In the Matter of Arizona Public Service Company, Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District Public Service Company of New Mexico, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 and 2 and Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, 67092-67094 [2021-25621]
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67092
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 224 / Wednesday, November 24, 2021 / Notices
discussion of Board policy messages
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Jennifer Homendy,
Chair.
[FR Doc. 2021–25587 Filed 11–23–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7533–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Chris Blair,
Executive Assistant to the National Science
Board Office.
[Docket Nos. STN 50–528, STN 50–529, and
72–44; NRC–2021–0126]
[FR Doc. 2021–25807 Filed 11–22–21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION
SAFETY BOARD
Office of the Managing Director:
Strategic Management Program, Fiscal
Year 2022–2026 Strategic Plan
AGENCY:
National Transportation Safety
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ACTION:
Notice: request for comments.
This notice is in accordance
with OMB Circular A–11, section 210.3
(b), Consultation and Outreach, which
requires the NTSB to solicit comments
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SUMMARY:
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In the Matter of Arizona Public Service
Company, Salt River Project
Agricultural Improvement and Power
District Public Service Company of
New Mexico, Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station, Units 1 and 2 and
Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Transfers of control of licenses;
corrected order.
AGENCY:
On October 21, 2021, and
published in the Federal Register on
October 27, 2021, the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an
Order approving the application dated
May 19, 2021, as supplemented by letter
dated September 14, 2021, filed by
Arizona Public Service Company (APS),
on behalf of Salt River Project
Agricultural Improvement and Power
District (SRP) and Public Service
Company of New Mexico (PNM). The
application sought NRC consent to the
partial transfers of Renewed Facility
Operating License Nos. NPF–41 and
NPF–51 for Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station (Palo Verde), Units 1
and 2, respectively, and the general
license for the Palo Verde Independent
Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI).
Specifically, it sought NRC consent to
the transfers from PNM to SRP of a
7.9333330 percent share of the
undivided interests in Palo Verde, Unit
1, and of a 0.7933333 percent share of
the undivided interests in Palo Verde
Unit 2. No physical changes or
operational changes were proposed in
the application. The NRC is issuing an
Order correcting and superseding the
Order of October 21, 2021.
SUMMARY:
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The corrected Order was issued
on November 17, 2021.
DATES:
Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2021–0126 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:
ADDRESSES:
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2021–0126. Address
questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301–287–0624; email:
Stacy.Schumann@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 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
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The corrected
license transfer order dated November
17, 2021, the superseded license transfer
order dated October 21, 2021, and
published in the Federal Register on
October 27, 2021 (86 FR 59432), and the
NRC staff safety evaluation supporting
the orders are available in ADAMS
under Accession Nos. ML21307A132,
ML21245A065, and ML21245A064,
respectively.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents,
by appointment, at the NRC’s PDR,
Room P1 B35, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please
send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov
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.
Siva
P. Lingam, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001; telephone: 301–415–1564, email:
Siva.Lingam@nrc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
The text of
the corrected Order is attached.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dated: November 18, 2021.
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 224 / Wednesday, November 24, 2021 / Notices
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—Corrected Order
Approving Transfers of Control of
Licenses (Superseding Order of October
21, 2021)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
In the Matter of: Arizona Public Service
Company, Salt River Project Agricultural
Improvement, and Power District, Public
Service Company of New Mexico, Palo Verde
Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 and 2
and Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation, Docket Nos. STN 50–528, STN
50–529, and 72–44, License Nos. NPF–41 and
NPF–51.
CORRECTED ORDER APPROVING
TRANSFERS OF CONTROL OF LICENSES
(SUPERSEDING ORDER OF OCTOBER 21,
2021)
I.
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Arizona Public Service Company (APS) is
the licensed operator and a licensed coowner 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 coowners (tenants-in-common), Salt River
Project Agricultural Improvement and Power
District (SRP); 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 May 19, 2021, as
supplemented by letter dated September 14,
2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession
Nos. ML21139A330 and ML21257A399,
respectively), APS, on behalf of SRP and
PNM (together, the Applicants), requested,
pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Sections 50.80,
‘‘Transfer of licenses,’’ and 72.50, ‘‘Transfer
of license,’’ that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC, the Commission) consent
to the partial license transfers from PNM to
SRP of a 7.9333330 percent share of the
undivided interests in Palo Verde, Unit 1,
and of a 0.7933333 percent share of the
undivided interests in Palo Verde, Unit 2.
