[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 249 (Friday, December 28, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67330-67331]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31925]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-269, Docket No. 50-270, Docket No. 50-287, Docket No. 
72-040, Docket No. 72-004, Renewed License No. DPR-38, Renewed License 
No. DPR-47, Renewed License No. DPR-55, and License No. SNM-2503]


Duke Energy Corporation (Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2 and 3 
and Oconee Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation); Order 
Approving Transfer of Operating Authority and Conforming Amendments

    Duke Energy Corporation (Duke Energy, or DEC) is the holder of 
Renewed Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-38, DPR-47, and DPR-55, 
which authorize operation of the Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2 and 
3 and Materials License No. SNM-2503, which authorizes operation of the 
Oconee Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). The Oconee 
Nuclear Station (Oconee or the Facility) and ISFSI are located in 
Oconee County, South Carolina.
    By application dated July 10, 2001, as supplemented by letters 
dated October 31, November 1 and 26, and December 10, 2001, 
(collectively referred to herein as ``the application'' unless 
otherwise indicated) the Commission was informed that DEC, the licensed 
operator of the Oconee units and the ISFSI, proposes to enter into an 
Operation and Maintenance Services Agreement with Duke Energy Nuclear, 
LLC (Duke Nuclear), and transfer operating authority under the licenses 
to Duke Nuclear. Under the proposed transaction, Duke Nuclear, which 
will be a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of DEC, will become a new 
licensee exclusively authorized to operate Oconee and the ISFSI in 
accordance with the terms and conditions of the licenses. The 
transaction involves no change in full ownership of the Facility and 
the ISFSI by DEC. DEC requested approval of the proposed transfer of 
operating authority under the Oconee facility renewed operating 
licenses to Duke Nuclear pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and requested 
approval of conforming amendments pursuant to 10 CFR 50.90 to reflect 
the transfer. DEC requested approval of the proposed transfer of 
operating authority under the Oconee ISFSI License SNM-2503 to Duke 
Nuclear pursuant to 10 CFR 72.50 and requested approval of conforming 
amendments pursuant to 10 CFR 72.56 to reflect the transfer. The 
proposed amendments would add Duke Nuclear to the licenses and reflect 
that Duke Nuclear is exclusively authorized to operate Oconee and the 
ISFSI. Duke Nuclear will also become a general licensee for storage of 
spent fuel in certified dry casks at Oconee pursuant to 10 CFR 72.210.
    Notice of the application for approval and an opportunity for a 
hearing was published in the Federal Register on September 25, 2001 (66 
FR 49049). 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. In addition, pursuant to 10 CFR 72.50, no license shall be 
transferred through transfer of control of the license, unless the 
Commission gives its consent in writing. Upon review of the information 
in the application, and other information before the Commission, and 
relying upon the representations and agreements contained in the 
application, the NRC staff has determined that Duke Nuclear is 
qualified to hold the operating authority under the licenses, and that 
the transfer of the operating authority under the licenses to Duke 
Nuclear 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 amendments complies with the 
standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended 
(the Act), 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 amendments can be conducted without 
endangering the health and safety of the public and that such 
activities will be in compliance with the Commission's regulations; the 
issuance of the proposed license amendments will not be inimical to the 
common defense and security or the health and safety of the public; and 
the issuance of the proposed amendments 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 December 20, 2001.
    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 and 10 CFR 72.50, it is hereby ordered that the 
transfer of operating authority under the licenses, as described 
herein, to Duke Nuclear is approved, subject to the following 
conditions:
    (1) Duke Nuclear shall, prior to completion of the transfer of 
operating authority for Oconee, provide the Director of the Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation satisfactory documentary evidence that Duke 
Nuclear has obtained the appropriate amount of insurance required of 
licensees under 10 CFR Part 140 of the Commission's regulations.
    (2) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
transfer of operating authority to Duke Nuclear, DEC and Duke Nuclear 
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 2 business days prior to the 
date of closing. If the transfer is not completed by December 31, 2002, 
this Order shall become null and void, provided however, upon written 
application and for good cause shown, such date may in writing be 
extended.
    It is further ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), 
license amendments that make changes, as indicated in Enclosure 2 to 
the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform the licenses to 
reflect the subject

[[Page 67331]]

transfer of operating authority are approved. The amendments 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 July 10, 2001, the supplemental letters dated October 
31, November 1 and 26, and December 10, 2001, and the Safety Evaluation 
dated December 20 , 2001, 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. 
Publicly available records will be accessible 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/reading-rm/adams.html

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of December 2001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Sheron,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Martin J. Virgilio,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 01-31925 Filed 12-27-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P