Confirmatory Order Modifying License (Effective Immediately), 42694-42697 [E9-20331]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 162 / Monday, August 24, 2009 / Notices
to decide if the services and supplies
received are covered by these programs
and to assure that proper payment is
made. For additional information, see
related notice published at Volume 74
FR 10778 on March 12, 2009.
Agency: Employment Standards
Administration.
Type of Review: Extension without
change of a currently approved
collection.
Title of Collection: Authorization for
Release of Medical Information (Black
Lung Benefits).
OMB Control Number: 1215–0057.
Agency Form Number: CM–936.
Affected Public: Individuals and
households.
Total Estimated Number of
Respondents: 900.
Total Estimated Annual Burden
Hours: 75.
Total Estimated Annual Costs Burden
(does not include hour costs): $0.
Description: The CM–936 is used to
obtain the black lung claimant’s
authorization for the Division of Coal
Mine Workers’ Compensation to request
medical evidence in support of the
black lung claim. For additional
information, see related notice
published at Volume 74 FR 15005 on
April 2, 2009.
Darrin A. King,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. E9–20272 Filed 8–21–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–CK–P
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
The prospective partially exclusive
license will comply with the terms and
conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR
404.7.
DATES: The prospective partially
exclusive license may be granted unless,
within fifteen (15) days from the date of
this published notice, NASA receives
written objections including evidence
and argument that establish that the
grant of the license would not be
consistent with the requirements of 35
U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.
Competing applications completed and
received by NASA within fifteen (15)
days of the date of this published notice
will also be treated as objections to the
grant of the contemplated exclusive
license.
Objections submitted in response to
this notice will not be made available to
the public for inspection and, to the
extent permitted by law, will not be
released under the Freedom of
Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.
ADDRESSES: Objections relating to the
prospective license may be submitted to
Patent Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel,
NASA Langley Research Center, MS
141, Hampton, VA 23681; (757) 864–
9260 (phone), (757) 864–9190 (fax).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Helen M. Galus, Patent Attorney, Office
of Chief Counsel, NASA Langley
Research Center, MS 141, Hampton, VA
23681; (757) 864–3227; Fax: (757) 864–
9190. Information about other NASA
inventions available for licensing can be
found online at https://
techtracs.nasa.gov/.
Dated: August 18, 2009.
Richard W. Sherman,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E9–20257 Filed 8–21–09; 8:45 am]
[Notice (09–074)]
Notice of Intent To Grant Partially
Exclusive License
BILLING CODE 7510–13–P
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration.
ACTION: Notice of intent to grant a
partially exclusive license.
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AGENCY:
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS
ADMINISTRATION
SUMMARY: This notice is issued in
accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and
37 CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i). NASA hereby
gives notice of its intent to grant a
partially exclusive license to practice
the invention described and claimed in
NASA Case Number LAR–16575–1
entitled ‘‘Device and Method for
Connections Made Between a Crimp
Connector and Wire,’’ U.S. Patent
Number 7,181,942, to Sonicrimp, LLC
having its principal place of business in
Madison, Wisconsin. The field of use is
limited to automated crimp equipment
applications. The patent rights have
been assigned to the United States of
America as represented by the
Administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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Renewal of Advisory Committee on
Electronic Records Archives
AGENCY: National Archives and Records
Administration.
ACTION: Notice of charter renewal.
SUMMARY: This notice is published in
accordance with the provisions of
section 9(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463, 5
U.S.C., App.) and advises of the renewal
of the National Archives and Records
Administration’s (NARA) Advisory
Committee on Electronic Records
Archives. In accordance with Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
Circular A–135, OMB approved the
inclusion of the Advisory Committee on
Electronic Records Archives in NARA’s
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ceiling of discretionary advisory
committees.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mary Ann Hadyka, 301–837–1782.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NARA has
determined that the renewal of the
Advisory Committee on Electronic
Records Archives is in the public
interest due to the expertise and
valuable advice the Committee members
provide on technical, mission, and
service issues related to the Electronic
Records Archives (ERA). NARA will use
the Committee’s recommendations on
issues related to the development,
implementation, and use of the ERA
system. NARA’s Committee
Management Officer (CMO) is Mary Ann
Hadyka.
