[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 4 (Friday, January 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 954-955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-17; License No. SNM-2509]


In the Matter of PacifiCorp (Trojan Nuclear Plant Independent 
Spent Fuel Storage Installation); Order Approving Application Regarding 
Proposed Acquisition Indirect Transfer of Materials License SNM-2509

I

    By application dated June 30, 2005, and supplemented on August 12, 
2005, PacifiCorp, together with PacifCorp Holdings, Inc., and 
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (MEHC), requested approval of the 
indirect transfer of control of Materials License No. SNM-2509 for the 
Trojan Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), with regard 
to PacifiCorp's 2.5 percent interest in the Trojan ISFSI, to MEHC. 
PacifiCorp is a non-operating licensee of the Trojan ISFSI, and will 
continue to hold the license. The request was in connection with the 
sale of PacifiCorp, which will become an indirect wholly-owned 
subsidiary of MEHC. The supplemental letter cited above did not expand 
the scope of the application beyond that noticed in the Federal 
Register on July 27, 2005 (70 FR 43461).
    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 10 CFR Part 50 license 
for the Trojan Nuclear Plant (License No. NPF-1) was terminated on May 
23, 2005, after completion of the radiological decommissioning of the 
nuclear plant. The Trojan ISFSI holds spent fuel from the former Trojan 
Nuclear Plant.
    PacifiCorp is a wholly owned subsidiary of PacifiCorp Holdings, 
Inc. (PHI), which in turn is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of 
Scottish Power, plc. PacifiCorp will be sold to PPW, LLC, a Delaware 
limited liability corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of MEHC. 
The name of the MEHC subsidiary that will acquire PacifiCorp was 
changed from NWQ Holdings, LLC to PPW Holdings, LLC. PacifiCorp 
operates an electric utility in six western states of the United 
States, serving approximately 1.6 million retail customers with annual 
revenues of approximately $3 billion per year. PacifiCorp will remain 
an electric utility after the sale to MEHC.
    MEHC, a global electric and natural gas utility operating in the 
United States, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines, serves 
approximately 4.4 million electric customers and 680,000 natural gas 
customers. Its annual operating revenue is approximately $6.5 billion.
    MEHC will purchase all the outstanding shares of PacifiCorp from 
PHI for a value of approximately $9.4 billion, consisting of 
approximately $5.1 billion in cash and approximately $4.3 billion in 
net debt and preferred stock which will remain outstanding at 
PacifiCorp.
    The Trojan ISFSI is jointly owned by three licensees: Portland 
General Electric Company (PGE) (67.5%); Eugene Water & Electric Board 
(30%); and PacifiCorp (2.5%). PGE has always been the sole operator of 
the Trojan ISFSI and will remain the sole operator. The Eugene Water & 
Electric Board and PacifiCorp are non-operating licensees. PacifiCorp 
has no right of access to the

[[Page 955]]

ISFSI. No physical changes will occur to the Trojan ISFSI as a result 
of the change in ownership of PacifiCorp. Thus, both the management and 
operation of the ISFSI will remain unchanged.

II

    The applicant requested approval of the indirect transfer of the 
Trojan ISFSI license, to the extent held by PacifiCorp, to MEHC, 
pursuant to 10 CFR 72.50(a) which states:

    No license or any part included in a license issued under this 
part for an ISFSI [Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation] or 
MRS [Monitored Retrievable Storage Installation] shall be 
transferred, assigned, or in any manner disposed of, either 
voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, through 
transfer of control of the license to any person, unless the 
Commission gives its consent in writing.

    The Commission will approve an application for the indirect 
transfer of a license, if, after appropriate notice and observance of 
required procedures, the Commission determines that: (1) The underlying 
transaction effecting the indirect transfer will not affect the 
qualifications of the holder of the license; and (2) the indirect 
transfer of the license is consistent with applicable provisions of the 
law, and the regulations and orders issued by the Commission.
    Upon review of the information in the application, and other 
information before the Commission, the NRC staff has determined that 
MEHC's proposed purchase of all the outstanding shares of PacifiCorp 
from PHI will not affect the qualifications of PacifiCorp as holder of 
Materials License No. SNM-2509, and that the indirect transfer of the 
license, to the extent effected by the proposed acquisition, is 
otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, 
and orders issued by the Commission, subject to the conditions set 
forth herein. These findings are supported by ``Safety Evaluation by 
the Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, PacifiCorp, 
Trojan Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, Docket No. 72-17,'' 
dated October 27, 2005.

III

    In view of the foregoing, the Commission finds that the acquisition 
of PacifiCorp by MEHC will not affect the qualifications of PacifiCorp 
to hold the Trojan ISFSI Materials License to the extent now held by 
PacifiCorp, and the indirect transfer of control of the license to MEHC 
is otherwise consistent with the applicable provisions of law, 
regulations, and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.
    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 
2201(i), 2201(o), and 2234; and 10 CFR 72.50, it is hereby ordered that 
the application regarding the indirect license transfer related to the 
proposed acquisition is approved, subject to the following conditions:
    (1) PacifiCorp shall provide the Director of the Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards a copy of any application, at the time 
it is filed, to transfer (excluding grants of security interests or 
liens) from PacifiCorp to its direct or indirect parent, or to any 
affiliated company, facilities for the production, transmission, or 
distribution of electric energy having a depreciated book value 
exceeding 10 percent (10%) of PacifiCorp's net utility plant, as 
recorded on its books of account.
    (2) Should the proposed indirect license transfer not be completed 
by December 31, 2006, this Order shall become null and void, provided, 
however, upon application and for good cause shown, such a date may be 
extended.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the application 
dated June 30, 2005, and supplement dated August 12, 2005, and the 
safety evaluation report dated October 27, 2005, which are available 
for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available 
records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room 
on the Internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter 
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact 
the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737 or by e-mail to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 29th day of December, 2005.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert C. Pierson,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E6-9 Filed 1-5-06; 8:45 am]
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