ML20137S549
| ML20137S549 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Monticello, Prairie Island  |
| Issue date: | 04/01/1997 |
| From: | Collins S, Paperiello C NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned), NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20137S553 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9704150171 | |
| Download: ML20137S549 (11) | |
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of
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l NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY
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Docket Nos. 50-263, 50-282,
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50-306, and 72-10 (Monticello and Prairie Island
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Units 1 and 2 Nuclear Generating
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. Plants and Prairie Island Independent )
i Spent Fuel Storage Installation)
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i ORDER APPROVING TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF LICENSES AND NOTICE 0F CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED ISSUANCE OF ASSOCIATED AMENDMENTS, PROPOSED NO SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS CONSIDERATION DETERMINATION, i
AND OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEARING I.
Northern States Power Company (NSP) is owner and operator of Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, and Prairie Island Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI).
NSP is governed by Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-22, DPR-42, and DPR-60 issued by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Reaulations (10 CFR Part 50).
Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant's Units 1 and 2 Facility Operating Licenses Nos.
DPR-42, and DPR-60 were issued on August 9, 1973, and October 29, 1974, respectively. NSP was issued Provisional Operating License No. DPR-22 for the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant on September 8,1970, and Facility I
Operating License No. DPR-22 on January 9, 1981. NSP is also governed by Materials License No. SNM-2506 issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant to 10 CFR Part 72 on October 19, 1993. The Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant is located in Wright County, Minnesota.
The Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, and the Prairie Island ISFSI are located in Goodhue County, Minnesota.
9704150171 970401 PDR ADOCK 05000263 Y
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II.
By letter dated October 20, 1995, NSP informed the Commission that it
. intends to transfer ownership of the facility operating licenses for Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units l'and 2, and the Prairie Island ISFSI from NSP to a newly formed i
NSP, which will result'from a merger between NSP and WEC Sub Corp., a j
subsidiary of Wisconsin Electric Corporation (WEC).
In connection with the proposed transaction, WEC will be renamed Primergy Corporation (Primergy) and will own two operating utility subsidiaries:
(1) the New NSP, which will be a Wisconsin corporation referred to herein as "New NSP"), and (2) a current WEC
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subsidiary, Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPCO), into which Northern l
States Power (Wisconsin), a former subsidiary of NSP, will have merged, and which will be called Wisconsin Energy Company. New NSP will continue to operate primarily the same facilities in the same locations as those that NSP 4
currently does.
The transfer of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-22, DPR-42, and DPR-60 is subject to NRC's approval under 10 CFR 50.80. The transfer of Prairie Island ISFSI License No. SNN-2506 is subject to NRC's approval under 10 CFR 72.50. After reviewing the information. submitted in the letter of October 20, 1995, and other information before the Commission, the NRC staff i-has determined that New NSP is qualified to hold the licenses to the extent and for the purposes NSP is now authorized to hold the licenses, and that the transfer,subjecttotheconditionssetforthhereikisotherwiseconsistent
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t with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission. These findings are supported by the accompanying safety evaluation dated April 1,1997.
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III.
Acc.ordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 1611, and 184 of tha Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 USC li 2201(b), 2201(1), and 2234,. and 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Comr'ssion consents i
l to the proposed transfer of control of the licenses described herein from NSP to New NSP subject to the following:
(1) the issuance of approved amendments fully reflecting the transfers approved by this Order at the time such transfers are effected; (2) should the transfers not be completed by September I
30,1997,.this Order shall become null and void provided, however, on app 1tcation and for good cause shown, such date may be extended; and (3) New NSP shall provide the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation a copy of any application, at the time it is filed, to transfer (excluding grants of security interests or liens) from New NSP to its parent or to any i
other affiliated company, facilities for the production, transmission, or distribution of electric energy having a depreciated book value exceeding ten percent (10%) of New NSP's consolidated net utility plant, as recorded on New N'SP's books of account, consistent with NSP's letter dated August 28, 1996, to i
the NRC.
i This Order is effective upon issuance.
IV.
By May 12,1997
, any person adversely affected by this Order may
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l file a request for a hearing with respect to issuance of the Order. Any
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person requesting a hearing shall set forth with particularity how that I
interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d), in the same-manner as is more fully discussed
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below regarding requests for hearing and petitions for leave to intervene in connection with proposed facility license amendments.
