[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6839-6842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02098]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos.: 50-269, 50-270, and 50-287; NRC-2013-0016]


Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, 
and 3 Denial of Amendment to Facility Operating License

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Denial; opportunity to request a hearing and leave to 
intervene.

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DATES: A request for a hearing must be filed by March 4, 2013. Any 
potential party as defined in section 2.4 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), who believes access to Sensitive 
Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI) is necessary to respond 
to this notice must request document access by February 11, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0016, 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-2013-0016. 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. The application for amendment, dated July 31, 2012, 
contains security-related information and, accordingly, those portions 
are being withheld from public disclosure. A redacted version of the 
application for amendment, dated July 31, 2012, is available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML12262A372. A supplement to the application for 
amendment, dated September 5, 2012, is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML12251A010. The NRC's denial safety evaluation, dated 
January 15, 2013, is also available under ADAMS Accession No. 
ML12345A204.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has denied a request 
by Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, (licensee) for an amendment to Renewed 
Facility Operating Licenses DPR-38, DPR-47, and DPR-55 issued to the 
licensee for operation of the Oconee Nuclear Station (ONS), Units 1, 2, 
and 3, located in South Carolina, Oconee County. A Notice of 
Consideration of Issuance of this amendment was published in the 
Federal Register on October 9, 2012 (77 FR 61436).
    The purpose of the licensee's amendment request was to revise the 
licenses to extend the required dates to meet certain conditions 
associated with the transition of the plant's fire protection program 
from a deterministic program under 10 CFR 50.48(b) to a performance-
based program under 10 CFR 50.48(c), in accordance with National Fire 
Protection Association (NFPA) Standard NFPA-805, ``Performance-Based 
Standard for Fire Protection for Light Water Reactor Electric 
Generating Plants.''
    The NRC staff has concluded that the licensee's request cannot be 
granted. The licensee was notified of the Commission's denial of the 
proposed change by a letter dated January 15, 2013.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing; Petition for Leave To Intervene

    By 30 days from the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register, the licensee may demand a hearing with respect to the 
denial described above. Any demand for a hearing must be filed in 
accordance with the Commission's ``Rules of Practice For Domestic 
Licensing Proceedings'' in 10 CFR Part 2, including the requirements of 
10 CFR 2.309. Within 30 days from the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register, any person whose interest may be 
affected by this proceeding may file a written petition for leave to 
intervene and a request for a hearing pursuant to the requirements of 
10 CFR 2.309. The NRC regulations are accessible electronically from 
the NRC Library on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/.

III. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

    All documents filed in the 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 NRC'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

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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's 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's 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 NRC'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's public 
Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by email to 
[email protected], or by a toll-free call to 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 20555-0001, 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 the 
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 30 
days from January 31, 2013. Requests for hearing, petitions for leave 
to intervene, and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions 
that are filed after the 30-day deadline will not be entertained absent 
a determination by the presiding officer that the filing demonstrates 
good cause by satisfying the following three factors in 10 CFR 
2.309(c)(1): (i) The information upon which the filing is based was not 
previously available; (ii) the information upon which the filing is 
based is materially different from information previously available; 
and (iii) the filing has been submitted in a timely fashion based on 
the availability of the subsequent information.
    For further details with respect to this action, see (1) the 
application for amendment dated July 31, 2012, and supplemented on 
September 5, 2012, and (2) the Commission's letter to the licensee 
dated January 15, 2013.
    Attorney for licensee: Lara S. Nichols, Deputy General Counsel, 
Duke Energy Corporation, 526 South Church Street--EC07H, Charlotte, NC 
28202-1802.

IV. 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;

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    (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 
after a determination on standing and need for access, 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 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 25th day of January 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kenneth R. Hart,
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
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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).

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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.
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[FR Doc. 2013-02098 Filed 1-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P