E9-20412. Sacramento Municipal Utility District; Rancho Seco Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Notice of Docketing and Issuance of Amendment to Materials License No. SNM-2510

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Notice of license amendment.

DATES:

A request for a hearing must be filed by October 26, 2009

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shana Helton, Senior Project Manager, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Rockville, MD 20852. Telephone: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; e-mail: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) has issued Amendment 3 to Materials License SNM-2510 held by Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) for the receipt, possession, transfer, and storage of spent fuel at the Rancho Seco Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), located on the site of the Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station located in Sacramento County, California. License No. SNM-2510 authorizes the licensee to receive, acquire, and possess the power reactor spent fuel and other radioactive materials associated with spent fuel storage as specified in the License; to use such material for the purpose(s) and at the place(s) designated in the License; and to deliver or transfer such material to persons authorized to receive it in accordance with the regulations of the applicable Part(s). The amendment is effective on the date of issuance.

By application dated November 5, 2008, as supplemented January 27, 2009, March 4, 2009, July 1, 2009, and July 29, 2009 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Nos. ML083190252, ML090370875, ML090820276, ML091950457, and ML092220241, respectively), the Sacramento Municipal Utility District submitted a request to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 72.56, “Application for amendment of license,” to amend the License to allow the storage of six damaged fuel assemblies in five fuel-with-control-component dry storage canisters. This amendment does not affect the design, operation, or surveillance of the ISFSI.

An NRC administrative review, documented in a letter to SMUD dated March 4, 2009 (ADAMS Accession No. ML090640248), found the application acceptable to begin a technical review. This amendment complies with the requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. The Commission has made appropriate findings as required by the Act and the Commission's rules and regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I, which are set forth in the license amendment.

The staff finds that this amendment does not involve any changes in the scope or type of operations presently authorized by the license. The staff has determined that the changes proposed by the amendment will not result in: (1) A significant increase in the amounts of any effluents; (2) a significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure; (3) a significant construction impact; or (4) a significant increase in the potential for or consequences from radiological accidents. Accordingly, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(c)(11), a categorical exclusion applies to this action, and as such neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement will be conducted.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing

In accordance with 10 CFR 72.46(b)(2), the staff has determined that this license amendment, requesting the storage of six damaged fuel assemblies in five canisters, does not present a genuine issue as to whether public health and safety will be significantly affected. Therefore, the publication of a notice of proposed action and an opportunity for hearing or a notice of hearing is not warranted. Notice is hereby given of the right of interested persons to request a hearing on whether this action should be rescinded or modified.

Any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who desires to have this action rescinded or modified must file a request for a hearing and, a specification of the contentions which the person seeks to have litigated in the hearing, in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule, which the NRC promulgated on August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49139). All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including documents filed by interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c) and any motion or other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a request for hearing or petition to intervene, must be filed in accordance with the E-Filing rule. The E-Filing rule requires participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the Internet, or in some cases, to mail copies on electronic storage media. Participants may not submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek a waiver in accordance with the procedures described below.

To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/requestor should contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at [e-mail], or by calling [phone], to request (1) a digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2) creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances in which the petitioner/requestor (or its counsel or representative) already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each petitioner/requestor will need to download the Workplace Forms Viewer^TM to access the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-Filing system. The Workplace Forms Viewer^TM is free and is available at http://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals/​install-viewer.html. Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals/​apply-certificates.html.

Once a petitioner/requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, had a docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, they can then submit a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance available on the NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the filer submits its documents through EIE. To be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the EIE system no later than 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The EIE system also distributes an e-mail notice that provides access to the document to the NRC Office of the General Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the documents on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.

A person filing electronically using the agency's adjudicatory e-filing system may seek assistance through the “Contact Us” link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC electronic filing Help Desk, which is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays. The toll-free help line number is [phone]. A person filing electronically may also seek assistance by sending an e-mail to the NRC electronic filing Help Desk at [e-mail].

Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not submitting documents electronically must, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), file an exemption request with their initial paper filing requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a document in this manner are responsible for serving the document on all other participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the provider of the service.

Non-timely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition and/or request should be granted and/or the contentions should be admitted based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii).

Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at http://ehd.nrc.gov/​EHD_​Proceeding/​home.asp,, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include social security numbers in their filings. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants are requested not to include copyrighted materials in their submission.

The formal requirements for documents contained in 10 CFR 2.304(c)-(e) must be met. If the NRC grants an electronic document exemption in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g)(3)), then the requirements for paper documents, set forth in 10 CFR 2.304(b) must be met.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b), a request for a hearing must be filed by October 26, 2009.

In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR 2.309, a request for a hearing filed by a person other than an applicant must state:

1. The name, address, and telephone number of the requester;

2. The nature of the requester's right under the Act to be made a party to the proceeding;

3. The nature and extent of the requester's property, financial or other interest in the proceeding;

4. The possible effect of any decision or order that may be issued in the proceeding on the requester's interest; and

5. The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing is timely in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b).

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(1), a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene must set forth with particularity the contentions sought to be raised. For each contention, the request or petition must:

1. Provide a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be raised or controverted;

2. Provide a brief explanation of the basis for the contention;

3. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is within the scope of the proceeding;

4. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is material to the findings that the NRC must make to support the action that is involved in the proceeding;

5. Provide a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert opinions which support the requester's/petitioner's position on the issue and on which the requester/petitioner intends to rely to support its position on the issue; and

6. Provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact. This information must include references to specific portions of the application (including the applicant's environmental report and safety report) that the requester/petitioner disputes and the supporting reasons for each dispute, or, if the requester/petitioner believes the application fails to contain information on a relevant matter as required by law, the identification of each failure and the supporting reasons for the requester's/petitioner's belief.

In addition, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(2), contentions must be based on documents or other information available at the time the petition is to be filed, such as the application or other supporting document filed by an applicant or licensee, or otherwise available to the petitioner. The requester/petitioner may amend those contentions or file new contentions if there are data or conclusions in the NRC documents that differ significantly from the data or conclusions in the applicant's documents. Otherwise, contentions may be amended or new contentions filed after the initial filing only with leave of the presiding officer.

Requesters/petitioners should, when possible, consult with each other in preparing contentions and combine similar subject matter concerns into a joint contention, for which one of the co-sponsoring requesters/petitioners is designated the lead representative. Further, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(3), any requester/petitioner that wishes to adopt a contention proposed by another requester/petitioner must do so, in accordance with the E-Filing rule, within ten days of the date the contention is filed, and designate a representative who shall have the authority to act for the requester/petitioner.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(g), a request for hearing and/or petition for leave to intervene may also address the selection of the hearing procedures, taking into account the provisions of 10 CFR 2.310.

III. Further Information

The NRC has prepared a Safety Evaluation Report (SER) that documents the information that was reviewed and NRC's conclusion. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of NRC's “Rules of Practice,” final NRC records and documents related to this action, including the application for amendment and supporting documentation and the SER, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html. From this site, you can access ADAMS, which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the documents related to this notice are: ML083190252 for the amendment request dated November 5, 2008; ML090370875 for the January 27, 2009, supplement, ML090820276 for the March 4, 2009 supplement; ML091950457 for the July 1, 2009, supplement; ML092220241 for the July 29, 2009, supplement, and ML092240439 for the SER.

If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to [e-mail].

These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), O-1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 11th day of August 2009.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Shana Helton,

Senior Project Manager, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transport, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.