ML20141M878

Discusses Concerns in 860204 Ltr & 860205 Declaration Re 860213 Emergency Planning Exercise.Exercise Will Not Usurp Traditional & Legitimate State & Local Authority

ML20141M878
Person / Time
Site:	Shoreham File:Long Island Lighting Company icon.png
Issue date:	02/11/1986
From:	Palladino N NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
To:	Moynihan D SENATE
Shared Package
ML20141M879	List: ML20141M878 ML20141M947
References
NUDOCS 8602280803
Download: ML20141M878 (2)

Text

_. _ _ . _ _ . . - . _-_ - --

) / " UNITED STATES 1

. 8 .c o NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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V I% J l February 11, 1986 '

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The Honorable Daniel P. Moynihan i United States Senate

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!. Washington, DC 20510 l

Dear Senator Moynihan:

We appreciate your comnents on the Shoreham emergency planning ,

exercise scheduled for February 13, 1986. We have carefully L I considered both your February 4, 1986 letter and your .

February 5, 1986 " Declaration and Remonstrailce" on the  ;

advisability of the exercise.  ;

We wish to a'ssure you as clearly as we can that the purpose and 3 l ground rules for the exercise should raise no concerns about j Federal-State relations.

} Our regulations, consistent with statutory provisions in recent j years, contemplate that NRC will give full consideration to the  !

w.erits of a utility emergency plan if the state or iocal government does not prepare one. Accordingly, LILC0 prepared a )

j plan which is undergoing NRC review. We have made no decision on the acceptability of LILC0's plan, but an exercise will assist the Commission in assessing its adequacy under the

. circunstances. The exercise will assist the Commission in i determining whether the plan is as good as LILCO claims it is,

or as bad as the Shoreham opponents believe it is.

i l Your objections to the exercise appear to be based on your i belief that the exercise will usurp traditional ard legiticate

state and local authority. We assure you categorically that we

_ intend no such usurpation by this exercise.

l It is the Commission's intention that no state or county

functions will be performed by any Federal personnel during the i exercise, and that no Federal personnel will interact with

. members of the public so as to lead anyone to believe that they i

are actually state or county officials. It is also the

! Commission's intention that no LILCD employee will be, or i appear to be, performing any state or county functions during the exercise. Indeed, as the Comnission emphasized when it

requested FEMA to schedule and conduct the exercise, the upccming i exercise should comply with all state and county laws which linit the conduct of certain energency response functions to state or L county personnel. The exercise will not infringe on any

! legitinate police powers of the state or county.

I I

j B6022GG903 860212 PDR COMMB NRCC CDRRESPONDENCE PDR

-2 A more complete exposition of the views of the Cor, mission as to the axercise is set forth in the attached Comni-ssion order.

My views acd the views of Commissioner Asselstine, who both oppose conducting the exercise, are also enclosed.

The concerns which you expressed about the exercise are also raised by the d3 fending parties in a lawsuit brcught by the Department of Justice in the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis trict of New York. The purpose of the lawsuit is to resolve the constitutional legal validity of a recently enacted county law which seeks to make participation in the exercise a crime. Late yesterday, the Court issued an opinion and order which we understand enjoins the county from enforcing the new county law in a manner which would block the exercise.

We will provide you with the Court's opinion as soon as we receive it.

Again, we appreciate receiving your views and we wish to assure you that we sincerely believe our efforts are in furtherance of our statutory duties. If yGu desire further information, we uill provide it promptly.

Sincerely,

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Hunzio J. Palladiro

Enclosure:

As Stated 1