ML20073R143

Motion for Extension of Time for Discovery Permitted by 830329 CP Scheduling Order,To Provide Opportunity to Prepare Questions & Responses to Documentation Supporting CP Contentions.W/Certificate of Svc

ML20073R143
Person / Time
Site:	Clinch River
Issue date:	04/29/1983
From:	Finamore B, Weiss E HARMON & WEISS, National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club
To:	Hand C, Linenberger G, Mark Miller Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
References
NUDOCS 8305030502
Download: ML20073R143 (9)

Text

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i C00".ETO I Apr5.b. 29, 1983

'83 R 29 DS :02 i

- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA I NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 4

ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD

. Before Administrative Judges:

Marshall E. Miller, Chairman Gustave A. Linenberger, Jr.

I Dr . Cadet H. Hand, Jr.

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In the Matter of )

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1 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY )

PRGIECT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION ) Docke t No. 50-537 TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY l

(Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant) )

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1 MCyPION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME FOR DISCOVERY Intervenors, Natural Resources Def ense Council, Inc., and the Sierra Club, hereby move the Board to increase the time permitted for discovery by the Board's Construction Permit Scheduling Order of March 29, 1983. This is necessary because Intervenors have not had anything remotely approaching a reasonable opportunity to read, understand, analyze, and prepare appropriate discovery questions and responses on the lengthy and complex documentation that is purported by Applicants and Staf f to support their positions regarding Construction Permit Contentions, particularly the basis for their view that a core 8305030502'830429 gDRADOCK 05000537 PDR

4 disruptive accident need not be included in the design basis for i

the CRBR and that the CRBR containment design is adequate.

Applicants have had literally years to prepare their case.

Staff and its consultants, through the normal PSAR review Procedures, have had full access all along to the technical material produced by Applicants and the ability to ask Applicants '

questions regarding these materials. In contrast, Intervenors were precluded by this Board's Order of April 22, 1982, from {

t conducting any discovery on these issues until completion of the LWA proceeding. j 1

This Board is well aware of the complexity and di fficulty of t the issues raised by the first-of-its-kind CRBR application, particularly with respect to the questions concerning the CRBR a

design and the probability and potential consequences of

• accidents beyond the CRBR design basis. The nature and scope of these dif ficulties is suggested in (a) the ACRS letter of April 7

19, 1983, which lists a number of significant unresolved questions that the ACRS believes must be properly resolved before l there is reasonable assurance that CRBR can be constructed and operated without undue risk to the health and safety of the  :

public; and (b) Staf f's analysis of the energetic behavior resulting f rom postulated CDAs in the CRBR, documented in T.G.

i Theof anous and C.R. Bell, "An Assessment of CRBR Core Disruptive .

l l Accident Energetics ," LA-9716-MS, NUREG/CR-3224, March 11, 1983, .

i i and its two compendium documents, each approximately three inches thick. These are primary backup documents to the two-volume SER, r

which is also about three inches thick. .

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W The Board's Scheduling Order of March 10, 1983, allowed a total of two months for discovery. Since the last date for responses was set at May 10, 1982, Intervenors had six weeks for all written discovery. During this period of time, Intervenors were required not only to prepare first-round discovery, review and analyze the documents and responses of Applicants and Staf f in order to prepare second-round discovery, but also to respond to nine sets of discovery requests f rom Staf f and Applicants .

This has proven to be utterly impossible. Moreover, Staff and Applicant have impeded Intervenors' discovery efforts.

Applicants ref used to deliver basic documents on probabilistic risk analysis and f ailure mode and eff ects analysis requested by Intervenors within 14 days, citing the rule allowing 30 days for production of documents. Intervenors will not receive these basic documents until the day before discovery closes, thus eff ectively removing our opportunity to ask any questions at all concerning them.

Staf f's SER was dated March 11, 1983, and received by Intervenors over a week later. More than two weeks were required j ust to read the SER and prepare first round discovery on a

! portion of it. Key underlying documentation and technical analyses, including the two compendium documents to NUREG/CR-3224 and Staf f radiological calculations , totalling many hundreds of pages, probably a f oot in thickness, are available to Intervenors only in the Public Document Room or in Bethesda, obviously limited to only normal working hours. Intervenore have not yet i

had time yet even to read these documents.

l l l l Finally, a significant part of Intervenors' time in this compressed discovery period has been taken in responding to the interrogatories of Staf f and Applicants. Applicants filed interrogatories on April 1st, April 8th, April 21st, and April 25th. Staf f filed four sets of interrogatories and requests for admissions on April 8th and a fifth set on April 26th. The inequity of the demands on Intervenors in this situation are 1

illustrated by the fact that Staff, in its April 8th filing ,

sought admissions f rom NRDC as to the accuracy of Staf f's underlying documentation to the SER, when that documentation was not even theoretically available to Intervenors until April 21st, l 14 days af ter our initial discovery on the SER was fil ed .

l Moreover, Applicants have already noticed two days of deposition of Dr. Cochran and Staf f one day in the final week of discovery, which will necessitate substantial preparation on Dr. Cochran's part and which makes it impossible to provide timely responses to Staf f's and Applicants' second round discovery.

