[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1899-1900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-00250]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0269; Docket Nos. 50-325 and 50-324; License Nos. DPR-71 and 
DPR-62]


Duke Energy Progress, Inc.; Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units 
1 and 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Issuance of Director's decision.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued 
a Director's Decision on a petition filed by Mr. David Lochbaum, on 
behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists; the North Carolina Waste 
Awareness & Reduction Network; and the Nuclear Information and Resource 
Service (hereafter referred to as ``the petitioner'').

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0269 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access publicly-available information related to this action by the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0269. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected].
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS):
    You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
Library at http://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 [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number 
for each document referenced in this document (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced. The petition, dated July 10, 2012, under ADAMS Accession 
No. ML12193A123, concerns the operation of the Brunswick Steam Electric 
Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Brunswick), which are operated by Duke Energy 
Progress, Inc. (the licensee).
     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.

[[Page 1900]]

Discussion

    The petitioner requested that the NRC take enforcement action in 
the form of an Order either modifying the Brunswick operating licenses 
or requiring the licensee to submit amendment requests for these 
licenses.
    The petitioner requested that the NRC take enforcement action in 
the form of an Order that would result in a new technical specification 
(TS) safety limits (SLs) and expand the applicability of numerous TS 
limiting condition for operations related to spent fuel pool (SFP) 
storage. As the basis for the request, the petitioner asserted that the 
changes sought would provide better management of the risk from 
irradiated fuel stored in the SFPs.
    The petitioner had a recorded conference call with the NRC's Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation's Petition's Review Board on August 15, 
2012, to discuss and supplement the petition. The NRC has made the 
official transcript of the August 15, 2012, conference call publicly 
available online in the NRC's Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (ADAMS Accession No. ML12234A730).
    The NRC sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to the 
petitioner and the licensee for comment on October 23, 2013. The NRC 
requested the petitioner and the licensee to provide comments within 30 
days on any part of the proposed Director's Decision considered 
erroneous or any issues in the petition that were not addressed. The 
NRC did not receive any comments.
    The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has denied 
the request to take enforcement action in the form of an Order either 
modifying the Brunswick operating licenses or requiring the licensee to 
submit amendment requests for these licenses, which would result in a 
new TS SL and expand the applicability of numerous TS limiting 
conditions of operation (LCOs) related to SFP storage. The NRC staff 
reviewed the petitioner's requested actions against the regulatory 
framework that is in place to determine when TS SLs, LCOs, or design 
features are required, including the Commission's policy statement on 
TSs. The NRC staff found no basis for taking enforcement action against 
the licensee based on the petitioner's concerns. The Director's 
Decision (DD-13-03) under section 2.206 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Requests for Action under this 
Subpart,'' explains the reasons for this decision. The complete text is 
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13339A590 and is available for 
inspection at the NRC's PDR. The NRC will file a copy of the Director's 
Decision with the Secretary of the Commission for the Commission's 
review in accordance with 10 CFR 2.206.
    As provided for by this regulation, the Director's Decision will 
constitute the final action of the Commission 25 days after the date of 
the decision unless the Commission, on its own motion, institutes a 
review of the Director's Decision in that time.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30 day of December 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer L. Uhle,
Deputy Director for Reactor Safety Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2014-00250 Filed 1-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P