[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24895-24900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09917]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 99901385; EA-15-212; NRC-2016-0086]


In the Matter of C&D Technologies, Inc.

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Confirmatory order; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
confirmatory order (Order) to C&D Technologies, Inc. (C&D), to 
memorialize the agreements reached during an alternative dispute 
resolution mediation session held on March 10, 2016. This Order will 
resolve the issues that were identified during an NRC inspection at the 
C&D facility located in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. This Order is 
effective 30 calendar days after its issuance.

DATES: Effective Date: The confirmatory order becomes effective on May 
20, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0086 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-2016-0086. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For questions about this Order, 
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 it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this 
document.
     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: Gerald Gulla, Office of Enforcement, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-001; 
telephone: 301-415-2872, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of April 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patricia K. Holahan,
Director, Office of Enforcement.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

In the Matter of ) Docket No. 99901385
C&D Technologies, Inc. ) EA-15-212

CONFIRMATORY ORDER

I

    C&D Technologies, Inc., (C&D) provides Class 1E batteries for 
safety-related applications to nuclear power plants located in the 
United States. The C&D main office is located in Blue Bell, 
Pennsylvania.
    This Confirmatory Order (Order) is the result of an agreement 
reached between C&D and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
during an alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

[[Page 24896]]

mediation session conducted on March 10, 2016.

II

    From September 21 to September 25, 2015, the NRC conducted an 
inspection at the C&D facility in Blue Bell. The purpose of this 
limited-scope inspection was to assess C&D's compliance with the 
provisions of selected portions of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Appendix B ``Quality Assurance Criteria 
for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants,'' and 10 CFR 
part 21, ``Reporting of Defects and Noncompliance.''
    On January 8, 2016, the NRC issued Inspection Report 99901385/2015-
201 to C&D, which documented three apparent violations being considered 
for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the NRC Enforcement 
Policy.
    The first apparent violation concerned C&D's failure to implement 
an adequate 10 CFR part 21 program to perform a timely and thorough 
evaluation of a deviation to identify defects, which if left 
uncorrected, could result in substantial safety hazards. The NRC 
identified that C&D's initial evaluation of a deviation in station 
battery cell separators lacked an adequate technical basis to support 
closing the evaluation in accordance with 10 CFR 21.21(a)(1). When C&D 
completed a more thorough evaluation of this deviation, a defect in the 
battery manufacturing process was identified. This defect was reported 
to the NRC in accordance with 10 CFR 21.21(d)(1); however, the report 
was made over 2\1/2\ years greater than the 60 day requirement. The 
second apparent violation concerned multiple additional instances where 
C&D failed to provide an adequate technical justification to support 
closing the evaluations of deviations in accordance with 10 CFR 
21.21(a)(1). The third apparent violation concerned multiple additional 
instances where C&D failed to prepare and submit interim reports to the 
NRC when an evaluation could not be completed within 60 days from the 
date of discovery in accordance with 10 CFR 21.21(a)(2).
    In response to the NRC's letter dated January 8, 2016, (Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. 
ML15307A198), C&D requested the use of the NRC's ADR process to resolve 
these issues. Alternative Dispute Resolution is a process in which a 
neutral mediator with no decision-making authority assists the parties 
in reaching an agreement on resolving any differences regarding a 
dispute. This Order is being issued pursuant to the preliminary 
agreement reached between C&D and the NRC.

