ML17304B075

NextEra Notice of Appeal and Brief Supporting Appeal of LBP-17-7

ML17304B075
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	10/31/2017
From:	Bessette P, Blair W, Hamrick S, Lighty R Morgan, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP, NextEra Energy Seabrook
To:	NRC/OCM
SECY RAS
References
50-443 LA-2, ASLBP 17-953-02-LA-BD01, LBP-17-7, RAS 54012
Download: ML17304B075 (37)

Text

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE COMMISSION

)

In the Matter of: )

) Docket No. 50-443-LA-2 NEXTERA ENERGY SEABROOK, LLC )

) October 31, 2017 (Seabrook Station Unit 1) )

)

NEXTERAS NOTICE OF APPEAL OF LBP-17-7 Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.311, NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC (NextEra) hereby files this Notice of Appeal of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards (Board) October 6, 2017 Memorandum and Order LBP-17-7.1 In that decision, the Board granted C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Inc.s April 10, 2017 petition to intervene and request for hearing (Petition),2 and admitted for litigation one reformulated contention. As demonstrated in the accompanying Brief in Support of NextEras Appeal of LBP-17-7, the Board clearly erred and abused its discretion in admitting the reformulated contention. Therefore, pursuant to 10 C.F.R.

§ 2.311(d)(1), NextEra appeals the granting of the Petition.

1 NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC (Seabrook Station, Unit 1), LBP-17-7, 86 NRC __ (slip op.) (Oct. 6, 2017).

Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.311(b), appeals of board orders on hearing requests and petitions to intervene are due within 25 days after the service of the order; therefore, this appeal is timely.

2 C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Inc., Petition for Leave to Intervene: Nuclear Regulatory Commission Docket No. 50-443, (Apr. 10, 2017) (ML17100B013).

Respectfully submitted, Executed in Accord with 10 C.F.R. § 2.304(d) Executed in Accord with 10 C.F.R. § 2.304(d)

Steven Hamrick, Esq. Paul M. Bessette, Esq.

NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 801 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 220 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20004 Washington, D.C. 20004 Phone: (202) 349-3496 Phone: (202) 739-5796 Fax: (202) 347-7076 Fax: (202) 739-3001 E-mail: steven.hamrick@fpl.com E-mail: paul.bessette@morganlewis.com Executed in Accord with 10 C.F.R. § 2.304(d) Signed (electronically) by Ryan K. Lighty William S. Blair, Esq. Ryan K. Lighty, Esq.

NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 700 Universe Blvd. 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Juno Beach, FL 33408 Washington, D.C. 20004 Phone: (561) 304-5238 Phone: (202) 739-5274 Fax: (561) 304-5366 Fax: (202) 739-3001 E-mail: william.blair@fpl.com E-mail: ryan.lighty@morganlewis.com Counsel for NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC Dated in Washington, DC this 31st day of October 2017 2

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE COMMISSION

)

In the Matter of: )

) Docket No. 50-443-LA-2 NEXTERA ENERGY SEABROOK, LLC )

) October 31, 2017 (Seabrook Station Unit 1) )

)

BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF NEXTERAS APPEAL OF LBP-17-7 Steven Hamrick, Esq. Paul M. Bessette, Esq.

NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 801 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 220 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20004 Washington, D.C. 20004 Phone: (202) 349-3496 Phone: (202) 739-5796 Fax: (202) 347-7076 Fax: (202) 739-3001 E-mail: steven.hamrick@fpl.com E-mail: paul.bessette@morganlewis.com William S. Blair, Esq. Ryan K. Lighty, Esq.

NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 700 Universe Blvd. 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Juno Beach, FL 33408 Washington, D.C. 20004 Phone: (561) 304-5238 Phone: (202) 739-5274 Fax: (561) 304-5366 Fax: (202) 739-3001 E-mail: william.blair@fpl.com E-mail: ryan.lighty@morganlewis.com Counsel for NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 II. STATEMENT OF THE CASE ....................................................................................................... 4 A. The Seabrook ASR License Amendment Request ...................................................................... 4 B. The Proposed Contentions .......................................................................................................... 6 C. Summary of Board Decision (LBP-17-7) ................................................................................... 8 III. LEGAL STANDARDS .................................................................................................................. 9 A. Standard of Review ..................................................................................................................... 9 B. Contention Admissibility Standards.......................................................................................... 10 C. Discretion of Presiding Officers ................................................................................................ 10

1. Pro Se Petitioners Are Afforded Some Leeway Regarding Formalistic Pleading Requirements, But Otherwise Must Comply With the Commissions Contention Admissibility Regulations ..................................................................................................... 10

2. The Board Has Limited Authority to Reformulate Contentions ........................................ 12 IV. THE COMMISSION SHOULD REVERSE THE BOARDS DECISION TO ADMIT THE REFORMULATED CONTENTION ........................................................................................... 13 A. The Board Abused Its Discretion And Committed Reversible Error in Admitting Contentions A, B, C, D, & H ......................................................................................................................... 13

1. The Board Misconstrued NextEras Arguments Below Regarding the Scope of Board Authority................................................................................................................................ 13

2. The Board Abused Its Discretion And Committed Reversible Error in Finding Contention D Independently Admissible ..................................................................................................... 15

3. The Boards Reversible Error in Admitting Contention D Is Dispositive of the Admissibility of Contentions A, B, C, and H;.............................................................................................. 19

4. The Board Abused Its Discretion And Committed Reversible Error in Finding Contentions A, B, C, & H Independently Admissible ............................................................................... 20 B. The Board Abused Its Discretion and Committed Reversible Error in Finding The Reformulated Contention Admissible on Alternative Grounds ................................................ 27

1. Consolidation of Otherwise . . . Inadmissible Contentions for the Purpose of Creating an Admissible Contention Exceeds Board Authority................................................................. 27

2. The Reformulated Contention Is Inadmissible Per Se .......................................................... 29 V. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 30 ii

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES NRC CASES Consolidated Edison Co. of N.Y. (Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit 2) and Power Authority of the State of N.Y. (Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit 3), LBP-83-5, 17 NRC 134 (1983) ........................................................................... 11 Consumers Power Co. (Midland Plant, Units 1 & 2), LBP-82-63, 16 NRC 571 (1982) ................................................................................................................................ 11 Crow Butte Res., Inc. (In Situ Leach Facility, Crawford, Nebraska), CLI-09-9, 69 NRC 331 (2009).................................................................................................................. 9 Crow Butte Res., Inc. (N. Trend Expansion Project), CLI-09-12, 69 NRC 535 (2009) ......................................................................................................................... passim Dominion Nuclear Conn., Inc. (Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 & 3),

CLI-01-24, 54 NRC 349 (2001).................................................................................. 10, 19 DTE Elec. Co. (Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2), CLI-15-18, 82 NRC 135 (2015) ......................................................................................................................... passim DTE Elec. Co. (Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2), LBP-15-5, 81 NRC 249 (2015) ................................................................................................................................ 28 Duke Energy Corp. (Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, & 3), CLI-99-11, 49 NRC 328 (1999).................................................................................................... 10, 11, 25 Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Palisades Nuclear Plant), CLI-15-23, 82 NRC 321 (2015) ............................................................................................................. 18, 19, 21 Fla. Power & Light Co. (Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 3 & 4),

CLI-15-25, 82 NRC 389 (2015).................................................................................. 11, 28 Houston Lighting & Power Co. (Allens Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 1), ALAB-590, 11 NRC 542 (1980) ................................................................................. 11 Luminant Generation Co., LLC (Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 3 &

4), CLI-12-7, 75 NRC 379 (2012) ...................................................................................... 9 NextEra Energy Seabrook LLC (Seabrook Station, Unit 1), CLI-12-5, 75 NRC 301 (2012) ......................................................................................................... 7, 20, 24, 26 Nuclear Generation Co. and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station), CLI-10-14, 71 NRC 449 (2010).............................................................. 12 Private Fuel Storage, L.L.C. (Indep. Spent Fuel Storage Installation), LBP-98-7, 47 NRC 142, 181 (1998) ..................................................................................................... 8 Private Fuel Storage, LLC (Indep. Spent Fuel Storage Installation), CLI-99-10, 49 NRC 318 (1999)................................................................................................................ 10 Pub. Serv. Elec. & Gas Co. (Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 & 2),