Dated: August 19, 2009.
Adrienne C. Thomas,
Acting Archivist of the United States.
[FR Doc. E9–20392 Filed 8–21–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7515–01–P
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Notice of Permits Issued Under the
Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice of permits issued under
the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978,
Public Law 95541.
SUMMARY: The National Science
Foundation (NSF) is required to publish
notice of permits issued under the
Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978.
This is the required notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nadene G. Kennedy, Permit Office,
Office of Polar Programs, Rm. 755,
National Science Foundation, 4201
Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 6,
2009, the National Science Foundation
published a notice in the Federal
Register of permit applications received.
Permits were issued on August 17, 2009
to:
Wayne Z. Trivelpiece, Permit No. 2010–
003;
Scott Borg, Permit No. 2010–005;
Mahlon C. Kennicutt, II, Permit No.
2010–006.
Nadene G. Kennedy,
Permit Officer.
[FR Doc. E9–20180 Filed 8–21–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2009–0368; EA–06–140]
Confirmatory Order Modifying License
(Effective Immediately)
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 162 / Monday, August 24, 2009 / Notices
In the Matter of:
United States Enrichment Corporation, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Paducah Kentucky .............................
United States Enrichment Corporation, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio .................................
United States Enrichment Corporation, Inc., American Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facility, Piketon, Ohio ..............
United States Enrichment Corporation, Inc., American Centrifuge Plant, Piketon, Ohio .........................................
I
USEC Inc. is the holder of Facility
Operating License Nos. SNM–7003 and
SNM–2011 issued by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or
Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR Part
70. License SNM–7003 was issued on
February 24, 2004, and amended on
October 30, 2008. License No SNM–
2011 was issued on April 13, 2007, and
amended on July 14, 2009. The licenses
authorize the operation of the American
Centrifuge Plant and the American
Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facility in
accordance with the provisions therein.
These facilities are located in Piketon,
OH.
The United States Enrichment
Corporation (USEC), a subsidiary of
USEC Inc., is the holder of NRC
Certificates of Compliance (COC) No.
GDP–1 and GDP–2 issued by the NRC
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 76 on
November 26, 1996, and renewed on
December 22, 2008. The COC are set to
expire on December 31, 2013. The
certificates authorize USEC to operate
the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
(Paducah), located near Paducah,
Kentucky, and the Portsmouth Gaseous
Diffusion Plant (Portsmouth), located in
Piketon, Ohio. The certificates also
authorize USEC to receive, and other
NRC licensees to transfer to USEC,
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material to the extent
permitted under the COC.
This Confirmatory Order is the result
of an agreement reached during the
alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
mediation session conducted on May
29, 2009.
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II
By letter dated January 9, 2009, the
NRC informed USEC of the
identification of an apparent violation of
10 CFR 76.7, ‘‘Employee protection.’’
The apparent violation was based on the
United States Department of Labor
(DOL) Administrative Review Board’s
(ARB’s) August 19, 2008, Final Decision
and Order (ARB Case Nos. 06–055, 06–
058, and 06–119) affirming a DOL
Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ)
findings of fact and conclusions.
Previously, on January 27, 2006, the
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DOL ALJ issued a Proposed Decision
and Order (ALJ Case No. 2004–ERA–
001), concluding that USEC retaliated
against a former quality control manager
at Paducah in violation of Section 211
of the Energy Reorganization Act of
1974, as amended (the ERA). USEC
denied that it violated the ERA and
appealed the ARB decision to the
United States Court of Appeals for the
Sixth Circuit. Although, at this time,
there is no indication that the impact of
the apparent violation is not isolated,
the NRC is concerned that, in the
absence of appropriate management
actions, the ARB decision may
ultimately have a broader impact on
Paducah’s safety-conscious work
environment (SCWE).
