[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 155 (Friday, August 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39789-39790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17168]



[[Page 39789]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-313, 50-368, and 72-13; NRC-2017-0239]


In the Matter of Entergy Arkansas, Inc. and Entergy Operations, 
Inc. Arkansas Nuclear One, Units 1 and 2, and Independent Spent Fuel 
Storage Installation Facility

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Direct and indirect transfer of license; order.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
order to permit the direct transfer of Renewed Facility Operating 
License Nos. DPR-51 and NPF-6 for Arkansas Nuclear One, Units 1 and 2, 
and the general license for the independent spent fuel storage 
installation facility, to a new limited liability company named Entergy 
Arkansas, LLC. In addition, the order permits an associated indirect 
license transfer of membership interest of Entergy Arkansas, LLC to an 
intermediate company, Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC. Entergy 
Corporation will remain as the ultimate parent company, but the 
intermediate company, Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC, will be the 
direct parent company of the newly formed Entergy Arkansas, LLC. The 
NRC will issue conforming amendments to the renewed facility operating 
licenses for administrative purposes to reflect the change in the owner 
licensee.

DATES: The order was issued on August 1, 2018, and is effective for one 
year.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0239 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-2017-0239. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; 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 ``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: Margaret W. O'Banion, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1233; email: 
Margaret.O'[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the order is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of August, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Margaret W. O'Banion,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Attachment--Order Approving Direct and Indirect Transfers of Control of 
Licenses and Conforming Amendments

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-313, 50-368, and 72-13; License Nos. DPR-51 and NPF-6]

In the Matter of Entergy Arkansas, Inc. and Entergy Operations, Inc.

Arkansas Nuclear One, Units 1 and 2

ORDER APPROVING DIRECT AND INDIRECT TRANSFERS OF CONTROL OF LICENSES 
AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS

I.

    Entergy Arkansas, Inc. (EAI) and Entergy Operations, Inc. (EOI) 
(together, the licensees) are co-holders of Renewed Facility 
Operating License (RFOL) Nos. DPR-51 and NPF-6 for Arkansas Nuclear 
One (ANO), Units 1 and 2, and the general license for the 
independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI). EAI is the 
owner and EOI is authorized to possess, use, and operate ANO, Units 
1 and 2, and the ISFSI, which are located in Pope County, Arkansas.

II.

    By application dated September 21, 2017, EOI requested on behalf 
of itself, EAI, and their parent companies (together, the 
applicants), pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR) Section 50.80, ``Transfer of licenses,'' that the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) consent to the direct transfer 
of RFOL Nos. DPR-51 and NPF-6 for ANO, Units 1 and 2, and the 
general license for the ISFSI, from the current owner, EAI, to a new 
limited liability company, Entergy Arkansas, LLC (EAL). The 
applicants also requested approval of conforming license amendments 
that would replace references to EAI in the RFOLs with references to 
EAL to reflect the transfer of ownership. In addition, the 
applicants requested the NRC's consent to the indirect transfer of 
membership interest of EAL to an intermediate company, Entergy 
Utility Holding Company, LLC (EUHC). Entergy Corporation will remain 
as the ultimate parent company, but EUHC will be the direct parent 
company of EAL. Ultimately, EAL will acquire ownership of the 
facilities and EOI will remain responsible for the operation and 
maintenance of ANO, Units 1 and 2. The license transfers are 
necessary to support a corporate restructuring.
    The application proposes no physical or operational changes to 
the facilities. The interconnections that provide offsite power to 
ANO, Units 1 and 2, do not change as a result of the proposed direct 
and indirect license transfers.
    The applicants requested NRC approval of the transfers of the 
facility operating and ISFSI general licenses and conforming license 
amendments in accordance with 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 50.90, 
``Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or 
early site permit.'' The NRC published a notice, ``Arkansas Nuclear 
One, Units 1 and 2; Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1; River Bend 
Station, Unit 1; and Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 
Consideration of Approval of Transfer of Licenses and Conforming 
Amendments,'' in the Federal Register on December 29, 2017 (82 FR 
61800). No comments or hearing requests were received.
    Under 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 NRC gives its consent in writing. Upon 
review of the information in the application, and other information 
before the Commission, the NRC staff has determined that EAL is 
qualified to hold the license to the extent proposed to permit the 
transfer of ownership from EAI to EAL and the indirect transfer of 
membership interest of EAL to an intermediate company, EUHC, as 
described in the application. The NRC staff has also determined that 
the proposed license transfers are otherwise consistent with the 
applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the 
NRC pursuant thereto, subject to the condition set forth below. The 
NRC staff has further found 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 proposed license 
amendments can be conducted without endangering the health and 
safety of the public and that such activities will be

[[Page 39790]]

conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations; the 
issuance of the proposed license amendments will not be inimical to 
the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the 
public; and the issuance of the proposed 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 an NRC safety evaluation dated August 1, 2018.

III.

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the 
Act; Title 42 of the United States Code Sections 2201(b), 2201(i), 
and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the 
application regarding the proposed license transfers is approved, 
subject to the following condition:
    1. Before completion of the proposed transaction, EOI shall 
provide the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 
satisfactory documentary evidence that EAL has obtained the 
appropriate amount of insurance required of the licensees under 10 
CFR part 140 and 10 CFR part 50.
    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), 
the license amendments for ANO, Units 1 and 2, that make changes, as 
indicated in Enclosures 2 and 3 to the cover letter forwarding this 
order, to conform the licenses to reflect the subject transfers, are 
approved. The amendments shall be issued and made effective at the 
time the proposed transfer actions are completed.
    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, after receipt of all required 
regulatory approvals of the proposed transfer actions, EOI shall 
inform the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in 
writing of such receipt, and of the date of closing of the 
transfers, no later than 5 business days before the date of the 
closing of the transfers. Should the proposed transfers not be 
completed within 1 year of this order's date of issuance, this order 
shall become null and void; 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 September 21, 2017 (Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML17268A213) and the 
NRC's safety evaluation dated August 1, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML18177A236), which are available for public inspection at the NRC's 
Public Document Room located at One White Flint North, Public File 
Area 01-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 accessing the documents 
in ADAMS, should contact the NRC Public Document Room reference 
staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by email to 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of August, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian E. Holian,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 2018-17168 Filed 8-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P