64996 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 242 / Monday, December 17, 2001 / Notices

Commission hereby grants Exelon an

exemption from the requirements of 10

CFR part 50, Appendix R, section III.F,

for rooms 222 and 429, for Peach

Bottom Units 2 and 3, with the

provision that metal covers are installed

on all cable trays in room 222.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

granting of this exemption will not have

a significant effect on the quality of the

human environment (66 FR 50696).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day

of December 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John A. Zwolinski,

Director, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 01–30968 Filed 12–14–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–272]

PSEG Nuclear LLC; Notice of

Consideration of Issuance of

Amendment to Facility Operating

License, Proposed No Significant

Hazards Consideration Determination,

and Opportunity for a Hearing

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) is

considering issuance of an amendment

to Facility Operating License No. DPR–

70, issued to PSEG Nuclear LLC (the

licensee), for operation of the Salem

Nuclear Generating Station, Unit No. 1

(Salem Unit 1), located in Salem

County, New Jersey.

The proposed amendment would

allow a one-time change to the

Technical Specification (TS) Action

Statement for the Service Water System

(SWS). The proposed change would

revise TS 3/4.7.4, ‘‘Service Water

System,’’ by increasing the allowed

outage time for one nuclear header out

of service from 72 hours to 10 days. The

proposed amendment would modify the

present Action Statement for TS 3.7.4.1,

to include a note that would allow

operation with only the 11 SWS loop for

up to 10 days. This note would be

applicable for one-time use during

Salem Unit 1, Cycle 15.

The licensee has requested that this

amendment be approved under exigent

circumstances. On November 30, 2001,

PSEG operations personnel noted water

rising up through the gravel in front of

the Service Water intake structure. The

water was located approximately 5 feet

from the building. The 12 SWS nuclear

header is located below the location

where the water was observed, and was

considered to be a likely source of the

leak.

The licensee subsequently determined

that the leak is associated with the 12

SWS nuclear supply header. PSEG is

currently postulating that the leak is

coming from an underground

mechanical joint or mechanical

connection associated with the buried

portion of the 12 SWS nuclear supply

header located near the service water

structure. In the area where the leak is

suspected, the service water nuclear

supply header is 24’’ nominal diameter

buried piping. This piping design is prestressed concrete cylindrical water pipe,

which uses either standard flanged

fittings, or flexible tied extensible bell

bolt type joints for the major

connections.

While the 12 SWS nuclear supply

header is currently considered operable,

PSEG believes that repairs will be

required before the next scheduled

refueling outage. Approval of this

license amendment request under

exigent circumstances would allow the

licensee to repair the leaking header

during more advantageous weather and

river water temperature conditions.

This, in turn, would likely minimize the

duration that the 12 SWS header would

be inoperable.

Before issuance of the proposed

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.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6) for

amendments to be granted under

exigent circumstances, the NRC staff

must determine that the amendment

request involves no significant hazards

consideration. Under the Commission’s

regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means

that operation of the facility in

accordance with the proposed

amendment would not (1) involve a

significant increase in the probability or

consequences of an accident previously

evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of

a new or different kind of accident from

any accident previously evaluated; or

(3) involve a significant reduction in a

margin of safety. As required by 10 CFR

50.91(a), the licensee has provided its

analysis of the issue of no significant

hazards consideration, which is

presented below:

1. Does the proposed change involve a

significant increase in the probability or

consequences of an accident previously

evaluated?

Response: No.

The Service Water System (SWS) will

remain capable of performing its required

safety function. The proposed change results

in an insignificant increase in the

incremental conditional core damage

probability and so does not involve a

significant increase in the probability of an

accident. The proposed change to extend the

allowed outage time from 72 hours to 10 days

does not significantly increase consequences

of an accident previously evaluated, since the

capability of SWS is maintained.

Therefore, the proposed change will not

significantly increase the probability or

consequences of any accident previously

evaluated.

2. Does the proposed change create the

possibility of a new or different kind of

accident from any accident previously

analyzed?

Response: No.

