ML14121A551

Confirmatory Order IR 05000259-13-005, 05000260-13-005 and 05000296-13-005

ML14121A551
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry
Issue date:	05/01/2014
From:	Wert L NRC/RGN-II
To:	James Shea Tennessee Valley Authority
References
EA-14-005 IR-13-005
Download: ML14121A551 (23)

See also: IR 05000259/2013005

Text

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION II

245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200

ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-1257

May 1, 2014

EA-14-005

Mr. J. W. Shea

Vice President, Nuclear Licensing

Tennessee Valley Authority

1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C

Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT: CONFIRMATORY ORDER (NRC INSPECTION REPORT 05000259/2013005,

05000260/2013005, AND 05000296/2013005)

Dear Mr. Shea:

The enclosed Confirmatory Order is being issued to Tennessee Valley Authoritys (TVA) Browns

Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN), as a result of a successful alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

session. The commitments described in the Order were made by TVA as part of the settlement

agreement reached during the ADR session, held on April 3, 2014.

On February 14, 2014, the NRC issued Inspection Report 05000259, 260, 296/2013005

(ADAMS Accession No. ML14045A320) to TVA, which documented the identification of two

apparent violations that were being considered for escalated enforcement action in accordance

with the NRC Enforcement Policy. The apparent violations potentially impacted the NRCs

regulatory process, by preventing the NRC from adequately reviewing and approving TVAs

changes to reduce the number of required main control room shift staffing at BFN. The NRCs

inspection report offered TVA a choice to: (1) attend a Predecisional Enforcement Conference;

(2) provide a written response; or (3) request ADR with the NRC in an attempt to resolve any

disagreement regarding whether violations occurred, the appropriate enforcement action, and

the appropriate corrective actions.

In response, TVA requested ADR to resolve any differences with the NRC concerning the

apparent violations, and to discuss corrective actions. An ADR mediation session was held on

April 3, 2014, and a preliminary settlement agreement was reached. The elements of the

preliminary agreement were formulated and agreed upon during the mediation session, and are

contained within the enclosed Confirmatory Order.

As part of the ADR settlement agreement, and as discussed in the enclosed Confirmatory

Order, TVA agreed that the issues described in the NRCs inspection report resulted in two

violations of regulatory requirements. To summarize, the first violation involved 10 CFR 50.9,

Completeness and Accuracy of Information, which requires that information provided to the

NRC be complete and accurate in all material respects. In letters dated June 29, 2010, and

November 30, 2011, TVA provided the NRC with information related to minimum staffing levels

required to achieve safe shutdown on the three-unit site during a postulated 10 CFR 50,

Appendix R fire event. This information was based on TVAs evaluations of staffing necessary

J. Shea 2

for successful implementation of fire response procedures, as well as minimum staffing levels

stated in TVAs licensing basis. The NRC concluded that the information provided in TVAs

letters was inaccurate, because TVAs stated staffing levels were not sufficient to implement

certain fire response procedures and achieve safe shutdown on the three-unit site.

The second violation involved TVAs change to a license condition without submitting an

amendment request, as required by 10 CFR 50.90, Amendment of License or Construction

Permit at Request of Holder. In this case, from June 29, 2010, through October 30, 2013, TVA,

in effect, amended its operating license without filing an application for an amendment as

specified in 10 CFR 50.90. Specifically, TVA inappropriately changed the requirements for site

staffing, incorporated as part of license amendments 271, 300, and 259, without submission of a

license amendment request. TVAs decision to amend the staffing levels via a commitment

change resulted in bypassing the review and approval that would occur as part of the license

amendment process.

In response to the violations, TVA completed a number corrective actions and enhancements,

and agreed to complete additional corrective actions and enhancements, as fully discussed in

the enclosed Confirmatory Order.

During the ADR, the NRC concluded that the corrective actions and enhancements discussed

by TVA were prompt and comprehensive and addressed the causes that gave rise to the two

violations. In consideration of the commitments delineated in the attached Confirmatory Order,

the NRC agreed to fully mitigate a civil penalty, and document the two violations as a part of the

Confirmatory Order, for all matters discussed in NRC Inspection Report 05000259, 260,

296/2013005 dated February 14, 2014 (EA 14-005).

