ML20235Y450

Denies Appeal of FOIA Request for Documents Re BNL Investigation of Allegations by Ee Kent.Documents Still Withheld (Ref FOIA Exemption 6)

ML20235Y450
Person / Time
Issue date:	07/23/1987
From:	Stello V NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:	Bauman L GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
References
FOIA-85-213, FOIA-87-A-37 NUDOCS 8707250270
Download: ML20235Y450 (1)

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JUL 2 31987 Ms. Linda Bauman Government Accountability Project Midwest Office IN RESPONSE REFER 104 E. Wisconsin Avenue TO F0IA-87-A-37 Appleton, WI 54911-4897 (F01A-85-213)

Dear Ms. Bauman:

This is in response to your letter dated June 15, 1987, in which you appealed Mr. Donnie H. Grimsley's form response dated May 8, 1987. Mr. Grimsley's form response denied portions of three docunents that were subject to.your Freedom of Information Act (F0IA) request for documents concerning the Brookhaven National Laboratory's investigation of allegations by E. Earl Kent.

Acting on your appeal, I have carefully reviewed the record in this case and have determined that the previously withheld portions of the three documents will continue to be withheld from public disclosure pursuant .

to Exemption (6) of the F0IA (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6)) and 10 CFR 9.5(a)(6) of the Comission's regulations. Your appeal is, therefore, denied.

The withheld information consists of the name and home telephone number of an individual who participated in the inspection of welds. I am unable to identify any legitimate public interest in this information which outweighs the privacy interests of the individual.

This is a final agency action. As set forth in the FOIA (5 U.S.C.

552(a)(4)(B)), juoicial review of this decision is available in a district court of the l'aited States in the district in which you reside or have your principal place of business or in the District of Columbia.

Sincerely,

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j ecutiv Di ctor for Operations b

8707250270 870723 ^

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/ INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) REQUEST  ;' '

h'.M 8 1987 zcw h.mo 5 - e-.

RIOut $ t t p Ms. Billie P. Garde '

PART e . Rf CORDS RELE AstD OR N07 LOCATED 15ee checaea ocness i No agency 'ecoros subect to tee wwest Pave basa oca'ec No additenas agency eco<ds subect to the 'eowest *4.e been located A gency *ecords subieci to the eami t*st are identshed se Appendis 1717 H Street. N W . Wash ngton. DC i

are at<eady a.adat8eion put>c inspectee and c.comg e the hRC P@i.c Documeni Room Agency esco<ds subect to the roovest that are adentded in Apoendia F ,,, 3.,n, ,,,,, ,,,,,,e ,,, ,,u,,

N ,,,,,c, e,,, c ,,,,,n, ,n ,he u n e p,,,, poc ,,so, Room,1717 H Street N W . Washington DC, in a fo oer anoer the F01A number and requester name Thecoymg end nonproo<ietary verton at the NAC Pubhc of the Docu proposal #si that you agreed to eccept m a te<ephone conversaten wth a member o' my staN e noi. bemg made evadab

- ment Room,1717 M Street, N W . Washmgton. DC. e a 'cNet unoer the FOIA number and or name- 1 Enclosed a mformation on how you rnay octam access to and the charges for copyeg reco<ds placed e the NRC Putec Document Room.1717 H $tr Agency records subpet to the foovest see enclosed Any apchcatne charge for copass of the records provided and payment procedures are noted m the comments sec Records subpct to the request

• eve been rede< red to another Federal agencyhos) for fevew and de'oct response to vow in view of NRC a <esponse to the 'sowest, no fur ther action a being taken on appeal lettet dated -

PART 11 A-INFORMATION WITHHELD FROM PUSLIC DISCLOSURE r

Certain info <maten in the requested records a te.no ethheid froen pubhc disclosu e pursuant to the FOiA esemptors described e anc for the reasons mated X tions 8. C, and D Any released po< tem of the documeets for which oniv part of the record a being ethheid are to g maae s.adaens for pubhc espe the NaC

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Comments i

Additional records subject to this request are currently undergoing review for releasability determination. As soon as that determination has been made, we will communicate with you.

