ML14252A138
| ML14252A138 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Fermi  |
| Issue date: | 08/29/2014 |
| From: | Keegan M J Don't Waste Michigan |
| To: | Gallagher C A, Perkins L T Division of Administrative Services |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| 79FR36837 00011, NRC-2014-0109 | |
| Download: ML14252A138 (12) | |
Text
- 1. V.Gallagher, Carol To: Gallagher, Carol
Subject:
FW: Fermi 2 License Renewal Application Comments to NRC August 29, 2014 /Correction Attachments:
Final Fermi 2 License Renewal Application Comments to NRC August 29, 2014 -Final.docx From: Perkins, Leslie Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 8:22 AM To: Gallagher, Carol
Subject:
FW: Fermi 2 License Renewal Application Comments to NRC August 29, 2014 / Correction Hi Carol, I am not sure if you receive this already. If not, please process the attached comment for Fermi 2 license renewal; Docket ID NRC-2014-0109 6/3Z/c //-Thanks, Leslie From: mkeecianjicomcast.net
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2014 9:19 PM To: Perkins, Leslie; LCarol Gallagher Cc: Kevin Kamps; rickcoronado; dcoronado derek; Jessie Collins; Terry Lodge; Diane Curran; mkeeganj
Subject:
Re: Fermi 2 License Renewal Application Comments to NRC August 29, 2014 / Correction
Dear Leslie Perkins and Carol Gallagher,
Regarding the previous message with Comments please do add to the Organizational List Nuclear Information Resource Service, Takoma Park, MD, Tim Judson.I am entering below and I have now attached the Final Fermi 2 License Renewal Application which includes this correction
-Thank You Michael J. Keegan Don't Waste Michigan SUNSI Review Complete Template = ADM -013 E-RIDS= ADM-03 Add= /. CI-je-7 Ls)1 Leslie Perkins Environmental Project Manager, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001; Leslie.Perkins
@ nrc.gov.Carol Gallagher Carol.Gallagher@
nrc.gov Cindy Bladey Office of Administration Mail Stop: 3WFN A44M U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Regarding:
Fermi 2 Docket ID NRC-2014-0109 License Renewal Application
Dear Leslie Perkins,
Carol Gallagher, Cindy Bladey, We the undersigned submit these Comments into the Fermi 2, 20 year License Renewal Application record pertaining to Environmental Impact Statement and Safety Evaluation Review process Docket ID NRC-2014-0109.
Approval of the Fermi 2 will result in 20 additional years of highly irradiated nuclear fuel perpetuating the Waste Con that one day there will be a solution.
The Emperor still has no clothes.We acknowledge, accept and adopt as our own Comments the Contentions listed below. Please adopt these Contentions submitted here in part as our Comments by the undersigned.
In addition we submit into the EIS and SER record the full docketed request for Public Hearings based on Contentions brought forward in two separate requests.
