[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 157 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49603-49604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20574]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-10, 50-237, 50-249]


In the Matter of Commonwealth Edison Company; Dresden Nuclear 
Power Station, Units 1, 2, and 3; Order Approving Transfer of Licenses 
and Conforming Amendments

I

    Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd, the licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating License No. DPR-2, which authorizes possession and 
maintenance but not operation of Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1, 
and Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25, which authorize 
the possession, use, and operation of the Dresden Nuclear Power 
Station, Units 2 and 3. The facility (Dresden, Units 1, 2, and 3) is 
located at the licensee's site in Grundy 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 a new generating company, Exelon 
Generation Company, LLC (Exelon Generation Company or EGC), to be 
formed in connection with the proposed merger of Unicom Corporation 
(Unicom), the parent of ComEd, and PECO Energy Company (PECO). 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 
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 additional administrative changes that accurately 
reflect the transfer of the licenses to Exelon Generation Company. 
After completion of the proposed transfer, Exelon Generation Company 
will be the sole owner of Dresden, Units 1, 2, and 3, and the sole 
operator of Dresden, Units 2 and 3.
    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 request for approval and an 
opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal Register on 
March 9, 2000 (65 FR 12582). 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

[[Page 49604]]

contained in the application, the NRC staff has determined that Exelon 
Generation Company is qualified to hold the licenses, and that the 
transfer of the licenses to Exelon Generation Company 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 U.S.C. 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 Dresden, Units 1, 2, and 3, in the 
following minimum amounts, when Dresden, Units 1, 2, and 3, are 
transferred to Exelon Generation Company:
Dresden, Unit 1--$92,836,082
Dresden, Unit 2--$288,233,336
Dresden, Unit 3--$262,231,719
    (3) The decommissioning trust agreements for Dresden, Units 1, 2 
and 3, 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 Dresden, Units 1, 2, 
and 3, 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 
trust shall be made if the trustee receives prior written notice of 
objection from the NRC.
    (d) The decommissioning trust agreements must provide that the 
agreement 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 Dresden, Units 
1, 2, and 3, 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 Dresden, Units 1, 2, 
and 3, 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 Dresden, Units 1, 2 and 3, 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 Dresden, Units 1, 
2 and 3 is conditioned upon all of the PECO and ComEd nuclear units 
described in the application to be transferred to Exelon Generation 
Company becoming owned 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 9 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. 00-20574 Filed 8-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P