[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 157 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49600-49602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20572]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-254, 50-265]


In the Matter of Commonwealth Edison Company; Quad Cities Nuclear 
Power Station; Units 1 and 2; Order Approving Transfer of Licenses and 
Conforming Amendments

I.

    Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd, the licensee) owns 75 percent 
of the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2 ( the facility) 
and is the licensed operator of both stations. MidAmerican Energy 
Company (MidAmerican) owns the remaining interest. Facility Operating 
Licenses Nos. DPR-29 and DPR-30 authorize ComEd, acting for itself and 
as agent for MidAmerican to possess, use, and operate the facility. The 
facility is located at ComEd's site in Rock Island County, Illinois.

II.

    Under cover of a letter dated December 20, 1999, ComEd submitted an 
application requesting approval of the proposed transfer of the 
facility operating licenses to the extent held by ComEd, to a new 
generating company, Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon Generation 
Company), to be formed in connection with the proposed merger of Unicom 
Corporation (Unicom), the parent of ComEd, and PECO Energy Company 
(PECO). Exelon Generation Company would become exclusively responsible 
for the operation and maintenance of the facility. Exelon Generation 
Company and MidAmerican would be responsible for the decommissioning 
costs of the facility in accordance with their respective ownership 
percentages, with Exelon Generation Company being responsible for the 
eventual performance of decommissioning activities. The proposed 
transfer does not involve any change with respect to the non-operating 
ownership interest held by MidAmerican. ComEd also requested approval 
of conforming amendments to reflect the transfer. Supplemental 
information was provided by submittals dated January 14, March 10, 
March 23, March 29, and June 16, 2000. Hereinafter, the December 20, 
1999, application and supplemental

[[Page 49601]]

information will be referred to collectively as the ``application.'' 
The conforming amendments would remove ComEd from the facility 
operating licenses, add Exelon Generation Company in references to the 
licensee, and make miscellaneous administrative changes that accurately 
reflect the transfer of the licenses as held by ComEd.
    By a separate application dated December 20, 1999, PECO requested 
approval of the transfer of the facility operating licenses that it 
holds to Exelon Generation Company. That application is being addressed 
separately.
    Approval of the transfer of the facility operating licenses and 
conforming license amendments was requested by ComEd pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.80 and 10 CFR 50.90. Notice of the applications for approval and an 
opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal Register on 
March 9, 2000 (65 FR 12581). The Commission received no comments or 
requests for hearing pursuant to such notice.
    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. Upon 
review of the information in the application by ComEd, and other 
information before the Commission, and relying upon the representations 
and agreements contained in the application, the NRC staff has 
determined that Exelon Generation Company is qualified to hold the 
licenses to the extent now held by ComEd, and that the transfer of the 
licenses to Exelon Generation Company as proposed in the application 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 amendments 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 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 amendments will be in accordance with 10 CFR 
Part 51 of the Commission's regulations and all applicable requirements 
have been satisfied.
    The findings set forth above are supported by a safety evaluation 
dated August 3, 2000.

III

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 USC 2201(b), 2201(i), 
2201(o), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, It Is Hereby Ordered that the 
transfer of the licenses as described herein to Exelon Generation 
Company is approved, subject to the following conditions:
    (1) Exelon Generation Company shall provide the Director of the 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation a copy of any application, at the 
time it is filed, to transfer (excluding grants of security interests 
or liens) from Exelon Generation Company to its proposed direct or 
indirect parent, or to any other affiliated company, facilities for the 
production, transmission, or distribution of electric energy having a 
depreciated book value exceeding ten percent (10%) of Exelon Generation 
Company's consolidated net utility plant, as recorded on Exelon 
Generation Company's books of account.
    (2) ComEd shall transfer to Exelon Generation Company the 
decommissioning trust funds for Quad Cities, Units 1 and 2, in the 
following minimum amounts, when Quad Cities, Units 1 and 2, are 
transferred to Exelon Generation Company:
Quad Cities, Unit 1--$192,149,504
Quad Cities, Unit 2--$193,209,439
    (3) The decommissioning trust agreements for Quad Cities, Units 1 
and 2, at the time the transfer of the units to Exelon Generation 
Company is effected and, thereafter, are subject to the following:
    (a) The decommissioning trust agreements must be in a form 
acceptable to the NRC.
    (b) With respect to the decommissioning trust funds, investments in 
the securities or other obligations of Exelon Corporation or affiliates 
thereof, or their successors or assigns are prohibited. 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 are prohibited.
    (c) The decommissioning trust agreements for Quad Cities, Units 1 
and 2, must provide that no disbursements or payments from the trusts 
shall be made by the trustee unless the trustee has first given the 
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 30 days prior 
written notice of payment. The decommissioning trust agreements shall 
further contain a provision that no disbursements or payments from the 
trusts shall be made if the trustee receives prior written notice of 
objection from the NRC.
    (d) The decommissioning trust agreements must provide that the 
agreements can not be amended in any material respect without 30 days 
prior written notification to the Director of the Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
    (e) The appropriate section of the decommissioning trust agreements 
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.
    (4) Exelon Generation Company shall take all necessary steps to 
ensure that the decommissioning trusts are maintained in accordance 
with the application for approval of the transfer of the Quad Cities, 
Units 1 and 2, licenses and the requirements of this Order approving 
the transfer, and consistent with the safety evaluation supporting this 
Order.
    (5) Before the completion of the transfer of the 75 percent 
interest in Quad Cities, Units 1 and 2, to it, Exelon Generation 
Company shall provide the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation satisfactory documentary evidence that Exelon Generation 
Company has obtained the appropriate amount of insurance required of 
licensees under 10 CFR Part 140 of the Commission's regulations.
    (6) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
transfer of the 75 percent interest in Quad Cities, Units 1 and 2, 
ComEd shall inform the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, in writing, of such receipt within 5 business days, and of 
the date of the closing of the transfer no later than 7 business days 
prior to the date of the closing. Should the transfer of the licenses 
not be completed by July 31, 2001, this Order shall become null and 
void, provided, however, upon written application and for good cause 
shown, such date may in writing be extended.
    (7) Approval of the transfer of the licenses for Quad Cities, Units 
1 and 2, is conditioned upon all of the PECO and ComEd nuclear units 
described in the application to be transferred to Exelon Generation 
Company becoming owned

[[Page 49602]]

by Exelon Generation Company contemporaneously.
    It Is Further Ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), 
license amendments that make changes, as indicated in Enclosure 11 to 
the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform the licenses to 
reflect the subject license transfers are approved. The 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 initial 
application dated December 20, 1999, and supplemental submittals dated 
January 14, March 10, March 23, March 29, and June 16, 2000, and the 
safety evaluation dated August 3, 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 3rd day of August 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-20572 Filed 8-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P