Word: nrc
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...contractors and profit-possessed power industry executives easily outfox the Government agency charged with regulating their nuclear plants, even citizens not afraid of the peaceful use of reactors may wonder how well the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does its job. Such viewers should find an action last week by the NRC to be reassuring. In a case of life refuting the moviemakers' art, the commission shut down five nuclear plants in the populous East because of questions about their ability to withstand earthquakes...
...describes as "a full-employment bill for lawyers." Dignan's legal work for the Seabrook plant has generated a 5-ft. shelf of transcripts from a state hearing, 20 3-in.-thick volumes of applications to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 13,522 pages of transcripts from the NRC hearings, a 5-ft. shelf of papers filed before the NRC'S licensing board, and a whole forest's worth of other pleadings, briefs, exhibits and environmental impact statements...
Much of this paperwork morass can be avoided without compromising the safety or civil rights of anyone. The Administration's proposed nuclear licensing bill would allow the NRC to give final approval to plants that follow a standard, accepted design for construction on previously approved sites. In that way, it would eliminate some layers of review agencies and reduce the opportunities for opponents to reopen litigation on is sues that have already been legally resolved by courts. Unfortunately, there will be no action on this proposal before 1979. Legislation to place the licensing process in the hands of fewer...
Yesterday was the first day of construction at the Seabrook site since July 21, when the Nuclear Regulator Commission (NRC) halted construction pending a hearing on the plant's cooling system. The NRC lifted the construction ban last Thursday, after the Environmental Protection Agency approved the cooling system...
...first difficulty arose in 1975 when the EPA decided to make Seabrook an exception to the rule. NRC, which holds final licensing power, issued a preliminary permit in 1976. This was done even though Government scientists had not fully studied the likely consequences of seawater cooling, which environmentalists claim is harmful to sea life. The utilities rushed to begin construction; the companies have now spent $400 million on the project, on the theory that the more they build, the harder the plant will be to stop. Meanwhile, company lawyers sought a permanent exemption from the cooling-tower requirement. This involved...