[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 208 (Friday, October 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65419-65420]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26365]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-338 and 50-339; NRC-2012-0258; License Nos.: NPF-4 and 
NPF-7]


Virginia Electric and Power Company

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Partial Director's Decision; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
is giving notice that the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation has issued a partial Director's Decision with regard to a 
petition dated October 20, 2011, filed by Paul Gunter et al., herein 
referred to as ``the petitioners.''

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0258 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access information related to this document, which the NRC 
possesses and are publicly available, using any of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0258. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online 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 
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number 
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at

[[Page 65420]]

the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jon Thompson, Project Manager, Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-415-1119; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that the Director of 
the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has issued a partial 
Director's Decision with regard to a petition dated October 20, 2011 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML11293A116), filed by the petitioners. The 
petition was supplemented on November 2, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML11308A027) and December 15, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12060A197). 
The petition concerns the operation of the North Anna Power Station, 
Units 1 and 2 (North Anna 1 and 2), by the Virginia Electric and Power 
Company (VEPCO or the licensee). The petition requested 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. The 
petitioner also requested that a public meeting be held to discuss this 
matter in the Washington, DC area.
    As the basis for the October 20, 2011, request, the petitioner 
raised several concerns, of which 12 were accepted for review by the 
NRC staff by letter dated March 16, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML12060A090). These summarized as follows:
    (1) Prior to the approval of restart for North Anna 1 and 2, after 
the earthquake of August 23, 2011, Virginia Electric and Power Company 
(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 necessary 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 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.
    (4) The licensee should ensure the reliability and accuracy of the 
seismic instrumentation at North Anna 1 and 2.
    (5) 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 staff gave 
authorization to restart.
    (6) Regulatory commitments are an inadequate regulatory tool for 
ensuring that the critical long-term tasks identified in the NRC 
staff's confirmatory action letter dated November 11, 2011, are 
completed.
    (7) The licensee needs to address the possibility of both boildown 
and rapid draindown events at the North Anna 1 and 2, spent fuel pool.
    (8) 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.
    (9) ``Hardened on-site storage'' strategies for spent fuel should 
be used at North Anna 1 and 2.
    (10) Concerns exist about the response of North Anna 1 and 2, to a 
prolonged station blackout.
    (11) 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.
    (12) 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.
    On December 12, 2012 and February 2, 2012, the petitioners and the 
licensee met with the NRC staff's petition review board (meeting 
transcripts under ADAMS Accession Nos. ML12033A025 and ML12047A240), 
regarding the petition. These meetings gave the petitioner and the 
licensee an opportunity to provide additional information and to 
clarify issues raised in the petition.
    The NRC staff sent a copy of the proposed partial Director's 
Decision to the petitioners and to the licensee for comment on July 10, 
2012 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML12165A208 and ML12165A209, respectively). 
The petitioners responded with comments on July 31, 2012 (ADAMS 
Accession Nos. ML12261A228 and ML12258A012), and the licensee responded 
on July 30, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12219A120), that it did not 
have comments. The comments by the petitioners and the NRC staff's 
response are included in an attachment to the partial Director's 
Decision.
    The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has 
determined that the request to suspend the operating licenses for North 
Anna 1 and 2, until the completion of a set of activities described in 
the petition, be partially granted, partially denied, and partially 
deferred. The reasons for this decision are explained in the partial 
Director's Decision pursuant to Title 10 of Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR 2.206), DD-12-02, the complete text of which is available in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML12262A158.
    A copy of the partial Director's Decision will be filed with the 
Secretary of the Commission for the Commission's review in accordance 
with 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulations. 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 in that time.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of October 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Leeds,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2012-26365 Filed 10-25-12; 8:45 am]
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