III

    During the ADR mediation session, C&D and the NRC reached a 
preliminary settlement agreement. The elements of the agreement 
consisted of the following:
    1. To ensure that C&D achieves full compliance for all currently 
identified violations, C&D will take the following actions:
    A. By 30 calendar days from the issuance date of an Order, C&D 
shall confirm that all outstanding 10 CFR part 21 evaluations are 
complete and that all required interim reports are submitted in 
accordance with the timelines required by 10 CFR part 21.
    B. By 45 calendar days from the issuance date of an Order, C&D 
shall review and revise, as necessary, all policies and procedures to 
provide reasonable assurance that Part 21 evaluations are conducted in 
accordance with 10 CFR 50, Appendix B quality assurance program 
requirements.
    a. C&D shall define the Part 21 ``discovery date'' within their 
procedures as the date the issue is entered into the Part 21 process, 
corrective action system, nonconformance process, or reported in the 
customer complaint database, whichever occurs first.
    b. C&D procedures shall provide reasonable assurance that the 
evaluation process of all deviations includes a documented technical 
evaluation and basis for why the identified deviation would or would 
not result in a substantial safety hazard, if left uncorrected.
    C. By 45 calendar days from the issuance date of an Order, C&D 
shall contract an independent (not an employee or customer of C&D) 
third party expert to conduct an assessment of the C&D corrective 
action program (CAP), and the administrative controls and management 
controls in place to provide reasonable assurance of an effective part 
21 program, including 10 CFR 50, Appendix B requirements. The initial 
assessment shall be completed by the end of the calendar year 2016 and 
assessments will continue annually.
    D. C&D shall report the completion of items 1.A, 1.B and 1.C, in 
writing to the Director, Division of Construction Inspection and 
Operational Programs (DCIP), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 
Office of New Reactors, no later than 75 calendar days from issuance of 
the Order.
    2. To ensure that C&D senior management, first-line supervision and 
employees are committed to, and accountable for, complying with NRC 
requirements, and maintaining a robust safety culture, C&D will take 
the following actions:
    A. By 30 calendar days from the issuance date of an Order, C&D 
shall issue a letter from President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) 
\1\ to employees in all C&D locations, working with nuclear-related 
activities, outlining C&D's management's expectations, including a 
commitment that all nuclear-related activities are performed and 
documented in a complete and accurate manner in accordance with 
approved procedures. C&D shall notify the DCIP Director no later than 
30 calendar days after issuance of the letter and shall provide a copy 
of the letter to the DCIP Director. The letter shall address the 
following:
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    \1\ In lieu of a letter to all employees, the NRC would consider 
it to be acceptable if C&D produced a video message from the CEO and 
other senior managers that would have wide-spread distribution and 
be shown at required all-hands meeting(s).
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    (1) Where the NRC inspection report can be found that describe the 
2015 apparent violations;
    (2) include a brief overview of the apparent violations;
    (3) C&D senior management, mid-level managers and first-line 
supervisors expect all employees to follow approved policies and 
procedures; and
    (4) C&D management has an expectation that all employees are to 
report procedure concerns to their supervisors (or to another 
appropriate level of management), and that supervisors are responsible 
for encouraging this reporting by staff and ensuring procedure issues 
are resolved appropriately and in a timely manner.
    B. By 90 calendar days from the issuance date of an Order, Senior 
Management's commitment and expectations will be further reinforced 
through the use of conspicuously posted company-wide posters and/or 
other appropriate forms of communication. Communications will 
specifically discuss 10 CFR part 21 requirements, and best practices 
identified by C&D's evaluation of issues and violations (including root 
causes), corrective actions to prevent recurrence, and promote a strong 
safety culture.
    C. Management expectations shall be further reinforced at the local 
level with an overt commitment from mid-level management and first-line 
supervisors regarding procedure adherence. Opportunities to communicate 
this commitment may include organizational all-hands meetings during 
which site

[[Page 24897]]

