[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 78 (Friday, April 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18749-18751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9405]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos.: 70-7003, 70-7004]


USEC, Inc.; American Centrifuge Plant; American Centrifuge Lead 
Cascade Facility; Notice of Receipt of a License Transfer Application 
and Consideration of Approval of Application Regarding Proposed 
Corporate Restructuring and Conforming Amendment and Opportunity To 
Provide Comments and Request a Hearing; [NRC-2009-0177]

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of request for written consent to transfer control of 
materials license and opportunity to request a hearing and provide 
written comments.

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DATES: A request for a hearing must be filed by May 14, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Osiris Siurano, Project Manager, 
Uranium Enrichment Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and 
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 492-3117; 
Fax number: (301) 492-3359; e-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b4fbc7ddc6ddc79ae7ddc1c6d5dadb99e4d1c6d1cef4dac6d79ad3dbc2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="450a362c372c366b162c3037242b2a68152037203f052b37266b222a33">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or NRC) is 
considering an application for approval of a transfer of control 
regarding Special Nuclear Material License Nos. SNM-7003 and SNM-2011. 
These licenses were issued on February 24, 2004, and April 13, 2007, 
respectively, to USEC Inc., (the Licensee), for its American Centrifuge 
Lead Cascade Facility (LCF) and American Centrifuge Plant (ACP), both 
located at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Piketon, 
Ohio. The licenses authorize the Licensee to:
    (1) possess and use source and special nuclear material at the LCF; 
and,
    (2) construct and operate a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment 
facility, the ACP.
    The application now being considered is dated February 10, 2009. 
The Licensee proposes to modify its existing corporate structure and 
has established a subsidiary limited liability corporation, American 
Centrifuge Holdings, LLC. American Centrifuge Holding, LLC consists of 
three additional subsidiaries: American Centrifuge Technology, LLC, 
American Centrifuge Enrichment, LLC, and American Centrifuge Operating, 
LLC. The Licensee requests NRC consent to transfer control of License 
Nos. SNM-7003 and SNM-2011 from USEC Inc. to the subsidiary limited 
liability company, American Centrifuge Operating, LLC. In addition, the 
Licensee requests NRC approval of changes to the LCF and the ACP 
Material Licenses, License Applications, and Security Program documents 
to reflect the changes in the Licensee's corporate structure. No 
physical or operational changes to the LCF or the ACP are being 
proposed. An NRC administrative review, documented in an e-mail sent to 
the Licensee on March 27, 2009, (ADAMS accession number ML090860886), 
found the application acceptable to begin a more detailed technical 
review. If the application is granted, the license would be amended for 
administrative purposes to reflect the transfer, by replacing 
references in the license to USEC Inc., with references to American 
Centrifuge Operating, LLC.
    Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
Section 2.1301, the Commission is noticing in the Federal Register the 
receipt of the application for approval of the transfer of SNM-7003 and 
SNM-2001 because they involve major fuel cycle facilities licensed 
under 10 CFR part 70. The NRC is considering the issuance of an order 
in accordance with 10 CFR 70.36, authorizing the transfer of control 
from USEC, Inc. to American Centrifuge Operating, LLC. Pursuant to 10 
CFR 70.36, no license granted under 10 CFR part 70, and no right 
thereunder to possess or utilize special nuclear material granted by 
any license issued pursuant to the regulations in this part, shall be 
transferred, assigned, or in any manner disposed of, either voluntary 
or involuntary, directly or indirectly, through transfer of control of 
any license to any person unless the Commission shall, after securing 
full information, find that the transfer is in accordance with the 
provisions of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), and gives its consent in 
writing. The Commission will approve an application for the transfer of 
a license, if the Commission determines that the proposed restructuring 
and reorganization will not affect the qualifications of the Licensee 
to hold the license, and that the transfer is otherwise consistent with 
applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the 
Commission pursuant thereto.
    If the February 10, 2009, application is granted, the licenses 
would be amended to reflect the Licensee's new status as an LLC and 
USEC Inc.'s reorganized ownership. Before such a

[[Page 18750]]

license amendment is issued, the NRC will have made the findings 
required by the AEA and NRC's regulations. These findings will be 
documented in a Safety Evaluation Report (SER). An Environmental 
Assessment (EA) will not be performed because, pursuant to 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(21), license transfer approvals and associated license 
amendments are categorically excluded from the requirement to perform 
an EA.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing

    Within 20 days from the date of publication of this notice, any 
person(s) whose interest may be affected, and who desires to 
participate as a party, must file a request for a hearing. The hearing 
request must include a specification of the contentions that the person 
seeks to have litigated in the hearing, and must be filed in accordance 
with the NRC E-filing rule, which the NRC promulgated on August 28, 
2007 (72 FR 49139). The E-Filing rule requires participants to submit 
and serve 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 a waiver in accordance with the 
procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 
five (5) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/requestor 
must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#377f7276657e79707378747c72637779657419707861"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="09414c485b40474e4d464a424c5d49475b4a274e465f">[email protected]</span></a>, or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request: (1) A 
digital identification (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/or (2) creation of an electronic docket for the 
proceeding (even in instances in which the petitioner/requestor (or its 
counsel or representative) already holds an NRC-issued digital ID 
certificate). Each petitioner/requestor will need to download the 
Workplace Forms Viewer<SUP>TM</SUP> to access the Electronic 
Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-Filing system. The 
Workplace Forms Viewer<SUP>TM</SUP> is free and is available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. 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.
    Once a petitioner/requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, 
confirms that a docket has been created, and downloads the EIE viewer, 
he or she 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 filer submits its documents through EIE. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the EIE 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 
EIE 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 may seek assistance through the 
``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, or by calling the NRC electronic filing 
Help Desk, which is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday. The electronic filing Help Desk can be contacted 
by telephone at 1-866-672-7640 or by e-mail at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a4e9f7ece08af6c1d7cbd1d6c7c1e4cad6c78ac3cbd2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c312f3438522e190f13090e1f193c120e1f521b130a">[email protected]</span></a>.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must, in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.302(g), file a motion 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.
    Non-timely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition 
and/or request should be granted and/or the contentions should be 
admitted based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 
2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). To be timely, filings must be submitted no later 
than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.
    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, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or 
a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include Social 
Security numbers in their filings. 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 formal requirements for documents contained in 10 CFR 2.304(c)-
(e) must be met. If the NRC grants an electronic document exemption in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g)(3), then the requirements for paper 
documents, set forth in 10 CFR 2.304(b) must be met. In accordance with 
10 CFR 2.309(b), a request for a hearing must be filed by May 14, 2009.
    In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR 
2.309, a request for a hearing filed by a person other than an 
applicant must state:
    1. The name, address, and telephone number of the requestor;
    2. The nature of the requester's right under the AEA to be made a 
party to the proceeding;
    3. The nature and extent of the requester's property, financial or 
other interest in the proceeding;
    4. The possible effect of any decision or order that may be issued 
in the proceeding on the requester's interest; and
    5. The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing is 
timely in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b).
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(1), a request for hearing or 
petitions for leave to intervene must set forth with particularity the 
contentions sought to be raised. For each contention, the request or 
petition must:

[[Page 18751]]

    1. Provide a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be 
raised or controverted;
    2. Provide a brief explanation of the basis for the contention;
    3. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is within 
the scope of the proceeding;
    4. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is material 
to the findings that the NRC must make to support the action that is 
involved in the proceeding;
    5. Provide a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert 
opinions, which support the requester's/petitioner's position on the 
issue and on which the requester/petitioner intends to rely to support 
its position on the issue; and
    6. Provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute 
exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact. This 
information must include references to specific portions of the 
application (including the applicant's environmental report and safety 
report) that the requester/petitioner disputes and the supporting 
reasons for each dispute, or, if the requester/petitioner believes the 
application fails to contain information on a relevant matter as 
required by law, the identification of each failure and the supporting 
reasons for the requester's/petitioner's belief.
    In addition, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(2), contentions 
must be based on documents or other information filed by the applicant 
or otherwise available to the petitioner at the time the petition is to 
be filed, such as the application, supporting safety analysis report, 
environmental report or other supporting document filed by an applicant 
or licensee, or otherwise available to the petitioner. On issues 
arising under the National Environmental Policy Act, the requester/
petitioner shall file contentions based on the applicant's 
environmental report. The requester/petitioner may amend those 
contentions or file new contentions if there are data or conclusions in 
the NRC draft, or final environmental impact statement, environmental 
assessment, or any supplements relating thereto, that differ 
significantly from the data or conclusions in the applicant's 
documents. Otherwise, contentions may be amended or new contentions 
filed after the initial filing only with leave of the presiding 
officer.
    Each contention shall be given a separate numeric or alpha 
designation within one of the following groups:
    1. Technical--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Safety Evaluation Report for the 
proposed action.
    2. Environmental--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Environmental Report for the proposed 
action.
    3. Emergency Planning--primarily concerns issues relating to 
matters discussed or referenced in the Emergency Plan as it relates to 
the proposed action.
    4. Physical Security--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Physical Security Plan as it relates to 
the proposed action.
    5. Miscellaneous--does not fall into one of the categories outlined 
above.
    If the requester/petitioner believes a contention raises issues 
that cannot be classified as primarily falling into one of these 
categories, the requester/petitioner must set forth the contention and 
supporting bases, in full, separately for each category into which the 
requester/petitioner asserts the contention belongs with a separate 
designation for that category.
    Requesters/petitioners should, when possible, consult with each 
other in preparing contentions and combine similar subject matter 
concerns into a joint contention, for which one of the co-sponsoring 
requesters/petitioners is designated the lead representative. Further, 
in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(3), any requester/petitioner that 
wishes to adopt a contention proposed by another requester/petitioner 
must do so, in accordance with the E-Filing rule, within 10 days of the 
date the contention is filed, and designate a representative who shall 
have the authority to act for the requester/petitioner.
    As indicated below, pursuant to 10 CFR 2.310(g), any hearing would 
be subject to the procedures set forth in 10 CFR part 2, subpart M.

III. Opportunity To Provide Written Comments

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.1305, as an alternative to requests for 
hearings and petitions to intervene, within 30 days from the date of 
publication of this notice, persons may submit written comments 
regarding the license transfer application. The Commission will 
consider and, if appropriate, respond to these comments, but such 
comments will not otherwise constitute part of the decisional record. 
Comments should be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff, and should cite the publication date and page 
number of this Federal Register notice. Comments received after 30 days 
will be considered if practicable to do so, but only those comments 
received on or before the due date can be assured consideration.

IV. Further Information

    For further details with respect to this license transfer 
application, see the application dated February 10, 2009, available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly-available 
records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room 
on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The ADAMS accession numbers for the license transfer 
application are as follows: Incoming Request--ML090850065; Enclosure 
1--ML090850083; Enclosure 2--Sensitive-Proprietary, Non Publically 
Available; Enclosure 3--ML090850095; and, Enclosure 4--ML090850098. 
Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR 
Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737 or by 
e-mail to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1d1c5d38fd3c4d2ced4d3c2c4e1cfd3c28fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0d7d697f237f687e62787f6e684d637f6e236a627b">[email protected]</span></a>.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of April 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Smith,
Chief, Uranium Enrichment Branch, Fuel Facility Licensing Directorate, 
Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E9-9405 Filed 4-23-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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