Northern States Power Company; Notice of Consideration of Issuance of a Materials License for the Storage of Spent Fuel and Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48989-48990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23757]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-18]


Northern States Power Company; Notice of Consideration of 
Issuance of a Materials License for the Storage of Spent Fuel and 
Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering an application 
dated August 7, 1996, for a materials license, under the provisions of 
10 CFR Part 72, from Northern States Power Company (the applicant or 
NSP) to possess spent fuel and other radioactive materials associated 
with spent fuel storage in an off-site independent spent fuel storage 
installation (ISFSI) located in Goodhue County, Minnesota. If granted, 
the license will authorize the applicant to store spent fuel in a dry 
storage cask system at the off-site ISFSI which the applicant proposes 
to construct and operate in Goodhue County, Minnesota. Pursuant to the 
provisions of 10 CFR Part 72, the term of the license for the ISFSI 
would be twenty (20) years. The NRC has previously granted the 
applicant a license to store up to forty eight (48) casks on-site at 
the Prairie Island Power Plant located in Welch, MN. However, a 
Minnesota law requires that NSP develop an off-site facility.
    Prior to issuance of the requested license, the NRC will have made 
the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the 
Act), and the NRC's rules and regulations. The issuance of the 
materials license will not be approved until the NRC has reviewed the 
application and has concluded that approval of the license will not be 
inimical to the common defense and security and will not constitute an 
unreasonable risk to public health and safety. The NRC, in accordance 
with 10 CFR Part 51.20(b)(9), will complete an environmental impact 
statement. This action will be the subject of a subsequent notice in 
the Federal Register. Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.105, by October 17, 1996, 
the applicant may file a request for a hearing; and any person whose 
interest may be affected by this proceeding and who wishes to 
participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written request 
for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene with respect to the 
subject materials license in accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR 
2.714. If a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene is 
filed by the above date, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 
designated by the Commission or by the Chairman of the Atomic Safety 
and Licensing Board Panel will rule on the request and/or petition, and 
the Secretary or the designated Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will 
issue a notice of hearing or an appropriate order. In the event that no 
request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed by the 
above date, the NRC may, upon satisfactory completion of all required 
evaluations, issue the materials license without further prior notice.
    A petition for leave to intervene shall set forth with 
particularity the interest of the petitioner in the proceeding and how 
that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding. The 
petition should specifically explain the reasons why intervention 
should be permitted with particular reference to the following factors: 
(1) The nature of the petitioner's right under the Act to be made a 
party to the proceeding; (2) the nature and extent of the petitioner's 
property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (3) the 
possible effect of any order that may be entered in the proceeding on 
the petitioner's interest. The petition should also identify the 
specific aspect(s) of the subject matter of the proceeding as to which 
petitioner wishes to intervene. Any person who has filed a petition for 
leave to intervene or who has been admitted as a party may amend a 
petition, without requesting leave of the Board, up to 15 days prior to 
the holding of the first pre-hearing conference scheduled in the 
proceeding, but such an amended petition must satisfy the specificity 
requirements described above.
    Not later than fifteen (15) days prior to the first pre-hearing 
conference scheduled in the proceeding, a petitioner shall file a 
supplement to the petition to intervene which must include a list of 
contentions which are sought to be litigated in the matter. Each 
contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue of law or 
fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the petitioner shall 
provide a brief explanation of the bases of the contention and a 
concise statement of the alleged facts or expert opinion which support 
the contention and on which the petitioner intends to rely in proving 
the contention at the hearing. The petitioner must also provide 
references to those specific sources and documents of which the 
petitioner is aware and on which the petitioner intends to rely to 
establish those facts or expert opinion. Petitioner must provide 
sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the 
applicant on a material issue of law or fact. Contentions shall be 
limited to matters within the scope of the action

[[Page 48990]]

under consideration. The contention must be one which, if proven, would 
entitle the petitioner to relief. A petitioner who fails to file such a 
supplement which satisfied these requirements with respect to at least 
one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, 
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing.
    A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must 
be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Docketing and Services 
Branch, or may be delivered to the Commission's Public Document Room, 
Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC, by the above date. 
Where petitions are filed during the last ten (10) days of the notice 
period, it is requested that the petitioner promptly so inform the NRC 
by a toll-free telephone call to Western Union at 1-(800) 248-5100 (in 
Missouri 1-(800) 342-6700). The Western Union operator should be given 
Datagram Identification Number N1023 and the following message 
addressed to Dr. William D. Travers, Director, Spent Fuel Project 
Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards; petitioner's 
name and telephone number; date petition was mailed; plant name; and 
publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. A 
copy of the petition should also be sent to the Office of the General 
Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and 
to Mr. Gary Johnson, Esq., Vice President, General Counsel, and 
Corporate Secretary, Northern States Power Company, 414 Nicollet Mall, 
Minneapolis, MN 55401.
    Non-timely filings of petitions for leave to intervene, amended 
petitions, supplemental petitions, and/or requests for hearing will not 
be entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
Officer, or the presiding Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the 
petition and/or request should be granted based upon a balancing of the 
factors specified in 10 CFR 2.714(a)(1)(i)-(v) and 2.714(d).
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application dated August 7, 1996, which is available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20555, and at the local public document room at the 
Minneapolis Public Library, Technology and Science Department, 300 
Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401. The Commission's license and 
safety evaluation report, when issued, may be inspected at the above 
locations.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of September 1996.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William D. Travers,
Director, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 96-23757 Filed 9-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P