[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66314-66316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27832]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-27; NRC-2018-0282]


Pacific Gas & Electric Company; Humboldt Bay Independent Spent 
Fuel Storage Installation; Renewal of Special Nuclear Materials License

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License renewal application; receipt; notice of opportunity to 
request a hearing and to petition for leave to intervene.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an 
application for the renewal of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) License 
No. SNM-2514, which currently authorizes Pacific Gas & Electric Company 
(PG&E) to receive, possess, transfer, and store spent fuel from 
Humboldt Bay Nuclear Power Plant (HPNPP) in the Humboldt Bay 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). The renewed 
license would authorize PG&E to continue to store spent fuel in the 
Humboldt Bay ISFSI for an additional 40 years beyond the current 
license expiration date of November 17, 2025.

DATES: A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene must 
be filed by February 25, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0282 or NRC Docket No. 
72-27 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 Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0282. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Krupskaya Castellon; 
telephone: 301-287-9221; email: [email protected]. For 
technical questions, contact the individual(s) 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: Christopher Markley, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6293; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC has received, by letter dated July 10, 2018, an application 
from PG&E for renewal of SNM License No. SNM-2514 for the Humboldt Bay 
ISFSI for an additional 40 years (ADAMS Accession No. ML18215A202). The 
license currently authorizes PG&E to receive, possess, transfer, and 
store spent fuel and Greater Than Class C Waste (GTCC) from HBNPP in 
the Humboldt Bay ISFSI, located at the HBNPP site in Humboldt County, 
California until the license term expires on November 17, 2025. This 
license renewal, if approved, would authorize PG&E to continue to store 
spent fuel and GTCC Waste at the Humboldt Bay ISFSI for an additional 
40 years beyond its initial expiration, under the provisions of part 72 
of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Licensing 
Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-
Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than Class C 
Waste.''
    Following an NRC administrative completeness review, documented in 
a letter to PG&E dated November 14, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML18319A147), the NRC staff has determined that the renewal application 
contains sufficient information for the NRC staff to begin its 
technical review and is acceptable for docketing. The application has 
been docketed in Docket No. 72-27, the existing docket for SNM License 
No. SNM-2514. If the NRC approves the renewal application, the approval 
will be documented in the renewal of SNM License No. SNM-2514. The NRC 
will approve the license renewal application if it determines that the 
application meets the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy 
Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the NRC's regulations. These 
findings will be documented in a safety evaluation report. The NRC will 
complete an environmental evaluation, in accordance with 10 CFR part 
51, to determine if the preparation of an environmental impact 
statement is warranted or if an environmental assessment and finding of 
no significant impact are appropriate. This action will be the subject 
of a subsequent notice in the Federal Register.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To 
Intervene

    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any 
persons (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may 
file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene 
(petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in 
accordance with the Commission's ``Agency Rules of Practice and 
Procedure'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult a 
current copy of 10 CFR part 2. The NRC's regulations are accessible 
electronically from the NRC Library on the NRC's website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. A copy of the regulations 
is available at the NRC's Public Document Room, located at One White 
Flint North, Room O1-F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 
Rockville, Maryland 20852. If a petition is filed, the Commission or a 
presiding officer will rule on the petition and, if appropriate, a 
notice of a hearing will be issued.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309(d), the petition should specifically 
explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with 
particular reference to the following general requirements for 
standing: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the 
petitioner; (2) the nature of the petitioner's right under the Act to 
be made a party to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the 
petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; 
and (4) the possible effect of any decision or order that may be 
entered in the proceeding on the petitioner's interest.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f), the petition must also set 
forth the specific contentions which the petitioner seeks to have 
litigated in 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 petitioner must provide a brief explanation of the bases 
for the contention and a concise

