[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 170 (Thursday, August 31, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53043-53044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-22345]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. Stn 50-454 and Stn 50-455]


Commonwealth Edison Company; Byron Station, Units 1 and 2; Notice 
of Consideration of Approval of Application Regarding Proposed 
Corporate Restructuring and Opportunity for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is 
considering the issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 approving the 
indirect transfer of Facility Operating Licenses Nos. NPF-37 and NPF-66 
for Byron Station, Units 1 and 2, currently held by Commonwealth Edison 
Company (ComEd), as the owner and licensed operator. The indirect 
transfer would be to a new holding company for ComEd, Exelon 
Corporation. ComEd is currently a subsidiary of Unicom Corporation 
(Unicom). The facility is located in Ogle County, Illinois.
    In an application dated July 7, 2000, as supplemented by a 
submittal dated July 13, 2000, ComEd referenced an earlier license 
transfer application dated December 20, 1999, and supplements thereto, 
that requested approval of the direct transfer of the Byron facility 
operating licenses (and other facility operating licenses held by 
ComEd, which transfers were the subject of separate notices) to a new 
proposed licensee, Exelon Generation Company, LLC (EGC). EGC is to be 
formed in connection with a pending merger between Unicom and PECO 
Energy Company (PECO), under which merger EGC, ComEd, and PECO are to 
become direct or indirect subsidiaries of Exelon Corporation. ComEd 
indicated in the July 7, 2000, application that the direct transfer of 
the licenses to EGC may be delayed for an interim period following the 
completion of the merger, pending the receipt of other regulatory 
approvals of the direct transfer to EGC. During this interim period, 
ComEd, which will have become a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation upon 
the closing of the merger, would continue to hold the Byron licenses 
until they are transferred to EGC. The July 7, 2000, application 
requests approval of the indirect transfer of the Byron licenses that 
would occur

[[Page 53044]]

upon Exelon Corporation becoming the new parent of ComEd while ComEd 
continues to hold the licenses for the above interim period. The direct 
transfer of the licenses from ComEd to EGC was recently approved by the 
NRC on August 3, 2000.
    According to the July 7, 2000, application, Unicom shareholders 
will become shareholders of Exelon Corporation. ComEd's technical and 
financial qualifications, and its decommissioning funding arrangement 
will be unchanged by the establishment of the new holding company and 
the corresponding indirect transfer of the licenses. No changes to the 
licenses or technical specifications, and no physical changes to the 
facility or operational changes are being proposed in the application.
    Pursuant to 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. The Commission will approve an application for the indirect 
transfer of a license if the Commission determines that the underlying 
transaction effecting the indirect transfer will not affect the 
qualifications of the holder of the license, and that the transfer is 
otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, 
and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.
    The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to 
intervene, and written comments with regard to the license transfer 
application, are discussed below.
    By September 20, 2000, any person whose interest may be affected by 
the Commission's action on the application may request a hearing and, 
if not, the applicant may petition for leave to intervene in a hearing 
proceeding on the Commission's action. Requests for a hearing and 
petitions for leave to intervene should be filed in accordance with the 
Commission's rules of practice set forth in Subpart M, ``Public 
Notification, Availability of Documents and Records, Hearing Requests 
and Procedures for Hearings on License Transfer Applications,'' of 10 
CFR Part 2. In particular, such requests and petitions must comply with 
the requirements set forth in 10 CFR 2.1306, and should address the 
considerations contained in 10 CFR 2.1308(a). Untimely requests and 
petitions may be denied, as provided in 10 CFR 2.1308(b), unless good 
cause for failure to file on time is established. In addition, an 
untimely request or petition should address the factors that the 
Commission will also consider, in reviewing untimely requests or 
petitions, set forth in 10 CFR 2.1308(b) (1)-(2).
    Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene should 
be served upon: Ms. Pamela B. Stroebel, Senior Vice President and 
General Counsel, Commonwealth Edison Company, P.O. Box 767, Chicago, 
Illinois 60690-0767; the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555 (e-mail address for filings regarding 
license transfer cases only: [email protected]); and the Secretary of the 
Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, in accordance 
with 10 CFR 2.1313.
    The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a 
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for 
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A 
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and 
served on the parties to the hearing.
    As an alternative to requests for hearing and petitions to 
intervene, by October 2, 2000, persons may submit written comments 
regarding the license transfer application, as provided for in 10 CFR 
2.1305. The Commission will consider and, if appropriate, respond to 
these comments, but such comments will not otherwise constitute part of 
the decisional record. Comments should be submitted to the Secretary, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and should cite the 
publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application dated July 7, 2000, as supplemented on July 13, 2000, 
available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document 
Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and 
available electronically through the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading 
Room link at the NRC Web site (http://www.NRC.gov).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 23rd day of August 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George F. Dick,
Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate III, Division of 
Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-22345 Filed 8-30-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P