[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 160 (Thursday, August 21, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40864-40868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-16022]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-255; NRC-2024-0123]
Holtec Palisades, LLC; Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC;
Palisades Nuclear Plant; Petition
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Director's decision under 10 CFR 2.206; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a
director's decision with regard to a petition dated December 5, 2023,
as supplemented by public meeting transcript dated April 10, 2024,
filed by Beyond Nuclear, Michigan Safe Energy Future, and Don't Waste
Michigan (the petitioner), requesting that the NRC take action with
regard to Holtec Palisades, LLC and Holtec Decommissioning
International, LLC (the licensee). The petitioner's requests and the
director's decision are included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document.
DATES: The director's decision was issued on August 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0123 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-2024-0123. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual(s) 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 ADAMS Public Search.''
For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room
(PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email
to [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary M. Turner, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2258; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the director's decision is
attached.
Availability of Documents: The documents identified in the
following table are available to interested persons through ADAMS.
[[Page 40865]]
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Document description ADAMS accession No.
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Palisades Exemption Request--Exemption from Certain ML23271A140.
Termination of License Requirements of 10 CFR 50.82, dated
September 28, 2023.
Petition to Intervene and Request for Adjudicatory Hearing ML23339A192.
by Beyond Nuclear, Don't Waste Michigan, and Michigan Safe
Energy Future, dated December 5, 2023.
Petitioners' Reply in Support of Petition for Leave to ML23352A215.
Intervene Against Palisades Exemption, dated December 18,
2023.
NRC SECY Order referring the petition to the 10 CFR 2.206 ML23352A325.
process, dated December 18, 2023.
NRC Management Directive 8.11, ``Review Process for 10 CFR ML18296A043.
2.206 Petitions,'' dated March 1, 2019.
Email from the NRC to the Petitioners regarding Palisades ML24032A244.
Misuse of Decommissioning Trust Fund 2.206 Petition--
Initial Screening Notification, dated February 1, 2024.
Email from the NRC to the Petitioners regarding Palisades ML24061A014.
Misuse of Decommissioning Trust Fund 2.206 Petition--
Initial Assessment Notification, dated February 29, 2024.
Public Meeting Official Transcript of Proceedings, dated ML24114A016.
April 10, 2024.
Email from the NRC to the Petitioners regarding Palisades ML24170A881.
Misuse of Decommissioning Trust Fund 2.206 Petition--
Abeyance Notification, dated May 15, 2024.
NRC Acknowledgement Letter, dated July 2, 2024............. ML24137A014.
Proposed Director's Decision, dated June 18, 2025.......... ML25097A165 (package).
Proposed Director's Decision, dated June 18, 2025.......... ML25097A167.
NRC Letter--Proposed Director's Decision, dated June 18, ML25097A168.
2025.
NRC Letter--Proposed Director's Decision, dated June 18, ML25097A169.
2025.
Comments on Proposed Director's Decision, dated July 2, ML25183A399.
2025.
Director's Decision--DD-25-02, dated August 14, 2025....... ML25199A053 (package).
Director's Decision--DD-25-02, dated August 14, 2025....... ML25199A096.
Director's Decision--Letter to Petitioners, dated August ML25199A095.
14, 2025.
Regulatory Guide 1.184, Revision 1, ``Decommissioning of ML13144A840.
Nuclear Power Reactors,'' published October 2013.
Palisades Nuclear Plant, Post Shutdown Decommissioning ML20358A232.
Activities Report (PDSAR) Including Site-Specific
Decommissioning Cost Estimate for Palisades Nuclear Plant,
dated December 23, 2020.
NRC Approval of Palisades Exemption--Exemption from 10 CFR ML21286A294 and ML21286A506.
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) for Holtec
Decommissioning International, LLC, dated December 13,
2021.
Response to Palisades Nuclear Plant--Request for Additional ML23060A039.
Information Related to the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning
Activities Report, dated March 1, 2023.
NRC Letter--Palisades Nuclear Plant--Review of the Post- ML23087A036.
Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report, dated May 2,
2023.
NRC Inspection Procedure 71801, ``Decommissioning ML20240A293.