In its January 9, 2009, letter to USEC,
the NRC offered USEC the option of
either providing a written response to
the apparent violation, or requesting
ADR through Cornell University’s
Institute on Conflict Resolution. ADR is
a process in which a neutral mediator
with no decision-making authority
assists the parties in reaching an
agreement and resolving any differences
regarding a dispute. This Confirmatory
Order is issued pursuant to the
agreement reached during the ADR
process.
III
In response to the NRC’s letter of
January 9, 2009, USEC chose to
participate in ADR with the NRC.
During the ADR session a preliminary
settlement agreement was reached. The
elements of the agreement consisted of
the following:
I. By no later than 180 calendar days
after the issuance of the Confirmatory
Order, USEC agrees to engage a third
party to conduct an independent
assessment of the SCWE at USEC’s
Paducah site. Through this assessment,
the Certificatee will benchmark the
effectiveness of the key elements of its
SCWE initiatives; look at industry best
practices; modify or further develop the
SCWE program; and develop an
assessment tool to periodically evaluate
the effectiveness of USEC’s Paducah
SCWE program.
II. Within 90 calendar days after
completion of the assessment as
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42695
Docket No. 070–07001
Certificate No. GDP–1
Docket No. 070–07002
Certificate No. GDP–2
Docket No. 070–07003
License No. SNM–7003
Docket No. 070–07004
License No. SNM–2011
referenced in paragraph I above, USEC
shall make available to the NRC onsite:
(a) A description of the tools/methods
used to conduct the assessment
including any survey questions;
(b) The results of the assessment and
USEC’s analysis of the results; and,
(c) The proposed actions, if any,
USEC will take to address the results of
the assessment in order to ensure that a
healthy SCWE exists at USEC’s Paducah
site.
III. No later 3 three years after the
independent assessment performed in
paragraph I above, USEC shall perform
a second independent assessment of the
SCWE at USEC’s Paducah site to
determine the effectiveness of the SCWE
program
IV. By no later than 180 calendar days
after the issuance of the Confirmatory
Order, USEC agrees to develop, review
and/or revise as appropriate, annual
SCWE training (that includes case
studies). USEC agrees to train the
following management staff on SCWE
principles within 15 months of the date
of the Confirmatory Order and provide
refresher training annually thereafter:
(a) USEC Headquarters personnel, to
include employees designated in the
Safety Analysis Report (SAR) as having
safety responsibilities for the gaseous
diffusion plants, and USEC
Headquarters Operations personnel;
(b) American Centrifuge Plant (ACP)
management;
(c) American Centrifuge Lead Cascade
Facility (ACLCF) management;
(d) Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
(Paducah) management;
(e) Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion
Plant (Portsmouth) management; and
(f) USEC’s long-term contractor
management who work at the ACP,
ACLCF, Paducah, and Portsmouth
facilities.
In addition, within 3 months of hire
or promotion, new USEC managers at
the entities identified in (a) through (e)
above will receive initial SCWE
training.
V. By no later than 180 calendar days
after the issuance of the Confirmatory
Order, USEC agrees to develop, review,
and/or revise as appropriate, refresher
SCWE training (that includes case
studies) for non-management personnel.
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 162 / Monday, August 24, 2009 / Notices
USEC agrees to train ACP, ACLCF,
Paducah and Portsmouth plants’ nonmanagement employees, and USEC
long-term contractors who work within
the ACP, ACLCF, Paducah, and
Portsmouth facilities on the topic of
SCWE within 15 months of the date of
the Confirmatory Order and provide
refresher training every 2 years
thereafter.
VI. The terms of the Confirmatory
Order apply to the successors and
assigns of the Certificatee and Licensees.
On July 30, 2009, USEC Inc.
consented to issuance of this
Confirmatory Order with the
commitments, as described in Section V
below. USEC Inc. further agreed that
this Confirmatory Order is to be
effective upon issuance and it has
waived its right to a hearing.
IV
Since USEC Inc. has agreed to take
additional actions to address NRC
concerns, as set forth in Item III above,
the NRC has concluded that its concerns
can be resolved through issuance of this
Confirmatory Order and thereby has
agreed to exercise enforcement
discretion and not pursue any further
enforcement action for this issue in
accordance with Section VII of the
Enforcement Policy.
