NRC Commissioners to reveal votes on Nuke Waste Con Game Thursday, Feb. 25
"NOTICE TO THE PARTIES IN:
Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant, Units 3 and 4, Docket Nos. 52-014-COL & 52-015-COL
Callaway Plant, Unit 1, Docket No. 50-483-LR
Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 3 and 4, Docket Nos. 52-034-COL & 52-035-COL
Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1, Docket No. 50-346-LR
Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Units 1 and 2, Docket Nos. 50-275-LR & 50-323-LR
Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3, Docket No. 52-033-COL
Fermi Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2, Docket No. 50-341-LR
Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3, Docket Nos. 50-247-LR & 50-286-LR
Levy County Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2, Docket Nos. 52-029-COL & 52-030-COL
North Anna Power Station, Unit 3, Docket No. 52-017-COL
Seabrook Station, Unit 1, Docket No. 50-443-LR
Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, Docket Nos. 50-327-LR & 50-328-LR
South Texas Project, Units 3 and 4, Docket Nos. 52-012-COL & 52-013-COL
South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, Docket Nos. 50-498-LR & 50-499-LR
Turkey Point, Units 6 and 7, Docket Nos. 52-040-COL & 52-041-COL
Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 2, Docket No. 50-391-OL
William States Lee III Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2, Docket Nos. 52-018-COL & 52-019-COL
The Commission has scheduled a tentative Affirmation Session for Thursday, February 26, 2015, 12:55 p.m. EST, that addresses the Petitions to Suspend Reactor Licensing Decisions and Reactor License Renewal Decisions Pending Issuance of "Waste Confidence" Safety Findings, filed on Multiple Dockets.
Note: This session will be publicly webcast. Please use the link below to view the session.
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/webcast-live.html ".
As indicated by the bolded text above, Beyond Nuclear is directly, officially intervening against the 20-year license extensions proposed at Davis-Besse, OH (a Three Mile Island twin design), Fermi 2, MI (a Fukushima Daiichi twin design), and Seabrook, NH. In addition, Beyond Nuclear is an official intervenor against the proposed new reactor at Fermi 3, MI.
Thus, the NRC Commissioners will rule, on Feb. 26th, on a coalition of environmental intervenors' Petition to Suspend Licensing and Re-licensing of Reactors. That Petition was filed on Sept. 29, 2014, by some three dozen organizations, engaged in the 27 pending, individual reactor NRC licensing proceedings listed above.
As explained by Diane Curran and Mindy Goldstein, the attorneys representing the environmental coalition, "the Petition accompanied [the groups'] contentions challenging the NRC's failure to make Atomic Energy Act-required Waste Confidence safety findings in those cases." (Attorney Terry Lodge of Toledo serves as the environmental coalition legal counsel in the Davis-Besse and Fermi 2 & 3 proceedings listed above.)
The Petition, as well as the contentions in the individual proceedings, would form the basis for an appeal to the federal courts regarding NRC's 2014 Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel rule and environmental impact statement.
Although NRC Commissioners Kristine L. Svinicki and William C. Ostendorff voted in favor of the finalization of the Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel rule and environmental impact statement last year, the other two NRC Commissioners -- Chairman Stephen G. Burns, and Commissioner Jeff Baran -- were not yet serving in 2014. (The fifth seat on the NRC Commission currently remains unfilled.) See the photo, above left.
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The four NRC Commissioners (there is a vacany on the Commission currently) just held a 2-3 minute Affirmation Session. It was Webcast on the Internet, and open to public attendance in the room at their Rockville, MD HQ. The unredacted transcript is posted below, at the end of this update.
And here is the NRC Commissioners' MEMORANDUM AND ORDER, laying out their legal reasoning for today's rejection of the coalition's Petition, contentions, and motions.
They revealed that they had rejected the environmental coalition's Petition and contentions.
They then affirmed "Aye" that they in fact did vote the way they were being listed as as having voted.
Problem is, they don't clearly reveal that at Affirmation Sessions. Was it a 4-0 vote? 3-1? 2-2? (The environmental coalition would need majority support by the Commissioners, so even a 2-2 vote would result in rejection of the Petition and contentions.) As soon as Beyond Nuclear learns how each Commissioner actually voted, and if they included a justification in writing for their vote (which they sometimes do, but not always), we will post it here.
However, a number of colleagues, including Diane Curran, do think it was a 4-0 Commission vote today.
Within just a matter of less than 10 minutes, the NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board panels (ASLB)) overseeing the Davis-Besse, Fermi 2, Ferm 3 license proceedings, sent a copy of th MEMORANDUM AND ORDER out to us, our attorney Terry Lodge, and our coalition intervenors.
This very likely means that the coalition will appeal to the federal courts, to challenge NRC's illegal behavior, yet again. Beyond Nuclear is represented by Toledo attorney Terry Lodge in three proceedings: two interventions against old reactor 20-year license extensions (at Davis-Besse, OH, and Fermi 2, MI). He also serves as legal counsel for Beyond Nuclear and environmental coalition allies at the Fermi 3, MI proposed new reactor fight. All three reactors are located on the Lake Erie shore. In fact, 30 miles apart, Fermi nuclear power plant and Davis-Besse nuclear power plant are visible with the naked eye, one from the other.
Diane Curran of Harmon, Curran, Spielberg + Eisenberg, LLP of Washington, D.C., and Mindy Goldstein of Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory University in Atlanta represent the three dozen environmental groups, intervening against 27 license extensions and proposed new reactor licenses.
Unredacted Transcript
>> I call the affirmation session to order. We have
chairman Burns on the phone in the room. Madam
secretary I understand we have one item for affirmation
would you leached us through that item.
>> Yes, can you hear me okay
>> I hear you fine.
>> Okay. The Commission is being asked memory dumb in
order responding to a petition filed by several
organizations requesting the Commission suspend final
reactor licensing decisions pending its issuance of a
waste confidence safety decision. Petitioners have also
submitted companion filings proposing a related
contention together with procedural motion to reopen the
record and several proceedings the Commission has voted
to approve a memorandum and order which denies the
petitions to suspend and the related motions and
confirms the Commission's determinations regarding the
safety of continued spent fuel storage and the technical
feasibility of permanent spent fuel disposal in a
repository. With the Commissioners in it the refresh my
memory aif I were your votes
>> Aye
>> Chairs Burns affirm your vote
>> Aye
>> Thank you, that's all I have
>> Is there any other business?
>> No thank you for standing in
>> Good luck getting back
>> Okay. Thank you, everyone. We're adjourned.
>> Bye bye.
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