Notice of License Terminations for University of Virginia Research Reactor (UVAR) and University of Virginia Cooperatively Assembled Virginia Low Intensity Educational Reactor (CAVALIER), 61846-61847 [E5-5949]
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61846
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 206 / Wednesday, October 26, 2005 / Notices
to file an IRA appeal. The appellant has
filed a petition for review arguing that
the Board has jurisdiction over his
appeal. The agency has filed a response
opposing the petition.
Question To Be Resolved
This appeal raises the question of
whether the Board has appellate
jurisdiction to review an IRA appeal
from an employee, former employee, or
applicant for employment of the
International Boundary and Water
Commission.
Issues To Be Considered in Resolving
the Question Posed
Title 5 of the United States Code,
section 1221(a) provides that an
employee, former employee, or
applicant for employment may, with
respect to any personnel action taken, or
proposed to be taken * * * as a result
of a prohibited personnel practice
described in section 2302(b)(8), seek
corrective action from the Merit Systems
Protection Board. Section 2302(a)(2)(A)
defines ‘‘personnel action’’ as various
types of employment-related actions
‘‘with respect to an employee in, or
applicant for, a covered position in an
agency.’’ Section 2302(2)(C) in turn
defines an ‘‘agency’’ to mean, inter alia,
‘‘an Executive agency.’’ For purposes of
title 5, ‘‘Executive agency’’ means an
Executive department, a Government
corporation, and an independent
establishment. 5 U.S.C. 105. An
‘‘independent establishment’’ means,
inter alia, an establishment in the
executive branch ‘‘which is not an
Executive department, military
department, Government corporation, or
part thereof, or part of an independent
establishment.’’ 5 U.S.C. 104.
The appellant in this case argues that
the U.S. Section of the International
Boundary and Water Commission is
‘‘entirely a creature of the United
States,’’ operates as a separate federal
agency, is an ‘‘independent
establishment’’ within the meaning of 5
U.S.C. 104, and is not subject to
international control. In contrast, the
administrative judge found that the
International Boundary and Water
Commission is a subdivision of an
‘‘international organization’’ under 22
U.S.C. 277, 288.
Finally, we note that the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the
Merit Systems Protection Board have
not questioned IRA jurisdiction over the
International Boundary and Water
Commission in previous decisions. See,
e.g., Mestan v. International Boundary
and Water Commission, 95 Fed. Appx.
1012 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (non-precedential);
White v. International Boundary and
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:26 Oct 25, 2005
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Water Commission, 59 M.S.P.R. 62
(1993).
All briefs in response to this
notice shall be filed with the Clerk of
the Board on or before November 25,
2005.
DATES:
All briefs shall include the
case name and docket number noted
above (Wilcox v. International Boundary
and Water Commission) and be entitled
‘‘Amicus Brief.’’ Briefs should be filed
with the Office of the Clerk, Merit
Systems Protection Board, 1615 M
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20419.
Respondents are encouraged to file by
facsimile transmittal at (202) 653–7130.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Matthew Shannon, Deputy Clerk of the
Board, or Melissa Jurgens, Counsel to
the Clerk, at (202) 653–7200.
ADDRESSES:
Dated: October 20, 2005.
Bentley M. Roberts, Jr.,
Clerk of the Board.
[FR Doc. 05–21388 Filed 10–25–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7400–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50–62 and 50–396]
Notice of License Terminations for
University of Virginia Research
Reactor (UVAR) and University of
Virginia Cooperatively Assembled
Virginia Low Intensity Educational
Reactor (CAVALIER)
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is noticing the
termination of Facility Operating
License No. R–66 for the UVAR and
Facility Operating License No. R–123
for the CAVALIER.
The NRC has terminated the license of
the decommissioned UVAR, in the
reactor facility on the UVA campus in
Charlottesville, Virginia, and has
released the site for unrestricted use.
The licensee requested termination of
the license in a letter to NRC dated June
18, 2004. The UVAR was a 2-MWthermal, light-water-moderated, -cooled,
and -reflected reactor fueled with platetype fuel. It was licensed and first
operated in June 1960. The reactor was
permanently shut down on June 30,
1998. The licensee submitted a
decommissioning plan to NRC for
review and approval in a letter dated
February 9, 2000, updated by letter
dated April 26, 2000, and supplemented
by letters on December 19, 2000, and
May 4 and May 11, 2001. The NRC
approved the UVAR decommissioning
plan by Amendment No. 26 to the
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Facility Operating License No. R–66 on
March 26, 2002.
