ML083110749

2008/11/06-Commission Memorandum and Order (CLI-08-27)-Indian Point

ML083110749
Person / Time
Site:	Indian Point
Issue date:	11/06/2008
From:	Annette Vietti-Cook NRC/SECY
To:
SECY RAS
References
50-247-LR, 50-286-LR, RAS E-192
Download: ML083110749 (7)

Text

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS:

Dale E. Klein, Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko Peter B. Lyons Kristine L. Svinicki

)

In the Matter of )

)

ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. ) Docket Nos. 50-247-LR,

) 50-286-LR (Indian Point Nuclear Generating )

Units 2 and 3) )

)

CLI-08-27 MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This proceeding concerns the application of Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy) to renew the licenses for Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3. Before us is an appeal, filed jointly by Nancy Burton and Connecticut Residents Opposed to Relicensing of Indian Point (collectively, CRORIP).1 CRORIP appeals two companion decisions of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board in this matter: first, the Boards denial of a petition filed by CRORIP pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.335; and second, the Boards denial of CRORIPs petition to intervene and request for hearing.2 We deny CRORIPs appeal.

1 Notice of Appeal (Aug. 11, 2008)(CRORIP Appeal). Both the NRC staff and Entergy filed answers opposing the CRORIP Appeal. NRC Staffs Answer in Opposition to CRORIPS Appeal from LBP-08-13 and the Licensing Boards Order (Denying CRORIPs 10 C.F.R.

§ 2.335 Petition) (Aug. 21, 2008); Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. Answer Opposing Appeal of Connecticut Residents Opposed to Relicensing of Indian Point (Aug. 21, 2008).

2 Order (Denying CRORIPs 10 C.F.R. § 2.335 Petition)(unpublished)(July 31, 2008)(Waiver Order); LBP-08-13, 68 NRC __ (July 31, 2008), slip op. at 3, 5, 221-24. The Board held that, while CRORIP established standing, its sole proposed contention fell outside the scope of the license renewal proceeding and was therefore inadmissible.

As a general matter, a board ruling denying a waiver request is interlocutory in nature, and therefore not appealable until the board has issued a final decision resolving the case.3 Here, however, the Boards denial of CRORIPs waiver request is inextricably intertwined with its decision, in LBP-08-13, to wholly deny CRORIPs intervention petition - a decision which CRORIP may appeal immediately.4 Pursuant to Section 2.335, CRORIP sought a waiver of NRC regulations adopting NUREG-1437, the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants (May 1996) (GEIS), with regard to, first, the exclusion from site-specific analysis of occupational and public radiation exposures during the license renewal term,5 and second, the NRCs use of the Reference Man dose models to calculate permissible levels of radiation exposure.6 CRORIPs single proposed contention, in turn, argued that Entergys license renewal application did not adequately account for the health risks to local populations from the cumulative effects of radiation exposure from routine and accidental releases of radiation from the plant7 - in effect, challenging the same rules that CRORIP sought to waive in its Section 2.335 petition.

3 Louisiana Energy Services (Claiborne Enrichment Center), CLI-95-7, 41 NRC 383, 384 (1995). Section 2.335 (formerly 10 C.F.R. § 2.758) itself provides for immediate certification to the Commission only when the board finds a prima facie case in favor of a waiver. Id.; 10 C.F.R. § 2.335(d).

4 10 C.F.R. § 2.311. See LBP-08-13, 68 NRC __, slip op. at 229 (noting that the Boards decision is subject to appeal in accordance with Section 2.311).

5 Waiver Order, slip op. at 4-6. See Connecticut Residents Opposed to Relicensing of Indian Point and its Designated Representatives 10 C.F.R. § 2.335 Petition (Dec. 10, 2007) (Waiver Petition), at 6-7.

6 Waiver Order, slip op. at 6-7. See Waiver Petition at 1,7. See generally 10 C.F.R.

§§ 51.95(c); 51.53(c)(3)(i); 10 C.F.R. Part 51, Subpt. A, App. B, Table B-1.

