[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 213 (Thursday, November 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60241-60242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28863]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-482]


Kansas Gas and Electric Company Kansas City Power and Light 
Company, Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (Wolf Creek 
Generating Station, Unit No. 1); Order Approving Transfer of License 
and Conforming Amendment

I

    Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (WCNOC) is authorized to 
act as agent for the three joint owners of the Wolf Creek Generating 
Station, Unit 1 (WCGS) and has exclusive responsibility and control 
over the physical construction, operation and maintenance of the 
facility as reflected in Facility Operating License No. NPF-42. Kansas 
Gas and Electric Company (KGE) and Kansas City Power and Light Company 
(KCPL) each hold 47 percent possessory interests in WCGS. Kansas 
Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (KEPCo) holds a 6 percent possessory 
interest. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued Facility Operating 
License No. NPF-42 on June 4, 1985, pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50). The facility is 
located in Coffey County, Kansas.

II

    By letter dated October 27, 1998, WCNOC forwarded an application 
requesting approval of the proposed transfer of KGE's and KCPL's rights 
under the WCGS operating license, and requesting approval of a 
conforming license amendment to reflect the transfer. The initial 
application was supplemented on November 10, 1998 (collectively 
referred to as the application unless otherwise noted).
    According to the application, KGE and KCPL have agreed to sell each 
of their 47 percent ownership interests (94 percent in total) in WCGS 
to Westar Energy, Inc., subject to obtaining all necessary regulatory 
approvals. WCNOC would remain as the Managing Agent for the joint 
owners of the facility and would continue to have exclusive 
responsibility for the management, operation and maintenance of WCGS. 
The conforming amendment would remove KGE and KCPL from the facility 
operating license, including the antitrust license conditions, and 
would add Westar Energy, Inc. in their place.
    Approval of the transfer and conforming license amendment was 
requested pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of the application 
for approval and an opportunity for a hearing was published in the 
Federal Register on January 29, 1999 (64 FR 4726). A supplemental 
correction notice was published on February 8, 1999 (64 FR 6119), 
clarifying that hearing requests concerning the application were due by 
February 18, 1999. On that date, KEPCo filed a hearing request. The 
Commission denied the request on June 18, 1999. Kansas Gas and Electric 
Company, et al. (Wolf Creek Generating Station, Unit 1), CLI-99-19, 49 
NRC 441 (1999).
    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 give its consent in writing. Upon review 
of the information submitted in the application, and other information 
before the Commission, the NRC staff has determined that Westar Energy, 
Inc. is qualified to hold the license to the extent now held by KGE and 
KCPL, and that the transfer of the license, to the extent held by KGE 
and KCPL, to Westar Energy, Inc., 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

[[Page 60242]]

amendment to Facility Operating License No. NPF-42 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 I; 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 amendment can be conducted without 
endangering the health and safety of the public, and that such 
activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's 
regulations; the issuance of the proposed amendment will not be 
inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety 
of the public; and the issuance of the proposed amendment is in 
accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commission's regulations and all 
applicable requirements have been satisfied.
    The findings set forth above are supported by a safety evaluation 
which is Enclosure 3 to the staff's letter dated October 29, 1999.
    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, it is hereby ordered that the license transfer 
referenced above is approved, subject to the following conditions:
    (1) Westar Energy, Inc. shall, prior to the completion of the 
subject merger and transfer, provide the Director, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, satisfactory documentary evidence that Westar 
Energy, Inc. 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 KGE's and KCPL's interests in WCGS to Westar Energy, Inc., 
KGE, KCPL, and WCNOC shall inform the Director, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, in writing of such receipt within five business 
days, and of the date of the closing of the transfer no later than 
seven business days prior to the date of closing. Should the transfer 
not be completed by October 30, 2000, this Order shall become null and 
void, provided, however, on application and for good cause shown, such 
date may be extended.
    It Is Further Ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), a 
license amendment that makes changes, as indicated in Enclosures 2 and 
3 of the staff's letter dated October 29, 1999, to conform the license 
to reflect the subject license transfer is approved. Such amendment 
shall be issued and made effective at the time the proposed license 
transfer is completed.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the initial 
application dated October 27, 1998, supplement dated November 10, 1998, 
and staff's letter dated October 29, 1999, with enclosures, 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 Emporia State University, 
William Allen White Library, 1200 Commercial Street, Emporia, Kansas 
66801, and the Washburn University School of Law Library, Topeka, 
Kansas 66621.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of October 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-28863 Filed 11-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P