[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14362-14365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-05020]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-327, 50-328; NRC-2013-0037]


Tennessee Valley Authority; Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of 
Application and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing Regarding Renewal of 
Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 Facility Operating License Nos. 
DPR-77, DPR-79 for an Additional 20-Year Period

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an 
application for the renewal of operating licenses DPR-77 and DPR-79, 
which authorizes Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), to operate the 
Sequoyah Nuclear Plant (SQN) Unit 1 at 3455 megawatts thermal and Unit 
2 at 3455 megawatts thermal. The renewed licenses would authorize the 
applicant to operate SQN, Units 1 and 2, for an additional 20 years 
beyond the period specified in the

[[Page 14363]]

current licenses. SQN Units 1 and 2 are located in Soddy-Daisy, TN; the 
current operating license for Unit 1 expires on September 17, 2020, and 
Unit 2 expires on September 15, 2021.
    TVA submitted the application dated January 7, 2013, pursuant to 
part 54 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), to 
renew operating licenses DPR-77 and DPR-79. A notice of receipt and 
availability of the license renewal application (LRA) was published in 
the Federal Register on February 22, 2013 (78 FR 12365).
    The Commission's staff has determined that TVA has submitted 
sufficient information in accordance with 10 CFR 54.19, 54.21, 54.22, 
54.23, 51.45, and 51.53(c), to enable the staff to undertake a review 
of the application, and that the application is therefore acceptable 
for docketing. The current Docket Numbers, 50-327 and 50-328, for 
operating license numbers DPR-77, DPR-79, respectively, will be 
retained. The determination to accept the LRA for docketing does not 
constitute a determination that a renewed license should be issued, and 
does not preclude the NRC staff from requesting additional information 
as the review proceeds.
    Before issuance of the requested renewed licenses, the NRC will 
have made the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. In 
accordance with 10 CFR 54.29, the NRC may issue a renewed license on 
the basis of its review if it finds that actions have been identified 
and have been or will be taken with respect to: (1) Managing the 
effects of aging during the period of extended operation on the 
functionality of structures and components that have been identified as 
requiring aging management review, and (2) time-limited aging analyses 
that have been identified as requiring review, such that there is 
reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by the renewed 
license will continue to be conducted in accordance with the current 
licensing basis (CLB) and that any changes made to the plant's CLB will 
comply with the Act and the Commission's regulations.
    Additionally, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.95(c), the NRC will 
prepare an environmental impact statement that is a supplement to the 
Commission's NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for 
License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated May 1996. In 
considering the LRA, the Commission must find that the applicable 
requirements of Subpart A of 10 CFR part 51 have been satisfied, and 
that matters raised under 10 CFR 2.335 have been addressed. Pursuant to 
10 CFR 51.26, and as part of the environmental scoping process, the 
staff intends to hold a public scoping meeting. Detailed information 
regarding the environmental scoping meeting will be the subject of a 
separate Federal Register notice.
    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this Federal 
Register notice, 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 request for a hearing and a petition for leave to 
intervene with respect to the renewal of the license. Requests for a 
hearing or petitions for leave to intervene must be filed in accordance 
with the Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing 
Proceedings and Issuance of Orders'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested 
persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, which is 
available at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at 
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland 20852 and is accessible from the NRC's Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on 
the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams.html Persons who do not have access to the 
Internet or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located 
in ADAMS should contact the NRC's PDR reference staff by telephone at 
1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by email at [email protected]. 
If a request for a hearing/petition for leave to intervene is filed 
within the 60-day period, the Commission or a presiding officer 
designated by the Commission or by the Chief Administrative Judge of 
the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel will rule on the request 
and/or petition; and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge of 
the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel will issue a notice of a 
hearing or an appropriate order. In the event that no request for a 
hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed within the 60-day 
period, the NRC may, upon completion of its evaluations and upon making 
the findings required parts 51 and 54 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), renew the license without further notice.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene 
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in 
the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of 
the proceeding, taking into consideration the limited scope of matters 
that may be considered pursuant to 10 CFR parts 51 and 54. The petition 
must specifically explain the reasons why 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 set forth the specific contentions which the 
petitioner/requestor seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.
    Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 
requestor/petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the basis for 
each contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or the 
expert opinion that supports the contention on which the requestor/
petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. 
The requestor/petitioner must also provide references to those specific 
sources and documents of which the requestor/petitioner is aware and on 
which the requestor/petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts 
or expert opinion. The requestor/petitioner must provide sufficient 
information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on 
a material issue of law or fact.\1\ Contentions shall be limited to 
matters within the scope of the action under consideration. The 
contention must be one that, if proven, would entitle the requestor/
petitioner to relief. A requestor/petitioner who fails to satisfy these 
requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be 
permitted to participate as a party.
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    \1\ To the extent that the application contains attachments and 
supporting documents that are not publicly available because they 
are asserted to contain safeguards or proprietary information, 
petitioners desiring access to this information should contact the 
applicant or applicant's counsel to discuss the need for a 
protective order.
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    Petitions filed after the deadline, amended petitions, and 
supplemental petitions will not be entertained absent a determination 
by the Commission, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel or a 
Presiding Officer that the petition should be granted and/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

[[Page 14364]]

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 May 6, 2013. The petition must 
be filed in accordance with the filing instructions in section IV 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 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. 
Persons desiring to make a limited appearance are requested to inform 
the Secretary of the Commission by May 6, 2013.
    The Commission requests that each contention be given a separate 
numeric or alpha designation within one of the following groups: (1) 
Technical (primarily related to safety concerns); (2) environmental; or 
(3) miscellaneous.
    As specified in 10 CFR 2.309, if two or more requestors/petitioners 
seek to co-sponsor a contention or propose substantially the same 
contention, the requestors/petitioners will be required to jointly 
designate a representative who shall have the authority to act for the 
requestors/petitioners with respect to that contention.
    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 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 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) Frst 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

[[Page 14365]]

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.
    Detailed information about the license renewal process can be found 
under the Nuclear Reactors icon at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html on the NRC's Web site. Copies of the 
application to renew the operating license for SQN are available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 
Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738, and at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html, the NRC's Web site while 
the application is under review. The application may be accessed in 
ADAMS through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet 
at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under ADAMS Accession 
Number ML130240007. As stated above, persons who do not have access to 
ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in 
ADAMS may contact the NRC PDR reference staff by telephone at 1-800-
397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected].
    Petitions filed after the deadline, amended petitions, and 
supplemental petitions will not be entertained absent a determination 
by the Commission, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel or a 
Presiding Officer that the petition should be granted and/or the 
contentions should be admitted based upon a balancing of the factors 
specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii).
    The NRC staff has verified that a copy of the license renewal 
application is also available to local residents near SQN, at the 
Chattanooga-Hamilton County Library--Northgate Branch, 520 Northgate 
Mall, Chattanooga, TN 37415; the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Library--
Downtown Branch, 1001 Broad St., Chattanooga, TN 37402; and the Signal 
Mountain Library, 1114 James Blvd., Signal Mountain, TN 37377.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of February, 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John W. Lubinski,
Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2013-05020 Filed 3-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P