ML22249A095

Proprietary Determination Letter for GEH-Morris License Renewal Application Submittals

ML22249A095
Person / Time
Site:	07200001
Issue date:	09/08/2022
From:	Kristina Banovac Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch
To:	Murray S GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
K BANOVAC NMSS/DFM/STLB 3014157116
References
CAC/EPID Nos. 001028/L-2020-RNW-0024
Download: ML22249A095 (5)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 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 THE MORRIS OPERATION LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION (CAC/EPID NOS. 001028/

L-2020-RNW-0024)

Dear Scott P. Murray:

By letters dated February 26, 2021, June 7, 2021, January 27, 2022, and May 12, 2022 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Nos.

ML21057A119, ML21158A099, ML22027A516, and ML22132A072, respectively), GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GEH) submitted affidavits, executed by Scott P. Murray, requesting that the following documents be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 2, Section 2.390:

February 26, 2021, submittal, attachment 4, GEH Aging Management Program Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): SOP 16-17 Fuel Storage System Inspection; SOP 16-10 Basin Water Analysis; and SOP 16-102 Sample Well Analysis

February 26, 2021, submittal, attachment 5, GEH Aging Management Program Inspection and Evaluation Reports: GENE 689-013-0893 Morris Fuel Recovery Center Fuel Storage Basin Liner Visual Examination Summary; GENE 689-003-0494 Morris Fuel Recovery Center Fuel Storage Basin Liner Metallurgical Evaluation; NEDO 20969B Operating Experience-Irradiated Fuel Storage-Morris Operation; Preventive Maintenance Building Inspections 2005 - 2014; SOP 16-17 Reports 2015 - 2020; Graph of GEH Morris Basin Leak Detection Rate (1997 - 2019)

GEH Morris Operation Consolidated Safety Analysis Report (CSAR), Revision 15, appendix A.16, attachment 1, Engineering Calculation Sheet Number: eDRF Section 0000-0137-7338 REV. 1 (elV 0000-0148-6891), which was included in the June 30, 2020, submittal (ML20182A699) and the March 24, 2021, submittal (ML21083A200)

SOP 16-17, Draft Revision 5, included as attachment 4 in the January 27, 2022, and the May 12, 2022, submittals The affidavits stated that the submitted information should be considered exempt from September 8, 2022

S. Murray 2

mandatory public disclosure for the following reasons:

1) The information sought to be withheld is being submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (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.

2) The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary information because it is: (a) information 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, 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. The information is classified as proprietary because it contains details of GEH's processes, methods, design or manufacturing facilities.

3) 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 [boiling water reactor] 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.

4) 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. GEH's 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.

5) 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.

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 above listed documents 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 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 License No. SNM-2500 CAC/EPID Nos. 001028/L-2020-RNW-0024 cc: Morris Operation Service List Signed by Banovac, Kristina on 09/08/22

S. Murray 4

Morris Operation Service List cc:

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 Bobbie Lockwood General Manager, Services Operations GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy 3901 Castle Hayne Rd Wilmington, NC 28402 Tony McFadden Site Manager, Morris Operation GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy 7555 East Collins Road Morris, IL 60450 Grundy County Clerk 111 East Washington Street P. O. Box 675 Morris, IL 60450-0675 Adnan Khayyat Division Chief, Division of Nuclear Safety Illinois Emergency Management Agency 1035 Outer Park Dr Springfield, IL 62704 Steven Reynolds Manager, Nuclear Facilities Inspection Illinois Emergency Management Agency 245 W. Roosevelt Rd Bldg. 8, Suite 55 West Chicago, IL 60185 Region III Administrator U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210 Lisle, IL 60532-4352

Ltr ML22249A095 OFFICE NMSS/DFM/STLB NMSS/DFM/STLB NMSS/DFM/STLB NMSS/DFM/STLB NAME KBanovac WWheatley YDiaz-Sanabria KBanovac DATE Sep 6, 2022 Sep 7, 2022 Sep 8, 2022 Sep 8, 2022