Letters from Secretary Annette Vietti-Cook to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Representatives Lowey, Engel and Maloney Re In

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

. February 18, 2020

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer United States Senate Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Schumer:

On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of January 31, 2020, to Chairman Svinicki regarding the Indian Point Energy Center license transfer request from Entergy and Holtec (Docket Nos. 50-003, 50-247, 50-286 and 72-051 ). Your letter expresses support for the NRC to hold a hearing on the license transfer application should the State of New York or other interested persons request a hearing.

Because the NRC received multiple requests for hearing on the matter, your letter bears on what is now a contested adjudication before the Commission and it would be inappropriate for the Chairman to discuss the matter at this time. This is because the Commission must remain impartial during the pendency of the adjudication. The hearing requests and arguments made concerning the timing of a hearing will be considered in accordance with the agency's procedures.

A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the Indian Point license transfer proceeding.

Sincerely,

Annette L. Vietti-Cook UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

February 18, 2020

The Honorable Kirsten Gillibrand United States Senate Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Gillibrand:

A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the Indian Point license transfer proceeding.

Sincerely, ~V,.;W-~ Annette L. Vietti-Cook UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

February 18, 2020

The Honorable Sean Patrick Maloney United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Maloney:

A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the Indian Point license transfer proceeding.

Sincerely, ~~~ Annette L. Vietti-Cook UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

February 18, 2020

The Honorable Nita M. Lewey United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Lewey:

On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of January 31 , 2020, to Chairman Svinicki regarding the Indian Point Energy Center license transfer request from Entergy and Holtec (Docket Nos. 50-003, 50-247, 50-286 and 72-051 ). Your letter expresses support for the NRC to hold a hearing on the license transfer application should the State of New York or other interested persons request a hearing.

A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the Indian Point license transfer proceeding.

Sincerely,

~ Ui. .ctJ;J~~ Annette L. Vietti-Cook UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

February 18, 2020

The Honorable Eliot L. Engel United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Engel:

A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the Indian Point license transfer proceeding.

Sincerely,

~~-{d---' Annette L. Vietti-Cook iinittd ~tatrs ~rnatr WASHINGTON, DC 20510

January 31, 2020

Hon. Kristine L. Svinicki Chairman U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission / Mail Stop 0·16 B33 Washington, DC 20555·0001

Re: Docket Nos. 50-003, 50-247, 50-286, and 70-051; NRC-2020-0021

Dear Chairman Svinicki,

We are writing in strong support of a hearing on the Indian Point Energy Center (Indian Point) license transfer application. We anticipate that the State of New York will request a hearing pursuant to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations set forth in 10 C.F.R. § 2.105. Should a request be made by the State of New York or any other person whose interest may be affected by the proceeding, it is imperative that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) hold the requested hearing prior to taking any action to approve the proposed license transfer from Entergy Corporation (Entergy) to subsidiaries of Holtec International (Holtec).

Entergy Corporation has requested to transfer the ownership and NRC licenses for Indian Point Units 1, 2, and 3, as well as the general license for the Indian Point Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (collectively, the licenses), to subsidiaries of Holtec for the purpose of decommissioning the plant once all operating units have been permanently shut down. The proposed license transfer and decommissioning activities will have a significant impact on the State of New York and the communities near to Indian Point. This includes, but is not limited to, potential impacts to the environment, local public services, safety and emergency planning, the local workforce, and the local economy. Additionally, we believe that there must be robust and transparent scrutiny of the proposed use of the Decommissioning Trust Fund money for activities unrelated to radiological d~ommissioning as well as Holtec's ability to safely and successfully carry out the site's decommissioning through to completion.

