ML20078H090

Response to Applicant 830921 Motion for Denial of Towns of Kensington & South Hampton Contentions Re Emergency Planning.Plans Formulated by Private Consulting Firm & Not Endorsed by Towns.Certificate of Svc Encl

ML20078H090
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	10/06/1983
From:	Gavutis S, Verge A KENSINGTON, NH, SOUTH HAMPTON, NH
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
References
NUDOCS 8310140021
Download: ML20078H090 (9)

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Dated Octobar 6,.1983 00CKETED USNRC

. 13 NH 13 P.3:49 ,

! UNITED STATES OF. AMERICA 0FFICE OF SECPITAF' NUCLEARREGULATORYCOMEf$!E@C EPviC '

I before the F

ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD

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In the Matter of )

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PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NEW ) Docket Nos. 50-443 HAMPSHIRE, et al. ) 50-444

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(Seabrook Station Units, 1& 2) )

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l TOWN OF-KENSINGTON AND TOWN OF SOUTH HAMPTON'S RESPONSE TO " APPLICANTS' RESPONSE TO THE

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CONTENTIONS OF THE TOWN OF KENSINGTON RELATIVE TO EMERGENCY PLANNING FOR THE TOWN OF KENSINGTON AND CONTENTIONS OF THE TOWN OF SOUTH HAMPTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE, RELATIVE TO EMERGENCY PLANNING FOR THE TOWN OF SOUTH HAMPTON" r

In their response dated September 21, 1983, the h Applicants asked that the South Hampton and Kensington  ;

contentions be denied on the sole basis that " municipalities .

should not be heard to attack'their own emergency plans in NRC foru's.".m In response, the Towns of South Hampton and Kensington call the Board's attention to the fact that neither plan was initiated, researched, written or approved by the Towns, or

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L any of the Town's officials. Both plans were entirely researched and written by the the private firm of Costello, t

,- 0310140021 831006 ~'

PDR ADOCK 05000443 O

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% D Lomasney and de Napoli, Inc., for the Towns, in fulfillment of a requirement for.the licensing of Seabrook Station.

Neither Town initiated, solicited, or subsidized the preparation of their Plan! At their 1983 Town Meetings, the residents of South Hampton and the residents of'Kensington voted not to accept any radiological emergency plan for Seabrook Station absent Town Meeting approval. Neither Town has accepted or approved the Costello, Lomasney and de Napoli plans. In fact, though South Hampton officials --

unlike those in many surrounding towns -- did speak to representatives of the consulting firm and New Hampshire Civil Defense, those officials' concerns regarding equipment, personnel and notification are not reflected --

even mentioned -- in the South Hampton Plan.

The Selectmen in Kensington and South Hampton are responsible for the administrative control of their respective Towns and it is their primary duty to assure the health and safety of their residents on both a day-to-day basis and in cases of emergency. It is on the basis of these legal obligations that the Towns have formulated the contentions .

relating to Costello, Lomasney and de Napoli's Radiological Emergency Plans. The Selectmen of neither South Hampton nor'

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Kensington believe that these Plans adequately protect the health and safety of the Towns' residents and have se't forth 7, their objections in their contentions. None of the Towns',

the State's or the federal government's interests 2

L will be served by.any' plan that does not realistically deal with the Towns ' equipment, 'p 'rsonnel and notification problems.

The Applicants' suggestion that any plan that is prepared'for South Hampton'or Ke6sington is the product of the Towns' acts -- and therefore the Towns' obligation to

accept -- regardless of the presence or absence of Town

participation in its preparation, is absurd, legally without j basis and in no way supports the intent of governing state and federal. regulations and statutes. Under this reasoning, if a plan which stated all residents were to evacuate in private airplanes or'take' shelter in subways bore the title

" South Hampton Emergency Radiological Plan" or "Kensington Emergency Radiological Plan," it would be the Town's Plan and the Town would have no basis for objecting to it.

