ML20128P927

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Responds to FOIA Request for Any & All Records Re Insp Rept 50-483/84-45.Forwards App a Documents.Info Available in Pdr.App B Document Partialy Withheld (Ref FOIA Exemption 5)
ML20128P927
Person / Time
Site: Callaway Ameren icon.png
Issue date: 05/15/1985
From: Felton J
NRC OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION (ADM)
To: Garde B
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
Shared Package
ML20128P933 List:
References
FOIA-85-214 NUDOCS 8507130340
Download: ML20128P927 (4)
v • d • e


See also: IR 05000483/1984045

Text

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o UNITED STATES

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  • 8 o NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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-l WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555

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E 1 ? ISS5

Ms. Billie Pirner Garde

Citizens Clinic Director

Government Accountability Proiect

1555 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 202 IN RESPONSE REFER

Washington, DC 20036 TO F01A-85-714

Dear Ms. Garde:

This is in response to your letter of March 25, 1985, in which you requested,

pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), records regarding NRC Inspection

Report No. 50-483/84-45 on the Callaway nuclear power plant.

We are placing copies of the ten documents listed in Appendix A in the NRC

Public Document Room (PDR), 1717 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20555, for your

inspection and copying. You may obtain access to these records by presenting

a copy of this letter to the PDR staff or by requesting PDR folder F01A-85-214

under your name.

In addition, as noted in Appendix A, four other documents pertinent to your

request have previously been filed in the PDR. Their accession numbers are

listed in Appendix A.

As listed in Appendix B, one other document, a draft of Inspection Report

50-483/84-45, has also been placed in the PDR in folder F01A-85-214. Some of

the marginal notes on this document contain information which constitutes

advice, opinions, and recomendations of the staff. These are being withheld

from public disclosure pursuant to Exemption (5) of the FOIA (5 U.S.C. 552(b)

(5)) and 10 CFR 9.5(a)(5) of the Commission's regulations.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 9.9 of the Comnission's regulations, it has been determined

that the information withheld is exempt from production or disclosure and that

its production or disclosure is contrary to the public interest. The persons

responsible for this denial are the undersigned and Mr. James G. Keppler,

Regional Administrator, Region III.

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This denial may be appealed to the Commission's Executive Director for

Operations within 30 days from the receipt of this letter. As provided in 10

CFR 9.11, any such appeal ~must be in writing, addressed to the Executive

Director for Operations, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC

20555, and should clearly state on the envelope and in the letter that it is an

" Appeal from an Initial FOIA Decision."

Sinc .ly,

"

as[

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. M. Felton, Director

Division of Rules and Records

Office of Administration

Enclosures: As stated

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_-_____ -___________ ________ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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APPENDIX A FOIA 85-214

IN THE PDR:

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1. 3/4/85 Letter to Garde from Rehm Accession 8503120219

2. 2/5/85 Inspection Report 84-45 Accession 8502280155  !

3. 3/15/85 Letter from Keppler to Garde Accession 8503200460

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4. 1/11/85 Letter to Garde from Keppler Accession 8501240086

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I'1 PDR FOLDER FOIA-85-214: ,

1.10/2/84 Allegation Data Form on Callaway (1 page)

'2. 12/3/84 Allegation Tracking Systen on Callavay (1 page)

3.1/3/S5 Allegation Tracking Systen on Callaway (1 page)

4.1/30/65 Letter to Keppler from Garde on Petition 2.206 (7 paces)

5. 2/4/06 Allegation Tracking System on Callway (1 page)

6. 2/25/E5 Memorandum for Rehm from Keppler on Transnittal of A11ecation

followup Infornation for GAP (3 pages)

7. 3/1/SC Her.orandur for Pavilit fron lleil on GAP A11enations at Callaway (1 nare)

E..i 10/s. Alleget> Trad ine hster on Calhay (1 papc)

9. Unde ted Chronology of Rlll Actions related to Negotiations with GAP for

Inforoution on Allegations at Callaway (3 pages)

10. Undated Newspaper article from St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Safety A11ecations

(1 page)

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APPENDIX B FOIA 85-214

1. 12/20/84 Annotated copy of the draft Inspection Report 50-483/84-45 (DRP).

