ML20127C239

Responds to 901228 Request That Licensing TR NEDC-31897P, Generic Guidelines for GE BWR Power Uprate, Be Withheld from Public Disclosure Per 10CFR2.790.Request Granted

ML20127C239
Person / Time
Issue date:	02/27/1992
From:	Robert Stransky Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Robare D GENERAL ELECTRIC CO.
Shared Package
ML20126L007	List: IA-91-579, Responds to 901228 Request That Licensing TR NEDC-31897P, Generic Guidelines for GE BWR Power Uprate, Be Withheld from Public Disclosure Per 10CFR2.790.Request Granted ML20126L004 ML20127C239
References
FOIA-91-579 TAC-M81253, NUDOCS 9203060229
Download: ML20127C239 (7)

Text

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% .' ,",', , *# February 27, 1992 Mr. David J. Robare, Manager Plant Licensing Services General Electric Nuclear Energy 175 Curtner Avenue San Jose, California 95125 Dear Mr. Robare

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSVRE (TAC NO. M81253)

By your letter and affidavit dated December 28, 1990, you submitted Licensing Topical Report HEDC-31897P, ' Generic Guidelines for General Electric Boiling Water Reactor Power Uprate," and requested that it be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.790.

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

The information contained in NEDC-31897P presents General Electric's ap3 roach to BWR power uprate in terms of the scope of evaluation, analytical teciniques and licensing criteria. Public disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to cause substantial harm to the competitive position of the General Electric Company and deprive or reduce the availablity of profit making opportunities because it would provide other parties, including competitors, with valuable information.

The information has consistently been held in confidence by the General Electric Company. No public disclosure of the information has been made and it is not available in public sources. All disclosures to third parties have been made pursuant to regulatory provisions of proprietary agreements which provide for maintenance of the information in confidence.

By letter dated June 10, 1991, you submitted Revision 1 to the above topical report, designated as NEDC-31897P-1. Additionally, on November 1, 1991, you-submitted a response to the NRC staff position concerning the topical reports.

You indicated t1at the affidavit submitted with the original version of the-topical report is also applicable to these_ documents.

We have reviewed your application arid the material in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 2.790 and, on the basis of your statements,-have determined that the submitted information sought to be withhela contains trade secrets or proprietary commercial information.

Therefore, GE Licensing Topical Reports NEDC-31897P, " Generic Guidelines for General Electric Boiling Water Reactor Power Uprate," NEDC-31897P-1, and the November 1,1991 response to NRC staff position, all marked as proprietary, will be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.790(b)(5) and Section 103(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

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, j Mr. David J. Robare -2 February 27, 1992 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.  ;

If the basis for withholding this information from public inspe,: tion should i change in the future such that the information could then be made available for public inspection, you should promptly notify the NRC. You should also 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 needs additional information from you or makes a determination adverse to the above, you will be notified in advance of any public disclosure.

Sincerely, Original Signed By:

Robert Stransky, Project Manager Project Directorate 111-1 Division of Reactor Projects !!!/IV/V  !

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Mr. David J. Robare, Manager General Electric Nuclear Energy cci Mr. Thomas A. McNish, Secretary Consurners Power Company 212 West Michigan Avenue Jackson, Michigan 49201 Judd L. Bacon, Esquire Consumers Power Company 212 West Michigan Avenue Jackson, Michigan 49201 Jane E. Branron, County Clerk County Building Charlevoix, Michigan 49720 Office of the Govtrnor Room 1 - Capitol Building Lansing, Michigan 48913 Regional Administrator, Region 111 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Connission 799 Roosevelt Road Glen Ellyn Illinois 60137 [

Nuclear facilities and Environmental Monitoring Section Office Division of Radiological Health Department of Public_ Health 3423 N. Logan Street-P. O, Box 30195 Lansing, Michigan 48909 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Connission '

Resident Inspector Office Big Rock Point Plant l 10253 U.S. 31 North j Charlevoix, Michigan 49720 t

Mr. William L. Beebnan, Plant Manager Big Rock Point Nuclear Plant Consumers Power Company 10269 U.S. 31 North l

Charlevoix, Michigan 49720 l-

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GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY AFFIDAVIT 1, DAVID J. R0 BARE, being duly sworn, depose and state as follows:

1. I am Manager, Plant Licensing Services, General Electric Company, 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.

.g 2. The information sought to be withheld is contained in GE report NEDC-31982P, " fermi-2 SAFER /GESTR-LOCA Loss-of Coolant Accident Analysis", July 1991.

