ML20128L477
| ML20128L477 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | McGuire, Mcguire  |
| Issue date: | 05/16/1985 |
| From: | Adensam E Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20128L459 | List: |
| References | |
| TAC-57316, TAC-57317, TAC-66970, TAC-66971, NUDOCS 8505310362 | |
| Download: ML20128L477 (8) | |
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-(7590-01)
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DUKE POWER COMPANY DOCKET NOS. 50-369 AND 50-370 NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENTS TO FAC'LITY OPERATING LICENSES AND PROPOSED NO SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS-CONSIDERATION DETERMINATION AND OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING The U.S. Nuclear Regulatoy Commission (the Comission) is considering !
issuance of amendments to Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-9 and NPF-17, L
. issued to Duke Power Company (the licensee), for operation of the McGuire Nuclear. Station, Units _1 and 2, located in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
The proposed amendments would incorporate into the McGuire Unit 2-license authority to receive, possess and store ir adiated Oconee fuel assemblies under the same conditions as are presently authorized by the McGuire Unit I license. The conditions upon which the authority to possess, receive and store irradiated Oconee fuel, as contained in the.McGuire-Unit 1
~ license, would not be changed, except for inclusion of Unit 2. The amendments
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c would not increase the inventory of Oconee fuel that may be received at the '
c McGuire site,'but would provide for storage of that inventory at either of the two identical McGuire Units.. These changes were requested in the i licensee's application for amendment dated April 3,1985 as supplemented May 14,1985.
Before issuance of the proposed license amendments, the Commission will o ;t; Jhave made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended f
1(the Act)_and the Commission's regulations.
't The Comission has made a proposed determination tnat the amendment
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Ab $ PDR 369 a ,
request involves no significant hazards consideration. 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.
On October 27, 1981, the Commission issued Amendment No. 8 to Facility Operating License NPF-9 to set forth license conditions and change Technical Specifications to authorize the licensee to recaive, possess ano store at McGuire Unit I up to 300 irradiated fuel assemblies generated at the Oconee Nuclear Station. On September 24, 1984, the Commission issued Amendment No. 35 to NPF-9 and Amendment No. 16 to NPF-17 (Unit 2) to change the Technical Specifications to permit an expansion of the spent fuel pool storage capacity at each unit by reracking each spent fuel pool with two-region poisoned racks. The Safety Evaluation Report supporting Amendments 35 and 16 concluded that, subject to certain conditions, irradiated fuel from McGuire (Westinghouse standard or optimized fuel assembly design) or Oconee (Babcock and Wilcox 15 x 15 design) may be stored safely in the reracked spent fuel pools. That SER also concluded that the NRC's evaluation of the licensee's capacity expansion submittal.had not changed the conclusions in SER Supplement No. 2 related to the storing of Oconee fuel at McGuire. The licensee has recently completed construction installation of the rerack design in the McGuire Unit 2 spent fuel pool and now seeks authority to receive, possess, and store Oconee irradiated fuel assemblies at McGuire Nuclear Station, in either or
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both spent fuel pools, subject to similar conditions established for Unit 1 as set forth.by NPF-9 Amendment 8. The proposed amendments would not (1) increase the total number of Oconee irradiated fuel assemblies received for storage at the McGuire site relative to the number (300) currently authorized for Unit 1, nor (2) a'uthorize transfer of Oconee irradiated fuel from one McGuire unit's spent fuel pool to the other.
The spent fuel pools and the systems and equipment for handling spent fuel are identical at each McGuire unit. Because of identical designs, support-ing systems and structures, common site, and common emergency, health physics, security and safety procedures, no adverse changes in the safety issues associ-ated with possession, receipt, and storage of irradiated Oconee fuel assemblies at McGuire would be associated with these amendments.
The foregoing reviews, and particularly the fact that the design of the
' Unit 2 spent fuel pool is. identical to that of Unit I and that there would be no increase in the inventory of Oconee fuel for the McGuire site relative to that amount previously authorized for McGuire Unit 1, indicate that the proposed amendments would not (1) involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated, (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.
Accordingly, the Commission proposes to determine that these changes do not involve significant hazards considerations.
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. The Commission
, will not normally make a final determination unless it receives a request for a hearing.
Comments should be addressed to the Secretary of .the Comission, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, Attn: Docketing and Service Branch.
By , the licensee may file a request for a hearing with respect to issuance of the amendments to the subject facility operating licenses and any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written petition for leave to intervene. Request for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's " Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings" in 10 CFR Part 2. If a request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed by the above
! date, the Commission or an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, designated by the Commission or by the Chairman of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panei. will rule on the request and/or petition and the Secretary or the designated Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of hearing or an appropriate order.
