[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 8 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1562-1563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-324]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-400]


Notice of Acceptance for Docketing of the Application, for 
Facility Operating License No. NPF-63 for an Additional 20-Year Period; 
Carolina Power & Light Company, Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, 
Unit 1

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is 
considering an application for the renewal of operating license NPF-63, 
which authorizes the Carolina Power & Light Company, doing business as 
Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc., to operate the Shearon Harris Nuclear 
Power Plant, (HNP), Unit 1, at 2900 megawatts thermal. The renewed 
license would authorize the applicant to operate the HNP, Unit 1, for 
an additional 20 years beyond the period specified in the current 
license. HNP, Unit 1, is located in Wake County, North Carolina, and 
its current operating license expires on October 24, 2026.
    On November 16, 2006, the Commission's staff received an 
application from Carolina Power & Light Company, to renew operating 
license NPF-63 for HNP, Unit 1, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 54. A notice of receipt and availability 
of the license renewal application (LRA) was published in the Federal 
Register on December 11, 2006 (71 FR 71586).
    The Commission's staff has reviewed the LRA for its acceptability 
and has determined that Carolina Power & Light Company has submitted 
sufficient information in accordance with 10 CFR Sections 54.19, 54.21, 
54.22, 54.23, and 51.53(c), and that the application is acceptable for 
docketing. The Commission will retain the current Docket No. 50-400, 
for operating license NPF-63. The docketing of the renewal application 
does not preclude requests for additional information as the review 
proceeds, nor does it predict whether the Commission will grant or deny 
the license.
    The license renewal process proceeds along two tracks, one for 
review of safety issues, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 54 and another for 
environmental issues, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51. An applicant must 
provide NRC with an evaluation of the technical aspects of plant aging 
and describe the aging management programs and activities that will be 
relied on to manage aging. In addition, in order to support plant 
operation for the additional 20 years, the applicant must prepare an 
evaluation of the potential impact on the environment. The NRC reviews 
the application, documents its reviews in a safety evaluation report 
and a supplemental environmental impact statement, and performs 
verification inspections at the applicant's facility. If the NRC issues 
a renewed license, the licensee must continue to comply with all 
existing regulations, license conditions, orders, and commitments 
associated with the current operating license as well as those 
additional activities required as a result of license renewal. The 
licensee's activities continue to be subject to NRC oversight during 
the period of extended operation.
    Before issuance of the requested renewed license, the NRC will have 
made the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended 
(the Act), and the Commission's rules

[[Page 1563]]

and regulations. In accordance with 10 CFR 54.29, the NRC may issue a 
renewed license on the basis of its review if it finds that actions 
have been identified and have been or will be taken with respect to: 
(1) Managing the effects of aging during the period of extended 
operation on the functionality of structures and components that have 
been identified as requiring aging management review; and (2) time-
limited aging analyses that have been identified as requiring review, 
such that there is reasonable assurance that the activities authorized 
by the renewed license will continue to be conducted in accordance with 
the current licensing basis (CLB), and that any changes made to the 
plant's CLB will comply with the Act and the Commission's regulations. 
In addition, the Commission must find that applicable requirements of 
Subpart A of 10 CFR Part 51 have been satisfied, and that matters 
raised under 10 CFR 2.335 have been addressed.
    Notice of Opportunity for Hearing and Notices relating to the 
environmental review will be published at a later date.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c) and 10 CFR 54.23, Carolina Power 
& Light Company prepared and submitted the environmental report (ER) as 
part of the LRA. The LRA and the ER are publicly available at the NRC's 
PDR, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852, or from ADAMS. The ADAMS accession numbers for the LRA 
and the ER are ML063350270 and ML063350276, respectively. The public 
may also view the LRA and the ER on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications.html. In addition, 
the LRA and the ER are available to the public near HNP, Unit 1, at the 
Eva. H. Perry Library, 2100 Shepherd's Vineyard Drive, Apex, North 
Carolina 27502.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of January, 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Pao-Tsin Kuo,
Acting Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E7-324 Filed 1-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P