RS-23-079, Attachment 8 - Affidavit of Kent E. Halac
| ML23181A157 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | LaSalle  |
| Issue date: | 06/28/2023 |
| From: | Halac K Constellation Energy Generation, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| Shared Package | |
| ML23181A149 | List: |
| References | |
| RS-23-079 | |
| Download: ML23181A157 (1) | |
Text
GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC 007N8832 Revision 0 Affidavit Page 1 of 3 AFFIDAVIT I, Kent E. Halac, state as follows:
(1) I am a Senior Engineer, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GEH), and have been delegated the function of reviewing the information described in paragraph (2) which is sought to be withheld, and have been authorized to apply for its withholding.
(2) The information sought to be withheld is contained in GEH report 007N8832 Revision 0, Feedwater Nozzle Safe End Dimensions Used in Stress Reports 22A5552 and 22A5537, June 2023. This document is deemed proprietary in its entirety. The header of each page in this document carries the notation GEH Proprietary Information - Non-Public{3}. The superscript notation {3} refers to Paragraph (3) of this affidavit, which provides the basis for the proprietary determination.
(3) In making this application for withholding of proprietary information of which it is the owner or licensee, GEH 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 Act, 18 USC Sec. 1905, and NRC regulations 10 CFR 9.17(a)(4), and 2.390(a)(4) for trade secrets (Exemption 4). 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 Energy Project v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 975 F2.d 871 (DC Cir. 1992), and Public Citizen Health Research Group v. FDA, 704 F2.d 1280 (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 GEHs competitors without license from GEH 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 position in the design, manufacture, shipment, installation, assurance of quality, or licensing of a similar product;
- c. Information which reveals aspects of past, present, or future GEH customer-funded development plans and programs, resulting in potential products to GEH;
- d. Information which discloses patentable subject matter for which it may be desirable to obtain patent protection.
The information sought to be withheld is considered to be proprietary for the reasons set forth in paragraphs (4)a. and (4)b. above.
(5) To address the 10 CFR 2.390 (b) (4), the information sought to be withheld is being submitted to the 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, to the best of my knowledge and belief, consistently been held in confidence by GEH, no public disclosure has
GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC 007N8832 Revision 0 Affidavit Page 2 of 3 been made, and it is not 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 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 industry knowledge, or subject to the terms under which it was licensed to GEH.
(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 function (or his delegate), and by the Legal Operation, for technical content, competitive effect, and determination of the accuracy of the proprietary designation. Disclosures outside GEH 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 in accordance with appropriate regulatory provisions or proprietary agreements.
(8) The information identified in paragraph (2) above, is classified as proprietary because it contains detailed GEH design specifications used in the design, analysis, and testing of the feedwater nozzles for the GEH Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). Development of this information and its application for the design, modification, testing, and analyses methodologies and processes was achieved at a significant cost to GEH.
(9) Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to GEHs competitive position and foreclose or reduce the availability of profit-making opportunities. The fuel design and licensing methodology is part of GEHs comprehensive 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.
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.
GEHs 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.
GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC 007N8832 Revision 0 Affidavit Page 3 of 3 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.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on this 28th day of June 2023.
Kent E. Halac Senior Engineer GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC 3901 Castle Hayne Road Wilmington, NC 28401 kent.halac@ge.com