Communications with Private Nuclear Utility companies (Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=NRC-2019-000286&type=request)
* Tracking Number: NRC-2019-000286
* Requester Name: Liam Knox
* Date Submitted: 04/29/2019
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

A copy of all emails and other communications with employees or representatives of (including lawyers for) the following private nuclear utility companies:

Consolidated Edison Company of New York
GPU Nuclear, New Jersey
Genoa FuelTech, Wisconsin
Florida Power and Light
Indiana-Michigan Power (American Electric Power), Michigan
Xcel Energy, Minnesota (formerly known as Northern States Power Company)
Southern California Edison Company
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Alabama

To narrow your search, I am looking for communications sent or received from 2002-2019.

Let me know if the search is too broad, or if you need any further clarification.

I request that I be properly classified as a news media requester. I am an intern for MuckRock, and I am requesting this information in that editorial capacity. MuckRock is widely known for its investigative work as well as historical pieces based on public records requests.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Liam Knox

The FOIA request - NRC-2019-000286 description has been modified. Additional details for this item are as follows:
* Tracking Number: NRC-2019-000286
* Requester: Liam Knox
* Submitted Date: 04/29/2019
* Description: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

A copy of all emails and other communications with employees or representatives of (including lawyers for) the following private nuclear utility companies:

Consolidated Edison Company of New York
GPU Nuclear, New Jersey
Genoa FuelTech, Wisconsin
Florida Power and Light
Indiana-Michigan Power (American Electric Power), Michigan
Xcel Energy, Minnesota (formerly known as Northern States Power Company)
Southern California Edison Company
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Alabama

To narrow your search, I am looking for communications sent or received from 2002-2019.

Let me know if the search is too broad, or if you need any further clarification.

I request that I be properly classified as a news media requester. I am an intern for MuckRock, and I am requesting this information in that editorial capacity. MuckRock is widely known for its investigative work as well as historical pieces based on public records requests.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Liam Knox

Good Morning, Liam,

I am the FOIA specialist assigned your FOIA request submitted to the NRC directly through FOIAOnline today, 4/29/19. Your request is case number NRC-2019-000286. There are no fees for your request. Before I send you our acknowledgment letter, and request responsive records from the offices, I have some questions for you:

1. Do you have a phone number that I can add to your case file?

1. Do you want to scope out any responsive documents that are already publicly available? I have not yet searched the NRC's public website, or ADAMS (https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html), but there may be publicly documents available. Please let me know either way if you want to scope out already publicly available documents. This may help to decrease processing time.

1. Are there specific topics or subject matters that would assist with the search? Or are you seeking all the emails and communications, regardless of their subject matter?

1. Can you define "other communications"? Are you only referring to other written communications (memos, letters, etc.)?

1. I have interpreted your request to be the following. Please let me know if this is correct.

"A copy of all emails and other communications (letters, memos, etc.) between the NRC and employees or representatives of (including lawyers) for the following private nuclear utility companies: Consolidated Edison Company of New York; GPU Nuclear, New Jersey; Genoa Fuel Tech, Wisconsin; Florida Power and Light; Indiana-Michigan Power, Michigan (regulated by American Electric Power); Xcel Energy, Minnesota (formerly known as Northern States Power Company); Southern California Edison Company, California; and Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Alabama, sent or received between 1/1/2002 and the date of this request (4/29/19).

Please keep in mind that we may need to send some of these documents to the licensees for their FOIA recommendations, which increases processing time.

Once I receive a response from you on the above questions, I'll send you our official acknowledgment letter. My direct contact information is below.
Thanks,
Karen

Karen Danoff
Government Information Specialist, FOIA Team
Governance & Enterprise Management Services Division
Office of the Chief Information Officer
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
301-415-5072
Karen.Danoff@nrc.gov<mailto:Karen.Danoff@nrc.gov>

