62768 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 203 / Thursday, October 19, 2000 / Notices

10 of the Code of Federal Regulations

approving the transfer of Materials

License SNM–1227, held by Siemens

Power Corporation (‘‘SPC’’) as the

owner and responsible licensee, to a

new company to be named Framatome

ANP Richland Division, Inc. The facility

is authorized to use Special Nuclear

Material (SNM) for the fabrication of

nuclear fuel pellets and fuel assemblies

and operates in Richland, WA.

The transfer is necessitated by the

planned merger of the world-wide

nuclear business of Siemens AG, a

German Aktiengesellschaft (‘‘Siemens’’),

including the outstanding shares of

stock of SPC, the entity that currently

conducts the U.S. nuclear business of

Siemens, with the world-wide nuclear

business of Framatome S.A., a French

socie ́te ́ anoyme (‘‘Framatome’’) and the

creation of a new French company,

Framatome Advanced Nuclear Power

(‘‘Framatome ANP’’). Upon closing of

the transaction, SPC will be a whollyowned subsidiary of Framatome

Technologies Group, Inc. (‘‘FTG’’), a

Delaware corporation and a whollyowned indirect subsidiary of Framatome

ANP, and will operate under the name

Framatome ANP Richland Division, Inc.

(‘‘Framatome ANP Richland’’). Before

the closing date of the transaction, FTG

will change its name to Framatome

ANP, Inc., but FTG is used herein for

convenience. The Commission is

considering SPC’s application and

request, dated September 29, 2000, for

Commission consent to the transfer of

Materials License SNM–1227 to

Framatome ANP Richland and the

change in ownership of SPC from

Siemens Corporation to FTG, effective

upon the closing of the transaction, and

a license amendment for administrative

purposes to reflect the proposed

transfer.

According to SPC’s application dated

September 29, 2000, there will be no

changes affecting the existing health and

safety programs, qualifications of safety

personnel, equipment and facilities, or

any other existing license requirements.

All the present obligations of SPC under

the current license will pass unchanged

to Framatome ANP Richland, with the

exception of the form of financial

assurance for decommissioning. SPC’s

application includes an unexecuted

letter of credit and a standby third-party

trust agreement, and a commitment to

provide fully executed documents

before the closing date.

The proposed license amendment

would change the name of the licensee

from Siemens Power Corporation to

Framatome ANP Richland Division, Inc.

for administrative purposes to reflect

the proposed transfer.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.36, no license

granted under the regulations in Part 70

and no right to possess or utilize special

nuclear material granted by any license

issued pursuant to the regulations in

Part 70 shall be transferred, assigned or

in any manner disposed of, either

voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or

indirectly, through transfer of control of

any license to any person unless the

Commission gives its prior consent in

writing. The Commission will approve

an application for the transfer of a

license if the Commission determines

that the proposed transferee is qualified

to hold the license, and that the transfer

is otherwise consistent with applicable

provisions of law, regulations, and

orders issued by the Commission

pursuant thereto.

Before issuance of the proposed

conforming license amendment, the

Commission will make the findings

required by the Atomic Energy Act of

1954, as amended (the Act), and the

Commission’s regulations.

The filing of requests for hearing and

petitions for leave to intervene, and

written comments with regard to the

license transfer application, are

discussed below.

By November 7, 2000, any person

whose interest may be affected by the

Commission’s action on the application

may request a hearing and, if not, the

applicant may petition for leave to

intervene in a hearing proceeding on the

Commission’s action. Requests for a

hearing and petitions for leave to

intervene should be filed in accordance

with the Commission’s rules of practice

set forth in subpart M, ‘‘Public

Notification, Availability of Documents

and Records, Hearing Requests and

Procedures for Hearings on License

Transfer Applications,’’ of 10 CFR part

2. In particular, such requests and

petitions must comply with the

requirements set forth in 10 CFR 2.1306,

and should address the considerations

contained in 10 CFR 2.1308(a).