The NRC has also terminated the
license of the decommissioned
CAVALIER, which was in the same
reactor facility on the UVA campus in
Charlottesville, Virginia, and has
released the site for unrestricted use.
The licensee requested termination of
the license in an April 4, 2003 letter to
NRC. The request for termination was
affirmed by letter dated September 26,
2005. The CAVALIER was a 100-MWthermal, light-water-moderated, -cooled,
and -reflected reactor fueled with platetype fuel. It was licensed and first
operated in October 1974. The licensee
submitted a decommissioning plan by
letter February 26, 1990, and
supplemented the plan on June 17,
1991. The NRC Commission issued an
Order Authorizing Dismantling of
Facility and Disposition of Component
Parts for the CAVALIER, Facility
Operating License No. R–123, on
February 3, 1992.
A Notice and Solicitation of
Comments Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.1405
and 10 CFR 50.82(b)(5) Concerning
Proposed Action To Decommission the
University of Virginia, University of
Virginia Research Reactor appeared in
the Federal Register on December 6,
2001 (65 FR 17684). All comments
received were considered by the staff
during the review of the UVAR
decommissioning plan for Facility
Operating License No. R–66.
A Notice of Proposed Issuance of
Orders Disposition of Component Parts
and Terminating Facility License
appeared in the Federal Register on
April 22, 1991 (56 FR 16350). No
request for a hearing or petition for
leave to intervene was filed following
notice of the proposed action
concerning Facility Operating License
No. R–123.
The NRC completed its review of the
April 2004 UVAR Final Status Survey
Report submitted to NRC by letter dated
June 18, 2004, and the March 2003
Evaluation of Radiological
Characterization Results Relative to the
Termination of NRC License No. R–123
dated, March 2003, submitted by letter
dated April 4, 2003. Both reports
documented the level of residual
radioactivity remaining at the facility
and stated that compliance with the
criteria in the NRC-approved
decommissioning plan for both reactors
has been demonstrated.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(b)(6), the
NRC staff has concluded that both
reactors have been decommissioned in
accordance with the approved
decommissioning plans and that the
terminal radiation surveys and
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 206 / Wednesday, October 26, 2005 / Notices
associated documentation demonstrate
that the facilities and sites may be
released in accordance with the criteria
in the NRC-approved decommissioning
plans. Further, on the basis of the
decommissioning activities carried out
by UVA, the NRC’s review of the
licensee’s final status survey report, the
results of NRC inspections conducted at
the UVAR and CAVALIER, and the
results of NRC confirmatory surveys, the
NRC has concluded that the
decommissioning process is complete
and the facilities and sites may be
released for unrestricted use. Therefore
Facility Operating License Nos. R–66
and R–123 are terminated.
For further details concerning UVAR
see the licensee’s application for
decommissioning dated February 9,
2000, updated by letter April 26, 2000
and supplemented by letters on
December 19, 2000, May 4, and May 11,
2001; the NRC approval of the UVAR
decommissioning plan by Amendment
No. 26 to Facility Operating License No.
R–66 on March 26, 2002; the licensee’s
request for license termination by letter
to NRC dated June 18, 2004; the April
2004 UVAR Final Status Survey Report
submitted to NRC by letter dated June
18, 2004; and NRC Inspection Report
No. 50–62/2002–202, dated September
2, 2005. For further details about
CAVALIER, see the licensee’s February
26, 1990 application for
decommissioning, supplemented on
June 17, 1991; the February 3, 1992,
Order Authorizing Dismantling of
Facility and Disposition of Component
Parts for the CAVALIER, Facility
Operating License No. R–123; licensee’s
April 4, 2003, request for termination of
the license; the March 2003 Evaluation
of Radiological Characterization Results
Relative to the Termination of NRC
License No. R–123, submitted by letter
dated April 4, 2003; and NRC Inspection
Report No. 50–62/2002–202, dated
September 2, 2005. Documents may be
examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the
NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR) at
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
Publicly available records for UVA
dated after January 30, 2000, will be
accessible electronically from the
Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Public
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet
at the NRC Web site, https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Persons who do not have access to
ADAMS or who have problems in
accessing the documents in ADAMS
should call the NRC PDR reference staff
at 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–4737 or
e-mail pdr@nrc.gov.
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Jkt 208001
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day
of October, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian E. Thomas,
Section Chief, Research and Test Reactors
Section, New, Research and Test Reactors
Program, Division of Regulatory Improvement
Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E5–5949 Filed 10–25–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Final Regulatory Guide: Issuance,
Availability
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) has issued a revision
to an existing guide in the agency’s
Regulatory Guide Series. This series has
been developed to describe and make
available to the public such information
as methods that are acceptable to the
NRC staff for implementing specific
parts of the NRC’s regulations,
techniques that the staff uses in
evaluating specific problems or
postulated accidents, and data that the
staff needs in its review of applications
for permits and licenses.
