[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47625-47626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22323]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-315; NRC-2009-0406; License No. DPR-058]


Indiana Michigan Power Company Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Unit 
1; Notice of Issuance of Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206

    Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, has issued a director's decision with regard to a petition 
dated December 16, 2008, filed on behalf of the Union of Concerned 
Scientists (UCS) by Mr. David Lochbaum, hereinafter referred to as the 
``petitioner.'' In a letter dated February 2, 2009, Mr. Lochbaum 
designated Dr. Edwin Lyman as the petitioner and new point of contact 
for UCS. The petition concerns the safe future operation of Indiana 
Michigan Power Company's (the licensee) Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power 
Plant, Unit 1 (CNP-1).
    The petition requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) issue a demand for information requiring the licensee to docket 
information on four issues described below at least 30 days before 
restarting CNP-1 from the current outage.
    As the basis for the December 16, 2008, request, the petitioner 
raised concerns stemming from the significant vibration resulting from 
the failure of the CNP-1 main turbine on September 20, 2008. 
Specifically, the petitioner stated that the event caused significant 
vibration levels that resulted in the spurious operation of standby 
equipment and may have contributed to a breach that seriously impaired 
the fire protection system. The petitioner requested the information, 
in part, to ensure that the licensee had applied the proper lessons 
learned from the event to the future operation of the CNP-1 reactor. 
The petitioner further stated that without this information, the NRC 
could not be assured that the public was adequately protected from the 
significant adverse safety implications resulting from a safe shutdown 
earthquake event that causes the spurious actuation of equipment.
    On January 21, 2009, the NRC Petition Review Board (PRB) convened 
to discuss the petition under consideration and determined that it met 
the criteria established in NRC Management Directive 8.11, ``Review 
Process for 10 CFR 2.206 Petitions,'' dated October 25, 2000, for 
acceptance into the process under Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) 2.206, ``Requests for action under this subpart.'' 
On January 27, 2009, the NRC staff discussed this conclusion with the 
petitioner during a telephone conversation. The petitioner stated 
during this conversation that he would not need a public meeting to 
address the PRB.
    The NRC sent a copy of the proposed director's decision to the 
petitioner and the licensee for comment on July 2, 2009. The staff did 
not receive any comments on the proposed director's decision.
    The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has 
determined that the agency should deny the request that the NRC issue a 
demand for information requiring Indiana Michigan Power Company to 
docket information on four issues at least 30 days before restarting 
CNP-1 from the current outage. The director's decision, DD-09-02, 
explains the reasons for this decision pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206. The 
complete text of the decision is available in the Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Electronic Reading Room (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML092230012) on the NRC's Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, and for inspection at the Commission's Public 
Document Room, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 
F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
    In a letter dated May 12, 2009, the licensee provided a response to 
the petitioner's request for information. The NRC technical staff 
reviewed the licensee's response and other docketed information 
associated with the event. The NRC staff has concluded that public 
health and safety were not affected by

[[Page 47626]]

the event, nor would they be affected by a similar event in the future. 
Furthermore, the NRC has found the licensee's event response and 
corrective actions to be reasonable and technically sound.
    Based on the above, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has 
concluded that future operation of CNP-1 provides reasonable assurance 
of the continued protection of public health and safety. There were no 
violations associated with the event. The licensee's corrective actions 
in response to the event appear appropriate. No further action is 
required.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulations, 
the staff will file a copy of the director's decision with the 
Secretary of the Commission for the Commission's review. As provided 
for by this regulation, the director's decision will constitute the 
final action of the Commission 25 days after the date of the decision, 
unless the Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the 
director's decision within that time.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of September 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Leeds,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-22323 Filed 9-15-09; 8:45 am]
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