Palisades Nuclear Plant and Big Rock Point Plant Consideration of Approval of Transfer of Control of Licenses and Conforming Amendments, 8225-8228 [2021-02357]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 22 / Thursday, February 4, 2021 / Notices www.nsf.gov/nsb for general information. Audit Committee meeting. The General Counsel of the Corporation has certified that in his opinion, one or more of the exemptions set forth in 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(2) and (4) permit closure of the following portion(s) of this meeting: • Executive Session MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: Chris Blair, Executive Assistant to the National Science Board Office. [FR Doc. 2021–02374 Filed 2–2–21; 11:15 am] BILLING CODE 7555–01–P NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Agenda Sunshine Act Meeting I. Call to Order II. Executive Session: Chief Audit Executive III. Action Item Presentation of the FY2021 Risk Assessment & Internal Audit Plan IV. Action Item Internal Audit Reports with Management’s Response V. Internal Audit Status Reports VI. Adjournment PORTIONS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: Everything except the Executive Session. PORTIONS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC: Executive Session. CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Lakeyia Thompson, Special Assistant, (202) 524–9940; Lthompson@nw.org. The National Science Board’s Committee on Oversight hereby gives notice of the scheduling of a teleconference for the transaction of National Science Board business as follows: TIME AND DATE: Wednesday, February 10, 2021, from 1:00–2:00 p.m. EST. PLACE: This meeting will be held by teleconference through the National Science Foundation. STATUS: Open. MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The agenda of the teleconference is: Chair’s opening remarks; presentation regarding merit review analysis; review of two proposed NSB policies; and discussion of data on careers of NSF-funded graduate students. CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Point of contact for this meeting is: Ann Bushmiller, abushmil@nsf.gov, 703/ 292–7000. To listen to this teleconference, members of the public must send an email to nationalsciencebrd@nsf.gov at least 24 hours prior to the teleconference. The National Science Board Office will send requesters a toll-free dial-in number. Meeting information and updates may be found at https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/ meetings/index.jsp. Please refer to the National Science Board website at www.nsf.gov/nsb for general information. Chris Blair, Executive Assistant to the National Science Board Office. [FR Doc. 2021–02466 Filed 2–2–21; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 7555–01–P jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES Sunshine Act Meetings 10:00 a.m., Thursday, February 11, 2021 PLACE: Via Conference Call STATUS: Parts of this meeting will be open to the public. The rest of the meeting will be closed to the public. TIME AND DATE: 17:13 Feb 03, 2021 [FR Doc. 2021–02425 Filed 2–2–21; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 7570–02–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 50–155, 50–255, 72–007, and 72–043; NRC–2021–0036] Palisades Nuclear Plant and Big Rock Point Plant Consideration of Approval of Transfer of Control of Licenses and Conforming Amendments Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Application for direct and indirect transfers of licenses; opportunity to comment, request a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received and is considering approval of an application filed by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENOI), on behalf of itself, Entergy Nuclear Palisades, LLC (ENP), Holtec International (Holtec), and Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI) (collectively, the applicants), on December 23, 2020. The application seeks NRC approval of the transfer of control of Provisional Operating License No. DPR–6 and Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR–20 for Big SUMMARY: NEIGHBORHOOD REINVESTMENT CORPORATION VerDate Sep<11>2014 Lakeyia Thompson, Special Assistant. Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 8225 Rock Point Plant (Big Rock Point) and Palisades Nuclear Plant (Palisades), respectively, as well as the general license for the Big Rock Point Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) and the Palisades ISFSI (collectively, the licenses). Specifically, the application requests that the NRC consent to (1) the transfer of control of the licenses to Holtec and (2) the transfer of ENOI’s operating authority to HDI. The NRC is also considering amending the licenses for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer. The application contains sensitive unclassified nonsafeguards information (SUNSI). DATES: Comments must be filed by March 8, 2021. A request for a hearing must be filed by February 24, 2021. 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; however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal Rulemaking website: • Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2021–0036. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301–415–0624; email: Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • Email comments to: Hearing.Docket@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, 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: Scott P. Wall, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory E:\FR\FM\04FEN1.SGM 04FEN1 8226 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 22 / Thursday, February 4, 2021 / Notices Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001; telephone: 301–415–2855; email: Scott.Wall@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments A. Obtaining Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2021– 0036 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 Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2021–0036. • 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 ‘‘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 this document. • Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request to the PDR via email at pdr.resource@nrc.gov or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES B. Submitting Comments The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal Rulemaking website (https:// www.regulations.gov). Please include Docket ID NRC–2021–0036 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 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:13 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 253001 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 into ADAMS. II. Introduction The NRC is considering the issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 and 72.50 approving the direct and indirect transfers of control of Provisional Operating License No. DPR–6 and Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR–20 for Big Rock Point and Palisades, respectively, as well as the general licenses for the Palisades and Big Rock Point ISFSIs (collectively, the licenses). Specifically, the application, dated December 23, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20358A075), requests that the NRC consent to (1) the transfer of control of the licenses to Holtec, and (2) the transfer of ENOI’s operating authority (i.e., its