ML12137A877

Request for Withholding Information from Public Disclosure (TAC Nos. ME7164, ME7165, and ME7166)

ML12137A877
Person / Time
Site:	Oconee
Issue date:	05/29/2012
From:	Boska J Plant Licensing Branch II
To:	Gillespie P Duke Energy Carolinas
Cotton K
References
TAC ME7164, TAC ME7165, TAC ME7166
Download: ML12137A877 (4)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 May 29,2012 Mr. Preston Gillespie Vice President, Oconee Site Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC 7800 Rochester Highway Seneca, SC 29672

SUBJECT:

OCONEE NUCLEAR STATION, UNITS 1,2, AND 3 - REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE (TAC NOS. ME7164, ME7165, AND ME7166)

Dear Mr. Gillespie:

By letter dated March 16, 2012, you submitted an affidavit dated March 12, 2012, executed by David C. Culp, acting Vice President of Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (Duke Energy, the licensee), which requested that the information contained in the following document be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 2, Section 2.390:

Duke Energy Calculation OSC-3737, Revision 10, "Secondary Power Uncertainty Analysis," 01 Mar 2012.

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

Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b)(4) of 10 CFR 2.390, the following is furnished for consideration by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in determining whether the information sought to be withheld from public disclosure should be withheld.

(i) The information sought to be withheld from public disclosure is owned by Duke Energy and has been held in confidence by Duke Energy and its consultants.

(ii) The information is of a type that would customarily be held in confidence by Duke Energy. The information consists of analysis methodology details, analysis results, and supporting data, that provides a competitive advantage to Duke Energy.

(iii) The information is being transmitted to the NRC in confidence and under the provisions of 10 CFR 2.390, it is to be received in confidence by the NRC.

P. Gillespie -2 (iv) The information sought to be protected is not available in public to the best of our knowledge and belief.

This information enables Duke Energy to:

(a) Support license amendment and Technical Specification revision request no.

2011-02 for its Oconee Nuclear Station (Oconee) reactors.

(b) Perform nuclear design calculations on Oconee reactor cores.

(c) Perform transient and accident analysis calculations for Oconee.

(v) The proprietary information sought to be withheld from public disclosure has substantial commercial value to Duke Energy.

(a) Duke Energy uses this information to reduce vendor and consultant expenses associated with supporting the operation and licensing of nuclear power plants.

(b) Duke Energy can sell the information to nuclear utilities, vendors, and consultants for the purpose of supporting the operation and licensing of nuclear power plants.

(c) The subject information could only be duplicated by competitors at similar expense to that incurred by Duke Energy.

Public disclosure of this information is likely to cause harm to Duke Energy because it would provide information to vendors that could be used to increase costs charged to Duke Energy and it would allow competitors in the nuclear industry to benefit from the results of a significant development program without requiring a commensurate expense or allowing Duke Energy to recoup a portion of its expenditures or benefit from the sale of the information.

We have reviewed your application and the material in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 2.390 and, on the basis of 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(s) of the submitted information 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 agreements for handling proprietary information.

P. Gillespie - 3 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 understand 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, if the NRC makes a determination adverse to the above, you will be notified in advance of any public disclosure.

If you have any questions, please call me at 301-415-2901.

Sincerely, (1Lv~

2trh~. ~: Boska, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch 11-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Docket Nos. 50-269, 50-270, and 50-287

Enclosure:

As stated cc: Mr. David C. Culp Vice President Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC 7800 Rochester Highway Seneca, SC 29672 Additional Distribution via Listserv

ML12137A877 OFFICE NRRlLPL2-1/PM NRRlLPL2-lILA NRRlLPL2-1/BC NRRlLPL2-1IPM NAME JBoska SFigueroa NSalgado JBoska DATE 05125/12 05123/12 05129/12 05/29/12