[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 150 (Monday, August 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43669-43670]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15192]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-266, 50-301 Renewed License Nos. DPR-24 and DPR-27]
In the Matter of Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Nuclear
Management Company, LLC, (Point Beach Nuclear Plant); Order Approving
Transfer of Licenses and Conforming Amendments
I.
Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPCO) and Nuclear Management
Company, LLC (NMC) are holders of the Renewed Facility Operating
Licenses (FOLs), Nos. DPR-24 and DPR-27, which authorize the
possession, use and operation of Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and
2 (Point Beach or facility). NMC is licensed by the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) to operate Point Beach.
WEPCO is licensed to possess Point Beach with respect to WEPCO's
ownership of the facility. Point Beach is located near Two Rivers,
Wisconsin.
II.
By letter dated January 26, 2007, as supplemented by letter dated
July 11, 2007, NMC, WEPCO and FPL Energy Point Beach, LLC, (FPLE Point
Beach) submitted an application requesting approval of the direct
license transfers that would be necessary in connection with WEPCO's
proposed sale and transfer to FPLE Point Beach of its 100 percent
ownership interest in Point Beach. The application also requested the
approval of the transfer of NMC's operating authority to FPLE Point
Beach. Transfer of the licenses will authorize FPLE Point Beach,
pursuant to the general license in Section 72.210 of Title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), to store spent fuel in the
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) at Point Beach.
As a potential interim step towards the sale of Point Beach, WEPCO
and FPLE Point Beach have signed an Interim Operating Agreement that
would permit WEPCO, at its option, and upon receipt of applicable
regulatory approvals, to transfer NMC's operating authority to FPLE
Point Beach prior to the closing of the ownership sale of Point Beach.
This interim transfer of the operating authority from NMC to FPLE Point
Beach would not change the financial responsibilities or qualifications
or the decommissioning funding status of WEPCO as the 100 percent owner
of Point Beach.
WEPCO, NMC and FPLE Point Beach requested approval of (1)
conforming license amendments that would reflect the proposed transfer
of ownership of and operating authority for Point Beach to FPLE Point
Beach; and (2) the option of transferring operating authority as an
interim step to FPLE Point Beach. The amendments for transferring
ownership and operating authority would include the following: (1) The
deletion of the references to WEPCO and NMC as owner and operator of
Point Beach, respectively, and (2) the authorization of FPLE Point
Beach to possess, use, and operate Point Beach under essentially the
same conditions and authorization included in the existing licenses.
Two footnotes containing historical references to the former licensees
also will be deleted. The applicants did not propose any physical or
operational changes to the facility. After completion of the proposed
transfers, FPLE Point Beach would be the owner and the operator of
Point Beach. The amendments for transferring operational authority as
an interim step would include the following: (1) The deletion of the
references to NMC as operator of Point Beach, and replacement with
references to FPLE Point Beach, and (2) the authorization of FPLE Point
Beach to operate Point Beach under essentially the same conditions and
authorization included in the existing licenses. After completion of
the proposed transfers, FPLE Point Beach would be the operator of Point
Beach.
The applicants requested approval of the transfer of the renewed
FOLs and conforming license amendments pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and
50.90. Notice of the request for approval and opportunity for a hearing
were published in the Federal Register on February 28, 2007 (72 FR
9035). No comments were received. No requests for hearing or petitions
for leave to intervene were received.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license for a production or
utilization facility, 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. 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 FPLE
Point Beach is qualified to hold the licenses for Point Beach to the
extent now held by WEPCO regarding its ownership interest, and is
qualified to hold the operating authority under the licenses now held
by NMC, and the transfer of the licenses as proposed in the application
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 also 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
I; 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
conducted 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 to the health and safety of the public; and
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 findings set forth above are supported by an NRC safety
evaluation dated July 31, 2007.
III.
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o and 184 of the
Act, 42 U.S.C. Sections 2201(b), 2201(i), 2201(o) and 2234; and 10 CFR
50.80, It is hereby ordered that the transfer of the licenses, as
described herein, to FPLE Point Beach is approved, subject to the
following conditions:
(1) At the time of the closing of the transfer of the licenses from
Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPCO) to FPLE Point Beach, WEPCO
shall transfer to FPLE Point Beach WEPCO's decommissioning funds in an
aggregate minimum value of $200.8 million for Point Beach, Unit 1 and
$189.2 million for Point Beach, Unit 2. FPLE Point Beach shall deposit
such funds in an external decommissioning trust fund established by
FPLE Point Beach for Point Beach Units 1 and 2. The trust agreement
shall be in a form acceptable to the NRC.
[[Page 43670]]
(2) FPLE Point Beach shall take no actions to cause FPLE Group
Capital, or its successors and assigns, to void, cancel, or modify its
$70 million Support Agreement (Agreement) to FPLE Point Beach, as
presented in the application, or cause it to fail to perform or impair
its performance under the Agreement, without prior written consent from
the NRC. The Agreement may not be amended or modified without 30 days
prior written notice to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation or his designee. An executed copy of the Agreement shall be
submitted to the NRC no later than 30 days after the completion of the
license transfers. Also, FPLE Point Beach shall inform the NRC in
writing anytime it draws upon the $70 million Agreement.
(3) Prior to completion of the transfer of any authority under the
licenses, FPLE Point Beach shall provide the Director of the Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation satisfactory documentary evidence that it
has obtained the appropriate amount of insurance required of a licensee
under 10 CFR Part 140 of the Commission's regulations.
It is further ordered that FPLE Point Beach shall inform the
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing if it
wishes to exercise the option to transfer the operating authority prior
to closing of the sale no later than 5 business days prior to the
desired date for transfer of operational authority. Should FPLE Point
Beach not request to exercise the option to transfer operational
authority prior to closing of the sale, then the associated amendments
to transfer operational authority will be null and void and only the
amendments reflecting transfer of both ownership and operating
authority will remain approved.
It is further ordered that FPLE Point Beach shall inform the
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing of the
date of the closing of the sale no later than 5 business days prior to
the closing of the sale and transfer of licenses. Should the transfer
of the licenses not be completed by July 31, 2008, this Order shall
become null and void, provided however, that upon written application
and for good cause shown, such date may be extended by order.
It is further ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), the
license amendments, indicated in Enclosures 2 or 3 to the cover letter
forwarding this Order, that make the applicable changes to conform the
licenses to reflect the subject license transfers are approved. The
applicable amendments for transfer of ownership and operational
authority shall be issued and made effective at the time such proposed
license transfers are completed in full. The applicable amendments for
the option of first transferring operational authority shall be issued
and made effective at the time such transfer closes.
This Order is effective upon issuance.
For further details with respect to this Order, see the initial
application dated January 26, 2007, as supplemented by letter dated
July 11, 2007, and the non-proprietary safety evaluation dated July 31,
2007, which is available for public inspection at the Commission's
Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public
File Area 01 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville,
Maryland, and accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System (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 31st day of July 2007.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
J. E. Dyer,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E7-15192 Filed 8-3-07; 8:45 am]
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