[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 13801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6321]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2008-0285; Docket Nos. 50-295 and 50-304; License Nos. DPR-39 and 
DPR-48]


Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 
1 and 2; Order Extending the Effectiveness of the Approval of the 
Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment

I

    Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon) is the holder of licenses 
DPR-39 and DPR-48, for the Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2 
(Zion facilities). Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) section 50.82(a)(2), operation of the Zion 
facilities is no longer authorized under the Part 50 licenses. Exelon 
is licensed to possess, but not use or operate the Zion facilities, 
which are located in Lake County, Illinois.

II

    By Order dated May 4, 2009 (Transfer Order), the Commission 
consented to the direct transfer of control of Zion's license to 
ZionSolutions LLC, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80. By its terms, the Transfer 
Order becomes null and void if the license transfer is not completed 
within 1 year, unless upon application and for good cause shown, the 
Commission extends the Transfer Order's May 4, 2010, expiration date.

III

    By letter dated January 26, 2010, Exelon and ZionSolutions, LLC 
(ZS) (collectively, ``the applicants'') submitted a request to extend 
the effectiveness of the Transfer Order by 6 months, until November 4, 
2010. According to the letter, past fluctuations in the financial 
markets caused the license transfers to be delayed. Upon transfer, 
ZionSolutions must receive assets with sufficient market value to 
assure that ZionSolutions will have adequate resources to complete the 
decommissioning project. As of December 31, 2009, the market value of 
the combined Zion trust funds recovered to approximately $888 million. 
The applicants stated that improvement in financial market performance 
needs to continue for only a few more months for the value to reach a 
level adequate to complete the project. The applicants further state 
that considerable progress has been made toward the acquisition of an 
irrevocable Letter of Credit in the amount of at least $200 million, 
which is a condition of the Transfer Order. This additional financial 
assurance instrument was unavailable for several months during the 
recent financial market fluctuations, and the applicants further state 
that the Letter of Credit will become available within a few months. 
While the applicants believe that the extra 6 months may later not be 
needed, they consider it prudent to request an extension to accommodate 
possible further delays that financial market fluctuations could cause. 
Therefore, the applicants requested an extension of the Transfer Order 
by 6 months to permit completion of the Zion license transfers. In 
their January 26, 2010, letter the applicants stated that the technical 
qualifications of the new organization and other bases for approving 
the transfers remain intact, and the contractual and financial 
arrangements, as described in the application and supplemental 
information, remain valid.
    Based on the above representations, the NRC staff has determined 
that the applicants have shown good cause for extending the 
effectiveness of the Order by 6 months, as requested.

IV

    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 Order's 
expiration date is extended until November 4, 2010. If the subject 
license transfer from Exelon to ZionSolutions, LLC referenced above is 
not completed by November 4, 2010, the Transfer Order of May 4, 2009, 
shall become null and void, unless upon application and for good cause 
shown, the Commission further extends the effectiveness of the Transfer 
Order.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the submittal 
dated January 26, 2010 (ML100261739), which is available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at 
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21 (First 
Floor), Rockville, Maryland and accessible electronically from the 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (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 at [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of March 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Charles L. Miller,
Director, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental 
Management Programs.
[FR Doc. 2010-6321 Filed 3-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P