[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 112 (Friday, June 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34103-34105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14416]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board

[Docket No. 70-7015-M; ASLBP No. 10-899-02-ML-BD01]


In the Matter of Areva Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock 
Enrichment Facility); Notice of Hearing, (Notice of Evidentiary Hearing 
and Opportunity To Provide Oral and Written Limited Appearance 
Statements)

June 2, 2011.

Before Administrative Judges: G. Paul Bollwerk, III, Chairman, Dr. 
Kaye D. Lathrop, Dr. Craig M. White.

    The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hereby gives notice that it 
will convene an evidentiary session to receive testimony and exhibits 
in the ``mandatory hearing'' portion of this proceeding regarding the 
December 2008 application by AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (AES) 
seeking a license under 10 CFR Parts 30, 40, and 70 authorizing (1) the 
construction and operation of a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment 
facility--denoted as the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility (EREF)--in 
Bonneville County, Idaho; and (2) the receipt, possession, use, 
delivery, and transfer of byproduct (e.g., calibration sources), source 
and special nuclear material at the EREF. This evidentiary hearing 
session will concern environmental matters relating to the proposed 
issuance of the requested license. In addition, the Licensing Board 
gives notice that, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.315(a), it will 
entertain oral and written limited appearance statements from members 
of the public in connection with this proceeding.

A. Matters To Be Considered

    As set forth by the Commission in the July 30, 2009 notice of 
hearing regarding this proceeding,\1\ relative to environmental matters 
the Board is required independently to (1) determine whether the 
requirements of section 102(2)(A), (C) and (E) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(A), (C), 
(E), and Subpart A of 10 CFR part 51 have been complied with in the 
proceeding; (2) determine whether the review conducted by the NRC staff 
pursuant to Part 51 has been adequate; (3) consider the final balance 
among conflicting factors contained in the record of the proceeding 
with a view to determining the appropriate action to be taken; and (4) 
determine, after weighing the environmental, economic, technical, and 
other benefits against the environmental and other costs, and 
considering reasonable alternatives, whether a license should be 
issued, denied, or appropriately conditioned to protect environmental 
values. More specifically with regard to this portion of the proceeding 
that concerns generally the environmental-related aspects of the AES 
environmental report and the associated staff final environmental 
impact statement (FEIS),\2\ AES and the staff will make evidentiary 
presentations to the Board regarding the purpose and need for the 
proposed EREF; ``preconstruction'' activities; greenhouse gas impacts 
of the EREF's production power consumption; construction air quality 
impacts; the facility's radiological effluent monitoring program; and 
the status of the historic/cultural resources memorandum of agreement 
and associated mitigation measures.
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    \1\ See Notice of Receipt of Application for License; Notice of 
Consideration of Issuance of License; Notice of Hearing and 
Commission Order and Order Imposing Procedures for Access to 
Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information and Safeguards 
Information for Contention Preparation; In the Matter of Areva 
Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility), 74 FR 
38,052, 38,054 (July 30, 2009) (CLI-09-15, 70 NRC 1, 7-8 (2009)).
    \2\ After conducting a January 2011 evidentiary hearing session 
concerning safety-related matters relative to the AES safety 
analysis report and the associated staff safety evaluation report, 
in an April 2011 partial initial decision the Licensing Board 
provided its findings and conclusions, determining that (1) the AES 
application contains sufficient information to support license 
issuance; and (2) the staff's review of the application had been 
adequate to support license issuance, subject to a license condition 
regarding the qualifications of the facility's nuclear criticality 
safety manager and an unresolved decommissioning funding financial 
assurance issue that awaits Commission consideration of a pending 
Board-certified question. See LBP-11-11, 73 NRC, --, ----- (slip op. 
at 82-84) (Apr. 8, 2011).
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B. Date, Time, and Location of Environmental-Related Portion of the 
Mandatory Hearing

    The Board will conduct the portion of the mandatory hearing 
regarding environmental matters beginning at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time 
(MT) on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, at the Red Lion on the Falls Convention 
Center, Targhee/Bonneville Rooms, 475 River Parkway,

[[Page 34104]]

Idaho Falls, Idaho. The hearing will continue from day-to-day until 
concluded. AES and the staff will be parties to the mandatory hearing 
and will present witnesses and evidentiary material.
    Any member of the public who plans to attend the mandatory hearing 
is advised that security measures may be employed at the entrance to 
the room housing the hearing, including searches of hand-carried items 
such as briefcases or backpacks, and is reminded to allow sufficient 
time for security screening.

C. Date, Time, and Location of Oral Limited Appearance Statement 
Sessions

    Oral limited appearance sessions regarding the AREVA mandatory 
hearing proceeding will be on the following dates at the specified 
location and times:
    1. Date: Sunday, July 10, 2011 (if there is sufficient interest).
    Time: 3 to 5 p.m. MT.
    Location: Bennion Student Union Multipurpose Room, 1784 Science 
Center Drive, University Place in Idaho Falls, Idaho Falls, Idaho.
    2. Date: Monday, July 11, 2011 (if there is sufficient interest).
    Time: 7 to 9 p.m. MT.
    Location: Same as Session 1 above.

