ML19330B607
| ML19330B607 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Zimmer |
| Issue date: | 08/01/1980 |
| From: | Barth C NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE LEGAL DIRECTOR (OELD) |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| References | |
| ISSUANCES-OL, NUDOCS 8008050203 | |
| Download: ML19330B607 (6) | |
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e UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 8/1/80 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of
)
CINCINNATI GAS AND ELECTRIC Docket No. 50-358 COMPANY, et al.
)
)
(Wm. H. Zininer Nuclear Power
)
Station,UnitNo.1)
)
NRC STAFF RESPONSE TO LICENSING BOARD ORDER OF JULY 14, 1980 RELATING TO 0FF-SITE SHIPMENT OF SPENT FUEL On July 14, 1980 the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board issued a Memorandum and Order inviting the parties to address the question "...whether, under the Comission's amended regulations, any sort of plan for the shipment of spent fuel need be submitted prior to the grant of an operating license."
(Order at 3.)
If, as the Applicant had asserted, no such plan was required, then the Board wished to be apprised "...of the manner, if any, in which an interested member of the public (or the Board, sua sponte) can question a licensee's compliance with the new regulations... prior to an actual shipment taking place." The questions arose as a result of the Board's consideration of Applicant's Motion for Sununary Disposition of conten-tion number 5 of Dr. Fankhauser concerning plans to notify and train affected j
comunities of shipments of radioactive materials. The NRC Staff does not i
believe that a plan for shipment of spent fuel is required at this time.
The spent fuel pool for the Zimmer facility is designed to contain two full j
cores of spent fuel bundles. Assuming, for purposes of this reply, the fuel l
8 0 0.8 0 5 0 4 0'h
' s is loaded in October 1981 as now projected by the Applicants, there will be no necessity to ship spent fuel off site until 1989 and, if the new high density racks were installed at Zimer, it would be 1991 to 1992 when spent fuel would need to be shipped off site.
Neither the rule (10 C.F.R. 5 73.37) nor its accompanying explanation in the Federal Register, 45 Fed.' R_eg. 37399, nor NUREG-0651, Rev.1, " Physical e
Protection of Shipments of Irradiated Reactor Fuel," require NRC approval of a shipping security plan prior to the issuance of an operating license.
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There are not now reprocessing or permanent offsite storage facilities which could receive spent fuel and thus, today, it is impossible for the Applicants to provide a plan to satisfy the offsite shipment objectives as stated in 10 C.F.R. 5 73.37(b).
The rule, its explanation appearing in 45 Fed. R_eg. 37399, NUREG-0651 and e
common sense make it clear that there is no present pre-operating license requirement for applicants to provide a security plan for the shipment of spent fuel some nine to eleven years in the future to facilities now unknown upon presently unidentifiable roads.
Instead, although not cate-gorically, the regulation indicates that no plan need by submitted prior to the issuance of an operating license.
10 C.F.R. H 73.37(b)(1) requires notification of intended shipment with routing and security plans in accord with 10 C.F.R. 5 73.72, which section requires notification ten days in advance of the shipping date.
Reading 10 C.F.R. E 73.37 in para materia with 10 C.F.R. 5 73.72, it is clear that the earliest date
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, s for which a shipping and security plan is required is ten days prior to shipment, a time, in Zimmer's case, which may be some 8-11 years after issuance of an operating ifcense.
1 The Congress has recently amended the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 by adding a new Section 147 which provides that the Commission may not withhold from public disclosure routes to be used to transport source material.
P. L.96-295, 94 Stat. 780, effective June 30, 1980, see House Rep.
No. 96-1070, June 4,1980, p.10.
The Staff is presently in the process of reviewing routes used historically and intends to issue prior approval for routes to be used in the future. This new section 147 does not affect our answer to the Board's question as there will be no disclosure as to the particular route and time for a shipment of spent fuel from Zimmer.
It is the Staff's view that no shipping and security plan need be submitted to, or rr. viewed and approved by, the NRC as a precondition to issuance of i
an operating license for Zimmer.
l The Licensing Board also " wishes to be apprised of the manner,' if any, in j
which an interested member of the public (or the Board, sua sponte) can i
question a licensee's compliance with the new regulations... prior to an actual shipment taking place." Present NRC policy is to withhold from public disclosure information on routes and schedules (see 45 Fed. Reg.
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4-37406, item 12). Thus, prior notice to the general public of specific route information prior to a shipment is not required.
Prior to shipment, it should be noted that the NRC Staff reviews the application to insure compliance with 10 C.F.R. Part 73 and that review will be conducted to assure compliance with the regulations existing at the time of shipment. Detection of failure of a licensee to perfonn the conditions of a shipping plan is the function of the Office of Inspection and Enforcement.
See Arkansas Power and Light C_o. (Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 2), ALAB-94, 6 AEC 25, at 28 (1973) for the o
proposition that the law presumes an administrative agency will properly discharge its duties.
If some member of the public has reason to believe that a licensee has violated NRC regulations, such member has the option of informing I&E which will investigate the allegation or a petition under 10 C.F.R. 5 2.206 can be filed requesting the NRC to take some affirmative action.
Respectfully submitted, 88 Charles A. Barth Counsel for NRC Staff Dated at Bethesda, Maryland this 1st day of August,1980 l
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
^
BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD _
In the Matter of
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CINCINNATI GAS AND ELECTRIC
)
Docket No. 50-358 COMPANY, et al.
(Wm. H. Zimmer Nuclear Power
)
Station,UnitNo.1)
)
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of "NRC STAFF RESPONSE TO LICENSING BOARD ORDER OF JULY 14, 1980 RELATING TO 0FF-SITE SHIPMENT OF SPENT FUEL" in the above-captioned proceeding have been served on the following by' deposit in the Un'ited States mail, first' class or, as indicated by an asterisk, through deposit in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's internal mail system, this 1st day of August,1980.
Charles Bechhoefer, Esq., Chairman
- Leah S.. Kosik, Esq.
Atomic Safety and, Licensing 3464 Cornell Place Board Panel Cincinnati, Ohio 45220 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C.
20555 W. Peter Heile, Esg.
Assistant City Solicitor,
Dr. Frank F. Hooper Room 214, City Hall School of Natural Resources Cincinnati, Ohio 45220
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University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Timothy S. Hogan, Jr., Chairman Board of Commissioners Mr. Glenn 0. Bright
- 50 Market Street Atomic Safety and Licensing Clermont County Board Panel Batavia, Ohio 45103 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C.
20555 John D. Woliver, Esq.
Clermont County Community Council Troy B. Conner, Esq.
Box 181 Conner, Moore and Corber Batavia, Ohio 45103 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
20006 O
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' J William J. Moran, Esq.
Atomic Safety and Licensing General Counsel Aopeal Board
- Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P.O. Box 960 Washington, D. C.
20555 Cincinnati, Ohio 45201 Docketina and Service Section*
Atomic Safety and Licensing Office of the Secretary
. Board Panel
- U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Connission Washington, D. C.
20555 Washington, D. C.
20555 Andrew B. Dennison, Esq.
David Martin, Esq.
200 Main Street Office of the Attorney General Batavia, Ohio 45103 209 St. Clair Street First Floor Robert A. Jones, Esq.
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 Prosecuting Attorney of Clermont County, Ohio Mrs. Mary Reder 154 Main Street Box 270, Rt. 2 Batavia, Ohio 45103 California, Kentucky 41007 Dale D. Brodkey -
Assistant Attorney General Office of Attorney General 4d M'
Division of Environmental Law m
Charles A. Barth 209 St. Clair Street Counsel for NRC Staff Frankfort, KY 40601 O
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