[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 2, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11523-11524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4610]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-7015-ML; ASLBP No. 10-899-02-ML-BD01]


Atomic Safety and Licensing Board; AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC 
(Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility); Notice of Opportunity to Participate 
in Uncontested/Mandatory Hearing; Procedures for Participation by 
Interested Governmental Entities Regarding Environmental Portion of 
Enrichment Facility Licensing Proceeding

February 24, 2011.
    Before Administrative Judges: G. Paul Bollwerk, III, Chairman, Dr. 
Kaye D. Lathrop, Dr. Craig M. White.
    In this 10 CFR part 70 proceeding regarding the request of 
applicant AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC, (AES) to construct and 
operate its proposed Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility (EREF) in 
Bonneville County, Idaho, on February 10, 2011, the NRC staff issued a 
notice of the availability of its final environmental impact statement 
(FEIS) analyzing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)-related 
environmental aspects of the AES application (NUREG-1945, ADAMS 
Accession Nos. ML11014A005 (Volume 1) and ML11014A006 (Volume 2)). See 
Notice of Availability of [FEIS] for the [AES] Proposed [EREF] in 
Bonneville County, ID, 76 FR 9054 (Feb. 16, 2011). In accord with 
Atomic Energy Act (AEA) section 274l, 42 U.S.C. Sec.  2021(l), using 
the agency's E-Filing system,\1\ on or before Monday, April 4, 2011, 
any interested State, local governmental body, or affected, Federally-
recognized Indian Tribe may file with the Licensing Board in this 
proceeding a statement of any issues or questions about which the 
State, local governmental body, or Indian Tribe wishes the Board to 
give particular attention as part of the environmental/FEIS-related 
portion of the uncontested/mandatory hearing process associated with 
the AES application and the staff's environmental review of that 
application.\2\ Such a statement of issues/questions may be accompanied 
by any supporting documentation that the State, local governmental 
body, or Indian Tribe sees fit to provide. Any statements of issues/
questions and supporting documentation (if any) received by the Board 
by the deadline indicated above will be made part of the record of this 
proceeding.
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    \1\ The process for accessing and using the agency's E-Filing 
system is described in the July 23, 2009 notice of hearing that was 
issued by the Commission for this proceeding. See Notice of Receipt 
of Application for License; Notice of Consideration of Issuance of 
License; Notice of Hearing and Commission Order and Order Imposing 
Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards 
Information and Safeguards Information for Contention Preparation; 
In the Matter of AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock 
Enrichment Facility), 74 FR 38,052, 38,055 (Jul. 30, 2009) (CLI-09-
15, 70 NRC 1, 10-11 (2009)).
    \2\ The scope of, and procedural protocols associated with, the 
uncontested/mandatory hearing in this proceeding are set forth in 
the Licensing Board's orders of May 19, June 4, June 30, and 
December 17, 2010, as well as its October 7, 2010 scheduling order. 
See Licensing Board Initial Scheduling Order (May 19, 2010) at 3-7 
(unpublished); Licensing Board Order (Clarifying Initial Scheduling 
Order) (June 4, 2010) at 2-5 (unpublished); Licensing Board Order 
(Setting Aside Hold-Dates for Mandatory Hearings) (June 30, 2010) at 
2 (unpublished); Licensing Board Memorandum and Order (Initial 
General Schedule; Revision to Mandatory Hearing Procedures; Inviting 
Written Limited Appearance Statements; Participation by Interested 
Governmental Entities) (Oct. 7, 2010) at 2-3 (unpublished); 
Licensing Board Memorandum and Order (Providing Presentation Topics 
and Administrative Directives Associated with Mandatory Hearing on 
Safety Matters) (Dec. 17, 2010) (unpublished).
    Previously, the Board issued a notice regarding participation by 
States, local governmental bodies, and Indian Tribes in the AEA/
safety-related portion of this proceeding, see Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board; Notice of Opportunity to Participate in 
Uncontested/Mandatory Hearing (Procedures for Participation by 
Interested Governmental Entities Regarding Safety Portion of 
Enrichment Facility Licensing Proceeding), 75 FR 63,213 (Oct. 14, 
2010), which was the subject of an evidentiary hearing on January 
25, 2011, in the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel's 
Rockville, Maryland hearing room, see Tr. at 90-272.
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    The Board will use such statements of issues/questions and 
supporting documents as appropriate to inform its prehearing questions 
to the staff and applicant AES and its inquiries at the oral hearing 
currently scheduled for mid-to-late June or mid-July 2011, at a 
location in Idaho in the vicinity of the proposed EREF.\3\ The Board 
may also request that one or more of the particular States, local 
governmental bodies, or Indian Tribes providing a statement of issues/
questions send representatives to the hearing to participate as the 
Board may deem appropriate, including answering Board questions and/or 
making a statement for the purpose of assisting the Board's exploration 
of one or more of the issues raised by the State, local governmental 
body, or Indian Tribe in the prehearing filings described above.\4\ The 
decision

