The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing Regarding Renewal of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Reactor Critical Facility Facility License No. CX-22 for an Additional 20-Year Period, 28170-28171 [E8-10862]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 95 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28170-28171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10862]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-225]


The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Notice of Acceptance for 
Docketing of the Application and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing 
Regarding Renewal of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Reactor 
Critical Facility Facility License No. CX-22 for an Additional 20-Year 
Period

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is 
considering an application for the renewal of Facility License No. CX-
22, which authorizes the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI or the 
licensee) to operate the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Reactor 
Critical Facility (RCF) at 100 watts thermal power. The renewed license 
would authorize the licensee to operate the RCF for an additional 20 
years from the date of issuance.
    On November 19, 2002, the Commission's staff received an 
application from RPI filed pursuant to 10 CFR 50.51(a), to renew 
Facility License No. CX-22 for the RCF. Because the license renewal 
application was filed in a timely manner in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.109, the license will not be deemed to have expired until the license 
renewal application has been finally determined.
    Based on its initial review of the application, the Commission's 
staff determined that RPI submitted sufficient information in 
accordance with 10 CFR 50.33 and 50.34 so that the application is 
acceptable for docketing. The current Docket No. 50-225 for Facility 
License No. CX-22 will be retained. The docketing of the renewal 
application does not preclude requests for additional information as 
the review proceeds, nor does it predict whether the Commission will 
grant or deny the application. Prior to a decision to renew the 
license, the Commission will make findings required by the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules 
and regulations.
    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, the 
applicant may file a request for a hearing, and any person(s) 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, via electronic 
submission through the NRC E-filing system. 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 person(s) should consult a current copy of 
10 CFR 2.309, which is available at the Commission's PDR, located at 
One White Flint North, Public File Area O1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland and on the NRC Web site, https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr. Publicly available records 
will be accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the 
NRC Web site, https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If a request 
for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed by the above 
date, 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 will issue a notice of a hearing or an 
appropriate order.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene 
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner/
requestor 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 general requirements: (1) The name, address 
and telephone number of the requestor or petitioner; (2) the nature of 
the requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to 
the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the requestor's/
petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; 
and (4) 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 identify 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 
petitioner/requestor shall provide a brief explanation of the bases for 
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. The 
petition must include 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 
licensing action (i.e., license renewal) under consideration. The 
contention must be one which, if proven, would entitle the petitioner/
requestor to relief. A petitioner/requestor who fails to satisfy 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.
    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 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 
ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/requestor 
must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
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

[[Page 28171]]

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 
Viewer\TM\ is free and is available at https://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 https://
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 https://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 https://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  
https://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 submissions.
    Detailed guidance which the NRC uses to review applications for the 
renewal of non-power reactor licenses can be found in the document 
NUREG-1537, entitled ``Guidelines for Preparing and Reviewing 
Applications for the Licensing of Non-Power Reactors,'' can be obtained 
from the Commission's PDR. The NRC maintains an Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image 
files of NRC's public documents. The detailed review guidance (NUREG-
1537) may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room 
on the Internet at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under ADAMS 
Accession No. ML041230055 for part one and ML041230048 for part two. 
Copies of the application to renew the facility license for the 
licensee 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. The initial application and other 
related documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic 
Reading Room, at the address mentioned above, under ADAMS Accession No. 
ML072210835 (Redacted Version). Persons who do not have access to 
ADAMS, or have problems accessing the documents located in ADAMS, may 
contact the NRC Public Document Room Reference staff at (800) 397-4209, 
or locally, (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of May, 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel S. Collins,
Chief, Research and Test Reactors Branch A, Division of Policy and 
Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 [FR Doc. E8-10862 Filed 5-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P