Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station; Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Consideration of Approval of Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment, 23845-23849 [2017-10655]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 99 / Wednesday, May 24, 2017 / Notices
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and defueled reactor, to approve the
suspension of security measures during
an emergency to protect the public
health and safety, and during severe
weather to protect the safety of the
security force, consistent with the
similar authority provided by § 50.54(y).
Therefore, the exemption is in the
public interest.
D. Environmental Considerations
The NRC’s approval of the exemption
to security requirements belongs to a
category of actions that the Commission,
by rule or regulation, has declared to be
a categorical exclusion, after first
finding that the category of actions does
not individually or cumulatively have a
significant effect on the human
environment. Specifically, the
exemption is categorically excluded
from further analysis under
§ 51.22(c)(25).
Under § 51.22(c)(25), the granting of
an exemption from the requirements of
any regulation of Chapter I to 10 CFR is
a categorical exclusion provided that (i)
there is no significant hazards
consideration; (ii) there is no significant
change in the types or significant
increase in the amounts of any effluents
that may be released offsite; (iii) there is
no significant increase in individual or
cumulative public or occupational
radiation exposure; (iv) there is no
significant construction impact; (v)
there is no significant increase in the
potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents; and (vi) the
requirements from which an exemption
is sought involve: Safeguard plans, and
materials control and accounting
inventory scheduling requirements; or
involve other requirements of an
administrative, managerial, or
organizational nature.
The Director, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, has determined that
approval of the exemption request
involves no significant hazards
consideration because allowing a CFH,
besides a licensed senior operator, to
approve the security suspension at a
defueled shutdown power plant does
not (1) involve a significant increase in
the probability or consequences of an
accident previously evaluated; or (2)
create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any
accident previously evaluated; or (3)
involve a significant reduction in a
margin of safety. The exempted security
regulation is unrelated to any
operational restriction. Accordingly,
there is no significant change in the
types or significant increase in the
amounts of any effluents that may be
released offsite; and no significant
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increase in individual or cumulative
public or occupational radiation
exposure. The exempted regulation is
not associated with construction, so
there is no significant construction
impact. The exempted regulation does
not concern the source term (i.e.,
potential amount of radiation in an
accident), nor mitigation. Thus, there is
no significant increase in the potential
for, or consequences of, a radiological
accident. The requirement to have a
licensed senior operator approve
departure from security actions may be
viewed as involving either safeguards,
materials control, or managerial matters.
Therefore, pursuant to § 51.22(b) and
(c)(25), no environmental impact
statement or environmental assessment
need be prepared in connection with the
approval of this exemption request.
IV. Conclusions
Accordingly, the Commission has
determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
73.5, the exemption is authorized by
law and will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and
security, and is otherwise in the public
interest. Therefore, the Commission
hereby grants the licensee’s request for
an exemption from the requirements of
10 CFR 73.55(p)(1)(i) and (ii), to
authorize that the suspension of security
measures must be approved as a
minimum by either a licensed senior
operator or a certified fuel handler, at a
nuclear power plant reactor facility for
which the certifications required under
10 CFR 50.82(a)(1) have been submitted.
The exemption is effective upon receipt.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day
of May 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Benner,
Deputy Director, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2017–10640 Filed 5–23–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50–271; NRC–2017–0125]
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Station; Entergy Nuclear Operations,
Inc.; Consideration of Approval of
Transfer of License and Conforming
Amendment
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Application for direct transfer of
facility operating license and
conforming amendment; opportunity to
AGENCY:
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23845
comment, request a hearing, and
petition for leave to intervene.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) received and is
considering approval of an application
filed by the Entergy Nuclear Operations,
Inc. (ENO) on February 9, 2017. The
application seeks NRC approval of the
direct transfer of Renewed Facility
Operating License No. DPR–28 for the
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station
(VYNPS), as well as the general license
for the VYNPS Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation, from ENO, the
current licensed operator of VYNPS, to
NorthStar Nuclear Decommissioning
Company, LLC (NorthStar NDC), a
wholly-owned subsidiary of NorthStar
Group Services, Inc. (NorthStar). The
request is also for the indirect transfer
of control of Entergy Nuclear Vermont
Yankee, LLC (ENVY), the licensed
owner of the VYNPS, from ENVY’s
Entergy parent companies to NorthStar
Decommissioning Holdings, LLC and its
parents NorthStar, LVI Parent Corp., and
NorthStar Group Holdings, LLC. The
NRC is also considering amending the
facility operating license for
administrative purposes to reflect the
proposed transfer. The application
contains sensitive unclassified nonsafeguards information (SUNSI).
DATES: Comments must be filed by June
23, 2017. A request for a hearing must
be filed by June 13, 2017. Any potential
party as defined in § 2.4 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
who believes access to SUNSI is
necessary to respond to this notice must
follow the instructions in Section VI of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
of this notice.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods (unless
this document describes a different
method for submitting comments on a
specific subject):
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2017–0125. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the
individual in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document
• Email comments to:
Hearingdocket@nrc.gov. If you do not
receive an automatic email reply
confirming receipt, then contact us at
301–415–1677.
• Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 301–
415–1101.
• Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
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Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN:
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
• Hand deliver comments to: 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
(Eastern Time) Federal workdays;
telephone: 301–415–1677.
For additional direction on obtaining
information and submitting comments,
see ‘‘Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments’’ in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack
Parrott, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–
6634, email: Jack.Parrott@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments
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A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2017–
0125 when contacting the NRC about
the availability of information for this
action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this
action by any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2017–0125.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. To begin the search, select
‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then
select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC’s Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by
email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The
ADAMS accession number for each
document referenced (if it is available in
ADAMS) is provided the first time that
it is mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents at
the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC–2017–
0125 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include
identifying or contact information that
you do not want to be publicly
disclosed in your comment submission.
The NRC will post all comment
submissions at https://
www.regulations.gov as well as enter the
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comment submissions into ADAMS.
The NRC does not routinely edit
comment submissions to remove
identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating
comments from other persons for
submission to the NRC, then you should
inform those persons not to include
identifying or contact information that
they do not want to be publicly
disclosed in their comment submission.
Your request should state that the NRC
does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove such information
before making the comment
submissions available to the public or
entering the comment submissions into
ADAMS.
II. Introduction
The NRC is considering a request for
approval of an application for transfer of
a license, under 10 CFR 50.80 and
72.50, approving the direct transfer of
control of Facility Operating License
No. DPR–28, for the VYNPS, as well as
the general license for the VYNPS
Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation (ISFSI), currently held by
ENO, to NorthStar NDC. The request is
also for the indirect transfer of control
of ENVY from ENVY’s Entergy parent
companies to NorthStar
Decommissioning Holdings, LLC, and
its parents NorthStar, LVI Parent Corp.
and NorthStar Group Holdings, LLC.
The NRC is also considering the request
for amending the facility operating
license for administrative purposes to
reflect the proposed transfer.
The application now being considered
is dated February 9, 2017 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML17045A140), and was
jointly filed by ENO, ENVY and
NorthStar NDC (together, applicants).
The applicants requested that the NRC
consent to the transfers of the licensed
possession, maintenance, and
decommissioning authorities by
December 31, 2017, to implement
expedited decommissioning of the
VYNPS.
Following approval of the proposed
direct transfer of control of the license,
NorthStar NDC would assume licensed
responsibility for VYNPS through the
direct transfer of ENO’s responsibility
for licensed activities at VYNPS to
NorthStar NDC. NorthStar VY would
also enter into an operating agreement
with NorthStar NDC, which provides for
NorthStar NDC to act as NorthStar VY’s
agent and for NorthStar VY to pay
NorthStar NDC’s costs of operation,
including all decommissioning costs. If
the proposed indirect transfer of control
is approved, ENVY would change its
name to NorthStar VY, but the same
legal entity would continue to exist
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before and after the proposed transfer.
NorthStar VY would own the VYNPS
facility as well as its associated assets
and real estate, including its nuclear
decommissioning trust fund, title to
spent nuclear fuel, and rights pursuant
to the terms of its Standard Contract for
Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or
High-Level Radioactive Waste with the
U.S. Department of Energy. Certain offsite assets and real estate of ENVY are
excluded, such as administrative offices,
off-site training facilities, etc.
Upon the proposed license transfer,
NorthStar NDC would assume
responsibility for compliance with the
current licensing basis, including
regulatory commitments that exist at
closing, and would implement any
changes under applicable regulatory
requirements and practices.
As discussed in ENVY’s 2014 Post
Shutdown Decommissioning Activities
Report (2014 PSDAR, ADAMS
Accession No. ML14357A110), under
the December 23, 2013, settlement
agreement with State of Vermont
agencies (Attachment 2 to the 2014
PSDAR), ENVY committed to initiate
radiological decommissioning when it
had made a reasonable determination
that it had sufficient funds to complete
decommissioning and remaining spent
fuel management obligations. Under the
assumptions and circumstances
described in the 2014 PSDAR, ENVY
could commence radiological
decommissioning under the agreement
with the State of Vermont agencies in
approximately 2053 and complete such
activities in approximately 2060.
