ML101130351

Request for Withholding Information from Public Disclosure (Tac No. ME2731)

ML101130351
Person / Time
Site:	Watts Bar
Issue date:	05/05/2010
From:	Joel Wiebe Watts Bar Special Projects Branch
To:	Bhatnagar A Tennessee Valley Authority
Wiebe, Joel NRR/DORL/WBSP, 415-6606
References
TAC ME2731
Download: ML101130351 (4)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 May 5,2010 Mr. Ashok S. Bhatnagar Senior Vice President Nuclear Generation Development and Construction Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, UNIT 2 - REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE (TAC NO. ME2731)

Dear Mr. Bhatnagar:

By letter dated February 5, 2010, you submitted an affidavit dated February 1, 2010, executed by J. A. Gresham, Manager. Regulatory Compliance and Plant Licensing, Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, and requested that the information contained in the following document be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 2, Section 2.390:

WCAP-17044-P, Revision 0, "Westinghouse Setpoint Methodology for Protection Systems Watts Bar Unit 2" (Proprietary)

A nonproprietary copy of this document has been placed in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) Public Document Room and added to the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Public Electronic Reading Room.

The affidavit stated that the submitted information should be considered exempt from mandatory public disclosure for the following reasons:

(i) The information sought to be withheld from public disclosure is owned and has been held in confidence by Westinghouse.

(ii) The information is of a type customarily held in confidence by Westinghouse and not customarily disclosed to the public. Westinghouse has a rational basis for determining the types of information customarily held in confidence by it and, in that connection, utilizes a system to determine' when and whether to hold certain types of information in confidence. The application of that system and the substance of that system constitutes Westinghouse policy and provides the rational basis required.

Under that system, information is held in confidence if it falls in one or more of several types, the release of which might result in the loss of an existing or potential competitive advantage, as follows:

A. Bhatnagar -2 (a) The information reveals the distinguishing aspects of a process (or component, structure, tool, method, etc.) where prevention of its use by any of Westinghouse's competitors without license from Westinghouse constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies.

(b) It consists of supporting data, including test data, relative to a process (or component, structure, tool, method, etc.), the application of which data secures a competitive economic advantage (e.g., by optimization or improved marketability).

(c) Its use by a competitor would reduce his expenditure of resources or improve his competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing a similar product.

(d) It reveals cost or price information, production capacities, budget levels, or commercial strategies of Westinghouse, its customers or suppliers.

(e) It reveals aspects of past, present, or future Westinghouse or customer funded development plans and programs of potential commercial value to Westinghouse.

(f) It contains patentable ideas, for which patent protection may be desirable.

There are sound policy reasons behind the Westinghouse system, which include the following:

(a) The use of such information by Westinghouse gives Westinghouse a competitive advantage over its competitors. It is, therefore, withheld from disclosure to protect the Westinghouse competitive position.

(b) It is information that is marketable in many ways. The extent to which such information is available to competitors diminishes the Westinghouse ability to sell products and services involving the use of the information.

(c) Use by our competitor would put Westinghouse at a competitive disadvantage by reducing his expenditure of resources at our expense.

(d) Each component of proprietary information pertinent to a particular competitive advantage is potentially as valuable as the total competitive advantage. If competitors acquire components of proprietary information, anyone; component may be the key to the entire puzzle, thereby depriving Westinghouse of a competitive advantage.

(e) Unrestricted disclosure would jeopardize the position of prominence of Westinghouse in the world market, and thereby give a market advantage to the competition of those countries.

(f) The Westinghouse capacity to invest corporate assets in research and development depends upon the success in obtaining and maintaining a competitive advantage.

We have reviewed your application and the material in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 2.390 and, on the basis of the statements in the affidavit, have determined that the submitted information sought to be withheld contains proprietary commercial information and should be withheld from public disclosure.

A. Bhatnagar - 3 Therefore, the version(s) of the submitted information marked as proprietary will be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390(b)(5) and Section 103(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

Withholding from public inspection shall not affect the right, if any, of persons properly and directly concerned to inspect the documents. If the need arises, we may send copies of this information to our consultants working in this area. We will, of course, ensure that the consultants have signed the appropriate agreements for handling proprietary information.

If the basis for withholding this information from public inspection should change in the future such that the information could then be made available for public inspection, you should promptly notify the NRC. You also should understand that the NRC may have cause to review this determination in the future, for example. if the scope of a Freedom of Information Act request includes your information. In all review situations, if the NRC makes a determination adverse to the above, you will be notified in advance of any public disclosure.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, I may be reached at 301-415-6606.

Sincerely,

~t[)~

el S. Wiebe, Senior Project Manager atts Bar Special Projects Branch ivision of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-391 cc: Distribution via Listserve J. A. Gresham, Manager, Regulatory Compliance and Plant Licensing Westinghouse Electric Company LLC P.O. Box 355 Pittsburgh, PA 15230-0355.

A.Bhatnagar -3 Therefore, the version(s) of the submitted information marked as proprietary will be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390(b)(5) and Section 103(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

Withholding from public inspection shall not affect the right, if any, of persons properly and directly concerned to inspect the documents. If the need arises, we may send copies of this information to our consultants working in this area. We will, of course, ensure that the consultants have signed the appropriate agreements for handling proprietary information.

If the basis for withholding this information from public inspection should change in the future such that the information could then be made available for pUblic inspection, you should promptly notify the NRC. You also should understand that the NRC may have cause to review this determination in the future, for example, if the scope of a Freedom of Information Act request includes your information. In all review situations, if the NRC makes a determination adverse to the above, you will be notified in advance of any public disclosure.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, I may be reached at 301-415-6606.

Sincerely, IRAI Joel S. Wiebe, Senior Project Manager Watts Bar Special Projects Branch Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-391 cc: Distribution via Listserve J. A. Gresham, Manager, Regulatory Compliance and Plant Licensing Westinghouse Electric Company LLC P.O.: Box 355 Pittsburgh, PA 15230-0355.

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PUBLIC LP-WB R/F RidsAcrsAcnw MailCTR Resource RidsNrrDorlLpwb Resource RidsNrrLABClayton Resource RidsNrrPMWattsBar2 Resource RidsNrrDeEicb Resource RidsOgcMailCenter Resource RidsRgn2MailCenter Resource]

ADAMS Accession No. ML101130351 OFFICE DORLlLPWB/PM DORLlLPWB/LA DE/EICB/BC DORLlLPWB/BC(A)

NAME JWiebe BClayton WKemper PMilano DATE 04 127/10 04 127 110 04/28 110 05 105/10 OFFICIAL RECORD COpy 4 of 4