ML12306A390

NRC Response to Letter from Town of Bourne Regarding 10 Mile Safety Zone Around Pilgrim

ML12306A390
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim
Issue date:	10/25/2012
From:	Bill Dean Region 1 Administrator
To:	Town of Bourne, MA
Nancy McNamara
Shared Package
ML12262A197	List: ML12262A224 ML12306A390
References
Download: ML12306A390 (3)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION I 2100 RENAISSANCE BOULEVARD, SUITE 100 KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19406-2713 October 25, 2012 Town of Bourne Board of Selectmen 24 Perry Avenue Buzzards Bay, MA 02532

Dear Selectboard Members:

On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter dated September 11, 2012. Specifically, on behalf of the citizens of the Town of Bourne, you expressed the need for town officials to be involved in the evacuation/mitigation plans that would be used during a radiological event at the Pilgrim Nuclear Station.

In the area of emergency preparedness and response, the NRC works in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for ensuring the onsite and offsite emergency plans are adequate. The regulation of onsite emergency response falls within the NRCs purview, while the offsite oversight responsibility rests with FEMA. The NRC relies on FEMA to provide a reasonable assurance finding that the offsite emergency response programs are adequate for protecting the public health and safety.

As you are aware, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has the overall authority for making protective action decisions (sheltering, evacuation, etc.) for ensuring the safety of their public during a radiological event and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) maintains the FEMA-approved State Radiological Emergency Plan for implementing those decisions.

We contacted representatives from both MEMA and FEMA and informed them of your concerns. MEMA informed us they are sensitive to the evacuation concerns expressed in your letter. In fact, on October 3, 2012, Mr. Kurt Schwartz, Undersecretary of Homeland Security and Director of MEMA met with members of the public from the Cape Cod communities in Harwich, MA. We understand the meeting resulted in a good exchange of information and that Director Schwartz committed to work with the Cape Cod communities, including the Town of Bourne, to help address their issues regarding emergency evacuation routes.

Furthermore, we forwarded your concerns to Entergy, owner of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.

Entergy informed us that on October 9, 2012, the Pilgrim Emergency Manager met with Bournes Emergency Manager to gain a better understanding of the evacuation planning concerns. We understand discussions went well and future meetings are being scheduled to brief town officials on a study that Entergy is conducting regarding evacuation time estimates.

Town of Bourne Selectboard 2 Thank you for your interest in this issue. If you have questions regarding the States Radiological Emergency Plan, you may contact Mr. John Giarrusso, Planning and Preparedness Division Chief, MEMA at (508) 820-1040. Should you have further questions for the NRC, please contact Ms. Nancy McNamara, NRC Regional State Liaison Officer at (610) 337-5337.

Sincerely,

/RA/

William M. Dean Regional Administrator cc:

J. Giarrusso, MEMA S. Colman, FEMA, RI T. White, Pilgrim Emergency Manager

ML12306A390 ADAMS Package Accession No.: ML12262A197 Non-Sensitive Publicly Available SUNSI Review Sensitive Non-Publicly Available OFFICE RI/ORA RI/DRS RI/DRP RI/RA NAME NMcNamara (NTM) RMcKinley

• RBellamy (RJB)

• WDean (WMD)

DATE 10/25/12 10/18/12 10/18/12 10/25/12