[[Page 66315]]

statement of the alleged facts or expert opinion which support the 
contention and on which the petitioner intends to rely in proving the 
contention at the hearing. The petitioner must also provide references 
to the specific sources and documents on which the petitioner intends 
to rely to support its position on the issue. The petition must include 
sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the 
applicant or licensee on a material issue of law or fact. Contentions 
must be limited to matters within the scope of the proceeding. The 
contention must be one which, if proven, would entitle the petitioner 
to relief. A petitioner who fails to satisfy the requirements at 10 CFR 
2.309(f) with respect to at least one contention will not be permitted 
to participate as a party.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene. 
Parties have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing with respect to resolution of that party's admitted 
contentions, including the opportunity to present evidence, consistent 
with the NRC's regulations, policies, and procedures.
    Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of 
publication of this notice. Petitions and motions for leave to file new 
or amended contentions that are filed after the deadline will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer that the 
filing demonstrates good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 
CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii). The petition must be filed in 
accordance with the filing instructions in the ``Electronic Submissions 
(E-Filing)'' section of this document.
    A State, local governmental body, Federally-recognized Indian 
Tribe, or agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to 
participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(1). The petition should 
state the nature and extent of the petitioner's interest in the 
proceeding. The petition should be submitted to the Commission no later 
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. The petition 
must be filed in accordance with the filing instructions in the 
``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document, and 
should meet the requirements for petitions set forth in this section. 
Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, Federally-recognized 
Indian Tribe, or agency thereof may participate as a non-party under 10 
CFR 2.315(c).
    If a hearing is granted, any person who is not a party to the 
proceeding and is not affiliated with or represented by a party may, at 
the discretion of the presiding officer, be permitted 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 
his or her 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 the limits and 
conditions as may be imposed by the presiding officer. Details 
regarding the opportunity to make a limited appearance will be provided 
by the presiding officer if such sessions are scheduled.

III. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene (petition), 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). 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. Detailed 
guidance on making electronic submissions may be found in the Guidance 
for Electronic Submissions to the NRC and on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. 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 (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition (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 website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. Once a participant has obtained a 
digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the participant 
can then submit adjudicatory documents. Submissions must be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF). Additional guidance on PDF submissions is 
available on the NRC's public website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.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 adjudicatory 
documents are 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's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
public website at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 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 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
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

[[Page 66316]]

Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff. Participants filing adjudicatory documents 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 
https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission, or the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued 
digital ID certificate as described above, click cancel when the link 
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the 
NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to access any 
publicly-available documents in a particular hearing docket. 
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information, 
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone 
numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law 
requires submission of such information. For example, in some 
instances, individuals provide home addresses in order to demonstrate 
proximity to a facility or site. 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.

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in this Federal Register notice are 
accessible to interested persons in ADAMS under the accession numbers 
identified in the table below.

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                                                        ADAMS Accession
             Date                     Document                No.
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August 3, 2018...............  Package: Humboldt Bay  ML18215A202.
                                ISFSI--Transmittal
                                of License Renewal
                                Application.
September 20, 2018...........  Package: Request for   ML18267A191.
                                Supplemental
                                Information for the
                                Technical Review of
                                the Application for
                                Renewal of the
                                Humboldt Bay
                                Independent Spent
                                Fuel Storage
                                Installation License
                                No. SNM-2514 (CAC
                                No. 001028)).
October 22, 2018.............  Response to NRC        ML18330A050.
                                Letter dated Sep.
                                20, 2018, ``Request
                                for Supplemental
                                Information for the
                                Technical Review of
                                the Application for
                                Renewal of the
                                Humboldt Bay
                                Independent Spent
                                Fuel Storage
                                Installation License
                                No. SNM-2514 (CAC
                                No. 001028).
November 14, 2018............  Letter to J. Welsch    ML18319A147.
                                re: Application for
                                Renewal of the
                                Humboldt Bay
                                Independent Spent
                                Fuel Storage
                                Installation License
                                No. SNM-2514--
                                Accepted for Review
                                (EPID No. L-2018-RNW-
                                0016).
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    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of December 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christopher T. Markley,
Systems Performance Analyst, Renewals and Materials Branch, Division of 
Spent Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2018-27832 Filed 12-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P