Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 78 / Friday, April 21, 2000 / Notices 21487

filed in accordance with the

Commission’s ‘‘Rules of Practice for

Domestic Licensing Proceedings’’ in 10

CFR Part 2. Interested persons should

consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.714

which is available at the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, and accessible

electronically through the ADAMS

Public Electronic Reading Room link at

the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov).

If a request for a hearing or petition for

leave to intervene is filed by the above

date, the Commission or an Atomic

Safety and Licensing Board, designated

by the Commission or by the Chairman

of the Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board Panel, will rule on the request

and/or petition; and the Secretary or the

designated Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board will issue a notice of hearing or

an appropriate order.

As required by 10 CFR 2.714, 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

should 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 Act to be

made 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 which may be

entered in the proceeding on the

petitioner’s interest. The petition should

also identify the specific aspect(s) of the

subject matter of the proceeding as to

which petitioner wishes to intervene.

Any person who has filed a petition for

leave to intervene or who has been

admitted as a party may amend the

petition without requesting leave of the

Board up to 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, but such an amended

petition must satisfy the specificity

requirements described above.

Not later than 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, a petitioner shall file a

supplement to the petition to intervene

which must include a list of the

contentions which are sought to be

litigated in the matter. Each contention

must consist of a specific statement of

the issue of law or fact to be raised or

controverted. In addition, the petitioner

shall provide a brief explanation of the

bases of the contention and a concise

statement of the alleged facts or expert

opinion which support the contention

and on which the petitioner intends to

rely in proving the contention at the

hearing. The petitioner must also

provide references to those specific

sources and documents of which the

petitioner is aware and on which the

petitioner intends to rely to establish

those facts or expert opinion. Petitioner

must provide sufficient information to

show that a genuine dispute exists with

the applicant on a material issue of law

or fact. Contentions shall be limited to

matters within the scope of the

amendment under consideration. The

contention must be one which, if

proven, would entitle the petitioner to

relief. A petitioner who fails to file such

a supplement which satisfies these

requirements with respect to at least one

contention will not be permitted to

participate as a party.

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, including the opportunity to

present evidence and cross-examine

witnesses.

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.

A request for a hearing or a petition

for leave to intervene must be filed with

the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention:

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, or

may be delivered to the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, by the above date. A

copy of the petition should also be sent

to the Office of the General Counsel,

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, and to Ms.

L. M. Cuoco, Senior Nuclear Counsel,

Northeast Utilities Service Company,

P.O. Box 270, Hartford, CT 06141–0270,

attorney for the licensee.

Nontimely filings of petitions for

leave to intervene, amended petitions,

supplemental petitions and/or requests

for hearing will not be entertained

absent a determination by the

Commission, the presiding officer or the

presiding Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board that the petition and/or request

should be granted based upon a

balancing of the factors specified in 10

CFR 2.714(a)(1)(i)–(v) and 2.714(d).

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated April 12, 2000, which

is available for public inspection at the

Commission’s Public Document Room,

the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street,

NW., Washington, DC, and accessible

electronically through the ADAMS

Public Electronic Reading Room link at

the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day

of April 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Jacob I. Zimmerman,

Project Manager, Section 2, Project

Directorate, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–9962 Filed 4–20–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[DOCKET NO. 50–388]

PP&L, Inc. Notice of Issuance of

Amendment to Facility Operating

License, Proposed No Significant

Hazards Consideration Determination,

and Opportunity for a Hearing

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) is

considering issuance of an amendment

to Facility Operating License No. NPF–

22, issued to PP&L, Inc. (the licensee),

for operation of the Susquehanna Steam

Electric Station (SSES), Unit 2, located

in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

The proposed amendment would

revise Technical Specification (TS)

surveillance requirement (SR) 3.6.1.1.1,

which specifies requirements for

containment leakage rate testing.

Specifically, the proposed amendment

would permit deferral of testing of

flange o-rings on primary containment

penetration spectacle flanges 2S299A

and 2S299B until the Unit 2 10th

refueling outage, scheduled for spring

2001 or a prior Unit 2 outage requiring

entry into Mode 4.

Exigent circumstances exist which

cause the Commission to act promptly

upon the proposed amendment request.

The licensee identified on April 7, 2000,

that the previous leakage rate test of

spectacle flange o-rings on 2S299A and

2S299B may not have been valid.

