[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]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P