[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9273-9274]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3675]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2010-0355]


USEC Inc. (American Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facility and American 
Centrifuge Plant); Direct Transfer of Licenses

    In the Matter of USEC INC. (American Centrifuge Lead Cascade 
Facility and American Centrifuge Plant); Order EA-12-

[[Page 9274]]

027, Docket Nos. 70-7003, 70-7004, License Nos. SNM-7003, SNM-2011

Order Extending the Date by Which the Direct Transfer of Licenses Is To 
Be Completed

I

    USEC Inc., (USEC) is the holder of materials licenses SNM-7003 and 
SNM-2011 for the American Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facility (Lead 
Cascade) and American Centrifuge Plant (ACP), respectively, which 
authorize the licensee to: (1) Possess and use source and special 
nuclear material at the Lead Cascade at the former Portsmouth Gaseous 
Diffusion Plant site in Piketon, Ohio, in accordance with materials 
license number SNM-7003; and (2) construct and operate a gas centrifuge 
uranium enrichment facility (the ACP) at the former Portsmouth Gaseous 
Diffusion Plant site in Piketon, Ohio, in accordance with materials 
license number SNM-2011.

II

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Order EA-11-013, 
dated February 10, 2011, approved the direct transfer of the licenses 
of the above facilities from USEC to the limited liability company 
American Centrifuge Operating, LLC (ACO), pursuant to Sections 161(b), 
161(i), 161(o) and 184 of the Atomic Energy Act, as amended; 42 United 
States Code (U.S.C.) 2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234; and Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 30.34(b), 10 CFR 40.46, 
``Inalienability of Licenses,'' and 10 CFR 70.36, ``Inalienability of 
Licenses.'' By Order EA-11-180, dated August 8, 2011, the NRC approved 
an extension to Order EA-11-013 until February 9, 2012. By their terms, 
both orders will become null and void if the license transfers are not 
completed by February 9, 2012. However, both the February 10, 2011, and 
the August 9, 2011, Orders further state that upon written application 
and for good cause shown, the implementation period for the license 
transfers may be extended by further Order.

III

    By letter dated January 6, 2012, and supplemented by letter dated 
January 27, 2012, USEC submitted a request to extend the date by which 
the license transfers must be completed from February 9, 2012, to 
February 8, 2013. USEC stated that Condition 3 of Order EA-11-013 will 
be satisfied following completion of actions with the DOE, without any 
linkage to the loan guarantee. In its January 27, 2012, letter, USEC 
stated that due to uncertainty, it appears that the date for completion 
of activities associated with the sub-lease will extend beyond May 18, 
2012. Accordingly, USEC stated that it will not be able to fully 
implement the conditions in Order EA-11-013 by February 9, 2012, and is 
requesting a second extension to Order EA-11-013.
    USEC states that there have been no changes in the information and 
technical and financial qualifications presented in its September 10, 
2010, request to transfer the licenses (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML102660371). The NRC staff 
notes that its basis for approving the transfers of USEC's licenses for 
the Lead Cascade and the ACP from USEC to ACO is documented in its 
safety evaluation report (SER, ADAMS Accession No. ML103630748) 
supporting the February 10, 2011, Order.
    The NRC staff reviewed the information provided by USEC in its 
September 10, 2010, transfer of licenses request, the information 
provided in its July 22, 2011, first extension request (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML11210B497), and supplemental electronic communication dated 
August 1, 2011 (ADAMS Accession No. ML11213A282), and the information 
provided in its January 6, 2012, second extension request, and 
supplemental letter dated January 27, 2012. Based on this review of the 
information provided by USEC, the NRC staff concludes that the basis 
for originally approving the transfers of USEC's licenses for the Lead 
Cascade and the ACP from USEC to ACO remains valid. The NRC staff 
evaluated the January 6, 2012, submittal and the January 27, 2012, 
supplemental letter and determined that USEC has shown good cause to 
extend the implementation period of Order EA-11-013 a second time and, 
therefore, the implementation date for Order EA-11-013 should be 
extended to February 8, 2013, the date by which the transfer of 
licenses must be completed.

IV

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), and 
2234; and 10 CFR 30.34(b), 10 CFR 40.46, ``Inalienability of 
Licenses,'' and 10 CFR 70.36, ``Inalienability of Licenses,'' It Is 
Hereby Ordered that the date by which the license transfers described 
above must be completed is extended to February 8, 2013. If the 
proposed direct transfer of licenses is not completed by February 8, 
2013, this Order and the February 10, 2011, Order shall become null and 
void. However, upon written application and for good cause shown, the 
February 8, 2013, date may be extended by further Order.
    This Order is effective upon issuance. The Order of February 10, 
2011, as modified by the August 8, 2011, Order and this Order, remains 
in full force and effect.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the submittal 
dated January 6, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML11210B497), the 
supplemental letter dated January 27, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML12032A279), and the SER documenting NRC's staff evaluation of USEC's 
submittal dated February 8, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12027A034), 
which may be examined--and/or copied for a fee--at the NRC's Public 
Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(First Floor), Rockville, MD 20852; and accessible online in the NRC 
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of February 2012.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Catherine Haney,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2012-3675 Filed 2-15-12; 8:45 am]
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