I sent an email this morning to the email address submitted with your request ( requests@muckrock.com), but I am not sure if it was sent.  Below is the content of the email: (mailto:requests@muckrock.com)
Good Morning, Liam,
I am the FOIA specialist assigned your FOIA request submitted to the NRC directly through FOIAOnline today, 4/29/19.  Your request is case number NRC-2019-000286.  There are no fees for your request.  Before I send you our acknowledgment letter, and request responsive records from the offices, I have some questions for you:
Do you have a phone number that I can add to your case file?  And do you have a direct email address where I can send questions about your FOIA request?
Do you want to scope out any responsive documents that are already publicly available?  I have not yet searched the NRC’s public website, or ADAMS ( https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html), but there may be publicly documents available.  Please let me know either way if you want to scope out already publicly available documents.  This may help to decrease processing time. (https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html)
Are there specific topics or subject matters that would assist with the search?  Or are you seeking all the emails and communications, regardless of their subject matter?
Can you define “other communications”?  Are you only referring to other written communications (memos, letters, etc.)?
I have interpreted your request to be the following.  Please let me know if this is correct.
“A copy of all emails and other communications (letters, memos, etc.) between the NRC and employees or representatives of (including lawyers) for the following private nuclear utility companies:  Consolidated Edison Company of New York; GPU Nuclear, New Jersey; Genoa Fuel Tech, Wisconsin; Florida Power and Light; Indiana-Michigan Power, Michigan (regulated by American Electric Power); Xcel Energy, Minnesota (formerly known as Northern States Power Company); Southern California Edison Company, California; and Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Alabama, sent or received between 1/1/2002 and the date of this request (4/29/19).
Please keep in mind that we may need to send some of these documents to the licensees for their FOIA recommendations, which increases processing time.
Once I receive a response from you on the above questions, I’ll send you our official acknowledgment letter.  My direct contact information is below.
Thanks,
Karen Danoff
Government Information Specialist, FOIA Team
Governance & Enterprise Management Services Division
Office of the Chief Information Officer
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
301-415-5072 Karen.Danoff@nrc.gov (mailto:Karen.Danoff@nrc.gov)

Hi Liam,

I did not yet see a response to my email (or to my communications through FOIAOnline) so I searched your web site and found your response at https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/communications-with-private-nuclear-utility-companies-nuclear-regulatory-commission-72217/. Thank you for this information. I also left you a voice mail.

I have now perfected your request, and am working on sending you our official acknowledgement letter via direct email.
Thanks,
Karen

Acknowledgment letter signed by Stephanie Blaney, FOIA Officer. No hard copy to follow. If you are unable to open the document, please let us know by return email (FOIA.Resource@nrc.gov<mailto:FOIA.Resource@nrc.gov>) or call 301-415-7169.

If you are interested in receiving information from the NRC FOIA program, subscribe to our distribution list<https://service.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNRC/subscriber/new>.

The FOIA request - NRC-2019-000286 has been supplemented with additional supporting files. Additional details for this item are as follows:
* Tracking Number: NRC-2019-000286
* Requester: Liam Knox
* Submitted Date: 04/29/2019
* Description: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

A copy of all emails and other communications with employees or representatives of (including lawyers for) the following private nuclear utility companies:

Consolidated Edison Company of New York
GPU Nuclear, New Jersey
Genoa FuelTech, Wisconsin
Florida Power and Light
Indiana-Michigan Power (American Electric Power), Michigan
Xcel Energy, Minnesota (formerly known as Northern States Power Company)
Southern California Edison Company
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Alabama

To narrow your search, I am looking for communications sent or received from 2002-2019.

Let me know if the search is too broad, or if you need any further clarification.

I request that I be properly classified as a news media requester. I am an intern for MuckRock, and I am requesting this information in that editorial capacity. MuckRock is widely known for its investigative work as well as historical pieces based on public records requests.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Liam Knox

Per your message on 4/30, you are scoping out already publicly available documents. You are also seeking records specifically about the storage of nuclear waste that the utility companies, listed in your request, produce.
Thanks,
Karen

One of the NRC offices assigned searching for responsive documents to your request is asking for clarification. Until we receive a response from you, you case will be on hold for scope, which extends our estimated completion date by the number of working days the case is on hold for.

Your request asks for documents from 2002 to April 29, 2019 (the date your case was submitted to the NRC). This time frame spans many years, and this search could be extensive, therefore increasing processing time. Can you narrow the time frame of your request?

Also, is there is a specific type of waste that you are interested in (example: all waste streams, spent fuel, etc.)? Also see https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage.html.

Please respond to my email address directly.
Thanks,
Karen

Also, does your request only include emails and communications to and from the NRC and the companies listed in your request, or does it also include internal communications between NRC staff about this topic?
Thanks,
Karen

Liam,

Please respond to our questions below later than Friday, May 24th. If we do not receive a response by that date, we will assume you are no longer interested in the information and will close out our file on your case administratively.
Thanks,
Karen

We have administratively closed the above-referenced FOIA request due to lack of response for clarification.  Attached is a copy of the final response.