ALAB-136, 6 AEC 487 (1973)......................................................................................... 11 iii

Shaw AREVA MOX Services (Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility), LBP 11, 67 NRC 460 (2008)........................................................................................... 3, 12, 29 Statement of Policy on Conduct of Adjudicatory Proceedings, CLI-98-12, 48 NRC 18 (1998) ................................................................................................................. 9, 10, 12 USEC Inc. (Am. Centrifuge Plant), CLI-06-10, 63 NRC 451 (2006) .............................. 17, 19, 21 REGULATIONS 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f)(1) .......................................................................................................... passim 10 C.F.R. § 2.311 ............................................................................................................................ 1 10 C.F.R. § 2.319 .......................................................................................................................... 12 10 C.F.R. § 2.329 .......................................................................................................................... 12 10 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart H .......................................................................................................... 25 OTHER AUTHORITIES American Concrete Institute, Standard ACI 318-71, Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete (1971) .......................................................................................... 4 American Concrete Institute, Standard ACI 349.3R, Evaluation of Existing Nuclear Safety-Related Concrete Structures (2002) ......................................................... 25 American Society for Testing & Materials, Standard ASTM C856-11, Standard Practice for Petrographic Examination of Hardened Concrete (2011) ............................. 25 American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code,Section III, Division 2, Subsection CC (1975) ................................................................... 4 Application and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses Involving Proposed No Significant Hazards Considerations and Containing Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information and Order Imposing Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information, 82 Fed. Reg. 9601, 9604 (Feb. 7, 2017) ........................................................ 8 NUREG/CR-7171, A Review of the Effects of Radiation on Microstructure and Properties of Concretes Used in Nuclear Power Plants (Nov. 2013) ......................... 17, 18 iv

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE COMMISSION

)

In the Matter of: )

) Docket No. 50-443-LA-2 NEXTERA ENERGY SEABROOK, LLC )

) October 31, 2017 (Seabrook Station Unit 1) )

)

BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF NEXTERAS APPEAL OF LBP 17-7 I. INTRODUCTION Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.311, NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC (NextEra) files this Brief in Support of NextEras Appeal of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards (Board)

October 6, 2017 Memorandum and Order LBP-17-7.1 In that decision, the Board granted C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Inc.s (C-10) April 10, 2017 petition to intervene and request for hearing (Petition),2 which proffered ten contentions purporting to challenge NextEras license amendment request 16-03 (LAR) for Seabrook Station Unit 1 (Seabrook).3 The LAR seeks NRC approval to revise the Seabrook Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) to include methods for analyzing Seismic Category I structures with concrete 1

NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC (Seabrook Station, Unit 1), LBP-17-7, 86 NRC __ (slip op.) (Oct. 6, 2017).

2 C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Inc., Petition for Leave to Intervene: Nuclear Regulatory Commission Docket No. 50-443, (Apr. 10, 2017) (ML17100B013).

3 SBK-L-16071, Letter from to R. Dodds to NRC Document Control Desk, License Amendment Request 16 Revise Current Licensing Basis to Adopt A Methodology for the Analysis of Seismic Category I Structures with Concrete Affected by Alkali-Silica Reaction, (Aug. 1, 2016) (ML16216A240) (Original LAR); SBK-L-16153, Letter from to R. Dodds to NRC Document Control Desk, Supplement to License Amendment Request 16 Revise Current Licensing Basis to Adopt A Methodology for the Analysis of Seismic Category I Structures with Concrete Affected by Alkali-Silica Reaction, (Sept. 30, 2016)

(ML16279A048) (LAR Supplement). The Original LAR and LAR Supplement, and all enclosures and attachments, are collectively the LAR.

affected by an alkali-silica reaction (ASR).4 C-10s proposed contentions, discussed further below, rest largely on one chief complaint and demandthat NextEra must rely solely on mechanical property testing of Seabrook concrete samples to evaluate ASR.5 But as NextEra noted in its Answer to the proposed contentions, this misses the point of the LAR entirely, which is to change Seabrooks license to incorporate ASR-expansion in determining structural adequacy.6 It also ignores a fundamental element of the LARthat NextEra will continue to conduct and rely on testing of Seabrooks concrete (as a means of calculating expansion) in assessing the progression of ASR.7 In LBP-17-7, the Board found five of C-10s proffered contentions independently admissible.8 The Board admitted those contentions and reformulated them into a single contention for hearing (Reformulated Contention).9 The Board also found, in the alternative, that if the five individual contentions were not independently admissible, it possessed the authority to convert those five inadmissible contentions into a single admissible one.10 As demonstrated below, the Board committed several reversible errors and abused its discretion in admitting the Reformulated Contention.

The Boards decision in LBP-17-7 suffers from two overarching abuses of discretion resulting in legal error that require reversal of the decision. First, despite the Commissions 4

See Original LAR, Enclosure 7, NextEra Energy Seabrooks Evaluation of the Proposed Change (Non-Proprietary) § 1.0 (LAR Evaluation).

5 See generally Petition (the word in-situ appears 21 times).

6 NextEras Answer Opposing C-10 Research & Education Foundations Petition for Leave to Intervene and Hearing Request on NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLCs License Amendment Request 16-03 at 17 (May 5, 2017) (ML17125A289) (NextEra Answer).

7 Id. at 44 n.198 (explaining compressive strength testing and elastic modulus testing are used to calculate expansion to date).

8 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. § IV.A.2).

9 Id. at 86.

10 Id. at 86-91.

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repeated reminders, the Board went well beyond its limited discretion to permit some leeway11 to a pro se petitionerC-10. The Boards available discretion does not include the authority to relieve pro se petitioners of their burden to satisfy the strict by design contention admissibility requirements in 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f)(1); and does not include the authority to insert and rely on Board-supplied information and arguments to rejuvenate otherwise . . . inadmissible12 contentions. The Board has impermissibly done so here, in several instances including its supplementation of Contentions A and D with information from independent outside research;13 and its replacement of Contention B with a much broader contention than pled by C-10.14 These examples and others are discussed further below.

Second, the Board abused its limited discretion to reformulate contentions.

Commission regulations provide boards with authority to manage adjudicatory proceedings.

This authority, intended to promote adjudicatory efficiency, also includes some limited discretion to revise contentions proffered by parties.15 Boards may reframe admissible contentions16 to (a) remove extraneous material (to avoid expending resources on non-litigable matters) or (b) combine similar factual and legal issues (to streamline the proceeding).17 However, boards may not create an admissible contention by repositioning various assertions from multiple inadmissible contentions into a new configuration not pled by a petitioner; this 11 See DTE Elec. Co. (Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2), CLI-15-18, 82 NRC 135, 145 (2015).

12 Id. at 141.

13 See infra, Parts IV.A.2, IV.A.4.a.

14 See infra, Part IV.A.4.b.

15 Crow Butte Res., Inc. (N. Trend Expansion Project), CLI-09-12, 69 NRC 535, 552 (2009) (internal citation omitted).

16 Shaw AREVA MOX Services (Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility), LBP-08-11, 67 NRC 460, 482-83 (2008) (this discussion was cited favorably by the Commission as a correct interpretation of board reformulation authority in Crow Butte, CLI-09-12, 69 NRC at 552 n.79) (emphasis added).

17 Id.

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would supply the essential threshold information required for an admissible contention, which is impermissible.18 Notwithstanding, the Board has done so here in its alternative basis for admitting the Reformulated Contention, in which it claims that, even if none of C-10s proposed contentions are admissible, it may use them to create an admissible one.19 As discussed below, that is an abuse of discretion; thus, admission of the Reformulated Contention on this basis also was reversible error. Such fundamental errors should not be left to stand as a matter of law or equity. Accordingly, the Commission should reverse the Boards decision in LBP-17-7 and reject C-10s proposed contentions as inadmissible.

