[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 21, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15911-15913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-6983]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-245, 50-336, 50-423]


In the Matter of Northeast Nuclear Energy Company, et al., 
(Millstone Nuclear Power Station Unit Nos. 1, 2, and 3); Order 
Approving Transfer of Licenses and Conforming Amendments

I.

    Northeast Nuclear Energy Company (NNECO) is a non-owner co-licensee 
of Facility Operating License No. DPR-21, which authorizes possession 
and maintenance but not operation of Millstone Nuclear Power Station, 
Unit 1 (MP1), and the licensed operator and non-owner of Facility 
Operating License Nos. DPR-65 and NPF-49, which authorize the 
possession, use, and operation of Millstone Nuclear Power Station, Unit 
2 (MP2) and Unit 3 (MP3). The units are owned by various co-licensees 
as listed below. All three units (the facilities) are located at the 
licensees' site in New London County, Connecticut.

[[Page 15912]]

II.

    Under cover of a letter dated August 31, 2000, NNECO submitted an 
application requesting approval of the proposed transfer of the 
facility operating licenses to the extent now held by NNECO, the 
licensed operator and non-owner of the facilities, and the co-licensee 
selling owners listed below holding ownership interests in the 
facilities to a new generating company, Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, 
Inc. (DNC). DNC is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Dominion 
Energy, which is in turn wholly owned by Dominion Resources, Inc. 
(DRI). NNECO also requested approval of conforming license amendments 
to reflect the transfer. Supplemental information was provided by 
submittals dated October 12 and November 8, 2000, and February 16, 
2001. Hereinafter, the August 31, 2000, application and supplemental 
information will be referred to collectively as the ``application.'' 
The conforming amendments would remove NNECO and the transferring 
owners (listed below) from the facility operating licenses and would 
add Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc. in its place. After completion 
of the proposed transfer, DNC will be the sole owner of, and be 
authorized to maintain, MP1, will be the sole owner and operator of 
MP2, and will hold a 93.4707% ownership interest in MP3 and will be the 
sole operator of MP3. Central Vermont Public Service Corporation 
(Central Vermont), which holds a 1.7303% ownership interest in MP3, and 
Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (Massachusetts 
Municipal), which holds a 4.7990% ownership interest in MP3, are the 
only licensee owners of MP3 that are not involved in the subject 
license transfers.
    The following is a list of the licensees involved in the license 
transfers that hold ownership interests in MP1, MP2, and MP3, and their 
respective interests:

MP1 and MP2
    The Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P) (81%)
    Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) (19%)
M3
    CL&P (52.9330%)
    WMECO (12.2385%)
    Public Service Co. of New Hampshire (2.8475%)
    The United Illuminating Company (3.6850%)
    New England Power Company (16.2140%)
    Central Maine Power Company (2.5000%)
    Chicopee Municipal Lighting Plant (1.3500%)
    Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (1.0870%)
    Vermont Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative (0.3500%)
    Fitchburg Gas & Electric Light Company (0.2170%)
    Village of Lyndonville Electric Department (0.0487%)

    NNECO requested approval of the transfer of facility operating 
licenses and conforming license amendments pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 
10 CFR 50.90. The staff published a notice of the request for approval 
and an opportunity for a hearing in the Federal Register on October 24, 
2000 (65 FR 63630). The Commission received no comments or requests for 
hearing pursuant to the 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, and relying upon the 
representations and agreements contained in the application, the NRC 
staff has determined that DNC is qualified to hold the licenses to the 
extent proposed in the application, and that the transfer of the 
licenses to DNC 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 
(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 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 March 9, 2001.

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 DNC is approved, 
subject to the following conditions:
    (1) DNC shall not take any action that would cause DRI or its 
parent companies to void, cancel, or diminish DNC's commitment to have 
sufficient funds available to fund an extended shutdown of MP2 and MP3 
as represented in the application for approval of the transfer of the 
licenses for MP2 and MP3.
    (2) The Selling Owners of MP2 and MP3 shall transfer to the DNC 
decommissioning trusts for MP2 and MP3 at the time the Selling Owners' 
interests in the Millstone licenses are transferred to DNC, all of the 
Selling Owners' accumulated decommissioning trust funds for MP2 and 
MP3. Immediately following such transfer, the amounts in the DNC 
decommissioning trusts must, with respect to the interests in MP2 and 
MP3 transferred from the Selling Owners that DNC would then hold, be at 
a level no less than the formula amounts under 10 CFR 50.75.
    (3) On the closing date of the transfer of the Selling Owners' 
interests in MP1 to DNC, DNC shall: (1) obtain from the Selling Owners 
of MP1 the decommissioning trust fund for MP1 in an amount no less than 
$268,300,000; and (2) receive a parent company guarantee pursuant to 10 
CFR 50.75(e)(1)(iii)(B) (to be updated annually as required under 10 
CFR 50.75(f)(1) and 50.82(a)(8)(iv), unless otherwise approved by the 
NRC) in an amount which, when combined with the decommissioning trust 
fund for MP1, equals a total of the site-specific decommissioning 
funding cost as of the closing date of the transfer as estimated (in 
year 2000 dollars) in accordance with 10 CFR 50.82 (including the use 
of a 2 percent annual real rate of return as provided in 10 CFR 
50.75(e)(1)(i)).
    (4) The decommissioning trust agreement for MP1, MP2, and MP3 at 
the time the transfer of the units to DNC is effected and thereafter, 
are subject to the following conditions:
    (a) The decommissioning trust agreement must be in a form 
acceptable to the NRC.
    (b) With respect to the decommissioning trust funds, investment in 
the securities or other obligations of DRI or its affiliates, 
successors, or assigns are prohibited. Except for investments tied to 
market

[[Page 15913]]

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 agreement must provide that no 
disbursements or payments from the trusts, other than for ordinary 
administrative expenses, shall be made by the trustee until the trustee 
has first given the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation 30 days prior written notice of payment. The decommissioning 
trust agreement 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 agreement must provide that the 
agreement cannot 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 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.
    (5) DNC 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 MP1, MP2, and MP3 
licenses and the requirements of this Order approving the transfer, and 
consistent with the safety evaluation supporting this Order.
    (6) Before the completion of the transfer of MP1, MP2, and MP3, to 
it, DNC shall provide the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, satisfactory documentary evidence that DNC has obtained the 
appropriate amount of financial insurance required of licensees under 
10 CFR Part 140, and the property insurance required of licensees under 
10 CFR 50.54(w) of the Commission's regulations.
    (7) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
transfer of MP1, MP2, and MP3, DNC 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 March 9, 2002, this 
Order shall become null and void; however, upon written application and 
for good cause shown, the date may be extended in writing.
    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 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 August 31, 2000, and supplemental submittals dated 
October 12 and November 8, 2000, and February 16, 2001, and the safety 
evaluation dated March 9, 2001, which are available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland, 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 9th day of March 2001.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-6983 Filed 3-20-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P