ML16320A075
| ML16320A075 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Susquehanna  |
| Issue date: | 11/30/2016 |
| From: | Eric Benner Division of Operating Reactor Licensing |
| To: | |
| Hood T, NRR/DORL/LPL1-2, 415-1387 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML16320A084 | List: |
| References | |
| PLA-7500, TAC MF8056, TAC MF8057 | |
| Download: ML16320A075 (5) | |
Text
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of )
)
SUSQUEHANNA NUCLEAR, LLC ) Docket Nos. 50-387, 50-388, and 72-28
)
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, ) Renewed License Nos. NPF-14 and Units 1 and 2 ) NPF-22
)
ORDER APPROVING INDIRECT TRANSFER OF LICENSES I.
Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC (Susquehanna Nuclear, or the applicant) and Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Allegheny), are the holders of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-22, and the general license for the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), which authorize the possession, use, and operation of the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station (SSES or the facility), Units 1 and 2, including the SSES ISFSI. The facility and its ISFSI are located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
II.
By letter dated June 29, 2016, as supplemented by letter dated November 14, 2016, Susquehanna Nuclear, on behalf of itself and Riverstone Holdings, LLC (Riverstone),
submitted an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission), pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.80 (10 CFR 50.80), requesting approval of the indirect transfer of control of Susquehanna Nuclears interests in Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-22, as well
as the general license for the SSES ISFSI. Future reference to SSES, Units 1 and 2 include the general license for the SSES ISFSI. Susquehanna Nuclear is licensed as the sole operator and has a 90 percent undivided ownership interest in SSES, Units 1 and 2. The proposed indirect transfer of licenses does not involve Allegheny, the other (10 percent) owner of the units and a nonoperating licensee for SSES, Units 1 and 2.
The indirect transfer of control results from the ultimate parent of Susquehanna Nuclears interests in the licenses, Talen Energy Corporation (Talen), becoming wholly owned by the portfolio companies of Riverstone, which currently holds 35 percent in the aggregate of the outstanding common stock of Talen. As a result, all of the common stock of Talen will become privately held by affiliates of Riverstone, and Susquehanna Nuclear will become indirectly controlled by the portfolio companies of Riverstone.
The proposed indirect transfer of control will result in no change to the role of Susquehanna Nuclear as the licensed operator of the units, no change to its technical qualifications, and no change to its ownership interest or that of Allegheny. No changes will be made to the units or their licensing bases as a result of the transfer, and the transfer will not involve any changes to the principal officers, managers, or staff of Susquehanna Nuclear or to the day-to-day management and operations of the units.
Approval of the indirect transfer of the renewed facility operating licenses was requested by the applicant. A notice of the request for approval, the opportunity to comment, and the opportunity to request a hearing was published in the Federal Register on October 4, 2016 (81 FR 68462). One public comment was received regarding the proposed license transfers. The NRC staff addressed the comment in the Safety Evaluation dated November 30, 2016, supporting this Order. A request for access to sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI) made pursuant to the Order Imposing Procedures for Access to SUNSI for Contention Preparation, included with the Federal
Register notice, was received on October 11, 2016, from Mr. Sabatini Monatesti of Berwick, Pennsylvania. On October 20, 2016, the NRC staff denied this access request. On October 24, 2016, Mr. Monatesti appealed the NRC staffs denial of his access request. On November 21, 2016, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board affirmed the NRC staffs denial.
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 in the licensees application, and other information before the Commission, and relying upon the representations and agreements contained in the application, the NRC staff has determined that the portfolio companies of Riverstone are qualified to hold the ownership interests in the facility previously held by Talen. The NRC staff has also determined that Susquehanna Nuclear remains qualified to hold the operating authority under the licenses, and that the indirect transfer of ownership interests in the facility to Riverstone, as described in the application, is otherwise consistent with the applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission, pursuant thereto. The findings set forth above are supported by the NRC Safety Evaluation dated November 30, 2016.
III.
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act); 42 USC §§ 2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the application regarding the proposed indirect license transfers to the portfolio companies of Riverstone is approved, subject to the following conditions:
- 1. Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC shall not take any action that would cause Riverstone or any other direct or indirect parent of Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC or other entity,
to void, cancel, or diminish the commitment to fund an extended plant shutdown, as represented in the application for approval of the indirect transfer of the licenses for SSES, Units 1 and 2, as applicable.
- 2. The transaction will not alter the Support Agreement and the Support Agreement will remain in effect in accordance with license conditions in Appendix C of the SSES licenses.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Susquehanna Nuclear shall inform the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in writing of the date of closing of the transfer, no later than 2 business days prior to the date of the closing of the indirect transfer. Should the indirect transfer of the licenses not be completed within 1 year of this Orders date of issue, this Order shall become null and void, provided, however, upon written application and for 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 application dated June 29, 2016 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Package Accession No. ML16181A414), as supplemented by letter dated November 14, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16320A436), and the non-proprietary Safety Evaluation dated November 30, 2016, (ADAMS Accession No. ML16320A080), which are available for public inspection at the Commissions Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1-F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. 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, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at pdr.resource@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 30th day of November 2016.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
Eric J. Benner, Deputy Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.