[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5882-5884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1807]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No.: 070-3103]


Notice of Consideration of Approval of Application Regarding 
Proposed Corporate Restructuring for Louisiana Energy Services National 
Enrichment Facility In Lea County, New Mexico, and Conforming 
Amendment, and Opportunity To Provide Comments and Request a Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of application for approval of an indirect license 
transfer, and opportunity to request a hearing and provide written 
comments.

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DATES: A request for a hearing must be filed by February 20, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy C. Johnson, Sr. Project 
Manager, Enrichment and Conversion Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle 
Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. 
Telephone: (301) 492-3121; Fax number: (301) 492-3359; e-mail: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0773646d4769756429606871"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8ffbece5cfe1fdeca1e8e0f9">[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 an indirect transfer of 
control regarding Special Nuclear Material License No. SNM-2010. This 
license was issued on June 23, 2006, to Louisiana Energy Services, L.P. 
(the Licensee), for its National Enrichment Facility (NEF), located in 
Lea County, New Mexico. The license authorizes the Licensee to 
construct and operate a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility.
    The application now being considered is dated October 19, 2007. The 
Licensee proposes to (1) restructure itself from a Limited Partnership 
(LP) to a Limited Liability Company (LLC); and (2) reorganize the 
ownership arrangement of Urenco Deelnemingen BV (UDE), a current 
limited partner of the Licensee. No physical changes to the NEF or 
operational changes are being proposed. An NRC administrative review, 
documented in an e-mail sent to the Licensee on November 7, 2007, 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 to Louisiana Energy Services, L.P., in the license with 
references to Louisiana Energy Services, L.L.C.
    Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 
section 70.36, no license granted under 10 CFR part 70, and no right 
thereunder to use special nuclear material, shall be transferred, 
assigned, or in any manner disposed of, 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 Atomic Energy Act (AEA), and gives its consent in 
writing. The Commission will approve an application for the indirect 
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 October 19 application is granted, the license would be 
amended to reflect the Licensee's new status as an LLC, and UDE's 
reorganized ownership. Before such a 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. 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 the NRC 
E-filing rule, which the NRC promulgated in August 2007 (72 FR 49139; 
August 28, 2007). 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#ca828f8b9883848d8e8589818f9e8a849889e48d859c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4109040013080f06050e020a0415010f13026f060e17">[email protected]</span></a>, or by

[[Page 5883]]

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(tm) to 
access the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-
Filing system. The Workplace Forms Viewer(tm) 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, 
had a docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it 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 technical help line, 
which is available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday. The help line number is (800) 397-4209, or 
locally (301) 415-4737.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file a motion, 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.
    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 February 20, 2008.
    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 requester;
    2. The nature of the requester's right under the Act 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:
    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 available at the time 
the petition is to be filed, such as the application, supporting safety 
analysis

[[Page 5884]]

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 ten 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

    Within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice, persons 
may submit written comments regarding the license transfer application, 
as provided for in 10 CFR 2.1305. 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.
    For further details with respect to this license transfer 
application, see the application dated October 19, 2007, 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 Agency Wide 
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. 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#71011503311f03125f161e07"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8afaeef8cae4f8e9a4ede5fc">[email protected]</span></a>.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 24th day of January, 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Smith,
Chief, Enrichment and Conversion Branch, Fuel Facility Licensing 
Directorate, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E8-1807 Filed 1-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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