(1) The Public Hearing request made by Don't Waste Michigan (DWM), Citizens Environment Alliance (CEA) and Beyond Nuclear (BN) docketed at: http://adamswebsearch2.nrc.qov/webSearch2/main.msp?AccessionNumber=ML1 4230B040 (2) The Public Hearing request made by Citizen's Resistance at Fermi Two (CRAFT) docketed at: http://adamswebsearch2.nrc.qov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML1 4231 B1 42 Please enter into the Fermi 2 (LRA) EIS and SER record the request for Public Hearing based on concerns raised by DWM/CEA/BN: (ENVIRONMENTAL)
CONTENTION 1: INADEQUATE SAMA ANALYSIS OF MARK I BWR VULNERABILITIES Statement of the Contention and Comment The Applicant's Fermi 2 Environmental Report fails to accurately and thoroughly conduct Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives (SAMA) analysis to the long-recognized and unaddressed design vulnerability of the General Electric Mark I Boiling Water Reactor pressure suppression containment system and the environmental consequences of a to-be-anticipated severe accident post-Fukushima Daiichi.(ENVIRONMENTAL)
CONTENTION 2: INADEQUATE CONSIDERATION UNDER NEPA OF DENSEL Y-PACKED SPENT FUEL STORAGE POOLS Statement of the Contention and Comment The Environmental Report for Fermi 2 does not satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") or 10 C.F.R. § 51.45( c) because it does not consider a range of mitigation measures to mitigate the risk of catastrophic fires in the densely packed, closed-frame spent fuel storage pools at Fermi 2.(ENVIRONMENTAL AND TECHNICAL)
CONTENTION 3: LACK OF SITE-SPECIFIC SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS REGARDING STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF SPENT FUEL Statement of the Contention and Comment The Environmental Report for Fermi 2 does not satisfy the Atomic Energy Act or NEPA because (1) it does not make any site-specific safety and environmental findings regarding the storage and ultimate disposal of the spent fuel that will be generated during the license renewal term and (2) the NRC has no valid generic findings on which the Environmental Report could rely.(ENVIRONMENTAL)
CONTENTION 4: INSUFFICIENT SEVERE ACCIDENT MITIGATION ANAL YSIS (SAMA) OF POTENTIAL FERMI 2 AND 3 COMMON-MODE FAILURES AND MUTUALLY EXACERBATING CA TASTROPHES Statement of the Contention and Comment Fermi 2 and Fermi 3's safety and environmental risks due to common mode failures, and the potential for mutually initiating/exacerbating radiological catastrophes, involving the common Transmission Corridor (TC) shared by both units' reactors and pools, have been inadequately addressed in DTE's Fermi 2 License Renewal Application (LRA) and Environmental Report (ER). Also, the cumulative impacts associated with the proposed new Fermi 3 reactor cannot be excluded from DTE's Fermi 2 LRA and ER as "remote" or "speculative," for it is DTE's own proposal, and is advanced in the Fermi 3 COLA proceeding.
Such environmental and safety analysis is required on this unique local problem specific to Fermi 2 and 3. It can, and must, be dealt with in Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives (SAMA)analyses, and must be treated as Category 2 Issues in NRC's forthcoming Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS), as required by NEPA and the AEA.Please enter into the Fermi 2 (LRA) EIS and SER record the request for Public Hearing based on concerns raised by CRAFT: 1) WIND ENERGY IS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE Statement of the Contention and Comment Wind Power as a viable option. DTE Electric Company (hereinafter, DTE) Environmental Report (hereinafter, ER) does not adequately evaluate the full potential for renewable energy sources, such as wind power, to replace the loss of energy production from Fermi 2, and to make the license renewal request from 2025 to 2045 unnecessary.
In violation of the requirements of 10 CFR§ 51.53© (3) (iii) and of the GElS § 8.1, the DTE ER (§ 7.1.2.2.1) treats all of the alternatives to license renewal as unreasonable and does not provide a substantial analysis of the potential for significant alternatives, such as wind power, in the Region of Interest for the requested relicensing period of 2025 to 2045. While the ER plainly states, 'Whereas a single wind farm generation unit would not provide consistent power generation, multiple wind farms scattered within a reasonable region and interconnected together via the grid may potentially provide power generation that could approach base-load capacity." On page 7-8, the ER states, "Placing wind farms offshore eliminates some of the obstacles encountered when siting wind farms on shore and limits conflicts with other planning interests." 2) WALPOLE ISLAND FIRST NATIONS' EXCLUSION FROM PROCEEDINGS Statement of the Contention and Comment Purpose of Contention:
To ensure that all Native American tribes and bands and First Nations have adequate notification by NRC of the proposed Fermi 2 licensing extension and environmental review proceedings, as due to them under applicable treaties, laws, and regulations; and to ensure that individual tribal members' interests are represented whether their tribal government intervenes or not on their behalf.3) The NRC HAS NOW EXTENDED REACTOR LICENSES Statement of the Contention and Comment In brief, the U.S. NRC's recently lifted moratorium on licensing and renewal actions as part of the ongoing Waste Confidence rulemaking now allows for the possibility of the NRC Commission granting issuance of License Renewal in the Matter of the Fermi 2 License Renewal Application (hereinafter LRA). The Petitioner's requests an ASLB recommendation to the. Commission to reinstate the moratorium until all legal appeals through the federal courts have been exhausted or resolved, pertaining to the expected appeal of the pending 2014 Waste Confidence Rule by the same Coalition of U.S. States and Organizations which successfully appealed the previous 2010 version of the Waste Confidence Rule. In good faith, the NRC should defer to the multiple intervening parties who together represent millions of U.S. persons, American citizens and residents. (New York v. NRC, 681 F.3d 471 (D.C. Cir. 2012)Scope and Materiality of Waste Confidence issue To the Fermi LRA Contention:
It is reasonable to estimate that, during the 20-year License Renewal period, Fermi, Unit 2 would generate an amount of spent fuel from normal operations equal to about fifty percent (50%) of that which it produced during the original 40-year Operating License period. At the same time, the current "structured coordination" between the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the NRC appears to be heading towards potentially indefinite "continued storage" of spent fuel with no technical specifications in place, now or for the foreseeable future.4) ENRICO FERMI UNIT 2 TRANSMISSION CORRIDOR OFFSITE AC POWER SUPPLY Statement of the Contention and Comment Fukushima Lessons Learned: U.S. NRC Order EA-12-051, "Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Reliable Spent Fuel Pool (SFP) Instrumentation," March 12, 2012 (ML12054A679), pertains to Fermi 2.Basis: Petitioners contend that the Applicant has failed to provide the NRC Staff with an acceptable final configuration of the offsite AC power supply, including sources, routing and termination points (transmission corridor) for each channel/circuit, so the Staff may conclude that the channels/circuits are independent (physically separate commensurate with the hazard) from a power supply assignment perspective, for the purpose of ensuring reliable and uninterrupted electric power for the Fermi Nuclear Reactor, Unit 2, within and as part of the inseparable context of the same Applicant's active and pending Fermi, Unit 3 COLA as submitted.
The Petitioner contends that the Applicant's pending arrangement explicitly violates the Acceptance Criteria of the Mitigation Strategies Directorate (NRR) Audit Plan to Review Licensee Submittals in response to the Commission's Issuance of Orders with regard to Beyond-Design-Basis External Events (BDBEE) mitigation response and recovery actions.5) SPENT FUEL POOL INSTRUMENTATION IS DEFICIENT Statement of the Contention and Comment The Petitioner requests a public hearing to consider the following Contention pertaining to U.S. NRC Commission Order EA-1 2-051, "Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Reliable Spent Fuel Pool (SFP)Instrumentation," March 12, 2012 (ML12054A679):
Basis:
Spent fuel is stored in high-density pools at every reactor in the United States. No spent fuel pool is protected by containment or is required to have independent redundant cooling; they were meant for short-term cooling (-5 years) and weren't intended for multi-decade storage of 4-5 times more spent fuel than their original designs. Pools are not only vulnerable to accidents
-as witnessed by the Fukushima accident -but they are prime terrorist targets. In the NRC's Draft Consequence Study, the NRC admits that a pool fire could displace more than 4 million people from their homes. After both 9/11 and the Fukushima accident, the NRC recognized the potential for a catastrophic pool fire. Furthermore the NRC's Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response uses a predictive tool to aid emergency responders during nuclear accidents which indicates that the radiological release from a pool fire following an earthquake would dwarf that of a reactor meltdown.
It also indicates that the consequence of the breach of a dry cask is thousands of times less severe. (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Security and Incidence Response, RASCAL 3.0.05 Workbook, NUREG-1 889, September 2007).6) MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR BEYOND-DESIGN-BASIS EXTERNAL EVENTS Statement of the Contention and Comment Contention 6 deals with the inadequacies in DTE's response to U.S. NRC Order EA-12-049, "Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for Beyond -Design -Basis -External -Events (BDBEE)" (ML12054A736).
As of November 25, 2013 DTE Electric had failed to implement the plan, as revealed in NRC Staff Evaluation (TAC No. MF0770). DTE had not complied with the order and had three Open Items. An "Open item" is defined as "an item for which the licensee has not presented a sufficient basis for NRC to determine that the issue is on a path to resolution.
