[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 250 (Thursday, December 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82406-82407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-33150]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-272 and 50-311]
In the Matter of PSEG Nuclear LLC, Philadelphia Electric Company,
(PECO Energy Company), Delmarva Power and Light Company, Atlantic City
Electric Company, (Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 and 2);
Supplemental Order Regarding Approval of Transfer of Licenses and
Conforming Amendments
I
PSEG Nuclear LLC, Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO Energy
Company), Delmarva Power and Light Company (DP&L), and Atlantic City
Electric Company (ACE) are the joint owners of the Salem Nuclear
Generating Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Salem), located in Salem County,
New Jersey. They hold Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-70 and DPR-
75, issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or
Commission) on August 13, 1976, and May 20, 1981, respectively,
pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR Part 50). Under these licenses, PSEG Nuclear LLC (currently owner
of 42.59 percent of each Salem unit) is authorized to possess, use, and
operate the Salem units. The current combined nonoperating ownership
interests of DP&L and ACE are 14.82 percent of each Salem unit. They
own 7.41 percent of each Salem unit individually.
II
By an application dated December 20, 1999, as supplemented February
11, and February 25, 2000, PSEG Nuclear LLC, DP&L, and ACE requested
approval by the NRC of the transfer to PSEG Nuclear LLC of the Salem
licenses, to the extent held by DP&L and ACE, in conjunction with the
proposed acquisition of DP&L's and ACE's combined ownership interests
in the Salem units by PSEG Nuclear LLC. DP&L and ACE are both
subsidiaries of Conectiv. In response to that request, the NRC staff
published a notice of the license transfer application, the related
conforming amendment request included in the application, and an
opportunity for a hearing in the Federal Register on February 18, 2000
(65 FR 8452). No hearing requests were filed. The NRC approved the
transfer request by an Order dated April 21, 2000. That Order, which
contained several conditions of approval, was based in part on the
premise that the DP&L and ACE interests would be transferred
concurrently as a combined interest. In a supplemental application
dated October 10, 2000, DP&L and ACE indicated that due to certain
delays in receiving other necessary regulatory approvals, their
interests in the Salem licenses need to be transferred independently in
two phases to PSEG Nuclear LLC, namely the DP&L interest would be
transferred first, followed by the transfer of the ACE interest. They
asked that the effectiveness of the Order approving the license
transfers be extended until December 31, 2001, due to the delays in
receiving the other regulatory approvals, and that any necessary
actions be taken to allow the transfers to occur in two phases.
PSEG Nuclear LLC also requested approval of conforming license
amendments, modified from the amendments previously approved to reflect
the transfers as they may occur in two phases. The amendments would
still delete references to DP&L and ACE to reflect the transfer of each
of their interests, as they occur, in the licenses to PSEG Nuclear LLC.
Approval of the transfers, as they may now occur in two phases, and
corresponding modified conforming license amendments was requested
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. The NRC staff determined that the
supplemental application dated October 10, 2000, related only to
schedular matters and did not involve any material changes to the
underlying basis for the transfer approval Order dated April 21, 2000.
Therefore, the supplemental application was within the scope of the
February 18, 2000, Federal Register notice and did not require
renoticing or a new opportunity for a hearing.
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 shall give its consent in
writing. After reviewing the information submitted in the October 10,
2000, submittal and other information before the Commission, the NRC
staff has determined that its previous findings set forth in the Order
dated April 21, 2000, remain valid notwithstanding the transfers
occurring in two phases, namely, PSEG Nuclear LLC is qualified to hold
the license for each Salem unit to the same extent the licenses are now
held by DP&L and ACE, and that the transfer of the licenses, as
previously described herein, is otherwise consistent with applicable
provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission,
subject to the conditions described herein. The NRC staff has further
found that the
[[Page 82407]]
supplemental application for the proposed license amendments to reflect
the transfers occurring in two phases 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 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 amendments 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 amendments 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 amendments will be in accordance with
10 CFR Part 51 of the Commission's regulations and all applicable
requirements have been satisfied. These findings are supported by a
safety evaluation dated December 21, 2000.
III
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 2201(b), 2201(i), and
2234, and 10 CFR 50.80, It Is Hereby Ordered that the effectiveness of
the Order dated April 21, 2000, is extended to December 31, 2001. Any
concurrent transfer of the DP&L and ACE interests to PSEG Nuclear LLC
shall remain subject to the terms and conditions of the April 21, 2000,
Order.
It Is Further Ordered that the license transfers from DP&L and ACE
to PSEG Nuclear LLC may occur in two phases, as described above,
subject to the following conditions:
1. DP&L shall transfer to the PSEG Nuclear LLC decommissioning
trusts for Salem at the time its interests in the Salem licenses are
transferred to PSEG Nuclear LLC, all of DP&L's accumulated
decommissioning trust funds for Salem Unit Nos. 1 and 2. Immediately
following such transfer, the amounts in the PSEG Nuclear LLC
decommissioning trusts must, with respect to the interests in Salem
Unit Nos. 1 and 2 PSEG Nuclear LLC would then hold, be at a level no
less than the formula amounts under 10 CFR Section 50.75.
2. ACE shall transfer to the PSEG Nuclear LLC decommissioning
trusts for Salem at the time its interests in the Salem licenses are
transferred to PSEG Nuclear LLC, all of ACE's accumulated
decommissioning trust funds for Salem Unit Nos. 1 and 2. Immediately
following such transfer, the amounts in the PSEG Nuclear LLC
decommissioning trusts must, with respect to the interests in Salem
Unit Nos. 1 and 2 PSEG Nuclear LLC would then hold, be at a level no
less than the formula amounts under 10 CFR Section 50.75.
3. Conditions 3.a. through 3.e. of the April 21, 2000, Order, which
have now been incorporated into the Salem licenses by a separate
licensing action, shall remain applicable to the PSEG Nuclear LLC
decommissioning trust agreements for Salem Unit Nos. 1 and 2. The
citation in the foregoing condition 3.e. is corrected to read ``10 CFR
35.32(a)(3)''.
4. PSEG Nuclear LLC shall inform the Director, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, in writing, of the date of closing of each subject
transfer no later than 2 business days before the date of each closing.
If the transfer of the DP&L or ACE interests is not completed by
December 31, 2001, this Order shall become null and void with respect
to any such transfer not yet completed; however, on application and for
good cause shown, such date may be extended.
It Is Further Ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b),
license amendments that make changes, as indicated in Enclosure 2 to
the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform each Salem license
to reflect each subject license transfer are approved. To the extent
the license pages in Enclosure 2 reflect intervening events and
completed licensing actions that have occurred since the issuance of
the April 21, 2000, Order, and therefore are inconsistent with the
license pages referenced in that Order showing the changes to the
licenses approved by that Order, the amendment pages approved by this
Order supersede the previously approved license pages. Those amendments
approved by this Order appropriate to the particular license transfers
in fact occurring shall be issued and made effective at the time the
corresponding license transfers are completed.
This Order is effective upon issuance.
For further details with respect to this Order, see the submittal
dated October 10, 2000, the previous related application dated December
20, 1999, and supplements thereto dated February 11, and February 25,
2000, which may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's
Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike (first floor), Rockville, MD, and are accessible electronically
through the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room link at the NRC Web
site http://www.nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of December 2000.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-33150 Filed 12-27-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P