ML20094L444

Application Under Exigent Circumstances to Extend Effective Period of NRC Approval of Transfer & Amend to OL NPF-42 in Connection W/Merger of Ksge W/Kansas Power & Light Co

ML20094L444
Person / Time
Site:	Wolf Creek
Issue date:	03/20/1992
From:	Brown K KANSAS GAS & ELECTRIC CO.
To:
Shared Package
ML20094L443	List: ML20094L442 ML20094L444
References
NUDOCS 9203250229
Download: ML20094L444 (10)

Text

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______

9 9

r UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Before the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Reculation ,

~

)

In the Matter of )

) Docket No. STN 50-482 KANSAS GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY ) License No. NPF-42 _

) "

(Wolf Creek Generating Station) )

)

. )

APPLICATION UNDER EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES TO-EXTEND EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF NRC APPRO7AL OF TRANSFER OF

-AND AMENDMENT TO OPERATING LICENSE NO. NPF-42 IN CONNECTION-WITH MERGER OF KANSAS GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY WITH KANSAS POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY P

This is an application under exigent circumstances for Commission approval, before March 31, 1992, of a two-month extension of the Commission's previous approval of the transfer,

- with conforming Amendment No. 53 to NPF-42, of Kansas Gas and Electric Company's.(Y.G&E) 47% possession-only interest in the-Wolf Creek Generating Station.' This transfer is being made to a D wholly-owned subsidiary _(KPL Sub) of'The $ansas Power and Light Company (KPL) in connection with'the-imminent merger of KG&E-into-i KPL Sub.- The Commission's approval,-given November 19, 1991,'was to become effective upon completion of the merger, provided the merger was completed on or before March'31,_1992.

For-reasons beyond the-control of the parties and explained below, it now appears that the merger may not be completed before 9203250229 920320

-PDR.

P ADOCK 05000482 PDR

m

~2-March 31, 1992. ' Failure to extend the approval " sunset" will imperil the entire merger. No substantive modification is being made to the previous request, which was already approved by the

- Commission in Amendment No. 53 to Operating License NPF-42.

Because-of the-unavoidable time pressure -- less than two calendar weeks remain before March 31 -- Commission action must take place in accordance with its " exigent circumstances" procedures,. set out-in 10 CFR S 50.91(a)(6).

The parties believe that an extension of two calendar months

-- through May 31, 1992 -- will be sufficient.

I. BACKGROUND On November 19, 1991, the Commission issued Amendment No. 53 to Facility Operating License NPF-42. That-Amendment contained the NRC's consent to the transfer of Kansas Gas and Electric Company's 47% possession-only interest in the Wolf Creek

- Generating-Station to a-wholly-owned subsidiary of The-Kansas Power and Light Companyl' in connection with the pending merger of-KG&E with KPL, and approved certain conforming revisions to ,

NPF-42 and its technical specifications._ The Commission's As'noted-and-approved in Amendment 53, KG&E (including--its interest in Wolf Creek)-will be merged with and into a wholly owned. subsidiary of KPL,.which will immediately be renamed Kansas Gas and Electric Company.

_ . _ . . _ _ . _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ . . ~ . . _ . _ _ _ _ _ . - _ . . _ _ _._ _ ,

. i approval was made effective upon the merger, provided that the merger be completed on or before March 31, 1992.I' All.necessary approvals for the merger have been obtained and the parties desire to complete it as soon as possible.

However, as the NRC has been informed, an anomalous sound occurred on February 28 during rectart of Wolf Creek after a

' forced outage that began on February 19, 1992. Prudent evaluation of that sound and implementation of corrective measures, if any are needed, may necessitate a brief delay in completion of the merger beyond March 31.

Because of this possibility, KG&E, with the concurrence of its prospective merger partner KPL, requests that the Commission

. act before March 31, 1992, to extend the " sunset date" for its approval of the merger for two months, to May 31, 1992. No revision-to the text of either Amendment No. 53 nor of the accompanying technical specification changes 11s needed. However, given the relationship between the approval window and the-substance of Amendment 53, expedited Commission cetion is.being requested pursuantoto the " exigent circumstances" provisions o'f 10 C.F.R. S 50.91(a)(6).