However, ENVY’s current
decommissioning plans, as described in
the 2014 PSDAR, assume that the
completion of radiological
decommissioning will be by the
maximum allowed (under 10 CFR 50.82)
date of 2073, with site restoration by
2075. In contrast, if the transfer to dry
storage of the spent fuel proceeds as
described in the ENO notification of
schedule change for dry fuel loading
dated April 12, 2017 (ADAMS accession
number ML17104A050), transfer of the
remaining spent fuel in the spent fuel
pool would commence in 2017 and be
complete in late 2018. Upon the
proposed license transfer date at the end
of 2018, NorthStar NDC would become
responsible for an ISFSI that contains all
of the VY spent fuel. NorthStar NDC
then would begin VYNPS
decommissioning activities promptly
and would plan to complete radiological
decommissioning and restoration of the
non-ISFSI portions of the VYNPS site by
the end of 2030 (and potentially as early
as 2026). NorthStar VY and NorthStar
NDC would then restore the site in
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accordance with standards approved by
the Vermont Public Service Board
(PSB). Under Vermont state law, the
PSB must also approve the transaction
and issue an amended Certificate of
Public Good. In parallel with NRC’s
review of the application, NorthStar
NDC submitted an updated proposed
PSDAR, dated April 6, 2017 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML17096A394), to
become effective after license transfer,
which would reflect NorthStar NDC’s
plans for accelerated decommissioning
following the proposed transfers of the
license.
Before making a decision on the
transfer, and before issuance of the
proposed conforming license
amendment, the Commission will
evaluate the request against the
requirements of the Atomic Energy Act
of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the
Commission’s regulations. The NRC’s
regulations at § 50.80 and § 72.50 state
that no license, or any right thereunder,
shall be transferred, directly or
indirectly, through transfer of control of
the license, unless the Commission shall
give its consent in writing. The
Commission will approve an
application for the direct transfer of a
license if the Commission determines
that the proposed transferee is qualified
to hold the license, and that the transfer
is otherwise consistent with applicable
provisions of law, regulations, and
orders issued by the Commission.
As provided in 10 CFR 2.1315, unless
otherwise determined by the
Commission with regard to a specific
application, the Commission has
determined that any amendment to the
license of a utilization facility or to the
license of an Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation which does no more
than conform the license to reflect the
transfer action involves no significant
hazards consideration and no genuine
issue as to whether the health and safety
of the public will be significantly
affected. No contrary determination has
been made with respect to this specific
license amendment application. In light
of the generic determination reflected in
10 CFR 2.1315, no public comments
with respect to significant hazards
considerations are being solicited,
notwithstanding the general comment
procedures contained in 10 CFR 50.91.
An Environmental Assessment will not
be performed because, pursuant to 10
CFR 51.22(c)(21), license transfer
approvals and the associated license
amendments are categorically excluded
from the requirements to perform an
environmental assessment.
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III. Public Meeting and Opportunity To
Comment
Within 30 days from the date of
publication of this notice, persons may
submit written comments regarding the
license transfer application, as provided
for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The Commission
will consider and, if appropriate,
respond to these comments, but such
comments will not otherwise constitute
part of the decisional record. Comments
should be submitted as described in the
ADDRESSES section of this document.
In addition, the NRC staff will be
participating in a public meeting of the
Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning
Citizens Advisory Panel (NDCAP) on
May 25, 2017, in Brattleboro, VT. The
time, location, and agenda for the
meeting will be posted on the NDCAP
Web site at: https://
publicservice.vermont.gov/electric/
ndcap. The NRC personnel will give a
presentation on the license transfer
application review process at the
NDCAP meeting and will take any
public oral or written comments on the
application for the proposed license
transfer and the associated proposed
updated PSDAR. The meeting will be
transcribed and will include: (1) A
presentation by NorthStar and Entergy
on the proposed license transfer; (2) a
presentation by NRC on the review of
the application for the proposed license
transfer; and, (3) a discussion with the
public on the proposed license transfer
and the proposed updated PSDAR. To
be considered, comments must be
provided either at the transcribed public
meeting or submitted by the comment
deadline identified in the DATES section
of this document. For additional
information regarding the meeting, see
the NRC’s Public Meeting Schedule Web
site at https://meetings.nrc.gov/pmns/
mtg. The agenda will be posted no later
than 10 days prior to the meeting.
IV. Opportunity To Request a Hearing
and Petition for Leave To Intervene
Within 20 days after the date of
publication of this notice, any persons
(petitioner) whose interest may be
affected by this action may file a request
for a hearing and petition for leave to
intervene (petition) with respect to the
action. Petitions shall be filed in
accordance with the Commission’s
‘‘Agency Rules of Practice and
Procedure’’ in 10 CFR part 2. Interested
persons should consult a current copy
of 10 CFR 2.309. The NRC’s regulations
are accessible electronically from the
NRC Library on the NRC’s Web site at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/cfr/. Alternatively, a copy of
the regulations is available at the NRC’s
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23847
Public Document Room, located at One
White Flint North, Room O1–F21, 11555
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville,
Maryland 20852. If a petition is filed,
the Commission or a presiding officer
will rule on the petition and, if
appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be
issued.
