ML19330C585

Response in Opposition to Doj/Nrc Joint Motion for Schedule for Document Production.Determination of Document Necessity Must Be Made Prior to Production.Certificate of Svc Encl

ML19330C585
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas, Comanche Peak
Issue date:	08/07/1980
From:	Green D HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER CO.
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
Shared Package
ML19330C584	List: ML19330C583 ML19330C585
References
ISSUANCES-A, NUDOCS 8008080567
Download: ML19330C585 (8)

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' 9 e $Nd. 4 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA d AUG 7E o d NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 9- OmmD3Sq 3 D2rg 0 R:gc3 <

BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of )

HOUSTON LIGHT & POWER )

COMPANY, et al. (South ) Docket Nos. 50-498A Texas Project, Units 1 ) 50-499A and 2) )

)

TEXAS UTILITIES GENERATING )

COMPANY, et al. (Comanche ) Docket Nos. 50-445A Peak Steam Electric ) 50-446A Station, Units 1 and 2) )

RESPONSE OF HOUSTON LIGHTING &

POWER COMPANY TO JOINT MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A SCHEDULE FOR PRODUCTION OF SETTLEMENT DOCUMENTS The Department of Justice and the NRC Staff, in response to this Board's reconsideration of its March 7, 1980 ruling concerning settlement documents, have filed a joint motion in two parts. In the first part, characterized as a request for " clarification," they suggest that reconsidera-tion is improper because Movants entered into settlement negotiations "without prejudice" to discovery (Jt. Motion f at 2-3) and argue that if Board does reconsider its ruling it should provide a statement of the " reasons which have prompted the Licensing Board to reconsider its ruling" and give Movants the opportunity to respond. (Jt. Motion at 3).

1 The second part of the motion moves the Board to " establish a schedule whereby the documents must be produced "forth-with." (Jt. Motion at 4).

800808Off

t If the Board wishes to invite the parties into a renewed round of argument and briefing on this matter Houston has no objection, and we are willing to follow whatever procedures the Board deems appropriate in its reconsideration.

However, Movants' demand that the documents be produced

" forthwith" is frivolous and should be rejected.

In demanding the Board schedule production " forthwith,"

Movants would have the Board order the documents produced before it has reconsidered whether or not their production is called for. The Appeal Board hardly had this bizarre proposition in mind when it remanded for reconsideration.

Whether or not the documents should be produced is the precise matter to be reconsidered.b/ According to Movants, both the Appeal Board and this Licensing Board forgot a technicality -- the stay of the prior ruling -- and therefore the documents must be produced " forthwith," despite the intention of both this Board and the Appeal Board to the contrary. This argument is silly: it asks the Board to rule that when the Appeal Board remanded for reconsideration it advertently pre-empted the matter to be reconsidered. The Board should reconsider the production issue as it and the 1/ Appeal Board Order of July 18, 1980, page 1.

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Appeal Board contemplated.b!

We additionally address two points in Movants' pleading raised in opposition to the Board's reconsideration. Movants' argue that the Board should disregard the supervening settle-ment discussions because Movants, before engaging in settle-ment negotiations, refused to waive their arguments vis-a-vis the documents in question. (Jt. Motion at 2). But it is a non sequitur to contend that because Movants' preserved their prior arguments the Board should ignore developments which alter those arguments' validity. As a second contention, Movants' speculate that the documents in question could be of importance if a full settlement is not reached, because they might have a bearing on issues that are unresolved. (Jt.

Motion at 3). Movants' proffer not the slightest basis for such an assumption (never heretofore suggested), nor are we aware of any. Moreover, Movants ignore altogether the adverse policy implications that production, in the face of recent developments, would plainly raise.

1/ Not only is the result Movants' seek unsound, the tech-nicality they seek to create is ill-conceived. Movants' overlook the fact that the Board's prior ruling implicitly has been withdrawn pending reconsideration, thus tech-nically, there is no currently effective order to which a stay could or need apply.

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Respectfully submitted, j

/A M ,a ouglas G. Green Attorney for Houston Lighting &

Power Company OF COUNSEL:

Baker & Botts 3000 One Shell Plaza Houston, Texas 77002 Lowenstein, Newman, Reis, Axelrad & Toll 1025 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036 DATED: August 1, 1980 l

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA g ,g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION  %

AUG 71980

• 7 s- omesenesmen -3 BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD Dxlating & W109 Brant In the Matter of ) R &'

)

HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER COMPANY, ) Docket Nos. 50-498A et al. ) 50-499A

)

(South Texas Project, Units 1 )

and 2) )

)

TEXAS UTILITIES GENERATING COMPANY ) Docket Nos. 50-445A et al. ) 50-446A

)

(Comanche Peak Steam Electric )

Station, Units 1 and 2) )

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that copies of the foregoing:

Response of Houston Lighting & Power Company To Joint Motion For Clarification And Establishment Of A Schedule For Production Of Settlement Documents; Answer of Houston Lighting & Power Company To The Petition Of The Texas Border Cooperatives For Leave To Intervene were served upon the following persons, by hand *, or by deposit in the United States Mail, first class costage prepaid, I this 7th day of August, 1980.