The intent behind designating an issue as an open item is to document significant items that need resolution during the review process, rather than being verified after the compliance date through the inspection process." (TAC No. MF0770, page 6) In addition to Open Items, the Fermi 2 plan had thirty-three (33) Confirmatory Items. According to the TAC, a "confirmatory item" is "an item that the NRC considers conceptually acceptable, but for which resolution may be incomplete." 7) AGING MANAGEMENT PLAN DOES NOT ADEQUATELY INSPECT AND MONITOR FOR LEAKS Statement of the Contention and Comment The Aging Management program proposed in the DTE Electric Company (hereafter, DTE) license extension application for the Fermi 2 nuclear reactor is inadequate because (1) it does not provide for adequate inspection of all systems and components that may contain radioactively contaminated water and (2) there is no adequate monitoring to determine if and when leakage from these areas occurs. Some of these systems include underground pipes and tanks which the current aging management and inspection programs do not effectively inspect and monitor.The Contention is within the Scope of these proceedings This Contention raises concerns of inspection of underground leaks: Pertaining, in part, to buried pipes and tanks that fall within those described in 10 CFR part 54, as follows: The Aging Management Plan (AMP) program, as proposed by the Applicant, is inadequate with regard to aging management of buried pipes and tanks that contain radioactively contaminated water, because the AMP program does not provide for adequate monitoring wells that would detect leakage. Furthermore, the Petitioner contends that the Aging Management Plan does not adequately inspect and monitor for leaks in all buried systems and components within scope or in the partially buried sections of systems and components within scope, to include not only buried components that may contain radioactive liquids but also the buried pipes and tanks for the fuel oil system, the station blackout diesel generator system, the fire protection system and the water inflow piping that do not contain radioactive material but are within scope.
- 8) SEVERE ACCIDENT MITIGATION ALTERNATIVES (SAMA) ARE MATERIALLY DEFICIENT Statement of the Contention and Comment Contention 8 is regarding Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives (SAMA) analysis:
Pertaining to critical input data, as follows: The Applicant's Fermi, Unit 2 LRA Environmental Report (ER) and SAMA analysis are materially deficient in that the input data concerning evacuation time estimates (ETE) and economic consequences are incorrect, resulting in incorrect conclusions about the costs versus benefits of possible mitigation alternatives, such that further analysis is called for under NEPA.Basis: The first issue to address is Meteorology:
The Fermi, Unit 3 COLA (Part 5, Appendix 4 "Emergency Plan: Radiological Monitoring and Assessment," Feb. 2014) incorporates the Raddose-V software program to'provide real-time (as the release is occurring), site specific predictions of atmospheric transport and diffusion
...determined using a variable trajectory plume simulation model, along with real-time or simulated scenario meteorological data .... Raddose-V is currently in-use at the Fermi site [that is, Fermi, Unit 2]." (Emphasis added). The Petitioner agrees that the "variable trajectory" plume distribution model is more realistic and appropriate for the Fermi site than a "straight-line Gaussian" model would be, due to the Fermi site's lakeshore and riverside location (see, for example, Dr. Bruce Egan's testimony in support of the New York Attorney General's Intervention against the Indian Point LRA); however, the Petitioner contends that, for the same reason, the Fermi site's location necessitates a wider (larger) Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) than is currently proposed by the Applicant and endorsed by the NRC. A "variable trajectory" model recognizes the uncertainties of predicting plume behavior, especially near bodies of water, and the Fermi site is also located near many major metropolitan urban communities.
In other words, a "variable trajectory" model and a larger EPZ go hand-in-hand.
