[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 58 (Monday, March 27, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15220-15222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4381]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-271]


Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power 
Station; Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application and 
Notice of Opportunity for Hearing Regarding Renewal of Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-28 for an Additional 20-Year Period

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is 
considering an application for the renewal of Operating License No. 
DPR-28, which authorizes Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., to operate 
the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station at 1912 megawatts (MWt) 
thermal. The renewed license would authorize the applicant to operate 
the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station for an additional 20 years 
beyond the period specified in the current license. The current 
operating license for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station expires 
on March 21, 2012.
    The Commission's staff received the application dated January 25, 
2006, as supplemented by letter dated March 15, 2006, from Entergy 
Nuclear Operations, Inc., pursuant to 10 CFR Part 54, to renew the 
Operating License No. DPR-28 for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station. 
A Notice of Receipt and Availability of the license renewal 
application, ``Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. Notice of Receipt and 
Availability of Application for Renewal of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power 
Station Facility Operating License No. DPR-28 for an Additional 20-Year 
Period,'' was published in the Federal Register on February 6, 2006 (71 
FR 6102).
    The Commission's staff has determined that Entergy Nuclear 
Operations, Inc. has submitted sufficient information in accordance 
with 10 CFR 54.19, 54.21, 54.22, 54.23, and 51.53(c), and the 
application is acceptable for docketing. The current Docket No. 50-271 
for Operating License No. DPR-28 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 
license 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 will be the subject of a separate Federal 
Register notice.
    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this Federal 
Register

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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 license. 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 (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 
by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or by e-mail at [email protected]. If a 
request for a hearing/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/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/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 license 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.
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    \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.
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    The Commission requests that each contention be given a separate 
numeric or alpha designation within one of the following groups: (1) 
Technical (primarily related to safety concerns); (2) environmental; or 
(3) miscellaneous.
    As specified in 10 CFR 2.309, if two or more requestors/petitioners 
seek to co-sponsor a contention or propose substantially the same 
contention, the requestors/petitioners will be required to jointly 
designate 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. 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.\2\ 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 
applicant, Mr. Terrence A. Burke, Entergy Nuclear, 1340 Echelon 
Parkway, mail stop M-ECN-62, Jackson, MS 39213.
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    \2\ If the request/petition is filed by e-mail or facsimile, an 
original and two copies of the document must be mailed within 2 
(two) business days thereafter to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., 20555-0001; Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff.
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    Non-timely 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 site. Copies of the 
application to renew the operating license for Vermont Yankee Nuclear 
Power Station, are available for public inspection at the Commission's 
PDR, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first 
floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738, and at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html, the NRC's Web 
site 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

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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 ML060300085. 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 by telephone 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 Vermont 
Yankee Nuclear Power Station at the Vernon Free Library, 567 Governor 
Hunt Road, Vernon, VT 05354; Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street, 
Brattleboro, VT 05301; Hinsdale Public Library, 122 Brattleboro Road, 
Hinsdale, NH 03451; and Dickinson Memorial Library, 115 Main Street, 
Northfield, MA 01360.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of March, 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Frank P. Gillespie,
Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E6-4381 Filed 3-24-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P