[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47625-47626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22323]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-315; NRC-2009-0406; License No. DPR-058]
Indiana Michigan Power Company Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Unit
1; Notice of Issuance of Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206
Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, has issued a director's decision with regard to a petition
dated December 16, 2008, filed on behalf of the Union of Concerned
Scientists (UCS) by Mr. David Lochbaum, hereinafter referred to as the
``petitioner.'' In a letter dated February 2, 2009, Mr. Lochbaum
designated Dr. Edwin Lyman as the petitioner and new point of contact
for UCS. The petition concerns the safe future operation of Indiana
Michigan Power Company's (the licensee) Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power
Plant, Unit 1 (CNP-1).
The petition requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) issue a demand for information requiring the licensee to docket
information on four issues described below at least 30 days before
restarting CNP-1 from the current outage.
As the basis for the December 16, 2008, request, the petitioner
raised concerns stemming from the significant vibration resulting from
the failure of the CNP-1 main turbine on September 20, 2008.
Specifically, the petitioner stated that the event caused significant
vibration levels that resulted in the spurious operation of standby
equipment and may have contributed to a breach that seriously impaired
the fire protection system. The petitioner requested the information,
in part, to ensure that the licensee had applied the proper lessons
learned from the event to the future operation of the CNP-1 reactor.
The petitioner further stated that without this information, the NRC
could not be assured that the public was adequately protected from the
significant adverse safety implications resulting from a safe shutdown
earthquake event that causes the spurious actuation of equipment.
On January 21, 2009, the NRC Petition Review Board (PRB) convened
to discuss the petition under consideration and determined that it met
the criteria established in NRC Management Directive 8.11, ``Review
Process for 10 CFR 2.206 Petitions,'' dated October 25, 2000, for
acceptance into the process under Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) 2.206, ``Requests for action under this subpart.''
On January 27, 2009, the NRC staff discussed this conclusion with the
petitioner during a telephone conversation. The petitioner stated
during this conversation that he would not need a public meeting to
address the PRB.
The NRC sent a copy of the proposed director's decision to the
petitioner and the licensee for comment on July 2, 2009. The staff did
not receive any comments on the proposed director's decision.
The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has
determined that the agency should deny the request that the NRC issue a
demand for information requiring Indiana Michigan Power Company to
docket information on four issues at least 30 days before restarting
CNP-1 from the current outage. The director's decision, DD-09-02,
explains the reasons for this decision pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206. The
complete text of the decision is available in the Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Electronic Reading Room (ADAMS
Accession No. ML092230012) on the NRC's Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, and for inspection at the Commission's Public
Document Room, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1
F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
In a letter dated May 12, 2009, the licensee provided a response to
the petitioner's request for information. The NRC technical staff
reviewed the licensee's response and other docketed information
associated with the event. The NRC staff has concluded that public
health and safety were not affected by
[[Page 47626]]
the event, nor would they be affected by a similar event in the future.
Furthermore, the NRC has found the licensee's event response and
corrective actions to be reasonable and technically sound.
Based on the above, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has
concluded that future operation of CNP-1 provides reasonable assurance
of the continued protection of public health and safety. There were no
violations associated with the event. The licensee's corrective actions
in response to the event appear appropriate. No further action is
required.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulations,
the staff will file a copy of the director's decision with the
Secretary of the Commission for the Commission's review. As provided
for by this regulation, the director's decision will constitute the
final action of the Commission 25 days after the date of the decision,
unless the Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the
director's decision within that time.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of September 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Leeds,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-22323 Filed 9-15-09; 8:45 am]
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