Federal Register, Volume 64 Issue 231 (Thursday, December 2, 1999)

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 231 (Thursday, December 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67598-67600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31269]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-461]


Illinois Power Company (Clinton Power Station); Order Approving 
Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment

I.

    Illinois Power Company (IP or the licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating License No. NPF-62, which authorizes operation of 
the Clinton Power Station (CPS or the facility) at steady-state power 
levels not in excess of 2894 megawatts thermal. The facility is located 
at the licensee's site in DeWitt County, Illinois. The license 
authorizes IP to maintain and operate the facility.

II.

    Under cover of a letter dated July 23, 1999, IP and AmerGen Energy 
Company, LLC, jointly submitted an application requesting approval of 
the proposed transfer of the CPS facility operating license to AmerGen 
Energy Company, LLC. The licensee and AmerGen also jointly submitted an 
application for a conforming amendment to reflect the transfer. 
Supplemental information was provided under cover of letters dated July 
30, August 9, August 20, October 7, and October 11, 1999. Hereinafter, 
the July 23, 1999, license transfer application and supplemental 
information will be referred to collectively as the ``application.''
    AmerGen is a limited liability company that was formed to acquire 
and operate nuclear power plants in the United States. PECO Energy 
Company (PECO) and British Energy, Inc., each own a 50-percent interest 
in AmerGen. British Energy, Inc., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of 
British Energy, plc. After completion of the proposed transfer, AmerGen 
would be the sole owner and operator of CPS. The conforming amendment 
would remove the current licensee and the antitrust license conditions, 
applicable to IP, from the facility operating license and would add 
AmerGen in place of IP.
    Approval of the transfer of the facility operating license and the 
conforming license amendment was requested by IP and AmerGen pursuant 
to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of the application for approval and 
an opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal Register on 
August 19, 1999 (64 FR 45290). The Commission received one set of 
comments dated September 20 and November 2, 1999, from The 
Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest and forwarded those 
comments to the NRC staff for its consideration, and also to IP and 
AmerGen. The comments contained in those letters are addressed in the 
staff's safety evaluation dated November 24, 1999.
    Under 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. Upon 
review of the information in the application by IP and AmerGen, and 
other information before the Commission, and relying upon the 
representations and agreements contained in the application, the NRC 
staff has determined that AmerGen is qualified to hold the license and 
that the transfer of

[[Page 67599]]

the license to AmerGen is otherwise consistent with applicable 
provisions of law, 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, and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in 10 
CFR Chapter 1; the facility will operate in conformity with the 
application, 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 license 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 staff's safety evaluation dated 
November 24, 1999.

III.

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234, 
and 10 CFR 50.80, It is hereby ordered that the transfer of the license 
as described herein to AmerGen is approved, subject to the following 
conditions:
    (1) The AmerGen Limited Liability Company Agreement dated August 
18, 1997, and any subsequent amendments thereto as of the date of this 
Order, may not be modified in any material respect concerning decision-
making authority over ``safety issues'' as defined therein without the 
prior written consent of the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
    (2) At least half of the members of AmerGen's Management Committee 
shall be appointed by a nonforeign member group, all of which 
appointees shall be U.S. citizens.
    (3) The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Nuclear Officer (CNO) 
(if someone other than the CEO), and Chairman of the Management 
Committee of AmerGen shall be U.S. citizens. These individuals shall 
have the responsibility and exclusive authority to ensure, and shall 
ensure, that the business and activities of AmerGen with respect to the 
CPS license are at all times conducted in a manner consistent with the 
protection of the public health and safety and common defense and 
security of the United States.
    (4) AmerGen shall cause to be transmitted to the Director, Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, within 30 days of filing with the U.S. 
Securities and Exchange Commission, any Schedules 13D or 13G filed 
pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that disclose 
beneficial ownership of any registered class of PECO stock.
    (5) AmerGen is required to provide decommissioning funding 
assurance of no less than $210 million, after payment of any taxes, 
that will be deposited in the decommissioning trust fund for CPS at the 
time of CPS's transfer to AmerGen.
    (6) The decommissioning trust agreement for CPS must be in a form 
acceptable to the NRC.
    (7) With respect to the decommissioning trust fund, investments in 
the securities or other obligations of PECO, British Energy, Inc., 
AmerGen, or affiliates thereof, or their successors or assigns shall be 
prohibited. Except for investments tied to market indexes or other 
nonnuclear sector mutual funds, investments in any entity owning one or 
more nuclear power plants are prohibited.
    (8) The decommissioning trust agreement for CPS must provide that 
no disbursements or payments from the trust shall be made by the 
trustee until the trustee has first given the NRC 30 days prior written 
notice of payment. The decommissioning trust agreement shall further 
contain a provision that no disbursements or payments from the trust 
shall be made if the trustee receives prior written notice of objection 
from the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
    (9) The decommissioning trust agreement must provide that the 
agreement cannot be amended in any material respect without the prior 
written consent of the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
    (10) The appropriate section of the decommissioning trust agreement 
shall reflect that the trustee, investment advisor, or anyone else 
directing the investments made in the trust shall adhere to a ``prudent 
investor'' standard, as specified in 18 CFR 35.32(a)(3) of the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission's regulations.
    (11) AmerGen shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the 
decommissioning trust is maintained in accordance with the application 
for approval of the transfer of the Clinton license and the 
requirements of this Order approving the transfer, and consistent with 
the safety evaluation supporting this Order.
    (12) AmerGen shall take no action to cause PECO or British Energy, 
Inc., to void, cancel, or diminish the $110 million contingency 
commitment from PECO and British Energy, plc, the existence of which is 
represented in the application, or cause them to fail to perform or 
impair their performance under the commitment, or remove or interfere 
with AmerGen's ability to draw upon the commitment. Also, AmerGen shall 
inform the NRC in writing at any time that it draws upon the $110 
million commitment.
    (13) AmerGen shall, prior to the completion of the sale and 
transfer of CPS to it, provide the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, satisfactory documentary evidence that AmerGen has obtained 
the appropriate amount of insurance required of licensees under 10 CFR 
Part 140 of the Commission's regulations.
    (14) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
transfer of CPS, IP and AmerGen shall inform the Director, Office of 
Nuclear Regulation, in writing of such receipt within five business 
days, and of the date of the closing of the sale and transfer of CPS no 
later than seven business days prior to the date of closing. Should the 
transfer of the license not be completed by December 31, 2000, this 
Order shall become null and void, provided, however, on written 
application and for good cause shown, such date may in writing be 
extended.
    It is further ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), a 
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 license transfer is approved. The amendment shall 
be issued and made effective at the time the proposed license transfer 
is completed.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the initial 
application dated July 23, 1999, and supplemental submittals dated July 
30, August 9, August 20, October 7, and October 11, 1999, which are 
available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document 
Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and 
accessible electronically through the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading 
Room link at the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of November 1999.


[[Page 67600]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Sheron,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-31269 Filed 12-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P