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 Nuclear Regulatory Commission [Docket No. 50-412; NRC-2010-0086]
 AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 ACTION: Order and notice of license amendment request, opportunity to comment, opportunity to request a hearing.
 DATES: Comments must be filed by April 12, 2010. A request for a hearing must be filed by May 10, 2010.
 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nadiyah Morgan, Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738. Telephone: (301) 415-1016; fax number: (301) 415-2102; e-mail: 
                        *Nadiyah.Morgan@nrc.gov.*
 ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2010-0086 in the subject line of your comments. Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site Regulations.gov. Because your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against including any information in your submission that you do not want to be publicly disclosed. The NRC requests that any party soliciting or aggregating comments received from other persons for submission to the NRC inform those persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any identifying or contact information, and therefore, they should not include any information in their comments that they do not want publicly disclosed. You may submit comments by any one of the following methods. *Federal Rulemaking Web site:*
                         Go to 
                        *http://www.regulations.gov*
                         and search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-2010-0086. Comments may be submitted electronically through this Web site. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher 301-492-3668; e-mail 
                        *Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.* *Mail comments to:*
                         Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking and Directives Branch (RDB), Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, or by fax to RDB at (301) 492-3446. To access documents related to this notice see Section V, Further Information.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  I. Introduction The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. NPF-73, issued to FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (licensee) for operation of the Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit No. 2 (BVPS-2), located in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. The proposed amendment would revise the BVPS-2 Technical Specifications to support the installation of high density fuel storage racks in the BVPS-2 spent fuel pool. The amendment application dated April 9, 2009 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML091210251), was supplemented by letters dated June 15, 2009 (ADAMS Accession No. ML091680614) and January 18, 2010. Access to these documents is discussed in Section V, Further Information. The January 18, 2010, letter and a portion of the June 15, 2009, letter contain sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI), and are not available to the public. See Section V, Further Information, and the Order providing instructions for requesting access to the withheld information. Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations. The Commission has made a proposed determination that the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under the Commission's regulations in Title 10 of the 
                    *Code of Federal Regulations*
                     (10 CFR), Section 50.92, this means that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented below: 1. Does the proposed change involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated? *Response:*
                         No. The relevant accidents previously evaluated are limited to the fuel handling and criticality accidents. The fuel storage racks are not a design basis accident initiator. The potential contribution to the applicable design basis accident (a fuel handling accident) has been evaluated by considering three types of fuel assembly drop scenarios. The three types of scenarios are a shallow drop, a deep drop and a fuel to fuel drop. The shallow drop postulates that the fuel assembly drops vertically and hits the top of a rack. The deep drop postulates that the fuel assembly falls through an empty storage cell impacting the rack baseplate. The fuel to fuel drop postulates that a fuel assembly drops on top of a stored fuel assembly in a rack. The structural damage to the impacted target is primarily dependent on the mass of the falling fuel assembly and the drop height. Since the fuel assembly mass and drop height are not significantly changed by the installation of the high density racks, the postulated structural damage to impacted targets are also not significantly changed due to the installation of the high density racks. The physical limitations of the racks and the administrative and operational controls used to load fuel assemblies into the spent fuel pool ensure that fuel assemblies are stored in compliance with the applicable fuel storage requirements, both during and following the installation phase of the reracking project. These controls will remain in effect and will continue to protect against 
                        ( print page 11567)
                        criticality and fuel handling accidents during and following the installation phase of the reracking project. Therefore, there is no significant impact on the probability of fuel handling or criticality accidents. The criticality analysis applicable to the existing racks has not changed from what was approved by Amendment 165 for BVPS-2 issued on March 27, 2008. The new criticality analysis defines new spent fuel storage requirements based on enrichment and burnup limits. The new analysis demonstrates that keff
                         remains below 1.0 with zero soluble boron in the spent fuel pool, and that keff
                         remains less than or equal to 0.95 for the entire pool with credit for soluble boron under non-accident and accident conditions with a 95% probability at a 95% confidence level. As a result potential consequences of accidents previously evaluated remain unchanged for either type of rack. The proposed installation of the high density racks, and the coexistence of the existing and high density racks in the spent fuel pool during the installation phase, does not result in changes to the spent fuel pool cooling system and therefore the probability of a loss of spent fuel pool cooling is not increased. The consequences of a loss of spent fuel pool cooling were evaluated and found to not involve a significant increase as a result of the proposed changes. A thermal-hydraulic evaluation for the loss of spent fuel pool cooling was performed. The analysis determined that the minimum time to boil provides sufficient time for the operators to restore cooling or establish an alternate means of cooling following a complete loss of forced cooling. Therefore, the proposed change represents no significant increase in the consequences of loss of spent fuel pool cooling for either type of rack. Therefore, the proposed installation of high density fuel storage racks and the resulting proposed Technical Specifications changes do not involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated. 2. Does the proposed change create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated? *Response:*
