[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44549-44551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-18115]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-271]


In the Matter of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation 
(Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station); Order Approving Transfer of 
License and Conforming Amendment

I.

    Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation (VYNPC or the licensee) is 
the holder of Facility Operating License No. DPR-28, which authorizes 
the operation of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (Vermont Yankee 
or the facility) at steady-state power levels not in excess of 1593 
megawatts thermal. The facility is located at the licensee's site in 
the Town of Vernon, Windham County, Vermont. The license authorizes 
VYNPC to possess, use, and operate the facility.

II.

    Under cover of a letter dated January 6, 2000, AmerGen Vermont, 
Limited Liability Company (LLC), (AmerGen Vermont) and VYNPC, jointly 
submitted an application requesting approval of the transfer of 
Facility Operating License No. DRP-28 for Vermont Yankee from VYNPC to 
AmerGen Vermont. The licensee and AmerGen Vermont also jointly 
requested approval of a conforming amendment to reflect the transfer. 
The application was supplemented by submittals dated January 13, 
February 18, March 13, March 30, and April 6, 2000, collectively 
referred to as the ``application'' herein unless otherwise indicated.
    AmerGen Vermont is a Vermont limited liability company established 
by AmerGen Energy Company, LLC (AmerGen), to own and operate Vermont 
Yankee. AmerGen Vermont is a wholly owned subsidiary of AmerGen. 
AmerGen is a Delaware limited liability company formed to acquire and 
operate nuclear power plants in the United States. PECO Energy Company 
(PECO) and British Energy, Inc., (BE, Inc.), each own a 50-percent 
interest in AmerGen. BE, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of British 
Energy, plc. The conforming license amendment would remove references 
to VYNPC from the license and add references to AmerGen Vermont in 
respective places, and make other administrative changes of a similar 
nature to reflect the proposed transfer.
    Approval of the transfer of the facility operating license and a 
conforming license amendment was requested by

[[Page 44550]]

VYNPC and AmerGen Vermont pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of 
the requests for approval and for an opportunity for a hearing was 
published in the Federal Register on February 3, 2000 (65 FR 5376). 
Pursuant to such notice, the Commission received two requests for 
hearing. One hearing request was from the State of Vermont Department 
of Public Service, dated February 23, 2000. A second hearing request 
was filed by the Citizens Awareness Network, dated February 22, 2000. 
Commission review of these hearing requests is pending.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.1316, during the pendancy of a hearing, the 
staff is expected to promptly proceed with the approval or denial of 
license transfer requests consistent with the NRC staff's findings in 
its Safety Evaluation Report (SER). Notice of the action shall be 
promptly transmitted to the Presiding Officer and parties to the 
proceeding. Commission action on the pending hearing requests is being 
handled independently of this action.
    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 submitted in the application and other 
information before the Commission, and relying upon the representations 
and agreements contained in the application, the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) staff has determined that AmerGen Vermont is qualified 
to be the holder of the license, and that the transfer of the license 
to AmerGen Vermont 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 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; that 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 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. These findings are supported by a safety evaluation 
dated July 7, 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 transfer of the license 
as described herein to AmerGen Vermont is approved, subject to the 
following conditions:
    (1) AmerGen Vermont shall take no action to cause PECO or BE, Inc., 
or their affiliates, successors or assigns, to void, cancel, or 
diminish their $200 million contingency commitment to provide funding 
for AmerGen's nuclear power plants, including but not limited to any 
plant owned by any subsidiary of 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 or AmerGen Vermont's ability to draw upon the commitment. 
Also, AmerGen Vermont shall inform the NRC in writing at any time that 
it or AmerGen, for the benefit of AmerGen Vermont, draws upon the $200 
million commitment.
    (2) AmerGen Vermont shall provide decommissioning funding assurance 
of no less than $280 million, after payment of any taxes, deposited in 
the decommissioning trust fund for Vermont Yankee when Vermont Yankee 
is transferred to AmerGen Vermont.
    (3) The decommissioning trust agreement must be in a form 
acceptable to the NRC.
    (4) With respect to the decommissioning trust fund, investments in 
the securities or other obligations of PECO, BE, Inc., AmerGen, AmerGen 
Vermont, 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.
    (5) The decommissioning trust agreement must provide that no 
disbursements or payments from the trust shall be made by the trustee 
until 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.
    (6) 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.
    (7) The appropriate section of the 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.
    (8) AmerGen Vermont 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 Vermont Yankee license 
to it, the requirements of this Order approving the transfer, and the 
safety evaluation supporting this Order.
    (9) The AmerGen Vermont Limited Liability Company Agreement dated 
January 1, 2000, 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.
    (10) At least half of the members of the Management Committee of 
AmerGen Vermont shall be appointed by a non-foreign member group of 
AmerGen, all of which appointees shall be U.S. citizens.
    (11) The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Nuclear Officer (if 
someone other than the CEO), and Chairman of the Management Committee 
of AmerGen Vermont shall be U.S. citizens. These individuals shall have 
the responsibility and exclusive authority to ensure, and shall ensure, 
that the business and activities of AmerGen Vermont with respect to the 
Vermont Yankee operating license are at all times conducted in a manner 
consistent with the protection of the public health and safety and the 
common defense and security of the United States.
    (12) AmerGen Vermont 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 of any 
affiliate, successor, or assignee of

[[Page 44551]]

PECO to which PECO's ownership interest in AmerGen may be subsequently 
assigned with the prior written consent of the NRC, [or of the parent 
or owner of such affiliate, successor, or assignee, whichever entity is 
the issuer of such stock.]
    (13) Before the completion of the sale and transfer of Vermont 
Yankee to it, AmerGen Vermont shall provide the Director, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, satisfactory documentary evidence that 
AmerGen Vermont has obtained the appropriate amount of insurance 
required of licensees under 10 CFR Part 140 of the Commission's 
regulations.
    (14) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
transfer of Vermont Yankee, AmerGen Vermont and VYNPC shall inform the 
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, in writing of such 
receipt within 5 business days, and of the closing date of the sale and 
transfer of Vermont Yankee no later than 7 business days prior to the 
date of closing. If the transfer of the license is not completed by 
July 1, 2001, this Order shall become null and void, provided, however, 
on written application and for good cause shown, this 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 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 January 6, 2000, supplemental letters dated January 
13, February 18, March 13, March 30, and April 6, 2000, and the safety 
evaluation dated July 7, 2000, which are available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and accessible 
electronically through the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room link at 
the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of July 2000.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-18115 Filed 7-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P