[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 250 (Tuesday, December 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79921-79923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30946]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[DOCKET NO. 50-298]
Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application and Notice
of Opportunity for Hearing Regarding Renewal of Facility Operating
License No. DPR-46 for an Additional 20-Year Period Nebraska Public
Power District Cooper Nuclear Station
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is
considering an application for the renewal of operating license DPR-46,
which authorizes Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), to operate the
Cooper Nuclear Station (CNS), at 2419 megawatts thermal. The renewed
license would authorize the applicant to operate the Cooper Nuclear
Station for an additional 20 years beyond the period specified in the
current license. CNS is located near Brownville, NE, and its current
operating license expires on January 18, 2014.
CNS submitted the application dated September 24, 2008, pursuant to
Title 10, Part 54, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 54),
to renew operating license DPR-46 for CNS. A notice of receipt and
availability of the license renewal application (LRA) was published in
the Federal Register on November 17, 2008 (73 FR 67896).
The Commission's staff has determined that Nebraska Public Power
District has submitted sufficient information in accordance with 10 CFR
sections 54.19, 54.21, 54.22, 54.23, 51.45, and 51.53(c), to enable the
staff to undertake a review of the application, and the application is
therefore acceptable for docketing. The current Docket No. 50-298, for
operating license DPR-46, will be retained. The determination to accept
the license renewal application for docketing does not constitute a
determination that a renewed license should be issued, and does not
preclude the NRC staff from requesting additional information as the
review proceeds.
Before issuance of the requested renewed license, the NRC will have
made the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (the Act),
as amended, and the Commission's rules and regulations. In accordance
with 10 CFR 54.29, the NRC may issue a renewed license if it finds that
actions have been identified and have been, or will be, taken with
respect to: (1) Managing the effects of aging during the period of
extended operation on the functionality of structures and components
that have been identified as requiring aging management review; and (2)
time-limited aging analyses that have been identified as requiring
review, such that there is reasonable assurance that the activities
authorized by the renewed license will continue to be conducted in
accordance with the current licensing basis (CLB), and that any changes
made to the plant's CLB will comply with the Act and the Commission's
regulations.
Additionally, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.95(c), the NRC will
prepare an environmental impact statement that is a supplement to the
Commission's NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for
License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated May 1996. In
considering the LRA, the Commission must find that the applicable
requirements of Subpart A of 10 CFR Part 51 have been satisfied, and
that matters raised under 10 CFR 2.335 have been addressed. Pursuant to
10 CFR 51.26, and as part of the environmental scoping process, the
staff intends to hold a public scoping meeting. Detailed information
regarding the environmental scoping meeting will be the subject of a
separate Federal Register notice.
Within 60 days of this notice, any person(s) whose interest may be
affected may file a request for hearing/petition to intervene. As
required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene shall set
forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner/requestor in
the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of
the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons
why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the
following general requirements: (1) The name, address, and telephone
number of the requestor or petitioner; (2) the nature of the
requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the
proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the requestor's/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 requestor's/petitioner's interest. The petition must
also identify the specific contentions which the petitioner/requestor
seeks to have litigated at 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/requestor shall 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
[[Page 79922]]
hearing. The petitioner must also provide references to those specific
sources and documents of which the petitioner is aware and on which the
petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts or expert opinion.
The petition must include sufficient information to show that a genuine
dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or
fact.\1\ Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of
the amendment under consideration. The contention must be one which, if
proven, would entitle the petitioner/requestor to relief. A petitioner/
requestor who fails to satisfy these requirements with respect to at
least one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
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\1\ To the extent that the application contains attachments and
supporting documents that are not publicly available because they
are asserted to contain safeguards or proprietary information,
petitioners desiring access to this information should contact the
applicant or applicant's counsel to discuss the need for a
protective order.
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The Commission requests that each contention be given a separate
numeric or alpha designation within one of the following groups: (1)
Technical (primarily related to safety concerns); (2) environmental; or
(3) miscellaneous.
Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding,
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene,
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the
hearing.
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, 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 E-Filing rule, which the NRC
promulgated in August 2007, 72 FR 49139 (Aug. 28, 2007). 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. 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
ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/ requestor
should contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a
digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal
server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2)
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances
in which the petitioner/requestor (or its counsel or representative)
already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each petitioner/
requestor will need to download the Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ to
access the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-
Filing system. The Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ is free and is available
at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html.
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on
NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
Once a petitioner/requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate,
had a docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit
a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions
should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC
guidance available on the NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the
time the filer submits its documents through EIE. To be timely, an
electronic filing must be submitted to the EIE 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 e-mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The
EIE system also distributes an e-mail notice that provides access to
the document to the NRC 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 a hearing request/petition
to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document
via the E-Filing system.
A person filing electronically using the agency's adjudicatory e-
filing system may seek assistance through the ``Contact Us'' link
located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC electronic filing Help Desk,
which is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday
through Friday, excluding government holidays. The toll-free help line
number is (866) 672-7640. A person filing electronically may also seek
assistance by sending an e-mail to the NRC electronic filing Help Desk
at [email protected].
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
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, Sixteenth
Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville, Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff.
Participants filing a document 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.
Non-timely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be
entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding
officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition
and/or request should be granted and/or the contentions should be
admitted, based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR
2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at
http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant
to an order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or
a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include personal
privacy information, such as social security numbers, home addresses,
or home phone numbers in their filings. 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 submissions.
Detailed information about the license renewal process can be found
under the Nuclear Reactors icon at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html on the NRC's Web site. Copies of the
application to renew the operating license for CNS,
[[Page 79923]]
Unit 1, is available for public inspection at the Commission's PDR,
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),
Rockville, MD 20852-2738, and at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html, the NRC's Web site while the
application is under review. The application may be accessed in ADAMS
through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under ADAMS Accession Number
ML083030227. As stated above, persons who do not have access to ADAMS
or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS
may contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff by
telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to
[email protected].
The NRC staff has verified that a copy of the license renewal
application is also available to local residents near CNS, at the
Auburn Memorial Library, 1810 Courthouse Avenue, Auburn, NE 68305.
The applicant's counsel: John C. McClure, Nebraska Public Power
District, 1414 15th Street Columbus, NE., 68602.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of December, 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian E. Holian,
Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E8-30946 Filed 12-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P