(44 pages) ,

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GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABluTY PROJECT

1555 Connecncut Awnue, N.W., Suite 202

Washington, D.C. 20006 (202)2024550

January 30, 1985 F"H" #

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Docket No. STN 50-483 f

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James G. Keppler b b

Regional Administrator

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission E

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Region III

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799 Roosevelt Road

Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137

RE: NRC Region III Investigation of Concerned Citizens

About Callaway 2.206 Petition

Dear Mr. Keppler:

Recently we received your letter of January 11, 1985,

stating that Region III planned to issue an inspection report

concerning the allegations provided in the September 28, 1984

2.206 petition. 1/ Your letter indicated that NRC Region III

would not pursue the additional available information regard-

ing the serious safety allegations in the petition. GAP,

Concerned citizens About Callaway, former and present workers

at the Callaway Plant and the general public who are concerned

for their own health and safety find this decision not to pur-

sue safety allegation information disappointing, to say the

least. Clearly, GAP's most rece.it meeting with the NRC repre-

sentatives concerning this additional information must have

been part of a bureaucratic game with rules designed by the NRC.

1/ This petition was submitted by the Concerned Citizens About

callaway and not, as you state in your letter, the Concerned

Citizens Against Callaway. Concerned Citizens About Callaway is

a group of individuals who reside in the vicinity of the Calla-

way Nuclear Power Plant and sock to ensure the health and safe-

ty of their community. They have sought GAP's assistance con-

cerning the safe construction and operation of the Callaway

Plant. In theory, the goals of the Nuclear Regulatory Commis-

sion and Concerned Citizens About Callaway are congruous with

each other. However, the most recent decision, issued from

your office, raises serious doubt as to the agency's commitment

to the health and safety of the public.

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James G. Keppler -

January 30, 1985

Page Two

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NRC Region III made several requests of GAP for addi-

tional information ever since the 2.206 petition was filed on

September 28, 1984. 2/ Obtaining more information, according

to Region III, was critical to any further investigation. NRC

representatives admitted that the agency was unable to proceed

without additional information. 3/ This need was also expres-

sed in correspondences to GAP from both Frank Miraglia, Deputy

Director of the Division of Licensing, cnd Harold R. Denton,

Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. 4/

Finally, on November 30, 1984, GAP and the NRC met to discuss

this matter. At this meeting, the NRC was informed that addi-

tional pertinent information did exist and was available.

2/ a) As documented in Enclosure 3 of an October 16, 1984 memor-

andum from Region III Administrator, James Keppler to liarold

Denton, Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation,

the NRC Staff has had personal discussion or telephone conver-

sation with representatives of GAP on October 4,5 and 8, 11, 12,

and 15, 1984, for purpose of obtaining additional information -

which GAP relied upon to prepare the allegations.

b) November 7, 1984 letter form Harold Denton, Director of

the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and a November 21, 1984

letter from Frank Miraglia, Deputy Director of the Division of

Licensing, to Billie Garde, GAP, requests additional information

regarding the allegations.

3/ At the Meeting of the Commission on October 4, 1984, C.

Norelius, Director of Projects, Region III stated that the NRC

must meet with GAP so that the NRC "might more specifically

understand what the allegations are, because many of them are

so general that they're difficult to deal with in the form pre-

sented." (pg. 50, meeting transcript)

4/ The November 7, 1984 letter from H. Denton to GAP states:

7.."in the absence of more specific information supporting the

petition, it is difficult to assess the need for further action."

Furthermore, he states, "that the (NRC) staff is prepared to

meet with allegers to ensure that all avenues of information are

explored. By permitting the NRC to discuss the concerns direct-

ly with the allegers, GAP will be assured that a thorough re-

view of the allegations has been performed."

