[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 235 (Tuesday, December 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 67715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32506]



[[Page 67715]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-346]


Toledo Edison Company; Centerior Service Company; and the 
Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (Davis-Besse Nuclear Power 
Station, Unit No. 1); Order Approving Application Regarding the 
Transfer of Operating Authority

I

    Toledo Edison Company and The Cleveland Electric Illuminating 
Company are the owners of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 
No. 1, located in Ottawa County, Ohio. The owners, together with 
Centerior Service Company, are the licensees that hold Facility 
Operating License No. NPF-3 issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR Part 50) on April 22, 1977. Under this license, 
Centerior Service Company and Toledo Edison Company act as agents for 
The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, and have exclusive 
responsibility for and control over the physical construction, 
operation, and maintenance of Davis-Besse.

II

    By application dated June 29, 1998, as supplemented by submittals 
dated July 14, October 26, and November 30, 1998, the licensees 
requested approval of the transfer of operating authority under the 
license to a new company, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company 
(FENOC), and issuance of a conforming amendment. The licensees proposed 
to transfer operating authority under the license to FENOC to allow it 
to use and operate Davis-Besse and to possess and use related licensed 
nuclear materials in accordance with the same conditions and 
authorizations in the current operating license. The licensees have 
also requested the issuance of a license amendment reflecting the 
transfer of operating authority. FENOC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of 
FirstEnergy Corporation, the parent of the owners, would become the 
licensed operator for Davis-Besse and would have exclusive control over 
the operation and maintenance of the facility. The present plant 
organization, the oversight organizations, and the engineering and 
support organizations would be transferred essentially intact from the 
operating licensees to FENOC. The technical qualifications of the FENOC 
organization, therefore, would be at least equivalent to those of the 
existing organization responsible for operating the plant. Centerior 
Service Company would be removed from the license.
    Under the proposed arrangement, ownership of Davis-Besse would 
remain unchanged, with each owner retaining its current ownership 
interest. FENOC would not own any portion of Davis-Besse. Likewise, the 
owners' entitlement to capacity and energy from Davis-Besse would not 
be affected by the proposed transfer of operating responsibility for 
Davis-Besse to FENOC. The owners would continue to provide all funds 
for operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of Davis-Besse by 
FENOC. The owners' responsibility would include providing funding for 
any emergency situations that might arise at Davis-Besse.
    The licensees requested the Commission's approval of the transfer 
of operating authority to FENOC and issuance of a conforming license 
amendment pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of this 
application for approval and an opportunity for a hearing was published 
in the Federal Register on August 4, 1998 (63 FR 41602), and an 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact was 
published in the Federal Register on September 8, 1998 (63 FR 47531).
    Under 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. Upon 
review of the information contained in the submittals of June 29, July 
14, October 26, and November 30, 1998, and other information before the 
Commission, the NRC staff has determined that FENOC is qualified to 
hold the license to the extent and for the purposes described above, 
and that the transfer of the license as described above is otherwise 
consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders 
issued by the Commission, subject to the conditions set forth below. 
These findings are supported by a Safety Evaluation dated December 1, 
1998.

III

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 105, 161b, 161i, and 184 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 USC Secs. 2135, 2201(b), 
2201(i), and 2234, and 10 CFR 50.80, It is hereby ordered that the 
Commission consents to the transfer of the license as described herein 
to FENOC, subject to the following conditions:
    (1) FENOC shall not market or broker power or energy from the 
Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1. The owners are 
responsible and accountable for the actions of FENOC to the extent that 
said actions affect the marketing or brokering of power or energy from 
the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1, and, in any way, 
contravene the antitrust license conditions contained in the license.
    (2) Should the formation of FENOC and transfer of operating 
authority not be completed by December 31, 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.
    Action on the proposed conforming license amendment will be taken 
upon implementation of the transfer approved by this Order.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the licensees' 
application dated June 29, 1998, as supplemented by submittals dated 
July 14, October 26, and November 30, 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 University of Toledo, William Carlson 
Library, Government Documents Collection, 2801 West Bancroft Avenue, 
Toledo, OH 43606.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of December 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-32506 Filed 12-7-98; 8:45 am]
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