I find that USEC Inc’s commitments
as set forth in Section V are acceptable
and necessary and conclude that with
these commitments the public health
and safety are reasonably assured. In
view of the foregoing, I have determined
that the public health and safety require
that the Licensee’s and Certificate
holder’s commitments be confirmed by
this Confirmatory Order. Based on the
above and the Licensee’s and Certificate
holder’s consent, this Confirmatory
Order is immediately effective upon
issuance.
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V
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 81,
161b, 161i, 161o, 182, 186 and 1710 of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, and the Commission’s
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202, 10 CFR
Part 70, and 10 CFR Part 76, It is hereby
ordered, effective immediately, that
Certificates of Compliance No. GDP–1
and GDP–2, and License Nos. SNS–2011
and SNM–7003 are modified as follows:
I. By no later than 180 calendar days
after the issuance of the Confirmatory
Order, USEC agrees to engage a third
party to conduct an independent
assessment of the SCWE at USEC’s
Paducah site. Through this assessment,
the Certificatee will benchmark the
effectiveness of the key elements of its
SCWE initiatives; look at industry best
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15:04 Aug 21, 2009
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practices; modify or further develop the
SCWE program; and develop an
assessment tool to periodically evaluate
the effectiveness of USEC’s Paducah
SCWE program.
II. Within 90 calendar days after
completion of the assessment as
referenced in paragraph I above, USEC
shall make available to the NRC onsite:
(a) A description of the tools/methods
used to conduct the assessment
including any survey questions;
(b) The results of the assessment and
USEC’s analysis of the results; and,
(c) The proposed actions, if any,
USEC will take to address the results of
the assessment in order to ensure that a
healthy SCWE exists at USEC’s Paducah
site.
III. No later than 3 years after the
independent assessment performed in
paragraph I above, USEC shall perform
a second independent assessment of the
SCWE at USEC’s Paducah site to
determine the effectiveness of the SCWE
program.
IV. By no later than 180 calendar days
after the issuance of the Confirmatory
Order, USEC agrees to develop, review
and/or revise as appropriate, annual
SCWE training (that includes case
studies). USEC agrees to train the
following management staff on SCWE
principles within 15 months of the date
of the Confirmatory Order and provide
refresher training annually thereafter:
(a) USEC Headquarters personnel, to
include employees designated in the
Safety Analysis Report (SAR) as having
safety responsibilities for the gaseous
diffusion plants, and USEC
Headquarters Operations personnel;
(b) American Centrifuge Plant (ACP)
management;
(c) American Centrifuge Lead Cascade
Facility (ACLCF) management;
(d) Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
(Paducah) management;
(e) Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion
Plant (Portsmouth) management; and
(f) USEC’s long-term contractor
management who work at the ACP,
ACLCF, Paducah, and Portsmouth
facilities.
In addition, within 3 months of hire
or promotion, new USEC managers at
the entities identified in (a) through (e)
above will receive initial SCWE
training.
V. By no later than 180 calendar days
after the issuance of the Confirmatory
Order, USEC agrees to develop, review,
and/or revise as appropriate, refresher
SCWE training (that includes case
studies) for non-management personnel.
USEC agrees to train ACP, ACLCF,
Paducah and Portsmouth plants’ nonmanagement employees, and USEC
long-term contractors who work within
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the ACP, ACLCF, Paducah, and
Portsmouth facilities on the topic of
SCWE within 15 months of the date of
the Confirmatory Order and provide
refresher training every 2 years
thereafter.
VI. The terms of the Confirmatory
Order apply to the successors and
assigns of the Certificatee and Licensees.
The Director, Office of Enforcement,
may relax or rescind, in writing, any of
the above conditions upon a showing by
the Licensee or Certificate holder of
good cause.
VI
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, any
person adversely affected by this
Confirmatory Order, other than USEC,
Inc. which holds licenses SNM–7003
and SNM–2011 and its subsidiary,
USEC, which holds certificates GDP–1
and GDP–2, may request a hearing
within 20 days of its publication in the
Federal Register. Where good cause is
shown, consideration will be given to
extending the time to request a hearing.
