82 FR 37903 - Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 155 (August 14, 2017)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a confirmatory order (Order) to Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC, (the licensee), confirming the agreement reached in an Alternative Dispute Resolution mediation session held on May 19, 2017, and follow-up discussions held between May 19, 2017, and August 3, 2017. This Order will ensure the licensee restores compliance with NRC's regulations.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 155 (Monday, August 14, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37903-37908]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17101]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-1151; License No. SNM-1107; EA-16-173; NRC-2017-0176]


Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Confirmatory order; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a 
confirmatory order (Order) to Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC, (the 
licensee), confirming the agreement reached in an Alternative Dispute 
Resolution mediation session held on May 19, 2017, and follow-up 
discussions held between May 19, 2017, and August 3, 2017. This Order 
will ensure the licensee restores compliance with NRC's regulations.

DATES: The Order was issued on August 9, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0176 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0176. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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 (if it is available 
in

[[Page 37904]]

ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this 
document.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Sparks, Region II, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1257; telephone: 404-997-
4422; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated at Atlanta, Georgia, this 9th day of August, 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Catherine Haney,
Regional Administrator.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-1151; License No. SNM-1107; EA-16-173; NRC-2017-0176]
In the Matter of Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC
CONFIRMATORY ORDER (EFFECTIVE UPON ISSUANCE)

I

    Westinghouse Electric Company (Westinghouse, or the licensee) is 
the holder of NRC License No. SNM-1107, issued by the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR part 70 on 
September 30, 2007. The license authorizes the operation of the 
Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in accordance with the 
conditions specified therein. The facility is located on the licensee's 
site in Hopkins, South Carolina.
    This Confirmatory Order (CO) is the result of an agreement reached 
during an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mediation session 
conducted on May 19, 2017, and follow-up discussions held between May 
19, 2017, and August 3, 2017.

II

    On May 28, 2016, as part of the licensee's routine maintenance 
activities, the licensee started the S-1030 scrubber inspection and 
cleanout activities. The licensee completed the S-1030 scrubber 
cleanout activities on June 1, 2016, removing a total of 197 kilograms 
(kg) of material. The scrubber was subsequently restarted following the 
maintenance outage on June 2, 2016. On July 13, 2016, the preliminary 
results of samples taken of the material removed from the S-1030 
scrubber indicated a 40-50% concentration of uranium (U) enriched to 
less than 5%. This equates to approximately 100 kg of U in the 
scrubber, exceeding the mass limit in the Criticality Safety Evaluation 
(CSE) of 29 kg U.
    The scrubber was shut down on July 14, 2016, when the determination 
was made by the licensee that the mass limit in the CSE had been 
exceeded. The licensee reported this event to the NRC as a 24-hour 
event due to a high consequence event being ``unlikely'' (EN 52090). On 
July 31, 2016, the event report was updated to a one hour report per 10 
CFR 70 Appendix A (a)(4) because no items relied upon for safety 
(IROFS) remained available and reliable to perform their function.
    On August 11, 2016, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Action Letter 
(CAL) to Westinghouse (ML16224B082). The purpose of the CAL was to 
confirm the commitments made by Westinghouse regarding additional 
actions Westinghouse will take in response to the U buildup reported to 
the NRC in July 2016. These actions were intended to ensure that the 
causes of the U buildup have been adequately identified and evaluated 
and that appropriate corrective actions have been implemented to 
improve the performance of the Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) 
program.
    On September 27, 2016, the NRC completed an Augmented Inspection at 
the Westinghouse facility, the details of which are documented in NRC 
Inspection Report 70-1151/2016-007 (ML16301A001).
    A follow-up NRC inspection (70-1151/2017-007) was also conducted, 
the results of which were issued on February 27, 2017 (ML17058A448). 
This inspection report identified the following four Apparent 
Violations (AVs), all of which were considered for escalated 
enforcement in accordance with the NRC's Enforcement Policy:
    1. An AV was identified for failure to ensure criticality accident 
sequences remain highly unlikely, as required by Title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 10 CFR 70.61(b).
    2. An AV was identified for failure to assure that under normal and 
credible abnormal conditions, all nuclear processes were subcritical 
including use of an approved margin of subcriticality, as required by 
10 CFR 70.61(d).
    3. An AV was identified for failure to establish adequate 
management measures to ensure that items relied on for safety (IROFS) 
perform their function when needed, as required by 10 CFR 70.62(d).
    4. An AV was identified for failure to make a one hour report, as 
required by Appendix A (a)(4) of 10 CFR part 70.
    In response to the NRC's inspection report of February 27, 2017, 
Westinghouse advised the NRC of its desire to participate in the 
Agency's ADR program to resolve the enforcement aspects of this matter.

