[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37417-37418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-14999]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-219]


In the Matter of GPU Nuclear, Inc., and Jersey Central Power & 
Light Company (Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station); Order 
Approving Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment

I

    GPU Nuclear, Inc. (GPUN) and Jersey Central Power & Light Company 
(JCP&L) are the holders of Facility Operating License No. DPR-16, which 
authorizes operation of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station 
(Oyster Creek or the facility) at steady-state power levels not in 
excess of 1930 megawatts thermal. The facility, which is owned by 
JCP&L, is located in Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey. The 
license authorizes GPUN to possess, use, and operate the facility, and 
JCP&L to possess the facility.

II

    Under cover of a letter dated November 5, 1999, GPUN, acting for 
itself and on behalf of JCP&L, and AmerGen Energy Company, LLC 
(AmerGen), jointly submitted an application requesting approval of the 
proposed transfer of the Oyster Creek operating license to AmerGen. 
GPUN and AmerGen also jointly requested approval of a conforming 
amendment to reflect the transfer. The application was supplemented by 
two letters dated April 6, 2000, and another letter dated April 13, 
2000, collectively referred to as the application herein unless 
otherwise indicated.
    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 own a 50-percent interest 
in AmerGen. British Energy, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of 
British Energy, plc. After completion of the proposed transfer, AmerGen 
would be the sole owner and operator of Oyster Creek. The conforming 
amendment would remove the current licensees from the facility 
operating license and would add AmerGen in their place.
    Approval of the transfer of the facility operating license and the 
conforming license amendment was requested by GPUN and AmerGen pursuant 
to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of the request for approval and an 
opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal Register on 
December 16, 1999 (64 FR 70292). Pursuant to such notice, the 
Commission received a request for a hearing dated January 5, 2000, from 
the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS). On May 3, 2000, 
the Commission denied the request for a hearing, and terminated the 
associated proceeding. GPU Nuclear, Inc., et al. (Oyster Creek Nuclear 
Generating Station), CLI-00-06, 51 NCR ________, slip op. (May 3, 
2000).
    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. After 
reviewing the information in the application 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 be the holder of 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; that the facility will 
operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the Act 
and the rules and regulations of the Commission; that there is 
reasonable assurance 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; that the issuance of the proposed 
license amendment will be in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the 
Commission's regulations; and that all applicable requirements have 
been satisfied. The findings set forth above are supported by the 
staff's safety evaluation dated June 6, 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 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, and any subsequent amendments thereto as of the date of this 
Order, 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 nonforeign 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 AmerGen's Management 
Committee shall be U.S. citizens. They shall have the responsibility 
and exclusive authority to ensure, and shall ensure, that the business 
and activities of AmerGen with respect to the Oyster Creek operating 
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.
    (4) AmerGen shall cause to be transmitted to the Director, Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, within 30 days of filing with the U.S. 
Securities and Exchange Commission, any Schedules 13D or 13G filed 
pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that disclose 
beneficial ownership of any registered class of stock of PECO or any

[[Page 37418]]

affiliate, successor, or assignee of PECO to which PECO's ownership 
interest in AmerGen may be subsequently assigned with the prior written 
consent of the NRC.
    (5) AmerGen shall provide decommissioning funding assurance of no 
less than $400 million, after payment of any taxes, deposited in the 
decommissioning trust fund for Oyster Creek when Oyster Creek is 
transferred to AmerGen.
    (6) The decommissioning trust agreement for Oyster Creek must be in 
a form acceptable to the NRC.
    (7) With respect to the decommissioning trust fund, investments in 
the securities or other obligations of PECO, British Energy, Inc., 
AmerGen, or their affiliates, successors, or assigns shall be 
prohibited. Except for investments tied to market indexes or other 
nonnuclear sector mutual funds, investments in any entity owning one or 
more nuclear power plants are prohibited.
    (8) The decommissioning trust agreement for Oyster Creek must 
provide that no disbursements or payments from the trust shall be made 
by the trustee unless the trustee has first given the NRC 30-days prior 
written notice of payment. The decommissioning trust agreement shall 
further 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.
    (9) The decommissioning trust agreement must provide that the 
agreement cannot be amended in any material respect without 30-days 
prior written notification to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
    (10) The appropriate section of the decommissioning trust agreement 
shall state that 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(a)(3) of the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission's regulations.
    (11) AmerGen shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the 
decommissioning trust is maintained in accordance with the application 
for approval of the transfer of the Oyster Creek license and the 
requirements of this Order approving the transfer, and consistent with 
the safety evaluation supporting this Order.
    (12) AmerGen shall take no action to cause PECO or British Energy, 
Inc. or their affiliates, successors, or assigns, to void, cancel, or 
diminish their $200 million contingency commitment to AmerGen, 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. 
Also, AmerGen shall inform the NRC in writing whenever it draws upon 
the $200 million commitment.
    (13) Before the completion of the sale and transfer of Oyster Creek 
to it, AmerGen shall 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.
    (14) After receiving of all required regulatory approvals of the 
transfer of Oyster Creek, GPUN and AmerGen shall immediately inform the 
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, in writing of such 
receipt, and state therein the closing date of the sale and transfer of 
Oyster Creek. If the transfer of the license is not completed by June 
30, 2001, this Order shall become null and void, provided, however, on 
written application and for good cause shown, this 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. 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 November 5, 1999, two supplemental letters dated 
April 6, 2000, and another supplemental letter dated April 13, 2000, 
and the safety evaluation dated June 6, 2000, which are available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, 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 6th day of June 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
 Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-14999 Filed 6-13-00; 8:45 am]
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