authority to conduct licensed activities under the licenses) to HDI. In addition, HDI submitted a ‘‘Post Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report [PSDAR] including Site-Specific Decommissioning Cost Estimate for Palisades Nuclear Plant,’’ dated December 23, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20358A232), which the NRC is considering as a supplement to the license transfer application. The NRC is also considering amending the licenses for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer. Following approval of the proposed direct and indirect transfers of control of the licenses, Holtec Palisades, LLC, would be the licensed owners for the licenses and HDI would be the licensed operator for the licenses. HDI will contract with Comprehensive Decommissioning International, LLC to decommission Palisades. No physical changes to the Palisades ISFSI and the Big Rock Point ISFSI or operational changes are being proposed in the application. The NRC’s regulations at 10 CFR 50.80 state that no license, or any right thereunder, shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of control of the license, unless the Commission gives its consent in writing. The Commission will approve an application for the 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. Before issuance of the proposed conforming license amendment, the Commission will have made findings PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission’s regulations. 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 ISFSI, 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. III. 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. 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 website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/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 E:\FR\FM\04FEN1.SGM 04FEN1 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 22 / Thursday, February 4, 2021 / Notices the following general requirements for standing: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the petitioner; (2) the nature of the petitioner’s right 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 that 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 that 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 that, 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 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. A State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof, may submit a petition to VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:13 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 253001 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 no later than 20 days from the date of publication of this notice. 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 set forth in this section, except that under 10 CFR 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 petition is submitted, 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 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 website at https://www.nrc.gov/site- PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 8227 help/e-submittals.html. Participants may not submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in accordance with the following procedures. 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 website 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 website 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. E:\FR\FM\04FEN1.SGM 04FEN1 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES 8228 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 22 / Thursday, February 4, 2021 / Notices 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 website 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, 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 that 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 previously described, 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, VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:13 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 253001 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 December 23, 2020, and the HDI PSDAR and Site-Specific Decommissioning Cost Estimate dated December 23, 2020. 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 Susan H. Raimo, Entergy Services, LLC, at 202– 530–7330 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: February 1, 2021. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Scott P. Wall, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 2021–02357 Filed 2–3–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL OSC Annual Survey U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Notice of modification of information collection. AGENCY: ACTION: The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), seeks approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for use of a modified survey that SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 differs only slightly from the most recently approved information collection, OSC’s 2020 Annual Survey. By statute, OSC must conduct an annual survey to collect feedback from those who have contacted OSC for assistance, either by filing complaints and/or disclosures with OSC, or by seeking Hatch Act Advisory Opinions. This OSC annual survey consists of four electronic questionnaires (one for each type of assistance an individual can seek from OSC), each asking between five and ten questions. OSC invites comments on: (a) The accuracy of OSC’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collections of information; (b) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (c) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents. DATES: Written comments should be received on or before March 8, 2021. ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by mail to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for OSC, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503; or by email via: oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Beckett, Senior Litigation Counsel, by telephone at (202) 804–7000, or by email at frliaison@osc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSC is a permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency. OSC’s basic authorities come from four federal statutes: The Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). OSC’s primary mission is to safeguard the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing, and to serve as a safe channel for allegations of wrongdoing. OSC is required to conduct an annual survey of individuals who seek its assistance. OSC conducts an annual survey pursuant to Section 13 of Public Law 103–424 (1994), codified at 5 U.S.C. 1212 note, which states, in part: ‘‘[T]he survey shall—(1) determine if the individual seeking assistance was fully apprised of their rights; (2) determine whether the individual was successful either at the Office of Special Counsel or the Merit Systems Protection Board; and (3) determine if the individual, whether successful or not, was satisfied with the treatment received from the Office of Special Counsel.’’ The statute E:\FR\FM\04FEN1.SGM 04FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 22 (Thursday, February 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8225-8228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02357]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-155, 50-255, 72-007, and 72-043; NRC-2021-0036]