If a hearing is held concerning this Order, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and place of such hearing.
The issue to be considered at any such hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained.
Any request for a hearing must be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Docketing and Services Branch, or may be delivered to the 1
Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,
Washington, DC, by the above date. Copies should also be sent to the Office of the General Counsel, and to the Directors, Office of Nuclear Reactor 4
Regulation and Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and to Gary Johnson, Northern States Power Company, 414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401, atto oey for the licensee.
V.
With respect to Facility Operating Licensos Nos. DPR-22, DPR-42, and DPR-60, described herein, notice is hereby given that the Commission is considering the issuance of amendments to the licenses to reflect the above transfer approved by the Commission. NSP stated in a letter dated December 6, 1995, that the application does not involve a request for any change in the design, operation, or administrative controls of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, or the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, or any change in the terms and conditions of the existing licenses or technical specifications. NSP further stated in its submittal dated t
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October 20, 1995, that the financial capability of the owner and operator will be maintained, that New NSP (as owner and operator) will remain qualified to be the holder of the licenses, and that the transfer of the licenses is consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission.
Before issuance of the proposed facility license amendments, the Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations.
The Commission has made a proposed determination that the facility amendment requests involve no significant hazards consideration. Under the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed amendments would not (1) involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident j
previously evaluated, or (2) create the possibility of a new or different kind i
of accident from any accident previously evaluated, or (3) involve a significant reduction in the margin of safety. As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), NSP has submitted its analysis of the issue of no significant l
hazards consideration, which is given below:
j The proposed amendment [s] will not involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
As a result of the proposed license amendment [s], there will be no physical change to the facilities and all Limiting Conditions for Operation, Limiting Safety System Settings and Safety Limits specified in the Technical Specifications will remain unchanged. Also, the facilities' Quality Assurance Program, Emergency Plan, Security Plan, and Operator Training and Requalf fication Program will be unaffected.
Therefore, this amendment will not cause a significant increate in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
The proposed amendment [s] will not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously analyzed.
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6 will have no effect on the physical Theproposedamendment[s]litiesorthemannerinwhichtheywill configuration of the faci operate. The design and design basis of the facilities will remain the same. The current safety analyses will therefore remain complete and accurate in addressing the design basis events and in analyzing accident respnse and consequences for the facilities.
The Limiting Conditions for Operations, Limiting Safety. System Settings and Safety Limits specified in the Technical Specifications for the facilities'are not affected by the proposed license amendment [s).
As such, the conditions for which the design basis accident analysis have been performed will remain valid. Therefore, the proposed license amendment (s) cannot create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated.
The proposed amendment (s) will not involve a significant reduction in the margin of safety.
Facility safety margins are established through Limiting Conditions for Operation, Limiting Safety System Settings and Safety Limits specified in the Technical Specifications. Since there will be no change to the physical design or operation of the facilities, there will be no change to any of these margins. Thus the proposed license amendment [s] will not involve a significant reduction in any margin of safety.
Based upon the analysis and description of.the transaction in our i
submittal dated October 20, 1995, the proposed license amendment (s) only l
reflects a change in ownership of NSP and will not involve a significant increase in.the probability or consequences of any accident previously I
evaluated, create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated, or involve a reduction in a margin of safety. As a result, the proposed change meets the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, Section 50.95(c) and does not involve a significant hazards consideration.
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are satisfied.
Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the amendment requests involve no significant hazards considerat hn.
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The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed l
determination. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice will be considered in making any final determination.
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7 Normally, the Comission will not issue the amendments until'the expiration of the 30-day notice period. However, should circumstances change during the notice period such that failure to act in a timely way would result, for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility, the Comiscion 1
may issue the license amendments before the expiration of the 30-day notice period, provided that its final determination is that the amendments involve no significant hazards consideration. The final determination will consider all public and State coments received. Should t>2 Comission take this action, it will publish in the FEDERAL REGISTER a notice of issuance and
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provide for opportunity for a hearing after issuance. The Comission expects that the need to take this action will occur very infrequently..
Written coments may be submitted by mail to the Chief, Rules Review and Directives Branch, Division of Freedom of Information and Publications Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of this FEDERAL REGISTER notice. Written coments may also be delivered to Room 6D22, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays.
