[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 235 (Monday, December 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78874-78879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26846]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-528, 50-529, 50-530, and 72-044; NRC-2020-0260]


In the Matter of Arizona Public Service Company; Palo Verde 
Nuclear Generating Station

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Confirmatory Order; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a 
Confirmatory Order to Arizona Public Service Company (APS) on November 
17, 2020. The purpose of the Confirmatory Order was to document 
commitments made as part of a settlement agreement between the NRC and 
APS to address the licensee's failure to: Perform a written evaluation 
for a change to the NAC MAGNASTOR spent fuel dry cask storage system 
and obtain a license amendment for a change in methodology for 
performing tip-over calculations, and (2) adequately analyze the 
consequences of a hypothetical MAGNASTOR CC5 spent fuel cask tip-over 
accident on the independent spent fuel storage installation pad located 
at APS' Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.

DATES: The Confirmatory Order became effective on November 17, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0260 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0260. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; 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 https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, 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 Confirmatory Order to Arizona 
Public Service Company is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML20323A035.
     Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of public documents is currently closed. You may submit your request to 
the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Jayroe, Region IV, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Arlington, TX 76011-4511; telephone: 817-200-
1174, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated: December 2, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott A. Morris,
Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV.

Attached--Confirmatory Order

United States of America

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

    In the Matter of: Arizona Public Service Company Palo Verde Nuclear 
Generating Station.

Docket Nos. 50-528, 50-529, 50-530, 72-044
License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, NPF-74
EA-20-054

Confirmatory Order Modifying License

(Effective Upon Issuance)

I

    Arizona Public Service Company (APS or Licensee) is the holder of 
Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74 
issued on April 21, 2011, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC or Commission) pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities.'' The license authorizes the operation of Palo 
Verde Nuclear Generating Station (facility) in accordance with 
conditions specified therein. The facility is located on the Licensee's 
site in Tonopah, Arizona.
    This Confirmatory Order is the result of an agreement reached 
during an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mediation session 
conducted on September 16, 2020.

II

    On July 6, 2020, the NRC issued Inspection Report 05000528/2020010, 
05000529/2020010, 05000530/2020010, and 07200044/2020001 to APS which 
documented the identification of two apparent violations that were 
being considered for escalated enforcement action in accordance with 
the NRC Enforcement Policy. The apparent

[[Page 78875]]

violations included: (1) An apparent violation of 10 CFR 
72.48(c)(2)(viii) for the failure to perform a written evaluation for a 
change to the NAC MAGNASTOR dry cask storage system and obtain a 
license amendment for a change in methodology for performing tip-over 
calculations; and (2) an apparent violation of 10 CFR 72.146(a) for the 
failure to adequately analyze the consequences of a hypothetical 
MAGNASTOR CC5 spent fuel cask tip-over accident on the independent 
spent fuel storage installation pad.
    By letter dated July 6, 2020, the NRC notified APS of the results 
of the inspection with an opportunity to: (1) Provide a response in 
writing, (2) attend a predecisional enforcement conference; or (3) to 
participate in an ADR mediation session in an effort to resolve these 
concerns.
    In response to the NRC's offer, APS requested the use of the NRC's 
ADR process to resolve differences it had with the NRC. On September 
16, 2020, the NRC and APS met in an ADR session mediated by a 
professional mediator, arranged through Cornell University's Institute 
on Conflict Resolution. The ADR process is one in which a neutral 
mediator, with no decision-making authority, assists the parties in 
reaching an agreement on resolving any differences regarding the 
dispute. This Confirmatory Order is issued pursuant to the agreement 
reached during the ADR process.

