ML19326B163

Requests That Living in Finer Environ & Campaign Against Violence to Environ Be Included as Intervenors in Proceedings.Press Release Encl

ML19326B163
Person / Time
Site:	Davis Besse
Issue date:	11/02/1970
From:	Evans V LIVING IN A FINER ENVIRONMENT
To:	Wells A Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
Shared Package
ML19326B155	List: ML19326B154 ML19326B160 ML19326B163
References
NUDOCS 8003060960
Download: ML19326B163 (7)

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9 L.I.F'E. ,

"LIVING IN A FINER EMVIR0!! MENT" Box 15 University Hall Bowling Green State University Dowling Green, Ohio 43403 W." ,%'? - -

I Mr. A.A. Wells  !

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I Atomic Safety and Lidensing Board Panel '

Atomic Energy Commission s -

s i Washington, D.C. 20545

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Dear Mr. -

Wells:

On behalf of LIFE (Living In A Finer Environment) and CAVE (Cannaign Against Violence to the Environment), two environmentally concerned arouns at our university, this is to serve as notification to include our groups as intervenors in the matter of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station by Toledo Edison Company and Cleveland Electric Illuminating Comnany,' Docket no. 50-346.

Due to our present financial position, we are unable to undertake this action formally, seven though there is great oublic concern in this area).

It is hoped this letter will serve to establish our role as formal intervenors.

The enclosed statement will explain why we desire to intervene in this case. 1!e feel the Atomic Energy Commission is not defendinn the oublic interest in acceptance of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station Environmental Report (August 3,1970) as fulfillment of regulations in Appendix D to 10 CFR Part 50: also the state officials involved will not take issue with the matters with which we are concerned.

Sincerely yours, Vicki Evans Robert Thomasson Co-chairman, LIFE cc. Council on Environmental Ouality, Mr. Tim Atkinson, Mr. Russell Train Mr. Howard Metzenbaum Mr. Roger Cloud, Auditor of the State of Ohio Mr. John Gilligan Senator Stephen Young Senator William Saxbe Mr. Ron Koffman, Sandusky Register Mr. Chase Clements, HSPD Mr. Craig Edwards, WOH0 Mr. Michael Hoods, Toledo Blade Mr. Dave Easterly, Dayton Daily News Mr. Jim Smith, BG News EXHIBIT A 8003 060 76d

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gyg i PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY L.I.F.E. (LtVING IN A FINER ENVIRONMENT) 8.G.S.U. BOWLING GREEN, OHIO Bowling Green State University student environmental action group LIFE (Living in a Flner Environment) and CAVE (Campaign Against Violence to the Environment) to-day joined a coalition of Cleveland area o_rganizations in legal action to impicment a full Investigation of all environmental hazards that could be created by the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant near Port Clinton, Chlo.

The groups under the name of Coalition for Safe Nuclear Power sent a 30-page 1

petition to intervene to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Pashington, D. C.

They maintain the power plant cannot be built at its present site along Lake Erie "without undue risk to the health and safety of the public."

The petition for Intervention charges that radioactive wastes and radiation

cmissions from normal operation of the proposed facility "may produce a variety of biological damages including chromosome breakage, genetic mutation. . . and other somatic effects." Also, they contend that the " proximity of the proposed plant to restricted areas used for ordance testing and aircraf t missions constitutes a unique and critical hazard to the reactor area."

Citizens groups are blocking construction in intervention action against several other nuclear power plants around the country. Such citizen actions often drag out for months. The coalition is asking for financial support to aid its action.

Some 72,000 persons in the coalition include the United Auto Vorkers of Cuya-hoga and Medina counties, the Area Council Association, Cleveland Citizens for Clean Air and Water, Case Western Reserve University's Project Survival, Cleveland State University Comittee Opposed to Pollution to the Environment, Southwest Action Group on the Environment, Consumers League of Ohio, and several college pro-fessors and Individuals whose areas of specialization include nuclear engineering, radiation biology and clinical medicine.

The two campus groups plan to present expert witnesses to back their recent charges concerning the environmental Impact of the proposed facility on Lake Erie and the surrounding area. They had recently taken issue with the AEC. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, the AEC provisions require applicants for permits to construct nuclear power reactors to submit an Environmental Report which is supposed to discuss the environmental Impact of the proposed action, if the petition is approved, the first major step for the coalition would be to take part in a court-type public hearing to be held December 8 at the Ohio National Guard Armory in Port CIInton. The hearing is for consideration of the application for a permit to build the 872,000 kilowatt experimental plant.

Representing the coalltlon as legal counsel are C. Raymond Marvin, Dennis M.

Callahan, and Robert H. Rains, lawyers with Baker, Hostetler and Patterson.

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UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION

Dear Sir:

Da te . JA/18/.7.0. . . . . . .

Receipt is acknowledged of your communication dated: ll/17/7C concerning: Toledo Edison Company, et al. (Davis-Besse Plant)

Docket No. 50-346 Your telegram has been referred to the Atomic Safety erx!