III

    On May 19, 2017, the NRC and Westinghouse met in an ADR session 
mediated by a professional mediator, arranged through Cornell 
University's Institute on Conflict Resolution. Additional discussions 
were held between the NRC and Westinghouse between May 19, 2017, and 
August 3, 2017, to resolve the enforcement aspects of this matter. ADR 
is a process in which a neutral mediator with no decision-making 
authority assists the parties in reaching an agreement or resolving any 
differences regarding their dispute. This CO is issued pursuant to the 
agreement reached during the ADR process. The elements of the agreement 
consist of the following:
    1. Westinghouse acknowledges that four violations occurred, as 
stated in NRC Inspection Report 70-1151/2017-007.
    2. Based on ADR, the parties agreed that the safety significance of 
violations described in Section II above is characterized as escalated 
enforcement as described in the NRC Enforcement Policy.
    3. Approximately two years (+/- 6 months) after issuance of the CO, 
Westinghouse shall conduct an additional Nuclear Safety Culture (NSC) 
survey by the Westinghouse corporate nuclear safety culture 
organization or an experienced independent third party, consistent with 
the depth and scope of the NSC survey completed under the CAL dated 
August 11, 2016. Identified deficiencies shall be entered into the 
corrective action program (CAP) for tracking corrective actions to 
completion.
    4. Westinghouse shall implement improvements to reduce uranium 
carryover from the Calciner scrubbers, and implement additional design 
changes to reduce U carryover from the Blue M oven filtration system. 
Specifically:
    (1) For the calciner scrubbers, within eighteen (18) months of 
issuance of the CO, an engineering evaluation of the calciner and 
calciner off-gas scrubber design and operation shall be completed to 
determine methods to reduce uranium carry-over into the S-1030 
scrubber.
    (2) For the Blue M oven, within eighteen (18) months of issuance of 
the CO, an engineering evaluation of the Conversion Scrap Cage Blue M 
oven shall be completed to determine methods to improve the 
functionality of

[[Page 37905]]

