ML20040H336
| ML20040H336 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Clinch River |
| Issue date: | 02/11/1982 |
| From: | Kammerer C NRC OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS (OCA) |
| To: | Bradley B, Bumpers D, Hart G, Humphrey G, Tsongas P SENATE |
| References | |
| ISSUANCES-E, NUDOCS 8202180111 | |
| Download: ML20040H336 (1) | |
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4'p"!p The Hencrable Paul Tsongas
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United States Senate N' A /~1 6
!!ashington, D.C.
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Dear Senator Tsongas:
p ms Thank you for yo' r letter dated December 9,19?.1, c neerning the Department of u
Energy's (DOE) request for an excaption froa certain Comission regulations for the Clinch River Breeder Reactor.
On December 24, 1981, the Ccmission issued the enclosed order outlining the
- rocedures it will be following for considering the nerits of DOE's request for an exemption to pemit then to undertake certain site preparation activities prior to the issuance of a construction pemit or limited work authorization by the liuclear Regulatory Cconission. The schedule established uculd pemit a Combsion decision by early I! arch on this request.
The Ccmission appreciates receiving your ccnnents with respect to this request and will include them as part of the record cf the prcceeding.
Sincerely, parlton Xa=efef Carlton ramerer, Director.
Office of Congressional Affairs
Enclosure:
As stated Identical letter sent to:
Sen. Gordon Humphrey Sen. Dale Bumpers 503 Sen. Bill Bradley 9
Sen. Gary Hart N
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A 9)Cnifeb Sfafes Senale WASHINGTON. D.C. 10510 Dscember 9, 1981 The Honorable Nunzio J. Palladino Chairman Nuclear Regulatory Comission Washington, D.C.
20555
Dear Mr. Chairman:
It has come to our attention that the Depar'tment of Energy has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Comission for exemptions from established regula-tory procedures to allow site work to begin on the Clinch River breeder reactor before. hearings on the project's environmental impact are complete.
We do not believe that it has ever been the intent of Congress to encour-age such exemptions, nor do we believe that such exemptions are in the best interests of possible future comercial development of Liquid M.etal Fast Breeder Reactors (LMFBRs).
The legislative and contractual history of the Clinch River project clearly state that one of the goals of this project is to demonstrate licensability of LMFBRs for comercial application.
To exempt this pro-ject now would merely postpone this detennination and cause extensive delay and increased cost of any LMFBR plant that might follow. The time to clearly demonstrate LMFBR licensability is now.
Public Law 91-273 authorized the Atomic Energy Comission (AEC) to enter into a cooperative arrangement with a reactor manufacturer and others for the development of a demonstration LMFBR -- the Clinch' River project. The resulting contract, executed August 7,1972 by the AEC, Tennessee Valley Authority, Comonwealth Edison Company, and Project Management Corporation, stated that one of the principal objectives of this project was:
"To help... verify certain key characteristics and capabilities of breeder power plants for operation on utility systems such as licensability and safety, operability, reliability, availability, maintainability, flexibility, and prospect for economy."
This desire to verify the licensability of LMFBRs was reaffirmed by Congress in 1974 in Public Law 93-438, which stated that the NRC shoula have licensing and related regulatory authority over demonstration LMFBRs when operated as part of an electric utility system or in any other manner for the purpor ;f demonstrating their suitability for commercial application.
12/9...To 0GC to Prepare Response for Signature of Chairman and Comm Review
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Date due Comm: Dec 23...Cpys to: Chm,Cmrs,PE.EDO,SECY, docket.. 81-2446 h
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Congress has never since indicated any support for regulatory exemp-tions for this project.
Tb Conference Report accompanying the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act r.
1981; cited by DOE in its request to the NRC for regulatory exempti; n, in fact states:
"The conferees intend that the plant should be constructed in a timely and rueditious manner, so that a decision on the comercializa ton and deployment of breeder reactors can be made on the asis of information obtained in the operation of the plai.t. The plant should therefore be constructed on the basis of that objective, and not on the basis of providing needed power in the specific region of the Clinch River site."
This report language is not a request for regulatory exemptions. To the contrary, it reaffirms the need to go through all steps of established regulatory procedure now to pave the way for possible future comercializa-tion We urge you to consider these points and deny DOE's request for exemptions. Thank you very much.
f Sincerely, hj l
PAUL E. TSONGAS BILL BRADLEY pn N J. fiUMPHREY
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GARY HART Sekt 0m l
DALE BUMPERS
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