[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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Document                       ADAMS Accession Nos.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    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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