4478 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 15 / Monday, January 26, 2009 / Notices 

1Since the Application was filed, the NRC has 

approved the transfer of operating authority over 

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 

and 2, from Nuclear Management Company, LLC 

(NMC) to Northern States Power Company. Order 

Approving Transfer of License and Conforming 

Amendment (Sept. 15, 2008) (ADAMS Accession 

No. ML082521182). 

2Application for Renewed Operating Licenses 

(Apr. 2008) (ADAMS Accession No. ML081130673). 

3 73 FR 34,335 (June 17, 2008). 

4Prairie Island Indian Community Notice of 

Intent to Participate and Petition to Intervene (Aug. 

18, 2008). 

5See Tr. at 1–162. 

6Northern States Power Co. (Prairie Island 

Nuclear Generating Plant), LBP–08–26, 68 

NRCl(Dec. 5, 2008). 

7 Idl. at (slip op. at 61); see also 10 CFR 2.1200– 

.1213. 

8 10 CFR 2.331. 

9 Id. § 2.329. 

10 Id. § 2.1207. 

The Licensing Boards, which shall 

also be referred to as Construction 

Authorization Boards (CABs), are 

comprised of the following 

Administrative Judges: 

CAB 01 

William J. Froehlich, Chair, Atomic 

Safety and Licensing Board Panel, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001. 

Thomas S. Moore, Atomic Safety and 

Licensing Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001. 

Richard E. Wardwell, Atomic Safety and 

Licensing Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001. 

CAB 02 

Michael M. Gibson, Chair, Atomic 

Safety and Licensing Board Panel, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001. 

Lawrence G. McDade, Atomic Safety 

and Licensing Board Panel, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001. 

Nicholas G. Trikouros, Atomic Safety 

and Licensing Board Panel, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001. 

CAB 03 

Paul S. Ryerson, Chair, Atomic Safety 

and Licensing Board Panel, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001. 

Michael C. Farrar, Atomic Safety and 

Licensing Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001. 

Mark O. Barnett, Atomic Safety and 

Licensing Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001. 

The allocation among the CABs of the 

Petitions to Intervene and/or the 

proffered contentions, as well as the 

Requests to Participate, will be 

announced at a later date. Until further 

order, all pleadings, correspondence, 

documents, and other materials shall be 

filed with all three CABs in accordance 

with 10 CFR 2.1013(c). 

Issued at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th 

day of January 2009. 

E. Roy Hawkens, 

Chief Administrative Judge, Atomic Safety 

and Licensing Board Panel. 

[FR Doc. E9–1577 Filed 1–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 50–282–LR and 50–306–LR; 

ASLBP No. 08–871–01–LR] 

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board; 

Before Administrative Judges: William 

J. Froehlich, Chairman, Dr. Gary S. 

Arnold, Dr. Thomas J. Hirons; In the 

Matter of: Northern States Power Co. 

(Formerly Nuclear Management 

Company, LLC) (Prairie Island Nuclear 

Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2); 

Notice of Hearing (Application for 20- 

Year License Renewal) 

January 16, 2009. 

This proceeding concerns the 

application filed April 11, 2008 by 

Nuclear Management Company, LLC1 to 

renew Operating License Nos. DPR–042 

and DPR–060 for the Prairie Island 

Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP), Units 

1 and 2, for an additional 20 years.2 The 

PINGP is located near the city of Red 

Wing, in Goodhue County, Minnesota. 

The current licenses expire on August 9, 

2013 for Unit 1 and on October 29, 2014 

for Unit 2. 

On June 17, 2008, the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission (NRC or 

Commission) published a notice of 

opportunity for hearing regarding this 

license renewal application 

(Application or LRA).3 The hearing 

notice permitted any person whose 

interest might be affected by the license 

renewal to file a request for hearing and 

petition for leave to intervene within 60 

days of the hearing notice. On August 

18, 2008, PIIC filed a petition to 

intervene containing eleven proposed 

contentions and requesting an 

adjudicatory hearing.4 The Board heard 

oral arguments on Petitioner’s standing 

and contentions as well as on a motion 

to strike on October 29, 2008 in 

Hastings, Minnesota.5

On December 5, 2008, the Licensing 

Board issued a Memorandum and 

Order,6 which granted PIIC party status 

and admitted seven contentions. The 

admitted contentions are as follows: 

1. Contention 1—The ER in the LRA 

does not provide an adequate analysis of 

historical and archaeological resources 

that may be affected by the proposed 

license renewal. The LRA does not 

include information concerning pitfalls 

that could adversely affect the plan to 

avoid damage to Historical and 

Archaeological Resources. 

