[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 78 (Friday, April 21, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21483-21484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9966]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-22]


In the Matter of CBS Corporation (Test Reactor at Waltz Mill, 
PA); Order Approving Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment

I

    The CBS Corporation (CBS) is the owner of the Test Reactor located 
near Waltz Mill in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and is authorized 
to possess the facility as reflected in License No. TR-2. The facility 
is presently being decommissioned in accordance with a decommissioning 
plan approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the 
Commission). The NRC issued Operating License No. TR-2 on June 19, 
1959, to the Westinghouse Electric Corporation pursuant to Part 50 of 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50). The 
license was amended on March 25, 1963, to authorize the licensee to 
possess but not operate the reactor. The license was amended on July 
31, 1998, and March 25, 1999, to reflect the change in the legal name 
of the licensee for the Test Reactor from the Westinghouse Electric 
Corporation to the CBS Corporation. The license was further amended on 
September 30, 1998, to approve the decommissioning of the reactor.

II

    Under cover of a letter dated February 14, 2000, CBS submitted an 
application to transfer the TR-2 license from CBS Corporation to Viacom 
Inc. (Viacom). This application was supplemented on March 8 and 25, 
2000 (collectively referred to herein as ``the application''). 
According to the application, CBS has entered into an Agreement and 
Plan of

[[Page 21484]]

Merger with Viacom under which CBS will merge with and into Viacom (the 
``Merger''). The existing TR-2 license held by CBS will be transferred 
to and retained by Viacom, and Viacom will have responsibility to 
decommission the facility and terminate the license. The application 
asserts that the proposed transfer will not involve any change in the 
operating organization, location, facilities, equipment, or procedures 
related to or personnel responsible for the licensed activities. In 
addition, there will be no effective change in the personnel who are 
responsible for completion of the decommissioning effort as described 
in the TR-2 Decommissioning Plan.
    The application also sought the approval of a conforming amendment. 
The conforming amendment would remove references to CBS from the 
facility license and replace them with references to Viacom, and make 
other miscellaneous administrative changes, as appropriate, to reflect 
the transfer of the license.
    Approval of the transfer and conforming license amendment was 
requested pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 50.90. Notice of the 
application for approval and an opportunity for a hearing was published 
in the Federal Register on February 29, 2000 (65 FR 10841). A 
supplemental notice was published on March 7, 2000 (65 FR 12040). No 
hearing requests or written comments were filed.
    Under 10 CFR 50.80, no license for a production or utilization 
facility, 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 and other information before the 
Commission, the NRC staff has determined that Viacom is qualified to 
hold the license, and that the transfer of the license to Viacom is 
otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, 
and orders issued by the Commission. 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 I; the facility will be possessed 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. The foregoing findings are 
supported by a Safety Evaluation dated April 13, 2000.

III

    Accordingly, It Is Hereby Ordered that the transfer of the license 
as described herein to Viacom is approved, subject to the following 
condition:

    After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the merger 
between CBS and Viacom, CBS shall inform the Director, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, in writing of such receipt, and of the 
date of the closing of the merger no later than five business days 
prior to the date of closing. Should the transfer of the license not 
be completed by March 30, 2001, 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 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 February 14, 2000, and supplements thereto dated 
March 8 and 25, 2000, and the safety evaluation dated April 13, 2000, 
which are available for public inspection at the NRC's Public Document 
Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC. Publicly 
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 13th day of April 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David B. Matthews,
Director, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-9966 Filed 4-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P