Licensing Board, C'hief Public Proceedings Branch Office of the Secretary U. S. Atomic Energy Commission EXHIBIT D f

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This statement is being made on behalf of throa parties listed on the Petition for Leave to intervens submitted in the name of the Coalition for Safe Nuclear Power to the U.S. Atomic Energy Ccenission on November 16, 1970. These petitioners include --LIFE (Living in a Finer Environment), CAVE (Campaign Against Violence to the Environment) two student-faculty organizations at Bowling Green State University and Dr. Irwin I. Oster, Professor of Biology and Anatomy and Head of the Radiation Genetics Research Group also at Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio 43403)

We had looked forward to being granted Intervenor status because as citizens of this area we fitted the category described by Cornissioner James T. Ramey (in his address entitled "The Role of the Public in the Development and Regulation of l

Nuclear Power" delivered at the Conference on Nuclear Power and the Environment, University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin, April 4,1970)18of having.the requisite l l

interest to intervene in hearings under the AEC's liberal intervention policy.

According to this policy and here again we are quoting Commissioner Ramey, "A mandatory public hearing is then conducted by an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, consisting of two technical members and one lawyer. Members of the public 1

whose interests are affected can intervene in these hearings, and can call witnesses l l

cnd cross-examine in order to try to satisfy themselves as to the safety of the proposed plant. Thus, AEC invites public scrutiny, and welcomes the study and comment of Independent experts and, of equal importance, the general public.

Here is a place in which trained people or the universities can play a particularly l Important role in the public interest". Being members of the academic community we therefore felt that we had a duel role we could play by bringing our backgrounds as well as those of our scientific colleagues to the forthcoming hearings in addition to appearing before the board as citizens of the Imrediate area. As a means of cchieving this end the three parties listed above had secured the necessary funding and commitments from several expert witnesses, consisting of nuclear Gngineers, radiation geneticists, physicians, and radioecologiststo help in the

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Page 2 These included Mr. Richard Webb, Ors. B. Sonnenblick, J. Gofman, E. Carlson, Wm. Lee, L. Browning, etc. and several others whose heavy schedules did not allow them to make definite commitment at the time they were contacted. We had been in

,centact with Mr. Anthony Roisman of Berlin, Roisman, and Kessler (Washington, D.C.)

since July,1970 in order to map out the exact extent of our participation in the Licensing Review. However, it was soon learned that several other environmentally-oriented groups in the area including Citizens for Clean Air and Water, UAW (Cleveland Region), Southwest Action Group on Environment and others also wished to intervene in the forthcoming hearings.

Motivated by a desire to avoid needless duplication of effort which would be detrimental to individuals of limited resources such as ourselves and time-consuming to the utilities involved we decided to join the Coalition for Safe Nuclear Power being organized in Cleveland during August, 1970. Since they already had contacted an attorney who was interested in the case and had gained some experience in similar situations from Mr. Myron Cherry of Chicago and others we pledged cn initial contribution of $300.00 (in addition to our financing of the expenses for the majority of the witnesses) which could be used to augment the 2 to $3,000 being raised by the rest of the group to offset the preliminary cost of filing for inter-vention and working out the details of the Hearing at today's Prehearing Conference.

A copy of the petition and the attached letter from Mr. Marvin is offered as prima facie evidence of our understanding and contention that he was acting as our attorney and would represent the Coalition for Safe Nuclear Power at today's Pre-hea-ing Conference. You can imagine our dismay and shock when we learned on Friday, November 20th at 4:55PM that Mr. Marvin would not function as our attorney or would he attend this meeting. We learned this purely by chance since we had 1

wondered why a small meeting had not been called by the parties to the proposed intervention for the purpose of briefing and being briefed by our attorney.

Prompted by this concern we had pnoned Mr. Marvin on Friday and learned the facts l

mentioned above. As a matter of fact further inquiry has unearthed the fact that l

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Page 3 Baker, Hostetler, and Patterson of which Mr. C. Raymond Harvin is a member is not interested in continuing with this case. For us to criticize their failure to communicate this Information to us at this time-would not serve any useful purpose.

Our main reason for relating these events to you is that while we may be prepared as far as some of our witnesses are concerned we would like to request a continuance of this Prehearing until at least January 15th so that we can secure the services of an attorney. Those being considered including Mr. A. Roisman, M. Cherry, or 1.Like are already committed to appear at AEC Hearings scheduled for the next several weeks. Because we recognize that denial of the right to counsel would prejudice our effectiveness in the proposed Prehearing and Hearing we must respectfully urge that our privilee- nad right to seek legal aid w6uld be granted.

To do otherwise would not be in k .eg with stated AEC policy and would, in fact constitute a denial of due process, it would seem that the period which we request is not an unreasonable time period. We also hope that within this period of time the detailed Environmental Report to be prepared by the Commission (as required by law under the National Environmental PoIIcy Act) will be made available to us in sufficient time so that we can use it to prepare our brief. We are fully cognizant of the fact that of ten critics will level the finger at groups of environmentally-concerned citizens such as ourselves because our actions are sometimes interpreted as.nothing more than impediments to orderly procedure. However, in this instance we are hoping that the Board will bear in mind the rather awkward position which we now find ourselves in and that the request (if granted) for a continuance of the Prehearing would not materially affect the schedule for the subsequent Hearing.

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Respectfully submitted, Vicki Evans Co-Chairman of LIFE (Living in a Finer Environment)

Box 15 Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 Irwin 1. Oster, Ph.D.

Facult/ Advisor to LIFE Professor of Biology and Anatomy and  ;

Head of the Radiation Genetics Research Group Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 November 23, 1970 Bowling Green, Ohio o

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