II. STATEMENT OF THE CASE A. The Seabrook ASR License Amendment Request ASR is a chemical reaction that occurs in susceptible concrete and produces an alkali-silicate gel that expands as it absorbs moisture. The expansion exerts a stress on the surrounding concrete and results in cracking. The Seabrook operating license references codes which rely on material property testing as the means for calculating structural capacities.20 However, these codes do not include explicit provisions for the analysis of reinforced concrete structures affected by ASR. This is notable because, while ASR may affect the mechanical properties of concrete, it does not necessarily result in a corresponding decrease in structural capacity of a reinforced concrete structure. Accordingly, because the existing codes, alone, do not account for this disconnect, NextEra determined to develop a methodology (based on an extensive laboratory test program, in-situ monitoring, and future confirmatory testing) that would yield an 18 Cf., e.g., Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 141 (Boards may not supply information that is lacking in a contention that otherwise would be inadmissible. (emphasis added)).

19 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. § IV.B).

20 American Concrete Institute (ACI) 318-71, Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete;Section III of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (1975 Edition).

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appropriately conservative assessment of structural adequacy for reinforced concrete structures affected by ASR.

NextEra collaborated with MPR Associates (MPR) and the Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory (FSEL) at the University of Texas at Austin to conduct the large-scale test program (LSTP) with the objective of creating a methodology for conservatively analyzing ASR-affected structuresi.e., to fill the gap in the codes.21 The LSTP considered data from publicly-available literature, as well as tests conducted specifically for Seabrook as part of the LSTP. This included fabrication and instrumented testing of ASR-affected concrete specimens designed with a reinforcement configuration and concrete mixture similar to Seabrook,22 as well as material property testing of concrete from Seabrook for the purpose of calculating expansion to-date caused by ASR.23 Finally, the LAR proposes to conduct confirmatory testing to empirically verify the similarity between Seabrooks concrete and the data collected as part of the LSTP.24 Although the LAR review is ongoing, NRC Staff did conclude this is technically the appropriate approach to address structural performance of ASR-affected Seabrook structures for limit states where gaps exist in ASR literature.25 Additionally, in conjunction with the LAR, Seabrooks Structures Monitoring Program 21 See generally Original LAR, Enclosure 3, MPR-4273, Rev. 0, Seabrook Station - Implications of Large-Scale Test Program Results on Reinforced Concrete Affected by Alkali-Silica Reaction (July 2016) (Non-Proprietary) (MPR-4273).

22 See, e.g., id. at 2-6.

23 See, e.g., LAR Supplement, Enclosure 3, MPR-4153, Rev. 2, Seabrook Station - Approach for Determining Through-Thickness Expansion from Alkali-Silica Reaction § 5.1 (July 2016) (Non-Proprietary).

24 See MPR-4273 at vii and § 6.1.5.

25 Memorandum from A. Erickson, NRC, to J. Trapp, NRC, Position Paper - Assessment of ACI 318-71 as Design Basis for Category I Concrete Structures Affected by Alkali-Silica Reaction at Seabrook Station, Encl. at 6 (June 10, 2013) (ML13128A521) (emphasis added).

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(SMP) requires monitoring and trending of concrete expansion.26 The SMP employs a three-tiered approach, under which structures with higher levels of ASR expansion are inspected more frequentlyand are subject to enhanced measuring, monitoring, and trending techniquesthan structures with minimal ASR expansion.27 For example, areas with pattern cracking (Tier 2) are subject to monitoring and trending via a Combined Cracking Index; and areas exhibiting in-plane expansion of 0.1% or more (Tier 3) are subject to structural evaluation and enhanced ASR monitoring, which includes removal of core samples for material property testing (to calculate expansion to-date) and placement of an extensometer (to measure and trend expansion going forward).28 B. The Proposed Contentions In its Petition, C-10 submitted ten proposed contentions.29 In brief, these ten proposed contentions assert that: (a) the ASR monitoring methodology is flawed because only sample testing of in-situ concrete can accurately gauge the extent of ASR;30 (b) ASR-expansion in reinforced concrete is not equivalent to a pre-stressing effect;31 (c) petrographic analysis, including in-situ testing, must be performed;32 (d) the LSTP data is not representative of Seabrook, thus in-situ testing must be performed;33 (e) allowing proprietary information to be withheld is bad public policy;34 (f) rebar corrosion is likely but is not discussed;35 (g) the LSTP 26 LAR Evaluation § 3.5.1.

27 Id.

28 See, e.g., LAR Evaluation at tbl.5, § 3.5.1.

29 See Petition at 2-3.

30 Id. at 4 (emphasis added).

31 Id. (emphasis in original).

32 Id. at 8.

33 Id.

34 Id. at 11-12.

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did not collect data at or beyond the tipping point; (h) the inspection intervals are too long, and too fixed;36 (i) sea level rise is not discussed;37 and (j) the LAR language is not objective.38 As noted above, C-10 has one chief complaintthat NextEra must rely solely on mechanical property testing of Seabrook concrete samples to evaluate ASR; in other words, C-10 appears to reject the notion that any change to the license is permissible. C-10 claims that such testing is required for an accurate assessment of ASR on plant structures going forward.39 Again, this misses the point of the LAR (changing Seabrooks license to include a means for determining structural adequacy of ASR-affected reinforced concrete) and ignores the fact that NextEra will continue to test Seabrooks concrete. The distinction between mechanical consequences and structural consequences is important because the latter is relevant for assessing whether an ASR-affected structure can perform its design function. Ultimately, 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f)(1) demands more than specification of a preferred approach.40 Accordingly, Petitioners contentions fail at a very fundamental level in that they do not dispute the LARan important point that was glossed-over in LBP-17-7.

Moreover, nearly all of C-10s alleged support predates the LAR submission. This is important because these commentaries, primarily from Dr. Brown, attack previous proposals (e.g., early versions of aging management programs in the license renewal proceeding) rather than the LAR. But, the features and techniques proposed in the LAR have changed considerably since then; and the outdated commentaries do not support a challenge to the LAR. In fact, the 35 Id. at 12-13.

36 Id. at 15.

37 Id. at 16.

38 Id.

39 E.g., id. at 4 (arguing it is the only appropriate method).

40 NextEra Energy Seabrook LLC (Seabrook Station, Unit 1), CLI-12-5, 75 NRC 301, 323 (2012).

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monitoring program proposed in the LAR was explicitly modified in response to some of these challenges; thus, they would only appear to dispute the LAR if read out-of-context, as C-10 and the Board have done here. C-10s sole citation to commentary actually created after submission of the LAR still only considers the first half of the LAR41it does not consider the LAR Supplement,42 which provides significant new information directly relevant to the requested licensing action, and which Dr. Brown has neither addressed nor rebutted.43 Furthermore, despite C-10s citation to his commentary, it is unclear whether Dr. Brown even endorses the arguments advanced by C-10.44 Therefore, it was legal error for the Board to uncritically conclude these documents supplied the basis for C-10s contentions.45 C. Summary of Board Decision (LBP-17-7)

In LBP-17-7, the Board granted C-10s Petition. The Board (relying partially on new information first supplied in C-10s Reply brief) found C-10 had both representational standing and organizational standing. The Board found Contentions E, F, G, I, and J inadmissible, but admitted a single, Reformulated Contention, based on portions of the remaining contentions, as follows:

The large-scale test program, undertaken for NextEra at the FSEL, 41 See Petition at 4 (citing P.W. Brown, Commentary on Seabrook Station License Amendment Request 16-03 at 1 (Sept. 30, 2016) (ML16306A248) (Brown 9/30/16 Commentary), which notes the reviewed documents include only the Original LAR).

42 The LAR Supplement was submitted to the NRC in September 2016, and was specifically referenced in the hearing opportunity notice. See Application and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses Involving Proposed No Significant Hazards Considerations and Containing Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information and Order Imposing Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information, 82 Fed. Reg. 9601, 9604 (Feb. 7, 2017).

43 See generally LAR Supplement.

44 C-10 did not submit an affidavit from Dr. Brown, and C-10s document citations reference his commentary on behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists, which is not a party.

