[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 130 (Thursday, July 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32967-32968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16248]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499; NRC-2009-0296]


Exelon Corporation and NRG Energy, Inc.; South Texas Project, 
Units 1 and 2; Notice of Consideration of Approval of Application 
Regarding Proposed Merger of NRG Energy, Inc. and Exelon Corporation, 
and Indirect Transfers of NRG South Texas LP's Facility Operating 
Licenses, and Opportunity for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission, NRC) is 
considering the issuance of an order under Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.80 approving the indirect 
transfer of control of the Facility Operating Licenses, which are 
numbered NPF-76 and NPF-80, for the South Texas Project (STP), Units 1 
and 2, respectively, to the extent held by NRG South Texas LP (NRG 
South Texas).
    According to an application for approval filed by Exelon 
Corporation (Exelon), acting on behalf of itself, Exelon Xchange 
Corporation (Xchange Corp.), Exelon Ventures Company, LLC (Exelon 
Ventures), and Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon Generation) 
(together, the applicants), Exelon Corporation is planning to merge 
with NRG Energy, Inc., which is the ultimate parent company of NRG 
South Texas. The applicants requested that the NRC consent to the 
indirect transfer of control of the STP, Units 1 and 2, licenses, to 
the extent owned by NRG South Texas, that would result from this 
merger. NRG South Texas owns 44 percent of the STP, Units 1 and 2. The 
City Public Service Board of San Antonio and City of Austin, Texas, 
own, respectively 40 percent and 16 percent of STP, Units 1 and 2, but 
are not involved in the proposed merger.
    In addition to NRG South Texas' 44 percent undivided ownership 
interest in STP, Units 1 and 2, NRG South Texas holds a corresponding 
interest in STP Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC), a not-for-profit 
Texas corporation, which is the licensed operator of STP, Units 1 and 
2. Thus, the indirect transfer of control of NRG South Texas would also 
result in the indirect transfer of control of this interest in STPNOC. 
The applicants state that this is not a controlling interest in STPNOC 
and, therefore, there will be no indirect transfer of STPNOC's licenses 
to operate on behalf of the owners. The applicants indicate that if the 
NRC concludes that indirect transfer of control of NRG South Texas' 
interest in STPNOC requires prior NRC consent, it requests such 
consent.
    No physical changes to STP, Units 1 and 2, or operational changes 
are being proposed in the application.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder, 
shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of 
control of the licenses, unless the Commission shall give its consent 
in writing. The Commission will approve an application for the indirect 
transfer of a license, if the Commission determines that the proposed 
transaction effecting the indirect transfer will not affect the 
qualifications of the licensee to hold the license and that the 
transfer is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, 
regulations, and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto. In 
this instance, Exelon asserts that the proposed indirect transfer will 
not result in any change in the licensee's financial qualifications or 
operating organization.
    The Commission is reviewing the application and has not made any 
decision regarding the outcome of its review.
    The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to 
intervene, and written comments with regard to the license transfer 
application, are discussed below.
    Within 20 days from the date of publication of this notice, any 
person(s) whose interest may be affected by the Commission's action on 
the application may request a hearing and intervention via electronic 
submission through the NRC E-filing system. Requests for a hearing and 
petitions for leave to intervene should be filed in accordance with the 
Commission's rules of practice set forth in Subpart C, ``Rules of 
General Applicability: Hearing Requests, Petitions to Intervene, 
Availability of Documents, Selection of Specific Hearing Procedures, 
Presiding Officer Powers, and General Hearing Management for NRC 
Adjudicatory Hearings,'' of 10 CFR part 2. In particular, such requests 
and petitions must comply with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR 
2.309. Untimely requests and petitions may be denied, as provided in 10 
CFR 2.309(c)(1), unless good cause for failure to file on time is 
established. In addition, an untimely request or petition should 
address the factors that the Commission will also consider, in 
reviewing untimely requests or petitions, set forth in 10 CFR 
2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii).
    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or 
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by 
interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), 
must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule, which the NRC 
promulgated in August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49139). The E-Filing process 
requires participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents 
over the internet, or in some cases to mail copies on electronic 
storage media. Participants may not submit paper copies of their 
filings unless they seek an exemption in accordance with the procedures 
described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 
ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/requestor 
should contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a 
digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2) 
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances 
in which the petitioner/requestor (or its counsel or representative) 
already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each petitioner/
requestor will need to download the Workplace Forms ViewerTM 
to access the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the 
E-Filing system. The Workplace Forms ViewerTM is free and is 
available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
    Once a petitioner/requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, 
had a docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit 
a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions 
should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC 
guidance available on the NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the filer submits its

[[Page 32968]]

documents through EIE. To be timely, an electronic filing must be 
submitted to the EIE system no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 
the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-
stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-mail notice confirming 
receipt of the document. The EIE system also distributes an e-mail 
notice that provides access to the document to the NRC Office of the 
General Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the 
Secretary that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the 
filer need not serve the documents on those participants separately. 
Therefore, applicants and other participants (or their counsel or 
representative) must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate 
before a hearing request/petition to intervene is filed so that they 
can obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically may seek assistance through the 
``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC Meta-System Help 
Desk, which is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays. The toll-free 
help line number is 1-866-672-7640.or by e-mail at 
[email protected].
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth 
Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville, Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. 
Participants filing a document in this manner are responsible for 
serving the document on all other participants. Filing is considered 
complete by first-class mail as of the time of deposit in the mail, or 
by courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service upon depositing 
the document with the provider of the service.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
http://ehd.nrc.gov/ehd_proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant 
to an order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or 
a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include personal 
privacy information, such as social security numbers, home addresses, 
or home phone numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or 
other law requires submission of such information. With respect to 
copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose 
of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use 
application, participants are requested not to include copyrighted 
materials in their submissions.
    The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a 
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for 
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A 
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and 
served on the parties to the hearing.
    Within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice, persons 
may submit written comments regarding the license transfer application, 
as provided for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The Commission will consider and, if 
appropriate, respond to these comments, but such comments will not 
otherwise constitute part of the decisional record. Comments are not 
subject to the e-filing rule and should be submitted to the Secretary, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and should cite the 
publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. 
Comments may also be sent by e-mail to [email protected].
    For further details with respect to this license transfer 
application, see the application dated January 29, 2009, as 
supplemented by letter dated March 18, 2009, 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, or 301-415-4737 or by 
e-mail to [email protected].
    Attorney for applicants: Mr. J. Bradley Fewell, Associate General 
Counsel, Counsel for Exelon Nuclear, 4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, 
IL 60555.
    Attorney for NRG Energy, Inc.: Mr. Daniel F. Stenger, Partner, 
Hogan & Hartson, LLP, 555 Thirteenth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20004.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of July 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mohan C. Thadani,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-16248 Filed 7-8-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P