managers and/or supervisors can convey the lessons learned from NRC 
inspections and any applicable industry assessments (e.g., Nuclear 
Procurement Issues Committee (NUPIC)), and explain how to handle 
similar situations if and when they should arise in their organization 
or group.
    3. To ensure that C&D policies, procedures and work practices 
provide the necessary guidance to promote compliance with NRC 
requirements, C&D shall take the following actions:
    A. By 180 calendar days of the issuance date of an Order, C&D shall 
enter the existing issue of procedure compliance into its corrective 
action program (CAP), and this issue shall be considered a significant 
condition adverse to quality. As a result, C&D shall conduct a formal 
root cause analysis of known procedure violations to determine the 
extent of condition of C&D work practices and identify corrective 
actions to improve procedure guidance. In addition, the extent of 
condition shall address the last five years of C&D's nuclear-related 
customer complaints, corrective actions, or nonconformances that meet 
the Part 21 definition of a deviation. C&D shall ensure that the extent 
of condition review is complete and that all 10 CFR part 21 deviations 
are identified and entered into C&D's Part 21 (A-14) procedure to 
ensure that they are adequately evaluated for reportable defects. By 30 
calendar days of corrective action completion, C&D shall provide the 
results of its root cause and extent of condition report to the DCIP 
Director.
    B. By 60 calendar days of the issuance date of an Order, C&Ds 
corrective action program shall be revised to have the ability to trend 
10 CFR part 21 related issues, such as failure to follow 10 CFR part 21 
procedure requirements or failure to enter a deviation into the 10 CFR 
part 21 process.
    4. To ensure that all C&D employees understand their roles and 
responsibilities regarding compliance with NRC requirements, C&D will 
provide training and other forms of continuous reinforcement to its 
employees:
    By 90 calendar days from the issuance date of an Order, C&D will 
complete the development of a training program as described below. The 
initial training shall be submitted to the NRC for review and comment 
before being implemented. The NRC will review the draft training 
provided by C&D within 10 business days. The Initial training shall 
then be conducted and documented for all current employees and 
supervisors no later than 30 calendar days from the completion of the 
NRC review. C&D shall report to the DCIP Director by telephone within 7 
calendar days of completion of the initial training.
    A. Training (initial and annual) shall cover the basic regulatory 
requirements of 10 CFR; the legal authority granted to the NRC to 
inspect for compliance; the enforcement actions that can be taken 
against the company, the customer and company employees for 
noncompliance; 10 CFR 50, Appendix B and 10 CFR part 21 requirements; 
and the associated C&D procedures. This shall be documented and 
provided to all employees involved in nuclear-related work activities, 
including management.
    B. Develop, implement and document initial training and annual 
refresher training for item 4.A.
    C. For employees involved in nuclear-related activities (including 
supervisors) hired after the date of initial training completion, the 
initial training shall be provided and documented within 45 calendar 
days of hire.
    D. For 3 years following the effective date of the Order, C&D shall 
assess the effectiveness of training and procedure compliance by 
reviewing and trending information obtained from C&D's CAP.
    In addition to the elements described above, C&D has taken or 
committed to take the following corrective actions.
    1. Complete implementation of an improved process that customers 
use to report information (i.e., the iSight system) to C&D for battery 
issues. This process shall assure prompt entry and classification of 
issues to determine if the issue is a deviation, if applicable.
    2. Complete implementation of a new 10 CFR part 21 process that 
includes biweekly meetings that are attended by executive management, 
and logs of actions and schedules for reporting to the NRC.
    3. Complete implementation of new qualification report 
documentation to reconstitute the design basis of the K and L battery 
product lines by linking the specification requirements to specific 
test results required by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics 
Engineers (IEEE) specifications.
    4. Complete implementation of new internal reporting requirements. 
Quality assurance issues shall be reported to the CEO.
    5. Hold monthly corrective action meetings with plant managers and 
the executive team to ensure timely correction of identified issues.
    6. Complete implementation of more robust Safety Committee meetings 
conducted with particular attention paid to due dates. In addition, the 
process for initial reporting of customer identified issues has been 
established so that the Quality Systems manager conducts the first 
review of the issue as soon as correspondence begins with a nuclear 
customer.
    7. Complete institution of a third party 10 CFR part 21 and 
Appendix B audit program, using experienced and qualified personnel 
reporting directly to the CEO and General Counsel. The audits shall be 
executed annually. Inputs to the audits will include all customer 
communications, customer complaint information, and 10 CFR part 21 and 
Safety Committee records. The initial audit shall occur by the end of 
March 2016 for the 10 CFR part 21 program and by September 2016 of 
Appendix B to 10 CFR part 50.
    Based on the actions described above, and the commitments described 
in Section V below, the NRC agrees to the following conditions:
    1. The NRC will consider this Order as an escalated enforcement 
action for the purposes of determining future enforcement action per 
the NRC Enforcement Policy,
    2. The NRC will refrain from issuing a proposed imposition of a 
civil penalty and a Notice of Violation for the above-referenced 
apparent violations.
    On April 12, 2016, C&D consented to issuing this Order with the 
commitments, as described in Section V below. C&D further agreed that 
this Order is to be effective 30 calendar days after its issuance, the 
agreement memorialized in this Order settles the matter between the 
parties, and that C&D has waived its right to a hearing.

