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

Heading: The Extension of the Construction Completion Date

Text: 18 Petitioner argues next that the NRC erred when it failed to require TUEC to apply for a new construction permit to replace the expired permit. Br. of Petitioner at 25. In its analysis of this contention, the Commission addressed whether TUEC's failure to make a timely application for an extension prior to the expiration date of its construction permit had the effect of causing a complete forfeiture of the permit, such as to preclude the issuance of an extension and to require the initiation of an entirely new construction proceeding. 23 NRC at 117. The Commission resolved this question in the negative, interpreting Section 185 of the AEA, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2235, as not requiring such a complete forfeiture. See also Texas Utilities Electric Company, et al. (Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station, Unit 1), 24 NRC, 397, 400 (1986). 19 In reaching its conclusion, the Commission examined the language and legislative history of Section 185 of the AEA. Section 185 provides in pertinent part: 20 The construction permit shall state the earliest and latest dates for the completion of the construction or modification. Unless the construction or modification of the facility is completed by the completion date, the construction permit shall expire, and all rights thereunder be forfeited, unless upon good cause shown, the Commission extends the completion date. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2235. 21 The plain language of Section 185 permits the Commission to extend a completion date for good cause. There is no language specifying that the expiration of the construction permit automatically effects forfeiture of the permit, or that the Commission is then barred from an application to extend the latest construction date. 22 TUEC's failure to file a timely renewal request was unique to the Commission's experience. There was no case law to aid in the interpretation of Section 185 as it applied to the present situation. See 23 NRC at 118. The Commission did, however, analyze case law interpreting parallel provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. Sec. 319(b). As the Commission recognized, Congress appears to have modelled the relevant language of Section 185 on the provision of the 1934 Communications Act which governs the issuance of radio station construction permits by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See Proposed Amendments to the Atomic Energy Act of 1946: Hearings on S. 3323 and H.R. 8862 Before the Joint Comm. on Atomic Energy, 83d Cong., 2d Sess. 116 (1954) (Representative Hinshaw), reprinted in II Legislative History of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, at 1635, 1751-56. 23 Radio station construction permit cases hold generally that the expiration of the original construction permit does not preclude the FCC from renewing a permit, and that a radio construction permit is not forfeited until the agency affirmatively declares it so. See, e.g., Mass Communications, Inc. v. FCC, 266 F.2d 681 (D.C.Cir.1959), cert. denied, 361 U.S. 828, 80 S.Ct. 76, 4 L.Ed.2d 71 (1959); MG-TV Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 408 F.2d 1257 (D.C.Cir.1968). While not controlling, the conclusions of the Commission comport with the approach taken by the FCC. We believe that the Commission reasonably employed this Court's earlier analysis of Sec. 319(b) of the Communications Act to aid in the interpretation of Section 185 of the AEA, and to determine that Section 185 did not impose automatic forfeiture. 24 The conclusion that no automatic forfeiture occurs is further supported by Section 2.109 of the Commission's regulations. 10 C.F.R. Sec. 2.109 (1986). That Section provides, in pertinent part, as follows: 25 If, at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of an existing license authorizing any activity of a continuing nature, a licensee files an application for a renewal or for a new license for the activity so authorized, the existing license will not be deemed to have expired until the application has been finally determined. 10 C.F.R. Sec. 2.109. 26 Thus, assuming that TUEC had filed a timely application for the extension of the construction permit expiration date (apparently as every other licensee facing CP expiration has previously managed to do), CPPR-126 would have automatically continued in force while TUEC attempted to demonstrate good cause for the requested extension. See also 5 U.S.C. Sec. 558(c). 27 Overall, the Commission's decision to extend the completion date of CPPR-126 by license amendment without instituting a full-scale de novo construction permit is a proper interpretation and application of its organic statute, the AEA. The Supreme Court has held that an agency's interpretation of its statute is entitled to deference. Chevron, U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984). [I]f the statute is silent or ambiguous with respect to [a] specific issue [within the general compass of the statute], the question for the court is whether the agency's answer is based on a permissible construction of the statute. Id. at 843, 104 S.Ct. at 2782 (footnote omitted). 28 This Court has set forth certain guidelines for adhering to the mandate of Chevron: 29 In determining whether an agency's interpretation represents a reasonable accommodation of conflicting statutory purposes, a reviewing court must determine both whether the interpretation is arguably consistent with the underlying statutory scheme in a substantive sense and whether the agency considered the matter in a detailed and reasoned fashion. Rettig v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., 744 F.2d 133, 151 (D.C.Cir.1984) (quoting Chevron, 467 U.S. at 865, 104 S.Ct. at 2793). 30 See also General Elec. Uranium v. U.S. Dept. of Energy, 764 F.2d 896, 905 (D.C.Cir.1985). 31 Applying these principles to the issue of the extension of CPPR-126, we find that the Commission has adopted a permissible interpretation of the AEA that is arguably consistent with the underlying statutory scheme in a substantive sense, and has fully and fairly considered this issue in a detailed and reasoned fashion. We cannot agree with Petitioner's contention that, under Chevron and Rettig, the NRC's interpretation of this aspect of its statute is entitled to no deference whatsoever. Reply Br. of Petitioner at 16.III. 32 In the unusual circumstances of this case, we do not decide the question of whether the Commission is required by Section 189(a) to grant CASE's request for a hearing. CASE has received the type of hearing that was due, and the NRC was not required to grant CASE a hearing in which it could present evidence properly presented in other hearings that it already has been afforded. In addition, CASE has not demonstrated that the NRC was required to initiate an entirely new construction proceeding. Therefore, in the absence of clear statutory authority, and because of the limited nature of this case, this Court will not order the broad hearing sought by CASE. 33 For the foregoing reasons, the decision of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is, in all respects, 34 Affirmed.