The state and other relevant interveners must be given an opportunity to present their views on the license transfer to the NRC before the Commission decides whether to approve the application. We are very concerned that recently, despite filing a request for a hearing, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was not granted a hearing by the NRC before the Commission approved the license transfer from Entergy to Holtec for the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts. We find that to be wholly unacceptable and not consistent with the procedure for handling requests for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene pursuant to NRC's regulations as set forth in 10 C.F.R. § 2.105(e). Therefore, it is essential that you not follow the same pattern and instead ensure that, if requested, a hearing is held before any further action is taken by the NRC to approve the license application. Shutting the representatives of the state and local communities and other stakeholders out of the process would not be in the public interest. Without a hearing, we do not believe that the NRC can make a fully informed decision on whether to grant the license transfer, as a hearing is the only way for the state and other interveners to present their views and concerns as part of the decisional record for this proposed action.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We hope you will ensure a fair process for our constituents in all proceedings and actions by the NRC pertaining to the decommissioning of Indian Point.

Sincerely, ~ ... ,l/,'1&'1,.11u(. Charles E. Schumer Kirsten Gillibrand United States Senator United States Senator f~ L. E"r-

NitaM. owey Eliot L. Engel Member of Congress Member of Congress

Se~ Member of Congress cc: Commissioners Baran, Caputo, and Wright Annette Vietti-Cook, Secretary to the Commission Eugene Daucus, Director, Office of Congressional Affairs UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

In the Matter of ) ) ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC. ) Docket Nos. 50-003-LT-3 ) 50-247-LT-3 ) 50-286-LT-3 (Indian Point Nuclear Generating Station, ) 72-51-LT-2 Units 1, 2 and 3 and ISFSI) )

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing Letters from Secretary Annette Vietti-Cook to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Representatives Lowey, Engel and Maloney have been served upon the following persons by Electronic Information Exchange.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication Office of the Secretary of the Commission Mail Stop: O-16B33 Mail Stop: O-16B33 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 [email protected] [email protected]

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Susan Raimo, Esq. Office of the General Counsel Entergy Services, LLC Mail Stop O-14A44 101 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC 20555-0001 Suite 200 East Tison Campbell, Esq. Washington, DC 20001 Anita Ghosh Naber, Esq. [email protected] David Roth, Esq. Jeremy Wachutka, Esq. Mary Woods, Esq. Counsel for Entergy Services, LLC Brian Newell, Paralegal Paul M. Bessette, Esq. [email protected] Scott D. Clausen, Esq. [email protected] Ryan K. Lighty, Esq. [email protected] Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP [email protected] 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW [email protected] Washington, DC 20004 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Indian Point Nuclear Generating Station Docket Nos. 50-003-LT-3, 50-247-LT-3, 50-286-LT-3 and 72-51-LT-2 Letters from Secretary Annette Vietti-Cook to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Representatives Lowey, Engel and Maloney

Counsel for Holtec International Safe Energy Rights Group, Inc. Alan D. Lovett, Esq. 9 McGuire Ave Nick Theodore, Esq. Pekskill, NY 10566 Balch & Bingham LLP Curtney M. Williams, PhD 1710 Sixth Avenue North [email protected] Birmingham, AL 35203-2015 [email protected] [email protected] Safe Energy Rights Group, Inc. 201 Union Avenue Peekkill, NY 10566 New York State Office of the Attorney General Nancy S. Vann The Capitol [email protected] Albany, New York 12224-0341 Joshua Tallent, Esq. Lisa M. Burianek, Esq. Private Citizen Andrea Catalfamo, Administrative Specialist 6 Mancuso Drive [email protected] Ossining, NY 10562 [email protected] Henry S. Kelly [email protected] [email protected]

Counsel for Town of Cortlandt, Village of Buchanan and Hendrick Hudson School District Dane Warren, Esq. Sive, Paget, Riesel 560 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10022 [email protected]

Counsel for Riverkeeper, Inc. Todd Ommen, Esq. Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, Inc. 78 North Broadway White Plains, NY 10603 [email protected]

New York State Sen. Pete Harckham 1 Park Street Peekskill, NY 10566 Tito A Davila, Community Liaison [email protected]

Dated at Rockville, Maryland [Original signed by Krupskaya T. Castellon] this 18th day of February, 2020. Office of the Secretary of the Commission