In the Matter of Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Oyster Creek Environmental Protection, LLC, Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC, Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, 30250-30252 [2019-13566]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 26, 2019 / Notices
decommissioning funds, plus earnings
on such funds calculated at not greater
than a 2-percent real rate of return,
together with the amount provided by
other financial assurance methods being
relied upon, does not cover the
estimated cost to complete the
decommissioning. The requested
exemptions would not allow the
withdrawal of funds from the DTF for
any other purpose that is not currently
authorized in the regulations without
prior notification to the NRC. Therefore,
the granting of this exemption to 10 CFR
50.75(h)(1)(iv) to allow the licensee to
make withdrawals from the DTF to
cover authorized expenses for irradiated
fuel management and site restoration
activities without prior written
notification to the NRC will still meet
the underlying purpose of the
regulation.
Special circumstances, in accordance
with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(iii), are present
whenever compliance would result in
undue hardship or other costs that are
significantly in excess of those
contemplated when the regulation was
adopted, or that are significantly in
excess of those incurred by others
similarly situated. The licensee states
that the DTF contains funds in excess of
the estimated costs of radiological
decommissioning and that these excess
funds are needed for irradiated fuel
management and site restoration
activities. The NRC does not preclude
the use of funds from the
decommissioning trust in excess of
those needed for radiological
decommissioning for other purposes,
such as irradiated fuel management or
site restoration.
The NRC has stated that funding for
irradiated fuel management and site
restoration activities may be
commingled in the DTF, provided that
the licensee is able to identify and
account for the radiological
decommissioning funds separately from
the funds set aside for irradiated fuel
management and site restoration
activities (see NRC Regulatory Issue
Summary 2001–07, Rev. 1, ‘‘10 CFR
50.75 Reporting and Recordkeeping for
Decommissioning Planning,’’ dated
January 8, 2009 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML083440158), and Regulatory Guide
1.184, Rev. 1, ‘‘Decommissioning of
Nuclear Power Reactors,’’ dated October
2013 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML13144A840). To prevent access to
those excess funds in the DTF because
irradiated fuel management and site
restoration activities are not associated
with radiological decommissioning
would create an unnecessary financial
burden without any corresponding
safety benefit.
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The adequacy of the DTF to cover the
cost of activities associated with
irradiated fuel management and site
restoration, in addition to radiological
decommissioning, is supported by the
site-specific decommissioning cost
estimate. If the licensee cannot use its
DTF for irradiated fuel management and
site restoration activities, it would need
to obtain additional funding that would
not be recoverable from the DTF, or the
licensee would have to modify its
decommissioning approach and
methods. The staff concludes that either
outcome would impose an unnecessary
and undue burden significantly in
excess of that contemplated when 10
CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR
50.75(h)(1)(iv) were adopted.
Since the underlying purposes of 10
CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR
50.75(h)(1)(iv) would be achieved by
allowing HDI to use a portion of the
Oyster Creek DTF for irradiated fuel
management and site restoration
activities without prior NRC
notification, and since compliance with
the regulations would result in an
undue hardship or other costs that are
significantly in excess of those
contemplated when the regulations
were adopted, the special circumstances
required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) and
10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(iii) exist and support
the approval of the requested
exemptions.
E. Environmental Considerations
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.31(a),
the Commission has determined that the
granting of the exemptions will not have
a significant effect on the quality of the
human environment (see Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact published in the
Federal Register on June 18, 2019 (84
FR 28357)).
IV. Conclusions
In consideration of this notice, the
staff finds that the proposed exemptions
confirm the adequacy of funding in the
Oyster Creek DTF, considering growth,
to complete radiological
decommissioning of the site and to
terminate the license and also to cover
estimated irradiated fuel management
and site restoration activities. The NRC
staff also finds that there is reasonable
assurance that adequate funds are
available in the NDT to complete all
activities associated with radiological
decommissioning, license termination,
irradiated fuel management activities,
and site restoration within the scope of
this exemption request.
Accordingly, the Commission has
determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12(a), the exemptions are authorized
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by law, will not present an undue risk
to the public health and safety, and are
consistent with the common defense
and security. Also, special
circumstances are present. Therefore,
the Commission hereby grants HDI
exemptions from the requirements of 10
CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 10 CFR
50.75(h)(1)(iv) to allow use of a portion
of the funds from the Oyster Creek DTF
for irradiated fuel management and site
restoration activities in accordance with
the Oyster Creek revised PSDAR and
DCE, dated September 28, 2018.
Additionally, the Commission hereby
grants HDI an exemption from the
requirement of 10 CFR 50.75(h)(1)(iv) to
allow such withdrawals without prior
NRC notification.
These exemptions are effective upon
the NRC’s issuance of a conforming
license amendment reflecting HDI and
OCEP as the licensees for Oyster Creek,
following NRC approval of the license
transfer application and consummation
of the transaction.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day
of June, 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John W. Lubinski,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019–13527 Filed 6–25–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Direct transfer of license; order.
AGENCY:
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
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 26, 2019 / Notices
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:
Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. 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 publiclyavailable 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 pdr.resource@
nrc.gov. 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: Amy.Snyder@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of
the Order is attached.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
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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
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30251
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 whollyowned 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 (nonqualified 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
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 26, 2019 / Notices
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.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:47 Jun 25, 2019
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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.
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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
https://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 pdr.resource@
nrc.gov.
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]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. IM2019–1; Order No. 5127]
Section 407 Proceeding
Postal Regulatory Commission.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Commission is
establishing a docket to solicit
comments for the purpose of developing
its views on whether certain proposals
for the Third Extraordinary Congress are
consistent with the standards and
criteria for modern rate regulation
established by the Commission under
applicable sections of the United States
Code. This notice informs the public of
the filing, invites public comment, and
takes other administrative steps.
DATES: Comments are due: August 1,
2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments
electronically via the Commission’s
SUMMARY:
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]]>Agencies
[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]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 https://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]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
