ML20125A519

Order & Memorandum Re Discovery & Definition of Contentions & Scheduling of Prehearing Conference & Reopening of Hearing

ML20125A519
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello
Issue date:	07/17/1970
From:	Deale V Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
To:	NORTHERN STATES POWER CO.
Shared Package
ML20125A522	List: ML20125A519 ML20125A527
References
NUDOCS 9212080379
Download: ML20125A519 (10)

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA -

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ATOMIC ENEltGY COMMISSION In the Matter of )-

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Northern States Power Company ) Docket No. 50-263

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(Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, )

Unit 1) )

ORDER AND MEMORANDUM PERTAINING TO ,

DISCOVERY AND DEFINITION OF CONTENTIONS AND SCIIEDULING OF PREllEARING CONFERENCE AND REOPENING OF IIEARING This order and memorandum finalize with certain modifications a proposed order which the chairman discussed with the parties and their counsel at a conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, on July 14, 1970, pursuant to the chairman's notice to the parties of such conference by telegram of July 9,1970 I

To the end of providing for a fair and orderly hearing and of ~

avoiding delay, the chairman, under the authority conferred upon him at 10 CF R $2. 718 and with the concurrence of the two technical members of the board who have been consulted with respect hereto, ORDERS:

A. That Messrs. Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett and Minnesota Environmental Control Citizens Association (MFC.;A) serve on all the other parties and the board at or before 9212000379 700717 PDR ADOCK.05000263 A. PDR ,,

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- 2 .: i the prehearing conf erence hereinafter scheduled'a state .-

ment of their respective contentions in support of their.

opposition to the propowd-operating license -- such i

contentions to be those based in whole or in part upon considerations arising.out-of the regulatory staff's inspection reports (as made available to the parties),

including discovery proceedings relating thereto' and ~'

provided for herein.

D. That the contentions referenced in paragraph A shall . ,

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be individually enumerated in specific terms.

C. That cross-examination by Messrs. Dzugan, Pepin and-Burnett and by MECCA _at the reopened hearing will be

-limited to such cross-examination based on the inspec-tion reports which might reasonably be expected to-elicit testimony supportive of the aforesaid contentions.

D. _ That discovery shall be' made available to Messrs. Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett and to MECCA between the date of this order and the hereinafter scheduled prehearing conference on the following basis:

1 The applicant shall make available to Messrs.

Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett 'for inspection at the.-

J applicant's offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota,- on-

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weekdays during normal business hours between the date of this order and the prehearing conference the Monticello Operations Manual. *

2. Upon reasonable notice, including identification of the material in the regulatory staff's inspection reports of interest to them by page and paragraph, Messrs. Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett, and MECCA may take depositions of appropriate personnel of the applicant and its contractors and vendors and also may serve written interrogatories upon such personnel of the applicant's contractors and vendors not available for depositions at the applicant's offices in Minneapolis, Mini esota. The depositions may be taken at the applicant's Minneapolis offices on any weekday during normal business hours between the date of this order and the scheduled prehearing con-ference. The written interrogatories shall be served upon appropriate personnel of the applicant's contractors or vendors and responses thereto shall be made by affidavit and returned within three days from ieceipt of the

• For pertinent board commentary, see neading IV herein.

e o interrogatories, all to be accomplished between the date of this order and the prehearing conference.

Interrogatories and responses shall be served via special delivery, airmail. Copics shall be served upon the parties not directly involved and upon the board members in the same manner or in such

s. other manner as would provide equivalent or better

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k. delivery service.

3 Upon reasonable notice, including identification of s i the material in the regulatory staff's inspection reports of interest to them by page and paragraph, Messrs. Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett, and MECCA may take depositions of appropriate personnel of the regulatory staff and may serve written inter-ror.,atories upon such personnel. The depositions may be taken on any weekday during normal business hours between the date of this order and August 1, 1970 at the regulatory staff's offices in Bethesda, Maryland, i and at the AEC's Chicago Operations Office. The written i interrogatories may be served upon appropriate 1

personnel of the regulatory staff and responses l

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thereto shall be made by affidavit and returned within three days from receipt of the interrogatories, all to be accomplished between the date of this order and the prehearing conference. Interrogatories and responses shall be served via special delivery, airmail. Copies shall be served upon the parties not directly involved and upon the board members in the same manner or in such other manner as would provide equivalent or better delivery service.

4. The individuals subject to discovery examination hereunder shall be selected by the applicant and by the regulatory staff, as the situation calls for, from among their own personnel or personnel of their contractors or vendors who are knowledgeable about those parts of the inspection reports identified as being of interest to Alessrs. Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett and to AlECCA for cross-examination [.