III

    During the ADR session, APS and the NRC reached a preliminary 
settlement agreement. The elements of the agreement include the 
following:
    APS acknowledged that it: (1) Failed to perform a written 
evaluation for a change to the NAC MAGNASTOR dry cask storage system 
and obtain a license amendment for a change in methodology for 
performing tip-over calculations; and (2) failed to adequately analyze 
the consequences of a hypothetical MAGNASTOR CC5 spent fuel cask tip 
over accident on the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation 
(ISFSI) pad.
    Corrective actions already implemented by APS included:
    A. Prior to loading fuel in the first MAGNASTOR cask at the Palo 
Verde Nuclear Generating Station (Palo Verde), APS directed NAC to 
perform a new tip-over analysis of the Palo Verde plant specific 
vertical concrete MAGNASTOR CC5 cask on the Palo Verde ISFSI pad using 
the NAC final safety analysis report (FSAR) described method of 
evaluation, LS-DYNA.
    B. On February 28, 2020, APS revised 10 CFR 72.48 screening 72.48 
S-20-001 to no longer accept the linear scaling method that was 
originally done for the MAGNASTOR tip-over analysis. The revision of 
the screening was done to review and accept the tip-over analysis using 
the NAC FSAR-described method of evaluation, LS-DYNA.
    C. On February 28, 2020, APS revised the Palo Verde ISFSI 10 CFR 
72.212 Evaluation Report for the MAGNASTOR System to incorporate the 
revised 10 CFR 72.48 screening that accepted the tip-over analysis 
using the NAC FSAR-described method of evaluation, LS-DYNA.
    D. APS completed a Level 1 Root Cause Analysis that was approved by 
the Palo Verde Corrective Action Review Board. The root cause analysis 
addressed the failure to identify a change in a MAGNASTOR FSAR required 
methodology resulting in APS not complying with 10 CFR 
72.48(c)(2)(viii) and 10 CFR 72.146(a).
    E. As part of the root cause analysis, APS performed a review of 
the tip-over analysis for the UMS dry cask system, used at Palo Verde 
prior to MAGNASTOR, and confirmed that the UMS tip-over analysis was 
performed using LS-DYNA as required by the NAC FSAR.
    F. As part of the root cause analysis, APS performed an extent of 
condition review of the 10 CFR 72.48 and 10 CFR 50.59 screenings and 
evaluations performed over the last 5 years. Of the over 600 screenings 
and evaluations reviewed, APS identified three items of interest that 
required additional evaluation and were entered into the APS corrective 
action program.
    Additional commitments made in the preliminary settlement 
agreement, as signed by both parties, consist of the following:

Communications

    A. Within 2 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will develop a communication that will include: A summary of the 
ISFSI event that resulted in the Confirmatory Order, the root and 
contributing causes, the corrective actions from the root cause 
evaluation, and the additional corrective actions from the Confirmatory 
Order, and APS will submit the proposed communication to the NRC for 
its review. The NRC will provide any comments to APS on the 
communication within 1 month from the date of the submittal. APS will 
consider the NRC's comments and incorporate those comments that APS 
agrees are appropriate.
    B. Within 4 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will issue the Condition A communication as a stand-alone 
communication from the Chief Nuclear Officer to all qualified personnel 
in the development, review, and approval of 10 CFR 50.59/72.48 
``Changes, test, and experiments'' documents. APS will retain a copy of 
the communication presented and verifiable evidence of the personnel 
receiving the communication. APS will document the reason for any 
person not obtaining the communication and the additional efforts used 
to provide the communication.
    C. Within 6 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will develop a presentation and will submit the proposed 
presentation to the NRC for its review. The NRC will provide any 
comments to APS on the presentation within 1 month from the date of the 
submittal. APS will consider the NRC's comments and incorporate those 
comments that APS agrees are appropriate. The presentation will:
    1. Include a summary of the ISFSI event that resulted in the 
Confirmatory Order, the root and contributing causes, the corrective 
actions from the root cause evaluation, additional corrective actions 
from the Confirmatory Order, and a discussion on what a Methodology is 
and what are input parameters.
    2. Emphasize a General Licensee's requirement to adequately review 
a vendor's 10 CFR 72.48 analysis through its 10 CFR 50.59/72.48 program 
for acceptance prior to being implemented at the General Licensee's 
site.
    D. Within 15 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will deliver the presentation to: (1) The INPO Engineering VP 
Forum, (2) the NEI Used Fuel Conference, and (3) the NEI High Level 
Waste Working Group (subject to acceptance of the forum or conference 
organizing committee) as allowed by current COVID-19 considerations.

