[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3254-3258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31787]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2024-0221]
Application for Amendments to Renewed Facility Operating Licenses
Involving Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination
and Containing Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information and
Order Imposing Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-
Safeguards Information
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: License amendment request; notice of opportunity to comment,
request a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene; order imposing
procedures.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission)
received and is considering approval of a request to amend three
licenses. The request is for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station,
Units 1, 2, and 3. For each license amendment, the NRC proposes to
determine that it involves no significant hazards consideration (NSHC).
Because the amendment request contains sensitive unclassified non-
safeguards information (SUNSI), the NRC is issuing an order imposing
procedures to obtain access to SUNSI for contention preparation by
persons who file a hearing request or petition for leave to intervene.
DATES: Comments must be received by February 13, 2025. A request for a
hearing or petition for leave to intervene must be filed by March 17,
2025. Any potential party as defined in section 2.4 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) who believes access to SUNSI is
necessary to respond to this notice must request document access by
January 24, 2025.
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-2024-0221. 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: Paula Blechman, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2242; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0221, facility name, unit
number(s), docket number(s), application date, and subject 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-2024-0221.
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, at 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for
each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the
first time that it is mentioned in this document.
NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2024-0221, facility name, unit number(s), docket
number(s), application date, and subject, 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
[[Page 3255]]
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. Background
Pursuant to section 189a.(1)-(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended (the Act), the NRC is publishing this notice. The Act
requires the Commission to publish notice of any amendments issued or
proposed to be issued and grants the Commission the authority to issue
and make immediately effective any amendment to an operating license or
combined license, as applicable, upon a determination by the Commission
that such amendment involves NSHC, notwithstanding the pendency before
the Commission of a request for a hearing from any person.
This notice includes a notice of amendments containing SUNSI.
III. Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendments to Renewed
Facility Operating Licenses, Proposed No Significant Hazards
Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing
The Commission has made a proposed determination that the following
amendment request involves NSHC. Under the Commission's regulations in
10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation of the facility in accordance
with the proposed amendments 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. The basis for this
proposed determination for the amendment request is shown as follows.
The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed
determination. 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 amendments until the
expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The
Commission may issue any of these license amendments before expiration
of the 60-day period provided that its final determination is that the
amendments involve NSHC. In addition, the Commission may issue any of
these amendments 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 derating
or shutdown of the facility. If the Commission takes action on any of
these amendments prior to the expiration of either the comment period
or the notice period, it will publish a notice of issuance in the
Federal Register. If the Commission makes a final NSHC determination
for any of these amendments, any hearing on those amendments will take
place after issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this
action will occur very infrequently.
A. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To Intervene
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any
person (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by any of these
actions may file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to
intervene (petition) with respect to that 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. 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.
Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of
publication of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions
in the ``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document.
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).
If a hearing is requested, and the Commission has not made a final
determination on the issue of NSHC, the Commission will make a final
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration,
which will serve to establish when the hearing is held. If the final
determination is that the amendment request involves NSHC, the
Commission may issue the amendments and make them immediately
effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing would
take place after issuance of the amendments. 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 amendments unless the Commission finds an imminent
danger to the health or safety 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 designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the
Commission to participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h) no later
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice.
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).
For information about filing a petition and about participation by
a person not a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No.
ML20340A053 (https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20340A053) and on the NRC's public website
at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html#participate.
B. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including
documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body,
federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof that
requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. 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,
unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing method, as further
discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is
located in the ``Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC''
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056) and on the NRC's public website at
https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
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
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Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the 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. After a digital ID certificate is
obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit adjudicatory
documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on 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. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends
the submitter an email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing
system also distributes an email 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 to
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., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal 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 in accordance with 10 CFR
2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this manner
are responsible for serving their documents on all other participants.
Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still
meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1),
unless the participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10
CFR 2.302(g)(1).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the
presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate as previously described, click ``cancel'' when the link
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the
NRC's electronic hearing docket 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. 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
should not include copyrighted materials in their submission.
The following table provides the plant name, docket numbers, date
of application, ADAMS accession number, and location in the application
of the licensee's proposed NSHC determination. For further details with
respect to this license amendment application, see the application for
amendment, publicly available portions of which are available for
public inspection in ADAMS. For additional direction on accessing
information related to this document, see the ``Obtaining Information
and Submitting Comments'' section of this document.
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Docket No(s). 50-528, 50-529, 50-530
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Arizona Public Service Company, et al.; Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station, Units 1, 2, and 3; Maricopa County, AZ
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Docket No(s)........................... 50-528, 50-529, 50-530.
Application Date....................... August 28, 2024
ADAMS Accession No..................... ML24241A278.
Location in Application of NSHC........ Pages 7-10 of the Enclosure.
