ML021490140

Notice of Consideration of Approval of Transfer of Facility Operating License and Issuance of Conforming Amendment and Opportunity for a Hearing - Seabrook Station, Unit No. 1

ML021490140
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	06/05/2002
From:	Starkey R NRC/NRR/DLPM/LPD1
To:	Feigenbaum T North Atlantic Energy Service Corp
Starkey D
References
TAC MB5097
Download: ML021490140 (9)

Text

June 5, 2002 Mr. Ted C. Feigenbaum Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation c/o Mr. James M. Peschel P.O. Box 300 Seabrook, NH 03874

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF TRANSFER OF FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT, AND OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEARING- SEABROOK STATION, UNIT NO. 1 (TAC NO. MB5097)

Dear Mr. Feigenbaum Enclosed is a copy of a "Notice of Consideration of Approval of Transfer of the Facility Operating License and Conforming Amendment, and Opportunity for a Hearing" related to the application dated May 17, 2002, filed by North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (NAESCO) and FPL Energy Seabrook, LLC (FPLE Seabrook). The application (pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80) seeks approval of the proposed transfer of the Seabrook Station, Unit No.1, Facility Operating License No. NPF-86, to the extent held by NAESCO, as the licensed operator of the facility, and certain co-owners of the facility, on whose behalf NAESCO is also acting, to FPLE Seabrook.

The application also seeks (pursuant to 10 CFR 50.90) the issuance of a conforming amendment to the license to reflect the transfer.

This notice is being forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Robert D. Starkey, Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-443

Enclosure:

Notice cc w/encl: See next page

Mr. Ted C. Feigenbaum Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation c/o Mr. James M. Peschel P.O. Box 300 Seabrook, NH 03874

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF TRANSFER OF FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT, AND OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEARING- SEABROOK STATION, UNIT NO. 1 (TAC NO. MB5097)

Dear Mr. Feigenbaum Enclosed is a copy of a "Notice of Consideration of Approval of Transfer of the Facility Operating License and Conforming Amendment, and Opportunity for a Hearing" related to the application dated May 17, 2002, filed by North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (NAESCO) and FPL Energy Seabrook, LLC (FPLE Seabrook). The application (pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80) seeks approval of the proposed transfer of the Seabrook Station, Unit No.1, Facility Operating License No. NPF-86, to the extent held by NAESCO, as the licensed operator of the facility, and certain co-owners of the facility, on whose behalf NAESCO is also acting, to FPLE Seabrook.

The application also seeks (pursuant to 10 CFR 50.90) the issuance of a conforming amendment to the license to reflect the transfer.

This notice is being forwarded to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Robert D. Starkey, Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-443

Enclosure:

Notice cc w/encl: See next page Distribution:

PUBLIC ACRS PD I-2 Reading T. Clark S. Richards S. Hom, OGC J. Clifford C. Cowgill, RI D. Starkey Accession No.: ML021490140 *see previous concurrence OFFICE PDI-2/PM PDI-2/LA OGC* PDI-2/SC NAME DStarkey TClark SHom JClifford DATE 6/4/02 6/4/02 5/28/02 6/5/02 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

7590-01-P UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION NORTH ATLANTIC ENERGY SERVICE CORPORATION SEABROOK STATION, UNIT NO. 1 DOCKET NO. 50-443 NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF TRANSFER OF FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT, 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 approving the transfer of Facility Operating License No. NPF-86 to the extent currently held by North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (NAESCO), as the licensed operator and a non-owner of Seabrook Station, Unit No. 1 (Seabrook Station) and by certain owners of Seabrook Station (Selling Owners). The transfer would be to FPL Energy Seabrook, LLC (FPLE Seabrook), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of FPL Energy, LLC (FPLE), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of FPL Group Capital, Inc.,

which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (FPL Group). The Commission is also considering amending the license for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer.

The following is a list of the Selling Owners who hold ownership interests in Seabrook Station and their respective interests:

Selling Owners Percent North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation 35.98201 The United Illuminating Company 17.50000 Great Bay Power Corporation 12.13240 New England Power Company 9.95766 The Connecticut Light and Power Company 4.05985 Canal Electric Company 3.52317 Little Bay Power Corporation 2.89989 New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, Inc. 2.17391 Total Ownership Included in Sale 88.22889 Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company which holds a 11.59340%

ownership interest, Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant which holds a 0.10034% ownership interest, and Hudson Light and Power Department which holds a 0.07737% ownership interest in Seabrook Station are not involved in the subject license transfer.