the Blue M oven in a wet environment and improve accessibility for 
inspection and maintenance activities.
    (3) Within three (3) years of issuance of the CO, improvements 
based on the engineering evaluations described above shall be 
implemented.
    5. In response to the May 2016 event, Westinghouse implemented 
several modifications to the S-1030 scrubber system, as part of its 
overall corrective actions to preclude recurrence and enhance 
performance. These modifications were considered by the NRC, under the 
CAL, in support of a safety basis to authorize restart of conversion 
process equipment and the S-1030 scrubber system, as documented in the 
NRC's letter to Westinghouse dated October 20, 2016 (ML16294A296). The 
modifications included but were not limited to:
    (1) The plenums for the scrap cage Blue M oven hoods were equipped 
with a filter to capture at least 95% of the mass entrained in the air 
stream based on particle size distribution and the manufacturer's 
published efficiency data.
    (2) Packing baskets were implemented to permit complete removal and 
inspection of the packed media and to maintain clearance between the 
packed media and the scrubber floor.
    (3) A feed and bleed system for the scrubber recirculating liquid 
was maintained at a minimum output flow of 0.5 gallons per minute. If 
feed and bleed is not available, a controlled shutdown of the scrubber 
would be initiated in accordance with plant procedures.
    (4) The scrubber was opened to remove the packed media baskets, to 
clean and inspect the inlet transition and scrubber body on a quarterly 
basis.
    (5) Weekly visual inspections of the scrubber inlet transition were 
to be conducted.
    6. Within two (2) years of issuance of the CO, Westinghouse shall 
develop and implement additional methods to monitor system parameters 
that are early indicators of an abnormal accumulation in the S-1030 
scrubber from a process upset that could challenge the accumulation 
rate and/or criticality safety mass limits. The methods will provide 
timely indications to enable the operators to take appropriate actions 
in accordance with approved procedures.
    7. A member of senior Westinghouse leadership shall present 
training on lessons learned from the scrubber event at an industry 
forum, including NSC and criticality safety standards aspects.
    This item was completed on June 14, 2017, when the site vice 
president of CFFF presented training on lessons learned from the 
scrubber event at Fuel Cycle Information Exchange (an industry-wide 
forum), including NSC and criticality safety standards aspects.
    8. Within eighteen (18) months of issuance of the CO, Westinghouse 
shall develop and implement a criticality safety basis/IROFS database 
to help maintain the proper flow down of the safety basis into 
implementing documents.
    9. Within six (6) months of issuance of the CO, Westinghouse shall 
develop a method to reinforce positive NSC leadership behavior and 
monitor for effectiveness in the NSC monitoring panel. Westinghouse 
shall implement such method for three years, after which it may 
evaluate the need to continue this item.
    10. Within three (3) months of issuance of the CO, Westinghouse 
shall develop and implement a new metric or periodic report that 
creates an aggregate picture of the health of the criticality safety 
program. This shall include items such as IROFS challenges, trends, 
audit and inspection finding status, violations, and health of 
management measures and be made available for inspection. Identified 
deficiencies shall be evaluated in accordance with the CAP.
    11. Within nine (9) months, Westinghouse shall implement risk-
informed standards for the preparation of procedures and data sheets 
informed by appropriate guidance in INPO 11-003, ``Guideline for 
Excellence in Procedure and Work Instruction Use and Adherence.'' This 
will consist of issuance of a procedure writers' guide, procedure 
format template, and a procedure use and adherence standard.
    12. The NRC agrees that issuance of this CO serves to close the CAL 
issued to Westinghouse on August 11, 2016. NRC acknowledges that 
Westinghouse has taken extensive actions to address items in the CAL 
including completing a root cause analysis (RCA), completing a review 
of criticality safety evaluations, performing inspections to validate 
system design and operating parameters, installing physical 
modifications to support the safety basis to improve safety 
performance, conducting an independent third party nuclear safety 
culture assessment, and completing several corrective actions designed 
to preclude recurrence.
    NRC also acknowledges that Westinghouse has taken some actions to 
close post-restart CAL items 1, 3, and 5, but are not yet complete. 
Therefore, post-restart CAL items 1, 3, and 5, as modified below, are 
transferred to this CO. Upon completion of these items, Westinghouse 
will notify the NRC Region II Administrator.
    a. CAL Item 1--Westinghouse shall implement the remaining 
corrective actions to prevent recurrence identified in their RCA.
    b. CAL Item 3--Westinghouse shall conduct effectiveness reviews of 
corrective actions to prevent recurrence specified in their RCA.
    c. CAL Item 5--Westinghouse shall evaluate the results of the 
independent third party nuclear safety culture assessment, and any 
identified deficiencies will be entered into the CAP to track to 
completion.
    The NRC concludes that CAL post-restart items 2 and 4 are closed 
because these items will be sampled as part of the NRC's inspection 
program.
    The NRC concludes that CAL post-restart item 6 is closed because of 
the extensive corrective actions completed by Westinghouse to date.
    13. Within three (3) months of completion of the terms of the CO, 
Westinghouse will provide the NRC with a letter discussing its basis 
for concluding that the CO has been satisfied.
    14. In consideration of the commitments delineated herein, the NRC 
agrees to refrain from proposing a civil penalty or issuing a Notice of 
Violation for all four AVs identified in NRC Inspection Report 70-1151/
2017-007 (EA-16-173).
    15. The NRC and Westinghouse agree that the above elements will be 
incorporated into a CO.
    16. This agreement is binding upon successors and assigns of 
Westinghouse.
    On August 8, 2017, Westinghouse consented to issuance of this CO 
with the commitments, as described in Section V below. Westinghouse 
further agreed that this CO is to be effective upon issuance and that 
it has waived its right to a hearing.

IV

    Because Westinghouse has taken corrective actions to address NRC 
concerns, as set forth in Section III above, and has agreed to take 
additional corrective actions as set forth in Section V below, the NRC 
has concluded that its concerns can be resolved through issuance of 
this CO.
    I find that Westinghouse's commitments as set forth in Section V 
are acceptable and necessary and conclude that with these commitments, 
the public health and safety are reasonably assured. In view of the 
foregoing, I have determined that public health and safety require that 
Westinghouse's commitments be confirmed by this CO. Based on the

[[Page 37906]]

above and Westinghouse's consent, this CO is effective upon issuance.

