96-2438. Northeast Utilities; Notice of Informal Public Hearing  

  • [Federal Register Volume 61, Number 24 (Monday, February 5, 1996)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 4294-4295]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 96-2438]
    
    
    
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    NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
    
    Northeast Utilities; Notice of Informal Public Hearing
    
        The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will hold an informal 
    public hearing regarding a petition submitted pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 
    involving Millstone Units 1, 2, and 3 and Seabrook Unit 1 of Northeast 
    Utilities (NU/the licensee). The hearing will be held on March 7, 1996, 
    at the Waterford Townhall in Waterford, Connecticut. The hearing will 
    be open to public attendance and will be transcribed. The NRC has 
    elected to hold such a hearing because of the complexity of the issues 
    involved and the public's interest.
        The structure of the hearing shall be as follows:
    Thursday, March 7, 1996
    6:00 p.m.--NRC opening remarks
    6:15 p.m.--Petitioner's presentation
    7:00 p.m.--NRC questions
    7:15 p.m.--Licensee's presentation
    8:00 p.m.--NRC questions
    8:15 p.m.--Public comments
    9:45 p.m.--Licensee/Petitioners' final statements
    10:00 p.m.--Meeting concludes
    
        A Petition pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 was submitted to the NRC by Mr. 
    Ernest C. Hadley on behalf of Mr. George Galatis and the Citizens 
    Group, We the People (Petitioners) on August 21, 1995, as supplemented 
    August 28, 1995. The Petitioners allege that NU has knowingly, 
    willingly, and flagrantly operated Millstone Unit 1 in violation of its 
    operating license for approximately 20 years; that it obtained previous 
    licensing amendments through the use of material false statements; and 
    that it presently proposes to continue operating under unsafe 
    conditions rather than comply with the mandates of its license. 
    Specifically, the Petitioners allege that NU has offloaded more fuel 
    assemblies into the spent fuel pool than permitted under License 
    Amendment No. 39 to the Millstone Unit 1 Provisional Operating License 
    and License Amendment No. 40 to the Millstone Unit 1 Full-Term 
    Operating License. The Petitioners further allege that License 
    Amendments Nos. 39 and 40 were based upon material false statements 
    made by NU in documents submitted to the NRC. The Petitioners refer to 
    certain NU submittals allegedly containing the false information, such 
    as NU Safety Assessment Reports associated with License Amendments Nos. 
    39 and 40 and with Systematic Evaluation Program Topics IX-1 (fuel 
    storage), IX-5 (ventilation systems), and III-7.B (design codes, design 
    criteria, load combinations, and reactor cavity design criteria).
        In the Supplement, Mr. Galatis alleges that NU also committed 
    violations by offloading more than one-third of a core of fuel at 
    Millstone Units 2 and 3 and Seabrook Unit 1. In addition, Mr. Galatis 
    alleged with regard to Millstone Unit 3 that NU submitted a material 
    false statement to the NRC associated with a license amendment and that 
    an unanalyzed condition exists with regard to system piping for full-
    core offload events. With regard to Seabrook Unit 1, Mr. Galatis 
    alleged technical specification violations associated with a 
    criticality analysis.
        The purpose of this informal public hearing is to obtain additional 
    information from the Petitioners, NU, and the public for NRC staff use 
    in evaluating the Petition. Therefore, this informal public hearing 
    will be limited to information relevant to issues raised in the 
    Petition and its Supplement. The staff will not offer any preliminary 
    views on its evaluation of the Petition. The informal public hearing 
    will be chaired by a senior NRC official who will limit presentations 
    to the above subject.
        The format of the informal public hearing will be as follows: 
    opening remarks by the NRC regarding the general 10 CFR 2.206 process, 
    the purpose of the informal public hearing, and a brief summary of the 
    Petition and its Supplement (15 minutes); time for the Petitioners to 
    articulate the basis for the Petition (45 minutes); time for the NRC to 
    ask the Petitioners questions for purposes of clarification (15 
    minutes); time for NU to address the issues raised in the Petition (45 
    minutes); time for the NRC to ask NU questions for purposes of 
    clarification (15 minutes); time for public comments relative to the 
    Petition (90 Minutes); and time for licensee and Petitioners' final 
    statements (15 minutes).
        Members of the public who are interested in presenting information 
    relative to the Petition should notify the NRC official, named below, 5 
    working days prior to the hearing. A brief summary of the information 
    to be presented and the time requested should be provided in order to 
    make appropriate arrangements. Time allotted for presentations by 
    members of the public will be determined based upon the number of 
    requests received and will be announced at the beginning of the 
    hearing. The order for public presentations will be on a first received 
    first to speak basis. Written statements will also be accepted and 
    included in the record of the hearing. Written statements should be 
    mailed to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mailstop O-14H3, 
    Attn: Stephen Dembek, Washington, DC 20555.
    
        Requests for the opportunity to present information can be made by 
    contacting Stephen Dembek, Project Manager, Division of Reactor 
    Projects--I/II (telephone 301-415-1455) between 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
    (EST). Persons planning to attend this informal public 
    
    [[Page 4295]]
    hearing are urged to contact the above 1 or 2 days prior to the 
    informal public hearing to be advised of any changes that may have 
    occurred.
    
        Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 1st day of February, 1996.
    
        For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
    John A. Zwolinski,
    Deputy Director, Division of Reactor Projects--I/II, Office of Nuclear 
    Reactor Regulation.
    [FR Doc. 96-2438 Filed 2-2-96; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
    
    

Document Information

Published:
02/05/1996
Department:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
96-2438
Pages:
4294-4295 (2 pages)
PDF File:
96-2438.pdf