ML22012A148

GEH Response to NRC Second Request for Additional Information - Vallecitos Nuclear Center Decommissioning Funding Plan (Enterprise Project Number 000224/07000754/L-2020-DFA-0002)

ML22012A148
Person / Time
Site:	07000754
Issue date:	01/12/2022
From:	Murray S GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
To:	Osiris Siurano-Perez Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Shared Package
ML22012A147	List: ML22012A148 ML22012A151
References
CAC 000224, EPID L-2020-DFA-0002, M220002
Download: ML22012A148 (4)

Text

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy

• HITACHI Scott P. Murray Manager, Facility Licensing

Proprietary Information Notice 3901 Castle Hayne Road Attachments 2 and 3 to this letter contain GEH proprietary P.O. Box 780 Wilmington, NC 28402 information which is to be withheld from public disclosure in USA accordance with JO CFR 2.390. Upon removal of Attachments 2 and T (910) 819*5950 3, the balance of this letter may be made public. scott.murray@ge.com

M220002

January 12, 2022

Osiris Siurano-Perez, Project Manager Fuel Facility Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001

ATTN: Document Control Desk

Subject:

GEH Response to NRC Second Request for Additional Information -

Vallecitos Nuclear Center Decommissioning Funding Plan (Enterprise Project Number 000224/07000754/L-2020-DFA-0002)

References:

1) NRC License SNM-960, Docket Number 70- 754

2) GEH SNM-960 DFP Revision 4-S. P. Murray, 2/28/20

3) J. Zimmerman (NRC) to S. P. Murray (GEH), SNM 960 DFP Request for Supplemental Information, 5/8/20

4) S. P. Murray (GEH) to J. Zimmerman (NRC), Vallecitos DFP Supplemental Information, 6/2/20

5) 0. Siurano (NRC) to S. P. Murray (GEH), Vallecitos DFP Request for Additional Information, 10/9/20

6) S. P. Murray (GEH) to 0. Siurano (NRC) 1 Vallecitos DFP Additional Information, 11 /5/20

7) 0. Siurano (NRC) to S. P. Murray (GEH), Vallecitos DFP Second Request for Additional Information, 12/14/21

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GEH) hereby responds to NRC's Second Request for Additional Information (Reference 7) regarding the Special Nuclear Materials License SNM-960 Decommissioning Funding Plan (DFP) (Reference 2). Attachments 2, 3, and 4 to this letter provide the requested information in response to your request.

M220002 U.S. NRC January 12, 2022 Page 2 of 4

GEH requests that Attachments 2 and 3 to this letter be withheld from public disclosure in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 as they contain GEH proprietary information.

Please contact me if there are questions regarding this information.

Sincerely,

~/;Jnl

• Scott P. Murrfy~ Mana~

Facility Licensing ge'v"

Attachments: 1) GEH Affidavit

2) GEH Response to NRC 12/14/21 Request for Additional Information -

SNM 960 DFP (Contains GEH Proprietary Information)

3) Table 6.1 - Description of Facilities from CA-0017-01 DFP dated 4/25/18 *

(Contains GEH Proprietary Information)

4) Letter, California Department of Public Health "Financial Assurance Requirements Satisfied, License No. 0017-01", 6/28/18

• CC: K. Kline, NRC NMSS SPM 22-001 M220002 U.S. NRC January 12, 2022 Page 3 of 4

Attachment 1 GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC

AFFIDAVIT I, Scott P. Murray, slate as follows:

(I) I am the Manager, Facility Licensing of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), and have been delegated the function of reviewing the infonnation described in paragraph (2) which is sought to be withheld, and have been -authorized to apply for its withholding.

(2) The information sought to be withheld is provided as Attachments 2 and 3 to GEH letter M220002 dated January 12, 2022 "GEH Response to NRC Second Request for Additional Information". GEH proprietary information contained in these documents is identified by the statement "GEH Proprietary Information - Withhold from Public Disclosure Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390" *

(3) In making this application for withholding of proprietary information of which it is the owner or licensee, GEH relics upon the exemption from disclosure set forth in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 USC Sec. 552(b)(4), and the Trade Secrets Act, I!:! USC Sec. 1905, and NRC regulations 10 CFR 9.17(a)(4), and 2.390(a)(4) for trade secrets (Exemption 4). The material for which exemption from disclosure is here sought also qualifies under the narrower definition of trade secret, within the meanings assigned to those terms for purposes of FOIA Exemption 4 in, respectively, Critical Mass Energy Project v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 975 F2d 871 (DC Cir. 1992), and Public Citizen Health Research Group v. FDA, 704 F2d 1280 (DC Cir. 1983 ).

(4) The information sought to be withheld is considered to tic proprietary for the reasons set forth in paragraphs (4)a,

and (4)b. Some. examples of categories of information that fit into the definition of proprietary jnformation arc:

a. lnfonnation that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by GEH 's competitors without license from GEH constitutes a competitive economic advantage over GEH and/or other companies.

b. Information that, if used by a competitor, would reduce their expenditure of resources or imp_rovc their competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing of a similar product,

c. Information that reveals aspects of past, present, or future GEH customer-funded development plans and programs, that may include potential products of GEH.

d. Information that discloses trade secret and/or potentially patentable subject maucr for which it may be desirable to obtain patent protection.

(5) To address 10 CFR 2.390(b)(4). 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 lo be withheld has, to the best of my knowledge and belief, 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. The initial designation of this information as proprietary information, and the subsequent steps taken to prevent ils unauthorized disclosure arc as set forth in the following paragraphs (6) and (7).

(6) Initial approval of proprietary treatment of a document is made by the manager of the originating component, who is the person most likely lo be acquainted with the value and sensitivity of the information in relation 10 industry knowledge, or who is the person most likely to be subject to the terms under which it was licensed to GEH.

(7) The procedure for approval of external release or such a document typically requires review by the staff manager, project manager, principal scientist, or other equivalent authority for technical content, competitive effect, and M220002 U.S. NRC January 12, 2022 Page 4 of 4

determination of the accuracy of the proprietary designation. Disclosures outside GEH arc 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.

(8) The information identified in paragraph (2) above is classified as proprietary because it contains details of GEH's processes, methods, design or manufacturing facilities.

(9) Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GEH's competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit-making opportunities. The information is part of GEH's 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-approvcd methods.

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 q~antify, but it clearly is substantial. GEH's competitive advantage ~ill ~e lost if its competitors are able to use the results of the GEH experience to normalize or verify their own process or if they arc able to claim an equivalent understanding by demonstrating that they can arrive at the same or similar conclusions.

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 their 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.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on this I 2th day of January 2022. g~m~

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC