NRC-2009-0296, Exelon Corporation - Notice of Consideration of Approval of Application Regarding Proposed Merger of Nrg Energy, Inc., Indirect Transfers of Nrg South Texas Project Facility Operating Licenses, and Opportunity for a Hearing (TAC Nos. M

Exelon Corporation - Notice of Consideration of Approval of Application Regarding Proposed Merger of Nrg Energy, Inc., Indirect Transfers of Nrg South Texas Project Facility Operating Licenses, and Opportunity for a Hearing (TAC Nos. ME0650

ML090830193
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas
Issue date:	07/01/2009
From:	Thadani M C Plant Licensing Branch IV
To:
Thadani, M C, NRR/DORL/LP4, 415-1476
Shared Package
ML090830162	List: ML090830168 ML090830193 NRC-2009-0296, Exelon Corporation - Notice of Consideration of Approval of Application Regarding Proposed Merger of Nrg Energy, Inc., Indirect Transfers of Nrg South Texas Project Facility Operating Licenses, and Opportunity for a Hearing (TAC Nos. M
References
NRC-2009-0296, TAC ME0650, TAC ME0651
Download: ML090830193 (7)

Text

7590-01-P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION EXELON CORPORATION AND NRG ENERGY, INC.

SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNITS 1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-498 AND 50-499 NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF APPLICATION REGARDING PROPOSED MERGER OF NRG ENERGY, INC. AND EXELON CORPORATION, AND INDIRECT TRANSFERS OF NRG SOUTH TEXAS LP'S FACILITY OPERATING LICENSES, AND OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEARING NRC-2009-0296 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission, NRC) is considering the issuance of an order under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.80 approving the indirect transfer of control of the Facility Operating Licenses, which are numbered NPF-76 and NPF-80, for the South Texas Project (STP), Units 1 and 2, respectively, to the extent held by NRG South Texas LP (NRG South Texas). According to an application for approval filed by Exelon Corporation (Exelon), acting on behalf of itself, Exelon Xchange Corporation (Xchange Corp.), Exelon Ventures Company, LLC (Exelon Ventures), and Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon Generation) (together, the applicants), Exelon Corporation is planning to merge with NRG Energy, Inc., which is the ultimate parent company of NRG South Texas. The applicants requested that the NRC consent to the indirect transfer of control of the STP, Units 1 and 2, licenses, to the extent owned by NRG South Texas, that would result from this merger. NRG South Texas owns 44 percent of the STP, Units 1 and 2. The City Public Service Board of San Antonio and City of Austin, Texas, own, respectively 40 percent and 16 percent of STP, Units 1 and 2, but are not involved in the proposed merger.

In addition to NRG South Texas

= 44 percent undivided ownership interest in STP, Units 1 and 2, NRG South Texas holds a corresponding interest in STP Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC), a not-for-profit Texas corporation, which is the licensed operator of STP, Units 1 and 2. Thus, the indirect transfer of control of NRG South Texas would also result in the indirect transfer of control of this interest in STPNOC. The applicants state that this is not a controlling interest in STPNOC and, therefore, there will be no indirect transfer of STPNOC

=s licenses to operate on behalf of the owners. The applicants indicate that if the NRC concludes that indirect transfer of control of NRG South Texas

= interest in STPNOC requires prior NRC consent, it requests such consent. No physical changes to STP, Units 1 and 2, or operational changes are being proposed in the application.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder, shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of control of the licenses, unless the Commission shall give its consent in writing. The Commission will approve an application for the indirect transfer of a license, if the Commission determines that the proposed transaction effecting the indirect transfer will not affect the qualifications of the licensee to hold the license and that the transfer is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto. In this instance, Exelon asserts that the proposed indirect transfer will not result in any change in the licensee's financial qualifications or operating organization.

The Commission is reviewing the application and has not made any decision regarding the outcome of its review. The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to intervene, and written comments with regard to the license transfer application, are discussed below.

Within 20 days from the date of publication of this notice, any person(s) whose interest may be affected by the Commission

=s action on the application may request a hearing and intervention via electronic submission through the NRC E-filing system. Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene should be filed in accordance with the Commission

=s rules of practice set forth in Subpart C, ARules of General Applicability: Hearing Requests, Petitions to Intervene, Availability of Documents, Selection of Specific Hearing Procedures, Presiding Officer Powers, and General Hearing Management for NRC Adjudicatory Hearings,@ of 10 CFR Part 2. In particular, such requests and petitions must comply with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR 2.309. Untimely requests and petitions may be denied, as provided in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1), unless good cause for failure to file on time is established. In addition, an untimely request or petition should address the factors that the Commission will also consider, in reviewing untimely requests or petitions, set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule, which the NRC promulgated in August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49139). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Participants may not submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in accordance with the procedures described below. To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/requestor should contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at hearing.docket@nrc.gov, or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2) creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances in which the petitioner/requestor (or its counsel or representative) already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each petitioner/requestor will need to download the Workplace Forms ViewerŽ to access the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-Filing system. The Workplace Forms ViewerŽ is free and is available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html. Once a petitioner/requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, had a docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance available on the NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the filer submits its documents through EIE. To be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the EIE system no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The EIE system also distributes an e-mail notice that provides access to the document to the NRC Office of the General Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the documents on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.

A person filing electronically may seek assistance through the "Contact Us" link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC Meta-System Help Desk, which is available between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays. The toll-free help line number is 1-866-672-7640.or by e-mail at MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov. Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) first class mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville, Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a document in this manner are responsible for serving the document on all other participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the provider of the service. Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at http://ehd.nrc.gov/ehd_proceeding/home.asp , unless excluded pursuant to an order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information, such as social security numbers, home addresses, or home phone numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submission of such information. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants are requested not to include copyrighted materials in their submissions. The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and served on the parties to the hearing. Within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice, persons may submit written comments regarding the license transfer application, as provided for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The Commission will consider and, if appropriate, respond to these comments, but such comments will not otherwise constitute part of the decisional record. Comments are not subject to the e-filing rule and should be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and should cite the publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. Comments may also be sent by email to hearing.docket@nrc.gov. For further details with respect to this license transfer application, see the application dated January 29, 2009, as supplemented by letter dated March 18, 2009, available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, 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 e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. Attorney for applicants: Mr. J. Bradley Fewell, Associate General Counsel, Counsel for Exelon Nuclear, 4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL 60555. Attorney for NRG Energy, Inc.: Mr. Daniel F. Stenger, Partner, Hogan & Hartson, LLP, 555 Thirteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1 st day of July 2009.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

/RA/

Mohan C. Thadani, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch IV Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation