NRC-2019-0073, Comment (3) of Diane Turco on Stakeholder Input on Best Practices for Establishment and Operation of Local Community Advisory Boards in Response to a Portion of the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act: Difference between revisions

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{{Adams
#REDIRECT [[NRC-2019-0073, Response from NEIMA Local Community Advisory Board Questionnaire 10-30-2019 R Discenza]]
| number = ML19297G272
| issue date = 10/22/2019
| title = Comment (3) of Diane Turco on Stakeholder Input on Best Practices for Establishment and Operation of Local Community Advisory Boards in Response to a Portion of the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act
| author name = Turco D
| author affiliation = Cape Downwinders
| addressee name =
| addressee affiliation = NRC/ADM
| docket = 05000293
| license number =
| contact person =
| case reference number = 84FR51189 00003, NRC-2019-0073
| document type = General FR Notice Comment Letter type:NRC
| page count = 8
}}
 
=Text=
{{#Wiki_filter:Page 1 of 3 SUNSI Review Complete Template = ADM-013 E-RIDS=ADM-03        As of: 10/24/19 1:29 PM ADD= Marlayna Doell, Kimberly Conway Received: October 22, 2019 Status: Pending_Post PUBLIC SUBMISSION                                      COMMENT (3)          Tracking No. 1k3-9cvv-qwa5 PUBLICATION DATE:    Comments Due: November 15, 2019 9/27/2019 CITATION 84 FR        Submission Type: Web 51189 Docket: NRC-2019-0073 Agency Activities in Response to a Portion of the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act Comment On: NRC-2019-0073-0030 Stakeholder Input on Best Practices for Establishment and Operation of Local Community Advisory Boards in Response to a Portion of the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act Document: NRC-2019-0073-DRAFT-0030 Comment on FR Doc # 2019-21012 Submitter Information Name: Diane Turco Address:
PO Box 303 South Harwich, MA, 02661 Email: capedownwindersinfo@gmail.com General Comment RE: Stakeholder Input on Best Practices for Establishment and Operation of Local Community Advisory Boards in Response to a Portion of the Nuclear Entergy Innovation and Modernization Act.
Docket ID NRC-2019-0073-0030 This comment is submitted by Cape Downwinders based in Harwich, Massachusetts. We are a grassroots organization with local, statewide, national, and international connections working to protect the public and environment from the dangers of Holtec's decommissioning plans and NRC poor oversight at the closed Pilgrim nuclear power reactor in Plymouth, MA.
We can all agree that responsible and safe decommissioning is THE priority in order to protect our communities. Now that Congress has tasked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to elicit public comments on best practices and lessons learned for Citizens Advisory Boards, perhaps there will be real movement for effective public engagement. The NRC has not done its job and continues to fail at responding to important public input. Petitions, letters, concerns, filings, and all efforts for effective engagement meet with rejection.
Congress must fulfill our social contract and return power to local and state stakeholders through effective CABs, not as advisory' boards but with real authority so our concerns will be addressed and enacted upon.
https://www.fdms.gov/fdms/getcontent?objectId=09000064840ea6a4&format=xml&showorig=false                          10/24/2019
 