D. Participation Guidelines for Oral Limited Appearance Statements

    Any person not a party, or the representative of a party, to this 
mandatory hearing proceeding will be permitted to make an oral 
statement setting forth his or her position on matters of concern 
relating to the proceeding. Although these statements do not constitute 
testimony or evidence, they nonetheless may help the Licensing Board 
and/or the parties in their consideration of the issues in this portion 
of the mandatory hearing.
    Oral limited appearance statements will be entertained during the 
hours specified above, or such lesser time as may be necessary to 
accommodate the speakers who are present. In this regard, if all 
scheduled and unscheduled speakers present at a session have made a 
presentation, the Licensing Board reserves the right to terminate the 
session before the ending times listed above. The Board also reserves 
the right to cancel the Sunday afternoon and/or Monday evening sessions 
scheduled above if there has not been a sufficient showing of public 
interest as reflected by the number of preregistered speakers.
    Any member of the public who plans to attend the limited appearance 
sessions is strongly advised to arrive early to allow time to pass 
through any security measures that may be employed. Attendees are also 
requested not to bring any unnecessary hand-carried items, such as 
packages, briefcases, backpacks, or other items that might need to be 
examined individually. Items that could readily be used as weapons will 
not be permitted in the room where these sessions will be held. Also, 
during these sessions, signs no larger than 18 inches by 18 inches will 
be permitted, but may not be attached to sticks, held over one's head, 
or moved about in the room.
    The time allotted for each limited appearance statement normally 
will be no more than five minutes, but may be further limited depending 
on the number of written requests to make an oral statement that are 
submitted in accordance with section E below and/or the number of 
persons present at the designated times to ensure everyone will have an 
opportunity to speak. In addition, in the case of the Monday evening 
session, although an individual who previously addressed the Licensing 
Board at the Sunday afternoon limited appearance session may request an 
opportunity to make an additional presentation, the Board reserves the 
right to defer such additional presentations until after it has heard 
from speakers who have not had an opportunity to make an initial 
presentation.

E. Submitting a Request To Make an Oral Limited Appearance Statement

    A person wishing to make an oral statement who has submitted a 
timely written request to do so will be given priority over those who 
have not filed such a request. To be considered timely, a written 
request to make an oral statement must either be mailed, faxed, or sent 
by e-mail so as to be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Friday, 
July 1, 2011. The request must specify the session (Sunday or Monday) 
during which the requester wishes to make an oral statement. Based on 
its review of the requests received by July 1, 2011, the Licensing 
Board may decide that the Sunday afternoon and/or Monday evening 
sessions will not be held due to a lack of adequate interest in those 
sessions.
    Written requests to make an oral statement should be submitted to:
    Mail: Administrative Judge G. Paul Bollwerk, III, Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board Panel, Mail Stop T-3F23, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    Fax: (301) 415-5599 (verification (301) 415-6094).
    E-mail: [email protected] and [email protected].

F. Submitting Written Limited Appearance Statements

    As provided in 10 CFR 2.315(a), any person not a party, or the 
representative of a party, to the proceeding may submit a written 
statement setting forth his or her position on matters of concern 
relating to this proceeding. Although these statements do not 
constitute testimony or evidence, they nonetheless may help the Board 
or the parties in their consideration of the issues in this proceeding.
    A written limited appearance statement may be submitted at any time 
and should be sent to the Office of the Secretary using one of the 
methods prescribed below:
    Mail: Office of the Secretary, Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    Fax: (301) 415-1101 (verification (301) 415-1966).
    E-mail: [email protected].
    In addition, using the same method of service, a copy of the 
written limited appearance statement should be sent to the Chairman of 
this Licensing Board as follows:
    Mail: Administrative Judge G. Paul Bollwerk, III, Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board Panel, Mail Stop T-3F23, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    Fax: (301) 415-5599 (verification (301) 415-6094).
    E-mail: [email protected].

G. Availability of Documentary Information Regarding the Proceeding

    The AES application and various staff documents relating to the 
application are available on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/arevanc.html.
    These and other documents relating to this proceeding are available 
for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 
Rockville, Maryland, or electronically from the publicly-available 
records component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible 
from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the 
Public Electronic Reading Room).\3\ Persons who do not

[[Page 34105]]

have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the 
documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR reference staff 
by telephone at (800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-4737 (available between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday except federal holidays), or 
by e-mail to [email protected].
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    \3\ Some documents determined by the staff to contain 
``sensitive'' information are publicly available only in redacted 
form; non-sensitive documents are publicly available in their 
complete form. In addition, some documents that may contain 
information proprietary to AES are publicly available only in 
redacted form.
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H. Information Updates to Schedule

    Any updates or revisions to the mandatory hearing schedule or the 
schedule for limited appearance sessions can be found on the NRC Web 
site at http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm, or 
by calling (800) 368-5642, extension 5036 (available between 7 a.m. and 
9 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays), or by 
calling (301) 415-5036 (available seven days a week, twenty-four hours 
a day).
    It is so ordered.

     Dated: June 2, 2011.

    For the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
G. Paul Bollwerk, III,
Chairman, Rockville, Maryland.
[FR Doc. 2011-14416 Filed 6-9-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P