ML20317A175
| ML20317A175 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Grand Gulf, River Bend  |
| Issue date: | 11/19/2020 |
| From: | Siva Lingam Plant Licensing Branch IV |
| To: | Halter M Entergy Operations, Entergy Services |
| Lingam S, 301-415-1564 | |
| References | |
| EPID L-2020-LLR-0079 | |
| Download: ML20317A175 (4) | |
Text
November 19, 2020 Mrs. Mandy Halter Vice President, Regulatory Assurance Licensing Entergy Services, LLC M-ECH-29 1340 Echelon Parkway Jackson, MS 39213
SUBJECT:
GRAND GULF NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 AND RIVER BEND STATION, UNIT 1 - REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE (EPID L-2020-LLR-0079)
Dear Mrs. Halter:
By letter dated November 9, 2020 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML20314A125), Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy, the licensee) submitted an affidavit dated October 29, 2020, to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), executed by Mr. Steve Chengelis, Director, Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
(EPRI), requesting that the information contained in the following documents (Attachments 1 and 2 of the letter dated November 9, 2020) be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 2, Section 2.390:
BWRVIP-48, Revision 1, Table F.1, Revision Details BWRVIP-48, Revision 1 BWRVIP-48, Revision 1, Section E.4, Qualitative Risk Assessment for Extension of the Core Spray Piping Bracket Attachment Weld Examination Interval in Rev. 1 to BWRVIP-48.
A nonproprietary copy of the above documents contained in Attachments 3 and 4 of the enclosure to Entergys letter dated November 9, 2020, has been placed in the NRCs Public Document Room and added to the NRC Library in ADAMS at the above-referenced Accession No. ML20314A125.
The EPRI affidavit dated October 29, 2020, stated that the submitted information should be considered exempt from mandatory public disclosure for the following reasons:
- a.
The Proprietary Information is owned by EPRI and has been held in confidence by EPRI. All entities accepting copies of the Proprietary Information do so subject to written agreements imposing an obligation upon the recipient to maintain the confidentiality of the Proprietary Information. The Proprietary Information is disclosed only to parties who agree, in writing, to preserve the confidentiality thereof.
- b.
EPRI considers the Proprietary Information contained therein to constitute trade secrets of EPRI. As such, EPRI holds the Information in confidence and disclosure thereof is strictly limited to individuals and entities who have agreed, in writing, to maintain the confidentiality of the Information.
- c.
The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary for the following reasons. EPRI made a substantial economic investment to develop the Proprietary Information and, by prohibiting public disclosure, EPRI derives an economic benefit in the form of licensing royalties and other additional fees from the confidential nature of the Proprietary Information. If the Proprietary Information were publicly available to consultants and/or other businesses providing services in the electric and/or nuclear power industry, they would be able to use the Proprietary Information for their own commercial benefit and profit and without expending the substantial economic resources required of EPRI to develop the Proprietary Information.
- d.
EPRls classification of the Proprietary Information as trade secrets is justified by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act which California adopted in 1984 and a version of which has been adopted by over forty states.
The California Uniform Trade Secrets Act, California Civil Code §§3426 - 3426.11, defines a trade secret as follows:
Trade secret means information, including a formula, pattern.
compilation, program device, method, technique, or process, that:
(1)
Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to the public or to other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and (2)
Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.
- e.
The Proprietary Information contained therein are not generally known or available to the public. EPRI developed the Information only after making a determination that the Proprietary Information was not available from public sources. EPRI made a substantial investment of both money and employee hours in the development of the Proprietary Information. EPRI was required to devote these resources and effort to derive the Proprietary Information. As a result of such effort and cost, both in terms of dollars spent and dedicated employee time, the Proprietary Information is highly valuable to EPRI.
- f.
A public disclosure of the Proprietary Information would be highly likely to cause substantial harm to EPRIs competitive position and the ability of EPRI to license the Proprietary Information both domestically and internationally. The Proprietary Information and Report can only be acquired and/or duplicated by others using an equivalent investment of time and effort.
The NRC staff has reviewed the 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.
Therefore, 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, the NRC may send copies of this information to its consultants. The NRC will ensure that its 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, the licensee should promptly notify the NRC. The NRC may revisit this determination in the future if, for example, the scope of a Freedom of Information Act request includes this information. The NRC will notify you in advance of any public disclosure if the NRC makes such a determination.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me at 301-415-1564 or via e-mail at Siva.Lingam@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Siva P. Lingam, Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos. 50-416 and 50-458 cc: Mr. Steve Chengelis Director of Plant Support Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
3420 Hillview Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94304 Listserv
- by e-mail OFFICE NRR/DORL/LPL4/PM*
NRR/DORL/LPL4/LA*
NRR/DNRL/NVIB/BC*
NAME SLingam PBlechman HGonzalez DATE 11/17/2020 11/17/2020 11/18/2020 OFFICE NRR/DORL/LPL4/BC*
NRR/DORL/LPL4/PM*
NAME JDixon-Herrity SLingam DATE 11/19/2020 11/19/2020