V

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 104b., 161b., 161i., 161o., 182, 
and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the 
Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR part 70, it is 
hereby ordered, that License No. SNM-1107 is modified as follows:
    1. In recognition of the corrective actions taken in response to 
the four violations, as discussed at the ADR, and in response to the 
Confirmatory Action Letter dated August 11, 2016 (ML16224B082), 
Westinghouse agrees to submit a written statement or explanation to the 
Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
with a copy to the Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
within 30 days of the date of the CO. This reply should include for 
each of the four violations: (1) The reason for the violation; (2) the 
corrective steps that have been taken to restore compliance; and (3) 
additional corrective actions and enhancements taken to preclude 
repetition.
    2. Approximately two years (+/- 6 months) after issuance of the CO, 
Westinghouse shall conduct an additional NSC survey by the Westinghouse 
corporate nuclear safety culture organization or an experienced 
independent third party, consistent with the depth and scope of the NSC 
survey completed under the CAL dated August 11, 2016. Identified 
deficiencies shall be entered into the CAP for tracking corrective 
actions to completion.
    3. Westinghouse shall implement improvements to reduce uranium 
carryover from the Calciner scrubbers, and implement additional design 
changes to reduce U carryover from the Blue M oven filtration system. 
Specifically:
    (1) For the calciner scrubbers, within eighteen (18) months of 
issuance of the CO, an engineering evaluation of the calciner and 
calciner off-gas scrubber design and operation shall be completed to 
determine methods to reduce uranium carry-over into the S-1030 
scrubber.
    (2) For the Blue M oven, within eighteen (18) months of issuance of 
the CO, an engineering evaluation of the Conversion Scrap Cage Blue M 
oven shall be completed to determine methods to improve the 
functionality of the Blue M oven in a wet environment and improve 
accessibility for inspection and maintenance activities.
    (3) Within three (3) years of issuance of the CO, improvements 
based on the engineering evaluations described above shall be 
implemented.
    4. Westinghouse shall notify the NRC within fifteen (15) working 
days prior to implementing changes to the modifications to the S-1030 
scrubber system, as discussed below. This requirement ends once the 
Regional Administrator determines that the CO has been satisfied. These 
modifications were incorporated as corrective actions prior to the 
October 20, 2016, system restart authorization (ML16294A296) and 
support, in part, the safety basis for the S-1030 scrubber. 
Specifically, these modifications are:
    (1) The plenums for the scrap cage Blue M oven hoods shall be 
equipped with a filter to capture at least 95% of the mass entrained in 
the air stream based on particle size distribution and the 
manufacturer's published efficiency data.
    (2) Packing baskets were implemented to permit complete removal and 
inspection of the packed media and to maintain clearance between the 
packed media and the scrubber floor.
    (3) A feed and bleed system for the scrubber recirculating liquid 
shall be maintained at a minimum output flow of 0.5 gallons per minute. 
If feed and bleed is not available, a controlled shutdown of the 
scrubber shall be initiated in accordance with plant procedures.
    (4) The scrubber shall be opened to remove the packed media 
baskets, to clean and inspect the inlet transition and scrubber body on 
a quarterly basis.
    (5) Weekly visual inspections of the scrubber inlet transition 
shall be conducted.
    5. Within two (2) years of issuance of the CO, Westinghouse shall 
develop and implement additional methods to monitor system parameters 
that are early indicators of an abnormal accumulation in the S-1030 
scrubber from a process upset that could challenge the accumulation 
rate and/or criticality safety mass limits. The methods will provide 
timely indications to enable the operators to take appropriate actions 
in accordance with approved procedures.
    6. Within eighteen (18) months of issuance of the CO, Westinghouse 
shall develop and implement a criticality safety basis/IROFS database 
to maintain the proper flow down of the safety basis into implementing 
documents.
    7. Within six (6) months of issuance of the CO, Westinghouse shall 
develop a method to reinforce positive NSC leadership behavior and 
monitor for effectiveness in the NSC monitoring panel. Westinghouse 
shall implement such method for three (3) years, after which it may 
evaluate the need to continue this item.
    8. Within three (3) months of issuance of the CO, Westinghouse 
shall develop and implement a new metric or periodic report that 
creates an aggregate picture of the health of the criticality safety 
program. This shall include items such as IROFS challenges, trends, 
audit and inspection finding status, violations, and health of 
management measures and be made available for inspection. Identified 
deficiencies shall be evaluated in accordance with the CAP.
    9. Within nine (9) months of issuance of the CO, Westinghouse shall 
implement risk-informed standards for the preparation of procedures and 
data sheets informed by appropriate guidance in INPO 11-003, 
``Guideline for Excellence in Procedure and Work Instruction Use and 
Adherence.'' This shall consist of issuance of a procedure writers' 
guide, procedure format template, and a procedure use and adherence 
standard.
    10. The NRC agrees that issuance of this CO serves to close the CAL 
issued to Westinghouse on August 11, 2016. NRC acknowledges that 
Westinghouse has taken extensive actions to address items in the CAL 
including completing an RCA, completing a review of criticality safety 
evaluations, performing inspections to validate system design and 
operating parameters, installing physical modifications to support the 
safety basis to improve safety performance, conducting an independent 
third party nuclear safety culture assessment, and completing several 
corrective actions designed to preclude recurrence.
    The NRC also acknowledges that Westinghouse has taken some actions 
to close post-restart CAL items 1, 3, and 5, but are not yet complete. 
Therefore, post-restart CAL items 1, 3, and 5, as modified below, are 
transferred to this CO. Upon completion of these items, Westinghouse 
will notify the NRC Region II Administrator.
    a. CAL Item 1--Westinghouse shall implement the remaining 
corrective actions to prevent recurrence identified in their RCA.
    b. CAL Item 3--Westinghouse shall conduct effectiveness reviews of 
corrective actions to prevent recurrence specified in their RCA.
    c. CAL Item 5--Westinghouse shall evaluate the results of the 
independent third party nuclear safety culture assessment, and any 
identified deficiencies will be entered into the CAP to track to 
completion.
    This CO supersedes the CAL issued to Westinghouse on August 11, 
2016. Post -restart CAL items 2 and 4 will be

