Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 23, 2000 / Notices 33379

take this action will occur very

infrequently.

Written comments may be submitted

by mail to the Chief, Rules and

Directives Branch, Division of

Administrative Services, Office of

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, and should cite the publication

date and page number of this Federal

Register notice. Written comments may

also be delivered to Room 6D59, Two

White Flint North, 11545 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30

a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays.

Copies of written comments received

may be examined at the NRC Public

Document Room, the Gelman Building,

2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC.

The filing of requests for hearing and

petitions for leave to intervene is

discussed below.

By June 22, 2000, the licensee may

file a request for a hearing with respect

to issuance of the amendment to the

subject facility operating license and

any person whose interest may be

affected by this proceeding and who

wishes to participate as a party in the

proceeding must file a written request

for a hearing and a petition for leave to

intervene. Requests for a hearing and a

petition for leave to intervene shall be

filed in accordance with the

Commission’s ‘‘Rules of Practice for

Domestic Licensing Proceedings’’ in 10

CFR Part 2. Interested persons should

consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.714

which is available 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).

If a request for a hearing or petition for

leave to intervene is filed by the above

date, the Commission or an Atomic

Safety and Licensing Board, designated

by the Commission or by the Chairman

of the Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board Panel, will rule on the request

and/or petition; and the Secretary or the

designated Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board will issue a notice of hearing or

an appropriate order.

As required by 10 CFR 2.714, a

petition for leave to intervene shall set

forth with particularity the interest of

the petitioner in the proceeding, and

how that interest may be affected by the

results of the proceeding. The petition

should specifically explain the reasons

why intervention should be permitted

with particular reference to the

following factors: (1) The nature of the

petitioner’s right under the Act to be

made party to the proceeding; (2) the

nature and extent of the petitioner’s

property, financial, or other interest in

the proceeding; and (3) the possible

effect of any order which may be

entered in the proceeding on the

petitioner’s interest. The petition should

also identify the specific aspect(s) of the

subject matter of the proceeding as to

which petitioner wishes to intervene.

Any person who has filed a petition for

leave to intervene or who has been

admitted as a party may amend the

petition without requesting leave of the

Board up to 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, but such an amended

petition must satisfy the specificity

requirements described above.

Not later than 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, a petitioner shall file a

supplement to the petition to intervene

which must include a list of the

contentions which are sought to be

litigated in the matter. Each contention

must consist of a specific statement of

the issue of law or fact to be raised or

controverted. In addition, the petitioner

shall provide a brief explanation of the

bases of the contention and a concise

statement of the alleged facts or expert

opinion which support the contention

and on which the petitioner intends to

rely in proving the contention at the

hearing. The petitioner must also

provide references to those specific

sources and documents of which the

petitioner is aware and on which the

petitioner intends to rely to establish

those facts or expert opinion. Petitioner

must provide sufficient information to

show that a genuine dispute exists with

the applicant on a material issue of law

or fact. Contentions shall be limited to

matters within the scope of the

amendment under consideration. The

contention must be one which, if

proven, would entitle the petitioner to

relief. A petitioner who fails to file such

a supplement which satisfies these

requirements with respect to at least one

contention will not be permitted to

participate as a party.

Those permitted to intervene become

parties to the proceeding, subject to any

limitations in the order granting leave to

intervene, and have the opportunity to

participate fully in the conduct of the

hearing, including the opportunity to

present evidence and cross-examine

witnesses.

If a hearing is requested, the

Commission will make a final

determination on the issue of no

significant hazards consideration. The

final determination will serve to decide

when the hearing is held.

If the final determination is that the

amendment request involves no

significant hazards consideration, the

Commission may issue the amendment

and make it immediately effective,

notwithstanding the request for a

hearing. Any hearing held would take

place after issuance of the amendment.

If the final determination is that the

amendment request involves a

significant hazards consideration, any

hearing held would take place before

the issuance of any amendment.

A request for a hearing or a petition

for leave to intervene must be filed with

the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention:

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, or

may be delivered to the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, by the above date. A

copy of the petition should also be sent

to the Office of the General Counsel,

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, and to

Jeffrie J. Keenan, Esquire, Nuclear

Business Unit—N21, P.O. Box 236,

Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038.

Non-timely filings of petitions for

leave to intervene, amended petitions,

supplemental petitions and/or requests

for hearing will not be entertained

absent a determination by the

Commission, the presiding officer or the

presiding Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board that the petition and/or request

should be granted based upon a

balancing of the factors specified in 10

CFR 2.714(a)(1)(i)–(v) and 2.714(d).

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated April 10, 2000, which

is 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 17th day

of May.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Robert J. Fretz,

Project Manager, Section 2, Project

Directorate I, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–12963 Filed 5–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Actuarial Advisory Committee With

Respect to the Railroad Retirement

Account; Notice of Public Meeting

Notice is hereby given in accordance

with Public Law 92–463 that the

Actuarial Advisory Committee will hold

33380 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 23, 2000 / Notices

a meeting on May 25, 2000, at 10:30

a.m. at the office of the Chief Actuary of

the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844

North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois, on

the conduct of the 21st Actuarial

Valuation of the Railroad Retirement

System. The agenda for this meeting

will include a discussion of the results

and presentation of the 21st Actuarial

Valuation. The text and tables which

constitute the Valuation will have been

prepared in draft form for review by the

Committee. It is expected that this will

be the last meeting of the Committee

before publication of the Valuation.

The meeting will be open to the

public. Persons wishing to submit

written statements or make oral

presentations should address their

communications or notices to the RRB

Actuarial Advisory Committee, c/o

Chief Actuary, U.S. Railroad Retirement

Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago,

Illinois 60611–2092.

