[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56276-56277]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25577]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-609; NRC-2013-0235]


Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC; Notice of Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Construction permit application; notice of hearing.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
will convene an evidentiary session to receive testimony and exhibits 
in the uncontested proceeding regarding the application from Northwest 
Medical Isotopes, LLC (NWMI), for a construction permit (CP) to 
construct a medical radioisotope production facility in Columbia, 
Missouri. This mandatory hearing will consider safety and environmental 
matters relating to the requested CP.

DATES: The hearing will be held on January 23, 2018, beginning at 9:00 
a.m. Eastern Time. For the schedule for submitting pre-filed documents 
and deadlines affecting Interested Government Participants, see Section 
VI of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 50-609 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:
     NRC's Electronic Hearing Docket: You may obtain publicly 
available documents related to this hearing on line at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory.html.
     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 
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: Denise McGovern, Office of the 
Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, telephone: 301-415-0681; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Commission hereby gives notice that, pursuant to Section 189a 
of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954, as amended (the Act), it will 
convene an evidentiary session to receive testimony and exhibits in the 
proceeding regarding the NWMI application for a CP under part 50 of 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), to construct a 
medical radioisotope production facility in Columbia, Missouri.
    Part one of NWMI's two-part application was submitted by letter 
dated February 5, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15086A261), and by letter 
dated July 20, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15210A182), NWMI submitted 
the second part of its application. Revision 3 of the application may 
be viewed at ADAMS Accession No. ML17257A019.
    The NRC staff's Environmental Impact Statement and Safety 
Evaluation Report may be viewed at ADAMS Accession Nos. ML17130A862 and 
ML17310A365, respectively. This mandatory hearing will concern safety 
and environmental matters relating to the requested construction permit 
application, as more fully described below.

II. Evidentiary Uncontested Hearing

    The Commission will conduct this hearing beginning at 9:00 a.m., 
Eastern Time on January 23, 2018, at the Commission's headquarters in 
Rockville, Maryland. The hearing will continue on subsequent days, if 
necessary.

III. Presiding Officer

    The Commission is the presiding officer for this proceeding.

IV. Matters To Be Considered

    The matter at issue in this proceeding is whether the review of the 
NWMI CP application by the Commission's staff has been adequate to 
support the findings found in 10 CFR 50.35, 50.40, 50.50, and 10 CFR 
51.105. Those findings are as follows:

Issues Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as Amended

    With respect to the CP: (1) Whether the applicant has described the 
proposed design of the facility, including, but not limited to, the 
principal architectural and engineering criteria for the design, and 
has identified the major features or components incorporated therein 
for the protection of the health and safety of the public; (2) whether 
such further technical or design information as may be required to 
complete the safety analysis, and which can reasonably be

[[Page 56277]]

left for later consideration, will be supplied in the final safety 
analysis report (3) whether safety features or components, if any, 
which require research and development have been described by the 
applicant and the applicant has identified, and there will be 
conducted, a research and development program reasonably designed to 
resolve any safety questions associated with such features or 
components; (4) whether on the basis of the foregoing, there is 
reasonable assurance that, (i) such safety questions will be 
satisfactorily resolved at or before the latest date stated in the 
application for completion of construction of the proposed facility, 
and (ii) taking into consideration the site criteria contained in 10 
CFR part 100, the proposed facility can be constructed and operated at 
the proposed location without undue risk to the health and safety of 
the public; (5) whether there is reasonable assurance (i) that the 
construction of the facility will not endanger the health and safety of 
the public, and (ii) that construction activities can be conducted in 
compliance with the Commission's regulations; (6) whether the applicant 
is technically and financially qualified to engage in the proposed 
activities in accordance with the Commission's regulations in chapter I 
of title 10 of the CFR; (7) whether the issuance of a permit for the 
construction of the facility to the applicant will not, in the opinion 
of the Commission, be inimical to the common defense and security or to 
the health and safety of the public; and (8) whether the application 
meets the standards and requirements of the AEA and the Commission's 
regulations, and that notifications, if any, to other agencies or 
bodies have been duly made.

