Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 94 / Monday, May 15, 2000 / Notices 31021

VI

For the foregoing reasons, the NRC

staff has concluded that an exemption is

acceptable to the requirements of

appendix K, section I.D.1, 10 CFR

50.46(b)(5), and 10 CFR 50.46(a)(1)(ii)

with respect to the DBNPS active

methods for BPC. The NRC staff has

determined that there are special

circumstances present, as specified in

10 CFR 50.12.(a)(2)(ii), in that

application of the specific regulations is

not necessary in order to achieve the

underlying purpose of these regulations,

which is to assure long term cooling

performance of the ECCS in the event of

the most damaging single failure of

ECCS equipment. In addition, the staff

has determined that an exemption to

appendix K, section I.A.4 is acceptable

with respect to the decay heat

generation rate. Special circumstances

exist in that use of the 1.2 value

specified in appendix K, section I.A.4,

is not necessary in order to achieve the

underlying purpose of the rule.

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR

50.12(a), the requested exemption is

authorized by law, will not endanger

life or property or the common defense

and security, and is otherwise in the

public interest. Therefore, the

Commission hereby grants the requested

exemption. This exemption is effective

upon issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day

of May 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Suzanne C. Black,

Acting Director, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–12129 Filed 5–12–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–146]

GPU Nuclear Corp., Saxton Nuclear

Experimental Facility; Notice of

Receipt, Availability for Comment, and

Meeting To Discuss License

Termination Plan

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(NRC) is in receipt of and is making

available for public inspection and

comment the License Termination Plan

(LTP) for the Saxton Nuclear

Experimental Facility (SNEF) located in

Saxton, Bedford County, Pennsylvania.

Reactor operations at the SNEF were

ended in May 1972. The reactor was

defueled and all fuel was removed from

the site in 1972. In accordance with

NRC regulations in effect at that time,

the Saxton Nuclear Experimental

Corporation (SNEC) submitted a

decommissioning plan for the SNEF to

the NRC in February 1996 (GPU Nuclear

Corporation (GPUN) became a colicensee for the SNEF on May 10, 1996).

When proposed amendments to the

NRC’s decommissioning regulations

were published in the Federal Register

on July 29, 1996 (61 FR 39278), the

licensee requested that the review of the

decommissioning plan be suspended.

When the amended regulations became

effective on August 28, 1996, the

submitted decommissioning plan, as

supplemented, became the SNEF Post

Shutdown Decommissioning Activities

Report (PSDAR) pursuant to 10 CFR

50.82 as amended. A public meeting

was held in Saxton, Pennsylvania on

January 28, 1997, to provide information

and gather pubic comment on the

PSDAR. Because of restrictions in the

license for the SNEF, a license

amendment was needed before

decommissioning activities could

commence. License Amendment No. 15

to Amended Facility License No. DPR–

4 approving decommissioning was

issued on April 20, 1998. The facility is

undergoing active decontamination and

dismantlement.

In accordance with 10 CFR

50.82(a)(9), all power reactor licensees

must submit an application for

termination of their license. The

application for termination of license

must be accompanied or preceded by an

LTP to be submitted for NRC approval.

If found acceptable by the NRC staff, the

LTP is approved by license amendment,

subject to such conditions and

limitations as the NRC staff deems

appropriate and necessary. SNEC and

GPUN (the licensees) submitted the

proposed LTP for the SNEF by

application dated February 2, 2000. In

accordance with 10 CFR 20.1405 and 10

CFR 50.82(a)(9)(iii), the NRC is

providing notice to individuals in the

vicinity of the site that the NRC is in

receipt of the SNEF LTP, and will

accept comments from affected parties.

In accordance with 10 CFR

50.82(a)(9)(iii), the NRC is also

providing notice that the NRC staff will

conduct a meeting to discuss the SNEC

LTP on Thursday, May 25, 2000, at 7:00

p.m. at the Saxton Fire Hall located at

8th and Norris Street, Saxton,

Pennsylvania 16678.

The SNEF LTP and associated

environmental report are available for

public inspection at the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, at 2120 L Street NW.,

Washington, DC 20037. They are also

available through http://www.nrc.gov/

OPA/reports under ‘‘What’s New on

This Page,’’ ‘‘Decommissioning,’’ or

‘‘Other Documents.’’

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day

of May 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Ledyard B. Marsh,

Chief, Events Assessment, Generic

Communications and Non-Power Reactors

Branch, Division of Regulatory Improvement

Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–12128 Filed 5–12–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–346]

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co.,

Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station,

Unit 1; Environmental Assessment and

Finding of No Significant Impact

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) is

considering the issuance of an

exemption, under certain specified

conditions, from the provisions of (1) 10

CFR part 50, appendix K, section I.D.1

which requires that accident evaluations

use the combination of emergency core

cooling system (ECCS) subsystems

assumed to be operative ‘‘after the most

damaging single-failure of ECCS

equipment has taken place;’’ (2) 10 CFR

part 50, appendix K, Section I.A.4,

which specifies that 1.2 times the

American Nuclear Standard ANS–5

decay heat generation rate for an infinite

operating time shall be used; and (3)

requirements of 10 CFR 50.46(b)(5) and

50.46(a)(1)(ii), be applied for Facility

Operating License No. NPF–3, issued to

the FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating

Company (the licensee), for operation of

the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station,

Unit 1, located in Ottawa County, Ohio.

The Commission is taking an action to

approve this request prior to publication

in the Federal Register of its

Environmental Assessment and Finding

of No Significant Impact. In accordance

with 10 CFR 51.13, the Commission has

determined that emergency

circumstances are present to support the

issuance of this exemption prior to

publication in the Federal Register in

that failure to act in a timely way would

result in prevention of resumption of

plant operation.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

The licensee has requested an

exemption from 10 CFR 50.46 and 10

CFR part 50 Appendix K regarding