Opinion ID: 490092
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Request for a Pre-Amendment Hearing

Text: 8 Petitioner contends first that the NRC erred in failing to grant its request for a prior hearing on TUEC's request for an extension of its construction permit. Petitioner's argument rests on the premise that Section 189(a) of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) 1 requires a prior hearing on an application for a construction permit amendment whenever a party has requested a hearing without regard to a finding by the NRC that the application does not involve significant hazards considerations. Br. of Petitioner at 17-25. Respondents counter that the AEA permits a no significant hazards consideration amendment to a construction permit to issue without prior notice and hearing. Br. of Respondents at 44. Fortunately, we need not decide this difficult and complicated legal issue. 2 CASE did not seek the hearing to which it might have been entitled under Section 189 (a), but instead attempted to take advantage of a fortuitous circumstance to raise arguments relevant to TUEC's application for an operating license. 9 The construction permit amendment at issue here involves only an extension of time to complete construction. The AEA provides that the NRC may grant an extension of time for good cause shown. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2235. Thus, CASE would be entitled only to a hearing to determine whether TUEC had shown good cause for the extension, i.e., whether there is a reason for the delay and whether TUEC should be granted additional time. 3 In its request for a hearing, however, CASE did not seek to present evidence relevant to this good cause determination but instead requested a hearing on issues wholly irrelevant to this determination. 10 We find therefore that CASE is not entitled to present evidence which is not relevant directly to the reason for TUEC's delay or to the question of whether additional time should be granted. See Br. of Petitioner at 35. Specifically, CASE attempts to present evidence that (1) TUEC is not technically qualified or competent, (2) there is no reasonable assurance that TUEC will follow the Commission's regulations in completing the construction or that TUEC will implement a proper quality assurance program, and finally, (3) TUEC cannot meet the architectural and engineering commitments it has made. Br. of Petitioner at 26 n. 26, 35-44, 48-52. CASE asserts further that the licensing procedure is inadequate to satisfy these concerns because it addresses only whether the plant should be operated and not whether construction should be completed. Id. at 35 n. 22. CASE contends that the good cause hearing it was afforded after the construction amendment was granted is inadequate because it was not permitted to argue that the delay was caused by TUEC's violation of the Commission's regulations. See Reply Br. of Petitioners at 8 n. 4, Attachment C, at 6-7; Texas Utilities Electric Company, et al. (Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station, Unit 1), 24 NRC 397 (1986). 11 We believe that the above evidence which CASE wants to present is relevant to the quality of the ongoing construction but is not relevant to the question of whether additional time should be granted to complete the construction. This evidence is more appropriately being presented by CASE in the ongoing proceedings to determine whether TUEC should be granted an operating license. See, e.g., Texas Utilities Electric Company (Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2), LBP-84-55; 20 NRC 1646 (1984); LBP-83-81, 18 NRC 1410 (1983) reconsideration denied, LBP-84-10, 19 NRC 809 (1984). We are not persuaded, therefore, that the issues CASE seeks to raise are distinct from the issue of whether construction should be allowed to continue. See Br. of Petitioner at 35 n. 22; Reply Br. of Petitioner at 4. 12 Additionally, if CASE believed that the mere construction of the plant were a safety hazard, it could have moved the Commission pursuant to 10 C.F.R. Sec. 2.206 (1986) to use its enforcement power to suspend construction. See 23 NRC at 116. Had it done so, it would not have been confined by the good cause standard. We do not accept CASE's general assertion that the proceeding under Section 2.206 is, or would have been, necessarily a grossly less meaningful or unduly complex and difficult procedure than a hearing under Section 189(a). See Br. of Petitioner at 35-36 n. 22; Reply Br. of Petitioner at 6. To the contrary, the 2.206 procedure merely requires an individual to write the NRC, alleging violation of an NRC regulation or AEA section, and state the facts upon which that allegation is made. The Commission then refers the petition to the appropriate staff office, whose Director must either grant the petition or explain its denial in writing. See 10 C.F.R. Sec. 2.206(b) (1986). 13 Obviously the mere existence of Section 2.206 does not displace any statutory right to a hearing provided by Section 189. Yet CASE suggests that, unless this Court overturns the Commission's extension of the construction permit extension date, it will have no other remedy to challenge TUEC's construction activities. Reply Br. of Petitioner at 6-7. However, CASE is currently a party to the CPSES operating licensing proceeding which is considering the closely related issues at stake here and, to this point in time, has prevailed in that the NRC has refused to license Comanche Peak and has required TUEC to implement numerous actions to demonstrate that the plant can operate without undue risk to public health and safety. See Texas Utilities Electric Company (Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2), supra. 14 In summary, CASE has been granted a good cause hearing. The determination made as a result of that hearing is now on appeal to the full Commission. If CASE feels that this hearing is inadequate, it may appeal the Commission's determination on that issue. We conclude that CASE has received the type of hearing that was due, and that the NRC was not required to grant CASE a hearing in which it could present evidence properly presented in the other hearings it has been afforded. The NRC did not err in refusing to grant CASE's request for a hearing on issues relating to operating licenses in the context of the extension of a construction permit. 4 15 Finally, we emphasize that our decision does not constitute approval of TUEC's past construction activities or serve as a prejudgment of any issue in the operating license proceeding. As the NRC concedes, whether TUEC will eventually be allowed to operate the facility is an entirely different question from whether to extend the completion date of the construction permit. See Br. of Respondents at 37-38. The decision to allow operation of the plant is subject to complete administrative review, with public participation in the on-going license proceedings. Until TUEC demonstrates that it has constructed the plant in accordance with NRC regulations, the NRC will not license the plant. See 10 C.F.R. Sec. 50.57 (1986). 16 We are aware of Petitioner's important concern that the inertia generated by completion of the construction of a nuclear power plant, with the massive investment it represents, could, in some circumstances, sway the licensing authority from properly carrying out its mandate to protect the public safety. See Porter County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, Inc. v. NRC, 606 F.2d 1363 (D.C.Cir.1979). However, we believe while that contention may have practical force in some instances, a court may not transform a projected tendency to inertia into a presumption of infidelity to duty. Id. at 1370; see also Power Reactor Development Co. v. International Union of Electrical Workers, 367 U.S. 396, 415, 81 S.Ct. 1529, 1538, 6 L.Ed.2d 924 (1961). 17