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July 23, 1997
The Hon. Shirley Ann Jackson
Chair,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington DC 20555
re: NRC Acceptance of Application from Private Fuel Storage, LLC for Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel Rods on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation
Dear Commissioner Jackson:
The State of Utah, working through NRC's established procedures, finds that its efforts are frustrated because the procedures, as defined in law, are totally non-responsive to substantive and basic issues timely raised by the State. Specifically, the State of Utah filed two 2.206 petitions detailing why NRC staff should not accept an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation application filed by Private Fuel Storage, LLC. Nonetheless, NRC staff accepted the license application as "complete." NRC staff did not even acknowledge the existence of the 2.206 petitions. For the reasons described below, I am writing directly to you to request that you direct your staff not to deem the PFS license application to be complete and suspend any attempt to file a notice in the Federal Register officially docketing the application.
The following background information will show why the NRC procedures have eviscerated any attempt by the State of Utah to bring legitimate concerns before the NRC. In response to PFS application submitted to the NRC on June 25, 1997, the State filed a 2.206 petition on June 27 raising the concern that PFS had not given emergency response organizations 60 days to review the Emergency Plan before submittal of the application as required by 10 CFR 72.32(a)(14). After the State reviewed PFS's four volume submittal, it filed another 2.206 petition because the submittal was so devoid of substantive and basic information as to make it a waste of resources for the NRC, the State or the public to begin a meaningful review of the application.
To date, the State of Utah has received no acknowledgment from the NRC that it has received the 2.206 petitions. Telephone enquiries to the NRC were to no avail because the NRC status report for 2.206 petitions is only current through the end of May 1997. However, a copy of the two 2.206 petitions were sent directly to Mr. Mark Delligatti, Spent Fuel Project Office Manager for this application. Accordingly, Mr. Delligatti should have been aware of the State's concerns before he deemed the application to be "complete."
Furthermore, citizens of Utah will not have access to the license application because an LPDR will not be set up in a timely manner in Utah. The NRC took the laudable step of publishing a notice in the Federal Register on July 7 inviting comment on where to set up a local public document room (LPDR) in Utah. The comment period will close July 25. But Mr. Delligatti and staff have deemed the application to be complete before the comment period closes. Thus, it appears that NRC may docket the application before the NRC has had a chance to review comments on the LPDR public notice and certainly before an LPDR is established in Utah. As you well know, once the application is officially docketed by publication in the Federal Register, interested parties have only 30 days in which to file a petition to intervene in the licensing process. Access to the license application is critical if members of the public are to be able to evaluate whether to intervene in the license proceeding.
I am enclosing copies of the two 2.206 petitions. If you take just a few moments to briefly review the petitions, especially the second "completeness" petition, you will find that the application does not merit the investment of time and resources that must be committed once NRC dockets the application.
Best Regards,
Dianne R. Nielson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Utah Department of Enviornmental Quality
cc:
Commissioner Greta Joy Dicus
Commissioner Mils J. Diaz
Commissioner Edward McGaffigan, Jr.
Inspector General, NRC
Senator Orrin Hatch
Senator Robert Bennett
Congressman James Hansen
Congressman Merrill Cook
Government Accounting Office
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