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• Marshall E. Miller, Esquire *Fredric D. Channnia, Esquire U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Michael B. Blume, Esquire

. Washington, D.C. 20555 Ann P. Hodgdon, Esquire U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission :

• Michael L. Glaser, Esquire Washington, D.C. 20555 1150 17th Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20555 Roff Hardy Chairman and Chief Executive

• Sheldon J. Wolfe, Esquire Officer U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Central Power and Light Company Washington, D.C. 20555 Post Office Box 2121 Corpus Christi, Texas 78403

• Atomic SEfety and Licensing Appeal Board Panel (3) J.K. Spruce, General Manager U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission City Public Service Board Washington, D.C. 20555 Post Office Box 1771 San Antonio, Texas 78296 Chase R. Stephens, Supervisor (20)

Docketing and Service Branch Mr. Perry G. Brittain U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission President Washington, D.C. 20555 Texas Utilities Generating Company 2001 Bryan Tower Mr. Jerome D. Saltzman Dallas, Texas 75201 Chief, Antitrust and Indemnity Group G.W. Oprea, Jr.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatorv Commission Executive Vice President Washington, D.C. 20555 Houston Lighting & Power Company Post Office Box 1700 J. Irion Worsham, Esquire Houston, Texas 77001 Marlyn D. Sampels, Esquire Spencer C. Relyea, Esquire R.L. Hancock, Director Worsham, Forsyth & Sampels City of Austin Electric Utility 2001 Bryan Tower, Suite 2500 Post Office Box 1086 Dallas, Texas 75201 Austin, Texas 78767 Jon C. Wood, Esquire

• Joseph Gallo, Esquire Matthews, Nowlin, Macfarlane Robert H. Loeffler, Esquire

& Barrett David M. Stahl, Esquire 1500 Alamo National Building Isham, Lincoln & Beale San Antonio, Texas 78205 1120 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 325 Washington, D.C. 20036 Charles G. Thrash, Jr., Esquire E . W.. Barnett, Esquire Michael I. Miller, Esquire Theodore F. Weiss, Esquire James A. Carney, Esquire J. Gregory Copeland, Esquire Sarah Welling, Esquire Baker & Botts Martha E. Gibbs, Esquire 3000 One Shell Plaza Isham, Lincoln & Beale Houston, Texas 77002 One First National Plaza Suite 4200 R. Gordon Gooch, Esquire Chicago, Illinois 60603 Steven R. Hunsicker, Esquire Baker & Botts 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue W shington, D.C. 20006

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• Kenneth M. Glazier, Esquire Don R. Butler, Esquire David A. Dopsovic, Esquire ,

211 East Seventh Street Frederick H. Parmenter, Esquire Austin, Texas 78701 Susan B. Cyphert, Esquire Nancy A. Luque, Esquire i Mr. Wi411am C. Price Robert Fabrikant, Esquire C3ntral Power & Light Company Energy Section Antitrust Division Post Office Box 2121 U.S. Department of Justice Corpus Christi, Texas 78403 P.O. Box 14141 Washington, D.C. 20044 Mr. G. Holman King West Texas Utilities Company Morgan Hunter, Esquire Post Office Box 841 Bill D. St. Clair, Esauire l Abilene, Texas 79604 McGinnis, Lockridge & Kilgore Fifth Floor Jerry L. Harris, Esquire Texas State Bank Building Richard C. Balough, Esquire 900 Congress Avenue City of Austin Austin, Texas 78701 Post Office Box 1088 Austin, Texas 78767 W.S. Robson General Manager

• Joseph B. Knotts, Jr., Esquire South Texas Electric Cooperative, Nicholas S. Reynolds, Esquire Inc.

C. Dennis Ahearn, Esquire Post Office 151 Debevoise & Liberman Nursery, TX 77976 1200 Seventeenth Street, N.W.

Wnshington, D.C. 20036

• Robert C. McDiarmid, Esquire Don H. Davidson George Spiegel, Esquire City Manager Robert A. Jablon, Esquire City of Austin Marc R. Poirier, Esquire P.O. Box 1088 Spiegel & McDiarmid Austin, Texas 78767 2600 Virginia Avenue, N.W.

Suite 312-Jay Galt, Esquire Washington, D.C. 20037 Looney, Nichols, Johnson & Hays 219 Couch Drive Kevin B. Pratt Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102 Texas Attorney General's Office Post Office Box 12548 Knolant J. Plucknett Austin, Texas 78711 Executive Director Committee on Power for the South- William H. Burchette, Esquire west, Inc. Frederick H. Ritts, Esquire 5541 East Skelly Drive Law Offices of Northcutt Ely Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135 Watergate 600 Building Washington, D.C. 20036 John W. Davidson, Esquire ~

Scwtell, Goode, Davidson & Tioili Tom W. Gregg, Esquire 1100 San Ant 6nio Savings Building Post Office Box Drawer 1032 Sen Antonio, Texas 78205 San Angelo, Texas 76902

• Douglas F. John, Escuire Leland F. Leatherman, Esquire McDermott, Will and Emery McMath, Leatherman & Woods, P.A.

1101 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. 711 West Third Street Suite 1201 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Washington, D.C. 20036

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Paul W. Eaton, Jr., Esquire Hinkle,-Cox, Eaton, Coffield & Hensley 600 Henkle. Building Post Office Box 10 Roswell, New Mexico 88201 Robert M. Rader, Esquire Conner, Moore & Corber 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.  ;

Washington, D.C. 20006 W.N. Woolsey, Esquire '

Kleberg, Dyer, Redford & Weil 1030 Petroleum Tower Corpus Christi, Texas 78474 Donald M. Clements, Esquire Gulf States Utilities Company Post Office Box 2951 Beaumont, Texas 77704 Dick Terrell Brown, Esquire 800 Milam Building Scn Antonio, Texas 78205 Robert E. Cohn, Esquire Richard J. Leidl, Esquire Butler, Binion, Rice, Cook

& Knapp 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.

Ninth Floor Washington, DC 20006 Stephen H. Lewis, Esquire U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of the Executive Legal Director Washington, DC 20555

• Robert A. O'Neill, Esquire Miller, Balis & O'Neil, P.C.

776 Executive Building 1030 Fifteenth Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005

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