[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 50 (Thursday, March 15, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12202-12204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-4750]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-1257]


Notice of License Renewal Request of AREVA NP, Richland, WA, and 
Opportunity To Request a Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of license renewal application, and opportunity to 
request a hearing.

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DATES: A request for a hearing must be filed by May 14, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Merritt Baker, Project Manager, Fuel 
Facility Licensing Directorate, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and 
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 
415-6155; fax number: (301) 415-5955; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received, by 
letter dated October 24, 2006, a license renewal application from AREVA 
NP, Inc. (AREVA), requesting renewal of License No. SNM-1227 at its 
Richland fuel fabrication facility located in Richland, Washington. 
License No. SNM-1227 authorizes the licensee to possess and use special 
nuclear material for the manufacture of fuel for nuclear power plants.
    The Richland facility has been licensed by the Atomic Energy 
Commission and its successor, the NRC, to manufacture low-enriched 
uranium fuel for nuclear power plants. The license was renewed in 1996 
for a period of 10 years, expiring on November 30, 2006. By 
applications dated October 24 and December 13, 2006, AREVA requested 
renewal of their license for a period of 40 years. The NRC will review 
the license renewal application for compliance with applicable sections 
of regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR)--Energy, Chapter I--Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The license 
renewal application included an Environmental Report, which the NRC 
will review and use to prepare an environmental assessment to assist in 
the NRC's determination on the license renewal application, as required 
by 10 CFR Part 51, Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic 
Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions, and the National 
Environmental Policy Act.
    An NRC administrative review, documented in a letter to AREVA dated 
February 7, 2007, (ML070320061) found the application acceptable to 
begin a technical review. Because AREVA filed the application for 
renewal not less than 30 days before the expiration of the date stated 
in the existing license, the existing license will not expire until the 
Commission makes a final determination on the renewal application, in 
accordance with the timely renewal provision of 10 CFR 70.38(a)(1). If 
the NRC approves the renewal application, the approval will be 
documented in NRC License No. SNM-1227. However, before approving the 
proposed renewal, the NRC will need to make the findings required by 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and NRC's regulations. These 
findings will be documented in a Safety Evaluation Report and an 
Environmental Assessment and/or an Environmental Impact Statement.

[[Page 12203]]

