Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 142 / Friday, July 24, 1998 / Notices 39911

needs, Leadership Initiatives,

Millennium projects, and guidelines.

The remaining portions of this

meeting, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on

August 10, 11, and 12, and from 11:00

a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on August 13, are for

the purpose of Panel review, discussion,

evaluation and recommendation on

applications for financial assistance

under the National Foundation on the

Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as

amended, including information given

in confidence to the agency by grant

applicants. In accordance with the

determination of the Chairman of May

14, 1998, these sessions will be closed

to the public pursuant to subsection

(c)(4), (6) and (9)(B) of section 552b of

Title 5, United States Code.

Any person may observe meetings, or

portions thereof, of advisory panels

which are open to the public, and, if

time allows, may be permitted to

participate in the panel’s discussions at

the discretion of he panel chairman and

with the approval of the full-time

Federal employee in attendance.

If you need special accommodations

due to a disability, please contact the

Office of AccessAbility, National

Endowment for the Arts, 1100

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20506, 202/682–5532,

TDY–TDD 202/682–5496, at least seven

(7) days prior to the meeting.

Further information with reference to

this meeting can be obtained from Ms.

Kathy Plowitz-Worden, Office of

Guidelines & Panel Operations, National

Endowment for the Arts, Washington,

DC 20506, or call 202/682–5691.

Dated: July 17, 1998.

Kathy Plowitz-Worden,

Panel Coordinator, Panel Operations,

National Endowment for the Arts.

[FR Doc. 98–19724 Filed 7–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7537–01–M

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–410]

Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp.

(Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station Unit

No. 2); Order Approving Application

Regarding Restructuring of Central

Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation by

Establishment of a Holding Company

Affecting License No. NPF–69, Nine

Mile Point Nuclear Station, Unit No. 2

I

Central Hudson Gas & Electric

Corporation (Applicant) is licensed by

the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC or Commission) to

own and possess a 9-percent interest in

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Unit 2

(NMP2), under Facility Operating

License No. NPF–69, issued by the

Commission on July 2, 1987. In addition

to Applicant, the other owners who may

possess, but not operate, NMP2 are New

York State Electric & Gas Corporation

with an 18-percent interest, Long Island

Lighting Company with an 18-percent

interest, and Rochester Gas and Electric

Corporation with a 14-percent interest.

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation

(NMPC) owns a 41-percent interest in

NMP2, is authorized to act as agent for

the other owners, and has exclusive

responsibility and control over the

operation and maintenance of NMP2.

NMP2 is located in the town of Scriba,

Oswego County, New York.

II

Under cover of a letter dated April 8,

1998, as resubmitted June 8, 1998, and

supplemented April 22, and July 9,1998,

Applicant submitted an application for

consent by the Commission, pursuant to

10 CFR 50.80, regarding a proposed

corporate restructuring action that

would result in the indirect transfer of

the operating license for NMP2 to the

extent it is held by Applicant. As a

result of the proposed restructuring,

Applicant would establish a new

holding company and become a

subsidiary of the new holding company,

not yet named, to be created in

accordance with an ‘‘Amended and

Restated Settlement Agreement’’ dated

January 2, 1998; as modified and

approved by the New York State Public

Service Commission’s (PSC’s) ‘‘Order

Adopting Terms of Settlement Subject

to Modifications and Conditions’’

(issued and effective February 19, 1998)

in Case 96–E–0909, and further

modified in the PSC’s ‘‘Modifications to

Amended and Restated Settlement

Agreement,’’ dated February 26, 1998

(hereafter collectively known as

‘‘Settlement Agreement’’). These

documents constituting the Settlement

Agreement were included with the

application dated April 8, 1998.

According to the application, the

outstanding shares of Applicant’s

common stock would be exchanged on

a share-for-share basis for common stock

of the proposed new holding company,

such that the holding company would

own all of the outstanding common

stock of Applicant. Also under the

proposed restructuring, Applicant

would sell at auction some of its fossilfueled generating assets, but would

continue to be an ‘‘electric utility’’ as

defined in 10 CFR 50.2, providing the

same utility services as it did before the

restructuring. In addition, certain

subsidiaries of Applicant would become

subsidiaries of the new holding

company. Applicant would retain its

ownership interest in NMP2 and would

continue to be a licensee. No direct

transfer of the operating license or

interests in the station would result

from the proposed restructuring. The

transaction would not involve any

change to either the management

organization or technical personnel of

NMPC, which has exclusive

responsibility under the operating

license for operating and maintaining

NMP2 and which is not involved in the

proposed restructuring of Applicant.

Notice of the application for approval

was published in the Federal Register

on June 2, 1998 (63 FR 30025), and an

Environmental Assessment and Finding

of No Significant Impact was published

in the Federal Register on June 25, 1998

(63 FR 34667).

Under 10 CFR 50.80, no license 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 submitted in the

application of April 8, 1998, as

resubmitted June 8, 1998, and

supplemented by submittals dated April

22, and July 9, 1998, the NRC staff has

determined that the restructuring of

Applicant by establishment of a holding

company will not affect the

qualifications of Applicant as a holder

of the license, and that the transfer of

control of the license for NMP2, to the

extent effected by the restructuring, is

otherwise consistent with applicable

provisions of law, regulations, and

orders issued by the Commission,

subject to the conditions set forth

herein. These findings are supported by

a safety evaluation dated July 19, 1998.