Brief Description of Amendment(s)...... The proposed amendments would
revise the safety injection
tank pressure bands in
Technical Specifications (TS)
Section 3.5.1, ``Safety
Injection Tanks (SITs)--
Operating,'' and TS Section
3.5.2, ``Safety Injection
Tanks (SITs)--Shutdown.'' In
addition, the proposed
amendments would allow the use
of the GOTHIC code as part of
the methodology to perform
calculations of the
containment pressure and
temperature response to
various postulated pipe
breaks.
Proposed Determination................. NSHC.
Name of Attorney for Licensee, Mailing Carey Fleming, Senior Counsel,
Address. Pinnacle West Capital
Corporation, 500 N 5th Street,
MS 8695, Phoenix, AZ 85004.
NRC Project Manager, Telephone Number.. William Orders, 301-415-3329.
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Order Imposing Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-
Safeguards Information for Contention Preparation
Arizona Public Service Company, et al.; Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station, Units 1, 2, and 3; Maricopa County, AZ
A. This Order contains instructions regarding how potential parties
to this proceeding may request access to documents containing Sensitive
Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI).
B. Within 10 days after publication of this notice of hearing or
opportunity for hearing, any potential party who believes access to
SUNSI is necessary to respond to this notice may request access to
SUNSI. A ``potential party'' is any person who intends to participate
as a party by demonstrating standing and filing an admissible
contention under 10 CFR 2.309. Requests for access to SUNSI submitted
later than 10 days after publication of this notice will not be
considered absent a showing of good cause for the late filing,
addressing why the request could not have been filed earlier.
C. The requestor shall submit a letter requesting permission to
access SUNSI to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff,
[[Page 3257]]
and provide a copy to the Deputy General Counsel for Licensing,
Hearings, and Enforcement, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. The expedited
delivery or courier mail address for both offices is: U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
The email addresses for the Office of the Secretary and the Office of
the General Counsel are [email protected] and
[email protected], respectively.\1\ The request must
include the following information:
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\1\ While a request for hearing or petition to intervene in this
proceeding must comply with the filing requirements of the NRC's
``E-Filing Rule,'' the initial request to access SUNSI under these
procedures should be submitted as described in this paragraph.
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(1) A description of the licensing action with a citation to this
Federal Register notice;
(2) The name and address of the potential party and a description
of the potential party's particularized interest that could be harmed
by the action identified in C.(1); and
(3) The identity of the individual or entity requesting access to
SUNSI and the requestor's basis for the need for the information in
order to meaningfully participate in this adjudicatory proceeding. In
particular, the request must explain why publicly available versions of
the information requested would not be sufficient to provide the basis
and specificity for a proffered contention.
D. Based on an evaluation of the information submitted under
paragraph C, the NRC staff will determine within 10 days of receipt of
the request whether:
(1) There is a reasonable basis to believe the petitioner is likely
to establish standing to participate in this NRC proceeding; and
(2) The requestor has established a legitimate need for access to
SUNSI.
E. If the NRC staff determines that the requestor satisfies both
D.(1) and D.(2), the NRC staff will notify the requestor in writing
that access to SUNSI has been granted. The written notification will
contain instructions on how the requestor may obtain copies of the
requested documents, and any other conditions that may apply to access
to those documents. These conditions may include, but are not limited
to, the signing of a Non-Disclosure Agreement or Affidavit, or
Protective Order \2\ setting forth terms and conditions to prevent the
unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of SUNSI by each individual who
will be granted access to SUNSI.
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\2\ Any motion for Protective Order or draft Non-Disclosure
Affidavit or Agreement for SUNSI must be filed with the presiding
officer, or the Chief Administrative Judge if the presiding officer
has not yet been designated, within 30 days of the deadline for the
receipt of the written access request.
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F. Filing of Contentions. Any contentions in these proceedings that
are based upon the information received as a result of the request made
for SUNSI must be filed by the requestor no later than 25 days after
receipt of (or access to) that information. However, if more than 25
days remain between the petitioner's receipt of (or access to) the
information and the deadline for filing all other contentions (as
established in the notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing), the
petitioner may file its SUNSI contentions by that later deadline.
G. Review of Denials of Access.
(1) If the request for access to SUNSI is denied by the NRC staff
after a determination on standing and requisite need, the NRC staff
shall immediately notify the requestor in writing, briefly stating the
reason or reasons for the denial.
(2) The requestor may challenge the NRC staff's adverse
determination by filing a challenge within 5 days of receipt of that
determination with: (a) the presiding officer designated in this
proceeding; (b) if no presiding officer has been appointed, the Chief
Administrative Judge, or if this individual is unavailable, another
administrative judge, or an Administrative Law Judge with jurisdiction
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.318(a); or (c) if another officer has been
designated to rule on information access issues, with that officer.
(3) Further appeals of decisions under this paragraph must be made
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.311.
