Groups Take Another Blow in Efforts to Stop Nuke Relicensing

The five-member group appointed by the president to oversee the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has denied an appeal by local environmentalist groups to overturn the NRC's ruling against a contention with Seabrook Station nuclear power plant's 20-year relicensing application.

The contention, filed in August 2012 by Friends of the Coast and New England Coalition, challenges the adequacy of plant owner NextEra Energy’s program for monitoring the effects of the alkali-silica reaction causing concrete degradation problems at the plant.

The NRC issued a nine-page appeal denial Thursday, stating the contention was rejected without prejudice because the contention should've been filed "at least two months" before it actually was last summer.

The appeal ruling also lists other criteria established by the commission as reasons for the denial, although members of the NRC did state they "do not diminish the seriousness with which the agency is reviewing the effect of" ASR.

"These criteria, as well as Commission precedent, reflect disfavor of piecemeal review of licensing board rulings during ongoing proceedings," reads the ruling. "We will address such rulings after a licensing board has issued a final decision in a case, barring 'extraordinary circumstances.'

"Friends/NEC will have an opportunity to challenge the Board’s ruling on their new contention, as well as any other interlocutory Board decisions, at the end of the case, and we find nothing to suggest that waiting until that time will threaten Friends/NEC with immediate and serious irreparable impact or affect the basic structure of the proceeding in a pervasive or unusual manner."

The complete appeal ruling is attached to this article as a PDF.