ML20236H411

Complains About Conduct of NRC in Currently Ongoing OL Proceedings Before ASLB in Concord,Nh.Proper Role of NRC Should Be to Assure Development of Complete Record & Ensure That Unresolved Questions Fairly Addressed.Served on 871030

ML20236H411
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	10/26/1987
From:	Backus R BACKUS, MEYER & SOLOMON, HAMPTON, NH, MASSACHUSETTS, COMMONWEALTH OF, SEACOAST ANTI-POLLUTION LEAGUE
To:	Zech L NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
References
CON-#487-4713 OL, NUDOCS 8711040106
Download: ML20236H411 (9)

Text

L{7/3 1 rinCKET NUMBER Pn00. & UTIL FAC.

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B AC K U s, M EY E R & S O LOgyg, '

ATTORN EYS AT law USHBC ROBERTA BACMUS AREA CODE 603 JON M EYER. P O Box 516 ggg ese 7a7a STCVEN A SOLOMON M ANCH ESTER. N. H. omos *AtsO AomrTEo M ARTIN R, JEN KIN S TO MASSACHUSETTS SAR MiCH A E L C. lPAVEC [flCE vi MLRt. AP j B J. B NCH October 26, 1987 j SERVED OCT 30 L987 Lando Zech Chairman Nuclear Regulatory Commission  !

Washington, D.C. 20555 Re: Seabrook Hearinos ,

Dear Chairman Zech:

1 I am writing you to complain about the conduct of NRC staff in the currently on-going operating license proceedings before an ASLB panel in Concord, New Hampshire.

l l I represent an intervenor party in those proceedings, the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League. I am also speaking on behalf of other interveners, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Town of I Hampton.

In the course of these proceedings, staff attorneys have made it l abundantly clear that their sole objective is to support the  ;

Applicants' efforts to get a license. Their questioning of Applicant panels, when it has occured, appears designed to be helpful to the Applicants' case. On the other hand, their cross-examination of intervenor witnesses, when it occurs, is hostile.

For example, at one point, Staff Attorney Turk was examining the head of the New Hampshire Emergency Managment Agency, Mr. Richard Strome, in regard to the degree of training afforded to drivers said to be available to drive emergency vehicles into the emergency planning zone in the event of a radiological emergency.

Initially, it seemed that Attorney Turk's record of purpose might be to simply determine the extent to which training had occured, I but upon inquiry from the Chairman, Attorney Turk made it clear that he was solely interested in pursuing this line of questioning so that he could file a requested finding that the Board would be able to " predict" that all the necessary drivers would be appropriately trained. See attached transcript pages 4378-82; 4396.

As I am sure you aware, NRC already has a severe credibility problem with substan'.a1 members of the public as to its V

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Page 2 disinterestedness in regard to nuclear licensing, particularly in regard to Seabrook and Shoreham. This appearance of bias and hostility to those not supporting licensing of these plants is being furthered by the conduct of NRC staff in these proceedings.

If all out staff advocacy of the utility position in this licensing proceeding is not Commission policy, I respectfully suggest that the Commission should take action, by arranging for a review of the transcripts. If these do show bias and hostility, the Commission should advise staff counsel as to what its proper purpose should be.

It is our position that the proper role of staff in agency proceedings in which the staff appears as a party is not merely to support the utility / Applicant position. The Appli' cants are well equipped, with competent counsel, to do this for themselves. In our view, the proper role of staff in these proceedings should be to assure the development of a complete record, and to ensure that all unresolved questions are fairly laid upon the record whether i that tends to advance or defeat the authorization of nuclear licensing. That is absolutely not happening in this proceeding.

l We commend to the Commission the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Scenic Hudson l Preservation Conference vs. Federal Power Commission, 354 Fed. 2d l

1 608 (1965):

"In this case, as in many others, the Commission has claimed to be the representative of the public interest. That role l does not permit it to act as an umpire blandly calling balls and strikes for adversaries appearing before it; the right of the public must receive active and affirmative protection at the hands of the Commission.

This Court cannot and should not attempt to substitute its judgment for that of the Commission. But we must decide whether the Commission has correctly discharged its duties, including the proper fulfillment of its planning function in deciding that the " licensing of the project would be in the overall public interest." The Commission see it that the record is complete. The Commission has an affirmative duty to inquire into and consider all relevant facts." 354 Fed.

2nd at 620. (Emphasis added).

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Page 3 .

It is extraordinarily frustrating for intervenor groups to have to contend not only with the encrmous resources of the utility / Applicant fully dedicated to licensing at the earliest possible time, but also to have to deal with the tax payers supported interests, such as NRC staff, when those resources are being directed single-mindedly toward the same goal.