Issues Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969

    With respect to the CP: (1) Determine whether the requirements of 
Sections 102(2)(A), (C), and (E) of NEPA and the applicable regulations 
in 10 CFR part 51 have been met; (2) independently consider the final 
balance among conflicting factors contained in the record of the 
proceeding with a view to determining the appropriate action to be 
taken; (3) determine, after weighing the environmental, economic, 
technical, and other benefits against environmental and other costs, 
and considering reasonable alternatives, whether the construction 
permit should be issued, denied, or appropriately conditioned to 
protect environmental values; and (4) determine whether the NEPA review 
conducted by the NRC staff has been adequate.

V. Schedule for Submittal of Pre-Filed Documents

    No later than January 2, 2018, unless the Commission directs 
otherwise, the NRC staff and the applicant shall submit a list of its 
anticipated witnesses for the hearing.
    No later than January 2, 2018, unless the Commission directs 
otherwise, the applicant shall submit its pre-filed written testimony. 
The NRC staff submitted its pre-filed testimony on November 16, 2017.
    The Commission may issue written questions to the applicant or the 
NRC staff before the hearing. If such questions are issued, an order 
containing such questions will be issued no later than December 20, 
2017. Responses to such questions are due January 2, 2018, unless the 
Commission directs otherwise.

VI. Interested Government Participants

    No later than December 18, 2017, any interested State, local 
government body, or Federally-recognized Indian Tribe may file with the 
Commission a statement of any issues or questions that the State, local 
government body, or Indian Tribe wishes the Commission to give 
particular attention as part of the uncontested hearing process. Such 
statement may be accompanied by any supporting documentation that the 
State, local government body, or Indian Tribe sees fit to provide. Any 
statements and supporting documentation (if any) received by the 
Commission using the agency's E-filing system \1\ by the deadline 
indicated above will be made part of the record of the proceeding. The 
Commission will use such statements and documents as appropriate to 
inform its pre-hearing questions to the NRC staff and applicant, its 
inquiries at the oral hearing, and its decision following the hearing. 
The Commission may also request, no later than December 20, 2017, that 
one or more particular States, local government bodies, or Indian 
Tribes send one representative each to the evidentiary hearing to 
answer Commission questions and/or make a statement for the purpose of 
assisting the Commission's exploration of one or more of the issues 
raised by the State, local government body, or Indian Tribe, in the 
pre-hearing filings described above. The decision whether to request 
the presence of a representative of a State, local government body, or 
Indian Tribe at the evidentiary hearing to make a statement and/or 
answer Commission questions is solely at the Commission's discretion. 
The Commission's request will specify the issue or issues that each 
representative should be prepared to address.
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    \1\ The process for accessing and using the agency's E-filing 
system is described in the May 24, 2016, notice of hearing (81 FR 
32793) that was issued by the Commission for this proceeding. 
Participants who are unable to use the electronic information 
exchange (EIE), or who will have difficulty complying with EIE 
requirements in the time frame provided for submission of written 
statements, may provide their statements by electronic mail to 
[email protected].
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    Many of the procedures and rights applicable to the inherently 
adversarial nature of NRC's contested hearing process are not available 
in this uncontested hearing. Participation in the NRC's contested 
hearing process is governed by 10 CFR 2.309 (for persons or entities, 
including a State, local government, or Indian Tribe seeking to file 
contentions of their own) and 10 CFR 2.315(c) (for an interested State, 
local government, or Federally-recognized Indian Tribe seeking to 
participate with respect to contentions filed by others). Participation 
in this uncontested hearing does not affect the right of a State, a 
local government, or an Indian Tribe to participate in the separate 
contested hearing process.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of November 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2017-25577 Filed 11-27-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P