Untimely requests and petitions may be

denied, as provided in 10 CFR

2.1308(b), unless good cause for failure

to file on time is established. In

addition, an untimely request or

petition should address the factors that

the Commission will also consider, in

reviewing untimely requests or

petitions, set forth in 10 CFR

2.1308(b)(1)–(2).

Requests for a hearing and petitions

for leave to intervene should be served

upon: Mr. Loren J. Maas, Manager,

Regulatory Compliance, Siemens Power

Corporation, 2101 Horn Rapids Road,

Richland, WA 99352; the General

Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555 (email address for filings regarding license

transfer cases only: OGCLT@NRC.gov);

and the Secretary of the Commission,

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention:

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, in

accordance with 10 CFR 2.1313.

The Commission will issue a notice or

order granting or denying a hearing

request or intervention petition,

designating the issues for any hearing

that will be held and designating the

Presiding Officer. A Notice granting a

hearing will be published in the Federal

Register and served on the parties to the

hearing.

As an alternative to requests for

hearing and petitions to intervene, by

(30 days after publication), persons may

submit written comments regarding the

license transfer application, as provided

for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The Commission

will consider and, if appropriate,

respond to these comments, but such

comments will not otherwise constitute

part of the decisional record. Comments

should be submitted to the Secretary,

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention:

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff,

and should cite the publication date and

page number of the Federal Register

notice.

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application dated

September 29, 2000, available for public

inspection at the Commission’s Public

Document Room at One White Flint

North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,

MD, 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 13th day

of October, 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Philip Ting,

Chief, Fuel Cycle Licensing Branch, Division

of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office

of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 00–26887 Filed 10–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Notice of Issuance of Amendment to

Materials License SNM–2501

[Docket No. 72–2]

Virginia Electric and Power Company

Surry Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installation

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC or the Commission)

has issued Amendment 12 to Materials

License SNM–2501 held by Virginia

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 203 / Thursday, October 19, 2000 / Notices 62769

Electric and Power Company (Virginia

Power) for the receipt, possession,

transfer, and storage of spent fuel at the

Surry Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installation (ISFSI), located in Surry

County, Virginia. The amendment is

effective as of the date of issuance.

By application dated November 15,

1999, as supplemented on May 26,

August 7, and August 14, 2000, Virginia

Power requested to amend its ISFSI

license to permit the use of the TN–32

dry storage cask to store spent fuel with

a higher initial enrichment and burnup

than currently specified in the

Technical Specifications for the Surry

ISFSI. This amendment complies with

the standards and requirements of the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended

(the Act), and the Commission’s rules

and regulations. The Commission has

made appropriate findings as required

by the Act and the Commission’s rules

and regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I,

which are set forth in the license

amendment.

In accordance with 10 CFR

72.46(b)(2), a determination has been

made that the amendment does not

present a genuine issue as to whether

public health and safety will be

significantly affected. Therefore, the

publication of a notice of proposed

action and an opportunity for hearing or

a notice of hearing is not warranted.

Notice is hereby given of the right of

interested persons to request a hearing

on whether the action should be

rescinded or modified.

Also in connection with this action,

the Commission prepared an

Environmental Assessment (EA) and

Finding of No Significant Impact

(FONSI). The EA and FONSI were

published in the Federal Register on

September 22, 2000 (65 FR 57407).

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of

the NRC’s ‘‘Rules of Practice,’’ a copy of

this letter and its enclosure will be

available electronically for public

inspection in the NRC Public Document

Room or from the Publicly Available

Records (PARS) component of NRC’s

document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is

accessible from the NRC Web site at

http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/

index.html (the Public Electronic

Reading Room).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day

of October 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

E. William Brach,

Director, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 00–26886 Filed 10–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Twenty-Eighth Water Reactor Safety

Meeting

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Twenty-Eighth Water

Reactor Safety Meeting (WRSM) will be

held on October 23–25, 2000, 8 a.m.–

5:30 p.m. at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel,

5151 Pooks Hill Road, Bethesda,

Maryland.

