[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13762-13766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05001]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-201; NRC-2020-0086]
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority;
Irradiated Nuclear Fuel Processing Plant; Western New York State
Nuclear Service Center
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: License amendment request; opportunity to comment, request a
hearing, and petition for leave to intervene.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an amendment to Facility Provisional Operating License No.
CSF-1 for provisional operation of the Irradiated Nuclear Fuel
Processing Plant located at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center
(WNYNSC), in Cattaraugus and Erie Counties, New York. The proposed
amendment would amend the Radiation Protection Plan for the ``retained
premises of the licensed area'' for modernization. In addition, the New
York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the
licensee, requested that the license be amended to clarify NYSERDA's
health and safety and other responsibilities under the license. NYSERDA
defines the ``retained premises of the licensed area'' as the area
consisting of the WNYNSC, not including the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) West Valley Demonstration
[[Page 13763]]
Project (WVDP) premises and the State Licensed Disposal Area (SDA).
DATES: Submit comments by April 9, 2021. Requests for a hearing or
petition for leave to intervene must be filed by May 10, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal Rulemaking Website:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0086. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop:
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marlayna V. Doell, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3178, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0086 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain
publicly available information related to this action by any of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0086.
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 ``Resubmittal of Request for
License Amendment: Retained Premises Radiation Protection
Requirements,'' is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20076C310.
The supplemental information from the licensee is available in ADAMS
under Accession No. ML20311A200. A public version of the CSF-1
Provisional Operating License and associated Technical Specifications
is available in ADAMS under Package Accession No. ML21042A945.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal Rulemaking Website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2020-0086, in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to NYSERDA's
Facility Provisional Operating License No. CSF-1 for provisional
operation of the Irradiated Nuclear Fuel Processing Plant, located at
the WNYNSC in Cattaraugus and Erie Counties, New York. Although
portions of the site are actively being decommissioned by DOE under the
West Valley Demonstration Project Act, 42 U.S.C. 2021a note, Public Law
96-868, 94 Stat. 1347 (1980) (WVDPA), NYSERDA retains responsibility
for portions of the site known as the ``retained premises.''
The proposed amendment would amend the Radiation Protection Plan
for the ``retained premises of the licensed area'' for modernization
and would clarify NYSERDA's health and safety and other
responsibilities under the license.
Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the NRC will
need to make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended (the Act), and the applicable NRC regulations.
The NRC has made a proposed determination that the license
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under
the NRC's regulations in Sec. 50.92 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), this means that provisional operation of the
facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1)
involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an
accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new
or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated;
or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. As
required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of
the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented
below:
1. Does the proposed change involve a significant increase in
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The changes proposed in this license amendment involve the
addition of license conditions to provide additional clarity on
NYSERDA's authorities and responsibilities for health and safety of
the facility under the license and replace existing radiation
protection requirements in the license pertaining to the non-SDA,
non-WVDP portions of the WNYNSC (the Retained Premises) where Part
50-Licensed radioactive materials are or may be present. There are
no proposed changes to structures, systems, and components (SSCs) of
the plant. There are no changes to any of the previously evaluated
accidents in the final safety analysis report (FSAR). There are no
changes to operating procedures or administrative controls that are
credited as having the function of preventing or mitigating any
accidents. Furthermore, there are no accidents previously evaluated
involving the Retained Premises. In view of the foregoing and
because the proposed license amendment would simply impose an
upgraded and up-to-date radiation protection plan that is in
compliance with the current 10 CFR part 20 and replace and supersede
the outdated radiation protection requirements developed at the time
of licensing the irradiated fuel processing facility, the proposed
amendment will not involve a significant increase in the probability
or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
2. Does the proposed change create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The changes proposed in this license amendment involve the
addition of license conditions to provide additional clarity on
[[Page 13764]]
NYSERDA's authorities and responsibilities for health and safety of
the facility under the license and replace existing radiation
protection requirements in the license pertaining to the Retained
Premises where Part 50-Licensed radioactive materials are or may be
present. The proposed changes do not change the design function, or
operation of any SSC described in the FSAR. The proposed changes do
not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident
due to credible new failure mechanisms, malfunctions, or accident
initiators not considered in the design and licensing bases.
Furthermore, there are no accidents previously evaluated involving
the Retained Premises portion of the WNYNSC. Thus, the proposed
changes do not create the possibility of a new or different kind of
accident from any accident previously evaluated.
3. Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in a
margin of safety?
Response: No.
The changes proposed in this license amendment involve the
addition of license conditions to provide additional clarity on
NYSERDA's authorities and responsibilities for health and safety of
the facility under the license and replace existing radiation
protection requirements in the license pertaining to the Retained
Premises where Part 50-Licensed radioactive materials are or may be
present. There are no safety margins that are used to demonstrate
compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements described in
the FSAR that apply to activities planned to be performed in the
Retained Premises and the proposed license amendment would simply
impose an upgraded and up-to-date radiation protection plan for the
Retained Premises that is in compliance with the current 10 CFR part
20 and replace and supersede the outdated radiation protection
requirements developed at the time of licensing the irradiated fuel
processing facility. Thus, no safety margins are affected by the
proposed changes and there is no significant reduction in any margin
of safety previously identified in the license.
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are
satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the
license amendment request involves a no significant hazards
consideration.
The NRC is seeking public comments on this proposed determination
that the license amendment request involves no significant hazards
consideration. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of
publication of this notice will be considered in making any final
determination.
Normally, the Commission will not issue the proposed license
amendment until the expiration of 60 days after the date of publication
of this notice. The Commission may issue the license amendment before
expiration of the 60-day notice period if the Commission concludes the
amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition,
the Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the
30-day comment period if circumstances change during the 30-day comment
period such that failure to act in a timely way would result, for
example, in prevention of decommissioning of the facility under the
WVDPA. If the Commission takes action prior to the expiration of either
the comment period or the notice period, it will publish in the Federal
Register a notice of issuance. If the Commission makes a final no
significant hazards consideration determination, any hearing will take
place after issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this
action will occur very infrequently.
III. 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 2.309. The NRC's regulations are accessible
electronically from the NRC Library on the NRC's website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. 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 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 which 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 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.
If a hearing is requested, and the Commission has not made a final
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration, the
Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no
significant hazards consideration. The final determination will serve
to establish when the hearing is held. If the final determination is
that the amendment request involves no significant hazards
consideration, the Commission may issue the amendment and make it
immediately effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any
hearing would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the final
determination is that the amendment request involves a significant
hazards consideration, then any hearing held would take place before
the issuance of the amendment unless the Commission finds an imminent
danger to the health or safety
[[Page 13765]]
of the public, in which case it will issue an appropriate order or rule
under 10 CFR part 2.
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,
except that under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(2) a State, local governmental body,
or Federally-recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof does not need
to address the standing requirements in 10 CFR 2.309(d) if the facility
is located within its boundaries. 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.
IV. 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 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 https://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 https://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 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 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
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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.
For further details with respect to this action, see the
application for license amendment dated February 6, 2020, as
supplemented on March 11, 2020, and October 28, 2020 (ADAMS Accession
Nos. ML20042D497, ML20076C310, and ML20311A200, respectively).
Attorney for licensee: Ms. Janice Dean, Deputy Counsel, New York
State Energy Research and Development Authority, 9030B Route 219, West
Valley, NY 14171-9500.
NRC Branch Chief: Bruce A. Watson, CHP.
Dated: March 5, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bruce A. Watson,
Chief, Reactor Decommissioning Branch, Decommissioning, Uranium
Recovery and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2021-05001 Filed 3-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P