ML23258A211
| ML23258A211 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Diablo Canyon  |
| Issue date: | 09/15/2023 |
| From: | Gary Arnold, Hawkens E, Nicholas Trikouros Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| To: | Gary Arnold, Hawkens E, Nicholas Trikouros Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| RAS 56786, 72-26-ISFSI-MLR, LBP-23-08 | |
| Download: ML23258A211 (0) | |
Text
LBP-23-08 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD PANEL Before the Licensing Board:
E. Roy Hawkens, Chair Nicholas G. Trikouros Dr. Gary S. Arnold In the Matter of Docket No. 72-26-ISFSI-MLR PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY ASLBP No. 23-979-01-ISFSI-MLR-BD01 (Diablo Canyon Independent Spent Fuel September 15, 2023 Storage Installation)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (Dismissing Contention and Terminating Proceeding)
Pending before this Licensing Board in this license renewal proceeding for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) is (1) Pacific Gas and Electric Companys (PG&Es) motion to dismiss or for summary disposition of Contention A,1 and (2) San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peaces (SLOMFPs) notice of withdrawal of Contention A.2 Contention A, which is the sole contention admitted in this proceeding, challenges PG&Es financial qualifications analysis in its license renewal application (LRA) for the Diablo Canyon ISFSI.3 As discussed below, we dismiss Contention A pursuant to 1 See [PG&Es] Motion to Dismiss or for Summary Disposition of Contention A as Moot (Aug.
24, 2023) [hereinafter PG&E Motion].
2 See [SLOMFPs] Notice of Withdrawal of Contention A (Sept. 11, 2023) [hereinafter SLOMFP Withdrawal Notice].
3 See Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (Diablo Canyon Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation), LBP-23-07, 98 NRC __, __ (July 19, 2023) (slip op. at 15).
2-SLOMFPs withdrawal notice (which renders PG&Es motion moot), and we terminate this proceeding.
I. BACKGROUND On March 13, 2023, SLOMFP filed a hearing request challenging PG&Es LRA that seeks to extend operation of the Diablo Canyon ISFSI for an additional 40 years beyond the current license expiration date of March 22, 2024.4 On July 19, 2023, this Licensing Board granted SLOMFPs hearing request and admitted one of its contentions, Contention A, as follows: PG&Es ISFSI LRA fails to provide accurate and complete information regarding its satisfaction of [Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)] safety regulation 10 C.F.R. § 72.22(e) because its financial qualifications analysis is based on the incorrect assumption that PG&E will not seek renewal of the DCPP reactors. LBP-23-07, 98 NRC at __ (slip op. at 15).
On August 10, 2023, PG&E submitted a revision to the LRA that amends the financial qualifications discussion to reflect the potential for DCPP continued operations beyond the current operating license expiration dates.5 On August 24, 2023, PG&E filed a motion asking this Board to dismiss or, alternatively, grant summary disposition of Contention A as moot. See PG&E Motion at 1. PG&E explains that Contention A is a contention of omission alleging that the financial qualifications discussion in the LRA improperly fails to acknowledge PG&Es plan to seek renewal of the DCPP reactors.
See id. at 4. PG&E states that the revised LRA cures that alleged deficiency, see id. at 1, and pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.1205(a), PG&E provides the following statement of material facts for which there is no genuine issue to be heard:
On July 19, 2023, the Board issued LBP-23-07, granting [SLOMFPs hearing request].
4 See [SLOMFP] Hearing Request and Petition to Intervene in License Renewal Proceeding for Diablo Canyon [Independent] Spent Fuel Storage Installation (Mar. 13, 2023).
5 See Letter from M. Zawalick, PG&E, to NRC Document Control Desk, Diablo Canyon [ISFSI LRA], rev. 1, at 1 (Aug. 10, 2023) (ADAMS Accession No. ML23222A287).
3-In LBP-23-07, the Board admitted only one contention for hearing.
The sole contention admitted for hearing in LBP-23-07 alleged as follows:
PG&Es ISFSI LRA fails to provide accurate and complete information regarding its satisfaction of NRC safety regulation 10 C.F.R. § 72.22(e) because its financial qualifications analysis is based on the incorrect assumption that PG&E will not seek renewal of the DCPP reactors.
On August 10, 2023, PG&E submitted the [revised LRA].
The [revised LRA amends] the LRA [financial qualifications] analysis to reflect the potential for DCPP continued operations beyond the current [operating] license expiration dates.
Following the [revised LRA], the LRA [financial qualifications] analysis is no longer based on the incorrect assumption that PG&E will not seek renewal of the DCPP reactors.
