[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 134 (Friday, July 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39995-39996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15796]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-391]


In the Matter of Tennessee Valley Authority (Watts Bar Nuclear 
Plant, Unit 2); Order

    Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA, the permittee) is the current 
holder of Construction Permit No. CPPR-92, issued by the Atomic Energy 
Commission on January 23, 1973, for construction of the Watts Bar 
Nuclear Plant (WBN), Unit 2. Construction Permit CPPR-91 for 
construction of WBN Unit 1 was also issued on January 23, 1973, and 
Facility Operating License NPF-90 was issued for operation of Unit 1 on 
February 7, 1996. WBN Unit 2 is currently partially completed. These 
facilities are at the permittee's site on the west branch of the 
Tennessee River, approximately 50 miles northeast of Chattanooga, 
Tennessee.
    On May 8, 2008, TVA filed a request pursuant to Section 50.55(b) of 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 50.55(b)) for an 
extension of the construction permit completion date for WBN Unit 2 to 
March 31, 2013. This request superseded an earlier letter dated March 
6, 2008. TVA requested this extension to the WBN Unit 2 construction 
permit for the following reasons, as stated in its application:

    In a Record of Decision published in the Federal Register on 
August 15, 2007 (72 Fed. Reg. 45859), TVA stated that proceeding 
with the completion and operation of WBN Unit 2 is the best decision 
for TVA and the Tennessee Valley in terms of power supply, power 
price, generation mix, return on investment, use of existing assets, 
and avoidance of environmental impacts. TVA's Record of Decision 
explained, as mentioned above, the three-fold benefits of assuring 
future power supplies without environmental effects resulting from 
operation of fossil fuel generating plants (including increased 
emissions) avoiding even larger capital outlays associated with 
totally new construction, and avoiding the environmental impacts 
resulting from siting and constructing new power generating 
facilities elsewhere.

    The NRC staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment and Finding 
of No Significant Impact, which was published in the Federal Register 
on June 27, 2008 (73 FR 36577). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the 
Commission has determined that extending the construction completion 
date will have no significant impact on the environment.
    For further details regarding this action, see TVA's May 8, 2008, 
application, and the NRC staff's letter and safety evaluation of the 
requested extension dated July 7, 2008. Documents may be examined and/
or copied for a fee at the NRC's Public Document Room, located at One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), and are 
accessible through the ADAMS Electronic Reading Room link at the NRC 
Web site, http://www.nrc.gov.
    Any person adversely affected by this Order may request a hearing 
on this Order within 60 days of its issuance. Where good cause is 
shown, consideration will be given to extending the time to answer or 
request a hearing. A request for an extension of time must be directed 
to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, and must include a statement of good cause for 
the extension. Requirements for hearing requests are found in 10 CFR 
2.309.
    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, any motion or other document filed in the 
proceeding prior

[[Page 39996]]

to the submission of a request for hearing, and documents filed by 
interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), 
must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule, which the NRC 
promulgated in August 2007, 72 FR 49139 (Aug. 28, 2007). The E-Filing 
process requires participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory 
documents over the Internet, or in some cases to mail copies on 
electronic storage media. Participants may not submit paper copies of 
their filings unless they seek a waiver in accordance with the 
procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements associated with E-
Filing, at least ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline the 
requestor should contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a 
digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any NRC proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2) 
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances 
when the requestor (or its counsel or representative) already holds an 
NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each requestor will need to 
download the Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ to access the Electronic 
Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-Filing system. The 
Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ is free and is available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information 
about applying for a digital ID certificate also is available on NRC's 
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
    Once a requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, has a 
docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit a 
request for a hearing through EIE. Submissions should be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance available on the 
NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. 
A filing is considered complete at the time the filer submits its 
document through EIE. To be timely, electronic filings must be 
submitted to the EIE system no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 
the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-
stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-mail notice confirming 
receipt of the document. The EIE system also distributes an e-mail 
notice that provides access to the document to the NRC Office of the 
General Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the 
Secretary that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the 
filer need not serve the document on those participants separately. 
Therefore, any others who wish to participate in the proceeding (or 
their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a digital 
ID certificate before a hearing request is filed so that they may 
obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically may seek assistance through the 
``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC technical help line, 
which is available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday. The help line number is (800) 397-4209 or 
locally, (301) 415-4737.
    Participants who believe that they have good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted 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; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth 
Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 
20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants 
filing a document in this manner are responsible for serving the 
document on all other participants. Filing is considered complete by 
first-class mail as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, 
express mail, or expedited delivery service upon depositing the 
document with the provider of the service.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant 
to an order of the Commission, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, 
or a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include 
personal privacy information, such as social security numbers, home 
addresses, or home phone numbers in their filings. With respect to 
copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose 
of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use 
application, Participants are requested not to include copyrighted 
materials in their submission.
    If a person requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with 
particularity the manner in which his interest is adversely affected by 
this Order and shall address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d).
    The scope of this order extending the construction completion date 
and any proceeding hereunder is limited to direct challenges to the 
permit holder's asserted reasons that show good cause justification for 
the extension.
    Attorney for the permit holder: Maureen H. Dunn, Executive Vice 
President and General Counsel, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West 
Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, TN 37902.
    It is hereby ordered that the latest completion date for 
Construction Permit No. CPPR-92 is extended from December 31, 2010, to 
March 31, 2013.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of July 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Leeds,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E8-15796 Filed 7-10-08; 8:45 am]
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