67328 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Notices

both onsite and offsite emergency

response personnel. This includes

annual training, requalification, and

participation drills for onsite emergency

responders. It appears that these

measures will maintain an adequate

level of emergency preparedness during

this period.

Licensee representatives meet

routinely with State and local

emergency management and have

discussed rescheduling of the biennial

exercise with these groups. K. Hayden,

Captain, Acting Commanding Officer of

the New Jersey State Police Emergency

Management Section, has submitted a

similar exemption request to FEMA RII.

The national emergency of September

11, 2001, rendered the conduct of a

nuclear power plant exercise in the

previously scheduled time frame

inappropriate. Application of the

applicable regulation would not serve

the underlying purpose of the rule, in

that diversion of public agency attention

from recovery from the national

emergency and management of the mail

based terrorist events in New Jersey

would not contribute to public health

and safety. Postponement of exercise

conduct is a benefit to public health and

safety that compensates for any decrease

in safety that may result. Additionally,

the licensees drill program includes

offsite agency participation and is a

compensating measure contributing to

justification of the exemption. The

exemption only provides temporary

relief from the applicable regulation, in

that AmerGen has committed to conduct

the exercise during the next calendar

year (2002). AmerGen made a good faith

effort to conduct the exercise and

comply with regulations. The

circumstances dictating the request for

exemption are beyond the licensee’s

control. The regulations of this part do

allow for the postponement of exercises

and the regulations have been invoked

for appropriate circumstances. This

being the case, the occasional need to

postpone exercises was considered as a

potential circumstance. The NRC staff

has determined that conduct of the fullparticipation exercise as early as

practical in 2002 is prudent even though

the licensee is expected to conduct

another full-participation exercise in

2003. Accordingly, the licensee made a

good faith effort to comply with the

schedule requirements of Appendix E

for full-participation exercises. The staff

finds the request acceptable.

IV

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR

part 50, Appendix E, this 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. Further,

the Commission has determined,

pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), that special

circumstances of 10 CFR 50.12(a)(v) are

applicable in that the exemption would

provide only temporary relief from the

applicable regulation and the licensee

has made good faith efforts to comply

with the regulation. Therefore, the

Commission hereby grants AmerGen a

one-time schedular exemption from the

requirements to conduct an exercise of

its onsite and offsite (with fullparticipation by each offsite authority

having a role under the plan) emergency

plans every 2 years as required by

sections IV.F.2.b and c of Appendix E to

10 CFR part 50. This conclusion is

based on AmerGen’s commitment to

conduct the postponed exercise in 2002.

The staff recommends that AmerGen

schedule the exercise as early as

practical in 2002, but the exemption is

not predicated on AmerGen following

this recommendation.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

granting of this exemption will have no

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment (66 FR 65520).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day

of December 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Ledyard B. Marsh,

Acting Director, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 01–31932 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50–317 and 50–318]

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc.

(Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant,

Unit Nos. 1 and 2); Exemption

I

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant,

Inc. (CCNPPI or the licensee) is the

holder of Facility Operating License

Nos. DPR–53 and DPR–69, which

authorizes operation of the Calvert Cliffs

Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP), Unit Nos.

1 and 2 at power levels not to exceed

2700 megawatts thermal. The facility

consists of two pressurized-water

reactors located at the licensee’s site in

Calvert County, Maryland. The license

provides, among other things, that the

licensee is subject to all rules,

regulations, and orders of the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC, the

Commission) now or hereafter in effect.

II

Title 10 of the Code of Federal

Regulations (10 CFR), part 50, Appendix

E, section IV.F.2.b requires each

licensee at each site to conduct an

exercise of its onsite emergency plan

every 2 years and indicates the exercise

may be included in the full

participation biennial exercise required

by paragraph 2.c of the same section. In

addition, licensees are to take actions

necessary to ensure that adequate

emergency response capabilities are

maintained during the interval between

biennial exercises by conducting drills.

Paragraph 2.c requires offsite plans for

each site to be exercised biennially with

full participation by each offsite

authority having a role under the plan.

Normally during such biennial full

participation exercises, the NRC

evaluates onsite, and the Federal

Emergency Management Agency

(FEMA) evaluates offsite, emergency

preparedness activities.

