Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 204 / Wednesday, October 22, 1997 / Notices 54865

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 the amendment is issued before the

expiration of the 30-day hearing period,

the Commission will make a final

determination on the issue of no

significant hazards consideration. If a

hearing is requested, 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,

Attention: Rulemakings and

Adjudications Staff, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555–0001, 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 Gerald Charnoff,

Esquire; Shaw, Pittman, Potts and

Trowbridge; 2300 N Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20037, attorney for the

licensee.

Nontimely 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 October 8, 1997,

which is available for public inspection

at the Commission’s Public Document

Room, located at the Gelman Building,

2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC,

and at the local public document room,

located at the Maud Preston Palenske

Memorial Library, 500 Market Street, St.

Joseph, Michigan 49085.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day

of October 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John B. Hickman,

Project Manager, Project Directorate III–3,

Division of Reactor Projects III/IV , Office

of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–28004 Filed 10–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–U

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–483]

Union Electric Company Callaway

Plant, Unit 1; Post Operating License

Antitrust Review Finding Of No

Significant Changes

By letter dated February 23, 1996, as

supplemented by letters dated April 24,

1996 and November 15, 1996, Union

Electric Company (UEC), holder of the

Operating License for the Callaway

Nuclear Plant, requested NRC approval

regarding a merger agreement with

Central Illinois Public Service Company

(CIPSCO), under which UEC would

become a wholly-owned subsidiary of

the newly formed Ameren Corporation,

a registered public utility holding

company. Presently, 50 percent of

Ameren is owned by UEC, and 50

percent is owned by CIPSCO.

The staff has examined, from a

competitive standpoint, events which

have occurred since issuance of the

Callaway, Unit 1 construction permit to

UEC and the operating license. In

addition, the staff has considered the

structure of the electric utility industry

in the State of Missouri, and the record

and testimony developed in related

proceedings at the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The staff’s analysis is as follows:

After the merger, UEC will continue to own

and operate the Callaway Nuclear Plant. UEC

will continue to be engaged principally in the

generation, transmission, distribution and

retail and wholesale sale of electricity and in

the distribution and retail sale of natural gas

in Missouri.

Based upon the information provided by

the licensee, the proposed merger and

restructuring will not adversely affect the

operation of the Callaway facility nor the

bulk power services market served by the

Callaway facility. For the most part, the

transmission systems of UEC and CIPSCO do

not overlap, so the merger for the most part

would not eliminate one independent and

potentially competing transmission

alternative. Also, the licensee has filed

consolidated (one system) open access

transmission tariffs, which make available all

of the direct interconnections of both

companies as receipt and delivery points.

This has the potential to expand wholesale

bulk power trading opportunities in the

region. The single-system open access

transmission tariffs should make entry by

new non-utility generators easier than before

the merger, which should increase

competition for long term generating

capacity.

Market forces resulting from deregulation

of the electric utility industry appear to be

the driving force for the proposed merger. In

testimony before FERC, licensee

representatives stated that the rationale for

the merger was to reduce the combined

operating costs of UEC and CIPSCO. Both

companies have been aggressively pursuing

cost reductions to remain competitive, and

have reached the practical limits of that

strategy. Without a fundamental change in

their way of doing business, it would become

increasingly difficult to continue reducing

costs. By combining utility operations, both

companies have an opportunity to achieve

more cost efficiency than either company

could achieve independently.

The staff recommends that the Director of

the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

issue a no significant antitrust change finding

in connection with UEC’s request dated

February 23, 1996, as supplemented by

letters dated April 23, 1996, and November

15, 1996.

Based on the staff’s analysis, it is my

finding that the proposed
54866 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 204 / Wednesday, October 22, 1997 / Notices

implementation of the merger agreement

between UEC and CIPSCO, which

provides for UEC to become a whollyowned subsidiary of the newly formed

Ameren Corporation, does not represent

a ‘‘significant change.’’

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day

of October 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–28000 Filed 10–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–483]

In the Matter of Union Electric

Company (Callaway Plant, Unit 1);

Order Approving Application

Regarding the Corporate Merger

Agreement Between Union Electric

Company and Cipsco Incorporated To

Form a Holding Company

I

Union Electric Company (UEC) is sole

owner of Callaway Plant, Unit 1. UEC

holds Facility Operating License No.