Performance and Status Reviews at Permanently Shutdown
Reactors,'' dated January 1, 2021.
NRC Inspection Report No. 05000255/2023002, dated July 19, ML23200A142.
2023.
NRC Inspection Report No. 05000255/2023003, dated October ML23276B452.
4, 2023.
NRC Inspection Report No. 05000255/2023004, dated February ML24045A147.
20, 2024.
NRC Inspection Report No. 05000255/2024004, dated February ML25041A225.
14, 2025.
Calendar Year 2023--Report on Status of Decommissioning ML24089A117.
Funding for Reactors and Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installations--Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC,
dated March 29, 2024.
Calendar Year 2023--Results of the NRC Analysis of the ML24240A169.
Decommissioning Funding Status Reports for Various
Decommissioning Reactors, dated September 18, 2024.
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Dated: August 19, 2025.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Zachary Turner,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
United States of America
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Jeremy Groom, Acting Deputy Director
In the Matter of: Holtec Palisades, LLC, and Holtec Decommissioning
International, LLC, Palisades Nuclear Plant, Docket No. 50-255, License
No. DPR-20
Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206
I. Introduction
On September 28, 2023, Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC
(Holtec), on behalf of Holtec Palisades, LLC, submitted a request to
exempt the Palisades Nuclear Plant (Palisades) from certain
requirements in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
50.82, ``Termination of license'' (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML23271A140). By letter dated
December 5, 2023, and in response to Holtec's exemption request, Beyond
Nuclear, Michigan Safe Energy Future, and Don't Waste Michigan (the
petitioner) filed a petition to intervene and a request for hearing on
that exemption request (ML23339A192). On December 18, 2023, the
Commission denied the request for hearing and referred Contention 2 of
the petition, which asserted Holtec's misuse of decommissioning funds,
to the enforcement process under 10 CFR 2.206, ``Requests for action
under this subpart'' (ML23352A325).
The underlying concern in Contention 2 of the December 5, 2023,
request is that Holtec has misused the decommissioning trust fund (DTF)
to keep Palisades in a status to restart the reactor, rather than to
decommission the plant. The petitioner cited 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)
regarding appropriate uses of the DTF. Specifically, the petitioner
asserted the following:
1. Holtec expended $44 million from the Palisades DTF from June 28
to December 31, 2022.
2. Holtec continued improper utilization of the Palisades DTF from
December 31, 2022, to the present.
The staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) assembled
a Petition Review Board (PRB) in accordance with Management Directive
(MD) 8.11, ``Review Process for 10 CFR 2.206 Petitions,'' dated March
1, 2019, and its associated Directive Handbook 8.11, section III, dated
March 1, 2019 (ML18296A043). On February 29, 2024 (ML24061A014), the
petition manager informed the petitioner that the PRB's initial
assessment was to not accept the petition for review. The PRB's
position was that the petition did not meet the MD 8.11 criteria for
acceptance under 10 CFR 2.206 because the issues raised regarding
Holtec's use of the Palisades DTF in 2022 had already been addressed
through the NRC's inspection and enforcement process.
In August and November 2023 (ML23276B452 and ML24045A147,
respectively), the NRC completed inspections that addressed, in part,
the use of the Palisades DTF. As a result of these inspections, the NRC
identified several instances, totaling just over $57,000, of the
licensee using the Palisades DTF to pay for activities not considered
legitimate decommissioning
[[Page 40866]]
expenses under the definition in 10 CFR 50.2, ``Definitions.''
The NRC confirmed that the unauthorized reimbursements from the
Palisades DTF resulted from inadvertent oversights or inattention to
detail, or both, in the coding associated with the billing for various
projects and community donations. The licensee has implemented several
process revisions to address order coding modification issues and
errors, as well as training to eliminate these issues from future DTF
expenditures. The licensee also reimbursed the unauthorized expenses to
the Palisades DTF. On February 20, 2024 (ML24045A147), the NRC issued
Holtec a Severity Level IV noncited violation to address the
illegitimate use of decommissioning funds at Palisades stemming from
the staff's findings during the November 2023 inspection.
