[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37418-37420]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15002]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-387 and 50-388]


PP&L, Inc. Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Susquehanna 
Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2); Order Approving Transfer of 
Licenses and Conforming Amendments

I

    PP&L, Inc.,\1\ and Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc., are the 
joint owners of the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2 
(Susquehanna SES), located in Luzerne, Pennsylvania. They hold Facility 
Operating Licenses Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-22 issued by the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) on July 17, 1982, and March 
23, 1984, respectively, pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50). Under these licenses, PP&L, Inc. 
(currently owner of 90 percent of each Susquehanna SES unit) is 
authorized to possess Susquehanna SES (along with Allegheny Electric 
Cooperative, Inc., owner of the remaining 10 percent) and to use and 
operate Susquehanna SES.
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    \1\ By letter dated March 24, 2000, PP&L, Inc., informed the 
Commission that effective February 14, 2000, PP&L, Inc., changed its 
name to ``PPL Electric Utilities Corporation.'' PP&L, Inc., also 
informed the Commission of name changes for its parent and an 
affiliate. No application for license amendments to reflect the name 
change of PP&L, Inc., was submitted because, according to the 
licensee, it believed the amount of time for processing such an 
application would cause it to be approved following a decision on 
the license transfers and conforming amendments which are the 
subject of this Order. Notwithstanding the above name change of the 
PP&L, Inc., entity, since the licenses for the Susquehanna Steam 
Electric Station, Units 1 and 2, have not been amended to reflect 
PP&L, Inc.'s new name, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, 
references in this Order to this particular licensee will use both 
its former and current names interchangeably as appropriate in the 
given context.
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II

    By an application dated December 15, 1999, which was supplemented 
by submittals dated February 7, March 24, April 28, May 4, and May 30, 
2000 (collectively referred to as the application herein), PP&L, Inc., 
requested approval of the proposed transfer of its rights under the 
operating licenses for Susquehanna SES to a new, affiliated nuclear 
generating company, PPL Susquehanna, LLC (PPL Susquehanna). PP&L, Inc., 
also requested approval of conforming amendments to reflect the 
transfer.
    According to the application, PPL Susquehanna would become the 
owner of PP&L, Inc.''s ownership interest in both units following 
approval of the

[[Page 37419]]

proposed license transfers and assume operational responsibility. No 
physical changes or change in the day-to-day management and operations 
of Susquehanna SES are proposed in the application. The proposed 
transfers do not involve any change with respect to the non-operating 
ownership interest in Susquehanna SES held by Allegheny Electric 
Cooperative, Inc.
    Approval of the transfers and conforming license amendments was 
requested pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of the request for 
approval and an opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal 
Register on March 3, 2000 (65 FR 11611). No hearing requests or written 
comments were filed.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder, 
shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of 
control of the license, unless the Commission shall give its consent in 
writing. Upon review of the information submitted in the application 
and other information before the Commission, the NRC staff has 
determined that PPL Susquehanna is qualified to hold the licenses for 
Susquehanna SES to the same extent the licenses are now held by PP&L, 
Inc., and that the transfer of the licenses, as previously described, 
is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, 
and orders issued by the Commission, subject to the conditions 
described herein. The NRC staff has further found that the application 
for the proposed license amendments complies with the standards and 
requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), 
and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter 
I; the facility will operate in conformity with the application, the 
provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; 
there is reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by the 
proposed license amendments 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; the issuance 
of the proposed license amendments will not be inimical to the common 
defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; and the 
issuance of the proposed license amendments will be in accordance with 
10 CFR Part 51 of the Commission's regulations, and all applicable 
requirements have been satisfied. The foregoing findings are supported 
by a Safety Evaluation dated June 6, 2000.

