ML20149F704
| ML20149F704 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vogtle  |
| Issue date: | 08/02/1994 |
| From: | Lamberski J GEORGIA POWER CO., TROUTMANSANDERS (FORMERLY TROUTMAN, SANDERS, LOCKERMA |
| To: | |
| References | |
| CON-#394-15519 93-671-01-OLA-3, 93-671-1-OLA-3, OLA-3, NUDOCS 9408110085 | |
| Download: ML20149F704 (11) | |
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/55/f AuguBBCRETitP4 USHRC UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 94 AIL -3 P6 34 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Before the Atomic Safety and Licensina BMFe1 UF SECRE1ARY
))CXElll;G & U.RVICE BRANCH In the Matter of
)
Docket Nos. 50-4 24-OLA-3
)
50-425-OLA-3 GEORGIA POWER COMPANY,
)
et al.
)
Re:
License Amendment
)
(Transfer to Southern (Vogtle Electric Generating
)
Nuclear)
Plant, Units 1 and 2)
)
)
ASLBP No. 93-671-01-OLA-3 GEORGIA POWER COMPANY'S PROPOSED SCHEDULE TO COMPLETE PROCEEDING I.
Introduction In accordance with the Licensing Board's instructions at the prehearing conference on July 29, 1994, Georgia Power Company provides a proposed schedule to complete this proceeding.
The proceeding has become mired in disputes regarding the accuracy of transcripts of tape recordings made some four years ago.
otherwise, discovery is about complete.
It is time to move on to a hearing.
GPC therefore proposes a schedule that would result i
in a late-fall hearing, in keeping with the Board's previously expressed intent and a discovery schedule agreed upon by the parties.
l II.
Backaround This license amendment proceeding commenced with Intervenor's petition in October 1992.
Discovery in this proceeding began in April 1993 and therefore has now been 9408110005 940002 gDR ADOCK 05000424 hg PDR
proceeding for sixteen months.
During this period, Intervenor has filed eleven sets of interrogatories (seven to GPC and four to the staff), ten documents requests (six to GPC and four to the Staff), and five sets of requests for admissions (three to GPC and two to the Staff).
In response to the document requests directed to GPC, GPC has already produced over 60,000 pages of material.
Intervenor has also conducted approximately 40 depositions, and has deposed another five individuals upon written interrogatories.
Another six depositions are currently scheduled or contemplated.
In addition to this extensive discovery, Intervenor has numerous tape recordings.
Transcripts of many of these tapes i
(all of those determined to be relevant to the diesel generator reporting issues) have been previded to Intervenor by the NRC and GPC.
Intervenor also has available to him an OI report with transcripts of some 22 interviews.
He has considerable information on the Staff's position on the license transfer issue in the partial Director's Decision on the Hobby /Mosbaugh 2.206 petition.
Similarly, the Staff's coordinating Group Analysis states the Staff's position on the diesel generator issues in j
great detail.
Intervenor has also had the benefit of extensive i
stipulations drafted by GPC on both the license transfer and diesel generator reporting issues.
In sum, Intervenor has received an enormous amount of information in this proceeding.
i l
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In August, 1993, while there was still considerable time left in the discovery period, GPC proposed a procedure for reaching stipulations concerning statements on tape recordings made by Intervenor Mr. Mosbaugh in 1990.
Letter from J.
Lamberski to C.
Barth and M. Kohn (Aug. 31, 1993).
When no response was received and the Board directed the parties to negotiate procedures to resolve this case, GPC attempted to meet with the parties but was unsuccessful at the time in bringing the l
parties together.
Egg letter from J. Lamberski to E. Reis (Jan.
12, 1994).
GPC did obtain, however, Intervenor's agreement to entertain GPC's proposed changes to the NRC Staff transcripts of i
Intervenor's tapes.
Letter from J.
Lamberski to the Licensing Board (Jan. 24, 1994).
After a prehearing conference on January 27, 1994, the Licensing Board issued an order stating its intention to manage this case so that it would be concluded no later than September 1994.
The Board directed the Licensee to promptly file stipulations concerning key portions of the Mosbaugh tapes, particularly those recorded on April 19, 1990 (tapes 57 and 58),
and Intervenor to file additional stipulations based on those portions of the Six Tapes that were not recorded on April 19, 1990.
In response to these requests, which were required to be filed within one month, the parties were permitted to respond by requesting stipulations on tape portions that they believed were f
relevant to the requests.
Memorandum and Order (Feb.
1, 1994) at 1-2.
i GPC provided to the parties its proposed, marked-up copy of tapes 57 and 58 on February 1, 1994.
Letter from J. Lamberski to C. Barth and M. Kohn (Feb.
1, 1994).8 On February 24, 1994, the l
NRC Staff released the last tapes and transcripts it had been withholding under an assertion of investigative privilege.