Thus, while the Applicant's SAMA analysis assumes a 10-mile EPZ probabilistic model, the Petitioner contends that a 50-mile EPZ would be a more realistic and appropriate starting point for Fermi, Unit 2's location and would, importantly, yield different results. In fact, the Petitioner asserts that the Applicant's arbitrary and unrealistic EPZ probabilistic modeling served conveniently for underestimating and minimizing projected consequences of a Severe Accident.9) QUALITY ASSURANCE IS FAULTY Statement of the Contention and Comment The Petitioner requests a public hearing to consider the following Contention pertaining to a fundamental and egregious failure of Safety-Related Quality Assurance which occurred during a 20-year-period from 1986 to 2006 at the Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2 and which remains unresolved to this day in the eye of the public, thus warranting a fresh, "hard look" as part of any credible NEPA Review or Safety Review process associated with the Fermi, Unit 2 LRA; and, therefore, the Petitioner respectfully argues that this Item is well within the Scope of Consideration for the LRA Review and is Material to the proceeding.
- 10) SAFETY ASSURANCE VIOLATION.
Statement of the Contention and Comment The Petitioner requests a public hearing to consider the following Contention pertaining to ensuring compliance with reasonable safety and security standards, precautionary principles, and administrative controls and procedures at the Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2, in order to prevent a potentially significant unauthorized release over the entire licensed life for operations of the reactor.Safety/Security and Quality Assurance Violation:
The Petitioner's forward-looking, long-term confidence in the Applicant/Licensee has been severely compromised by a recent incident at the Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2, which resulted in the U.S.NRC putting DTE Electric Co. on probation for significantly violating the NRC's security requirements at a Greater than Green level, thus initiating an escalated enforcement action. The regulatory compliance violation happened during a February 2014 inspection that could have resulted in unauthorized and unmonitored access to a protected area, according to an NRC report. As a result of the investigation and finding, Fermi, Unit 2 will move down in the plant ranking system from the licensee response column to the regulatory response column for the rest of this year (2014). The irony is that the probationary period is ongoing concurrently, even as DTE pushes forward with the Fermi, Unit 2 LRA as well as the Fermi, Unit 3 COLA.11) DTE'S ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT IGNORES PUBLIC HEALTH DATA Statement of the Contention and Comment The Petitioner requests a public hearing to consider the following Contention pertaining to "Significant New Unknown and Unanalyzed Conditions" reflected by the Applicant/Licensee's incomplete and obsolete analysis of public health impacts of authorized, routine, by-design radioactive releases by Fermi, Unit 2 into the surrounding environment.
The Petitioner contends that the Applicant's ER fails to consider new and updated public health data, unavailable at the time of issuance of the original Operating License;further, the Petitioner contends that the Applicant fails to adequately consider Mitigation Alternatives which could significantly reduce the alleged significant environmental and public health impact of Fermi, Unit 2 operations.
Therefore, the Petitioner invokes NEPA requirements and contends that further analysis is called for. In support of this Contention, the Petitioner submits into the docket the following public health impacts study by the Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP): Potential Health Risks Posed By Adding A New Reactor At The Fermi Plant: Radioactive contamination from Fermi 2 and changes in local health status, pages 1 -21, January 10, 2012, Joseph J. Mangano, MPH, MBA, Executive Director, Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP).http://www.beyondnuclear.orq/storaQe/Manqano corrected Fermi report Jan 11 2012.pdf 12) THERMAL DISCHARGE INCREASE ALGAE BLOOMS Statement of the Contention and Comment Petitioner's request a public hearing to examine the impact of daily thermal discharges from Fermi 2 as an accelerator and contributor to harmful algal blooms (HABS). The Fermi 2 releases 45 million gallons of water per day into Lake Erie. This thermal discharge averages 18 degrees (F) above ambient lake temperature 365 days per year.Petitioner's contend that the Applicant's Environmental Report (ER) fails to consider new and updated environmental and public health data, unavailable at the time of issuance of the original Operating License; further, the Petitioner contends that the Applicant fails to adequately consider Mitigation Alternatives which could significantly reduce the alleged significant environmental and public health impact of Fermi, Unit 2 operations.
Therefore, the Petitioner invokes NEPA requirements and contends that further analysis is called for. Illustration:
Petitioner puts forth the following NOAA Satellite Image of Lake Erie from August 10, 2014 to illustrate how severe the algal bloom crisis has become.http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/webdata/cwops/htmi/modis/modis.php?region=e&pacqe=1
&tem plate=sub&image=al
.1 4222.1852.LakeErie.
