[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 21 (Thursday, February 2, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9077-9079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02214]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-286 and 50-333; License Nos. DPR-64 and DPR-59; NRC-
2017-0015]


In the Matter of Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Entergy 
Nuclear Indian Point 3, LLC; Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit No. 
3; and Entergy Nuclear FitzPatrick, LLC; James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear 
Power Plant

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Order; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
order approving the transfer of the Master Decommissioning Trust for 
Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit No. 3 and James A FitzPatrick 
Nuclear Power

[[Page 9078]]

Plant from the Power Authority of the State of New York to Entergy 
Nuclear Operations, Inc., amendments to the Master Decommissioning 
Trust Agreement dated July 25, 1990, as amended, governing the Master 
Trust to facilitate the transfer, and license amendments to the 
operating licenses of Indian Point and FitzPatrick to modify the 
existing trust-related license conditions to reflect the proposed 
transfer of the Master Trust and to delete other license conditions in 
order to apply the requirements of 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1).

DATES: The Order was issued on January 27, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0015 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-2017-0015. 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]. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in 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: Dr. Diane Render, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3629; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of January 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Diane L. Render,
 Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Attachment--ORDER APPROVING TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF MASTER 
DECOMMISSIONING TRUST, AMENDMENTS TO MASTER DECOMMISSIONING TRUST 
AGREEMENT, AND LICENSE AMENDMENTS TO MODIFY AND DELETE DECOMMISSIONING 
TRUST LICENSE CONDITIONS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-286 and 50-333; License Nos. DPR-64 and DPR-59; NRC-
2017-0015] In the Matter of Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Entergy 
Nuclear Indian Point 3, LLC; Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit No. 
3; and Entergy Nuclear FitzPatrick, LLC; James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear 
Power Plant

ORDER APPROVING TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF MASTER DECOMMISSIONING TRUST, 
AMENDMENTS TO MASTER DECOMMISSIONING TRUST AGREEMENT, AND LICENSE 
AMENDMENTS TO MODIFY AND DELETE DECOMMISSIONING TRUST LICENSE 
CONDITIONS

I

    Entergy Nuclear Indian Point 3, LLC (ENIP3) and Entergy Nuclear 
Operations, Inc. (ENO) are the owner and operator, respectively, of 
Facility Operating License No. DPR-64 for Indian Point Nuclear 
Generating Unit No. 3 (Indian Point Unit 3 or IP3). IP3 is a 
Westinghouse pressurized-water reactor located in Westchester 
County, New York. Entergy Nuclear FitzPatrick, LLC (ENF) and ENO are 
the owner and operator, respectively, of Renewed Facility Operating 
License No. DPR-59 for the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant 
(FitzPatrick). FitzPatrick is a General Electric boiling-water 
reactor located in Oswego County, New York.

