[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2766-2771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-945]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-413 and 50-414; NRC-2012-0003]
Facility Operating License Amendment from Duke Energy Carolinas,
LLC., Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: License amendment; request for comment and hearing, and order.
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DATES: Submit comments by February 21, 2012. A request for a hearing
must be filed by March 19, 2012. Any potential party as defined in
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 2.4 who
believes access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information
(SUNSI) is necessary to respond to this notice must request document
access by January 30, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2012-0003 in the subject line
of your comments. For additional instructions on submitting comments
and instructions on accessing documents related to this action, see
``Submitting Comments and Accessing Information'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document. You may submit comments by any
one of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-
2012-0003. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher,
telephone: (301) 492-3668; email: [email protected].
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules,
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001.
Fax comments to: RADB at (301) 492-3446.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Submitting Comments and Accessing Information
Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted
on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site, http://www.regulations.gov. Because your comments will not be edited to remove
any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against
including any information in your submission that you do not want to be
publicly disclosed.
The NRC requests that any party soliciting or aggregating comments
received from other persons for submission to the NRC inform those
persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any
identifying or contact information, and therefore, they should not
include any information in their comments that they do not want
publicly disclosed.
You can access publicly available documents related to this
document using the following methods:
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine
and have copied, for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's
PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland 20852.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC
are available online in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain entry into ADAMS,
which provides text and image files of the NRC's public documents. If
you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing
the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR reference staff
at 1-(800) 397-4209, (301) 415-4737, or by email to
[email protected]. The application for amendments, dated June 30,
2011, as supplemented by letter dated July 11, 2011, contains
proprietary information and, accordingly, those portions are being
withheld from public disclosure. A redacted version of the application
for amendments, dated June 30, 2011, is
[[Page 2767]]
available electronically under ADAMS Accession No. ML11188A108. A
redacted version of the July 11, 2011, supplement is available
electronically under ADAMS Accession No. ML11195A067.
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and
supporting materials related to this notice can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID NRC-2012-0003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John F. Stang, Project Manager, Plant
Licensing Branch 2-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: (301) 415-1345; email:
[email protected].
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is
considering issuance of amendments to Renewed Facility Operating
Licenses NPF-35 and NPF-52 issued to Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (the
licensee), for operation of the Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2,
located in York County, South Carolina.
The proposed amendment would revise the Technical Specifications
(TS) to accomplish the following objectives:
Permanently exclude portions of a steam generator (SG)
tube below the top of the SG tubesheet from periodic SG tube
inspections and plugging,
Permanently reduce the primary to secondary leakage limit,
and
Permanently implement reporting requirement changes that
had been previously established on a one-cycle basis.
Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission
will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations.
The Commission has made a proposed determination that the amendment
request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under the
Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation of
the facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1)
involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an
accident previously evaluated; (2) create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or
(3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. As required
by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of the issue
of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented below:
Criterion 1:
Does the proposed amendment involve a significant increase in
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The proposed changes to TS 3.4.13, TS 5.5.9, and TS 5.6.8 have
no significant effect upon accident probabilities or consequences.
Of the various accidents previously evaluated, the following are
limiting with respect to the proposed changes as discussed in this
amendment request:
SG Tube Rupture evaluation
Steam Line Break/Feed Line Break evaluation
Locked Rotor evaluation
Control Rod Ejection evaluation
Loss of Coolant Accident conditions cause a compressive axial
load to act on the tube. Therefore, since this accident tends to
force the tube into the tubesheet rather than pull it out, it is not
a factor in this amendment request. Another faulted load
consideration is a Safe Shutdown Earthquake; however, the seismic
analysis of Model D5 SGs (the SGs at Catawba) has shown that axial
loading of the tubes is negligible during this event. At normal
operating pressures, leakage from Primary Water Stress Corrosion
Cracking (PWSCC) below 14.01 inches from the top of the tubesheet is
limited by both the tube-to-tubesheet crevice and the limited crack
opening permitted by the tubesheet constraint. Consequently,
negligible normal operating leakage is expected from cracks within
the tubesheet region. For the SG Tube Rupture event, tube rupture is
precluded for cracks in the hydraulic expansion region due to the
constraint provided by the tubesheet. Therefore, the margin against
tube burst/pullout is maintained during normal and postulated
accident conditions and the proposed change does not result in a
significant increase in the probability of a tube rupture. SG Tube
Rupture consequences are not affected by the primary to secondary
leakage flow during the event, as primary to secondary leakage flow
through a postulated tube that has been pulled out of the tubesheet
is essentially equivalent to that from a severed tube. Therefore,
the proposed change does not result in a significant increase in the
consequences of a tube rupture.
