ML22066A766
| ML22066A766 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/17/2022 |
| From: | Annette Vietti-Cook NRC/SECY |
| To: | |
| Zeleznock, K. | |
| References | |
| FR Citation: 87 FR 19715-19721; 04-05-22, NRC-2022-0066 | |
| Download: ML22066A766 (19) | |
Text
[7590-01-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2022-0066]
Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined
Licenses Involving Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideratio ns and
Containing Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information an d Order
Imposing Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Sa feguards
Information
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: License amendment request; notice of opportunity to comment, request a
hearing, and petition for leave to intervene; order imposing pr ocedures.
SUMMARY
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received and is
considering approval of three amendment requests. The amendmen t requests are for
LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2; Quad Cities Nuclear Powe r Station, Units 1 and
2; and Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2. For each amendment
request, the NRC proposes to determine that they involve no sig nificant hazards
consideration (NSHC). Because each amendment request contains sensitive
unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI), an order impos es procedures to
obtain access to SUNSI for contention preparation by persons wh o file a hearing request
or petition for leave to intervene.
DATES: Comments must be filed by May 5, 2022. A request for a heari ng or petition
for leave to intervene must be filed by June 6, 2022. Any pote ntial party as defined in
section 2.4 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) who believes access
to SUNSI is necessary to respond to this notice must request do cument access by
April 15, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; howe ver,
the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking
website:
- Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC-2022-0066. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov
to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; email: Stacy.Schu mann@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the individual listed in the For Further Information Contact
section of this document.
- Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Program
Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submittin g comments, see
Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments in the SUPPLEME NTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Zeleznock, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washing ton, DC 20555-
0001, telephone: 301-415-1118, email: Karen.Zeleznock@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0066, facility name, unit number(s), docket
number(s), application date, and subject when contacting the NR C about the availability
of information for this action. You may obtain publicly availa ble information related to
this action by any of the following methods:
- Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and
2 search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0066.
- NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADA MS Public
Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.ht ml. To begin the
search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems wi th ADAMS, please
contact the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209,
301-415-4737, or by email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS a ccession number
for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is p rovided the first time that it
is mentioned in this document.
- NRCs PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents,
by appointment, at the NRCs PDR, Room P1 B35, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make an appointm ent to visit the PDR,
please send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-
4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal
rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please include Docket ID NRC-
2022-0066, facility name, unit number(s), docket number(s), application date, and
subject, in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact info rmation that you
do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all
comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as e nter the comment
submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit commen t submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
3 If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other person s for
submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying
or contact information that they do not want to be publicly dis closed in their comment
submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove such information before making the commen t submissions
available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Background
Pursuant to Section 189a.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the
Act), the NRC is publishing this notice. The Act requires the Commission to publish
notice of any amendments issued, or proposed to be issued, and grants the Commission
the authority to issue and make immediately effective any amend ment to an operating
license or combined license, as applicable, upon a determinatio n by the Commission
that such amendment involves NSHC, notwithstanding the pendency before the
Commission of a request for a hearing from any person.
This notice includes notices of amendments containing SUNSI.
III. Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendments to Facil ity Operating
Licenses and Combined Licenses, Proposed No Significant Hazards
Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing
The Commission has made a proposed determination that the follo wing
amendment requests involve NSHC. Under the Commissions regula tions in
10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation of the facility in acco rdance with the proposed
amendment would not (1) involve a significant increase in the p robability or
consequences of an accident previously evaluated, or (2) create the possibility of a new
or different kind of accident from any accident previously eval uated, or (3) involve a
4 significant reduction in a margin of safety. The basis for thi s proposed determination for
each amendment request is shown below.
The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed dete rmination.
Any comments received within 30 days after the date of publicat ion of this notice will be
considered in making any final determination.
Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the expiration of 60
days after the date of publication of this notice. The Commiss ion may issue the license
amendment before expiration of the 60-day period provided that its final determination is
that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideratio n. In addition, the
Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of t he 30-day comment
period if circumstances change during the 30-day comment period such that failure to
act in a timely way would result, for example, in derating or s hutdown of the facility. If
the Commission takes action prior to the expiration of either t he comment period or the
notice period, it will publish a notice of issuance in the Federal Register. If the
Commission makes a final no significant hazards consideration d etermination, any
hearing will take place after issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take
this action will occur very infrequently.
A. Opportunity to Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave to I ntervene
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, an y persons (petitioner)
whose interest may be affected by any of these actions may file a request for a hearing
and petition for leave to intervene (petition) with respect to that action. Petitions shall be
filed in accordance with the Commissions Agency Rules of Prac tice and Procedure in
10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult a current cop y of 10 CFR 2.309. The
NRCs regulations are accessible electronically from the NRC Li brary on the NRCs
website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. If a petition is filed, the
5 Commission or a presiding officer will rule on the petition and, if appropriate, a notice of
a hearing will be issued.
As required by 10 CFR 2.309(d) the petition should specifically explain the
reasons why intervention should be permitted with particular re ference to the following
general requirements for standing: (1) the name, address, and telephone number of the
petitioner; (2) the nature of the petitioners right to be made a party to the proceeding;
(3) the nature and extent of the petitioners property, financi al, or other interest in the
proceeding; and (4) the possible effect of any decision or orde r which may be entered in
the proceeding on the petitioners interest.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f), the petition must also set forth the specific
contentions that the petitioner seeks to have litigated in the proceeding. Each contention
must consist of a specific statement of the issue of law or fac t to be raised or
controverted. In addition, the petitioner must provide a brief explanation of the bases for
the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert opinion that
support the contention and on which the petitioner intends to r ely in proving the
contention at the hearing. The petitioner must also provide re ferences to the specific
sources and documents on which the petitioner intends to rely t o support its position on
the issue. The petition must include sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute
exists with the applicant or licensee on a material issue of la w or fact. Contentions must
be limited to matters within the scope of the proceeding. The contention must be one
that, if proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. A pet itioner who fails to satisfy the
requirements at 10 CFR 2.309(f) with respect to at least one co ntention will not be
permitted to participate as a party.
Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, subject to any
limitations in the order granting leave to intervene. Parties have the opportunity to
6 participate fully in the conduct of the hearing with respect to resolution of that partys
admitted contentions, including the opportunity to present evid ence, consistent with the
NRCs regulations, policies, and procedures.
Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of publication of this
notice. Petitions and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions that are filed
after the deadline will not be entertained absent a determinati on by the presiding officer
that the filing demonstrates good cause by satisfying the three factors in
10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii). The petition must be file d in accordance with the
filing instructions in the Electronic Submissions (E-Filing) section of this document.
If a hearing is requested, and the Commission has not made a fi nal
determination on the issue of NSHC, the Commission will make a final determination on
the issue of NSHC. The final determination will serve to estab lish when the hearing is
held. If the final determination is that the amendment request involves NSHC, the
Commission may issue the amendment and make it immediately effe ctive,
notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing would t ake place after issuance
of the amendment. If the final determination is that the amend ment request involves a
significant hazards consideration, then any hearing held would take place before the
issuance of the amendment unless the Commission finds an immine nt danger to the
health or safety of the public, in which case it will issue an appropriate order or rule
under 10 CFR part 2.
A State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian T ribe, or agency
thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to participate as a party under
10 CFR 2.309(h)(1). The petition should state the nature and e xtent of the petitioners
interest in the proceeding. The petition should be submitted t o the Commission no later
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. The petition must be filed in
7 accordance with the filing instructions in the Electronic Subm issions (E-Filing) section
of this document, and should meet the requirements for petition s set forth in this section,
except that under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(2) a State, local governmenta l body, or Federally
recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof does not need to add ress the standing
requirements in 10 CFR 2.309(d) if the facility is located with in its boundaries.
Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or
agency thereof may participate as a non-party under 10 CFR 2.31 5(c).
