In the Matter of Duke Energy Florida, Inc., and Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc., Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant, 63503-63504 [2016-22232]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 179 (Thursday, September 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63503-63504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22232]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-302; NRC-2011-0024]


In the Matter of Duke Energy Florida, Inc., and Seminole Electric 
Cooperative, Inc., Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Direct transfer of license; order.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
order approving the direct transfer of the 1.6994 percent of Crystal 
River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant (CR-3) currently owned by 
Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SEC), to Duke Energy Florida, Inc. 
(DEF). The NRC is also amending the facility-operating license for 
administrative purposes to reflect the license transfer of the 1.6994 
percent ownership from SEC to DEF. The NRC confirmed that the transfer 
of the license is otherwise consistent with the applicable provisions 
of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission. The order 
approving the transfer of the 1.6994 percent of CR-3 currently owned by 
SEC, to DEF became effective on August 10, 2016.

DATES: The Order was issued on August 10, 2016, and is effective for 
one year.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2011-0024 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2011-0024. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; or via email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, 
contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at: https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, 
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at: 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or via email to: pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 
The license transfer Order, the NRC safety evaluation supporting the 
staff's findings, and the conforming license amendment are available in 
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML16123A073, ML16123A074, and ML16123A057, 
respectively.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John B. Hickman, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3017, email: 
John.Hickman@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of September 2016.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrea L. Kock,
 Deputy Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and 
Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

Attachment--Order Approving the Transfer of License and Conforming 
Amendment

United States of America

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

    In the Matter of Duke Energy Florida, Inc.; Crystal River Unit 3 
Nuclear Generating Plant

Docket No. 50-302
License No. DPR-72

Order Approving Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment

I.

    Duke Energy Florida, Inc. (DEF or the applicant) and Seminole 
Electric Cooperative, Inc., are holders of Facility Operating 
License No. DPR-72, which authorizes the possession of the Crystal 
River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant (CR-3). Facility Operating 
License No. DPR-72 also authorizes DEF (currently owner of 98.3006 
percent of CR-3) to use and operate CR-3. CR-3 is located in Red 
Level, Florida, in Citrus County, about 5 miles south of Levy

[[Page 63504]]

County. The site is 7.5 miles northwest of Crystal River, Florida, 
and 90 miles north of St. Petersburg, Florida. CR-3 is situated on 
the Gulf of Mexico, within the Crystal River Energy Complex.
    CR-3 has been shut down since September 26, 2009, and the final 
removal of fuel from the reactor vessel was completed on May 28, 
2011. By letter dated February 20, 2013, the licensee submitted a 
certification to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of 
permanent cessation of power operations and the removal of fuel from 
the reactor vessel, pursuant to Sections 50.82(a)(1)(i) and 
50.82(a)(1)(ii) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR). Upon docketing of this certification, the 10 CFR part 50 
license for CR-3 no longer authorizes operation of the reactor or 
emplacement or retention of fuel into the reactor vessel, as 
specified in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2).

II.

    By application dated July 28, 2015, as supplemented by letter 
dated September 22, 2015 (collectively, the application), DEF 
requested that the NRC approve the direct transfer of control of 
Facility Operating License No. DPR-72 for CR-3, to the extent held 
by Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc., to DEF. Seminole Electric 
Cooperative, Inc. currently owns 1.6994 percent of CR-3. As a result 
of the transaction, DEF will become the sole owner of CR-3.
    The applicant also requested approval of a conforming 
administrative license amendment that would remove the references to 
Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc., in the license. DEF did not 
propose any physical changes to the facilities or operational 
changes in the application. After completion of the proposed 
transfer, DEF will be the sole owner of CR-3, and DEF will remain 
the operator of the facility.
    DEF requested approval of the direct transfer of the facility 
operating license and the conforming license amendment pursuant to 
10 CFR 50.80, ``Transfer of licenses,'' and 10 CFR 50.90, 
``Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or 
early site permit.'' A notice entitled, ``Crystal River Nuclear 
Generating Plant, Unit 3; Consideration of Approval of Transfer of 
License and Conforming Amendment,'' was published in the Federal 
Register on January 4, 2016 (81 FR 98). The NRC did not receive any 
public comments regarding the proposed license 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 provides its consent 
in writing. Upon review of the information in the licensee's 
application and other information before the Commission, and relying 
upon the representations and agreements contained in the 
application, the NRC staff has determined that DEF is qualified to 
hold the ownership interests in the facility previously held by 
Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. The NRC staff has also 
determined that the direct transfer of ownership interests in the 
facility to DEF, as described in the application, is otherwise 
consistent with applicable provisions of laws, regulations, and 
orders issued by the Commission, subject to the conditions set forth 
below. The NRC staff has further found that the application for the 
proposed license amendment complies with the standards and 
requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), 
and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR 
Chapter I; the facility will operate in conformity with the 
applications, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and 
regulations of the Commission; there is reasonable assurance that 
the activities authorized by the proposed license amendment can be 
conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public 
and that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the 
Commission's regulations; the issuance of the proposed license 
amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or 
to the health and safety of the public; and the issuance of the 
proposed amendment will be in accordance with 10 CFR part 51 of the 
Commission's regulations and all applicable requirements have been 
satisfied.
    The findings set forth above are supported by the NRC safety 
evaluation dated August 10, 2016.

III.

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o and 184 of 
the Act, 42 U.S.C. Sections 2201(b), 2201(i), 2201(o) and 2234; and 
10 CFR 50.80, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the direct transfer of the 
license, as described herein, to DEF is approved, subject to the 
following condition:
    1. DEF shall provide satisfactory documentary evidence to the 
Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards 
that it has obtained the insurance required of a licensee under 10 
CFR part 140, ``Financial Protection Requirements and Indemnity 
Agreements,'' in the appropriate amount pursuant to the exemption to 
10 CFR 140.11(a)(4) granted to DEF by NRC letter dated April 27, 
2015 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) 
Accession No. ML14183B338).
    It is further ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), 
the license amendment that makes changes, as indicated in Enclosure 
2 to the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform the license 
to reflect the subject direct license transfer is approved. The 
license amendment shall be issued and made effective at the time the 
proposed direct transfer is completed.
    It is further ordered that after receipt of all required 
regulatory approvals of the proposed direct transfer action, DEF 
shall inform the Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards in writing of such receipt, and the date of closing 
of the transfer no later than one business day prior to the date of 
the closing of the direct transfer. Should the direct transfer not 
be completed within 1 year of this Order's date of issue, this Order 
shall become null and void, provided, however, that upon written 
application and good cause shown, such date may be extended by 
Order.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the initial 
application dated July 28, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15216A123), 
as supplemented by letter dated September 22, 2015 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML15265A590), and the safety evaluation dated August 10, 2016 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16173A019), which are available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located 
at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21 (First 
Floor), Rockville, Maryland, and accessible electronically though 
the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC 
Web site, https://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 email at 
pdr.resource@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of August 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Scott W. Moore,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.


[FR Doc. 2016-22232 Filed 9-14-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P