On February 29, 2024, the petition manager offered the petitioner
an opportunity to address the PRB in a public meeting (ML24061A014),
which subsequently took place on April 10, 2024. The transcript of that
meeting (ML24114A016) is publicly available in ADAMS and is considered
a supplement to the petition.
During the April 10, 2024, public meeting, the petitioner discussed
DTF expenditures of $120 million noted in the 2023 Decommissioning
Funding Status Report for Palisades, which was submitted to the NRC on
March 29, 2024 (ML24089A117). The petitioner also raised concerns about
whether the $120 million was properly used for decommissioning
expenditures in accordance with NRC requirements and guidance.
Following the April 10, 2024, public meeting, the PRB met to
consider what had been presented during the session. The PRB found that
the issues regarding use of the Palisades DTF in 2022 have been
thoroughly addressed through the NRC's inspection and enforcement
process, as noted above. Therefore, the PRB did not accept those issues
into the 10 CFR 2.206 process. The concerns the petitioner raised at
the public meeting regarding the recently submitted 2023 expenditure
report for Palisades involved new information that the NRC had not yet
fully considered. Therefore, in accordance with MD 8.11, section III.C,
the PRB accepted that portion of the petitioner's concern into the 10
CFR 2.206 process for further review.
On July 2, 2024, the NRC issued an acknowledgement letter
(ML24137A014) informing the petitioner that the concerns raised in the
petition, as supplemented, now meet the MD 8.11 criteria for
acceptance.
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC are
accessible electronically through ADAMS in the NRC's library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to
ADAMS, who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in
ADAMS, or who want to inspect publicly available documents at the NRC's
Public Document Room at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland
20852, should contact the NRC's Public Document Room reference staff by
telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by email at
[email protected].
Petitioner's Concern
The petitioner asserts that Holtec misused the DTF to keep
Palisades in a status to restart the reactor as opposed to
decommissioning the plant. Specifically, as described in the April 10,
2024, public meeting transcript, the petitioner alleged that Holtec
withdrew $120 million from the Palisades DTF, as noted in Holtec's 2023
Decommissioning Funding Status Report, and raised concerns about
whether the $120 million was properly used for decommissioning
expenditures in accordance with the current NRC requirements and
guidance.
II. Discussion
Regulatory Requirements
The NRC has a comprehensive, regulation-based framework that
provides oversight of licensee DTFs. The regulation at 10 CFR
50.82(a)(8)(i) specifies that licensees may use DTFs if the following
three criteria are met:
(A) The withdrawals are for expenses for legitimate decommissioning
activities consistent with the definition of decommissioning in Sec.
50.2;
(B) The expenditure would not reduce the value of the
decommissioning trust below an amount necessary to place and maintain
the reactor in a safe storage condition if unforeseen conditions or
expenses arise; and
(C) The withdrawals would not inhibit the ability of the licensee
to complete funding of any shortfalls in the decommissioning trust
needed to ensure the availability of funds to ultimately release the
site and terminate the license.
``Decommission'' is defined in 10 CFR 50.2 as--
. . . to remove a facility or site safely from service and reduce
residual radioactivity to a level that permits--
(1) Release of the property for the unrestricted use and
termination of the license; or
(2) Release of the property under restricted conditions and
termination of the license.
Furthermore, as outlined in Regulatory Guide 1.184, Revision 1,
``Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Reactors,'' issued October 2013
(ML13144A840), which licensees may follow as a method of compliance
with decommissioning requirements, the licensee's ability to use the
trust funds set aside for decommissioning depends on reaching certain
milestones in the decommissioning process. The limitation on the
accessibility of the decommissioning funds is designed to ensure that
sufficient trust funds are always available to place the facility in a
safe, stable condition that ultimately leads to decommissioning and
license termination. Further information regarding the Palisades'
specific decommissioning plans and cost estimates can be found in the
``Post Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report [PSDAR] including
Site-Specific Decommissioning Cost Estimate [DCE] for Palisades Nuclear
Plant,'' dated December 23, 2020 (ML20358A232), as supplemented by
letter dated March 1, 2023 (ML23060A039), which the NRC reviewed and
approved by letter dated May 2, 2023 (ML23087A036).