IV

    I find that C&D's actions completed or committed to take, as 
described in Section III above, combined with the commitments as set 
forth in Section V are acceptable and necessary, and conclude that with 
these commitments the public health and safety are reasonably assured. 
In view of the foregoing, I have determined that public health and 
safety require that C&D's commitments be confirmed by this Order. Based 
on the above and C&D's consent, this Order is effective 30 calendar 
days after its issuance.

V

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 186 of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's 
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR parts 21, and 50, it is hereby 
ordered that:
A. Compliance with 10 CFR part 21
    1. By 45 calendar days from the issuance date of this Order, C&D 
shall

[[Page 24898]]

confirm that all outstanding 10 CFR part 21 evaluations are complete 
and that all required interim reports are submitted in accordance with 
the timelines required by 10 CFR part 21.
    2. By 45 calendar days from the issuance date of this Order, C&D 
shall review and revise, as necessary, all policies and procedures to 
provide reasonable assurance that Part 21 evaluations are conducted in 
accordance with 10 CFR 50, Appendix B quality assurance program 
requirements.
    a. C&D shall define the Part 21 ``discovery date'' within their 
procedures as ''the date the issue is entered into the Part 21 process, 
corrective action system, nonconformance process, or reported in the 
customer complaint database, whichever occurs first.''
    b. C&D procedures shall provide reasonable assurance that the 
evaluation process used for all deviations includes a documented 
technical evaluation and basis for why the identified deviation would 
or would not result in a substantial safety hazard, if left 
uncorrected.
    3. By 45 calendar days from the issuance date of this Order, C&D 
shall contract an independent third party expert (not an employee or 
customer of C&D) to conduct an assessment of the C&D corrective action 
program, and the administrative controls and management controls in 
place to provide reasonable assurance of an effective Part 21 program, 
including 10 CFR 50, Appendix B requirements. The initial assessment 
shall be completed by the end of the calendar year 2016 and assessments 
will continue annually thereafter.
    4. C&D shall report the completion of items A.1, A.2, and A.3, in 
writing to the DCIP Director no later than 75 calendar days from 
issuance of this Order.
B. Communications
    1. By 45 calendar days from the issuance date of this Order, C&D 
shall issue a letter and/or video message from the President and CEO to 
employees in all C&D locations working with nuclear-related activities, 
outlining C&D's management's expectations, including a commitment that 
all nuclear-related activities are performed and documented in a 
complete and accurate manner in accordance with approved procedures. 
C&D shall notify the DCIP Director no later than 30 calendar days after 
issuance of the letter and shall provide a copy of the letter to the 
DCIP Director. The letter shall address the following:
    a. how to obtain the NRC inspection report that describes the 2015 
apparent violations;
    b. a brief overview of the apparent violations;
    c. a statement that C&D senior management, mid-level managers, and 
first-line supervisors expect all employees to follow approved policies 
and procedures; and
    d. a statement that C&D management has an expectation that all 
employees are to report procedure concerns to their supervisors, or to 
another appropriate level of management, and that supervisors are 
responsible for encouraging this reporting by staff, and ensuring 
procedure issues are resolved appropriately and in a timely manner.
    2. By 90 calendar days from the issuance date of this Order, C&D 
senior management's commitment and expectations will be further 
reinforced through the use of conspicuously posted company-wide posters 
and/or other appropriate forms of communication. Communications will 
specifically discuss 10 CFR part 21 requirements, and best practices 
identified by C&D's evaluation of issues and violations (including root 
causes), corrective actions to prevent recurrence, and promote a strong 
safety culture.
C. Work Processes
    1. C&D shall ensure that the existing issue of procedure compliance 
has been entered into its CAP, and this issue shall be considered a 
significant condition adverse to quality. As a result, within 180 days 
of the issuance date of this Order, C&D shall conduct a formal root 
cause analysis of known procedure violations to determine the extent of 
condition of C&D work practices and identify corrective actions to 
improve procedure guidance. In addition, the extent of condition shall 
address the last five years of C&D's nuclear-related customer 
complaints, corrective actions, or nonconformances that meet the Part 
21 definition of a ``deviation.'' C&D shall ensure that the extent of 
condition review is complete and that all 10 CFR part 21 deviations are 
identified and entered into C&D's 10 CFR part 21 program to ensure that 
they are adequately evaluated for reportable defects. By 30 calendar 
days of corrective action completion, C&D shall provide the results of 
its root cause and extent of condition report to the DCIP Director.
    2. By 60 calendar days of the issuance date of this Order, C&Ds CAP 
shall be revised to have the ability to trend 10 CFR part 21 related 
issues, such as failure to follow 10 CFR part 21 procedure requirements 
or failure to enter a deviation into the 10 CFR part 21 process.
D. Training
    1. By 90 calendar days from the issuance date of this Order, C&D 
will develop a training program as described below. The training 
program, including the initial training, shall be submitted to the NRC 
for review and comment before being implemented. Within 10 business 
days of submission, the NRC will perform an initial review and provide 
comments to C&D. Within 30 days of receiving NRC comments, C&D shall 
adequately address these comments in writing, at which time the NRC 
will provide a final review of the program. The NRC will inform C&D of 
its approval of the training program in writing and by telephone within 
10 days of re-submittal by C&D. The initial training shall then be 
conducted and documented for all current employees and supervisors no 
later than 30 calendar days from the NRC final approval date. C&D shall 
report to the DCIP Director in writing and by telephone within 7 
calendar days of completion of the initial training.
    a. Training (initial and annual) shall cover the basic requirements 
(e.g., what they are and how they apply) of 10 CFR 50, Appendix B and 
10 CFR part 21; the legal authority granted to the NRC to inspect for 
compliance; the enforcement actions that can be taken against the 
company, the customer and company employees for noncompliance; and the 
associated C&D procedures. This training shall be provided to all 
employees involved in nuclear-related work activities, including 
management.
    b. Develop, implement and document initial training and annual 
refresher training for item D.1.a.
    c. For employees involved in nuclear-related activities, including 
supervisors, who are hired after the date of initial training 
completion, the initial training shall be provided and documented 
within 45 calendar days of hire.
    d. For three years following the effective date of this Order, C&D 
shall assess the effectiveness of training and procedure compliance by 
reviewing and trending information obtained from C&D's CAP.
    The terms of this Order apply to the successors and assigns of C&D.
    The Director, Office of Enforcement, may, in writing, relax or 
rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by C&D of good 
cause.

