ML24106A272
| ML24106A272 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | North Anna  |
| Issue date: | 04/15/2024 |
| From: | Michael Gibson Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| To: | Gary Arnold, Nicholas Trikouros Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| RAS 56991, 50-338 SLR-2, 50-339 SLR-2, ASLBP 24-984-02-SLR-BD01 | |
| Download: ML24106A272 (0) | |
Text
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD PANEL
Before the Licensing Board:
Michael M. Gibson, Chair Nicholas G. Trikouros Dr. Gary S. Arnold
In the Matter of: Docket Nos. 50-338-SLR-2 50-339-SLR-2 VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY ASLBP No. 24-984-02-SLR-BD01
(North Anna Power Station Units 1 & 2) April 15, 2024
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (Initial Prehearing Order (amended)) 1
This proceeding concerns the twenty-year subsequent renewal of the licenses for North
Anna Power Station Units 1 and 2, which currently authorize Virginia Electric and Power
Company (VEPCO) to operate North Anna Power Station, Units 1 and 2, located in Louisa
County, Virginia, until, respectively, April 1, 2038 and August 21, 2040. On January 8, 2024, a
notice was published in the Federal Register announcing the opportunity to request a hearing
on the draft site-specific environmental impact statement issued by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission Staff (NRC Staff).2 Beyond Nuclear, Inc. (Beyond Nuclear) and the Sierra Club,
1This Memorandum and Order amends the April 4, 2024 Initial Prehearing Order to reflect the Motion to Amend by Beyond Nuclear and the Sierra Club, to change the dates when Answers to the Hearing Request and Motion to Amend are due from the Applicant and NRC staff and when the Reply to those Answers is due from the Intervenors, to correct the date of the Board Establishment Order, and to reflect the new date for oral argument.
2 See 89 Fed. Reg. 960 (Jan. 8, 2024).
Inc. (Sierra Club) submitted a hearing reques t through the agencys E-Filing system on March
28, 2024.3
On April 3, 2024, this Licensing Board was established to rule on standing and
contention admissibility matters and to preside at any hearing. 4 Subsequently, on April 11,
2024, Beyond Nuclear and the Sierra Club submitted a motion to amend one of their
contentions.5
The following directives shall apply to this proceeding.
I. BRIEFING SCHEDULE
Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(i), VEPCOs and the NRC Staffs answers to the March
28 petition and to the April 11 motion are due by Monday, May 6, 2024. Any reply to those
answers is due by Monday, May 13, 2024. 6
II. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
A. Notices of Appearance
If they have not already done so, on or before Monday, May 6, 2024, each counsel shall
file a notice of appearance complying with the requirements of 10 C.F.R. § 2.314(b) via the
agencys E-Filing system. 7 Each such notice of appearance should include a business address,
a telephone number, and an e-mail address for the counsel or representative.
3 See Hearing Request and Petition to Intervene by Beyond Nuclear and the Sierra Club (Mar.
28, 2024).
4 See Establishment of Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (April 3, 2024).
5 See Motion by Beyond Nuclear and the Sierra Club to Amend Their Contention 3 Regarding Failure to Consider Environmental Im pacts of Climate Change (Apr. 11, 2024).
6 If answers to the petition are filed earlier than May 6, 2024, the petitioner may nevertheless reply on or before May 13, 2024.
7 For assistance with the NRCs E-Filing system, a participant can contact the Electronic Filing Helpdesk via its webpage (https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/contact-us-eie.html) or by calling (866) 672 -7640 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (excluding federal government holidays).
B. Administrative Prescriptions for Pleadings
- 1. All pleadings shall be double spaced.
- 2. Absent preapproval by this Board, any motion filed after the date of this
memorandum and order and any related responsive pleading shall not exceed ten pages
(including the signature page but excluding the certificate of service and any
attachments/enclosures). Any request for preapproval to exceed this page limit shall be
submitted in writing no less than three business days prior to the expected filing date of the
motion or responsive pleading. The request must (1) indicate whether the request is opposed
or supported by the other participants to the proceeding; 8 (2) provide a good faith estimate of
the number of additional pages that will be filed; and (3) demonstrate good cause for being
permitted to exceed the page limitation.
C. Replies to an Answer to a Motion Except in instances involving a motion to file a new contention or a motion to file an
amended contention, a participant to this proceeding must request permission to file a reply to
an answer to a motion.9 A request for Board approval to file such a reply shall be submitted in
writing no fewer than three business days prior to the time the reply will be filed. 10 A request to
file a reply (1) must indicate whether the request is opposed or supported by the other
8 See 10 C.F.R. § 2.323(b). Pursuant to section 2.323(b), all motions (except motions to file new/amended contentions; see 10 C.F.R. § 2.323(a)(1)) require a certification by the moving participant, or the attorney or representative for the moving participant, that a sincere effort has been made to contact the other participants in the proceeding and to resolve the matters raised by the motion. If the consultation mandated by section 2.323(b) is initiated within a reasonable time and the participants believe that all or part of the matter may be resolved amicably if additional time is provided for filing the motion, the participants are encouraged to file a joint motion requesting such a time extension.
