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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-24-2008-6e21 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 24, 2008 Action Agenda Item No. ;~ w ~, SUBJECT: Report and Resolution Regarding the Progress Energy Proposal and Permitting of Two Addition Nuclear Reactors at the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Resolution in opposition to the County Engineer, 919-245-2303 permitting of or issuing a Certification of Convenience and Necessity for the construction of two addition nuclear reactors at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant County Manager's Memorandum PURPOSE: To provide a report, a resolution and a recommendation regarding formal intervention into the permitting of two additional nuclear reactors at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant to the BOCC for the Board consideration/review, revision and/or adoption. BACKGROUND: The citizens and elected officials of Orange County have, for some years, been aware of the potential for widespread and lethal consequences resulting from an airborne release of the tremendous quantity of radioactive material available from the spent nuclear fuel stored in Shearon Harris nuclear power plant's "temporary" waste storage pools. As of February 2008, Progress Energy has made a permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the construction of two new reactors with associated addition waste fuel rod storage pools. Progress Energy is likewise making a presentation to the NC Public Utilities Commission on its projected long term power generation demands. This is generally the prelude to an application to the Utilities Commission for the issuance of a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity, which is the Utility Commission's de facto permit to construct new generating facilities. The timeline raising issues and objections about the plant expansion in the NRC permitting process is very tight. The current deadline is August 4, 2008. However, NC WARN has filed a legal motion with the NRC seeking extension of the deadline on the basis that the reactor technology proposed by Progress Energy has not yet reached the final design phase, let alone been review and permitted by NRC staff. The projected completion of the technology design, reviewed and permitted is not before 2011. Given these circumstances and the fact that along with the reactors come with additional spent fuel rod storage, this is an issue of longstanding concern for the BOCC and citizens of the County and the region. Furthermore, given the Board's other lingering concerns related to plant security against sabotage and terrorism, ongoing fire protection and area emergency planning evacuation issues, it is assumed the Board, on behalf of the citizens of the County and region will oppose the proposed expansion with all means at hand. Accordingly, a draft resolution opposing the expansion and targeted at both the NRC and the NC Public Utilities Commission has been provided for Board review. There is also a clause in the resolution directing staff with securing the necessary legal and technical assistance necessary to develop and file an intervention with the NRC. .FINANCIAL IMPACT: The financial impact to the resolutions, absence the intervention reference, is nil. The intervention process of 1998-2001 was approximately $300,000. That sum is probably a good starting point for an intervention on this matter. However, there may be additional financial assistance available that was not available during the last intervention. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the BOCC review, revise as necessary and adopt the resolution, and direct staff as to how to proceed in the matter of an intervention. MEMORANDUM TO: Orange County Board of Commissioners FROM: Laura Blackmon, County Manager DATE: June 24, 2008 SUBJECT: Shearon Harris Expansion Application In February 2008, Progress Energy, the Raleigh based utility that provides electrical service to much of North Carolina, filed an application with the NRC for a license to construct two addition reactors with associated additional waste fuel pool storage at its Shearon Harris nuclear power plant. While publicly maintaining that it is unsure that the reactors will ever be needed or built, the NRC currently plans to move ahead with the permitting process, giving opponents of the Harris proposal until August 4, 2008, to evaluate the proposal and to file an intervention. Progress Energy and Duke Power, another North Carolina based utility are also in a hearing process with the NC Utilities Commission that will allow the utilities to present their respective long-term forecasts as to power demand. The hearings, which will occur at the end of June 2008, serve to allow the utilities to request that the Utilities Commission approve the integration of costs related to planning new construction into their respective rate structures. The hearings serve as a precursor for Progress Energy and the NC Utilities. Commission to apply for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (a de facto approval to construct new power generation facilities). There is at least one serious problem with the August 4, 2008 deadline given for NRC's hearing, intervention and permitting process. Progress Energy is basing it's proposed design for the two new reactors around the Westinghouse Model AP4100 reactor system. However, the design for this system has yet to be completely developed or reviewed and approved by the NRC. The design/review/ approval process for the Westinghouse Model AP4100 will not be completed before 2011. The design, which is apparently in its 15t" or 16t" iteration, has at least some iterations in which the spent fuel rods in the storage pools will have an especially dense storage configuration (and a corresponding greater potential for spontaneous combustion of the spent fuel in the event of a low water condition in the pools). The North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network (NCWARN), has recently filed a motion with the NRC to delay the permit application process until the .design of the Westinghouse Model AP4100 reactor has been completed, reviewed and approved. Those who wish to formally intervene in the permitting process will be extremely limited in their ability to evaluate and present technical information (contentions) based on that design. The BOCC will not be in session again prior to the Public Utilities Commission