[Federal Register: January 29, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 19)]
[Notices]               
[Page 4726]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29ja99-138]


[[Page 4726]]

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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 Transfer of Facility 
Operating LIcense and Issuance of 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-42 for the Wolf Creek 
Generating Station (WCGS) to the extent held by Kansas Gas and Electric 
Company (KGE) and Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCPL). The 
transfer would be to NKC, Inc., which will later be renamed Westar 
Energy, Inc. The Commission is also considering amending the license 
for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer.
    As described in an application for approval submitted by KGE, KCPL, 
NKC, Inc., and Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (WCNOC), which 
is the exclusive licensed operator of WCGS, KGE, KCPL, and Western 
Resources, Inc., the parent of KGE, are planning a merger under which a 
new company will be established, Westar Energy, Inc. At the completion 
of the merger, Westar Energy will be approximately 80 percent owned by 
Western Resources, and will have acquired the assets and liabilities of 
KGE and KCPL. Specifically, it is planned that Westar Energy will 
succeed to the rights and obligations of KGE and KCPL as owners and 
licensees of WCGS. Presently, KGE and KCPL each hold a 47% ownership 
interest in WCGS, with Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (KEP) 
holding a 6% ownership interest. According to the application, WCNOC 
will continue to be the exclusive operator of WCGS following the 
proposed merger, while KEP's ownership interest will not change. In 
addition, no physical changes are being proposed to WCGS in connection 
with the proposed transfer of the interests of KGE and KCPL in the WCGS 
license to Westar Energy, and there will be no change in the management 
organization of WCNOC or the qualifications of its technical personnel. 
In addition to seeking approval of the transfer of the WCGS license, to 
the extent held by KGE and KCPL, to Westar Energy, the application 
requests amendment of the WCGS license, for administrative purposes, to 
reflect the 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 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 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.
    By March 1, 1999, any person whose interest may be affected by the 
Commission's action on the application may request a hearing, and, if 
not the applicants, 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 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 Jay Silberg, Esq., Shaw, Pittman, Potts, and Trowbridge, 
2300 N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037; the General Counsel, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; 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 1999, 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 October 27, 1998, and supplement dated November 10, 
1998, available for public inspection at the Commission's Public 
Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, 
and at the local public document rooms located at Emporia State 
University, William Allen White Library, 1200 Commercial Street, 
Emporia, Kansas 66801, and at the Washburn University School of Law 
Library, Topeka, Kansas 66621.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of January 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Chet Poslusny,
Senior Project Manager, Project Directorate IV-2, Division of Reactor 
Projects III/IV, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-2132 Filed 1-28-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P