43758 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 158 / Friday, August 15, 1997 / Notices

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed

Action

The Commission has completed its

evaluation of the proposed action and

concludes that there is no significant

environmental impact if the

amendments are granted. No changes

will be made to the design and licensing

bases, or procedures of the two units at

the McGuire Nuclear Station. Other than

the name change, no other changes will

be made to the facility operating

licenses, including the Technical

Specifications.

The change will not increase the

probability or consequences of

accidents, no changes are being made in

the types of any effluents that may be

released offsite, and there is no

significant increase in the allowable

individual or cumulative occupational

radiation exposure. Accordingly, the

Commission concludes that there are no

significant radiological environmental

impacts associated with the proposed

action.

With regard to potential

nonradiological impacts, the proposed

action does not affect nonradiological

plant effluents and has no other

environmental impact. Accordingly, the

Commission concludes that there are no

significant nonradiological

environmental impacts associated with

the proposed action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

Since the Commission has concluded

there is no measurable environmental

impact associated with the proposed

action, any alternatives with equal or

greater environmental impact need not

be evaluated. As an alternative to the

proposed action, the staff considered

denial of the proposed action. Denial of

the application would result in no

change in current environmental

impacts. The environmental impacts of

the proposed action and the alternative

action are similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

This action does not involve the use

of any resources not previously

considered in the Final Environmental

Statement related to the McGuire

Nuclear Station.

Agencies and Persons Contacted

In accordance with its stated policy,

on August 1, 1997, the staff consulted

with the North Carolina State official,

Richard Frye of the Division of

Protection, North Carolina Department

of Environment, Health, and Natural

Resources, regarding the environmental

impact of the proposed amendments.

The State official had no comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

Based upon the foregoing

environmental assessment, the

Commission concludes that the

proposed amendments will not have a

significant effect on the quality of the

human environment. Accordingly, the

Commission has determined not to

prepare an environmental impact

statement for the proposed

amendments.

For further details with respect to the

proposed action, see the licensee’s

request for the amendments dated June

12, 1997, which is available for public

inspection at the Commission’s Public

Document Room, The Gelman Building,

2120 L Street, NW., Washington DC, and

at the local public document room

located at the J. Murrey Atkins Library,

University of North Carolina at

Charlotte, 9201 University City

Boulevard, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day

of August 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Ngoc B. Le,

Acting Director, Project Directorate II–2,

Division of Reactor Projects—I/II, Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–21680 Filed 8–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Advisory Committee on Reactor

Safeguards; Meeting Notice

In accordance with the purposes of

Sections 29 and 182b. of the Atomic

Energy Act (42 U.S.C. 2039, 2232b), the

Advisory Committee on Reactor

Safeguards will hold a meeting on

September 3–5, 1997, in Conference

Room T–2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike,

Rockville, Maryland. The date of this

meeting was previously published in

the Federal Register on Thursday,

January 23, 1997 (62 FR 3539).

Wednesday, September 3, 1997

8:30 a.m.–8:45 a.m.: Opening Remarks

by the ACRS Chairman (Open)—

The ACRS Chairman will make

opening remarks regarding conduct

of the meeting and comment briefly

regarding items of current interest.

During this session, the Committee

will discuss priorities for

preparation of ACRS reports.

8:45 a.m.–9:45 a.m.: Staff Action Plan to

Improve the Senior Management

Meeting Process, SECY–97–072

(Open)—The Committee will hear

presentations by and hold

discussions with representatives of

the NRC staff, as needed, regarding

the action plan to improve the

Senior Management Meeting

Process.

9:45 a.m.–10:45 a.m.: Draft Regulatory

Guide DG–1069: Fire Protection

Program for Permanently Shutdown

and Decommissioning Nuclear

Plants (Open)—The Committee will

hear presentations by and hold

discussions with representatives of

the NRC staff regarding the Draft

Regulatory Guide DG–1069 on the

fire protection program for

permanently shutdown and

decommissioning nuclear plants.

11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.: Proposed

Generic Letter and Regulatory

Guide Associated with Steam

Generator Integrity (Open)—The

Committee will hear presentations

by and hold discussions with

representatives of the NRC staff

regarding the proposed Generic

Letter and Regulatory Guide

associated with steam generator

integrity.