By letter dated September 28, 2001,

the licensee requested an exemption

from section IV.F.2.c of Appendix E

regarding the conduct of a fullparticipation exercise originally

scheduled for September 25, 2001.

Specifically, the licensee proposed

rescheduling the exercise originally

scheduled for September 25, 2001, to

sometime prior to December 31, 2002.

However, the next full-participation

exercise will continue to be scheduled

biennially from 2001.

CCNPPI is among several licensees

requesting schedular exemptions for

emergency exercises in the wake of the

national emergency of September 11,

2001. It is recognized that it was not

appropriate to conduct an exercise

during the period of disruption and

heightened security after the national

emergency. Considering the

extraordinary circumstances, a

schedular exemption is appropriate.

However, in this period of heightened

security concerns regarding nuclear

plant vulnerability, it is prudent to

conduct the full-participation exercise

as soon as practical to demonstrate and

maintain readiness.

The licensee is faced with a difficult

task to coordinate and schedule an

exercise that involves multiple

governmental agencies at the Federal,

State, and local level. Many local

response organizations depend on

volunteers. In order to accommodate

this difficult task, the NRC has allowed

licensees to schedule full participation

exercises at any time during the

calendar biennium. This gives the

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Notices 67329

licensee the flexibility to schedule the

exercise within a 12- to 36-month

window and still meet the biennial

requirement specified in the regulations.

It should be noted that the licensee

requested relief from 10 CFR part 50,

Appendix E, section IV.F.2.c. While the

intent of the request is clear, the NRC

staff determined that a schedular

exemption from the onsite exercise

requirements of 10 CFR part 50,

Appendix E, section IV.F.2.b, was also

necessary. The following evaluation

addresses the technical issues necessary

to grant a schedular exemption from

requirements in 10 CFR part 50,

Appendix E, sections IV.F.2.b and c, to

conduct an evaluated biennial exercise.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC

may grant exemptions from the

requirements of its regulations which,

pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), 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 and (2)

present special circumstances. Under 10

CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v), special

circumstances are present whenever the

exemption would provide only

temporary relief from the applicable

regulation and the licensee has made

good faith efforts to comply with the

regulation.

III

The licensee was scheduled to

conduct a biennial full participation

exercise on September 25, 2001. The

requested exemption is to postpone that

exercise and conduct it during 2002.

The interval between biennial exercises

could be as long as 38 months, if the

exercise were conducted in December of

2002. However, given the circumstances

and the fact that other 2001 exercises in

NRC Region I will be rescheduled for

2002, this time frame is acceptable. To

reschedule this exercise, the licensee

will have to coordinate with local and

State supporting agencies as well as

NRC Region I and FEMA Region III.

This effort will be complicated by the

fact that NRC and FEMA will have to

support the normally scheduled

exercises in addition to the rescheduled

exercises during 2002. The increased

flexibility requested by the licensee may

be necessary for scheduling of Federal

resources more so than local or utility

resources.

CCNPPI successfully conducted a fullparticipation exercise in October 1999,

which was evaluated by the NRC (NRC

Inspection Report Nos. 50–317/99–10

and 50–318/99–10) and FEMA (Final

Exercise Report CCNPP, March 14,

2000.) The results of this exercise

determined that the overall performance

of the emergency response organization

demonstrated that onsite emergency

plans are adequate and that the

organization is capable of implementing

these plans.

The licensee provided a description of

recently completed drills and training

evolutions, as well as the planned

training and drill schedule for the next

year. CCNPPI had previously conducted

one full-participation emergency

preparedness exercise on August 23,

2001. Additionally, a site-wide nonstate participation drill was conducted

on May 24, 2001. Although these drills

were not evaluated by NRC and FEMA,

the May and August 2001 drill results

were critiqued by the emergency

response organization and the Nuclear

Plant Assessment Department. Issues

identified during the drill critiques are

being resolved under the corrective

action program.

CCNPPI stated that emergency

preparedness has been maintained in

accordance with the Emergency

Response Plan. The requirements for

semi-annual health physics drills were

met by the conduct of the May 24 and

August 23, 2001, drills. The requirement

for a post-accident sampling drill was

met on June 7, 2001. The annual

requirement for an environmental

sampling drill was met on September 4,

2001. Dose assessment office drills were

conducted on January 17, 2001, and

May 29, 2001. The annual requirement

for a severe accident management drill

was met in the May 24 and August 23

drills.