As required by 10 CFR 2.309(d) the
petition should specifically explain the
reasons why intervention should be
permitted with particular reference to
the following general requirements for
standing: (1) The name, address, and
telephone number of the petitioner; (2)
the nature of the petitioner’s right under
the Act to be made a party to the
proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of
the 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 petitioner’s interest.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f),
the petition must also set forth the
specific contentions which the
petitioner seeks to have litigated in 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
must 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 the specific
sources and documents on which the
petitioner intends to rely to support its
position on the issue. The petition must
include sufficient information to show
that a genuine dispute exists with the
applicant or licensee on a material issue
of law or fact. Contentions must be
limited to matters within the scope of
the proceeding. The contention must be
one which, if proven, would entitle the
petitioner to relief. A petitioner who
fails to satisfy the requirements at 10
CFR 2.309(f) 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. Parties have the opportunity
to participate fully in the conduct of the
hearing with respect to resolution of
that party’s admitted contentions,
including the opportunity to present
evidence, consistent with the NRC’s
regulations, policies, and procedures.
Petitions must be filed no later than
20 days from the date of publication of
this notice. Petitions and motions for
leave to file new or amended
contentions that are filed after the
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deadline will not be entertained absent
a determination by the presiding officer
that the filing demonstrates good cause
by satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR
2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii). The petition
must be filed in accordance with the
filing instructions in the ‘‘Electronic
Submissions (E-Filing)’’ section of this
document.
If a hearing is requested, and the
Commission has not made a final
determination on the issue of no
significant hazards consideration, the
Commission will make a final
determination on the issue of no
significant hazards consideration. The
final determination will serve to decide
when the hearing is held. If the final
determination is that the amendment
request involves no significant hazards
consideration, the Commission may
issue the amendment and make it
immediately effective, notwithstanding
the request for a hearing. Any hearing
held would take place after issuance of
the amendment. If the final
determination is that the amendment
request involves a significant hazards
consideration, then any hearing held
would take place before the issuance of
any amendment unless the Commission
finds an imminent danger to the health
or safety of the public, in which case it
will issue an appropriate order or rule
under 10 CFR part 2.
A State, local governmental body,
Federally-recognized Indian Tribe, or
agency thereof, may submit a petition to
the Commission to participate as a party
under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(1). The petition
should state the nature and extent of the
petitioner’s interest in the proceeding.
The petition should be submitted to the
Commission by June 13, 2017. The
petition must be filed in accordance
with the filing instructions in the
‘‘Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)’’
section of this document, and should
meet the requirements for petitions for
leave to intervene set forth in this
section, except that under § 2.309(h)(2)
a State, local governmental body, or
Federally-recognized Indian Tribe, or
agency thereof does not need to address
the standing requirements in 10 CFR
2.309(d) if the facility is located within
its boundaries. Alternatively, a State,
local governmental body, Federallyrecognized Indian Tribe, or agency
thereof may participate as a non-party
under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
If a hearing is granted, any person
who is not a party to the proceeding and
is not affiliated with or represented by
a party may, at the discretion of the
presiding officer, be permitted to make
a limited appearance pursuant to the
provisions of 10 CFR 2.315(a). A person
making a limited appearance may make
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an oral or written statement of his or her
position on the issues but may not
otherwise participate in the proceeding.
A limited appearance may be made at
any session of the hearing or at any
prehearing conference, subject to the
limits and conditions as may be
imposed by the presiding officer. Details
regarding the opportunity to make a
limited appearance will be provided by
the presiding officer if such sessions are
scheduled.
V. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC
adjudicatory proceedings, including a
request for hearing and petition for
leave to intervene (petition), any motion
or other document filed in the
proceeding prior to the submission of a
request for hearing or petition to
intervene, and documents filed by
interested governmental entities that
request to participate under 10 CFR
2.315(c), must be filed in accordance
with the NRC’s E-Filing rule (72 FR
49139; August 28, 2007, as amended at
77 FR 46562, August 3, 2012). The EFiling process requires participants to
submit and serve all adjudicatory
documents over the internet, or in some
cases to mail copies on electronic
storage media. Detailed guidance on
making electronic submissions may be
found in the Guidance for Electronic
Submissions to the NRC and on the NRC
Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/sitehelp/e-submittals.html. Participants
may not submit paper copies of their
filings unless they seek an exemption in
accordance with the procedures
described below.
To comply with the procedural
requirements of E-Filing, at least 10
days prior to the filing deadline, the
participant should contact the Office of
the Secretary by email at
hearing.docket@nrc.gov, or by telephone
at 301–415–1677, to (1) request a digital
identification (ID) certificate, which
allows the participant (or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign
submissions and access the E-Filing
system for any proceeding in which it
is participating; and (2) advise the
Secretary that the participant will be
submitting a petition or other
adjudicatory document (even in
instances in which the participant, or its
counsel or representative, already holds
an NRC-issued digital ID certificate).
Based upon this information, the
Secretary will establish an electronic
docket for the hearing in this proceeding
if the Secretary has not already
established an electronic docket.
Information about applying for a
digital ID certificate is available on the
NRC’s public Web site at https://
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www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/
getting-started.html. Once a participant
has obtained a digital ID certificate and
a docket has been created, the
participant can then submit
adjudicatory documents. Submissions
must be in Portable Document Format
(PDF). Additional guidance on PDF
submissions is available on the NRC’s
public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/
site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A
filing is considered complete at the time
the document is submitted through the
NRC’s E-Filing system. To be timely, an
electronic filing must be submitted to
the E-Filing system no later than 11:59
p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.
