[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13943-13944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04842]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, STN 50-530, and 72-44; NRC-2019-
0214]


In the Matter of Arizona Public Service Company; El Paso Electric 
Company; Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, and 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Indirect transfer of licenses; order.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
Order approving the application filed by El Paso Electric Company (EPE) 
on August 13, 2019. The application seeks an NRC order consenting to 
the indirect transfer of EPE's possession-only non-operating interests 
in Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74 
for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (Palo Verde), Units 1, 2, 
and 3, respectively, and the general license for the Palo Verde 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) (together, the 
Facility). No physical changes to the Facility or operational changes 
were proposed in the application.

DATES: The Order was issued on March 5, 2020, and is effective for one 
year.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0214 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-2019-0214. Address 
questions about NRC 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 and the 
NRC safety evaluation supporting the staff's findings are available at 
ADAMS Package Accession No. ML20038A226.
     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: Siva P. Lingam, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1564, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of March, 2020.


[[Page 13944]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Siva P. Lingam,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Attachment--Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Licenses

United States of America

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

    In the Matter of: Arizona Public Service Company, El Paso 
Electric Company; Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, 
3, and Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation.

Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, STN 50-530, and 72-44. License 
Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74.

Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Licenses

I

    Arizona Public Service Company (APS) is the licensed operator 
and a licensed co-owner of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. 
NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74 for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating 
Station (Palo Verde), Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and the 
general license for the Palo Verde Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation (ISFSI). Palo Verde is located in Maricopa County, 
Arizona. The other licensed co-owners (tenants-in-common), Salt 
River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District; Southern 
California Edison Company; El Paso Electric Company; Public Service 
Company of New Mexico; Southern California Public Power Authority; 
and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, hold possession-only 
rights for these licenses (i.e., they are not licensed to operate 
the facility).

II

    By application dated August 13, 2019 (Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML19225D197), El 
Paso Electric Company (EPE) requested, pursuant to Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Sections 50.80 and 72.50, that 
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) consent 
to the indirect transfer of EPE's possession-only non-operating 
interests in Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, 
and NPF-74 for Palo Verde Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and the 
general license for the Palo Verde ISFSI to IIF US Holding 2 LP.
    According to the application, EPE currently owns a 15.8 percent 
tenant-in-common interest and holds possession-only rights in the 
NRC licenses. The proposed indirect license transfer would result 
from IIF US Holding 2 LP indirectly acquiring 100 percent of the 
shares in EPE. APS would continue to operate each of the Palo Verde 
units and the ISFSI. APS owns a 29.1 percent tenant-in-common 
interest and holds both operating and possession rights in the NRC 
licenses. Further, APS operates each of the Palo Verde units and the 
ISFSI pursuant to the operating rights granted to it under the 
license of each Palo Verde unit. The remaining tenant-in-common co-
owners that hold possession-only rights in the NRC licenses are: 
Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District 
(17.49 percent); Southern California Edison Company (15.8 percent); 
Public Service Company of New Mexico (10.2 percent); Southern 
California Public Power Authority (5.91 percent); and Los Angeles 
Department of Water and Power (5.7 percent). The proposed 
transaction implicates only an indirect change in control over EPE's 
possession-only rights in the NRC licenses. The proposed transaction 
would not involve or implicate any change in EPE's rights and 
obligations under any of the NRC licenses, nor would it implicate 
APS's or any possession-only co-owners' rights and obligations under 
any of the NRC licenses.
    No physical changes or operational changes are being proposed in 
the application.
    A notice of the application and opportunity to comment, request 
a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene on the application 
was published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2019 (84 FR 
57774). In response, on November 18, 2019, Public Citizen, Inc. 
filed a hearing request. The hearing request is currently pending 
before the Commission. The NRC did not receive any comments on the 
application.
    Under 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, no license for a production 
or utilization facility or ISFSI, 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, the NRC staff has determined that EPE can 
indirectly transfer its 15.8 percent tenant-in-common interest and 
possession-only rights in the NRC licenses to IIF US Holding 2 LP. 
The proposed transferee is qualified to be the indirect holder of 
the licenses and the indirect transfer of the licenses is otherwise 
consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and 
orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto, subject to the 
condition set forth below.
    The findings set forth above are supported by an NRC staff 
safety evaluation dated the same date as this Order, which is 
available at ADAMS Accession No. ML20038A235.

III

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), 
and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, it is hereby ordered 
that the application regarding the proposed indirect license 
transfer is approved for Palo Verde Units 1, 2, and 3, and the 
ISFSI, subject to the following condition.
    1. The NRC staff's approval of this license transfer is subject 
to the Commission's authority to rescind, modify, or condition the 
approved transfer based on the outcome of any post-effectiveness 
hearing on the license transfer application.
    It is further ordered that after receipt of all required 
regulatory approvals of the proposed indirect transfer action, the 
applicant shall inform the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation in writing of such receipt no later than 2 business days 
prior to the date of the closing of the indirect transfer. Should 
the proposed indirect transfer not be completed within 1 year from 
the date of this Order, this Order shall become null and void, 
provided, however, upon written application and for good cause 
shown, such date may be extended by order. The condition of this 
Order may be amended upon application by the applicants and approval 
by the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the 
application dated August 13, 2019, and the NRC safety evaluation 
dated the same date of this Order, which are available for public 
inspection at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), 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 https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter 
problems 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, Maryland this 5th day of March, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.


[FR Doc. 2020-04842 Filed 3-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P