[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23757-23760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09279]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-528, 50-529, 50-530, and 72-44; NRC-2021-0100]


Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, and 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Consideration of Approval 
of Transfer of Licenses

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Application for indirect transfer of license; opportunity to 
comment, request a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) 
received and is considering approval of an indirect license transfer 
application filed by El Paso Electric Company (EPE) on March 18, 2021. 
The application seeks NRC approval of the indirect transfer of EPE's 
possession-only non-operating interests in Renewed Facility

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Operating License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74 for 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) as a result of the acquisition 
of an approximately 33.3 percent membership interest in IIF US Holding 
2 GP, LLC (IIF US 2 GP)--the general partner of IIF US Holding 2 LP 
(IIF US 2)--by a private individual, Anne Cleary, subsequent to the 
retirement and relinquishment of an approximately 33.3 percent IIF US 2 
GP membership interest held by Dennis Clarke.

DATES: Comments must be filed by June 3, 2021. Requests for a hearing 
or petitions for leave to intervene must be filed by May 24, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking Website:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0100. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-287-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
     Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do not 
receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact us at 
301-415-1677.
     Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission at 301-415-1101.
     Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

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: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0100 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0100.
     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 application for indirect transfer 
of the licenses dated March 18, 2021, is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML21077A256.
     Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request 
to the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 
301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking Website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2021-0100 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at 
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions 
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Introduction

    The NRC is considering the issuance of an order under Sec.  50.80 
and Sec.  72.50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 
approving 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. The proposed indirect 
transfer of control is necessary as a result of the acquisition of an 
approximately 33.3 percent membership interest in IIF US 2 GP--the 
general partner of IIF US 2--by a private individual, Anne Cleary, 
subsequent to the retirement and relinquishment of an approximately 
33.3 percent IIF US 2 GP membership interest held by Dennis Clarke.
    According to the application, EPE currently owns a 15.8 percent 
tenant-in-common interest in, and holds possession-only rights in the 
Palo Verde NRC licenses. The other possession-only tenant in-common 
owners and their respective ownership interests 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). 
Arizona Public Service Company (APS) owns a 29.1 percent tenant-in-
common interest in, and holds both operating and possession rights in 
the Palo Verde NRC licenses. Pursuant to a Participation Agreement 
entered into in 1973 and amended multiple times since then, APS 
operates each of the Palo Verde units pursuant to the operating rights 
granted to it under the licenses. The proposed transfer implicates only 
an indirect upstream change in control over EPE's possession-only 
rights in the Palo Verde NRC licenses. The proposed transfer does not 
involve or implicate any change in EPE's rights and obligations under 
the Participation Agreement or any of the licenses, nor does it 
implicate APS's or any other possession-only co-owners' rights and 
obligations under the Participation Agreement or any of the licenses. 
The proposed transfer does not require or involve any change in APS's 
management or staffing of its nuclear organization or procedures or 
affect APS's technical qualifications to operate Palo Verde pursuant to 
the Participation Agreement and its licenses. Further, the lines of 
responsibility and authority of APS's nuclear organization are 
unaffected by the proposed transfer.
    According to the application, IIF US 2 is an open-end fund, which 
means that investors can subscribe to and redeem from the fund from 
time to time. As of January 31, 2021, the passive

[[Page 23759]]

upstream limited partner investors in IIF US 2 were distributed in the 
aggregate by region as follows: U.S. (~20 percent); Canada (~12 
percent); United Kingdom (U.K.) (~25 percent); Europe excluding U.K. 
(~17 percent); Japan (~10 percent); Middle East (~9 percent); Australia 
(~4 percent); Asia excluding Japan (~2 percent); and all other regions 
(less than 1 percent). To IIF US 2's knowledge, no single foreign 
passive upstream limited partner investor in IIF US 2 holds directly or 
indirectly through affiliates more than a 5-percent passive economic 
interest in the aggregate in IIF US 2. Following the transaction, EPE 
retained its own board of directors and principal officers all of whom 
are U.S. citizens. Further, all of EPE's upstream owners are U.S. 
entities controlled by U.S. citizens that are ultimately controlled by 
the IIF US 2 GP owners, all of whom are U.S. citizens. The limited 
partners in IIF US 2 and their passive upstream investors (foreign or 
domestic) are expressly prohibited from participating or taking part in 
the management or control of IIF US 2's business and have no power or 
authority to act for or on behalf of, or to bind, IIF US 2 or its 
subsidiaries, including EPE.
    No physical changes to the facilities or operational changes are 
being proposed in the application.
    The NRC's regulations at 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50 state that 
no license, or any right thereunder, shall be transferred, either 
voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, through transfer 
of control of the license, unless the Commission gives its consent in 
writing. The Commission will approve an application for the indirect 
transfer of a license if the Commission determines that the proposed 
transfer will not affect the qualifications of the licensee to hold the 
license, and that the transfer is otherwise consistent with applicable 
provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission.
    This proposed indirect transfer is separate from the proposed 
indirect transfer of Public Service Company of New Mexico's 10.2 
percent tenant-in-common interest and possession-only rights in the 
Palo Verde NRC licenses, which the NRC is also currently reviewing. The 
Federal Register notice of consideration of approval of that transfer 
was published on January 27, 2021 (86 FR 7310).