                         No. The relevant types of accidents previously evaluated are limited to criticality and fuel handling accidents. Although the new analysis will increase the maximum storage capacity, implementation of fuel loading requirements and fuel handling activities will continue to be performed under administrative and operational controls. The utilization of the additional storage capacity within the allowances of the revised analysis will not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated. Other than the removal of the existing racks and installation of the high density racks, no new or different activities are introduced as a result of the proposed changes. The drop of a high density rack during the installation phase has been described and evaluated as part of this submittal. This evaluation produced acceptable results. The drop of an existing rack during its removal is bounded by this evaluation because a new rack is heavier than an existing rack. The supporting evaluation also considered dropping items into the fuel cask area or onto the cover that will be placed over the cask pit area during the installation of the new racks. All of the items to be installed in or over the fuel cask area weigh much less than a spent fuel cask, for which the fuel cask area was designed. As such, the drop of any of these items onto the floor of the fuel cask area would be bounded by a spent fuel cask drop. With respect to drops onto the fuel that will temporarily be stored in the fuel cask area, the fuel cask area cover is designed to withstand the load imposed by a rack striking it from above. Since the fuel cask area cover would not fail due to this event, there cannot be any impact on the fuel assemblies in the rack below it. The evaluation also produced acceptable results for dropping any of the three parts of the fuel cask area cover onto the fuel loaded into the rack in the fuel cask area. Therefore the new activities introduced because of the reracking have been evaluated and been found to not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated. No changes are proposed to the spent fuel pool cooling system or makeup systems and therefore no new accidents are considered related to the loss of spent fuel pool cooling or makeup capability. Therefore, the proposed installation of high density fuel storage racks and the resulting proposed Technical Specifications changes do not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any previously evaluated for either type of rack. 3. Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety? *Response:*
                         No. The margin to safety with respect to analyzed accidents involves maintaining keff
                         through fuel storage requirements and boron concentration controls in the spent fuel pool. The new criticality analysis demonstrates that keff
                         remains below 1.0 with zero soluble boron, and that keff
                         remains less than or equal to 0.95 for the entire pool with credit for soluble boron under non-accident and accident conditions with a 95% probability at a 95% confidence level. This is consistent with the current licensing basis of the BVPS-2 spent fuel pool. The TSs controlling the water level or boron concentration of the spent fuel pool are not being changed by this license amendment request. Therefore, there is no significant change to the margin of safety attributed to the water level or the boron required when the spent fuel pool is fully flooded with borated water or the boron concentration required for accident or a boron dilution event for either type of rack. One of the proposed changes to the TSs is being made to assure that the existing (Boraflex) racks and the high density (Metamic) racks are neutronically decoupled during the installation phase of the reracking project. This temporary requirement results in the existing and new criticality analyses both being valid during the installation phase. Following the completion of the installation of the high density racks, the new criticality analysis becomes the licensing basis of the BVPS-2 spent fuel pool. The structural analysis of the high density racks, along with the evaluation of the spent fuel pool structure, indicates that the integrity of these structures will be maintained during and following installation of the high density racks. The previously performed structural analysis of the existing racks resulted in the same conclusion. Since the structural requirements are satisfied, the applicable safety margins are not significantly reduced for either type of rack. The proposed change includes a coupon sampling program that will monitor the physical properties of the Metamic absorber material. The monitoring program provides a method of verifying that the neutron absorber assumptions used in the spent fuel pool criticality analyses remain valid. Therefore, the proposed installation of high density fuel storage racks and the resulting proposed TSs changes do not involve a significant reduction in margin of safety for either type of rack. The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed determination. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice will be considered in making any final determination. You may submit comments using any of the methods discussed under the 
                    **ADDRESSES**
                     caption. Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60-day period provided that its final determination is that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30-day comment period should circumstances change during the 30-day comment period such that failure to act in a timely way would result, for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility. Should the Commission take action prior to the expiration of either the comment period or the notice period, it will publish in the 
                    **Federal Register**
                     a notice of issuance. Should the Commission make a final No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, any hearing will take place after issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will occur very infrequently.
