[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 76 (Friday, April 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21162-21165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8414]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52-017]
Dominion Virginia Power; Supplement to Notice of Hearing and
Opportunity to Petition for Leave To Intervene on a Combined License
for North Anna Unit 3; Order Imposing Procedures for Access To
Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI) and
Safeguards Information (SGI) for Contention Preparation
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has determined to
issue a supplement to the ``Notice of Hearing and Opportunity to
Petition for Leave to Intervene on a Combined License for North Anna
Unit 3'' (Notice of Hearing) published in the Federal Register on March
10, 2008 (73 FR 12760). The Notice of Hearing offered an opportunity to
petition for leave to intervene in the proceeding on the application
dated November 26, 2007, filed by Dominion Virginia Power (Dominion)
pursuant to Subpart C of 10 CFR Part 52 for a combined license (COL)
for North Anna Unit 3, which would be located at the North Anna Power
Station in Louisa County, Virginia. The application references the
Early Site Permit for the North Anna ESP Site (North Anna ESP), which
was issued on November 27, 2007, and the application for certification
of the economic simplified boiling water reactor (ESBWR) design, which
was initially submitted on August 24, 2005. The Commission believes the
documents on the dockets of the North Anna ESP and ESBWR proceedings
may be useful to persons who seek to intervene in the proceeding on the
COL application. Accordingly, this notice provides additional
information on the availability of the North Anna ESP, the ESBWR
application, and the documents
[[Page 21163]]
submitted on their respective dockets, which are Docket Nos. 52-008
(North Anna ESP) and Docket No. 52-010 (ESBWR).
Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's
Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public
File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (First Floor), Rockville,
Maryland, and will be accessible electronically through the Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic
Reading Room link at the NRC Web site http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The ADAMS accession number for the North Anna ESP is
ML073180440. To search for documents on the North Anna ESP docket,
enter ``05200008'' in the ``Docket Number'' field in the Web-based
search (advanced search) engine or the ADAMS find tool. The ESP
application and staff review documents related to the North Anna ESP
are also available at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/esp/north-anna.html. To search for documents on the ESBWR docket, enter
``05200010'' in the ``Docket Number'' field in the Web-based search
(advanced search) engine or the ADAMS find tool. The ESBWR design
control document is also available at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/design-cert/esbwr.html. In addition, as stated in the Notice
of Hearing, the ADAMS accession number for the Dominion COL application
(cover letter) is ML073320913, and the entire application is available
at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/col.html. To search for
documents on the North Anna COL application docket, enter ``05200017''
in the ``Docket Number'' field in the Web-based search (advanced
search) engine or the ADAMS find tool. Persons who do not have access
to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing documents located in
ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-
397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
Neither this supplement to the Notice of Hearing nor the following
Order changes the time set in the Notice of Hearing for the filing of
petitions for leave to intervene in the proceeding on the Dominion COL
application. The last day for filing such a petition remains May 9,
2008.
Order Imposing Procedures for Access To Sensitive Unclassified Non-
Safeguards Information (SUNSI) and Safeguards Information (SGI) for
Contention Preparation
1. This order contains instructions regarding how potential parties
to this proceeding may request access to documents containing sensitive
unclassified information (including SUNSI and SGI).
2. Within ten (10) days after publication of this Supplement to
Notice Of Hearing And Opportunity To Petition For Leave To Intervene On
A Combined License For North Anna Unit 3, any potential party as
defined in 10 CFR 2.4 who believes access to SUNSI or SGI is necessary
for a response to the Notice of Hearing may request access to SUNSI or
SGI. A ``potential party'' is any person who intends or may intend to
participate as a party by demonstrating standing and the filing of an
admissible contention under 10 CFR 2.309. Requests submitted later than
ten (10) days will not be considered absent a showing of good cause for
the late filing, addressing why the request could not have been filed
earlier.
3. The requester shall submit a letter requesting permission to
access SUNSI and/or SGI to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention:
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and provide a copy to the
Associate General Counsel for Hearings, Enforcement and Administration,
Office of the General Counsel, Washington, DC 20555-0001. The expedited
delivery or courier mail address for both offices is U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
The e-mail address for the Office of the Secretary and the Office of
the General Counsel are [email protected] and [email protected],
respectively.\1\ The request must include the following information:
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\1\ See footnote 6. While a request for hearing or petition to
intervene in this proceeding must comply with the filing
requirements of the NRC's ``E-Filing Rule,'' the initial request to
access SUNSI and/or SGI under these procedures should be submitted
as described in this paragraph.
