8/27/09 The ASLB issued an initial decision throwing out 90% of Earth Justices junk. Three things are left.
- Transportation of sources needs to be addressed (millions of curies are shipped each year, but some how ours
our different.)
- Alternative sites must be evaluated, our current site was found to have no significant impact, but the EA is
being required to look at other sites, to make sure they..don't..have an impact either? Government at its
best folks.
- Alternative technology, in this case e-beam, must be looked at. Again, no significant impact, but you must
study an alternative technology to make sure it doesn't have an impact either.
8/13/09 Sorry for the absence folks. After a YEAR of wasted time, the Commission has ordered the ASLB to provide a status report of pending issues, with a timetable to resolving all pending issues. The deadline for this report is 9/3/09. More has happened in the last year, but I will update that later this week.
8/7/08 Since EarthJustice is being pigheaded, the Judge Orders that they answer the question on availibility. Also points out that the hearing itself can be used to correct the EA. If a contention has merit, the Judge can use testimony given during the hearing to remedy that error. So there WILL be a hearing, there WILL be testimony, and it WILL count. Finally EarthJustice doesn't have something handed to them on a silver platter.
8/5/08 EarthJustice's responses are again not helpful, again asks that the hearing be based on testimony and documents up to and including the final EA.
8/5/08 Since the response from EarthJustice was not helpful, the Boards Law Clerk requests black out dates from January through March when lawyers or experts are unavailable.
7/25/08 Big surprise, EarthJustice's experts aren't available those dates...oh and by the way, EarthJustice would like to skip the witness part of the hearing. Lets just review the record up until the EA is filed; any testimony after that should be considered "extra-record" like its illegal to have witnesses at the hearing. Their lawyer says he couldn't possibly know what experts to call, and those would not be calling any.
7/24/08 The Boards Law Clerk called the participants asking if they and their experts would be available for a Dec 15th hearing date.
7/17/08 The ASLB set the hearing schedule. There are various dates for filing paperwork, but the hearing date was not finalized.
7/2/08 In a indirectly related matter, the dreaded 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 11-0 vote basically stated, they have been to activist in environmental cases, and in the future would not be doing so. It is not their job to weigh in on scientific arguments in environmental cases, ie method A is better then method B. They are just there to ensure the process was done correctly. This is tremendous news if our case ever gets appealed to the 9th Circuit.
6/19/08 The ASLB denies admission of the Amended Safety Contention...Hurray! All that is left now are the contentions related to the EA.
5/27/08 EarthJustice responds to the Staff and Paina.
5/19/08 NRC Staff files their response.
5/16/08 We file our Answer to the Amended Safety Contention.
5/2/08 EarthJustice files its Amended Safety Contention 7, which is a unremarkable rehash of its old Safety Contention 7.
4/29/08 The ASLB orders the parties to agree on a hearing schedule! About time!
4/10/08 Everyone files their response to the March 27th Order from the Commission, giving their point of view on whether food irradiation should be considered in the Environmental Assessment.
4/2/08 - Based on the Commissions 3/17/08 ruling, the ASLB throws out Safety Contentions 7, 13, 14, 15 and 16. HOORAY! Oh wait the Judge says the Commission created a "new and rigorous" standards in its March 17th ruling, and allows EarthJustice to file new contentions with these new standards in mind in 30 days. WHAT? The Commission merely affirmed what already should be the case.
3/27/08 - Commissioners themselves says that the question of whether food irradiation should be included in the EA for the irradiator should be considered. We have 2 weeks to file our position, and then a week to answer EarthJustice's position. Hopefully, the NRC will then answer this quickly.
3/17/08 - Happy St. Patrick's day. The Commission ruled on the certified question. Stating that Airplanes crashes, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, etc had already been considered by the NRC when the created the Part 36 regulations. Hurray for common sense. We have been saying this since the start.
1/1/2008 Wow over two years since we started this, and still no answer.
12/21/2007 As an early Christmas present to EarthJustice, the ASLB has allowed two of their three amended environmental contentions. Still hasn't ruled on Safety Contention 7, and sent a certified question to the ASLB.
More back and forth, wasting a lot of time and paper and accomplishing nothing.
10/5/2007 ASLB decides not to rule on Stay request because Pa'ina does not have a lease. We must tell the judge each month the status of our lease.
8/27/2007 Earthjustice files a Motion for Stay of our license, big surprise.
8/21/2007 Safety Evaluation report is filed.
