15544 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 1997 / Notices

intervene. Requests for a hearing and a

petition for leave to intervene shall be

filed in accordance with the

Commission’s ‘‘Rules of Practice for

Domestic Licensing Proceedings’’ in 10

CFR part 2. Interested persons should

consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.714

which is available at the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, and at the local public

document room located at the William

Madison Randall Library, 601 S. College

Road, Wilmington, North Carolina

28403–3297. If a request for a hearing or

petition for leave to intervene is filed by

the above date, the Commission or an

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board,

designated by the Commission or by the

Chairman of the Atomic Safety and

Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the

request and/or petition; and the

Secretary or the designated Atomic

Safety and Licensing Board will issue a

notice of hearing or an appropriate

order.

As required by 10 CFR 2.714, a

petition for leave to intervene shall set

forth with particularity the interest of

the petitioner in the proceeding, and

how that interest may be affected by the

results of the proceeding. The petition

should specifically explain the reasons

why intervention should be permitted

with particular reference to the

following factors: (1) The nature of the

petitioner’s right under the Act to be

made a party to the proceeding; (2) the

nature and extent of the petitioner’s

property, financial, or other interest in

the proceeding; and (3) the possible

effect of any order which may be

entered in the proceeding on the

petitioner’s interest. The petition should

also identify the specific aspect(s) of the

subject matter of the proceeding as to

which petitioner wishes to intervene.

Any person who has filed a petition for

leave to intervene or who has been

admitted as a party may amend the

petition without requesting leave of the

Board up to 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, but such an amended

petition must satisfy the specificity

requirements described above.

Not later than 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, a petitioner shall file a

supplement to the petition to intervene

which must include a list of the

contentions which are sought to be

litigated in the matter. Each contention

must consist of a specific statement of

the issue of law or fact to be raised or

controverted. In addition, the petitioner

shall provide a brief explanation of the

bases of the contention and a concise

statement of the alleged facts or expert

opinion which support the contention

and on which the petitioner intends to

rely in proving the contention at the

hearing. The petitioner must also

provide references to those specific

sources and documents of which the

petitioner is aware and on which the

petitioner intends to rely to establish

those facts or expert opinion. Petitioner

must provide sufficient information to

show that a genuine dispute exists with

the applicant on a material issue of law

or fact. Contentions shall be limited to

matters within the scope of the

amendment under consideration. The

contention must be one which, if

proven, would entitle the petitioner to

relief. A petitioner who fails to file such

a supplement which satisfies these

requirements with respect to at least one

contention will not be permitted to

participate as a party.

Those permitted to intervene become

parties to the proceeding, subject to any

limitations in the order granting leave to

intervene, and have the opportunity to

participate fully in the conduct of the

hearing, including the opportunity to

present evidence and cross-examine

witnesses.

If the amendment is issued before the

expiration of the 30-day hearing period,

the Commission will make a final

determination on the issue of no

significant hazards consideration. If a

hearing is requested, the final

determination will serve to decide when

the hearing is held.

If the final determination is that the

amendment request involves no

significant hazards consideration, the

Commission may issue the amendment

and make it immediately effective,

notwithstanding the request for a

hearing. Any hearing held would take

place after issuance of the amendment.

If the final determination is that the

amendment request involves a

significant hazards consideration, any

hearing held would take place before

the issuance of any amendment.

A request for a hearing or a petition

for leave to intervene must be filed with

the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention:

Docketing and Services Branch, or may

be delivered to the Commission’s Public

Document Room, the Gelman Building,

2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, by

the above date. Where petitions are filed

during the last 10 days of the notice

period, it is requested that the petitioner

promptly so inform the Commission by

a toll-free telephone call to Western

Union at 1–(800) 248–5100 (in Missouri

1–(800) 342–6700). The Western Union

operator should be given Datagram

Identification Number N1023 and the

following message addressed to Mr.

Mark Reinhart, Acting Director, Project

Directorate II–1, Office of Nuclear

Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission: petitioner’s

name and telephone number, date

petition was mailed, plant name, and

publication date and page number of

this Federal Register notice. A copy of

the petition should also be sent to the

Office of the General Counsel, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, and to Mr.

William D. Johnson, Vice President and

Senior Counsel, Carolina Power & Light

Company, Post Office Box 1551,

Raleigh, North Carolina 27602, attorney

for the licensee.

Nontimely filings of petitions for

leave to intervene, amended petitions,

supplemental petitions and/or requests

for hearing will not be entertained

absent a determination by the

Commission, the presiding officer or the

presiding Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board that the petition and/or request

should be granted based upon a

balancing of the factors specified in 10

CFR 2.714(a)(1)(i)–(v) and 2.714(d).

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated March 27, 1997,

which is available for public inspection

at the Commission’s Public Document

Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L

Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at the

local public document room, located at

the University of North Carolina at

Wilmington, William Madison Randall

Library, 601 S. College Road,

Wilmington, North Carolina 28403–

3297.

