[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 236 (Wednesday, December 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67939-67940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32630]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-440]


The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison 
Company, Centerior Service Company, Ohio Edison Company, OES Nuclear, 
Inc., Pennsylvania Power Company, and Duquesne Light Company (Perry 
Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 1); Order Approving Application Regarding 
the Transfer of Operating Authority

I.

    The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI), Centerior 
Service Company (CSC), Duquesne Light Company, Ohio Edison Company 
(OE), OES Nuclear, Inc., Pennsylvania Power Company (Penn Power), and 
Toledo Edison Company (TE) are the licensees of the Perry Nuclear Power 
Plant, Unit No. 1 (PNPP). CEI and CSC act as agents for the other 
licensees and have exclusive responsibility for, and control over, the 
physical construction, operation, and maintenance of PNPP as reflected 
in Operating License No. NPF-58. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) issued License No. NPF-58 on March 18, 1986, pursuant to Part 50 
of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50). The 
facility is located on the shore of Lake Erie in Lake County, Ohio, 
approximately 35 miles northeast of Cleveland, Ohio.

II.

    By application dated June 30, 1998, as supplemented by submittals 
dated October 27 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 PNPP 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 direct or indirect parent of the owners of PNPP except for Duquesne 
Light Company, would become the licensed operator for PNPP 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 current 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. CSC, which has no ownership interest in PNPP, 
and is licensed only as an operator of PNPP, would be removed from the 
license.
    Under the proposed arrangement, ownership of PNPP would remain 
unchanged; each owner would retain its current ownership interest. 
FENOC would not own any portion of PNPP. Likewise, the owners' 
entitlement to capacity and energy from PNPP would not be affected by 
the proposed transfer of operating responsibility for PNPP to FENOC. 
The owners would continue to provide all funds for FENOC to operate, 
maintain, and decommission PNPP. The owners' responsibilities would 
include providing funding for any emergency situations that might arise 
at PNPP.

[[Page 67940]]

    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 were 
published in the Federal Register on August 4, 1998 (63 FR 41600), and 
an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact was 
published in the Federal Register on September 10, 1998 (63 FR 48531).
    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 30, 
October 27, 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 2, 
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 Perry 
Nuclear Power Plant, 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 Perry 
Nuclear Power Plant, 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 30, 1998, as supplemented by submittals dated 
October 27 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 Perry Public Library, 3753 Main Street, 
Perry, OH 44081.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of December.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-32630 Filed 12-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P