[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 199 (Friday, October 13, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60987-60988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-26338]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-247]


Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.; Indian Point 
Nuclear Generating Unit No. 2; Issuance of Director's Decision Under 10 
CFR 2.206

    By letter dated March 14, 2000, Mr. David A. Lochbaum, on behalf of 
the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Nuclear Information & Resource 
Service, the PACE Law School Energy Project, and Public Citizen's 
Critical Mass Energy Project (Petitioners), pursuant to Section 2.206 
of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 2.206), 
requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission or 
NRC) take action with regard to the Indian Point Nuclear Generating 
Unit No. 2, (IP2), owned and operated by the Consolidated Edison 
Company of New York, Inc. (Con Ed). The Petitioners requested that the 
NRC issue an order to the licensee preventing the restart of IP2, or 
modifying the license for IP2 to limit it to zero power, until (1) all 
four steam generators are replaced, (2) the steam generator tube 
integrity concerns identified in Dr. Joram Hopenfeld's differing 
professional opinion (DPO) and in Generic Safety Issue 163 (GSI-163) 
are resolved, and (3) potassium iodide tablets are distributed to 
residents and businesses within the 10-mile emergency planning zone 
(EPZ) or stockpiled in the vicinity of IP2. (The DPO process provides 
for the review of concerns raised by individual NRC employees who 
disagree with a position adopted by the NRC staff.)
    In a letter dated April 5, 2000, the Acting Director of the Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation acknowledged receipt of the Petition of 
March 14, 2000. In the April 5, 2000, letter, the Petitioners were 
informed that the request concerning replacement of the IP2 steam 
generators met the criteria for review under 10 CFR 2.206, but the 
staff had determined that the request relating to the resolution of the 
concerns raised in Dr. Hopenfeld's DPO and GSI-163 and distribution or 
stockpiling of potassium iodide tablets did not meet the criteria for 
review under 10 CFR 2.206. The basis for this determination was that 
they raise generic issues for which the Petitioners had not provided 
sufficient facts specific to IP2 restart to support their request. 
However, as a result of information provided at an April 7, 2000, 
meeting, and a supplement to their Petition dated April 12, 2000, the 
staff determined that the request that the NRC issue an order to 
prevent Con Ed from restarting IP2, or modify the license for IP2 to 
limit it to zero power, until potassium iodide tablets are distributed 
to people and businesses within the 10-mile EPZ or stockpiled in the 
vicinity of IP2 met the criteria of 10 CFR 2.206. However, the 
additional information provided in a supplement dated April 14, 2000, 
still did not provide plant-specific information necessary to consider 
Dr. Hopenfeld's DPO under the 2.206 process. The Petitioners were 
informed of these determinations in a letter dated June 26, 2000. In 
letters dated June 12, June 29, and July 13, 2000, the Petitioners 
further supplemented the Petition. In the June 12, 2000, supplement, it 
was requested that IP2 not be allowed to restart until concerns 
identified in an internal Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 
memorandum dated May 12, 2000, were addressed. In the July 13, 2000, 
supplement, the Petitioners requested reinstatement of their request 
that Dr. Hopenfeld's DPO be resolved prior to allowing IP2 to restart. 
In a letter dated August 31, 2000, the Petitioners were informed that 
neither of these issues met the criteria for review under 10 CFR 2.206, 
and indicated the basis for that determination.
    In the June 29, 2000, letter, the Petitioners stated that 10 CFR 
Part 50, Appendix E requires each licensee at each site to conduct a 
full participation biennial exercise. Since the two nuclear units at 
the Indian Point site are owned by different licensees, the Petitioners 
stated that the regulations would require

[[Page 60988]]

each licensee to conduct a full-participation exercise every 2 years. 
This issue was accepted for review under 10 CFR 2.206, as stated in a 
letter dated August 31, 2000.
    The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has 
addressed the technical concerns provided by the Petitioner. The 
licensee prepared and submitted to the NRC for staff review an 
extensive operational assessment. However, since the licensee 
voluntarily made the decision to replace the IP2 steam generators prior 
to plant restart, there was no need to complete a review of the ConEd 
report for the purpose of determining whether the plant could restart 
and operate with the existing steam generators. Therefore, the intent 
of this part of the Petition was, in effect, granted. The NRC and 
Federal Emergency Management Agency have concluded that the onsite and 
offsite emergency plans for IP2, including the provisions for potassium 
iodide, provide reasonable assurance that appropriate protective 
measures can be taken to protect the health and safety of the public in 
the event of a radiological emergency at the site. Therefore, there is 
no basis to order the licensee to take additional measures to 
distribute or stockpile potassium iodide tablets in the vicinity of 
IP2. Finally, the NRC staff has determined that the full-participation 
exercise conducted by IP2 on June 24, 1998, met the biennial 
requirement for both onsite and offsite participation. Therefore, these 
two requests are not granted. The complete explanation of the staff's 
conclusions is contained in the ``Director's Decision Pursuant to 10 
CFR 2.206'' (DD-00-04).
    The complete text of the Director's Decision is available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at 
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland, and will be accessible electronically from the agencywide 
documents access and management system (ADAMS) public library component 
on the NRC web site, http://www.nrc.gov (the electronic reading room).
    A copy of the Decision will be filed with the Secretary of the 
Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.206(c) of the Commission's regulations. As provided for by this 
regulation, the Decision will constitute the final action of the 
Commission 25 days after the date of issuance of the Decision unless 
the Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the Decision 
within that time.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of October 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-26338 Filed 10-12-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P