A request for extension of time must be
directed to the Director, Office of
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555,
and include a statement of good cause
for the extension.
A request for a hearing must be filed
in accordance with the NRC E-Filing
rule, which the NRC promulgated in
August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49139). The EFiling process requires participants to
submit and serve documents over the
Internet or, in some cases, to mail copies
on electronic optical 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 associated with E-Filing,
at least five (5) days prior to the filing
deadline the 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 NRC proceeding in which
it is participating; and/or (2) creation of
an electronic docket for the proceeding
(even in instances when the requestor
(or its counsel or representative) already
holds an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate). Each 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 https://www.nrc.gov/site-
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 162 / Monday, August 24, 2009 / Notices
help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html.
Information about applying for a digital
ID certificate also is available on NRC’s
public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/
site-help/e-submittals/applycertificates.html.
Once a requestor has obtained a
digital ID certificate, had a docket
created, and downloaded the EIE
viewer, it can then submit a request for
a hearing through EIE. 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/esubmittals.html. A filing is considered
complete at the time the filer submits its
document through EIE. To be timely,
electronic filings 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 document on those
participants separately. Therefore, any
others who wish to participate in the
proceeding (or their counsel or
representative) must apply for and
receive a digital ID certificate before a
hearing request is filed so that they may
obtain access to the document via the EFiling 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 https://www.nrc.gov/sitehelp/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 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
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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 firstclass 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.
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 works.
If a person (other than the Certificate
holder or Licensee) requests a hearing,
that person shall set forth with
particularity the manner in which his
interest is adversely affected by this
Order and shall address the criteria set
forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
If the hearing is requested by a person
whose interest is adversely affected, the
Commission will issue an Order
designating the time and place of any
hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to
be considered at such hearing shall be
whether this Confirmatory Order should
be sustained. In the absence of any
request for hearing, or written approval
of an extension of time in which to
request a hearing, the provisions
specified in Section V above shall be
final 20 days from the date this Order
is published in the Federal Register
without further order or proceedings. If
an extension of time for requesting a
hearing has been approved, the
provisions specified in Section V shall
be final when the extension expires if a
hearing request has not been received. A
request for hearing shall not stay the
immediate effectiveness of this order.
Dated this 13th day of August, 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cynthia A. Carpenter,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. E9–20331 Filed 8–21–09; 8:45 am]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030–34325; License No. 03–
23853–01VA; EA–08–353; NRC–2009–0367]
In the Matter of National Health
Physics Program, Department of
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health
Administration, North Little Rock, AZ;
Order Imposing Civil Monetary Penalty
I
The Department of Veterans Affairs
(DVA: Licensee) is the holder of Master
Materials License No. 03–23853–01VA
issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC or Commission)
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30 on March
17, 2003. The license authorizes the
DVA to issue permits to individual DVA
medical centers for the possession and
use of licensed material, and ties the
Licensee to a framework of oversight
consistent with NRC regulations,
inspection, enforcement policies,
procedures, and guidance.
II
An inspection of the Licensee’s
activities was conducted on November
18, 2008, with continued NRC in-office
review through December 16, 2008, at
the DVA Medical Center, Iowa City,
Iowa (permittee). The results of this
inspection indicated that the permittee
had not conducted its activities in full
compliance with NRC requirements. A
written Notice of Violation and
Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty
(Notice) was served upon the Licensee
by letter dated April 10, 2009. The
Notice states the nature of the violation,
the provision of the NRC’s requirements
that the Licensee violated, and the
amount of the civil penalty proposed for
the violation.
The Licensee responded to the Notice
in a letter dated May 4, 2009. In its
response, the Licensee denied the
violation and requested that the NRC
withdraw the escalated enforcement
citation, and remove the civil penalty.
The Licensee provided a supplemental
response on June 4, 2009, to clarify
information provided in the May 4,
2009, response. In the supplemental
letter, the Licensee disputed the
Severity Level of the violation, based
upon the new information provided.
