ML23251A200

Request for Withholding Information from Public Disclosure for Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2

ML23251A200
Person / Time
Site:	Watts Bar
Issue date:	09/11/2023
From:	Kimberly Green NRC/NRR/DORL/LPL2-2
To:	Jim Barstow Tennessee Valley Authority
References
EPID L-2023-LRM-0061
Download: ML23251A200 (1)

Text

September 11, 2023

Mr. James Barstow Vice President Nuclear Regulatory Affairs and Support Services Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 4A-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE FOR WATTS BAR NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 (EPID L-2023-LRM-0061)

Dear Mr. Barstow:

By electronic mail to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) dated September 1, 2023, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) submitted an affidavit, dated August 31, 2023 (CAW-23-034),

executed by Zachary Harper, Manager, Licensing Engineering, Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (Westinghouse), requesting that proprie tary information contained in the following document be withheld from public disclosure pursu ant to Section 2.390 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR):

WAAP-12716-P, Revision 0, Watts Bar Units 1 and 2 RHR Flow Rate Reduction during 23 ft. Refueling Water Level Technical Specification Change, meeting slides.

A nonproprietary copy of this document will be placed in the NRC s Public Document Room and added to the NRC Library in ADAMS.

The affidavit stated that the submitted information should be withheld from public disclosure for the following reasons:

(i) The information sought to be withheld from public disclosure is owned and has been held in confidence by We stinghouse and is not customarily disclosed to the public.

(ii) The information sought to be withheld is being transmitted to the Commission in confidence and, to Westinghouse s knowledge, is not available in public sources.

(iii) Westinghouse notes that a showing of substantial harm is no longer an applicable criterion for analyzing whether a document should be withheld from public disclosure. Nevertheless, public disclosure of this proprietary information is likely to cause substantial harm to the competitive position of Westinghouse because it would enhanc e the ability of competitors to J. Barstow

provide similar technical evaluation justifications and licensing defense services for commercial power reactors without commensurate expenses.

Also, public disclosure of the information would enable others to use the information to meet NRC requirements for licensing documentation without purchasing the right to use the information.

Additionally, the affidavit stated that Westinghouse has policies in place to identify proprietary information. Under that system, information is held in confidence if it falls in one or more of several types, the release of which might result in the loss of an existing or potential competitive advantage. Specifically, Westingho use has identified that the proprietary information in WAAP-12716-P, Revision 0, meets the following criteria:

(a) The information reveals the distinguishing aspects of a process (or component, structure, tool, method, etc.) where prevention of its use by any of Westinghouse s competitors without license from Westinghouse constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies.

(c) Its use by a competitor would reduce his expenditure of resources or improve his competitive position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing a similar product.

(e) It reveals aspects of past, present, or future Westinghouse or customer funded development plans and programs of potential commercial value to Westinghouse.

We have reviewed TVAs request and the material in acco rdance with the requirements of 10 CFR 2.390 and, based on 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 version of the submitted slides 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, we may send copies of this information to our consultants working in this area. We will, of course, ensure that the consultants have signed the appropriate agreem ents 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, you should promptly notify the NRC. You also should unders tand 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, i f the NRC makes a determination adverse to the above, you will be notified in advance of any public disclosure.

J. Barstow

If you have any questions regarding this matter, I may be reached at 301 -415-1627.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Kimberly J. Green, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-2 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Docket Nos. 50-390 and 50-391

cc: Zachary Harper, Manager Licensing Engineering Westinghouse Electric Company 1000 Westinghouse Drive Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania 16066

Listserv

ML23251A200 NRR-084 OFFICE NRR/DORL/LPL2-2/PM NRR/DORL/LPL2-2/LA NRR/DORL/LPL2-2/BC NRR/DORL/LPL2-2/PM NAME KGreen RButler DWrona (MMarkley for) KGreen DATE 09/07/2023 09/11/2023 09/11/2023 09/11/2023