Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 82 / Thursday, April 27, 2000 / Notices 24717

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. 50–277 and 50–278]

PECO Energy Company, Public

Service Electric and Gas Company,

Delmarva Power and Light Company,

Atlantic City Electric Company; Peach

Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2

and 3; Order Approving Transfer of

Licenses and Conforming

Amendments

I

PECO Energy Company (PECO),

Public Service Electric and Gas

Company (PSE&G), Delmarva Power and

Light Company (DP&L), and Atlantic

City Electric Company (ACE) are the

joint owners of the Peach Bottom

Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3

(Peach Bottom), located in York County,

Pennsylvania. They hold Facility

Operating Licenses Nos. DPR–44 and

DPR–56 issued by the U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC or

Commission) on October 25, 1973, and

July 2, 1974, respectively, pursuant to

part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal

Regulations (10 CFR Part 50). Under

these licenses, PECO (currently owner

of 42.49 percent of each Peach Bottom

unit) is authorized to possess, use, and

operate the Peach Bottom units. The

current, non-operating ownership

interests of the other joint owners for

each Peach Bottom unit are as follows:

PSE&G, 42.49 percent; DP&L, 7.51

percent; and ACE, 7.51 percent.

II

By an application dated December 21,

1999, which was supplemented on

February 11, March 2, and March 16,

2000 (collectively referred to herein as

the application), PECO, PSE&G, PSEG

Nuclear Limited Liability Company

(PSEG Nuclear), DP&L, and ACE,

requested approval by the NRC of the

transfer to PECO and PSEG Nuclear of

the Peach Bottom licenses, to the extent

held by DP&L and ACE, in conjunction

with the proposed acquisition of DP&L’s

and ACE’s ownership interests in the

Peach Bottom units by PECO and PSEG

Nuclear. According to the application,

depending upon the timing of regulatory

approvals sought by PSEG Nuclear

concerning other transfer matters not

involving DP&L and ACE, as an interim

step the interests of DP&L and ACE to

be acquired by PSEG Nuclear may be

transferred first to PSE&G, and then to

PSEG Nuclear. No physical changes or

significant changes in the day-to-day

management and operations of the

Peach Bottom units are proposed in the

application. The proposed transfer does

not involve any change with respect

tothe exclusive operating authority of

the Peach Bottom units, currently held

by PECO.

PECO also requested approval of

conforming license amendments to

reflect the transfer. The amendments

would replace references to DP&L and

ACE, with PSEG Nuclear.

Approval of the transfer and

conforming license amendments was

requested pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and

50.90. A notice of the application for

transfer approval as well as the request

for amendments and an opportunity for

a hearing was published in the Federal

Register on February 18, 2000 (65 FR

8451). No hearing requests were filed.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license,

or any right thereunder, shall be

transferred, directly or indirectly,

through transfer of control of the

license, unless the Commission gives its

consent in writing. After reviewing the

information submitted in the

application and other information

before the Commission, the NRC staff

has determined that PECO and PSEG

Nuclear are qualified to hold the

licenses for each Peach Bottom unit, to

the same extent the licenses are now

held by DP&L and ACE and that the

transfer of the licenses, as previously

described herein, is otherwise

consistent with applicable provisions of

law, regulations, and orders issued by

the Commission, subject to the

conditions described herein. The NRC

staff has further found that the

application for the proposed license

amendments complies with the

standards and requirements of the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended

(the Act), and the Commission’s rules

and regulations set forth in 10 CFR

Chapter I; the facility will operate in

conformity with the application, the

provisions of the Act, and the rules and

regulations of the Commission; there is

reasonable assurance that the activities

authorized by the proposed license

amendments can be conducted without

endangering the health and safety of the

public and that such activities will be

conducted in compliance with the

Commission’s regulations; the issuance

of the proposed license amendments

will not be inimical to the common

defense and security or to the health

and safety of the public; and the

issuance of the proposed license

amendments will be in accordance with

10 CFR part 51 of the Commission’s

regulations and all applicable

requirements have been satisfied. These

findings are supported by a Safety

Evaluation dated April 21, 2000.