On February 28, 1994, GPC provided the parties with the additional transcripts for which GPC sought stipulations.
GPC asked that j
the parties identify any disagreements with specificity and l
proposed further meetings to reach an agreement.
Letter from J.
Lamberski to C. Barth and M. Kohn (Feb. 28, 1994).
Another status conference was i. eld on March 1, 1994.
At that time, Intervenor indicated that any additional transcript excerpts he would propose would be from the NRC prepared transcripts, and he did not plan on proposing stipulations based on the Six Tapes as had been authorized by the Licensing Board.
Letter from E. Blake to the Licensing Board (March 2, 1994).
While Intervenor and the NRC Staff provided their comments and position on tapes 57 and 58, neither identified any additional excerpts for stipulation.
Nor did they respond to GPC also proposed stipulations on license transfer issues on 3
February 3, 1994, and on diesel generator issues on March 1, 1994.
4 i
i GPC's request for stipulations related to the additional i
transcripts that GPC had identified and distributed on February i
f 28.
i l
After months of inaction by Intervenor, GPC-submitted l
Georgia Power Company's Second Request for Admissions and Fourth Request for Production of Documents to Intervenor (June 22, 1994), which included a regrest that Intervenor admit to.the accuracy of the transcripts proferred by GPC in its February 28, I
1994 letter.
On July 18, 1994, Intervenor filed Intervenor's' Response to GPC's Second Request for Admissions.
In that
{
response, Intervenor wholesalely objected to the admisnibility by GPC of portions of transcripts or recordings of any GPC or l
i Southern Nuclear employee.
Id. at 1.
Intervenor also stated that "the process of verifying and correcting recordings is extremely time consuming and burdensome."
Id. at 17.
l i
Despite. bis assertion, and after months of having ignored GPC's requests to stipulate to tape excerpts, Intervenor filed i
I Intervenor's Fifth Request for Interrogatories and Document j
Request to Georgia Power Company (July 7, 1994) asking GPC to I
identify each speaker and. statement in 148 tape recordings.
In addition, Intervenor filed Intervenor's Third Request for l
Admissions to Georgia Power Company (July 7, 1994), wherein Intervenor requests that GPC admit or deny each statement in 22 OI transcripts of additional tape recordings.
GPC objected to a
5 i
_ =.
l-l i
l this blunderbuss request.
Georgia Power Company's Objections to l
l Intervenor's July 7, 1994 Discovery Requests and Motion for a Protective Order (July 18, 1994).
At the prehearing conference on July 29 in response to the I
Board's inquiry, Intervenor indicated that it could now review the transcripts in order to provide a more focused request, but
(
that it would require until September 20, 1994 to do so.
Intervenor indicated it would then expect Licensee to review and stipulate to the identified portions.
Based on the length of time it has taken to negotiate stipulations on tapes 57 and 58, this could take weeks beyond September 20.
In addition, despite its previous objections to GPC's Second Request for Admissions, Intervenor now states that it would review those portions of the l
tapes that GPC previously identified, but this effort also would not commence until September.
In sum, after months of inaction, j
Intervenor now proposes that discovery be extended several months
\\
to reach stipulation on transcripts.
III.
Proposed Schedule I
l At this juncture in the proceeding, GPC believes that extension of the discovery period and delay to accommodate stipulations on the tapes is unwarranted.
Delay in this proceeding is extremely prejudicial to GPC.
Not only is this proceeding very costly, but the delay in license transfer is preventing the realization of the benefits of a single-focus l
6 l
l
organization, and the cloud created by Mr. Mosbaugh's allegations is adversely affecting the morale of GPC's employees.
Egg Affidavit of W. George Hairston, III (Nov.
8, 1993), attached to Georgia Power Company's Response to NRC Staff Motion for a Further Extension of Time to Defer Discovery Documents to the Licensee, dated November 8, 1993.
This proceeding has a very high personal cost, and those individuals who are accused have a right to a speedy resolution of the matter.
Accordingly, GPC proposes that the parties abandon any present attempte to reach stipulations on the transcripts other than tapes 57 and 58.
Stipulations on transcript content should be an aid to the parties and schedule, not a time consuming and delaying distraction.
Intervenor has simply waited too long, and the extreme prejudice of pursuing additional stipulations (without any assurance of agreement) simply outweighs the potential benefit.
Obtaining stipulations was reasonable months ago, when there was time.
Pursuing such stipulations at the very end of discovery, creating months of additional delay, is not.
It is time to move on.
GPC therefore proposes the Licensing Board confirm the prior agreement of the parties and the Board order that discovery in this proceeding shall cease on August 8.
This ruling will have no effect on the ability of the parties to use tapes and transcripts.
