[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8996-8997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-4257]



[[Page 8996]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-277 and 50-278]


PECO Energy Company, Public Service Electric and Gas Company, 
Delmarva Power and Light Company, Atlantic City Electric Company (Peach 
Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3); Order Approving Transfer 
of Licenses and Conforming Amendments

I

    PECO Energy Company (PECO), Public Service Electric and Gas Company 
(PSE&G), Delmarva Power and Light Company, and Atlantic City Electric 
Company are the joint owners of the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, 
Units 2 and 3 (Peach Bottom), located in York County, Pennsylvania. 
They hold Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 issued by 
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) on October 
25, 1973, and July 2, 1974, respectively, pursuant to Part 50 of Title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50). Under these 
licenses, PSE&G (currently owner of 42.5 percent of each Peach Bottom 
unit) is authorized (along with the other joint owners) to possess 
Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3.

II

    By an application dated July 23, 1999, which was supplemented on 
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 licenses for both Peach Bottom units 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 both units following approval of the proposed license 
transfers. No physical changes or change in the day-to-day management 
and operations of the Peach Bottom units are proposed in the 
application. The proposed transfers do not involve any change with 
respect to the exclusive operating authority or joint ownership 
interest in Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3 held by PECO, or the non-
operating ownership interest in Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3 held by 
Delmarva Power and Light Company and Atlantic City Electric Company.
    PECO, as the operating licensee for Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3, 
submitted a related request for approval of conforming license 
amendments to reflect the proposed license transfers to PSEG Nuclear. 
The amendments would replace references to Public Service Electric and 
Gas Company, or PSE&G, with PSEG Nuclear. The request for amendments, 
dated July 1, 1999, and supplemented August 11, and September 1, 1999, 
was made by PECO in anticipation of PSE&G's transfer application.
    Approval of the transfers and conforming license amendments was 
requested pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of the application 
for transfer approval as well as the request for amendments and an 
opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal Register on 
August 5, 1999 (64 FR 42728). 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 licenses for 
Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3 to the same extent the licenses are now held 
by PSE&G and that the transfer of the licenses, as previously 
described, 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 amendments 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. 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 transfers 
referenced above are approved, subject to the following conditions:
    1. For purposes of ensuring public health and safety, PSEG Nuclear 
shall provide decommissioning funding assurance, to be held in 
decommissioning trust(s) for Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3 upon the 
transfer of the respective licenses to PSEG Nuclear, of no less than 
the following amounts: Peach Bottom Unit 2: $92.3 million; Peach Bottom 
Unit 3: $88.1 million. Any amounts held in any decommissioning trust(s) 
maintained by PSE&G for Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3 after such license 
transfers subject to the limitations in Paragraph 2 below, may be 
credited towards the amounts required under this paragraph.
    2. Any decommissioning trust funds established by PSE&G for Peach 
Bottom Units 2 and 3 to comply with NRC regulations shall be 
transferred to PSEG Nuclear upon the transfer of the respective 
licenses, or following the transfer of the licenses but no later than 1 
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 transfers are 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 Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3 licenses 
and the requirements of this Order and the related safety evaluation.
    4. If the assets of any decommissioning trusts maintained by PSE&G 
for Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3 are retained in such trusts following 
the transfer of the respective licenses to PSEG Nuclear instead of 
being transferred to any trusts established by PSEG Nuclear, PSE&G 
shall maintain the assets as retained in such trusts in accordance with 
the application for the transfer of the licenses.

[[Page 8997]]

    5. The decommissioning trust agreements for Peach Bottom Units 2 
and 3 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 each 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 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 Peach Bottom Units 2 
and 3 licenses from PSE&G to PSEG Nuclear.
    7. Before the completion of the transfer of the interests in Peach 
Bottom Units 2 and 3 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 to 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), 
license amendments for Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3 that make changes, as 
indicated in Enclosure 2 to the cover letter forwarding this Order, to 
conform the licenses to reflect the subject license transfers are 
approved. Such amendments shall be issued and made effective at the 
time the proposed license transfers are completed.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the transfer 
application dated July 23, 1999, as supplemented October 22, 1999, and 
a related application dated June 4, 1999, pertaining to the Hope Creek 
and Salem facilities, incorporated by reference in the submittal of 
July 23, 1999, and the request for conforming amendments dated July 1, 
1999, as supplemented August 11 and September 1, 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. 00-4257 Filed 2-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P