ML12241A460

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.'S Answer Opposing New York State'S Motion for Extension of Time to File New Contentions

ML12241A460
Person / Time
Site:	Indian Point
Issue date:	08/28/2012
From:	Bessette P M, Burchfield B R, Carpenter C A, Dennis W, Glew W B, Leland M M, Meserve R A, Sutton K M Covington & Burling, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Entergy Services, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, Morgan, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
SECY RAS
References
RAS 23369, 50-247-LR, 50-286-LR, ASLBP 07-858-03-LR-BD01
Download: ML12241A460 (7)

Text

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of ) Docket Nos. 50-247-LR and

) 50-286-LR ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. )

)

(Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3) )

) August 28, 2012 ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC.'S ANSWER OPPOSING NEW YORK STATE'S MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE NEW CONTENTIONS The State of New York's motion for an extension of the time to file a contention in response to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.'s ("Entergy") LRA Supplement concerning the Coastal Zone Management Act ("CZMA") should be denied. The motion fails to "demonstrate appropriate cause" 1 for extending the deadline until 30 days after this Board rules on Entergy's Motion for Declaratory Order concerning the same issue that would be the subject of the contention.

2 During the Section 2.323(b) consultation, both Entergy and the Staff offered New York an extension of the cu rrent deadline to January 14, 2013, 3 the same date on which New York's response to Entergy's Motion for Declaratory Order is due. New York rejected this proposal and proceeded to file the current motion.

1 Scheduling Order, at 7 (July 1, 2010).

2 "State of New York Motion for Extension of Time to File New Contentions, If Any, On Entergy's Environmental Report 'Supplement' Regarding the Coastal Zone Management Act" (Aug. 20, 2012) ("Motion"), at 1.

3 Entergy does not concede that separate contentions, in addition to New York's answer to Entergy's motion, are appropriate and reserves its right to oppose any motion for leave to file such contentions.

First , any contention filed after the Board rules would almost certainly be superfluous, moot, or both. In deciding Entergy's Motion for Declaratory Order, the Board will necessarily decide whether Entergy's LRA Supplement has merit or not, and it is difficult to conceive of any issue that might remain unresolved that woul d give rise to an admissible contention. Accordingly, the Board should reject New York's reque st to litigate this issue in an inefficient, piecemeal manner.

Second, contrary to New York's suggestion, the Requests for Additional Information ("RAIs") submitted to Entergy by the NRC Staff provide no basis for extending the State's

contention deadline beyond January 14, 2013.

4 The Commission has long recognized that admissible contentions "must rest on the license application, not on NRC staff reviews."

5 In any event, Entergy's responses to the RAIs are due on September 12, 2012, and even if that date is slightly extended, New York will have plenty of time to formulate and articulate any contention by January 14, 2013.

Finally, the Board has been exceedingly generous in extending the time for New York to respond to Entergy's motion beyond even the 91 days New York had sought.

6 Nothing in New York's request justifies a longer period of time to file a contention on the same issue. By filing its contention simultaneously with its response to Entergy's Motion for Declaratory Order, New

4 Entergy disputes New York's speculation concerning the Staff's reasons for submitting the RAIs, as well as the State's underlying mischaracterization of the basis for Entergy's LRA Supplement.

See Motion at 4.

5 Balt. Gas & Elec. Co. (Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant), CLI 98-25, 48 NRC 325, 349-50 (1998) (rejecting a party's request to postpone the deadline for filing contention to allow party to examine NRC RAIs and applicant's responses) (emphasis in original); see also Nuclear Mgmt. Co., LLC (Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant), CLI-06-6, 63 NRC 161, 164 (2006) ("[W]e have held repeatedly that the mere issuance of a staff RAI does not establish grounds for a litigable contention."); Duke Energy Corp. (Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2 & 3), CLI-99-11, 49 NRC 328, 337-39 (1999) ("[I]f we 'allow[ed] Petitioners to await completion of the RAI process before framing specific contentions, the hearing process frequently would take months or years even to begin, and expedited proceedings, such as the Commission contemplated for license renewal, would prove impossible.'").

6 See "Order (Granting, in Part, the NRC Staff's and New York's Motion for Extension of Time)" (Aug. 8, 2012).

York would allow the Board to consider the same issue just once. In contrast, a later filing of the contention, after the Board has already considered the issues in the context of Entergy's motion, would be duplicative and se rve no useful purpose.

For each of these reasons, Entergy respectfully urges the Board to deny New York's Motion for Extension of Time to the extent it seeks an extension beyond January 14, 2013.

Dated: August 28, 2012

Richard A. Meserve

COVINGTON & B URLING LLP 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004-2401

(202) 662-6000

(202) 662-6291 fax

Kathryn M. Sutton

Paul M. Bessette

MORGAN , LEWIS & B OCKIUS LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20004-2541

(202) 739-3000

(202) 739-3001 fax Respectfully submitted, Executed in accord with 10 C.F.R. § 2.304(d)

Bobby R. Burchfield Matthew M. Leland Clint A. Carpenter

M C DERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP 600 13th Street, NW Washington, DC 20005-3096

(202) 756-8000

(202) 756-8087 fax

William B. Glew, Jr.

