[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 26, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16075-16076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6157]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-011-ESP; ASLBP No. 07-850-01-ESP-BD01]


Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel; In the Matter of 
Southern Nuclear Operating Co.; (Early Site Permit for Vogtle ESP 
Site); Memorandum and Order; (Notice of Opportunity To Make Oral or 
Written Limited Appearance Statements)

March 20, 2008.

    Before the Licensing Board: G. Paul Bollwerk, III, Chairman, 
Nicholas G. Trikouros, Dr. James F. Jackson.

    The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hereby gives notice that, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.315(a), it will entertain oral limited 
appearance statements from members of the public in connection with 
this proceeding in which applicant Southern Nuclear Operating Company 
(SNC) seeks an early site permit (ESP) under 10 CFR Part 52 for an 
additional two reactors at the site of its existing Vogtle Electric 
Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Georgia. The ESP application involves 
various site safety issues, environmental protection issues, and plans 
for coping with emergencies that, if resolved in favor of SNC, 
generally would not be subject to relitigation if SNC later applies 
under Part 52 for a combined operating license that would authorize it 
to construct and operate the additional reactors at the Vogtle site.

A. Date, Time, and Location of Oral Limited Appearance Statement 
Sessions

    These sessions will be on the following dates at the specified 
location and times:
    1. Date: Sunday, April 27, 2008 (if there is sufficient interest).
    Time: 4 to 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
    Location: DoubleTree Hotel and Convention Center, 2651 Perimeter 
Parkway, Augusta, Georgia.
    2. Date: Monday, April 28, 2008 (if there is sufficient interest).
    Time: Evening Session-7 to 9 p.m. EDT.
    Location: Same as Session 1 above.

B. Participation Guidelines for Oral Limited Appearance Statements

    Any person not a party, or the representative of a party, to the 
proceeding will be permitted to make an oral statement setting forth 
his or her position on matters of concern relating to this proceeding. 
Although these statements do not constitute testimony or evidence, they 
nonetheless may help the Licensing Board and/or the parties in their 
consideration of the issues in this proceeding.
    In that regard, the contested issues currently before the Board in 
this proceeding that have been raised by the Joint Intervenors\1\ 
concern facility cooling system impacts on aquatic resources and 
implementing a dry cooling system as a design alternative. 
Additionally, in accord with the agency's regulations governing ESP 
proceedings, this Board will at a later time be conducting a so-called 
``mandatory'' hearing in which it will consider whether, with respect 
to those safety and environmental matters associated with the SNC ESP 
application that are not the subject of contested issues raised by 
intervenors, the NRC Staff performed an adequate review of the SNC 
application and made findings relative to that review with reasonable 
support in logic and fact.
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    \1\ Joint Intervenors include the Center for a Sustainable 
Coast, Savannah Riverkeeper, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, 
Atlanta Women's Action for New Directions, and Blue Ridge 
Environmental Defense League.
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    Oral limited appearance statements will be entertained during the 
hours specified above, or such lesser time as may be necessary to 
accommodate the speakers who are present. In this regard, if all 
scheduled and unscheduled speakers present at a session have made a 
presentation, the Licensing Board reserves the right to terminate the 
session before the ending times listed above. The Board also reserves 
the right to cancel the Sunday afternoon and/or Monday evening sessions 
scheduled above if there has not been a sufficient showing of public 
interest as reflected by the number of preregistered speakers.
    Any member of the public who plans to attend the limited appearance 
sessions is strongly advised to arrive early to allow time to pass 
through any security measures that may be employed. Attendees are also 
requested not to bring any unnecessary hand-carried items, such as 
packages, briefcases, backpacks, or other items that might need to be 
examined individually. Items that could readily be used as weapons will 
not be permitted in the rooms where these sessions will be held. Also, 
during these sessions, signs no larger than 18 inches by 18 inches will 
be permitted, but may not be attached to sticks, held over one's head, 
or moved about in the room.
    The time allotted for each statement normally will be no more than 
five minutes. Nonetheless, to ensure everyone will have an opportunity 
to speak, the time allotted for each

[[Page 16076]]

statement may be further limited depending on the number of written 
requests to make an oral statement that are submitted in accordance 
with section C below and/or the number of persons present at the 
designated times. In addition, in the case of the Monday evening 
session, although an individual who previously addressed the Licensing 
Board at the Sunday afternoon limited appearance session may request an 
opportunity to make an additional presentation, the Board reserves the 
right to defer such additional presentations until after it has heard 
from speakers who have not had an opportunity to make an initial 
presentation.

C. Submitting a Request To Make an Oral Limited Appearance Statement

    Persons wishing to make an oral statement who have submitted a 
timely written request to do so will be given priority over those who 
have not filed such a request. To be considered timely, a written 
request to make an oral statement must either be mailed, faxed, or sent 
by e-mail so as to be received by 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 18, 2008. 
The request must specify the session (Sunday or Monday) during which 
the requester wishes to make an oral statement. Based on its review of 
the requests received by April 18, 2008, the Licensing Board may decide 
that the Sunday afternoon and/or Monday evening sessions will not be 
held due to a lack of adequate interest in those sessions.
    Written requests to make an oral statement should be submitted to:
    Mail: Administrative Judge G. Paul Bollwerk III, Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board Panel, Mail Stop T-3 F23, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    Fax: (301) 415-5599 (verification (301) 415-6094).
    E-mail: [email protected] and [email protected].

D. Submitting Written Limited Appearance Statements

    A written limited appearance statement may be submitted to the 
Board regarding this proceeding at any time. Such statements should be 
sent to the Office of the Secretary using one of the methods prescribed 
below, with a copy sent to the Licensing Board Chairman using the same 
method at the mail/e-mail address or fax number listed in section C 
above.
    Mail: Office of the Secretary, Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    Fax: (301) 415-1101 (verification (301) 415-1966).
    E-mail: [email protected].

E. Availability of Documentary Information Regarding the Proceeding

    General information regarding the Vogtle ESP proceeding can be 
found on the agency's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/esp/vogtle.html. Additionally, documents relating to this 
proceeding are available for public inspection at the Commission's 
Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, or electronically 
from the publicly available records component of NRC's document system 
(ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading 
Room).\2\ Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter 
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the 
NRC PDR reference staff by telephone at (800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-
4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
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    \2\ Some documents determined by the staff to contain 
``sensitive'' information are publicly available only in redacted 
form; non-sensitive documents are publicly available in their 
complete form. In addition, some documents that may contain 
information proprietary to SNC are publicly available only in 
redacted form.
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F. Scheduling Information Updates

    Any updated/revised scheduling information regarding the limited 
appearance sessions can be found on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm or by calling 
(800) 368-5642, extension 5036, or (301) 415-5036.
    It is so ordered.

    Dated Rockville, Maryland: March 20, 2008.

    For the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.\3\
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    \3\ Copies of this memorandum and order were sent this date by 
the agency's E-Filing system to counsel for (1) applicant SNC; (2) 
Joint Intervenors; and (3) the staff.
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G. Paul Bollwerk III,
Administrative Judge.
[FR Doc. E8-6157 Filed 3-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P