6640 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 28 / Thursday, February 10, 2000 / Notices

20 days of its issuance. Where good

cause is shown, consideration will be

given to extend the time to request a

hearing. A request for extension of time

must be made in writing to the Director,

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation,

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, and

include a statement of good cause for

the extension. Any request for a hearing

shall be submitted to the Secretary of

the Commission, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Chief,

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff,

Washington, DC 20555–0001. Copies of

the hearing request shall also be sent to

the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, to the Deputy Assistant General

Counsel for Hearings and Enforcement

at the same address, to the Regional

Administrator, NRC Region III, 801

Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL 60532–4351,

and to David W. Jenkins, Esquire,

Indiana Michigan Power Company,

Nuclear Generation Group, One Cook

Place, Bridgman, MI 49106, attorney for

the licensee. If such a person requests a

hearing, that person will set forth with

particularity the manner in which his

interest is adversely affected by this

Order and will address the criteria set

forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d).

If the hearing is requested by a person

whose interest is adversely affected, the

Commission will issue an Order

designating the time and place of any

hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to

be considered at such hearing will be

whether this Confirmatory Order should

be sustained.

In the absence of any request for

hearing, or written approval of an

extension of time in which to request a

hearing, the provisions specified in

Section IV above will be final 20 days

from the date of this Order without

further order or proceedings. If an

extension of time for requesting a

hearing has been approved, the

provisions specified in Section IV will

be final when the extension expires if a

hearing request has not been received.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day

of February 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–3094 Filed 2–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–423]

Northeast Nuclear Energy Company, et

al. (Millstone Nuclear Power Station,

Unit 3); Order Approving Application

Regarding Proposed Merger

(Acquisition of CMP Group, Inc., by

Energy East Corporation)

I

Northeast Nuclear Energy Company is

authorized to act as agent for the joint

owners of the Millstone Nuclear Power

Station, Unit 3 (Millstone 3), and has

exclusive responsibility and control

over the physical construction,

operation, and maintenance of the

facility as reflected in Facility Operating

License No. NPF–49. Central Maine

Power Company (Central Maine), one of

the joint owners, holds a 2.5-percent

possessory interest in Millstone 3. The

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(NRC) issued Facility Operating License

No. NPF–49 on January 31, 1986,

pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 of the

Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR

Part 50). The facility is located in New

London County, on the southern coast

of the State of Connecticut.

II

By letter dated October 6, 1999,

through counsel, Central Maine

informed the NRC of a proposed merger

involving the acquisition of Central

Maine’s parent, CMP Group, Inc. (CMP),

by Energy East Corporation (Energy

East). Central Maine requested that the

NRC determine that the proposed

merger and acquisition would not, in

fact, constitute a transfer of Facility

Operating License NPF–49 for Millstone

3, to the extent held by Central Maine

in regard to Central Maine’s 2.5-percent

ownership interest in Millstone 3.

Central Maine also requested if the NRC

does find that the proposed acquisition

of CMP would constitute an indirect

transfer of Facility Operating License

NPF–49 to the extent it is held by

Central Maine, that the NRC consent to

the indirect transfer of Central Maine’s

license to Energy East. The NRC

determined that an indirect transfer of

the license, to the extent that it is held

by Central Maine, would be involved

and that approval pursuant to 10 CFR

50.80 would be required. The NRC

informed Central Maine of this decision

in a letter dated November 15, 1999.

III

Central Maine is an electric utility

primarily engaged in the transmission,

sale, and distribution of electricity in

the State of Maine and is incorporated

in Maine. CMP holds all the common

stock of Central Maine and also is

incorporated in the State of Maine.

Energy East is an investor-owned

holding company incorporated in New

York. Through its subsidiaries, Energy

East is an energy delivery, products, and

services company with operations in

New York and several other

northeastern States.

According to Central Maine’s October

6, 1999, submittal (the ‘‘application’’),

on June 14, 1999, CMP and Energy East

signed a definitive merger agreement for

the acquisition of CMP by Energy East.

To accomplish the acquisition, EE

Merger Corporation, a Maine

corporation that is a wholly owned

subsidiary of Energy East, will merge

with and into CMP, with CMP being the

surviving corporation. Upon completion

of the merger, CMP will become a

wholly owned subsidiary of Energy

East, with Energy East acquiring all of

CMP’s common stock. CMP will

continue its corporate existence under

the laws of the State of Maine, and CMP

will continue to own all of Central

Maine’s common stock. The application

notes, however, that in the event that

the Securities and Exchange

Commission does not permit Energy

East to maintain CMP as an intermediate

holding company, Energy East plans to

hold Central Maine directly.