III
After consideration of the Licensee’s
responses and the statements of fact,
explanation, and argument for
mitigation contained therein, the NRC
staff determined, as set forth in the nonpublicly available security related
Appendix to this Order, that the
E:\FR\FM\24AUN1.SGM
24AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 162 (Monday, August 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42694-42697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20331]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2009-0368; EA-06-140]
Confirmatory Order Modifying License (Effective Immediately)
[[Page 42695]]
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In the Matter of:
United States Enrichment Docket No. 070-07001
Corporation, Paducah Gaseous Certificate No. GDP-1
Diffusion Plant, Paducah
Kentucky.
United States Enrichment Docket No. 070-07002
Corporation, Portsmouth Gaseous Certificate No. GDP-2
Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio.
United States Enrichment Docket No. 070-07003
Corporation, Inc., American License No. SNM-7003
Centrifuge Lead Cascade
Facility, Piketon, Ohio.
United States Enrichment Docket No. 070-07004
Corporation, Inc., American License No. SNM-2011
Centrifuge Plant, Piketon, Ohio.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I
USEC Inc. is the holder of Facility Operating License Nos. SNM-7003
and SNM-2011 issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or
Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR Part 70. License SNM-7003 was issued on
February 24, 2004, and amended on October 30, 2008. License No SNM-2011
was issued on April 13, 2007, and amended on July 14, 2009. The
licenses authorize the operation of the American Centrifuge Plant and
the American Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facility in accordance with the
provisions therein. These facilities are located in Piketon, OH.
The United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), a subsidiary of
USEC Inc., is the holder of NRC Certificates of Compliance (COC) No.
GDP-1 and GDP-2 issued by the NRC pursuant to 10 CFR Part 76 on
November 26, 1996, and renewed on December 22, 2008. The COC are set to
expire on December 31, 2013. The certificates authorize USEC to operate
the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (Paducah), located near Paducah,
Kentucky, and the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (Portsmouth),
located in Piketon, Ohio. The certificates also authorize USEC to
receive, and other NRC licensees to transfer to USEC, byproduct
material, source material, or special nuclear material to the extent
permitted under the COC.
This Confirmatory Order is the result of an agreement reached
during the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mediation session
conducted on May 29, 2009.
II
By letter dated January 9, 2009, the NRC informed USEC of the
identification of an apparent violation of 10 CFR 76.7, ``Employee
protection.'' The apparent violation was based on the United States
Department of Labor (DOL) Administrative Review Board's (ARB's) August
19, 2008, Final Decision and Order (ARB Case Nos. 06-055, 06-058, and
06-119) affirming a DOL Administrative Law Judge's (ALJ) findings of
fact and conclusions. Previously, on January 27, 2006, the DOL ALJ
issued a Proposed Decision and Order (ALJ Case No. 2004-ERA-001),
concluding that USEC retaliated against a former quality control
manager at Paducah in violation of Section 211 of the Energy
Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended (the ERA). USEC denied that it
violated the ERA and appealed the ARB decision to the United States
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Although, at this time, there
is no indication that the impact of the apparent violation is not
isolated, the NRC is concerned that, in the absence of appropriate
management actions, the ARB decision may ultimately have a broader
impact on Paducah's safety-conscious work environment (SCWE).
In its January 9, 2009, letter to USEC, the NRC offered USEC the
option of either providing a written response to the apparent
violation, or requesting ADR through Cornell University's Institute on
Conflict Resolution. ADR is a process in which a neutral mediator with
no decision-making authority assists the parties in reaching an
agreement and resolving any differences regarding a dispute. This
Confirmatory Order is issued pursuant to the agreement reached during
the ADR process.
III
In response to the NRC's letter of January 9, 2009, USEC chose to
participate in ADR with the NRC. During the ADR session a preliminary
settlement agreement was reached. The elements of the agreement
consisted of the following:
I. By no later than 180 calendar days after the issuance of the
Confirmatory Order, USEC agrees to engage a third party to conduct an
independent assessment of the SCWE at USEC's Paducah site. Through this
assessment, the Certificatee will benchmark the effectiveness of the
key elements of its SCWE initiatives; look at industry best practices;
modify or further develop the SCWE program; and develop an assessment
tool to periodically evaluate the effectiveness of USEC's Paducah SCWE
program.