We have enclosed a Confirmatory Order to confirm the commitments made as part of the

settlement agreement. As evidenced by your signed Consent and Hearing Waiver Form (copy

enclosed) dated April 25, 2014, you agree to issuance of this letter and Confirmatory Order.

Pursuant to Section 223 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, any person who

willfully violates, attempts to violate, or conspires to violate any provision of this Order shall be

subject to criminal prosecution as set forth in that Section. Violation of this Order may also

subject the person to civil monetary penalties.

You are not required to respond to this letter. However, if you choose to provide a response,

please provide it to me within 30 days at NRC Region II, ATTN: Regional Administrator,

245 Peachtree Center Avenue, NE, Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1257.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter and its

Enclosures will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public

Document Room, or from the NRCs document system, Agencywide Documents Access and

Management System (ADAMS), which is accessible from the NRC Web site at

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC will also include this letter, and the

attached Confirmatory Order, on its Web site at www.nrc.gov; the letter can be found on this

Web site by selecting the Public Meetings and Involvement link and then the Enforcement

link. Your response, if you choose to provide one, will also be made available electronically for

public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room, or from the NRCs document system

(ADAMS). To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy,

J. Shea 3

proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the public without

redaction. The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at

(http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/enforcement/actions/).

If you have any questions or comments concerning this letter, please contact Mr. Jonathan

Bartley, Chief, Branch 6, Division of Reactor Projects, at 404-997-4607.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Leonard D. Wert

Deputy Regional Administrator for Operations

Docket Nos.: 50-259, 50-260, 50-296

License Nos.: DPR-33, DPR-52, DPR-68

Enclosures:

1. Confirmatory Order

2. Consent and Hearing Waiver Form

cc: Distribution via Listserv

_________________________ SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE FORM 665 ATTACHED

OFFICE RII:DRP RII:EICS RII:DRP OE OGC RII:DORA

SIGNATURE /RA/ /RA/ /RA/ /RA VIA E-mail/ /RA VIA E-mail/ LDW /RA/

NAME JBartley CEvans RCroteau RCarpente *CHair LWert

DATE 4/14/2014 4/14/2014 4/15/2014 4/14/2014 4/24/2014 05/01/2014

E-MAIL COPY? YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO

OFFICE RII:ORA

SIGNATURE VMM /RA/

NAME VMcCree

DATE 05/01/2014

E-MAIL COPY? YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO

Letter to J. Shea from L. Wert dated May 1, 2014.

SUBJECT: CONFIRMATORY ORDER (NRC INSPECTION REPORT 05000259/2013005,

05000260/2013005, AND 05000296/2013005)

DISTRIBUTION:

M. Satorius, EDO

M. Weber, OEDO

E. Leeds, NRR

J. Wiggins, NSIR

C. Scott, OGC

R. Zimmerman, OE

E. Julian, SECY

B. Keeling, OCA

Enforcement Coordinators

for RI, RIII, RIV

H. Harrington, OPA

C. McCrary, OI

H. Bell, OIG

R. Carpenter, OE

M. Halter, NRR

V. McCree, RII

L. Wert, RII

T. Reis, RII

R. Croteau, RII

J. Bartley, RII

C. Kontz, RII

L. Douglas, RII

C. Evans, RII

S. Sparks, RII

R. Hannah, RII

J. Ledford, RII

J. Pelchat, RII

OEMAIL Resource

OEWEB

PUBLIC

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

In the Matter of )

) Docket No. 50-259, 50-260, 50-296

Tennessee Valley Authority ) License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, DPR-68

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant )

Units 1, 2 and 3 ) EA-14-005

CONFIRMATORY ORDER

I

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA or Licensee) is the holder of License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52,

and DPR-68, issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission)

pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50 on December 20, 1973, June 28, 1974, and July 2, 1976,

respectively. The licenses authorize the operation of the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN),

Units 1, 2, and 3, in accordance with the conditions specified therein. The facility is located on

the Licensees site in Athens, Alabama.

This Confirmatory Order is the result of an agreement reached during an alternative dispute

resolution (ADR) mediation session conducted on April 3, 2014.

II

On February 14, 2014, the NRC issued Inspection Report 05000259, 260, 296/2013005 to TVA,

(IR) which documented the identification of two apparent violations that were being considered

for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy.

