[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 242 (Monday, December 17, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 64998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30973]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-244, License No. DPR-18]


Order Approving Application Regarding Proposed Corporate 
Acquisition

    In the Matter of Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (R.E. 
Ginna Nuclear Power Plant).

I

    Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (RG&E or the licensee) is 
licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) 
to possess, maintain, and operate the R. E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant 
(Ginna) under Facility Operating License No. DPR-18, issued by the 
Commission on December 10, 1984. The facility is located in Wayne 
County, New York.

II

    By application dated June 22, 2001, RG&E requested that the 
Commission consent to the indirect transfer of the facility operating 
license for Ginna. The indirect transfer would result from the planned 
acquisition of RG&E's parent company, RGS Energy Group, Inc. (RGS), by 
Energy East Corporation (Energy East).
    According to the application, on February 16, 2001, RGS and Energy 
East entered into an agreement pursuant to which RGS would be merged 
with and into a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy East. After the 
planned merger transaction, RG&E will continue to exist as a wholly 
owned indirect subsidiary of Energy East. RG&E would continue to own 
Ginna following approval of the proposed indirect transfer of the 
license, and would continue to be exclusively responsible for the 
operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning of the facility. 
No physical changes to the facility or operational changes were 
proposed in the application.
    Approval of the indirect transfer of the operating license was 
requested by RG&E pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80. Notice of the request for 
approval and an opportunity for a hearing was published in the Federal 
Register on August 14, 2001 (66 FR 42687). No hearing requests or 
written comments were received.
    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. After reviewing the information in the application from RG&E 
and other information before the Commission, the NRC staff has 
determined that the acquisition by Energy East of RGS resulting in the 
establishment of Energy East as the new ultimate indirect parent of 
RG&E will not affect the qualifications of RG&E as the holder of the 
license, and that the indirect transfer of the license, to the extent 
effected by the foregoing transaction, is otherwise consistent with 
applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the 
Commission, subject to the conditions set forth below. The foregoing 
findings are supported by a safety evaluation dated December 10, 2001.

III

    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), 
2201(o), and 2234, and 10 CFR 50.80, it is hereby ordered that the 
application regarding the indirect transfer of the license referenced 
above is approved, subject to the following conditions:
    (1) RG&E shall provide the Director of the Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation a copy of any application, at the time it is filed, 
to transfer (excluding grants of security interests or liens) from RG&E 
to any direct or indirect parent, or to any other affiliated company, 
facilities for the production, transmission, or distribution of 
electric energy having a depreciated book value exceeding ten percent 
(10%) of RG&E's consolidated net utility plant, as recorded on RG&E's 
books of account.
    (2) Should the planned acquisition by Energy East of RGS not be 
completed by December 31, 2002, this Order shall become null and void, 
provided, however, upon written application and for good cause shown, 
such date may in writing be extended. This Order is effective upon 
issuance.

IV

    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application dated June 22, 2001, and the safety evaluation dated 
December 10, 2001, which are available for public inspection at the 
Commission's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, and accessible 
from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) 
Public Electronic Reading Room on the internet at the NRC Web site, 
http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of December, 2001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John A. Zwolinski,
Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-30973 Filed 12-14-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P