III

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 2201(b), 2201(i), and 
2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, it is hereby ordered that the license transfers 
referenced above are approved, subject to the following conditions:
    1. For purposes of ensuring public health and safety, PPL 
Susquehanna shall provide decommissioning funding assurance, to be held 
in decommissioning trust(s) for Susquehanna SES upon transfer of the 
respective licenses to PPL Susquehanna, in the amount specified in 
PP&L, Inc.'s March 29, 1999, ``Decommissioning Report of Financial 
Assurance'' as Owner's Decommissioning Fund Totals at December 31, 
1998, plus any additional funds added to the accounts since the filing 
of that report, on the date of transfer. In addition, PPL Susquehanna 
shall ensure that its contractual arrangements with PPL EnergyPlus, 
LLC, and the contractual arrangements of PPL EnergyPlus, LLC with PPL 
Electric Utilities Corporation (PP&L, Inc.) to obtain necessary 
decommissioning funds for Susquehanna SES through a non-bypassable 
charge will be maintained until the decommissioning trusts are fully 
funded, or shall ensure that other mechanisms that provide equivalent 
assurance of decommissioning funding in accordance with the 
Commission's regulations are maintained.
    2. The decommissioning trust agreements for Susquehanna SES, Units 
1 and 2, at the time the license transfers are effected, are subject to 
the following:
    (a) The trust agreements must be in a form acceptable to the NRC.
    (b) With respect to the decommissioning trust funds, investments in 
the securities or other obligations of PPL Corporation or its 
affiliates, successors, or assigns shall be prohibited. Except for 
investments tied to market indexes or other non-nuclear-sector mutual 
funds, investments in any entity owning one or more nuclear power 
plants are prohibited.
    (c) The decommissioning trust agreements for Susquehanna SES, Units 
1 and 2, must provide that no disbursements or payments from the trusts 
shall be made by the trustee unless the trustee has first given the NRC 
30-days prior written notice of payment. The decommissioning trust 
agreements shall further contain a provision that no disbursements or 
payments from the trusts shall be made if the trustee receives prior 
written notice of objection from the Director, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
    (d) The decommissioning trust agreements must provide that the 
agreements cannot be amended in any material respect without 30-days 
prior written notification to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
    (e) The appropriate section of the decommissioning trust agreements 
shall state that the trustee, investment advisor, or anyone else 
directing the investments made in the trusts shall adhere to a 
``prudent investor'' standard, as specified in 18 CFR 35.32(a)(3) of 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's regulations.
    3. PPL Susquehanna shall not take any action that would cause PPL 
Corporation or any other direct or indirect parent of PPL Susquehanna 
to void, cancel, or diminish any applicable commitment to fund an 
extended plant shutdown as represented in the application.
    4. Before the completion of the transfer of the interests in 
Susquehanna SES to PPL Susquehanna as previously described herein, PPL 
Susquehanna shall provide to the Director of the Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation satisfactory documentary evidence that PPL 
Susquehanna has obtained the appropriate amount of insurance required 
of licensees under 10 CFR Part 140 of the Commission's regulations.
    5. After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
subject transfer, PP&L, Inc., shall inform the Director of the Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing of such receipt, and of the 
date of closing of the transfer no later than 7 business days prior to 
the date of closing. Should the transfer not be completed by June 1, 
2001, this Order shall become null and void, provided, however, on 
application and for good cause shown, such date may be extended.
    It is further ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), 
license amendments for Susquehanna SES that make changes, as indicated 
in Enclosure 2 to the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform 
the licenses to reflect the subject license transfers are approved. 
Such amendments shall be issued and made effective at the time the 
proposed license transfers are completed.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the initial 
transfer application and request for conforming amendments dated 
December 15, 1999, supplements dated February 7, March 24, April 28, 
May 4, and May 30, 2000, and the safety evaluation dated June 6, 2000, 
which are available for public

[[Page 37420]]

inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman 
Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC. Publically available 
records will be accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Library 
component on the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov (the Electronic 
Reading Room).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of June 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-15002 Filed 6-13-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P