Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 56 / Monday, March 24, 1997 / Notices 13901

authority and amendments and

published in the Federal Register a

Proposed Finding of No Significant

Hazards Consideration and Opportunity

for Hearing (57 FR 47135). By letter

dated October 22, 1992, attorneys for

two former employees of GPC filed with

the NRC a ‘‘Petition To Intervene and

Request For Hearing Of Allen L.

Mosbaugh and Marvin B. Hobby’’ in

opposition to the proposed action. Mr.

Mosbaugh was admitted as a party with

an issue regarding GPC character.

Hearings were completed, but prior to a

decision being issued, GPC and the

Intervenor reached a settlement. The

hearing Board dismissed the contention

and terminated the proceeding.

III.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80(a), the

transfer, assignment, or disposal of any

right under a license is subject to the

NRC’s written consent. On the basis of

information provided by GPC and other

information before the Commission, it is

determined that the proposed transfer of

authority under the Vogtle licenses to

the extent Southern Nuclear becomes

the operator of the Vogtle facility with

exclusive responsibility and control

over its physical construction,

operation, and maintenance, subject to

the conditions set forth herein, is

consistent with applicable provisions of

law, regulations, and orders issued by

the Commission, and Southern Nuclear

is qualified to hold the licenses to the

extent described above. These findings

are supported by a Safety Evaluation

dated March 17, 1997, which contains a

final no significant hazards

consideration determination.

The staff has evaluated the

application and relied on GPC and

Southern Nuclear commitments in a

letter dated December 30, 1996, which

iterated commitments made in a

licensee letter dated February 1, 1995,

with respect to an enforcement action

related to the Vogtle facility that, the

Southern Nuclear employee who

formerly served as the Vogtle General

Manager through August 1990, will not

hold a line management position

involving NRC licensed activities at

GPC and Southern Nuclear plants until

the NRC is provided prior written notice

and the individual has satisfactorily

completed certain management training.

That commitment is accordingly

confirmed in this Order for Vogtle.

IV.

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections

103, 104b, 105, 161b, 161i, and 184 of

the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as

amended; 42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134, 2135,

2201(b), 2201(o), and 2234, and 10 CFR

50.80, It is hereby ordered that the

request that Southern Nuclear be

permitted to become the operator of the

Vogtle facility and to have exclusive

responsibility and control over the

physical construction, operation, and

maintenance of the facility, discussed

above, is approved subject to the

following conditions:

(1) The Southern Nuclear employee

who formerly served as the General

Manager-Vogtle through August 1990,

will not hold a line management

position at Vogtle until:

(a) Satisfactory completion of training

in management communications and

responsibilities; and,

(b) Written notice is provided to the

NRC sixty (60) days prior to his

assignment to such a position; and,

(2) If Southern Nuclear does not

assume responsibility and control over

physical construction, operation and

maintenance of the facility within 60

days of the date of this Order, this Order

shall become null and void. However,

upon written application and for good

cause shown, this date may be

extended.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.35, an

Environmental Assessment was

prepared and published in the Federal

Register on November 3, 1992 (57 FR

49724). As required by 10 CFR 51.32,

this assessment documents the

Commission’s determination that this

action will have no significant impact

on the quality of the human

environment and nothing has occurred

since its publication to alter this

finding.

This Order is effective upon issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day

of March 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Frank J. Miraglia, Jr.,

Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–7335 Filed 3–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

[Docket Nos. 50–321 and 50–366]

Georgia Power Company, et al. (Edwin

I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2)

Order Approving Southern Nuclear

Operating Company, Inc., as Exclusive

Operator

I

Georgia Power Company (GPC),

Oglethorpe Power Corporation,

Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia,

and City of Dalton, Georgia (the

Owners), are the holders of Facility

Operating License No. DRP–57 for

Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant (Hatch)

Unit 1 and Facility Operating License

No. NPF–5 for Hatch Unit 2. These

licenses generally authorize GPC to

possess, use, and operate—and the other

Owners to possess but not operate—the

Hatch facility in accordance with the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended,

and the rules and regulations of the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

In its capacity as licensed operator, GPC

acts for itself and on behalf of the

Owners. The Hatch facility is located in

Appling County, Georgia.

II

By letter dated September 18, 1992, as

supplemented October 6, 8, 15, 23, and

November 13 and 20, 1992, March 5,

May 24, June 10, and December 20,

1993, April 6 and July 28, 1995, and

September 11, October 1, December 13,

19, and 23, 1996, GPC requested

approval, and amendments to the

licenses for Southern Nuclear Operating

Company, Inc. (Southern Nuclear), to

become the operator of the Hatch

facility and to have exclusive

responsibility and control over its

physical construction, operation, and

maintenance. Southern Nuclear and

GPC are wholly owned subsidiaries of

The Southern Company. Southern

Nuclear was formed in December 1990

for the purpose of consolidating into a

single organization personnel within

The Southern Company’s electric

system engaged in nuclear operation.

Southern Nuclear is the exclusive

operator of the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear

Plant, Units 1 and 2, located near

Dothan, Alabama.

III

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80(a), the

transfer, assignment, or disposal of any

right under a license is subject to the

NRC’s written consent. On the basis of

information provided by GPC and other

information before the Commission, it is

determined that the proposed transfer of

authority under the Hatch licenses to

the extent Southern Nuclear becomes

the operator of the Hatch facility with

exclusive responsibility and control

over its physical construction,

operation, and maintenance, subject to

the conditions set forth herein, is

consistent with applicable provisions of

law, regulations, and orders issued by

the Commission, and Southern Nuclear

is qualified to hold the licenses to the

extent described above. These findings

are supported by a Safety Evaluation,

dated March 17, 1997.