hearings or the currently scheduled deadline (August 4, 2008) for filing an intervention in the NRC permitting process. The BOCC will have to determine at this time whether it wishes to forego any action on the Harris expansion or to submit resolutions opposing the construction of new reactors at the Shearon Harris plant to both the Utilities Commission and/or to authorize the staff to begin the process of securing legal and technical assistance for the filling of a formal intervention. Orange County's previous intervention effort and subsequent appeal to the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, resulted in out-of-pocket expenditures of approximately $300,000 along with grants and donations from other local governments and NC WARN. Two Resolutions -one for the NC Public Utilities. Commission and one for the NRC are attached for the Board's consideration/review, revision and approval. If I may provide additional information or clarification of this information, please advise. ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A Resolution In Opposition to the Progress Energy Plan and Permit Application to S Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Opposition to any Application for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to the NC Utilities Commission for the Expansion the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant by the Construction of One or More Additional Nuclear Reactors and Associated Storage Pools for Spent Fuel Rods WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners has a long and well- established practice of opposing activities that could prove harmful to the public health, safety and welfare, particularly in regard to feasible threats to that health, safety and welfare; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners has a long and well- established record of concern as security and safety issues at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant and the potential magnitude and catastrophic consequences of a nuclear power plant fire leading to an airborne release of nuclear waste materials; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, through the work of Dr. Gordon Thompson and Diane Curran, Esq., has established to the satisfaction of the scientific community the potential for spontaneous combustion of spent nuclear fuel rods during low water conditions in the spent fuel rod storage pools; and WHEREAS, the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant already has. the largest quantity of pool stored spent nuclear fuel rods in the United States; and WHEREAS, the expansion of the pool storage of fuel rods at Shearon Harris nuclear power plant would be vastly increased by the addition of one or two new reactors and associated fuel rod storage pools at the facility would only exacerbate the consequences of a fuel rod fire; and WHEREAS, the vastly increased quantity of pool stored spent fuel rods at Shearon Harris nuclear power plant and the relative ease of bringing about conditions that would lead to fuel rod combustion and associated catastrophic atmospheric release of highly dangerous nuclear material will serve to enhance the attraction of this facility for terrorist attack; and WHEREAS, regardless of the safety and security findings made by NRC inspections of the plant, NRC and Progress Energy polices and procedures promote inadequacies in security measures to protect the plant and spent fuel pool storage area from terrorist activities culminating in fire and airborne release of toxic nuclear waste materials; and WHEREAS, absent terrorist attack, approximately 50% of the risks (as calculated by the NRC) of catastrophic nuclear plant failure are associated with fire- related accidents; and WHEREAS, information has been presented to the community at large and the Orange County Board of Commissioners as to ongoing problems with fire safety problems and practices at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant; and WHEREAS, Progress Energy has indicated that it will take seven to ten more years to bring the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant into compliance with the NRC's adopted fire safety standards and regulations ;and WHEREAS, Progress Energy/CP&L has indicated that it has or will apply to the NRC for a twenty year extension of its operating license for the Shearon Harris plant while the plant is not in compliance with existing fire safety standards and regulations; and WHEREAS, Progress Energy/CP&~ is in the process of evaluating, permitting, designing and constructing two nuclear power reactors at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant while the existing plant is not in compliance with existing fire safety standards and regulations; WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners and the community have grave concerns about the NRC's objectivity in evaluating the nuclear power industry's proposals and programs related to the concerns outlined above; and WHEREAS, numerous technical reports and papers by environmental groups, the utilities themselves and the NRC have shown that additional power generation capacity in this area is unnecessary for the foreseeable future; and WHEREAS, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has set a deadline of August 4, 2008 for submitting objections to the issuance of a permit for the construction of two new reactors at the Shearon Harris plant, even though the Westinghouse Model AP4100 reactor technology proposed for use there is not expected to have been designed, reviewed and permitted by the NRC before 2011. NOW, THEREFORE, do we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, hereby resolve to: • Oppose in the strongest terms possible, the issuing of a permit by the NRC or of a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity by the NC Utilities for the Progress Energy plan to permit, design and construct one or more nuclear power reactors at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant; • File a formal intervention with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, if necessary, in opposition to the permitting of one or more additional nuclear reactors at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant • Direct the County Manager and staff to proceed with the acquisition of the necessary legal and technical consulting support to develop and submit the intervention documents. This is the 24th day of June, 2008 Barry Jacobs, Chair Orange County Board of Commissioners