ML19290C539

Advises of Agreement Reached Between Applicants & Parties Re Documents Withheld by Citizens Concerned About Nuclear Power.Requests ASLB Enter Encl Order Recognizing Agreed Extension for Taking Depositions.Certificate of Svc Encl

ML19290C539
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas
Issue date:	01/07/1980
From:	Schwarz M BAKER & BOTTS
To:	Bechhoefer C, John Lamb, Luebke E Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
References
NUDOCS 8001220064
Download: ML19290C539 (8)

Text

{{#Wiki_filter:i BAKER & BOTTS ON E SHELL PLAZA HOUSTON, TEXAS 77o02 WASHINGTON OFFICE TELEX 76-2779 8701 P E N N S YLVA N I A AV E . N. W- , T ELECO M M U NICATIO N WASHINGTON, D C. 20006 (713) 229-1523 HOUSTON TELEPHON E (202) 457-5500 (202)457-5531 WA$HINGTON. D. C. January 7, 1980 Charles Bechhoefer, Esq., Chairman ~ Atomic Safety and Licensing Board [, ~ j , U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission j\ Washington, D.C. 20555 y - Dr. James C. Lamb, III g , r/ i 313 Woodhaven Road -3 27514 6'ytQ Chapel Hill, North Carolina g?3

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e#Y- ~ T3 ,, Dr. Emmeth A. Luebke Y YO O . ' ' Atomic Safety and Licensing Board N.x f<^ U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission I 20555 Washington, D.C. Re: In the Matter of Houston Lighting & Power Company, et al. (South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2), Docket Nos. STN 50-498 OL, STN 50-499 OL

Dear Members of the Board:

This letter is submitted: (a) To apprise this Board of agreements reached between Houston Lighting & Power Company, Project Manager of the South Texas Project, acting on behalf of itself and the other Applicants, the City of San Antonio, Texas, acting by and through the City Public Service Board of San Antonio, Central Power and Light Company and the City of Austin, Texas (Applicants), Intervenor Citizens Concerned About Nuclear Power, Inc., (CCANP) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Staff with respect to (i) certain documents and information which CCANP proposed to withhold from discovery sought by Applicants and (ii) extension of time for discovery by means of depositions; and 1787 298 8001220 Q QS-{

BAKER & BoTTS Members of the Board January 7, 1980 (b) To request that the agreed extension of time for the taking of depositions be recognized in a formal order of this Board. In accordance with the schedule set forth in the Board's August 3, 1979 Order and pursuant to 10 CFR Section

2. 740 (f) , Applicants on November 5, 1979, served their First Set of Interrogatories and Request for Production of Docu-ments on CCANP, including interrogatories and requests for documents with respect to Contention 2. 1/ In its response to these interrogatories dated December 26, 1979, CCANP stated:

                      "CCANP is withholding from these answers docu-ments supporting CCANP's contention regarding falsi-fication of cadweld records."       (Answers, p. 5)

As a basis for withholding these documents, CCANP stated that it is concerned that identifying these records with any specificity or revealing the method by which CCANP believes these documents can be identified will lead to further alteration or destruction of the falsified records. (Id.) In the interest of reaching an agreement with CCANP as to the conduct of discovery, but without acknowledging the existence of any valid basis for CCANP's expressed " concern," Applicants' counsel initiated a conference call on Friday, January 4, 1980. Steven A. Sinken, Esq., and Mr. Lanny Alan Sinkin, counsel and co-coordinator for CCANP, respectively; Henry J. McGurren, Esq. and Stuart Treby, Esq., counsel for the Commission Staff; and Melbert D. Schwarz and C. Thomas Biddle, Jr . ., counsel for Applicants, participated in this conference call.

1. Contention 2 reads:

                      "NRC inspection records (Inspection and Enforcement Reports #77-03, 2/77; #77-03, 4/77, and #78-08, 5/78) indicate that South Texas Project construction records have been falsified by employees of Houston Lighting and Power Company and Brown and Root, in violation of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B; Sections VI and XVII.
                "As a result, the Commission cannot make the findings required by 10 CFR SS50.57 (a) (1) and ( 2) . "

l787 299

BAKER & BoTTS Members of the Board January 7, 1980 During the conference call, it was agreed that on Monday, January 7, 1980, CCANP would furnish to Mr. McGurren

    . the documents and information which CCANP contends would indicate a falsification of construction records; that Mr.

McGurren would hold these docmaents and information for a period of thirty days expiring on February 6, 1980; and that on the expiration of said 30-day period, Mr. McGurren would deliver these documents and information to. Applicants or would make them available for copying by Applicants. In discussing the foregoing arrangement and the sufficiency of the 30-day period, it was noted that in response to the First Set of Interrogatories and Motion for Inspection and Production of Documents filed by Intervenor Citizens for Equitable Utilities, Inc. (CEU) on behalf of itself and CCANP, Applicants, by answer served December 21, 1979, on both CEU and CCANP, have agreed to make available for inspec-tion and copying various documentation including that rela-tive to inspection of cadwelds prior to concrete pours in the containment buildings 2/ (the documentation referenced in CCANP's above-quoted statement concerning the withholding of documents and information). In the same discussion it was agreed that the 30-day period was a reasonable one, but an extension of the period might be appropriate if unavoid-able impediments hampered CCANP's due dilligence in inspect-ing the proffered files. In view of the fact that the material to be de-livered to Mr. McGurren is not available to Applicants at this time, it was agreed during the conference call, that