Page 2 of 3 Back in the 1990s, the Yankee Rowe decommissioning was challenged by a community action group, Citizens Awareness Network. CAN won a lawsuit against the NRC and Yankee Atomic over the illegal cleanup of the site. The NRC was found to be arbitrary, capricious and utterly irrational in its handling of decommissioning. The district court judge wrote in his decision that the NRCa actions reminded him of the Office of Circumlocution in Charles Dickens Bleak House. He noted the potential for the NRC using these tactics at other decommissioning sites was disturbing given the communities vital interests in an effective cleanup. A short victory for citizen intervention. However, the NRC response was to eviscerate public and state participation by changing their rules. CAN also submitted a plan for CABs back in 1996 for Citizens Advisory Boards to engage in decommissioning. CABs have been promoted by the public for decades. Yet today, when so many reactors are scrambling to decommission, the NRC is commanded by Congress to look at the current state of affairs because they have failed to do so.
Our own state Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel has been working hard to communicate with both Holtec and the NRC with limited success. Holtec promised openness and transparency during the License Transfer Application process. Not only did Entergy and Holtec refuse to answer questions related to the LTA, but the NRC approved the transfer without a Petition to Intervene submitted by our Attorney General Maura Healey addressed. The license transfer was approved without a hearing on radiological, environmental, and financial assurances, issues she raised in that petition. Now Holtec has no incentive to negotiate with the state. and stakeholders. CDW and CAN sent a letter to the NRC signed by 96 organizations across the U.S. and Canada asking for the license transfer be suspended until all the contentions are heard and resolved [see attached letter]. The NRC dismissed our letter. Concerns for safe decommissioning go way beyond the borders of Massachusetts. With no response from the NRC on the petition to intervene, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the license transfer. This is a national concern that must be addressed.
Tell Congress this: We know the NRC is just a rubber stamp for the nuclear industry. The sham of the license transfer clearly demonstrates this reality. Congress must fulfill their responsibility to protect the public. The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 abolished the Atomic Energy Commission due to biased promotion of the nuclear industry over public safety. The AEC was replaced with the NRC. We now see that pattern repeated as the NRC approved the license transfer before contentions were heard, allowed exemptions for use of decommissioning trust funds without conditions, ignored environmental concerns, plans to reduce emergency planning zones, and supported Holtecs financial plans even when the numbers dont add up.
The public has no trust in the NRC. Expecting passive participation by the public is an affront to our rights and responsibilities as citizens. We demand a democratic process. Cape Downwinders calls for abolishment of the NRC to be replaced with an independent intergovernmental agency, without industry intrusion, and the establishment of CABs including state and local stakeholders with real authority to influence and enact policies and procedures for the protection of our communities.
Respectfully submitted, Diane Turco, Director Cape Downwinders PO Box 303 South Harwich, MA 02661 www.capedownwinders.info https://www.fdms.gov/fdms/getcontent?objectId=09000064840ea6a4&format=xml&showorig=false                          10/24/2019
 
Page 3 of 3 Attachments CAN:CDW NRC LT ltr 96 organizations https://www.fdms.gov/fdms/getcontent?objectId=09000064840ea6a4&format=xml&showorig=false 10/24/2019
 
capedownwindersinfo@gmail.com P.O. Box 303 South Harwich, MA 02661 September 3, 2019 Kristine L. Svinicki, Chair Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop-P-16 B33 Washington, DC 20555-0001 chairman@nrc.gov
 
==Dear Chairman Svinicki,==
 
Cape Downwinders and Citizens Awareness Network are regional citizens organizations advocating best protection for the public and environment during the decommissioning and spent fuel management activities at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, MA. On August 19, we sent you a request for the Pilgrim license transfer to be suspended until raised contentions were resolved. On August 26, the NRC responded that the Commission must remain impartial during the pendency of the adjudication. This is not acceptable. Given the NRC license approval on August 22, we are now including additional support for our request from 96 organizations across the U.S. and Canada as follows:
We, signed below, are very concerned that the NRC Commissioners, mandated to protect the public and environment, approved the License Transfer Application from Entergy to Holtec without a public hearing on the contentions filed. We fully support our Massachusetts Attorney Generals Office and Pilgrim Watch petitions to intervene and find that the premature NRC decision to approve the license transfer only supports Holtecs financial interest and not standards for public health and safety that clearly impact our communities.
The NRC promotes the value of communication and public input, yet, when it comes to legal intervention pursued on our behalf by our AGO, the NRC not only denied a stay of 90 days but plowed forward to meet Holtecs demands with license approval before an adjudicatory hearing is held. Business as usual.
In their petition to intervene, the AGO identified the risk of a funding shortfall is radiological, environmental, and financial. This is a serious matter that requires methodical examination; Holtecs bottom line is secondary to the health and safety of the Commonwealth, its citizens and the impacted community. It should be for the regulator as well. It is essential that decommissioning is accomplished in the safest and most responsible manner. That is not guaranteed with the limitations of the present decommissioning fund and Holtecs potential financial vulnerabilities and lack of experience. The petitioners have raised serious issues that must be resolved before NRC approval of the license transfer. Once again, the NRC fails to respond to public concerns.
Approving the license before a hearing also removes any incentive for Holtec to meet the recommendations of the Commonwealth and Pilgrim Watch.
 