1 43.250m .jpg 13) INADEQUATE RADIATION PROTECTION STANDARDS.
Statement of the Contention and Comment The following Contention pertains to inadequate environmental radiation protection standards for nuclear power operations at the Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2. The Petitioner seeks an ASLB recommendation to the NRC Commission to issue an Order to independently assess the adequacy of current and proposed U.S. EPA guidelines.
Thank you Respectfully Submitted:
Organizational Endorsement Alliance to Halt Fermi 3 Detroit, MI Carol Izant Beyond Nuclear Takoma Park, MD Kevin Kamps The Carrie Dickerson Foundation Tulsa, OK Marilyn McCulloch, Secretary Citizens to End Nuclear Dumping in Tennessee Memphis, TN Kathleen Ferris, Co-Founder Citizens Environment Alliance Southwestern Ontario Windsor, Ontario. Canada Rick Coronado, Derek Coronado Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination Lake Station, MI Victor McManemy, Chair Citizen's Resistance at Fermi Two Redford, MI Jessie P. Collins Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety Santa Fe, NM Joni Arends, Executive Director Coalition for a Nuclear Free Great Lakes Monroe, MI Michael J. Keegan, Chair Crabshell Alliance of Greater Baltimore Baltimore, MD Dagmar Fabian, Secretary Don't Waste Arizona Phoenix, AZ Stephen Brittle Don't Waste Michigan Grand Rapids, MI Corinne Carey Don't Waste Michigan Holland, MI Alice Hirt Don't Waste Michigan Kalamazoo, MI Kevin Kamps Don't Waste Michigan Monroe, MI Michael J. Keegan Don't Waste Michigan Sherwood, MI Kathy Barnes Energia Mia San Antonio, TX Cynthia Weehler Environmentalists Inc.Aiken, SC Ruth Thomas Friends of the Earth Washington, D.C.Ben Schreiber, Program Director Friends of the Earth Washington, D.C.Katherine Fuchs GE Stockholder's Alliance for Sustainable, Nuclear-Free Future Sandy Spring, MD Patricia T. Birnie, Chair Great Northern Solar Port Wing, WI Christopher LaForge The Guacamole Fund Hermosa, CA Tom Campbell Home for Peace Justice Saginaw, MI Joan McCoy Musicians for Safe Energy Mountain View, CA Tom Campbell North American Water Office Lake Elmo, MN George Crocker Nuclear Energy Information Service Evanston, IL David Kraft, Executive Director Nuclear Information Resource Service Takoma Park, MD Tim Judson, Executive Director Nukewatch Luck, Wisconsin John LaForge, Co-director Physicians for Social Responsibility Chesapeake Chapter Gwen DuBois Proposition One Campaign Tryon, NC Ellen Thomas The Rachel Carson Council, Inc.Bethesda, MD Robert K. Musil, Ph.D., M.P.H.San Luis Obispo Mothers For Peace San Luis Obispo, CA Linda Seeley Sinnissippi Alliance for the Environment Rockford IL Stanley Campbell Stand Up / Save Lives Campaign Burr Ridge, IL Maureen K. Headington, President Toledo Coalition for Safe Energy Toledo, OH Terry J. Lodge Waste Action Project Seattle, WA Greg Wingard, Executive Director Individual Endorsement Gerson Lesser, M.D.New York, NY Janette D. Sherman, M.D.Baltimore, Maryland Susan Michelli Mt. Horeb, WI David Schoenberger Ann Arbor, MI Zack Ruiter Toronto, ONT Canada James Sherman Waterford, MI Tom Ferguson Marquette, MI Steve Ferguson Marquette, MI Sarah Moore Belleville, MI Carol Kurz Evanston, IL Ziggy Kleinow Binbrook ONT, Canada Rosalie Riegle Lansing, MI Kay Cumbow Brown City, MI Keith Gunter Livonia, MI Please Contact Michael J. Keegan, Don't Waste Michigan mkeeganj@comcast.net should you have any questions.
Thank you.