Also Frank Miraglia in his November 21, 1984 letter'to GAP

states.that "the staff will find it difficult to assess the need

for further action without additional information."

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James G. Keppler

January 30, 1985

Page Three

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Since that meeting, however, the NRC has changed its posi-

tion regarding its commitment to safety concerns. The recent

decision expressed in your letter indicates that the NRC Region

III is no longer interested in the information which six weeks

ago was vital to any inspection. It appears that the November

30, 1984 meeting was useless. After six weeks of non-decision

we are :ar short of the status quo. Moreover it demonstrates

the agency's eagerness to follow empty procedure at the expense

of those who attempt to work with the agency.

What astonishes GAP about the Region's decision was the

obvious ineffective and inefficient investigative process that

the agency has chosen to take. The Region has expended consid-

erable inspection resources, after admitting that the lack of sub-

stantial additional information would affect the depth and out-

come of the investigation. Now the Region has decided to final-

ize its efforts with the issuance of an inspection report with-

out having utilized all available information. This inspection

report without a doubt will be the culmination of the bureau-

cratic gamesmenship.

However astonishing, such Region III techniques are not

new to GAP. The NRC, in its approach to whistleblowers, uses

inadequate inspection efforts. For examples

The NRC mischaracterized allegations. Inspection Report

50-483/64-30 contains summaries of 25 allegations provided dur-

ing the summer of 1984 to the NRC in an interview with the al-

legers. Many of the allegations, as presented by the NRC, are

misinterpretations of the whistleblowers' allegations. The sum-

maries are incomplete sentences pulled from various parts of the

interview transcript. The NRC left plenty of room for interpre-

tation of each allegation. These summaries are as clear as they

are concise.

The NRC made no re-contact with the allegers to clear up

mischaracterized allegations. Instead, the NRC proceeded to

investigate the allegations as they saw fit, even if it was sub-

stantially unrelated to the meaning of the whistleblowers' al-

legations.

As a result of the haste and poor investigative procedures,

the allegations within Inspection Report 50-483/84-30 were con-

trary to the information brought to the NRC by the allegers;

The NRC inspection report 50-483/84-30 reflected a paperwork

review' relying on the utilitly's self-serving explanations.

The paperwork review is based on the assumption that the paper-

work is thorough and accurate. Furthermore, the NRC has not dis-

closed the supporting data and calculations for evaluation of

the whistleblowers' allegations;

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James G. Keppler

January 30, 1985 *

Page Four

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The NRC has narrowly defined issues raised by the Whistle-

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blowers and failed to inspect beyond hardware examples the wit-

nesses were able to identify specifically;

The NRC has swept away the safety significance of the alle-

gations from any realistic role in the investigation or the full

power licensing of the Callaway plant;

The results of the investigation were published in an in-

spection report almost six months after the interviews and one

week before the Callaway plant went critical.

The NRC has attempted to discredit whistleblowers, citizens

groups, or simply interested individuals by questioning their

motives, integrity, and technical competence to raise questions

about public health and safety.

The NRC has failed to utilize all available information per-

taining to the 2.206 safety allegations.

James Keppler's October 16, 1984 letter to Harold Denton

recommending Callaway for full power licensing, categorized the

forty-eight allegations submitted by GAP and contained conclusions

drawn from less than the . information available to Region

III.

In sum, the statements above represent the NRC Region III's

failure to investigate in good faith and to protect the public

and those who dare to come forward with safety allegations. None-

theless, this is buciness as usual for Region III.

. Again the NRC Region III has decided to continue with its

paper chase when, admittedly, it is not worthwhile. The inspec-

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, tion report issued on the 2.206 petition can only be a thoroughly

blurred interpretation of the September 28, 1984 allegations.