Will the public concerns be heard and acted upon by you and the Commissioners? We, the citizens, do not consent to the license transfer at this time. We again petition to suspend the license transfer from Entergy to Holtec until there is resolution to the contentions raised. Otherwise, the NRC has reneged its responsibility to the people they are mandated to protect.
On behalf of concerned organizations across the U.S. and Canada, we look forward to your response.
Cape Downwinders, Harwich, MA/Diane Turco, Director tturco@comcast.net Citizens Awareness Network, Shelburne Falls, MA/Deb Katz, Executive Director deb@nukebusters.org AND:
Albuquerque Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, NM/Sara Keeney, Chadron Kidwell, Co-Clerks Algonquin Eco Watch, Ontario, Canada/Mike Wilton, President Alliance for Environmental Strategies, Eunice, NM/Rose Garder, Founder Alliance to Halt Fermi-3, Livonia, MI/Keith Gunter, Board Chair American Friends Service Committee, Cambridge, MA/Keith Harvey, Northeast Regional Director Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Dennis, MA/Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director Beyond Nuclear, Tacoma Park, MD/ Paul Gunter, Director, Kevin Kamps, Nuclear Waste Specialist Boston Downwinders, Newton, MA/Guntram Mueller, Convener Bruce Center for Energy Research Information, Inverhuron, Ontario, Canada/Eugene Bourgeois, President Bronx Climate Justice, North Bronx, NY/Jennifer Scarlott, Coordinator Campaign for Peace, Disarmament, and Common Security, Cambridge, MA/Joseph Gerson, PhD, President Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Montreal, Quebec/Gordon Edwards, President Canton Residents for a Sustainable, Equitable Future, Canton, MA/Jennifer Wexler, President Citizens Against Radioactive Neighbourhoods, Peterborough, Ontario/Jo Hayward-Haines, Contact Citizens Against the Rehobeth Compressor Station, MA/Tracy Manzella, Organizer Citizens for Alternatives To Radioactive Dumping, Albuquerque, NM/Janet Greenwald, Coordinator Citizens Power, Inc., Pittsburg, PA/David Hughes, President Citizens Resistance at Fermi Two (CRAFT), Redford, MI/Jessie Pauline Collins, Co-Chair Clean Water Action, Brick, NJ/Janet Tauro, Board Chair Coalition Against Nukes, Sag Harbor, NY/Priscilla Star, Founder and Director Coalition For A Nuclear Free Great Lakes, Monroe, MI/Michael J. Keegan, Chairperson Committee for Future Generations, Beauval, Saskatchewan/Candyce Paul, Outreach Coordinator Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Santa Fe, NM/Joni Arends, Executive Director Concerned Citizens of Allegany County, Inc., Angelica, NY/Karen Ash, Chair Concerned Citizens of Lacey, LLC, Lacey, NJ/Paul Dressler, Founder Dont Waste Michigan, Holland, MI/Alice Hirt, Co-Chair Duxbury Nuclear Advisory Committee, Duxbury, MA/Rebecca Chin, Co-Chair Elders Climate Action Massachusetts, Cambridge, MA/Grady McGonagil, Ed.D, Founder Engage Falmouth, Falmouth, MA/Elise Hugus, Convener Environmental Massachusetts Research and Policy Center, Boston, MA/Ben Hillerstein, State Director
 