1:30 p.m.–2:00 p.m.: Reporting

Reliability and Availability

Information for Risk-Significant

Systems and Equipment (Open)—

The Committee will hear

presentations by and hold

discussions with representatives of

the NRC staff, as needed, regarding

the voluntary approach proposed by

the industry for reporting reliability

and availability information for

risk-significant systems and

equipment.

2:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.: NRC Programs for

Risk-Based Analysis of Reactor

Operating Experience and Special

Studies (Open)—The Committee

will hear presentations by and hold

discussions with representatives of

the NRC staff, as needed, regarding

the NRC Programs for Risk-Based

Analysis of Reactor Operating

Experience as well as the results of

several special studies performed

by the staff, including those related

to auxiliary feedwater,

Westinghouse reactor protection

systems, loss of offsite power,

initiating events, reactor core

injection cooling, high pressure

core injection, and fire events.

2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.: Site-Specific Safety

Goals (Open)—The Committee will

hear presentations by and hold

discussions with an ACRS Senior

Fellow, and representatives of the

NRC staff, as needed, regarding the

use of site-specific safety goals.

3:45 p.m.–4:15 p.m.: Use of Uncertainty

Versus Point Values in the PRARelated Decisionmaking Process

(Open)—The Committee will hear a

report by the Chairman of the
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 158 / Friday, August 15, 1997 / Notices 43759

Probabilistic Risk Assessment

Subcommittee regarding matters

discussed at the August 28–29,

1997 Subcommittee meeting.

4:15 p.m.–7:00 p.m.: Preparation of

ACRS Reports (Open)—The

Committee will discuss proposed

ACRS reports on matters considered

during this meeting.

Thursday, September 4, 1997

8:30 a.m.–8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks

by the ACRS Chairman (Open)—

The ACRS Chairman will make

opening remarks regarding conduct

of the meeting.

8:35 a.m.–10:15 a.m.: Meeting with the

NRC Executive Director for

Operations (Open)—The Committee

will meet with the NRC Executive

Director for Operations regarding

items of mutual interest, including

the following:

• Human Performance Program Plan

• Research Program

• Oversight of DOE facilities/

Direction Setting Issue #2

• Development of risk-informed

regulation

• Role of ACRS in resolving technical

differences between NRC staff and

industry

10:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m.: BWR Pressure

Vessel Shell Weld Inspections

(Open)–The Committee will hear a

report by the Chairman of the

Materials and Metallurgy

Subcommittee regarding issues

discussed/raised at the August 26,

1997 Subcommittee meeting

associated with BWR pressure

vessel shell weld inspections.

11:00 a.m.–11:15 a.m.: Subcommittee

Report (Open)—The Committee will

hear a report by the Chairman of the

Thermal-Hydraulic Phenomena

Subcommittee regarding the items

discussed during the July 29–30,

1997 Subcommittee meeting.

11:15 a.m.–11:30 a.m.: Subcommittee

Report (Open)—The Committee will

hear a report by the Chairman of the

Regulatory Policies and Practices

Subcommittee regarding matters

discussed during the August 27,

1997 Subcommittee meeting.

11:30 a.m.–12:00 Noon: Future ACRS

Activities (Open)—The Committee

will discuss the recommendations

of the Planning and Procedures

Sub-committee regarding items

proposed for consideration by the

full Committee during future

meetings.

1:00 p.m.–2:45 p.m.: Proposed Rule on

Shutdown and Fuel Storage Pool

Operations (Open)—The Committee

will hear presentations by and hold

discussions with representatives of

the NRC staff regarding the

proposed rule on shutdown and

fuel storage pool operations.

3:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.: Preparation of

ACRS Reports (Open)—The

Committee will discuss proposed

ACRS reports on matters considered

during this meeting.

Friday, September 5, 1997

8:30 a.m.–8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks

by the ACRS Chairman (Open)—

The ACRS Chairman will make

opening remarks regarding the

conduct of the meeting.

8:35 a.m.–10:30 a.m.: Improper Control

Rod Movement During Shutdown at

Zion Unit 1, and Nonconservative

Operations During Isolation of

Recirculation Pump Seal Leak at

Clinton (Open)—The Committee

will hear presentations by and hold

discussions with representatives of

the NRC staff regarding improper

control rod movement during

shutdown at Zion Unit 1,

nonconservative operations during

isolation of recirculation pump seal

leak at the Clinton Nuclear Power

Plant, and human/organizational

performance issues associated with

these incidents.