VI

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR 2.309, any person 
adversely affected by this Order, other than C&D,

[[Page 24899]]

may request a hearing within 30 days of the issuance date of this 
Order. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to 
extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of 
time must be directed to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and include a statement of good cause 
for the extension.
    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's E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139; 
August 28, 2007), as amended by 77 FR 46562; August 3, 2012 (codified 
in pertinent part at 10 CFR part 2, subpart C). 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 
ten (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 (1) request 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 identification (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 NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. System requirements for accessing the E-Submittal 
server are detailed in NRC's ``Guidance for Electronic Submission,'' 
which is available on the agency'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 
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 through the EIE. 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 (ET) 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, 
any others who wish to participate in the proceeding (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 Web site 
at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by email to 
[email protected], or by a toll-free call at (866) 672-7640. The 
NRC Meta System Help Desk is available between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., 
ET, 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. 
However, in some instances, a request to intervene will require 
including information on local residence in order to demonstrate a 
proximity assertion of interest in the proceeding. With respect to 
copyrighted works, participants are requested not to include 
copyrighted materials in their submission, except for limited excerpts 
that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute 
a Fair Use application.
    If a person other than the licensee requests a hearing, that person 
shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is 
adversely affected by this Order and shall address the

[[Page 24900]]

criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
    If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely 
affected, the Commission will issue a separate Order designating the 
time and place of any hearings, as appropriate. If a hearing is held, 
the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order 
should be sustained.
    In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of 
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions 
specified in Section V above shall be final 30 days after issuance of 
this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of 
time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions 
specified in Section V shall be final when the extension expires if a 
hearing request has not been received.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of April 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Patricia K. Holahan, Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2016-09917 Filed 4-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P