Groups gain ground in nuclear plant fight

Saturday, Jan. 09, 2010

NRC overturns rulings against environmental organizations

By CHUCK CRUMBO - [email protected]

Two environmental groups claimed a partial victory Friday in efforts to derail plans for two new reactor units at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station near Jenkinsville.

On Thursday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission overturned a decision by its review board that had rejected issues raised by the Sierra Club of South Carolina and had denied standing to Friends of the Earth.

The commission said the Atomic Safety Licensing Board had "wrongly erred" in denying Friends of the Earth, which opposes the $9.8 billion project to add two, 1,117-megawatt reactor units at the Fairfield County power station, an opportunity to participate in the process.
Although the licensing board found the Sierra Club had standing, it had tossed out three of the group's arguments against SCE&G's application for a license to build and operate the proposed reactor units.

The Sierra Club contended that SCE&G had not done enough to promote energy efficiency and conservation before deciding to build two reactor units. It also questioned the project's cost, claiming it was too low, as well as the construction schedule.

"We're just thrilled that the commission recognizes the serious nature of the questions that we raised, and that they deserve a serious investigation and a serious answer, not just the dismissive one that we were originally given," said Sierra Club spokeswoman Susan Corbett.
Friends of the Earth had raised the same issues in its request to intervene in the licensing hearings.

"The efforts by SCE&G and the NRC's review board to block public interest intervention in SCE&G nuclear reactor project have failed, which is a victory for the public in pursuit of a cleaner and sounder energy future for South Carolina," said Tom Clements, of Friends of the Earth.

Eric Boomhower, spokesman for the Cayce-based utility, noted both the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth were represented by the same attorney, Bob Guild, and both groups raised the same issues.

Added Boomhower, "This decision really changes nothing beyond adding another name to the list of official parties."

Regarding the energy conservation issue, Boomhower said the NRC "simply ruled that the (safety board's) reason for dismissing it was inadequate. ... The NRC has sent that issue back to the (safety board) for further consideration."

A third issue concerned the design of the reactor unit. The commission already has raised the issue with Westinghouse Electric Co., designer of the reactor units, and has demanded more information before it approves the design.

A final decision by federal authorities is still more than a year away. The first reactor unit isn't scheduled to be in operation until April 2016.
South Carolina Electric & Gas, principal subsidiary of investor-owned SCANA Corp., and state-run Santee Cooper currently operate a 966-megawatt reactor unit that has been in service since 1984.

Reach Crumbo at (803) 771-8503.

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NRC Commission Nuclear Decision Documents in ADAMS

--- documents supporting the Commission votes from Thursday, January 7, "affirmation" session, which was webcast for the first time due to pressure by folks on this list - thanks!
ADAMS search: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html - begin ADAMS search and paste in ML number below to find pdf documents

Bell Bend
2010/01/07-Commission Memorandum and Order CLI-10-07. ML100070368 2010-01-07 12


Bellefonte
2010/01/07-Commission Memorandum and Order CLI-10-06. ML100070359 2010-01-07 30


Southern Nuclear
2010/01/07-Commission Memorandum and Order CLI-10-05. ML100070365 2010-01-07 34


Detroit Edison
2010/01/07-CLI-10-03 Memorandum and Order. ML100070355 2010-01-07 10


SCANA/SCE&G
2010/01/07-CLI-10-01 Memorandum and Order Concerning Two Appeals. ML100070351 2010-01-07 37


Progress Energy
2010/01/07- Commission Memorandum and Order CLI-10-02. ML100070354 2010-01-07 30