Copies of written coments received may oe examined at the NRC Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC.
The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to intervene is discussed below.
By May 12, 1997
, the licensee may file a request for a hearing with respect to issuance of the amendments to the subject facility operating licenses, and any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and whL wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written
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request for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene. Requests for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's " Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings" in 10 CFR Part 2.
Interested persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.714, which is available at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at the local public document room located at the Minneapolis Public Library, Technology and Science Department, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
If a request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene is filed by the above date, the Commission or an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, designated by the E
Commission or by the Chairman of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the request and/or petition; and the Secretary or the designated Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of hearing or an appropriate order.
As required by 10 CFR 2.714, a petition for leave to intervene shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in the proceeding and how that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding.
The petition should specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with particular rWerence to the following factors:
(1) the nature of the petitioner's right under the Act to be made party to the proc'eeding; (2) the nature and extent of the petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (3) the possible effect of any order that may be entered in the proceeding on the petitioner's interest. The petition should also identify the specific aspect (s) of the subject matter of t'he proceeding that the petitioner wishes to intervene. Any person who has filed a petition for leave to intervene or who has been admitted as a party may 4
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9 amend the petition without requesting leave of the Board up to 15 days prior to the first prehearing conference scheduled in the proceeding, but such an amended petition must satisfy the specificity requirements described above.
Not later than 15 days prior to the first prehearing conference scheduled in the proceeding, a petitioner shall file a supplement to the petition to intervene, which must include a list of the contentions that are sought to be litigated in the matter.
Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be raised or controverted.
In addition, the petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the bases of the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert opinion that supports the contention and on which the petitioner intends to rely in providing the contention at the hearing. The petitioner must also provide references to those specific sources and documents of which the petitioner is aware and on which the petitioner intends to rely to estW!ish those facts or expert opinion. The petitioner must provide sufficient Information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact. Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of the amendments under consideration. The contention must be one that, if proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. A petitioner who fails to file such a supplement that satisfies these requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
Those pemitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the hearing, including the opportunity to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.
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If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration. The final determination will serve to decide when the hearing is held.
If the final determination is that the amendment requests involve no significant hazards consideration, the Commission may issue the amendments and make them immediately effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing.
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l Any hearing held would take place after issuance of the amendments.
If the final determination is that the amendment requests involve a significant hazards consideration, any hearing held would take place before the issuance of any amendment.
A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Docketing and Services Branch, or may be delivered to the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, by the above date. When petitions are filed during the last 10 days of the notice period, it is requested that the petitioner promptly so inform the Commission by a toll-free telephone call to Western Union at 1-(800) 248-5100 (in Missouri 1(800) 342-6700). The Western Union operator should be given Datagram Identification 4
l Number N1023 and the following message addressed to Mr. John N. Hannon:
petitioner's name and telephone number, date petition war mailed, plant name, j
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and publication date and page number of this FEDERAL REGISTER notice. A copy of the petition should also be sent to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S.
i Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and to Gary Johnson, Northern States Power Company, 414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401, attorney for the licensee.
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Nontimely filings of petitions for leave to intervene, amended petitions, supplemental petitions, and/or requests for hearing will not be entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding officer or the presiding Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition and/or request should be granted on the basis of a balancir.g of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.714(a)(1)(i)-(v) and 2.714(d).
For further details with respect to this action, see the application for the transfer of control of licenses dated October 20, 1995, the application for amendments dated December 6,1995, and NSP's commitment to notify NRC of certain transfers of assets dated August 28, 1996, which are available' for public ',nspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at the 'lo' cal-public document room located at the Minneapolis Public Library, Technology and Scie'riIce' Department, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minnesota..
1st d'y of April 1997..
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4
a FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION-ORIGINALSIGN5D'BY Samuel J. Collins, Director /
T Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation ORIGINAL SIGNED BY Carl J. Paperiello, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 4
Safeguards DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\WPDOCS\\ PRAIRIE \\PI93963.0RD AND PIMERGER.SE *See previous concurrence-To recif ve a copy of this document, indicate in the box C= Copy w/o attachment / enclosure E= Cops with attachment / enclosure N a No co yy l0FFICE PM:PD31 E
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