[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5042-5043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01568]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-255-LT-2, 50-155-LT-2, 72-007-LT, 72-043-LT-2, ASLBP
No. 22-974-01-LT-BD01]
Order; Notice of Hearing
AGENCY: Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
In December 2020, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Entergy Nuclear
Palisades, LLC, Holtec International, and Holtec Decommissioning
International, LLC (collectively Applicants) sought the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission's (NRC) approval for the indirect transfer of
control of the Palisades Nuclear Plant and Big Rock Point Site,
including the general licenses for each facility's Independent Spent
Fuel Storage Installation Entergy's licenses, to Holtec
International.\1\ They further sought the transfer of operating
authority of the facilities from Entergy to Holtec so that Holtec can
conduct licensed activities at
[[Page 5043]]
these sites.\2\ On February 24, 2021, the State of Michigan's Attorney
General (Michigan Attorney General) filed a petition requesting a
hearing on these license amendments sought by Applicants.\3\ On March
22, 2021 Applicants filed an answer arguing that the Michigan Attorney
General failed to allege an admissible contention, and therefore its
petition should be denied.\4\ On March 29, 2021 the Michigan Attorney
General replied to Applicants' answer, contending that its contentions
are, in fact, admissible.\5\
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\1\ Palisades Nuclear Plant and Big Rock Point Plant
Consideration of Approval of Transfer of Control of Licenses and
Conforming Amendments, 86 FR 8225 (Feb. 4, 2021) [Hereinafter
Hearing Opportunity Notice]; Application for Order Consenting to
Transfers of Control of Licenses and Approving Conforming License
Amendments, at 1 [Hereinafter Application], attached (Encl. 1) to
Letter from A. Christopher Bakken III, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Entergy, to NRC Document Control Desk (Dec. 23, 2020)
(ADAMS Accession No. ML20358A075).
\2\ See Hearing Opportunity Notice; Application at 1.
\3\ State of Michigan Attorney General, Petition of the Michigan
Attorney General for Leave to Intervene and for a Hearing (Feb. 24,
2021).
\4\ Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Entergy Nuclear Palisades,
LLC, Holtec International, and Holtec Decommissioning International,
LLC, Answer Opposing the Michigan Attorney General's Petition for
Leave to Intervene and Request for a Hearing (Mar. 22, 2021).
\5\ State of Michigan Attorney General, Reply in Support of the
Michigan Attorney General's Petition for Leave to Intervene and for
a Hearing (Mar. 29, 2021).
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Per its authority under 10 CFR 2.1319(a) to handle Subpart M
license transfer proceedings, on July 15, 2022, the Commission
partially admitted the Michigan Attorney General's petition by limiting
the scope of the hearing to four issues:
(1) The reasonableness of the applicants' estimated 11-year
timeframe within which the United States Department of Energy is to
remove all of the spent fuel at Palisades;
(2) the reasonableness of Applicant's decommissioning cost estimate
falling below the NRC's decommissioning cost minimum formula amount
calculated for the Palisades site;
(3) the reasonableness of the applicants' 12% contingency level
allocated to the radiological decommissioning, spent fuel management,
and site restoration cost estimates; and
(4) the reasonableness of the applicants' assertion that it will be
able to provide additional financial assurance, if that proves
necessary, to complete decommissioning and terminate the license.\6\
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\6\ See Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Palisades Nuclear
Plant and Big Rock Point Site), CLI-22-08 (2021).
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The Commission directed that the Chief Administrative Judge of the
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel ``[a]ppoint a single
administrative judge . . . to serve as the Presiding Officer to take
all necessary actions to compile, complete, and certify the hearing
record, including presiding over any oral hearing.'' \7\
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\7\ See id. at 135.
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The Presiding Officer hereby schedules an oral hearing on the
issues outlined above to commence on February 8, 2023, and to continue
from day-to-day thereafter until such oral hearing is completed. This
hearing shall take place at the NRC headquarters, 11545 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, MD 20852, in the Hearing Room located on the 3rd Floor of
the Two White Flint North building. The hearing will begin at 10:00
a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The Board anticipates that the
hearing will be completed by 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, February 10,
2023. Only authorized representatives or counsel for the Michigan
Attorney General, Applicants, and the NRC Staff who have entered
written notice of appearance pursuant to 10 CFR 2.314(b) will be
entitled to participate.
The sole purpose of the oral hearing is to develop an evidentiary
record and to ``compile, complete and certify the hearing record'' for
the Commission for its use in determining the outcome of this case. \8\
While this oral hearing will be open to the public, no other
representatives of the parties and no members of the public will be
heard during the hearing.
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\8\ Id. at 135.
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It is so ordered.
For the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
Dated: January 23, 2023.
Michael M. Gibson,
Presiding Officer, Administrative Judge.
[FR Doc. 2023-01568 Filed 1-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P