[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 68 (Wednesday, April 9, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 17220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-9062]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Commonwealth Edison Company; Notice of Partial Denial of 
Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Opportunity for Hearing

[Docket Nos. STN 50-454, STN 50-455, STN 50-456 AND STN 50-457]
    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has 
partially denied a request by Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd, the 
licensee) for amendments to Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-37, 
NPF-66, NPF-72 and NPF-77, issued to the licensee for operation of the 
Byron Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, located in Ogle County, Illinois and 
Braidwood Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, located in Will County, Illinois. 
Notice of Consideration of Issuance of the amendments was published in 
the Federal Register on February 10, 1997 (62 FR 6016).
    The purpose of the licensee's amendment request was to revise the 
Technical Specifications (TS) to allow the licensee to take credit, on 
a temporary basis, for soluble boron in the spent fuel storage pool 
water in maintaining an acceptable margin of subcriticality. However, 
reference to the Westinghouse document CAC-96-248, ``Byron and 
Braidwood Spent Fuel Rack Criticality Analysis with Credit for Soluble 
Boron'' was included in the request. This document is not based on the 
NRC-approved Westinghouse methodology for soluble boron credit, as 
given in WCAP-14416-NP-A dated November 1996. The proposal to reference 
the use of an unapproved methodology is not acceptable and is, 
therefore, denied.
    The NRC staff has concluded that part of the licensee's request can 
not be granted. The licensee was notified of the Commission's partial 
denial of the proposed change by a letter dated April 2, 1997.
    By May 9, 1997 the licensee may demand a hearing with respect to 
the partial denial described above. Any person whose interest may be 
affected by this proceeding may file a written petition for leave to 
intervene. A request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene 
must be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, 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.
    A copy of any petition should also be sent to the Office of the 
General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555, and to Michael I. Miller, Esquire; Sidley and Austin, One First 
National Plaza, Chicago, Illinois 60603, attorney for the licensee.
    For further details with respect to this action, see (1) the 
application for amendment dated November 5, 1996, as supplemented 
February 27 and March 30, 1997, and (2) the Commission's letter to the 
licensee dated April 2, 1997.
    These 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: 
For Byron, the Byron Public Library District, 109 N. Franklin, P.O. Box 
434, Byron, Illinois 61010; for Braidwood, the Wilmington Public 
Library, 201 S. Kankakee Street, Wilmington, Illinois 60481.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of April 1997.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ramin R. Assa,
Project Manager, Project Directorate III-2, Division of Reactor 
Projects--III/IV, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-9062 Filed 4-8-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P