ML20040G268
| ML20040G268 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Zimmer |
| Issue date: | 01/22/1982 |
| From: | Chilk S NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY) |
| To: | Lowenstein D COX NEWSPAPERS |
| References | |
| FOIA-81-1-15, FOIA-81-376, FOIA-81-A-15 NUDOCS 8202120067 | |
| Download: ML20040G268 (3) | |
Text
n, wm
. CLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSib
))
UNITED STATES ff j g 3 9, g,c g
(
g
'5 g
/A E W ASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 Qwff CRETARIAT RECORD COPY January 22, 1982 CFFICE OF THE SECRETARY Q
R 4
s n'
RECEIVED
\\
JAN 27 tg82h =
lir. Douglas Lowenstein Cox Newspapers
(
y
~1901 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
s Suite 501 Washington, D.C.
20006
Dear Mr. L'owenstein:
This is in response to your October 15, 1981 Freedom of Information Act (F0IA) appeal regarding documents relating to the report of-the NRC Office of Inspector and Auditor (01A) regarding the adequacy of the Office of Inspection and Enforcement (I&E) investigation into quality assurance / quality control problems at the William H. Zimmer Nuclear Power Station.
On November 20, 1981, you.were provided copies of the OIA report and six related-documents. 'A December 30, 1981 letter from William J. Dircks, Executive Director for Operations, conveyed an additional nine Commission documents and seven I & E records with minor deletions.
On October 27 and 28, 1981, the Commission. held closed meetings to discuss potential enforcement actions stemming from the Zimmer investigations.
Though these meet-ings post-dated your appeal, we have reviewed the transcripts under the' Government in the Sunshine Act (GISA) to determine whether they should be released in whole or in part at this time.
The meetings were closed pursuant to exemptions (5), (7), and '
(-10) of the Government in the' Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b, and Commission regulations, 10 CFR 9.104, since the discussion focused on the review of investigatory reports and the consideration of potential
- enforcement actions, including the imposition of civil penalties, all within the-context of an ongoing agency adjudication.
Commissi.on deliberations of this nature are exempt from mandatory public disclosure in the. interest of avoiding interference with current and future Licensing Board proceedings and of protecting the uninhibited exchange of' ideas and opinions which relate to such proceedings.
For these reasons, the Commission has determined that the public interest does not require release of these transcripts and that they should be withheld in their entirety pursuant to Exemption (3) of the F0IA and Exemptions (5),
(7), (10) of the GISA.
(See Appendix A).
Fouradditionaldocumentshavebeenidentified.shich,thoughpostdating your original F0IA request, pertain to the Zimmer report.
The memoranda and comments identified as items 3-6 of Appendix A reflect the authors' 8202120067 820122 PDR FOIA LOWENST81-376 PDR A
c~.
- r.
i r.
2-advice,' opinions andLrecommendations regarding the-Commission resolution
. of the Zimmer matter. Withholding thsse documents is'necessary to-
-protect the uninhibited ' dialogue essential to.the deliberative process.
The-draft letter (item No. 3) contains no factual information not also
- present-in the letter dispatched to Congressman Udall,'a copy of which-
-you have been provided.
The remaining documents contain no segregable
' factual portions.
Accordingly, all of these-documents are.being withheld.in their entirety. pursuant to: Exemption (5)'of the F0IA.
This. letter represents the final agency action on your F0IA appeal.
I am the agency official responsible for these-denials._ Judicial review is available in a district. court of the United States in the district in which you reside cr'have your principal place-of business, or in the District of Columbia.
ST?perely,
..S Samuel-J. Cl 3 Secretary o the Commission
Enclosure:
Appendix A - List of Documents Withheld REF:
4
l
\\
d APPENDIX A 1.
Transcript of Closed Commission Meeting held on October 27,-1981 Regarding Proposed Enforcement Matters.
Pages78-128 are relevant to the William H. Zimmer Nuclear Power Station.
2.
Transcript of Closed ~ Commission Meeting held on October 28, 1981, a continuation of the Discussion of Proposed Enforcement Matters. 44 pages.
-3.
- October 29th draft letter to Congressman Udall with handwritten-comments from Commissioner Bradford's office ~at the' top.
4.
October 30, 1981 memo to Chairman Palladino from Commissioner Bradford re: Proposed Draft Letter to Congressman Udall regarding Zimmer.
5.
October 21, 1981 memo to Commissioner Bradford from Legal Assistant Thomas R. Gibbon re: Udall letter on Zimmer, with handwritten comments.
6.
September 29, 1981 memo to Commissioner Bradford from-Thomas'R.
Gibbon re: 01A Report on Zimmer. -
9 1
3 5
4 d
f e
- mW W
7 u.-,.
g y
-=> C w
> rv. n
/
,..nu w.-
4'
' NcUchstawnan
~
I
\\/ -
E*J: 2 %,
l WASHINGTON BUREAU
- [*s'MZW"
/*
myn NEW5 PAPERS ES$ $7EUIMi" % !# $ '
- ,:n!.?.