1

The first apparent violation involved two examples of TVAs submission of information that was

not complete and accurate in all material respects, as required by 10 CFR 50.9, Completeness

and Accuracy of Information. The information contained in TVAs letters was inaccurate

because, contrary to their assertions, TVAs stated control room staffing levels were not

sufficient to implement certain fire response procedures and achieve safe shutdown on the

three-unit site during a postulated 10 CFR 50, Appendix R fire event.

The second apparent violation involved TVAs change to a license condition without submitting

an amendment request, as required by 10 CFR 50.90, Amendment of License or Construction

Permit at Request of Holder. In this case, from June 29, 2010, through October 30, 2013, the

licensee inappropriately changed the requirements for site staffing, incorporated as part of

license amendments 271, 300, and 259, without submission of a license amendment request.

The licensees actions to amend staffing levels via a commitment change resulted in bypassing

the review and approval that would occur as part of the license amendment process.

III

On April 3, 2014, the NRC and TVA met in an ADR session mediated by a professional

mediator, arranged through Cornell Universitys Institute on Conflict Resolution. ADR is a

process in which a neutral mediator with no decision-making authority assists the parties in

reaching an agreement or resolving any differences regarding their dispute. This confirmatory

order is issued pursuant to the agreement reached during the ADR process. The elements of

the agreement consist of the following:

1. The NRC and TVA agreed that the issues described in NRC Inspection Report

2

05000259, 260, 296/2013005 represent violations of regulatory requirements. The

violations are as follows:

a. 10 CFR 50.9(a) requires, in part, that information provided to the Commission by a

licensee or information required by statute or by the Commissions regulations,

orders or license conditions to be maintained by the licensee shall be complete and

accurate in all material respects.

Contrary to the above, TVA provided information to the Commission that was not

complete and accurate in all material respects as evidenced by the following two

examples:

In a letter dated June 29, 2010, TVA provided inaccurate information to the

NRC indicating that the minimum staffing levels stated in their licensing basis

were not required to achieve safe shutdown on the three-unit site during an

Appendix R fire event. TVAs letter stated, TVA has assessed the number of

operators required to carry out the SSIs. The most demanding staffing is

required by 0-SSI-16, "Control Building Fire EL (elevation) 593 Through EL

617." The evaluation concludes that the minimum staffing of three USs (Unit

Supervisors), six ROs (Reactor Operators), and eight AUOs (Auxiliary Unit

Operators) is adequate for successful implementation of this SSI. This

information was inaccurate because the licensee needed an additional SRO

(Senior Reactor Operator) to successfully implement 0-SSI-16.

In a letter dated November 30, 2011, TVA provided inaccurate information to

the NRC indicating that the minimum staffing levels stated in their licensing

3

basis were not required to achieve safe shutdown on the three-unit site during

an Appendix R fire event. TVAs letter stated, Total staffing level is one

Shift Manager (SM), three Unit Supervisors (US), Six ROs, and eight AUOs.

One of the US may be the STA (Shift Technical Advisor) This statement

was inaccurate because the minimum staffing levels stated in their licensing

basis were required to achieve safe shutdown on the three-unit site during an

10 CFR 50, Appendix R fire event.

The above information was material to the NRC because it was reviewed by the

NRC staff to determine compliance with regulatory requirements.

b. 10 CFR 50.90 requires, in part, that whenever a holder of an operating license

under this part desires to amend the license or permit, application for an

amendment must be filed with the Commission, as specified in 10 CFR 50.4, fully

describing the changes desired, and following as far as applicable, the form

prescribed for original applications.

Contrary to the above, from June 29, 2010 to October 30, 2013, the licensee

inappropriately amended the requirements of their license without filing an

application for an amendment as specified in 10 CRFR 50.4. Specifically, the

licensee inappropriately changed the requirements for site staffing incorporated as

part of license amendments 271, 300, and 259, without submission of a license

amendment request. The licensees actions to amend staffing levels via a

commitment change resulted in bypassing the review and approval that would

occur as part of the license amendment process.

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2. Based on TVAs review of the incident and NRCs concerns with respect to precluding

recurrence of the violations, TVA agrees to implement and continue to implement

corrective actions and enhancements specified in Section V of this Confirmatory Order.

3. The NRC considers the corrective actions and enhancements discussed in Section V of

this Confirmatory Order to be appropriately prompt and comprehensive to address the

causes which gave rise to the incident discussed in the NRCs Inspection Report of

February 14, 2014.