Dated at Rockville, MD, this 27th day of

March 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

David C. Trimble,

Project Manager, Project Directorate II–1,

Division of Reactor Projects-I–II, Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–8400 Filed 3–31–97; 12:485 pm]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

[Docket No. 50–336]

Northeast Nuclear Energy Company, et

al.; Notice of Withdrawal of Application

for Amendment to Facility Operating

License

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) has

granted the request of Northeast Nuclear

Energy Company, et al. (the licensee) to

withdraw its November 30, 1994,

application, as supplemented May 8 and

August 1, 1995, for proposed

amendment to Facility Operating

License No. DPR–65 for the Millstone
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 1997 / Notices 15545

Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 2,

located in New London, Connecticut.

The proposed amendment would

have revised the Technical

Specifications to clarify the design basis

for the Emergency Diesel Generator fuel

oil supply.

The Commission had previously

issued a Notice of Consideration of

Issuance of Amendment published in

the Federal Register on December 21,

1994 (59 FR 65818). However, by letter

dated February 24, 1997, the licensee

withdrew the proposed change.

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated November 30, 1994,

as supplemented May 8 and August 1,

1995, and the licensee’s letter dated

February 24, 1997, which withdrew the

application for license amendment. The

above documents are available for

public inspection at the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, and at the local public

document room located at the Three

Rivers Community—Technical College,

574 New London Turnpike, Norwich,

Connecticut, and the Waterford Library,

ATTN: Vince Juliano, 49 Rope Ferry

Road, Waterford, Connecticut.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day

of March 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Daniel G. McDonald,

Senior Project Manager, Special Projects

Office—Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–8203 Filed 3–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

[Docket No. 50–271]

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power

Corporation (Vermont Yankee Nuclear

Power Station); Exemption

I

The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power

Corporation (VYNPC, the licensee) is

the holder of Facility Operating License

No. DPR–28 which authorizes operation

of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power

Station (the facility) at power levels no

greater than 1593 megawatts thermal.

The facility is a single-unit boiling water

reactor (BWR) located at the licensee’s

site in Windham County, Vermont.

The License provides, among other

things, that the Vermont Yankee

Nuclear Power Station is subject to all

rules, regulations, and orders of the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the

Commission) now or hereafter in effect.

II

On November 19, 1980, the

Commission published a revised

Section 10 CFR 50.48 and a new

Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50 regarding

fire protection features of nuclear power

plants. The revised Section 50.48 and

Appendix R became effective on

February 17, 1981. Section III of

Appendix R contains 15 subsections,

lettered A through O, each of which

specifies requirements for a particular

aspect of the fire protection features at

a nuclear power plant. Subsection III.J is

the subject of the licensee’s exemption

request.

Section III.J of Appendix R 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.

III

By letter dated June 17, 1996, the

licensee requested an exemption from

Section III.J of Appendix R. In

particular, the licensee stated that it

cannot meet the requirements for

emergency lighting units with at least an

8-hour battery power supply in the

following areas:

(1) A portion of general yard areas for

access and egress to the nitrogen

containment inerting tank area and the

nitrogen storage bottle area, and

(2) the nitrogen containment inerting

tank area and the nitrogen storage tank

area.

The licensee proposes to utilize the

security perimeter lighting for outdoor

egress routes and for tasks performed in

either of two locations. Based on the

staff’s review of the information

provided by the licensee, the staff has

concluded, given that the security

lighting is powered from a separate

power source, the security lighting is

not vulnerable to fire loss. The security

lighting is inspected and maintained as

part of the plant security requirements.

The licensee has confirmed that the

illumination levels in the affected areas

of the plant are adequate to enable

operators to implement the actions

required for safe shutdown.

Therefore, the staff considers the

licensee’s alternative lighting

configuration to be equivalent to that

achieved by literal conformance with

Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50 and,

therefore, meets the underlying purpose

of Section III.J of Appendix R.

Therefore, the licensee’s request for

exemption from the requirements of

Section III.J in the subject locations

should be granted.

IV

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), the

Commission will not consider granting

an exemption unless special

circumstances are present. Item (ii) of

the subject regulation includes special

circumstances where application of the

subject regulation would not serve the

underlying purpose of the rule or is not

necessary to achieve the underlying

purpose of the rule.

The underlying purpose of Section

III.J of Appendix R is to provide

adequate illumination to assure the

capability of performing all necessary

safe shutdown functions as well as

provide illumination for required

movements into and out of the plant. In

lieu of the 8-hour battery powered units

specified by Appendix R, the licensee

has proposed using existing security

lighting. The staff has reviewed the

proposed alternative and has concluded,

as described above, that the security

lighting system would be a reliable

alternative and would provide an

adequate level of illumination to assure

that all required safe shutdown

functions and required personnel

movements can be performed.

Therefore, the staff concludes that

special circumstances exist for the

licensee’s requested exemption in that

imposition of the literal requirements of

the regulation in these particular

circumstances is not necessary to

achieve the underlying purpose of

Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50.

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR

50.12(a)(2)(ii), special circumstances

exist in that existing levels of emergency

lighting satisfy the underlying purpose

of Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50.

Further, the staff has concluded that the

requested exemption is authorized by

law, will not present an undue risk to

the public health and safety, and is

consistent with the common defense

and security. Therefore, the Commission

hereby grants the exemption request

from the requirements of Section III.J of

Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50 described

in Section III above.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

issuance of this exemption will have no

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment (62 FR 12255).

This Exemption is effective upon issuance.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 23rd day

of March 1997.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–8205 Filed 3–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P