[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 238 (Monday, December 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89514-89516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29716]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-387, 50-388, and 72-28; NRC-2016-0187]
In the Matter of Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC; Susquehanna Steam
Electric Station, Units 1 and 2; Order Approving Indirect Transfer of
Facility Operating Licenses
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Indirect transfer of licenses; order.
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[[Page 89515]]
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
order approving an application filed by Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC
(Susquehanna Nuclear), on behalf of itself and Riverstone Holdings, LLC
(Riverstone), on June 29, 2016, as supplemented by letter dated
November 14, 2016. The application sought NRC approval of the indirect
transfer of Susquehanna Nuclear's interests in Renewed Facility
Operating License Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-22 for the Susquehanna Steam
Electric Station, Units 1 and 2 (SSES), respectively, as well as the
general license for the SSES Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation (ISFSI), from the ultimate parent, Talen Energy
Corporation (Talen), to Riverstone. The NRC's approval of the indirect
license transfer is subject to certain conditions, which are described
in the order. The order is effective upon issuance.
DATES: The order was issued on November 30, 2016, and is effective for
one year.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0187 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0187. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. For
the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers for
documents related to this action are provided in a table in the
``Availability of Documents'' section of this document.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tanya E. Hood, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1387; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Order
The text of the order is attached.
II. Availability of Documents
Documents related to this action, including the indirect license
transfer application and other supporting documentation, are available
to interested persons as indicated.
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Document ADAMS Accession Nos.
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Letter from Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC to the ML16181A414 (package)
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
``Susquehanna Steam Electric Station Request
for Order Approving Indirect Transfer of
Control PLA-7500,'' dated June 29, 2016.
Letter from Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC to the ML16320A436
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
``Susquehanna Steam Electric Station
Supplemental Information Relating to Proposed
License Transfer PLA-7538,'' dated November
14, 2016.
Email from Tanya Hood to Susquehanna Nuclear, ML16211A356
LLC; Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units
1 and 2, Acceptance of Requested Licensing
Action Re: Request for Order Approving
Indirect Transfer of Control, dated July 29,
2016.
Letter from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory ML16215A008
Commission to Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC;
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1
and 2--Request For Withholding Information
from Public Disclosure (CAC Nos. MF8056 and
MF8057), dated August 26, 2016.
Letter from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory ML16239A424
Commission to Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC, Re:
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1
and 2--Notice of Consideration of Approval of
Transfer of Licenses and Opportunity for a
Hearing, and Petition for Leave to Intervene;
Order (CAC Nos. MF8056 and MF8057), dated
September 16, 2016.
Federal Register notice dated September 28, ML16243A388
2016; Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC; Susquehanna
Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2;
Consideration of Indirect License Transfer
published on October 4, 2016 (81 FR 68462).
Email from Sabatini Monatesti to the U.S. ML16312A431
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, dated October
11, 2016.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Staff ML16294A385
Response to Request for Access to Sensitive
Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information
Related to the Application for Indirect
Transfer of the Susquehanna Steam Electric
Station, dated October 20, 2016.
Establishment of Atomic Safety and Licensing ML16300A413
Board, dated October 26, 2016.
NON-PROPRIETARY--Safety Evaluation by the ML16320A080
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Related
to Indirect Transfer of Renewed Facility
Operating Licenses from Talen Energy
Corporation to Riverstone Holdings, LLC, Re:
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1
and 2, dated November 30, 2016.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Letter with ML16320A078
Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Licenses
Related to Susquehanna Steam Electric Station,
Units 1 and 2 (CAC Nos. MF8056 and MF8057),
dated November 30, 2016.
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Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of December, 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Tanya E. Hood,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I-2, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment--Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Facility Operating
Licenses
In the Matter of Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC; Susquehanna Steam
Electric Station, Units 1 and 2; Order Approving Indirect Transfer
of Facility Operating Licenses [Docket Nos. 50-387, 50-388, and 72-
28; NRC-2016-0187] (Effective Upon Issuance).
I.
Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC (Susquehanna Nuclear, or the applicant)
and Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Allegheny), are the
holders of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-
22, and the general license for the Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation (ISFSI), which authorize the possession, use, and
operation of the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station (SSES or the
facility), Units 1 and 2, including the SSES ISFSI. The facility and
its ISFSI are located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
II.