4. Based on the corrective actions and enhancements described above, NRC will conduct

follow-up inspections using NRC Manual Chapter Inspection Procedure 92702 to

confirm, among other things, the thoroughness and adequacy of the actions specified in

Section V of this Confirmatory Order. Close out inspection of the corrective actions

documented in this Confirmatory Order will make the need for additional follow up

inspection of the violations unnecessary.

5. The NRC and TVA agree that the above elements will be incorporated into issuance of a

Confirmatory Order.

6. In consideration of the commitments delineated above and in Section V of this

Confirmatory Order, the NRC agrees to refrain from proposing a civil penalty or issuing a

Notice of Violation for all matters discussed in the NRCs IR to TVA of February 14, 2014

(EA-14-005).

7. This agreement is binding upon successors and assigns of TVA.

5

On April 25, 2014, TVA consented to issuance of this Order with the commitments, as described

in Section V below. The Licensee further agreed that this Order is to be effective 30 days after

issuance and that it has waived its right to a hearing.

IV

Because the licensee has agreed to take additional actions to address NRCs concerns, as set

forth in Section V of this Confirmatory Order, the NRC has concluded that its concerns can be

resolved through issuance of this Confirmatory Order.

I find that TVAs commitments, as set forth in Section V, are acceptable and necessary and

conclude that with these commitments, the public health and safety are reasonably assured. In

view of the foregoing, I have determined that public health and safety requires that TVAs

commitments be confirmed by this Order. Based on the above and TVAs consent, this

Confirmatory Order is effective 30 days after issuance.

V

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 104b., 161b., 161i., 161o., 182, and 186 of the Atomic Energy

Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commissions regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Parts 50, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, THAT LICENSE NOS. DPR-33, DPR-52 AND DPR-68 ARE

MODIFIED AS FOLLOWS:

6

1. TVA agrees to implement, or continue to implement, the following corrective actions

and enhancements:

a. Actions related to the violation of 10 CFR 50.9, Completeness and Accuracy of

Information:

i. Fleet-wide:

1. By no later than September 1, 2014, TVA will revise and issue a

fleet-wide procedure governing the preparation of information

intended to support licensing submittals to the NRC. The

procedure shall contain requirements for the preparation (including

specifications for draft information), verification, and management

oversight of this information, and will delineate acceptable

validation documents. The procedure will include an overt

discussion of the roles and responsibilities for individuals involved.

BFN will provide training in accordance with the procedure change

process.

ii. BFN-specific:

1. By no later than May 23, 2014, TVA will design, develop, and

implement a BFN Integrated Completeness and Accuracy Review

Evaluation Board (ICAREB). The ICAREB will be chartered to

provide pre-submittal reviews of correspondence and supporting

documentation for BFN licensing submittals to the NRC, including

7

those prepared by BFN staff and Corporate Nuclear. Specific

criteria for dissolution of the ICAREB will be established, but it will

remain active, at a minimum, until a fleet-wide procedure

governing the preparation of information intended to support

licensing submittals to the NRC is active.

2. By no later than August 21, 2014, BFN Licensing will prepare a

benchmarking report identifying industry best practices in the area

of 10 CFR 50.9 compliance in the preparation and validation of

inputs to NRC submittals. This report will be made available to the

NRC for review. BFN will consider benchmarking results, as

appropriate, for implementation.

b. Actions related to the violation of 10 CFR 50.90:

i. Fleet-wide:

1. By July 15, 2014, TVA will benchmark nuclear industry

methodologies used to maintain Licensing Bases Documents. A

report on this activity will be made available to the NRC for review.

BFN will consider benchmarking results for implementation.

2. By no later than August 15, 2014, TVA will develop and issue a

fleet-wide Licensing Compliance Review Procedure to establish

the process for verifying that changes to NPG administrative and

technical procedures not covered under the 10 CFR 50.59 review

process are reviewed for conformance to the current licensing

basis. BFN will provide training in accordance with the procedure

8

change process.

3. By no later than August 15, 2014, TVA will revise NPG-SPP-01.1

and NPG-SPP-01.2 to incorporate the Licensing Compliance

Review process, including verification of compliance.