If a petition is submitted, any person who is not a party to th e proceeding and is
not affiliated with or represented by a party may, at the discr etion of the presiding officer,
be permitted to make a limited appearance pursuant to the provi sions of
10 CFR 2.315(a). A person making a limited appearance may make an oral or written
statement of his or her position on the issues but may not othe rwise participate in the
proceeding. A limited appearance may be made at any session of the hearing or at any
prehearing conference, subject to the limits and conditions as may be imposed by the
presiding officer. Details regarding the opportunity to make a limited appearance will be
provided by the presiding officer if such sessions are schedule d.
B. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings including d ocuments filed
by an interested State, local governmental body, Federally reco gnized Indian Tribe, or
designated agency thereof that requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be
filed in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process re quires participants to
submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some cases, to mail
copies on electronic storage media, unless an exemption permitt ing an alternative filing
method, as discussed below, is granted. Detailed guidance on e lectronic submissions is
located in the Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC ( ADAMS Accession No.
8 ML13031A056) and on the NRC website at https://www.nrc.gov/site -help/e-
submittals.html.
To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at leas t 10 days prior to
the filing deadline, the participant should contact the Office of the Secretary by email at
Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov, or by telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital
identification (ID) certificate, which allows the participant ( or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing system for any
proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise the Sec retary that the participant
will be submitting a petition or other adjudicatory document (e ven in instances in which
the participant, or its counsel or representative, already hold s an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish an electronic
docket for the proceeding if the Secretary has not already esta blished an electronic
docket.
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is avai lable on the NRCs
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/ge tting-started.html. After a
digital ID certificate is obtained and a docket created, the pa rticipant must submit
adjudicatory documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance o n submissions is
available on the NRCs public website at https://www.nrc.gov/si te-help/electronic-sub-ref-
mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the docu ment is submitted through
the NRCs E-Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-
Filing system no later than 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the due date. U pon receipt of a
transmission, the E-Filing system timestamps the document and s ends the submitter an
email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing system also distributes an email
that provides access to the document to the NRCs Office of the General Counsel and
any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that th ey wish to participate in
9 the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document o n those participants
separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants (or t heir counsel or
representative) must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory
documents are filed to obtain access to the documents via the E -Filing system.
A person filing electronically u sing the NRCs adjudicatory E-Filing system may
seek assistance by contacting the NRCs Electronic Filing Help Desk through the
Contact Us link located on the NRCs public website at https: //www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-
submittals.html, by email to MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a toll-free call at 1-866-
672-7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available bet ween 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.,
(ET), Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays.
Participants who believe that they have good cause for not subm itting documents
electronically must file an exemption request, in accordance wi th 10 CFR 2.302(g), with
their initial paper filing stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in pap er format. Such filings
must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(b)-(d). Part icipants filing
adjudicatory documents in this manner are responsible for servi ng their documents on all
other participants. Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must
still meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.30 2(g)(1), unless the
participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the NRCs
electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https ://adams.nrc.gov/ehd,
unless excluded pursuant to an order of the presiding officer. If you do not have an
NRC-issued digital ID certificate as described above, click cancel when the link
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the NRCs electronic
hearing dockets where you will be able to access any publicly a vailable documents in a
10 particular hearing docket. Participants are requested not to i nclude personal privacy
information such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone
numbers in their filings unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submission of
such information. With respect to copyrighted works, except fo r limited excerpts that
serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constit ute a Fair Use application,
participants should not include copyrighted materials in their submission.
The following table provides the plant name, docket number, dat e of application,
ADAMS accession number, and location in the application of the licensees proposed
NSHC determinations. For further details with respect to these license amendment
applications, see the applications for amendment, which are ava ilable for public
inspection in ADAMS. For additional direction on accessing inf ormation related to this
document, see the Obtaining Information and Submitting Commen ts section of this
document.
