[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 157 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49613-49614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20580]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-272 and 50-311]


PECO Energy Company (Salem Generating Station Units 1 and 2); 
Order Approving Transfer of Licenses and Conforming Amendments

I

    PECO Energy Company (PECO) owns 42.59 percent of Salem Generating 
Station, Units 1 and 2 (the facility) and in connection therewith is a 
co-holder of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-70 and DPR-75, which 
authorize possession, use, and operation of the facility. Public 
Service Gas and Electric Company (PSE&G) another co-owner of the 
facility, is the licensed operator. The facility is located at the 
licensee's site in Salem County, New Jersey.

II

    Under cover of a letter dated December 20, 1999, PECO submitted an 
application requesting approval of the transfer of the licenses for the 
facility, to the extent held by PECO, in connection with the proposed 
transfer of its ownership interest in Salem, Units 1 and 2, 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), parent of Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd), 
and PECO. 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.'' 
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.90, PSE&G submitted an application dated December 
22, 1999, for conforming license amendments to reflect the proposed 
license transfer. This application was supplemented by the PECO 
submittal dated June 15, 2000. 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 owner of PECO's 42.59 
percent interest in Salem, Units 1 and 2. PSE&G will continue to be the 
sole operator of the facility.
    By a separate application dated December 20, 1999, ComEd 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 was 
requested by PECO pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80. Notice of the request for 
approval and consideration of approval of the conforming amendments, 
and an opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal Register 
on March 9, 2000 (65 FR 12591). 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 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 application, 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 regulation 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 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 book of accounts.
    (2) PECO shall transfer to Exelon Generation Company the 
decommissioning trust funds for Salem, Units 1 and 2, in the following 
minimum amounts, when Salem, Units 1 and 2, are transferred to Exelon 
Generation Company:
Salem, Unit 1--$53,780,652
Salem, Unit 2--$45,059,302
    (3) At the time the transfer of the units to Exelon Generation 
Company is effected and thereafter, the decommissioning trust 
agreements for Salem, Units 1 and 2 shall be 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 Salem, Units 1 and 2, 
must provide that no disbursements or payments from the trust shall be 
made by the trustee unless the trustee has first

[[Page 49614]]

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 Salem, 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 subject ownership 
interest in Salem, 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 its ownership interest in Salem, Units 1 and 2, 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 Salem, Units 1 and 
2 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), a 
license amendment that makes changes, as indicated in Enclosure 6 to 
the letter forwarding this Order, to conform the licenses to reflect 
the subject license transfers is 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 
transfer application dated December 20, 1999, and amendment application 
dated December 22, 1999, and supplemental submittals dated January 3, 
February 14, March 10, March 23, March 30, and June 15, 2000, and 
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. 00-20580 Filed 8-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P