ML12040A354

Riverkeeper, Inc.'S Response to Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Request for Information

ML12040A354
Person / Time
Site:	Indian Point
Issue date:	02/09/2012
From:	Brancato D, Musegaas P Riverkeeper
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
SECY RAS
References
RAS 21888, 50-247-LR, 50-286-LR, ASLBP 07-858-03-LR-BD01
Download: ML12040A354 (7)

Text

1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD

___________________________________________

) In the Matter of

) Docket Nos.

) 50-247-LR Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

) and 50-2 86-LR (Indian Point Nuclear Generating

) Units 2 and 3)

) February 9, 2012

___________________________________________ )

RIVERKEEPER, INC.'S RESPONSE TO ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Riverkeeper, Inc. ("Riverkeeper") hereby responds to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board's ("ASLB")

request for information issued via an order to the parties dated February 3, 2012.1 Riverkeeper hereby advises the ASLB to the following issues or potential issues that, to Riverkeeper's current knowledge may have "the potential to further delay this proceeding" 2: A s b o t h N R C S t a f f a n d E n t e r g y h a v e a l s o a c k n o w l e d g e d , on February 6, 2012, the National Marine Fisheries Service

("NMFS") of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ("NOAA") finalized the listing of Atlantic sturgeon in the New York Bight Distinct Population Segment as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

3 It is Riverkeeper's understanding, and NRC Staff has conceded, that this development will necessitate formal consultation pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

4

1 In the Matter of Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3), Docket Nos.

50-247-LR and 50-286-LR, ASLBP No. 07

-858-03-LR-BD01, Order (Requesting Information from the NRC Staff and All Participants), February 3, 2012).

2 Id. at 2. 3 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, RIN 0648-XJ00, Docket No. 100903414

-1762-02, Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened and Endangered Status for Distinct Population Segments of Atlantic Sturgeon in the Northeast Region, 77 Fed. Reg. 5,880 (Feb. 6, 2012). 4 S e e E n d a n g e r e d S p e c i e s A c t o f 1 9 7 3 § 7 (a)(3), 1 6 U.S.C. § 1 5 3 6 (a)(3) ("a F e d e r a l a g e n c y s h a l l c o n s u l t w i t h the S e c r e t a r y o n a n y p r o s p e c t i v e a g e n c y a c t i o n . . . i f t h e a p p l i c a n t h a s r e a s o n t o b e l i e v e t h a t a n e n d a n g e r e d s p e c i e s o r a t h r e a t e n e d s p e c i e s m a y b e p r e s e n t i n the a r e a a f f e c t e d b y h i s p r o j e c t a n d t h a t i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f s u c h a c t i o n w i l l l i k e l y a f f e c t s u c h s p e c i e s."); 5 0 C.F.R. § 402.14 (a) ("Each Federal agency shall review its actions at the earliest 2 Depending on how the parties to the proceeding move forward in light of NMFS' final rule, this development may result in Riverkeeper filing new contentions, which would cause a potential delay in the resolution of the proceedings. Furthermore, this new development also will likely have an effect upon the resolution of Riverkeeper's existing contentio n related to endangered species, RK-EC-8, and may result in the filing of an amended contention. Though RK

-EC-8 is currently being held in abeyance pending NRC Staff's issuance of a supplement to the environmental impact statement related to the license renewal of Indian Point, 5 it remains unclear how long it will take to complete necessary consultation procedures; accordingly, NMFS' new listing has the potential to delay the adjudication of RK

-EC-8, and/or the proceedings in general.

Finally, this new development also has implications for the adjudication of Riverkeeper and Clearwater's consolidated contention RK

-EC-3/CW-EC-1, related to radiological leaks. As such, additional time may be necessary to appropriately account for the new information related to Atlantic sturgeon in revised hearing submissions.

possible time to determine whether any action may affect listed species or critical habitat.