The probability of a Steam Line Break/Feed Line Break, Locked
Rotor, and Control Rod Ejection are not affected by the potential
failure of a SG tube, as the failure of a tube is not an initiator
for any of these events. In the supporting Westinghouse analyses,
leakage is modeled as flow through a porous medium via the use of
the Darcy equation. The leakage model is used to develop a
relationship between operational leakage and leakage at accident
conditions that is based on differential pressure across the
tubesheet and the viscosity of the fluid. A leak rate ratio was
developed to relate the leakage at operating conditions to leakage
at accident conditions. The fluid viscosity is based on fluid
temperature and it has been shown that for the most limiting
accident, the fluid temperature does not exceed the normal operating
temperature.
Therefore, the viscosity ratio is assumed to be 1.0 and the leak
rate ratio is a function of the ratio of the accident differential
pressure and the normal operating differential pressure.
The leakage factor of 3.27 for Catawba Unit 2 for a postulated
Steam Line Break/Feed Line Break has been calculated as shown in the
supporting Westinghouse analyses. Therefore, Catawba Unit 2 will
apply a factor of 3.27 to the normal operating leakage associated
with the tubesheet expansion region in the Condition Monitoring
assessment and Operational Assessment. Through application of the
limited tubesheet inspection scope, the proposed operating leakage
limit provides assurance that excessive leakage (i.e., greater than
accident analysis assumptions) will not occur. No leakage factor
will be applied to the Locked Rotor or Control Rod Ejection due to
their short duration, since the calculated leak rate ratio is less
than 1.0.
Therefore, the proposed change does not result in a significant
increase in the consequences of these accidents.
For the Condition Monitoring assessment, the component of
leakage from the prior cycle from below the H* distance will be
multiplied by a factor of 3.27 and added to the total leakage from
any other source and compared to the allowable accident induced
leakage limit. For the Operational Assessment, the difference in the
leakage between the allowable leakage and the accident induced
leakage from sources other than the tubesheet expansion region will
be divided by 3.27 and compared to the observed operational leakage.
Based on the above, the performance criteria of NEI 97-06 and
Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.121 continue to be met and the proposed
change does not involve a significant increase in the probability or
consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
Criterion 2:
Does the proposed amendment create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The proposed changes to TS 3.4.13, TS 5.5.9, and TS 5.6.8 do not
introduce any changes or mechanisms that create the possibility of a
new or different kind of accident. Tube bundle integrity is expected
to be maintained for all plant conditions upon implementation of the
permanent alternate repair criteria. The proposed change does not
introduce any new equipment or any change to existing equipment. No
new effects on existing equipment are created nor are any new
malfunctions introduced.
Therefore, based on the above evaluation, the proposed change
does not create the possibility of a new or different kind of
accident from any accident previously evaluated.
Criterion 3:
Does the proposed amendment involve a significant reduction in a
margin of safety?
Response: No.
The proposed changes to TS 3.4.13, TS 5.5.9, and TS 5.6.8
maintain the required structural margins of the SG tubes for both
[[Page 2768]]
normal and accident conditions. NEI 97-06 and RG 1.121 are used as
the basis in the development of the limited tubesheet inspection
depth methodology for determining that SG tube integrity
considerations are maintained within acceptable limits. RG 1.121
describes a method acceptable to the NRC staff for meeting GDC 14,
15, 31, and 32 by reducing the probability and consequences of a SG
Tube Rupture. RG 1.121 concludes that by determining the limiting
safe conditions for tube wall degradation, the probability and
consequences of a SG Tube Rupture are reduced. This RG uses safety
factors on loads for tube burst that are consistent with the
requirements of Section III of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME) Code.