The licensee requested in a letter and

telephone call on April 8, 2000, that the

21488 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 78 / Friday, April 21, 2000 / Notices

Commission grant enforcement

discretion to permit continued plant

operation until a TS change request

could be processed. The licensee stated

that a third o-ring erroneously installed

in a channel of the flange intended to

facilitate leakage rate testing may

restrict the ability to adequately test the

pressure retaining ability of the

spectacle flange to pipe flange interface.

The licensee stated that the presence of

the third o-ring does not affect the

pressure retaining ability of the

spectacle flange to pipe flange interface.

During the phone call, and in a

subsequent letter dated April 10, 2000,

the Commission noted its intention to

exercise enforcement discretion for the

period of time necessary to process a

license amendment to change the TSs .

Guidance provided in NRC

Administrative Letter 95–05, Revision 1,

‘‘Revisions to Staff Guidance for

Implementing NRC Policy on Notices of

Enforcement Discretion,’’ dated

February 19, 1999, states that a written

request for a notice of enforcement

discretion should be followed within 48

hours by a request for an exigent license

amendment. Thus, the licensee’s

application for amendment, dated April

10, 2000, is in response to the invalid

leakage rate test of the spectacle flange

o-rings and to the Commission’s actions

in granting enforcement discretion.

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.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6) for

amendments to be granted under

exigent circumstances, the NRC staff

must determine that the amendment

request involves no significant hazards

consideration. Under the Commission’s

regulations in 10 CFR 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:

This proposal does not involve a

significant increase in the probability or

consequences of an accident previously

evaluated.

The presence of the third o-ring does not

degrade and may improve the pressure

retaining capability of the pipe flange to

spectacle flange interface. The leakage

through the subject lines is not adversely

affected by the existence of the third o-ring;

therefore the probability of any accident

previously evaluated is not significantly

increased. The o-rings are passive

components and have no active safety

function. Similarly, the potential

consequences of an accident previously

evaluated are not significantly increased by

the existence of the third o-ring, since the

pressure retaining capability of the pipe

flange to spectacle flange interface is not

degraded.

This proposal does not create the

possibility of a new or different type of

accident from any previously evaluated.

Since the pressure retaining capability of

the pipe flange to spectacle flange interface

is not affected by the existence of the third

o-ring as discussed above, the proposed

change does not create a new or different

type of accident from any previously

evaluated.

This change does not involve a significant

reduction in a margin of safety.

Since the pressure retaining capability of

the pipe flange to spectacle flange interface

is not affected by the existence of the third

o-ring, the proposed change does not involve

a significant reduction in a margin of safety.

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 14 days after the date of

publication of this notice will be

considered in making any final

determination.

Normally, the Commission will not

issue the amendment until the

expiration of the 14-day notice period.

However, should circumstances change

during the notice period, such that

failure to act in a timely way would

result, for example, in derating or

shutdown of the facility, the

Commission may issue the license

amendment before the expiration of the

14-day notice period, provided that its

final determination is that the

amendment involves no significant

hazards consideration. The final

determination will consider all public

and State comments received. Should

the Commission take this action, it will

publish in the Federal Register a notice

of issuance. The Commission expects

that the need to take this action will

occur very infrequently.

Written comments may be submitted

by mail to the Chief, Rules and

Directives Branch, Division of

Administrative Services, Office of

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, and should cite the publication

date and page number of this Federal

Register notice. Written comments may

also be delivered to Room 6D59, Two

White Flint North, 11545 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30

a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays.

Copies of written comments received

may be examined at the NRC Public

Document Room, the Gelman Building,

2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC.

The filing of requests for hearing and

petitions for leave to intervene is

discussed below.

By May 5, 2000, the licensee may file

a request for a hearing with respect to

issuance of the amendment to the

subject facility operating license and

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 request

for a hearing and a petition for leave to

intervene. Requests for a hearing and a

petition for leave to intervene shall be

filed in accordance with the

Commission’s ‘‘Rules of Practice for

Domestic Licensing Proceedings’’ in 10

CFR Part 2. Interested persons should

consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.714

which is available at the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, and accessible

electronically through the ADAMS

Public Electronic Reading Room link at

the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov).

If a request for a hearing or petition for

leave to intervene is filed by the above

date, the Commission or an Atomic

Safety and Licensing Board, designated

by the Commission or by the Chairman

of the Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board Panel, will rule on the request

and/or petition; and the Secretary or the

designated Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board will issue a notice of hearing or

an appropriate order.

As required by 10 CFR 2.714, 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

should 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 Act 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 which may be

entered in the proceeding on the

petitioner’s interest. The petition should

also identify the specific aspect(s) of the

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 78 / Friday, April 21, 2000 / Notices 21489

subject matter of the proceeding as to

which petitioner wishes to intervene.