Training

    E. Within 6 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will develop a refresher training on 10 CFR 50.59/72.48 
requirements and processes and will submit the proposed training to the 
NRC for its review. The NRC will provide any comments to APS on the 
proposed training within 1 month from the date of the submittal. APS 
will consider the NRC's comments and incorporate those comments that 
APS agrees are appropriate.
    F. Within 9 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS

[[Page 78876]]

will provide the training to all qualified personnel in the 
development, review, and approval of 10 CFR 50.59/72.48 changes. APS 
will continue to provide the refresher training at intervals not to 
exceed 15 months until December 31, 2024. APS will retain a copy of the 
training and verifiable evidence of the personnel receiving the 
training. APS will document the reason for any person not obtaining the 
training and the additional efforts used to provide the training.

Reviews

    G. Within 4 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will create a challenge review board consisting of three 10 CFR 
50.59 program single point of contact (SPOC) members who will review 10 
CFR 72.48 screenings and evaluations prior to the change implementation 
until December 31, 2024. By March 31 of the calendar year following the 
Condition G reviews, APS will send a copy of the previous calendar 
reviews and a copy of any additional corrective actions developed from 
the reviews to the NRC.
    H. APS will utilize a design review board to review NAC's design 
changes with experienced qualified 10 CFR 50.59/72.48 individuals on 
both NAC MAGNASTOR and NAC UMS systems, applicable to APS, prior to all 
loading campaigns through December 31, 2024. By March 31 of the 
calendar year following the Condition H reviews, APS will send a copy 
of the previous calendar year reviews and a copy of any additional 
corrective actions developed from the reviews to the NRC.

Training Assessment

    I. Within 12 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will perform a training needs analysis to determine what training 
should be provided to engineering personnel relative to software 
quality assurance. The training needs analysis will consider procedures 
and processes related to the APS software quality assurance program and 
aspects of the Spent Fuel Project Office Interim Staff Guidance--21 
(ISG-21), ``Use of Computational Modeling Software,'' NRC's Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. 
ML061080669. APS will send the results of the training needs analysis 
and proposed training to the NRC for its review. The NRC will provide 
any comments to APS on the training within 1 month from the date of the 
submittal. APS will consider the NRC's comments and incorporate those 
comments that APS agrees are appropriate.
    J. Within 24 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will provide the training resulting from the training needs 
analysis discussed in Paragraph I to qualified personnel in the 
development, review, and approval of 10 CFR 50.59/72.48 changes.

Effectiveness Reviews

    K. By December 31 of calendar years 2021 and 2023, APS will perform 
an effectiveness review of the implemented root cause evaluation 
corrective actions, and actions associated with the Confirmatory Order. 
The effectiveness review will include lessons learned from each action 
implementation or completion, new operating experience since issuance 
of the Confirmatory Order, and training feedback associated with 10 CFR 
50.59/72.48 which occurred during the effectiveness review period. APS 
will modify its corrective actions, as needed and consistent with this 
Confirmatory Order, based on the results of the effectiveness review. 
By March 31 of each year following the effectiveness review, APS will 
send a copy of the effectiveness review and a copy of any additional 
corrective actions developed from the effectiveness review to the NRC.

Administrative Items

    L. Until December 31, 2026, APS will retain a copy of all 
documentation created during the implementation of the Confirmatory 
Order Conditions.
    M. Documents that are required to be sent to the NRC as a result of 
the Confirmatory Order Conditions will be sent the Director, Division 
of Nuclear Materials Safety, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region 
IV, 1600 E Lamar Blvd., Arlington, TX 76011-4511 and emailed to 
[email protected].
    N. In consideration of the Conditions delineated above, the NRC 
agrees that the issuance of this Confirmatory Order will not be 
considered as escalated enforcement. However, for any future escalated 
enforcement actions involving 10 CFR 72.48 or 10 CFR 72.146, the NRC 
will consider this Confirmatory Order for the civil penalty assessment 
purposes as discussed in the NRC Enforcement Policy.
    O. In consideration of the Conditions delineated above, the NRC 
agrees not to issue a notice of violation and not impose a civil 
penalty for the apparent violations discussed in the NRC inspection 
report to APS dated July 6, 2020.
    P. In the event of the transfer of the license of APS to another 
entity, the terms and conditions set forth hereunder shall continue to 
apply to the new entity and accordingly survive any transfer of 
ownership or license.
    Q. The NRC and APS agree that the above elements will be 
incorporated into a Confirmatory Order.
    Based on the completed actions described above, and the commitments 
described in Section V below, the NRC agrees to not pursue any further 
enforcement action based on the apparent violations identified in the 
NRC's July 6, 2020, letter.
    On November 5, 2020, APS consented to issuing this Confirmatory 
Order with the commitments, as described in Section V below. APS 
further agreed that this Confirmatory Order is to be effective upon 
issuance, the agreement memorialized in this Confirmatory Order settles 
the matter between the parties, and that it has waived its right to a 
hearing.

