ML20196E009
| ML20196E009 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oconee  |
| Issue date: | 12/02/1998 |
| From: | Marian Zobler NRC OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL (OGC) |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20196E013 | List: |
| References | |
| CON-#498-19763 LR, NUDOCS 9812030022 | |
| Download: ML20196E009 (7) | |
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e DOCKETED December 2,19%HRC UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
% DEC -2 P 3 '41 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOAIED. 7c.d ADJLD'-
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In the Matter of
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Docket Nos. 50-269-LR
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50-270-LR DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION
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50-287-LR
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(Oconee Nuclear Station,
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Unit Nos.1,2, and 3)
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NRC STAFF'S RESPONSE TO TO ORDER REOUESTING INFORMATION INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND On November 19,1998, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (Board) issued
" Order (Requesting Additional Information from Staff)" (Order), requesting information from the staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Staff) regarding the status of the high-level waste transportation rulemaking. The Staff's responses to the Board's questions are set forth below.
DISCUSSION Ouestion 1:
What is the date staff anticipates the license renewal process for Oconee will l
be completed?
t Order at 3.
Staff Resoonse:
By letter dated July 31,1998, the Staff provided the Duke Energy Corporation (the
. Applicant) with a safety and environmental review schedule for the application to renew the i
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operating licenses for the Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1,2, and 3.12tter to Mr. William i
t R. McCollum, Jr., Vice President, Oconee Nuclear Site, Duke Energy Corporation from Christopher I. Grimes, Director, License Renewal Project Directorate, Division of Reactor Program Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, July 31,1998. A copy of this letteris attached as Attachment 1. According to this schedule, the Staffintends to issue the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DES) by June 2,1999. The Staff will issue a Safety Evaluation Report (SER), which will include open items needing resolution before the Staff can complete its review, by June 17,1999. The Staff intends to complete its review and issue both the supplemental SER, which will resolve all open items identified in the SER, and the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FES) by February 12,2000. Based on the Commission's goal ofissuing a decision on the Application in about two and one-half years from the date the Application was received (July 1998), the license renewal process is expected to be completed by December 2000. See Duke Energy Corp. (Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1,2, and 3), CLI-98-17, slip op. at 4 (Sept.15,1998).
l Ouestion 2:
When was HLW [High Level Waste] transportation rulemaking initiated and what is the approximate date that a completed rule will become effective?
Id.
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Staff Resoonse:
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The HLW transportation rulemaking was initiated on January 13,1998, the date the Commission issued SRM M970612, approving the Staff's proposal to proceed with a l
rulemaking to categorize the impacts of transportation of HLW as a Category 1 issue. See 4
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3-Affidavit of Donald P. Cleary at13, attached hereto as Attachment 2. The Staff anticipates
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that the proposed rule will be published in the FederalRegister in January 1999. Id. at 14.
It is expected that the final rule will be published in the Federal Register no later than i
August 1999, and will be effective 30 days later, no later than September 1999. Id.
j Ouestion 3:
Under the schedule identified in response to questions 1 and 2, will this rulemaking delay the license renewal process for the Oconee units in the manner of concem to the Commission in SRM M970612 so as to requim HLW transportation impacts to be addressed in the plant specific environmental report. If not, please explain why?
Order at 3.
StaffResnonse:
The Staff does not anticipate that under the schedules provided in response to questions 1 and 2, HLW transportation impacts will need to be addressed by the Applicant in its envircnmental report. As noted in response to Question 2, the Staff expects that the rule would become effective in September,1999. Since a Commission decisica on the Application is not expected until some time after that date, it is not anticipated that waiting for the completion of the rulemaking will delay the license renewal process.
l Question 4:
To what extent, if any, must licensing boards in NRC adjudicatory proceedings adhere to Commission directives in SRMs?
Id.