45 Private Fuel Storage, L.L.C. (Indep. Spent Fuel Storage Installation), LBP-98-7, 47 NRC 142, 181 (1998)

(the Board is not to accept uncritically the assertion that a document or other factual information or an expert opinion supplies the basis for a contention.), affd, CLI-98-13, 48 NRC 26, 37 (1998).

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has yielded data that are not representative of the progression of ASR at Seabrook. As a result, the proposed monitoring, acceptance criteria, and inspection intervals are not adequate.

The Board argued in the alternative that: (a) contentions A, B, C, D, and H are at least partially admissible on their own; thus, the admitted contention is merely a consolidation of five admissible contentions; and (b) even if those contentions are not independently admissible, the Board acted within its authority to consolidate otherwise inadmissible contentions to create one that is admissible.

III. LEGAL STANDARDS A. Standard of Review Section 2.311 permits an appeal as of right on the question of whether an initial intervention petition should have been wholly denied, or alternatively, was granted improperly.46 The Commission generally defers to board decisions on contention admissibility, but will reverse a boards ruling if there has been an error of law or an abuse of discretion.47 The Commission, in fact, has done so multiple times in recent years, because entertain[ing]

contentions grounded on little more than guesswork would waste the scarce adjudicatory resources of all involved.48 As directly germane here, a board commits reversible legal error when it, among other things, supplies a factual or legal basis for a contention that was not 46 Luminant Generation Co., LLC (Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 3 & 4), CLI-12-7, 75 NRC 379, 385 (2012) (citing Statement of Policy on Conduct of Adjudicatory Proceedings, CLI-98-12, 48 NRC 18, 23 (1998) (Adjudicatory Policy); AmerGen Energy Co., LLC (Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station), CLI-06-24, 64 NRC 111, 125 (2006)).

47 Id. at 386 (citing Progress Energy Fla., Inc. (Levy Cnty. Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 & 2), CLI-10-2, 71 NRC 27, 29 (2010); AmerGen Energy Co., LLC (Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station), CLI-09-7, 69 NRC 235, 260 (2009); Luminant Generation Co., LLC (Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 3 and 4), CLI-11-9, 74 NRC 233, 237 (2011)).

48 Crow Butte, CLI-09-12, 69 NRC at 552; see also Crow Butte Res., Inc. (In Situ Leach Facility, Crawford, Nebraska), CLI-09-9, 69 NRC 331, 364 (2009) (arguments that are speculative do not form the basis for a litigable contention).

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proffered by the petitioner.49 B. Contention Admissibility Standards The Commissions rules on contention admissibility are strict by design.50 The rules were toughened . . . in 1989 because in prior years licensing boards had admitted and litigated numerous contentions that appeared to be based on little more than speculation.51 The Commission has emphasized that the contention pleading rules are designed to ensure both that only well-defined issues are admitted for hearing and that parties admitted to litigate sophisticated technical issues are qualified to do so.52 Failure to comply with any one of the six admissibility criteria in 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f)(1) is grounds for rejecting a proposed contention.53 C. Discretion of Presiding Officers The errors of law and abuses of discretion detailed in Section IV, below, consider the tension between the NRCs strict by design rules on contention admissibility, and two areas of board discretion: (1) the NRCs practice of granting pro se petitioners some leeway regarding compliance with formalistic pleading requirements, and (2) a presiding officers limited discretion to reformulate contentions. Accordingly, a discussion of the proper scope of these areas of board discretion informs the analysis below.

1. Pro Se Petitioners Are Afforded Some Leeway Regarding Formalistic Pleading Requirements, But Otherwise Must Comply With the Commissions Contention Admissibility Regulations 49 Adjudicatory Policy, CLI-98-12, 48 NRC at 22 (A contentions proponent, not the licensing board, is responsible for formulating the contention and providing the necessary information to satisfy the basis requirement for the admission of contentions . . . .)).

50 Dominion Nuclear Conn., Inc. (Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 & 3), CLI-01-24, 54 NRC 349, 358 (2001) (citing Duke Energy Corp. (Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, & 3), CLI-99-11, 49 NRC 328, 334 (1999)).

51 Id.

52 Crow Butte, CLI-09-12, 69 NRC at 552 (citations omitted).

53 Private Fuel Storage, LLC (Indep. Spent Fuel Storage Installation), CLI-99-10, 49 NRC 318, 325 (1999).

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In NRC adjudicatory proceedings, a pro se petitioner is admittedly not to be held to those standards of clarity and precision to which a lawyer might reasonably be expected to adhere.54 But the Commission has cautioned that it is not the proper function of the board to assume the role of advocate for the pro se litigant.55 Some leniency56 or some leeway57 is appropriate for pro se petitioners as to formalistic pleading requirements; but that leeway has limits.58 A pro se petitioner still bears the burden to plead sufficient information and arguments to make its required demonstrations for contention admissibility.59 Boards may not use pro se status as a justification for relieving petitioners from obligations imposed by [NRC] rules.60 Even pro se petitioners must plead a sound basis for each contention in order to assure that the proposed issues are proper for adjudication.61 Contentions proposed by pro se Petitioners must independentlywithout board assistancesatisfy the basic requirements of 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f)(1).62 Pursuant to long-standing Commission policy, although a board may appropriately view a petitioners support 54 Pub. Serv. Elec. & Gas Co. (Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 & 2), ALAB-136, 6 AEC 487, 489 (1973), cited in Houston Lighting & Power Co. (Allens Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 1), ALAB-590, 11 NRC 542, 546 (1980); Consumers Power Co. (Midland Plant, Units 1 & 2), LBP-82-63, 16 NRC 571, 578 (1982).

55 See Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 146 n.53 (quoting Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir.

1991)).

56 Fla. Power & Light Co. (Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 3 & 4), CLI-15-25, 82 NRC 389, 397 n.53 (2015) (citing Statement of Policy on Conduct of Licensing Proceedings, CLI-81-8, 13 NRC 452, 454 (1981)).

57 See Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 145.

58 See id. at 146 n.53 (citing S.C. Elec. & Gas Co. (Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 & 3), CLI 1, 71 NRC 1, 6 (2010)); Oconee, CLI-99-11, 49 NRC at 338-39; id. (acknowledging the same doctrine in Federal court proceedings, citing Pilgrim v. Littlefield, 92 F.3d 413, 416 (6th Cir. 1996) ([T]he lenient treatment generally accorded to pro se litigants has limits.)).

59 Turkey Point, CLI-15-25, 82 NRC at 397 n.53 (To be sure, although we afford some leniency to pro se petitioners, . . . we expect parties to our proceedings to fulfill the obligations imposed by our rules.)

60 Id.

61 Consol. Edison Co. of N.Y. (Indian Point, Unit No. 2) and Power Auth. of the State of N.Y. (Indian Point, Unit No. 3), LBP-83-5, 17 NRC 134, 136 (1983).

62 See Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 145-46.

11

for its contention in a light that is favorable to the petitioner, . . . the board cannot do so by ignoring the [contention admissibility] requirements because [a] contentions proponent, not the licensing board, is responsible for formulating the contention and providing the necessary information to satisfy the basis requirement for the admission of contentions.63

2. The Board Has Limited Authority to Reformulate Contentions Boards also have some authority to reformulate contentions. This authority is part of a mandate to efficiently manage adjudicatory resources; specifically, it flows from a presiding officers authority to hold conferences under 10 C.F.R. § 2.319(j) (e.g., for simplification of contentions) and 10 C.F.R. § 2.329(c)(1) for [s]implification, clarification, and specification of the issues.64 This limited authority allows boards to excise extraneous issues from otherwise admissible contentions, and to consolidate otherwise admissible contentions with other related contentions or issues.65 But Commission precedent articulates an important limitation: a board should not add material not raised by a petitioner in order to render a contention admissible.66 Furthermore, where a petitioner does not plead any nexus between its claims and any

[purported] deficiencies in the underlying application, a reformulation that imputes that essential nexus would exceed the boards authority.67 It makes no difference that a petitioners claim in one inadmissible contention is purportedly connected to an alleged deficiency in a separate inadmissible contentioneven within the same petitionbecause petitioners have an 63 Adjudicatory Policy, CLI-98-12, 48 NRC at 22.