                    ( print page 11568) II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing Requirements for hearing requests and petitions for leave to intervene are found in 10 CFR 2.309, “Hearing requests, Petitions to Intervene, Requirements for Standing, and Contentions.” Interested persons should consult 10 CFR Part 2, section 2.309, which is available at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at O1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852 (or call the PDR at (800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-4737). NRC regulations are also accessible electronically from the NRC's Electronic Reading Room on the NRC Web site at 
                    *http://www.nrc.gov.* III. Petitions for Leave To Intervene Any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written petition for leave to intervene. As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in the proceeding and how that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding. The petition must provide the name, address, and telephone number of the petitioner and specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the following factors: (1) The nature of the petitioner's right under the AEA to be made a party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of the petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (3) the possible effect of any order that may be entered in the proceeding on the petitioner's interest. A petition for leave to intervene must also include a specification of the contentions that the petitioner seeks to have litigated in the hearing. For each contention, the petitioner must provide a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be raised or controverted, as well as a brief explanation of the basis for the contention. Additionally, the petitioner must demonstrate that the issue raised by each contention is within the scope of the proceeding and is material to the findings the NRC must make to support the granting of a license amendment in response to the application. The petition must also include a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert opinions which support the position of the petitioner and on which the petitioner intends to rely at hearing, together with references to the specific sources and documents on which the petitioner intends to rely. Finally, the petition must provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact, including references to specific portions of the application for amendment that the petitioner disputes and the supporting reasons for each dispute, or, if the petitioner believes that the application for amendment fails to contain information on a relevant matter as required by law, the identification of each failure and the supporting reasons for the petitioner's belief. Each contention must be one that, if proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the hearing with respect to resolution of that person's admitted contentions, including the opportunity to present evidence and to submit a cross-examination plan for cross-examination of witnesses, consistent with NRC regulations, policies, and procedures. The Licensing Board will set the time and place for any prehearing conferences and evidentiary hearings, and the appropriate notices will be provided. Non-timely petitions for leave to intervene and contentions, amended petitions, and supplemental petitions will not be entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the Licensing Board or a Presiding Officer that the petition should be granted and/or the contentions should be admitted based upon a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). A State, county, municipality, federally-recognized Indian tribe, or agencies thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(d)(2). The petition should state the nature and extent of the petitioner's interest in the proceeding. The petition should be submitted to the Commission by May 10, 2010. The petition must be filed in accordance with the filing instructions in Section IV of this document, and should meet the requirements for petitions for leave to intervene set forth in this section, except that State and federally-recognized Indian tribes do not need to address the standing requirements in 10 CFR 2.309(d)(1) if the facility is located within its boundaries. The entities listed above could also seek to participate in a hearing as a nonparty pursuant to 10 CFR 2.315(c). Any person who does not wish, or is not qualified, to become a party to this proceeding may request permission to make a limited appearance pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.315(a). A person making a limited appearance may make an oral or written statement of position on the issues, but may not otherwise participate in the proceeding. A limited appearance may be made at any session of the hearing or at any prehearing conference, subject to such limits and conditions as may be imposed by the Licensing Board. Persons desiring to make a limited appearance are requested to inform the Secretary of the Commission by May 10, 2010. If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration. The final determination will serve to decide when the hearing is held. If the final determination is that the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration, the Commission may issue the amendment and make it immediately effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing held would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the final determination is that the amendment request involves a significant hazards consideration, any hearing held would take place before the issuance of any amendment. IV. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing) All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a request for 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 NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, August 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the Internet, or in some cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Participants may not submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in accordance with the procedures described below. To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least ten (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 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 