On December 13, 2021, the NRC granted Holtec an exemption
(ML21286A294 and ML21286A506) from the requirements of 10 CFR
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) to allow the use of a portion of the funds from the
Palisades DTF for spent fuel management and site restoration activities
at Palisades, in accordance with Holtec's PSDAR and DCE.
Reported Decommissioning Expenditures for Palisades
As described in the NRC's letter to the petitioner dated July 2,
2024, the agency limited the scope of the 10 CFR 2.206 petition to a
review of the new information presented during the April 10, 2024,
public meeting and the independent validation that the expenses claimed
against the Palisades DTF, not previously reviewed by the NRC, were
legitimate decommissioning expenses as opposed to expenses related to
the Palisades restart initiative. During the April 10, 2024, public
meeting, the petitioner referenced $120 million of decommissioning
expenditures, which can be found in enclosure 4 to Holtec's 2023
Decommissioning Funding Status Report. In table 1 of enclosure 4 of
that report, Holtec characterized its Palisades decommissioning
expenses for 2022 and 2023 as summarized in table 1.
[[Page 40867]]
Table 1--Summary of Holtec's Decommissioning Expenses at Palisades Since License Transfer
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License Spent fuel Site
Year termination management restoration Total \1\
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Holtec Decommissioning Expenditures--10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(v)(A) Since License Transfer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2022............................................ $38M $6M $0M $44M
2023............................................ 43M 56M 0M 99M
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Spent to Date......................... 81M 62M 0M \2\ 143M
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\1\ Columns may not add up due to rounding.
\2\ $120M of incurred costs have not been reimbursed as of December 31, 2023.
Note: M = million.
Holtec's report shows that a total of $143 million of Palisades'
decommissioning-related expenses were accounted for, with $44 million
in expenses for 2022 and an additional $99 million in expenses for
2023. Notably, footnote 2 to table 1 clarifies that Holtec has only
withdrawn $23 million of the $143 million of expenses from the
Palisades DTF, and the $120 million of expenses had not been reimbursed
as of December 31, 2023. Table 2 of enclosure 4 explains that Holtec
intends to withdraw the $120 million of reimbursable funds from the DTF
during the years 2040 and 2041 ($60 million is expected to be withdrawn
each of these years). This approach ensures that sufficient money
remains in the DTF to complete decommissioning and is consistent with
the regulations in 10 CFR 50.82 and guidance provided in Regulatory
Guide 1.184.
The NRC staff reviewed Holtec's decommissioning expenses during
various routine inspections at Palisades and independently found that
there have been several instances of misallocation of DTF funds, as
described in the next section of this letter. The staff has taken
appropriate action on these instances under its normal inspection and
enforcement processes. However, as discussed below, the staff has
determined that these misallocations are outside the scope of the
petition because they were not related to Palisades' restart-specific
initiatives.
NRC Inspection Activities
The NRC staff performs routine inspections at Palisades, as
required by the Decommissioning Power Reactor Inspection Program.
Specifically, the NRC inspection activities at Palisades included
review of Holtec's decommissioning expenditures, in accordance with NRC
Inspection Procedure 71801, ``Decommissioning Performance and Status
Reviews at Permanently Shutdown Reactors,'' dated January 1, 2021
(ML20240A293). Table 2 lists the NRC staff's inspection activities,
their respective inspection reports, and their associated findings. The
timeframe of the selected inspection reports below covers inspections
for which the NRC staff reviewed Palisades' 2023 DTF expenses and
withdrawals.
Table 2--List of NRC Staff Inspection Reports for Palisades Covering Calendar Year 2023
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Document ADAMS
Inspection report No. Document date accession No. Findings related to DTF
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05000255/2023002....................... July 19, 2023............. ML23200A142 None.
05000255/2023003....................... October 4, 2023........... ML23276B452 Unresolved Item (URI)
05000255/2023003[dash]01.
05000255/2023004....................... February 20, 2024......... ML24045A147 Severity Level IV noncited
violation.