Upon receipt of a transmission, the EFiling system time-stamps the document
and sends the submitter an email notice
confirming receipt of the document. The
E-Filing system also distributes an email
notice that provides access to the
document to the NRC’s 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,
applicants and other participants (or
their counsel or representative) must
apply for and receive a digital ID
certificate before adjudicatory
documents are filed so that they can
obtain access to the documents via the
E-Filing system.
A person filing electronically using
the NRC’s adjudicatory E-Filing system
may seek assistance by contacting the
NRC’s Electronic Filing Help Desk
through the ‘‘Contact Us’’ link located
on the NRC’s public Web site at https://
www.nrc.gov/site-help/esubmittals.html, by email to
MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a tollfree call at 1–866–672–7640. The NRC
Electronic Filing Help Desk is available
between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday,
excluding government holidays.
Participants who believe that they
have a good cause for not submitting
documents electronically must file an
exemption request, in accordance with
10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper
filing stating why there is good cause for
not filing electronically and 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, 11555 Rockville Pike,
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asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 99 / Wednesday, May 24, 2017 / Notices
Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention:
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff.
Participants filing adjudicatory
documents 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. A presiding officer, having
granted an exemption request from
using E-Filing, may require a participant
or party to use E-Filing if the presiding
officer subsequently determines that the
reason for granting the exemption from
use of E-Filing no longer exists.
Documents submitted in adjudicatory
proceedings will appear in the NRC’s
electronic hearing docket which is
available to the public at https://
adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded
pursuant to an order of the Commission
or the presiding officer. If you do not
have an NRC-issued digital ID certificate
as described above, click cancel when
the link requests certificates and you
will be automatically directed to the
NRC’s electronic hearing dockets where
you will be able to access any publicly
available documents in a particular
hearing docket. Participants are
requested not to include personal
privacy information, such as social
security numbers, home addresses, or
personal phone numbers in their filings,
unless an NRC regulation or other law
requires submission of such
information. For example, in some
instances, individuals provide home
addresses in order to demonstrate
proximity to a facility or site. 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.
The Commission will issue a notice or
order granting or denying a hearing
request or intervention petition,
designating the issues for any hearing
that will be held and designating the
Presiding Officer. A notice granting a
hearing will be published in the Federal
Register and served on the parties to the
hearing.
For further details with respect to this
application, see the application dated
February 9, 2017 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML17045A140).
VI. Access to Sensitive Unclassified
Non-Safeguards Information for
Contention Preparation
Any person who desires access to
proprietary, confidential commercial
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:43 May 23, 2017
Jkt 241001
information that has been redacted from
the application should contact the
applicant by telephoning Gregory G.
DiCarlo, Vice President & General
Counsel, NorthStar Group Services, Inc.,
at 203–222–0584 x3051, for the purpose
of negotiating a confidentiality
agreement or a proposed protective
order with the applicant. If no
agreement can be reached, persons who
desire access to this information may
file a motion with the Secretary and
addressed to the Commission that
requests the issuance of a protective
order.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day
of May, 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gregory F. Suber,
Acting Director, Division of
Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and
Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2017–10655 Filed 5–23–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2017–0123]
Memorandum of Understanding
Between the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Memorandum of understanding;
issuance.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),
dated March 21, 2017, between the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the
NRC. The MOU establishes and
coordinates the roles, responsibilities,
and functions between the two agencies
regarding the accomplishment of
firearms background checks on armed
security personnel of NRC licensees,
pursuant to Section 161A of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA).
DATES: The final MOU is available as of
May 24, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2017–0123 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information regarding this document.
You may obtain publicly-available
information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2017–0123. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
PO 00000
Frm 00078
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
23849
Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
Address questions about this MOU to
the individuals listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. To begin the search, select
‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then
select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC’s Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by
email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. For the
convenience of the reader, the ADAMS
accession numbers are provided in a
table in the ‘‘Availability of Documents’’
section of this document.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents at
the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy Roundtree, Office of
Administration; telephone: 301–415–
7414, email: Amy.Roundtree@nrc.gov or
Philip Brochman, Office of Nuclear
Security and Incident Response;
telephone: 301–287–3691, email:
Phil.Brochman@nrc.gov; U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Purpose
This notice is to advise the public,
NRC licensees, and other interested
stakeholders of the issuance of an MOU
between the FBI and the NRC regarding
the accomplishment of firearms
background checks on armed security
personnel of NRC licensees, pursuant to
Section 161A of the AEA, ‘‘Use of
Firearms by Security Personnel,’’ (42
U.S.C. 2201a). This MOU is entitled
‘‘Memorandum of Understanding on
Implementation of Firearms Background
Check Provisions Under Section 161A
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, Revision 0.’’