III

Accordingly, pursuant to sections

161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic

Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42

U.S.C. §§ 2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234;

and 10 CFR 50.80, It Is Hereby Ordered

That the license transfers from DP&L

and ACE to PECO and PSEG Nuclear

referenced above are approved, subject

to the following conditions:

1. Any interim transaction described

in the application whereby DP&L’s and

ACE’s interests in Peach Bottom Units 2

and 3 are first acquired by PSE&G, or

any other entity prior to the acquisition

by PSEG Nuclear of such interest, shall

not result in the acquisition, possession,

or use of Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3,

or any activity for which a license is

required under the Atomic Energy Act

of 1954, as amended, by any entity other

than PSEG Nuclear, unless such result

is expressly approved by a separate

order upon further application. This

Order shall not be deemed to provide

consent under 10 CFR 50.80 to the

transfer of the licenses for Peach Bottom

Units 2 and 3 with respect to DP&L’s

and ACE’s interests in Peach Bottom

Units 2 and 3 to any entities other than

PECO and PSEG Nuclear.

2. ACE and DP&L will transfer on or

about the closing date to the respective

PECO and PSEG Nuclear

decommissioning trusts in equal shares

a minimum of $42.4 million for Peach

Bottom Unit 2, and $43.7 million for

Peach Bottom Unit 3.

3. The decommissioning trust

agreement(s) for Peach Bottom Units 2

and 3 shall provide that:

a. The use of assets in both the

qualified and non-qualified funds shall

be limited to expenses related to

decommissioning of the unit as defined

by the NRC in its regulations and

issuances, and as provided in the unit’s

license and any amendments thereto.

However, upon completion of

decommissioning, as defined above, the

assets may be used for any purpose

authorized by law.

b. Investments in the securities or

other obligations of PSE&G or affiliates

thereof, or their successors or assigns,

shall be prohibited. In addition, except

for investments tied to market indexes

or other non-nuclear sector mutual

funds, investments in any entity owning

one or more nuclear power plants shall

be prohibited.

c. No disbursements or payments

from the trust shall be made by the

trustee until the trustee has first given

the NRC 30 days notice of the payment.

In addition, no disbursements or

payments from the trust shall be made

if the trustee receives prior written

24718 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 82 / Thursday, April 27, 2000 / Notices

notice of objection from the Director,

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

d. The trust agreement shall not be

modified in any material respect

without prior written notification to the

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

e. The trustee, investment advisor, or

anyone else directing the investments

made in the trust shall adhere to a

‘‘prudent investor’’ standard, as

specified in 18 CFR 35.32(3) of the

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission’s regulations.

4. After receipt of all required

regulatory approvals of the subject

transfer, PECO shall inform the Director,

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, in

writing of such receipt, and of the date

of closing of the transfer no later than

7 business days prior to the date of

closing. Should the transfer not be

completed by December 31, 2000, this

Order shall become null and void,

provided, however, on application and

for good cause shown, such date may be

extended.

It Is Further Ordered That, consistent

with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), license

amendments that make changes, as

indicated in Enclosure 2 to the cover

letter forwarding this Order, to conform

each Peach Bottom license to reflect the

subject transfers are approved. Such

amendments shall be issued and made

effective at the time the proposed

license transfer is completed.

This Order is effective upon issuance.

For further details with respect to this

Order, see the transfer application dated

December 21, 1999, and supplements

dated February 11, March 2, and March

16, 2000, which are available for public

inspection at the Commission’s Public

Document Room, the Gelman Building,

2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC.