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; LaSalle County Station, U nits 1 and 2; LaSalle County, IL Docket No(s). 50-373, 50-374 Application Date June 30, 2021, as supplemented by letter dated November 4, 2021 ML21265A538, ML21265A537, ADAMS Accession Nos. ML21265A536, ML21265A558; ML21312A457 Location in Application of NSHC Attachment 1 Pages 12 through 15 The proposed amendment would change LaSalle County Station Technical Specifications 4.3.1, "Criticality," and 5.6.5, Core Operating Limits Report (COLR).
Specifically, the licensee is utilizing a new criticality safety analysis (CSA)
Brief Description of Amendment(s) methodology for performing the criticality safety evaluation for legacy fuel types in addition to the GNF3 reload fuel in the spent fuel pool. The licensee is also proposing a change to the new fuel vault (NFV) CSA to utilize the GESTAR II methodology for validating the NFV
11 criticality safety for GNF3 fuel in the General Electric designed NFV racks.
Proposed Determination NSHC Tamra Domeyer Associate General Name of Attorney for Licensee, Mailing Counsel Constellation Energy Generation, Address LLC 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60565 NRC Project Manager, Telephone Number Bhalchandra Vaidya, 301-415-3308 Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2; Rock Island County, IL Docket No(s). 50-254, 50-265 Application Date October 25, 2021 ADAMS Accession No. ML21298A168 Location in Application of NSHC Attachment 1, pages 8-11 The proposed amendment would change the criticality safety analysis (CSA) methodology for performing the criticality safety evaluation for legacy fuel types in addition to the GNF3 reload fuel in the spent fuel pool at Quad Cities Nuclear Brief Description of Amendment(s) Power Station, Units 1 and 2. The proposed change includes revising the Technical Specifications 4.3.1,"Criticality."
Additionally, the licensee also proposes to change the new fuel vault (NFV) CSA to utilize GESTAR II methodology for validating the criticality safety for GNF3 fuel in the General Electric designed NFV racks.
Proposed Determination NSHC Tamra Domeyer, Associate General Name of Attorney for Licensee, Mailing Counsel, Constellation Energy Generation, Address LLC, 4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL 60555 NRC Project Manager, Telephone Number Booma Venkataraman, 301-415-2934 Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative, In c.;
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2; Luzerne Coun ty, PA Docket No(s). 50-387, 50-388 Application Date January 5, 2022 ADAMS Accession No. ML22005A183 Location in Application of NSHC Attachment 1, page 3-5 The proposed amendment would adopt Technical Specification Task Force Traveler Brief Description of Amendment(s) TSTF-564, "Safety Limit MCPR [Minimum Critical Power Ratio]," Revision 2, which would revise the Technical Specification safety limit on MCPR to reduce the need for
12 cycle-specific changes to the value while still meeting the regulatory requirement for a safety limit.
Proposed Determination NSHC Name of Attorney for Licensee, Mailing Damon D. Obie, Esq, 835 Hamilton St.,
Address Suite 150, Allentown, PA 18101 NRC Project Manager, Telephone Number Audrey Klett, 301-415-0489
Order Imposing Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards
Information for Contention Preparation
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; LaSalle County Station, U nits 1 and 2;
LaSalle County, IL
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC; Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1
and 2; Rock Island County, IL
Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative, In c.;
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2; Luzerne Coun ty, PA
A. This Order contains instructions regarding how potential par ties to this
proceeding may request access to documents containing Sensitive Unclassified Non-
Safeguards Information (SUNSI).
B. Within 10 days after publication of this notice of hearing a nd opportunity
to petition for leave to intervene, any potential party who bel ieves access to SUNSI is
necessary to respond to this notice may request access to SUNSI. A potential party is
any person who intends to participate as a party by demonstrati ng standing and filing an
admissible contention under 10 CFR 2.309. Requests for access to SUNSI submitted
later than 10 days after publication of this notice will not be considered absent a showing
of good cause for the late filing, addressing why the request c ould not have been filed
earlier.