64 MOX, LBP-08-11, 67 NRC at 482-83; accord Crow Butte, CLI-09-12, 69 NRC at 552 n.79.

65 Crow Butte, CLI-09-12, 69 NRC at 552.

66 Entergy Nuclear Generation Co. and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station),

CLI-10-14, 71 NRC 449, 464 n.80 (2010) (quoting Crow Butte, CLI-09-12, 69 NRC at 552-53) (emphasis added).

67 Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 141.

12

affirmative obligation to plead the connection themselves if it supplies the threshold nexus for an admissible contention.68 The Board simply cannot shoulder this fundamental burden for a petitionereven a pro se petitioner.

IV. THE COMMISSION SHOULD REVERSE THE BOARDS DECISION TO ADMIT THE REFORMULATED CONTENTION A. The Board Abused Its Discretion And Committed Reversible Error in Admitting Contentions A, B, C, D, & H

1. The Board Misconstrued NextEras Arguments Below Regarding the Scope of Board Authority In its pleadings below, NextEra cited Commission precedent explaining three key concepts on the limits of board authority: (1) a board may not supply information that is lacking in a contention that otherwise would be inadmissible, and may not substitute its own support for a contention; (2) such prohibited substitutions include legal and technical support, expert opinion, references to specific sources, or a reasoned basis or explanation for a conclusion; and (3) these principles apply equally to pro se petitioners.69 NextEra also cited Commission precedent noting that, even for pro se petitioners, boards may not make arguments for the litigants that were never made by the litigants themselves, and may not fabricate a different challenge from the one [the petitioner] presented.70 In LBP-17-7, the Board misconstrued NextEras citations to Commission precedent as constituting an argument that boards lack the ability to consider even controlling Commission decisions or agency regulations . . . unless cited by the petitioner, and may not provide a 68 Id.

69 NextEra Answer at 12-13 (citing Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 141, 145-46, 149).

70 Id.

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reasoned explanation for the Boards ruling not explicitly stated by the petitioner.71 But these arguments were constructed by the Board; NextEra advanced no such claims or arguments.

NextEra did not (and does not) dispute that boards have the authority to explain the basis for the boards conclusions, or to cite controlling provisions of law as support for such conclusionsthat is only logical. Rather, NextEras point was that if a petitioner fails to plead the reasoned basis or explanation for an (otherwise bare) expert conclusion offered as support for a contention, as required per 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f)(1)(v), a board may not cure this deficiency by offering its own reasoned basis or explanation for the experts conclusion.72 And, if a petitioner fails to identify some requirement the challenged application purportedly fails to satisfy, as required per 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f)(1)(iv), the board may not conduct independent research to fashion a connection between petitioners claim and a material finding the Staff must make.73 To do so is to supply information that is lacking in a contention that otherwise would be inadmissible,74 which is beyond the scope of the boards authority.

Rather than address NextEras actual arguments, LBP-17-7 rejected the Board-constructed arguments and concluded the Board had not acted inappropriately. Notwithstanding, NextEras assertions remain valid and unaddressed. As explained below, the Board has gone well beyond its limited authority to grant some leeway75 to C-10; rather, it repeatedly supplied missing arguments, nexus, or information necessary to create an admissible contention, which 71 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 35).

72 NextEras Reply to NRC Staffs Answer to C-10s Petition for Leave to Intervene at 7 (May 12, 2017)

(ML17132A285) (NextEra Reply) (rebutting any suggestion that the Board could or should supply the necessary information to satisfy the basis requirement for admission, (emphasis in original) and rejecting the notion the Board could supply the missing information necessary to turn otherwise inadmissible contentions into an admissible one (emphasis in original)).

73 Id.

74 Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 141 (emphasis added).

75 See id. at 145.

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constitutes abuse of discretion and reversible error.

2. The Board Abused Its Discretion And Committed Reversible Error in Finding Contention D Independently Admissible In Contention D, C-10 asserts (erroneously) that the LAR seeks to substitute[] not representative data from the LSTP in lieu of performing core sample testing at Seabrook.76 In simplified terms, C-10 appears to argue the LAR does not show that the LSTP specimens were identical to Seabrooks concrete. As NextEra argued in its pleadings below, even if true, this claim would not independently supply the basis for an admissible contention; it does not tie C-10s stand-alone (and otherwise irrelevant) representativeness challenge to any finding the NRC must make (i.e., it is immaterial) or any substantive aspect of the LAR (i.e., it does not demonstrate a genuine dispute).77 The Board even appears to acknowledge this fatal defect, but then references Staffs identification of LAR statements connecting conclusions from the LSTP to various features proposed in NextEras comprehensive program (e.g., monitoring methodologies, acceptance criteria, and inspection intervals) to complete Petitioners argument.78 But the Board dismissed that defect as irrelevant on the basis that the nexus to a regulatory requirement, and the nexus to purported substantive defects in the application, were readily apparent to the Boardeven though they certainly were not pled by C-10.79 But the applicable standard is not whether a board can independently (or with the assistance of the NRC Staff) envision or articulate some plausible materiality argument or 76 Petition at 2, 8 (arguing the LSTP data cannot be substituted for core sample testing).

77 NextEra Answer § V.D.

78 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 67) (supplementing C-10s arguments based on what the Staff itself has said and what Staff identifies).

79 Id. The Board devotes substantial discussion in LBP-17-7 to identifying the nexus between C-10s various other contentionsnexus never pled by C-10. E.g., the Board ties Contention A to Contention D (slip op.

at 48); Contention B to Contention D (slip op. at 56); Contention B to Contention A (slip op. at 57);

Contention D to Contention B (slip op. at 60, 63-64); and Contention D to Contention H (slip op. at 80).

15

genuine dispute that could be connected to a petitioners generalized complaints regarding an application. As discussed above, petitioners, even pro se, bear this burden.80 The regulatory requirement to demonstrate the elements of an admissible contention cannot be waived under the guise of granting some leeway to a pro se petitioner.81 Such an exercise would stray well beyond the goal of adjudicatory efficiency; it would place the board in the role of advocate for the pro se litigant, which is prohibited.82 Here, the purported connections between the Petitioners representativeness arguments, on one hand, and the LARs programmatic features, on the other, were not advanced by C-10.

They were identified by Staff and injected into the contention by the Board. These connections supply the threshold nexus for admissibility cited by the Board, which is an abuse of discretion.

Accordingly, the Board committed an error of law in admitting Contention D.

Moreover, the Board mischaracterized NextEras arguments in this regard as demands that a pro se petitioner use specific words to connect its allegations to the Staffs ultimate findings.83 But nowhere in its pleadings did NextEra demand that C-10 use specific words.

NextEras point was much more basic: petitioners must use some words to articulate some alleged connection to a finding the NRC Staff must make, and some dispute with material aspects of the underlying application. Commission precedent makes clear that boards cannot supply such information.84 Notwithstanding, that is precisely what the Board did here.

80 See supra, Part III.C.1.

81 Id.

82 See Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 146 n.53 (quoting Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir.

1991)).

83 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 68).

84 Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 141 (Boards may not supply information that is lacking in a contention that otherwise would be inadmissible.) (emphasis added) (citing Crow Butte, CLI-09-12, 69 NRC at 552-53).

16

Furthermore, the Boards sole basis85 for concluding that Contention D satisfied the support requirement in 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f)(1)(v) is a block quote from NUREG/CR-7171, which appears in the Petition without any explanation of materiality by C-10;86 it states, in relevant part:

It was noted in Section 6.1 of this report that there may be a coupling effect between radiation and ASR that can potentially accelerate ASR activity or cause ASR to occur with aggregates that are not normally reactive.