2. Contention 2—The SAMA analysis 

in the LRA does not accurately reflect 

the site restoration costs for the area 

surrounding the PINGP, including the 

PIIC and its associated Treasure Island 

complex. The Site Restoration Study 

methodology should be used to develop 

more appropriate input for the analysis. 

3. Contention 5—Applicant’s 

environmental report contains a 

seriously flawed environmental justice 

analysis that does not adequately assess 

the impacts of the PINGP on the 

adjacent minority population. 

4. Contention 6—The LRA does not 

include an adequate plan to monitor 

and manage the effects of aging for 

containment coatings, whose integrity is 

directly related to plant safety and the 

performance of the emergency core 

cooling systems. 

5. Contention 7—The LRA does not 

contain an adequate plan to monitor and 

manage the effects of aging due to 

embrittlement of the reactor vessel 

internals. 

6. Contention 8—Section B2.1.27 of 

the LRA does not contain an adequate 

plan to monitor the effects of primary 

water stress corrosion cracking of 

nickel-alloy components. 

7. Contention 11—The LRA fails to 

supply sufficient details of the aging 

management program for flow 

accelerated corrosion to demonstrate 

that its effects will be adequately 

managed. 

The Board also ruled that the 

procedures of Subpart L shall be used 

for these admitted contentions.7 On 

December 15, 2008, Northern States 

Power Company (Applicant) filed a 

motion for reconsideration of LBP–08– 

26 regarding Contention 5 or in the 

alternative, for referral to the 

Commission. The Board denied this 

motion on January 16, 2009. 

In light of the foregoing, please take 

notice that a hearing will be conducted 

in this proceeding. The Board may 

conduct an oral argument,8 may hold 

pre-hearing conferences,9 and may 

conduct evidentiary hearings.10 In that 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 15 / Monday, January 26, 2009 / Notices 4479 

11 Id. § 2.332; see also 10 CFR Part 2, App. B (II) 

(Model Milestones for Hearings Conducted under 

10 CFR Part 2, Subpart L). 

12 10 CFR 2.328. 

13 5 U.S.C. 571–584. 

14Public Law No. 104–320, § 4(a), 110 Stat. 3871 

(1996). 

15See 10 CFR 2.338(b). 

16Copies of this order were sent this date by the 

agency’s E-Filing system to counsel for (1) 

Applicant, Northern States Power Company, (2) 

Petitioner, Prairie Island Indian Community, and (3) 

NRC Staff. 

regard, the parties to this proceeding 

will be contacted in the near future by 

the Board’s law clerk for purposes of 

setting up a scheduling conference.11

The public is invited to attend any oral 

argument, pre-hearing conference, or 

evidentiary hearing unless otherwise 

ordered by the Commission.12 Notices 

of these sessions will be published in 

the Federal Register and/or made 

available to the public at the NRC Public 

Document Room, located at One White 

Flint, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 

Rockville, Maryland, and through the 

NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov. 

The Administrative Dispute 

Resolution Act of 1996 (ADR Act) 13

encourages the use of alternative 

dispute resolution by Federal 

agencies.14 The parties are encouraged 

to explore voluntary processes, 

including settlement talks with or 

without a neutral, to resolve the issues 

in this case. Upon request, a settlement 

judge from the ASLBP could be 

appointed.15

Additionally, as provided in 10 CFR 

2.315(a), any person not a party to the 

proceeding may submit a written 

limited appearance statement setting 

forth his or her position on the issues in 

this proceeding. These statements do 

not constitute evidence but may assist 

the Board and/or parties in defining the 

issues being considered. Persons 

wishing to submit a written limited 

appearance statement should send it by 

mail to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention: 

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. A 

copy of the statement should also be 

served on the Chairman of this Atomic 

Safety and Licensing Board by mail to 

the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 

Panel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001. At a later date, the Board may 

entertain oral limited appearance 

statements at a location or locations in 

the vicinity of the Prairie Island facility. 

