[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 125 (Wednesday, June 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39954-39956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16296]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-286]


Power Authority of the State of New York Indian Point Nuclear 
Generating Unit No. 3; Notice of Consideration of Approval of Transfer 
of Facility Operating License and Conforming Amendment, and Opportunity 
for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering the issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 approving the 
transfer of Facility Operating License No. DRP-64 for the Indian Point 
Nuclear Generating Unit No. 3 (IP3) currently held by the Power 
Authority of the State of New York (PASNY), as owner and operator of 
IP3. The transfer would be to Entergy Nuclear Indian Point 3 (Entergy 
Nuclear IP3), the

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proposed owner of IP3, and to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENO), 
the proposed operator of IP3. The Commission is also considering 
amending the license for administrative purposes to reflect the 
proposed transfer.
    According to applications for approval filed by PASNY, Entergy 
Nuclear IP3, and ENO, Entergy Nuclear IP3 would assume title to the 
facility following approval of the proposed license transfer, and ENO 
would become responsible for the operation, and maintenance of IP3. The 
application states that regulatory responsibility for decommissioning 
the plant will transfer to Entergy Nuclear IP3 upon transfer of the 
license and closing of transactions. Pursuant to the Decommissioning 
Agreements and subject to the monetary limits in those Agreements, 
PASNY will have a contractual obligation to Entergy Nuclear IP3 to 
decommission the plant. PASNY will have the option, upon occurrence of 
certain events specified in the Decommissioning Agreements, to 
terminate this contractual obligation. Upon such termination, PASNY 
would have no further contractual responsibility to Entergy Nuclear IP3 
to decommission the plant and no further involvement with the 
decommissioning process; also, the Decommissioning Funds must be 
transferred to Entergy Nuclear IP3. If PASNY does not terminate its 
contractual responsibility before the dismantling of IP3 begins, 
PASNY's contractual responsibility would be carried out pursuant to the 
Decommissioning Agreements. Under these Agreements, PASNY and Entergy 
Nuclear, Inc. (ENI) are required to enter into an agreement whereby ENI 
would decommission the plant in accordance with the Decommissioning 
Agreements. Entergy Nuclear IP3, through its authorized agent, ENO, 
would, at all times, retain ultimate control over the decommissioning 
activities of ENI and its contractors.
    No physical changes to the IP3 facility or operational changes are 
being proposed in the application. Upon closing, all employees within 
PASNY's Nuclear Generation Department, and certain other employees 
supporting the Nuclear Generation Department, will become employees of 
ENO.
    Entergy Nuclear IP3, a Delaware Corporation, is an indirect wholly 
owned subsidiary of Entergy Corporation, and a wholly owned indirect 
subsidiary of Entergy Nuclear Holding Company #1.
    ENO, a Delaware Corporation, is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary 
of Entergy Corporation, and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy 
Nuclear Holding Company #2.
    The proposed amendment would replace references to PASNY in the 
license with references to Entergy Nuclear IP3 and/or ENO, and make 
other necessary administrative changes to reflect the proposed 
transfer.
    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. The Commission will approve an application for the transfer of 
a license, if the Commission determines that the proposed transferee is 
qualified to hold the license, and that the transfer is otherwise 
consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders 
issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.
    Before issuance of the proposed conforming license amendment, the 
Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations.
    As provided in 10 CFR 2.1315, unless otherwise determined by the 
Commission with regard to a specific application, the Commission has 
determined that any amendment to the license of a utilization facility 
which does no more than conform the license to reflect the transfer 
action involves no significant hazards consideration. No contrary 
determination has been made with respect to this specific license 
amendment application. In light of the generic determination reflected 
in 10 CFR 2.1315, no public comments with respect to significant 
hazards considerations are being solicited, notwithstanding the general 
comment procedures contained in 10 CFR 50.91.
    The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to 
intervene, and written comments with regard to the license transfer 
application, are discussed below.
    By July 18, 2000, any person whose interest may be affected by the 
Commission's action on the application may request a hearing, and, if 
not the applicants, may petition for leave to intervene in a hearing 
proceeding on the Commission's action. Requests for a hearing and 
petitions for leave to intervene should be filed in accordance with the 
Commission's rules of practice set forth in Subpart M, ``Public 
Notification, Availability of Documents and Records, Hearing Requests 
and Procedures for Hearings on License Transfer Applications,'' of 10 
CFR Part 2. In particular, such requests and petitions must comply with 
the requirements set forth in 10 CFR 2.1306, and should address the 
considerations contained in 10 CFR 2.1308(a). Untimely requests and 
petitions may be denied, as provided in 10 CFR 2.1308(b), unless good 
cause for failure to file on time is established. In addition, an 
untimely request or petition should address the factors that the 
Commission will also consider, in reviewing untimely requests or 
petitions, set forth in 10 CFR 2.1308(b)(1)-(2).
    Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene should 
be served upon Mr. Douglas Levanway, Wise, Carter, Child and Caraway, 
P.O. Box 651, Jackson, MS 39205, Phone: 601-968-5524, Fax: 601-968-
5519, E-mail: [email protected]; Mr. Gerald Goldstein, Asst. General 
Counsel, New York Power Authority, 1633 Broadway, New York, NY 10019-
6756, Phone: 212-468-6131, Fax: 212-468-6206, E-mail: 
[email protected]; the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555 (email address for filings regarding 
license transfer cases only: [email protected]); and the Secretary of the 
Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, in accordance 
with 10 CFR 2.1313.
    The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a 
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for 
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A 
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and 
served on the parties to the hearing.
    As an alternative to requests for hearing and petitions to 
intervene, by July 28, 2000, persons may submit written comments 
regarding the license transfer application, as provided for in 10 CFR 
2.1305. The Commission will consider and, if appropriate, respond to 
these comments, but such comments will not otherwise constitute part of 
the decisional record. Comments should be submitted to the Secretary, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and should cite the 
publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
applications dated May 11, 2000, and May 12, 2000, and the responses to 
the Commission's June 14, 2000, request for additional information 
dated June 13, 2000, and June 16, 2000, available for public inspection 
at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L 
Street,

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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 23rd day of June 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George F. Wunder,
Project Manager, Section 1, Project Directorate 1, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-16296 Filed 6-27-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P