Under Section 161A of the AEA and
Revision 1 to the Firearms Guidelines,
security personnel whose official duties
require access to covered weapons and
who are engaged in the protection of
Commission-designated facilities,
radioactive material, or other property
owned or operated by an NRC licensee
shall be subject to a firearms
background check. Revision 1 to the
Firearms Guidelines was published by
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23845-23849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10655]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-271; NRC-2017-0125]
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station; Entergy Nuclear Operations,
Inc.; Consideration of Approval of Transfer of License and Conforming
Amendment
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Application for direct transfer of facility operating license
and conforming amendment; opportunity to comment, request a hearing,
and petition for leave to intervene.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received and is
considering approval of an application filed by the Entergy Nuclear
Operations, Inc. (ENO) on February 9, 2017. The application seeks NRC
approval of the direct transfer of Renewed Facility Operating License
No. DPR-28 for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS), as
well as the general license for the VYNPS Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation, from ENO, the current licensed operator of VYNPS,
to NorthStar Nuclear Decommissioning Company, LLC (NorthStar NDC), a
wholly-owned subsidiary of NorthStar Group Services, Inc. (NorthStar).
The request is also for the indirect transfer of control of Entergy
Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC (ENVY), the licensed owner of the VYNPS,
from ENVY's Entergy parent companies to NorthStar Decommissioning
Holdings, LLC and its parents NorthStar, LVI Parent Corp., and
NorthStar Group Holdings, LLC. The NRC is also considering amending the
facility operating license for administrative purposes to reflect the
proposed transfer. The application contains sensitive unclassified non-
safeguards information (SUNSI).
DATES: Comments must be filed by June 23, 2017. A request for a hearing
must be filed by June 13, 2017. Any potential party as defined in Sec.
2.4 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), who
believes access to SUNSI is necessary to respond to this notice must
follow the instructions in Section VI of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this notice.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting
comments on a specific subject):
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0125. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact
the individual in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document
Email comments to: Hearingdocket@nrc.gov. If you do not
receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact us at
301-415-1677.
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission at 301-415-1101.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission,
[[Page 23846]]
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) Federal
workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Parrott, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6634, email:
Jack.Parrott@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0125 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0125.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2017-0125 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove
identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.
II. Introduction
The NRC is considering a request for approval of an application for
transfer of a license, under 10 CFR 50.80 and 72.50, approving the
direct transfer of control of Facility Operating License No. DPR-28,
for the VYNPS, as well as the general license for the VYNPS Independent
Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), currently held by ENO, to
NorthStar NDC. The request is also for the indirect transfer of control
of ENVY from ENVY's Entergy parent companies to NorthStar
Decommissioning Holdings, LLC, and its parents NorthStar, LVI Parent
Corp. and NorthStar Group Holdings, LLC. The NRC is also considering
the request for amending the facility operating license for
administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer.
The application now being considered is dated February 9, 2017
(ADAMS Accession No. ML17045A140), and was jointly filed by ENO, ENVY
and NorthStar NDC (together, applicants). The applicants requested that
the NRC consent to the transfers of the licensed possession,
maintenance, and decommissioning authorities by December 31, 2017, to
implement expedited decommissioning of the VYNPS.
Following approval of the proposed direct transfer of control of
the license, NorthStar NDC would assume licensed responsibility for
VYNPS through the direct transfer of ENO's responsibility for licensed
activities at VYNPS to NorthStar NDC. NorthStar VY would also enter
into an operating agreement with NorthStar NDC, which provides for
NorthStar NDC to act as NorthStar VY's agent and for NorthStar VY to
pay NorthStar NDC's costs of operation, including all decommissioning
costs. If the proposed indirect transfer of control is approved, ENVY
would change its name to NorthStar VY, but the same legal entity would
continue to exist before and after the proposed transfer. NorthStar VY
would own the VYNPS facility as well as its associated assets and real
estate, including its nuclear decommissioning trust fund, title to
spent nuclear fuel, and rights pursuant to the terms of its Standard
Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level
Radioactive Waste with the U.S. Department of Energy. Certain off-site
assets and real estate of ENVY are excluded, such as administrative
offices, off-site training facilities, etc.
Upon the proposed license transfer, NorthStar NDC would assume
responsibility for compliance with the current licensing basis,
including regulatory commitments that exist at closing, and would
implement any changes under applicable regulatory requirements and
practices.
