[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 109 (Thursday, June 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32055-32057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12576]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-282, 50-306 and 72-10]


Nuclear Management Company, LLC; Prairie Island Nuclear 
Generating Plant (PINGP), Units 1 And 2, and PINGP Independent Spent 
Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI); Notice of Consideration of Approval 
of Transfer of Facility Operating Licenses and Materials License and 
Conforming Amendments, and Opportunity for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering the issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 
72.50 approving the direct transfer of Facility Operating Licenses, 
which are numbered DPR-42 and DPR-60 for the Prairie Island Nuclear 
Generating Plant (PINGP), Units 1 and 2 and Material License No. SNM-
2506 (the licenses) for the PINGP Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation (ISFSI), to the extent currently held by Nuclear 
Management Company, LLC (NMC) as operator of PINGP Units 1 and 2, and 
PINGP ISFSI. The transfer would be to Northern States Power Company 
(NSPM), an Xcel Energy company, and current licensed owner of PINGP, 
Units 1 and 2 and PINGP ISFSI. The Commission is also considering 
amending the license for administrative purposes to reflect the 
proposed transfer.
    According to an application for approval dated April 16, 2008, 
filed by NMC, NSPM would acquire operating authority of the facilities 
following approval of the proposed license transfer, and would be 
responsible for the operation and maintenance of PINGP Units 1 and 2, 
and PINGP ISFSI. NMC would be integrated into the current NSPM 
organization which would combine the ownership and operating authority 
into a single organization.
    No physical changes to the PINGP Units 1 and 2, or PINGP ISFSI 
facility or operational changes are being proposed in the application.
    The proposed amendment would delete references to NMC, and 
authorize NSPM to operate PINGP and the PINGP ISFSI, and to receive, 
possess, or use related licensed materials under the applicable 
conditions and authorizations included in the licenses. This request to 
transfer operating authority and the conforming license amendments 
involve no change in plant ownership.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, 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. The Commission will approve an application for 
the direct transfer of a license, if the Commission determines that the 
proposed transferee is qualified to hold the license, and that the 
transfer is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, 
regulations, and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.
    Before issuance of the proposed conforming license amendment, the 
Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations.
    As provided in 10 CFR 2.1315, unless otherwise determined by the 
Commission with regard to a specific application, the Commission has 
determined that any amendment to the license of a utilization facility, 
or to the license of an ISFSI, which does no more than conform the 
license to reflect the transfer action involves no significant hazards 
consideration, and no genuine issue as to whether the health and safety 
of the public will be significantly affected. No contrary determination 
has been made with respect to this specific license amendment 
application. In light of the generic determination reflected in 10 CFR 
2.1315, no public comments with respect to significant hazards 
considerations are being solicited, notwithstanding the general comment 
procedures contained in 10 CFR 50.91.
    The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to 
intervene, and written comments with regard to the license transfer 
application, are discussed below.
    Within 20 days from the date of publication of this notice, any 
person(s) whose interest may be affected by the Commission's action on 
the application may request a hearing and intervention via electronic 
submission through the NRC E-filing system. Requests for a hearing and 
petitions for leave to intervene should be filed in accordance with the 
Commission's rules of practice set forth in Subpart C ``Rules of 
General Applicability: Hearing Requests, Petitions to Intervene, 
Availability of Documents, Selection of Specific Hearing Procedures, 
Presiding Officer Powers, and General Hearing Management for NRC 
Adjudicatory Hearings,'' of 10 CFR Part 2. In particular, such requests 
and petitions must comply with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR 
2.309. Untimely requests and petitions may be denied, as provided in 10 
CFR 2.309(c)(1), unless good cause for failure to file on time is 
established. In addition, an untimely

[[Page 32056]]

request or petition should address the factors that the Commission will 
also consider, in reviewing untimely requests or petitions, set forth 
in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii).
    A request for hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must be 
filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule, which the NRC 
promulgated on August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49139). The E-Filing process 
requires participants to submit and serve documents over the internet 
or in some cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. 
Participants may not submit paper copies of their filings unless they 
seek a waiver in accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 
ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/requestor 
must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a 
digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2) 
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances 
in which the petitioner/requestor (or its counsel or representative) 
already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each petitioner/
requestor will need to download the Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ to 
access the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-
Filing system. The Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ is free and is available 
at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. 
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on 
NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
    Once a petitioner/requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, 
had a docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit 
a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions 
should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC 
guidance available on the NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the filer submits its documents through EIE. To be timely, an 
electronic filing must be submitted to the EIE system no later than 
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of a 
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an e-mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
EIE system also distributes an e-mail notice that provides access to 
the document to the NRC Office of the General Counsel and any others 
who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to 
participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the 
documents on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition 
to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document 
via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically may seek assistance through the 
``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC technical help line, 
which is available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday. The help line number is (800) 397-4209 or 
locally, (301) 415-4737.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file a motion, in accordance 
with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing requesting 
authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such 
filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail addressed to the 
Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited 
delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, 
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a 
document in this manner are responsible for serving the document on all 
other participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail 
as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the 
provider of the service.
    Non-timely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition 
and/or request should be granted and/or the contentions should be 
admitted, based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 
2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). To be timely, filings must be submitted no later 
than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Documents submitted in 
adjudicatory proceedings will appear in NRC's electronic hearing docket 
which is available to the public at http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the Commission, an 
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or a Presiding Officer. Participants 
are requested not to include personal privacy information, such as 
social security numbers, home addresses, or home phone numbers in their 
filings. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts 
that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute 
a Fair Use application, participants are requested not to include 
copyrighted materials in their submissions.
    The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a 
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for 
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A 
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and 
served on the parties to the hearing.
    Within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice, persons 
may submit written comments regarding the license transfer application, 
as provided for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The Commission will consider and, if 
appropriate, respond to these comments, but such comments will not 
otherwise constitute part of the decisional record. Comments should be 
submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications 
Staff, and should cite the publication date and page number of this 
Federal Register notice.
    For further details with respect to this license transfer 
application, see the application dated April 16, 2008, available for 
public inspection at 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. Publicly available 
records will be accessible electronically from the Agency wide 
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, or 
301-415-4737 or by e-mail to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of May 2008.


[[Page 32057]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mahesh Chawla,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III-1, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 [FR Doc. E8-12576 Filed 6-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P