10:45 a.m.–11:00 a.m.: Reconciliation of

ACRS Comments and

Recommendations (Open)—The

Committee will discuss responses

from the NRC Executive Director for

Operations to comments and

recommendations included in

recent ACRS reports, including

those on the Proposed Regulatory

Approach associated with Steam

Generator Integrity, Inclusion of a

Containment Spray System in the

AP600 design, and proposed Final

Revisions to 10 CFR Part 26,

Fitness-For-Duty Program

Requirements.

11::00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.: Report of the

Planning and Procedures

Subcommittee (Open/Closed)—The

Committee will hear a report of the

Planning and Procedures

Subcommittee on matters related to

the conduct of ACRS business,

qualifications of candidates

nominated for appointment to the

ACRS, and organizational and

personnel matters relating to the

ACRS.

[Note: A portion of this session may be

closed to discuss organizational and

personnel matters that relate solely to the

internal personnel rules and practices of this

Advisory Committee, and information the

release of which would constitute a clearly

unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.]

12:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.: Preparation of

ACRS Reports (Open)—The

Committee will complete its

discussion of proposed ACRS

reports on matters considered

during this meeting.

3:45 p.m.–4:30 p.m.: Strategic Planning

(Open)—The Committee will

continue its discussion of items of

significant importance to NRC,

including rebaselining of the

Committee activities for FY 1998.

4:30 p.m.–4:45 p.m.: Miscellaneous

(Open)—The Committee will

discuss matters related to the

conduct of Committee activities and

specific issues that were not

completed during previous

meetings, as time and availability of

information permit.

Procedures for the conduct of and

participation in ACRS meetings were

published in the Federal Register on

October 1, 1996 (61 FR 51310). In

accordance with these procedures, oral

or written statements may be presented

by members of the public and

representatives of the nuclear industry,

electronic recordings will be permitted

only during the open portions of the

meeting, and questions may be asked

only by members of the Committee, its

consultants, and staff. Persons desiring

to make oral statements should notify

Mr. Sam Duraiswamy, Chief, Nuclear

Reactors Branch, at least five days

before the meeting, if possible, so that

appropriate arrangements can be made

to allow the necessary time during the

meeting for such statements. Use of still,

motion picture, and television cameras

during this meeting may be limited to

selected portions of the meeting as

determined by the Chairman.

Information regarding the time to be set

aside for this purpose may be obtained

by contacting the Chief of the Nuclear

Reactors Branch prior to the meeting. In

view of the possibility that the schedule

for ACRS meetings may be adjusted by

the Chairman as necessary to facilitate

the conduct of the meeting, persons

planning to attend should check with

the Chief of the Nuclear Reactors Branch

if such rescheduling would result in

major inconvenience.

In accordance with Subsection 10(d)

P.L. 92–463, I have determined that it is

necessary to close portions of this

meeting noted above to discuss matters

that relate solely to the internal

personnel rules and practices of this

Advisory Committee per 5 U.S.C.

552b(c)(2), and to discuss information

the release of which would constitute a

clearly unwarranted invasion of

personal privacy per 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6).

Further information regarding topics

to be discussed, whether the meeting

has been cancelled or rescheduled, the
43760 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 158 / Friday, August 15, 1997 / Notices

Chairman’s ruling on requests for the

opportunity to present oral statements

and the time allotted therefor, can be

obtained by contacting Mr. Sam

Duraiswamy, Chief, Nuclear Reactors

Branch (telephone 301/415–7364),

between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. EDT.

ACRS meeting notices, meeting

transcripts, and letter reports are now

available on FedWorld from the ‘‘NRC

MAIN MENU.’’ The Direct Dial Access

number to FedWorld is (800) 303–9672

or ftp.fedworld. These documents and

the meeting agenda are also available for

downloading or reviewing on the

internet at http://www.nrc.gov/

ACRSACNW.

Dated: August 11, 1997.

John C. Hoyle,

Acting Advisory Committee Management

Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–21681 Filed 8–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50–508 and 50–509]

Washington Nuclear Units 3 and 5

Closing of Local Public Document

Room

Notice is hereby given that the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

is closing the local public document

room (LPDR) for records pertaining to

the Washington Public Power Supply

System’s Washington Nuclear Units 3

and 5 (WPPSS) located at the W.H. Abel

Memorial Library, Montesano,

Washington, effective August 15, 1997.