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Re:c :;s subsect to the request that are dmewco e the emhud Append <es ___1 (sygtsor s and for stva esssons set forth below punv4nt to ') U t, C %2(b) and 10 CF R 9

• sal of fvpC megwiations_ set te g *4hhe'd 'r the r er't N w.mm ,asymv.on 4 orr,eri, cians.f4o po wt to t eewt.ve O oer 12356 'tKgMPTiON 1' r

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$.cten 147 et the Atomic Energy Act which promirts the discloswee of Unclatsded Safeguards IMormation e42 U S C 2167 a N erchneid eformaoon e a trade secret or commercias or fmancial eformation that a bemg aathheid for the ressordsl indicatec iExf MPTION ai

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.The e formaten a considered to be confident $ Owsir.ess iprent.etery) ir* formation.

The enformaten a considered to be propretary informaten pors a to to CFR 2 790idlill l The enformaten was submmed v and ecor ed in corf dme from a foreign 6ource pursuant to 10 CFR 2 7901d32)  ?

$ The withheed informaten comests of eteragency e< mtraageacr records that are not avadatae through decovery owsmg htigabon Osc6osure of precocesenalinformaien would tend to chibit the open end frank enchange of ideas essential to the cohberatwa process Where records are witmheid in then entirety. the facts are mestricso#v I' mea,nwoned man withmio ect enowiry the the credecwel eformaten There preoumenalprocess alsoagency of the are no (ExtMPflON reasonat#y segregebee Si fectual pc,riens becawne the rosesse of the facts wowie permit an s

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8 The artfM6 miormabon e enempted from pubhc esciosure because its decioswre wowid reswit an a csearly unwaasniec evasion of personal privacy l(XEMPfl0N 6#

? T*w wrtbheed eformaten conosts of evestgatory records comodeo for Low enforcement purposes and a bemg withheld for the reason (s) edicated IEx(MPTION fi

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k Che41eraute would interfere with an enforcement proceeding because il could reveal the scope direction, and focus of enforcement eMor poseery snow them to 'ake acten to sneio potential wrongooing or a violaten of NRC reownements from evestigators 'ExEMPfiON 7tA))

i Disctos.,re woud constitute en unwranted evaseon of personal privacy I(Xf MPTION 7tCli j ~

g The snformsten consets of names of mdevidweis and other mformaten the decloswee of which wow 6d reveal eeatites of conf.oential sources itxtMPTION 7iDil PART ll C.D(NYING OFFICIALS p.,es.ori to 10 CFR 9 9 and or 916 of the U S Nwciese Regulatory Commasion regWatens. si has been artermeed that the aformaten witmhew is esempt from pro gnc ma' ets Deodwetion or Osclosure e contrary to me pubhC internat The persons responsit9o iot the conial are 1 hose oMicals ideelded beiow as eersymg oMicials and Devaior pf Rutes and Records. Office of Adminstration, for any coniais that may be appeased to the Esecutive Director for Operatens too, DENvlNG OFFICIAL Ti1LE OFFICE Rf CORDS DENIED APPfLLATE OFFICIAL Regional Administrator 5' c a"= f*

A. Bert Davis Reoion III G-1 through G-3 XX l

PART ts O- APPt.AL n'oHTs The denial try each denying offocaalidentWund in Port II.C may be appealed to the Appellate Official identified in that section. Any such appent mest be in j wntsng end must be made within 30 days of receipt of this response. Appeals must be addressed as appropriate to the Esecutive DirPetor for Operations or to j

that a is en **Appeaf from an initial FOIA Decision.g*the Secretary of the Commission U.S. Nuclear Re ulatory Commission, Washington, DC 2 mac poRas ans tren a l

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.RE: F01A-85-213 APPENDIX F RECORD 5 MAINTAINED IN THE PDR UNDER THE AB0VE REQUEST NUMBER ,

l'. January 10, 1985 Letter. to R'. Warnick from' John H. Taylor, re:

Transmitting a BNL report regarding welding.

allegations _at'the Midland Nuclear Power Plant (1,page) with attached " Report on 1elding Allegations" by'-

BNL(35~pages) l l

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FE: F01A-BL-213 APPENDIX G F

RECORDS PARTIALLY WITHHELD

1. February 22, 1982 Bechtel Inter-office memo to QC Personnel File from-E. Smith, re: Job 7220/ Midland Project; Employee Counseling Session (1 page). with attached March 8-1982 Bechtel Inter-office meno to QC File from W. J. Creel /D. Fredianelli,' re: Hidland Project.