According to the application, PNM
currently has a 10.2 percent possession-only
interest in Palo Verde, Units 1, 2, and 3.
While most of this interest is directly owned
by PNM, the remainder, specifically the Unit
1 interests and Unit 2 interests, is leased from
financial institutions pursuant to saleleaseback transactions PNM executed in 1985
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and 1986 with investment and banking firms.
As the lessee, PNM retained all the leasehold
and control rights and responsibility
associated therewith. The NRC consented to
these sale-leaseback transactions (ADAMS
Accession No. ML021680489). Under the
terms of these past transactions, the Unit 1
interests and the Unit 2 interests are
currently held in trust and leased to PNM
pursuant to the NRC’s prior orders, license
amendments, and creditor regulations in
accordance with 10 CFR 50.81, ‘‘Creditor
regulations.’’ The sale-leaseback transactions
were structured so that although the
investment and banking firms own the Unit
1 interests and the Unit 2 interests, none has
direct or indirect controlling interest in Palo
Verde. Instead, under the leases, PNM retains
leasehold and control rights and
responsibility under the NRC licenses for
these interests.
According to the application, PNM entered
into a total of 11 sale-leaseback transactions
refinancing portions of its interests in Palo
Verde, Units 1 and 2. Six leases have since
expired, leaving five remaining. The
application concerns those remaining five
leases, which are approaching their
expiration dates and cannot be renewed, with
four leases expiring in 2023 and one in 2024.
The financial institutions have agreed to sell
and transfer these interests to SRP starting
from 2021 and SRP has agreed to purchase
these interests, provided that SRP and PNM
have secured the requisite approval from the
NRC for SRP ownership of the incremental
interests once the leases expire.
After the proposed partial license transfers,
SRP would own a total of 25.423333 percent
of the shares in Unit 1, and 18.2833333
percent of the shares in Unit 2, and PNM
would own a total of 2.266667 percent of the
shares in Unit 1, and 9.4066667 percent of
the shares in Unit 2. 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-incommon co-owners that hold possessiononly rights in the NRC licenses are: 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). Although
the ownership interests in Palo Verde would
change, significant actions involving
operation of the Palo Verde units require
unanimity of all owners of Palo Verde.
Currently, no entity owns 50 percent or more
of the voting interests. The same would be
true following the proposed transfers of the
leased interests. Accordingly, after the
effective date of the transactions, there would
be no change in the control of operation of
Palo Verde; APS would continue to make all
technical decisions that do not require
approval from all owners of Palo Verde.
No physical changes or operational
changes are proposed in the application.
A notice of the application and
opportunity to comment, request a hearing,
and petition for leave to intervene on the
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67093
application was published in the Federal
Register (FR) on June 29, 2021 (86 FR 34282).
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 transfer a
7.9333330 percent share of the undivided
interests in Palo Verde, Unit 1, and a
0.7933333 percent share of the undivided
interest in Palo Verde, Unit 2, to SRP. The
proposed transferee is qualified to be the
holder of the licenses and transfer of the
licenses is otherwise consistent with
applicable provisions of law, regulations, and
orders issued by the Commission pursuant
thereto.
The findings set forth above are supported
by an NRC staff safety evaluation dated
October 21, 2021, which is available at
ADAMS Accession No. ML21245A064.
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 partial
license transfers is approved for Palo Verde,
Units 1 and 2 and the Palo Verde ISFSI.
It is further ordered that after receipt of all
required regulatory approvals of the
proposed partial license transfers, 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 initial transactions under the
beneficial interest sales agreements described
in the application, no later than 2 business
days prior to the date of the closing. Should
the closing 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 Applicants shall also inform the
Director of the NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation in writing of the expiration of
each of the leases no later than 2 business
days after their expiration.
