792 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 4 / Thursday, January 6, 2000 / Notices

an opportunity for a hearing was

published in the Federal Register on

November 2, 1999 (64 FR 59220). No

hearing requests were filed.

Under 10 CFR 50.80, no license shall

be transferred, directly or indirectly,

through transfer of control of the

license, unless the Commission gives its

consent in writing. Upon review of the

information submitted by CP&L in its

application, as supplemented, and other

information before the Commission, the

NRC staff has determined that the

proposed restructuring of CP&L will not

affect the qualifications of CP&L as

holder of the license referenced above,

and that the indirect transfer of the

license, to the extent effected by the

restructuring, 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 a Safety Evaluation dated

December 29, 1999.

III

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections

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 application regarding

the subject indirect transfer is approved,

subject to the following conditions:

(1) CP&L 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 CP&L to

its proposed parent or to any other

affiliated company, facilities for the

production, transmission, or

distribution of electric energy having a

depreciated book value exceeding ten

percent (10%) of CP&L’s consolidated

net utility plant, as recorded on CP&L

books of account, and

(2) should the restructuring of CP&L

not be completed by December 30, 2000,

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.

For further details with respect to this

action, see the initial application dated

September 15, 1999, and supplements

dated October 8, and November 10,

1999, and the Safety Evaluation dated

December 29, 1999, 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 Website (http://www.nrc.gov).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day

of December 1999.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–252 Filed 1–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50–261 and 72–3]

In the Matter of Carolina Power and

Light Company; (H.B.* Robinson Steam

Electric Plant, Unit No. 2, and

Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installation); Order Approving

Application Regarding Proposed

Corporate Restructuring of Carolina

Power & Light Company by

Establishment of a Holding Company

I

Carolina Power and Light Company

(CP&L) owns a 100% interest in H. B.

Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit No.

2 (Robinson) and the Robinson

Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installation (ISFSI), and is the licensed

operator of the facilities pursuant to

Facility Operating License No. DPR–23,

and Materials License No. SNM–2502,

which were issued July 31, 1970, and

August 13, 1986, respectively. Robinson

and the associated ISFSI are located in

Darlington County, South Carolina.

II

Pursuant to Section 184 of the Atomic

Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and 10

C.F.R. §§ 50.80 and 72.50, CP&L filed an

application dated September 15, 1999,

which was supplemented by letters

dated October 8, and November 10,

1999, requesting approval of the indirect

transfer of Facility Operating License

No. DPR–23 and Materials License No.

SNM–2502 that would result from a

proposed corporate restructuring of

CP&L. Under the proposed

restructuring, a new holding company,

CP&L Holdings, Inc. (‘‘Holdings’’), will

be formed and will become the parent

company of CP&L. Current holders of

CP&L common stock will receive, on a

one-for-one basis, shares of common

stock of Holdings such that Holdings

will then own the common stock of

CP&L. CP&L’s ownership interests in,

and its operation of, its nuclear facilities

will not change. No direct transfer of the

licenses will occur, as CP&L will

continue to hold the licenses. No

physical changes to the facilities or the

ISFSI, or operational changes are being

proposed in the application. According

to the application, as a result of the new

corporate structure, Holdings will be

able to respond more effectively to

increased competition in the energy

industry. Notice of the application and

an opportunity for a hearing was

published in the Federal Register on

November 2, 1999 (64 FR 59220). No

hearing requests were filed.

Under 10 CFR 50.80 and 72.50, no

license shall be transferred, directly or

indirectly, through transfer of control of

the license, unless the Commission

gives its consent in writing. Upon

review of the information submitted by

CP&L in its application, as

supplemented, and other information

before the Commission, the NRC staff

has determined that the proposed

restructuring of CP&L will not affect the

qualifications of CP&L as holder of the

licenses referenced above, and that the

indirect transfer of the licenses, to the

extent effected by the restructuring, 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

a Safety Evaluation dated December 29,

1999.

III

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections

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

Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42

U.S.C. §§ 2201(b), 2201(i), 2201(o) and

2234; and 10 CFR §§ 50.80 and 72.50, It

is hereby ordered that the application

regarding the subject indirect transfers

is approved, subject to the following

conditions:

(1) CP&L shall provide the Director of

the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

and the Director of the Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards a copy of

any application, at the time it is filed,

to transfer (excluding grants of security

interests or liens) from CP&L to its

proposed parent or to any other

affiliated company, facilities for the

production, transmission, or

distribution of electric energy having a

depreciated book value exceeding ten

percent (10%) of CP&L’s consolidated

net utility plant, as recorded on CP&L

books of account, and

(2) Should the restructuring of CP&L

not be completed by December 30, 2000,

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.

For further details with respect to this

action, see the initial application dated

September 15, 1999, and supplements

dated October 8, and November 10,

1999, and the Safety Evaluation dated

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 4 / Thursday, January 6, 2000 / Notices 793

December 29, 1999, 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 Website (http://www.nrc.gov).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day

of December 1999.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

William F. Kane,

Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety

and Safeguards.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–255 Filed 1–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50–237 and 50–249]

Commonwealth Edison Company

(Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units

2 and 3); Exemption

I

Commonwealth Edison Company

(ComEd, the licensee) is the holder of

Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR–

19 and DPR–25 for the Dresden Nuclear

Power Station, Units 2 and 3. The

licenses provide, among other things,

that the licensee is subject to all rules,

regulations, and orders of the

Commission now or hereafter in effect.

