ML19305D896

Responds to NRC & Central & South West Corp Comments Re Consolidation.Severance Arguments Based on Belief That Util Will Rely on Study by Stagg Sys,Inc as Part of Defense.Util Will Not Rely on Stagg Study.Certificate of Svc Encl

ML19305D896
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas, Comanche Peak, 05000449
Issue date:	03/21/1980
From:	Green D LOWENSTEIN, NEWMAN, REIS, AXELRAD & TOLL
To:	Glaser M, Mark Miller, Wolfe S Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
References
NUDOCS 8004160111
Download: ML19305D896 (6)

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LAW OFFICCS LOWENSTEIN, NEWMAN, REIS, AxELRAD & TOLL 6 0 2 5 CO N N C CTI C UT AV E N U C, ,4. W.

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UUGr...e r.U HAND DELIVER Of.

USNRC 3 Marshall E. Miller, Esquire -

N' b O N Z Michael L. Glaser, Esquire 6' 0!ficc 0f the $etretary 4 DC;hCIIU2 & S8fVIC#

Sheldon J. Wolfe, Esquire Atomic Safety and Licensing Board g 0f3d g U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20555 N

• Re: Houston Lighting & Power Company, et al.

(South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2),

Docket Nos. 50-498A-50-499A; Texas Utilities Generating Company, et al. (Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2),

Docket Nos. 50-445A-50-446A Gentlemen:

While Houston Lighting & Power Company elected not to submit comments to the Board on the question of consolidation, there is a matter raised in the comments submitted by the NRC Staff (" Staff") and Central and Southwest Corporation ("C&SW")

which warrants a brief response.

Both the Staff and C&SW predicate their argument for severance in large part on the grounds that Houston intends to rely on a study performed by Stagg Systems, Inc. and that analysis of this study will require such an extraordinary amount of time that moving forward with a consolidated pro-ceeding is undesirable. The Board should be apprised that Staff's and C&SW's contentions are based on a misconception.

Houston does not intend to sponsor or rely on the Stagg Study as part of its defense in this proceeding.

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,LowzwtTztw, NewxAw, Rzte. Axz!.HAD & Tot.t.

Marshall E. Miller, Esquire l

l Michael L. Glaser, Esquire Sheldon J. Wolfe, Esquire March 21,.1980 l

Page Two 1

l Indeed, as Staff notes correctly: " Houston has main-j tained throughout discovery that Mr. Stagg of Stagg Systems, Inc. was an outside, non-testifying consultant." (Staff Views at 4.) That has been and remains his role in this case. We are truly at a loss to understand how work he has done could precipitate a severance of the proceeding. .Mr. Stagg has not been designated as a witness, nor does any Houston witness in this proceeding intend to testify about or rely upon Mr. Stagg's study.

Evidently, the Staff and C&SW have misconstrued Houston's i supplementary interrogatory answers filed February 27, 1980.

Early in the case Houston received interrogatories requesting identification of all documents which analyze the effect of f interstate operations on Houston's systems or which describe the policies or bases upon which Houston has justified its oppo-sition to interstate operations.1/ Since then, Stagg Systems, Inc. completed in late December 1979, a study [Stagg Study II]

for Houston's counsel which counsel determined should'be sub-mitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission in Docket No.

3-4951, a case which concerns C&SW's compliance with the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. As that study has been published and relied upon in the SEC proceeding, a complete supplementary response to the aforesaid interrogatories required that the Stagg Study be identified. Houston, accordingly, did so.2,/ Nothing more has transpired.

In short, Houston does not intend to call Mr. Stagg as a witness or rely on the Stagg Study in this proceeding, and the L

matters raised by the Staff and C&SW are simply based on a mis-apprehension. With this question resolved, comment upon the ,

extraordinary amounts of time the Staff and C&SW suggest they I

would need to refute the Stagg Study is unnecessary.1/

~1/

CP&L Ints. (First Set) No. 9; Department of Justice Ints.

(First Set) No. 4.

2/ As far back as March 28, 1979, Houston similarly identified a previous Stagg Systems, Inc. study [Stagg Study I] in response to other interrogatories, HL&P's Ans. to CP&L Ints. (Second Set) No. 25 (b) . No one suggested then that the existence of such consultant studies had the slightest effect on the structure of.this proceeding, the course of-discovery, or any issue herein.