If such a determination is made, formal consultation is required

. . ."); Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants

, N U R E G-1 4 3 7 , S u p p l e m e n t 3 8 Regardi ng Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3

, a t 4-5 7 t o 4-5 9 ("Atlantic sturgeon (A. oxyrinchus) also occurs in the

[H u d s o n] river. . . . Recent work by Sweka et al. (2007) suggests that a substantial population of juvenile Atlantic sturgeon is present in Haverstraw Bay

. . . . Corrected impingement data

. . .shows that both species of sturgeon have been impinged at IP2 and IP3, with impingement of Atlantic sturgeon accounting for the largest losses

. . . . Impingement of Atlantic sturgeon was much greater than that observed for shortnose sturgeon

"). S e e a l s o In the Matter of Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3), Docket Nos. 50-247-LR and 50-286-LR, ASLBP No. 07

-858-03-LR-BD01, NRC Staff's Statement in Response to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board's Order of February 3, 2012 (February 8, 2012) at 2

-3 ("The Staff expects to communicate with NMFS and to reinitiate consultations regarding this development under Section 7 of the ESA")

. 5 In the Matter of Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3), Docket Nos.

50-247-LR and 50-286-LR, ASLBP No. 07

-858-03-LR-BD01, Order (December 14, 2011), at 2 ("the initial evidentiary submissions of Riverkeeper relating to Contention RK

-EC-8 are also held in abeyance pending further order of this Board in light of the Staff's announcement that a draft supplement to its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that addresses issues raised in this contention is expected to be issued in draft form in May 2012")

.

3 Riverkeeper's expert Mr. Arnold Gundersen will be unavailable due to prior business commitments during certain weeks in March and April. In addition, Mr. Gundersen will be on business out of the country for upwards of a month sometime in May and/or June of this year. The details of this trip have yet to be finalized, and so a precise timeframe for Mr. Gundersen's unavailability is not yet known. Mr. Gundersen's prospective unavailability may limit Riverkeeper's ability to file revised testimony depending on the deadline for such submissions

. Due to Riverkeeper's limited resources

, a n d depending on the volume and content of Entergy and NRC Staff's submissions of initial statements of position, testimony, and exhibits, Riverkeeper may r e q u e s t more than the currently allotted 60 days to file revised statements of position, testimony, and exhibits. Riverkeeper further notes that i t i s a n a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a n t i n o n g o i n g s t a t e p r o c e e d i n g s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e o p e r a t i o n o f I n d i a n P o i n t , i n c l u d i n g t h e C l e a n W a t e r A c t § 4 0 1 W a t e r Q u a l i t y C e r t i f i c a t i o n p r o c e e d i n g p e n d i n g b e f o r e the N e w Y o r k S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t o f E n v i r o n m e n t a l C o n s e r v a t i o n , w h i c h s t e m s d i r e c t l y f r o m t h e I n d i a n P o i n t l i c e n s e r e n e w a l p r o c e e d i n g. T h e p a r t i e s t o t h i s s t a t e p r o c e e d i n g a r e currently e n g a g e d i n h e a r i n g a n d b r i e f i n g activitie s , w h i c h w i l l c o n t i n u e i n t o t h e f o r e s e e a b l e f u t u r e. To the extent any additional matters become known, which to Riverkeeper's knowledge may have the potential to result in a delay of the proceedings, Riverkeeper will advise the ASLB accordingly.

4 Respectfully submitted, Signed electronically (by Deborah Brancato)

________________________________________________________________________________________

Deborah Brancato, Esq.

Phillip Musegaas, Esq.

Riverkeeper, Inc.

20 Secor Road Ossining, NY 10562 (914) 478-4501 dbrancato@riverkeeper.org phillip@riverkeeper.org

1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD

__________

__________________________________

) In the Matter of

) Docket Nos.

