[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 157 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49611-49613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20575]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-171, 50-277, 50-278]


In the Matter of PECO Energy Company; Peach Bottom Atomic Power 
Station Units 1, 2 and 3; Order Approving Transfer of Licenses and 
Conforming Amendments

I

    PECO Energy Company (PECO, the licensee) is the holder of Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-12, which authorizes possession and 
maintenance but not operation of Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, 
Unit 1, and is a co-holder of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-44, 
and DPR-56, which authorize the possession, use, and operation of the 
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3. PECO is the licensed 
operator of Units 2 and 3. All three units (the facility) are located 
at the licensee's site in York County, Pennsylvania.

II

    Under cover of a letter dated December 20, 1999, PECO submitted an 
application requesting, inter alia, approval of the proposed transfer 
of the facility operating licenses to the extent now held by PECO 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 Commonwealth 
Edison Company, and PECO. PECO also requested approval of conforming 
license amendments to reflect the transfer. Supplemental information 
was provided by submittals dated January 3, February 14, March 10, 
March 23, March 30, and June 15, 2000. Hereinafter, the December 20, 
1999, application and supplemental information will be referred to 
collectively as the ``application.'' The conforming amendments would 
remove PECO from the facility operating licenses and would add Exelon 
Generation Company in its place. After completion of the proposed 
transfer, Exelon Generation Company will be the sole owner of, and be 
authorized to maintain Peach Bottom, Unit 1, will hold a 42.49 percent 
ownership interest in Peach Bottom, Units 2 and 3, and will be the sole 
operator of Peach Bottom, Units 2 and 3.
    By a separate application dated December 20, 1999, Commonwealth 
Edison 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 PECO 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 12588). 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 PECO, and other 
information before the

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Commission, and relying upon the representation and agreements 
contained in the application, the NRC staff has determined that Exelon 
Generation Company is qualified to hold the licenses to the extent 
proposed in the applications, 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 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 to the Director of the 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and to 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 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) PECO shall transfer to Exelon Generation Company the 
decommissioning trust funds for Peach Bottom, Units 1, 2, and 3, in the 
following minimum amounts, when Peach Bottom, Units 1, 2, and 3, are 
transferred to Exelon Generation Company:
Peach Bottom, Unit 1--$16,621,647
Peach Bottom, Unit 2--$71,250,231
Peach Bottom, Unit 3--$73,497,654
    (3) The decommissioning trust agreements for Peach Bottom, 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 Peach Bottom, 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 Material Safety and Safeguards in 
the case of Peach Bottom, Unit 1, or the Director of the Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, in the case of Peach Bottom, Units 2 and 3, 
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 prior 
written consent of the Director of the Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards in the case of Peach Bottom, Unit 1, or the 
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in the case of 
Peach Bottom, Units 2 and 3.
    (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 Peach Bottom, 
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 Peach Bottom, 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 Peach Bottom, Units 1, 2 and 3, PECO 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 Peach Bottom, 
Units 1, 2, and 3 is conditioned upon all of the PECO and Commonwealth 
Edison Company 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 4 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 3, February 14, March 10, March 23, March 30, and June 15, 
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,

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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. 00-20575 Filed 8-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P