IV

    I find that APS's actions completed, 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 
APS's commitments be confirmed by this Confirmatory Order. Based on the 
above and APS's consent, this Confirmatory Order is effective upon 
issuance.

V

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 103, 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 part 50, it is 
hereby ordered, effective upon issuance, that license Nos. NPF-41, NPF-
51, and NPF-74 are modified as follows:

Communications

    A. Within 2 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will develop a communication that will include: A summary of the 
ISFSI event that resulted in the Confirmatory Order, the root and 
contributing causes, the corrective actions from the root cause 
evaluation, and the additional corrective actions from the Confirmatory 
Order, and APS will submit the proposed communication to the NRC for 
its review. The NRC will provide any comments to APS on the 
communication within 1 month from the date of the submittal. APS will 
consider the NRC's comments and incorporate those comments that APS 
agrees are appropriate.

[[Page 78877]]

    B. Within 4 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will issue the Condition A communication as a stand-alone 
communication from the Chief Nuclear Officer to all qualified personnel 
in the development, review, and approval of 10 CFR 50.59/72.48 
``Changes, test, and experiments'' documents. APS will retain a copy of 
the communication presented and verifiable evidence of the personnel 
receiving the communication. APS will document the reason for any 
person not obtaining the communication and the additional efforts used 
to provide the communication.
    C. Within 6 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will develop a presentation and will submit the proposed 
presentation to the NRC for its review. The NRC will provide any 
comments to APS on the presentation within 1 month from the date of the 
submittal. APS will consider the NRC's comments and incorporate those 
comments that APS agrees are appropriate. The presentation will:
    1. Include a summary of the ISFSI event that resulted in the 
Confirmatory Order, the root and contributing causes, the corrective 
actions from the root cause evaluation, additional corrective actions 
from the Confirmatory Order, and a discussion on what a Methodology is 
and what are input parameters.
    2. Emphasize a General Licensee's requirement to adequately review 
a vendor's 10 CFR 72.48 analysis through its 10 CFR 50.59/72.48 program 
for acceptance prior to being implemented at the General Licensee's 
site.
    D. Within 15 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will deliver the presentation developed in Condition C to: (1) The 
INPO Engineering VP Forum, (2) the NEI Used Fuel Conference, and (3) 
the NEI High Level Waste Working Group (subject to acceptance of the 
forum or conference organizing committee) as allowed by current COVID-
19 considerations.

Training

    E. Within 6 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will develop a Systematic Approach to Training refresher training 
on 10 CFR 50.59/72.48 requirements and processes and will submit 
proposed training to the NRC for its review. The NRC will provide any 
comments to APS on the training within 1 month from the date of the 
submittal. APS will consider the NRC's comments and incorporate those 
comments that APS agrees are appropriate.
    F. Within 9 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will provide the training developed in Condition E above to all 
qualified personnel in the development, review, and approval of 10 CFR 
50.59/72.48 changes. APS will continue to provide the refresher 
training at intervals not to exceed 15 months until December 31, 2024. 
APS will retain a copy of the training and verifiable evidence of the 
personnel receiving the training. APS will document the reason for any 
person not obtaining the training and the additional efforts used to 
provide the training.

Reviews

    G. Within 4 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order 
and until December 31, 2024, APS will create a challenge review board 
consisting of three 10 CFR 50.59 program single point of contact (SPOC) 
members who will review 10 CFR 72.48 screenings and evaluations prior 
to the implementation of a design change. By March 31 of the calendar 
year following the Condition G reviews, APS will send a copy of the 
previous calendar year reviews and a copy of any additional corrective 
actions developed from the reviews to the NRC.
    H. Within 4 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order 
and until December 31, 2024, APS will utilize a design review board to 
review NAC's design changes with experienced, qualified 10 CFR 50.59/
72.48 individuals on both NAC MAGNASTOR and NAC UMS systems applicable 
to APS prior to all loading campaigns. By March 31 of the calendar year 
following the Condition H reviews, APS will send a copy of the previous 
calendar year reviews and a copy of any additional corrective actions 
developed from the reviews to the NRC.