III. Opportunity To Comment

    Within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice, persons 
may submit written comments regarding the license transfer application, 
as provided for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The Commission will consider and, if 
appropriate, respond to these comments, but such comments will not 
otherwise constitute part of the decisional record. Comments should be 
submitted as described in the ADDRESSES section of this document.

IV. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To 
Intervene

    Within 20 days after the date of publication of this notice, any 
persons (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may 
file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene 
(petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in 
accordance with the Commission's ``Agency Rules of Practice and 
Procedure'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult a 
current copy of 10 CFR 2.309. The NRC's regulations are accessible 
electronically from the NRC Library on the NRC's website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. If a petition is filed, 
the Commission or a presiding officer will rule on the petition and, if 
appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309(d) the petition should specifically 
explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with 
particular reference to the following general requirements for 
standing: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the 
petitioner; (2) the nature of the petitioner's right to be made a party 
to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the petitioner's 
property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the 
possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the 
proceeding on the petitioner's interest.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f), the petition must also set 
forth the specific contentions that the petitioner seeks to have 
litigated in the proceeding. Each contention must consist of a specific 
statement of the issue of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In 
addition, the petitioner must provide a brief explanation of the bases 
for the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or 
expert opinion that support the contention and on which the petitioner 
intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. The 
petitioner must also provide references to the specific sources and 
documents on which the petitioner intends to rely to support its 
position on the issue. The petition must include sufficient information 
to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant or licensee on 
a material issue of law or fact. Contentions must be limited to matters 
within the scope of the proceeding. The contention must be one that, if 
proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. A petitioner who fails 
to satisfy the requirements at 10 CFR 2.309(f) with respect to at least 
one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene. 
Parties have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing with respect to resolution of that party's admitted 
contentions, including the opportunity to present evidence, consistent 
with the NRC's regulations, policies, and procedures.
    Petitions must be filed no later than 20 days from the date of 
publication of this notice. Petitions and motions for leave to file new 
or amended contentions that are filed after the deadline will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer that the 
filing demonstrates good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 
CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii). The petition must be filed in 
accordance with the filing instructions in the ``Electronic Submissions 
(E-Filing)'' section of this document.
    A State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian 
Tribe, or agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to 
participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(1). The petition should 
state the nature and extent of the petitioner's interest in the 
proceeding. The petition should be submitted to the Commission no later 
than 20 days from the date of publication of this notice. The petition 
must be filed in accordance with the filing instructions in the 
``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document, and 
should meet the requirements for petitions set forth in this section, 
except that under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(2) a State, local governmental body, 
Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof does not need to 
address the standing requirements in 10 CFR 2.309(d) if the facility is 
located within its boundaries. Alternatively, a State, local 
governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof 
may participate as a non-party under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
    If a hearing is granted, any person who is not a party to the 
proceeding and is not affiliated with or represented by a party may, at 
the discretion of the presiding officer, be permitted to make a limited 
appearance pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.315(a). A person 
making a limited appearance may make an oral or written statement of 
his or her position on the issues but may not otherwise participate in 
the proceeding. A limited appearance may be made at

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any session of the hearing or at any prehearing conference, subject to 
the limits and conditions as may be imposed by the presiding officer. 
Details regarding the opportunity to make a limited appearance will be 
provided by the presiding officer if such sessions are scheduled.

V. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene (petition), any 
motion or other document filed in the proceeding prior to the 
submission of a request for hearing or petition to intervene, and 
documents filed by interested governmental entities that request to 
participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with the 
NRC's E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended at 77 FR 
46562, August 3, 2012). The E-Filing process requires participants to 
submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in 
some cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Detailed 
guidance on making electronic submissions may be found in the Guidance 
for Electronic Submissions to the NRC and on the NRC website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may not submit 
paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in 
accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or 
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the 
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the 
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the hearing in this 
proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic 
docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. Once a participant has obtained a 
digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the participant 
can then submit adjudicatory documents. Submissions must be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF). Additional guidance on PDF submissions is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the documents are submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To 
be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing 
system no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon 
receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system timestamps the document 
and sends the submitter an email notice confirming receipt of the 
document. The E-Filing system also distributes an email notice that 
provides access to the document to the NRC's Office of the General 
Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary 
that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need 
not serve the document on those participants separately. Therefore, 
applicants and other participants (or their counsel or representative) 
must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory 
documents are filed so that they can obtain access to the documents via 
the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government 
holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff. Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this 
manner are responsible for serving the document on all other 
participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail as of 
the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the 
provider of the service. A presiding officer, having granted an 
exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a participant or 
party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer subsequently determines 
that the reason for granting the exemption from use of E-Filing no 
longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission or the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued 
digital ID certificate as described above, click ``cancel'' when the 
link requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to 
the NRC's electronic hearing docket where you will be able to access 
any publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. 
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information, 
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone 
numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law 
requires submission of such information. For example, in some 
instances, individuals provide home addresses in order to demonstrate 
proximity to a facility or site. With respect to copyrighted works, 
except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory 
filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants are 
requested not to include copyrighted materials in their submission.
    The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a 
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for 
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A 
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and 
served on the parties to the hearing.
    For further details with respect to this application, see the 
application dated March 18, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21077A256).

    Dated: April 28, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Siva P. Lingam,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-09279 Filed 5-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P