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###### Nuclear Regulatory Commission

          - [Docket No. 50-263; License No. DPR-22]

## I. 

Northern States Power Company (NSP or the licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating License No. DPR-22, which authorizes operation of Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit No. 1 (Monticello or the facility). The facility is located in Wright County at the licensee's site in Wright and Sherburne Counties, Minnesota. The license authorizes NSP to possess, use, and operate Monticello. 

## II. 

By application dated November 24, 1999, as supplemented February 2, 2000, NSP informed the Commission that NSP entered into operating service agreements with Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC). The initial application and the supplement are hereinafter collectively referred to as “the application,” unless otherwise indicated. Under the proposed transaction, NMC will be designated as the exclusive licensee authorized to use and operate Monticello in accordance with the terms and conditions of the license. The transaction involves no change in plant ownership. The licensee requested approval of the proposed transfer of operating authority under the Monticello facility operating license to NMC. The application also requested a conforming amendment to reflect the transfer. The proposed amendment would add NMC to the license as the licensee authorized to use and operate Monticello and delete references to NSP as the operator. 

According to the application for approval filed by NSP, NMC would become the licensee authorized to use and operate Monticello following approval of the proposed license transfer. NMC will assume exclusive responsibility for the operation and maintenance of Monticello. Ownership of Monticello will not be affected by the proposed transfer of operating authority. NSP will retain its current ownership interest. NMC will not own any portion of Monticello. Likewise, NSP's entitlement to capacity and energy from Monticello will not be affected by the transfer of operating authority. No physical changes to the Monticello facility were proposed in the application. 

                    Approval of the transfer of operating authority under the facility operating license and conforming license amendment was requested by NSP pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of the application for approval and an opportunity for a hearing was published in the                     **Federal Register**                     on February 15, 2000 (65 FR 7574). Pursuant to such notice, Carol Overland, an individual, and North American Water Office, an environmental organization, filed hearing requests. The Commission presently has the matter under consideration.                 

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 shall give its consent in writing. Upon review of the information in the application by NSP, and other information before the Commission, and relying upon the representations and agreements contained in the application, the NRC staff has determined that NMC is qualified to hold the operating authority under the license, and that the transfer of the operating authority under the license to NMC is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission, subject to the conditions set forth below. The NRC staff has further found that the application for the proposed license amendment complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter 1; 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 amendment 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 amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or the health and safety of the public; and the issuance of the proposed amendment will be in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commission's regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied. The foregoing findings are supported by a safety evaluation dated . 

## 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 transfer of operating authority under the license, as described herein, to NMC is approved, subject to the following conditions:                 

(1) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the transfer of operating authority to NMC, NSP and NMC shall inform the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing of such receipt within 5 business days, and of the date of the closing of the transfer of Monticello no later than 7 business days prior to the date of closing. If the transfer is not completed by April 1, 2001, this Order shall become null and void, provided, however, upon written application and for good cause shown, such date may in writing be extended. 

                    (2) NMC shall, prior to completion of the transfer of operating authority for Monticello, provide the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation satisfactory documentary evidence that NMC has obtained the appropriate amount of insurance required of                           ( print page 31940)                        licensees under 10 CFR Part 140 of the Commission's regulations.                 

*It Is Further Ordered*                     that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), a license amendment that makes changes, as indicated in Enclosure 2 to the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform the license to reflect the subject transfer of operating authority is approved. The amendment shall be issued and made effective at the time the proposed transfer is completed.                 

This Order is effective upon issuance. 

For further details with respect to this action, see the initial application dated November 24, 1999, and supplement dated February 2, 2000, and the safety evaluation dated May 15, 2000, which are available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and accessible electronically through the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room link at the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov). 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of May 2000. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Brian W. Sheron, 

Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00-12620 Filed 5-18-00; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590-01-P