[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 10, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11460-11462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5340]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296]
Tennessee Valley Authority; Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1,
2 and 3; Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application and
Notice of Opportunity for Hearing Regarding Renewal of Facility
Operating License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68 for an Additional 20-
Year Period
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is
considering application for the renewal of Operating License Nos. DPR-
33, DPR-52, and DPR-68, which authorize the Tennessee Valley
[[Page 11461]]
Authority (TVA) to operate the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant at 3293
megawatts thermal for Unit 1, 3458 megawatts thermal for Unit 2, and
3458 megawatts thermal for Unit 3. The renewed licenses would authorize
the applicant to operate Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2 and 3
for an additional 20 years beyond the period specified in the current
licenses. The current operating license for the Browns Ferry Nuclear
Plant Unit 1 expires on December 20, 2013, the current operating
license for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 2 expires on June 28, 2014,
and the current operating license for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 3
expires on July 2, 2016.
On January 6, 2004, the Commission's staff received an application
from TVA filed pursuant to 10 CFR part 54, to renew the Operating
License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68 for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant,
Units 1, 2 and 3, respectively. A notice of receipt and availability of
the license renewal application, ``TVA; Notice of Receipt and
Availability of Application for Renewal of Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant,
Units 1, 2 and 3, Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and
DPR-68 for Additional 20-Year Period,'' was published in the Federal
Register on January 13, 2004 (69 FR 2012).
The Commission's staff has determined that TVA has submitted
sufficient information in accordance with 10 CFR 54.19, 54.21, 54.22,
54.23, and 51.53(c) that is acceptable for docketing. The current
Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, and 50-296 for Operating License Nos. DPR-
33, DPR-52, and DPR-68, respectively, will be retained. The docketing
of the renewal application does not preclude requesting additional
information as the review proceeds, nor does it predict whether the
Commission will grant or deny the application.
Before issuance of each requested renewed license, the NRC will
have made the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. In
accordance with 10 CFR 54.29, the NRC will issue a renewed license on
the basis of its review if it finds that actions have been identified
and have been or will be taken with respect to: (1) Managing the
effects of aging during the period of extended operation on the
functionality of structures and components that have been identified as
requiring aging management review, and (2) time-limited aging analyses
that have been identified as requiring review, such that there is
reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by the renewed
licenses will continue to be conducted in accordance with the current
licensing basis (CLB), and that any changes made to the plant's CLB
comply with the Act and the Commission's regulations.
Additionally, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.95(c), the NRC will
prepare an environmental impact statement that is a supplement to the
Commission's NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for
License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated May 1996. Pursuant to
10 CFR 51.26, and as part of the environmental scoping process, the
staff intends to hold a public scoping meeting. Detailed information
regarding this meeting is included in a Federal Register notice also
published today.
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this Federal
Register notice, the applicant may file a request for a hearing, and
any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who
wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written
request for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene with
respect to the renewal of the licenses. Requests for a hearing and a
petition 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. Interested persons should consult a current copy of
10 CFR 2.309, which is available at the Commission's Public Document
Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852 and is accessible from the
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the
NRC's PDR reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or by email at
[email protected]. If a request for a hearing or a petition for leave to
intervene is filed within the 60-day period, the Commission or a
presiding officer designated by the Commission or by the Chief
Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
will rule on the request and/or petition; and the Secretary or the
Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board
will issue a notice of a hearing or an appropriate order. In the event
that no request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is
filed within the 60-day period, the NRC may, upon completion of its
evaluations and upon making the findings required under 10 CFR parts 51
and 54, renew the licenses without further notice.
As required by 10 CFR 2.309, 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
the proceeding, taking into consideration the limited scope of matters
that may be considered pursuant to 10 CFR parts 51 and 54. The petition
must specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be
permitted with particular reference to the following factors: (1) The
nature of the requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a
party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of the requestor's/
petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding;
and (3) the possible effect of any decision or order which may be
entered in the proceeding on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The
petition must also set forth the specific contentions which the
petitioner/requestor seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.
Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the
requestor/petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the bases of
each contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or the
expert opinion that supports the contention on which the requestor/
petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing.
The requestor/petitioner must also provide references to those specific
sources and documents of which the requestor/petitioner is aware and on
which the requestor/petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts
or expert opinion. The requestor/petitioner must provide sufficient
information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on
a material issue of law or fact.\1\ Contentions shall be limited to
matters within the scope of the action under consideration. The
contention must be one that, if proven, would entitle the requestor/
petitioner to relief. A requestor/petitioner who fails to satisfy these
requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be
permitted to participate as a party.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ To the extent that the application contains attachments and
supporting documents that are not publicly available because they
are asserted to contain safeguards or proprietary information,
petitioners desiring access to this information should contact the
applicant or applicant's counsel to discuss the need for a
protective order.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each contention shall be given a separate numeric or alpha
designation within one of the following groups:
[[Page 11462]]
1. Technical--primarily concerns/issues relating to technical
health and safety matters discussed or referenced in the Browns Ferry
Nuclear Plants Units 1, 2 and 3 license renewal application.
2. Environmental--primarily concerns/issues relating to matters
discussed or referenced in the Environmental Report for the license
renewal application.
3. Miscellaneous--does not fall into one of the categories outlined
above.
As specified in 10 CFR 2.309, if two or more requestors/petitioners
seek to co-sponsor a contention, the requestors/petitioners shall
jointly designate a representative who shall have the authority to act
for the requestors/petitioners with respect to that contention. If a
requestor/petitioner seeks to adopt the contention of another
sponsoring requestor/petitioner, the requestor/petitioner who seeks to
adopt the contention must either agree that the sponsoring requestor/
petitioner shall act as the representative with respect to that
contention, or jointly designate with the sponsoring requestor/
petitioner a representative who shall have the authority to act for the
requestors/petitioners with respect to that contention.
Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding,
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene,
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the
hearing, including the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct
of the hearing. A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to
intervene must be filed by: (1) First class mail addressed to the
Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and
Adjudications Staff; (2) courier, express mail, and expedited delivery
services: Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint
North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Attention:
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (3) e-mail addressed to the Office
of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
[email protected]; or (4) facsimile transmission addressed to the
Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff at 301-
415-1101, verification number is 301-415-1966. A copy of the request
for hearing and petition for leave to intervene must also be sent to
the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, and it is requested that copies be
transmitted either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725
or by e-mail to [email protected]. A copy of the request for
hearing and petition for leave to intervene should also be sent to the
attorney for the licensee.
Nontimely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be
entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding
officer or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition,
request and/or contentions should be granted based on a balancing of
the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(a)(1)(i)-(viii).
Detailed information about the license renewal process can be found
under the Nuclear Reactors icon at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html on the NRC's Web page. Copies of the
application to renew the operating licenses for Browns Ferry Nuclear
Plant, Units 1, 2 and 3, are available for public inspection at the
Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 20855-2738, and at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/brownsferry.html the NRC's Web page while the application is under
review. The NRC maintains an Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public
documents. These documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under ADAMS accession number ML040060355. Persons who do
not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the
documents located in ADAMS, may contact the NRC Public Document Room
(PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to
[email protected].
The staff has verified that a copy of the license renewal
application is also available to local residents near the Browns Ferry
Nuclear Plant at the Athens-Limestone Public Library, at 405 E. South
Street, Athens, Alabama 35611.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this the 4th day of March, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Pao-Tsin Kuo,
Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts, Division
of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-5340 Filed 3-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P