C-10s failure to explain the materiality of this quote, alone, renders the purported support insufficient. As the Commission has explained, [a] contention must make clear why cited references provide a basis for a contention.87 And the Board appears to have recognized this deficiency; it searched NUREG/CR-7171 for additional content in support of an articulated basisthis despite the Commissions oft-cited warning not to do so.88 In fact, the Board cited to supplemental content in NUREG/CR-7171content not cited by C-10 itselfin four separate sentences attempting to articulate the basis for the contention.89 Unsurprisingly, with the benefit of its own research, it had no difficulty discerning the connection between these provisions of NUREG/CR-7171 and C-10s claim.90 But the Board did more than discern a connectionit created one on behalf of C-10.

85 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 69) (emphasis added).

86 Petition at 10 (quoting NUREG/CR-7171, A Review of the Effects of Radiation on Microstructure and Properties of Concretes Used in Nuclear Power Plants at 88 (Nov. 2013) (ML13325B077) (NUREG/CR-7171)).

87 USEC Inc. (Am. Centrifuge Plant), CLI-06-10, 63 NRC 451, 457 (2006).

88 Id. (it is not up to the boards to search through pleadings or other materials to uncover arguments and support never advanced by the petitioners themselves).

89 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 69-70 n.358-61) (citing NUREG/CR-7171 at 89).

Moreover, these four sentences relate to detection of ASR, which is irrelevant here; NextEra is already aware of ASR-susceptibility, and treats all monitored structures as if ASR is present. See NextEra Answer at 34-35.

90 Id. at __ (slip op. at 70).

17

Furthermore, the portion of NUREG/CR-7171 referenced in C-10s block quote, Section 6.1, discusses two thingsneither of which identify a deficiency in the LAR. First, it references studies showing radiation can cause ASR to occur with aggregates that are not normally reactive.91 These are irrelevant because Seabrook already has reactive aggregate.92 Second, it references an open question as to whether ASR, once established, behaves differently in irradiated concrete than unirradiated concrete.93 But neither sheer speculation nor the potential for future research on this topic are enough to create a genuine material dispute.94 In short, even with the Boards supplemental content, the Petition does not articulate an admissible contention because NUREG/CR-7171 (the sole document cited by the Board as providing support for Contention D)95 does not provide adequate support. The Boards misreading of this document was reversible error.

Alternatively, even if the Boards acts of supplying information, arguments, and nexus were appropriate exercises of discretion, and even if NUREG/CR-7171 could somehow be read to support a contention, it was still reversible error to admit Contention D because the Boards genuine dispute finding ignored directly relevant factual information. Specifically, the Board found a genuine material dispute with the LAR because if the test program was not sufficiently representative of Seabrook concrete, as Contention D alleges, the LARs reliance on the test program to support the monitoring program, acceptance criteria, and inspection intervals would 91 NUREG/CR-7171 at 63 (citing studies by Ichikawa and Koizumi (2002) and Ichikawa and Kimura (2007)).

92 See NextEra Answer at 34-35.

93 NUREG/CR-7171 at 66 (noting merely that a question may be asked about this possibility).

94 Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Palisades Nuclear Plant), CLI-15-23, 82 NRC 321, 325-26 (2015)

(citing Crow Butte, CLI-09-12, 69 NRC at 552 (2009)) (rejecting the assertion that guesswork can identify or support a genuine dispute).

95 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 69-70).

18

be undermined.96 But the LAR does not rely on a mere assumption, as the Boards logic suggests; rather, it calls for confirmatory testing to ensure Seabrooks concrete behaves as predicted.97 In other words, representativeness was a generalized goal of the testing program; but the degree of similarity of behavior, on the other hand, is empirically verified throughout the life of the plant. The Petition does not challenge, or even mention, this confirmatory testing featurea feature that disproves C-10s suggestion that the LAR relies upon a mere assumption of similar behavior. LBP-17-7 is likewise silent on this key issue, despite NextEras explanation of the importance of this feature in direct response to Board questions at oral argument.98 The Commission has explained that a failure to challenge information in the application that is directly relevant to the issue raised in a contention necessitates rejection of the claim.99 Ultimately, the Boards misreading of the LAR in this regard is factual error; and because it relied upon this information, its decision to admit Contention D is reversible legal error.

3. The Boards Reversible Error in Admitting Contention D Is Dispositive of the Admissibility of Contentions A, B, C, and H; The Boards error in admitting Contention D renders Contentions A, B, C, and H inadmissible because each explicitly relies on Contention D.100 The Boards decisions on C-10s other challenges individually and collectively rely on some imported nexus (supplied by the Board) with Contention D. Therefore, as Contention D is inadmissible, so are the rest.

Accordingly, the Board committed reversible error in admitting Contentions A, B, C, and H.

96 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 68).

97 See MPR-4273 at vii and § 6.1.5.

98 See Transcript of Oral Argument at 103, 108, 115, 123 (June 29, 2017) (Tr.).

99 See, e.g., Palisades, CLI-15-23, 82 NRC at 326; Millstone, CLI-01-24, 54 NRC at 358; USEC, CLI-06-10, 63 NRC at 472.

100 See supra note 79 (identifying examples of Board-supplied nexus assertions).

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4. The Board Abused Its Discretion And Committed Reversible Error in Finding Contentions A, B, C, & H Independently Admissible In the alternative, the independent admissibility findings for each are also tainted by abuse of discretion and error of law, and must be reversed.

a. Contention A - Monitoring Techniques This contention argues that NextEras programmatic use of crack indexing and extensometers must be replaced by a program of in situ material property testing.101 Rather than show why NextEras proposed program itself is deficient (i.e., demonstrate a genuine dispute),

the contention instead demands that NextEra adopt C-10s preferred course of action (i.e., in situ material property testing). But the mere suggestion of a preferred approach is insufficient. 102 The Board sidestepped this fatal flaw in the contention by claiming it d[id] not understand Contention A to make such an argument. Specifically, the Board interpreted the contention as a more limited challenge to specific aspects of NextEras proposed monitoring program. But this interpretation is contrary to the black and white text of the Petition, which clearly identifies in situ material property testing as the only approach C-10 finds acceptable.103 The Board also appears to contradict itself in this regard in other parts of the decision where it acknowledges C-10s unilateral demand.104 At bottom, the Board ignored the clearly inadmissible challenge articulated in the plain text of the Petition.

Even assuming, arguendo, Contention As arguments, generally, could be construed as the Board suggests, its decision to admit the contention still relies on improper Board supplementation. In the pleadings below, NextEra argued Contention A did not satisfy the 101 Petition at 3-4.

102 Seabrook, CLI-12-5, 75 NRC at 323.

103 Petition at 4.

104 E.g., Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 61, 64, 75).

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requirements of 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f)(1)(v) because the information offered by C-10 in support of the contention did not provide or cite to any reasoned basis for the proffered conclusions.105 The Board sought to cure this defect by independently review[ing] the accompanying analysis,106 which it apparently found on the internet, in search of a reasoned basis never advanced by C-10.107 But, again, it is improper for boards to search through pleadings or other materials to uncover arguments and support never advanced by the petitioners themselves.108 Furthermore, in several places throughout its discussion of Contention A, the Board inserts brand new claims and arguments never raised by C-10.109 This additional nexus is precisely what the Commission rejected in Fermi. For example, the Board purports to find materiality based on a connection between the concepts of accurate measurement, continued validity of LSTP results, and the Staffs required findings on inimicality and the health and safety of the public.110 Nowhere in its pleadings does C-10 advance this multi-step argument; rather, the Board supplied the essential nexus between these concepts. The Board then purports to find a genuine material dispute because combining past expansion with that detected by extensometers may not provide an accurate measurement, and offers a challenge to the validity of NextEras [empirical correlation] calculations.111 But the Petition provides no indication whatsoeverthat C-10 was even aware the LAR considered past expansion or used an empirical correlation. There simply is no colorable argument that these assertions were merely 105 NextEra Answer § V.A.

106 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op at 49).

107 Id. at __ (slip op. at 41 n.215) (linking to a document on C-10s website).

108 USEC, CLI-06-10, 63 NRC at 457; see also Palisades, CLI-15-23, 82 NRC at 329 (explaining it is legal error for a board to rely on more support in [an underlying document] than is reflected in the Petition).

