[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30250-30252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13566]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-219 and 72-15; NRC-2019-0134]
In the Matter of Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Oyster Creek
Environmental Protection, LLC, Holtec Decommissioning International,
LLC, Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Direct transfer of license; order.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
order approving the direct transfer of Renewed Facility Operating
License No. DPR-16 for Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (Oyster
Creek), and its general license for the Oyster Creek Independent Spent
Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), from the currently licensed operator
and licensed owner, Exelon Generating Company, LLC, to Oyster Creek
Environmental Protection, LLC (OCEP), as owner, and to Holtec
Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI), as operator. The NRC is also
issuing a conforming amendment for the
[[Page 30251]]
facility operating license for administrative purposes to reflect the
approved license transfer.
The NRC confirmed that OCEP and HDI met the regulatory, legal,
technical, and financial obligations necessary to qualify them as a
transferee and determined that the transferees are qualified to be the
holder of the license; and the transfer of the license is otherwise
consistent with the applicable provisions of law, regulations, and
orders issued by the Commission. The Order approving the direct
transfer of the Oyster Creek license to OCEP and HDI became effective
on June 20, 2019.
DATES: The Order was issued on June 20, 2019 and is effective for one
year.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0134 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0216. Address
questions about docket IDs in Regulations.gov 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 https://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 license transfer Order, the NRC
safety evaluation supporting the staff's findings, and the conforming
license amendment are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos.
ML19095A458, ML19095A457, and ML19095A461, respectively.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room 01-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Snyder, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6822, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of June 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christepher A. McKenney,
Acting Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and
Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
Attachment--Order
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
In the Matter of Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC Oyster Creek
Environmental Protection, Nuclear Generating Station LLC
Docket Nos. 50-219 and 72-15; License No. DPR-16 Oyster Creek
ORDER APPROVING THE TRANSFER OF LICENSE AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT
I.
Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon) is the holder of Renewed
Facility Operating License No. DPR-16, for the Oyster Creek Nuclear
Generating Station (Oyster Creek), and the general license for the
Oyster Creek Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI).
Oyster Creek permanently ceased operations on September 17, 2018.
Pursuant to Sections 50.82(a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of Title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), by letter dated September 25,
2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18268A258), Exelon certified to the NRC
that it had permanently ceased operations at Oyster Creek and that all
fuel had been permanently removed from the reactor. Therefore, pursuant
to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2), operations at Oyster Creek are no longer
authorized under the 10 CFR part 50 license, and Exelon is licensed to
possess, but not use or operate, Oyster Creek under Renewed Facility
Operating License No. DPR-16, subject to the conditions specified
therein. The Oyster Creek site is located approximately two miles south
of Forked River, New Jersey.
II.
By letter dated August 31, 2018 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML18243A489), including
proprietary financial information provided as Enclosure 2A, ``Asset
Purchase and Sale Agreement'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML18243A490, non-
public pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390), Exelon, OCEP and HDI (together,
``Applicants'') requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) consent to the proposed direct transfer of the Oyster Creek
Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-16 and the Oyster Creek
ISFSI general license (collectively referred to as the facility) from
Exelon to OCEP as the licensed owner and to HDI as the licensed
operator for decommissioning. The direct transfer request is submitted
to NRC for approval pursuant to Section 184 of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended (AEA), ``Inalienability of Licenses,'' and Title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.80, ``Transfer of
licenses,'' 10 CFR 72.50, ``Transfer of licenses,'' and 10 CFR 50.90,
``Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or early
site permit.'' The applicants also requested that NRC approve a
conforming administrative amendment to the facility license to reflect
the proposed direct transfer.
Following approval of the proposed direct transfer of control,
OCEP, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Holtec International
(Holtec), would acquire Oyster Creek, including the ISFSI, from Exelon
as an asset purchase. In addition, HDI, an indirect wholly-owned
subsidiary of Holtec, will be the decommissioning operator of Oyster
Creek with licensed responsibility for maintaining and decommissioning
the facility. HDI's licensed activities will involve possessing and
disposing of radioactive material, maintaining the facility in a safe
condition (including handling, storing, controlling, and protecting the
spent fuel), decommissioning and decontaminating the facility, and
maintaining the ISFSI until it can be decommissioned, each in
accordance with the License and NRC regulations.
Upon closing of the proposed transaction, OCEP and HDI will assume
licensed responsibility for Oyster Creek. OCEP will enter into a
decommissioning operator services agreement with HDI, which will
provide for HDI to act as OCEP's agent and for OCEP to pay HDI's costs
of post-shutdown operations, including decommissioning costs and spent
fuel management costs. OCEP will own the Oyster Creek facility, as well
as its associated assets and real estate, and title to spent nuclear
fuel. The applicable U.S. Department of Energy Standard Contract will
be assigned to OCEP. The assets from the Oyster Creek Nuclear
Decommissioning Trust (non-qualified and qualified) will be transferred
to OCEP.