4. By no later than September 26, 2014, TVA will convert NLDP-5

FSAR Management to an NPG Standard Programs and

Processes (SPP) procedure. BFN will provide training in

accordance with the procedure change process.

5. By no later than June 13, 2014, TVA will implement, via an

independent entity, a review of the 10 CFR 50.9 and 10 CFR

50.90 Root Cause Analysis reports to assess the completeness

and adequacy of the identified root/contributing causes, extent of

cause, extent of condition and CAPRs/CAs. The deliverable from

this review will be a report with documented recommendations.

TVA will consider these recommendations for implementation.

6. By no later than July 15, 2015, TVA will implement, via an

independent entity, an effectiveness review of the corrective

actions completed to date with regard to the 10 CFR 50.9 and 10

CFR 50.90 Root Cause Analyses.

ii. BFN-specific:

1. TVA completed a snapshot self-assessment to verify if

commitments are being implemented accurately on March 25,

2014.

2. TVA acknowledges that there have been previous instances

9

where repetitive PERs were submitted on the issue of adequate

staffing and the issue was ineffectively resolved. BFN commits to

close the CAP Fundamental Problem that was identified under the

95003 that resulted in significant programmatic and organizational

changes in TVAs CAP by no later than April 9, 2014. In addition,

the NRC recently closed the 95003 Tier 1 CAL Commitment in the

BFN CAP.

3. By no later than May 2, 2014, TVA will develop and implement an

Interim Licensing Compliance Review Checklist for use by

procedure writing organizations and document reviewers to ensure

the correct licensing basis documents are referenced when

revising procedures. This Interim Licensing Compliance Review

Checklist will be used until issuance of a revised Licensing

Compliance Review Procedure. (b.i.2 Fleet-wide action above).

4. By no later than November 26, 2014, TVA will perform a detailed

review of all procedures revised prior to August 15, 2014, during

the Procedure Upgrade Project to ensure that the licensing basis

information required by the revised SPP-01.1 and SPP-01.2 is

identified. This review will include all licensing, administrative and

governance procedures. The revised procedures will

institutionalize the licensing review process and provide

sustainability from that point forward in the Procedure Upgrade

Project.

5. By no later than November 28, 2014, TVA will complete training of

BFN Engineering, Licensing and licensed Operators regarding the

scope and hierarchy of licensing basis documents, lessons

10

learned from circumstances associated with EA-14-005, and the

associated change process. The training material will be available

for NRC review.

6. Through December 31, 2014, changes to BFN licensing

commitments will be reviewed and approved by a second site

licensing engineer in addition to review and approval by site

licensing. The focus of this additional review will be to ensure that

the correct regulatory change process(es) has/have been used.

This action will be discontinued upon completion of the training

encompassed in item 5 above.

7. By December 31, 2015, TVA will review a sample of facility

changes, based on plant risk and complexity, that have occurred

from 2004 to May 2014, to determine whether these changes have

been appropriately incorporated into the licensing basis

documents. TVAs method of selecting facility changes to be

sampled will be provided to the NRC by July 15, 2014. Any

identified discrepancies will be dispositioned through the corrective

action process. The results of this review will be made available to

the NRC.

8. By December 31, 2015, TVA will review a sample of BFN facility

changes, based on plant risk and complexity, accomplished within

the last 3 years and processed outside of the 10 CFR 50.59

process to determine whether these changes have been

appropriately incorporated into the licensing basis documents.

TVAs method of selecting facility changes to be sampled will be

provided to the NRC by July 15, 2014. Any identified

11

discrepancies will be dispositioned through the corrective action

process. The results of this review will be made available to the

NRC.

9. By December 31, 2014, TVA will make a presentation to the 1)

Regulatory Issue Working Group and 2) the Regulating Utility

Group regarding the circumstances of the violations discussed

above and the importance of leadership attention to the effective

management of the current licensing basis and complete and

accurate communications with the NRC. The presentation will be

made available to the NRC in advance.

c. Prior to July 15, 2014, TVA will perform, via an independent entity, a reevaluation

of Operations minimum shift staffing. The results of that staffing evaluation will

be documented as a reference to OPDP-1, Conduct of Operations.

d. Upon completion of the terms of items of the Confirmatory Order, TVA will provide

the NRC with a letter discussing its basis for concluding that the Order has been

satisfied.