Since these proceedings are on-going, your early intervention is urgently requested.

l Respectfully ubmitted, ert A. Backus RAB/mn 1

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• f I 1 These 200 ernergency medical personnel identified here

,i 2 in the testirnony are over and above that nuraber.

. 3 0 What does the acronyra EMT stand for?

4 A (Sinclair) Ernergency rnedical technician.

5 Q Thank you. That reflects ray lack of understanding of 6 wnat's done with patients.

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H 7 I would like to ask you a few questions about the M

d provisions for training bus drivers. At page 22 of your i

t t est irnony, at the top of the page you indicate that the State of New Harapshire wi11 provide the level of training required j i

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Is there a training prograrn that's been developed to yj

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% . t, A ( St ronne) Yes, sir.

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,[ A (St rorne) Would you please repeat the last part of i that question, counselor?

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, O Yes. How ruany of the bus drivers who would serve in t e

an einergency have already received the required training? '

. L A ( St rorne) I' 11 defer that to Mike. I think he's got (

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4 R 1 Q And what does the training consist of?

2 A (Sinclair) That is a little bit out of my field, but 3 there are a numoer of different training modules that have been c 4 developed dealing with each component of the RERP. And 5 specific modules are assigned to specific groups of emergency 6 responders, including bus drivers, for example.

7 I don' t , off the top of my head, have the list of 8 modules that each driver has been trained in, but bus driving y

/ 9 in an emergency, how the RERP works, how the state A

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10 transportation area functions, or dosimetry, those are some of 11 the basic components that are included.

t, 12 O Do you know approximately how many hours of 13 instruction is given to each bus driver?

14 A (Sinclair) I don' t know off the top of my head, but

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-Q i 15 we could find it out for you.

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16 A (Strome) We -- this traininD has been given and we .

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,$ $ 17 have the lesson plans. If you are interested in those, 18 counselor, we can certainly pro' vide them to you at a later 19 time.

4 20 Q Well, as I understand ycur answer, no one on the 21 panel knows specifically, at this time, but the information is b

22 available?

23 A (Callendrello) That is correct.

2 24 Q Is there a schedule for the instruction of the d

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2 A (Strome) There are training schedules in place, but 3 I cannot recall right off the top of my head, whether all the I

4 remaining bus drivers are scheduled this year, but training is 5 ongoing and it takes place virtually on a daily basis in one

[ 6 form or another and for one Group or another.

7 O Do you have any idea ri Dht now, as to when the bus l 1

N' 8 drivers, as a whole, or at least those drivers who have been 1 e 9 identified to date, when that group will have received the 1 10 required training?

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11 A (Syrome) No, I don' t have that right now, counselor, 12 no, I do not.

( 13 D Has there been a plan developed which would establish l

14 such a date for completion of that training?

(St rorae) 15 A I cannot tell you whether that particular 1

l I 16 portion of the training schedule has been developed. I know I

i 17 that we have a training schedule in place. Whether that

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18 accounts for every single individual who would be required to 19 know something about the planning process, is included, I just I l 20 cannot answer that question. ,

4 I 21 O Am 1 correct that among the training given to the bus

[ 22 drivers, will be training in the use of dosimeters?

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s 2 But if you want raore specifics on that, then we can 3 get that out of the lesson guides that we use.

s s 4 O At this point, I arn not asking you to provide snore 5 inforrnat ion to rae. I am rnerely trying to establish the panel's 6 farniliarity with these raatters as of this date. It rnay be that E

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4390 2 Your Honor, as I recall, Mr. Flynn's i MR. TURKS l 1 he training program for objection came to my questioning as to t 2 I have in rnind is development  !

Quite frankly, what 3 bus drivers. indicate that, based upon this ,

4 of proposed findings which would that 286, as I j 5

testimony that a program had been developed, i that A recall, of the drivers have already received train ng; 6

And I would .

o ther drivers will receive the training.

7 edictive reasonable 8 u ltimately propose a finding that your pr 7 find that with respect t o, l 9 assurance determination should }

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11 adequate protective measures can and will

- although the tone of my 1 think this testimony '

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13 question roay have sounded, really was to 14 to Lhp p.ino l or to Mr. I lynn, ray objective uuffacient g os the t. r,s i n i nq pro Ir.ime, 15 establish the curront ..t.ite.

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16 to support a f Your Honor, my point was not that I was f MR. FLYNN:

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threatened by that question at all.

18 available. Mr. 1 elicited the fact that certain information wa.- and 19 it available, perhaps on the record, 20 Strome offered to make 21 Mr. Turk said, no, that wasn' t necessary.

necessary, isn' t going to 22 If the information wasn' t l then why inquire at all. '

23 be part of the record, l

JUDGE SMITH: I understand.

24 the h Well, one reason could be to establish that

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