Palisades Nuclear Plant and Big Rock Point Plant Consideration of 
Approval of Transfer of Control of Licenses and Conforming Amendments

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Application for direct and indirect transfers of licenses; 
opportunity to comment, request a hearing, and petition for leave to 
intervene.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received and is 
considering approval of an application filed by Entergy Nuclear 
Operations, Inc. (ENOI), on behalf of itself, Entergy Nuclear 
Palisades, LLC (ENP), Holtec International (Holtec), and Holtec 
Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI) (collectively, the 
applicants), on December 23, 2020. The application seeks NRC approval 
of the transfer of control of Provisional Operating License No. DPR-6 
and Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-20 for Big Rock Point 
Plant (Big Rock Point) and Palisades Nuclear Plant (Palisades), 
respectively, as well as the general license for the Big Rock Point 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) and the Palisades 
ISFSI (collectively, the licenses). Specifically, the application 
requests that the NRC consent to (1) the transfer of control of the 
licenses to Holtec and (2) the transfer of ENOI's operating authority 
to HDI. The NRC is also considering amending the licenses for 
administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer. The 
application contains sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information 
(SUNSI).

DATES: Comments must be filed by March 8, 2021. A request for a hearing 
must be filed by February 24, 2021. 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; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0036. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
     Email comments to: [email protected]. 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, 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: Scott P. Wall, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

[[Page 8226]]

Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2855; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0036 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 Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0036.
     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 ``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 [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document.
     Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request 
to the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 
301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2021-0036 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 into ADAMS.

II. Introduction

    The NRC is considering the issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 
and 72.50 approving the direct and indirect transfers of control of 
Provisional Operating License No. DPR-6 and Renewed Facility Operating 
License No. DPR-20 for Big Rock Point and Palisades, respectively, as 
well as the general licenses for the Palisades and Big Rock Point 
ISFSIs (collectively, the licenses). Specifically, the application, 
dated December 23, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20358A075), requests 
that the NRC consent to (1) the transfer of control of the licenses to 
Holtec, and (2) the transfer of ENOI's operating authority (i.e., its 
authority to conduct licensed activities under the licenses) to HDI. In 
addition, HDI submitted a ``Post Shutdown Decommissioning Activities 
Report [PSDAR] including Site-Specific Decommissioning Cost Estimate 
for Palisades Nuclear Plant,'' dated December 23, 2020 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML20358A232), which the NRC is considering as a supplement to the 
license transfer application. The NRC is also considering amending the 
licenses for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer.
    Following approval of the proposed direct and indirect transfers of 
control of the licenses, Holtec Palisades, LLC, would be the licensed 
owners for the licenses and HDI would be the licensed operator for the 
licenses. HDI will contract with Comprehensive Decommissioning 
International, LLC to decommission Palisades.
    No physical changes to the Palisades ISFSI and the Big Rock Point 
ISFSI or operational changes are being proposed in the application.
    The NRC's regulations at 10 CFR 50.80 state that no license, or any 
right thereunder, shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through 
transfer of control of the license, unless the Commission gives its 
consent in writing. The Commission will approve an application for the 
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.
    Before issuance of the proposed conforming license amendment, the 
Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations. 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 ISFSI, 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.

III. 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.

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 website 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

[[Page 8227]]

the following general requirements for standing: (1) The name, address, 
and telephone number of the petitioner; (2) the nature of the 
petitioner's right 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 that 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 that 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 that, 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 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.
    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 no later 
than 20 days from the date of publication of this notice. 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 set forth in this section, 
except that under 10 CFR 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 petition is submitted, 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 website 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 following procedures.
    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 [email protected], 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 website 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 website 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.

[[Page 8228]]

    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 website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], 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, 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 that 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 previously described, 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 December 23, 2020, and the HDI PSDAR and Site-
Specific Decommissioning Cost Estimate dated December 23, 2020.

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 Susan H. Raimo, Entergy 
Services, LLC, at 202-530-7330 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: February 1, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott P. Wall,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-02357 Filed 2-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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