[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 197 (Thursday, October 12, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60195-60196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16868]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-011]


Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Notice of Hearing and 
Opportunity to Petition for Leave to Intervene on An Early Site Permit 
for the Vogtle ESP Site

    Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), 
and the regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 
Part 50, Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities, 
Part 52, Early Site Permits, Standard Design Certifications, and 
Combined Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants, and Part 2, Rules of 
Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders, 
notice is hereby given that a hearing will be held, at a time and place 
to be set in the future by the United States Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC, the Commission) or designated Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board (Board). The hearing will consider the application 
dated August 14, 2006, filed by Southern Nuclear Operating Company 
(SNC), pursuant to Subpart A of 10 CFR part 52 for an early site permit 
(ESP). The application which was supplemented by letters dated August 
17, September 6 (two letters), and September 13, 2006 requests approval 
of a site located in eastern Georgia (near Waynesboro, Georgia) 
identified as the Vogtle ESP site, for one or more new nuclear reactors 
that would, if authorized for construction and operation in a separate 
licensing proceeding under subpart C of 10 CFR part 52 or under 10 CFR 
part 50, have a capacity of no more than 6800 Megawatts (thermal) 
additional for the site. The application was accepted for docketing on 
September 19, 2006. The docket number established for this application 
is 52-011.
    The hearing will be conducted by a Board which will be designated 
by the Chairman of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel or by 
the Commission. Notice as to the membership of the Board will be 
published in the Federal Register at a later date.
    The NRC staff will complete a detailed technical review of the 
application and will document its findings in a safety evaluation 
report (SER) and an environmental impact statement (EIS). In addition, 
the Commission will refer a copy of the application to the Advisory 
Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) in accordance with 10 CFR 52.23, 
and the ACRS will report on those portions of the application that 
concern safety. Upon receipt of the ACRS report and completion of the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff's SER and EIS, the Director, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, NRC, will propose findings on the 
following issues:

Issues Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as Amended

    (1) Whether the issuance of an ESP will be inimical to the common 
defense and security or to the health and safety of the public (Safety 
Issue 1); and (2) whether, taking into consideration the site criteria 
contained in 10 CFR part 100, a reactor, or reactors, having 
characteristics that fall within the parameters for the site, can be 
constructed and operated without undue risk to the health and safety of 
the public (Safety Issue 2).

Issue Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 
as Amended

    Whether, in accordance with the requirements of subpart A of 10 CFR 
part 51, the ESP should be issued as proposed.
    The Board will conduct the hearing in accordance with 10 CFR part 
2. If the hearing is contested as defined by 10 CFR 2.4, the Board will 
consider Safety Issues 1 and 2 and the issue pursuant to NEPA set forth 
above.
    If the hearing is not a contested proceeding as defined in 10 CFR 
2.4, the Board will determine without conducting a de novo review: 
Whether the application and the record of the proceeding contain 
sufficient information, and the review of the application by the 
Commission's staff has been adequate to support a negative finding on 
Safety Issue 1 above, and an affirmative finding on Safety Issue 2 
above, as proposed to be made by the Director, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation; and whether the review conducted by the Commission 
pursuant to NEPA has been adequate.
    Regardless of whether the proceeding is contested or uncontested, 
the Board will: (1) Determine whether the requirements of Section 
102(2)(A), (C), and (E) of NEPA and subpart A of 10 CFR part 51 have 
been complied with in the proceeding; (2) independently consider the 
final balance among the conflicting factors contained in the record of 
the proceeding with a view to determining the appropriate action to be 
taken; and (3) determine, after considering reasonable alternatives, 
whether the ESP should be issued, denied, or appropriately conditioned 
to protect environmental values.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309, any person whose interest may be 
affected

[[Page 60196]]

by this proceeding and who desires to participate as a party must file 
a written petition for leave to intervene and must specify the 
contentions which the person seeks to have litigated in the hearing. 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. The petition must 
specifically state: (1) The name, address and telephone number of the 
petitioner; (2) the nature of the petitioner's right under the Act to 
be made a party to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the 
petitioner's property, financial or other interest in the proceeding; 
and (4) the possible effect of any decision or order that may be issued 
in the proceeding on the petitioner's interest.
    Each contention must contain a specific statement of the issue of 
law or fact to be raised or controverted. A petitioner must also 
provide the following information with respect to each contention: (1) 
A brief explanation of the basis for the contention; (2) a concise 
statement of the alleged facts or expert opinions which support the 
petitioner's position on the issue and on which the petitioner intends 
to rely at hearing, together with references to the specific sources 
and documents on which the petitioner intends to rely to support its 
position on the issue; and (3) sufficient information to show that a 
genuine dispute exists with the applicant/licensee on a material issue 
of law or fact. This information must include references to specific 
portions of the application (including the applicant's environmental 
report and safety report) that the petitioner disputes and the 
supporting reasons for each dispute, or, if the petitioner believes 
that the application fails to contain information on a relevant matter 
as required by law, the identification of each failure and the 
supporting reasons for the petitioner's belief. For each contention, 
the petition must demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention 
is within the scope of this proceeding and that the issue raised in the 
contention is material to the findings the NRC must make to support the 
action that is involved in this proceeding. A petitioner who fails to 
satisfy these requirements with respect to at least one contention will 
not be permitted to participate as a party.
    All such petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the 
date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Non-timely 
filings will not be entertained absent a determination by the 
Commission, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board designated to rule 
on the petition, that the petition should be granted based upon a 
balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(i)-(viii).
    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 should 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 
attorneys for the licensee: Bentina C. Terry, Southern Nuclear 
Operating Company, Inc., Bin B-022, P.O. Box 1295, Birmingham, Alabama 
35201-1295, and Stanford M. Blanton, Esq., Balch and Bingham, P.O. Box 
306, Birmingham, Alabama 35201. All petitions must be accompanied by 
proof of service upon all parties to the proceeding or their attorneys 
of record.
    A person who is not a party may, in the discretion of the presiding 
officer, be permitted to make a limited appearance by making an oral or 
written statement of his position on the issues at any session of the 
hearing or any prehearing conference within such limits and on such 
conditions as may be fixed by the presiding officer, but may not 
otherwise participate in the proceeding.
    A copy of the SNC ESP application is available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland. Publicly available records are accessible from the Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic 
Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The accession number for the application is 
ML062290248. The accession numbers for the supplements to the 
application are ML062340398, ML062510149, ML062510145, and ML062580074. 
Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or who encounter problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC Public 
Document Room staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, (301) 415-4737 or 
by e-mail to [email protected].
    The application is also available to local residents at the Burke 
County Library in Waynesboro, Georgia, and is available on the NRC Web 
page at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/esp.html.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 5th day of October, 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. E6-16868 Filed 10-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P