[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 140 (Friday, July 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42768-42771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17729]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-423; NRC-2012-0044]


Central Vermont Public Service Corporation, Millstone Power 
Station, Unit 3; Notice of Consideration of Approval of Transfer of 
Facility Operating License, Conforming Amendment and Opportunity for a 
Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DATES: Comments must be filed by August 20, 2012. A request for a 
hearing must be filed by August 9, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2012-0044 in the subject line 
of your comments. 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 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-2012-0044. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher 301-492-3668; email 
[email protected].

[[Page 42769]]

    Mail comments to: 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. You can access publicly 
available documents related to this notice 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 email to [email protected]. The 
application dated September 9, 2011, as supplemented by letters dated 
November 4, 2011, April 6, 2012, May 4, 2012 and June 26, 2012 are 
available electronically under ADAMS Accession Nos. ML11256A051, 
ML11311A148, ML12100A017, ML12128A433 and ML12180A123, respectively.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Kim, Project Manager, Plant 
Licensing Branch I-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: 301-415-4125: fax number: 301-415-
2102; email: [email protected].

Background

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering the issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 approving the 
transfer of control of Central Vermont Public Service Corporation 
(CVPS)' interest in the Renewed Facility Operating License (No. NPF-49) 
for the Millstone Power Station, Unit 3 (MPS3) resulting from a 
subsequent restructuring in which CVPS will be consolidated with Gaz 
M[eacute]tro Limited Partnership (Gaz M[eacute]tro)'s existing U.S. 
subsidiary Green Mountain Power Corporation (GMP). The Commission is 
also considering amending the license for administrative purposes to 
reflect the proposed transfer. By Order dated June 15, 2012, the 
Commission approved the indirect transfer of control of CVPS' 1.7303% 
interest in the license for MPS3 resulting from the acquisition of CVPS 
by Gaz M[eacute]tro. The remaining co-owners are Massachusetts 
Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (4.7990%) and Dominion Nuclear 
Connecticut, Inc. (93.4707%). Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc. is the 
licensed operator.
    According to an application for approval filed by CVPS in 
connection with the consolidation of CVPS and GMP, GMP will be the 
surviving corporation resulting from the merger. GMP will continue to 
be a minority co-owner and licensee of the facility. This application 
does not affect Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company's 
ownership or Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.'s ownership and 
operation of the facility.
    No physical changes to the MPS3 facility or operational changes are 
being proposed in the application.
    The proposed amendment would replace references to Central Vermont 
Public Service Corporation with Green Mountain Power Corporation, to 
reflect the proposed transfer.
    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 direct 
transfer of a license, if the Commission determines that the proposed 
acquisition 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.
    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, 
which does no more than conform the license to reflect the transfer 
action, involves no significant hazards consideration. 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.

Hearing Request

    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 
ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should 
contact the Office of the Secretary by email at

[[Page 42770]]

[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 EIE, 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 email notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
E-Filing system also distributes an email 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 email 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 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.

Comments

    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 September 9, 2011, as 
supplemented by letters dated November 4, 2011, April 6, 2012, May 4, 
2016, and June 26, 2012, 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

[[Page 42771]]

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 email to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of July 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James Kim,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I-1, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2012-17729 Filed 7-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P