As discussed in ENVY's 2014 Post Shutdown Decommissioning
Activities Report (2014 PSDAR, ADAMS Accession No. ML14357A110), under
the December 23, 2013, settlement agreement with State of Vermont
agencies (Attachment 2 to the 2014 PSDAR), ENVY committed to initiate
radiological decommissioning when it had made a reasonable
determination that it had sufficient funds to complete decommissioning
and remaining spent fuel management obligations. Under the assumptions
and circumstances described in the 2014 PSDAR, ENVY could commence
radiological decommissioning under the agreement with the State of
Vermont agencies in approximately 2053 and complete such activities in
approximately 2060. However, ENVY's current decommissioning plans, as
described in the 2014 PSDAR, assume that the completion of radiological
decommissioning will be by the maximum allowed (under 10 CFR 50.82)
date of 2073, with site restoration by 2075. In contrast, if the
transfer to dry storage of the spent fuel proceeds as described in the
ENO notification of schedule change for dry fuel loading dated April
12, 2017 (ADAMS accession number ML17104A050), transfer of the
remaining spent fuel in the spent fuel pool would commence in 2017 and
be complete in late 2018. Upon the proposed license transfer date at
the end of 2018, NorthStar NDC would become responsible for an ISFSI
that contains all of the VY spent fuel. NorthStar NDC then would begin
VYNPS decommissioning activities promptly and would plan to complete
radiological decommissioning and restoration of the non-ISFSI portions
of the VYNPS site by the end of 2030 (and potentially as early as
2026). NorthStar VY and NorthStar NDC would then restore the site in
[[Page 23847]]
accordance with standards approved by the Vermont Public Service Board
(PSB). Under Vermont state law, the PSB must also approve the
transaction and issue an amended Certificate of Public Good. In
parallel with NRC's review of the application, NorthStar NDC submitted
an updated proposed PSDAR, dated April 6, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17096A394), to become effective after license transfer, which would
reflect NorthStar NDC's plans for accelerated decommissioning following
the proposed transfers of the license.
Before making a decision on the transfer, and before issuance of
the proposed conforming license amendment, the Commission will evaluate
the request against the requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations. The NRC's
regulations at Sec. 50.80 and Sec. 72.50 state that no license, or
any right thereunder, shall be transferred, directly or indirectly,
through transfer of control of the license, unless the Commission shall
give its consent in writing. The Commission will approve an application
for the direct transfer of a license if the Commission determines that
the proposed transferee is qualified to hold the license, and that the
transfer is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law,
regulations, and orders issued by the Commission.
As provided in 10 CFR 2.1315, unless otherwise determined by the
Commission with regard to a specific application, the Commission has
determined that any amendment to the license of a utilization facility
or to the license of an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
which does no more than conform the license to reflect the transfer
action involves no significant hazards consideration and no genuine
issue as to whether the health and safety of the public will be
significantly affected. No contrary determination has been made with
respect to this specific license amendment application. In light of the
generic determination reflected in 10 CFR 2.1315, no public comments
with respect to significant hazards considerations are being solicited,
notwithstanding the general comment procedures contained in 10 CFR
50.91. An Environmental Assessment will not be performed because,
pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(c)(21), license transfer approvals and the
associated license amendments are categorically excluded from the
requirements to perform an environmental assessment.
III. Public Meeting and Opportunity To Comment
Within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice, persons
may submit written comments regarding the license transfer application,
as provided for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The Commission will consider and, if
appropriate, respond to these comments, but such comments will not
otherwise constitute part of the decisional record. Comments should be
submitted as described in the ADDRESSES section of this document.
In addition, the NRC staff will be participating in a public
meeting of the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel
(NDCAP) on May 25, 2017, in Brattleboro, VT. The time, location, and
agenda for the meeting will be posted on the NDCAP Web site at: https://publicservice.vermont.gov/electric/ndcap. The NRC personnel will give a
presentation on the license transfer application review process at the
NDCAP meeting and will take any public oral or written comments on the
application for the proposed license transfer and the associated
proposed updated PSDAR. The meeting will be transcribed and will
include: (1) A presentation by NorthStar and Entergy on the proposed
license transfer; (2) a presentation by NRC on the review of the
application for the proposed license transfer; and, (3) a discussion
with the public on the proposed license transfer and the proposed
updated PSDAR. To be considered, comments must be provided either at
the transcribed public meeting or submitted by the comment deadline
identified in the DATES section of this document. For additional
information regarding the meeting, see the NRC's Public Meeting
Schedule Web site at https://meetings.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg. The agenda will
be posted no later than 10 days prior to the meeting.
IV. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To
Intervene
Within 20 days after the date of publication of this notice, any
persons (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may
file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene
(petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in
accordance with the Commission's ``Agency Rules of Practice and
Procedure'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult a
current copy of 10 CFR 2.309. The NRC's regulations are accessible
electronically from the NRC Library on the NRC's Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. Alternatively, a copy of
the regulations is available at the NRC's Public Document Room, located
at One White Flint North, Room O1-F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first
floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852. If a petition is filed, the
Commission or a presiding officer will rule on the petition and, if
appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued.