Friends of the Earth, Washington, D.C./Damon Moglen, Senior Strategic Advisor GRAMMES (Grandmothers, Mothers, and More for Energy Safety), Brick, NJ/Jeff Brown, founding member Greenpeace USA, Washington, D.C./Charlie Cray, Political and Business Strategist Gray Panthers of Metro Detroit, MI/Randy Block, MSW, Chair, National Council of Gray Panthers Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, Boston, MA/Anna Baker, MPH, Executive Director Heart of America Northwest, Seattle, WA/Peggy Maze Johnson, Coordinator Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc., Beacon, NY/Manna Jo Greene, Environmental Director Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, Cortland Manor, NY/Marilyn Elie, Organizer League of Women Voters Cape Cod Area, MA/Suzanne Brock, Richard Utt, Steering Committee League of Women Voters Plymouth Area, MA /Henrietta Cosentino, Chair, Nuclear Affairs Committee MA Peace Action, Cambridge, MA/Cole Harrison, Executive Director Marthas Vineyard Island 350, Tisbury, MA/Ann Rosenkranz, Steering Committee Member MASSPIRG, Boston, MA/Janet Dominetz, Executive Director New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light, Albuquerque, NM/Sr. Joan Brown, OSF, Executive Director Michigan Safe Energy Future, Kalamazoo, MI/Iris Potter, Organizer Michigan Stop The Nuclear Bomb Campaign, St. Clair Shores, MI/Vic Macks, Steering Committee Mid-Missouri Peace Works, Columbia, MO/Mark Haim, Director Mountain States Mennonite Conference, Taos, NM/Todd Wynard, Minister for Creative Justice Native Community Action Council, Las Vegas, NV/Ian Zabarte, Secretary Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Washington, D.C./Caroline Reiser, Legal Fellow Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, Las Vegas, NV/Judy Trelchel, Executive Director New Mexico Environmental Law Center, Santa Fe, NM/Douglas Meiklejohn, Executive Director New York Safe Energy Campaign, NY, NY/Ken Gale, Founder Newton Dialogues, Newton, MA/Susan Mirsky, Organizer No Fossil Fuel, LLC and Clean Power, Inc., Kingston, MA/Mary ODonnell, President No More Fukushimas, Amesbury, MA/Joanne Hammond, Organizer North American Water Office, Lake Elmo, MN/George Crocker, Executive Director and Lea Foushee, Environmental Justice Director Northwatch, Northeastern Ontario/Brennain Lloyd, Project Coordinator Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, NY, NY/Alice Slater, UN Representative Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS), Chicago, IL/David Kraft, Director Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), Tacoma Park, MD/Tim Judson, Executive Director Nuclear Issues Study Group, Albuquerque, NM/Leona Morgan, Coordinator Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Oak Ridge, TN/Ralph Hutchison, Coordinator Occupy Bergen County, Bergen County, NJ/Sally Gillert, Organizer Occupy Hingham, Hingham, MA /John Gauley, Co-Founder On Behalf of Planet Earth, Watertown, MA/Sheila Parks, Ed.D, Founder Palisades Shutdown Campaign Coalition (PSCC), Kalamazoo, MI/Iris Potter, Bruce Brown, Co-Coordinators
 
Peace Abbey Foundation, Sherbon, MA/Lewis M. Randa, Director Physicians For Social Responsibility, Kansas City Metro Area Missouri/Kansas, Ann Suellentrop, Project Dir.
Pilgrim Coalition, Plymouth, MA/Norm Pierce, PhD, Executive Committee Pilgrims for Safe Decommissioning, Plymouth, MA/Love Albrecht Howard, Contact Project Andrews County, Andrews, TX/Elizabeth Padilla, Leader Redwood Alliance, Arcata, CA/Michael Welch, Coordinator Safe and Green Campaign, Brattleboro, VT/Leslie Sachs-Sullivan, Convener Safe Energy Rights Group, Peekskill, NY/Nancy Vann, President Samuel Lawrence Foundation, Del Mar, CA /Bart Zeigler, PhD, President Shut Down Indian Point Now (SDIPN), NY, NY/Catherine Skopic, Chair Sierra Club Massachusetts/Deb Pasternak, Chapter Director Sierra Club National Nuclear Free Campaign, Oakland, CA/Susan Corbett, Chair Six Ponds Improvement Association, Plymouth, MA/Lawrence H. Delafield, President Stop Algonquin Pipeline Expansion, Rockland, Putnam, Westchester Counties, NY/Suzannah Glidden, Co-Founder Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, Detroit, MI/John Philo, Executive and Legal Director Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition (SEED), Austin, TX/Karen Hadden, Organizer Sustainable Middleborough, Middleborough, MA/Kimberly French, Organizer Team, Sustainable South Shore, Norwell, MA/Todd Breitenstein, Organizer Three Mile Island Alert, Inc., Harrisburg, PA/Eric Epstein, Chairman Toledo Coalition for Safe Energy, Toledo, OH/Terry Lodge, Convener Toxics Action Center, Boston, MA/Claire Miller, Organizer UUMass Action, Marlboro, MA/Laura Wagner, Executive Director Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance (VYDA), Montpelier, VT/Debra Sloleroff, Organizer Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, Watertown, MA/Tony Palomba, Steering Committee Womens Energy Matters, Fairfax, CA/Jean Merrigan, Executive Director Womens International League for Peace and Freedom, Cape Cod Chapter, Harwich, MA/Donna Pihl, Convener CC:
Senator Ed Markey Senator Elizabeth Warren Representative William Keating Governor Charlie Baker Attorney Maura Healey Senate President Karen Spilka House Speaker Robert DeLeo Senator Julian Cyr Senator Vinny deMacedo Representative Sarah Peaks Representative Tim Whalen Representative William Crocker Representative Dylan Fernades Representative Randy Hunt Representative Ruth Balser
 
Sean Mullin, Chair, Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel Ken Travares, Chair, Plymouth Board of Selectmen}}

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