II The " sunset provision" in the Commission's approval is set out in the cover letter to the amendment, and in the Federal

. Register nctice_ publishing it, 56 Fed. Reg. 59964 (November-26, 1991). Neither the text of the amendment nor that of the conforming tech spec changes contains this_ limitation, however.

-.,,..w,

. , . . . , , ~ . - , . . , , ,-.,.-..,..,,,--,..,.n. .n.,-,.-_.- .. , , , , . - - - - - - . , , - , , - . - . ~ --.- --.-v.-: .,

4 II. EX1 GENT CIRCUMSTANCES.DEMONSTRfTlQl!

The Commission's regulations, at 10 C.F.R. S 50.91(a)(6),

permit the Commission to shorten its usual licensing notico procedures where it finds that oxigent circumstancca oxist, in that a licenseo and the Commission must act quickly and that timo does not permit a Podoral Register notico allowing 30 days for prior public comment., and it also determinos that the amendment involves no significant hazards considorations ....

1. Exiaont Circumstancos Exist A noise that has not yet boon fully assessed occurred on February 28 during Wolf Crook plant restart. It was immediately reported to the NRC, and site, regional and NRR personnel havo been working with plant operators and managemen; to ovaluate it ever since. All indications are that it is not of major satety significance to futuro plant operation, that l's is susceptible to ready remediation, and that consensus on its iuso and remedy _

will be available within the very near futuro However, as of today, March 20, that process has not yet boort completed.

The merger of KG&E into KPL Sub cannot prudently be consummat.ed until both parties are satisfied with the status of Wolf Croek.

The NRC's approval for the merger, iseued November 19, 1991, is offective through March 31, 1992. Until the occurrence of the noiso on February 28, thoro was no factor known which would have prevented the scheduled completion of the morger on March 16. As l

l

f

-5 I

the NRC has been advised,l' the closing date has been postponed beyond March 16 pending completion of the analysis.-The parties to_the: merger desire tofcomplete it as soon as possible following resolution of the cause of the noise. However, the managements of-KG&E and KPL will not allow the pendency of the morger to l pressure the Wolf Creek technical staff to reach an artificial or premature end to their work. Thus, it cannot be stated with certainty that the process will be completed before March 31.

Thus-NRC action before March 31 to extend the effective ,

period of its approval of the KG&E-KPL merger is essential to avoid imperiling the entire merger. Uaual NRC notice procedures relating to licensing actions contemplate several steps, including Federal Hecister publication with at least a 30-day prior notice period, which would make timely action impossible.

See 10'C.F.R. S 50.91(a)(2)(li).

.KG&E and.KPL believe that the problem leading to this request can be assessed, and the merger completed, with a two-month extension, i.e., to and including May 31, 1992.

The NRC has been continuously informed of developments

- relating'to-the sound ever'since its occurrence. NRC legal 1and

-management personnel were informed officially, by telephone and

' letter, on March'12,uns soon as KG&E and KPL had-jointly concluded-that the sound had the potential to prevent closing l' ' Letter, Donald P. Irwin (Hunton & Williams /KG&E) to Lawrence J. Chandler, Esq'. (NRC), March 12, 1992.

I

from occurring before March 31. This application ja being mado following further interim consultations with-NRC staff.

Thus, as required by S 50.91(a)(6), exigent _circumstancos exist, in that the licensoo and the Commission must act quickly with respect to a legitimato licensing action, and timo does not permit f ollowing the Commission's normal prior notico proceduros.

. 2. Tho I,1consoo Could not have Avoldod the Extaonc_y Section 50.91(a)(6)(vi) requires that the Commission

" require the licensee to explain the exigency and why the licensea cannot avoid it,"'and atates that the Commission will rely on its normal notico procedures "if it. determinos that the licenseo has f ailed - to uso its best ef fort.s to make a timely application fer the amendment in order to create the oxigency_and take advantage of-this procedure."

As described above,"the sound which has postponed completion h

of the KG&E-KPL morgor occurred without either warning or

- negligence on the part of-Wolf Crook Nuclear Operating.

