[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 18, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11606-11610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5810]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52-039; NRC-2009-0112]
PPL Bell Bend, LLC; Combined License Application for the Bell
Bend Nuclear Power Plant; Notice of Hearing, Opportunity To Petition
for Leave To Intervene, and Associated Order
Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the
regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
Part 2, ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings and
Issuance of Orders,'' 10 CFR Part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of
Production and Utilization Facilities,'' and 10 CFR Part 52,
``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,''
notice is hereby given that a hearing will be held, at a time and place
to be set in the future by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC,
the Commission) or designated by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board
(Board). The hearing will consider the application dated October 10,
2008, filed by PPL Bell Bend, LLC, pursuant to Subpart C of 10 CFR Part
52, for a combined license (COL). The application, which was
supplemented by the applicant by letters dated November 18, 2008,
November 24, 2008, December 1, 2008, and December 8, 2008, requests
approval of a COL for the Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant to be located
in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The application was accepted for
docketing on December 19, 2008 (73 FR 79519). The docket number
established for this application is 52-039. The Bell Bend Nuclear Power
Plant COL application incorporates by reference the application for a
standard Design Certification for the U. S. Evolutionary Power Reactor
(EPR) submitted to NRC by AREVA NP on December 11, 2007. This design
certification application was supplemented by letters dated February 7,
2008, and February 20, 2008. The U.S. EPR design certification
application was accepted for docketing on February 25, 2008, and is the
subject of an ongoing rulemaking under docket number 52-020.
The hearing will be conducted by a Board that will be designated by
the Chief Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel or will
be conducted by the Commission. Notice as to the membership of the
Board will be published in the Federal Register at a later date. The
NRC staff will complete a detailed technical review of the application
and will document its findings in a safety evaluation report. The
Commission will refer a copy of the application to the Advisory
Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) in accordance with 10 CFR 52.87,
``Referral to the ACRS,'' and the ACRS will report on those portions of
the application that concern safety.
Any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and
who desires to participate as a party to this proceeding must file a
written petition for leave to intervene in accordance with 10 CFR
2.309. 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.
A petition for a leave to intervene must be filed no later than 60
days from the date of publication of this notice in the Federal
Register. Non-timely filings will not be entertained absent a
determination by the Commission or presiding officer designated to rule
on the petition, pursuant to the requirements of 10 CFR 2.309(c)(i)
through (c)(viii).
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. A petition for leave to intervene must be filed in accordance
with the NRC E-Filing rule, which was promulgated by the NRC on August
28, 2007 (72 FR 49139). The E-Filing process 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.
To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10
days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner must 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 (or its
counsel or representative) already holds an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate). Each participant 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 participant has obtained a digital ID certificate, had a
docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit a
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
[[Page 11607]]
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 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 Meta-System Help
Desk, which is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday. The Meta-System Help Desk can be contacted by
telephone at 1-866-672-7640 or by e-mail 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) through (c)(1)(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 of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or
a Presiding Officer. Except as required by the regulations,
participants are requested not to include personal privacy information,
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or home phone numbers
in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law requires
submission of such information. 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.
Any person who files a motion pursuant to 10 CFR 2.323 must consult
with counsel for the applicant and counsel for the NRC staff who are
listed below. Counsel for the applicant is David A. Repka, Esq.,
[email protected], (202) 282-5726. Counsel for the NRC staff in this
proceeding is Robert Weisman, [email protected], (301) 415-1696.
A person who is not a party may be permitted to make a limited
appearance by making an oral or written statement of his or her
position on the issues at any session of the hearing or any pre-hearing
conference within the limits and conditions fixed by the presiding
officer, but may not otherwise participate in the proceeding. These
limited appearance statements need not be submitted using the E-filing
process.
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. 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, 301-415-4737, or by
e-mail to [email protected]. The application is available at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/bell-bend.html. The ADAMS
accession number for the application cover letter is ML082140630. To
search for documents in ADAMS using the Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant
COL application docket number 52-039, enter the term ``05200039'' in
the ``Docket Number'' field when using either the web-based search
(advanced search) engine or the ADAMS find tool in CITRIX. The AREVA
Design Control Document (DCD), Rev. 0, which is incorporated by
reference, can be found by going to http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/epr.html. To review available documents related to
AREVA's U.S. EPR design certification by using the docket number, enter
the term ``05200020'' in the ADAMS ``Docket Number'' field.
Order Imposing Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-
Safeguards Information and Safeguards Information 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 Sensitive Unclassified Non-
Safeguards Information (SUNSI) and Safeguards Information (SGI)).
2. Within 10 days after publication of this notice of hearing and
opportunity to petition for leave to intervene, 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 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
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
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[email protected], respectively.\1\ The request must include the
following information:
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\1\ 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 this
Federal Register notice of hearing and opportunity to petition for
leave to intervene;
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-258 (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 301-492-3524.\2\ The other completed forms must be signed in
original ink, accompanied by a check or money order payable in the
amount of $200.00 to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for each
individual, and mailed to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Office of Administration, Security Processing Unit, Mail Stop TWB-05
B32M, 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 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 10
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 or opportunity for 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
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within 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 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 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 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. Attachment 1 to this Order summarizes the general
target schedule for processing and resolving requests under these
procedures.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of March 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
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 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.
60.............................. 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).
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.
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.
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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. E9-5810 Filed 3-17-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P