Any person who has filed a petition for

leave to intervene or who has been

admitted as a party may amend the

petition without requesting leave of the

Board up to 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, but such an amended

petition must satisfy the specificity

requirements described above.

Not later than 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, a petitioner shall file a

supplement to the petition to intervene

which must include a list of the

contentions which are sought to be

litigated in the matter. Each contention

must consist of a specific statement of

the issue of law or fact to be raised or

controverted. In addition, the petitioner

shall provide a brief explanation of the

bases of the contention and a concise

statement of the alleged facts or expert

opinion which support the contention

and on which the petitioner intends to

rely in proving the contention at the

hearing. The petitioner must also

provide references to those specific

sources and documents of which the

petitioner is aware and on which the

petitioner intends to rely to establish

those facts or expert opinion. Petitioner

must provide sufficient information to

show that a genuine dispute exists with

the applicant on a material issue of law

or fact. Contentions shall be limited to

matters within the scope of the

amendment under consideration. The

contention must be one which, if

proven, would entitle the petitioner to

relief. A petitioner who fails to file such

a supplement which satisfies these

requirements with respect to at least one

contention will not be permitted to

participate as a party.

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, including the opportunity to

present evidence and cross-examine

witnesses.

If the amendment is issued before the

expiration of the 30-day hearing period,

the Commission will make a final

determination on the issue of no

significant hazards consideration. If a

hearing is requested, 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.

A request for a hearing or a petition

for leave to intervene must be filed with

the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention:

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, or

may be delivered to the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, by the above date. A

copy of the petition should also be sent

to the Office of the General Counsel,

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, and to

Bryan A. Snapp, Esquire, Assoc. General

Counsel, PP&L, Inc., 2 North Ninth St.,

GENTW3, Allentown, PA 18101–1179,

attorney for the licensee.

Nontimely filings of petitions for

leave to intervene, amended petitions,

supplemental petitions and/or requests

for hearing will not be entertained

absent a determination by the

Commission, the presiding officer or the

presiding Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board that the petition and/or request

should be granted based upon a

balancing of the factors specified in 10

CFR 2.714(a)(1)(i)–(v) and 2.714(d).

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated April 10, 2000, which

is available for public inspection at the

Commission’s Public Document Room,

the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street,

NW., Washington, DC, and accessible

electronically through the ADAMS

Public Electronic Reading Room link at

the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day

of April 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Robert G. Schaaf,

Project Manager, Section 1, Project

Directorate I, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–9963 Filed 4–20–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030–20563, License No. 52–

21368–01, EA 99–262]

In the Matter of Western Soil, Inc.,

Mayaguez, Puerto Rico 00681; Order

Imposing Civil Monetary Penalty

I

Western Soil, Inc. (Licensee) is the

current holder of Materials License No.

52–21368–01 originally issued by the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC

or Commission) on December 13, 1983,

to Caribbean Soil Testing Company, Inc.

On April 12, 1994, an amendment was

issued transferring the license to

Western Soil, Inc. The license expires

on April 30, 2004. The license

authorizes Western Soil, Inc. to use

sealed sources contained in portable

gauging devices for measuring

properties of materials.

II

An inspection of the Licensee’s

activities was conducted on September

28–29, 1999. The results of this

inspection indicated that the Licensee

had not conducted its activities in

compliance with NRC requirements. A

written Notice of Violation and

Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty

(Notice) was served upon the Licensee

by letter dated November 24, 1999. The

Notice states the nature of the

violations, the provisions of the NRC’s

requirements that the Licensee violated,

and the amount of the civil penalty

proposed for the violation cited in Part

I of the Notice.

The Licensee responded to the Notice

by letters dated December 20, 1999, and

February 16, 2000. In its responses, the

Licensee admits the violations in Part II

of the Notice, but contests the violation

in Part I of the Notice insofar as it stated

that the licensee failed to maintain

constant surveillance of licensed

material. The Licensee also took issue

with certain statements made in the

cover letter forwarding the Notice. In

addition, the Licensee requested that

NRC consider categorizing the violation

in Part I of the Notice as a first offense,

rather than as a recurring one.

III

After consideration of the Licensee’s

responses and the statements of fact,

explanation, and argument for

mitigation contained therein, the NRC

staff has determined, as set forth in the

Appendix to this Order, that the

violation cited in Part I of the Notice

occurred as stated and that the penalty

proposed for the violation designated in

Part I of the Notice should be imposed.