ML19305D210

Expresses Concern Re VA Governor,Atty Gen & Corp Commission Actions for Licensing of Facility.Govt Officials Favoring Util Interests Over Welfare of Citizens.Ltr Dtd 791128 to Goochland Gazette Encl

ML19305D210
Person / Time
Site:	North Anna
Issue date:	11/29/1979
From:	Scott AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:	NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
Shared Package
ML19305D207	List: ML19305D209 ML19305D210
References
NUDOCS 8004140195
Download: ML19305D210 (4)

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U November 29, 1979 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20555 Ladies and Gentlemen:

I have attached a copy of an article I have sent to our local weekly paper that will let you know how most of Virginia's c,.izens feel about the South Anna #2 Nuclear Power Station. I am appalled at the recent actions of Virginia's Attorney General, Governor, and State Corporation u.'"ission. They have obviously decided to favor Vepco's arrogance and business interests over the welfare of the citizens of Virginia.

As one of the betrayed citizens of our beautiful state, I beg you to ignore their rantings, self-serving threats, and frantic hypocricies. Listen to the people.

Virginia officials have shown no interest in trying to regulate this giant, Vepco, and it's nuclear bumblings.

It is apparent that our Attorney General is solely interested in his campaign cofers and has decided that his time could be better spent acting as Vepco's spokesman than as spokesman and guardian of Virginia citizens.

Without adequate State regulations, Virginians must look to you and the Federal moratorium to protect us

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from our own callous elected officials and_po_tentia_1_

nuclear disaster.

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All of us know the facts. The public interest will only be served if Vepco is made to abide by the mandated moratorium. I implore you to help us protect ourselves.

We have no one else.

Gratefully yours,

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B. M. Scott Route 1, Box 52-B

, Goochland, Va. 23063 BMS/v Attachments 8cpe4144.L9 s

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. November 28, 1979 The Goochland Gazette P.O. Box 177 Manakin, Virginia 23103 I am writing this letter to vent some of my outrage with this state's top officials concerning their seemingly callous disregard for the health and safety of Virginia's citizens on the one hand, while evidencing a quite remarkable willingness to fight Vepco's legal battles on the other. .

I perceive these functions being performed by Virginia's Attorney General on behald(Vepco to be functions which should be the responsibility of Vepco's legal ctaff -- the costs of which should be borne by the Vepco stockholders -- not the taxpayers of Virginia.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission', after the Three-Mile Island accident, enacted a moratorium on all new nuclear power stations because of very grave questions concerning the safety of equipment and systems similar to those used at the South Anna Vepco Nuclear Power Station. During this moratorium no licenses will be issued until the equipment and systems undergo testing and inspection to lessen the chances of another Three-Mile Island accident. Given the immense responsibility the NRC shoulders as a result of licensing stations that could threaten the health or endanger the very lives of every living species for generations, this moratorium seems to be the only reasonable step intelligent, concerned persons would take to insure that utility companies fully meet their obligation to the citizenry not to contaminate their bodies, their food, their water, their air, their carth. This obligation far outweighs the utility company's obligation to generate power, their privilege to operate as a monopoly, or their misinterproted charter which allows ,

them to guarantee their stockholders a profit. ,

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Vepco has already had one accident at the South Anna plant

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recently - ,cr.: that wu know about. We are also aware that the citizens living near the plant and the county officials in charge learned about the accident through the press soveral hours after the accident.

We know that Vepco made untrue and misleading statements to the NRC and, as a result, Virginians live with a nuclear core built over a seismic fault -- contrary not only to the reasonable thinking of man, but to the regulations permitting construction and licensing of such nuclear stations.

At Vepco's Surry Nuclear Station, sabotage has been easily committed and raises frighteningly chilling questions about vepco's ability

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to protect the stations from further sabotage, terrorists' attacks, mentally-deranged persons, or natural disasters.

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To compound the danger, the stupidity, the total lack of responsi-ble planning; Vepco now finds itself with no place in Virginia to store or dispose of nuclear garbage from ALL its plants. And Virginia has no adequate state regulations to safeguard its citizenry from the disposal of these contaminated nuclear wastes.

With the above information having been widely publicized, Virginia's Governor, Attorney General, and Vepco's State Corporation Commission have all gone to bat for Vepco. The Governor, Attorney General, and Corporation Commission are public officials charged with the enormous responsibility of administering laws and regulations to protect the rights and safety of Virginia citizens. And, yet, here are these same officials dismissing regulations intended to do just that -- dismissing serious and compelling questions of safety, dismissing documented contamination of other nuclear locations, dismissing security and communications problems, dismissing everything that might give the citizens of Virginia some measure of safety against Vepco's follies into nuclear fission. Dismissing everything but the all-powerful Vepco.

As a consumer, I struggle like so many others to pay my electric bill which reflects, among countless other things, Vepco fees for the many attorneys hired by the utility company to fight its never-ending legal battles. That's bad enough -- costly enough. NOW, as an overtaxed citizen, I pay again for Vepco's legal counsel.

I stand by helplessly watching the guardians of the citizens' safety fighting legal obstacles for VEPCO! WITH TAXPAYERS' DOLLARS! ,

FIGHTING TO LICENSE A NUCLEAR POWER STATION WHICH MAY HAVE SERIOUS AND DEVASTATING FLAWS, IN OPPOSITION TO A FEDERAL MORATORIUM TO HELP PREVENT ANOTHER THREE-MILE ISLAND 1 Their weak and naive argument is that since we already have an identical unit in operation (same equipment as Three-Mile Island and same questions as South Anna #2), the second station should be considered safe! How comforting!

And the Attorney General in his head-to-head legal battle with

. the NRC to license South Anna's second unit, says he speaks "for the people of Virginia". From whence cometh his remarkably

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incredible wisdom? Vepco must have counseled him on how to speak for the people of Virginia. The people have certainly never been ,

given the opportunity to have a voice. When were the citizens of Virginia asked whether or not they wanted a single nuclear power station in their state? When did the citizens of Virginia agree to have taxpayers' money spent to have Virginia's Attorney General and his liege of attorneys handle legal cases for VEPCO? When did the Governor, Attorney General, State Corporation Commission judges assure the citizens of Virginia that there are no questions concerning the safety of equipment, systems, security Eli the Vepco power stations and, therefore being perfectly safe, Vepco's South Anna #2 should not be. included in the moratorium? When were the

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people of Virginia asked whether or not they wanted nuclear wastes stored in their soil and water, transported through their populated cities on crowded highways, carried on aging rails through their precious farmlands, shipped through their busy ports?

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No, Mr. Attorney Gene 11, you don't speak for the " people of l Virginia" in this confrc~tation. You speak for Marshall Coleman, John Dalton, the Corporation Commission judges, and, of course, Vepco. 'And if th' doesn't constitute conflict of interest, there is no suc.. caing' .

I No, Mr. Attorney General, a thousand times, no. You don't speak for the people of Virginia. Virginians remember all too well the lessons of Kepone, Three-Mile Island, and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. They'll let you know they remember when you, the Governor, and Vepco try to bury the hot garbage of the nuclear industry in their backyards. You'll hear what you've evidently been oblivious to before - - - the voice of the people of Virginia' n

u. M. Scott Goochland, Va.

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