[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 183 (Friday, September 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54437-54439]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21916]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-143]


Notice of Receipt of an Application To Transfer the Control of 
Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-124; Opportunity To Request a 
Hearing and Provide Written Comments

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of license transfer application and 
opportunity to request a hearing.

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DATES: A request for a hearing must be filed by October 9, 2008, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b)(1).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary T. Adams, Senior Project Manager, 
Fuel Manufacturing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and 
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop EBB-2-C40M, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, Telephone: (301) 492-3113; fax number: (301) 492-5539; e-
mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    By letter dated August 8, 2008, (the Application), Nuclear Fuel 
Services, Inc., (NFS or the licensee) requested the consent of the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission), to the indirect 
transfer of Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-124 (SNM-124) to 
NOG-Erwin Holdings, Inc., and approval of a conforming amendment to 
SNM-124. The need for the requested consent arises from the sale by NFS 
Services, LLC, (``NFS Services'') to NOG-Erwin Holdings, Inc., 
(``NOG'') of NFS Services' entire interest in Nuclear Fuel Services, 
Inc. (the ``Transaction''). Included in the Transaction, as more fully 
described in the application, is the transfer by NFS Services of 100% 
of the stock of NFS Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation and its 
wholly-owned subsidiary, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. a Delaware 
corporation which is the holder of the License, to NOG-Erwin Holdings, 
Inc. (``NOG''), a newly-formed subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear 
Operations Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, which is a wholly-owned 
subsidiary of BWX Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation, which in 
turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Babcock & Wilcox Company, a 
Delaware corporation. The Transaction, if approved, will result in the 
indirect change of control of NFS, the holder of the License, from NFS 
Services to NOG.
    NFS is the holder of SNM-124, which authorizes NFS to receive, 
possess, and use special nuclear material for the research, fabrication 
and assembly of nuclear fuel and related components at its facilities 
located in Erwin, Tennessee. The license provides, among other things, 
that the facilities are subject to all rules, regulations, and orders 
of the NRC, now or hereafter in effect. SNM-124 applies to product 
processing operations, laboratory operations, general services 
operations, research and development operations, and waste treatment 
and disposal operations located in Unicoi County, Tennessee.
    Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
Section 2.1301, the Commission is noticing in the Federal Register the 
receipt of the Application for approval of the transfer of SNM-124 
because it involves a major fuel cycle facility licensed under 10 CFR 
Part 70. The NRC is considering the issuance of an order pursuant to 10 
CFR 70.36, authorizing the transfer of control of SNM-124 from NFS to 
NOG-Erwin Holdings, Inc. An amendment to the existing license would 
follow the issuance of the order. According to the Application, NOG-
Erwin Holdings, Inc., would acquire ownership of the NFS facilities and 
upon approval of the license transfer would be the licensee responsible 
for operating and maintaining them. The Application does not propose 
any physical changes to the facilities or other changes.
    The amendment would replace references to NFS, Inc., in Section 1.1 
and Appendix D to Chapter 1 of the license with references to NFS 
Holdings, Inc.; NOG-Erwin Holdings, Inc.; and Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear 
Operations Group, Inc., to reflect the transfer, if approved by the 
Commission.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.36, no license, or any right there under, 
shall be transferred, assigned or in any manner disposed of, either 
voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, through the 
transfer of control of any license to any person unless the Commission 
shall after securing full information, find that the transfer is in 
accordance with the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended, and shall give its consent in writing. The Commission will 
approve an application for the transfer of a license and authorize the 
transfer of the license through the issuance of an order, if it is 
determined that the proposed transferee is qualified to hold the 
license and that the transfer is otherwise consistent with applicable 
provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission 
pursuant thereto.
    An NRC administrative review found the application acceptable to 
begin a technical review. If the NRC issues an order, as described 
above, the approval of the above requested actions will be documented 
in a conforming amendment to SNM-124. However, before issuing an order 
and approving the amendment, the NRC will need to make the findings 
required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and NRC 
regulations. These findings will be documented in a safety evaluation 
report. The license transfer request falls within the 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(21), categorical exclusion criteria, so no environmental 
review of the proposed action is required.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing

    The NRC hereby provides notice that this is a proceeding regarding 
the consideration of the issuance of an order authorizing the transfer 
of control of Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-124. 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 that the person seeks to have litigated in the hearing.
    A request for hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must be 
filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule, which the NRC 
promulgated on August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49139). The E-Filing rule 
requires participants to submit and serve 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.

[[Page 54438]]

    To comply with the procedural requirements of the E-Filing rule, at 
least ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/
requestor must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request: (1) A 
digital identification (ID) certificate, which allows the participant 
(or its counsel or representative) to digitally sign documents and 
access the E-Submittal server for any proceeding in which it is 
participating; and/or (2) the creation of an electronic docket for the 
proceeding [even in instances in which the petitioner/requestor (or its 
counsel or representative) already holds an NRC-issued digital ID 
certificate]. Each petitioner/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. Instruction for applying for a digital 
ID certificate is available on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
    Once a petitioner/requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, 
has created a docket, and downloads the EIE viewer, he or she can then 
submit a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene. 
Submissions should be in Portable Document Format (PDF), in accordance 
with NRC guidance that is 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 documents through EIE. To be 
timely, an electronic filing 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 
documents to each participant separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition 
to intervene is filed so that they can 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 a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file a motion, 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, Rockville, Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a document in 
this manner are responsible for serving the document to 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.
    Non-timely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition 
and/or request should be granted and/or the contentions should be 
admitted based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 
2.309(c)(1)(i)--(viii). To be timely, filings must be submitted no 
later than 11:59 p.m. eastern time on the due date.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
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 by the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or 
a presiding officer. Participants are requested not to include social 
security 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.
    The formal requirements for documents contained in 10 CFR 2.304(c)-
(e) must be met. If the NRC grants an electronic document exemption in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g)(3), then the requirements for paper 
documents, set forth in 10 CFR 2.304(b) must be met.
    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 Atomic Energy Act 
of 1954, as amended, 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 in the requester's interest; and
    5. The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing is 
timely in accordance with10 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 that 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 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

[[Page 54439]]

Application, or other supporting documents filed by the licensee or 
otherwise available to the petitioner. Contentions may be amended or 
new contentions filed after the initial filing only with leave of the 
presiding officer.
    Requesters/petitioners should, when possible, consult with each 
other in preparing contentions and combine similar subject matter 
concerns into a 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 accordance with the E-Filing rule, within ten (10) days 
of the date the contention is filed, and designate a representative who 
shall have the authority to act for the requester/petitioner.

III. Written Comments

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.1305(a), as an alternative to requests 
for hearings and petitions to intervene, persons may submit written 
comments regarding the license transfer application. These comments 
must be submitted by October 20, 2008, in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.1305(b). The Commission will address the comments received in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.1305(c). Comments should be submitted to the 
Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and should cite 
the publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. 
Comments received after 30 days will be considered if practicable to do 
so, but only the comments received on or before the due date can be 
assured consideration.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action including the Application for the 
proposed license transfer and supporting documentation, are available 
electronically through 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 number for the publicly-available documents related to this 
notice is ML082390922.
    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 10th day of September 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Peter Habighorst,
Chief, Fuel Manufacturing Branch, Fuel Facilities Licensing 
Directorate, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of 
Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E8-21916 Filed 9-18-08; 8:45 am]
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