The staff has evaluated the

application and relied on GPC and

Southern Nuclear commitments in a

letter dated December 23, 1996, which

iterated commitments made in a

licensee letter dated February 1, 1995,
13902 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 56 / Monday, March 24, 1997 / Notices

with respect to an enforcement action

related to the Vogtle Electric Generating

Plant that, the Southern Nuclear

employee who formerly served as the

Vogtle General Manager through August

1990, will not hold a line management

position involving NRC licensed

activities at GPC and Southern Nuclear

plants until the NRC is provided prior

written notice and the individual has

satisfactorily completed certain

management training. That commitment

is accordingly confirmed in this Order

for Hatch.

IV

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections

103, 104b, 105, 161b, 161i, and 184, of

the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as

amended; 42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134, 2135,

2201(b), 2201(o), and 2234, and 10 CFR

50.80, It is hereby ordered that the

request that Southern Nuclear be

permitted to become the operator of the

Hatch facility and to have exclusive

responsibility and control over the

physical construction, operation, and

maintenance of the facility, discussed

above, is approved subject to the

following conditions:

(1) The Southern Nuclear employee

who formerly served as the General

Manager—Vogtle through August 1990,

will not hold a line management

position at Hatch until:

(a) Satisfactory completion of training

in management communications and

responsibilities; and,

(b) Written notice is provided to the

NRC sixty (60) days prior to his

assignment to such a position; and,

(2) If Southern Nuclear does not

assume responsibility and control over

physical construction, operation and

maintenance of the facility within 60

days of the date of this Order, this Order

shall become null and void. However,

upon written application and for good

cause shown, this date may be

extended.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.35, an

Environmental Assessment was

prepared and published in the Federal

Register on November 3, 1992 (57 FR

49724). As required by 10 CFR 51.32,

this assessment documents the

Commission’s determination that this

action will have no significant impact

on the quality of the human

environment and nothing has occurred

since its publication to alter this

finding.

This order is effective upon issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 17th day

of March 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Frank J. Miraglia, Jr.,

Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–7336 Filed 3–21–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

[Docket No. 50–461]

Illinois Power Company, Soyland

Power Cooperative (Clinton Power

Station, Unit No. 1); Order Approving

Transfer of License for Clinton Power

Station, Unit No. 1

I

Illinois Power Company (IP) owns

86.79 percent of Clinton Power Station,

Unit No. 1 (CPS), a single-unit nuclear

power plant. Soyland Power

Cooperative (Soyland) owns the

remaining 13.21-percent interest in the

facility. IP and Soyland are governed by

Facility Operating License No. NPF–62

issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) pursuant

to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of

Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50) on

April 17, 1987. Under this license, only

IP has the authority to operate CPS. The

CPS facility is located in DeWitt County,

Illinois.

II

In an application originally submitted

by letter dated October 17, 1996, and

then supplemented and modified by

letter dated December 13, 1996, IP

requested NRC’s consent to a proposed

transfer of the 13.21-percent share of

CPS currently owned by Soyland to IP.

Upon completion of the sale, IP will

remain the plant operator and will

become sole owner of CPS. IP is a

wholly owned subsidiary of Illinova

Corporation and will remain so after

completion of the sale. The proposed

action constitutes a transfer of the

license for CPS to the extent it is held

by Soyland, and is subject to the license

transfer provisions of 10 CFR 50.80.

III

On the basis of the information

provided in IP’s application, the staff

finds that IP is financially qualified to

contribute appropriately to the

operation and decommissioning of CPS.

In its letter of December 13, 1996, IP

indicated that it would assume

responsibility for the external trust fund

established by Soyland for its share of

the ultimate decommissioning expenses

of CPS. IP also would remain an

‘‘electric utility’’ as defined in 10 CFR

50.2, engaged in the generation,

transmission, and distribution of

electric energy for wholesale and retail

sale, subject to the rate regulation of the

Illinois Commerce Commission and the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Thus, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.33(f), IP is

exempt from further financial

qualifications review as an electric

utility. However, since IP will become

the sole entity responsible for operating

and decommissioning expenses for the

facility, the staff has concluded that

approval of the application should be

conditioned upon IP providing prior

notice to the NRC of any asset transfer

having a depreciated book value

exceeding 10 percent of IP’s

consolidated net utility plant to its

parent company or any affiliated

company. Such a condition will help to

ensure that IP will remain financially

qualified to be the sole holder of the

license.

IV

The proposed transfer does not

involve any transfer of operating

authority, which IP already possesses.

There will be no change in the

management or technical qualifications

of IP’s nuclear organization as a result

of the license transfer. On the basis of

the continuity of IP’s nuclear

organization and management

previously described, the staff finds that

the proposed license transfer will not

adversely affect IP’s technical

qualifications or the management of CPS

and does not otherwise raise any

technical qualifications issues.

V

CPS underwent an antitrust review

before issuance of the construction

permit and antitrust license conditions

were attached to the CPS operating

license that still apply to IP. Thus, the

application in this case does not involve

a new owner or a licensee that has not

undergone an antitrust review by the

NRC. Under the Atomic Energy Act, no

further review by the NRC is authorized.

VI.

IP makes the following statements in

its letter of December 13, 1996: ‘‘The

shares of common stock of Illinova are

publicly traded and widely held. IP and

IPMI [Illinova Power Marketing, Inc.]

are wholly owned subsidiaries of

Illinova. The directors and officers of

both these companies are U.S. citizens.

Neither Illinova, IP, nor IPMI is owned,

controlled, or dominated by any alien,

foreign corporation, or foreign

government.’’ (IP letter, Attachment 2,

p. 7.) The staff has no reason to believe

otherwise.