05000255/2024004....................... February 14, 2025......... ML25041A225 Severity Level IV noncited
violation URI 05000255/
2024004[dash]01.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As previously described in the NRC's letter to the petitioner dated
July 2, 2024, Holtec's use of the DTF up to October 2023 had already
been reviewed by the NRC's routine inspection and enforcement
processes, which independently identified several instances in which
Holtec used the Palisades DTF for nondecommissioning activities,
totaling just over $57,000. The staff described these issues in detail
in Inspection Report Nos. 05000255/2023003, dated October 4, 2023
(ML23276B452), and 05000255/2023004, dated February 20, 2024
(ML24045A147), resulting in the NRC issuing a Severity Level IV
noncited violation for Palisades.
As of the April 10, 2024, public meeting, the NRC staff had not yet
completed a review of Holtec's 2023 Decommissioning Funding Status
Report and inspection of Palisades DTF use for October through December
2023, and therefore the petition was held in abeyance until these
processes could be completed. The NRC concluded its annual financial
assurance report review for Holtec's 2023 Decommissioning Funding
Status Report in a memorandum dated September 18, 2024 (ML24240A169).
This review concluded that the licensee continued to satisfy the
decommissioning funding assurance requirements of 10 CFR 50.82. In
November 2024, the NRC conducted its routine DTF inspection at
Palisades, which is documented in Inspection Report No. 05000255/
2024004, dated February 14, 2025 (ML25041A225). This inspection
concluded that no withdrawals from the DTF were made from October 1
through December 31, 2023, which is the timeframe encompassed by the
petitioner's concern that had not already been reviewed when the staff
accepted the petition. However, the inspection report does document
several withdrawals made in 2024 that were not for legitimate
decommissioning activities, which constituted a violation of NRC
requirements. This review did not identify any withdrawals from the DTF
for restart-specific activities; however,
[[Page 40868]]
the inspectors opened an unresolved item to address questions related
to use of the DTF for routine site maintenance costs because the
inspection identified that the licensee continued to use the DTF for
these expenditures in 2024. The NRC will address these issues through
its normal inspection and enforcement processes; because they do not
concern withdrawals for restart-specific activities, they are beyond
the scope of this 10 CFR 2.206 petition.
III. Conclusion
In summary, the NRC has a comprehensive, regulation-based framework
that provides for oversight of a licensee's use of the DTF. The NRC
staff reviewed Holtec's 2023 Decommissioning Funding Status Report for
Palisades, in addition to Holtec's 2023 decommissioning expenditures,
and found that the NRC's inspection and enforcement process
independently identified instances of DTF misuse for which the agency
issued applicable violations as required by regulations. The sole
unresolved item from the staff's inspections related to misuse of the
DTF during the relevant timeframe does not relate to restart-specific
activities. Therefore, based on the NRC's continuous oversight of
Holtec's use of the Palisades DTF, no further action is necessary at
this time to address the petitioner's concern.
As a result of the NRC staff's evaluation of the petitioner's
concerns, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has denied the
petitioners' request to take enforcement action concerning Holtec's use
of the Palisades DTF. The PRB concludes that the issues raised
regarding Holtec's use of the Palisades DTF in 2023 have already been
addressed through the NRC's inspection and enforcement process, that
violations related to these inspection findings have already been
cited, and that there is no indication that withdrawals from the DTF
were for restart-specific activities. Therefore, there is insufficient
basis on which to take further enforcement-related action against
Holtec, and the petitioner's request is denied.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.206(c), a copy of this director's
decision will be filed with the Secretary of the Commission for
Commission review. As provided for by this regulation, the decision
will constitute the final action of the Commission 25 days after the
date of the decision unless the Commission, on its own motion,
institutes a review of the decision within that time.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of August 2025.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Jeremy Groom,
Acting Deputy Director, Reactor Safety Programs and Corporate
Support Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment
Petitioner's Comments on Proposed Director's Decision and Nuclear
Regulatory Commission Response
By letter dated July 2, 2025 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System Accession No. ML25183A399), the petitioner
provided comments (ML25097A165) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) on the proposed director's decision regarding
Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC's (Holtec's), misuse of
decommissioning funds, to the enforcement process under Title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.206, ``Requests for
action under this subpart,'' regarding Palisades Nuclear Plant.
