80 FR 51329 - In the Matter of Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, LLC; River Bend Station, Unit 1

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 163 (August 24, 2015)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an order to permit the direct transfer of Facility Operating License No. NPF-47 for River Bend Station, Unit 1 (RBS), to a new limited liability company named Entergy Louisiana, LLC. The applicants have also requested approval of a conforming amendment to reflect the change in the owner licensee for RBS, from Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, LLC, to the newly formed Entergy Louisiana LLC. In addition, the applicants requested the NRC's consent to approve an associated indirect license transfer of RBS to the extent such would be affected by a new intermediary holding company. Entergy Corporation will remain as the ultimate parent company, but a new intermediate company, Entergy Utility Holding Company, LLC, a Texas limited liability company, will be the direct parent company of the newly formed Entergy Louisiana, LLC.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 163 (Monday, August 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51329-51330]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20868]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-458; License No. NPF-47; NRC-2014-0258]


In the Matter of Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, LLC; River Bend 
Station, Unit 1

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Direct and indirect transfer of license; order.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
order to permit the direct transfer of Facility Operating License No. 
NPF-47 for River Bend Station, Unit 1 (RBS), to a new limited liability 
company named Entergy Louisiana, LLC. The applicants have also 
requested approval of a conforming amendment to reflect the change in 
the owner licensee for RBS, from Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, LLC, to 
the newly formed Entergy Louisiana LLC. In addition, the applicants 
requested the NRC's consent to approve an associated indirect license 
transfer of RBS to the extent such would be affected by a new 
intermediary holding company. Entergy Corporation will remain as the 
ultimate parent company, but a new intermediate company, Entergy 
Utility Holding Company, LLC, a Texas limited liability company, will 
be the direct parent company of the newly formed Entergy Louisiana, 
LLC.

DATES: The Order was issued on August 14, 2015, and is effective for 
one year.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0258 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 Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0258. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; 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 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then 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 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if that document 
is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan B. Wang, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1445; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 14 day of August, 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
A. Louise Lund,
Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Attachment--Order Approving Direct and Indirect Transfers of License 
and Conforming Amendment

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

In the Matter of Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C.; River Bend 
Station, Unit 1 Docket No. 50-458, License No. NPF-47 Order Approving 
Direct and Indirect Transfers of License and Conforming Amendment

I.

    Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. (EGSL) and Entergy 
Operations, Inc. (EOI) (the licensees), are co-holders of Facility 
Operating License (FOL) No. NPF-47 for the River Bend Station, Unit 1 
(RBS). EGSL is the licensed owner, and EOI is the licensed operator and 
is authorized to possess, use, and operate RBS, which is located in 
West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.
    Entergy Louisiana, LLC (ELL) and EOI (the licensees), are co-
holders of FOL No. NPF-38 for the Waterford Steam Electric Station, 
Unit 3 (Waterford). ELL is the licensed owner, and EOI is the licensed 
operator and is authorized to possess, use, and operate Waterford, 
which is located in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana.

II.

    By application dated June 10, 2014, as supplemented by letters 
dated October 9, 2014, December 31, 2014, and January 30, 2015, EOI 
requested on behalf of itself, EGSL, ELL, and their parent companies 
(together, the Applicants), under Section 50.80, ``Transfer of 
licenses,'' of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) consent to the direct 
transfers of control of the operating licenses for RBS and Waterford to 
a new limited liability company named Entergy Louisiana, LLC. The 
Applicants also requested approval of a conforming amendment to reflect 
the change in the ownership for RBS from EGSL to the newly formed 
Entergy Louisiana, LLC. In addition, the Applicants requested the NRC's 
consent to the associated indirect license transfers of RBS and 
Waterford due to the creation of a new intermediary holding company. 
The license transfers are necessary to support the corporate 
reorganization to permit the combination of the assets and liabilities

[[Page 51330]]

of two utility operating companies which are subsidiaries of Entergy 
Corporation (Entergy). Entergy will remain as the ultimate parent 
company, but a new intermediate company, Entergy Utility Holding 
Company, LLC, a Texas limited liability company, will become the direct 
parent company of the newly formed Entergy Louisiana, LLC. When the 
transactions are completed, the newly formed Entergy Louisiana, LLC 
will acquire 100 percent ownership of RBS and Waterford. EOI will 
remain responsible for the operation and maintenance of RBS and 
Waterford. The transaction will also result in the transfer of the 
general license for the RBS independent spent fuel storage installation 
held by the Applicants under 10 CFR part 50.
    No physical changes to the RBS facility or operational changes are 
being proposed in the application.
    Approval of the direct and indirect transfers of the FOLs was 
requested by EOI, acting on behalf of EGSL, as well as their parent 
companies and itself. A notice entitled, ``River Bend Station, Unit 1, 
and Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3; Consideration of Approval 
of Transfer of License and Conforming Amendment,'' was published in the 
Federal Register on December 3, 2014 (79 FR 71803). The NRC has 
received two comments from the public. No hearing requests or petitions 
to intervene were received.
    Under 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 gives its consent in writing. Upon 
review of the information in the licensees' application, and other 
information before the Commission, relying upon the representations and 
agreements contained in the application, the NRC staff has determined 
that the newly formed Entergy Louisiana, LLC is qualified to acquire 
and directly hold the ownership interest under FOL No. 47 for RBS, as 
described in the application, and has further determined that both the 
direct and indirect transfers of control of the subject license, as 
described in the application, are otherwise consistent with the 
applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the 
NRC, pursuant thereto, subject to the conditions set forth below.
    The application also requests approval of a conforming amendment to 
FOL No. NPF-47 for RBS. The RBS amendment replaces references to EGSL, 
the current licensed owner, with Entergy Louisiana, LLC. The change 
does no more than accurately reflect the approved transfer action. The 
conforming amendment involves no safety questions and is administrative 
in nature. The NRC has determined that the proposed amendment is 
acceptable.
    The findings set forth above are supported by a safety evaluation 
dated August 14, 2015.

III.

    Accordingly, under Sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Sections 2201(b), 2201(i), 
2201(o), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the 
application for the direct and indirect license transfers related to 
the proposed corporate restructuring, in connection with the merger of 
EGSL and ELL, is approved, subject to the following condition:
    1. Before completion of the proposed transaction, Entergy 
Operations, Inc. shall provide the Director of the Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation satisfactory documentary evidence that the newly 
formed Entergy Louisiana, LLC has obtained the appropriate amount of 
insurance required of the licensees under 10 CFR part 140, ``Financial 
Protection Requirements and Indemnity Agreements,'' of the Commission's 
regulations.
    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that after receipt of all required regulatory 
approvals of the proposed direct transfer action, EOI shall inform the 
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing of such 
receipt, and of the date of closing, no later than 1 business day 
before the closing of the direct transfer. Should the proposed direct 
transfer not be completed within 1 year of this Order's date of 
issuance, this Order shall become null and void. However, upon written 
application and good cause shown, such date may be extended by Order.
    This Order is effective upon issuance.
    For further details with respect to this Order, see the initial 
application dated June 10, 2014 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML14161A698), as supplemented 
by letters dated October 9, 2014, December 31, 2014, and January 30, 
2015 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML15154B588, ML14365A404, and ML15030A495, 
respectively), and the safety evaluation dated the same date as this 
Order (ADAMS Accession No. ML15138A440), which are available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at 
One White Flint North, Public File Area 01 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852. Publicly available documents 
created or received at the NRC are accessible electronically through 
ADAMS in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 
Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR 
reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by 
email to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 14 day of August 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William M. Dean,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2015-20868 Filed 8-21-15; 08:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P