[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 246 (Friday, December 22, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66569-66570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-31155]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-344]
Portland General Electric Company; Trojan Nuclear Power Station;
Consideration of Issuance of an Order Authorizing Decommissioning a
Facility and Opportunity for a Hearing
A. Introduction
Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.105(a)(9), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (``the Commission'') hereby gives notice that it is
considering issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.82(e) to the Portland
General Electric Company (``PGE,'' the licensee), for the Trojan
Nuclear Power Station (``Trojan NPS''), located near Ranier, Oregon.
The order would involve approval of the Trojan NPS decommissioning plan
as it relates to the decommissioning of the remaining portions of the
Trojan NPS.
On October 12, 1995, the Commission issued a Memorandum and Order,
CLI-95-13, in which it announced that it would issue a Notice of
Opportunity for a Hearing on the licensee's decommissioning plan and
the application of that plan to the completion of the decommissioning
of the Trojan NPS. The Commission also announced in CLI-95-13 that it
would ``direct an expedited hearing process in this case.''
The licensee is the holder of facility Possession Only License No.
NPF-1, which was issued on May 5, 1993. All spent fuel has been removed
from the reactor and placed in the plant's spent fuel pool. In
addition, the pressurizer and the four steam generators have been
removed from the reactor containment and shipped to a low level waste
disposal facility.
By issuance of this order, the licensee would be authorized to
complete the decommissioning of the Trojan NPS facility in accordance
with its proposed decommissioning plan, submitted on January 25, 1995,
as supplemented. Under that plan, PGE intends to dismantle the Trojan
facility using the DECON decommissioning alternative as defined in
NUREG-0586, ``Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on
Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities,'' (1988).
The licensee has proposed to precede the DECON decommissioning and
dismantlement period with a five-year transition period. Proposed
activities during the transition period, which began with the permanent
shutdown of the facility in January 1993, include the removal and
disposal of selected components, the licensing and construction of an
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), and the transfer
of the spent fuel, currently in the spent fuel pool, to the ISFSI.
Licensing of the ISFSI will be the subject of a separate Notice of
Opportunity for a Hearing and will not be a part of the proceeding to
approve the Decommissioning Plan.
Once the spent fuel has been transferred to the ISFSI the DECON
phase will begin. The DECON phase will consist of the major disassembly
and dismantlement of structures systems and components that are
radioactive. Low level radioactive waste resulting from decommissioning
activities will be shipped to a licensed waste disposal site for
burial. The DECON phase will end with the site, except for the ISFSI,
being released for unrestricted use.
B. Requests for Hearing and Petitions for Leave To Intervene
By January 22, 1996, the licensee may file a request for a hearing
with respect to issuance of the order to the subject facility. During
that same period, any other person whose interest may be affected by
this proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the
proceeding must file both a written request for a hearing and a
petition for leave to intervene. Requests for a hearing and petitions
for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with the
Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings''
in 10 CFR Part 2, and the special instructions provided in this notice.
This notice provides a brief overview of the requirements in 10 CFR
2.714. However, the fact that a requirement is not addressed in this
notice does not excuse compliance with that requirement. Each person
seeking to participate in this proceeding is responsible for complying
with all applicable requirements. Interested persons should consult a
current copy of 10 CFR 2.714 which is available at the Commission's
Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW. (Lower
Level), Washington, DC 20555, or the NRC Local Public Document Room,
located at the Bandford Price Millar Library, Portland State
University, 934 S.W. Harrison Street (P.O. Box 1151), Portland Oregon
97207.
If a request for hearing or a petition for leave to intervene is
filed by the above date, either the Commission or an Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board, designated by the Chairman of the Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the request and/or petition, and
either the Secretary of the Commission or the designated Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board will issue a notice of hearing or an appropriate
order.
As required by 10 CFR 2.714, both a request for hearing and a
petition for leave to intervene shall set forth with particularity the
interest of the petitioner in the proceeding, and how that interest may
be affected by the results of that proceeding. The petition should
specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted
with particular reference to the following factors: (1) The nature of
the petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the
proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of the petitioner's property,
financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (3) the possible
effect of any order which may be entered in the proceeding on the
petitioner's interest. The petition should also identify the specific
aspect(s) of the subject matter of the proceeding as to which the
petitioner wishes to intervene.