The completion of the maintenance

activity, the post maintenance testing, and

the surveillance testing associated with

demonstrating OPERABILITY of 12 service

water nuclear header will not result in the

plant being operated in a manner that will

create the possibility of a new or different

kind of accident from any previously

evaluated. While repair to the buried portion

of the 12 service water nuclear header is in

progress, the service water system will be

operated as described in the Updated Final

Safety Analysis Report. This configuration

does not create a new failure mechanism,

malfunction or accident initiator.

Therefore, the proposed change will not

create the possibility of a new or different

kind of accident from any previously

evaluated.

3. Does the proposed change involve a

significant reduction in a margin of safety?

Response: No.

The 11 service water nuclear header will

remain operational and capable of

performing its required safety functions.

Sufficient safety-related equipment and

systems will remain available to ensure that

the consequences of design basis transients

and accidents are mitigated as assumed in

the Salem UFSAR. Preventive maintenance

activities that could adversely affect the

reliability of the Unit 1 service water system,

Emergency Diesel Generators, 4kv vital buses

or offsite A.C. electrical power sources will

be controlled during the extended allowed

outage time.

The NRC staff has reviewed the

licensee’s analysis and, based on this

review, it appears that the three

standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are

satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff

proposes to determine that the

amendment request involves no

significant hazards consideration.

The Commission is seeking public

comments on this proposed

determination. Any comments received

within 14 days after the date of

publication of this notice will be

considered in making any final

determination.

Normally, the Commission will not

issue the amendment until the

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 242 / Monday, December 17, 2001 / Notices 64997

expiration of the 14-day notice period.

However, should circumstances change

during the notice period, such that

failure to act in a timely way would

result, for example, in derating or

shutdown of the facility, the

Commission may issue the license

amendment before the expiration of the

14-day notice period, provided that its

final determination is that the

amendment involves no significant

hazards consideration. The final

determination will consider all public

and State comments received. Should

the Commission take this action, it will

publish in the Federal Register a notice

of issuance. The Commission expects

that the need to take this action will

occur very infrequently.

Written comments may be submitted

by mail to the Chief, Rules and

Directives Branch, Division of

Administrative Services, Office of

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, and should cite the publication

date and page number of this Federal

Register notice. Written comments may

also be delivered to Room 6D59, Two

White Flint North, 11545 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30

a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays.

Documents may be examined, and/or

copied for a fee, at the NRC’s Public

Document Room, located at One White

Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first

floor), Rockville, Maryland.

The filing of requests for hearing and

petitions for leave to intervene is

discussed below.

By January 16, 2002, the licensee may

file a request for a hearing with respect

to issuance of the amendment to the

subject facility operating license and

any person whose interest may be

affected by this proceeding and who

wishes to participate as a party in the

proceeding must file a written request

for a hearing and a petition for leave to

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, located at One

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike

(first floor), Rockville, Maryland, or

electronically on the Internet at http://

www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr. If there

are problems in accessing the document,

contact the Public Document Room

Reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–

415–4737 or by email to pdr@nrc.gov. 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:

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, or

may be delivered to the Commission’s

Public Document Room, located at One

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike

(first floor), Rockville, Maryland, by the

above date. 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 Jeffrie J. Keenan,

Esquire, PSEG Nuclear—N21, P.O. Box

236, Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038,

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).

Further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated December 10, 2001,

which is available for public inspection

at the Commission’s Public Document

Room, located at One White Flint North,

11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),

64998 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 242 / Monday, December 17, 2001 / Notices

Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available

records will be accessible electronically

from the Agencywide Documents

Access and Management Systems

(ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading

Room on the Internet at the NRC web

site, http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm.html. Persons who do not have

access to ADAMS or who encounter

problems in accessing the documents

located in ADAMS, should contact the

NRC Public Document Room Reference

staff by telephone at 1–800–397–4209,

301–415–4737 or by email to

pdr@nrc.gov.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day

of December 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Richard B. Ennis,

Project Manager, Section 2, Project

Directorate I, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 01–30972 Filed 12–14–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–244, License No. DPR–18]

Order Approving Application

Regarding Proposed Corporate

Acquisition

In the Matter of Rochester Gas and Electric

Corporation (R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power

Plant).

