ML20073D622

Urges Denial of CP Extension Due to Lack of Offsite Emergency Plan.Comments Made by NRC Repudiating Need for Emergency Plan During Const Do Not Instill Confidence in Integrity of NRC Decisionmaking Process

ML20073D622
Person / Time
Site:	Shoreham File:Long Island Lighting Company icon.png
Issue date:	04/11/1983
From:	Greenbaum R EAST HAMPTON, NY
To:	Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
NUDOCS 8304140062
Download: ML20073D622 (4)

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l TOWN OF EAST HAMPTON

%,., ./ 159 Pantigo Road East Ilampton, New York 11937 RONALD GREENBAUM SUPERVISOR (516) 324-4140 April 11, 1983 Mr. Harold R. Denton, Direc, tor Nuclear Reaetor Regulation U.S. Nuetear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Re: Shoreham Nuclear Power Station Construction PermLt "CPPR-95

Dear Hr. Denton:

The Town of East flampton, on castelut Long Island, ties east of LILCO's Shoreham Naciear Power Plant, and I am Bie Supervisor of the aforementioned . town. East Hampton is home to more Bian 15,000 tjear-round residents, and in the summer months the population swells to more Bian 45,000 people. It has been brougitt to my attention Biat the consttuction permLt for Shoreham expL1ed on March 31, 1983, tuttess other-wlse extended byj t ou.t office. This letter is to urge that you deny LiLCO's request to continue consttuction at Shoreham and .to prevent further wastefat expendLtnte of . tens of mittions of dollars on die profeet.

On the basis of mant) months of intensive examination, Suffoth County has determined Btat the safe evacuation of its residents, and those on eastern Long Island in particulat, could not be accomplished. Accord '

.inglij, Suf folk has urged the NRC to terminate the Shoreham opejutting license ptoceedings in view of Bic fact that approval and implementation of a Suf folk County off-site emergency plan is a requiremertt for the issuance of an operating ticense. I agree with nic Cowsty's determination and see no reason whij construction at Shoreham should be permitted to continue.

I have also been made aware of comments a.ttribntable .to NRC spokes-men in NEUSDAY, suggesting that less than serious attention witi be given to Die Comittj request Biat cottstituetion be halted. As an example, James Fitzgerald, assistant general counsel at the NRC, reporteditj stated "I don't think you neud an evacuation plan during construction", while NRC 2 spokesman Frank istgram is atteged to have remarked, " Requests to ex, tend y OJ plant consttuction dates are a dime a dozen". (See enclosed copy of I article.) These comments do not irtstlet confidence in the integritt) of 8304140062 030411 PDR ADOCK 05000322 H PDR

l Mt. Harold R. Denton, Director April 11, 1983 Page Two tiie NRC decision making process, and 1 LAust this is not indica.tive of tlie attention tjou tellt devote to this matter.

It is my belief that the County's determination that there can be no safe evacuation of Suffath residents is dispositive of the question of whether Slioreham teilt be permitted to operate. In view of tJiat controlling fact, it would be intesponsible for tjour office to continue to permLt LILCO to expend mittions of dottars in funds for const>uietion.

I strongit) object to any action, or inaetion, by the NRC that would permit further escalation of Shoreham's construction costs.

l 1 urge jt oa to give Suffolk Comtty's opposition to the extensinn l of LILCO's construction permLt your immediate attention, and will await i

tjour response to my concersts in this issue.

Sinceretij, A,4b> &

RONALD GREENBAWf Supervisor

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REGION. .

Permit Extension For N-Plant Fought Hy Robert Fresco In an unusual move aimed at preventing the opening of the Shoreham nuclear plant, Suffolk County has asked the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to block a routine extension of the plant's construction permit.

The county contends in its request that because it has not approved an emergency evacuation plan for the plant, Shoreham cannot open, and as a re-sult, construction should not proceed But the legality of the county action was imme-diately questioned by a top NRC attorney. James Fitzgerald, an assistant general counsel, said he doubted the county's objection had any legal basis. "I don't think you need an evacuation plan during the construction phase," he said.

And NRC spokesman Frank Ingram said that

" requests to extend plant construction dates are a dime a dozen." And, he added, the commission rou-Linely grants them.

"His attitude doesn't surprise me," Deputy County Executive Frank Jones said of Fitigerald's comment. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission consistently falls on the side of the nuclear power advocates.

LIILO's construction permit expires March 31.

On Feb. 25, the company submitted a request for a nine-month extension. LILCO spokeswoman Judith Brabham said that the utility is not chanp'ng its previously announced plan to load fuel into the reac-tor by the end ofJune and begin commercial produe-tion of electric power there in early 1984. She said an extension beyond June was requested to allow

" minor construction work" such as painting in the "non-nuclear" area of the plant.

L1140's construction permit for the $3.2-billion plant has already been extended twice, Brabham said. The original permit was granted in April, 1973, and expiral in May,1979. Brabham said it was " customary" for utilities to ask for extensions.

But the county's lawyer, lierbert Brown, wrote in a letter Wednesday to the NRC,"We submit that the tilf0 request (for the extension) can't lawfully be granted." This, he argued, is because, "no operat-ing license for the Shoreham plant can lawfully be issued," since there is no emergency evacuation plan for the plant. "Suffolk County has resolved that it will not adopt or implement" such a plan, he added.

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