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a. A description of the licensing action with a citation to the
Notice of Hearing published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2008
(73 FR 12760);
b. The name and address of the potential party and a description of
the potential party's particularized interest that could be harmed by
the action identified in (a);
c. If the request is for SUNSI, the identity of the individual
requesting access to SUNSI and the requester's need for the information
in order to meaningfully participate in this adjudicatory proceeding,
particularly why publicly available versions of the application would
not be sufficient to provide the basis and specificity for a proffered
contention;
d. If the request is for SGI, the identity of the individual
requesting access to SGI and the identity of any expert, consultant or
assistant who will aid the requester in evaluating the SGI, and
information that shows:
(i) Why the information is indispensable to meaningful
participation in this licensing proceeding; and,
(ii) The technical competence (demonstrable knowledge, skill,
experience, training or education) of the requester to understand and
use (or evaluate) the requested information to provide the basis and
specificity for a proffered contention. The technical competence of a
potential party or its counsel may be shown by reliance on a qualified
expert, consultant or assistant who demonstrates technical competence
as well as trustworthiness and reliability, and who agrees to sign a
non-disclosure affidavit and be bound by the terms of a protective
order; and,
e. If the request is for SGI, Form SF-85, ``Questionnaire for Non-
Sensitive Positions,'' Form FD-248 (fingerprint card), and a credit
check release form completed by the individual who seeks access to SGI
and each individual who will aid the requester in evaluating the SGI.
For security reasons, Form SF-85 can only be submitted electronically,
through a restricted-access database. To obtain online access to the
form, the requester should contact the NRC's Office of Administration
at 301-415-0320.\2\ The other completed forms must be signed in
original ink, accompanied by a check or money order payable in the
amount of $191.00 to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for each
individual, and mailed to the: Office of Administration, Security
Processing Unit, Mail Stop T-6E46, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0012.
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\2\ The requester will be asked to provide his or her full name,
social security number, date and place of birth, telephone number,
and e-mail address. After providing this information, the requester
usually should be able to obtain access to the online form within
one business day.
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These forms will be used to initiate the background check, which
includes fingerprinting as part of a criminal history records check.
Note: copies of these forms do not need to be included with the request
letter to the Office of the Secretary, but the request letter
[[Page 21164]]
should state that the forms and fees have been submitted as described
above.
4. To avoid delays in processing requests for access to SGI, all
forms should be reviewed for completeness and accuracy (including
legibility) before submitting them to the NRC. Incomplete packages will
be returned to the sender and will not be processed.
5. Based on an evaluation of the information submitted under items
2 and 3.a through 3.d, above, the NRC staff will determine within ten
days of receipt of the written access request whether (1) there is a
reasonable basis to believe the petitioner is likely to establish
standing to participate in this NRC proceeding, and (2) there is a
legitimate need for access to SUNSI or need to know the SGI requested.
For SGI, the need to know determination is made based on whether the
information requested is necessary (i.e., indispensable) for the
proposed recipient to proffer and litigate a specific contention in
this NRC proceeding \3\ and whether the proposed recipient has the
technical competence (demonstrable knowledge, skill, training,
education, or experience) to evaluate and use the specific SGI
requested in this proceeding.
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\3\ Broad SGI requests under these procedures are thus highly
unlikely to meet the standard for need to know; furthermore, staff
redaction of information from requested documents before their
release may be appropriate to comport with this requirement. These
procedures do not authorize unrestricted disclosure or less scrutiny
of a requester's need to know than ordinarily would be applied in
connection with an already-admitted contention.
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6. If standing and need to know SGI are shown, the NRC staff will
further determine based upon completion of the background check whether
the proposed recipient is trustworthy and reliable. The NRC staff will
conduct (as necessary) an inspection to confirm that the recipient's
information protection systems are sufficient to protect SGI from
inadvertent release or disclosure. Recipients may opt to view SGI at
the NRC's facility rather than establish their own SGI protection
program to meet SGI protection requirements.