Parties may still offer tapes or transcripts into 7
l evidence.
If there are any disputes, such disputes can be worked out at that time, under the normal adjudicatory process.
At that i
time, such disputes are likely to be focused and amenable to meaningful argument and ruling.
The abstract disagreements and quibbling that have made stipulations on tapes 57 and 58 so difficult will be avoided.
This proposal will move the proceeding forward on a schedule
]
which, while not leading to conclusion in September, will at 1
least lead to a hearing this fall.
GPC proposes the following specific schedule:
Licensee Proposed Schedule for Hearing l
August 2 Intervenor Depositions of Messrs.
August 3-8 Franklin, Meier, Crosby, Hobbs, Shipman i
and Beasley Intervenor Responds to Licensee Schedule August 8 Proposal End of Discovery August 8 Staff Responds to Licensee Proposal and
]
August 10 Intervenor Response on Schedule Licensee Replies to Intervenor Response August 10 on Schedule Proposal l
August 10 Licensee Files Summary Disposition Motion on Illegal License Transfer Issue Intervenor and Licensee Reply to Staff August 12 Response on Schedule Proposal Licensee Deposition of Allen Mosbaugh August 23, 24 (continued)
August 29 thru -
Possible Depositions of NRC Staff September 9 Personnel 8
I,*
Intervenor and Staff File Responses to September 6 l
Licensee Motion for Summary Disposition Fasponses in Opposition to Any September 21 Supporting Responses Filed on September 6
All Parties File Prepared Written Direct October 7 Testimony on Diesel Generator Issue (Assumed) ASLB Decision on Summary October 15 Disposition on Illegal License Transfer Issue All Parties File Prepared Written November 1 Testimony on Illegal License Transfer Issues Remaining, if Any, After Summary Disposition Decision All Parties File Proposed Findings on November 8 all Issues Commence Adjudicatory Hearing on All November 15 Outstanding Issues (All Rebuttal Testimony on Any Issue to be Filed 48 Hours Prior to Appearance of Witnesses) spect 11 sub tted l
A_.
amek Joindr
~
John Lamberski TROUTMAN SANDERS i
600 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Suite 5200 Atlanta, GA 30308-2216 (404) 885-3360 Ernest L. Blake, Jr.
David R. Lewis SHAW PITTMANN POTTS
& TROWBRIDGE 2300 N Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
20037 1
l (202) 663-8000 i
Counsel for Georgia Power Company f
Dated:
August 2, 1994 9
DOCKETED UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Ub!Ibb NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD 94 t,UG -3 P 6 35 In the Matter of l
GEORGIA POWER COMPANY, Docket Nos. 50-424-OLA-3 Of flCE or SECRETARY p1 31 50-425-OLA-3 DOCKEllflG - EERylCE BRatiCh Re: License Amendment (Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, (Transfer to Southern Units 1 and 2)
Nuclear)
\\
l ASLBP No. 93-671-01-OLA-3 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE This is to certify that copies of the within and foregoing
" Georgia Power Company's Proposed Schedule to Complete Proceeding" dated August 2, 1994 were served on all those listed on the attached service list by depositing same with an overnight l
express mail delivery service.
This is the 2nd day of August, 1994.
J hn' Lamberdki "
TROUTMAN SANDERS 600 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Suite 5200 Atlanta, GA 30308-2216 (404) 885-3360 l
1 10 l
l l,.
l l
l UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of l
GEORGIA POWER COMPANY, Docket Nos. 50-424-OLA-3 et al.
50-425-OLA-3 Re: License Amendment l
(Vogtle Electric (Transfer to Southern Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2)
Nuclear)
ASLBP No. 93-671-01-OLA-3 l
SERVICE LIST Administrative Judge Stewart D. Ebneter Peter B.
Bloch, Chairman Regional Administrator Atomic Safety and Licensing USNRC, Region II l
Board 101 Marietta Street, NW U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Suite 2900 Commission Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Two White Flint North 11545 Rockville Pike Office of the Secretary Rockville, MD 20852 U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Administrative Judge Washington, D.
C.
20555 James H.
Carpenter ATTN:
Docketing and Atomic Safety and Licensing Services Branch Board 933 Green Point Drive Charles Barth, Esq.
Oyster Point Office of General Counsel Sunset Beach, NC 28468 One White Flint North Stop 15B18 Administrative Judge U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Thomas D. Murphy Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Washington, D.
C.
20555 Board U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory
- Director, Commission Environmental Protection Two White Flint North Division 11545 Rockville Pike Department of Natural Rockville, MD 20852 Resources 205 Butler Street, S.E.
l Michael D. Kohn, Esq.
Suite 1252 Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, P.C.
Atlanta, Georgia 30334 517 Florida Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
20001 office of Commission Appellate Adjudication One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852
,