Corporation, at an extremoly_ sensitive timo in relation to _

completion 1of the merger. The 11consoo has worked around tho clock to assess the situation and remedy it as soon as possible consistent with safe and prudent operation. They have also kept

the' Commission diligently-informed of the situation from the start. It would have been prematuro to request the Commission to extend the March 31 " sunset provision" on its earlier approval any.-earlier than has been done, since the need to do so could not

- have been foresoon with sufficient certainty before now. Thoro

4

-7 is no basis-to conclude anything other than that the licensee has used its concerted efforts to avoid the very exigency which now

. requires quick action on its part and that- of the Commission.i'

3. There is No Significant Hazards Consideration Associated with the Requested Extension This-request is for an extension of two calendar months --

to and including May 31, 1992 -- of the NRC's approval of the -

transfer of KG&E's 47% possession-only interest in the Wolf Creek plant to a wholly owned subsidiary of KPL upon consummation of the pending merger between KG&E and KPL, and of the associated license Amendment, No. 53. KG&E is not seeking any change whatever in the substance of the Commission's approvals of (a) the license transfer, (b) Amendment 53, or (c) the technical specifications promulgated with it. KG&E still requests that the amendment take place upon the consummation of its merger with KPL Sub . -

The NRC found in its initial consideration of this request

--that there was no significant hazards consideration associated I

il The request for Commission approval of transfer-of KG&E's interest'i.n the Wolf Creek license and the accompanying license amendment submitted by-KG&E did not propose any " sunset provision." The March 31, 1992 date was included at the instance of the Staff, in order to provide an administrative checkpoint on the proposed merger. There has never been any suggestion that 3 the March 31 date could not be extended for good cause.

1.........

-1 v

l with it. 56 Fed. Reg. 59964.F There is none associated with l this request for an extension of its self-imposed " sunset date."

The sound which occurred on February 28 does not inject any "significant hazards consideration" into this request. The operation of Wolf Creek is governed by the effective version of j NPF-43 and associated technical specifications, and the plant will continue to operate in accordance with them. Remedy of-the problem associated with the sound will lx) in accordance with that >

license. The approval reflected in Amendment 53 relates solely -

to ownership of an undivided property interest in the plant, and not to-its operation at all.

4. Notice to the Public Section-50.91(a)(6)(1) and subsequent provisions set in-place a series of procedures for the Commission to use under exigent circumstances, in order _to provide the general public with-the best possible notice. This section comments briefly on them.

The remaining time frame for action does not permit the two-week public-_ notice _ contemplated by S 50.91(6)(1)(A); a shorter notice period expiring before-March 31, combined with expedited publication of the notice, would be-possible.

Section 50.91(a)(6)(1)(B)fcontemplates-use of local media to circulate information on1the request. Local print media _ outlets F The Commission had also published a proposed NSH finding in-the Federal Register, 56 FR-22026 (May 13, 1991), and received neither_ comment nor-request for a hearing.

. . - . . . ~ . . -.- . . - - -- . . . . - - . - . - _ . - . - . - - . - -

A in KG&E's and KPL's service territories are set out in the original request to the Commission for the license transfer and license amendment. Those listings remain valid, to the best of KG&E's and KPL's knowledge. KG&E and KPL personnel will cooperate with the Commission in distributing any necessary notice to local media outlets.

KG&E and KPL would be interested in being informed,  ;

consistent with S 50.91(a)(6)(111), of any public comments on the notice of this request circulated by the NRC.

III. FEOUEST FOR RELIEF .

For the reasons stated above, KG&E, for itself and for its prospective merger partner KPL, requests that the Commission act under its exigent circumstances procedures and approve, before

-March 31, 1992, a two-month extension, through May 31, 1992, of the effectiveness _of its previous _ approval of the transfer of KG&E's interest _in the Wolf Creek operating license to KPL Sub upon-the occurrence of the merger between KG&E and__KPL Sub.

, e ,+ r- - rw.e, w o. y--- -- = y -.--.y

3 s

STATE OF KANSAS )

) as -

COUNTY OF SEDGWICK )

KENT R. DROWN, being first duly sworn, on his oath, states that he is Group Vice President of Kansas Gas and Electric Company, that he is authorized on the part of said Corporation to sign and file with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this application; that he has read all of t.ho statements contained in such application; and that all such statements made and matters set forth herein are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information and belief.

j '- (~

AvDF t - Lh rawW~.~

Kent H. Brown SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me, a Notary Public in

, and for.the Stato and County above named, this 20th day of March, 1992.

xtl f/Ly.g:nd' t/otary lihblic My Appointment Expires:

l}4a,

, 26 /9f5

~Y I

t

..y- +w , y -w-e - -, .m + v.