In the Matter of Arizona Public Service Company, Public Service Company of New Mexico, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, and Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, 29298-29299 [2021-11433]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 103 (Tuesday, June 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29298-29299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11433]



[[Page 29298]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, STN 50-530, and 72-44; NRC-2021-
0031]


In the Matter of Arizona Public Service Company, Public Service 
Company of New Mexico, 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 dated December 2, 2020, as supplemented 
by letters dated February 26, 2021 and May 14, 2021, filed by Arizona 
Public Service Company (APS), on behalf of Public Service Company of 
New Mexico (PNM), Avangrid, Inc. (Avangrid), and their corporate 
affiliates. The application sought NRC consent to the indirect transfer 
of PNM's 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 May 25, 2021, and is effective for 1 
year.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0031 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-2021-0031. 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.
     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 staff safety evaluation supporting the Order are available in ADAMS 
under ADAMS Package Accession No. ML21119A050.
     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.

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: May 25, 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.

Attachment--Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Licenses

United States of America

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

In the Matter of: Arizona Public Service Company, Public Service 
Company of New Mexico, 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 (PNM); 
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 December 2, 2020 (Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML20337A344), as 
supplemented by letters dated February 26, 2021, and May 14, 2021 
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML21061A156 and ML21134A244, respectively), APS, 
on behalf of PNM, Avangrid, Inc. (Avangrid), and their corporate 
affiliates (together, the Applicants), 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 PNM's 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 Avangrid.
    According to the application, PNM currently owns a 10.2 percent 
tenant-in-common interest and holds possession-only rights in the NRC 
licenses. The proposed indirect license transfer would result from 
Avangrid acquiring PNM and its parent holding company as its 
subsidiaries, thereby owning 100 percent of the shares in PNM. APS owns 
a 29.1 percent tenant-in-common interest and holds both operating and 
possession rights in the NRC licenses. Further, APS operates, and would 
continue to operate, 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); El Paso Electric Company 
(15.8 percent); Southern California Public Power Authority (5.91 
percent); and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (5.7 percent). 
The proposed transaction would implicate only an indirect upstream 
change in control over PNM's possession-only rights in the NRC 
licenses. The proposed transaction would not involve or implicate any 
change in PNM's rights and obligations under any of the NRC licenses, 
nor would it implicate APS's or any other possession-only co-owners' 
rights and obligations under any of the NRC licenses.
    No physical changes or operational changes are proposed in the 
application.

[[Page 29299]]

    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 (FR) on January 27, 2021 (86 FR 
7310). The NRC did not receive any comments or hearing requests 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 PNM can indirectly 
transfer its 10.2 percent tenant-in-common interest and possession-only 
rights in the NRC licenses to Avangrid. 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. ML21118B028.

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 Palo Verde ISFSI, 
subject to the following condition.
    Avangrid, Inc. must ensure that:

    1. At the time of the indirect license transfer, Public Service 
Company of New Mexico (``PNM'') will implement the Negation Action 
Plan provided as Attachment 2 to Enclosure 1 of the Application for 
Order Approving Indirect Transfers of Control of Licenses dated 
December 2, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20337A344).
    2. The sole shareholder of PNM must consent to amend the Bylaws 
of PNM to provide that authority over PNM's interests in Palo Verde 
be delegated to the President of PNM.
    3. PNM shall provide thirty (30) days prior written notice to 
the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, before any 
further material amendment to Article IV, Section 2 of PNM's Bylaws.
    4. The President of PNM must be a U.S. citizen.
    5. The PNM President may delegate authority to one or more 
designated PNM representatives for Palo Verde co-owner matters, and 
these representatives also must be U.S. citizens under the 
supervision of the PNM President.
    6. The amendment to the Bylaws must specifically provide that 
the sole shareholder or any of its parent companies cannot remove 
the PNM President or fail to reappoint the PNM President based upon 
a decision made with respect to Palo Verde.
    7. The PNM President must sign a certificate acknowledging the 
duties owed to the NRC and the United States regarding the 
prohibition of foreign ownership, control or domination of any 
reactor license.

    It is further ordered that after receipt of all required regulatory 
approvals of the proposed indirect transfer action, the Applicants 
shall inform the Director of the NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation in writing of such receipt, and of the date of the closing 
of the transfer, no later than 2 business days prior to the date of the 
closing of the transfer. Should the proposed indirect transfer not be 
completed within 1 year of the date of this Order, 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. 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 December 2, 2020, as supplemented by letters dated February 26, 
2021, and May 14, 2021, and the NRC staff's safety evaluation dated the 
same date as this Order, which are available for public inspection 
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 Public Document Room reference staff by telephone at 1-
800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by email to [email protected].

    Dated: May 25, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

/RA/

Caroline L. Carusone,

Deputy Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 2021-11433 Filed 5-28-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P