ML20151Z668

Suppls 860506 Ltr Re Proposal of Terms & Conditions for Employee Interviews at Plant for NRC Investigation of Allegations

ML20151Z668
Person / Time
Site:	Farley
Issue date:	07/10/1986
From:	John Miller BALCH & BINGHAM (FORMERLY BALCH, BINGHAM, BAKER
To:	Asselstine J, Bernthal F, Zech L NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
Shared Package
ML20151Z644	List: ML20151Z640 ML20151Z656 ML20151Z668 ML20151Z679 ML20151Z693
References
NUDOCS 8808300088
Download: ML20151Z668 (3)

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Mr. Lando W. Zech, Jr., Chairman Mr. James K. Asselstine Mr. Frederick M. Bernthal Mr. Thomas M. Roberts United States Nuclear Regulatory Comi s s i on Washington, D.C. 20555  ;

Re: Alebama Power Company - Nuclear Regulatory Comission Investigation /Farley Nuclear Plant

Dear Comissioners:

Yesterday Mr. W.C. Parler, advised me that the Commission has under consideration my proposal to the Office of Investigations. of certain terms and conditions for employee interviews at the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant.

Those terms and conditions were described inmy letter of May 6, 1986, which is attached hereto as Attachment 1.

Please accept this letter as a supp l err en t to my earlier correspondence and, where applicable, r, a modification of i

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First, Nith respect to item #5 of my letter, we have '

been informed that it is legally impossible for the NRC to agree to this condition because of the obligations imposed by the Freedom of Information Act. Accordingly, we agree to modify this proposal so it complies with that law. We would appreciate, however, receiving notification from the NRC if '

l such a request is filed. l l

My letter did not address the possibility of multiple f interviews and, because of the highly technical nature of ,

the investigation, then it is possible t h'a t multiple ,

interviews will be required. To assist in the investiga- l tion, we are amiable to these, if these repeat interviews l 6808300088 880217 l 1

PDR COMMS NRCC CORRESPONDENCE PNU ,

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CH & BINGH AM ,

Page Two July 10, 1986 .

are 'for the purpose of either clarifying the earlier interview or discussing topics or documents that were neither known nor contemplated at the first interview.

Some objection has been made about the, presence of an attorney from this office attending the ' interview. The thought has been expressed by OI investigator Mr. Robert Burch that our presence will "chill" the interview and the full and fair exchange of information between the witness and the investigator. We reject this reasoning and urge you to do so also.

~

Without comenting on the thinly veiled implication in this coment that an attorney from this office would countenance some t hi'ng less that the whole truth, we call your attention to the fact that our proposed conditions are nothing roore than a restatement of the basic rules of conduct used routinely in the Federal Court system of the United States. That court system has been dedicated to .

finding truth and establishing justice for over two hundred years and to suggest that their methodology "chills" these objectives is to suggest the absurd.

A more likely way to chill the full candor which our witnesses have (and are willing to express to OI) is to invade their home's after being asked not to, telephone them after being asked not to, or seek to conduct clandestine interviews in motel rooms; all of which th'e Of fice of Investigations has done in this case.

Instead of thi s me thodology, we propose one which has been developed successfully in the judicial branch of our government, and trust that the Commission will see that our proposal af fords basic due process rights to all concerned.

Additionally, we are informed that in interviews conducted with former employees of Alabama Power Company at various plant locations throughout the United States, 01 has allowed them to have present an attorney of their choosing.

We ask for nothing more here.

l In this regard', we restate that each of our client s he.a i voluntarily asked for this firm to represent them. They .tre -

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l CH & BINGH AM i

Page Three July 10, 1986 ,

free t'o discharge us if they so desire; we are ethically bound to advise them of a conflict of interest if in our opinion, one exists.

We restate what we have comuni c a t ed to 01 at every available opportunity, which it that our clien'ts are anxious to cooperate with OI in the investigation and arepreviously willing to be interviewed under the conditions we have mentioned.

Finally, we wish the Comi s si on to consider that Alabama Power Company is presently a defendant in three lawsuits filed in the Tenth Judicial Circuit for the State in which three former employees are claiming of Alabama, money damages for their wrongful discharge. There will undoubtedly be some overlap in evidence between the OI investigation and the discovery / trial evidence in these litigated matters. This is yet another reason why we feel that the terms and conditions of my earlier letter, as modi fi ed here, strike a f air balance between the licensee and OI.

We look forward to hearing from you soon, l

Y s very truly, )

i

, ) D .',i..$ ~/ ? N-~s Q James H. Miller, III

.i Jm1111/dtc ,

cc: Mr. W.C. Parler

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