The State of Maryland and local

governments have maintained

radiological emergency preparedness by

fully participating in the August 23,

2001 drill. Additionally, the State

agencies participated in the federallyevaluated Peach Bottom Atomic Power

Station exercise on August 15, 2000.

Calvert County Public Safety, Calvert

Memorial Hospital, and local rescue

squads participated in a simulated

contaminated injury drill at CCNPP on

November 16, 2000. Dorchester County

successfully demonstrated corrective

action for a deficiency noted in the

CALVEX 99 FEMA exercise report.

CCNPPI has stated that between

September 2001 and December 2002,

measures will be taken to maintain

emergency preparedness at CCNPP. The

existing training and drill schedule

currently in place for emergency

response activities will remain in place

and be adjusted as necessary to ensure

the readiness of both onsite and offsite

emergency response personnel. For

onsite emergency responders, this

includes annual training and

participation in drills. CCNPPI will

conduct quarterly combined functional

and/or activation drills and a selfevaluated annual exercise. These drills

and the self-evaluated annual exercise

satisfy the drill requirements of 10 CFR

part 50, Appendix E, IV.F.2.b. Offsite

agencies in Maryland are routinely

invited to, and actively participate in,

these drills and exercises as a training

activity for offsite response personnel.

Local response groups conduct annual

training and participate in emergency

operations center drills. The biennial

medical support (MS–1) drill conducted

in conjunction with Calvert Memorial

Hospital and Calvert County took place

in October 2001.

These activities satisfy the drill and

exercise requirements of 10 CFR part 50,

Appendix E, IV.F.2.b. CCNPPI stated

that it meets routinely with State and

local emergency management and

support groups, has discussed

rescheduling of the biennial exercise

with these groups, and that these groups

support the exercise postponement.

For this exemption request, the

special circumstances described in

section 50.12(a)(2)(v) of 10 CFR part 50

are present. The exemption only

provides temporary relief from the

applicable regulation, in that the

licensee has committed to conduct the

exercise during the next calendar year

(2002) and has not requested any

permanent changes in future exercise

scheduling. The licensee made a good

faith effort to conduct the exercise and

comply with regulations. The

circumstances dictating the request for

exemption are beyond the licensee’s

control. The regulations of this part

allow for the postponement of exercises

and the regulations have been invoked

for appropriate circumstances.

Based upon the consideration of the

public health and safety, schedule, and

resource issues resulting from the

national emergency of September 11,

2001, the staff concludes that the

request for exemption is acceptable. The

staff has determined that conduct of the

full-participation exercise as early as

practical in 2002 is prudent even though

the licensee is expected to conduct

another full-participation exercise in

2003.

IV

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR

50.12(a), 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. Further, the Commission

has determined, pursuant to 10 CFR

50.12(a)(v), that special circumstances

67330 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Notices

are present, in that the exemption

would only provide temporary relief

from the applicable regulations, and the

licensee has made a good faith effort to

comply with the regulation. Therefore,

the Commission hereby grants CCNPPI

a one-time schedular exemption from

the requirements to conduct an exercise

of its onsite and offsite emergency plans

every 2 years as required by 10 CFR part

50, Appendix E, section IV.F.2.b and c.

This conclusion is based on the

licensee’s commitment to conduct the

postponed exercise in 2002.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

granting of this exemption will have no

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment (66 FR 64063).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day

of December 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Ledyard B. Marsh,

Acting Director, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 01–31931 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–269, Docket No. 50–270,

Docket No. 50–287, Docket No. 72–040,

Docket No. 72–004, Renewed License No.

DPR–38, Renewed License No. DPR–47,

Renewed License No. DPR–55, and License

No. SNM–2503]

Duke Energy Corporation (Oconee

Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2 and 3 and

Oconee Independent Spent Fuel

Storage Installation); Order Approving

Transfer of Operating Authority and

Conforming Amendments

Duke Energy Corporation (Duke

Energy, or DEC) is the holder of

Renewed Facility Operating Licenses

Nos. DPR–38, DPR–47, and DPR–55,

which authorize operation of the

Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2 and

3 and Materials License No. SNM–2503,

which authorizes operation of the

Oconee Independent Spent Fuel Storage

Installation (ISFSI). The Oconee Nuclear

Station (Oconee or the Facility) and

ISFSI are located in Oconee County,

South Carolina.

