[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 98 (Friday, May 19, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31935-31936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12613]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-282, 50-306, 72-10; License No. DPR-42, License No. 
DPR-60, License No. SNM-2506]


Northern States Power Company (Prairie Island Nuclear Generating 
Plant, Units 1 and 2, and Prairie Island Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation); Order Approving Transfers of Operating Authority and 
Conforming Amendments

I.

    Northern States Power Company (NSP or the licensee) is the holder 
of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-42 and DPR-60, which authorize 
operation of Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2 
(Prairie Island or the facility), and Materials License No. SNM-2506, 
which authorizes operation of the Prairie Island Independent Spent Fuel 
Storage Installation (Prairie Island ISFSI). The facility and the 
Prairie Island ISFSI are located at the licensee's site in Goodhue 
County, Minnesota. The operating licenses authorize NSP to

[[Page 31936]]

possess, use, and operate Prairie Island. The materials license 
authorizes NSP to receive, acquire, and possess power reactor spent 
fuel at the Prairie Island ISFSI.

II.

    By application dated November 24, 1999, as supplemented February 2, 
2000, NSP informed the Commission that NSP entered into operating 
service agreements with Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC). The 
initial application and the supplement are hereinafter collectively 
referred to as ``the application,'' unless otherwise indicated. Under 
the proposed transaction, NMC will be designated as the exclusive 
licensee authorized to use and operate Prairie Island and the Prairie 
Island ISFSI in accordance with the terms and conditions of the 
licenses. The transaction involves no change in ownership. The licensee 
requested approval of the proposed transfer of operating authority 
under the Prairie Island facility operating licenses and materials 
license to NMC. The application also requested conforming amendments to 
reflect the transfer. The proposed amendments would add NMC to the 
licenses as the licensee authorized to use and operate Prairie Island 
and the Prairie Island ISFSI and delete references to NSP as the 
operator.
    According to the application for approval filed by NSP, NMC would 
become the licensee authorized to use and operate Prairie Island and 
the Prairie Island ISFSI following approval of the proposed license 
transfers. NMC will assume exclusive responsibility for the operation 
and maintenance of Prairie Island and the Prairie Island ISFSI. 
Ownership of Prairie Island and the Prairie Island ISFSI will not be 
affected by the proposed transfers of operating authority. NSP will 
retain ownership of the facility and the Prairie Island ISFSI. NMC will 
not own any portion of Prairie Island or the Prairie Island ISFSI. 
Likewise, NSP's entitlement to capacity and energy from Prairie Island 
will not be affected by the transfer of operating authority. No 
physical changes to Prairie Island or the Prairie Island ISFSI were 
proposed in the application.
    Approval of the transfer of operating authority under the facility 
operating licenses and conforming license amendments was requested by 
NSP pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90, and approval of the transfer of 
the materials license and conforming amendment was requested by NSP 
pursuant to 10 CFR 72.50 and 72.56. Notice of the application for 
approval and an opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal 
Register on February 15, 2000 (65 FR 7574). Pursuant to such notice, 
Carol Overland, an individual, North American Water Office, an 
environmental organization, and the Prairie Island Indian Community 
filed hearing requests. The Commission presently has the matter under 
consideration.
    Pursuant to 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. Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.50, no license shall be transferred, 
directly or indirectly, through transfer of control of the license, 
unless the Commission gives its consent in writing. Upon review of the 
information in the application by NSP, and other information before the 
Commission, and relying upon the representations and agreements 
contained in the application, the NRC staff has determined that NMC is 
qualified to hold the operating authority under the licenses, and that 
the transfer of the operating authority under the licenses to NMC 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 
the proposed license amendments complies with the standards and 
requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the 
Commission's rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter 1; the 
facility and the Prairie Island ISFSI 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 license amendments 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 license 
amendments will not be inimical to the common defense and security or 
the health and safety of the public; and the issuance of the proposed 
amendments will be in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the 
Commission's regulations and all applicable requirements have been 
satisfied. The foregoing finding are supported by a safety evaluation 
dated May 15, 2000.
    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 2201(b), 2201(i), and 
2234, and 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, it is hereby ordered that the 
transfer of operating authority under the licenses, as described 
herein, to NMC is approved, subject to the following conditions:
    (1) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
transfer of operating authority to NMC, NSP and NMC shall inform the 
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and the Director 
of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, in writing of 
such receipt within 5 business days, and of the date of the closing of 
the transfers no later than 7 business days prior to the date of 
closing. If the transfers are not completed by April 1, 2001, this 
Order shall become null and void, provided, however, upon written 
application and for good cause shown, such date may in writing be 
extended.
    (2) NMC shall, prior to completion of the transfers of operating 
authority for Prairie Island, provide the Director of the Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation satisfactory documentary evidence that NMC 
has obtained the appropriate amount of insurance required of licensees 
under 10 CFR 140 of the Commission's regulations.
    It is further ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), 
license amendments that make changes, as indicated in Enclosure 2 to 
the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform the licenses to 
reflect the subject transfer of operating authority are approved. The 
amendments shall be issued and made effective at the time the proposed 
transfers are completed.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the initial 
application dated November 24, 1999, and supplement dated February 2, 
2000, and the safety evaluation dated May 15, 2000, which are available 
for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the 
Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and accessible 
electronically through the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room link at 
the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 15th day of May 2000.
Brian W. Sheron,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
William F. Kane,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 00-12613 Filed 5-18-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M