ML20126L728

Expresses Concern Re Delays in NRC Review of OL Applications for Facilities.Timely Review & Licensing Urged

ML20126L728
Person / Time
Site:	Wolf Creek, Callaway
Issue date:	05/16/1981
From:	Danforth J, Dole R, Eagleton T, Kassebaum N SENATE, GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
To:	Ahearne J NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
References
NUDOCS 8106080318
Download: ML20126L728 (4)

Text

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. May 16, ]980 ,

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Mr. John F. Ahearne . . . , , /(

Chairman ".y/ -

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Dear Mr. Chairman:

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xstr3&T -h3 h'e are writing you to express concerr. abp,u.; the.-

delays in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's. review '

of the operating license applications of two nuc3 car power p3 ants being constructed in Missouri and Kans,as:

the Callaway Plant, Unit 1, owned by Union Electric Company, and the' h'olf Creek Generating Station, . Unit No. 1, owned by Kansas Gas and Electric Company, Kansas City Power and Light Company, and Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, Incorporated. These plants represent ,

important assets to the more than 4.2.mi31 ion consumers which these utilities serve. -

In spite of the fact that the operating license applications for Callaway and Wolf Creek were filed seven and three months ago, respectively, we have been advised that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission l has not even begun its acceptance review of the,(NJ.Q) app'li-cations. NRC's failure to carry out its revieh in a i

timely manner is unacceptable to us. I .t increases the costs of electricity supplied to our constituents; jeopardizes the continuity and re3iability of the electric service provided to the customers of Union Electric; and disrupts the utilities' construction scheduling. ,

Union Electric's application for an operating license at the Callaway site was submitted to the NRC ia October 1979. Af ter submission of the application ,

the NRC ' informed Union E2ectric that it wou3d not be able to perform an acceptance review of the application until a later but unspecified date. This position was reaffirmed in recent meetings between utility and NRC representatives in April 1980. ~

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, Hay 16, 1980 l In the meantime, work on the Callaway plant continues.

Union Electric informs us that on' March 31, 1980, the Ca]1away plant was about 64 percent complete and that

$743 million had been spent. Uhion Electric predicts that it will be in a position to load fuel by April 1982, only 23 months from now. This is less than the time normally required for operating-license reviews prior to the Three Nile Island accident. Union Electric further estimates that for each month in which operation of the Callaway. plant is delayed, it will incur additional con-struction costs of about $3.5 million. To that must be added replacement energy costs estimated at about $7 million per month and increased financing costs of $11 million per month. These unnecessary costs, of course, muft,be paqsed on to Union Electric's customers. Moreover, w.ithout the availability of the Callaway plant in 1983, Union Electric's proj ected power reserve margin will fall below 15 ppccent, increasing the likelihood of energy shortages (brownouts or blackouts) ip:'its service area.

The Wolf Cr'eek plant is in a similar position. The application for an operating license was filed in February 1980. Kansas Gas and Electric, and Kansas City Power and Light have received letters from the NRC advising that the -

acceptance review of their application will be delayed indefinitely. As of March 31, 1980, the Wolf Creek Plant was about 58 percent complete and $623 million had been spent. . Fuel loading is expected to begin in October 1982.

KG6E, and KCPL estimate that for each month the Wolf Creek operation is delayed, they will incur additional construc-tion costs of about $5.5 million. Replacement energy costs and increased financing costs will each add another.

$10 million per month to the total cost of the proj ect.

Moreover, the availability of Wolf Creek is an essential element of a program begun in 1972, to substitute coal and nuclear-fuel.ed power for the KG5E's present gas and oil fired capacity. Operation of Wolf Creek would result i n an annual savings to KGGE equivalent to approximately -

two million barrels of oil.

Lice.nsing delays will result in very large additional costs. The NRC increases the potential for damage by postponing indefinite,ly its review of the license applica-tions. Without some certainty as to when and how the NRC's review of these license applications will take place, the utilities cannot properly schedule constructi.on and pre-operational activities.

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-Mr . John P. Ahearne Page Three May.26, 3980 Both the.Callaway and Wo]f Creek plants are part of the sStandardized Nucinar Unit Power Plant System (SNUPPS)-

program. The.SNUPPS program itse3 f was established to achieve the.important; safety'and operational benefits associated with standardization. "Three Mile Island:

A Report to the Commissioners and the Public" at pp. 144-45 (the. Rogovin Report) has endorsed nuc1 car power p3 ant standardization. In view of this recognition of the value of standardizing. nuclear power' plants, the-NRC should en-

' courage such standardization through an. active and timely >

licensing ~ review of-SNUPPS plants such as the Ca3Jaway and Wolf Creek. plants. l" 'i The NRC has a responsibility to facilitate the' safe development of nuclear p,ower 'as a part of the solycion

- to.our' energy problems. The December 1979 report'to.the National Acadepy of Sciences by the -Committee on Nuclear i

and Alternative Energy System (CONAES) concluded that

• coal and nuclear power are the only'large-scale alterna- '

tives to oil and gas bthis century. It noted1that "a balanced combination of coal and nuclear generated electricity is preferable--on environmental and economic '

grounds--to the predominance of either." By delaying indefinitely the licensing of plants such as Callaway and Wolf Creek, the NRC wil1 hamper the timely development of the nuclear option. ,

.We recognize that the adver.se-impact of the Three Nile Island accident has been profound. However, your Advisory Committee on, Reactor Safeguards and President

- Carter have recognized that the pause in licensing, following the accident at Three Mile I s l a n'd , should not continue for an extended period of time. It is thus surprising to us that more than six months af ter release of the h"emeny Commission Report, and five months since

- transmittal of the Rogovin Group. Report, the NRC is still

. using the accident at Three Mile Island as an excuse for additional licensing delays.

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i - l Nr. John F. Ahearne Page Four May 26, 1980 For the foregoing reasons, we urge you to inquire into the delays surrounding the licensing of these plants, and to direct the NRC Staff to initiate and develop a schedule for the timely review ' and licensing -

of the Callaway and Wolf Creek plants.

S.in c e r e l y ,

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Wh '.E'Al.y - c. J ,l Thomas F. Ea eton sohn C. Danforth

%A>~%A a Nancy Landon Kassebaum Robert Dole s

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