Though more complex, the Costello, Lomasney and de Napoli 4

Plans are as unrealistic as these fictional examples in their failure to state accurately and deal realistically with the factual problems inherent in both Kensington's and South Hampton's implementations of an effective emergency response. .

The federal regulations governing off-site emergency planning,for Seabrook Station are not intended merely to license nuclear generating facilities but to protect the health and safety of the public within the E.P.Z. The'

. Applicants' counsel must be aware of this.

What is apparently overlooked in Applicants' response is that, since neither Town was consulted in the drafting of their Plans, there is no forum available to the Towns for 3

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litigating the adequacy of their Plans other than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing hearings. Adjudicatory forums of federal agencies certainly are not created for the purpose of allowing other gbvernmental agencies to have a forum in which to debate the wisdom.and efficiency of their

.own acts. These forums are, however, created for the purpose of allowing other governmental agencies to have a forum in which to debate the wisdom and efficiency of the acts of .

others which affect their constituency in possibly life-threatening situations, in this case those of Costello, Lomasney and de Napoli and their retainers. These plans reflect decisions made outside of the Towns, imposed upon the Towns, and not agreed upon by the Towns. Absent the forum provided by these hearings, the Towns have effectively ,

no enforceable voice in the very serious matter of emergency planning for, and responding to, a radiological emergency at Seabrook Station.

l Applicants appear to be greatly distressed by the issue i

of public officials not responding in an emergency emanating .

from Seabrook Station. The Towns of Kensington and South Hampton share this concern and have therefore included this potential, problem in their contentions. To repeat a critical

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L point, the Towns call again to the Board's attention the fact that no public official can be required to perform a 1 duty which is not his or her legal responsibility:

the pronouncements of a private firm (Costello, Lomasney and de Napoli) are not the law of the nation, of the state or of i

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the municipality, and are clearly not'enforenablo.- at this pre-hearing stage -- by the Towns' officials.

The Towns disagree sharply with Applicants' premise that a radiological emergency is -no different than

" hurricane, fire, flood or other natural disaster." The differences are so great that they do not bear enumeration.

, For the purposes of this response, however, Kensington and South Hampton wish to point out.that the difference in public perception of the two classes of emergency --

radiological and other -- bears strongly on the issue of judging the adequacy of the Towns' radiological emergency plans. The public -- and public officials -- are aware of the dangers of staying in contaminated or potentially contaminated areas in a radiological emergency.

Contamination'is invisible, unlike fire or flood waters, and its effects are long-lasting and largely indeterminant. No matter how dedicated public officials and emergency workers may be, they will be frightened in a radiological emergency -- frightened for their own safety and that of their families. No one in authority in either Town can vouch for the willingness of emergency workers to respond, or to stay in an escalatingly dangerous situation. The

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reluctance'of emergency personnel is real, and there is basis for this reluctance. It is the Board's responsibility to determine whether Radiological Emergency Plans for Seabrook Station can be feasibly carried out, and to do so the Board must look at the existing facts and reality.

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O e Among these facts is that, were all the personnel named in the Plans to resign, or be voted out of their offices, it is very likely that there would not be people who would willingly perform the duties outlined in the Costello, Lomasney and de Napoli Plans. In both South Hampton and Kensington (population 670 and 1,400, respectively), there is a limited pool from which to draw public officials and emergency response personnel; in both Towns, there have been years where no one has evidenced interest in running for important Town positions, and these have been years when the responsibility for emergency staffing in a Seabrook-related emergency has not even been a consideration in those positions.

Applicants' objections to contentions regarding the reachability of, volunteer firemen and public officers demonstrate again their failure to acknowledge the difference between the scope of a local fire or burglary and a radiological emergency, where the mutual aid agreements normally relied upon in both Towns would be inoperable (see SHLP Contentions 2-9 and 9). If the Applicants wish to obtain detailed information about police and fire response history in either Town, they are welecme to do so under interrogatory. The purpose of the Towns' contensions and

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their bases is not to litigate prior to evidentiary hearings but to provide sufficient factual information to other parties to determine the problems which South Hampton and Kensington recognize in the Costello, Lomasney and de Napoli Plans.

