[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 157 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49605-49606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20577]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-295, 50-304]


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

I

    Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd, the licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-39 and DPR-48 for the Zion Nuclear 
Power Station, Units 1 and 2 (the facility). The facility was shut down 
permanently in February 1997. ComEd certified the permanent shutdown on 
February 13, 1998, and certified that all fuel had been removed from 
the reactor vessels on March 9, 1998. In accordance with 10 CFR 
50.82(a)(2), the facility operating licenses no longer authorize ComEd 
to operate the reactors or to load fuel in the reactor vessels. The 
facility is located at the licensee's site in Lake 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), 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 
miscellaneous 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 Zion, 
Units 1 and 2.
    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 will be 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 12586). 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, 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 Zion, Units 1 and 2, in the following 
minimum amounts, when Zion, Units 1 and 2, are transferred to Exelon 
Generation Company:
Zion, Unit 1--$212,081,612
Zion, Unit 2--$222,708,468
    (3) The Decommissioning trust agreements for Zion, 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 Zion, 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.

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    (e) The appropriate section of the decommissioning trusts agreement 
shall state that the trustee, investment advisor, or anyone else 
directing the investments made in the trusts 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 Zion, 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 Zion, 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 Zion, 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 Zion, 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 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 12 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. 00-20577 Filed 8-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P