C. Filing of Contentions
The Commission has determined to take several steps to expedite
this proceeding. The first step toward expediting this proceeding is to
require that all contentions be filed at the same time as petitions for
leave to intervene. Accordingly, any person who files a request for
hearing and a petition for leave to intervene shall, at the same time,
submit a supplement to the petition for leave to intervene which must
include a list of contentions which are sought to be litigated in the
proceeding. The Commission will issue additional directions to expedite
this proceeding where appropriate in the future.
Potential petitioners should not be prejudiced by this requirement
because the documents which would give rise to potential disputes are
already in existence and in the public domain. For example, the most
important document for consideration in the formation of contentions is
the licensee's proposed decommissioning plan, which has been in the
public domain since January 25, 1995. The NRC Staff has now prepared
[[Page 66570]]
both an Environmental Assessment (``EA'') of the plan and a Safety
Evaluation Report (``SER'') reviewing the plan and those documents are
available for public review as described below.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.714(b)(2), each contention must consist of a
specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be raised or
controverted, including any alleged omission by the licensee or the
Staff in any action taken or in any document issued relating to this
matter. In addition, the petitioner shall provide a brief explanation
of the bases of the contention and a concise statement of the alleged
facts or expert opinion which support the contention and on which the
petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing.
The petitioner must also provide references to those specific sources
and documents of which the petitioner is aware and on which the
petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts or expert opinion.
The petitioner must also provide sufficient information to show that a
genuine dispute exists with the licensee on a material issue of law or
fact. Under the circumstances of this case, the Commission will
consider a valid contention to satisfy the aspect requirement noted
above.
If a hearing is held, the issue shall be whether an order approving
the decommissioning plan should be issued. Thus, contentions shall be
limited to matter relevant to the order under consideration. The
contention must be one which, if proven, would entitle petitioner to
relief. A petitioner who fails to file such a supplement which
satisfies these requirements with respect to at least one contention
will not be permitted to participate as a party. Those permitted to
intervene become parties to the proceeding, subject to any limitations
in the order granting leave to intervene.
D. Filing Instructions
A request for hearing and/or petition for leave to intervene shall
be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, United States Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001; Attention: Docketing
and Service Branch, or may be delivered to the Commission's Public
Document Room at 2120 L Street, NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC by
the above date. If a request for hearing or a petition for leave to
intervene is filed within the last five (5) calendar days of this
period, the filing party should not only file the documents by U.S.
Mail, but should also fax them to the Secretary of the Commission. The
fax number for the Office of the Secretary is (301) 415-1672.
A copy of all filings should also be sent to the Office of General
Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
Attention: Assistant General Counsel for Hearings and Enforcement, and
to Douglas R. Nichols, Assistant General Counsel, Portland General
Electric Company, 121 S.W. Salmon Street, Suite 1300, Portland, Oregon
97204, attorney for the licensee.
Non-timely filings of (1) petitions for leave to intervene, (2)
amended petitions, (3) supplemental petitions and/or (4) requests for
hearing will not be entertained absent a determination by the
Commission or the designated Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the
non-timely filing should be accepted based upon a balancing of the
factors specified in 10 CFR 2.714(a)(1) (i)-(v) and 10 CFR 2.714(d).
Notwithstanding the provisions of 10 CFR 2.714(a)(3), the participants
will not be allowed to amend their pleadings without leave of the
Commission or of the designated Board. Under that provision, amendment
of pleadings without leave is tied to the submission of contentions
which has been expedited in this case. Answers to any request for
hearing or petition for leave to intervene should be filed in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.714(c).
For further details with respect to this action, see (1) the
application for decommissioning, including the decommissioning plan,
dated January 25, 1995, as supplemented on November 13, 1995; (2) the
NRC Staff's Environmental Assessment, dated December 18, 1995, and (3)
the NRC Staff's Safety Evaluation Report, dated December 15, 1995.
These documents are available for public inspection at both the
Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street,
NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC, and at the NRC Local Public Document
Room at the Brandford Price Millar Library, Portland State University,
934 S.W. Harrison Street (P.O. Box 1151), Portland, Oregon 97207. In
addition, single copies of the Environmental Assessment or the Safety
Evaluation Report may be requested in writing from Dr. Michael T.
Masnik, Senior Project Manager, OWFN MS:11-B-20, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of December, 1995.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John C. Hoyle,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 95-31155 Filed 12-21-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P