03-30359. Duke Energy Corporation; Notice of Withdrawal of Application for Amendment to Facility Operating License

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) has granted the request of Duke Energy Corporation (the licensee) to withdraw its February 27, 2003, application for proposed amendment to Facility Operating License No. NPF-9 and NPF-17 for the McGuire Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2, located in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

The proposed amendment would have revised the Technical Specifications to allow the use of four mixed oxide (MOX) fuel lead test (LTA) assemblies at either of the Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2, (Catawba) or the McGuire Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2.

The Commission had previously issued a Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment published in the Federal Register on July 25, 2003 (68 FR 44107). However, by letter dated September 23, 2003, the licensee amended the application to apply only to the use of MOX LTAs at the Catawba units and not to the McGuire units. The NRC staff is treating this as a withdrawal of application for amendment dated February 27, 2003, for McGuire.

For further details with respect to this action, see the application for amendment dated February 27, 2003, and the licensee's letter dated September 23, 2003, which is being treated as a withdrawal of application for amendment. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the internet at the NRC Web site, http://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, or 301-415-4737 or by email to [e-mail].

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 2nd day of December 2003.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Robert E. Martin,

Senior Project Manager, Section 1, Project Directorate II, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.