[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 25, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49050-49051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23925]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-413 and 50-414]


Duke Energy Corporation, North Carolina Electric Membership 
Corporation, Saluda River Electric Cooperative, Inc., North Carolina 
Municipal Power Agency No. 1, Piedmont Municipal Power Agency, Catawba 
Nuclear Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Notice of Consideration of Approval 
of Transfer of Operating Authority Under Facility Operating Licenses 
and Conforming Amendments 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 operating authority under Facility Operating Licenses Nos. 
NPF-35 and NPF-52 for Catawba Nuclear Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 
(Catawba). The Facility Operating License for Catawba Unit 1 is 
currently held by Duke Energy Corporation (DEC), as a 25% owner and the 
exclusive licensed operator, and by the North Carolina Electric 
Membership Corporation and the Saluda River Electric Cooperative, Inc. 
as co-owners. The Facility Operating License for Catawba Unit 2 is 
currently held by DEC as the exclusive licensed operator, and by North 
Carolina Municipal Power Agency No. 1 and the Piedmont Municipal Power 
Agency as the co-owners. The transfer of authority to operate Catawba 
Unit Nos. 1 and 2 would be to a new limited liability company, Duke 
Energy Nuclear, LLC (DEN LLC). DEN LLC will be a subsidiary of DEC, as 
a result of a corporate restructuring of DEC. The Commission is further 
considering amending the licenses for administrative purposes to 
reflect the proposed transfer. The facility is located in York County, 
South Carolina.
    According to an application for approval filed by DEC, the proposed 
transfers do not involve any change in ownership of the nuclear units. 
DEC will retain its current 25% ownership interest in Catawba Unit 1. 
The ownership shares of the Catawba Units not held by DEC will be 
unaffected by

[[Page 49051]]

the DEC restructuring and change in operator. No physical changes to 
the facility or operational changes are being proposed in the 
application.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license shall be transferred, directly 
or indirectly, through transfer of control of the license, unless the 
Commission gives 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 amendments, 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 October 15, 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: Lisa F. Vaughn, Legal Department, Duke Energy 
Corporation, 422 South Church Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28201-
1006; 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 October 25, 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 
application dated July 10, 2001, available for public inspection at the 
Commission's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly 
available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic 
Reading Room on the internet at the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov/ADAMS/index.html). If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are 
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC 
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4737 or by 
email to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 19th day of September 2001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Leonard N. Olshan,
Acting Section Chief, Section 1, Project Directorate II, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-23925 Filed 9-24-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P