[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 167 (Friday, August 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52351-52352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21431]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-271 and 50-305; NRC-2015-0200]


Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station; Kewaunee Power Station

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: 10 CFR 2.206 request; receipt.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is giving notice 
that by petition dated March 25, 2014 [sic], Mike Mulligan (the 
petitioner) has requested that the NRC take action with regard to the 
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VY) and the Kewaunee Power 
Station (KPS), which have been permanently shut down and are currently 
undergoing decommissioning. The petitioner's requests are included in 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0200 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0200. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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 (if that document

[[Page 52352]]

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen S. Koenick, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6631, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 25, 2014 [sic], the petitioner 
requested that the NRC take action with regard to VY and KPS (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15090A487). On July 7, 2015, the petitioner provided 
supplemental information via email (ADAMS Accession No. ML15198A091). 
The petitioner requested a number of actions including:
     Conduct exigent and immediate full-scale ultrasonic 
inspections on the VY and the KPS reactor pressure vessels (RPVs), with 
similar or better technology, as conducted on the RPVs at Doel 3 and 
Tihange 2, which revealed thousands of cracks;
     Take large borehole samples out of both the Vermont Yankee 
and Kewaunee RPVs and transport them to a respected metallurgic 
laboratory for comprehensive offsite testing;
     Issue an immediate NRC report and hold a public meeting on 
any identified vulnerabilities; and
     Ultrasonically test all RPVs in U.S. plants within 6 
months, if distressed and unsafe results are discovered at VY or KPS.
    As the basis for this request, the petitioner states that the 
requested actions should be taken to determine whether foreign 
operating experience--specifically several thousand cracks that have 
been discovered during testing on the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 RPVs--could 
have implications on U.S. operating reactors.
    The request is being treated pursuant to section 2.206, ``Requests 
for action under this subpart,'' of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) of the Commission's regulations. The request has 
been referred to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
    The petitioner met with the Petition Review Board on May 19, 2015, 
to discuss the petition; the transcript of that meeting is an 
additional supplement to the petition (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML15181A127). The results of that discussion and the July 7, 2015, 
supplemental email were considered in the board's determination 
regarding the petitioner's request for immediate action and in 
establishing the schedule for the review of the petition.
    The NRC has denied the petitioner's request to conduct immediate 
ultrasonic inspections at VY and KPS because of the following reasons. 
Both the identified facilities have ceased operations and would not be 
subject to an enforcement-related action (i.e., to modify, suspend, or 
revoke the license). In addition, the NRC issued Information Notice 
(IN) 2013-19, ``Quasi-Laminar Indications in Reactor Pressure Vessel 
Forgings,'' on September 22, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13242A263). 
The purpose of this IN was to inform industry of the quasi-laminar 
indications that were identified in 2012, at two European commercial 
nuclear power plants. These indications were identified during the 
ultrasonic inspections that were performed on the RPV forgings.
    As provided by 10 CFR 2.206, appropriate action will be taken on 
the remaining requests within a reasonable time.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of August 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michele G. Evans,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2015-21431 Filed 8-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P