9 See 10 C.F.R. § 2.323(c).
10 Although the agencys rules do not provide for replies, the Board will presume that for a reply to be timely, it would have to be filed within seven days of the date of service of the answer it is intended to address. Cf. 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(i)(2).
participants to the proceeding; and (2) must demonstrate that compelling circumstances exist
for permitting the reply to be filed. 11
D. Motions for Extension of Time
A motion for an extension of time shall be submitted in writing at least three business
days before the due date for the pleading or other submission for which an extension is
sought.12 A motion for extension of time (1) must indicate whether the request is opposed or
supported by the other participants to this proceeding; and (2) must demonstrate appropriate
cause that supports the extension.
E. Opposing a Request to Exceed the Page Limit, to File a Reply, or to Extend the Time for Filing a Pleading
Any opposition to a request to exceed the page limit, to file a reply, or to extend the time
for filing a pleading shall be filed no later than the next business day after the filing of the
request.
F. Attachments/Enclosures to Pleadings
For future filings, where a pleading has additional documents appended to it, such
appended documents should be referred to as either attachments or enclosures (and not as
exhibits), and each such appended document shall bear a separate alphabetic or numeric
designation (e.g., Attachment A, or Enclosure 1) that is noted either on the first page of the
11 Section 2.323(c) indicates that compelling circumstances might be shown in an instance where the moving participant demonstrates it could not reasonably have anticipated the arguments to which it seeks to reply.
12 Unless some other time is specified either in the agencys rules or by the Board, motions (other than summary disposition motions) generally are due within ten days after the occurrence or circumstance from which the motion arises, with any answer to that motion due within ten days of service of the motion. See 10 C.F.R. § 2.323(a)(2)(c). An exception to this ten-day filing period is a motion seeking the admission of new/amended contentions. See 10 C.F.R.
§ 2.309(c)(2)(ii), (f)(2); see also id. § 2.323(a)(1) (motions for new/amended contentions not subject to section 2.323 requirements). To be considered timely under 10 C.F.R.
§ 2.309(c)(1)(iii), a motion seeking the admission of new/amended contentions (and the accompanying new/amended contention) should be filed within 30 days of the date on which the information that forms the basis of the motion becomes available.
- 5 -
appended document or on a cover/d ivider sheet in front of the appended document.
Attachments or enclosures to a motion and any related responsive pleadings (1) are not subject
to the page limit set forth in section II.B.2 above, but (2) should be submitted via the agencys E-
Filing system as part of a single electronic file consisting of the pleading, the certificate of
service, and all associated attachments or enclosures. 13
G. Filing Date on Pleadings
The Board requests that the first page of each pleading subm itted by a participant
include the pleadings filing date placed either in the upper right-hand corner or as part of the
caption.
III. INITIAL PREHEARING CONFERENCE
The Board has determined that it will hold an initial prehearing conference to hear oral
argument regarding standing and contention admissibility on May 20. An order scheduling such
oral argument will be issued separately.
It is so ORDERED.
FORTHEATOMICSAFETY ANDLICENSINGBOARD
_________________________ /RA/
Michael M. Gibson, Chair ADMINISTRATIVEJUDGE
Rockville, Maryland April 15, 2024
13 In accordance with the agencys electronic submission guidance, multiple electronic files should be used for pleadings or submissions with attachments or enclosures only if the filing exceeds 1,000 megabytes in size. See Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC (Rev.
10), at 6 (May 30, 2023), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1303/ML13031A056.pdf.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
In the Matter of )
)
VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY ) Docket Nos. 50-338-SLR-2
) 50- 339 -SLR-2 (North Anna Power Station, Units 1 and 2) )
)
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (Initial Prehearing Order (amended) ) 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 David E. Roth, Esq.
Sherwin E. Turk, Esq.
Susan H. Vrahoretis, Esq.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reuben I. Siegman, Esq.
Office of the Secretary of the Commission Caitlin R. Byrd, Paralegal Mail Stop: O-16B33 Georgiann E. Hampton, Paralegal Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: david.roth@nrc.gov E-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov sherwin.turk@nrc.gov susan.vrahoretis@nrc.gov reuben.siegman@nrc.gov U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission caitlin.byrd@nrc.gov Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel georgiann.hampton@nrc.gov Mail Stop: T-3F23 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Michael M. Gibson, C hair, Administrative Counsel for Virginia Electric and Power Judge Company Nicholas G. Trikouros, Administrative Judge Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLC Dr. Gary S. Arnold, Administrative Judge 1111 Pennsylvania Ave NW Emily Newman, Law Clerk Washington, DC 20004 E-mail: michael.gibson@nrc.gov Paul Bessette, Esq.
nicholas.trikouros@nrc.gov Scott Clausen, Esq.
gary.arnold@nrc.gov Ryan K. Lighty, Esq.
emily.newman@nrc.gov E-mail: paul.bessette@morganlewis.com scott.clausen@morganlewis.com ryan.lighty@morganlewis.com
Vistra Operations Company, LLC (Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2)
ORDER (Denying Request for Extension of Time)
Counsel for Beyond Nuclear and Beyond Nuclear Sierra Club Reactor Oversight Project Harmon, Curran, Spielberg, & 7304 Carroll Avenue #182 Eisenberg, LLP Takoma Park, MD 20912 1725 DeSales Street, N.W. Paul Gunter Suite 500 E-mail: paul@beyondnuclear.org Washington, DC 20036 Diane Curran E-mail: dcurran@harmoncurran.com
Office of the Secretary of the Commission
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of April 202 4.
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