Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart 1.
General requirement.
An applicant or licensee may provide reasonable assurance of
the availability of funds for decommissioning based on obtaining a parent
company guarantee that funds will be available for decommissioning costs and on
a demonstration that the parent company passes the financial test under subpart
2. This part establishes criteria for passing the financial test and for
obtaining the parent company guarantee.
Subp. 2.
Financial test
requirements.
A. To pass the financial
test, a parent company must meet the criteria of item B or C.
B. The parent company must have:
(1) two of the following three ratios:
(a) a ratio of total liabilities to net worth
less than 2.0;
(b) a ratio of the
sum of net income plus depreciation, depletion, and amortization to total
liabilities greater than 0.1; and
(c) a ratio of current assets to current
liabilities greater than 1.5;
(2) net working capital and tangible net
worth each at least six times the current decommissioning cost estimates for
the total of all facilities or parts thereof, or prescribed amount if a
certification is used, or, for a power reactor licensee, at least six times the
amount of decommissioning funds being assured by a parent company guarantee for
the total of all reactor units or parts thereof. Tangible net worth must be
calculated to exclude the net book value of the nuclear units;
(3) tangible net worth of at least
$10,000,000; and
(4) assets located
in the United States amounting to at least 90 percent of the total assets or at
least six times the current decommissioning cost estimates for the total of all
facilities or parts thereof, or prescribed amount if a certification is used,
or, for a power reactor licensee, at least six times the amount of
decommissioning funds being assured by a parent company guarantee for the total
of all reactor units or parts thereof.
C. The parent company must have:
(1) a current rating for its most recent bond
issuance of AAA, AA, A, or BBB as issued by Standard and Poor's or Aaa, Aa, A,
or Baa as issued by Moody's;
(2)
tangible net worth at least six times the current decommissioning cost
estimates for the total of all facilities or parts thereof, or prescribed
amount if a certification is used, or, for a power reactor licensee, at least
six times the amount of decommissioning funds being assured by a parent company
guarantee for the total of all reactor units or parts thereof. Tangible net
worth must be calculated to exclude the net book value of the nuclear
units;
(3) tangible net worth of at
least $10,000,000; and
(4) assets
located in the United States amounting to at least 90 percent of the total
assets or at least six times the current decommissioning cost estimates for the
total of all facilities or parts thereof, or prescribed amount if a
certification is used, or, for a power reactor licensee, at least six times the
amount of decommissioning funds being assured by a parent company guarantee for
the total of all reactor units or parts thereof.
Subp. 3.
Audit.
A parent company's independent certified public accountant
must compare the data used by the parent company in the financial test, which
must be derived from the independently audited, year-end financial statements
for the latest fiscal year, with the amounts in such financial statements. In
connection with that procedure, the licensee must inform the NRC within 90 days
of any matters coming to the auditor's attention that cause the auditor to
believe that the data in the financial test should be adjusted and that the
company no longer passes the test.
Subp.
4.
Continued compliance.
A. After the initial financial test, a parent
company must repeat the passage of the test within 90 days after the close of
each succeeding fiscal year.
B. If
a parent company no longer meets the requirements of subpart 2, the licensee
must send notice to the commissioner of intent to establish alternate financial
assurance according to this chapter. The notice must be sent by certified mail
within 90 days after the end of the fiscal year for which the year-end
financial data show that the parent company no longer meets the financial test
requirements. The licensee must provide alternate financial assurance within
120 days after the end of such fiscal year.
Subp. 5.
Terms of guarantee.
The terms of a parent company guarantee that an applicant or
licensee obtains must provide that:
A.
the parent company guarantee remains in force unless the guarantor sends notice
of cancellation by certified mail to the licensee and the commissioner.
Cancellation may not occur, however, during the 120 days beginning on the date
of receipt of the notice of cancellation by both the licensee and the
commissioner, as evidenced by the return receipts;
B. if the licensee fails to provide alternate
financial assurance according to this chapter within 90 days after receipt by
the licensee and commissioner of a notice of cancellation of the parent company
guarantee from the guarantor, the guarantor must provide alternative financial
assurance in the name of the licensee;
C. the parent company guarantee and financial
test provisions remain in effect until the commissioner terminates the license;
and
D. if a trust is established
for decommissioning costs, the trustee and trust must be acceptable to the
commissioner. An acceptable trustee includes an appropriate state or federal
government agency or an entity that has the authority to act as a trustee and
whose trust operations are regulated and examined by a federal or state
agency.
Statutory Authority: MS s
144.1202;
144.1203