7 LBP-08-13, 68 NRC __, slip op. at 222-23, citing Connecticut Residents Opposed to Relicensing of Indian Point and its Designated Representatives Petition to Intervene and Request for Hearing (Dec. 11, 2007), at 4-5.

When considering whether to undertake pendent appellate review of otherwise non-appealable issues, the Commission, in the interest of efficiency and looking to analogous rulings by federal appeals courts, has expressed a willingness to take up otherwise unappealable issues that are inextricably intertwined with appealable issues.8 We believe that the CRORIP Appeal presents an appropriate occasion to exercise pendent jurisdiction. The two decisions are so closely related that, in order to decide the immediately appealable challenge to the Boards decision in LBP-08-13, we must necessarily consider the validity of the Boards Waiver Order. We find that CRORIPs challenges to both decisions are appropriately considered simultaneously.9 We further find the Boards decisions regarding CRORIPs waiver request and intervention petition to be comprehensive and well-reasoned. The CRORIP Appeal fails to demonstrate that either of the Boards rulings was in error. For the reasons the Board has given, we therefore deny the CRORIP Appeal and affirm the Waiver Order and the Boards denial of CRORIPs intervention petition in LBP-08-13.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

For the Commission (NRC SEAL) /RA/

___________________________

Annette L. Vietti-Cook Secretary of the Commission Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of November, 2008.

8 See Sequoyah Fuels Corp. (Gore, Oklahoma Site Decommissioning), CLI-01-2, 53 NRC 9, 19-20 (2001) (declining to exercise pendent jurisdiction where (among other things) the challenged interlocutory issues were not inextricably intertwined with the two immediately appealable issues), citing Gilda Marx, Inc. v. Wildwood Exercise, Inc., 85 F.3d 675, 679 (D.C. Cir. 1996).

9 See Gilda Marx, 85 F.3d at 679.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of )

)

ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. ) Docket Nos. 50-247-LR

) 50-286-LR

)

(Indian Point Nuclear Generating Station, )

Units 2 and 3) )

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing COMMISSION MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (CLI-08-27) have been served upon the following persons by U.S. mail, first class, or through NRC internal distribution.

Office of Commission Appellate U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Adjudication Office of the Secretary of the Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop O-16C1 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: ocaamail.resource@nrc.gov Hearing Docket E-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop T-3F23 Mail Stop O-15D21 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Sherwin E. Turk, Esq.

Administrative Judge Beth N. Mizuno, Esq.

Lawrence G. McDade, Chair David E. Roth, Esq.

E-mail: lawrence.mcdade@nrc.gov Jessica A. Bielecki, Esq.

Marcia J. Simon, Esq.

Administrative Judge Karl Farrar, Esq.

Richard E. Wardwell Brian Newell, Paralegal E-mail: richard.wardwell@nrc.gov E-mail:

set@nrc.gov Administrative Judge bnm1@nrc.gov Kaye D. Lathrop der@nrc.gov 190 Cedar Lane E. jab2@nrc.gov Ridgway, CO 81432 mjs5@nrc.gov E-mail: kaye.lathrop@nrc.gov klf@nrc.gov bpn1@nrc.gov Zachary S. Kahn, Law Clerk E-mail: zachary.khan@nrc.gov

. 2 Docket Nos. 50-247-LR and 50-286-LR COMMISSION MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (CLI-08-27)

William C. Dennis, Esq. Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General Assistant General Counsel John J. Sipos, Assistant Attorney General Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. Mylan L. Denerstein 440 Hamilton Avenue Deputy Assistant Attorney General White Plains, NY 10601 Division of Social Justice Email: wdennis@entergy.com Janice A. Dean Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York The Capitol State Street Albany, New York 12224 E-mail: john.sipos@oag.state.ny.us Mylan.Denerstein@oag.state.ny.us Kathryn M. Sutton, Esq. Joan Leary Matthews, Esq.

