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[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 231 (Thursday, November 30, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71336-71337]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-30466]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-320]

GPU Nuclear, Inc., Metropolitan Edison, Jersey Central Power & 
Light, and Pennsylvannia Electric Company Three Mile Island, Unit No. 
2; Notice of Consideration of Approval of Application Regarding 
Proposed Merger and Opportunity for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering the issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 approving the 
indirect transfer of Facility Possession Only License No. DPR-73 for 
the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2 (TMI-2), held by GPU 
Nuclear, Inc. (GPUN), Metropolitan Edison (Met Ed), Jersey Central 
Power & Light (JCP&L), and Pennsylvannia Electric Company (Penelec). 
The indirect transfer would be to FirstEnergy Corp. (FE), headquartered 
in Akron, Ohio.
    According to a September 26, 2000, application submitted by FE and 
GPUN, as supplemented by letters dated September 27, November 9, and 
November 14, 2000, GPU, Inc., the corporate parent of GPUN, Met Ed, 
JCP&L, and Penelec, is planning to be merged with and into FE. FE will 
remain as the surviving corporation in this transaction. Upon 
consummating the merger, FE will become a registered holding company 
under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, and GPUN, Met Ed, 
JCP&L, and Penelec, currently subsidiaries of GPU, Inc., will become 
subsidiaries of FE.
    No physical changes to the TMI-2 facility or operational changes 
are being proposed in the application. GPUN, the TMI-2 licensee 
authorized to maintain the facility, and Met Ed, JCP&L, and Penelec, 
the licensed owners of TMI-2, will continue to be so following the 
merger. No direct transfer of the license will result from the planned 
merger.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder, 
shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of 
control of the license, unless the Commission shall give its consent in 
writing. The Commission will approve an application for the indirect 
transfer of a license, if the Commission determines that the underlying 
transaction that will effectuate the indirect transfer will not affect 
the qualifications of the holders of the license, and that the transfer 
is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, 
and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.
    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 December 20, 2000, any person whose interest may be affected by 
the Commission's action on the application may request a hearing and, 
if not the applicants, 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 counsel for FE, Roy P. Lessey, Esq., Akin, Gump, 
Strauss, Hauer, & Field, L.L.P., 1333 New Hampshire Ave., NW., Suite 
400, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 887-4500, (202) 887-4288 (fax), e-
mail: [email protected]; and Mary O'Reilly, Esq., FirstEnergy Corp., 
76 South Main Street, Akron, OH 44308, (330) 384-5224, (330) 384-3875 
(fax), e-mail: [email protected]; and counsel for GPUN, 
David R. Lewis, Esq., Shaw Pittman, 2300 N Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20037-1128, (202) 663-8474, (202) 663-8007(fax), e-mail: 
[email protected]; and Michael J. Connolly, Esq., Vice 
President--Law, GPU Service, Inc., 300 Madison Avenue, Morristown, NJ 
07962, (973) 455-8245, (973) 993-4801 (fax), e-mail: [email protected]; 
the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555 (e-mail address for filings regarding license transfer cases 
only: [email protected]); 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 January 2, 2001, 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 this Federal Register notice.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the license 
transfer

[[Page 71337]]

application dated September 26, 2000, and supplements dated September 
27, November 9, and November 14, 2000, available for public inspection 
at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint 
North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 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 22nd day of November 2000.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John L. Minns,
Project Manager, Decommissioning Section, Project Directorate IV & 
Decommissioning Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-30466 Filed 11-30-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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