ML21323A107

NRC Staff Response to Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel November 10, 2021, Memorandum and Order and to Duke November 8, 2021, Notification Letter

ML21323A107
Person / Time
Site:	Oconee
Issue date:	11/19/2021
From:	Azeizat J NRC/OGC
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
SECY RAS
References
22-973-01-SLR-BD01, 50-269-SLR, 50-270-SLR, 50-287-SLR, Oconee 50-269, 50-270 & 50-287-SLR, RAS 56308
Download: ML21323A107 (7)

Text

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of DUKE ENERGY CAROLINAS, LLC (Oconee Nuclear Station, Units,, and )

Docket Nos. - & -,

and --SLR NRC STAFF RESPONSE TO ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD PANELS NOVEMBER,, MEMORANDUM AND ORDER AND TO DUKES NOVEMBER,,

NOTIFICATION LETTER On November,, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (Board) issued a Memorandum and Order in response to Duke Energy Carolinas (Duke) November,,

Notification Letter to the Board regarding the involvement in this proceeding of former Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff member, Jeffrey T. Mitman, and the provisions of U.S.C.

§ (a)() relating to post-employment restrictions.1 Duke stated in its Notification Letter to the Board that it had reported the information regarding Mr. Mitmans involvement in this proceeding to the NRCs Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and requested that OIG confirm whether Mr.

Mitmans involvement complies with applicable requirements. The Board further requested that NRC Staff, after consulting with OIG and/or ethics counselors from the NRC Office of the General Counsel, provide the Board with () a description of the OIG process for considering and addressing Dukes request for confirmation; and () the approximate time frame within 1 Board Memorandum and Order, Schedule for Responses to Applicant Duke Energy Carolinas, LLCs Information Notification (Nov., ) (unpublished) (Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. MLA) (Memorandum and Order); Letter from Ryan Lighty, Duke Counsel, to Board, Notification Regarding Information Potentially Relevant to the Adjudicatory Proceeding (Nov., ) (ADAMS Accession No. MLA) (Notification Letter).

which an OIG response to that request may be forthcoming. OIG provided the following response:

Generally, the OIG does not provide a response to an alleger of any action taken in response to an allegation reported to us. The OIGs internal processes allow up to days to assess any allegation and to decide whether it warrants any further action. If the OIG elects to initiate an investigation and finds that a criminal violation may have occurred, we may refer the matter to state or federal prosecutors to either accept or decline prosecution. Regardless of whether the prosecutors decide to accept the matter for prosecution, the OIGs strategic goal states that active, full investigations should be completed in months or less.

The NRC staff would also like to correct a misstatement in Dukes November,,

Notification Letter to the Board. In its letter, Duke states that NRC staff declined to consult with Duke regarding its notification to the Board. This statement is false; counsel for the Staff did in fact consult with Dukes counsel on this matter, consistent with C.F.R. §.(b), as reflected in the attached correspondence between the Staff and Dukes counsel (Attachment ).

Respectfully submitted,

/Signed (electronically) by/

Joseph M. Azeizat Counsel for NRC Staff Mail Stop: O--A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC -

Telephone: () -

E-mail: Joseph.Azeizat@nrc.gov

Attachment Email Correspondence Between Duke Counsel and NRC Staff Counsel

From:

Wright, Megan To:

Lighty, Ryan K.

Cc:

Woods, Mary; Azeizat, Joseph; Bessette, Paul M.; Roth (OGC), David

Subject:

RE: RE: Your voicemail regarding Mr. Mitman Date:

Friday, October 29, 2021 2:46:00 PM

Ryan, Thank you for the clarification. To the extent that Applicants counsel wishes to file a motion regarding Petitioners expert, the NRC Staff takes no position at this time and reserves the right to respond. If you set up a conference to discuss the issue with Petitioners counsel, we would be open to joining that call.

Thank you again, Megan Megan Wright Senior Attorney New Reactor Programs Office of the General Counsel United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop O14-A44 516-765-6523 From: Lighty, Ryan K. <ryan.lighty@morganlewis.com>

Sent: Friday, October 29, 2021 10:22 AM To: Wright, Megan <Megan.Wright@nrc.gov>

Cc: Woods, Mary <Mary.Woods@nrc.gov>; Azeizat, Joseph <Joseph.Azeizat@nrc.gov>; Bessette, Paul M. <paul.bessette@morganlewis.com>

Subject:

[External_Sender] RE: Your voicemail regarding Mr. Mitman Good morning Megan, Thank you for your quick response.

For clarification, we certainly were not reaching out with an expectation of discussing any privileged or protected information. However, to the extent this issue is relevant to the instant adjudicatory proceeding, we are making a good faith attempt to consult with you regarding the need for a possible filling before the Board. In past proceedings involving similar factual circumstances, such filings have been made by OGC. We would appreciate an opportunity to discuss the matter among counsel, consistent with the spirit of Part 2.

We remain generally available today for a call before 1pm or from 2-3pm.

Regards, Ryan

Ryan K. Lighty Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW l Washington, DC 20004-2541 Direct: +1.202.739.5274 l Main: +1.202.739.3000 l Mobile: +1.202.716.3555 ryan.lighty@morganlewis.com l www.morganlewis.com l Bio Assistant: Rhonda Rollerson l +1.202.739.5157 l rhonda.rollerson@morganlewis.com From: Wright, Megan <Megan.Wright@nrc.gov>

Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2021 6:56 PM To: Lighty, Ryan K. <ryan.lighty@morganlewis.com>; Bessette, Paul M.

<paul.bessette@morganlewis.com>

Cc: Woods, Mary <Mary.Woods@nrc.gov>; Azeizat, Joseph <Joseph.Azeizat@nrc.gov>

Subject:

RE: Your voicemail regarding Mr. Mitman

[EXTERNAL EMAIL]

Dear Mr. Lighty and Mr. Bessette:

We received your voicemail regarding your question surrounding post-employment restrictions and Mr. Mitmans Declaration in the Oconee subsequent license renewal proceeding. We appreciate your call, but we are not going to share any internal communications regarding this litigation.

If you have concerns, the NRCs Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has established a Hotline program that provides a confidential means for all individuals to report incidences of suspicious activity to the OIG concerning fraud, waste, abuse, and employee or management misconduct. You can do so by calling, writing, or using the new online form.

Additional information regarding the Hotline program is available at the link above.

Thanks again for reaching out. We hope you both have a great weekend.

Thanks, Megan Megan Wright Senior Attorney New Reactor Programs Office of the General Counsel United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop O14-A44 516-765-6523 DISCLAIMER This e-mail message is intended only for the personal use of the recipient(s) named above. This message may be an attorney-client communication and as such privileged and confidential and/or it may include attorney work product.

If you are not an intended recipient, you may not review, copy or distribute this message. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail and delete the original message.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of DUKE ENERGY CAROLINAS, LLC (Oconee Nuclear Station, Units,, and Docket Nos. -, -,

and --SLR Certificate of Service Pursuant to C.F.R §., I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing NRC STAFF RESPONSE TO ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD PANELS NOVEMBER,,

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER AND TO DUKES NOVEMBER,, NOTIFICATION LETTER, dated November,, have been served upon the Electronic Information Exchange (the NRCs E-Filing System), in the captioned proceeding, this th day of November

/Signed (electronically) by/

Joseph M. Azeizat Counsel for NRC Staff Mail Stop: O--A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC -

Telephone: --

E-mail: Joseph.Azeizat@nrc.gov Dated in Rockville, MD this th day of November