7. A request for access to SUNSI or SGI will be granted if:
a. The request has demonstrated that there is a reasonable basis to
believe that a potential party is likely to establish standing to
intervene or to otherwise participate as a party in this proceeding;
b. The proposed recipient of the information has demonstrated a
need for SUNSI or a need to know for SGI, and that the proposed
recipient of SGI is trustworthy and reliable;
c. The proposed recipient of the information has executed a Non-
Disclosure Agreement or Affidavit and agrees to be bound by the terms
of a Protective Order setting forth terms and conditions to prevent the
unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of SUNSI and/or SGI; and,
d. The presiding officer has issued a protective order concerning
the information or documents requested.\4\ Any protective order issued
shall provide that the petitioner must file SUNSI or SGI contentions 25
days after receipt of (or access to) that information. However, if more
than 25 days remain between the petitioner's receipt of (or access to)
the information and the deadline for filing all other contentions (as
established in the Notice of Hearing), the petitioner may file its
SUNSI or SGI contentions by that later deadline.
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\4\ If a presiding officer has not yet been designated, the
Chief Administrative Judge will issue such orders, or will appoint a
presiding officer to do so.
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8. If the request for access to SUNSI or SGI is granted, the terms
and conditions for access to sensitive unclassified information will be
set forth in a draft protective order and affidavit of non-disclosure
appended to a joint motion by the NRC staff, any other affected parties
to this proceeding,\5\ and the petitioner(s). If the diligent efforts
by the relevant parties or petitioner(s) fail to result in an agreement
on the terms and conditions for a draft protective order or non-
disclosure affidavit, the relevant parties to the proceeding or the
petitioner(s) should notify the presiding officer within five (5) days,
describing the obstacles to the agreement.
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\5\ Parties/persons other than the requester and the NRC staff
will be notified by the NRC staff of a favorable access
determination (and may participate in the development of such a
motion and protective order) if it concerns SUNSI and if the party/
person's interest independent of the proceeding would be harmed by
the release of the information (e.g., as with proprietary
information).
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9. If the request for access to SUNSI is denied by the NRC staff or
a request for access to SGI is denied by NRC staff either after a
determination on standing and need to know or, later, after a
determination on trustworthiness and reliability, the NRC staff shall
briefly state the reasons for the denial. Before the Office of
Administration makes an adverse determination regarding access, the
proposed recipient must be provided an opportunity to correct or
explain information. The requester may challenge the NRC staff's
adverse determination with respect to access to SUNSI or with respect
to standing or need to know for SGI by filing a challenge within five
(5) days of receipt of that determination with (a) the presiding
officer designated in this proceeding; (b) if no presiding officer has
been appointed, the Chief Administrative Judge, or if he or she is
unavailable, another administrative judge, or an administrative law
judge with jurisdiction pursuant to 10 CFR 2.318(a); or (c) if another
officer has been designated to rule on information access issues, with
that officer. In the same manner, an SGI requester may challenge an
adverse determination on trustworthiness and reliability by filing a
challenge within fifteen (15) days of receipt of that determination.
In the same manner, a party other than the requester may challenge
an NRC staff determination granting access to SUNSI whose release would
harm that party's interest independent of the proceeding. Such a
challenge must be filed within five (5) days of the notification by the
NRC staff of its grant of such a request.
If challenges to the NRC staff determinations are filed, these
procedures give way to the normal process for litigating disputes
concerning access to information. The availability of interlocutory
review by the Commission of orders ruling on such NRC staff
determinations (whether granting or denying access) is governed by 10
CFR 2.311.\6\
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\6\ As of October 15, 2007, the NRC's final ``E-Filing Rule''
became effective. See Use of Electronic Submissions in Agency
Hearings (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007). Requesters should note that
the filing requirements of that rule apply to appeals of NRC staff
determinations (because they must be served on a presiding officer
or the Commission, as applicable), but not to the initial SUNSI/SGI
requests submitted to the NRC staff under these procedures.
