[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 98 (Friday, May 19, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31941-31942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12616]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-305; License No. DPR-43]


Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, Wisconsin Power and Light 
Company, and Madison Gas and Electric Company; (Kewaunee Nuclear Power 
Plant, Unit No. 1); Order Approving Transfer of Operating Authority and 
Conforming Amendment

I.

    Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPSC), Wisconsin Power and 
Light Company (WP&L), and Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE) (the 
licensees), are the holders of Facility Operating License No. DPR-43, 
which authorizes operation of Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 1 
(Kewaunee or the facility). The facility is located at the licensees' 
site in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin. The license authorizes the 
licensees to possess, use, and operate Kewaunee.

II.

    By application dated November 24, 1999, as supplemented December 7, 
1999, and February 8, 2000, the Commission was informed that WPSC, on 
behalf of itself and WP&L and MGE, entered into operating service 
agreements with Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC). The initial 
application and the supplements are hereinafter 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 Kewaunee in accordance with the terms and 
conditions of the license. The transaction involves no change in plant 
ownership. WPSC requested approval of the proposed transfer of 
operating authority under the Kewaunee facility operating license to 
NMC. The application also requested a conforming amendment to reflect 
the transfer. The proposed amendment would add NMC to the license as 
the licensee authorized to use and operate Kewaunee, and make changes 
to the license to reflect that the current licensees no longer have 
operating authority.
    According to the application for approval filed by WPSC, NMC would 
become the licensee authorized to use and operate Kewaunee following 
approval of the proposed license transfer. NMC will assume exclusive 
responsibility for the operation and maintenance of Kewaunee. Ownership 
of Kewaunee will not be affected by the proposed transfer of operating 
authority. WPSC, WP&L, and MGE will retain their current ownership 
interest. NMC will not own any portion of Kewaunee. Likewise, the 
licensees' entitlement to capacity and energy from Kewaunee will not be 
affected by the transfer of operating authority. No physical changes to 
the Kewaunee facility were proposed in the application.
    Approval of the transfer of operating authority under the facility 
operating license and conforming license amendment was requested by 
WPSC 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 February 4, 2000 (65 FR 5706). No hearing requests or 
written comments were received.
    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. Upon review of the information in the application by WPSC, 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 license and that the transfer of the operating 
authority under the license 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 
amendment 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 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 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 license 
amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or 
the health and safety of the public; and the issuance of the proposed 
amendment will be in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commission's 
regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied. The 
foregoing findings are supported by a Safety Evaluation dated May 15, 
2000.

III.

    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 transfer of operating 
authority under the license 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, WPSC and NMC shall inform the 
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing of such 
receipt within 5 business days and of the date of the closing of the 
transfer no later than 7 business days before the date of closing. If 
the transfer is 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 transfer of operating 
authority of Kewaunee, 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 Part 140 of the Commission's regulations.
    It is further ordered that consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), a 
license amendment that makes changes, as

[[Page 31942]]

indicated in Enclosure 2 to the cover letter forwarding this Order, to 
conform the license to reflect the subject transfer of operating 
authority is approved. The amendment shall be issued and made effective 
at the time the proposed transfer is completed.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the initial 
application dated November 24, 1999, and supplements dated December 7, 
1999, and February 8, 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.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Sheron,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-12616 Filed 5-18-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P