Press Release-19-041, NRC Approves License Transfer for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-19-041: NRC Approves License Transfer for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant

ML19241A262
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim
Issue date:	08/23/2019
From:	Office of Public Affairs
To:
References
Press Release-19-041
Download: ML19241A262 (1)

Text

No: 19-041 August 23, 2019 CONTACT: Scott Burnell, 301-415-8200 NRC Approves License Transfer for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the transfer of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station license from Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc., to Holtec International, as owner, and Holtec Decommissioning International, as decommissioning operator.

The three companies requested the license transfer in November 2018. Once the purchase is finalized, Holtec and HDI have announced plans to expedite decommissioning and dismantling of the plant. The license transfer includes the dry cask spent fuel storage installation at Pilgrim. The NRC order approving the license transfer is effective immediately, but the license transfer will not be finalized until the successful completion of the transaction between Entergy, Holtec and HDI. At that point, the NRC will issue a license amendment reflecting completion of the transfer.

Pilgrim is a boiling water reactor located in Plymouth, Mass., approximately 38 miles southeast of Boston. It permanently ceased operations in May.

In reviewing the license transfer application, the NRC staff considered the Holtec and HDI technical and financial qualifications, the adequacy of Pilgrims decommissioning trust funds to complete the radiological decommissioning of the plant, and the adequacy of plans to manage the onsite storage of spent nuclear fuel until it can be removed for storage or disposal elsewhere. The staff concluded that Holtec and HDI met the regulatory, legal, technical and financial requirements necessary to qualify as licensees.

The NRC order approving the transfer was issued Aug. 22. The order and other documents related to the review are available through the NRC ADAMS online documents database.