II. Within 90 calendar days after completion of the assessment as
referenced in paragraph I above, USEC shall make available to the NRC
onsite:
(a) A description of the tools/methods used to conduct the
assessment including any survey questions;
(b) The results of the assessment and USEC's analysis of the
results; and,
(c) The proposed actions, if any, USEC will take to address the
results of the assessment in order to ensure that a healthy SCWE exists
at USEC's Paducah site.
III. No later 3 three years after the independent assessment
performed in paragraph I above, USEC shall perform a second independent
assessment of the SCWE at USEC's Paducah site to determine the
effectiveness of the SCWE program
IV. By no later than 180 calendar days after the issuance of the
Confirmatory Order, USEC agrees to develop, review and/or revise as
appropriate, annual SCWE training (that includes case studies). USEC
agrees to train the following management staff on SCWE principles
within 15 months of the date of the Confirmatory Order and provide
refresher training annually thereafter:
(a) USEC Headquarters personnel, to include employees designated in
the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) as having safety responsibilities for
the gaseous diffusion plants, and USEC Headquarters Operations
personnel;
(b) American Centrifuge Plant (ACP) management;
(c) American Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facility (ACLCF) management;
(d) Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (Paducah) management;
(e) Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (Portsmouth) management; and
(f) USEC's long-term contractor management who work at the ACP,
ACLCF, Paducah, and Portsmouth facilities.
In addition, within 3 months of hire or promotion, new USEC
managers at the entities identified in (a) through (e) above will
receive initial SCWE training.
V. By no later than 180 calendar days after the issuance of the
Confirmatory Order, USEC agrees to develop, review, and/or revise as
appropriate, refresher SCWE training (that includes case studies) for
non-management personnel.
[[Page 42696]]
USEC agrees to train ACP, ACLCF, Paducah and Portsmouth plants' non-
management employees, and USEC long-term contractors who work within
the ACP, ACLCF, Paducah, and Portsmouth facilities on the topic of SCWE
within 15 months of the date of the Confirmatory Order and provide
refresher training every 2 years thereafter.
VI. The terms of the Confirmatory Order apply to the successors and
assigns of the Certificatee and Licensees.
On July 30, 2009, USEC Inc. consented to issuance of this
Confirmatory Order with the commitments, as described in Section V
below. USEC Inc. further agreed that this Confirmatory Order is to be
effective upon issuance and it has waived its right to a hearing.
IV
Since USEC Inc. has agreed to take additional actions to address
NRC concerns, as set forth in Item III above, the NRC has concluded
that its concerns can be resolved through issuance of this Confirmatory
Order and thereby has agreed to exercise enforcement discretion and not
pursue any further enforcement action for this issue in accordance with
Section VII of the Enforcement Policy.
I find that USEC Inc's commitments as set forth in Section V are
acceptable and necessary and conclude that with these commitments the
public health and safety are reasonably assured. In view of the
foregoing, I have determined that the public health and safety require
that the Licensee's and Certificate holder's commitments be confirmed
by this Confirmatory Order. Based on the above and the Licensee's and
Certificate holder's consent, this Confirmatory Order is immediately
effective upon issuance.
V
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 81, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182, 186
and 1710 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the
Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202, 10 CFR Part 70, and 10 CFR
Part 76, It is hereby ordered, effective immediately, that Certificates
of Compliance No. GDP-1 and GDP-2, and License Nos. SNS-2011 and SNM-
7003 are modified as follows:
I. By no later than 180 calendar days after the issuance of the
Confirmatory Order, USEC agrees to engage a third party to conduct an
independent assessment of the SCWE at USEC's Paducah site. Through this
assessment, the Certificatee will benchmark the effectiveness of the
key elements of its SCWE initiatives; look at industry best practices;
modify or further develop the SCWE program; and develop an assessment
tool to periodically evaluate the effectiveness of USEC's Paducah SCWE
program.