For axially oriented cracking located within the tubesheet, tube
burst is precluded due to the presence of the tubesheet. For
circumferentially oriented cracking, the supporting Westinghouse
analyses defines a length of degradation-free expanded tubing that
provides the necessary resistance to tube pullout due to the
pressure induced forces, with applicable safety factors applied.
Application of the limited hot and cold leg tubesheet inspection
criteria will preclude unacceptable primary to secondary leakage
during all plant conditions. The methodology for determining leakage
as described in the supporting Westinghouse analyses shows that
significant margin exists between an acceptable level of leakage
during normal operating conditions that ensures meeting the accident
induced leakage assumption and the TS leakage limit. Based on the
above, it is concluded that the proposed change does not result in
any reduction of margin with respect to plant safety as defined in
the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) or Bases of the
plant TS.
Based on the above, Duke Energy concludes that the proposed
amendment does not involve a significant hazards consideration under
the standards set forth in 10 CFR 50.92(c), and, accordingly, a
finding of no significant hazards consideration is justified.
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are
satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration.
The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed
determination. Any comments received by February 21, 2012 will be
considered in making any final determination. You may submit comments
using any of the methods discussed in the ADDRESSES section of this
document.
Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the
expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The
Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60-
day period provided that its final determination is that the amendment
involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the
Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30-
day comment period should circumstances change during the 30-day
comment period such that failure to act in a timely way would result,
for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility. Should the
Commission take action prior to the expiration of either the comment
period or the notice period, it will publish in the Federal Register a
notice of issuance. Should the Commission make a final No Significant
Hazards Consideration Determination, any hearing will take place after
issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will
occur very infrequently.
II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing; Petitions for Leave To Intervene
Requirements for hearing requests and petitions for leave to
intervene are found in 10 CFR 2.309, ``Hearing requests, Petitions to
intervene, Requirements for standing, and Contentions.'' Interested
persons should consult 10 FR 2.309, which is available at the NRC's
Public Document Room (PDR), Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. You may also call the PDR at 1-
(800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-4737. The NRC regulations are also
accessible online in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and
who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a
written petition for leave to intervene. As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a
petition for leave to intervene shall set forth with particularity the
interest of the requestor/petitioner in the proceeding and how that
interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding. The petition
must provide the name, address, and telephone number of the requestor
or petitioner and specifically explain the reasons why the intervention
should be permitted with particular reference to the following factors:
(1) The nature of the requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to
be made a party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of the
requestor's/petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the
proceeding; and (3) 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 requestor/petitioner seeks to have litigated at the
proceeding.
A petition for leave to intervene must also include a specification
of the contentions that the petitioner seeks to have litigated in the
hearing. For each contention, the requestor/petitioner must provide a
specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be raised or
controverted, as well as a brief explanation of the basis for the
contention. Additionally, the requestor/petitioner must demonstrate
that the issue raised by each contention is within the scope of the
proceeding and is material to the findings the NRC must make to support
the granting of a license amendment in response to the application. The
petition must include a concise statement of the alleged facts or
expert opinions which support the position of the requestor/petitioner
and on which the requestor/petitioner intends to rely at hearing,
together with references to the specific sources and documents on which
the requestor/petitioner intends to rely. Finally, the petition must
provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists
with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact, including
references to specific portions of the application for amendment that
the requestor/petitioner disputes and the supporting reasons for each
dispute, or, if the requestor/petitioner believes that the application
for amendment fails to contain information on a relevant matter as
required by law, the identification of each failure and the supporting
reasons for the requestor's/petitioner's belief. Each contention must
be one which, if proven, would entitle the requestor/petitioner to
relief.
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 with respect to resolution of that person's admitted
contentions, including the opportunity to present evidence and to
submit a cross-examination plan for cross-examination of witnesses,
consistent with NRC regulations, policies, and procedures. The Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board (the Licensing Board) will set the time and
place for any prehearing conferences and evidentiary hearings, and the
appropriate notices will be provided.
Non-timely petitions for leave to intervene and contentions,
amended petitions, and supplemental petitions will not be entertained
absent a determination by the Commission, the Licensing Board or a
presiding officer that the petition should be granted and/
[[Page 2769]]
or the contentions should be admitted based upon a balancing of the
factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii).
