[Federal Register: March 16, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 52)]
[Notices]
[Page 15301]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16mr01-87]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-247]
License No. DPR-26; Consolidated Edison Company of New York,
Inc.; Receipt of Petition for Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206
Notice is hereby given that by Petition dated December 4, 2000,
Deborah Katz, Marilyn Elie, Tim Judson, Kyle Rabin, Mark Jacobs, Paul
Gunter, and Jim Riccio (petitioners) have requested that the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) take the following six actions with regard
to Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit No. 2 (IP2): (1) Suspend the
license for the IP2 reactor because of the licensee's ``persistent and
pervasive, negligent management of the reactor,'' (2) investigate
whether the potential misrepresentation of material fact by the utility
regarding ``significantly insufficient'' engineering calculations was
due to a lack of rigor and thoroughness or was deliberate, (3) revoke
the IP2 operating license if it is found that the licensee deliberately
provided insufficient and false information, (4) if the license is not
revoked, maintain IP2 on the ``list of agency's focus reactors'' until
management demonstrates it can fulfill its regulatory requirements and
commitments, (5) not approve the transfer of the IP2 license until
management can demonstrate that the Updated Final Safety Analysis
Report (UFSAR), the condition report backlog, and the maintenance
requirements are up-to-date and workers have been retrained, and (6)
not allow the IP2 reactor to restart until the fundamental breakdown in
management is analyzed and corrected.
As a basis for this request, the petitioners state that the NRC
inspections and other plant performance measurement processes have
uncovered serious weaknesses and inaccuracies in the UFSAR, the
Technical Specifications, the design and licensing bases,
communications, maintenance, procedures, and worker training which, in
the aggregate, point to a systemic mismanagement problem. The
petitioners further state that without solid evidence that the licensee
has addressed the root causes of systemic mismanagement, brought the
reactor within compliance with its licensing and design bases, and
established that the material condition of safety-significant reactor
components is within safe limits, the licensee is no more prepared to
operate IP2 than it was before the two recent operating events.
The Petition has been accepted for review pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206
of the Commission's regulations, and has been referred to the Director
of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). In accordance with
Section 2.206, appropriate action will be taken on this Petition within
a reasonable time. The NRR Petition Review Board (PRB) met on December
20, 2000, to consider Requested Action 6, that the NRC prevent the IP2
reactor from restarting. The PRB recommended that the request be
denied, and the Director denied it. The Director denied Requested
Action 6 because the Petitioners' bases for prohibiting IP2's restart
had been previously evaluated individually and in aggregate by the NRC
for regulatory and safety significance. The Director found that the
issues did not warrant prohibiting the restart of IP2. The petitioners
Deborah Katz, Tim Judson, Kyle Rabin, Mark Jacobs, Paul Gunter, and Jim
Riccio met with the NRR PRB on January 24, 2001, to discuss the
Petition. The results of that discussion were considered in the board's
determination regarding the schedule for the review of the Petition.
The Petition and the NRC's acknowledgment letter are available in ADAMS
for inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville,
Maryland, and from the ADAMS Public Library component on the NRC's Web
site, http://www.nrc.gov (the Public Electronic Reading Room) at
accession nos. ML010580302 and ML010510218, respectively. Information
regarding this Petition can also be found on the Indian Point Unit 2
Event page on the NRC's Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/REACTOR/IP/
index.html
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 9th day of March 2001.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-6619 Filed 3-15-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P