[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8999-9000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-4256]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-354]


Public Service Electric and Gas Company, Atlantic City Electric 
Company (Hope Creek Generating Station); Order Approving Transfer of 
License and Conforming Amendment

I.

    Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) and Atlantic City 
Electric Company are the joint owners of the Hope Creek Generating 
Station (HCGS), located in Salem County, New Jersey. They hold Facility 
Operating License No. NPF-57 issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC or Commission) on July 25, 1986, pursuant to Part 50 of 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50). Under 
this license, PSE&G (currently owner of 95 percent of HCGS) is 
authorized to act as agent for Atlantic City Electric Company and has 
exclusive responsibility and control over the physical construction, 
operation, and maintenance of the facility.

II.

    By application dated June 4, 1999, as supplemented October 22, 1999 
(collectively referred to as the application herein), PSE&G requested 
approval of the proposed transfer of PSE&G's rights under the operating 
license for HCGS to a new, affiliated nuclear generating company, PSEG 
Nuclear Limited Liability Company (PSEG Nuclear). PSEG Nuclear would 
assume title to PSE&G's interest in the facility following approval of 
the proposed license transfer and would become exclusively responsible 
for the operation and maintenance of, and the performance of eventual 
decommissioning activities for HCGS. No physical changes or significant 
change in the day-to-day management and operations of HCGS are proposed 
in the application. The proposed transfer does not involve any change 
with respect to the non-operating ownership interest in HCGS held by 
Atlantic City Electric Company.
    PSE&G also requested approval of a conforming license amendment to 
reflect the transfer. The amendment would replace references to Public 
Service Electric and Gas Company, or PSE&G, with PSEG Nuclear.
    Approval of the transfer and conforming license amendment was 
requested 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 June 30, 1999 (64 FR 35193). No hearing requests 
were filed.
    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. Upon review of the information submitted in the application 
and other information before the Commission, the NRC staff has 
determined that PSEG Nuclear is qualified to hold the license to the 
same extent the license is now held by PSE&G, and that the transfer of 
the license, 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 application for the proposed license 
amendment 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 
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 foregoing findings are supported by a Safety Evaluation 
dated February 14, 2000.

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 license transfer 
referenced above is approved, subject to the following conditions:
    1. For purposes of ensuring public health and safety, PSEG Nuclear 
shall provide no less than $159.0 million decommissioning funding 
assurance, to be held in decommissioning trust(s) for HCGS upon the 
transfer of the HCGS license to PSEG Nuclear. Any amounts held in any 
decommissioning trust(s) maintained by PSE&G for HCGS after such 
license transfer subject to the limitations in Paragraph 2 below, may 
be credited towards the amount required under this paragraph.
    2. Any decommissioning trust funds established by PSE&G for HCGS to 
comply with NRC regulations shall be transferred to PSEG Nuclear upon 
the transfer of the license, or following the transfer of the license 
but no later than one year from the date of issuance of this Order. In 
the event the decommissioning trust funds are not transferred by PSE&G 
to PSEG Nuclear at the time the license transfer is effected, PSE&G 
shall remain subject to the NRC's authority under Section 161 of the 
Atomic Energy Act to issue orders to protect health and to minimize 
danger to life or property regarding any and all matters concerning 
such decommissioning trust funds, until such time as the 
decommissioning trust funds are transferred to PSEG Nuclear.
    3. PSEG Nuclear shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the 
decommissioning trust(s) are maintained in accordance with the 
application for the transfer of the HCGS license and the requirements 
of this Order and the related safety evaluation.
    4. If the assets of any decommissioning trust maintained by PSE&G 
for HCGS are retained in such trust following the transfer of the HCGS 
license to PSEG Nuclear instead of being transferred to any trust 
established by PSEG Nuclear, PSE&G shall maintain the assets as 
retained in such trust in accordance with the application for the 
transfer of the HCGS license.
    5. The decommissioning trust agreement for HCGS shall provide that:
    (a) The use of assets in both the qualified and non-qualified funds 
shall be limited to expenses related to decommissioning of the unit as 
defined by the NRC in its regulations and issuances, and as provided in 
the unit's license and any amendments thereto. However, upon completion 
of decommissioning, as defined above, the assets may be used for any 
purpose authorized by law.
    (b) Investments in the securities or other obligations of PSE&G or 
affiliates thereof, or their successors or assigns, shall be 
prohibited. In addition, except

[[Page 9000]]

for investments tied to market indexes or other non-nuclear sector 
mutual funds, investments in any entity owning one or more nuclear 
power plants shall be prohibited.
    (c) 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. In addition, 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.
    (d) The trust agreement shall not be modified in any material 
respect without prior written notification to the Director, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
    (e) 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(3) of the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission's regulations.
    6. PSEG Nuclear shall not take any action that would cause PSEG 
Power LLC or its parent companies to void, cancel, or diminish the 
commitment to fund an extended plant shutdown as represented in the 
application for approval of the transfer of the HCGS license from PSE&G 
to PSEG Nuclear.
    7. Before the completion of the transfer of the interest in HCGS to 
PSEG Nuclear as previously described herein, PSEG Nuclear shall provide 
to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, satisfactory 
documentary evidence that PSEG Nuclear has obtained the appropriate 
amount of insurance required of licensees under 10 CFR Part 140 of the 
Commission's regulations.
    8. After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
subject transfer, PSE&G shall inform the Director, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, in writing of such receipt, and of the date of 
closing of the transfer no later than seven business days prior to the 
date of closing. Should the transfer not be completed by December 31, 
2000, this Order shall become null and void, provided, 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), 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. Such 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 June 4, 1999, and the supplement dated October 22, 
1999, which are available for public inspection at the Commission's 
Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., 
Washington, DC. Publically available records will be accessible 
electronically from the ADAMS Public Library component on the NRC Web 
site, http://www.nrc.gov (the Electronic Reading Room).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of February 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-4256 Filed 2-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P