A State, county, municipality, Federally-recognized Indian tribe,
or agencies thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to
participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(d)(2). The petition should
state the nature and extent of the petitioner's interest in the
proceeding. The petition should be submitted to the Commission by March
19, 2012. The petition must be filed in accordance with the filing
instructions in Section III of this document, and should meet the
requirements for petitions for leave to intervene set forth in this
section, except that State and Federally-recognized Indian tribes do
not need to address the standing requirements in 10 CFR 2.309(d)(1) if
the facility is located within its boundaries. The entities listed
above could also seek to participate in a hearing as a nonparty
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.315(c).
Any person who does not wish, or is not qualified, to become a
party to this proceeding may request permission to make a limited
appearance pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.315(a). A person
making a limited appearance may make an oral or written statement of
position on the issues, but may not otherwise participate in the
proceeding. A limited appearance may be made at any session of the
hearing or at any prehearing conference, subject to such limits and
conditions as may be imposed by the Licensing Board. Persons desiring
to make a limited appearance are requested to inform the Secretary of
the Commission by March 19, 2012.
If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration. The
final determination will serve to decide when the hearing is held. If
the final determination is that the amendment request involves no
significant hazards consideration, the Commission may issue the
amendment and make it immediately effective, notwithstanding the
request for a hearing. Any hearing held would take place after issuance
of the amendment. If the final determination is that the amendment
request involves a significant hazards consideration, then any hearing
held would take place before the issuance of any amendment.
III. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
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 (72 FR 49139,
August 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 10
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by
telephone at (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 (2) advise
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a request or
petition for hearing (even in instances in which the participant, or
its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish
an electronic docket for the hearing in this proceeding if the
Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
Information about 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. System requirements for accessing
the E-Submittal server are detailed in the NRC's ``Guidance for
Electronic Submission,'' which is available on the agency's public Web
site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants
may attempt to use other software not listed on the Web site, but
should note that the NRC's E-Filing system does not support unlisted
software, and the NRC Meta System Help Desk will not be able to offer
assistance in using unlisted software.
If a participant is electronically submitting a document to the NRC
in accordance with the E-Filing rule, the participant must file the
document using the NRC's online, Web-based submission form. In order to
serve documents through the Electronic Information Exchange System,
users will be required to install a Web browser plug-in from the NRC
Web site. Further information on the Web-based submission form,
including the installation of the Web browser plug-in, is available on
the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
Once a participant has obtained a digital ID certificate and a
docket has been created, the participant 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
documents are submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing 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 email notice confirming receipt of the document. The
E-Filing system also distributes an email notice that provides access
to the document to the NRC's 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 by contacting the NRC Meta System
Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site
at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by email at
[email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-(866) 672-7640. The
NRC Meta System Help Desk is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.,
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays.
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-
[[Page 2770]]
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. A
presiding officer, having granted an exemption request from using E-
Filing, may require a participant or party to use E-Filing if the
presiding officer subsequently determines that the reason for granting
the exemption from use of E-Filing no longer exists.
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at
http://ehd1.nrc.gov/EHD/, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the
Commission, or the 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, 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.
Petitions for leave to intervene must be filed no later than 60
days from January 19, 2012. Non-timely filings will not be entertained
absent a determination by the presiding officer that the petition or
request should be granted or the contentions should be admitted, based
on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-
(viii).
Attorney for licensee: Lara S. Nichols, Associate General Counsel,
Duke Energy Corporation, 526 South Church Street--EC07H, Charlotte, NC
28202.
Order Imposing Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-
Safeguards Information for Contention Preparation
A. This Order contains instructions regarding how potential parties
to this proceeding may request access to documents containing Sensitive
Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI).
B. Within 10 days after publication of this notice of hearing and
opportunity to petition for leave to intervene, any potential party who
believes access to SUNSI is necessary to respond to this notice may
request such access. A ``potential party'' is any person who intends to
participate as a party by demonstrating standing and filing an
admissible contention under 10 CFR 2.309. Requests for access to SUNSI
submitted later than 10 days after publication will not be considered
absent a showing of good cause for the late filing, addressing why the
request could not have been filed earlier.
