[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 250 (Tuesday, December 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79921-79923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30946]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[DOCKET NO. 50-298]


Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application and Notice 
of Opportunity for Hearing Regarding Renewal of Facility Operating 
License No. DPR-46 for an Additional 20-Year Period Nebraska Public 
Power District Cooper Nuclear Station

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is 
considering an application for the renewal of operating license DPR-46, 
which authorizes Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), to operate the 
Cooper Nuclear Station (CNS), at 2419 megawatts thermal. The renewed 
license would authorize the applicant to operate the Cooper Nuclear 
Station for an additional 20 years beyond the period specified in the 
current license. CNS is located near Brownville, NE, and its current 
operating license expires on January 18, 2014.
    CNS submitted the application dated September 24, 2008, pursuant to 
Title 10, Part 54, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 54), 
to renew operating license DPR-46 for CNS. A notice of receipt and 
availability of the license renewal application (LRA) was published in 
the Federal Register on November 17, 2008 (73 FR 67896).
    The Commission's staff has determined that Nebraska Public Power 
District has submitted sufficient information in accordance with 10 CFR 
sections 54.19, 54.21, 54.22, 54.23, 51.45, and 51.53(c), to enable the 
staff to undertake a review of the application, and the application is 
therefore acceptable for docketing. The current Docket No. 50-298, for 
operating license DPR-46, will be retained. The determination to accept 
the license renewal application for docketing does not constitute a 
determination that a renewed license should be issued, and does not 
preclude the NRC staff from requesting additional information as the 
review proceeds.
    Before issuance of the requested renewed license, the NRC will have 
made the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (the Act), 
as amended, and the Commission's rules and regulations. In accordance 
with 10 CFR 54.29, the NRC may issue a renewed license if it finds that 
actions have been identified and have been, or will be, taken with 
respect to: (1) Managing the effects of aging during the period of 
extended operation on the functionality of structures and components 
that have been identified as requiring aging management review; and (2) 
time-limited aging analyses that have been identified as requiring 
review, such that there is reasonable assurance that the activities 
authorized by the renewed license will continue to be conducted in 
accordance with the current licensing basis (CLB), and that any changes 
made to the plant's CLB will comply with the Act and the Commission's 
regulations.
    Additionally, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.95(c), the NRC will 
prepare an environmental impact statement that is a supplement to the 
Commission's NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for 
License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated May 1996. In 
considering the LRA, the Commission must find that the applicable 
requirements of Subpart A of 10 CFR Part 51 have been satisfied, and 
that matters raised under 10 CFR 2.335 have been addressed. Pursuant to 
10 CFR 51.26, and as part of the environmental scoping process, the 
staff intends to hold a public scoping meeting. Detailed information 
regarding the environmental scoping meeting will be the subject of a 
separate Federal Register notice.
    Within 60 days of this notice, any person(s) whose interest may be 
affected may file a request for hearing/petition to intervene. As 
required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene shall set 
forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner/requestor in 
the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of 
the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons 
why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the 
following general requirements: (1) The name, address, and telephone 
number of the requestor or petitioner; (2) the nature of the 
requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the 
proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the requestor's/petitioner's 
property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the 
possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the 
proceeding on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The petition must 
also identify the specific contentions which the petitioner/requestor 
seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.
    Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 
petitioner/requestor shall provide a brief explanation of the bases for 
the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert 
opinion which support the contention and on which the petitioner 
intends to rely in proving the contention at the

[[Page 79922]]

hearing. The petitioner must also provide references to those specific 
sources and documents of which the petitioner is aware and on which the 
petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts or expert opinion. 
The petition must include sufficient information to show that a genuine 
dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or 
fact.\1\ Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of 
the amendment under consideration. The contention must be one which, if 
proven, would entitle the petitioner/requestor to relief. A petitioner/
requestor who fails to satisfy these requirements with respect to at 
least one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
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    \1\ To the extent that the application contains attachments and 
supporting documents that are not publicly available because they 
are asserted to contain safeguards or proprietary information, 
petitioners desiring access to this information should contact the 
applicant or applicant's counsel to discuss the need for a 
protective order.
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    The Commission requests that each contention be given a separate 
numeric or alpha designation within one of the following groups: (1) 
Technical (primarily related to safety concerns); (2) environmental; or 
(3) miscellaneous.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, 
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing.
    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or 
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene, 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 an exemption in accordance with the 
procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 
ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/ 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 proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2) 
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. 
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on 
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, 
had a docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it 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 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 on those participants 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 using the agency's adjudicatory e-
filing system 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 electronic filing Help Desk, 
which is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday 
through Friday, excluding government holidays. The toll-free help line 
number is (866) 672-7640. A person filing electronically may also seek 
assistance by sending an e-mail to the NRC electronic filing Help Desk 
at [email protected].
    Participants who believe that they have a 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.
    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).
    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, an 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 submissions.
    Detailed information about the license renewal process can be found 
under the Nuclear Reactors icon at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html on the NRC's Web site. Copies of the 
application to renew the operating license for CNS,

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Unit 1, is available for public inspection at the Commission's PDR, 
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 
Rockville, MD 20852-2738, and at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html, the NRC's Web site while the 
application is under review. The application may be accessed in ADAMS 
through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under ADAMS Accession Number 
ML083030227. As stated above, persons who do not have access to ADAMS 
or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS 
may contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff by 
telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].
    The NRC staff has verified that a copy of the license renewal 
application is also available to local residents near CNS, at the 
Auburn Memorial Library, 1810 Courthouse Avenue, Auburn, NE 68305.
    The applicant's counsel: John C. McClure, Nebraska Public Power 
District, 1414 15th Street Columbus, NE., 68602.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of December, 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Brian E. Holian,
Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E8-30946 Filed 12-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P