) 50-247-LR Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

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

) Units 2 and 3)

) February 9

, 201 2 ____________________________________________ )

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on February 9, 2012, copies "Riverkeeper, Inc.'s Response to Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Request for Information," was served on the following by NRC's Electroni c Information Exchange:

Lawrence G. McDade, Chair Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Atomic Safety and Licensing Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 E-mail: Lawrence.McDade@nrc.gov Judge Kaye D. Lathrop Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 190 Cedar Lane East Ridgeway, CO 81432

E-mail: Kaye.Lathrop@nrc.gov Richard E. Wardwell Atomic Safety and Licensing Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555

E-mail: Richard.Wardwell@nrc.gov Michael J. Delaney Department of Environmental Protection

59-17 Junction Boulevard Flushing NY 1137 3 E-mail: mdelaney@dep.nyc.gov (718) 595-3982 John J. Sipos, Esq.

Assistant Attorney General

Office of the New York Attorney General for the State of New York The Capitol Albany, NY 1222 4 E-mail: John.Sipos@oag.state.ny.us Kathryn M. Sutton, Esq.

Paul M. Bessette, Esq.

Jonathan M. Rund, Esq.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20004

E-mail: pbessette@morganlewis.com ksutton@morganlewis.com jrund@morganlewis.com

2 Josh Kirstein, Law Clerk Anne Siarnacki Law Clerk Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Josh.Kirstein@nrc.gov anne.siarnacki@nrc.gov Martin J. O'Neill, Esq.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP 1000 Louisiana Street, Suite 4000 Houston, TX 77002

E-mail: martin.oneill@morganlewis.com Janice A. Dean, Esq.

Assistant Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General 120 Broadway, 26 th Floor New York, NY 10271 E-mail: Janice.dean@oag.state.ny.us Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555

E-mail: OCAAMAIL@nrc.gov

Office of the Secretary Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555

E-mail: HEARINGDOCKET@nrc.gov William C. Dennis, Esq. Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

440 Hamilton Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 E-mail: wdennis@entergy.com Stephen C. Filler, Board Member Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.

724 Wolcott Ave Beacon, New York 12508 E-mail: sfiller@nylawline.com Manna Jo Greene Karla Raimundi Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.

724 Wolcott Ave Beacon, New York 12508

E-mail: Mannajo@clearwater.org karla@clearwater.org Melissa-Jean Rotini, of counsel Assistant County Attorney

Office of Robert F. Meehan, Westchester County Attorney 148 Martine Avenue, 6 th Floor White Plains, NY 10601 E-mail: MJR1@westchestergov.com Joan Leary Matthews, Esq.

Senior Attorney for Special Projects New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 625 Broadway, 14 th floor Albany, New York 12233

-5500 E-mail: jlmatthe@gw.dec.state.ny.us Elise N. Zoli, Esq.

Goodwin Procter, LLP 53 State Street Boston, MA 02109 E-mail: ezoli@goodwinprocter.com Thomas F. Wood, Esq.

Daniel Riesel, Esq.

Victoria Shiah Sive, Paget and Riesel, P.C.

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

3 Robert D. Snook, Esq.

Assistant Attorney General 55 Elm Street, P.O. Box 120

Hartford, CT 06141

-0120 E-mail: Robert.Snook@po.state.ct.us John L. Parker, Esq.

Regional Attorney, Region 3

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

21 South Putt Corners New Paltz, NY 12561

E-mail: jlparker@gw.dec.state.ny.us Sherwin E. Turk Beth N. Mizuno

Brian G. Harris David E. Roth

Andrea Z. Jones Office of General Counsel

Mail Stop: 0

-15D21 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555

-0001 E-mail: Sherwin.Turk@nrc.gov Beth.Mizuno@nrc.gov brian.harris@nrc.gov David.Roth@nrc.gov andrea.jones@nrc.gov Sean Murray, Mayor Village of Buchanan Municipal Building

236 Tate Avenu e Buchanan, NY 10511

-1298 E-mail: vob@bestweb.net , SMurray@villageofbuchanan.com , Administrator@villageofbuchanan.com Signed (electronically) by Deborah Brancato

________________________________________________________________________________________

Deborah Brancato

February 9, 2012