Publically available records will be

accessible electronically from the

ADAMS Public Library component on

the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov

(the Electronic Reading Room).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day

of April 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–10505 Filed 4–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50–387 and 50–388]

PP&L, Inc.; Notice of Consideration of

Issuance of Amendment to Facility

Operating License, Proposed No

Significant Hazards Consideration

Determination, and Opportunity for a

Hearing

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) is

considering issuance of an amendment

to Facility Operating License Nos. NPF–

14 and NPF–22 issued to PP&L, Inc. (the

licensee) for operation of the

Susquehanna Steam Electric Station

(SSES), Units 1 and 2, located in

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

The proposed amendment would

amend the licenses to change the

required implementation date for

previously issued license Amendment

No. 184 to Facility Operating License

NPF–14 and Amendment No. 158 to

Facility Operating License NPF–22. The

proposed amendment would not alter

any of the requirements of the SSES

Unit 1 and 2 Technical Specifications

(TSs). The previously issued

amendments incorporate long-term

power stability solution instrumentation

into the SSES Unit 1 and 2 TSs. When

implemented, these amendments will

incorporate into the TSs the licensee’s

final response to GL 94–02, ‘‘Long Term

Solutions and Upgrade of Interim

Operating Recommendations for

Thermal-Hydraulic Instabilities in

Boiling Water Reactors.’’ Specifically,

these amendments will, in part, add TS

requirements related to the operating

power range monitoring (OPRM)

system. The licensee stated that design

deficiencies have adversely affected its

ability to install and operate the OPRM

system. Therefore, the licensee

requested that the required

implementation date for Amendment

No. 184 to License NPF–14 and

Amendment No. 158 to License No.

NPF–22 be revised to become effective

no later than November 1, 2001. The

licensee stated that the revised date

would provide sufficient time to

complete efforts necessary to ensure the

OPRM system’s final readiness for

operation.

Before issuance of the proposed

license amendment, the Commission

will have made findings required by the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended

(the Act) and the Commission’s

regulations.

The Commission has made a

proposed determination that the

amendment request involves no

significant hazards consideration. Under

the Commission’s regulations in 10 CFR

50.92, this means that operation of the

facility in accordance with the proposed

amendment would not (1) involve a

significant increase in the probability or

consequences of an accident previously

evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of

a new or different kind of accident from

any accident previously evaluated; or

(3) involve a significant reduction in a

margin of safety. As required by 10 CFR

50.91(a), the licensee has provided its

analysis of the issue of no significant

hazards consideration, which is

presented below:

1. The proposed change does not involve

a significant increase in the probability or

consequences of an accident previously

evaluated.

The proposed amendment implementation

date extension is administrative in nature

and does not require any physical plant

modifications, physically affect any plant

systems or components, nor entail changes in

plant operation. The resulting consequences

of transients and accidents will remain

within the NRC approved criteria. Therefore,

the proposed action does not involve an

increase in the probability or consequences

of an accident previously evaluated.

2. The proposed change does not create the

possibility of a new or different kind of

accident from any accident previously

evaluated.

The proposed amendment implementation

date extension is administrative in nature

and does not require any physical plant

modifications, physically affect any plant

systems or components, nor entail changes in

plant operation. Therefore, the proposed

change does not create the possibility of a

new or different kind of accident from any

accident previously evaluated.

3. The proposed change does not involve

a significant reduction in a margin of safety.

The proposed amendment implementation

date extension is administrative in nature

and does not require any physical plant

modifications, physically affect any plant

systems or components, nor entail changes in

plant operation. Since the proposed changes

do not affect the physical plant or have any

impact on plant operation, the proposed

changes will not jeopardize or degrade the

function or operation of any plant system or

component. Therefore, the proposed change

does not involve a significant reduction in

the margin of safety.

The NRC staff has reviewed the

licensee’s analysis and, based on this

review, it appears that the three

standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are

satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff

proposes to determine that the

amendment request involves no

significant hazards consideration.

The Commission is seeking public

comments on this proposed

determination. Any comments received

within 30 days after the date of

publication of this notice will be