[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 98 (Friday, May 19, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31934-31935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12617]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-331 License No. DPR-49]


IES Utilities Inc., et al., (Duane Arnold Energy Center); Order 
Approving Transfer of Operating Authority and Conforming Amendment

I.

    IES Utilities Inc. (the licensee), Central Iowa Power Cooperative 
(CIPCO), and the Corn Belt Power Cooperative (Corn Belt) are the 
holders of Facility Operating License No. DPR-49, which authorizes 
operation of the Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC or the facility). The 
facility is located near the town of Palo in Linn County, Iowa. The 
license authorizes IES Utilities Inc., to possess, use, and operate 
DAEC and authorizes CIPCO and Corn Belt to possess the facility.

[[Page 31935]]

II.

    By application dated November 24, 1999, the Commission was informed 
that IES Utilities Inc., entered into operating service agreements with 
Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC). The application was supplemented 
by submittals dated February 4 and March 17, 2000. 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 DAEC in accordance with the terms and 
conditions of the license. The transaction involves no change in plant 
ownership. The licensee requested approval of the proposed transfer of 
operating authority under the DAEC 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 DAEC, and delete references to 
IES Utilities Inc. as the operator.
    According to the application for approval filed by IES Utilities 
Inc., NMC would become the licensee authorized to use and operate DAEC 
following approval of the proposed license transfer. NMC will assume 
exclusive responsibility for the operation and maintenance of DAEC. 
Ownership of DAEC will not be affected by the proposed transfer of 
operating authority. The plant owners will retain their current 
ownership interests. NMC will not own any portion of DAEC. Likewise, 
the plant owners' entitlement to capacity and energy from DAEC will not 
be affected by the transfer of operating authority. No physical changes 
to the DAEC 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 IES 
Utilities Inc., 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 5703). 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 IES 
Utilities Inc., 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, IES Utilities Inc., 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 for DAEC, 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 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 when 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 February 4 
and March 17, 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.
[FR Doc. 00-12617 Filed 5-18-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P