Ashok C. Thadani, Director, Office of

Nuclear Regulatory Research, will open

the Water Reactor Safety Meeting on

Monday, October 23, 2000, with NRC

Chairman Richard Meserve, the keynote

speaker.

An expert panel recognizing the 25th

anniversary of the Reactor Safety Study

(WASH–1400) and a discussion of the

lessons learned will follow Chairman

Meserve. Panel members include George

Apostolakis, Massachusetts Institute of

Technology; Adolf Birkhofer, Scientific

Director, Gesellschaft fur Analagen-und

Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH; Robert

Budnitz, Future Resources Associates;

Richard Denning, Battelle Columbus

Laboratories; B. John Garrick, Chairman,

NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear

Waste; Harold Lewis, University of

California Santa Barbara; and Ashok

Thadani and Joseph Murphy, NRC.

The Massachusetts Institute of

Technology will host a luncheon

featuring guest speaker Dr. John F.

Ahearne, former NRC Chairman, in

celebration of the 25th anniversary of

the release of the Reactor Safety Study

and to honor Professor Norman

Rasmussen and Saul Levine.

Commissioner Nils J. Diaz will be a

guest speaker in the afternoon followed

by an expert panel addressing the future

challenges for risk-informed regulation.

Panel members will include David

Lochbaum, Union of Concerned

Scientists; Dana Powers, Chairman, NRC

Advisory Committee on Reactor

Safeguards; Brian Sheron, Associate

Director for Project Licensing and

Technical Analysis, NRC Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation; Margaret

Federline, Deputy Director, NRC Office

of Nuclear Regulatory Research. Dr.

William Travers, NRC Executive

Director for Operations, will serve as

moderator for this panel. Technical

sessions will be held for the remainder

of the afternoon.

Commissioner Greta J. Dicus will be a

guest speaker at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday,

October 24, 2000, followed by three

technical sessions that will last until

noon. Elsevier Science, on behalf of the

Journal of Nuclear Engineering Design,

will host a luncheon to mark Professor

Karl Kussmaul’s role as Principal Editor.

Dana Powers, Chairman, NRC Advisory

Committee on Reactor Safeguards, will

also be a guest speaker. Technical

sessions will follow the luncheon and

will be held for the remainder of the

afternoon.

On Wednesday, October 25, 2000, at

8:30 a.m., Commissioner Jeffrey S.

Merrifield will be a guest speaker,

followed by an expert panel to address

the future role of nuclear power and the

need for nuclear regulatory research.

Panel members will include Joe Colvin,

President and Chief Executive Officer,

Nuclear Energy Institute; Theodore

Marston, Vice President and Chief

Nuclear Officer, Electric Power Research

Institute; Robert Budnitz, Future

Resources Associates; David Lochbaum,

Union of Concerned Scientists; and

Kenneth Mossman, Director, Office of

Radiation Safety, Arizona State

University. Commissioner Edward

McGaffigan will moderate this panel.

Two technical sessions and a

rapporteur panel summarizing the

discussions of the individual sessions

will close out the meeting.

This meeting is international in scope

and includes presentations by personnel

from the NRC, U.S. Government, DOE

national laboratories, private

contractors, universities, reactor

vendors, and a number of foreign

organizations.

The preliminary agenda includes

eight technical sessions, which will

address risk-informed regulation; dry

cask storage and transportation of spent

nuclear fuel; high burnup fuel; PWR

sump blockage and containment

coatings service level 1 safety concerns;

digital instrumentation and control;

thermal hydraulic and severe accident

analysis for reactors and spent fuel;

integrity of the reactor coolant pressure

boundary; reactor decommissioning;

and regulatory effectiveness.

Those who wish to attend are

encouraged to register in advance on the

WRSM website (www.wrsm.bnl.gov) or

by contacting Susan Monteleone,

Brookhaven National Laboratory,

Department of Nuclear Energy, Building

130, Upton, NY 11973, telephone (631)

344–7235; or Sandra Nesmith (301)

415–6437, Office of Nuclear Regulatory

Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day

of October 2000.