ML19347B841

Responds to Appeal Re Denial of FOIA Request for GE Nuclear Reactor Study & Related sub-task Force Repts,Known as Reed Rept.Grants Appeal.Rept Will Be Available in PDR within 20 Days.Forwards Order Re Availability of Reed Rept

ML19347B841
Person / Time
Site:	Black Fox
Issue date:	10/09/1980
From:	Chilk S NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY)
To:	Penner P PRAIRIE ALLIANCE
References
FOIA-79-A-27C NUDOCS 8010160077
Download: ML19347B841 (1)

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UNITED STATES i

g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION N//jf /

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E WASHIN GTON,0.C. 20555 October 9, 1980 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY Mr. Peter Penner Prairie Alliance, Law Division P.O. Box 2424 Station A Champaign, IL 61820

Subject:

F01A-79-A-27C

Dear Mr. Penner:

This letter responds to your appeal of an October 15, 1979 denial of your request, under the Freedom of Information Act (F0IA), 5 U.S.C. 552, for the General Electric Nuclear Reactor Study and its related Sub-Task Force Reports, which is generally known, and hence will be referred to, as the Reed Report.

The Reed Report is the only document at issue in this appeal.

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board presiding over hearings in the Black Fox proceeding, to our knowledge, possesses the only NRC copy of the Reed Report, having obtained it in confidence, and subject to a protective order, from General Electric. The Commission was evenly divided on whether to withhold the Report. Chairman Ahearne and Commissioner Hendrie would withhold the Report; Commissioners Gilinsky and Bradford have voted to re-lease it. Under the F0IA, because a majority of the Commission did not vote to withhold the Report, it must be released. Therefore, the Com-mission has granted your appeal for the Reed Report and will make a copy of the document available for inspection and copying in 20 days at the NRC Public Document Room in Washington.

Further arrangements for the document may be made through that section.

I am enclosing a copy of the Commission's order regarding the availability of the Reed Report.

This letter is a final Commission determination on your appeal under the Freedom of Information Act for the Peed Report.

Sincerely, e

J. Chi.

ecre y of the Commission

Enclosure:

Memo. & Order 8410160 0 7 7

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D f.L4 Q Feter Penner prairie Alliance, Law Division I

P. O. Box 2424 l

Station A Chanpaign, Illinois 61820

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Novenber 12, 1979 i

Secretary of the Commission APP.fAL OE INITIAL F0iA DECISION l

Nuclear Regulatory Connissim

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Washington, D.C.

20555 l

Mc 'd / / -) I - 7) l To the Secretary of the Conmission:

l This letter is an Appeal fron an Initial FOIA Decision. The 4

"mrtial response" I received fron Sheldon J. '..'olfe, Chairnan of the j

Atomic Safety and Licensing 3 card, denied disclosure of the infornation rcquested in paragraph 2(b) of ny Septenber 26, 1979 letter (FOIA 1 414), nanely, "a copy of the Reed Report itself". Other than stating

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l that "the requestod docu7ents are b'eing uithheld fron public disclosure j

pursuant to exenption 4 of tha F02 and lo CFR 9.5 (a) (4) of the l

Co: mission'r Re6ulations", the denial failed to provide a detailed i

justification for the app /

lication of this exenption to the specific

'ocunents at issue here.l_

Because of this onissioa, I an able to present only a broad outline of ny reasons for believing that the Reed r

j Beport should be disclosed under the FOIA and the relevant caso law.

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i i:y arguaent runs an follows:

l I.

The Reed Report does not fall within Exenption 4 of the FOIA.

1 II.

Even if the Reed Report is considered to fall within Exemption j

j 4, in keapirq uith the lac.,islative policy behind the Act, the URC should exercise its discretionary po::ar to disclose the Report.

III.

~n keeping uith its obligations under the F03, the FRC should release a list of the safety issues nentioned in the Reed Report since such infornation constitutes c. " reasonably segrqable portion" of the l

DUPLICATE DOCUMENT de secrets and (2) informtion Entire document previously obtained from a person, and entered into system under:

tion given by the Congress ANO ggg ot satisfy the three requira.:ents l

No. of pages:

'h e of SECY..Date Due:

Dec 31..

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