As required by 10 CFR 2.309(d) the petition should specifically
explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with
particular reference to the following general requirements for
standing: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the
petitioner; (2) the nature of the petitioner's right under the Act to
be made a party to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the
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 petitioner's interest.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f), the petition must also set
forth the specific contentions which the petitioner seeks to have
litigated in 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 must 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 the specific sources and
documents on which the petitioner intends to rely to support its
position on the issue. The petition must include sufficient information
to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant or licensee on
a material issue of law or fact. Contentions must be limited to matters
within the scope of the proceeding. The contention must be one which,
if proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. A petitioner who
fails to satisfy the requirements at 10 CFR 2.309(f) 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.
Parties have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the
hearing with respect to resolution of that party's admitted
contentions, including the opportunity to present evidence, consistent
with the NRC's regulations, policies, and procedures.
Petitions must be filed no later than 20 days from the date of
publication of this notice. Petitions and motions for leave to file new
or amended contentions that are filed after the
[[Page 23848]]
deadline will not be entertained absent a determination by the
presiding officer that the filing demonstrates good cause by satisfying
the three factors in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii). The petition
must be filed in accordance with the filing instructions in the
``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document.
If a hearing is requested, and the Commission has not made a final
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration, the
Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no
significant hazards consideration. The final determination will serve
to decide when the hearing is held. If the final determination is that
the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration,
the Commission may issue the amendment and make it immediately
effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing held
would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the final
determination is that the amendment request involves a significant
hazards consideration, then any hearing held would take place before
the issuance of any amendment unless the Commission finds an imminent
danger to the health or safety of the public, in which case it will
issue an appropriate order or rule under 10 CFR part 2.
A State, local governmental body, Federally-recognized Indian
Tribe, or agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to
participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(1). The petition should
state the nature and extent of the petitioner's interest in the
proceeding. The petition should be submitted to the Commission by June
13, 2017. The petition must be filed in accordance with the filing
instructions in the ``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of
this document, and should meet the requirements for petitions for leave
to intervene set forth in this section, except that under Sec.
2.309(h)(2) a State, local governmental body, or Federally-recognized
Indian Tribe, or agency thereof does not need to address the standing
requirements in 10 CFR 2.309(d) if the facility is located within its
boundaries. Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, Federally-
recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof may participate as a non-
party under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
If a hearing is granted, any person who is not a party to the
proceeding and is not affiliated with or represented by a party may, at
the discretion of the presiding officer, be permitted to make a limited
appearance pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.315(a). A person
making a limited appearance may make an oral or written statement of
his or her position on the issues but may not otherwise participate in
the proceeding. A limited appearance may be made at any session of the
hearing or at any prehearing conference, subject to the limits and
conditions as may be imposed by the presiding officer. Details
regarding the opportunity to make a limited appearance will be provided
by the presiding officer if such sessions are scheduled.
V. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a
request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene (petition), any
motion or other document filed in the proceeding prior to the
submission of a request for hearing or petition to intervene, and
documents filed by interested governmental entities that request to
participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with the
NRC's E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended at 77 FR
46562, August 3, 2012). The E-Filing process requires participants to
submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in
some cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Detailed
guidance on making electronic submissions may be found in the Guidance
for Electronic Submissions to the NRC and on the NRC Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may not submit
paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in
accordance with the procedures described below.
To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the
Office of the Secretary by email at hearing.docket@nrc.gov, or by
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID)
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the hearing in this
proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic
docket.
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is
available on the NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. Once a participant has obtained a
digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the participant
can then submit adjudicatory documents. Submissions must be in Portable
Document Format (PDF). Additional guidance on PDF submissions is
available on the NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing 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 email notice confirming receipt of the document. The
E-Filing system also distributes an email notice that provides access
to the document to the NRC's 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, applicants and
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for
and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are
filed so that they can obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing
system.
A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's
public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by
email to MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m.
and 6 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government
holidays.
Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and
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, 11555
Rockville Pike,
[[Page 23849]]
Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications
Staff. Participants filing adjudicatory documents 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. A
presiding officer, having granted an exemption request from using E-
Filing, may require a participant or party to use E-Filing if the
presiding officer subsequently determines that the reason for granting
the exemption from use of E-Filing no longer exists.
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at
https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the
Commission or the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued
digital ID certificate as described above, click cancel when the link
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the
NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to access any
publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket.
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information,
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone
numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law
requires submission of such information. For example, in some
instances, individuals provide home addresses in order to demonstrate
proximity to a facility or site. 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.
The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and
served on the parties to the hearing.
For further details with respect to this application, see the
application dated February 9, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17045A140).
VI. Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information for
Contention Preparation
Any person who desires access to proprietary, confidential
commercial information that has been redacted from the application
should contact the applicant by telephoning Gregory G. DiCarlo, Vice
President & General Counsel, NorthStar Group Services, Inc., at 203-
222-0584 x3051, for the purpose of negotiating a confidentiality
agreement or a proposed protective order with the applicant. If no
agreement can be reached, persons who desire access to this information
may file a motion with the Secretary and addressed to the Commission
that requests the issuance of a protective order.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of May, 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gregory F. Suber,
Acting Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and
Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2017-10655 Filed 5-23-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P