109 E.g., Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 45, 47-48, 49).

110 Id. at __ (slip op. at 45).

111 Id. at __ (slip op. at 47-48).

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the progeny of a reasonable interpretation of some challenge presented by C-10.

Ultimately, even the Board-supplemented version of Contention A fails to satisfy the requirement to demonstrate a genuine dispute with the LAR. Dr. Browns 2013 critique cited by C-10 challenges exclusive reliance on crack-width indexing as a monitoring technique.112 But the approach described in the LAR specifically addresses Dr. Browns concern; it has been revised since 2013 to include multiple additional features such as extensometers, calculation of past through-thickness expansion, etc. Accordingly, Dr. Browns outdated critique of an old proposal simply does not identify a genuine dispute with the LAR. The Boards misreading of the underlying document is factual error upon which it relied in admitting Contention Athat decision, therefore, constitutes legal error.

Furthermore, Dr. Browns more recent comments113 seem to discuss the use of extensometers as a stand-alone monitoring technique (which the LAR does not propose); he does not appear to be aware of (or at least, does not acknowledge or challenge) the specific application of extensometers proposed in the LARs comprehensive, multi-tiered monitoring program. He offers zero explanation for his conclusion about the possibility of undetected expansion, and offers no connection to a purported defect in the LARs comprehensive schemenor does C-10. NextEra raised these concerns below,114 but the Board offered only its own conclusory assertion that the statement provides a reasoned basis.115 In the end, neither C-10, nor Dr. Brown, nor the Board offer any assessment of the specific, tiered application of 112 Petition at 3.

113 See generally Brown 9/30/16 Commentary.

114 NextEra Answer at 23 (noting the comments do not challenge the specific application of these methods as described in the LAR because they pre-date the LAR itself or ignore highly-relevant portions thereof.

(emphasis added)).

115 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 49).

22

monitoring techniques proposed in the LAR. Accordingly, with or without the improper Board supplementation, the Boards misreading of the document is factual error; and it committed legal error in relying on them to admit Contention A.

b. Contention B - Prestressing Contention B, as pled by C-10, claims that Expansion occurring within a reinforced concrete structure due to Alkali-Silica Reaction is not equivalent to a pre-stressing effect.116 In LBP-17-7, the Board explicitly agrees with NextEra that the Staff need not resolve the theoretical question whether ASR induced expansion within a reinforced concrete causes an effect that is equivalent to prestressing, and that C-10s claim, therefore, is immaterial.117 Rather than find the contention inadmissible, the Board, reformulated Contention B to eliminate the unnecessary issue of the prestressing effectnevermind that C-10s issue of the prestressing effect was the essence of Contention B. The Board then substituted its own, significantly broader statement of the contention, arguing that the LAR misconstrues the effects of ASR, which it (not surprisingly) found admissible.118 But it is an abuse of discretion to purge a petitioners central claim from a contention in order to substitute a boards preferred challenge on the applicationparticularly where that substitution transforms a clearly immaterial challenge into an admissible contention.119 Alternatively, even if the Commission finds it was permissible for the Board to substitute its own, broad misconstrues the effects of ASR argument, the Board still committed legal error in admitting the contention. The Board appears to find the requisite support, and a genuine 116 Petition at 4.

117 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 55).

118 Id. at __ (slip op. at 58).

119 Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 149.

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dispute, based on Dr. Browns recommendation that tests be performed on the test program specimens at varying locations and at the plant itself in order to provide an adequate comparison of the specimens to the concrete at Seabrook.120 But as explained above, NextEra is performing such comparative testinga fact either not recognized or ignored by C-10 (and Dr. Brown).121 NextEra addressed this very issue at oral argument in response to Board questions.122 But, LBP-17-7 makes no mention of this comparative testing. It was factual and legal error for the Board to ignore these arguments in admitting Contention B because, to the extent Dr. Browns statement is satisfied by this testing, there is no genuine dispute; and to the extent Dr. Brown demands something more, he does not explain what that more would be, nor does he explain why NextEras proposal is deficient.123

c. Contention C - Petrography In Contention C, C-10 claims the LAR is deficient because [t]horough petrographic analysis, including core sample testing of Seabrooks in-situ concrete, must be integral to NextEras assessment of the advance of ASR.124 In the pleadings below, NextEra noted that C-10 did not explain either of these demands.125 NextEra observed that petrographic analysis typically refers to a visual examination technique used to confirm the presence of ASR in concrete; and that C-10s demand was immaterial because Seabrooks SMP treats all structures that are subject to monitoring as if ASR is presentthus, there is no need to detect what it 120 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 53) (citing Brown 9/30/16 Commentary at 2).

121 MPR-4273 at vii (explaining the process for Confirming Expansion Behavior at Seabrook Station is Similar to Test Programs, through various tests that will Compare measured [values] at the plant to limits from test programs.); see also id. § 6.1.5.

122 Tr. at 103, 108, 115, 123; see also supra, Part IV.A.2.

123 Cf. Seabrook, CLI-12-5, 75 NRC at 323.

124 Petition at 6.

125 NextEra Answer § V.C.

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already assumes.126 The core sample testing C-10 demands, likewise, is not defined in the Petition.

However, the Board interpreted it as a demand for implementation of the testing and analysis protocols in ACI 349.3R and ASTM C856-11.127 Below, NextEra argued this demand was inadmissible due to a pending Petition for Rulemaking on the same topic.128 The Board disagreed, noting there is no evidence the NRC has initiated or is about to initiate a rulemaking in response to the petition, so the rule prohibiting litigation of such matters does not apply.129 However, the Boards interpretation is erroneous. The threshold for applying this rule is not whether a petition for rulemaking eventually results in publication of a proposed rule, as the Board suggests, but whether the agency is already expending resources on a generic resolution:

it would be counterproductive (and contrary to longstanding agency policy) to initiate litigation on an issue that by all accounts very soon will be resolved generically.130 Proceedings under 10 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart H (including NRC consideration of petitions for rulemaking) expend agency resources to resolve generic issues. Thus, the pending petition seeking imposition of the testing and analysis protocols in ACI 349.3R and ASTM C856-11 on a generic basis precludes duplicative consideration of this issue in the instant proceeding.

The Board also appears to find a genuine dispute in Dr. Browns demand that the LAR cite a predictive model for ASR advancement.131 Again, merely demanding the adoption of a preferred approach is not enough to show a deficiency in, or a genuine dispute with, the 126 Id. at 34.

127 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 60).

128 NextEra Answer at 37.

129 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 62).

130 Oconee, CLI-99-11, 49 NRC at 346.

131 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 59-60).

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application.132

d. Contention H - Inspection Intervals In Contention H, C-10 purports to challenge the inspection intervals for the SMP as described in the LAR. C-10s claimed basis is that there is no real knowledge of the speed of disintegration of Seabrooks concrete.133 In its Answer pleading, NextEra noted the factual inaccuracy of this assertion; historical data (indicating the presence of a slow-reacting aggregate) does, in fact, exist.134 In LBP-17-7, however, the Board misconstrued NextEras factual observation into a claim that NextEra relies on these statements to support the assumption of a continuously slow rate of ASR expansion not only in the past but through the termination of the current Seabrook license in 2030.135 But, NextEra does no such thing; nor does the Board point to any language purportedly identifying a reliance on such an assumption. Rather than assume, the LAR proposes to monitor the rate of progression; in fact, NextEra explained that the LAR relies on trendinga key feature that C-10 did not acknowledge, much less challenge.136 The Board itself even recognizes NextEra will change the monitoring intervals as necessary.137 The Board, therefore, simply mischaracterizes NextEras arguments and the LAR itself.

The Board then interprets the contention to pose a genuine dispute, not with the LAR itself, but with the Boards mischaracterization of it: [b]ecause the LARs monitoring intervals 132 Seabrook, CLI-12-5, 75 NRC at 323 (noting the Commission has long held that contentions admitted for litigation must point to a deficiency in the application, and not merely suggestions of other ways an analysis could have been done, or other details that could have been included.).

133 Petition at 15.

134 NextEra Answer at 62-63.

135 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 82-83) (emphasis added).