The petitioner's comments do not alter the NRC staff's
conclusions in the proposed director's decision and therefore do not
require modification to the final director's decision. This
attachment provides the petitioner's comments on the proposed
director's decision and the NRC's responses to the comments.
The petitioner's comments are summarized below.
Comment 1: Notably, 18 CFR 35.32(a)(6) warrants that.
(6) Absent the express authorization of the Commission, no part
of the assets of the Fund may be used for, or diverted to, any
purpose other than to fund the costs of decommissioning the nuclear
power plant to which the Fund relates, and to pay administrative
costs and other incidental expenses, including taxes, of the Fund.
That is, decommissioning funds must be spent on decommissioning.
The proposed decision provides no discussion of how it is that
expenditures for spent fuel management, costs indisputably incurred
during the period following June 2022 during which Holtec actively
sought and obtained federal and state assistance commitments for the
restart of Palisades, can be deemed ``costs of decommissioning.''
NRC Response to Comment 1: The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
is a codification of the general and permanent rules published in
the Federal Register by the Executive departments and agencies of
the Federal Government. The CFR is divided into 50 titles that
represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. Each title is
divided into chapters, which usually bear the name of the issuing
agency. Title 18, ``Conservation of Power and Water Resources,'' is
composed of two volumes. The first volume, containing parts 1-399,
of which you reference 18 CFR part 35, ``Filing of Rate Schedules
and Tariffs,'' includes all current regulations codified under this
title by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department
of Energy.
The regulation in 18 CFR 1.101, ``Definitions,'' defines
``Commission'' as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as
referenced within 18 CFR. Therefore, the regulation that you cited
(18 CFR 35.32(a)(6)) is outside the NRC's jurisdiction. However, the
NRC has a similar regulation at 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)) which states,
in part, the following:
Decommissioning trust funds may be used by licensees if--
(A) The withdrawals are for expenses for legitimate
decommissioning activities consistent with the definition of
decommissioning in [10 CFR] 50.2.
The regulation in 10 CFR 50.2, ``Definitions,'' defines
``Decommission'' as--. . . to remove a facility or site safely from
service and reduce residual radioactivity to a level that permits--
(1) Release of the property for unrestricted use and termination
of the license; or
(2) Release of the property under restricted conditions and
termination of the license.
Furthermore, on December 13, 2021, the NRC granted Holtec an
exemption (ML21286A294, ML21286A506) from the requirements of 10 CFR
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) to allow the use of a portion of the funds from
the Palisades Decommissioning Trust Fund (DTF) for spent fuel
management and site restoration activities at Palisades.
These points were previously detailed in the proposed director's
decision section titled ``Regulatory Requirements.''
Comment 2: The Petitioners' original question still remains
unanswered: How could Holtec legitimately spend $143,000,000 from
the decommissioning trust fund when Holtec admits that it has never
engaged in any decommissioning activity?
NRC Response to Comment 2: As described in the proposed
director's decision section titled ``NRC Inspection Activities,''
the NRC staff reviewed Holtec's use of the DTF and verified the
expenses incurred. The staff also independently identified several
instances in which Holtec used the Palisades DTF for
nondecommissioning activities and took appropriate enforcement
action for these findings. Notably, in NRC Inspection Report No.
05000255/2024004 (ML25041A225), the NRC staff issued Unresolved Item
(URI) 05000255/2024004-01, which seeks to clarify at what point a
decommissioning plant undergoing a restart initiative should
transition away from using the DTF for otherwise legitimate
expenditures. This URI is still under review and is being
dispositioned through the NRC's inspection and enforcement process.
In conclusion, the Petition Review Board has determined that the
petitioner's comments did not provide any relevant additional
information or support for the petition that was not previously
considered. Thus, the comments did not change the conclusion of the
proposed director's decision. The final director's decision denies
the petitioner's request for enforcement action. The NRC appreciates
the petitioner's comments and thanks the petitioner for raising
concerns in the interest of protecting public health and safety.
[FR Doc. 2025-16022 Filed 8-20-25; 8:45 am]
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