[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60420-60422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27436]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70-1257; NRC-2017-0148]
AREVA, Inc.; Richland, Washington; Indirect Transfer of License;
Order
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Indirect transfer of license; order.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
Order approving the indirect transfer of several licenses. AREVA, Inc.,
is the holder of materials license no. SNM-1227, which authorizes the
possession and use of special nuclear material (SNM) at the AREVA, Inc.
site in Richland, Washington. AREVA, Inc. is also the holder of export
license nos. XSNM3551, XSNM3697, XSNM3747, XSOU8833, XCOM1202, XW015,
XCOM1304, XSNM3780, XSNM3781, XSNM3782, and import license no. IW009
which authorize the import and export of licensed materials/components
to and from facilities in the United States. The Order approves the
indirect transfer of control of the above licenses resulting from a
planned reorganization of AREVA, Inc.'s parent company and the sale of
part of the parent company. There will be no direct transfer of control
because AREVA, Inc. will continue to be the license holder. The Order
became effective upon issuance.
DATES: The Order was issued on November 14, 2017, and is applicable
until March 31, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0148 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 website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0148. 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.
[[Page 60421]]
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. In addition, for the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS
accession numbers 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: Kevin M. Ramsey, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7506, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.
Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as
indicated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document ADAMS Accession No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter dated April 14, 2017, titled ``AREVA ML17108A259
Internal Reorganization and Indirect
Transfer to EDF: Request for NRC Consent to
License Transfers''.
Letter dated July 14, 2017, titled ``AREVA ML17200C949
Internal Reorganization and Indirect
Transfer to EDF: Request for NRC Consent to
License Transfers''.
Letter dated August 31, 2017, titled ML17265A374
``Response to a Request for Additional
Information Regarding Application for NRC
Consent to License Transfers''.
Letter dated October 4, 2017, titled ``Update ML17283A110
to Request for NRC Consent to License
Transfers''.
Letter dated November 14, 2017, titled ML17269A246
``AREVA, Inc.--Order Approving Indirect
Transfer of Control of Licenses''.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of December, 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert K. Johnson,
Chief, Fuel Manufacturing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety,
Safeguards, and Environmental Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards.
Attachment--Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Control of License
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Docket Nos. 70-1257, 110-6288, 110-5623, 110-5959, 110-6110, 110-6153,
110-5788, 110-5149, 110-5789, 110-6231, 110-6265, 110-6267; License
Nos. SNM-1227, XSNM3782, XSNM3551, XSNM3697, XSNM3747, XSOU8833,
XCOM1202, IW009, XW015, XCOM1304, XSNM3780, XSNM3781
In the Matter of AREVA, Inc., Richland, Washington
ORDER APPROVING INDIRECT TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF LICENSE
I
AREVA, Inc., is the holder of materials license no. SNM-1227,
which authorizes the possession and use of special nuclear material
(SNM) at the AREVA, Inc. site in Richland, Washington. AREVA, Inc.
is also the holder of export license nos. XSNM3551, XSNM3697,
XSNM3747, XSOU8833, XCOM1202, XW015, XCOM1304, XSNM3780, XSNM3781,
XSNM3782, and import license no. IW009 which authorize the import
and export of licensed materials/components to and from facilities
in the United States.
II
By letter dated April 14, 2017, and supplemented by letters
dated July 14, August 31, and October 4, 2017 (collectively the
Application), AREVA, Inc. requested the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission's (NRC's) approval of the indirect transfer of control of
the licenses listed above. The indirect transfer of control would
result from a planned reorganization of AREVA SA to create a new,
wholly-owned subsidiary and the sale of controlling interest in the
new subsidiary to Electricite de France (EDF). AREVA SA, a company
organized under the laws of France, is the ultimate parent company
of AREVA NP SAS, a company organized under the laws of France and
the current intermediate parent of AREVA, Inc. After the
reorganization is complete, AREVA NP SAS will have a new, wholly-
owned subsidiary called New NP SA. AREVA, Inc. will be a wholly-
owned subsidiary of New NP SA, which in turn will be a wholly-owned
subsidiary of AREVA NP SAS and indirect subsidiary of AREVA SA.