Revision 1 of Regulatory Guide 3.71,
entitled ‘‘Nuclear Criticality Safety
Standards for Fuels and Material
Facilities,’’ describes methods that the
NRC staff finds acceptable for
complying with the NRC’s regulations
in Title 10, Parts 70 and 76, of the Code
of Federal Regulations. In 10 CFR Part
70, ‘‘Domestic Licensing of Special
Nuclear Material,’’ Section 70.20,
‘‘General License To Own Special
Nuclear Material,’’ states that a specific
license is required to acquire, deliver,
receive, possess, use, transfer, import, or
export special nuclear material.
According to 10 CFR 70.22, ‘‘Contents of
Applications,’’ each application for such
a license must contain proposed
procedures to avoid nuclear criticality
accidents. In 10 CFR Part 76,
‘‘Certification of Gaseous Diffusion
Plants,’’ Section 76.87, ‘‘Technical
Safety Requirements,’’ states that the
technical safety requirements should
reference procedures and equipment
that are applicable to criticality
prevention.
The NRC initially issued Regulatory
Guide 3.71 in 1998 to provide guidance
concerning procedures that the staff
considered acceptable for complying
with these portions of the NRC’s
regulations. Toward that end, the
original guide endorsed specific nuclear
criticality safety standards developed by
the American Nuclear Society’s
PO 00000
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61847
Standards Subcommittee 8 (ANS–8),
‘‘Operations with Fissionable Materials
Outside Reactors.’’ Those national
standards provide guidance, criteria,
and best practices for use in preventing
and mitigating criticality accidents
during operations that involve handling,
processing, storing, and/or transporting
special nuclear material at fuel and
material facilities. The original guide
also took exceptions to certain portions
of individual ANS–8 standards. In
addition, the original guide
consolidated and replaced a number of
earlier NRC regulatory guides, thereby
providing all of the relevant guidance in
a single document.
Since that time, several ANS–8
nuclear criticality safety standards have
been added, reaffirmed, revised, or
withdrawn. Consequently, the NRC staff
decided to update this guide to clarify
which standards the agency endorses
and to clearly state exceptions to
individual standards. Toward that end,
the staff issued this revised regulatory
guide as Draft Regulatory Guide DG–
3023, with a Federal Register notice (70
FR 25128), dated May 12, 2005, to
solicit stakeholder comments. The
public comment period closed on June
20, 2005, without the submission of any
stakeholder comments; however, the
NRC staff further revised RG 3.71 based
on review of additional changes to the
consensus standards in the guide.
This revision does not change any of
the guidance provided in the initial
issuance of Regulatory Guide 3.71;
rather, it provides guidance concerning
changes that have occurred since the
NRC published the original guide in
1998. For completeness, this guide
restates the endorsements and
exceptions stated in Regulatory Guide
3.71, as applicable, while identifying
endorsements of or exceptions to new or
modified standards.
Since the ANSI/ANS–8 standards are
constantly being issued, revised,
reaffirmed, or withdrawn, the NRC staff
plans to revise this guide on a regular
basis. The NRC staff encourages and
welcomes comments and suggestions in
connection with improvements to
published regulatory guides, as well as
items for inclusion in regulatory guides
that are currently being developed.
Comments may be accompanied by
relevant information or supporting data.
Please mention the guide number in the
subject line of your submission.
Comments submitted in writing or in
electronic form will be made available
to the public in their entirety on the
NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System (ADAMS).
Personal information will not be
removed from your comments. You may
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 206 (Wednesday, October 26, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61846-61847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-5949]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-62 and 50-396]
Notice of License Terminations for University of Virginia
Research Reactor (UVAR) and University of Virginia Cooperatively
Assembled Virginia Low Intensity Educational Reactor (CAVALIER)
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is noticing the
termination of Facility Operating License No. R-66 for the UVAR and
Facility Operating License No. R-123 for the CAVALIER.
The NRC has terminated the license of the decommissioned UVAR, in
the reactor facility on the UVA campus in Charlottesville, Virginia,
and has released the site for unrestricted use. The licensee requested
termination of the license in a letter to NRC dated June 18, 2004. The
UVAR was a 2-MW-thermal, light-water-moderated, -cooled, and -reflected
reactor fueled with plate-type fuel. It was licensed and first operated
in June 1960. The reactor was permanently shut down on June 30, 1998.