NPF–30 issued by the U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant

to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of

Federal Regulations on October 18,

1984. Under this license, UEC has the

authority to own and operate Callaway

Plant, Unit 1. Callaway Plant is located

in Callaway County, Missouri.

II

By letter dated February 23, 1996, as

supplemented by letters dated April 24,

1996, and November 15, 1996, UEC

informed the Commission that it had

entered into a merger agreement with

CIPSCO Incorporated (CIPSCO) which

would provide for UEC to become a

wholly-owned operating company of

Ameren Corporation (Ameren). Ameren

was formed to implement the merger

agreement, and is presently owned

equally by UEC and CIPSCO. Under the

merger agreement, current holders of

UEC common stock and holders of

CIPSCO common stock will become

holders of common stock in Ameren.

UEC requested, to the extent necessary,

the Commission’s approval, pursuant to

10 CFR 50.80. Notice of this application

for approval was published in the

Federal Register on June 10, 1996 (61

FR 29434), and an Environmental

Assessment and Finding of No

Significant Impact was published in the

Federal Register on November 22, 1996

(61 FR 59469).

Under 10 CFR 50.80, no license 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 submitted in the

letter of February 23, 1996, as

supplemented by letters dated April 24,

1996, and November 15, 1996, and other

information before the Commission, the

NRC staff has determined that

consummation of the merger agreement

between UEC and CIPSCO, resulting in

UEC becoming a wholly-owned

subsidiary of a holding company,

Ameren, will not affect the

qualifications of UEC as holder of the

license for Callaway Plant, and that the

transfer of control of the license, to the

extent effected by the consummation of

the merger agreement between UEC and

CIPSCO, is otherwise consistent with

applicable provisions of law,

regulations, and orders issued by the

Commission, subject to the conditions

set forth herein. These findings are

supported by the Safety Evaluation

dated October 16, 1997.

III

Accordingly, pursuant to Section

161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the Atomic

Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42

USC 2201(b), 2201(i), 2201(o) and 2234,

and 10 CFR 50.80, It Is Hereby Ordered

that the Commission approves the

application regarding the merger

agreement between UEC and CIPSCO,

under which Ameren will become the

holding company of UEC, subject to the

following: (1) UEC shall provide the

Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation a copy of any application, at

the time it is filed, to transfer (excluding

grants of security interests or liens) from

UEC to its proposed parent or to any

other affiliated company, facilities or

other assets for the production,

transmission, or distribution of electric

energy having a depreciated book value

exceeding ten percent (10%) of UEC’s

consolidated net utility plant, as

recorded on UEC’s books of account;

and (2) should the merger agreement

between UEC and CIPSCO not be

implemented by September 30, 1998,

this Order shall become null and void,

provided, however, on application and

for good cause shown, such date may be

extended.

This Order is effective upon issuance.

IV

By November 21, 1997, any person

adversely affected by this Order may file

a request for a hearing with respect to

issuance of the Order. Any person

requesting a hearing shall set forth with

particularity how that interest is

adversely affected by this Order and

shall address the criteria set forth in 10

CFR 2.714(d).

If a hearing is to be held, the

Commission will issue an order

designating the time and place of such

hearing.

The issue to be considered at any

such hearing shall be whether this

Order should be sustained.

Any request for a hearing 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 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,

Maryland between 7:45 am and 4:15 pm

Federal workdays, by the above date.

Copies should be also sent to the Office

of the General Counsel, and to the

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555,

and to Gerald Charnoff, Esquire/Thomas

A. Baxter, Esquire, Shaw, Pittman, Potts

& Trowbridge, 2300 N. Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20037, attorneys for

UEC.

For further details with respect to this

Order, see the application dated

February 23, 1996, and supplemental

letters dated April 24, 1996 and

November 15, 1996, which are 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

Callaway County Public Library, 710

Court Street, Fulton, Missouri 65251.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day

of October 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–28001 Filed 10–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Biweekly Notice

Applications and Amendments to

Facility Operating Licenses Involving

No Significant Hazards Considerations

I. Background

Pursuant to Public Law 97-415, the

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(the Commission or NRC staff) is

publishing this regular biweekly notice.

Public Law 97-415 revised section 189

of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as

amended (the Act), to require the

Commission to publish notice of any

amendments issued, or proposed to be