II. Within 90 calendar days after completion of the assessment as
referenced in paragraph I above, USEC shall make available to the NRC
onsite:
(a) A description of the tools/methods used to conduct the
assessment including any survey questions;
(b) The results of the assessment and USEC's analysis of the
results; and,
(c) The proposed actions, if any, USEC will take to address the
results of the assessment in order to ensure that a healthy SCWE exists
at USEC's Paducah site.
III. No later than 3 years after the independent assessment
performed in paragraph I above, USEC shall perform a second independent
assessment of the SCWE at USEC's Paducah site to determine the
effectiveness of the SCWE program.
IV. By no later than 180 calendar days after the issuance of the
Confirmatory Order, USEC agrees to develop, review and/or revise as
appropriate, annual SCWE training (that includes case studies). USEC
agrees to train the following management staff on SCWE principles
within 15 months of the date of the Confirmatory Order and provide
refresher training annually thereafter:
(a) USEC Headquarters personnel, to include employees designated in
the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) as having safety responsibilities for
the gaseous diffusion plants, and USEC Headquarters Operations
personnel;
(b) American Centrifuge Plant (ACP) management;
(c) American Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facility (ACLCF) management;
(d) Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (Paducah) management;
(e) Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (Portsmouth) management; and
(f) USEC's long-term contractor management who work at the ACP,
ACLCF, Paducah, and Portsmouth facilities.
In addition, within 3 months of hire or promotion, new USEC
managers at the entities identified in (a) through (e) above will
receive initial SCWE training.
V. By no later than 180 calendar days after the issuance of the
Confirmatory Order, USEC agrees to develop, review, and/or revise as
appropriate, refresher SCWE training (that includes case studies) for
non-management personnel. USEC agrees to train ACP, ACLCF, Paducah and
Portsmouth plants' non-management employees, and USEC long-term
contractors who work within the ACP, ACLCF, Paducah, and Portsmouth
facilities on the topic of SCWE within 15 months of the date of the
Confirmatory Order and provide refresher training every 2 years
thereafter.
VI. The terms of the Confirmatory Order apply to the successors and
assigns of the Certificatee and Licensees.
The Director, Office of Enforcement, may relax or rescind, in
writing, any of the above conditions upon a showing by the Licensee or
Certificate holder of good cause.
VI
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, any person adversely affected by
this Confirmatory Order, other than USEC, Inc. which holds licenses
SNM-7003 and SNM-2011 and its subsidiary, USEC, which holds
certificates GDP-1 and GDP-2, may request a hearing within 20 days of
its publication in the Federal Register. Where good cause is shown,
consideration will be given to extending the time to request a hearing.
A request for extension of time must be directed to the Director,
Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555, and include a statement of good cause for the extension.
A request for a hearing must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-
Filing rule, which the NRC promulgated in 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 optical 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 associated with E-
Filing, at least five (5) days prior to the filing deadline the
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 NRC proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2)
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances
when the requestor (or its counsel or representative) already holds an
NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each 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 https://www.nrc.gov/site-
[[Page 42697]]
help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information about applying for a
digital ID certificate also is available on NRC's public Web site at
https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
Once a requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, had a
docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit a
request for a hearing through EIE. 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
document through EIE. To be timely, electronic filings 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 document on those participants separately.
Therefore, any others who wish to participate in the proceeding (or
their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a digital
ID certificate before a hearing request is filed so that they may
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 https://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 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.
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 works.
If a person (other than the Certificate holder or Licensee)
requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with particularity the
manner in which his interest is adversely affected by this Order and
shall address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
If the hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely
affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and
place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered
at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order should be
sustained. In the absence of any request for hearing, or written
approval of an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the
provisions specified in Section V above shall be final 20 days from the
date this Order is published in the Federal Register without further
order or proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a hearing
has been approved, the provisions specified in Section V shall be final
when the extension expires if a hearing request has not been received.
A request for hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of
this order.
Dated this 13th day of August, 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cynthia A. Carpenter,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. E9-20331 Filed 8-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