The licensee submitted a decommissioning plan to NRC for review and
approval in a letter dated February 9, 2000, updated by letter dated
April 26, 2000, and supplemented by letters on December 19, 2000, and
May 4 and May 11, 2001. The NRC approved the UVAR decommissioning plan
by Amendment No. 26 to the Facility Operating License No. R-66 on March
26, 2002.
The NRC has also terminated the license of the decommissioned
CAVALIER, which was in the same reactor facility on the UVA campus in
Charlottesville, Virginia, and has released the site for unrestricted
use. The licensee requested termination of the license in an April 4,
2003 letter to NRC. The request for termination was affirmed by letter
dated September 26, 2005. The CAVALIER was a 100-MW-thermal, light-
water-moderated, -cooled, and -reflected reactor fueled with plate-type
fuel. It was licensed and first operated in October 1974. The licensee
submitted a decommissioning plan by letter February 26, 1990, and
supplemented the plan on June 17, 1991. The NRC Commission issued an
Order Authorizing Dismantling of Facility and Disposition of Component
Parts for the CAVALIER, Facility Operating License No. R-123, on
February 3, 1992.
A Notice and Solicitation of Comments Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.1405
and 10 CFR 50.82(b)(5) Concerning Proposed Action To Decommission the
University of Virginia, University of Virginia Research Reactor
appeared in the Federal Register on December 6, 2001 (65 FR 17684). All
comments received were considered by the staff during the review of the
UVAR decommissioning plan for Facility Operating License No. R-66.
A Notice of Proposed Issuance of Orders Disposition of Component
Parts and Terminating Facility License appeared in the Federal Register
on April 22, 1991 (56 FR 16350). No request for a hearing or petition
for leave to intervene was filed following notice of the proposed
action concerning Facility Operating License No. R-123.
The NRC completed its review of the April 2004 UVAR Final Status
Survey Report submitted to NRC by letter dated June 18, 2004, and the
March 2003 Evaluation of Radiological Characterization Results Relative
to the Termination of NRC License No. R-123 dated, March 2003,
submitted by letter dated April 4, 2003. Both reports documented the
level of residual radioactivity remaining at the facility and stated
that compliance with the criteria in the NRC-approved decommissioning
plan for both reactors has been demonstrated.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(b)(6), the NRC staff has concluded that
both reactors have been decommissioned in accordance with the approved
decommissioning plans and that the terminal radiation surveys and
[[Page 61847]]
associated documentation demonstrate that the facilities and sites may
be released in accordance with the criteria in the NRC-approved
decommissioning plans. Further, on the basis of the decommissioning
activities carried out by UVA, the NRC's review of the licensee's final
status survey report, the results of NRC inspections conducted at the
UVAR and CAVALIER, and the results of NRC confirmatory surveys, the NRC
has concluded that the decommissioning process is complete and the
facilities and sites may be released for unrestricted use. Therefore
Facility Operating License Nos. R-66 and R-123 are terminated.
For further details concerning UVAR see the licensee's application
for decommissioning dated February 9, 2000, updated by letter April 26,
2000 and supplemented by letters on December 19, 2000, May 4, and May
11, 2001; the NRC approval of the UVAR decommissioning plan by
Amendment No. 26 to Facility Operating License No. R-66 on March 26,
2002; the licensee's request for license termination by letter to NRC
dated June 18, 2004; the April 2004 UVAR Final Status Survey Report
submitted to NRC by letter dated June 18, 2004; and NRC Inspection
Report No. 50-62/2002-202, dated September 2, 2005. For further details
about CAVALIER, see the licensee's February 26, 1990 application for
decommissioning, supplemented on June 17, 1991; the February 3, 1992,
Order Authorizing Dismantling of Facility and Disposition of Component
Parts for the CAVALIER, Facility Operating License No. R-123;
licensee's April 4, 2003, request for termination of the license; the
March 2003 Evaluation of Radiological Characterization Results Relative
to the Termination of NRC License No. R-123, submitted by letter dated
April 4, 2003; and NRC Inspection Report No. 50-62/2002-202, dated
September 2, 2005. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee,
at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) at One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available
records for UVA dated after January 30, 2000, will be accessible
electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the
NRC Web site, https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do
not have access to ADAMS or who have problems in accessing the
documents in ADAMS should call the NRC PDR reference staff at 1-800-
397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or e-mail pdr@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of October, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian E. Thomas,
Section Chief, Research and Test Reactors Section, New, Research and
Test Reactors Program, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E5-5949 Filed 10-25-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
