[Federal Register: May 2, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 85)]
[Notices]
[Page 22019-22020]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02my01-139]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-482]
Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, Wolf Creek Generating
Station; Notice of Consideration of Approval of Application Regarding
Proposed Corporate Restructuring of Kansas City Power & Light Company
and Opportunity for a Hearing
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is
considering issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 approving the
indirect transfer of Facility Operating License No. NPF-42 for Wolf
Creek Generating Station (WCGS) as held by Kansas City Power & Light
Company (KCPL), one of three joint owners of WCGS, and Wolf Creek
Nuclear Operating Corporation, the operator of the facility, to a new
holding company for KCPL, to the extent such indirect transfer would
occur in connection with a proposed restructuring of KCPL. The facility
is located in Coffey County, Kansas.
According to the February 20, 2001, application filed by KCPL,
which was supplemented by letters dated February 27, March 5, and March
8, 2001, from counsel for KCPL, the proposed restructuring of KCPL
encompasses the formation of a newly formed holding company as yet
unnamed (``HoldingCo''). Upon the proposed restructuring, KCPL will
cease to be publicly-traded and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of
HoldingCo, but it will retain ownership of its regulated electric power
generation, transmission, and distribution assets, including its
interests in WCGS and Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (WCNOC).
No direct transfer of the license as now held by KCPL and WCNOC to
HoldingCo is being proposed.
WCNOC would remain as the managing agent for the joint owner
licensees (KCPL, Kansas Gas and Electric Company, and Kansas Electric
[[Page 22020]]
Power Cooperative, Inc.) of the facility and would continue to have
exclusive responsibility for the management, operation, and maintenance
of WCGS as the non-owner operator licensee. The application does not
propose a change in the rights, obligations, or interests of the
licensees of WCGS. In addition, no physical changes to WCGS or
operational changes are being proposed.
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 underlying
transaction that will effectuate the indirect transfer will not affect
the qualifications of the holder of 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.
By May 22, 2001, any person whose interest may be affected by the
Commission's 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 Commission's action. 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 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 counsel for KCPL, Robert W. Warnement, Skadden, Arps,
Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, 1440 New York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20005-2111; 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 June 1, 2001, 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 license
transfer application filed by KCPL dated February 20, 2001, and the
supplemental letters dated February 27, March 5, and March 8, 2001,
from counsel for KCPL, which are available for public inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, and accessible
electronically through the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room link at
the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of April 2001.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Jack N. Donohew,
Senior Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate IV and
Decommissioning, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-10966 Filed 5-1-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P