[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18874-18875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7434]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-338 and 50-339; NRC-2012-0075; License Nos. NPF-4 and
NPF-7]
Virginia Electric and Power Company; Receipt of Request for
Action
Notice is hereby given that by petition dated October 20, 2011,
(U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's or the Commission's)
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No.
ML11293A116); as supplemented by a letter dated November 2, 2011 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML11308A027); and an email dated December 15, 2011 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML12060A197); Paul Gunter, Kevin Kamps, Thomas Saporito,
Paxus Calta, Alex Jack, Scott Price, John Cruickshank, Eleanor Amidon,
Erika Kretzmer, Lovell King II, David Levy, Hilary Boyd, G. Paul
Blundell, Erica Gray, Edmund Frost, and Richard Ball (the petitioners),
request that the NRC take action with regard to Virginia Electric and
Power Company's (the licensee's) North Anna Power Station, Units 1 and
2 (North Anna 1 and 2). The petitioners request that the NRC suspend
the operating licenses for North Anna 1 and 2, until the completion of
a set of activities described in the petition.
As the basis for this request, the petitioners state several
concerns which are summarized as follows:
(1) Prior to the approval of restart for North Anna 1 and 2, after
the earthquake of August 23, 2011, the licensee should be required to
obtain a license amendment from the NRC that reanalyzes and reevaluates
the plant's design basis for earthquakes and for associated retrofits.
(2) Prior to the approval of restart for North Anna 1 and 2, after
the earthquake of August 23, 2011, the licensee should be required to
ensure that North Anna 1 and 2 are subjected to thorough inspections of
the same level and rigor.
(3) The licensee should be required to reanalyze and requalify the
adequacy and condition of the Lake Anna dam after the earthquake of
August 23, 2011.
(4) The licensee should be required to reanalyze and reevaluate the
North Anna Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) due to
damage caused by the earthquake of August 23, 2011, and ensure that no
threat is posed to public health and safety by its operation.
(5) The licensee should ensure the reliability and accuracy of the
seismic instrumentation at North Anna 1 and 2.
(6) The NRC staff made hasty decisions about the restart of North
Anna 1 and 2, and gave priority to economic considerations. The long-
term action plan was not even complete before the NRC gave
authorization to restart.
(7) Regulatory commitments are an inadequate regulatory tool for
ensuring that the critical long-term tasks identified in the NRC
staff's confirmatory action letter (CAL) dated November 11, 2011 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML11311A201), are completed.
(8) The NRC should provide greater access to certain documents
concerning North Anna 1 and 2, which are stored at the University of
Virginia.
(9) The licensee needs to address the possibility of both boildown
and rapid draindown events at the North Anna 1 and 2, spent fuel pool.
(10) The long-term storage of spent fuel in the spent fuel pool at
North Anna 1 and 2, and at the North Anna ISFSI poses challenges to the
public health and safety.
(11) ``Hardened on-site storage'' strategies for spent fuel should
be used at North Anna 1 and 2.
(12) Concerns exist about age-related degradation at North Anna 1
and 2.
(13) Concerns exist about the response of North Anna 1 and 2, to a
prolonged station blackout.
(14) The current emergency evacuation plans for North Anna 1 and 2,
need to be revised to reflect the possible need to evacuate a larger
area than that identified in the current emergency planning zone.
(15) Concerns exist about damage to the structural integrity of the
spent fuel pool structure at North Anna 1 and 2, as represented on
pages 41 and 42 of the NRC staff's technical evaluation for the restart
of North Anna 1 and 2, dated November 11, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML11308B406).
(16) There are concerns about lack of compliance at North Anna 1
and 2, with a public law requiring storage of potassium iodide in areas
surrounding a nuclear reactor.
The request is being treated pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.206, ``Requests for action
under this subpart,'' of the Commission's regulations. The request has
been referred to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation (NRR). As provided by 10 CFR 2.206, appropriate action will
be taken on this petition within a reasonable time. The petitioners met
with the NRR petition review board on December 12, 2011 (corrected
transcript at ADAMS Accession No. ML12033A025), and February 2, 2012
(corrected transcript at ADAMS Accession No. ML12047A240), to discuss
the petition. The results of these discussions were considered in the
board's final determination to partially accept the petition for
review, as communicated to the petitioners by letter from Eric J.
Leeds, Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, dated March 16,
2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12060A090), and in establishing the review
schedule.
A copy of the petition is available for inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint
North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),
Rockville, Maryland 20852. Publicly available documents created or
received at the NRC are available online through ADAMS in the NRC
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's
PDR reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to
[email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of March 2012.
[[Page 18875]]
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Leeds,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2012-7434 Filed 3-27-12; 8:45 am]
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