Dated: May 11, 2000.

Beatrice Ezerski,

Secretary to the Board.

[FR Doc. 00–12866 Filed 5–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7905–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Rel. No. IC–24456; File No. 812–12092]

Northbrook Life Insurance Company,

et al.

May 16, 2000.

AGENCY: Securities and exchange

Commission (‘‘Commission’’)

ACTION: Notice of application for an

order pursuant to Section 11(a) of the

Investment Company Act of 1940 (the

‘‘Act’’) approving the terms of an offer

of a Longevity Reward Rider to owners

of certain variable annuity contracts (the

‘‘Contracts’’).

Applicants: Northbrook Life

Insurance Company (‘‘Northbrook’’),

Northbrook Life Insurance Company

Variable Annuity Accout II (‘‘Account

II’’), and Dean Witter Reynolds Inc.

(‘‘Dean Witter’’).

Summary of Application: Applicants

seek an order approving the terms of a

proposed offer to certain owners of the

Contracts of a rider that (a) upon death

of a Contract’s owner, gives any

surviving spouse theoption of

continuing the Contract with a value

equal to the death benefit then payable,

(b) reduces or waives certain charges,

and (c) imposes a new withdrawal

charge on purchase payments made

before or after the rider’s issue date (the

‘‘Rider Date’’).

Filing Date: The application was filed

on May 15, 2000.

Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An

order granting the application will be

issued unless the Commission orders a

hearing. Interested persons may request

a hearing by writing to the Secretary of

the Commission and serving Applicants

with a copy of the request, personally or

by mail. Hearing requests must be

received by the Commission by 5:30

p.m. on June 7, 2000, and should be

accompanied by proof of service on

Applicants in the form of an affidvit or,

for lawyers, a certificate of service.

Hearing requests should state the nature

of the requester’s interest, the reason for

the request, and the issues contested.

Persons who wish to be notified of a

hearing may request notification by

writing to the Secretary of the

Commission.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, Securities and

Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street,

N.W., Washington, DC. 20549–0609.

Applicants, Bruce A. Teichner, Esq.,

Associate Counsel, Allstate Life

Insurance Company, 3100 Sanders

Road, Northbrook, Illinois 60062.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann

L. Vlcek, Senior Counsel, Michael D.

Pappas, Senior Counsel, or William J.

Kotapish, Assistant Director, Office of

Insurance Products, Division of

Investment Management, at (202) 942–

0670.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

following is a summary of the

application. The complete application is

available for a fee from the Public

Reference Branch of the Commission,

450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC.

20549–0102, (202) 942–8090.

Applicant’s Representations

1. Northbrook is a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Allstate Life Insurance

company (‘‘Allstate Life’’). Allstate Life

is an indirect subsidiary of The Allstate

Corporation, a publicly-traded

insurance holding company. Northbrook

is Account II’s depositor within the

meaning of the Act.

2. Dean Witter is a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Dean

Witter & Co., a publicly-traded financial

services company. Dean Witter is the

principal underwriter of Account II.

Dean Witter is registered as a brokerdealer under the Securities Exchange

Act of 1934 (File No. 9–14172).

3. Account II is registered under the

Act as a unit investment trust (File No.

811–6116). Account II funds the Morgan

Stanley Dean Witter Variable Annuity II

Contracts (defined above as the

‘‘Contracts’’) that Northbrook and Dean

Witter have offered and sold for a

number of years.

4. The Contracts, which are registered

under the Securities Act of 1933 (File

No. 033–35412), are deferred annuity

contracts under which Contract owners

may make one or more purchase

payments over a period of time (called

the ‘‘accumulation phase’’). During the

accumulation phase, the Contract

owner’s purchase payments, after

deduction of certain charges, earn (at

the owner’s election) a ‘‘variable’’ return

based on the investment performance of

one or more of Account II’s subaccounts

and/or a fixed rate of return that

Northbrook declares from time to time.

5. At the end of the accumulation

phase, the Contract owner elects

whether to receive a ‘‘lump sum’’

payment of the Contract’s accumulated

value, or to receive that value under one

of several payment options that

Northbrook offers. Payment options are

available on a variable and/or fixed

basis. The Contracts incorporate many

other features, including several ‘‘death

benefit’’ options, partial withdrawal

rights, full surrender rights, transfer

privileges, and other optional rider

benefits.

6. The Contracts currently impose a

withdrawal charge of up to 6% of any

amount by which purchase payments

withdrawn in any year exceed 15% of

the cumulative purchase payments that

had been made as of the beginning of

that year (the ‘‘annual free withdrawal

amount’’). The withdrawal charge

associated with each purchase payment

declines 1% each year until it is 0%

beginning in the seventh year after the

payment was made. Unused portions of

the annual free withdrawal amount do

not carry over to future years.

7. The Contracts also impose an

annual Contract maintenance charge of

$30, a $25 charge applicable to certain

transfers in excess of twelve during a

one-year period (which is currently

being waived), a daily administrative

charge at an annual rate of 0.10% of the

Contract’s value in Account II, a

mortality and expense risk charge at an

annual rate of 1.25% of the Contract’s

value in Account II (or higher if certain

optional rider benefits are selected), and

a charge corresponding to any

applicable state premium taxes.

8. Northbrook now proposes to offer

a Longevity Reward Rider (the ‘‘LRR’’)

to owners of certain outstanding

Contracts. The LRR provides additional

Contract benefits. The benefits under

the LRR include: (a) An option whereby

a deceased owner’s surviving spouse

may continue the Contract using the

then-current death benefit value as the

new Contract value, if higher, rather