ML20151Y039

Citizens Regulatory Commission Brief Accompanying Notice of Appeal.* Submits Brief Accompanying Notice of Appeal Served Upon USNRC Re 980902 Decision to Deny Petition to Intervene & Request for Hearing Re Mnps 3.With Certificate of Svc

ML20151Y039
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	09/11/1998
From:	Burton N AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:	NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
Shared Package
ML20151Y028	List: ML20151Y024 ML20151Y039
References
98-743-03-LA, 98-743-3-LA, LA, NUDOCS 9809180072
Download: ML20151Y039 (6)

Text

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 00CKETED NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 03*lC In the Matter of  : Docket No. 50-423-LA3$ SEE I4 E9 19 NORTHEAST NUCLEAR ENERGY  : ASLBP No. 98-743-OgLA COMPANY  : E.

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(Millstone Nuclear Power  :

Station, Unit No. 3)  : September 11, 1998 CITIZENS REGULATORY COMMISSION BRIEF ACCOMPANYING NOTICE OF APPEAL The Citizens Regulatory Commission (" CRC") herewith submits its brief accompanying its Notice of Appeal served upon the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission concerning the decision of the Atomic Safety and Licensing board Panel rendered on September 2, 1998. The brief is submitted in accordance with the provisions of 10 C.F.R. $2.714a.

Factual Background The Citizens Regulatory Commission (" CRC"), an organization of residents of southeastern Connecticut concerned about the safety of the Millstone Nuclear Power Station, petitioned to intervene and to request a hearing with respect to the license amendment application of Northeast Nuclear Energy Company (NNEC0") dated April 1, 1998 described as follows:

The proposed revision to the Millstone Unit 3 licensing basis adds a new sump pump subsystem to address groundwater inleakage through the containment basemat.

CRC carlier petitioned to intervene and to request a hearing with respect to another Millstone Unit 3 license amendment

! (Docket No. 50-423-LA; ASLBP No. 98-740-02-LA).

i Both license amendments involves the Millstone Unit.3 recirculation spray system ("RSS"), a critical safety system which the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledged 9809180072 980911 PDR ADOCK 05000423 G PM ,

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l earlier this year had never been operable during the nuclear power  !

a plant's 12-year history, defects The RSS system has been plagued with difficulties h in_the system were often highlighted during the recent forced abutdown of the Millstone Nuclear Power Station.

In the earlier CRC petition, CRC's standing was challenged by both NNECO and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff._On August 25, 1998, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel found that CRC has standing to intervene in that license amendment proceeding. (48 NRC ,

(slip op. at 8-14)(Aug. 25, 1998) j CRC's assertion of standing in the instant proceeding is virtually i identical to its assertion of standing in the earlier proceeding.

In both proceedings, CRC has asserted standing through one or more '

of its members who have claimed a direct interest in the proceedings by "irtue of the fact that they live in close proximity to the .

Millstone Nuclear Generating Station and stand to suffer harm in'the event of an accident owing to a reduced safety margin e

traceable to the license amendment at issue.  ;

Notwithstanding the virtually identical assertions of l standing presented by CRC in both petitions and suppletaental l

materials, the Atomic Safety and Lciensing Board Panel denied license amendment proceedings.

standing to CRC in the ins' tant i From such ruling, CRC appeals, in accordance with the provisions of 10 C.F.R. $2.714a.

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From : NANCY BURTON.LM . WGRE Ma. ; CRTd me.nnrssnart'aterr vwo 1

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Legal Argument I. The rules of collateral estoppel and res judicata are applicable.

The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board erred in denying CRC standing to intervene in the license amendment proceeding concerning the RSS-related sump pump subsystem.

The ASLB properly adjudicated the issue of CRC standing with respect to the safety-critical RSS system in Locket No.

50-423-LA.

The ASLB is bound by its earlier determination, where a virtually identical assertion of standing has been made with respect to a different component of the RSS.

The doctrines of collateral estoppel and res judicata apply to restrain re-litigation of identical issues between the same parties.

