[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 74 (Monday, April 19, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19202-19204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9748]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-289]
GPU Nuclear, Inc., et al.; Three Mile Island, Unit No. 1; Order
Approving Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment
I
GPU Nuclear, Inc., (GPUN or the licensee), Metropolitan Edison
Company (Met-Ed), Jersey Central Power and Light Company (JCP&L), and
Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec) are the holders of Facility
Operating License No. DPR-50, which authorizes operation of Three Mile
Island Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1 (TMI-1 or the facility) at steady-
state power levels not in excess of 2568 megawatts thermal. The
facility is located at the licensee's site in Dauphin County,
Pennsylvania. The license authorizes GPUN to maintain and operate the
facility and Met-Ed, JCP&L, and Penelec to possess but not operate TMI-
1. GPUN is authorized to act as agent for Met-Ed, JCP&L, and Penelec in
connection with the license. Met-Ed, JCP&L, and Penelec do business as
GPU Energy and are wholly owned subsidiaries of GPU, Inc., which is
also the parent of GPUN.
II
Under cover of a letter dated December 3, 1998, GPUN and AmerGen
Energy Company, LLC, jointly submitted an application requesting
approval of the proposed transfer of the TMI-1 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 January 11, February 4, March 4, March 10, and March 15,
1999. Hereinafter, the December 3, 1998, license transfer application
and supplemental information will be referred to collectively as the
``application.'' GPUN stated that it was acting on behalf of itself and
Met-Ed, JCP&L, and Penelec, co-owners of TMI-1, in submitting 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 owns a 50 percent
interest in AmerGen. The conforming amendment would remove the current
licensees from the facility operating license and would add AmerGen in
their place. After completion of the
[[Page 19203]]
proposed transfer, AmerGen will be the sole owner and operator of TMI-
1.
Approval of the transfer of the facility operating license and
conforming license amendment was requested by GPUN and AmerGen pursuant
to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of the applications for approval and
an opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal Register on
December 21, 1998 (63 FR 70436). Pursuant to such notice, the
Commission received a request for hearing dated January 11, 1999, from
Camille ``Bud'' George, a Pennsylvania State representative. Mr. George
also submitted a February 11, 1999, supplemental letter. The Commission
issued a Memorandum and Order 1 on February 11, 1999,
denying Mr. George's request for a hearing. The Commission received one
comment postmarked January 15, 1999, from H. E. Williams, Jr. and
forwarded that comment and Mr. George's two letters to the staff for
its consideration. The comments contained in these letters are
addressed in the staff's safety evaluation dated April 12, 1999.
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\1\ GPU Nuclear, Inc., et al. (Three Mile Island, Unit No. 1),
CLI-99-02, 49 NRC ____ slip. op. (February 11, 1999).
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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 GPUN 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 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
amendment will be in accordance with 10 CFR part 51 of the Commission's
regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.
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, 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 non-foreign 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
TMI-1 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, as set forth in Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations and Operating License No. DPR-50, including the
Technical Specifications attached thereto.
(4) AmerGen shall cause to be transmitted to the Director, Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation within 30 days of filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, any Schedules 13D or 13G filed
pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 that disclose
beneficial ownership of a registered class of PECO stock.
(5) For purposes of ensuring public health and safety, AmerGen
shall provide decommissioning funding assurance of no less than $303
million, after payment of any taxes, to be held in the decommissioning
trust(s) for TMI-1 following the transfer of the TMI-1 license to
AmerGen, including any amounts held in any decommissioning trust(s)
that may continue to be maintained by GPU Energy for TMI-1 after such
license transfer.
(6) AmerGen shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the
decommissioning trust is maintained in accordance with the application
for the transfer of the TMI-1 license and the requirements of this
order and the safety evaluation.
(7) If the assets of any decommissioning trust maintained by GPU
Energy for TMI-1 are retained in such trust following the transfer of
the TMI-1 license to AmerGen instead of being transferred to any trust
established by AmerGen, GPU Energy shall maintain the assets as
retained in such trust in accordance with the application for the
transfer of the TMI-1 license. In addition, the trust agreement shall
contain the following provisions or be consistent with the following:
(a) In Article II of the trust agreement, section 2.01 shall
include provisions to limit the use of assets in both the qualified and
non-qualified funds, in the first instance, to the expenses related to
decommissioning of TMI-1 as defined by the NRC in its regulations and
issuances, and as provided in the TMI-1 license and any amendments
thereto.
(b) In Article II, section 2.01(c) shall be deleted or the term
``property'' therein shall be limited to liquid assets.
(c) In Articles II and V, investments in the securities or other
obligations of GPU Nuclear, Inc., PECO Energy, British Energy, plc,
AmerGen, or affiliates thereof, or their successors or assigns shall be
prohibited. Except for investments tied to market indexes or other non-
nuclear sector mutual funds, investments in any entity owning one or
more nuclear power plants is prohibited.
(d) In Article II, section 2.02 shall be amended to contain a
provision that no disbursements or payments from the trust shall be
made by the trustee until the trustee has first given the NRC 30 days
notice of the payment. The section shall be further amended to 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.
(e) Article IV shall provide that the trust agreement cannot be
modified in any material respect without the prior written consent of
the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
(f) Section 4 of the Special Terms shall specify that assets cannot
be withdrawn from the decommissioning trust funds, but may be
transferred
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between the qualified and non-qualified funds for the purposes
specified in this section.
(g) The appropriate section of the trust agreement shall reflect
that the trustee, investment advisor, or anyone else directing the
investments made in the trust must adhere to a ``prudent investor''
standard as specified in 18 CFR 35.32(a)(3) of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission regulations.
(8) AmerGen, shall take no action to cause PECO or British Energy,
plc to void, cancel, or diminish the $65 million contingency fund
commitment from PECO and British Energy for TMI-1, 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. Further,
AmerGen shall inform the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, in writing, at such time that it draws upon the $65 million
contingency fund. This provision does not affect the NRC's authority to
assure that adequate funds will remain available to fund the transition
to safe shutdown, should any question arise regarding availability of
funds for such a purpose.
(9) AmerGen shall, prior to completion of the sale and transfer of
TMI-1 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.
(10) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the
transfer of TMI-1, GPU Nuclear, Inc., and AmerGen shall inform the
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, in writing of such
receipt within five business days, and of the date of the closing of
the sale and transfer of TMI-1 no later than seven business days prior
to the date of closing. Should the transfer of the license not be
completed by December 31, 1999, 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 application
dated December 3, 1998, and supplemental submittals dated January 11,
February 4, March 4, March 10, and March 15, 1999, which are available
for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the
Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC, and at the local
public document room located at the Law/Government Publications
Section, State Library of Pennsylvania (REGIONAL DEPOSITORY), Walnut
Street and Commonwealth Avenue, Box 1601, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of April 1999.
For the Nuclear Regualtory Commission.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-9748 Filed 4-16-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P