136 See, e.g., LAR Evaluation at tbl.5.

137 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 83) 26

assume a consistent and slow rate of ASR progression, Dr. Browns opinion identifies a clear dispute of material fact.138 As explained above, the Boards mischaracterization is a mistake of fact; thus, its conclusion that Contention H demonstrates a genuine dispute is reversible error.

Furthermore, the Boards finding of adequate support, based solely on comments from Dr. Brown, is also based on a mischaracterization of the LAR. The Board acknowledges NextEras assertionwhich the Board does not disputethat Dr. Brown does not directly address the monitoring intervals in the LAR.139 But the Board finds a work-around to NextEras dispositive observation in its conclusion that the commentary from Dr. Brown speaks generally to the topic of ASR progression, and thus supports C-10s challenge to NextEras proposed monitoring intervals in Table 5, which assumes a slow progression of ASR expansion at Seabrook.140 As explained above, the Board supplied this assumption of continuously slow progression; it is not found in the LAR.

B. The Board Abused Its Discretion and Committed Reversible Error in Finding The Reformulated Contention Admissible on Alternative Grounds

1. Consolidation of Otherwise . . . Inadmissible Contentions for the Purpose of Creating an Admissible Contention Exceeds Board Authority Staffs Answer explained that none of C-10s contentions, as pled, proffered an admissible contention.141 Nevertheless, Staff assembled a new contention from various pieces of the Petition, along with connections among and between them not pled by C-10.142 NextEra argued that Staffs novel reformulation theoryby which boards could rejuvenate otherwise . . .

138 Id. at __ (slip op. at 83) (emphasis added).

139 Id. at __ (slip op. at 81).

140 Id. at __ (slip op. at 82).

141 NRC Staffs Answer to C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Inc. Petition for Leave to Intervene at 26 (May 5, 2017) (ML17125A304).

142 Id.

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inadmissible143 contentions by connecting them via a board-supplied nexus144 for the purpose of creating an admissible contention145was both unprecedented and contrary to law.146 In the Fermi proceeding, the Board improperly assembled a contention from bits and pieces taken from . . . [petitioners hearing request and reply].147 The Commission held that such reformulations were improper because the act of supplying a nexus between a petitioners assertions and some alleged deficiency in the application exceeds a boards authority if that nexus is necessary . . . for an admissible contention.148 In other words, petitioners have an affirmative duty to plead such nexus, themselves, if essential to the admissibility finding.149 Notwithstanding, that is precisely what the Board has done here.

Pointing to its own constructions of arguments (e.g., we discussed the interconnection, We further explained the relationship),150 the Board suggests it need only read [the Petition]

as a whole in order to justify such a reformulation.151 But Fermi makes clear this is not enough; supplying multiple nexuses not pled by C-10 exceeds a boards limited reformulation 143 Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 141.

144 Id.

145 Neither the Staff, in its sur-reply, nor the Board, in LBP-17-7, have identified any case in which two inadmissible contentions have been combined to create a single admissible one. See generally NRC Staffs Sur-Reply to NextEras Reply to NRC Staffs Answer to C-10s Petition for Leave to Intervene (June 5, 2017) (ML17156A280); Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC 135 (slip op.).

146 See NextEra Reply § III. In LBP-17-7, the Board misread NextEras argument as a claim that NRC Staff lacks the authority to propose reformulations, generally. Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 85). NextEra made no such argument.

147 DTE Elec. Co. (Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2), LBP-15-5, 81 NRC 249, 310 (2015) (Arnold, J.,

dissenting). Accord Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC 135 (reversing the majoritys decision on these grounds).

148 Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 141.

149 Compare id. (finding improper a board-supplied nexus between assertions where that nexus was necessary to establish . . . an admissible contention), with Turkey Point, CLI-15-25, 82 NRC at 401 (allowing a combination of similar issues submitted . . . in support of two separate contentions, but only where one contention was independently admissible even without the board-supplied combination).

150 Only in hindsight, after seeing Staffs Answer and hearing the Boards leading question at oral argument, Tr. at 36, did C-10 purportedly refram[e] its entire Petition in the mold of the Boards Reformulated Contention. Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 88).

151 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 88).

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authority.152 The Reformulated Contention is, in essence, a restatement of Contention D. The Board attempts to cure a key deficiency plaguing Contention Dits failure to demonstrate materialityby stitching it together with portions of Contentions A, B, C, and H in order to provide a nexus between C-10s stand-alone (i.e., immaterial) representativeness argument and the adequacy of various aspects of the LAR. Finding this action within the scope of the Boards reformulation authority would effectively read-out the requirement in 10 C.F.R. § 2.309(f)(1)(iv) that a petitioner demonstrate materiality.

2. The Reformulated Contention Is Inadmissible Per Se Even assuming, arguendo, the Board acted within its authority in crafting the Reformulated Contention from pieces of inadmissible contentions, it still suffers from the same deficiencies and shortcomings, discussed above, that make each of the original contentions independently inadmissible.153 Namely, it is not sufficiently supported, and does not identify material deficiencies in the various program elements (e.g., monitoring methodologies, acceptance criteria, and inspection intervals). Although NextEra will not rehash all of those arguments, here, it bears reiterating that the overarching defect of the Reformulated Contention is its failure to articulate a genuine dispute with the LAR. The basis of the Boards genuine dispute finding for the Reformulated Contention is its mistaken claim that the LAR relies on an 152 Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 141. The Board further attempts to justify its action by characterizing it as a less significant reformulation than another one approved by the Commission. Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 89) (citing MOX, LBP-08-11, 67 NRC at 481). However, the relevant question is whether the reformulation by the Board provides the threshold information required for admission, not the significance of the reformulation. Fermi, CLI-15-18, 82 NRC at 141 (Boards may not supply information that is lacking in a contention that otherwise would be inadmissible.). Here, the Board has improperly provided such threshold information.

153 See supra, Part IV.A.

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assumption that the LSTP concrete is similar to Seabrooks concrete.154 As explained above, this is factual error.155 V. CONCLUSION The Commission should reverse the Boards erroneous decision to grant the Petition, and direct the Board to dismiss the proceeding.

Respectfully submitted, Executed in Accord with 10 C.F.R. § 2.304(d) Executed in Accord with 10 C.F.R. § 2.304(d)

Steven Hamrick, Esq. Paul M. Bessette, Esq.

NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 801 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 220 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20004 Washington, D.C. 20004 Phone: (202) 349-3496 Phone: (202) 739-5796 Fax: (202) 347-7076 Fax: (202) 739-3001 E-mail: steven.hamrick@fpl.com E-mail: paul.bessette@morganlewis.com Executed in Accord with 10 C.F.R. § 2.304(d) Signed (electronically) by Ryan K. Lighty William S. Blair, Esq. Ryan K. Lighty, Esq.

NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 700 Universe Blvd. 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Juno Beach, FL 33408 Washington, D.C. 20004 Phone: (561) 304-5238 Phone: (202) 739-5274 Fax: (561) 304-5366 Fax: (202) 739-3001 E-mail: william.blair@fpl.com E-mail: ryan.lighty@morganlewis.com Counsel for NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC Dated in Washington, DC this 31st day of October 2017 154 Seabrook, LBP-17-7, 86 NRC at __ (slip op. at 91).

155 See MPR-4273 at vii and § 6.1.5.

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE COMMISSION

)

In the Matter of: )

) Docket No. 50-443-LA-2 NEXTERA ENERGY SEABROOK, LLC )

) October 31, 2017 (Seabrook Station Unit 1) )

)

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE Pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 2.305, I certify that, on this date, the foregoing NextEras Notice of Appeal of LPB-17-7 and Brief in Support of NextEras Appeal of LBP-17-7 were served upon the Electronic Information Exchange (the NRCs E-Filing System), in the above-captioned proceeding.

Signed (electronically) by Ryan K. Lighty Ryan K. Lighty, Esq.

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

Washington, D.C. 20004 Phone: (202) 739-5274 Fax: (202) 739-3001 E-mail: ryan.lighty@morganlewis.com Counsel for NextEra Energy Seabrook, LLC DB1/ 94110947