8/20/2007 Pa'ina Hawaii receives their license! Woo hoo! Star-Bulletin Article Pacific Business Journal
8/13/2007 Final Environmental Assessment is published with a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)
7/3/2007 Earthjustice responds to our responses. Its like watching a tennis match...back and forth...back and forth
6/27/2007 The NRC staff files their response to Earthjustice's 6/2/07 amended contentions.
6/26/2007 Pa'ina files its response to Earthjustice's 6/2/07 amended contentions.
6/21/2007 Board orders that any contentions based on the draft supplemental section of the EA wait and be filed with any contentions based on the final EA. Earthjustice files their response to the NRC staffs answers to the 6/6/07 ASLB order
6/13/2007 NRC staff responds to ASLB 6/6/07 order, as does Pa'ina Hawaii, AND Earthjustice filed their response to the NRC staffs answers to the ASLBs 4/30/07 order.
6/8/2007 Draft supplement to EA regarding terrorism is published
6/6/2007 ASLB sends order asking the NRC follow up questions
6/2/2007 Earthjustice files amended contentions based on the Final Topical report.
5/21/2007 NRC Staff responds to remaining questions from 4/30/07 Board order
5/7/2007 NRC Staff responds to first questions from 4/30/07 Board order
4/30/2007 ASLB sends order asking follow up questions of the NRC Staff
3/19/2007 Earthjustice files their response to our response (the legal world is a tad repetitive no?)
3/12/2007 NRC staff filed their response to the 2/9/07 filing
3/8/2007 We filed our response to the 2/9/07 filing
2/9/2007 Earthjustice files contentions regarding the Draft EA and the Draft Topical Report
2/2/2007 Public meeting has come and gone, and it was very positive. There were about 3 supporters for every anti, and most of the anti's are the same old crowd of local environmentalists, and we had even fewer of them than had been at the first meeting. The meeting was well run, with no shouting or disruption. The closest we had was when two ladies who were against the project refused to follow the 3 minute time limit and yield the microphone. Some folks who supported the project but weren't in any related field expressed how interesting the meeting had been, were impressed with the breadth of people who supported the project, and were surprised by the lack of coherence of many of those who spoke against the project.
Next Friday the 9th is our next big date, its the close of the comment period and the last day to file late filed contentions based on the draft EA.
2/1/2007 The public meeting agreed to in the joint stipulation for the EA will be held today between 7 and 9pm at the Ala Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson Drive, Honolulu HI. Come out and support Pa'ina Hawai'i.
1/31/07 Earthjustice put up a press release on their website claiming that "experts" found the irradiator unsafe. See our page about these "experts."
1/30/07 Sorry about the lack of updates folks. Rather than item by item list to catch up, here is the summary.
Pa'ina's appeals were denied, however, two of the three contentions were dismissed in 2006, as we fulfilled the items that were at issue. The draft EA was filed in December, and the Topical Safety Report that goes with it was filed at the beginning of January. Pa'ina filed a motion to dismiss the final contention, because we felt the EA covered that issue. The NRC's Judge agreed and will be dismissing the final contention sometime after February 9th. This date is also the deadline for Earthjustice to file any late contentions based on the EA.
4/3/2006 Pa'ina filed it's appeal to the Commission. Asking that the admission of the environmental contentions and the air crash safety contention be dismissed. Pa'ina hopes to have a favorable response from the Commission soon.
3/29/2006 Pa'ina filed its objections to the stipulation. Principally that it doesn't save us anything as we still seem to have a hearing going forward for the three admitted safety contentions, also Pa'ina still feels that the aren't any special circumstances which we feel we can prove at a hearing, so an EA would be an added and unnecessary burden without the chance to prove that it is not necessary.
3/24/2006 The ASLB filed an order granting three of the remaining 11 contentions. They allowed three: failure to provide an outline of an emergency procedure for natural disasters, failure to provide an outline of an emergency procedure for prolonged loss of electricity, failure to address the likelihood and consequences of an air crash involving the facility. Pa'ina now has 10 days to file a request for review of this decision (as well as the January ruling on the environmental contentions) with the Commission itself.
3/20/2006 NRC legal staff and EarthJustice file their joint stipulation and motion to dismiss the environmental contentions. Pa'ina now has 10 days to file a response.
3/16/2006 Both Pa'ina and the NRC have filed their responses to the final safety contention.
3/10/2006 The ASLB ordered Pa'ina and the NRC legal staff to respond to the petitioners final safety contention filed on 1/24/2006. We have until 3/16/2006 at noon to file.