AREVA SA will transfer controlling interest in New NP SA to EDF, a
company organized under the laws of France. AREVA, Inc. will be an
indirect subsidiary of EDF. The transaction will thus involve the
indirect transfer of control over AREVA, Inc.'s NRC-issued licenses.
There will be no direct transfer of control because AREVA, Inc.
will continue to be the license holder. There will be no change in
the management or technical personnel responsible for licensed
activities. The current safety, security, and licensing
organizations within AREVA, Inc. will remain unchanged.
Additionally, there are no planned changes in the operational
organization, location, facilities, equipment, or procedures
associated with the NRC licenses, and there will be no changes in
AREVA, Inc. operating procedures, emergency procedures, or
decommissioning financial assurance. Because the licensee remains
the same, there will be no physical transfer of any records. All
records concerning the safe and effective decommissioning of the
facility, public dose, and waste disposal will remain physically
located, maintained, and available at the Richland, Washington,
site. EDF will abide by, and be ultimately responsible for meeting,
all commitments and representations previously made by AREVA, Inc.
with respect to the licenses listed above. These include, but are
not limited to, maintaining decommissioning records, implementing
decontamination activities, and eventually decommissioning the
facilities and site. No physical or operational changes affecting
the AREVA site and licensed activities were proposed in the
Application.
Approval of the change of control was requested pursuant to
Section 184 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act),
and Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Sections
70.36 and 110.50. A notice of receipt of the Application and
opportunity to request a hearing and provide written comments was
published in the Federal Register on June 9, 2017 (82 FR 29586-
29588). No comments or requests for a hearing were received in
response to the notice. A corrected notice was published on November
8, 2017 (82 FR 51880-51883), to add several export licenses omitted
from the original Application.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.36, no 10 CFR part 70 license shall be
transferred, assigned, or in any manner disposed of, either
voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, unless the
NRC, after securing full information, finds that the transfer is in
accordance with the provisions of the Act, and gives its consent in
writing. Pursuant to 10 CFR 110.50, a specific license under Part
110 may be transferred, disposed of, or assigned to another person
only with the approval of the Commission. After review of the
information
[[Page 60422]]
in the Application, and relying on the representations and
agreements contained in the Application, the NRC staff has
determined that EDF is qualified to hold the ownership interests
previously held by AREVA NP SAS, and that the transfers of ownership
and operating interests to EDF, described in the Application, are
otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations,
and previous NRC orders. These findings are subject to the
conditions set forth below. The NRC staff further finds that: (1)
The requested change of control will not be inimical to the common
defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and
(2) the change of control will be in accordance with 10 CFR part 51
of the NRC's environmental regulations, and all applicable
requirements have been satisfied.
The findings set forth above are supported by the NRC's Safety
Evaluation Report issued with this Order.
III
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 183, and 184 of
the Act; 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), 2233, and 2234; and 10 CFR
70.36 and 110.50, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Application
regarding the indirect transfer of control over licenses listed
above from AREVA SA to EDF is approved, subject to the following
conditions:
1. With respect to the licenses listed above, EDF, as stated in
the Application, will abide by all commitments and representations
previously made by AREVA, Inc. These include, are not limited to,
maintaining decommissioning records and financial assurance,
implementing decontamination activities, and eventually
decommissioning the site.
2. The commitments/representations made in the Application
regarding reporting relationships and authority over safety and
security issues and compliance with NRC requirements shall be
adhered to and may not be modified without the prior written consent
from the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards,
or his designee.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that AREVA, Inc. at least one (1) business
day before all actions necessary to accomplish the indirect transfer
of control are completed shall so inform the Director of the Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, in writing. If the
necessary supporting actions have not been completed by March 31,
2018, this Order shall become null and void; provided, however,
that, upon timely written application and for good cause shown, such
completion date may be extended by further Order.
This Order is effective on issuance.
For further details with respect to this Order, see the initial
Application listed in Section II above, and the Safety Evaluation
Report supporting this action, 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, Maryland, and accessible,
electronically, through the Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room, on the
internet the NRC website 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 via email, to [email protected].
Dated and issued this 14th day of November, 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Marc L. Dapas,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2017-27436 Filed 12-19-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P