RS-03-136, Request to Withhold Information from Public Disclosure
| ML031980117 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Dresden, Quad Cities  |
| Issue date: | 07/09/2003 |
| From: | Simpson P Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear |
| To: | Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| RS-03-136 | |
| Download: ML031980117 (6) | |
Text
Exern.
Exelon Generation www.exeloncorp.com Nuclear 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555 RS-03-136 July 9, 2003 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555-0001 Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and 3 Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25 NRC Docket Nos. 50-237 and 50-249 Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units I and 2 Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-29 and DPR-30 NRC Docket Nos. 50-254 and 50-265
Subject:
Request to Withhold Information from Public Disclosure A meeting between Exelon Generation Company, LLC (EGC) and the NRC is currently scheduled for July 25, 2003. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the results of our root cause determination and extent of condition review related to the steam dryer degradation identified at Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station (QCNPS), Unit 2.
Some of the information that will be presented to the NRC during the July 25, 2003, meeting is classified as proprietary to General Electric Company (GE). The proprietary information is of the type that GE maintains in confidence and withholds from public disclosure. Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.790, "Public inspections, exemptions, requests for withholding," portions of the meeting should be closed to the public and the presentation material should be withheld from public disclosure.
To support NRC efforts to prepare a meeting notice for the July 25, 2003, meeting, the NRC has requested EGC to submit an example of typical presentation slides that will be used during the meeting. The NRC will use this information to determine if the presentation material contains proprietary commercial information that should be withheld from public disclosure.
Attachment I contains the requested information. This information is preliminary draft and not verified, but is typical of the type of material we will present during the July 25, 2003, meeting. Certain information in Attachment I is classified as proprietary to GE, and is identified by pages annotated with "GE Proprietary Information." It has been handled and classified as proprietary as supported by the affidavit in Attachment 2.
EGC hereby requests that this information be withheld from public disclosure in Mtb(
July 9, 2003 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 2 accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR 2.790. As mentioned in Attachment 1, GE requests that the sample material be returned at the meeting.
If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Mr. Kenneth M. Nicely at (630) 657-2803.
Respectfully, Patrick R. Simpson Manager - Licensing Mid-West Regional Operating Group Attachments:
- 1. Example Presentation [PROPRIETARY]
ATTACHMENT 2 General Electric Affidavit
General E1ectic Company AFFDAVIT I, James-F. Klapproth, state as follows:
(1) I am Manager, Engineering & Technology, General Electric Company ('GF') and have been delegated the function of reviewing the information escribed in paraaph (2) which is sought to be Withheld, and have been authorized to apply for its withholding.
(2) The information sought to be witeld is contained in Attachment 1 to GE letter DJB03001, Daryl Bouchie (GE) to Pat Simpson (Exelon), Typical Presentaion Slides to be used at the Jly 25, 2003, NRC Meeting, dated July 9. 2003. The proprietary information is contained in the Attachment 1, Typical Presentation Slides to be used at the July 25, 2003, NRC Meeting, on the slides that contain the designation "GE Proprietary Information."
(3) In mking this application for withholding of proprietary information of which it is the owner, GE relies upon the exemption from disclosure set forth in the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 USC Sec. 552(b)(4), and the Trade Secrets Ac 19 USC Sec. 1905, and NRC regulations 10 CFR 9.17(a)(4), and 2.790(a)(4) for "trade secrets" (Exemption4). The material for which exemption from disclosure is here sought also qualify under the narrower definition of "trade secret", within the meanings assigned to those terms for purposes of FOIA Exemption 4 in, respectively, Critical Mass Ener v Project v. Nuclear Rerulatorv: ommission.
975F2d871 (DC Cir. 1992). and Public Citizen Health Research Groun v. FDA.
704F2dl280 (DC Cir. 1983).
(4) Some examples of categories of information which fit into the definition of proprietary information are:
- a.
Information that discloses a process, method, or apparatus, including supporting data and analyses, where prevention of its use by General Electric's competitors without license from General Electric constitutes a competitive economic advantage over other companies;
- b.
Information which, if used by a competitor, would reduce his expenditure of resources or improve-his competitive positoi in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or-licensing of a similar product;
- c.
Infonnation which reveals aspects of past, present, or future General Electric customer-funded -development plans and programs, resulting in potential products to General Electric, AfExelon Steam Dryer Typical resent Slides 7-9-03.doc Affidavit Page I
- d.
Information which discloses patentable subject matter for which it may be desirable t obtain patent protection.
The information sought to be withheld is considered to b proprietary for the reasons set forth in paragraphs (4)a., and (4)b, above.
(5) To address 10 CFR 2.790
) (4), the information sought to be withheld is being submitted to NRC in confidence. The information is of a sort customarily held in confidence by:GE, and is in fact so held. The information soughtto be withheld has, to the best of my knowledge and belief, consistently been held in confidence by GE, no public disclosure has been made, Ad it is not available-in public sources. All disclosures to third parties including any required transmitols to NRC,have been made, or must be made, pursuant to regulatory provisions or proprietar agreements which provide for maintenance of the information in confidence.
Its initial
'designation as proprietary information, and the subsequent steps'taken to :prevent its unauthorized disclosure, are as set forth in paragraphs (6) and (7) following.
(6) Initial approval of proprietary treatment of a document is made by the manager of the.originating component, the person most likely to be acquainted with the value and sensitivity of the information in relation to industy knowldge.
Access to such documents within GE is limited on a need to'know" basis.
(7) The procedure for approval of external release of such a document typically requires review by the staff manager, project manager, principal scientist or other equivalent authority, by the manager of the cognizant marketing finction (or his delegate), and
'by the Legal Operation, for technical content, competitive effect, and.determiniation of the accuracy of the proprieWry designation. Disclosures outside GE are 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 m accordance with approprate regulatory provisions or proprietary agreemenlts.
(8) The information identified in paragraph (2), above, is classified as proprietary because it contains detailed results and conclusions from evaluations of the Steam Dryer analyses and repairs utilizing inspection techniques, testing, analytical models
.and methods, including computer codes, which GE has developed.
The
-development of these:models and computer codes was.achieved at a significant cost to GE, on the order of a few hundred thousand dollars.
The development,of 'the evaluation process along with the interpretation and application offthe inspection and analytical results is derived from the extensive experience database that constitutes a major GE asset.
(9) Public disclosure of the iformation sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GE's competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit-makdng opportunities.
1e information is part of GFs comprehensive BWR safety and technology base, and its commercial value extends Af Exeln Steam Dryer Typical Present Slides 7-9-03.doc AffidaVit Page 2
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 epertise 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.
The research, development, engineering, analytical and NRC review costs comprise a substantial investment of time and money by GE.
The precise value of the expertise to devise an evaluation process and apply the correct analytical methodology is difficult to quantifty, but it clearly is substantial.
GE's competitive advantage will be lost if its competitors are able to use the results of the GE-experience to normalize or veriy their own-process or if eyare able to claim an equivalent underitanding by demonstrating that they can arrive at the same or similar conclusions.
The value of this information to -GE would be lost if the information were disclosed to the public. Making such information available to cmpetitors: without their having been required to undertake a similar expenditure of resources would unfairly provide competitors with a windfall, and deprive GE of the opportunity to exercise its competitive advantage to seek an :adequate return its large investment in developing these very valuable analytical tools.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing affidavit and the matters stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.
Executed on this °i' day of 1
u 2003.
James F. Kiappr General Electric Company AfExelon Steam Dryer Typical Present Slides 7-903.docA Affidavit Page 3