ML20149L238

Order.* Declines to Modify Staff Denial of Emergency Relief Issued in Response to Petition Filed by Petitioners That Licensee Be Ordered to Cease Certain Ongoing Decommissioning Activities.W/Certificate of Svc.Served on 960215

ML20149L238
Person / Time
Site:	Yankee Rowe
Issue date:	02/15/1996
From:	Hoyle J NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY)
To:	Dicus G NRC COMMISSION (OCM), YANKEE ATOMIC ELECTRIC CO.
References
CON-#196-17473 2.206, NUDOCS 9602230418
Download: ML20149L238 (5)

Text

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a 17<f75 00CFE JD USNRC UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

• % FEB 15 P3 :49

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COMMISSIONERS:

OFFIN Shirley Ann Jackson, Chairman D O C S e .'..^k.n" Mr I?' ^' S Kenneth C. Rogers gjg gg:a

. Greta J. Dicus i N IFEB 151996

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I In The Matter of )

YANKEE ATOMIC ELECTRIC COMPANY ) Docket No.50-029 O '

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) Decommissioning Plan

) 10 C.F.R. S2.206 4

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' Yankee Nuclear Power Station

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i ORDER On January 17, 1996, petitioners Citizens Awareness Network and the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution submitted an

$ " Emergency Motion for Compliance with Circuit Court Opinion" requesting that the licensee Yankee Atomic Electric Company be I ordered to cease certain ongoing decommissioning activities. On i January 23, 1996 the Commission issued an order referring the s

Emergency Motion to the NRC staff for resolution as an enforcement petition under 10 C.F.R. S2.206. The Commission directed the staff to respond to petitioners' claim of emergency i

by February 2, 1996, and to the petition as a whole by a

February 22, 1996.

Following staff's denial of " emergency relief" in a letter to petitioners dated February 2, the petitioners, on February 9 filed a motion with the Commission asking it to reverse the NRC 1

staff's denial of emergency relief. The Commission declines to modify the staff's decision as there has been no showing that the 1

9602230418 960215 l PDR ADOCK 05000029 l O PDR 79

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licensee.will be taking any action'between now and the NRC staff's forthcoming Director's decision under 10 C.F.R. S2.206 i

i Ldecision (to be issued no later than February 22) which would

. warrant emergency. relief. The Commission does'not normally grant emergency relief unless there is an imminent threat to the public

health and safety or a willful violation of regulatory j requirements. We are unable to make such a finding here.

! The Commission expects the.NRC staff in its forthcoming 1

! Director's decision to address the arguments advanced by the 1

, petitioners in their February 9 motion which pertain to issues i

raised in their original motion. With respect to the new issues i raised on page 13 of the February 9 motion, the NRC staff is to address those issues in a supplementary 10 C.F.R. S2.206 I

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! decision. To ensure that the agency can address those issues in i

a timely fashion, the Commission directs the licensee to provid'.

4 the NRC staff and the petitioners with at least two weeks advance

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< notice before it engages in any of the seven new activities i described on page 13.

l' The Commission reiterates that, pursuant to 10 C.F.R.

S2.206 -(c) (1) , it retains plenary authority to review the staff's t

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decisions and will take appropriate action if it determines that I

its requirements are being violated.

I It is so ORDERED.

For the Commission 2, S A o

fl_e9) a -

\ 4t g4 4-JOHN C' HOYLE Sec etary of the Commission Dated at Rockville, Maryland this /Itiday of February, 1996 4

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2 Commissioner Dicus abstained on this action.

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1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 4

NUCLEAR REGULATORY. COMMISSION In the Matter of l YANKEE ATOMIC ELECTRIC COMPANY Docket No.(s) 50-029-(2.206)

(Yankee Nuclear Power Station) 2 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing COMM ORDER RE EMERGENCY MOTION

' have been served upon the following persons by U.S. mail, first class, except as otherwise noted and in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR Sec. 2.712.

Office of the General Counsel Diane Curran, Esq.

. Mail Stop 0-15 B 18 Harmon, Curran, Gallagher & Spielberg U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2001 S Street, Suite 430 Washington, DC 20555 Washington, DC 20009 Thomas G. Dignan, Esq.

Ropes & Gray Jonathan M. Block, Esq.

One International Plaza Main Street, P.O. Box 566 Putney, VT 05346 Boston, MA 02110 Leslie Greer, Esq.

i Assistant Attorney General John Stobierski, Chair

, Franklin County Commission Office of the Attorney General

, Courthouse, 425 Main Street Trial Division i Greenfield, MA 01301 200 Portland Street j Boston, MA 02114 i Mohan C. Thadani William T. Russell, Director 4

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Mail Stop 0-14 B 21 Mail Stop 0-12 G 18 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission i

Washington, DC 20555 Washington, DC 20555 i

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Docket No.(s)50-029-(2.206)

COMM ORDER RE EMERGENCY MOTION Dated at Rockville, Md. this 15 day of February 1996 0 __ -

W .  !%b Office (' the Setretary of the Commission e,

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