H. Review of Grants of Access. A party other than the requestor may
challenge an NRC staff determination granting access to SUNSI whose
release would harm that party's interest independent of the proceeding.
Such a challenge must be filed within 5 days of the notification by the
NRC staff of its grant of access and must be filed with: (a) the
presiding officer designated in this proceeding; (b) if no presiding
officer has been appointed, the Chief Administrative Judge, or if this
individual is unavailable, another administrative judge, or an
Administrative Law Judge with jurisdiction pursuant to 10 CFR 2.318(a);
or (c) if another officer has been designated to rule on information
access issues, with that officer.
If challenges to the NRC staff determinations are filed, these
procedures give way to the normal process for litigating disputes
concerning access to information. The availability of interlocutory
review by the Commission of orders ruling on such NRC staff
determinations (whether granting or denying access) is governed by 10
CFR 2.311.\3\
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\3\ Requestors should note that the filing requirements of the
NRC's E-Filing Rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended at 77
FR 46562; August 3, 2012, 78 FR 34247; June 7, 2013) apply to
appeals of NRC staff determinations (because they must be served on
a presiding officer or the Commission, as applicable), but not to
the initial SUNSI request submitted to the NRC staff under these
procedures.
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I. The Commission expects that the NRC staff and presiding officers
(and any other reviewing officers) will consider and resolve requests
for access to SUNSI, and motions for protective orders, in a timely
fashion in order to minimize any unnecessary delays in identifying
those petitioners who have standing and who have propounded contentions
meeting the specificity and basis requirements in 10 CFR part 2. The
attachment to this Order summarizes the general target schedule for
processing and resolving requests under these procedures.
It is so ordered.
Dated: December 31, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Tomas E. Herrera,
Acting Secretary of the Commission.
Attachment 1--General Target Schedule for Processing and Resolving
Requests for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information
in this Proceeding
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Day Event/activity
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0........................ Publication of Federal Register notice of
hearing or opportunity for hearing,
including order with instructions for access
requests.
10....................... Deadline for submitting requests for access
to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards
Information (SUNSI) with information: (i)
supporting the standing of a potential party
identified by name and address; and (ii)
describing the need for the information in
order for the potential party to participate
meaningfully in an adjudicatory proceeding.
[[Page 3258]]
60....................... Deadline for submitting petition for
intervention containing: (i) demonstration
of standing; and (ii) all contentions whose
formulation does not require access to SUNSI
(+25 Answers to petition for intervention;
+7 petitioner/requestor reply).
20....................... U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
staff informs the requestor of the staff's
determination whether the request for access
provides a reasonable basis to believe
standing can be established and shows need
for SUNSI. (NRC staff also informs any party
to the proceeding whose interest independent
of the proceeding would be harmed by the
release of the information.) If NRC staff
makes the finding of need for SUNSI and
likelihood of standing, NRC staff begins
document processing (preparation of
redactions or review of redacted documents).
25....................... If NRC staff finds no ``need'' or no
likelihood of standing, the deadline for
petitioner/requestor to file a motion
seeking a ruling to reverse the NRC staff's
denial of access; NRC staff files copy of
access determination with the presiding
officer (or Chief Administrative Judge or
other designated officer, as appropriate).
If NRC staff finds ``need'' for SUNSI, the
deadline for any party to the proceeding
whose interest independent of the proceeding
would be harmed by the release of the
information to file a motion seeking a
ruling to reverse the NRC staff's grant of
access.
30....................... Deadline for NRC staff reply to motions to
reverse NRC staff determination(s).
40....................... (Receipt +30) If NRC staff finds standing and
need for SUNSI, deadline for NRC staff to
complete information processing and file
motion for Protective Order and draft Non-
Disclosure Agreement or Affidavit. Deadline
for applicant/licensee to file Non-
Disclosure Agreement or Affidavit for SUNSI.
A........................ If access granted: issuance of presiding
officer or other designated officer decision
on motion for protective order for access to
sensitive information (including schedule
for providing access and submission of
contentions) or decision reversing a final
adverse determination by the NRC staff.
A + 3.................... Deadline for filing executed Non-Disclosure
Agreements or Affidavits. Access provided to
SUNSI consistent with decision issuing the
protective order.
A + 28................... Deadline for submission of contentions whose
development depends upon access to SUNSI.
However, if more than 25 days remain between
the petitioner's receipt of (or access to)
the information and the deadline for filing
all other contentions (as established in the
notice of hearing or notice of opportunity
for hearing), the petitioner may file its
SUNSI contentions by that later deadline.
A + 53................... (Contention receipt +25) Answers to
contentions whose development depends upon
access to SUNSI.
A + 60................... (Answer receipt +7) Petitioner/Intervenor
reply to answers.
>A + 60.................. Decision on contention admission.
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[FR Doc. 2024-31787 Filed 1-13-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P