ML24347A164
| ML24347A164 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oconee  |
| Issue date: | 12/12/2024 |
| From: | Mary Woods NRC/OGC |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| RAS 57221, 50-287-SLR-2, 50-269-SLR-2, 50-270-SLR-2 | |
| Download: ML24347A164 (0) | |
Text
December 12, 2024 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of DUKE ENERGY CAROLINAS, LLC (Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3)
Docket No. 50-269-SLR-2, 50-270-SLR-2, 50-287-SLR-2 NRC STAFF NOTIFICATION REGARDING DECEMBER 5, 2024, EX PARTE/SEPARATION OF FUNCTIONS COMMUNICATION MEMORANDUM AND ORDER On December 5, 2024, the Licensing Board notified the parties that it received an additional ex parte/separation of functions communication sent by email on December 3, 2024, from the same member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Staff that has previously sent ex parte/separation of functions communications to the Licensing Board in this proceeding.1 The NRCs rules of procedure prohibit such communications by persons inside and outside the NRC.2 The Licensing Board notified the parties that it is treating this email consistently with the agencys ex parte and separation of functions communications and requested that the NRC Staff review the email to determine whether it warranted redactions before being made publicly available.3 1 The staff member who has sent each of the ex parte/separation of functions communications to the Licensing Board in this proceeding is not and has not ever been part of the project team conducting the NRC Staffs review of the Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 subsequent license renewal application.
2 See 10 C.F.R. §§ 2.347, 2.348.
3 Licensing Board Memorandum and Order (Concerning Additional Ex Parte/Separation of Functions Communication) (Dec. 5, 2024) (ADAMS Accession No. ML24340A257) (December 5, 2024, Ex Parte/Separation of Functions Memorandum and Order).
The NRC Staff notes that the Licensing Board also provided in a footnote that an e-mail of this sort is improper. See December 5, 2024, Ex Parte/Separation of Functions Memorandum and Order at 1-2, n.1
2 The NRC Staff has completed its review of the referred email, as submitted by the Licensing Board to the nonpublic docket on December 5, 2024.4 The NRC Staff notes that the staff members December 3, 2024, email contains information related to one or more contentions currently pending before the Licensing Board in the subject subsequent license renewal proceeding. This type of communication is improper. While the NRC Staff members December 3, 2024, ex parte/separation of functions email contains information relevant to contentions the Licensing Board is currently considering, the NRC Staff did not identify any sensitive information that warranted redactions in that email,5 which can be released to the public docket.
Respectfully submitted,
/Signed (electronically) by/
Mary Frances Woods Counsel for NRC Staff Mail Stop: O-14-A44 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Telephone: (301) 287-3514 E-mail: Mary.Woods@nrc.gov Dated in Rockville, MD this 12th day of December 2024 (citation omitted) (stating, As the Board has indicated previously, an e-mail of this sort is improper. Under the agencys ex parte and separation of functions restrictions, it is inappropriate to send Board members (whether individually or as part of a group mailing) an e-mail that contains information that might be associated with the issues in a proceeding without also serving that e-mail on the proceedings other participants. (citation omitted)). See December 5, 2024, Ex Parte/Separation of Functions Memorandum and Order at 2 (stating, The contents of the December 3, 2024 e-mail, however, merit prompt NRC Staff review to ascertain whether they contain Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI),
including Critical Energy/Electric Infrastructure Information (CEII), so as to warrant redaction before being made publicly available. (citation omitted)).
4 See also December 5, 2024, Ex Parte/Separation of Functions Memorandum and Order at 2.
5 See id. at 1-2, n.1.
3 December 12, 2024 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of DUKE ENERGY CAROLINAS, LLC (Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3)
Docket Nos. 50-269-SLR-2, 50-270-SLR-2, 50-287-SLR-2 Certificate of Service Pursuant to 10 C.F.R §2.305, I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing, NRC STAFF NOTIFICATION REGARDING DECEMBER 5, 2024, EX PARTE/SEPARATION OF FUNCTIONS COMMUNICATION MEMORANDUM AND ORDER, dated December 12, 2024, have been served upon the Electronic Information Exchange (the NRCs E-Filing System), in the captioned proceeding, this 12th day of December 2024.
/Signed (electronically) by/
Mary Frances Woods Counsel for NRC Staff Mail Stop: O-14-A44 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Telephone: (301) 287-3514 E-mail: Mary.Woods@nrc.gov Dated in Rockville, MD this 12th day of December 2024