[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 170 (Friday, August 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44676-44677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18923]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-334, 50-412, 50-346, and 50-440; NRC-2018-0174]
First Energy Corp.; First Energy Solutions; FirstEnergy Nuclear
Generation; FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: 10 CFR 2.206 request; receipt.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is giving notice
that by petition dated March 27, 2018, Environmental Law and Policy
Center (ELPC) (the petitioner) has requested that the NRC take
enforcement action with regard to First Energy Corp. (FE), First Energy
Solutions (FES), FirstEnergy Nuclear Generation (NG), and FirstEnergy
Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC). The petitioner's requests are
included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0174 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-2018-0174. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individuals 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. 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: Bhalchandra K. Vaidya, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3308; email:
[email protected]; or Perry Buckberg, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1383; email: [email protected].
Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 27, 2018, the petitioner requested
that the NRC take enforcement action with regard to FE, FES, NG, and
FENOC operations in Ohio and Pennsylvania at Beaver Valley Power
Station (BVPS), Units 1 and 2; Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station
(DBNPS), Unit 1; and Perry Nuclear Power Plant (PNPP), Unit 1 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML18094A642). The petitioner requested that the NRC take
the following actions:
[[Page 44677]]
(A) Demands for Information
(1) Promptly issue a Demand for Information to FE, FES, NG, and
FENOC requesting site-specific decommissioning funding plans for the
BVNPS, DBNPS, and PNPP;
(2) Promptly issue a Demand for Information to FE, FES, NG, and
FENOC regarding their reliance on external trust funds from FE and FES
to satisfy their decommissioning financial obligations;
(3) Promptly issue a Demand for Information to FE, FES, NG, and
FENOC regarding their continued reliance on Parent Guarantees from FE
to satisfy decommissioning funding obligations, including the ability
of FE to satisfy the Parent Guarantee financial test under title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 30, appendix A;
(4) Promptly issue a Demand for Information to FES, NG, and FENOC
to the extent that they are relying on Parent Guarantees from FES to
satisfy decommissioning funding obligations, including the ability of
FES to satisfy the Parent Guarantee financial test under 10 CFR part
30, appendix A;
(5) Promptly issue a Demand for Information to FE, FES, NG, and
FENOC regarding their proposed investment and financial contribution
plans to make up the current decommissioning shortfall; and
(6) Promptly issue a Demand for Information to FE and FES,
respectively, regarding each of their commitments to guarantee NG and
FENOC's decommissioning shortfall in the event of bankruptcy.
(B) Notice of Violation and Penalties
(1) Promptly issue a Notice of Violation against FE, FES, NG, and
FENOC for operating nuclear facilities without sufficient
decommissioning funds in violation of 42 United States Code Annotated
(U.S.C.A.), Section 2201(x)(1) and 10 CFR 50.75;
(2) Promptly issue civil penalties against FE, FES, NG, and FENOC
for operating nuclear facilities without sufficient decommissioning
funds in violation of 42 U.S.C.A. Section 2201(x)(1) and 10 CFR 50.75;
and
(3) Promptly issue an Order to suspend NG, and FENOC's licenses for
BVNPS, DBNPS, and PNPP.
The ELPC also urges the NRC to prohibit NG and FENOC from placing
their nuclear facilities into SAFSTOR for purely financial reasons. In
addition, ELPC requests that this Petition be given immediate emergency
consideration in light of FE's and FES' rapidly deteriorating financial
conditions.
The basis for ELPC's request is summarized below:
1. NG and FENOC's decommissioning trust amounts are insufficient on
their own to provide reasonable assurance of funding.
2. FE cannot rely on rate increases forced on retail ratepayers to
pay for the decommissioning trust fund shortfalls.
3. The costs, including SAFSTOR costs, may still be much higher
than expected due to significantly higher shortfalls as reported by the
Callan Institute and recognized flaws in the NRC's cost estimate
formula.
4. On March 28, 2018, FES and FENOC announced that they would
permanently retire all four of their reactors within the next 3 years.
If plants close in 2020 and 2021, the funds cannot grow to levels that
will pay for complete decommissioning.
5. Parent companies FE and FES filed for bankruptcy on March 31,
2018.
The request is being treated pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 of the
Commission's regulations. The request has been referred to the Director
of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. As provided by 10 CFR
2.206, appropriate action will be taken on this petition within a
reasonable time.
The petitioner met with the Petition Review Board on June 19, 2018,
to discuss the petition; the transcript of that meeting is a supplement
to the petition (ADAMS Accession No. ML18194A395). The petition and the
results of the discussion at the June 19, 2018, meeting would be
considered in establishing the schedule for the review of the petition.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of August 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ho K. Nieh,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018-18923 Filed 8-30-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P