This Order is effective upon issuance and
it corrects and supersedes the NRC Order
approving the application issued on October
21, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML21245A065) and published on October 27,
2021 (86 FR 59432).
For further details with respect to this
Order, see the application dated May 19,
2021, as supplemented by letter dated
September 14, 2021, and the NRC staff’s
safety evaluation dated October 21, 2021,
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
E:\FR\FM\24NON1.SGM
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67094
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 224 / Wednesday, November 24, 2021 / Notices
should contact the NRC Public Document
Room reference staff by telephone at 1–800–
397–4209 or 301–415–4737 or by email to
pdr.resource@nrc.gov.
Dated: November 17, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
/RA/
Bo M. Pham,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021–25621 Filed 11–23–21; 8:45 am]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sean Robinson, 202–268–8405.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
United States Postal Service® hereby
gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C.
3642 and 3632(b)(3), on November 9,
2021, it filed with the Postal Regulatory
Commission a USPS Request to Add
Priority Mail Contract 728 to
Competitive Product List. Documents
are available at www.prc.gov, Docket
Nos. MC2022–19, CP2022–21.
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
Sean Robinson,
Attorney, Corporate and Postal Business Law.
POSTAL SERVICE
[FR Doc. 2021–25701 Filed 11–23–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710–12–P
Product Change—Parcel Select and
Parcel Return Service Negotiated
Service Agreement
Sean Robinson,
Attorney, Corporate and Postal Business Law.
POSTAL SERVICE
Postal ServiceTM.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Product Change—Priority Mail
Negotiated Service Agreement
The Postal Service gives
notice of filing a request with the Postal
Regulatory Commission to add a
domestic shipping services contract to
the list of Negotiated Service
Agreements in the Mail Classification
Schedule’s Competitive Products List.
DATES: Date of required notice:
November 24, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sean Robinson, 202–268–8405.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
United States Postal Service® hereby
gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C.
3642 and 3632(b)(3), on November 2,
2021, it filed with the Postal Regulatory
Commission a USPS Request to Add
Parcel Select and Parcel Return Service
Contract 14 to Competitive Product List.
Documents are available at
www.prc.gov, Docket Nos. MC2022–17,
CP2022–18.
SUMMARY:
Sean Robinson,
Attorney, Corporate and Postal Business Law.
[FR Doc. 2021–25697 Filed 11–23–21; 8:45 am]
Postal ServiceTM.
ACTION: Notice.
The Postal Service gives
notice of filing a request with the Postal
Regulatory Commission to add a
domestic shipping services contract to
the list of Negotiated Service
Agreements in the Mail Classification
Schedule’s Competitive Products List.
DATES: Date of required notice:
November 24, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sean Robinson, 202–268–8405.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
United States Postal Service® hereby
gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C.
3642 and 3632(b)(3), on November 2,
2021, it filed with the Postal Regulatory
Commission a USPS Request to Add
Priority Mail Contract 727 to
Competitive Product List. Documents
are available at www.prc.gov, Docket
Nos. MC2022–18, CP2022–19.
[FR Doc. 2021–25698 Filed 11–23–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710–12–P
Product Change—Priority Mail
Negotiated Service Agreement
POSTAL SERVICE
Postal
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Postal Service gives
notice of filing a request with the Postal
Regulatory Commission to add a
domestic shipping services contract to
the list of Negotiated Service
Agreements in the Mail Classification
Schedule’s Competitive Products List.
DATES: Date of required notice:
November 24, 2021.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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BILLING CODE 7710–12–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
SUMMARY:
POSTAL SERVICE
ServiceTM.
[FR Doc. 2021–25702 Filed 11–23–21; 8:45 am]
AGENCY:
Sean Robinson,
Attorney, Corporate and Postal Business Law.
BILLING CODE 7710–12–P
Agreements in the Mail Classification
Schedule’s Competitive Products List.
DATES: Date of required notice:
November 24, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sean Robinson, 202–268–8405.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
United States Postal Service® hereby
gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C.
3642 and 3632(b)(3), on November 19,
2021, it filed with the Postal Regulatory
Commission a USPS Request to Add
Priority Mail & First-Class Package
Service Contract 209 to Competitive
Product List. Documents are available at
www.prc.gov, Docket Nos. MC2022–21,
CP2022–23.
Product Change—Priority Mail and
First-Class Package Service
Negotiated Service Agreement
Postal ServiceTM.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
[Release No. 34–93608; File No. SR–
CboeBZX–2021–052]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe
BZX Exchange, Inc.; Order Instituting
Proceedings To Determine Whether To
Approve or Disapprove a Proposed
Rule Change To List and Trade Shares
of the Global X Bitcoin Trust Under
BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4), CommodityBased Trust Shares
November 18, 2021.
On August 3, 2021, Cboe BZX
Exchange, Inc. (‘‘BZX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’)
filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant
to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule
19b–4 thereunder,2 a proposed rule
change to list and trade shares
(‘‘Shares’’) of the Global X Bitcoin Trust
(‘‘Trust’’) under BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4),
Commodity-Based Trust Shares. The
proposed rule change was published for
comment in the Federal Register on
August 23, 2021.3
On September 29, 2021, pursuant to
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,4 the
Commission designated a longer period
within which to approve the proposed
rule change, disapprove the proposed
rule change, or institute proceedings to
determine whether to disapprove the
1 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 92689
(Aug. 17, 2021), 86 FR 47176 (‘‘Notice’’). Comments
on the proposed rule change can be found at:
https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-cboebzx-2021052/srcboebzx2021052.htm.
4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
2 17
The Postal Service gives
notice of filing a request with the Postal
Regulatory Commission to add a
domestic shipping services contract to
the list of Negotiated Service
SUMMARY:
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67092-67094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25621]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, and 72-44; NRC-2021-0126]
In the Matter of Arizona Public Service Company, Salt River
Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District Public Service
Company of New Mexico, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1
and 2 and Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Transfers of control of licenses; corrected order.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On October 21, 2021, and published in the Federal Register on
October 27, 2021, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued
an Order approving the application dated May 19, 2021, as supplemented
by letter dated September 14, 2021, filed by Arizona Public Service
Company (APS), on behalf of Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement
and Power District (SRP) and Public Service Company of New Mexico
(PNM). The application sought NRC consent to the partial transfers of
Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-41 and NPF-51 for Palo
Verde Nuclear Generating Station (Palo Verde), Units 1 and 2,
respectively, and the general license for the Palo Verde Independent
Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). Specifically, it sought NRC
consent to the transfers from PNM to SRP of a 7.9333330 percent share
of the undivided interests in Palo Verde, Unit 1, and of a 0.7933333
percent share of the undivided interests in Palo Verde Unit 2. No
physical changes or operational changes were proposed in the
application. The NRC is issuing an Order correcting and superseding the
Order of October 21, 2021.
DATES: The corrected Order was issued on November 17, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0126 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-2021-0126. 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 corrected license transfer order
dated November 17, 2021, the superseded license transfer order dated
October 21, 2021, and published in the Federal Register on October 27,
2021 (86 FR 59432), and the NRC staff safety evaluation supporting the
orders are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML21307A132,
ML21245A065, and ML21245A064, respectively.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
PDR.R[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 corrected Order is attached.
Dated: November 18, 2021.
[[Page 67093]]
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--Corrected Order Approving Transfers of Control of Licenses
(Superseding Order of October 21, 2021)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
In the Matter of: Arizona Public Service Company, Salt River
Project Agricultural Improvement, and Power District, Public Service
Company of New Mexico, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units
1 and 2 and Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, Docket Nos.
STN 50-528, STN 50-529, and 72-44, License Nos. NPF-41 and NPF-51.
CORRECTED ORDER APPROVING TRANSFERS OF CONTROL OF LICENSES (SUPERSEDING
ORDER OF OCTOBER 21, 2021)
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 (SRP);
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 May 19, 2021, as supplemented by letter
dated September 14, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS) Accession Nos. ML21139A330 and ML21257A399,
respectively), APS, on behalf of SRP and PNM (together, the
Applicants), requested, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Sections 50.80, ``Transfer of licenses,'' and
72.50, ``Transfer of license,'' that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC, the Commission) consent to the partial license
transfers from PNM to SRP of a 7.9333330 percent share of the
undivided interests in Palo Verde, Unit 1, and of a 0.7933333
percent share of the undivided interests in Palo Verde, Unit 2.