Whether Central Maine becomes

directly or indirectly held by Energy

East, Central Maine will continue to

hold and to be the licensee for its 2.5-

percent ownership interest in Millstone

3. In the case of either direct or indirect

ownership by Energy East, an indirect

transfer of the license to the extent it is

held by Central Maine will occur as a

result of the merger.

Approval of the indirect license

transfer was requested pursuant to 10

CFR 50.80. Notice of the application for

approval and an opportunity for a

hearing was published in the Federal

Register on November 16, 1999 (64 FR

62230). No hearing requests or written

comments were filed.

Under 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. Upon review

of the information in the application

and other information before the

Commission, the NRC staff has

determined that the subject merger will

not affect the qualifications of Central

Maine to hold the Millstone 3 license to

the extent currently held, and that the

indirect transfer of the license, to the

extent effected by the proposed merger,

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 28 / Thursday, February 10, 2000 / Notices 6641

is otherwise consistent with applicable

provisions of law, regulations, and

orders issued by the Commission

pursuant thereto, subject to the

conditions set forth below. The

foregoing findings are supported by a

safety evaluation dated February 4,

2000.

IV

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections

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

as amended, 42 USC §§ 2201(b), 2201(i),

2201(o), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, IT

IS HEREBY ORDERED that the license

transfer referenced above is approved,

subject to the following conditions:

(1) Central Maine 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

Central Maine to its current or proposed

direct or indirect parent or to any other

affiliated company, facilities for the

production, transmission, or

distribution of electric energy having a

depreciated book value exceeding 10

percent (10%) of Central Maine’s

consolidated net utility plant, as

recorded on Central Maine’s books of

account.

The foregoing condition shall

supersede Condition (1) of the Order

dated June 2, 1998, which approved the

application regarding the restructuring

of Central Maine by establishment of a

holding company.

(2) Should the proposed merger of

CMP and Energy East not be completed

by January 30, 2001, 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

Order, see the application dated October

6, 1999, which is 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 Web site http://

www.nrc.gov.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day

of February 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–3093 Filed 2–9–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–263]

Northern States Power Company,

Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant;

Notice of Consideration of Approval of

Transfer of Facility Operating License

and Conforming Amendment, 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

transfer of Facility Operating License

No. DPR–22 for the Monticello Nuclear

Generating Plant currently held by

Northern States Power Company (NSP)

as owner and licensed operator of

Monticello. The transfer would be to a

newly formed company (referred to

herein as ‘‘New NSP’’). The Commission

is also considering amending the license

for administrative purposes to reflect

the proposed transfer.

By application dated October 29,

1999, the Commission was informed

that NSP entered into an agreement on

March 24, 1999, to merge with New

Century Energies, Inc. (NCE). Under the

agreement, NCE will be merged with

and into NSP, which will be renamed

Xcel Energy, Inc. (Xcel). At the time of

the merger, NSP will transfer all of its

existing electric and natural gas utility

facilities and responsibility and control

over operations to New NSP, which will

be a wholly owned subsidiary of Xcel.

New NSP would assume title to the

facilities following approval of the

proposed license transfer, and would

become responsible for the operation,

maintenance, and eventual

decommissioning of Monticello. No

physical changes to the facility or

operational changes other than the

transfer of operating authority to New

NSP are being proposed in the

application.

The proposed amendment would add

a footnote to the license to reflect its

transfer from NSP to the newly formed,

wholly owned subsidiary.

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 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 have made findings

required by the Atomic Energy Act of

1954, as amended (the Act), and the

Commission’s regulations.

As provided in 10 CFR 2.1315, unless

otherwise determined by the

Commission with regard to a specific

application, the Commission has

determined that any amendment to the

license of a utilization facility which

does no more than conform the license

to reflect the transfer action involves no

significant hazards consideration. No

contrary determination has been made

with respect to this specific license

amendment application. In light of the

generic determination reflected in 10

CFR 2.1315, no public comments with

respect to significant hazards

considerations are being solicited,

notwithstanding the general comment

procedures contained in 10 CFR 50.91.

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 March 1, 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 Jay Silberg, Esq., counsel for NSP,

at Shaw, Pittman, Potts, and

Trowbridge, 2300 N Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20037 (tel: 202–663–

8063; fax: 202–663–8007; e-mail:

jay.silberg@shawpittman.com); and the

General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,