[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 193 (Friday, October 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57075-57076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-4939]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-285]


Omaha Public Power District; Notice of Denial of Amendment to 
Facility Operating License and Opportunity for Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) has 
denied a request by Omaha Public Power District (the licensee), for an 
amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-40 issued to 
the licensee for operation of the Fort Calhoun Station, Unit No. 1, 
located in Washington County, Nebraska.
    Notice of Consideration of Issuance of this amendment was published 
in the Federal Register on April 26, 2005 (70 FR 21459).
    By letter dated March 31, 2005, the licensee requested an amendment 
to revise the Renewed Facility Operating License and Technical 
Specifications (TSs) to increase the license core power. Fort Calhoun 
Station, Unit No. 1, is currently licensed for a rated thermal power of 
1500 megawatts thermal (MWt). Through the use of more accurate 
feedwater flow measurement equipment, approval was sought to increase 
this core power by 1.5 percent to 1522 MWt. The power uprate would be 
based on the use of the CROSSFLOWTM system for determination 
of main feedwater flow and the associated determination of reactor 
power through the performance of the power calorimetric currently 
required by the Fort Calhoun Station TSs.
    The OPPD license amendment request to increase core power is based 
on Westinghouse topical report CENPD-397-P-A, ``Improved Flow 
Measurement Accuracy Using Crossflow Ultrasonic Flow Measurement 
Technology,'' for new and future uses of the CROSSFLOW ultrasonic flow 
meter. The topical report provided several assessments with respect to 
that topical report to justify the power increase. Because the 
licensee's license amendment request is based on CENPD-397-P-A and the 
NRC staff has suspended its approval, as explained in the NRC staff's 
letter to Westinghouse dated September 26, 2007, of the use of this 
topical report in license amendment requests, the NRC staff has 
concluded that the licensee's request cannot be granted. The licensee 
was notified of the Commission's denial of the proposed change by a 
letter dated September 27, 2007.
    By 30 days from the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register, the licensee may demand a hearing with respect to the 
denial described above. Any person whose interest may be affected by 
this proceeding may file a written petition for leave to intervene 
pursuant to the requirements of 10 CFR 2.309.
    A request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene must be 
filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff, or may be delivered to the Commission's Public 
Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area 
O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, by the 
above date. A request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene 
may also be transmitted directly to the Secretary of the Commission by 
means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-1101 or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. A copy of any petitions should also be sent to 
the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001. Copies of petitions may also be transmitted 
directly to the Office of the General Counsel by means of facsimile 
transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to [email protected]. A 
copy of any petitions should also be sent to James R. Curtiss, Esq., 
Winston & Strawn, 1700 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006-3817, Senior 
Counsel for the licensee.
    For further details with respect to this action, see (1) The 
application for amendment dated March 31, 2005, and (2) the 
Commission's letter to the licensee dated September 27, 2007.
    Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's 
PDR, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, and will be 
accessible electronically through the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room link 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 
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 27th day of September 2007.


[[Page 57076]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Timothy J. McGinty,
Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 07-4939 Filed 10-4-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M