[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]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P