Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA, the permittee) is the current holder of Construction Permit (CP) No. CPPR–92, issued by the Atomic Energy Commission (now the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission)) on January 23, 1973 (NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML020780293), for construction of the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN), Unit 2. The NRC also issued CP No. CPPR–91 for construction of WBN Unit 1 on January 23, 1973 (ADAMS Accession No. ML020780293), and Facility Operating License NPF–90 was issued for operation of Unit 1 on February 7, 1996 (ADAMS Accession No. ML073460320). The WBN Unit 2 is currently partially completed. These facilities are at the permittee's site on the west branch of the Tennessee River, approximately 50 miles northeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
On May 17, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12143A346), TVA filed a request pursuant to Section 50.55(b) of Title 10 of the
In March 2012, TVA completed a detailed review of the status of WBN Unit 2 construction and developed a revised estimate of the time and resources necessary to complete the unit. This revised estimate was formed after months of analyses and consideration of numerous lessons learned as well as detailed analyses of remaining work associated with the Project. The estimate was then subjected to rigorous internal and independent external review which provided additional assurance and high confidence in a most likely WBN Unit 2 completion estimate of December 2015.
The only modification requested to Construction Permit CPPR–92 is the extension of the latest completion date. The extension would only allow TVA more time to complete the construction and testing of WBN Unit 2 that is already authorized under the existing construction permit. The extension would not allow any work of a type not previously authorized by the existing construction permit to be performed.
The NRC reviewed the request dated May 17, 2012. As discussed more fully in the staff's related safety evaluation, good cause has been shown for the delay, and the requested extension involves no significant hazards consideration.
The NRC staff has prepared an environmental assessment and made a final finding of no significant impact, which was published in the
For further details regarding this action, see TVA's letter dated May 17, 2012, and the NRC staff's letter and safety evaluation of the requested extension dated November 21, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13175A308).
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the Licensee, and any other person adversely affected by this Order, may
The answer may consent to this Order. If an answer includes a request for a hearing, it shall, under oath or affirmation, specifically set forth the matters of fact and law on which the Licensee, or other adversely affected person, relies and the reasons as to why the Order should not have been issued. If a person other than the Licensee requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d). The scope of a construction permit extension proceeding is limited to direct challenges to the permit holder's asserted reasons that show “good cause” justification for the delay.
If a hearing is requested by a licensee or a person whose interest is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and place of any hearings. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained. In the absence of any request for hearing, or any written approval of an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions of this Order shall be final 20 days from the date this Order is published in the
Described in 10 CFR 2.302 are the requirements for filing of documents. All documents filed in 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 E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, August 28, 2007). 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. 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 ten 10 days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the Office of the Secretary by email at
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on the NRC's public Web site at
If a participant is electronically submitting a document to the NRC in accordance with the E-Filing rule, the participant must file the document using the NRC's online, Web-based submission form. In order to serve documents through the Electronic Information Exchange System, users will be required to install a Web browser plug-in from the NRC's Web site. Further information on the Web-based submission form, including the installation of the Web browser plug-in, is available on the NRC's public Web site at
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. Submissions should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance available on the NRC's public Web site at
A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC Meta System Help Desk through the “Contact Us” link located on the NRC's public Web site at
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 filing requesting authorization to continue to use alternate format and transmission of documents. 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: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, 16th Floor, One White Flint North,
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at
Copies of the application to extend the completion date in the CP for WBN Unit 2 are available for public inspection at the NRC's PDR, located at One White Flint North, Room O1–F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, MD 20852. The application may be accessed in ADAMS through the NRC Library at
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.