III

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections

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

Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42

USC §§ 2201(b), 2201(i), 2201(o), and

2234, and 10 CFR 50.80, IT IS HEREBY

ORDERED that the Commission

approves the application regarding the

proposed restructuring of Applicant by

the establishment of a holding company,

subject to the following: (1) Applicant

shall provide the Director, 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 Applicant to its

proposed 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 Applicant’s
39912 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 142 / Friday, July 24, 1998 / Notices

consolidated net utility plant, as

recorded on Applicant’s books of

account, and (2) should the

restructuring of Applicant not be

completed by July 19, 1999, 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.

IV

By August 19, 1998, any person

adversely affected by this Order may file

a request for a hearing with respect to

issuance of the Order. Any person

requesting a hearing shall set forth with

particularity how that interest is

adversely affected by this Order and

shall address the criteria set forth in 10

CFR 2.714(d).

If a hearing is to be held, the

Commission will issue an order

designating the time and place of the

hearing.

The issue to be considered at any

such hearing shall be whether this

Order should be sustained.

Any request for a hearing must be

filed with the Secretary of the

Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, Attention: Rulemakings and

Adjudications Staff, or may be delivered

to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,

Maryland, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15

p.m. Federal workdays, by the above

date. Copies should be also sent to the

Office of the General Counsel, and to the

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555,

and to Ms. Ellen Ahearn, Corporate

Secretary, Central Hudson Gas &

Electric Corporation, 284 South Avenue,

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601–4879.

For further details with respect to this

Order, see the application for approval

dated April 8, 1998, as resubmitted

under cover of a letter dated June 8,

1998, and supplemented by letters dated

April 22, June 8, and July 9, 1998,

which 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 Reference and Documents

Department, Penfield Library, State

University of New York, Oswego, New

York 13126.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day

of July, 1998.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 98–19803 Filed 7–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50–250 and 50–251]

Florida Power and Light Company

(Turkey Point Plant, Units 3 and 4);

Exemption

I.

Florida Power and Light (the licensee)

is the holder of Facility Operating

License Nos. DPR–31 and DPR–41, for

the Turkey Point Plant (TPP), Units 3

and 4. The licenses provide, among

other things, that the licensee is subject

to all rules, and orders of the

Commission now or hereafter in effect.

This facility consists of two

pressurized water reactors located in

Dade County, Florida.

II.

Title 10 of the Code of Federal

Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.71

‘‘Maintenance of records, making of

reports’’, paragraph (e)(4) states, in part,

that ‘‘Subsequent revisions [to the

updated Final Safety Analysis Report

(FSAR)] must be filed annually or 6

months after each refueling outage

provided the interval between

successive updates [to the FSAR] does

not exceed 24 months.’’ The two units

at the TPP site share a common FSAR;

therefore, this rule requires the licensee

to update the same document annually

or within 6 months after each unit’s

refueling outage (approximately every 9

months).

III.

Section 50.12(a) of 10 CFR, ‘‘Specific

exemptions,’’ states that

The Commission may, upon application by

any interested person or upon its own

initiative, grant exemptions from the

requirements of the regulations of this part,

which are—(1) Authorized by law, will not

present an undue risk to the public health

and safety, and are consistent with the

common defense and security. (2) The

Commission will not consider granting an

exemption unless special circumstances are

present.

Section 50.12(a)(2)(ii) of 10 CFR states

that special circumstances are present

when ‘‘Application of the regulation in

the particular circumstances would not

serve the underlying purpose of the rule

or is not necessary to achieve the

underlying purpose of the rule * * *.’’

The licensee has proposed updating the

unified TPP FSAR 6 months after each

Unit 4 refueling outage. With the

current length of fuel cycles, FSAR

updates would be submitted

approximately every 24 months. The

underlying purpose of the rule was to

relieve licensees of the burden of filing

annual FSAR revisions while assuring

that such revisions are made at least

every 24 months. The Commission

reduced the burden, in part, by

permitting a licensee to submit its FSAR

revisions 6 months after refueling

outages for its facility, but did not

provide in the rule for multiple unit

facilities sharing a common FSAR.

Rather, the Commission stated that

‘‘With respect to * * * multiple

facilities sharing a common FSAR,

licensees will have maximum flexibility

for scheduling updates on a case-by-case

basis’’ 57 FR 39355 (1992).

The TPP units are on an 18-month

fuel cycle. As noted in the staff’s Safety

Evaluation, the licensee’s proposed

schedule for TPP FSAR updates will

ensure that the FSAR will be

maintained current for both units within

24 months of the last revision. The

proposed schedule satisfies the

maximum 24-months interval between

FSAR revisions specified by 10 CFR

50.71(e)(4). Revising the FSAR 6 months

after refueling outages for each unit,

therefore, is not necessary to achieve the

underlying purpose of the rule.

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that special circumstances

are present as defined in 10 CFR

50.12(a)(2)(ii). The Commission has

further determined that, pursuant to 10

CFR 50.12, the 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, and is otherwise in the

public interest. The Commission hereby

grants the licensee an exemption from

the requirement of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) to

submit updates to the TPP FSAR within

6 months of each unit’s refueling outage.

The licensee will be required to submit

updates to the TPP FSAR within 6

months after each Unit 4 refueling

outage, not to exceed 24 months

between subsequent revisions.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that

granting of this exemption will have no

significant effect on the quality of the

human environment (63 FR 36276).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day

of July 1998.