As required by 10 CFR 62.714, a petition for leave to intervene shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner 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 referctice to the following factors: (1) the nature of the petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of the petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (3) the possible effect of any order which may be entered in the proceeding on the petitioner's interest.
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. The petition should also identify the specific aspect (s) of the subject matter of the proceeding as to which petitioner wishes to intervene. Any person.who has filed a petition for leave to intervene or who has been admitted as a party may amend the petition without requesting leave of the Board up to fifteen (15) days prior to the first prehearing conference scheduled in the proceeding, but such an amended petition must satisfy the specificity requirements described above.
-Not later than fifteen (15) days prior to the first prehearing .
conference scheduled in the proceeding, a petitioner shall file a supplement to the petition to intervene which must include a list of the contentions which are sought to be litigated in the matter, and the bases for each contention set forth with reasonable specificity. Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of the amendment under consideration.
A petitioner who fails to file such a supplement which satisfies these requirements with repsect to at least one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
The Comission hereby provides notice that this proceeding is on an application for license ameandments falling within the scope of section 134 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), 42 U.S.C.10154. Under Section 134 of the NWPA, the Comission, at the request of any petitioner or party to the proceeding, is required to employ hybrid hearing procedures with respect to."any matter which the Commission determines to be in con-troversy among the parties." Section 134 procedures provide for oral argument on those issues " determined to be in controversy", preceded by discovery
, under the Rules of Practice, and the designation, following argument, of only those factual issues that involve a genuine and substantial dispute, together
6-with any remaining questions of law to be resolved at an adjudicatory hearing.
Actual adjudicatory hearings are to be held only on those issues found to meet '
the criteria of Section 134 and set for hearing after oral argument on the proposed issues. However, if no petitioner or party requests the use of the hybrid hearing procedures, then the usual 10 CFR Part 2 procedures apply.
(At this time, the Consnission does not have effective regulations implementing Section 134 of the NWPA although it has published proposed rules.
See Hybrid Tring Procedures for Expansion of Onsite Spent Fuel Storage Capacity at u.vilian Nuclear Power Reactors, 48 FR 54499 (December 5,1983).)
Subject to the above requirements, and any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the hearing, including the opportunity to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.
If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration. The final determina- -
tion will serve to decide 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 effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing held would take place after issuance of the amendment.
If the fin 11 determination is that the amendment involves a significant hazards consideration, any hearing held would take place before the issuance of any amendment.
Normally, the Comission will not issue the amendment until the expira-tion of the 30-day notice period. However, should circumstances change during the notice period such that failure to act in a timely way would result, for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility, the Commission may issue the license amendment before the expiration of the 30-day notice period, provided that its final determination is that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. The final determination will consider all public and State coments received. Should the Commission take this action, it will publish a notice of issuance and provide for opportunity for a hearing after issuance. The Comission expects that the need to take this action will occur very infrequently.
A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must be filed with the Secretary of the Comission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Washington, D.C. 20555, Attention: Docketing and Service Branch, or may be delivered to the Comission's Public Document Room,1717 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C., by the above date. Where petitions are filed during the last ten (10) days of the notice period, it is requested that the petitioner promptly so -inform the Commission by a toll-free telephone call to Western Union at (800) 325-600 (in Missouri (800) 342-6700). The Western Union operator should be given Datagram Identification Number 3737 and the following message addressed to Elinor G. Adensam: petitioner's name and telephone number; date petition was mailed; plant name; and publication date and page number of this FEDERAL REGISTER notice. A copy of the petition should also be sent to the Executive Legal Director, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, and to Mr. Albert Carr, Duke Power Company, 422 South Church Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28242, attorney for the
-licensee.
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, Nontimely filings of petitions for leave to intervene, amended petitions, supplemental' petitions and/or requests for hearing will not be entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding officer or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Scard designated to rule on the petition and/or request, that the petitioner har made a substantial showing of good cause for the granting of a late petition and/or request. That determination will be based upon a _ balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.714(a)(1)(1)-(v) and 2.714(d).
For further details with respect to this action, see the application for amendment which is available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room 1717 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., and at the Atkins Library, University of North Carolina, Charlotte (UNCC Station),
North Carolina 23223.
Dated at Bethesda, Maryland, this 16'h day of May 1985.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION U*
Elinor G. Adensam, Chief Licensing Branch No. 4 Division of Licensing r
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