ML20363A250
| ML20363A250 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vogtle  |
| Issue date: | 12/28/2020 |
| From: | Zeller L Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Concerned Citizens of Shell Bluff |
| To: | NRC/SECY |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| 52-025-LA-3, LAR 20-001, License Amendment, RAS 55922 | |
| Download: ML20363A250 (9) | |
Text
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE SECRETARY In the Matter of: Docket No. 52-025-LA-3 SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING CO.
License Amendment Application for December 28, 2020 Combined License NPF-91 Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Unit 3 REPLY OF THE BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE AND ITS CHAPTER CONCERNED CITIZENS OF SHELL BLUFF TO ANSWERS OF NRC STAFF AND SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY TO MOTION TO REOPEN LAR-20-001 In accord with 10 C.F.R. § 2.326 and § 2.309, The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and its chapter Concerned Citizens of Shell Bluff (BREDL or Petitioner) submit the following reply to answers provided on December 17, 2020 by NRC Staff (NRC Answer) and Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC Answer) responding to its to motion to reopen and submit amended contention.
BREDL Reply The NRC Answer claims that BREDL has relied on predecisional material in this matter. This is incorrect. BREDL is relying on material that was contemporaneous with its intervention yet withheld from public scrutiny. This information, which was used by NRC to reach its decision to approve SNCs license amendment request, was provided to BREDL only after a lengthy FOIA response period. This response period extended well past the time of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards reviewincluding submission
2 of answers by NRC and SNC, oral argument and ultimate dismissal of BREDLs May 11, 2020 petition to intervene. This predecisional material was, therefore, not provided to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
The NRC Staff acknowledges that the license amendment request was confusing:
When these predecisional documents were generated, the Staff was experiencing a brief period of difficulty understanding information associated with the license amendment request (LAR) that the licensee, Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC), had made available for audit. In particular, important information was illegible, not in a useful format, or required clarification from SNC. Over a very short time, the Staff resolved these issues through continued engagement with SNC. NRC Staff Answer at 1 BREDL encountered some of this uncertainty and asked that the LAR be denied, which remains BREDLs principal request. However, rather than rejecting the LAR and requiring resubmittal by the applicant, NRC held meetings with SNC at which material unavailable to BREDL was provided to NRC Staff, material which was critical to informing the decision to issue the license amendment.
NRC approved the LAR based on information that was not made available to BREDL or the ASLB. On August 4, 2020, prior to the Boards order on BREDLs contentions, NRC Staff approved the LAR after making a no significant hazards determination. SNC Answer at 3.
The ASLB should have rejected the LAR based on what the NRC knew at the time but did not share, and halted construction until SNC reevaluated the structural integrity of the entire Nuclear Island.
3 Issues Putting NRC in a bad light For more than two decades, BREDL has contested licenses and amendments in Nuclear Regulatory Commission proceedings. Win, lose or draw, it has proffered substantive contentions based on analyses provided by credible experts. Moreover, it has pursued its goals without resorting to rancor or ad hominem. Sadly, BREDLs technical expert in the extant matter, Arnold Gundersen. has not been spared personal attacks.
For example, as revealed in Investigative Reports by the NRC Office of the Inspector General, Mr. Gundersons Wikipedia page was accessed over a three-year period from Internet Protocol addresses originating at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission which changed nuclear expert to anti-nuclear campaigner and anti-nuclear witness for hire. Though some might dismiss this as a prank, it was malicious.
If the shoe were on the other foot, a Commission Nuclear Systems Engineer would become Pro-nuclear Witness for Hire. BREDL believes this is reprehensible, yet in a subsequent OIG Report, an NRC senior attorney found no violation of Management Directive 2.7 regarding personal use of information technology. See Attachments.
BREDL requests that the Commission seek a path to raising contentions without becoming contentious.
Conclusion The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should have rejected SNCs license amendment request. Our principal interests are significant safety issues, the health and safety of our members living near the plant and the general public. We hereby request that the Commission reopen LAR-20-001.
4 Respectfully submitted Louis A. Zeller, Executive Director Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League PO Box 88 Glendale Springs, NC 28629 Phone: (336) 982-2691 Email: BREDL@skybest.com
5 ATTACHMENTS NRC Office of the Inspector General Agents Investigative Reports Case File C 16 002
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9 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE SECRETARY In the Matter of:
SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING CO.
License Amendment Application for Docket No. 52-025-LA-3 Combined Licenses NPF-91 Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Unit 3 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that the REPLY OF THE BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE AND ITS CHAPTER CONCERNED CITIZENS OF SHELL BLUFF TO ANSWERS OF NRC STAFF AND SOUTHERN NUCLEAR OPERATING COMPANY TO MOTION TO REOPEN LAR-20-001 has been filed through the Electronic Information Exchange system this 28th day of December 2020.
Louis A. Zeller Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League PO Box 88 Glendale Springs, NC 28629 (336) 982-2691 BREDL@skybest.com