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10. The Commission expects that the NRC staff and presiding
officers (and any other reviewing officers) will consider and resolve
requests for access to SUNSI and/or SGI, and motions for protective
orders, in a timely fashion in order to minimize any unnecessary delays
in identifying those petitioners who have standing and who have
propounded contentions meeting the specificity and basis requirements
in 10 CFR Part 2.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of April 2008.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[[Page 21165]]
Attachment 1.--General Target Schedule for Processing and Resolving
Requests for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information
and Safeguards Information in This Proceeding
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Day Event/activity
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0..................... Publication of Supplement to Federal Register
notice of hearing and opportunity to petition
for leave to intervene, including order with
instructions for access requests.
10.................... Deadline for submitting requests for access to
Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards
Information (SUNSI) and/or Safeguards
Information (SGI) with information: supporting
the standing of a potential party identified by
name and address; describing the need for the
information in order for the potential party to
participate meaningfully in an adjudicatory
proceeding; demonstrating that access should be
granted (e.g., showing technical competence for
access to SGI); and, for SGI, including
application fee for fingerprint/background
check.
20.................... Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff
informs the requester of the staff's
determination whether the request for access
provides a reasonable basis to believe standing
can be established and shows (1) need for SUNSI
or (2) need to know for SGI. (For SUNSI, NRC
staff also informs any party to the proceeding
whose interest independent of the proceeding
would be harmed by the release of the
information.) If NRC staff makes the finding of
need for SUNSI and likelihood of standing, NRC
staff begins document processing (preparation
of redactions or review of redacted documents).
If NRC staff makes the finding of need to know
for SGI and likelihood of standing, NRC staff
begins background check (including
fingerprinting for a criminal history records
check), information processing (preparation of
redactions or review of redacted documents),
and readiness inspections.
60.................... May 9, 2008, deadline for submitting petition
for intervention containing: (i) demonstration
of standing; (ii) all contentions whose
formulation does not require access to SUNSI
and/or SGI (+25 Answers to petition for
intervention; +7 petitioner/requestor reply).
25.................... If NRC staff finds no ``need,'' ``need to
know,'' or likelihood of standing, the deadline
for petitioner/requester to file a motion
seeking a ruling to reverse the NRC staff's
denial of access; NRC staff files copy of
access determination with the presiding officer
(or Chief Administrative Judge or other
designated officer, as appropriate). If NRC
staff finds ``need'' for SUNSI, the deadline
for any party to the proceeding whose interest
independent of the proceeding would be harmed
by the release of the information to file a
motion seeking a ruling to reverse the NRC
staff's grant of access.
30.................... Deadline for NRC staff reply to motions to
reverse NRC staff determination(s).
40.................... (Receipt +30) If NRC staff finds standing and
need for SUNSI, deadline for NRC staff to
complete information processing and file motion
for Protective Order and draft Non-Disclosure
Affidavit. Deadline for applicant/licensee to
file Non-Disclosure Agreement for SUNSI.
190................... (Receipt +180) If NRC staff finds standing, need
to know for SGI, and trustworthiness and
reliability, deadline for NRC staff to file
motion for Protective Order and draft Non-
disclosure Affidavit (or to make a
determination that the proposed recipient of
SGI is not trustworthy or reliable). Note:
Before the Office of Administration makes an
adverse determination regarding access, the
proposed recipient must be provided an
opportunity to correct or explain information.
205................... Deadline for petitioner to seek reversal of a
final adverse NRC staff determination either
before the presiding officer or another
designated officer.
A..................... If access granted: Issuance of presiding officer
or other designated officer decision on motion
for protective order for access to sensitive
information (including schedule for providing
access and submission of contentions) or
decision reversing a final adverse
determination by the NRC staff.
A + 3................. Deadline for filing executed Non-Disclosure
Affidavits. Access provided to SUNSI and/or SGI
consistent with decision issuing the protective
order.
A + 28................ Deadline for submission of contentions whose
development depends upon access to SUNSI and/or
SGI. However, if more than 25 days remain
between the petitioner's receipt of (or access
to) the information and the deadline for filing
all other contentions (as established in the
notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing),
the petitioner may file its SUNSI or SGI
contentions by that later deadline.
A + 53................ (Contention receipt +25) Answers to contentions
whose development depends upon access to SUNSI
and/or SGI.
A + 60................ (Answer receipt +7) Petitioner/Intervenor reply
to answers.
B..................... Decision on contention admission.
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[FR Doc. E8-8414 Filed 4-17-08; 8:45 am]
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