[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41309-41310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-15482]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-244]


In the Matter of Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (R.E. 
Ginna Nuclear Power Plant), Order Approving Transfer of License and 
Conforming Amendment

    Note: This Order was published on May 28, 2004, and has been 
subsequently modified by Order Modifying May 28, 2004, Order 
Approving Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment (June 14, 
2004, 69 FR 33075).

    Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (RG&E) is the holder of

[[Page 41310]]

Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-18, which authorizes the 
operation of R. E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (Ginna) at steady-state 
power levels not in excess of 1520 megawatts thermal. The facility is 
located on the south shore of Lake Ontario, in Wayne County, New York. 
The license authorizes Ginna to possess, use, and operate the facility.
    By letter dated December 16, 2003, RG&E and Constellation 
Generation Group, LLC (CGG), acting on behalf of Constellation's newly 
formed indirect subsidiary, R. E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC, 
(Ginna LLC), jointly submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) requesting approval of the transfer of Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-18 for Ginna from RG&E to Ginna LLC. The 
licensee, RG&E, and Ginna LLC also jointly requested approval of a 
conforming amendment to reflect the transfer. The application was 
supplemented by submittals dated March 26 and April 30, 2004, from RG&E 
and February 27, and April 30, 2004, from CGG. The application and 
supplements are collectively referred to herein as the application, 
unless otherwise noted.
    Ginna LLC, a Maryland limited liability company, is an indirect 
wholly owned subsidiary of CGG. According to the application, Ginna LLC 
would assume title to the facility following approval of the proposed 
license transfer. The conforming license amendment would remove 
references to RG&E from the license and add references to Ginna LLC, as 
appropriate, and make other administrative changes to reflect the 
proposed transfer.
    RG&E and CGG 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 January 22, 2004 (69 FR 3183). The Commission received no 
requests for a hearing and no 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 NRC staff has 
determined that Ginna LLC is qualified to be the holder of the license 
to the extent proposed in the application, and that the transfer of the 
license to Ginna LLC 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 28, 
2004.
    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 Ginna LLC is approved, subject to the following 
conditions:
    (1) Before the completion of the sale and transfer of Ginna, Ginna 
LLC shall provide the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation satisfactory documentary evidence that Ginna LLC has 
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 Ginna, Ginna LLC shall 
obtain from RG&E a minimum of $201.6 million for decommissioning 
funding assurance for the facility, and ensure the deposit of such 
funds into a decommissioning trust for Ginna established by Ginna LLC.
    (3) Decommissioning Trust.
    (i) The decommissioning trust agreement must be in a form 
acceptable to the NRC.
    (ii) Ginna LLC 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) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
transfer of Ginna, Ginna LLC 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 Ginna no 
later than 7 business days prior to the date of closing. If the 
transfer of the license is not completed by June 1, 2005, 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 December 16, 2003, and supplemental letters from RG&E 
dated March 26, and April 30, 2004, and from CGG dated February 27, and 
April 30, 2004, and the Safety Evaluation dated May 28, 2004, which are 
available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document 
Room, located at One White Flint North, File Public Area O1F21, 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 in Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of May 2004.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
J.E. Dyer,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-15482 Filed 7-7-04; 8:45 am]
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