By letter dated June 29, 2016, as supplemented by letter dated
November 14, 2016, Susquehanna Nuclear, on behalf of itself and
Riverstone Holdings, LLC (Riverstone), submitted an application to
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission),
pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
Section
[[Page 89516]]
50.80 (10 CFR 50.80), requesting approval of the indirect transfer
of control of Susquehanna Nuclear's interests in Renewed Facility
Operating License Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-22, as well as the general
license for the SSES ISFSI. Future reference to SSES, Units 1 and 2
include the general license for the SSES ISFSI. Susquehanna Nuclear
is licensed as the sole operator and has a 90 percent undivided
ownership interest in SSES, Units 1 and 2. The proposed indirect
transfer of licenses does not involve Allegheny, the other (10
percent) owner of the units and a nonoperating licensee for SSES,
Units 1 and 2.
The indirect transfer of control results from the ultimate
parent of Susquehanna Nuclear's interests in the licenses, Talen
Energy Corporation (Talen), becoming wholly owned by the portfolio
companies of Riverstone, which currently holds 35 percent in the
aggregate of the outstanding common stock of Talen. As a result, all
of the common stock of Talen will become privately held by
affiliates of Riverstone, and Susquehanna Nuclear will become
indirectly controlled by the portfolio companies of Riverstone.
The proposed indirect transfer of control will result in no
change to the role of Susquehanna Nuclear as the licensed operator
of the units, no change to its technical qualifications, and no
change to its ownership interest or that of Allegheny. No changes
will be made to the units or their licensing bases as a result of
the transfer, and the transfer will not involve any changes to the
principal officers, managers, or staff of Susquehanna Nuclear or to
the day-to-day management and operations of the units.
Approval of the indirect transfer of the renewed facility
operating licenses was requested by the applicant. A notice of the
request for approval, the opportunity to comment, and the
opportunity to request a hearing was published in the Federal
Register on October 4, 2016 (81 FR 68462). One public comment was
received regarding the proposed license transfers. The NRC staff
addressed the comment in the Safety Evaluation dated November 30,
2016, supporting this Order. A request for access to sensitive
unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI) made pursuant to the
Order Imposing Procedures for Access to SUNSI for Contention
Preparation, included with the Federal Register notice, was received
on October 11, 2016, from Mr. Sabatini Monatesti of Berwick,
Pennsylvania. On October 20, 2016, the NRC staff denied this access
request. On October 24, 2016, Mr. Monatesti appealed the NRC staff's
denial of his access request. On November 21, 2016, an Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board affirmed the NRC staff's denial.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder,
shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of
control of the license, unless the Commission shall give its consent
in writing. Upon review of the information in the licensee's
application, and other information before the Commission, and
relying upon the representations and agreements contained in the
application, the NRC staff has determined that the portfolio
companies of Riverstone are qualified to hold the ownership
interests in the facility previously held by Talen. The NRC staff
has also determined that Susquehanna Nuclear remains qualified to
hold the operating authority under the licenses, and that the
indirect transfer of ownership interests in the facility to
Riverstone, as described in the application, is otherwise consistent
with the applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders
issued by the Commission, pursuant thereto. The findings set forth
above are supported by the NRC Safety Evaluation dated November 30,
2016.
III.
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act); 42 U.S.C. 2201(b),
2201(i), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, it is hereby ordered that the
application regarding the proposed indirect license transfers to the
portfolio companies of Riverstone is approved, subject to the
following conditions:
1. Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC shall not take any action that would
cause Riverstone or any other direct or indirect parent of
Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC or other entity, to void, cancel, or
diminish the commitment to fund an extended plant shutdown, as
represented in the application for approval of the indirect transfer
of the licenses for SSES, Units 1 and 2, as applicable.
2. The transaction will not alter the Support Agreement and the
Support Agreement will remain in effect in accordance with license
conditions in Appendix C of the SSES licenses.
It is further ordered that Susquehanna Nuclear shall inform the
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing of
the date of closing of the transfer, no later than 2 business days
prior to the date of the closing of the indirect transfer. Should
the indirect transfer of the licenses not be completed within 1 year
of this Order's date of issue, this Order shall become null and
void, provided, however, upon written application and for good cause
shown, such date may be extended by order.
This Order is effective upon issuance.
For further details with respect to this Order, see the
application dated June 29, 2016 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Package Accession No. ML16181A414), as
supplemented by letter dated November 14, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML16320A436), and the non-proprietary Safety Evaluation dated
November 30, 2016, (ADAMS Accession No. ML16320A080), 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 documents created or received at the NRC are
accessible electronically through ADAMS in the NRC Library at 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 email at
[email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of November 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Benner,
Deputy Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2016-29716 Filed 12-9-16; 8:45 am]
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