Boston Edison Company; (Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 1); Order Approving Transfer of Licenses and Conforming Amendments

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 87 (Thursday, May 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24426-24427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11402]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-293]


Boston Edison Company; (Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 
1); Order Approving Transfer of Licenses and Conforming Amendments

I

    Boston Edison Company (Boston Edison) is owner of the Pilgrim 
Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim), and is authorized to possess, use, and 
operate the facility as reflected in Operating License No. DPR-35. 
Boston Edison also is the holder of Materials License No. 20-07626-04, 
which authorizes Boston Edison to possess, use, and transport certain 
materials in the form of contamination on reactor components. The 
Atomic Energy Commission issued Operating License No. DPR-35 on 
September 15, 1972, pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50). Materials License No. 20-07626-04 
was issued on March 21, 1997, pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 30, 40, and 70. 
The facility is located in Plymouth County, on the southeast coast of 
the State of Massachusetts.

II

    Under cover of a letter dated December 21, 1998, Boston Edison and 
Entergy Nuclear Generation Company (Entergy Nuclear) jointly submitted 
an application requesting approval of the proposed transfer of 
Operating License No. DPR-35 and Materials License No. 20-07626-04 from 
Boston Edison to Entergy Nuclear. The application also requested 
approval of conforming amendments to reflect the transfer. The 
application was supplemented by submittals dated January 28, February 
18, April 2, April 15, and April 16, 1999. The initial application and 
the supplements are hereinafter collectively referred to as ``the 
application'' unless otherwise indicated.
    Boston Edison is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BEC Energy, a 
Massachusetts business trust. Entergy Nuclear, a Delaware corporation, 
is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. 
According to the application, Boston Edison has agreed to sell its 
ownership interest in Pilgrim to Entergy Nuclear, subject to obtaining 
all necessary regulatory approvals. After the completion of the 
proposed sale and transfer, Entergy Nuclear would be the sole owner and 
operator of Pilgrim. The conforming amendments, which would be issued 
pursuant to 10 CFR 30.38, 40.44, 50.90, and 70.34, would remove 
references to Boston Edison from the Operating License and Materials 
License, and replace them with references to Entergy Nuclear, as well 
as make miscellaneous changes to the Operating License, administrative 
in nature, to reflect the transfer.
    Notice of the initial application and an opportunity for a hearing 
was published in the Federal Register on January 26, 1999 (64 FR 3984) 
and supplemented on February 5, 1999 (64 FR 5841). Pursuant to such 
notice, the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and 
Local Unions 369 and 387 filed hearing requests. By letter dated April 
7, 1999, Local Unions 369 and 387 formally withdrew their request. 
Similarly, on April 16, 1999, the Attorney General of the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts withdrew his request. The Commission, in light of the 
withdrawals, terminated the pending proceeding on April 26, 1999, 
Boston Edison Co. (Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station), CLI-99-17, 49 NRC 
__, slip op. (April 26, 1999). Certain municipalities which purchase 
power from Pilgrim filed written comments, and Citizens Urging 
Responsible Energy filed written comments and requested a public 
hearing. The written comments have been considered by the staff in 
connection with the issuance of this Order.
    Under 10 CFR 50.80, no license for a production or utilization 
facility, or any right thereunder, shall be transferred, directly or 
indirectly, through transfer of

[[Page 24427]]

control of the license, unless the Commission shall give its consent in 
writing. Under 10 CFR 30.34, 40.41, and 70.32, no byproduct, source, or 
special nuclear material license shall be transferred in violation of 
the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, which 
require, inter alia, Commission consent. Upon review of the information 
in the application by Boston Edison and Entergy Nuclear, and other 
information before the Commission, and relying upon the representations 
and agreements contained in the application, the NRC staff has 
determined that Entergy Nuclear is qualified to hold the licenses, and 
that the transfer of the licenses to Entergy Nuclear is otherwise 
consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders 
issued by the Commission. 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, 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 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 April 29, 1999.

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 30.34, 40.41, 50.80, and 70.32, It is hereby ordered that 
the Commission consents to the transfer of the licenses as described 
herein to Entergy Nuclear, subject to the following conditions:
    (1) For purposes of ensuring public health and safety, Entergy 
Nuclear shall provide decommissioning funding assurance of no less than 
$396 million, after payment of any taxes, in the decommissioning trust 
fund for Pilgrim upon the transfer of the Pilgrim licenses to Entergy 
Nuclear.
    (2) Entergy Nuclear shall maintain the decommissioning trust funds 
in accordance with the application, this Order, and the related Safety 
Evaluation dated April 29, 1999, supporting this Order.
    (3) Entergy Nuclear shall provide a Provisional Trust fund in the 
amount of $70 million, after payment of any taxes, in the Provisional 
Trust for Pilgrim upon the transfer of the Pilgrim licenses to Entergy 
Nuclear. The Provisional Trust shall be established and maintained in 
conformance with the representations made in the application.
    (4) The Decommissioning Trust agreement(s) shall be in a form which 
is acceptable to the NRC and shall provide, in addition to any other 
clauses, that:
    (a) Investments in the securities or other obligations of Entergy 
Nuclear, Entergy Corporation, their affiliates, subsidiaries or 
associates, or their successors or assigns shall be prohibited. In 
addition, 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 is prohibited.
    (b) The Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, shall be 
given 30 days prior written notice of any material amendment to the 
trust agreement(s).
    (5) Entergy Nuclear shall have access to a contingency fund of not 
less than fifty million dollars ($50m) for payment, if needed, of 
Pilgrim operating and maintenance expenses, the cost to transition to 
decommissioning status in the event of a decision to permanently shut 
down the unit, and decommissioning costs. Entergy Nuclear will take all 
necessary steps to ensure that access to these funds will remain 
available until the full amount has been exhausted for the purposes 
described above. Entergy Nuclear shall inform the Director, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, in writing, at such time that it utilizes 
any of these contingency funds. This provision does not affect the 
NRC's authority to assure that adequate funds will remain available in 
the plant's separate decommissioning trust fund(s), which Entergy 
Nuclear shall maintain in accordance with NRC regulations. Once the 
plant has been placed in a safe-shutdown condition following a decision 
to decommission, Entergy Nuclear will use any remainder of the $50m 
contingency fund that has not been used to safely operate and maintain 
the plant to support the safe and prompt decommissioning of the plant, 
to the extent such funds are needed for safe and prompt 
decommissioning.
    (6) Entergy Nuclear shall, prior to completion of the sale and 
transfer of Pilgrim to it, provide the Director, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, satisfactory documentary evidence that Entergy 
Nuclear has obtained the appropriate amount of insurance required of 
licensees under 10 CFR Part 140 of the Commission's regulations.
    (7) After receipt of all required regulatory approvals of the 
transfer of Pilgrim, Boston Edison and Entergy Nuclear shall inform the 
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, in writing of the date 
of the closing of the sale and transfer of Pilgrim no later than one 
business day prior to the date of closing. Should the transfer of the 
licenses not be completed by December 31, 1999, this Order shall become 
null and void, provided, however, on written application and for good 
cause shown, such date may in writing be extended.
    It is further ordered that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), 
license amendments that makes changes, as indicated in Enclosure 1 to 
this Order, to conform the licenses to reflect their transfer 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 
application dated December 21, 1998, and application supplements dated 
January 28, February 18, April 2, April 15, and April 16, 1999, which 
are available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document 
Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, and at 
the local public document room located at the Plymouth Public Library, 
132 South Street, Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of April 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-11402 Filed 5-5-99; 8:45 am]
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