3. In designating material as proprietary, General Electric utilizes the definition of proprietary information and trade secrets set forth in the American Law Institute's Restatement of Torts, Section 757. This definition provides:

"A trade secret may consist of any formula, pattern, device or compilation.of information which is used in one's business and which gives him an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it...A substantial element of secrecy must exist, so that, except by the use of improper means, there would be difficulty in acquiring information...Some factors to be considered in determining whether given information is one's trade secret are (1) the extent to which the information is known outside of his business; (2) the extent to which it .is known by employees and others involved in his business; (3) the extent of measures taken by him to guard the secrecy of the information; (4). the value of the information to him and to his competitors; (5) the amount of effort or money expanded by him developing the information; (6) the ease or difficulty with which the information could be properly acquired or duplicated by others,"

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 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 consisting of supporting data and analyses, including test data, relative to a process, method or apparatus,_ the application of which provide a competitive economic advantage, e.g.,

y by optimization or improved marketability; L..

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/' GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY AFFIDAVIT

8. Al disclosures to third parties have been made pursuant to regulatory sions of proprietary agreements which provide for maintenance of information in confidence.

9. 4 e disclosure of the information sought to be withheld is likely to c a e < <!

substantial harm to the competitive position of the General Eleuric Company and deprive or reduce the availability of profit making opportunities. A substantial effort has been expended by 2

General Electric to develop this information.

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j pqia Nuclear Information and Resource Service 142416th Street, N.W., Suite 601, Washington, D C. 20036 (202) 328 0002 FIED%' Of i;JUDA110N ,

December 17, 1991 111 3 ] o i Mr. Donnie H. Grimsley fg jg_j 94 j Division of Rules and Records Office of Administration and Resources Management U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission _

20555 Washington, D.C.

EREEROM_OF INFORMATION ACT REOUEST L:

Dear Mr. Grimsley:

2 Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 522, as amended and 10 0.F.R. 9.8 of the Commission's regulations, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service requests the following documents regarding Fermi 2, NRC Docket No.50-341 NRC License No. NPP-43; 1.) General Electric Topical Report, NED C-31897P-1

" Generic Guidelines for General Electric Boiling Water Reactor Power Uprate," June 1991 (LTR1) 2.) General Electric Topical Report. NED C-31984P -

" Generic Evaluations of General Electric Boiling -

Water Reactor Power Uprate," July 1991 (LTR2) 3.) Fermi 2 Licensing Report,91-150 " Power Uprate safety Analyses for Fermi 2," September 1991 4.) General Electric Report, NED C-31982P " Fermi 2

/ SAFER /GESTR-IDCA Loss of Coolant Accident,"

July 1991 Please consider " documents" to include reports, studies, test results, correspondence, memoranda, meeting notes, meeting minutes, working papers, graphs, charts, diagrams, notes and summaries of conversations and interviews, computer records and any other form of written communications including internal NRC memoranda.

Pursuant to this request, please provide all documents prepared or utilized by, in the possession of, or routed through the NRC related to items 1-4.

dedicakd to a wund non nuclear energy policy I

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~d Pursuant to and in compliance with 10 C.F.R. 9.41 of the

' Commission's regulations governing requests for waiver of- fees, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, herein after referred to as HIRS, puts forth the following information.

NIRS seeks the requested information solely to contribute to and help shape the public debate on nuclear issues.

NIRS intends to use the information in order to advance the concerns for public understanding and safety.

NIRS is qualified to make use of the requested information.

The staff has demonstrated the ability to interpret information and communicate that information in_ a form comprehensible to the general public. Members of the NIRS staff have published articles in such national journals as The Procressive, Nuclear Times, Newsday and The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

NIRS has a working relationship with physicists, engineers, medical doctors and other respected professionals who contribute to the full understanding of technical records.

The information sought by NIRS, is not, to the best of our knowledge, in the public domain.

The general public has displayed great interest in nuclear issues and the requested information will certainly increase the public's understanding of this matter.

NIRS has demonstrated its ability and commitment to inform the n" 11c on all important nuclear issues. NIRS regularly publit..ies a trade journal for which this information will be of use, the Nuclear Monitor . Since 1978, NIRS has been providing information on nuclear issues to the public, the press, members of Congress, state and local government officials as well as hundreds of citizens groups across the country. NIRS provides this information free of charge and has neither a ccmmercial nor a private interest in the agency records sought.

Under the amended fee waiver standard, NIRS' is clearly entitled to a full waiver of all search, review and duplication fees. This standard calls for such a waiver, "if disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to the public understanding of the operation or activities of the government-and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester." 5 U.S.C. 552 (a) (4)

(A) (iii).

In-light of the foregoing, NIRS' request meets this standard on its face. NIRS has no commercial interest in this matter, but rather. seeks this information to help the general puolic better understand the role of government in regulating the nuclear-industry.

For all the reasons cited above, NIRS' request falls squarely within the Congressional intent in enacting the Freedo.a of Information Act and the fee waiver provision. We, therefore, ask that the Commission grant a full waiver for this FOIA request.

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation. If- you have any questions in regards to this request, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely, ou tero s