                    ( print page 11569)
                    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 ID certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish an 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 NRC's 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 NRC's “Guidance for Electronic Submission,” which is available on the agency's 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 NRC's 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 NRC's online, Web-based submission form. In order to serve documents through EIE, users will be required to install a Web browser plug-in from the NRC Web site. Further information on the Web-based submission form, including the installation of the Web browser plug-in, is available on the NRC's 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 hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance available on the NRC 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 NRC's 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 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 NRC 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 documents 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 agency's adjudicatory E-Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC Meta System Help Desk through the “Contact Us” link located on the NRC Web site at 
                    *http://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals.html,*
                     by e-mail at
                    *MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov,*
                     or by a toll-free call at (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 exemption 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 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 that the reason for granting the exemption from use of E-Filing no longer exists. Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
                    *http://ehd.nrc.gov/​EHD_​Proceeding/​home.asp,*
                     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 submission. The Commission hereby provides notice that this is a proceeding on an application for a license amendment falling within the scope of section 134 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), 42 U.S.C. 10154. Under section 134 of the NWPA, the Commission, at the request of any party to the proceeding, must use hybrid hearing procedures with respect to “any matter which the Commission determines to be in controversy among the parties.” The hybrid procedures in section 134 provide for oral argument on matters in controversy, preceded by discovery under the Commission's rules and the designation, following argument of only those factual issues that involve a genuine and substantial dispute, together with any remaining questions of law, to be resolved in an adjudicatory hearing. Actual adjudicatory hearings are to be held on only those issues found to meet the criteria of section 134 and set for hearing after oral argument. The Commission's rules implementing section 134 of the NWPA are found in 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart K, “Hybrid Hearing Procedures for Expansion of Spent Fuel Storage Capacity at Civilian Nuclear Power Reactors.” Under those rules, any party to the proceeding may invoke the hybrid hearing procedures by filing with the presiding officer a written request for oral argument under 10 CFR 2.1109. To be timely, the request must be filed together with a request for hearing/petition to intervene, filed in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309. If it is determined a hearing will be held, the presiding officer must grant a timely request for oral argument. The presiding officer may grant an untimely request for oral argument only upon a showing of good cause by the requesting party for the failure to file on time and after providing the other parties an opportunity to respond to the untimely request. If the presiding officer grants a request for oral argument, any hearing held on the application must be conducted in accordance with the hybrid hearing procedures. In essence, those procedures limit the time 
                    ( print page 11570)
                    available for discovery and require that an oral argument be held to determine whether any contentions must be resolved in an adjudicatory hearing. If no party to the proceeding timely requests oral argument, and if all untimely requests for oral argument are denied, then the usual procedures in 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart L apply. Petitions for leave to intervene must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. Non-timely filings will not be entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer that the petition or request should be granted or the contentions should be admitted, based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). V. Further Information Documents related to the proposed action are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at 
                    *http://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html.*
                     From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. Search for these documents using the ADAMS accession numbers: the application for amendment dated April 9, 2009, (ML091210251); and the publically-available portions of the June 15, 2009, supplement (ML091680614), January 18, 2010, supplement (ML093430689). As discussed above in Section I., the January 18, 2010, supplement and a portion of the June 15, 2009, supplement contain SUNSI and are not publically available. Instructions for requesting access to these withheld documents are contained in the following Order. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to 
                    *pdr.resource@nrc.gov.*
