the transfer absent a full hearing of the contentions filed by the Massachusetts Attorney General and Pilgrim Watch regarding
Holtec' s financial integrity and its ability to finance a complete decommissioning of the plant without taxpayer support.
This chain of events demonstrates the need to give Citizen Advisory Boards a more meaningful role in the decommissioning process. I have co-sponsored with Representative Welch of Vermont the Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2019, which would require the licensee to consult with affected states and localities before submitting a Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR). It would also require the NRC to solicit public comment on the PSDAR, hold at least two public hearings, and invite the state to register its support or non-support for the proposed PSDAR, as well as to make specific recommendations to improve the PSDAR. This will give the host community and host state greater oversight of the decommissioning process and require the licensee to work with the affected communities to develop a safer, more effective decommissioning plan.
As I work in Congress to effectuate this change, I urge the NRC to review its own regulations and policies to allow greater and more meaningful input from the public in its deliberations .
around decommissioning plants. The public must not be shut out of these discussions, as it unfortunately has here in Plymouth. Across the country, more and more nuclear plants will undergo decommissioning in the years ahead. The NRC has the opportunity to learn significant lessons from its experiences with Pilgrim' s decommissioning and license transfer. I urge the Commission to take steps to ensure local public input is considered fully and incorporated into its decision-making processes.
Sincerely, aBill Keating United States Representative
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of )
)
ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. )
ENTERGY NUCLEAR GENERATION ) Docket Nos. 50-293 and 72-1044 LT COMPANY, HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL, )
and HOLTEC DECOMMISSIONING )
INTERNATIONAL, LLC )
)
(Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station )
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing Letter from Commission Secretary Annette Vietti-Cook to Congressman William R. Keating have been served upon the following persons by Electronic Information Exchange.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop: O-16B33 Mail Stop - O-14A44 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: ocaamail@nrc.gov Tison A. Campbell, Esq.
Anita G. Naber, Esq.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission David E. Roth, Esq.
Office of the Secretary of the Commission Rebecca A. Susko, Esq.
Mail Stop: O-16B33 Jeremy L. Wachutka, Esq.
Washington, DC 20555-0001 Jennifer E. Scro, Esq.
E-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov E-mail: Tison.Campbell@nrc.gov Anita.Naber@nrc.gov Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel David.Roth@nrc.gov U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Rebecca.Susko@nrc.gov Washington, DC 20555-0001 Jeremy.Wachutka@nrc.gov E. Roy Hawkens, Chairman Jennifer.Scro@nrc.gov E-mail: Roy.Hawkens@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 Vietti-Cook to Congressman William R. Keating Balch & Bingham LLP Pilgrim Watch 1710 Sixth Avenue North F148 Washington Street Birmingham, AL 35203-2015 Duxbury, MA 02332 Peter R. LeJeune, Esq Mary Lampert, Director Alan D. Lovett, Esq, E-mail: Mary.Lampert@comcast.net E-mail: plejeune@balch.com alovett@balch.com Counsel for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Energy and Environmental Bureau 1200 Seventeenth Street, NW Office of the Attorney General Washington, DC 20036 One Ashburton Place, 18th Floor Meghan Hammond, Esq. Boston, Massachusetts 02108 David R. Lewis, Esq. Joseph Dorfler, Esq.
E-mail: Meghan.Hammond@pillsburylaw.com Seth Schofield, Esq.
David.Lewis@pillsburylaw.com E-mail: Joseph.Dorfler@state.ma.gov Seth.Schofield@mass.gov
[Original signed by Wendy Moore ]
Office of the Secretary of the Commission Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of October 2019.
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