The result of all this is that Intervenors have had grossly inadequate opportunity to discover the bases for Staf f's and Appli cants ' positions and to prepare our case. Considering the j magnitude and complexity of the issues involved and the f act that i

of the parties involved only Intervenors were denied access to this material until March 10, 1983, the current schedule must be significantly altered if this proceeding is to be other than an empty gesture.

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5-i Granting of this extension will not harm the other

parties. Applicants admitted (March 7 Schedule Motion at 2) i j that, at the very earliest , site preparation activities will not J

j be completed before the end of the year. Moreover, Congress has i

speci fically prohibited the commencement of any CRBR construction

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1 j activities for the remainder of this fiscal year. H. R. Rep. No.

i 97-980, 97th Cong., 2d S es s . 186 (1982) . Under these circum-stances, Intervenors see no justification for bypassing an

] adequate trial preparation period in the haste to begin a new 4

i round of hearings.

i j Intervenors therefore move the Board to adopt the following i

i schedule and instructions:

, Item / Event Date l Responses to Staf f's April 26 and i Applicants' April 21 and April 25

{ discovery to Intervenors. Friday May 13, 1983.

4 Last date for filing discovery responses (i ~ .e . , discovery closed ) . Friday, July 8, 1983 (two months after Intervenors

{ receive Applicants' i; documentation on Contentions 1 and 3) .

Applicants are directed to present documents for inspection and copying in Wa.3hington, D.C.

I Last date for-filing motions for summary disposition. Friday, July 22, 1983.

Responses to summary disposition

l motions. Friday, August 12, 1983.

j Proposed direct evidence to be pr ofiled. Friday, August 26, 1983 i

Begin CP evidentiary hearing. Monday, September 12, 1983.

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L Respectf ully submitted, LL .

Barbara A. Finamore S. Jacob Scherr Natural Resources Def ense Council, Inc. '

1725 I Street, NW, Suite 600 Washi ngton , D .C . 20006 (202) 223-8210 it . N] ad W

/

Ellyn R/. Weiss Harmon & Weiss 1725 I Street, NW, Suite 506 Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 833-9070 Attorneys for Intervenors Natural Resources Def ense Council, Inc., and the Sierra Club Dated: April 29, 1983 I

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I CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE W"[

I hereby certify that copies of Intervenors' M EXTENSION OF TIME FOR DISCOVERY were delivered29th this' TIQy3FOR ay of PS .02 April 1983 by hand

• or by first class mail upon:

• Marshall E. Miller, Esq. j ""a, Chairman Atomic Safety & Licensing Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 4350 East West Highway, 4th floor Bethesda, MD 20014

• Gustave A. Linenbe rger Atomic Safety & Licensing Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 4350 East West Highway, 4th floor Bethesda, MD 20014

• Sherwin E. Turk, Esq.

Stuart Treby, Esq.

Gary S. Mizuno, Esq.

Elaine I. Chan, Esq.

Of fice of Executive Legal Director U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Maryland National Bank Building 7735 Old Georgetown Road Bethesda, MD 20014

• Atomic Saf ety and Licensing Appeal Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H Street, NW, Room 1121 Washington, D.C. 20555

• Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H Street, NW, Room 1121 Washington, D.C. 20555

• Docketing & Service Section Of fice of the Secretary U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H Street, NW, Room 1121 Washington, D.C. 20555 (3 copies)

• Indicates hand delivery.

Certificate of Service - 2

• R. Tenney Johnson, Esq.

Leon Silverstrom, Esq.

Warren E. Bergholz, Jr., Esq.

William D. Luck, Esq.

Office of General Counsel U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave. , SW, Rm. 6A245 Washington, D.C. 20585

• George L. Edgar, Esq.

Irvin N. Shapell, Esq.

Thomas A. Schmutz, Esq.

Gregg A. Day, Esq.

Frank K. Pe te rson, Esq.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 1800 M Street, NW, 7th Floor Washington, D.C. 20036 ,

Dr. Cadet H. Hand, Jr. , Director Bodega Marine Laboratory University of California P.O. Box 247 West Side Road Bodega Bay, CA 94923 (Federal Express Mail)

Herbert S. Sanger, Jr., Esq.

Lewis E. Wallace, Esq.

James F. Burger, Esq.

W. Walker LaRoche, Esq.

Edward J. Vigluicci, Esq.

Office of the General Counsel Tennessee Valley Authority 400 West Summit Hill Drive Knoxville, TN 37902 William M. Leech, Jr., Esq.,

Attorney General i William B. Hubbard, Esq., l Chief Deputy Attorney General Michael D. Pea ri gen , Esq.

State of Tennessee Of fice of the Attorney General 450 James Robertson Parkway Nashville, TN 37219 Lawson McGhee Public Library 500 West Church Street Knoxville, TN 37219 l

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Certificate of service - 3 William E. Lantrip, Esq.

City Attorney Municipal Building P.O. Box 1 Oak Ridge, TN 37830 Oak Ridge Public Library Civic Center Oak Ridge, TN 37830 Joe H . Walke r 401 Roane Street Harriman, TN 37748 Commissioner James Cotham

Tennessee Department of Economic and

! Community Development Andrew Jackson Building, Suite 1007 Nashville, TN 32219

. HA4dL A Barbara A. Finamore t

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