Id., attach. A. PG&E therefore moves this Board to summarily dismiss the contention as moot.
See id. at 5.
On September 5, 2023, the NRC Staff filed an answer supporting PG&Es motion.6 In the NRC Staffs view, because of PG&Es revision to the ISFSI LRA, Contention A as admitted has become moot, and there is no remaining genuine material dispute of fact or law with respect to Contention A. NRC Staff Answer at 2.
On September 11, 2023, SLOMFP notified this Board and the Commission that it was withdrawing Contention A. See SLOMFP Withdrawal Notice at 1.7 SLOMFP explains that it is withdrawing the contention because PG&Es August 10, 2023 amendment to its license renewal application now appears to resolve the concerns raised by Contention A. Id. SLOMFP recognizes that withdrawal of Contention A will result in the termination of this adjudicatory proceeding, but it reserves the right [pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(c)] to submit a new hearing 6 See NRC Staff Answer to [PG&Es] Motion to Dismiss or for Summary Disposition of Contention A as Moot (Sept. 5, 2023) [hereinafter NRC Staff Answer].
7 SLOMFP included the Commission in its filing to ensure it would be aware that as a result of withdrawing the contention, SLOMFP will not respond to PG&Es brief on appeal of LBP-23-07 (filed with the Commission on August 14, 2023). SLOMFP Withdrawal Notice at 1.
4-request . . . if subsequent events or changes to PG&Es ISFSI license renewal application give rise to new safety or environmental concerns. Id.
II. ORDER In recognition of SLOMFPs notice of withdrawal of Contention A, we dismiss Contention A. Our dismissal of Contention A renders PG&Es motion for summary disposition moot.8 Because Contention A was the only admitted contention in this proceeding, we terminate this proceeding at the Board level.
Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.341(b), any petition for review to the Commission must be filed within 25 days of this issuance.
It is so ORDERED.
THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD
/RA/
E. Roy Hawkens, Chair ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE
/RA/
Nicholas G. Trikouros ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE
/RA/
Dr. Gary S. Arnold ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE Rockville, Maryland September 15, 2023 8 Although our dismissal of Contention A pursuant to SLOMFPs withdrawal notice moots PG&Es motion, it is to be acknowledged that the reasoning underlying both filings is identical namely, PG&Es revised LRA cured the deficiency alleged in Contention A.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of )
)
PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY ) Docket No. 72-26-ISFSI-MLR
)
(Diablo Canyon Independent Spent Fuel )
Storage Installation) )
)
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (Dismissing Contention and Terminating Proceeding) (LBP-23-08) have been served upon the following persons by Electronic Information Exchange.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop: O-16B33 Mail Stop - O-14A44 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: ocaamail.resource@nrc.gov Adam S. Gendelman Catherine E. Kanatas Mauri T. Lemoncelli U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission E-mail: adam.gendelman@nrc.gov Office of the Secretary of the Commission catherine.kanatas@nrc.gov Mail Stop: O-16B33 mauri.lemoncelli@nrc.gov Washington, DC 20555-0001 brian.newell@nrc.gov E-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov georgiann.hampton@nrc.gov U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Counsel for Pacific Gas and Electric Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Company Mail Stop: T-3F23 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLC Washington, DC 20555-0001 1111 Pennsylvania Ave NW E. Roy Hawkens, Chairman Washington, DC 20004 Nicholas G. Trikouros, Administrative Judge Ryan K. Lighty Dr. Gary S. Arnold, Administrative Judge Paul Bessette Noel M. Johnson, Law Clerk Timothy Matthews Emily G. Newman, Law Clerk E-mail: ryan.lighty@morganlewis.com Allison R. Wood, Law Clerk paul.bessette@morganlewis.com E-mail: roy.hawkens@nrc.gov timothy.matthews@morganlewis.com nicholas.trikouros@nrc.gov gary.arnold@nrc.gov noel.johnson@nrc.gov emily.newman@nrc.gov allison.wood@nrc.gov
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Diablo Canyon Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation) - Docket No. 72-26-ISFSI-MLR MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (Dismissing Contention and Terminating Proceeding)
Counsel for San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace Hamon, Curran, Spielberg, & Eisenberg, LLP 1725 DeSales Street, N.W.
Suite 500 Washington, DC 20036 Diane Curran E-mail: dcurran@harmoncurran.com Jill ZamEk San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace 1123 Flora Rd.
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 E-mail: jzamek@gmail.com Herald M. Digitally signed by Herald M. Speiser Speiser Date: 2023.09.15 14:49:25 -04'00' Office of the Secretary of the Commission Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of September 2023 2