[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22019-22020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-10966]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-482]


Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, Wolf Creek Generating 
Station; Notice of Consideration of Approval of Application Regarding 
Proposed Corporate Restructuring of Kansas City Power & Light Company 
and Opportunity for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 approving the 
indirect transfer of Facility Operating License No. NPF-42 for Wolf 
Creek Generating Station (WCGS) as held by Kansas City Power & Light 
Company (KCPL), one of three joint owners of WCGS, and Wolf Creek 
Nuclear Operating Corporation, the operator of the facility, to a new 
holding company for KCPL, to the extent such indirect transfer would 
occur in connection with a proposed restructuring of KCPL. The facility 
is located in Coffey County, Kansas.
    According to the February 20, 2001, application filed by KCPL, 
which was supplemented by letters dated February 27, March 5, and March 
8, 2001, from counsel for KCPL, the proposed restructuring of KCPL 
encompasses the formation of a newly formed holding company as yet 
unnamed (``HoldingCo''). Upon the proposed restructuring, KCPL will 
cease to be publicly-traded and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of 
HoldingCo, but it will retain ownership of its regulated electric power 
generation, transmission, and distribution assets, including its 
interests in WCGS and Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (WCNOC). 
No direct transfer of the license as now held by KCPL and WCNOC to 
HoldingCo is being proposed.
    WCNOC would remain as the managing agent for the joint owner 
licensees (KCPL, Kansas Gas and Electric Company, and Kansas Electric

[[Page 22020]]

Power Cooperative, Inc.) of the facility and would continue to have 
exclusive responsibility for the management, operation, and maintenance 
of WCGS as the non-owner operator licensee. The application does not 
propose a change in the rights, obligations, or interests of the 
licensees of WCGS. In addition, no physical changes to WCGS or 
operational changes are being proposed.
    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 indirect 
transfer of a license, if the Commission determines that the underlying 
transaction that will effectuate the indirect transfer will not affect 
the qualifications of the holder of the license, and that the transfer 
is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, 
and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.
    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 May 22, 2001, any person whose interest may be affected by the 
Commission's action on the application may request a hearing, and, if 
not the applicant, 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 counsel for KCPL, Robert W. Warnement, Skadden, Arps, 
Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, 1440 New York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20005-2111; the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555 (e-mail 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 June 1, 2001, 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 license 
transfer application filed by KCPL dated February 20, 2001, and the 
supplemental letters dated February 27, March 5, and March 8, 2001, 
from counsel for KCPL, which are available for public inspection at the 
Commission's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, 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 26th day of April 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Jack N. Donohew,
Senior Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate IV and 
Decommissioning, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-10966 Filed 5-1-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P