[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 9, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11711-11712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-4547]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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


Duke Energy Corporation, et al.; Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 
and 2; Notice of Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating License 
and Final Determination of No Significant Hazards Consideration Renewed 
Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-35 and NPF-52, Amendment Nos. 220 
and 215

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission) has issued Amendment 
No. 220 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-35 and Amendment 
No. 215 to Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-52, issued to 
Duke Energy Corporation, et al. (Duke, the licensee), which revised the 
Technical Specifications (TS) for operation of the Catawba Nuclear 
Station (Catawba), Units 1 and 2, located in York County, South 
Carolina. The amendment is effective as of the date of issuance.
    The amendment modifies the TS to permit the usage of up to four 
mixed oxide (MOX) lead test assemblies (LTAs). Specifically, the 
amendment consists of: (1) A revision to TS 3.7.16 to permit storage of 
the MOX LTAs in the spent fuel pool; (2) a revision to TS 4.2, 
``Reactor Core'' to include the four MOX LTAs using M5 fuel rod 
cladding; (3) TS 4.3, ``Fuel Storage,'' to reflect the enrichment of 
the MOX LTAs; and (4) a revision to TS 5.6.5 to add two supporting 
methodologies for the MOX LTAs. The application for the amendment 
complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act 
of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and 
regulations. The Commission has made appropriate findings as required 
by the Act and the Commission's rules and regulations in 10 CFR chapter 
I, which are set forth in the license amendment.
    A Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment to Facility 
Operating License and Opportunity for a Hearing in connection with this 
action was published in the Federal Register on

[[Page 11712]]

July 25, 2003 (68 FR 44107). A request for a hearing was filed on 
August 21 and 25, 2003, by the Nuclear Information and Resources 
Service (NIRS) and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL), 
respectively. A Notice of Opportunity to Comment and Proposed No 
Significant Hazards Consideration Determination in connection with this 
action was published in the Federal Register on July 12, 2004 (69 FR 
41852).
    On July 14 and 15, 2004, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 
(ASLB) held a hearing on a single admitted safety-related contention by 
BREDL. All of NIRS's contentions were rejected and NIRS was not 
admitted as a party to the proceeding. The admitted contention was 
related to the adequacy of the loss-of-coolant accident analyses 
performed to support the use of the MOX LTAs. On December 22, 2004, the 
ASLB issued a Partial Initial Decision with respect to this matter 
finding that there is reasonable assurance that operation of Catawba 
with the four MOX LTAs will not endanger the health and safety of the 
public.
    BREDL submitted its security-related safety contentions on March 3, 
2004. An ASLB hearing on a single physical security-related contention, 
as admitted by the ASLB, was held January 11-14, 2005. This contention 
was related to the adequacy of the provisions undertaken by Duke to 
provide protection of the MOX LTAs. Findings and reply findings of fact 
and conclusions of law were filed in February 2005. An ASLB decision on 
the security contention is pending.
    Under its regulations, the Commission may issue and make an 
amendment immediately effective, notwithstanding the pendency before it 
of a request for a hearing from any person, in advance of the holding 
or completion of any required hearing, where it has determined that no 
significant hazards considerations are involved.
    The Commission has applied the standards of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations, Section 50.92 and has made a final determination 
that the amendment involves no significant hazards considerations. The 
basis for this determination is contained in a Safety Evaluation and 
three Supplements to that Safety Evaluation related to this action. 
Accordingly, as described above, the amendment has been issued and made 
immediately effective and any further hearing will be held after 
issuance.
    The Commission has prepared an Environmental Assessment and one 
Supplement to the Environmental Assessment related to the action and 
has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement. Based 
upon the environmental assessment and its supplement, the Commission 
has concluded that the issuance of the amendment will not have a 
significant effect on the quality of the human environment (69 FR 51112 
and 70 FR 8849).
    For further details with respect to the action see (1) the 
application for amendment dated February 27, 2003, as supplemented by 
letters dated September 15, September 23, October 1 (two letters), 
October 3 (two letters), November 3, November 4, December 10, 2003, and 
February 2, (two letters), March 1 (three letters), March 9 (two 
letters), March 16 (two letters), March 26, March 31, April 13, April 
16, May 13, June 17, August 31, September 20, October 4, October 29 and 
December 10, 2004, (2) Amendment Nos. 220 and 215 to License Nos. NPF-
35 and NPF-52, respectively, (3) the Commission's related Safety 
Evaluation and its three Supplements dated April 5, May 5, July 27, 
2004, and March 3, 2005, respectively, and (4) the Commission's 
Environmental Assessment and its supplement (69 FR 51112 and 70 FR 
8849, respectively). All of these items are available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at One 
White Flint North, File Public Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first 
floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be 
accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's 
(ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web 
site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have 
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents 
located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by 
telephone at 1-800-397-4209, (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of March 2005.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John A. Nakoski,
Chief, Section 1, Project Directorate II, Division of Licensing Project 
Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 05-4547 Filed 3-8-05; 8:45 am]
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