                     These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's PDR at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Attorney for the licensee: David W. Jenkins, Assistant General Counsel, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, Mail Stop A-GO-18, 76 South Main Street, Akron, OH 44308. Order Imposing Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information for Contention Preparation A. This Order contains instructions regarding how potential parties to this proceeding may request access to documents containing Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI). B. Within 10 days after publication of this notice of hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to intervene, any potential party who believes access to SUNSI is necessary to respond to this notice may request such access. A “potential party” is any person who intends to participate as a party by demonstrating standing and filing an admissible contention under 10 CFR 2.309. Requests for access to SUNSI submitted later than 10 days after publication will not be considered absent a showing of good cause for the late filing, addressing why the request could not have been filed earlier. C. The requester shall submit a letter requesting permission to access SUNSI to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and provide a copy to the Associate General Counsel for Hearings, Enforcement and Administration, Office of the General Counsel, Washington, DC 20555-0001. The expedited delivery or courier mail address for both offices is: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The e-mail address for the Office of the Secretary and the Office of the General Counsel are 
                    *Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov*
                     and 
                    *OGCmailcenter@nrc.gov,*
                     respectively.[1]
                    
                     The request must include the following information: (1) A description of the licensing action with a citation to this 
                    **Federal Register**
                     notice; (2) The name and address of the potential party and a description of the potential party's particularized interest that could be harmed by the action identified in C.(1); (3) The identity of the individual or entity requesting access to SUNSI and the requester's basis for the need for the information in order to meaningfully participate in this adjudicatory proceeding. In particular, the request must explain why publicly-available versions of the information requested would not be sufficient to provide the basis and specificity for a proffered contention; D. Based on an evaluation of the information submitted under paragraph C.(3) the NRC staff will determine within 10 days of receipt of the request whether: (1) There is a reasonable basis to believe the petitioner is likely to establish standing to participate in this NRC proceeding; and (2) The requestor has established a legitimate need for access to SUNSI. E. If the NRC staff determines that the requestor satisfies both D.(1) and D.(2) above, the NRC staff will notify the requestor in writing that access to SUNSI has been granted. The written notification will contain instructions on how the requestor may obtain copies of the requested documents, and any other conditions that may apply to access to those documents. These conditions may include, but are not limited to, the signing of a Non-Disclosure Agreement or Affidavit, or Protective Order [2]
                    
                     setting forth terms and conditions to prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of SUNSI by each individual who will be granted access to SUNSI. F. Filing of Contentions. Any contentions in these proceedings that are based upon the information received as a result of the request made for SUNSI must be filed by the requestor no later than 25 days after the requestor is granted access to that information. However, if more than 25 days remain between the date the petitioner is granted access to the information and the deadline for filing all other contentions (as established in the notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing), the petitioner may file its SUNSI contentions by that later deadline. G. Review of Denials of Access. (1) If the request for access to SUNSI is denied by the NRC staff either after a determination on standing and need for access, or after a determination on trustworthiness and reliability, the NRC staff shall immediately notify the requestor in writing, briefly stating the reason or reasons for the denial. (2) The requester may challenge the NRC staff's adverse determination by filing a challenge within 5 days of receipt of that determination with: (a) The presiding officer designated in this proceeding; (b) if no presiding officer has been appointed, the Chief 
                    ( print page 11571)
                    Administrative Judge, or if he or she is unavailable, another administrative judge, or an administrative law judge with jurisdiction pursuant to 10 CFR 2.318(a); or (c) if another officer has been designated to rule on information access issues, with that officer. H. Review of Grants of Access. A party other than the requester may challenge an NRC staff determination granting access to SUNSI whose release would harm that party's interest independent of the proceeding. Such a challenge must be filed with the Chief Administrative Judge within 5 days of the notification by the NRC staff of its grant of access. If challenges to the NRC staff determinations are filed, these procedures give way to the normal process for litigating disputes concerning access to information. The availability of interlocutory review by the Commission of orders ruling on such NRC staff determinations (whether granting or denying access) is governed by 10 CFR 2.311.[3] I. The Commission expects that the NRC staff and presiding officers (and any other reviewing officers) will consider and resolve requests for access to SUNSI, and motions for protective orders, in a timely fashion in order to minimize any unnecessary delays in identifying those petitioners who have standing and who have propounded contentions meeting the specificity and basis requirements in 10 CFR Part 2. Attachment 1 to this Order summarizes the general target schedule for processing and resolving requests under these procedures. *It is so ordered.* Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 
                        *5th*
                         day of March 2010. For the Commission. Annette L. Vietti-Cook, Secretary of the Commission.
