[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 68 (Thursday, April 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18653-18654]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-780]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-245, 50-336, and 50-423; License Nos. DPR-21, DPR-65 
and NPF-49]


In the Matter of Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc., Millstone 
Power Station, Unit Nos. 1, 2, and 3; Order Approving Indirect Transfer 
of Control of Licenses

    Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc. (DNC or the licensee) is 
licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) 
to possess and maintain, but not operate, Millstone Power Station, Unit 
No. 1, and possess, maintain, and operate (in conjunction with certain 
unaffiliated owners of Millstone, Unit No. 3) Millstone Power Station, 
Unit Nos. 2 and 3 (Millstone Units or the facilities) under Facility 
Operating License Nos. DPR-21, DPR-65, and NPF-49, issued by the 
Commission on October 7, 1970, September 26, 1975, and January 31, 
1986, respectively. The Millstone Units are located at the licensee's 
site in New London County, Connecticut.
    By application dated October 8, 2003, as supplemented November 7, 
2003, DNC requested that the Commission consent, to the extent that 
proposed corporate restructuring results in an indirect transfer, to 
the indirect transfer of control of these facility operating licenses 
for the Millstone Units. The indirect transfer would result from the 
planned corporate restructuring involving certain intermediate 
subsidiaries of DNC's parent company, Dominion Resources, Inc. (DRI). 
DNC is a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of DRI.
    DRI directly owns Virginia Electric & Power Company (VEPCO), 
Dominion Energy, Inc. (DEI), and Consolidated Natural Gas Company 
(CNG). DEI owns 100% of Dominion Nuclear, Inc. (DNI), and CNG owns 100% 
of Dominion Retail, Inc. (Retail). DNI is the parent company of 
Dominion Nuclear Holdings, Inc. (DNH), Dominion Nuclear Marketing I, 
Inc. (DNMI), Dominion Nuclear Marketing II, Inc. (DNMII), and Dominion 
Nuclear Marketing III, LLC (DNMIII). DNH and Retail also have part 
ownership of DNMIII. DNMI, DNMII, and DNMIII are the direct parent 
companies of DNC, the holder of the licenses of the Millstone Units. 
This corporate structure can be graphically seen as Exhibit B, 
``Current Corporate Ownership of Dominion Nuclear Connecticut,'' in the 
October 8, 2003, Application.
    The proposed corporate restructuring will have DRI continue to own 
VEPCO, DEI and CNG. Dominion Energy Marketing, Inc. (DEM) will be 
formed by merging DNMI and DNMII, and will be the direct subsidiary of 
DEI and a parent company of DNC. DNI will be eliminated and, therefore, 
will no longer be a subsidiary of DEI, and DNH will become a direct 
subsidiary of DEI. CNG will continue to be the direct parent company of 
Retail, and Retail will continue to be a direct parent company of 
DNMIII. Thus, only DEM and DNMIII will be the direct parent companies 
of DNC. This proposed corporate restructuring can be graphically seen 
as Exhibit C, ``Corporate Ownership of Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, 
After Proposed Realignment,'' in the October 8, 2003, Application.
    DNC would continue to own (in the case of Millstone, Unit No. 3, 
along with certain unaffiliated co-owners) the Millstone Units 
following approval of the proposed indirect transfer of the license, 
and would continue to be exclusively responsible for the operation 
(except for Millstone Power Station, Unit No. 1), maintenance and 
eventual decommissioning of the facilities. No physical changes to the 
facilities or operational changes were proposed in the application.
    Approval of the indirect transfer of the operating licenses was 
requested by DNC pursuant to title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), section 50.80. Notice of the request for approval 
and an opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal Register 
on November 12, 2003 (68 FR 64132). No hearing requests or written 
comments were received.
    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 gives its consent in 
writing. After reviewing the information in the application from DNC 
and other information before the Commission, the NRC staff has 
determined that the corporate restructuring involving certain 
intermediate subsidiaries of DRI will not affect the qualifications of 
DNC as the holder of the licenses and that the indirect transfer of 
control of the licenses, to the extent effected by the foregoing 
transaction, is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, 
regulations, and orders issued by the Commission, subject to the 
conditions set forth below. The foregoing findings are supported by a 
Safety Evaluation (SE) dated April 2, 2004.
    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 
application regarding the indirect transfer of the control of Facility 
Operating License Nos. DPR-21, DPR-65 and NPF-49 referenced above is 
approved, subject to the following condition: should the planned 
restructuring by DRI not be completed by December 31, 2004, this Order 
shall become null and void, provided that upon written application and 
for good cause shown, such date may be extended.

[[Page 18654]]

    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application dated October 8, 2003, as supplemented on November 7, 2003, 
and the SE dated April 2, 2004, 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 from the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html.

    Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of April, 2004.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Herbert N. Berkow,
Acting Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor.
 [FR Doc. E4-780 Filed 4-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P