II. Denial of standing to CRC is purely a?;bitrary.

The ASLB properly found that CRC possesses standing to intervene in the earlier RSS license amendnent proceeding. The instant proceeding involves a componer.t of the RSS system. CRC's member representative asserts an identical concern that he and his family will be at increased risk due to reduced safety margins if the license amendment is approved as proposed. In its decision, the AFLB has provided no rational basis for its decision to preclude CRC's intervention in the instant proceeding.

ASLB's decision has the hallmarks of arbitrary and capricious decision-making. The decision should be reversed.

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111. The license amendment proposed a band-aid approach to a serious safety issuett, CRC is rightly concerned and possesses a legal right to participate.

The license amendment application at issue reveals a startling defect in the foundation of the Millstone Unit 3 Nuclear Power Station: the membrane encasing the containment basemat was designed to be waterproof to prevent inleakage from groundwater but it seems to have sprung a leak or two'  ;

Indeed, the " waterproof" membrane has become so unwaterproof that inleakage is a serious problems indeed, it  ;

presents an unreviewed safety question in the mind of NNECO.

The instant license amendment, remarkably, does not even address the holes in the " waterproof" membranes indeed, if the proposed license amendment were granted, the FSAR would still incorrectly refer to the " waterproof" membrane.

No documentation has been provided as to when the " waterproof" membrane began to spring leaks, whether it has a propensity to spring new leaks (and, if so, how this may have an effect on increasing the volume of inleakage), and what this may reveal about the current geohydrological conditions and how they may impact the functionality of the proposed license amendment.

Degraded and further degrading conditions which may affect the operability of the RSS system are of real concern to CRC.

If CRC, whose membership includes families virtually at " ground-zero" location, lacks standing to intervene and protest NNECO's band-aid approach to solving a problem with serious safety 1 consequences, then the concept of standing has been mocked.

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Frcan t#NCY 652VLqM.LWSO. WWJ wa. T~3J3%FWS2 IV. Conclusion The Citizens Regulatory Commission has sufficiently asserted a factual and legal basis to support its standing to intervene in the instant license amendment proceeding.

Wherefore, its appeal should be sustained.

l CITIZENS REGULATORY COMMISSION

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fl rn s x. l Nancy ton, Tsq.

147 ro a Highway Red Ridge CT 06876 Tel. 03-938-3952 Fax 203-938-3168 I

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[From : tRCY 1RL%YLaM,616. MRLORiRRo. T-~9D3%T335FS2 ----- 7 &p.1r7 N ---- --

DOCKETED UNITED STATES OF AMERICA USHRC NUCLEAR REGULATORY C00 MISSION In the Matter of  :

98 SEP 14 A9 :19 Docket No. 50-423-L&-2 NORTHEAST NUCLEAR ENERGY ASLBP No.98-743 G3-LA

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COMPANY  : HULc .

ADJUD -

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(Millstone Nuclear Power  :

Station, Unit No. 3)  : September 11, 1998 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 1 hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing Citizens Regulatory Commission Brief Accompanying Notice of Appeal was transmitted via telefacsimile to the office of the Secretary (301-415-1672) on September 11, 1998, and to the following by U.S. Mail, first class, on September 12, 1998:

Office of Come:.ssion Appellate Richard G. Bachmann, Esq.

Adjudication Office of the General Counsel U.S. Nuclear regulatory Commission Mail Stop 0-15 B18 Washington DC 20555 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington DC 20555 Richard F. Cole Administrative Judge Lillian M. Cuoco, Esq.

Atomic Safety and Licensing Senior Nuclear Counsel Board Panel Northeast Utilities Service Mail Stop T-3 F23 Company U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission P.O. Box 270 Washington DC 20555 Hartford CT 06141 Charles N. Kelber John C. Hoyle Administrative Judge Secretary Atomic Safety and Licensing U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Board Panel Washington DC 20555 Mail Stop T-3 F23 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission David A. Repka, Esq.

Washington DC 20555 Winston & Strawn 1400 L Street NW Washington DC 20005 r

01M21 h lL -

Nancy on, Esq.

147 s Highway J Red Ridge CT 06876 Tel. 203-938-3952 Fax 203-938-3168 l

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