[Federal Register: April 27, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 80)]
[Notices]               
[Page 22657-22658]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27ap99-98]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-443]

 
North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation, et al., Seabrook 
Station, Unit 1; Notice of Consideration of Approval of Application 
Regarding Proposed Corporate Merger 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 
indirect transfer of Facility Operating License No. NPF-86 for the 
Seabrook Station, Unit 1 (Seabrook Station), to the extent held by 
Canal Electric Company (Canal), one of 11 joint owners of the Seabrook 
Station. The indirect transfer would be to the new surviving company 
resulting from the planned merger of Commonwealth Energy System (CES), 
the parent company of Canal, and BEC Energy (BEC).
    According to the application by Canal for approval of the indirect 
transfer filed by North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation (North 
Atlantic), the licensing agent for the co-owners of Seabrook Station, 
Canal is a wholly owned subsidiary of CES. On December 5, 1998, CES and 
BEC entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger under which those 
entities will merge into a new surviving Massachusetts corporation (the 
``New Company''). Upon consummation of the merger, Canal will become a 
wholly-owned subsidiary of the New Company, thereby effecting an 
indirect transfer of Canal's interest in the Seabrook Station's 
Facility Operating License. North Atlantic, the sole licensed operator 
of the facility, would remain as the managing agent for the 11 joint 
owners of the facility and would continue to have exclusive 
responsibility for the management, operation and maintenance of the 
Seabrook Station. The application does not propose a change in the 
rights, obligations, or interests of the other joint owners of the 
Seabrook Station. In addition, no physical changes to the Seabrook 
Station or operational changes are being proposed. No direct transfer 
of the license will result from the proposed merger.
    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 proposed 
transfer of control 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 indirect license 
transfer application, is discussed below.
    By May 17, 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 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 Timothy N. Cronin, COM/Energy Services Company, One Main 
Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142-9150, attorney for COM/Energy 
Services Company; John A. Ritsher, Ropes & Gray, One International 
Place, Boston, Massachusetts 02110-2624, attorney for BEC Energy; John 
Cope-Flanagan, Esq. COM/Energy Services Company, One Main Street, P.O. 
Box 9150, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, attorney for Canal Electric 
Company; Lillian M. Cuoco, Esq., Senior Nuclear Counsel, Northeast 
Utilities Service Company, 107 Selden Street, Berlin, Connecticut, 
06037, attorney for North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation; 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 May 27, 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 February 2, 1999, submitted under cover of a letter 
dated February 11, 1998 [sic], and supplements dated February 23, March 
5, and March 17, 1999, which are available for public inspection at the

[[Page 22658]]

Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, 
NW., Washington, DC, and at the local public document room located at 
the Exeter Public Library, Founders Park, Exeter, NH 03833.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 15th day of April 1999.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John T. Harrison,
Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate I, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-10490 Filed 4-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P