Dresden Nuclear Power Station

consists of two boiling water reactors

located in Grundy County, Illinois.

II

Title 10 of the Code of Federal

Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.48,

‘‘Fire protection,’’ paragraph (b) states,

in part, that ‘‘all nuclear power plants

licensed to operate prior to January 1,

1979 shall satisfy the applicable

requirements of appendix R to this part,

including specifically the requirements

of sections III.G, III.J, and III.O.’’

Appendix R, Section III.J, ‘‘Emergency

lighting,’’ requires that ‘‘Emergency

lighting units with at least an 8-hour

battery power supply shall be provided

in all areas needed for operation of safe

shutdown equipment and in access and

egress routes thereto.’’ This requirement

applies to Dresden Nuclear Power

Station, Units 2 and 3, since they were

licensed to operate prior to January 1,

1979.

III

Section 50.12(a) of 10 CFR, ‘‘Specific

exemptions,’’ states:

The Commission may, upon application by

any interested person or upon its own

initiative, grant exemptions from the

requirements of the regulations of this part,

which are—

(1) Authorized by law, will not present an

undue risk to the public health and safety,

and are consistent with the common defense

and security.

(2) The Commission will not consider

granting an exemption unless special

circumstances are present.

Section 50.12(a)(2)of 10 CFR states

that special circumstances are present

whenever ‘‘(ii) Application of the

regulation in the particular

circumstances * * * is not necessary to

achieve the underlying purpose of the

rule * * *. ’’

Equipment needed for safe shutdown

at Dresden, Units 2 and 3, is maintained

inside the main power block and several

buildings onsite. Emergency lighting is

provided inside these buildings for

areas needed for operation of safe

shutdown equipment and for access and

egress routes in accordance with 10 CFR

Part 50, Appendix R, Section III.J.

However, no emergency lighting

meeting Section III.J requirements has

been installed for outdoor routes

between the main power block, the

isolation condenser pumphouse, the

cribhouse, or at the clean demineralized

water storage tank (CDST). Because of

cost and maintenance considerations,

and after determining that application of

Section III.J was not necessary to

achieve the underlying purpose of the

rule, the licensee submitted an

exemption request with respect to

emergency lighting for these outdoor

routes and for reading the CDST level

instrument.

The requested exemption from the

requirements of Appendix R, Section

III.J, would allow the use of hand-held

portable lights, in the event that

sufficient daylight or security lighting is

not available, when transiting access

and egress routes between the main

power block, the isolation condenser

pumphouse, the cribhouse, and the

CDST, including reading the CDST level

instrument. These buildings contain

equipment relied upon in the detailed

fire plans to mitigate the consequences

of a fire that could affect the capability

to place the reactor in cold shutdown.

As stated above, emergency lighting is

maintained within these structures as

required by Appendix R, Section III.J.

However, access and egress between

these buildings, the CDST, and the main

power block requires walking outdoors.

These areas are normally lit by outdoor

lighting powered by offsite power or

emergency power from the security

diesel. However, the normally installed

outdoor and security lighting does not

meet the Appendix R requirements for

an 8-hour battery power supply.

Under the proposed exemption, in the

worst-case scenarios that postulate a fire

concurrent with a loss of offsite power,

the hand-held, battery-powered,

portable lighting units currently

maintained on site near the main

control room would be used by the

operations staff to allow transit between

buildings and reading the CDST level

instrument as required by the fire plans

and operations procedures. The transit

routes through these areas are along

normally traveled and paved plant

roadways that are maintained clear of

obstructions and are provided snow

removal. The portable lighting units

provide an adequate level of

illumination for transit and reading the

CDST level instrument.

The hand-held, battery-powered,

portable lighting units are

administratively controlled and

dedicated for operator use to perform

safe shutdown activities during and

following plant fires. These portable

lighting units are verified to be

functional in quarterly surveillance.

The underlying purpose of 10 CFR

Part 50, Appendix R, Section III.J, is to

provide adequate illumination to assure

the capability of performing all

necessary safe shutdown functions, as

well as to assure personnel movement to

and from the equipment and

components that must be manually

operated by plant personnel to effect

safe shutdown during emergencies. In

addition, the illumination must have a

capability to allow sufficient time for

normal lighting to be restored.

The availability of hand-held, batterypowered portable lights would serve the

underlying purpose of the rule with

respect to transit between the main

power block, the isolation condenser

pumphouse, the cribhouse, and the

CDST, in that the use of such hand-held

lights would provide adequate

illumination to permit access to and

egress from buildings containing safe

shutdown equipment and components

and reading the CDST level instrument.

In addition, such hand-held lights

would be available for use during an 8-

hour period as required by the

regulation.

The implementation of outdoor

battery powered lighting units would

result in expenditure of engineering,

construction, and plant resources for

their installation, maintenance, and

operation. The associated costs would

include engineering and installation of

additional lighting units and supporting

structures and increase surveillance and