02-2500. Tennessee Valley Authority; Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 & 2; Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1; Establishment of Atomic Safety and Licensing Board

Pursuant to delegation by the Commission dated December 29, 1972, published in the Federal Register, 37 FR 28,710 (1972), and sections 2.105, 2.700, 2.702, 2.714, 2.714a, 2.717, 2.721, and 2.772(j) of the Commission's Regulations, all as amended, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board is being established to preside over the following proceeding:

Tennessee Valley Authority, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 & 2, Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1.

This Board is being established pursuant to two notices of consideration of issuance of operating license amendment, proposed no significant hazards consideration determination, and opportunity for a hearing published in the Federal Register (66 FR 65,000 and 65,005 (Dec. 17, 2001)). The proceeding involves petitions for intervention submitted January 16, 2002, by We the People, Inc., Tennessee, (WPIT) and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL), respectively, challenging requests by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to amend the operating licenses for the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, and the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1.^[1] The amendments would change facility technical specifications to allow the plants to provide incore irradiation services for the United States Department of Energy for the production of tritium for national defense purposes.

The Board is comprised of the following administrative judges:

Thomas S. Moore, Chair, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001

Dr. Peter S. Lam, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001

Dr. Thomas S. Elleman, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001

All correspondence, documents, and other materials shall be filed with the administrative judges in accordance with 10 CFR 2.701.

Issued at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of January 2002.

G. Paul Bollwerk, III,

Chief Administrative Judge, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel.

Footnotes

1.  Although the TVA license amendment requests that are the subject of the WPIT and BREDL hearing requests that triggered this Licensing Board constitution notice were submitted separately, involve different facilities, and were the subject of separate hearing opportunity notices, both amendments are challenged by each of the petitioners. Under the circumstances, one Licensing Board is being established to consider both contested TVA applications in a consolidated proceeding. Any objection to this consolidation by any of the participants to the proceeding should be raised with the Licensing Board promptly.