[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 30, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53970-53972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22103]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-325 and 50-324; NRC-2011-0199; Docket No. 72-6]


Carolina Power & Light; Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units 1 
and 2; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Notice of 
Consideration of Approval of Application for Indirect License Transfers 
Resulting From the Proposed Merger Between Progress Energy, Inc. and 
Duke Energy Corporation, and Opportunity for Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of request for indirect license transfer, opportunity to 
comment and to request a hearing.

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DATES: Comments must be filed by September 29, 2011. A request for a 
hearing must be filed by September 19, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2011-0199 in the subject line 
of your comments. For additional instructions on submitting comments 
and instructions on accessing documents related to this action, see 
``Submitting Comments and Accessing Information'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document. You may submit comments by any 
one of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-
2011-0199. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, 
telephone: 301-492-3668; e-mail: [email protected].
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
     Fax comments to: RADB at 301-492-3446.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Submitting Comments and Accessing Information

    Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted 
on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site, http://www.regulations.gov. Because your comments will not be edited to remove 
any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against 
including any information in your submission that you do not want to be 
publicly disclosed.
    The NRC requests that any party soliciting or aggregating comments 
received from other persons for submission to the NRC inform those 
persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any 
identifying or contact information, and therefore, they should not 
include any information in their comments that they do not want 
publicly disclosed.
    You can access publicly available documents related to this 
document using the following methods:
     NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine 
and have copied, for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's 
PDR, O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC 
are available online in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain entry into ADAMS, 
which provides text and image files of the NRC's public documents. If 
you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing 
the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR reference staff 
at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and 
supporting materials related to this notice can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID NRC-2011-0199. The 
application dated March 30, 2011, is available electronically under 
ADAMS Accession No. ML11110A031.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Farideh E. Saba, Senior Project 
Manager, Plant Licensing Branch 2-2, Division of Operating Reactor 
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: 301-415-1447; 
fax number: 301-415-2102; e-mail: [email protected].
    The Commission is considering the issuance of an order under Title 
10 of Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.80 approving the indirect 
transfer of the Renewed Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-71 and 
DPR-62 for the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant (BSEP), Units 1 and 2, 
including the BSEP Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, 
currently held by Carolina Power & Light Company, as owner and licensed 
operator.
    According to the application for approval dated March 30, 2011, 
filed by Carolina Power & Light Company (CP&L, the licensee), Progress 
Energy, Inc. (Progress Energy, the licensee's current ultimate parent 
corporation) seeks approval pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 for indirect 
transfer of control of BSEP Units 1 and 2, including the BSEP 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, along with Shearon Harris 
Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1, H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant 
(Robinson), Unit 2, Robinson Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installations, and Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant. 
Progress Energy would merge with Duke Energy Corporation (Duke Energy). 
The merged company would become the ultimate parent of the current 
licensee. CP&L will continue to own and operate the licensed facility 
in accordance with the licenses.
    According to the application, under the terms of the Merger 
Agreement, Diamond Acquisition Corporation (Merger Sub), a wholly owned 
direct subsidiary of Duke Energy, will merge with and into Progress 
Energy. Progress Energy will become a wholly owned direct subsidiary of 
Duke Energy and the former shareholders of Progress Energy will become 
shareholders of Duke Energy. The current licensee will remain a wholly 
owned subsidiary of Progress Energy and will continue to operate the 
BSEP facility.
    According to the application, it is anticipated that Duke Energy 
shareholders will own approximately 63 percent of the combined company 
and Progress Energy shareholders will own approximately 37 percent of 
the combined company on a fully diluted basis.
    According to the application, when the transaction is completed, 
Duke Energy will have an eighteen-member board of directors. All eleven 
current directors of Duke Energy will continue as directors when the 
transaction is complete, subject to their ability and willingness to 
serve. Progress Energy, after consultation with Duke Energy, designated 
seven of the current directors of Progress Energy to be added to the 
board of directors of Duke Energy when the transaction is complete, 
similarly subject to their ability and willingness to serve.
    According to the application, the technical qualifications of the 
licensees are not affected by the proposed indirect transfers of 
control of the BSEP licenses. The current licensee will at all times 
remain the licensed operator of BSEP. No conforming amendments will be 
required to the facility operating licenses as a result of the proposed 
transaction. The nuclear operating organizations for the licensed 
facility are expected to remain essentially

[[Page 53971]]

unchanged as a result of the acquisition. Specifically, the proposed 
indirect transfers of control will not result in any change in the role 
of the CP&L as the licensed operator of the BSEP facility and will not 
result in any changes to its financial qualifications, decommissioning 
funding assurance, or technical qualifications. CP&L will retain the 
requisite qualifications to own and operate the licensed facility.
    No physical changes to the BSEP facility or operational changes are 
being proposed in the application.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, 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 indirect 
transfer of a license, if the Commission determines that the proposed 
merger will not affect the qualifications of the licensee 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.
    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 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). NRC regulations are accessible electronically 
from the NRC Library on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/.
    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or 
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by 
interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), 
must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, 
August 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit 
and serve all adjudicatory 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 an exemption in 
accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by e-mail at [email protected], or by 
telephone at (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 (2) advise the Secretary 
that the participant will be submitting a request or petition for 
hearing (even in instances in which the participant, or its counsel or 
representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). 
Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish an electronic 
docket for the hearing in this proceeding if the Secretary has not 
already established an electronic docket.
    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. System requirements for accessing 
the E-Submittal server are detailed in NRC's ``Guidance for Electronic 
Submission,'' which is available on the agency's public Web site at 
http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may 
attempt to use other software not listed on the Web site, but should 
note that the NRC's E-Filing system does not support unlisted software, 
and the NRC Meta System Help Desk will not be able to offer assistance 
in using unlisted software.
    If a participant is electronically submitting a document to the NRC 
in accordance with the E-Filing rule, the participant must file the 
document using the NRC's online, Web-based submission form. In order to 
serve documents through Electronic Information Exchange, users will be 
required to install a Web browser plug-in from the NRC Web site. 
Further information on the Web-based submission form, including the 
installation of the Web browser plug-in, is available on the NRC's 
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
    Once a participant has obtained a digital ID certificate and a 
docket has been created, the participant 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 
documents are submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing 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 
E-Filing 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 using the agency's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC Meta System 
Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site 
at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by a toll-free call at (866) 672-7640. The 
NRC Meta System Help Desk is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., 
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, 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

[[Page 53972]]

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. A presiding officer, having granted an 
exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a participant or 
party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer subsequently determines 
that the reason for granting the exemption from use of E-Filing no 
longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
http://ehd1.nrc.gov/EHD/, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission, or the 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, unless an NRC 
regulation or other law requires submission of such information. 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 submission.
    Petitions for leave to intervene must be filed no later than 20 
days from the date of publication of this notice. Non-timely filings 
will not be entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer 
that the petition or request should be granted or the contentions 
should be admitted, based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 
CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii).
    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 March 30, 2011, 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 
documents created or received at the NRC are accessible electronically 
through ADAMS in the NRC Library at 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 22nd day of August 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Farideh E. Saba,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch 2-2, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011-22103 Filed 8-29-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P