[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 250 (Thursday, December 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82406-82407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-33150]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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


In the Matter of PSEG Nuclear LLC, Philadelphia Electric Company, 
(PECO Energy Company), Delmarva Power and Light Company, Atlantic City 
Electric Company, (Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 and 2); 
Supplemental Order Regarding Approval of Transfer of Licenses and 
Conforming Amendments

I

    PSEG Nuclear LLC, Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO Energy 
Company), Delmarva Power and Light Company (DP&L), and Atlantic City 
Electric Company (ACE) are the joint owners of the Salem Nuclear 
Generating Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Salem), located in Salem County, 
New Jersey. They hold Facility Operating Licenses Nos. DPR-70 and DPR-
75, issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or 
Commission) on August 13, 1976, and May 20, 1981, respectively, 
pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR Part 50). Under these licenses, PSEG Nuclear LLC (currently owner 
of 42.59 percent of each Salem unit) is authorized to possess, use, and 
operate the Salem units. The current combined nonoperating ownership 
interests of DP&L and ACE are 14.82 percent of each Salem unit. They 
own 7.41 percent of each Salem unit individually.

II

    By an application dated December 20, 1999, as supplemented February 
11, and February 25, 2000, PSEG Nuclear LLC, DP&L, and ACE requested 
approval by the NRC of the transfer to PSEG Nuclear LLC of the Salem 
licenses, to the extent held by DP&L and ACE, in conjunction with the 
proposed acquisition of DP&L's and ACE's combined ownership interests 
in the Salem units by PSEG Nuclear LLC. DP&L and ACE are both 
subsidiaries of Conectiv. In response to that request, the NRC staff 
published a notice of the license transfer application, the related 
conforming amendment request included in the application, and an 
opportunity for a hearing in the Federal Register on February 18, 2000 
(65 FR 8452). No hearing requests were filed. The NRC approved the 
transfer request by an Order dated April 21, 2000. That Order, which 
contained several conditions of approval, was based in part on the 
premise that the DP&L and ACE interests would be transferred 
concurrently as a combined interest. In a supplemental application 
dated October 10, 2000, DP&L and ACE indicated that due to certain 
delays in receiving other necessary regulatory approvals, their 
interests in the Salem licenses need to be transferred independently in 
two phases to PSEG Nuclear LLC, namely the DP&L interest would be 
transferred first, followed by the transfer of the ACE interest. They 
asked that the effectiveness of the Order approving the license 
transfers be extended until December 31, 2001, due to the delays in 
receiving the other regulatory approvals, and that any necessary 
actions be taken to allow the transfers to occur in two phases.
    PSEG Nuclear LLC also requested approval of conforming license 
amendments, modified from the amendments previously approved to reflect 
the transfers as they may occur in two phases. The amendments would 
still delete references to DP&L and ACE to reflect the transfer of each 
of their interests, as they occur, in the licenses to PSEG Nuclear LLC.
    Approval of the transfers, as they may now occur in two phases, and 
corresponding modified conforming license amendments was requested 
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. The NRC staff determined that the 
supplemental application dated October 10, 2000, related only to 
schedular matters and did not involve any material changes to the 
underlying basis for the transfer approval Order dated April 21, 2000. 
Therefore, the supplemental application was within the scope of the 
February 18, 2000, Federal Register notice and did not require 
renoticing or a new opportunity for a hearing.
    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. After reviewing the information submitted in the October 10, 
2000, submittal and other information before the Commission, the NRC 
staff has determined that its previous findings set forth in the Order 
dated April 21, 2000, remain valid notwithstanding the transfers 
occurring in two phases, namely, PSEG Nuclear LLC is qualified to hold 
the license for each Salem unit to the same extent the licenses are now 
held by DP&L and ACE, and that the transfer of the licenses, as 
previously described herein, is otherwise consistent with applicable 
provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission, 
subject to the conditions described herein. The NRC staff has further 
found that the

[[Page 82407]]

supplemental application for the proposed license amendments to reflect 
the transfers occurring in two phases complies with the standards and 
requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), 
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 license amendments will be in accordance with 
10 CFR Part 51 of the Commission's regulations and all applicable 
requirements have been satisfied. These findings are supported by a 
safety evaluation dated December 21, 2000.

III

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 2201(b), 2201(i), and 
2234, and 10 CFR 50.80, It Is Hereby Ordered that the effectiveness of 
the Order dated April 21, 2000, is extended to December 31, 2001. Any 
concurrent transfer of the DP&L and ACE interests to PSEG Nuclear LLC 
shall remain subject to the terms and conditions of the April 21, 2000, 
Order.
    It Is Further Ordered that the license transfers from DP&L and ACE 
to PSEG Nuclear LLC may occur in two phases, as described above, 
subject to the following conditions:
    1. DP&L shall transfer to the PSEG Nuclear LLC decommissioning 
trusts for Salem at the time its interests in the Salem licenses are 
transferred to PSEG Nuclear LLC, all of DP&L's accumulated 
decommissioning trust funds for Salem Unit Nos. 1 and 2. Immediately 
following such transfer, the amounts in the PSEG Nuclear LLC 
decommissioning trusts must, with respect to the interests in Salem 
Unit Nos. 1 and 2 PSEG Nuclear LLC would then hold, be at a level no 
less than the formula amounts under 10 CFR Section 50.75.
    2. ACE shall transfer to the PSEG Nuclear LLC decommissioning 
trusts for Salem at the time its interests in the Salem licenses are 
transferred to PSEG Nuclear LLC, all of ACE's accumulated 
decommissioning trust funds for Salem Unit Nos. 1 and 2. Immediately 
following such transfer, the amounts in the PSEG Nuclear LLC 
decommissioning trusts must, with respect to the interests in Salem 
Unit Nos. 1 and 2 PSEG Nuclear LLC would then hold, be at a level no 
less than the formula amounts under 10 CFR Section 50.75.
    3. Conditions 3.a. through 3.e. of the April 21, 2000, Order, which 
have now been incorporated into the Salem licenses by a separate 
licensing action, shall remain applicable to the PSEG Nuclear LLC 
decommissioning trust agreements for Salem Unit Nos. 1 and 2. The 
citation in the foregoing condition 3.e. is corrected to read ``10 CFR 
35.32(a)(3)''.
    4. PSEG Nuclear LLC shall inform the Director, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, in writing, of the date of closing of each subject 
transfer no later than 2 business days before the date of each closing. 
If the transfer of the DP&L or ACE interests is not completed by 
December 31, 2001, this Order shall become null and void with respect 
to any such transfer not yet completed; however, on application and for 
good cause shown, such date may be extended.
    It Is Further Ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), 
license amendments that make changes, as indicated in Enclosure 2 to 
the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform each Salem license 
to reflect each subject license transfer are approved. To the extent 
the license pages in Enclosure 2 reflect intervening events and 
completed licensing actions that have occurred since the issuance of 
the April 21, 2000, Order, and therefore are inconsistent with the 
license pages referenced in that Order showing the changes to the 
licenses approved by that Order, the amendment pages approved by this 
Order supersede the previously approved license pages. Those amendments 
approved by this Order appropriate to the particular license transfers 
in fact occurring shall be issued and made effective at the time the 
corresponding license transfers are completed.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the submittal 
dated October 10, 2000, the previous related application dated December 
20, 1999, and supplements thereto dated February 11, and February 25, 
2000, which may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's 
Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 
Pike (first floor), Rockville, MD, and are accessible electronically 
through the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room link at the NRC Web 
site http://www.nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of December 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-33150 Filed 12-27-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P