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Staff Resoonse:
Staff Requirements Memoranda (SRMs) contain Commission decisions on recommendations in staff papers to the Commission and appropriate directives setting forth the Commission's instructions to various organizations within the NRC regarding the subjects of the SRMs. In this case, SRM M970612 directed the Staff to consider the environmental impacts of the transponation of HLW on a plant-specific basis only if to await the completion of the rulemaking would delay the licensing process for that particular facility. The SRM is not specifically directed to the Board and does not otherwise purpon to provide direction to any adjudicatory tribunal in an individual proceeding. In and ofitself, therefore, the SRM does not bind this Board in its conduct of this proceeding. The SRM, however, provides evidence of the Commission's intention that consideration of the environmental impacts of the transponation of HLW should not be on a case-by-case basis, but rather generically in the Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS), NUREG-1437. Funher, as the Staff cxplained in its response to Petitioner's First Supplemental Filing, dated October 30,1998, Commission precedent has established that where the Commission has indicated that an issue should be considered generically, that same issue should not be considered in individual licensing proceedings. See NRC Staff's Response to n-. -
5-Petitioner's First Supplemental Filing, November 16,1998 at 21-23. Thus,in the Staff's view, the impacts of the transportation of HLW is not an appropriate issue for litigation in this proceeding. See id. at 23.
R pectfully submitted, Marian Zobler Counsel for NRC St Dated at Rockville, Maryland d
this 2 day of December,1998 4
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ATTACHMENT 1 i
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j Mr. William R. McCstlum, Jr., Vice President Oconee Nuclear Sito f
Duke Energy Corporation j
P. O. Box 1439 Seneca,SC 27679 a
SUBJECT:
PROPOSED NRC REVIEW SCHEDULE FOR DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL OF OPERATING LICENSES FOR OCONEE 1
I NUCLEAR STATION, UNITS 1,2, AND 3 i
Dear Mr. McCollum:
This letter forwards the staffs proposed safety and environmental review schedule for the Duke i
Energy Corporation (Duke) application submitted on July 7,1998, to renew the operating i
licenses for the Oconee Nuctear Station, Units 1,2, and 3. The NRC staff will follow established review procedures and the enclosed schedute to complete the safety and environmental reviews required by 10 CFR Parts 54 and 51, respectively. The enclosed schedule does not address any hearing that might be held in the proceeding.
I would like to stress that this is a very ambitious schedule and the staff will make every effort to meet or exceed the mitestones. We therefore request that you inform the staff as eariy as possible should potential schedule delays arise in your support for the milestones.
If you have any questions on this matter, please contact Stephen T. Hoffman, the Ucense Renewal Project Manager for Oconee at 301415 3245.
Sincerety, original signed by Christopher 1. Grimes, Director License Renewal Project Directorate Division of Reactor Program Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos.: 50-269,50-270, and 50-287
Enclosure:
As stated cc: See next page Distribution (wlencl.)
Certral F#es/Dodcst Files; Public, PDLR R/F, OEDO Ril8 Coordinator Ucense Renewal Steering Cornmittee h[** '
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NRC REVIEW SCHEDULE FOR DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION'S APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL OF OPERATING UCENSES FOR OCONEE NUCLEAR STATION, UNITS 1,2 AND 3 Milestone Date Receive Renewal Application 7/7/99 i
Notice Application Tendered 7/22&d 8/6/98 Complete Acceptance & Docketing Public Meeting & EIS Scoping 10/19/98 12/4/98 Staff Complete TechnicalRAls 1/3/99 Staff Complete EnvironmentalRAls Applicant Complete Technical RAI Responses 2/17/99 l
Applicant Complete Response to Environmental RAls 3/4/99 Issue DES for comment 6/2/99 Staff Complete SER and Identify Open items 6/17/99 7/2/99 Public Meetin9 8/16/99 Complete DES Comments Applicant Complete Response to Open items 10/15/99 Staff issue SSER & FES 2/12/00 5/12/00 ACRS Meeting Commission Decision on Application TBD Abbreviations ACRS Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards DES Draft environmentalstatement EIS Environmentalimpact statement FES Finalenvironmentalstatement RAls Requests for additional information SER Safety evaluation report SSER Supplemental evaluation report TBD To be determined Enclosure
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