According to an application for approval filed by NAESCO on behalf of itself and the Selling Owners, FPLE Seabrook would assume title to the acquired ownership interests in the facility following approval of the proposed license transfer, and would be responsible for the operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning of Seabrook Station. No physical changes to the facility or operational changes are being proposed in the application.

The proposed amendment would replace references to NAESCO in the license as the operator of Seabrook Station with references to FPLE Seabrook, make changes consistent with FPLE Seabrooks acquisition of the ownership interests of the Selling Owners, and delete the Selling Owners from the license to reflect the proposed transfer.

While the application contemplates that all of the Selling Owners will eventually transfer their respective interests in the facility to FPLE Seabrook, albeit not necessarily on the same closing date, the NRC is also considering approving the application such that in the event one or more Selling Owners do not or are unable to complete their transfers, the remaining Selling Owners will be authorized nonetheless to transfer their interests to FPLE Seabrook.

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 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 Commissions 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.

By July 5, 2002, any person whose interest may be affected by the Commissions action on the application may request a hearing and, if not the applicant, may petition for leave to intervene in a hearing proceeding on the Commissions action. Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene should be filed in accordance with the Commissions rules of practice set forth in Subpart M, Public Notification, Availability of Documents and Records, Hearing Requests and Procedures for Hearings on License Transfer Applications, of 10 CFR Part 2. In particular, such requests and petitions must comply with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR 2.1306, and should address the considerations contained in 10 CFR 2.1308(a).

Untimely requests and petitions may be denied, as provided in 10 CFR 2.1308(b), 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 2.1308(b)(1)-(2).

Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene should be served upon Mitchell S. Ross, Counsel for FPLE Seabrook, FPL Energy, LLC, Law Department, 700 Universe Boulevard, P.O. Box 14000, Juno Beach, FL 33408-0420, Phone: 561-691-7126, Fax:

561-691-7135, e-mail: Mitch_Ross@fpl.com; and William J. Quinlan, Deputy General Counsel, Northeast Utilities, P.O. Box 270, Hartford, CT 06141, Phone: 860-665-3761, Fax: 860-665-5504, e-mail: quinlwj@nu.com; the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555 (e-mail address for filings regarding license transfer cases only:

OGCLT@NRC.gov); and the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.1313.

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.

As an alternative to requests for hearing and petitions to intervene, by July 15, 2002, 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 action, see the application dated May 17, 2002, available for public inspection at the Commissions Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (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, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 5th day of June.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

Robert D. Starkey, Project Manager, Section 2 Project Directorate I Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Seabrook Station, Unit No. 1 cc:

William J. Quinlan, Esq. Mr. Stephen McGrail, Director Assistant General Counsel ATTN: James Muckerheide Northeast Utilities Service Company Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency P.O. Box 270 400 Worcester Road Hartford, CT 06141-0270 Framingham, MA 01702-5399 Mr. Peter Brann Philip T. McLaughlin, Attorney General Assistant Attorney General Steven M. Houran, Deputy Attorney State House, Station #6 General Augusta, ME 04333 33 Capitol Street Concord, NH 03301 Resident Inspector U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mr. Donald Bliss, Director Seabrook Nuclear Power Station New Hampshire Office of Emergency P.O. Box 1149 Management Seabrook, NH 03874 State Office Park South 107 Pleasant Street Town of Exeter Concord, NH 03301 10 Front Street Exeter, NH 03823 Mr. Daniel G. Roy Nuclear Training Manager Regional Administrator, Region I Seabrook Station U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission North Atlantic Energy Service Corp.

475 Allendale Road P.O. Box 300 King of Prussia, PA 19406 Seabrook, NH 03874 Office of the Attorney General Mr. James M. Peschel One Ashburton Place Manager - Regulatory Programs 20th Floor Seabrook Station Boston, MA 02108 North Atlantic Energy Service Corp.

P.O. Box 300 Board of Selectmen Seabrook, NH 03874 Town of Amesbury Town Hall Mr. Gene F. St. Pierre Amesbury, MA 01913 Station Director Seabrook Station Mr. Dan McElhinney North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation Federal Emergency Management Agency P.O. Box 300 Region I Seabrook, NH 03874 J.W. McCormack P.O. &

Courthouse Building, Room 401 Mr. Frank W. Getman, Jr.

Boston, MA 02109 President and Chief Executive Officer BayCorp Holdings, LTD 20 International Drive, Suite 301 Portsmouth, NH 03801-6809

Seabrook Station, Unit No. 1 cc:

Mr. Bruce D. Kenyon President and Chief Executive Officer Northeast Utilities Service Company P.O. Box 270 Hartford, CT 06141-0270 Mr. Steve Allen Polestar Applied Technology, Inc.

77 Franklin Street, Suite 507 Boston, MA 02110