3/9/2006 Pa'ina filed its responses to the questions sent on the 25th of January by the technical staff. Including the emergency procedure outlines.
3/4/2006 EarthJustice and the NRC legal staff presented a joint stipulation agreeing that the NRC technical staff would perform an Environmental Assessment of the irradiator and that this would settle the environmental concerns. Pa'ina was asked if we would participate or oppose. Pa'ina requested that the stipulation be held until the ASLB had ruled on the admissibility of the safety contentions. This was rejected by EarthJustice and/or the NRC legal staff.
2/24/2006 Pa'ina asked the NRC technical staff for an extension in answering the questions sent on the 25th of January. Pa'ina was given this extension.
2/9/2006 The ASLB agreed to the stipulation filed yesterday.
2/8/2006 The January 24th ruling by the ASLB triggered a 30 day period for EarthJustice, Pa'ina Hawai'i, and the NRC legal staff to present to the board a list of experts and other hearing issues prior to the actual hearing. Today the three parties filed a stipulation asking the ASLB to extend that deadline, until 30 days after the ruling on the remaining contentions.
1/26/2006 EarthJustice filed their last contention today via first class mail. Pa'ina is now waiting for the ASLB Judge to make a final ruling on the remaining contentions. Supposedly there is a 45 day time line for the Judge to make a final call on these contentions. That is the 12th of March, this falls on a Sunday so it will then be the 13th. We are hoping for a faster response of course. Then a trial date will be set.
1/25/2006 The NRC technical staff provided a list of 15 follow-up questions to Pa'ina. Including clarification on building plans, and emergency procedure outlines.
1/24/2006 The ASLB Judge has ruled that one and a third of EarthJustice's contentions may go to hearing.
1/20/2006 The ASLB Judge has ordered that EarthJustice did have enough information to make an informed decision, and ruled that they will not be getting the remaining information and they have until the 26th of January to file their last pleading.
1/11/2006 EarthJustice filed a pleading saying they could not decide if they needed the information or not, with the descriptions given.
1/6/2006 EarthJustice received the redacted non-security items from our application. The NRC Legal staff submits a brief description of the remaining information for EarthJustice to decide if they need it or not. EarthJustice has until the 11th to decide if they would like it, and the 13th to file a detailed pleading why they need it.
1/3/2006 Happy New Year
12/22/2005 Judge Moore orders that redacted information that is considered confidential or proprietary but not security related be released to EarthJustice. The remainder of the information is still under consideration for release. We hope to have this resolved mid-January.
12/19/2005 NRC Staff files a response to the motion for release of the redacted information.
12/13/2005 Pa'ina files a response to the motion for release of the redacted information.
12/8/2005 Judge Moore issued an order stating that because EarthJustice responded to all the items instead of just the 4 the Judge asked for, that EarthJustice no longer needed access to the redacted portions of the license application. EarthJustice filed a response the same day stating they still need access to the redacted information.
12/1/2005 EarthJustice files a response to all the items.
11/21/2005 NRC Judge Moore orders EarthJustice to file a response to the arguments by Pa'ina and the NRC staff on 4 of the 14 items by December 1st, 2005.
11/2/2005 Ongoing discussion on what parts of the redacted areas (items deleted from the public version of the license application) of the license application that EarthJustice needs to see and is allowed to see. These redactions where made by the NRC to protect security related information from general release.
10/28/2005 NRC Legal Staff (separate from the NRC Judges legal staff) submitted their response to the Petition for Hearing.
10/26/2005 Pa'ina Hawai'i filed its response to EarthJustice's Petition.
10/3/2005 EarthJustice filed a Petition for hearing with the NRC, on the last day allowed. Citing 12 safety concerns with the irradiator or our procedures; and two reasons we should have an Environmental Assessment or Impact Statement. We feel that these contentions will either be tossed by the NRC judges outright, or we will prevail should the judges rule they may be argued in court.
8/31/2005 The NRC hosted the informational meeting at the Ala Moana Hotel. It went very well. With a large turnout of support for Pa'ina Hawaii, and the irradiator. While there were opposing views spoken, it was a very civil meeting, and we think it went very well.
8/9/2005 The NRC came out for their first meeting and site visit. It was a pleasure to meet them and show them the proposed site.
7/30/2005 The NRC found the application acceptable and has scheduled an informational meetings for the public.
6/30/2005 This month Andrew Buchan was hired as RSO/Production Manager. He is scheduled to arrive in Hawaii in August. The license was then submitted to the NRC for review.
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