'qGAC's view is that the inspection report need not be issued at all

sinc ~e the inspection has been conducted only as a part of the

agency's insincercity. Indeed, it is a colossal waste of tax-

payer's money. More important, it is evidence of the agency's

confusion as to its own responsibilities and duties. The alle-

gations potentially effect the public health and safety, not the

NRC's credibility. Your agency, authorized by Congress, is re-

sponsible for the health and safety of the public and also has a

duty to competently investigate in good faith the safety allega-

tions brought to your agency by nuclear workers.

It is clear from a review of the record of this case, that

your primary, if not your only, objective was to the the Calla-

way Nuclear Power Plant licensed. You stated as much to a GAP

representative in mid-October, "the NRC is.not going to wait

around for GAP to give us information, we want to get this plant

(Callaway) licensed!" Mr. Foppler, ultimate 1; your reputation

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JCCOs G. KOpplor

January 30, 1985

Page Five

may have grown in the eyes of your superiors due to your new

tough line approach to allegations, but at the same time it

has equally diminished in the eyes of those who are concerned

about the safety and health of the public and thought you were

also.

Sincerely,

OcL 2 bd

Billie Garde

Directo: of Citizens Clinic

M

Michele Varricchio

Staff Associate

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cc Callaway Service List

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CALLAWAY SERV!CE LIST

D. F. Schnell Mayor Howard Steffen

Vice President - Nuclear Chamois, Missouri 65024

Union Electric Company

Post Office Box 149 Professor William H. Miller

St. Louis, Missouri 63166 Missouri Kansas Section, American

Nuclear Society

Nicholas A. Petrick Department of Nuclear Engineering

Executive Director - SNUPPS 1026 Engineering Building

5 Choke Cherry Road University of Missouri

Rockville, Maryland 20850 Columbia, Missouri 65211

Gerald Charnoff, Esquire Robert G. Wright

Thomas A. Baxter, Esquire Associate Judge, Eastern District

Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge County Court, Callaway County,

1800 M Street, N.W. Missouri

Washington, D.C. 20036 Route #1

Fulton, Missouri 65251

J. E. Birk

Assistant to the General Counsel Lewis C. Green. Esquire

Union Electric Company Green. Hennings & Henry

Post Office Box 149 Attorney for Joint Intervenors

St. Louis, Missouri 63166 314 North Broadway, Suite 1830

St. Louis, Missouri 63102

John Neisler

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Earl Brown

Resident Inspectors Office School District Superintendent

RR#1 Post Office Box 9

Steedman, Missouri 65077 Kingdom City, Missouri 65262

Donald W. Capone, Manager Harold Lottman

Nuclear Engineering Presiding Judge, Dasconade County

Union Electric Company Route 1

Post Office Box 149 Owensville, Missouri 65066

St. Louis, Missouri 63166

Eric A. Eisen, Esquire

A. Scott Cauger, Esquire Birch Horton, Bittner and Moore

Assistant General Counsel for the Suite 1100

Missouri Public Service Commission 1140 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.

Post Office Box 360 Washington, D.C. 10036

Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

John G. Reed

Ms. Marjorie Reilly Route #1

Energy Chairman of the League of Women Kingdom City, Missouri 65262

Voters of University City, Missouri

7065 Pershing Avenue Dan I. Bolef, President

University City, Missouri 63130 Kay Drey, Representative

Board of Directors Coalition for

Donald Bollinger, Member the Environment

Missourians for Safe Energy St. Louis Region

6267 Delmar Boulevard 6267 Delmar Boulevard

University City, Missouri 63130 University City, Missouri 63130

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CALLAWAY SERVICE LIST

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James G. Keppler

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Region III

799 Roosevelt Road

Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137

Ronald A. Kucera, Deputy Director

Department of Natural Resources

Post Office Box 176

Jefferson City, Missouri 65102

Glenn L. Koester

Vice President - Nuclear

Kansas Gas and Electric Company

201 North Market Street

Post Office Box 208

Wichita, Kansas 67201

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