By application dated July 10, 2001, as

supplemented by letters dated October

31, November 1 and 26, and December

10, 2001, (collectively referred to herein

as ‘‘the application’’ unless otherwise

indicated) the Commission was

informed that DEC, the licensed

operator of the Oconee units and the

ISFSI, proposes to enter into an

Operation and Maintenance Services

Agreement with Duke Energy Nuclear,

LLC (Duke Nuclear), and transfer

operating authority under the licenses to

Duke Nuclear. Under the proposed

transaction, Duke Nuclear, which will

be a wholly owned indirect subsidiary

of DEC, will become a new licensee

exclusively authorized to operate

Oconee and the ISFSI in accordance

with the terms and conditions of the

licenses. The transaction involves no

change in full ownership of the Facility

and the ISFSI by DEC. DEC requested

approval of the proposed transfer of

operating authority under the Oconee

facility renewed operating licenses to

Duke Nuclear pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80

and requested approval of conforming

amendments pursuant to 10 CFR 50.90

to reflect the transfer. DEC requested

approval of the proposed transfer of

operating authority under the Oconee

ISFSI License SNM–2503 to Duke

Nuclear pursuant to 10 CFR 72.50 and

requested approval of conforming

amendments pursuant to 10 CFR 72.56

to reflect the transfer. The proposed

amendments would add Duke Nuclear

to the licenses and reflect that Duke

Nuclear is exclusively authorized to

operate Oconee and the ISFSI. Duke

Nuclear will also become a general

licensee for storage of spent fuel in

certified dry casks at Oconee pursuant

to 10 CFR 72.210.

Notice of the application for approval

and an opportunity for a hearing was

published in the Federal Register on

September 25, 2001 (66 FR 49049). 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. In addition,

pursuant to 10 CFR 72.50, no license

shall be transferred through transfer of

control of the license, unless the

Commission gives its consent in writing.

Upon review of the information in the

application, and other information

before the Commission, and relying

upon the representations and

agreements contained in the

application, the NRC staff has

determined that Duke Nuclear is

qualified to hold the operating authority

under the licenses, and that the transfer

of the operating authority under the

licenses to Duke Nuclear is otherwise

consistent with applicable provisions of

law, regulations, and orders issued by

the Commission, subject to the

conditions set forth below. The NRC

staff has further found that the

application for the proposed license

amendments complies with the

standards and requirements of the

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended

(the Act), and the Commission’s rules

and regulations set forth in 10 CFR

Chapter 1; the facility will operate in

conformity with the application, the

provisions of the Act, and the rules and

regulations of the Commission; there is

reasonable assurance that the activities

authorized by the proposed license

amendments can be conducted without

endangering the health and safety of the

public and that such activities will be in

compliance with the Commission’s

regulations; the issuance of the

proposed license amendments will not

be inimical to the common defense and

security or the health and safety of the

public; and the issuance of the proposed

amendments will be in accordance with

10 CFR part 51 of the Commission’s

regulations and all applicable

requirements have been satisfied. The

foregoing findings are supported by a

safety evaluation dated December 20,

2001.

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections

161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic

Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42

U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234, and

10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, it is

hereby ordered that the transfer of

operating authority under the licenses,

as described herein, to Duke Nuclear is

approved, subject to the following

conditions:

(1) Duke Nuclear shall, prior to

completion of the transfer of operating

authority for Oconee, provide the

Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation satisfactory documentary

evidence that Duke Nuclear has

obtained the appropriate amount of

insurance required of licensees under 10

CFR Part 140 of the Commission’s

regulations.

(2) After receipt of all required

regulatory approvals of the transfer of

operating authority to Duke Nuclear,

DEC and Duke Nuclear shall inform the

Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation in writing of such receipt

within 5 business days and of the date

of the closing of the transfer no later

than 2 business days prior to the date of

closing. If the transfer is not 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.

It is further ordered that, consistent

with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), license

amendments that make changes, as

indicated in Enclosure 2 to the cover

letter forwarding this Order, to conform

the licenses to reflect the subject