IQO E%'"**
L*:NC.-
'Oct. 15, 1981 Hon. Nunzio Palladino.
Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H St. NW Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C.
552.
On Sept. 18,*
I made an FOI request to the NRC for a copy of the report by the' Office of Inspector-Auditor reviewing the adequacy of work performed by the Region III Office of Inspection and Enforcement'at the William Zimmer Nuclear Power Station in Ohio.
I further requested copies of letters, documents, reports -
and any other written material by and or*betwcen OIA, Region III and NRC in Washington /Bethesda regarding the' aforementioned report, as well as transcripts of any meetings held by.the NRC, OIA or the NRC staff at which said report qas discussed. A copy of my original request is enclosed'.
As of this writing, this request has.not been acted upon, nor have I received a formal, written request for an extension of the statutorily mandated ten day time period for a response to a properly filed FOI.
Therefore, the NRC is in clear violation of the law.
Please be advised that I consider the requested information clearly releasable under the FOI Act and consider your agency's failure to respond to my request in a timely manner to be irresponsible and illegal ~.
Further, I believe there.are compelling public policy reasons for releasing the requested material, to wit: questions regarding the integrity of both the construction and quality control work at Zimmer have been publicly and frequentl:. raised, as have doubts about the adequacy of the NRC's own I&E activity.
Obviously, issues relating to the safety of a plant which is soon scheduled to receive an operating license deserve a (y
full and complete public airing and the NRC has a respon-g sibility to provide all the material in its possession to the public to insure a full and informed discussion about matters regarding the safety of the facility.
g N
p q qg P
w,.
7
- t,
- e
]-
i
?:;;Y.),':."'*
~ -Q
- y
- s. % ~ x.,.5""'
- 0o Ms.j2.?",?!;'"
WASH!NGTON BUREAU g
g,. o ~s a.-
-f.
190! Pernsyharua Avenue N W..Swte 501 pose inbune l')-g.gO C n.3 v.asnmgton, O.C 70006 202/331-0900 v.sw he.s
. Cvk Pterh be&Ch Cady 9.eet ba
[
Port Artnur News f~
g T
~ /
/
Sormgf+c DaJy hews
':""Z*.,,'C 1
~~
v-r b
.. T n--.
. ) -
-5
~
1 3
x 1
18
)
?
I It'is my' feeling that the requested material ~is essential.
to a, complete public airing of the safety _of the Zimmer plant. I kould regard denial of this request as arbitrary and capricious.
I trust that upon re-examination, you will correct both your failure to respond to my request and your failure to release the report and material requested.
"# "Bosever,~i'f-you deny this appeal,'and continue to ignore your statutory responsibility, I intend to initiate a lawsuit to compel disclosure.
As I have made my initial request, as well-as this one, in-a timely manner, and this information is o'f timely value, I would appreciate your expediting the consideration of'my appeal in every way possible.
In any case, I will expect to receive your decision within 20 business days, as required by law.
Thank.you for.your. assistance.
/
-cgg a(Ofac
..y Douglas Lowenstein
- l cc:
J."M. Felton Samuel Chilk i
I L
e-g A
'h s.*
u
I 1:g:97:y-a
-,n. s w..
<\\: /.
Leroa Losr o s o
p 7
I Dem Jur.a: **.<e.c i
G l
WASHINGTON EUREAU flI;'lTl',",.n,D* ';""*
1 t-ggg
~
n.-
NEWEPAPERS s ESC,'"o"MUF "-fg!#.Ns 0"f,:;r
'l:li::i;i:F'"
- J' !r'2.T
~
ll;%l:4iT ~
l'"an'r"..
Sept. 18, 1981 l
l John Carr Chief, Freedom of Information Branch Divisicn of Rules and Records Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C.
20555
.L
Dear Mr. Carr:
I would like to request that the following. material be made available to me, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Please, inform me of any costs associated with fulfilling this. request.
If this request is denied, please inform me as to the reasons in; writing within ten days, as required by law.
The material I am seeking is:
1)'A copy of the report by the Office of Inspect 6r-g Auditor reviewing the ad'equacy of work performed.by the Region III Offic'e of Inspection and Enforcement at the William.Zimmer Nuclear Power Station in Ohio. The OIA report was atxleast in part in reference to I&E Report No. 50-358/80-09, an investigation' conducted by Region III on April7-9, April 30, May 1-2 and May 20, j t.
1980.
- 2) A copy-of all letters, documents, reports and 3
t(
any other written material by and/or between OIA, Region III and NRC inLWashington/Bethesda regarding the aforementioned L
'OIA report.
9
- 3) A tiranscrppt. of any meetings held by the NRC, the f/
OIA or the.NRC staff at which the aforementioned OIA report was discussed.
Thank you' for your cooperation.
Si cer ILy,/
t-l
/- y fas Lowens.,/.
can.v Doug tein l
?
E A
~~
p
~
-