ML20147F674

Responds to 871204 Application to Withhold WCAP-11573 Rept from Disclosure Per 10CFR2.790.Determined That Info Submitted Marked as Proprietary Will Be Withheld from Public Disclosure Per 10CFR.2.790(b)(5) & Section 103(b)

ML20147F674
Person / Time
Site:	Point Beach
Issue date:	03/01/1988
From:	Wagner D Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Fay C WISCONSIN ELECTRIC POWER CO.
References
NUDOCS 8803080013
Download: ML20147F674 (5)

Text

. .. March 1, lib 8 ,

Docket No. 50-301 D LTRIBU" ,0N:-

YJiH4A%rmes, $NRC & Local PORs P0llI-3 r/f~ "XPerkins GHolahan PKreutzer 0 Wagner EShoemaker, OGC-WF1 Mr. C. W. Fay, Vice President Edordan JPartlow Nuclear Power Department POIII-3 Gray Wisconsin Electric Power Company -

231 W. Michigan Street, Room 308 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC OISCLOSURE By your application dated December 4,1987, you submitted the Westinghouse report, "Point Beach Unit 2 Steam Generator Sleeving Report," (WCAP-11573)

September 1987, and requested that it be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR-2.790. Although this application referenced a letter and an affidavit from Westinghouse, the owner of the information, this information was not included in your application. Your letter dated December 21, 1987 trans- <

mitted the required letter and affadavit from Westinghouse. Westinghouse stated that the submitted information should be considered exempt from mandatory pubite disclosure for the following reasons:

(1) The information sought to be withheld from public disclosure is owned and has been held in confidence by Westinghouse.

(ii) The information is-of a type customarily held in confidence by Westinghouse and not customarily disclosed to the public.

Westinghouse has a rational basis for determining the types of information customarily held in confidence by it and, in that connection, utilizes a system to determine when and '

whether to hold certain tvoes of information ln confidence.

Theapplicationofthatsh,temandthesubstanceofthat system constitutes Westinghouse policy and provides the rational basis required. i Under that system, information is held in confidence if it falls in one or more of several types, the release of which might result in the loss of an existing or potential com-petitive advantage, as follows:

(a) The information reveals the distinguishing aspects of a process (or component, structure, tool, method, etc.)

where prevention of its use by any of Westinghouse's ,

competitors without license from Westinghouse consti- l tutes a competitive economic advantage over other '

companies. _.

8803080013 880301 PDR ADOCK 05000301 P PDR

Mr. C. W. Fay (b) It consists of supporting data, including test data, relative to a process (or component, structure, tool, method, etc.), the application of which data secures a competitive economic advantage, e.g., by optimization or improved marketability.

(c) Its use 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 a similar product.

(d) It reveals cost or price information, production capac-ities, budget levels, or commercial strategies of Westinghouse, its customers or suppliers.

(e) It reveals aspects of past, present, or future West-inghouse or customer funded development plans and pro-grams of potential commercial value to Westinghouse.

(f) It contains patentable ideas, for which patent pro-tection may be desirable.

(g) It is not the property of Westinghouse, but must be treated as proprietary by Westinghouse according to agreements with the owner.

(iii) The information is being transinitted to the Comission in confidence and, under the provisions of 10 CFR Section 2.790, it is to be received in confidence by the Comission.

(iv) The information is not available in public sources to the best of our knowledge and belief.

(v) The proprietary information sought to be withheld in this submittalisthatwhichis[identifiedabove]...

Public disclosure of this information is likely to cause substantial hann to the competitive position of Westinghouse as it would reveal the strategic plans of Westinghouse regarding the nature and direction of its development programs.

Information regarding its development programs is valuable to Westinghouse because:

Mr. C. W. Fay (a) Infonnation resulting from its development programs gives Westinghouse a competitive advantage over its competitors.

It is, therefore, withheld from disclosure to protect the Westinghouse competitive position.

(b) It is information which is marketable in many ways.

The extent to which such information is available to competitors diminishes the Westinghouse ability to sell products and services involving the use of the information.

(c)UsebyourcompetitorwouldputWestinghouseata  !

competitive disadvantage by reducing his expenditure or resources at our expense.

(d) Each component of proprietary information pertinent to a particular competitive advantage is potentially as valuable as the total competitive advantage. If competi-tors acquire components of proprietary information, any -

one component may be the key to the entire puzzle, thereby '

depriving Westinghouse of a competitive advantage.

(e) The Westinghouse capacity to invest corporate assets t in research and development depends upon the success in obtaining and maintaining a competitive advantage. i Altogether, a substantial amount of money and effort has be6n and is being expended by Westinghouse in its development programs which could only be duplicated by a competitor if he were to invest similar sums of money and provided he had the appropriate '

talent available.

We have reviewed your application and the material based on the requirements '

and criteria of 10 CFR 2.790 and, on the basis of Westinghouse's statements, '

have determined that the submitted information sought to be withheld contains l trade secrets or proprietary comercial information.  ;

Therefore, the version of the submitted information marked as pra rietary will be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to 10 CFR 2.790(b)(5) and 1 Section103(b)oftheAtomicEnergyActof1954,asamended.  !

Withholding from public inspection shall not affect the right, if any, of ,

persons properly and directly concerned to inspect the documents. If the need l 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, i l

[

I I

Mr. C. W. Fay 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 should also understand that the NRC may have cause to review this determination in the .

future, such as if the scope of a Freedom of Information Act request includes l 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. .

Sincerely, ,

/

/-

David H. Wagner, Project Manager '

Project Directorate III-3 Division of Reactor Projects - III, t IV, Y and Special Projects cc: See next page P

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f Office: LA/PDIII-3 FM/PhiT-3 PD/NTII- Ot  !

Surname: PK DWagner/tg KLPerkins Shomaker Date: 02/ydv(ger gy/88 02/2i /88 OJ/ / /88 02/g88 7 .

l Mr. C. W. Fay Point Beach Nuclear Plant Wisconsin Electric Power Company Units 1 and 2 l l

cc:

Mr. Bruce Churchill, Esq. I Shaw, Pittman, Potts and Trowbridge 2300 N Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20037 Mr. James J. Zach, Manager Point Beach Nuclear Plant Wisconsin Electric Power Company 6610 Nuclear Road Two Rivers, Wisconsin 54241 Town Chairman Town of Two Creeks Route 3 Two Rivers, Wisconsin 54241 Chairman Public Service Commission of Wisconsin Hills Farms State Office Building Madison, Wisconsin 53702 Regional Administrator, Region III U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,

Office of Executive Director for Operations 799 Roosevelt Road Glen Ellyn, Illinois 60137 Resident Inspector's Office U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 6612 Nuclear Road Two Rivers, Wisconsin 54241 i

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