 Attachment 1—General Target Schedule for Processing and Resolving Requests for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information in This Proceeding
Day
Event/activity0
Publication of 
                            **Federal Register**
                             notice of hearing and opportunity to petition for leave to intervene, including order with instructions for access requests.10
Deadline for submitting requests for access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI) with information: supporting the standing of a potential party identified by name and address; describing the need for the information in order for the potential party to participate meaningfully in an adjudicatory proceeding.60
Deadline for submitting petition for intervention containing: (i) Demonstration of standing; (ii) all contentions whose formulation does not require access to SUNSI (+25 Answers to petition for intervention; +7 petitioner/requestor reply).20
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff informs the requester of the staff's determination whether the request for access provides a reasonable basis to believe standing can be established and shows need for SUNSI. (NRC staff also informs any party to the proceeding whose interest independent of the proceeding would be harmed by the release of the information.) If NRC staff makes the finding of need for SUNSI and likelihood of standing, NRC staff begins document processing (preparation of redactions or review of redacted documents).25
If NRC staff finds no “need” or no likelihood of standing, the deadline for petitioner/requester to file a motion seeking a ruling to reverse the NRC staff's denial of access; NRC staff files copy of access determination with the presiding officer (or Chief Administrative Judge or other designated officer, as appropriate). If NRC staff finds “need” for SUNSI, the deadline for any party to the proceeding whose interest independent of the proceeding would be harmed by the release of the information to file a motion seeking a ruling to reverse the NRC staff's grant of access.30
Deadline for NRC staff reply to motions to reverse NRC staff determination(s).40
(Receipt +30) If NRC staff finds standing and need for SUNSI, deadline for NRC staff to complete information processing and file motion for Protective Order and draft Non-Disclosure Affidavit. Deadline for applicant/licensee to file Non-Disclosure Agreement for SUNSI.A
If access granted: Issuance of presiding officer or other designated officer decision on motion for protective order for access to sensitive information (including schedule for providing access and submission of contentions) or decision reversing a final adverse determination by the NRC staff.A + 3
Deadline for filing executed Non-Disclosure Affidavits. Access provided to SUNSI consistent with decision issuing the protective order.A + 28
Deadline for submission of contentions whose development depends upon access to SUNSI. However, if more than 25 days remain between the petitioner's receipt of (or access to) the information and the deadline for filing all other contentions (as established in the notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing), the petitioner may file its SUNSI contentions by that later deadline.A + 53
(Contention receipt +25) Answers to contentions whose development depends upon access to SUNSI.A + 60
(Answer receipt +7) Petitioner/Intervenor reply to answers.>A + 60
Decision on contention admission.


# Footnotes

1.
    
                         While a request for hearing or petition to intervene in this proceeding must comply with the filing requirements of the NRC's “E-Filing Rule,” the initial request to access SUNSI under these procedures should be submitted as described in this paragraph. Back to Citation
 2.
    
                         Any motion for Protective Order or draft Non-Disclosure Affidavit or Agreement for SUNSI must be filed with the presiding officer or the Chief Administrative Judge if the presiding officer has not yet been designated, within 30 days of the deadline for the receipt of the written access request. Back to Citation
 3.
    
                         Requesters should note that the filing requirements of the NRC's E-Filing Rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007) apply to appeals of NRC staff determinations (because they must be served on a presiding officer or the Commission, as applicable), but not to the initial SUNSI request submitted to the NRC staff under these procedures. Back to Citation


[FR Doc. 2010-5252 Filed 3-10-10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P