The Regional Administrator, NRC Region II, may relax or rescind, in writing, any of the above

conditions upon a showing by TVA of good cause.

VI

Any person adversely affected by this Order, other than TVA, may submit a written answer

and/or request a hearing on this Order within 30 days from the date of this Order, pursuant to 10

12

CFR 2.302 and 10 CFR 2.309. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to

extending the time to answer or request a hearing. A request for extension of time must be

directed to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555-0001, and include a statement of good cause for the extension.

If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely affected, the Commission will, if

appropriate, issue an Order designating the time and place of any hearings. If a hearing is held,

the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained.

All documents filed in the NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a request for a hearing, a

petition for leave to intervene, any motion or other document filed in the proceeding prior to the

submission of a request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by interested

governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with the

NRCs E-Filing rule at 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and

serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or to physically deliver or mail a copy of

documents on optical storage media. Participants may not submit paper copies of their filings

unless they seek and receive an exemption in accordance with the procedures described below.

To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 days prior to the filing

deadline, the participant should contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at

hearing.docket@nrc.gov, or by telephone at (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a digital identification

(ID) certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or representative) to digitally sign

documents and access the E-Submittal server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and

(2) advise the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a request or petition for hearing

(even in instances in which the participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an

NRC-issued digital certificate). Based on this information, the Secretary will establish an

13

electronic docket for the hearing in this proceeding if the Secretary has not already established

an electronic docket.

Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on the NRCs public Web site at

http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html. System requirements for

accessing the E-Submittal server are detailed in the NRCs Guidance for Electronic

Submission, which is available on the NRCs public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-

submittals.html. Participants may attempt to use other software not listed on the Web site, but

should note that the NRCs E-Filing system does not support unlisted software, and the NRC

Meta System Help Desk will not be able to offer assistance in using unlisted software.

If a participant is electronically submitting a document to the NRC in accordance with the

E-Filing rule, the participant must file the document using the NRCs online, Web-based

submission form. In order to serve documents through the Electronic Information Exchange

System, users will be required to install a Web browser plug-in obtained from the NRCs Web

site. Further information on the Web-based submission form, including the installation of the

Web browser plug-in, is available on the NRCs public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-

help/e-submittals.html.

Once a participant has obtained a digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the

participant can then submit a request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene.

Submissions should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with the NRC

guidance available on the NRCs public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-

submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the documents are submitted

through the NRCs E-Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the

E-Filing system no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of a

14

transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-mail

notice confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing system also distributes an e-mail notice

that provides access to the document to the NRCs Office of the General Counsel, and any

others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in the

proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document on those participants separately.

Therefore, applicants and other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for

and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition to intervene is filed so that

they can obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.

A person filing electronically using the NRCs adjudicatory E-Filing system may seek assistance

by contracting the NRC Meta System Help Desk thorough the Contact Us link located on the

NRCs public Web site at http://www.nrc/gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by e-mail to

MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a toll free call to 1- 866-672-7640. The NRC Meta System

Help Desk is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday,

excluding government holidays.

Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not submitting documents

electronically must file an extension request, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their

initial paper filing requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format.

Such filings must be submitted by: (1) first-class mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary of

the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention:

Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service

to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,

Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a

document in this manner are responsible for serving the document on all other participants.

Filing is considered complete by first-class mail as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by

15

courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the

provider of the service. A presiding officer, having granted an exemption request from using E-

Filing, may require a participant or party to use E-Filing, if the presiding officer subsequently

determines the reason for the exemption from use of E-Filing no longer exists.

Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the NRCs electronic hearing

docket, which is available to the public at http://ehd1.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to

an order of the Commission, or the presiding officer. Participants are requested not to include

personal privacy information, such as social security numbers, home addresses, or home phone

numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submission of such

information. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve the

purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants are

requested not to include copyrighted materials in their submissions.

If a person other than the licensee requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with

particularity the manner in which his/her interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall

address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).

In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of an extension of time in which to

request a hearing, the provisions specified in Section V above shall be final 30 days from the

date of this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a

hearing has been approved, the provisions specified in Section V shall be final when the

extension expires if a hearing request has not been received.

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FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

__/RA/_________________________________________

Leonard D. Wert

Deputy Regional Administrator for Operations

Dated this 1st day of May 2014.

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