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5. Transcripts of all the depositions, whether of the applicant's witnesses or of the regulatory staff's, shall be available in the same manner as are tran-scripts of the hearing. Counsel for the regulatory l

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staff shall use his good offices to arrange for court reporter service for the taking of depositions here-under by the intervenors and the intervenors shall make every effort to accommodate their deposition requirements to the practicalities of the situation with respect to the availability of court reporter ser-vic e.

6. Within the period specified for discovery, the places, the days and the hours for the taking of depositions as set forth herein may be expanded by mutual agree-ment between the parties concerned.

7. Deponents are expected to waive the fees due to be paid by the parties taking their depositions.

8. The provisions at 10 CFR 52. 740, which generally relate to a different situation than the one prompting this order, shall be regarded as relevant only to the extent that the provisions are clearly appropriate to the discovery described herein. Should the parties not be able to agree among themselves as to the applicability or inapplicability of a provision at 10 CFR S2.740, or about any matter relating to the implementation of this order, they shall com-municate at once with the chairman.

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4 O E. That at the hearing, once it is reopened, the applicant and the regulatory staff shall make available as witnesses for cross-examination purposes such of their personnel, including personnel of their contractors and vendors, who provided information in the discovery proceeding which -

might be reasonably regarded as supportive of any of the specific contentions of the intervenors referred to at paragraph A in opposition to the proposed license. Messrs.

Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett, and MECCA shall identify such personnel in their respective statements called for at paragraph A, and they shall see to it that the applicant and regulatory staff, who have the burden to produce the witnesses at the hearing, shall have information as to the identity of those personnel by July 31, 1970. If Messrs.

Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett or MECCA desire to have as a witness at the hearine a person who has already given testimony at an earlier hearing session and whose deposition had not been taken because of his unavailability in the blinneapolis/St. Paul area or elsewhere where depositions were in fact taken, they shall also tdentify the name of any such person to the applicant and the rogulatory staf f on ,luly 31 or before and shall include

4 0 such name in their respective paragraph A statements with a reasonable explanation therefor.

F. That all parties shall proceed at once and in good faith to implement the foregoing procedure and to develop the details needed to carry out the intent herein of placing discovery in its proper position in the proceeding and thereby enabling the hearing to be free of immaterial matters and to focus on meaningful contentions.

G. That nothing in this order shall be construed to foreclose Messrs. Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett or MECCA from undertaking depositions and written interrogatories at their own expense pursuant to existing regulations.

II In behalf of the board, the chairman ORDEllS:

A. That a prehearing conference shall be held in the United .

States Federal Courthouse, 316 North Robert Street, St. Paul, Minnesota, at Courtroom 4 (7th floor) on Tuesday, August 4, 1970, at 10:00 a. m.

B. That the hearing shall reopen at the same place beginning Wednesday, August 5, 1970, at 9:00 a. m.

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9-C. That this order reopening the hearing and providing for a prehearing conference shall be published promptly in the Federal itegister and shall be the subject of a public announcement by the Commission's Division of Public Information.

111 The board is of the opinion after having reviewed in some detail the inspection reports, both with and without the deletions, that there has now been ample time and there is ample basis for Messrs. Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett and MECCA to proceed forthwith with detailed development of their contentions arising from the inspection reports as presently available to them and that the possible availability of further data resulting from response of the atomic safety and licensing appeal -

board to this board's certified questions of July 6, 1970, does not of itself necessitate a holding up of the proceeding at this time.

Itather, it is desirable now to move ahead with the proceeding.

Further, it should be borne in mind that the pending objections to the regulatory staff's compliance with the subpoena raise not only issues of general principle, which were discussed in the board's certification, but also an issue of the reasonableness, need or necessity of the discovery sought and denied in the particular context of the proceeding. The latter

( V issue is one which the board has deferred decision on for a combination of considerations, including the fact that the board has not had to date Following the a satisfactory basis for making a definitive judgment.'

completion of the hearing scheduled to begin on August 5, the board anti-cipates giving further attention to the issue.

IV r-The Monticello Operations Manual is made available te Messrs.

l Dzugan, Pepin and Burnett for their inspection in order to provide whatever orientation assistance the manual may serve them in connection l

with that part of their previously identified case as now remains-to be i

presented, namely, cross-examination arising out of the inspection reporw.

In light of this limited purpose of the manual's availability, the board sees no requirement for the applicant to place into evidence the Monticello Operations Manual and thereby to occasion cross-examination at the _ hearing concerning its contents. The applicant's case as presented defines the I

ultimate boundaries of cross-examination and it does not,'and under the L

Commission's regulations it need notl, include the operations manual.

l-ATOMIC SA[ETY AND islCF sn NG BOAftD By / F Valentine H. Deale, Chairman l

July 17,1970 Washincton, D. C.

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