Notice of any oral limited appearance 

sessions will be published in the 

Federal Register and/or made available 

to the public at the NRC Public 

Document Room and on the NRC Web 

site, http://www.nrc.gov. 

Documents relating to this proceeding 

are available for public inspection at the 

NRC’s Public Document Room or 

electronically from the publicly 

available records component of NRC’s 

document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is 

accessible from the NRC Web site at 

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 may contact the NRC 

Public Document Room reference staff 

by telephone at 1–800–397–4209 or 

301–415–4737, or by e-mail to 

pdr@nrc.gov. 

Rockville, Maryland, January 16, 2009. 

It is so ordered. 

For the Atomic Safety and Licensing 

Board 16

William J. Froehlich, 

Chairman Administrative Judge. 

[FR Doc. E9–1578 Filed 1–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 50–362; NRC–2009–0023] 

Southern California Edison Company; 

San Onofre Nuclear Generating 

Station, Unit 3; Exemption 

1.0 Background 

Southern California Edison Company 

(SCE, the licensee) is the holder of 

Facility Operating License No. NPF–15, 

which authorizes operation of San 

Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 

3 (SONGS 3). The license provides, 

among other things, that the facility is 

subject to all rules, regulations, and 

orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC, the Commission) 

now or hereafter in effect. 

The facility consists of a pressurizedwater reactor located in San Diego 

County, California. 

2.0 Request/Action 

Title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (10 CFR), Part 74, Section 

74.19(c), requires that each licensee who 

is authorized to possess special nuclear 

material (SNM), at any one time and site 

location, in a quantity greater than 350 

grams of contained uranium-235, 

uranium-233, or plutonium, or any 

combination thereof, shall conduct a 

physical inventory of all SNM in its 

possession under license at intervals not 

to exceed 12 months. 

By application dated January 14, 

2008, the licensee requested an 

exemption from certain requirements in 

Section 74.19(c) for SONGS 3. The 

exemption would allow SCE not to 

perform the physical inventory for 12 

irradiated fission chambers removed 

from SONGS 3 that are stored in the 

plant. 

3.0 Discussion 

Pursuant to 10 CFR 74.7, the 

Commission may, upon application of 

any interested person or upon its own 

initiative, grant such exemptions from 

the requirements of the regulations in 

this part, when (1) the exemptions are 

authorized by law, will not present 

undue risk to public health and safety, 

and, will not endanger life or property 

or the common defense and security, 

and (2) when special circumstances are 

present. These special circumstances 

include actions to maintain exposures to 

radiation as low as is reasonably 

achievable (ALARA). 

Authorized by Law 

This exemption would exempt the 

licensee from the requirements of 10 

CFR 74.19(c) for the physical inventory 

requirements of 12 irradiated fission 

chambers removed from SONGS 3 in 

1995 and in storage. As stated above, 10 

CFR 74.7 allows the NRC to grant 

exemptions from the requirements of 10 

CFR part 74. The NRC staff has 

determined that granting of the 

licensee’s proposed exemption will not 

result in a violation of the Atomic 

Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the 

Commission’s regulations. Therefore, 

the exemption is authorized by law. 

No Undue Risk to Public Health and 

Safety 

The underlying purposes of 10 CFR 

74.19 is for licensees to conduct a 

physical inventory of special nuclear 

material in its possession at periodic 

intervals and to retain records 

associated with each physical inventory. 

No changes in the physical or 

administrative controls are associated 

with the special nuclear materials 

related to this request. The licensee will 

continue to conduct an annual 

inventory of the 12 fission chambers by 

visual verification to confirm that the 

high integrity container (HIC), where the 

12 fission chambers are stored, remains 

in its storage location and the container 

is structurally intact. In addition, the 

visual inventory will be augmented to 

include verification that the tamperindicating device installed in November 

2007 on the HIC has not been disturbed. 

Based on the above, no new accident 

precursors are created with the 

exemption from this requirement. Thus, 

the probability of postulated accidents 

is not increased. Also, based on the 

above, the consequences of postulated