13 C. The requestor shall submit a letter requesting permission to access
SUNSI to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory C ommission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudica tions Staff, and
provide a copy to the Deputy General Counsel for Licensing, Hea rings, and
Enforcement, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regula tory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001. The expedited delivery or courier m ail address for both
offices is: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockvill e Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852. The email address for the Office of the Secret ary and the Office of the
General Counsel are Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov and
RidsOgcMailCenter.Resource@nrc.gov, respectively. 1 The request must include the
following information:
(1) A description of the licensing action with a citation to th is Federal Register
notice;
(2) The name and address of the potential party and a descripti on of the
potential partys particularized interest that could be harmed by the action identified in
C.(1); and
(3) The identity of the individual or entity requesting access to SUNSI and the
requestors basis for the need for the information in order to meaningfully participate in
this adjudicatory proceeding. In particular, the request must explain why publicly
available versions of the information requested would not be su fficient to provide the
basis and specificity for a proffered contention.
1While a request for hearing or petition to intervene in this proceeding must comply with the filing requirements of the NRCs E-Filing Rule, the initial request to access SUNSI under these procedures should be submitted as described in this paragraph.
14 D. Based on an evaluation of the information submitted under pa ragraph
C.(3) the NRC staff will determine within 10 days of receipt of the request whether:
(1) There is a reasonable basis to believe the petitioner is li kely to establish
standing to participate in this NRC proceeding; and
(2) The requestor has established a legitimate need for access to SUNSI.
E. If the NRC staff determines that the requestor satisfies bot h D.(1) and
D.(2), the NRC staff will notify the requestor in writing that access to SUNSI has been
granted. The written notification will contain instructions on how the requestor may
obtain copies of the requested documents, and any other conditi ons that may apply to
access to those documents. These conditions may include, but a re not limited to, the
signing of a Non-Disclosure Agreement or Affidavit, or Protecti ve Order2 setting forth
terms and conditions to prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of SUNSI by
each individual who will be granted access to SUNSI.
F. Filing of Contentions. Any contentions in these proceedings that are
based upon the information received as a result of the request made for SUNSI must be
filed by the requestor no later than 25 days after receipt of ( or access to) that
information. However, if more than 25 days remain between the petitioners receipt of
(or access to) the information and the deadline for filing all other contentions (as
established in the notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing ), the petitioner may file its
SUNSI contentions by that later deadline.
2Any motion for Protective Order or draft Non-Disclosure Affidavit or Agreement for SUNSI must be filed with the presiding officer or the Chief Administrative Judge if the presiding officer has not yet been designated, within 30 days of the deadline for the receipt of the written access request.
15 G. Review of Denials of Access.
(1) If the request for access to SUNSI is denied by the NRC sta ff after a
determination on standing and requisite need, the NRC staff sha ll immediately notify the
requestor in writing, briefly stating the reason or reasons for the denial.
(2) The requestor may challenge the NRC staffs adverse determi nation by
filing a challenge within 5 days of receipt of that determinati on with: (a) the presiding
officer designated in this proceeding; (b) if no presiding offi cer has been appointed, the
Chief Administrative Judge, or if he or she is unavailable, ano ther administrative judge,
or an Administrative Law Judge with jurisdiction pursuant to 10 CFR 2.318(a); if another
officer has been designated to rule on information access issue s, with that officer.
(3) Further appeals of decisions under this paragraph must be m ade
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.311.
H. Review of Grants of Access. A party other than the requesto r may
challenge an NRC staff determination granting access to SUNSI w hose release would
harm that partys interest independent of the proceeding. Such a challenge must be filed
within 5 days of the notification by the NRC staff of its grant of access and must be filed
with: (a) the presiding officer designated in this proceeding; (b) if no presiding officer
has been appointed, the Chief Administrative Judge, or if he or she is unavailable,
another administrative judge, or an Administrative Law Judge wi th jurisdiction pursuant
to 10 CFR 2.318(a); if another officer has been designated to r ule on information access
issues, with that officer.