3/ Indeed, since Houston's hearing presentation presumably will follow at least the Staff's, the Department's and C&SW's and (footnote continued on next page]

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LOWENSTEIN, NewM AN, Rete. AxzLaAn & TOLL Marshall E. Miller, Esquire Michael L. Glaser, Esquire Sheldon J. Wolfe, Esquire March 21, 1980 Page Three Respectfull ubmitted, t

l 1 s glas G. reen Counsel for Houston Lighting

& Power Company DGG/nm cc: Service List L

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[ footnote continued from previous page]

3/ will not commence for some time, those parties would plainly L

have ample time to address this study even if Houston were relying on it. Since Houston is not, the issue never arises.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION .

,BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND IICENSING BOARD In the Matter of )

)

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 slectric )

Station, Units 1 and 2) )

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

Letter to Marshall E. Miller, Michael L. Glaser and Sheldon J. Wolfe y

were served upon the following persons, by hand *, or by deposit in the United States Mail, first class postage prepaid, this 21st I day of March 1980.

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Marshall E. Miller, Esquiro Frcdcric D. Chananic, Esquire Michael B. Blume, Esquire U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 20555 Ann P. Hodgdon, Esquire Washington, D.C. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555

, Michael L. Glaser, Esquire 1150 17th Street, N.W.

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

• Sheldon J. Wolfe, Esquire Officer Nuclear Regulatory Commission Central Power and Light Company U.S.

Washington, D.C. 20555 Post Office Box 2121 Corpus Christi, Texas 78403 Atomic Safety and Licensing G.K. Spruce, General Manager Appeal Board Panel City Public Service Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Post Office Box 1771 San Antonio,' Texas 78203 Chase R. Stephens, Supervisor (20)

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

Group U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Executive Vice Pres'. dent 20555 Houston Lighting & Power Company Washington, D.C.

Post Office Box 1700 Irion Worsham, Esquire Houston, Texas 77001 J-Merlyn D. Sampels, Esquire R.L. Hancock, Director Spencer C. Relyea, Esquire City of Austin Electric Utility Worsham, Forsyth & Sampels 2001 Bryan Tower, Su te 2500 Post Office Box 1086 Austin, Texas 78767 Dallas, Texas 75201 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 1120 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 325 San Antonio, Texas 78205 20036 Washington, D.C.

Charles G. Thrash, Jr., Esquire Michael I. Miller, Esquire E.W. Barnett, Esquire James A. Carney, Esquire Theodore F. Weiss, Esquire Sarah Welling, Esquire J. Gregory Copeland, Esquire Martha E. Gibbs, Esquire Baker & Botts Isham, Lincoln & Beale

. 3000 One Shell Plaza One First National Plaza Houston, Texas 77002 Suite 4200 Chicago, Illinois 60603 R. Gordon Gooch, Esquire Steven R. Hunsicker, Esquire Baker & Botts 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20006 i

.' 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 Mr. Willjam C. Price Robert Fabrikant, Esquire Central 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, Esquire Abilene, Texas 79604 McGinnis, Lockridge & Kilgore Fifth Floor Texas State Bank Building Jerry L. Harris, Esquire Richard C. Balough, Esquire 900 Congress Avenue Austin, Texas 78701 City of Austin Post Office Box 1088 W.S. Robson Austin, Texas 78767 General Manager Joseph B. Knotts, Jr. , Esquire South Texas Electric Cooperative, Nicholas S. Reynolds, Esquire Inc.

C. Dennis Ahearn, E quire Route 6, Building 102 Victoria Regional Airport Debevoise & Libermar. Victoria, Texas 77901 1200 deventeenth Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036 Robert C. McDiarmid, Esquire Don H. Davidson George Spiegel, Esquire City M; nager 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 Sawtell, Goode, Davidson & Tioili Tom W. Gregg, Esquire 1100 San Antonio Savings Building Post Office Box Drawer 1032 San Antonio, Texas 78205 San Angelo, Texas 76902 Douglas F. John, Esquire 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 '

Paul W. Eaton, Jr., Esquire Hinkle, Cox, Eaton, Coffield & Hensley 600 Henkle Building Post Office Box 10 Roswell, New Mexico 88201 1

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 L

Donald M. Clements, Esquire Gulf States Utilities Company  !

Post Office Box 2951 '

Beaumont, Texas 77704 Dick Terrell Brown, Esquire 800 Milam Building San Antonio, Texas 78205 ,

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