Search and Track the Federal Register
Department or Agency:
Show:
Regulations Filed: All Dates
Between and
Full Text (optional):

[Federal Register: October 23, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 204)]
[
Notices]               
[Page 54854-54856]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23oc09-80]                         

=======================================================================

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-272 and 50-311; NRC-2009-0390]

 
Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application and Notice 

of Opportunity for Hearing Regarding Renewal of Facility Operating 

License Nos. DPR-70 and DPR-75 for an Additional 20-Year Period; PSEG 

Nuclear LLC, Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 and 2

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is 

considering an application for the renewal of Operating Licenses DPR-70 

and DPR-75, which authorizes PSEG Nuclear LLC (the applicant), to 

operate the Salem Nuclear Generating Station (SALEM), Units 1 and 2, at 

3459 megawatts thermal each. The renewed license would authorize the 

applicant to operate SALEM, Units 1 and 2, for an additional 20 years 

beyond the period specified in the current license. SALEM, Units 1 and 

2, are located approximately 18 miles southeast of Wilmington, DE. The 

current operating license for SALEM, Unit 1, expires on August 13, 

2016, and the current operating license for SALEM, Unit 2, expires on 

April 18, 2020.

    PSEG Nuclear LLC submitted the application dated August 18, 2009, 

pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 54 (10 

CFR Part 54), to renew Operating License DPR-70 and DPR-75. A notice of 

receipt and availability of the license renewal application (LRA) was 

published in the Federal Register on September 8, 2009 (74 FR 46238).

    The Commission's staff has determined that PSEG Nuclear LLC has 

submitted sufficient information in accordance with 10 CFR Sections 

2.101, 54.19, 54.21, 54.22, 54.23, 51.45, and 51.53(c), to enable the 

staff to undertake a review of the application, and the application is 

therefore acceptable for

[[Page 54855]]

docketing. The current Docket Nos. 50-272 and 50-311, for Operating 

Licenses DPR-70 and DPR-75, will be retained. The determination to 

accept the LRA for docketing does not constitute a determination that a 

renewed license should be issued, and does not preclude the NRC staff 

from requesting additional information as the review proceeds.

    Before issuance of the requested renewed license, the NRC will have 

made the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (the Act), 

as amended, and the Commission's rules and regulations. In accordance 

with 10 CFR 54.29, the NRC may issue a renewed license on the basis of 

its review if it finds that actions have been identified and have been 

or will be taken with respect to: (1) Managing the effects of aging 

during the period of extended operation on the functionality of 

structures and components that have been identified as requiring aging 

management review; and (2) time-limited aging analyses that have been 

identified as requiring review, such that there is reasonable assurance 

that the activities authorized by the renewed license will continue to 

be conducted in accordance with the current licensing basis (CLB), and 

that any changes made to the plant's CLB will comply with the Act and 

the Commission's regulations.

    Additionally, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.95(c), the NRC will 

prepare an environmental impact statement that is a supplement to the 

Commission's NUREG-1437, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for 

License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated May 1996. In 

considering the LRA, the Commission must find that the applicable 

requirements of Subpart A of 10 CFR Part 51 have been satisfied, and 

that matters raised under 10 CFR 2.335 have been addressed. Pursuant to 

10 CFR 51.26, and as part of the environmental scoping process, the 

staff intends to hold public scoping meetings. Detailed information 

regarding the environmental scoping meetings will be the subject of a 

separate Federal Register notice.

    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this Federal 

Register notice, 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 with respect to the renewal of the license. Requests for a 

hearing or petitions for leave to intervene must be filed in accordance 

with the Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing 

Proceedings and Issuance of Orders'' in 10 CFR Part 2. Interested 

persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, which is 

available at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at 

One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 

Maryland 20852 and is accessible from the NRC's Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on 

the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who 

do not have access to the Internet or who encounter problems in 

accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC's PDR 

reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by 

e-mail at PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. If a request for a hearing/petition for 

leave to intervene is filed within the 60-day period, the Commission or 

a presiding officer designated by the Commission or by the Chief 

Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel 

will rule on the request and/or petition; and the Secretary or the 

Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 

Panel will issue a notice of a hearing or an appropriate order. In the 

event that no request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene 

is filed within the 60-day period, the NRC may, upon completion of its 

evaluations and upon making the findings required under 10 CFR Parts 51 

and 54, renew the license without further notice.

    As required by 10 CFR 2.309, 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, taking into consideration the limited scope of matters 

that may be considered pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 51 and 54. The petition 

must specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be 

permitted with particular reference to the following factors: (1) The 

nature of the requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a 

party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of the requestor's/

petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; 

and (3) the possible effect of any decision or order which may be 

entered in the proceeding on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The 

petition must also set forth the specific contentions which the 

petitioner/requestor seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.

    Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 

of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 

requestor/petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the bases of 

each contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or the 

expert opinion that supports the contention on which the requestor/

petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. 

The requestor/petitioner must also provide references to those specific 

sources and documents of which the requestor/petitioner is aware and on 

which the requestor/petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts 

or expert opinion. The requestor/petitioner must provide sufficient 

information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on 

a material issue of law or fact.\1\ Contentions shall be limited to 

matters within the scope of the action under consideration. The 

contention must be one that, if proven, would entitle the requestor/

petitioner to relief. A requestor/petitioner who fails to satisfy these 

requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be 

permitted to participate as a party.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ If the application contains attachments and supporting 

documents that are not publicly available because they are asserted 

to contain safeguards or proprietary information, petitioners 

desiring access to this information should contact the applicant or 

applicant's counsel to discuss the need for a protective order.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission requests that each contention be given a separate 

numeric or alpha designation within one of the following groups: (1) 

Technical (primarily related to safety concerns); (2) environmental; or 

(3) miscellaneous.

    As specified in 10 CFR 2.309, if two or more requestors/petitioners 

seek to co-sponsor a contention or propose substantially the same 

contention, the requestors/petitioners will be required to jointly 

designate a representative who shall have the authority to act for the 

requestors/petitioners with respect to that contention.

    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. A request for hearing or a petition for leave to intervene 

must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule, which the NRC 

promulgated in the Federal Register on August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49139). 

The E-Filing process 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

[[Page 54856]]

HEARINGDOCKET@NRC.GOV, or by calling 301-415-1677, to request (1) a 

digital 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 ViewerTM 

to access the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the 

E-Filing system. The Workplace Forms ViewerTM 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 using the agency's adjudicatory e-

filing system 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 Meta-System Help Desk, which is 

available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through 

Friday, excluding government holidays. The Meta-System Help Desk can be 

contacted by telephone at 1-866-672-7640 or by e-mail at 

MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov.

    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 personal 

privacy information, such as social security numbers, home addresses, 

or home phone 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.

    Detailed information about the license renewal process can be found 

under the Nuclear Reactors icon at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/

operating/licensing/renewal.html on the NRC's Web site. Copies of the 

application to renew the operating license for SALEM, Units 1 and 2, 

are available for public inspection at the Commission's PDR, located at 

One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 

Maryland 20852-2738, and at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/

licensing/renewal/applications.html, the NRC's Web site while the 

application is under review. The application may be accessed in ADAMS 

through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under ADAMS Accession Number 

ML092430232. As stated above, persons who do not have access to ADAMS 

or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS 

may contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 

or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov.

    The NRC staff has verified that a copy of the license renewal 

application is also available to local residents near the site at the 

Salem Free Library, 112 West Broadway, Salem, New Jersey 08079.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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

Samson S. Lee,

Deputy Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation.

[FR Doc. E9-25532 Filed 10-22-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590-01-P