I

Rochester Gas and Electric

Corporation (RG&E or the licensee) is

licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC or Commission) to

possess, maintain, and operate the R. E.

Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (Ginna)

under Facility Operating License No.

DPR–18, issued by the Commission on

December 10, 1984. The facility is

located in Wayne County, New York.

II

By application dated June 22, 2001,

RG&E requested that the Commission

consent to the indirect transfer of the

facility operating license for Ginna. The

indirect transfer would result from the

planned acquisition of RG&E’s parent

company, RGS Energy Group, Inc.

(RGS), by Energy East Corporation

(Energy East).

According to the application, on

February 16, 2001, RGS and Energy East

entered into an agreement pursuant to

which RGS would be merged with and

into a wholly owned subsidiary of

Energy East. After the planned merger

transaction, RG&E will continue to exist

as a wholly owned indirect subsidiary

of Energy East. RG&E would continue to

own Ginna following approval of the

proposed indirect transfer of the license,

and would continue to be exclusively

responsible for the operation,

maintenance, and eventual

decommissioning of the facility. No

physical changes to the facility or

operational changes were proposed in

the application.

Approval of the indirect transfer of

the operating license was requested by

RG&E pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80. Notice

of the request for approval and an

opportunity for a hearing was published

in the Federal Register on August 14,

2001 (66 FR 42687). No hearing requests

or written comments were received.

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. After

reviewing the information in the

application from RG&E and other

information before the Commission, the

NRC staff has determined that the

acquisition by Energy East of RGS

resulting in the establishment of Energy

East as the new ultimate indirect parent

of RG&E will not affect the

qualifications of RG&E as the holder of

the license, and that the indirect transfer

of the license, to the extent effected by

the foregoing transaction, is otherwise

consistent with applicable provisions of

law, regulations, and orders issued by

the Commission, subject to the

conditions set forth below. The

foregoing findings are supported by a

safety evaluation dated December 10,

2001.

III

Accordingly, pursuant to sections

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

Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42

U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), 2201(o), and

2234, and 10 CFR 50.80, it is hereby

ordered that the application regarding

the indirect transfer of the license

referenced above is approved, subject to

the following conditions:

(1) RG&E 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 RG&E to

any 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 ten

percent (10%) of RG&E’s consolidated

net utility plant, as recorded on RG&E’s

books of account.

(2) Should the planned acquisition by

Energy East of RGS not be completed by

December 31, 2002, this Order shall

become null and void, provided,

however, upon written application and

for good cause shown, such date may in

writing be extended. This Order is

effective upon issuance.

IV

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application dated June

22, 2001, and the safety evaluation

dated December 10, 2001, which are

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 from the

Agencywide Documents Access and

Management Systems (ADAMS) Public

Electronic Reading Room on the internet

at the NRC Web site, http://

www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day

of December, 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John A. Zwolinski,

Director, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 01–30973 Filed 12–14–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–390]

Tennessee Valley Authority; Notice of

Consideration of Issuance of

Amendment to Facility Operating

License, Proposed No Significant

Hazards Consideration Determination,

and Opportunity for a Hearing

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) is

considering issuance of an amendment

to Facility Operating License No. NPF–

90 issued to Tennessee Valley Authority

(TVA or the licensee) for operation of

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN), Unit 1,

located in Rhea County, Tennessee.

The proposed amendment would

revise the Final Safety Analysis Report

to reflect a change in the spent fuel pool

(SFP) cooling analysis methodology.

TVA proposes to increase the existing

WBN SFP heat load limit from its

current value of 32.6 MBTU/HR to 47.4

MBTU/HR. The proposed change would

give TVA the capability to off-load the

core during outages as early as 100

hours after shutdown. In addition, the

change would compensate for the

projected increase in SFP decay heat

from tritium production activities.