2. The pertinent interrogatory or request and the answer by Applicants' read as follows:

                     "39. Provide access to and/or documentation of inspection of cadwelds prior to concrete pours in containment buildings, including but not limited to, verification procedures and methodology utilized.
               " Answer:

Documentation relating to inspection of cadwelds prior to concrete pours in containment buildings will be made available for inspection and copying at the South Texas Project site office off of Farm-to-Market Highway 521 in Matsgorda County, Texas." l787 300

BAKER & BoTTS Members of the Board January 7, 1980 the time for taking of depositions by all parties should be extended to include a period of thirty days after receipt of responses to the second round of discovery requests or receipt by Applicants of the documents and information which CCANP had agreed to deliver to Mr. McGurren on January 7, 1980, whichever was later in time. Applicants' counsel advised those participating in the conference call that Applicants would request this Board to recognize, by formal order, this agreement for extension of time for discovery by means of deposition. On Monday, January 7, the undersigned reached Mrs. Peggy Buchorn, Executive Director of CEU by telephone and advised her of the subject matter and agreements reached in the conference of January 4. Mrs. Buchorn concurred in the proposed extension of time for discovery by means of deposi-tions. Accordingly, Applicants request this Board to enter an Order in the form attached hereto, or in such form as the Board deems appropriate, recognizing the agreed extension of time for the taking of depositions. Respectfully submitted, J t^ A n rAnn d Melbert D. S'chwarz / C. Thomas Biddle, Jr. Charles G. Thrash, Jr. 3000 One Shell Plaza Houston, Texas 77002 Jack R. Newman Robert H. Culp 1025 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Attorneys for HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER COMPANY, Project Manager of the South Texas Project, acting herein on behalf of itself and the other Applicants, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, acting by and through the City Public Service Board the City of San Antonio, CENTRAL POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY and THE CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS MDS:36 cc: See attached Certificate of Service 1787 301

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD IN THE MATTER OF S S HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER S DOCKET NOS. STN-498 OL COMPANY, ET AL. S STN-499 OL S (South Texas Project S Units 1 and 2) S ORDER On January 7, 1980, Applicants requested this Board to issue an order recognizing an extension of time for the taking of depositions as agreed upon by the parties. In the Memorandum and Order of August 3, 1979, the Board adopted, inter alia, a schedule for the proceeding, which included at page 10 the provision that " supplemental discovery re-quests... [ based on] information appearing in... responses to first-round discovery requests...should be submitted within 30 days of service of the first-round response." Due to a delay in the receipt of information by Applicants in order to accomodate the concerns of Intervenor Citizens Concerned About Nuclear Power, Inc. about the integrity of certain original documents, all parties now agree that the time for taking of depositions should be extended until 30 days after the completion of the second round of discovery 1787 302

or receipt by Applicants of certain documents and informa-tion held by Commission Staff in accordance with the terms of an informal protective agreement, whichever is later in time. Applicants' request on behalf of itself and other parties is granted and it is hereby ORDERED that the Memorandum and Order of August 3, 1979, be amended to provide that depositions may be taken under the provisions of 10 CFR S2.740a by all parties for a period of thirty days after receipt of the responses to the second round of discovery requests or receipt by Applicants of certain documents and information held by Commission Staff in accordance with the terms of an informal protective agreement, whichever is later in time. For the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Charles Bechhoefer, Esq. Chairman Dated at Bethesda, Maryland this day of January, 1980 1787 303

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD IN THE MATTER OF S S HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER S DOCKET NOS. STN-498 OL COMPANY, ET AL. S STN-499 OL S (South Texas Project S Units 1 and 2) S CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the attached letter of January 7, 1980, to Charles Bechhoefer, Esq., et al., Members of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board advising of a conference call of January 4, 1980 and the attached Order proposed in that letter were served on the following by deposit in the United States mail, postage prepaid, or by hand delivery this 7th day of January, 1980: Charles Bechhoefer, Esq., Chairman Atomic Safety and Licensing Board U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Dr. James C. Lamb, III 313 Woodhaven Road Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514 Dr. Emmeth A. Luebke Atomic Safety and Licensing Board U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Henry J. McGurren, Esq. Hearing Attorney Office of the Executive Legal Director U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 1787 704

. '.2. Richard W. Lowerre, Esq. Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas P. O. Box 12548, Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711 Honorable Burt O'Connell County Judge, Matagorda County Matagorda County Court House Bay City, Texas 77414 Ms. Peggy Buchorn, Executive Director Citizens for Equitable Utilities Route 1, Box 432 Brazoria, Texas 77422 Ste:ven A. Sinkin, Esq. 116 Villita Sar Antonio, Texas 78205 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board Panel U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Mr. Chase R. Stephens Docketing and Service Sect' ion Office of the Secretary of the Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555

                                     /      J         Am Melbert D. Schwarz      /

Date: January 7, 1980 1787 305}}