C. The requestor shall submit a letter requesting permission to
access SUNSI 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 email
address for the Office of the Secretary and the Office of the General
Counsel are [email protected] and [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 under these
procedures should be submitted as described in this paragraph.
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(1) A description of the licensing action with a citation to this
Federal Register notice;
(2) 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 C.(1); and
(3) The identity of the individual or entity requesting access to
SUNSI and the requestor's basis for the need for the information in
order to meaningfully participate in this adjudicatory proceeding. In
particular, the request must explain why publicly-available versions of
the information requested would not be sufficient to provide the basis
and specificity for a proffered contention.
D. Based on an evaluation of the information submitted under
paragraph C.(3) the NRC staff will determine within 10 days of receipt
of the 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) The requestor has established a legitimate need for access to
SUNSI.
E. If the NRC staff determines that the requestor satisfies both
D.(1) and D.(2) above, the NRC staff will notify the requestor in
writing that access to SUNSI has been granted. The written notification
will contain instructions on how the requestor may obtain copies of the
requested documents, and any other conditions that may apply to access
to those documents. These conditions may include, but are not limited
to, the signing of a Non-Disclosure Agreement or Affidavit, or
Protective Order \2\ setting forth terms and conditions to prevent the
unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of SUNSI by each individual who
will be granted access to SUNSI.
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\2\ Any motion for Protective Order or draft Non-Disclosure
Affidavit or Agreement for SUNSI must be filed with the presiding
officer or the Chief Administrative Judge if the presiding officer
has not yet been designated, within 30 days of the deadline for the
receipt of the written access request.
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F. Filing of Contentions. Any contentions in these proceedings that
are based upon the information received as a result of the request made
for SUNSI must be filed by the requestor no later than 25 days after
the requestor is granted access to that information. However, if more
than 25 days remain between the date the petitioner is granted 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 contentions by that later deadline.
G. Review of Denials of Access.
(1) If the request for access to SUNSI is denied by the NRC staff
either after a determination on standing and need for access, or after
a determination on trustworthiness and reliability, the NRC staff shall
immediately notify the requestor in writing, briefly stating the reason
or reasons for the denial.
(2) The requestor may challenge the NRC staff's adverse
determination 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.
H. Review of Grants of Access. A party other than the requestor may
challenge an NRC staff determination granting access to SUNSI whose
release
[[Page 2771]]
would harm that party's interest independent of the proceeding. Such a
challenge must be filed with the Chief Administrative Judge within 5
days of the notification by the NRC staff of its grant of access.
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.\3\
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\3\ Requestors should note that the filing requirements of the
NRC's E-Filing Rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007) 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 request submitted to the NRC staff under these
procedures.
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I. 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 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.
It is so ordered.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of January 2012.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrew L. Bates,
Acting Secretary of the Commission.
Attachment 1--General Target Schedule for Processing and Resolving Requests for Access to Sensitive Unclassified
Non-Safeguards Information in this Proceeding
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Day Event/Activity
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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) 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.
60.......................................... Deadline for submitting petition for intervention containing: (i)
Demonstration of standing; (ii) all contentions whose formulation
does not require access to SUNSI (+25 Answers to petition for
intervention; +7 requestor/petitioner reply).
20.......................................... Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff informs the requestor of
the staff's determination whether the request for access provides
a reasonable basis to believe standing can be established and
shows need 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).
25.......................................... If NRC staff finds no ``need'' or no likelihood of standing, the
deadline for requestor/petitioner 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.
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.
A + 3....................................... Deadline for filing executed Non-Disclosure Affidavits. Access
provided to SUNSI consistent with decision issuing the protective
order.
A + 28...................................... Deadline for submission of contentions whose development depends
upon access to SUNSI. 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 contentions by that later
deadline.
A + 53...................................... (Contention receipt +25) Answers to contentions whose development
depends upon access to SUNSI.
A + 60...................................... (Answer receipt +7) Petitioner/Intervenor reply to answers.
>A + 60..................................... Decision on contention admission.
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[FR Doc. 2012-945 Filed 1-18-12; 8:45 am]
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