Press Release-07-166, Pre-Licensing Board Rejects Nevada'S Bid to Strike DOE Document Library in Yucca Mountain Proceeding

Press Release-07-166: Pre-Licensing Board Rejects Nevada'S Bid to Strike DOE Document Library in Yucca Mountain Proceeding

ML073460439
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Issue date:	12/12/2007
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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov Site: http://www.nrc.gov No.07-166 December 12, 2007 PRE-LICENSING BOARD REJECTS NEVADAS BID TO STRIKE DOE DOCUMENT LIBRARY IN YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROCEEDING The Nuclear Regulatory Commissions Pre-License Application Presiding Officer (PAPO) Board today rejected the state of Nevadas petition to strike the Department of Energys certification of its document collection on the Licensing Support Network for the Yucca Mountain proceeding.

The two-page ruling was issued one week after oral arguments were heard in Las Vegas.

The PAPO board explained that it was issuing its order quickly to give other parties advance notice, because NRC regulations require them to certify their own document collections by Jan.

18. The PAPO Board will issue a full decision on Nevadas motion at a later date.

The Licensing Support Network is an extensive online library of documents relating to DOEs potential license application for a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev. It is intended to assist potential parties in preparing and arguing contentions challenging the application in hearings before the NRCs Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.

DOE is expected to submit its application by the end of June 2008.

Nevada had argued that DOEs document collection, which the department certified Oct.

19, was incomplete because it did not include key documents that are currently in development or not yet prepared.

NRC regulations recognize that parties and potential parties, such as DOE, will continue to develop, prepare, and finalize additional documentary material, and to supplement their document production, after the date of initial certification, the PAPO Board wrote in its ruling.

The regulations do not specify that DOE, or any other potential party, must finalize all documentary material before it can certify.

The text of the Boards ruling, which can be found online on the NRCs electronic hearing docket at: http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hlw-hearings.html, is appended below:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD Before Administrative Judges:

Thomas S. Moore, Chairman Alex S. Karlin Alan S. Rosenthal In the Matter of Docket No. PAPO-00 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ASLBP No. 04-829-01-PAPO (High Level Waste Repository:

Pre-Application Matters) December 12, 2007 ORDER (Denying Motion to Strike)

The motion by the State of Nevada to strike the October 19, 2007 certification by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) that DOE has made all of its documentary material available on the Licensing Support Network (LSN), and to suspend the obligation of other potential parties to make their documentary material available within 90 days thereof, is denied.1 Nevada concedes, for the sake of argument, that DOE has made available all of DOE=s documentary material A>in existence as of a reasonable cutoff date= before certification.@2 The Acrux of Nevada=s complaint,@ however, is that DOE=s document production Ais incomplete because [DOE has not provided certain] key documents [that] are in development or not yet prepared.@3 1

Motion to Strike DOE=s October 19, 2007 LSN Recertification and to Suspend Certification Obligations of Others Until DOE Validly Recertifies (October 29, 2007).

2 Id. at 18 n.4.

3 Id. at 17.

Nevada=s legal position is incorrect. The regulations recognize that parties and potential parties, such as DOE, will continue to develop, prepare, and finalize additional documentary material, and to supplement their document production, after the date of initial certification. The regulations do not specify that DOE, or any other potential party, must finalize all documentary material before it can certify. The duty to produce documents applies to documentary material in existence (with a reasonable lag time) on the date of certification. Accordingly, Nevada=s motion is denied.

The Pre-License Application Presiding Officer Board is issuing this order quickly to provide maximum advance notice to the State of Nevada, and other potential parties, who are obliged to produce their own documentary material, and submit their own certifications, on January 17, 2008. See 10 C.F.R. ' 2.1003(a). The Board will issue a memorandum and order, more fully articulating its ruling on this matter in due course.

The time period for filing an appeal to the Commission under 10 C.F.R. ' 2.1015 will not start until that memorandum and order is issued.

It is so ORDERED.

The Pre-license Application Presiding Officer Board

/RA/

Thomas S. Moore, Chairman ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE

/RA/

Alex S. Karlin ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE

/RA/

Alan S. Rosenthal ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE Rockville, Maryland December 12, 2007

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