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For the reasons stated above, the Contentions of South Hampcon and Kensington should be accepted.

Respectfully submitted,

, y - = t_ n _ -gu Saundra Gavutis, Chairman Anne W. Vertje, Chairman Board of Selectmen Board of Selectmen Kensington, NH South Hampton, NH G

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Certificate of Service DOCHETED We hereby certify that on October 6,1983, we servedVSNRC the attached document by mailing copies thereof by first class mail, postage prepaid, to the following:

N3 OCT 13 P3:49 Helen Hoyt, Chairperson - -

George Dana Bisbee, Esquire Atomic Safety and Licensing Assistant Attorse,cyg,ngg3}gy,l Board Panel Office of the A$9 iM aGEmerp' U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comm. 208 State House AnnffANCH Washington, D.C. 20555 Concord, NH 03301 Dr. Emmeth A. Luebke Roy P. Lessy, Jr., Esquire Atomic Safety and Licensing Office of the Executive Board Panel Legal Director U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comm. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Washington, D.C. 20555 Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Dr. Jerry Harbour Atomic Safety and Licensing Robert A. Backus, Esquire Board Panel 116 Lowell Street U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comm. P.O. Box 516 Washington, D.C. 20555 Manchester, NH 03105 Philip Ahrens, Esquire Jo Ann Shotwell, Esquire Assistant Attorney General Assistant Attorney General Department of the Attorney Environmental Protection General Bureau Augusta,- ME 04333 Department of the Attorney General Brian P. Cassidy, Esquire One Ashburton Place Regional Counsel 19th Flcor Federal Emergency Management Boston, MA 02108 Agency - Region I 442 POCH Jane Doughty Boston, MA 02109 Seacoast Anti-Pollution League William S. Jordan, III, Esquire 5 Market Street Harmon & Weiss Portsmouth, NH 03801 1725 I Street, N.W. -

Suite 506 Brentwood Broad of Selectmen Washington, D.C. 20006 RFD, Dalton Road Brentwood, NH 03833 Senator Robert L. Preston State of New Hampshire Senate Public Service Co. of NH

_ Concord, NH 03301 D. Pierce Camerson, Jr.

1000 Elm Street Mr. Charles Cross, Esquire Manchester, NH 03105 7' Shaines, Madrigan & McEachern 25 Maplewood Avenue P.O. Box 366 Portsmouth, NH 03801 8

6=s .

State Rep. Roberta C..Pevear Calvin Canney,. City Mgr.

Drinkwater Road City Hall, 126 Daniel Street Hampton Falls, NH 03844 Portsmouth, NH 03801 l Senator Gordon J. Humphrey Mr. Patrick J. McKeon U.S. Senate Selectmen's Office Washington, D.C. 20510 -

-- 10 Central Road (Attn: Tom Burack) -Rye, NH 03870 Mr. Angie Machiros Town Manager's Office Chairman of the Board of.

, Town Hall - Friend Street Selectmen Amesbury, MA 01913 Town of Newbury.

Newbury,,MA 01950

- Ms. Diana P. Randall 70-Collins Street Richard E. Sullivan, Mayor Seabrook, NH' 03874 City Hall Newburyport, MA 01950 t Senator-Gordon J. Humphrey 4

One Pillsbury Street Donald E. Chick, Town Manager Concord, NH 03301 Town of Exeter (Attn: Herb Boynton) 10 Front Street Exeter, NH 03833 Thomas G. Dignan, Esquire Ropes & Gray .Mr. Simon Tayer

. 225 Franklin Street Town of.Nortn Hampton

! Boston, MA 02110 North Hampton, NH 03862 i

Atomic' Safety and Licensing i Appeals Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comm.

l Washington, D.C. 20555 t

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l Sandra Gavutis, Chairman Anne W. Verge, Chairman f Board of Selectmen Board of Selectmen Kensington, NH 03827 South.Hampton, NH 03827 i

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