ML19309B994
| ML19309B994 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Skagit |
| Issue date: | 03/21/1980 |
| From: | Deale V Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| To: | SKAGITONIANS CONCERNED ABOUT NUCLEAR POWER (SCANP) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8004080017 | |
| Download: ML19309B994 (3) | |
Text
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I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 4
ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD
/f Us?inc Tr.0 MAR 2 4
Valentine B. Deale, Chairman g
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Dr. Frank F. Hooper Gustave A. Linenberger.
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4 In the Matter of
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PUGET SOUND POWER & LIGHT
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Docket Nos. 50-522 COMPANY, et al.
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50-523
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(Skagit Nuclear Power Project
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Units 1 and 2)
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DENIAL OF SCANP'S MOTION TO COMPEL ANSWERS TO INTERROGATORIES REGARDING SAN JUAN ISLANDS SEISMIC PROFILES 1
On October 31, 1979, SCANP served by mail interrogatories to Applicants regarding San Juan Islands seismic profiles. Documents to be produced wer' e scheduled by SCANP to be presented on November 26, 1979 or such other time as may be agreed upon.
2.
On December 12, 1979, Applicants served by mail its objec-tions to SCANP's interrogatories and on January 21,1980, SCANP similarly served its motion to compel Applicants to answer the inter-rogatories. Thereafter, on February 1,1980, Applicants filed its answer to SCANP's motion to compel.
2/ SCANP's-discovery attempt consisted of interrogatories numbered 1 '
through 15 and a single request for production, which altogether are identi-fled as " interrogatories".
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. 3.
SCANP's interrogatories of October 31, 1979 stated their l
purpose as follows, on page 1 thereof:
"The purpose of these interrogatories is to de-termine when and by what means the Applicant learned of the existence and content of the seismic profiles /of the San Juan Islands produced by Western Geophysicalin 1971 and other data relevant to the San Juan features and to determine when and by what means Applicant provided these data to the NRC Staff and USGS. This information is sought in order to determine whether Applicant has made a material l
false statement, as that term is used in Section 186 of the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S. C. 52236. "
l 4.
Without addressing itself to the question of the Board's jurisdiction raised by the Applicants, the Board is prompted to deny SCANP's motion to compel for the following two reasons: first, SCANP's motion is untimely and second, SCANP's interrogatories and request for production do not relate to "those matters in controversy" under 10 CFR 52. 740(b)(1). A word about each of the two reasons follows.
5.
Giving account to the Applicants' objections of December 12, 1979 to SCANP's interrogatories, SCANP's motion to compel was due to have been served no later than December 27, 1979. This date is calculated on the basis of the Commission regulations at $2. 740(f)(1) and at $2. 710. The former regulation provides that the time for making -
a motion to compel may be "within ten (10) days after the date of the
response or after failure of a party to respond to the request.... "
The latter regulation provides for the addition of five (5) days when ser-vice is by mail, as was service of the Applicants' objections of December.12. Alternatively, if Applicants' objections of December 12, i
1979 were disregarded altogether under SCANP's argument that the objections were untimely,- SCANP's motion to compel of January 21, 1980 would still be untimely under $2. 740(f)(1).
6.
The same Commission regulation at 10 CFR 52,740 provides at (b)(1) thereof that discovery "... shall relate only to those matters in controversy which have been identified by the Commission or the presiding officer.... " Neither the Commission nor the Board ever identified as one of "those matters in controversy" the issue raised by SCANP of whether the Applicants made a material false statement in
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the proceeding. While the issue may be a subject of SCANP's curiosity and suspicion, such does not justify discovery about a matter not in controversy in this proceeding.
Done this((
ay of March 1980 at Washington, D.C.
ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICE '
BOARD By M
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Valentine B.'Deale, hairiidfi
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