If challenges to the NRC staff determinations are filed, these procedures give
way to the normal process for litigating disputes concerning ac cess to information. The
16 availability of interlocutory review by the Commission of order s ruling on such NRC staff
determinations (whether granting or denying access) is governed by 10 CFR 2.311.3
I. The Commission expects that the NRC staff and presiding offi cers (and
any other reviewing officers) will consider and resolve request s for access to SUNSI,
and motions for protective orders, in a timely fashion in order to minimize any
unnecessary delays in identifying those petitioners who have st anding and who have
propounded contentions meeting the specificity and basis requir ements in
10 CFR part 2. The attachment to this Order summarizes the gen eral target schedule
for processing and resolving requests under these procedures.
Dated: March 17, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Annette L. Vietti-Cook, Secretary of the Commission.
3Requestors should note that the filing requirements of the NRCs E-Filing Rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended at 77 FR 46562; August 3, 2012) apply to appeals of NRC staff determinations (because they must be served on a presiding officer or the Commission, as applicable), but not to the initial SUNSI request submitted to the NRC staff under these procedures.
17 ATTACHMENT 1--General Target Schedule for Processing and Resolv ing Requests for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards In formation in this Proceeding
Day Event/Activity 0 Publication of Federal Register notice of hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to intervene, including order with instructions for a ccess requests.
10 Deadline for submitting requests for access to Sensitive Unc lassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI) with information: supporting th e standing of a potential party identified by name and address; describing th e need for the information in order for the potential party to participate mea ningfully in an adjudicatory proceeding.
60 Deadline for submitting petition for intervention containing : (i) demonstration of standing; and (ii) all contentions whose formulation does no t require access to SUNSI (+25 Answers to petition for intervention; +7 petitioner/requestor reply).
20 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff informs the r equestor of the staffs determination whether the request for access provides a reasonable basis to believe standing can be established and shows need for SUNSI.
(NRC staff also informs any party to the proceeding whose interest independent of the proceeding would be harmed by the release of the information.) If NRC staff makes the finding of need for SUNSI and likelihood of standing, NRC staff begins document processing (preparation of redactions or review of redacted documents).
25 If NRC staff finds no need or no likelihood of standing, t he deadline for petitioner/requestor to file a motion seeking a ruling to rever se the NRC staffs denial of access; NRC staff files copy of access determ ination with the presiding officer (or Chief Administrative Judge or other desig nated officer, as appropriate). If NRC staff finds need for SUNSI, the deadlin e for any party to the proceeding whose interest independent of the proceeding would be harmed by the release of the information to file a motion seeki ng a ruling to reverse the NRC staffs grant of access.
30 Deadline for NRC staff reply to motions to reverse NRC staff determination(s).
40 (Receipt +30) If NRC staff finds standing and need for SUNSI, deadline for NRC staff to complete information processing and file motion for Protective Order and draft Non-Disclosure Affidavit. Deadline for applica nt/licensee to file Non-Disclosure Agreement for SUNSI.
A If access granted: issuance of presiding officer or other de signated officer decision on motion for protective order for access to sensitive information
18 Day Event/Activity (including schedule for providing access and submission of cont entions) or decision reversing a final adverse determination by the NRC sta ff.
A + 3 Deadline for filing executed Non-Disclosure Affidavits. Access provided to SUNSI consistent with decision issuing the protective order.
A + 28 Deadline for submission of contentions whose development depends upon access to SUNSI. However, if more than 25 days remain between the petitioners receipt of (or access to) the information and the deadline for filing all other contentions (as established in the notice of opportun ity to request a hearing and petition for leave to intervene), the petitioner ma y file its SUNSI contentions by that later deadline.
A + 53 (Contention receipt +25) Answers to contentions whose de velopment depends upon access to SUNSI.
A + 60 (Answer receipt +7) Petitioner/Intervenor reply to answe rs.
>A + 60 Decision on contention admission.
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