[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 100 (Thursday, May 23, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36269-36270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-12990]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-271]


Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation (Vermont Yankee Nuclear 
Power Station); Order Approving Transfer of License and Conforming 
Amendment

I

    Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation (VYNPC or the licensee) is 
the holder of Facility Operating License No. DPR-28, which authorizes 
the operation of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (Vermont Yankee 
or the facility) at steady-state power levels not in excess of 1,593 
megawatts thermal. The facility is located at the licensee's site in 
the Town of Vernon, Windham County, Vermont. The license authorizes 
VYNPC to possess, use, and operate the facility.

II

    Under cover of a letter dated October 5, 2001, Entergy Nuclear 
Vermont Yankee, LLC (Entergy Nuclear VY), Entergy Nuclear Operations, 
Inc. (ENO), and VYNPC jointly submitted an application requesting 
approval of the transfer of Facility Operating License No. DPR-28 for 
Vermont Yankee from VYNPC to Entergy Nuclear VY and ENO. The licensee, 
Entergy Nuclear VY, and ENO also jointly requested approval of a 
conforming amendment to reflect the transfer. The application was 
supplemented by submittals dated November 7 and 8, 2001, and January 23 
and April 30, 2002, collectively referred to as the ``application'' 
herein unless otherwise indicated.
    Entergy Nuclear VY, a Delaware limited liability company, is an 
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Corporation and an indirect 
wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Nuclear Holding Company 3. 
ENO, a Delaware corporation, is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of 
Entergy Corporation and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy 
Nuclear Holding Company 2. According to the application, 
Entergy Nuclear VY will assume title to the facility, while ENO will 
operate and maintain Vermont Yankee. The conforming license amendment 
would remove references to VYNPC from the license and add references to 
Entergy Nuclear VY and ENO, as appropriate, and make other 
administrative changes to reflect the proposed transfer.
    VYNPC, Entergy Nuclear VY, and ENO requested approval of the 
transfer of the license and a conforming license amendment pursuant to 
10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of the requests for approval and an 
opportunity to request a hearing or submit written comments was 
published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2001 (66 FR 63566). 
The Commission received no requests for hearing or written comments.
    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. After 
reviewing the information submitted in the application and other 
information before the Commission, and relying upon the representations 
and agreements contained in the application, the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) staff has determined that Entergy Nuclear VY and ENO 
are qualified to be the holders of the license to the extent proposed 
in the application, and that the transfer of the license to Entergy 
Nuclear VY and ENO 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 amendment 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 amendment 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 amendment will not be 
inimical to the common defense and security or the health and safety of 
the public; and the issuance of the proposed license amendment 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 the staff's safety evaluation dated May 17, 
2002.

III

    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234; 
and 10 CFR 50.80, it is hereby ordered that the transfer of the license 
as described herein to Entergy Nuclear VY and ENO is approved, subject 
to the following conditions:
    (1) Before the completion of the sale and transfer of Vermont 
Yankee, Entergy Nuclear VY and ENO shall provide the Director of the 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation satisfactory documentary evidence 
that Entergy Nuclear VY and ENO have obtained the appropriate amount of 
insurance required of licensees under 10 CFR part 140 of the 
Commission's regulations.
    (2) On the closing date of the transfer of Vermont Yankee, Entergy 
Nuclear VY shall obtain from VYNPC all of the accumulated 
decommissioning trust funds for the facility, and ensure the deposit of 
such funds into a decommissioning trust for Vermont Yankee established 
by Entergy Nuclear VY. If the amount of such funds does not meet or 
exceed the minimum amount required for the facility pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.75, Entergy Nuclear VY shall at such time deposit additional funds 
into the trust and/or obtain a parent company guarantee (to be updated 
annually) and/or obtain a surety pursuant to 10 CFR 50.75(e)(1)(iii) in 
a form acceptable to the NRC and in an amount or amounts which, when 
combined with the decommissioning trust funds for the facility that 
have been obtained and deposited as required above, equals or exceeds 
the total amount required for the facility pursuant to 10 CFR 50.75. To 
the extent Entergy Nuclear VY will obtain a parent company guarantee 
and/or surety to comply with the requirements of this Order, specific 
documentation of (a) the form of the guarantee and/or surety, and (b) 
the satisfaction of applicable financial tests

[[Page 36270]]

and requirements for such guarantee and/or surety under NRC regulations 
shall be provided to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation no later than 30 days prior to the closing of the transfer 
of the facility. The decommissioning trust, and surety if utilized, 
shall be subject to or be consistent with the following requirements, 
as applicable:

a. Decommissioning Trust

    (i) The decommissioning trust agreement must be in a form 
acceptable to the NRC.
    (ii) With respect to the decommissioning trust funds, investments 
in the securities or other obligations of Entergy Corporation and its 
affiliates, successors, or assigns shall be prohibited. In addition, 
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.
    (iii) The decommissioning trust agreement must provide that no 
disbursements or payments from the trust, other than for ordinary 
administrative expenses, shall be made by the trustee until the trustee 
has first given the NRC 30 days prior written notice of payment. The 
decommissioning trust agreement shall further contain a provision that 
no disbursements or payments from the trust shall be made if the 
trustee receives prior written notice of objection from the Director of 
the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
    (iv) 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.
    (v) The appropriate section of the decommissioning trust agreement 
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.

b. Surety

    (i) The surety agreement must be in a form acceptable to the NRC 
and be in accordance with all applicable NRC regulations.
    (ii) The surety company providing any surety obtained to comply 
with this Order shall be one of those listed by the U.S. Department of 
the Treasury in the most recent edition of Circular 570 and shall have 
a coverage limit sufficient to cover the amount of the surety.
    (iii) Entergy Nuclear VY shall establish a standby trust to receive 
funds from the surety, if a surety is obtained, in the event that 
Entergy Nuclear VY defaults on its funding obligations for the 
decommissioning of Vermont Yankee. The standby trust agreement must be 
in a form acceptable to the NRC, and shall conform with all conditions 
otherwise applicable to the decommissioning trust agreement.
    (iv) The surety agreement must provide that the agreement cannot be 
amended in any material respect, or terminated, without 30 days prior 
written notification to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
    (3) Entergy Nuclear VY shall take all necessary steps to ensure 
that the decommissioning trust is maintained in accordance with the 
application and the requirements of this Order, and consistent with the 
safety evaluation supporting this Order.
    (4) Entergy Nuclear VY and ENO shall take no action to cause 
Entergy Global Investments, Inc., or Entergy International Holdings 
Ltd. LLC, or their parent companies to void, cancel, or modify the 
lines of credit to provide funding for Vermont Yankee as represented in 
the application without prior written consent of the Director of the 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
    (5) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
transfer of Vermont Yankee, Entergy Nuclear VY, ENO, and VYNPC shall 
inform the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in 
writing of such receipt within 5 business days, and of the closing date 
of the sale and transfer of Vermont Yankee no later than 7 business 
days prior to the date of closing. If the transfer of the license is 
not completed by May 30, 2003, this Order shall become null and void, 
provided, however, on written application and for good cause shown, 
this date may, in writing, be extended.
    It is further ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), a 
license amendment that makes changes, as indicated in Enclosure 2 to 
the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform the license to 
reflect the subject license transfer is approved. The amendment shall 
be issued and made effective at the time the proposed license transfer 
is completed.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the initial 
application dated October 5, 2001, supplemental letters dated November 
7 and 8, 2001, and January 23 and April 30, 2002, and the safety 
evaluation dated May 17, 2002, 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 ADAMS Public Electronic 
Reading Room link at the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of May 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-12990 Filed 5-22-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P