Paul M. Bessette, Esq. Senior Attorney for Special Projects Martin J. ONeill, Esq. New York State Department Mauri T. Lemoncelli, Esq. of Environmental Conservation Counsel for Entergy Nuclear Operation, Inc. 625 Broadway, 14th Floor Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP Albany, New York 12233-5500 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW E-mail: jmatthe@gw.dec.state.ny.us Washington, DC 20004 E-mail: ksutton@morganlewis.com pbessette@morganlewis.com martin.oneill@morganlewis.com mlemoncelli@morganlewis.com Michael J. Delaney Robert D. Snook, Esq.

Vice President, Energy Department Office of The Attorney General New York City Economic Development State of Connecticut Corporation (NYCEDC) 55 Elm Street 110 William Street P.O. Box 120 New York, NY 10038 Hartford, CT 06141-0120 E-mail: mdelaney@nycedc.com E-mail: robert.snook@po.state.ct.us

3 Docket Nos. 50-247-LR and 50-286-LR COMMISSION MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (CLI-08-27)

Arthur J. Kremer, Chairman Stephen C. Filler, Board Member New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.

Alliance (AREA) 303 South Broadway, Suite 222 347 Fifth Avenue, Suite 508 Tarrytown, NY 10591 New York, NY 10016 E-mail: sfiller@nylawline.com E-mail: kkremer@area-alliance.org Daniel E ONeill, Mayor Manna Jo Greene, Environmental Director James Siermarco, M.S. Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Liaison to Indian Point 112 Little Markey Street Village of Buchanan Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 Municipal Building E-mail: mannajo@clearwater.org 236 Tate Avenue Buchanan, NY 10511-1298 E-mail: vob@bestweb.net Thomas F. Wood, Esq. Nancy Burton, Esq.

Town of Cortlandt Connecticut Residents Opposed Daniel Riesel, Esq. to Relicensing of Indian Point (CRORIP)

Jessica Steinberg, J.D. 147 Cross Highway Counsel for the Town of Cortlandt Redding Ridge, CT 06876 Sive, Paget & Riesel, P.C. E-mail: NancyBurtonCT@aol.com 460 Park Avenue New York, NY 10022 E-mail: driesel@sprlaw.com jsteinberg@sprlaw.com Elise N. Zoli, Esq. Justin D. Pruyne Goodwin Proctor, LLP Assistant County Attorney, Litigation Bureau Exchange Place Of Counsel to Charlene M. Indelicato, Esq.

53 State Street Westchester County Attorney Boston, MA 02109 148 Martine Avenue, 6th Floor E-mail: ezoli@goodwinprocter.com White Plains, NY 10601 E-mail: jdp3@westchestergov.com

. 4 Docket Nos. 50-247-LR and 50-286-LR COMMISSION MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (CLI-08-27)

FUSE USA Westchester Citizens Awareness Network John LeKay (WestCan), Citizens Awareness Network, (CAN),

Heather Ellsworth Burns-DeMelo etc.

Remy Chevalier Bill Thomas Susan H. Shapiro, Esq.

Belinda J. Jaques 21 Pearlman Drive 351 Dyckman Street Spring Valley, NY 10977 Peekskill, New York 10566 E-mail: mbs@ourrocklandoffice.com E-mail: fuse_usa@yahoo.com Victor M. Tafur, Senior Attorney Richard L. Brodsky Philip Musegaas, Esq. Assemblyman Riverkeeper, Inc. 5 West Main Street 828 South Broadway Suite 205 Tarrytown, NY 10591 Elmsford, NY 10523 E-mail: vtafur@riverkeeper.org E-mail: brodskr@assembly.state.ny.us phillip@riverkeeper.org richardbrodsky@msn.com Diane Curran, Esq. Sarah L. Wagner, Esq.

Counsel for Riverkeeper, Inc. Legislative Office Building, Room 422 Harmon, Curran, Spielberg, Albany, NY 12248

& Eisenberg, LLP E-mail: sarahwagneresq@gmail.com 1726 M. Street NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036 E-mail: dcurran@harmoncurran.com

[Original signed by Christine M. Pierpoint]

__________________________________

Office of the Secretary of the Commission Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 6th day of November 2008