The W.H. Abel Memorial Library has

served as the LPDR for WPPSS Units 3

and 5 for 23 years. In a letter dated May

28, 1997, the community librarian

officially informed the NRC that they no

longer wish to serve as the LPDR. NRC

has made the decision to officially close

the WPPSS Units 3 and 5 LPDR because

none of the libraries in the vicinity of

the Satsop, Washington site are

interested in maintaining the document

collection, no facility was ever

constructed on the site, and there has

been no demonstrated local public

interest in the LPDR materials for a

number of years. Therefore, effective

August 15, 1997, the LPDR will be

closed.

Persons now interested in information

pertaining to this facility or any other

NRC activity may contact the NRC

Public Document Room by calling tollfree 1–800–397–4209 or writing to NRC

Public Document Room, Washington,

DC 20555–0001.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day

of August, 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Russell A. Powell,

Chief, Freedom of Information/Local Public

Document Room Branch, Office of

Information Resources Management.

[FR Doc. 97–21679 Filed 8–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY

CORPORATION

Interest Assumption for Determining

Variable-Rate Premium; Interest

Assumptions for Multiemployer Plan

Valuations Following Mass Withdrawal

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of interest rates and

assumptions.

SUMMARY: This notice informs the public

of the interest rates and assumptions to

be used under certain Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation regulations. These

rates and assumptions are published

elsewhere (or are derivable from rates

published elsewhere), but are collected

and published in this notice for the

convenience of the public. Interest rates

are also published on the PBGC’s home

page (http://www.pbgc.gov).

DATES: The interest rate for determining

the variable-rate premium under part

4006 applies to premium payment years

beginning in August 1997. The interest

assumptions for performing

multiemployer plan valuations

following mass withdrawal under part

4281 apply to valuation dates occurring

in September 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General

Counsel, Office of the General Counsel,

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation,

1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC

20005, 202–326–4024 (202–326–4179

for TTY and TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Variable-Rate Premiums

Section 4006(a)(3)(E)(iii)(II) of the

Employee Retirement Income Security

Act of 1974 (ERISA) and § 4006.4(b)(1)

of the PBGC’s regulation on Premium

Rates (29 CFR part 4006) prescribe use

of an assumed interest rate in

determining a single-employer plan’s

variable-rate premium. The rate is the

‘‘applicable percentage’’ (described in

the statute and the regulation) of the

annual yield on 30-year Treasury

securities for the month preceding the

beginning of the plan year for which

premiums are being paid (the ‘‘premium

payment year’’). The yield figure is

reported in Federal Reserve Statistical

Releases G.13 and H.15.

For plan years beginning before July

1, 1997, the applicable percentage of the

30-year Treasury yield was 80 percent.

The Retirement Protection Act of 1994

(RPA) amended ERISA section

4006(a)(3)(E)(iii)(II) to provide that the

applicable percentage is 85 percent for

plan years beginning on or after July 1,

1997, through (at least) plan years

beginning before January 1, 2000.

However, under section 774(c) of the

RPA, the application of the amendment

is deferred for certain regulated public

utility (RPU) plans for as long as six

months. The applicable percentage for

RPU plans will therefore remain 80

percent for plan years beginning before

January 1, 1998. (The rules governing

the applicable percentages for ‘‘partial’’

RPU plans are described in § 4006.5(g)

of the premium rates regulation.)

For plans for which the applicable

percentage is 85 percent, the assumed

interest rate to be used in determining

variable-rate premiums for premium

payment years beginning in August

1997 is 5.53 percent (i.e., 85 percent of

the 6.51 percent yield figure for July

1997).

The following table lists the assumed

interest rates to be used in determining

variable-rate premiums for premium

payment years beginning between

September 1996 and August 1997. The

rates for July and August 1997 in the

table reflect an applicable percentage of

85 percent and thus apply only to nonRPU plans. However, the rates for

months before July 1997, which reflect

an applicable percentage of 80 percent,

apply to RPU (and ‘‘partial’’ RPU) plans

as well as to non-RPU plans.

For premium payment years beginning in

The assumed interest

rate is

September 1996 ........................... 5.47

October 1996 ................................ 5.62

November 1996 ............................ 5.45

December 1996 ............................ 5.18

January 1997 ................................ 5.24

February 1997 .............................. 5.46

March 1997 ................................... 5.35

April 1997 ...................................... 5.54

May 1997 ...................................... 5.67

June 1997 ..................................... 5.55

July 1997 ...................................... 5.75

August 1997 .................................. 5.53