II

    By the application dated August 16, 2016 (Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML16230A308), ENO 
requested, on behalf of itself, ENIP3, ENF, and the Power Authority 
of the State of New York (PASNY, which now does business as the New 
York Power Authority), pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.90, ``Application for amendment of 
license, construction permit, or early site permit,'' that the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) issue an Order 
consenting to (1) the transfer to ENO of the beneficial interest in 
the Master Decommissioning Trust (Master Trust), including all 
rights and obligations thereunder, held by PASNY for IP3 and 
FitzPatrick; (2) amendments to the Master Decommissioning Trust 
Agreement dated July 25, 1990 (ADAMS Accession No. ML100500726), as 
amended (Master Trust Agreement), governing the Master Trust in 
order to facilitate the transfer of control of the Master Trust; (3) 
amendments to the operating licenses for IP3 and FitzPatrick in 
order to modify the existing trust-related license conditions to 
reflect the proposed transfer of control of the Master Trust; and 
(4) amendments to delete certain existing trust-related license 
conditions in order to apply to IP3 and FitzPatrick the generic 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.75(h). The NRC's approval of this 
application is a precondition to completing the pending application 
submitted jointly by Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon) and 
ENO, dated August 18, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16235A081), 
requesting that the NRC issue an Order and conforming amendment 
consenting to the direct license transfer of Renewed Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-59 for FitzPatrick from ENO to Exelon.
    By Orders dated November 9, 2000 (ADAMS Accession Nos. 
ML003767953 and ML003768011), the NRC consented to the direct 
license transfers of IP3 and FitzPatrick from PASNY to their current 
owners and operator. As described in these Orders, however, PASNY 
remained the custodial holder of the decommissioning trust funds for 
IP3 and FitzPatrick in the Master Trust, which includes the Indian 
Point Unit 3 Decommissioning Trust Fund (IP3 Fund) and the 
FitzPatrick Decommissioning Trust Fund (FitzPatrick Fund). The 
Decommissioning Agreement for IP3 dated November 21, 2000, among 
PASNY, Entergy Nuclear, Inc. (ENI), and ENIP3, and the 
Decommissioning Agreement for FitzPatrick dated November 21, 2000, 
among PASNY, ENI, and ENF (the Decommissioning Agreements), 
contemplate the transfer of the decommissioning trust funds for IP3 
and FitzPatrick to ENIP3 and ENF at the end of the initial terms of 
the IP3 and FitzPatrick operating licenses, respectively.
    ENO and PASNY propose a transaction that will facilitate the 
transfer of control of the Master Trust to ENO, the current operator 
of IP3 and FitzPatrick. In addition to paying PASNY consideration 
for the acquisition of the Master Trust, the proposed transfer would 
require that ENO assume PASNY's responsibilities and obligations 
pursuant to the Decommissioning Agreements upon transfer of control 
of the Master Trust to ENO from PASNY. An Order directing the 
transfer of control of the Master Trust and consenting to the Master 
Trust Agreement amendments is required, because the terms of the 
Master Trust Agreement must be amended before the transfer. Under 
the license conditions of the operating licenses for IP3 and 
FitzPatrick, and the terms of the Master Trust Agreement itself, any 
such amendment requires the prior written consent of the Director of 
the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. In addition, the existing 
license conditions do not contemplate the transfer of control of the 
Master Trust to ENO. Under the terms of Section 10.05 of the Master 
Trust Agreement, as amended, the terms of the agreement may be 
amended to comply with an Order issued by the NRC.
    Thus, in accordance with these requirements, ENO, on behalf of 
ENIP3, ENF, and PASNY, requests that the NRC issue an Order 
directing the transfer of control of the Master Trust, consenting to 
an amendment to the Master Trust Agreement authorizing the

[[Page 9079]]

transfer of control of the Master Trust to ENO, and approving 
license amendments that modify and delete trust-related license 
conditions in the IP3 and FitzPatrick operating licenses. A notice 
of this application was published in the Federal Register on 
September 27, 2016 (81 FR 66305). On November 1, 2016 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML16306A258), a request for a hearing on the 
application was filed by Ms. Susan H. Shapiro, on behalf of Indian 
Point Safe Energy Coalition, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Council 
on Intelligent Energy & Conservation Policy, Sierra Club Hudson 
Valley, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Alliance for Green 
Economy, and Radiation and Public Health Project. On December 13, 
2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16348A495), an Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board denied the hearing request for failure to 
demonstrate standing.
    Based on its review of the information in the application, and 
other information before the Commission, the NRC staff approves the 
proposed transfer of control of the Master Trust to ENO, along with 
the proposed amendments to the Master Trust Agreement, as amended. 
In addition, the NRC staff finds that the application for the 
proposed license amendments complies with the standards and 
requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), 
and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR 
Chapter I, ``Nuclear Regulatory Commission''; the facilities will 
operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the 
Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; there is 
reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by the 
amendments can be conducted without endangering the public health 
and safety and that such activities will be conducted in compliance 
with the Commission's regulations; the issuance of the amendments 
will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the 
public health and safety; and the issuance of the amendments will be 
in accordance with 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection 
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions,'' of the Commission's regulations and all applicable 
requirements have been satisfied. The findings set forth above are 
supported by a safety evaluation dated January 27, 2017.

III

    Accordingly, pursuant to Section 161i(4) of the Atomic Energy 
Act of 1954, as amended, and 10 CFR 50.75, It is hereby ordered that 
the application to transfer control of the Master Trust for IP3 and 
Fitzpatrick to ENO and the amendments to the Master Trust Agreement 
are approved.
    It is further ordered that the license amendments to the 
operating licenses of IP3 and FitzPatrick that modify existing 
trust-related license conditions to reflect the transfer of control 
of the Master Trust to ENO and delete other existing trust-related 
license conditions in order to apply the generic requirements of 10 
CFR 50.75(h) to IP3 and FitzPatrick, are approved. The amendments 
shall be issued and made effective at the time that the transfer of 
control of the Master Trust is completed.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the 
application dated August 16, 2016, and the NRC staff safety 
evaluation dated January 27, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16336A492), 
which are available for public inspection at the Commission's Public 
Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File 
Area 01-F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, MD. 
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC are also 
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 or 301-415-4737, or by email to 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, MD, this 27th day of January 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

William M. Dean, Director,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 2017-02214 Filed 2-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P