[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 81 (Friday, April 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19759-19760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08609]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-275 and 50-323; NRC-2016-0080]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Director's decision under 10 CFR 2.206; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a 
director's decision with regard to a Petition to Intervene and Request 
for Hearing concerning Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) dated August 
26, 2014, filed by Friends of the Earth (FOE or petitioner), asserting, 
in part, its concerns about DCPP's operational safety and ability to 
safely shut down in the event of a nearby earthquake. The petitioner's 
requests and the director's decision are included in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0080 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-2016-0080. 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]. For 
the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided 
in a table in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of 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: Margaret Watford, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1233, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that the Director, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, has issued a director's decision 
on a Petition to Intervene and Request for Hearing, filed by the FOE on 
August 26, 2014, which the Commission referred to the NRC's EDO for 
consideration under the regulations of section 2.206 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) in Commission Memorandum and Order 
(CLl-15-14) dated May 21, 2015. The EDO then referred these concerns to 
the NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation for consideration under 
10 CFR 2.206. The petition was supplemented by letters dated September 
30, 2015, and February 8, 2016.
    The petitioner requested that the NRC take enforcement actions to 
ensure that DCPP can operate safely and demonstrate its ability to 
safely shut down in the event of an earthquake

[[Page 19760]]

caused by nearby faults. As the basis of the request, the petitioner 
states that the ``NRC staff's determination that the new seismic 
information, including the Shoreline earthquake and its effect on the 
San Luis Bay and Los Osos faults, is a lesser-included case within the 
Hosgri earthquake is insufficient to insure that Diablo Canyon is 
operating safely with an adequate margin of safety.''
    On two occasions, the NRC offered FOE opportunities to address the 
Petition Review Board (PRB), which was established to review FOE's 
enforcement concerns. In response, on September 30, 2015, and February 
8, 2016, FOE provided written submissions to the PRB in lieu of 
addressing the PRB in person or by telephone. The NRC staff considered 
these submittals during its evaluation.
    The NRC sent a copy of the proposed director's decision to the 
petitioner and the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (the licensee) for 
comment on February 28, 2017. The petitioner and the licensee were 
asked to provide comments by March 16, 2017, on any part of the 
proposed director's decision that was considered to be erroneous or any 
issues in the petition that were not addressed. The NRC staff did not 
receive any comments on the proposed director's decision.
    The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has 
determined that the request to take enforcement actions to ensure that 
DCPP can operate safely and demonstrate its ability to safely shut down 
in the event of an earthquake caused by nearby faults be denied. The 
reasons for this decision are explained in the director's decision DD-
17-02 pursuant to section 2.206 of 10 CFR of the Commission's 
regulations.
    The NRC will file a copy of the director's decision with the 
Secretary of the Commission for the Commission's review in accordance 
with 10 CFR 2.206. As provided 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.

Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available for 
public inspection through the NRC's ADAMS.

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              Title                    Date         ADAMS Accession No.
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SRM-M150521A-2--Final Director's       4/21/2017  ML17090A182
 Decision Re: Friends of the
 Earth 2.206 Petition Based on
 Commission Memorandum and Order
 CLI-15-14 (CAC Nos. MF6443 and
 MF6444).
Petition to Intervene and              8/26/2014  ML14254A231
 Request for Hearing By Friends
 of the Earth.
Commission Memorandum and Order        5/21/2015  ML15141A084
 CLI-15-14.
SRM-M150521A-2/CLI-15-14--E-mail       9/30/2015  ML15274A054
 and Letter to 2.206 Panel,
 Request Pursuant to 10 CFR
 2.206 for Suspension of
 Operations and Enforcement of
 Nuclear Regulatory Commission
 Regulations to Ensure Seismic
 Safety of Diablo Canyon Power
 Plant.
Friends of the Earth, E-mail,           2/8/2016  ML16040A221
 Supplemental Information
 Regarding Request Pursuant to
 10 CFR 2.206 for Suspension of
 Operations and Enforcement of
 Nuclear Regulatory Commission
 Regulations to Ensure Seismic
 Safety of Diablo Canyon Power
 Plant.
SRM-M150521A-2, Petitioner             2/28/2017  ML17011A205
 Letter Re: Friends of the Earth
 2.206 Petition Based on
 Commission Memorandum and Order
 CLI-15-14 (CAC Nos. MF6443 and
 MF6444).
SRM-M150521A-2--Licensee Letter        2/28/2017  ML17011A206
 Re: Friends of the Earth 2.206
 Petition Based on Commission
 Memorandum and Order CLI-15-14
 (CAC Nos. MF6443 and MF6444).
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    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of April 2017.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William M. Dean,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2017-08609 Filed 4-27-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P