ML21319A220

Letter - Proprietary Determination for GEH Morris DFP Submittals

ML21319A220
Person / Time
Site:	07200001
Issue date:	11/17/2021
From:	Kristina Banovac Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch
To:	Murray S GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
K BANOVAC NRC/NMSS/DFM/STLB 3014157116
References
CAC 001028, EPID L-2017-FPR-0044
Download: ML21319A220 (4)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 Mr. Scott P. Murray Manager, Facility Licensing GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy 3901 Castle Hayne Road P.O. Box 780, M/C K-84 Wilmington, NC 28402

SUBJECT:

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION APPROVAL OF GE HITACHI NUCLEAR ENERGY AMERICAS LLC REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE FOR MORRIS OPERATION DECOMMISSIONING FUNDING PLANS (CAC/EPID NOS. 001028/L-2017-FPR-0044)

Dear Mr. Murray:

By letters dated June 17, 2021, and September 9, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Numbers ML21168A257 and ML21252A137, respectively), GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GEH) submitted affidavits, executed by Scott P. Murray, requesting that the following information be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 2, Section 2.390:

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC, Morris Operation Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Decommissioning Funding Plans, Tables 1.1, Tables 6.1 through 6.8, and Figure 8.1.

Nonproprietary copies of these documents have been placed in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRCs) Public Document Room and added to the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML21253A158, ML21253A165, ML21253A166, ML21144A266, and ML21190A130).

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

1) The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary because it is:

(a) Information that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by GEHs competitors without license from GEH constitutes a competitive economic advantage over GEH and/or other companies; and (b) Information that, if used by a competitor, would reduce their expenditure of resources or improve their competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing of a similar product.

2) The information is classified as proprietary because it contains details of GEHs processes, methods, design or manufacturing facilities.

November 17, 2021

S. Murray 2

3) The information sought to be withheld is being submitted to the NRC in confidence. The information is of a sort customarily held in confidence by GEH, and is in fact so held.

The information sought to be withheld has consistently been held in confidence by GEH, not been disclosed publicly, and not been made available in public sources. All disclosures to third parties, including any required transmittals to the NRC, have been made, or must be made, pursuant to regulatory provisions or proprietary and/or confidentiality agreements that provide for maintaining the information in confidence.

4) Initial approval of proprietary treatment of a document is made by the manager of the originating component, who is the person most likely to be acquainted with the value and sensitivity of the information in relation to industry knowledge, or who is the person most likely to be subject to the terms under which it was licensed to GEH.

5) The procedure for approval of external release of such a document typically requires review by the staff manager, project manager, principal scientist, or other equivalent authority for technical content, competitive effect, and determination of the accuracy of the proprietary designation. Disclosures outside GEH are limited to regulatory bodies, customers, and potential customers, and their agents, suppliers, and licensees, and others with a legitimate need for the information, and then only in accordance with appropriate regulatory provisions or proprietary and/or confidentiality agreements.

6) Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GEHs competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit-making opportunities. The information is part of GEHs comprehensive BWR safety and technology base, and its commercial value extends beyond the original development cost. The value of the technology base goes beyond the extensive physical database and analytical methodology and includes development of the expertise to determine and apply the appropriate evaluation process. In addition, the technology base includes the value derived from providing analyses done with NRC-approved methods.

7) The research, development, engineering, analytical and NRC review costs comprise a substantial investment of time and money by GEH. The precise value of the expertise to devise an evaluation process and apply the correct analytical methodology is difficult to quantify, but it clearly is substantial. GEHs competitive advantage will be lost if its competitors are able to use the results of the GEH experience to normalize or verify their own process or if they are able to claim an equivalent understanding by demonstrating that they can arrive at the same or similar conclusions.

8) The value of this information to GEH would be lost if the information were disclosed to the public. Making such information available to competitors without them having been required to undertake a similar expenditure of resources would unfairly provide competitors with a windfall and deprive GEH of the opportunity to exercise its competitive advantage to seek an adequate return on its large investment in developing and obtaining these very valuable analytical tools.

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

S. Murray 3

Therefore, the versions 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.

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 the date of public disclosure which will be a reasonable time thereafter.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me at (301) 415-7116 or Kristina.Banovac@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, Kristina L. Banovac, Project Manager Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. 72-01 CAC/EPID Nos. 001028/L-2017-FPR-0044 Signed by Banovac, Kristina on 11/17/21

ML21319A220 OFFICE NMSS/DFM/STLB NMSS/DFM/STLB NMSS/DFM/STLB NAME KBanovac WWheatley JMcKirgan DATE 11/15/2021 11/15/2021 11/17/2021