Training Assessment

    I. Within 12 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will perform a training needs analysis to determine what training 
should be provided to engineering personnel relative to software 
quality assurance. The training needs analysis will consider procedures 
and processes related to the APS software quality assurance program and 
aspects of NUREG-2215, ``Standard Review Plan for Spent Fuel Dry 
Storage Systems and Facilities,'' Appendix 4A, ``Computational Modeling 
Software Technical Review Guidance,'' NRC's Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML20121A190. APS will send 
the results of the training needs analysis and proposed training to the 
NRC for its review. The NRC will provide any comments to APS on the 
training within 1 month from the date of the submittal. APS will 
consider the NRC's comments and incorporate those comments that APS 
agrees are appropriate.
    J. Within 24 months of the issuance date of the Confirmatory Order, 
APS will provide the training resulting from the training needs 
analysis discussed in Condition I to qualified personnel in the 
development, review, and approval of 10 CFR 50.59/72.48 changes.

Effectiveness Reviews

    K. By December 31 of calendar years 2021 and 2023, APS will perform 
an effectiveness review of the implemented root cause evaluation 
corrective actions, and actions associated with the Confirmatory Order. 
The effectiveness review will include lessons learned from each action 
implementation or completion, new operating experience since issuance 
of the Confirmatory Order, and training feedback associated with 10 CFR 
50.59/72.48 which occurred during the effectiveness review period. APS 
will modify its corrective actions, as needed and consistent with the 
Confirmatory Order, based on the results of the effectiveness review. 
By March 31 of each year following the effectiveness review, APS will 
send a copy of the effectiveness review and a copy of any additional 
corrective actions developed from the effectiveness review to the NRC.

Administrative Items

    L. Until December 31, 2026, APS will retain a copy of all 
documentation created during the implementation of the Confirmatory 
Order Conditions.
    M. Documents that are required to be sent to the NRC as a result of 
the Confirmatory Order Conditions will be sent to the Director, 
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Region IV, 1600 E Lamar Blvd., Arlington, TX 76011-4511 and 
emailed to [email protected].
    N. In consideration of the Conditions delineated above, the NRC 
agrees that the issuance of this Confirmatory Order will not be 
considered as escalated enforcement. However, for any future escalated 
enforcement actions involving 10 CFR 72.48 or 10 CFR 72.146, the NRC 
will consider this Confirmatory Order for the civil penalty assessment 
purposes as discussed in the NRC Enforcement Policy.
    O. In consideration of the Conditions delineated above, the NRC 
agrees not to issue a notice of violation and not

[[Page 78878]]

impose a civil penalty for the apparent violations discussed in the NRC 
inspection report to APS dated July 6, 2020.
    In the event of the transfer of the license of APS to another 
entity, the terms and conditions set forth hereunder shall continue to 
apply to the new entity and accordingly survive any transfer of 
ownership or license. The Regional Administrator, Region IV, may, in 
writing, relax, rescind, or withdraw any of the above conditions upon 
demonstration by APS or its successors of good cause.

VI

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR 2.309, any person 
adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other than APS, may 
request a hearing within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of 
issuance of this Confirmatory 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 made in writing to the 
Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555, and include a statement of good cause for the 
extension.
    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 that request to 
participate 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 at 77 FR 
46562; August 3, 2012). 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 https://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 or 
other adjudicatory document (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 document is 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 
document 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 documents 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 https://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 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 Secretary, 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.

[[Page 78879]]

    The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a 
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for 
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A 
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and 
served on the parties to the hearing.
    If a person (other than APS) requests a hearing, that person shall 
set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is 
adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order and shall address the 
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 an order designating the time and 
place of any hearings. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered 
at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory 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 from the date of 
this Confirmatory 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.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

/RA/

Scott A. Morris,

Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV.

    Dated this 17th day of November 2020.

[FR Doc. 2020-26846 Filed 12-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P