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing

    The NRC hereby provides notice that this is a proceeding on an 
application for a license renewal. In accordance with the general 
requirements in subpart C of 10 CFR part 2, as amended on January 14, 
2004 (69 FR 2182), any person whose interest may be affected by this 
proceeding and who desires to participate as a party must file a 
written request for a hearing and a specification of the contentions 
which the person seeks to have litigated in the hearing.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(a), a request for a hearing must be 
filed with the Commission either by:
    1. First class mail addressed to: Office of the Secretary, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemakings 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, MD 20852, Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Federal workdays;
    3. E-mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, [email protected]; or
    4. By 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.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(b), all documents offered for 
filing must be accompanied by proof of service on all parties to the 
proceeding or their attorneys of record as required by law or by rule 
or order of the Commission, including:
    1. The applicant, AREVA NP, Inc. 2101 Horn Rapids Road, Richland 
Washington, 99254, Attention: Robert Link; and
    2. The NRC staff, by delivery to the Office of the General Counsel, 
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, or by 
mail addressed to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Hearing requests 
should also be transmitted to the Office of the General Counsel, either 
by means of facsimile transmission to (301) 415-3725, or via email to 
[email protected].
    The formal requirements for documents contained in 10 CFR 2.304 
(b), (c), (d), and (e), must be met. In accordance with 10 CFR 
2.304(f), a document filed by electronic mail or facsimile transmission 
need not comply with the formal requirements of 10 CFR 2.304 (b), (c), 
and (d), as long as an original and two (2) copies otherwise complying 
with all of the requirements of 10 CFR 2.304 (b), (c), and (d) are 
mailed within two (2) days thereafter to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b), a request for a hearing must be 
filed by May 14, 2007.
    In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR 
2.309, the general requirements involving a request for a hearing filed 
by a person other than an applicant must state:
    1. The name, address, and telephone number of the requester;
    2. The nature of the requester's right under the Act to be made a 
party to the proceeding;
    3. The nature and extent of the requester's property, financial or 
other interest in the proceeding;
    4. The possible effect of any decision or order that may be issued 
in the proceeding on the requester's interest; and
    5. The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing is 
timely in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b).
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(1), a request for hearing or 
petitions for leave to intervene must set forth with particularity the 
contentions sought to be raised. For each contention, the request or 
petition must:
    1. Provide a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be 
raised or controverted;
    2. Provide a brief explanation of the basis for the contention;
    3. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is within 
the scope of the proceeding;
    4. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is material 
to the findings that the NRC must make to support the action that is 
involved in the proceeding;
    5. Provide a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert 
opinions which support the requester's/petitioner's position on the 
issue and on which the requester/petitioner intends to rely to support 
its position on the issue; and
    6. Provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute 
exists with the applicant 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 requester/petitioner disputes and the supporting 
reasons for each dispute, or, if the requester/petitioner believes 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 requester's/petitioner's belief.
    In addition, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(2), contentions 
must be based on documents or other information available at the time 
the petition is to be filed, such as the application, supporting safety 
analysis report, environmental report or other supporting documents 
filed by an applicant or licensee, or otherwise available to the 
petitioner. On issues arising under the National Environmental Policy 
Act, the requester/petitioner shall file contentions based on the 
applicant's environmental report. The requester/petitioner may amend 
those contentions or file new contentions if there are data or 
conclusions in the NRC draft, or final environmental impact statement, 
environmental assessment, or any supplements relating thereto, that 
differ significantly from the data or conclusions in the applicant's 
documents. Otherwise, contentions may be amended or new contentions 
filed after the initial filing only with leave of the presiding 
officer.
    Each contention shall be given a separate numeric or alpha 
designation within one of the following groups:
    1. Technical--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Safety Evaluation Report for the 
proposed action.
    2. Environmental--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Environmental Report for the proposed 
action.
    3. Emergency Planning--primarily concerns issues relating to 
matters discussed or referenced in the Emergency Plan as it relates to 
the proposed action.
    4. Physical Security--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Physical Security Plan as it relates to 
the proposed action.
    5. Miscellaneous--does not fall into one of the categories outlined 
above.
    If the requester/petitioner believes a contention raises issues 
that cannot be classified as primarily falling into one of these 
categories, the requester/petitioner must set forth the contention and 
supporting bases, in full, separately for each category into which the 
requester/petitioner asserts the contention belongs with a separate 
designation for that category.
    Requesters/petitioners should, when possible, consult with each 
other in preparing contentions and combine similar subject matter 
concerns into a

[[Page 12204]]

joint contention, for which one of the co-sponsoring requesters/
petitioners is designated the lead representative. Further, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(3), any requester/petitioner that 
wishes to adopt a contention proposed by another requester/petitioner 
must do so in writing within ten days of the date the contention is 
filed, and designate a representative who shall have the authority to 
act for the requester/petitioner.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(g), a request for hearing and/or 
petition for leave to intervene may also address the selection of the 
hearing procedures, taking into account the provisions of 10 CFR 2.310.

III. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically at 
the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and 
image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for 
the documents related to this notice are:

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                                               ADAMS
                Document                   Accession No.       Date
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Transmittal letter......................     ML063110083        10/24/06
License renewal application public           ML063110089        10/24/06
 version................................
Environmental Report....................     ML063110087        10/31/06
Additional information..................     ML063530128        12/13/06
NRC acceptance letter...................     ML070320061        02/07/07
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    If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by e-mail to [email protected].
    These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O-1-F21, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction 
contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of March, 2007.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gary Janosko,
Deputy Director, Fuel Facility Licensing Directorate, Division of Fuel 
Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety And 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E7-4750 Filed 3-14-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P