According to the application, PNM currently has a 10.2 percent
possession-only interest in Palo Verde, Units 1, 2, and 3. While
most of this interest is directly owned by PNM, the remainder,
specifically the Unit 1 interests and Unit 2 interests, is leased
from financial institutions pursuant to sale-leaseback transactions
PNM executed in 1985 and 1986 with investment and banking firms. As
the lessee, PNM retained all the leasehold and control rights and
responsibility associated therewith. The NRC consented to these
sale-leaseback transactions (ADAMS Accession No. ML021680489). Under
the terms of these past transactions, the Unit 1 interests and the
Unit 2 interests are currently held in trust and leased to PNM
pursuant to the NRC's prior orders, license amendments, and creditor
regulations in accordance with 10 CFR 50.81, ``Creditor
regulations.'' The sale-leaseback transactions were structured so
that although the investment and banking firms own the Unit 1
interests and the Unit 2 interests, none has direct or indirect
controlling interest in Palo Verde. Instead, under the leases, PNM
retains leasehold and control rights and responsibility under the
NRC licenses for these interests.
According to the application, PNM entered into a total of 11
sale-leaseback transactions refinancing portions of its interests in
Palo Verde, Units 1 and 2. Six leases have since expired, leaving
five remaining. The application concerns those remaining five
leases, which are approaching their expiration dates and cannot be
renewed, with four leases expiring in 2023 and one in 2024. The
financial institutions have agreed to sell and transfer these
interests to SRP starting from 2021 and SRP has agreed to purchase
these interests, provided that SRP and PNM have secured the
requisite approval from the NRC for SRP ownership of the incremental
interests once the leases expire.
After the proposed partial license transfers, SRP would own a
total of 25.423333 percent of the shares in Unit 1, and 18.2833333
percent of the shares in Unit 2, and PNM would own a total of
2.266667 percent of the shares in Unit 1, and 9.4066667 percent of
the shares in Unit 2. 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: 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). Although the ownership
interests in Palo Verde would change, significant actions involving
operation of the Palo Verde units require unanimity of all owners of
Palo Verde. Currently, no entity owns 50 percent or more of the
voting interests. The same would be true following the proposed
transfers of the leased interests. Accordingly, after the effective
date of the transactions, there would be no change in the control of
operation of Palo Verde; APS would continue to make all technical
decisions that do not require approval from all owners of Palo
Verde.
No physical changes or operational changes are proposed in the
application.
A notice of the application and opportunity to comment, request
a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene on the application
was published in the Federal Register (FR) on June 29, 2021 (86 FR
34282). 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
transfer a 7.9333330 percent share of the undivided interests in
Palo Verde, Unit 1, and a 0.7933333 percent share of the undivided
interest in Palo Verde, Unit 2, to SRP. The proposed transferee is
qualified to be the holder of the licenses and transfer of the
licenses is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law,
regulations, and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto.
The findings set forth above are supported by an NRC staff
safety evaluation dated October 21, 2021, which is available at
ADAMS Accession No. ML21245A064.
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 partial license
transfers is approved for Palo Verde, Units 1 and 2 and the Palo
Verde ISFSI.
It is further ordered that after receipt of all required
regulatory approvals of the proposed partial license transfers, 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 initial transactions under the beneficial
interest sales agreements described in the application, no later
than 2 business days prior to the date of the closing. Should the
closing 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 Applicants shall also inform the Director of
the NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing of the
expiration of each of the leases no later than 2 business days after
their expiration.
This Order is effective upon issuance and it corrects and
supersedes the NRC Order approving the application issued on October
21, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21245A065) and published on October
27, 2021 (86 FR 59432).
For further details with respect to this Order, see the
application dated May 19, 2021, as supplemented by letter dated
September 14, 2021, and the NRC staff's safety evaluation dated
October 21, 2021, 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
[[Page 67094]]
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: November 17, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
/RA/
Bo M. Pham,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-25621 Filed 11-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P