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: 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, ~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: 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 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. 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, ~ 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: 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, ~~-{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.