Units 1 & 2, Investigation of Undersize Weld Allega-tions - Interface with MPQAD and NRC (2 pages).

2. March 3,1982 Memo for Region III Files from James E. Foster, re:

Additional Contact, Allegations Re Welding at Midland (Ref. Foster Memo of March 3.1982)(2pages)

3. August 12, 1982 Transcript of Interview with Earl Kent by James Foster, Kavin Ward, and William Key (78-pages)

L 15M Connecncur Awnue. N W. Suita 202 i , Ecnhington. D C. 20006 (202)2324550'.

Y March 25, 1985

. Freedom of Information Act-Request Director FREEDOW OF INFORMADON -  !

Office of Administration - ACT REQUESI O.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555

- gg, g y 3 To Whom It May Concern:

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Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act - (FOIA), 5 U.S.C.

Section 552, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) requests copies of any and all agency records and information, including but not limited to notes, letters, memoranda, drafts, minutes, diaries, logs, calendars, tapes, ' transcripts, ' summaries,- inter-i view' reports, procedures,-instructions, Engineering' analyses, .j drawings, files, graphs,' charts, maps, photographs,; agreements,.

I handwritten notes, studies, data sheets, notebooks, books, tele-phone messages, L eomputa tions, voice recordings, computer runoffs, j any other data compilations, interimLand/or final reports,_ status-reports, and any and all other records relevant. to and/or gener-ated' in connection with the Brookhaven' National' Laboratory -(BNL) -

investigation of the allegations of Mr.- E. Earl _ Kent, and all drafts, materials, etc., developed by Brookhaven. This. request -

includes all correspondence (of any type) between BNL and the Bechtel Corporation, Consumers Power Company, Southern California i Edison, and any representatives or staf f members of the profes-sional societies (i.e., AWS, ASME, ANSI, etc.).

This request includes all agency' records as defined.in 10:C.F.R.

Section 9.3a(b) and the NRC Manual, Appendix 0211, Parts 1.A.2 and.

A.3 (approved October 8, 1980) whether they currently exist in the - 3 NRC of ficial, " working", investigative or other files, ,or at any other location, including private residences.

If any records are defined in 10 C.F.R. Section 9.3a(b) and the NRC Manual, supra, and covered by this request have been.

destroyed and/or removed af ter this request, please provide all-surrounding records, including but not limited ' to a list of all records which have been or are destroyed and/or ' removed, a des- 1 cription of the action (s) taken relevant to, generated in connec- 1 tion with, and/or issued in order to implement the^ action (s) .

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GAP requests that fees be waived, because " finding the infor-mation can be considered as primarily benefitting the general' pub-  !

lic," 5 U.S.C. 552 ( A) (4) (A) . - GAP is a non-profit,' nonpartisan g.

rreedom of Inf orma tion Reques t March 25, 1985 page Two public interest organization concerned with honest and open government. Through public outreach the Project promotes whistleblowers as agents of governmen, t accountability. Through its Citizens Clinic, GAP offers assistance to local public interest and their citizens groups seeking to ensure the health and safety of communities.

several citizens groups,The Citizens Clinic is currently assisting local governments and interveners in the mid-Michigan plant.

area concerning the construction of the Midland We are requesting the above information as part of an ongoing monitoring project on the adequacy of the NRC's efforts '

to protect public safety and health at nuclear power plants.

For any documents or any portions that you deny due to a specific FOIA exemption, please provide an index itemizing and l

describing the documents or portions of documents withheld. The index should claiming provide a detailed justification of your grounds for each exemption, explaining why each exemption is rele-vant to the document or portion of the document withheld. This index is required under Vaughn v. Rosen (I), 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973), cert, denied, 415 U.S. 977 (1974).

We look forward to your response to this request within ten days.

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(~ 1 1 015 IN -

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Billie Pirner Garde Citizens Clinic Director i

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