William Dennis

ENTERGY SERVICES , I NC. 440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601

(914) 272-3360

Counsel for Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of ) Docket Nos. 50-247-LR and

) 50-286-LR ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. )

)

(Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3) )

) August 28, 2012 ANSWER CERTIFICATION I certify that I have made a sincere effort to make myself available to listen and respond to the moving party, and to resolv e the factual and legal issues raised in the motion, and that my efforts to resolve the issu es have been unsuccessful.

Executed in accord with 10 C.F.R. § 2.304(d)

Bobby R. Burchfield M C DERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP 600 13th Street, NW Washington, DC 20005-3096

(202) 756-8000 (202) 756-8087 fax Counsel for Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of ) Docket Nos. 50-247-LR and

) 50-286-LR ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. )

)

(Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3) )

) August 28, 2012 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on August 28, 2012, copies of the foregoing Answer Opposing New York State's Motion for Extension of Time to File New Contentions were served electronically via the Electronic Information Exchange on the following recipients:

Administrative Judge Lawrence G. McDade, Chair Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Mail Stop: T-3 F23

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 (E-mail: Lawrence.McDade@nrc.gov)

Administrative Judge Dr. Michael F. Kennedy Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Mail Stop: T-3 F23

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 (E-mail: Michael.Kennedy@nrc.gov) Administrative Judge Dr. Richard E. Wardwell Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Mail Stop: T-3 F23

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 (E-mail: Richard.Wardwell@nrc.gov)

Office of the Secretary Attn: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 (E-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov) Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop: O-7H4M Washington, DC 20555-0001 (E-mail: ocaamail.resource@nrc.gov) Shelby Lewman, Law Clerk Anne Siarnacki, Law Clerk Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Mail Stop: T-3 F23

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 (E-mail: shelbie.lewman@nrc.gov)

(E-mail: Anne.Siarnacki@nrc.gov)

Sherwin E. Turk, Esq. Edward L. Williamson, Esq.

Beth N. Mizuno, Esq.

David E. Roth, Esq.

Brian G. Harris, Esq.

Mary B. Spencer, Esq.

Anita Ghosh, Esq.

Brian Newell, Paralegal Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop: O-15D21

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 (E-mail: Sherwin.Turk@nrc.gov)

(E-mail: Edward.Williamson@nrc.gov)

(E-mail: Beth.Mizuno@nrc.gov)

(E-mail: David.Roth@nrc.gov)

(E-mail: Brian.Harris@nrc.gov)

(E-mail: Mary.Spencer@nrc.gov)

(E-mail: Anita.Ghosh@nrc.gov)

(E-mail: Brian.Newell@nrc.gov)

Melissa-Jean Rotini, Esq. Assistant County Attorney Office of Robert F. Meehan, Esq.

Westchester County Attorney 148 Martine Avenue, 6th Floor White Plains, NY 10601 (E-mail: MJR1@westchestergov.com)

Manna Jo Greene Karla Raimundi Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.

724 Wolcott Ave.

Beacon, NY 12508 (E-mail: mannajo@clearwater.org) (E-mail: karla@clearwater.org)

(E-mail: stephenfiller@gmail.com)

Daniel Riesel, Esq. Victoria Shiah Treanor, Esq.

Sive, Paget & Riesel, P.C.

460 Park Avenue New York, NY 10022 (E-mail: driesel@sprlaw.com) (E-mail: vshiah@sprlaw.com)

John Louis Parker, Esq. Office of General Counsel, Region 3

NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

21 S. Putt Corners Road New Paltz, New York 12561-1620 (E-mail: jlparker@gw.dec.state.ny.us)

John J. Sipos, Esq.

Charlie Donaldson Esq.

Assistant Attorneys General Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York

The Capitol Albany, NY 12224-0341 (E-mail: John.Sipos@ag.ny.gov)

(E-mail: Charlie.Donaldson@ag.ny.gov) Michael J. Delaney, Esq. Vice President -Energy Department New York City Economic Development

Corporation (NYCDEC) 110 William Street New York, NY 10038

mdelaney@nycedc.com Phillip Musegaas, Esq.

Deborah Brancato, Esq.

Riverkeeper, Inc.

20 Secor Road Ossining, NY 10562 (E-mail: phillip@riverkeeper.org)

(E-mail: dbrancato@riverkeeper.org) Sean Murray, Mayor Kevin Hay, Village Administrator Village of Buchanan Municipal Building 236 Tate Avenue Buchanan, NY 10511-1298 (E-mail: smurray@villageofbuchanan.com)

(E-mail:

Administrator@villageofbuchanan.com)

Robert D. Snook, Esq.

Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General State of Connecticut 55 Elm Street P.O. Box 120 Hartford, CT 06141-0120 (E-mail: Robert.Snook@po.state.ct.us)

Janice A. Dean, Esq. Teresa Manzi Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York 120 Broadway, 26th Floor New York, New York 10271 (E-mail: Janice.Dean@ag.ny.gov)

(E-mail: Teresa.Manzi@ag.ny.gov)

Signed (electronically) by Clint A. Carpenter Clint A. Carpenter M C DERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP 600 13th Street, NW Washington, DC 20005-3096

(202) 756-8000

(202) 756-8087 fax