[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]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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