Upon completion of the proposed license transfer, HDI would assume
responsibility for compliance with the current licensing basis,
including regulatory commitments that exist at the closing of the
transaction between the
[[Page 30252]]
Applicants, and would implement any changes under applicable regulatory
requirements and practices.
Notice of NRC consideration of the license transfer application was
published in the Federal Register (FR) on October 19, 2018 (83 FR
53119) and included an opportunity to comment, request a hearing, and
petition for leave to intervene. The comment period was re-opened on
December 10, 2018 (83 FR 63544) for an additional 30-days. Two hearing
requests were received. These requests can be found at ADAMS Accession
Numbers ML18306A866 and ML18312A251. These hearing requests are
currently pending before the Commission. Public comments were also
received on this application for license transfer. They are summarized
in the safety evaluation for this license transfer request.
The staff notes that, by letter dated November 30, 2018 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML18334A215), in support of the license transfer request,
HDI submitted a request for exemptions, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, from
certain requirements in 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR
50.75(h)(1)(iv) to allow the use of a portion of the funds from Oyster
Creek decommissioning trust funds (DTF) for management of spent fuel
and site restoration activities. The submittal also requests an
exemption from 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) to allow Oyster Creek DTF
disbursements for spent fuel management and site restoration activities
to be made without prior notice, similar to withdrawals in accordance
with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8). The staff approved the exemption requests on
June 20, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19113A204 (Pkg)). The exemption is
being issued simultaneously with this Order.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license for a production or
utilization facility, or any right thereunder, shall be transferred,
either voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, through
transfer of control of the license to any person, unless the Commission
gives its consent in writing. Upon review of the information in the
application and other information before the Commission, and relying
upon the representations and agreements contained in the application,
the NRC staff has determined that HDI and OCEP are qualified to be the
holders of the license, and that the direct transfer of the license, as
described in the application, is otherwise consistent with applicable
provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission
pursuant thereto, subject to the condition set forth below.
Upon review of the application for a conforming amendment to the
Oyster Creek license to reflect the direct transfer of the Oyster Creek
license, the NRC staff determined the following:
(1) The application for the proposed license amendment complies
with the standards and requirements of the AEA, and the Commission's
rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I.
(2) There is reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by
the proposed license amendment can be conducted without endangering the
health and safety of the public, and that such activities will be
conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations.
(3) The issuance of the proposed license amendment will not be
inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety
of the public.
(4) The issuance of the proposed license amendment is in accordance
with 10 CFR part 51 of the Commission's regulations, and all applicable
requirements have been satisfied.
The findings set forth above are supported by the NRC safety
evaluation dated June 20, 2019, which is available at ADAMS Accession
No. ML19095A457.
III.
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the
AEA, 42 U.S.C. Sections 2201(b), 2201(i), 2201(o), and 2234; and 10 CFR
50.80, 10 CFR 72.50, and 10 CFR 50.90, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the
application for the direct transfer of the license, as described herein
is approved for Oyster Creek and the ISFSI, subject to the following
condition:
Prior to the closing of the license transfer, OCEP and HDI shall
provide the Directors of NRC's Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards (NMSS) and Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR)
satisfactory documentary evidence that they have obtained the
appropriate amount of insurance required of a licensee under 10 CFR
140.11(a)(4) and 10 CFR 50.54(w) of the Commission's regulations,
consistent with the exemptions issued to Oyster Creek on June 12,
2019.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), the
license amendment that makes changes, as indicated in Enclosure 2 to
the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform the license to
reflect the subject direct license transfer, is approved. The amendment
shall be issued and made effective within 30 days of the date of when
the proposed direct license transfer action is completed.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that HDI and OCEP shall, at least 2 business
days prior to closing, inform the Directors of NMSS and NRR in writing
of the date of closing of the license transfer for Oyster Creek and the
ISFSI. Should the transfer of the license not be completed within 1
year of this Order's date of issuance, this Order shall become null and
void; provided, however, that 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 initial
application dated August 31, 2018, and the associated NRC safety
evaluations, which are available for public inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint
North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
Publicly available documents are accessible electronically through
ADAMS in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Persons who encounter problems with ADAMS should contact the NRC's PDR
reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by
email to [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 20 day of June 2019.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
John W. Lubinski,
Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019-13566 Filed 6-25-19; 8:45 am]
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