[[Page 11524]]

on whether to request the presence of representatives of a State, local 
governmental body, or Indian Tribe at the hearing to participate in the 
oral hearing is solely at the Board's discretion. The Board's request 
will specify the issue or issues that the representatives should be 
prepared to address.
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    \3\ The Board anticipates issuing an additional order providing 
details regarding the schedule associated with, and the location of, 
the summer 2011 evidentiary hearing on environmental/NEPA-related 
matters in the near future, which would include dates associated 
with possible additional participation by any State, local 
governmental body, or Indian Tribe that, in accord with this notice, 
provides a timely statement of issues/questions for the Board to 
consider in the mandatory/uncontested hearing.
    \4\ States, local governments, or Indian Tribes should be aware 
that the uncontested/mandatory hearing is separate and distinct from 
the NRC's contested hearing process, which has not been invoked in 
this proceeding. While States, local governments, or Indian Tribes 
participating as described above may take any position they wish, or 
no position at all, with respect to the AES application or the 
staff's associated environmental review, they should be cognizant 
that, due to the inherently adversarial nature of such proceedings, 
many of the procedures and rights applicable to the NRC's contested 
hearing process generally are not available with respect to this 
uncontested hearing. Participation in the NRC's contested hearing 
process is governed by 10 CFR 2.309 (for persons or entities, 
including States, local governments, or Indian Tribes, seeking to 
file contentions of their own) and 10 CFR 2.315(c) (for interested 
States, local governments, and Indian Tribes seeking to participate 
with respect to contentions filed by others). Participation in this 
uncontested hearing does not affect the right of a State, local 
governmental entity, or Indian Tribe to participate in any separate 
contested hearing process that might be requested relative to this 
proceeding.
    Additionally, States, local governmental bodies, and Indian 
Tribes should be aware that, in accord with 10 CFR 2.315(a), the 
Board is currently accepting written limited appearance statements 
regarding this proceeding, and anticipates conducting one or more 
oral limited appearance sessions in conjunction with the planned 
summer 2011 evidentiary hearing sessions. See Notice of Hearing 
(Notice of Evidentiary Hearing and Opportunity to View Hearing via 
Webstreaming; Opportunity To Submit Written Limited Appearance 
Statements), 76 FR 387, 388 (Jan. 4, 2011). A written limited 
appearance statement or oral limited appearance session presentation 
would provide an alternative participation opportunity for the 
representative of an interested governmental entity that does not 
wish to submit a statement of issues/questions in accord with this 
notice, but does want to provide the Board with its views regarding 
the issues in this proceeding. The process for making an oral 
limited appearance statement will be outlined in a Federal Register 
notice issued prior to those sessions.
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    It is so ordered.

    Dated: February 24, 2011 in Rockville, Maryland.

    For the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
G. Paul Bollwerk, III,
Chairman.
[FR Doc. 2011-4610 Filed 3-1-11; 8:45 am]
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