[[Page 37907]]

sampled as part of the NRC's inspection program.
    Post-restart CAL item 6 is closed because of the extensive 
corrective actions completed by Westinghouse to date.
    11. Within three (3) months of completing implementation of the 
terms of the CO, Westinghouse will provide the NRC with a letter 
discussing its basis for concluding that the CO has been satisfied.
    This agreement is binding upon successors and assigns of 
Westinghouse.
    Unless otherwise specified, all dates are from the date of issuance 
of the CO.
    The Regional Administrator, NRC Region II, may relax or rescind, in 
writing, any of the above conditions upon a showing by Westinghouse of 
good cause.

VI

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR 2.309, any person 
adversely affected by this CO, other than Westinghouse, may request a 
hearing within 30 calendar days of the date of issuance of this CO. 
Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the 
time to request a hearing. A request for extension of time must be made 
in writing to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and include a statement of 
good cause for the extension.
    All documents filed in the NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including 
a request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or 
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by 
interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), 
must be filed in accordance with the NRC's E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, 
August 28, 2007, as amended at 77 FR 46562, August 3, 2012). The E-
Filing process requires participants to submit and serve all 
adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some cases to mail 
copies on electronic storage media. Detailed guidance on making 
electronic submissions may be found in the Guidance for Electronic 
Submissions to the NRC and on the NRC's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may not submit paper copies 
of their filings unless they seek an exemption in accordance with the 
procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or 
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the 
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the 
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the hearing in this 
proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic 
docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. Once a participant has obtained a 
digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the participant 
can then submit adjudicatory documents. Submissions must be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF). Additional guidance on PDF submissions is 
available on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing 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 email notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
E-Filing system also distributes an email notice that provides access 
to the document to the NRC's 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 
document on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are 
filed so that they can obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing 
system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government 
holidays.
    Once a participant has obtained a digital ID certificate and a 
docket has been created, the participant can then submit a request for 
hearing or petition for leave to intervene through the EIE System. 
Submissions should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance 
with NRC guidance available on the NRC public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered 
complete at the time the documents are submitted through the NRC's E-
Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to 
the E-Filing 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 email notice confirming receipt 
of the document. The E-Filing system also distributes an email 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 NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government 
holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
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,

[[Page 37908]]

Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications 
Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service to 
the Office of the Secretary, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 
20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants 
filing adjudicatory documents 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. A presiding officer, 
having granted an exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a 
participant or party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer 
subsequently determines that the reason for granting the exemption from 
use of E-Filing no longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission or the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued 
digital ID certificate as described above, click cancel when the link 
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the 
NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to access any 
publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. 
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information, 
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone 
numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law 
requires submission of such information. For example, in some 
instances, individuals provide home addresses in order to demonstrate 
proximity to a facility or site. 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.
    If a person (other than Westinghouse) requests a hearing, that 
person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his 
interest is adversely affected by this CO and shall address the 
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
    If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely 
affected, the Commission will issue an order designating the time and 
place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered 
at such hearing shall be whether this CO should be sustained.
    In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of 
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions 
specified in Section V above shall be final 30 days from the date of 
this CO without further order or proceedings. If an extension of time 
for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions specified in 
Section V shall be final when the extension expires if a hearing 
request has not been received.

    Dated at Atlanta, Georgia, this 9th day of August, 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Catherine Haney,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-17101 Filed 8-11-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P