ML20134E647

Partially Deleted Ltr Responding to Re Financial Assurance for Funding Decommissioning of Facilities Located in San Diego

ML20134E647
Person / Time
Site:	General Atomics, 07000734
Issue date:	07/09/1996
From:	Pierson R, Weiss S NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned), NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:	Asmussen K GENERAL ATOMICS (FORMERLY GA TECHNOLOGIES, INC./GENER
Shared Package
ML20128Q115	List: ML20128Q112 ML20134E635 ML20134E647
References
FOIA-96-336 NUDOCS 9611010296
Download: ML20134E647 (2)

Text

.. __ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

. , pa ntcs- D j i g./ ik UNITED STATES l g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION g WASHINGTON, D.C. 20$65 0001 0

t 5 ,o July 9.1996 I

Dr. Keith E. Asmussen, Director -

3 Licensing, Safety and Nuclear

! General Atomics .

3550 General Atomics Court '

1 San Diego, CA 92121-1194 1

SUBJECT:

FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FOR NRC LICENSES SNM-696, R-38, R-67 l DOCKET NOS. 70-0734, 50-89, 50-163 l

Dear Dr. Asmussen:

This is in response to your letter dated May 20, 1996, concerning financial f

assurance for funding the decommissioning of the facilities located in San

! Diego that are the subject of the above-referenced licenses (San Diego

facilities).

i According to your submittal, the estimated costs to General Atomics (GA) of facilities has recently been revised upward to OU i decommissioni approximatel .taking into account an expected contribution of j

funds from the n Ener . J h i g ted that GA h _ ,

com any, GATC, g n ig o their escalation and a tentative sett ement o an ongoing proceeding involving GA and the staff concerning the Sequoyah fuels Ccrporation facility in Gore, utlahoma. Under the tentative a settlement, GA would contribute significant funds towards the decommissioning of the Gore facility. GA has further stated that a' tempting to provide financial assurance by a thod specified in the regulations other than a >

parent company. guaranty '

GA has proposed in the alternative that it be permitted to provide financial e combining a limited parent company guaranty in the amount of nd a newly established sinking fund to which funds would contribut on an annual basis.

Annex B to your May 20, 1996 letter.. As a condition to offering the alternative proposal, GA would want the staff to exercise its enforcement iance with . financial assurance discretion under the circumstances ~~ _ /

- regulations ts thereto."

described i May 20, 1996 submitta, an The staff has considered all of the information contained in your May 20, 1996 submittal and attachments thereto, as well as the letter referenced therein from you to the Document Control Desk, Attention A. Adams (A n. 22, 1996) with enclosures. The staff has also reviewed GA's most recent consolidated financial statements, and other relevant information, and has evaluated the merits of attempting to enforce GA's compliance with the applicable financia The

. a.ssurance regulations, in light of the present facts and circumstances.

1.h:m.2 stiff Msjeendhd*! that for so long as GA implements and complies with GA's h' Wicrce .6hjE Iced 0ln of Informallon _

Z A2, CEMras 7 9611010296 961010 FDih Jk .MC- '

RA 336 PDR

Dr. Keith E. Asmussen 2

• pr'oposed alternative method of providing financial assurance for the San Diego facilities as specified in Annex B of GA's May 20, submi mely providing a parent company guaranty in the amount o nd #VY establishing an external sinking fund under the terms an con ons contained

> in such Annex B, the staff will exercise its discretion and forbear from

instituting an action against GA or its officers and directors to enforce compliance with the Commission's financial assurance regulations at 10 C.F.R.

SS 50.75 and 70.25 in connection with the San Diego facilities; provided, however, that should circumstances material 1 rent this forbearance shal cease; an prov has l en and is subject to a settlement with the staff regarding Docket 40-8027-EA as described in the May 20, 1996 submittal.  ;

If there are any questions concerning this letter, please contact Mr. Charles E. Gaskin, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, at (301) 451- l 8116, or Mr. Alexander Adams, Jr., Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, at l j (301) 415-1127.

I

- Sincerely, i ORIGINAL SIGNED BY:

I Seymour H. Weiss, Chief Non-Power Reactors and Decommissioning Project Directorate Division of Reactor Program Management

' Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation  ;

5 ORIGINAL SIGNED BY:

Robert C. Pierson, Chief

! Licensinn Branch Division of Fuel Cycle Safety

!, and Safeguards 1

Office of Nuclear Material Safety j

and Safeguards Docket 70-734 License SNM-696 Docket 50-89 40-8027, 50-163 DISTRIBUTION:,

Docket 70-734,50-89, 40-8027, 50-163 NRC File Center NMSS r/f' Region IV-WCF0 CHooker, RIV FCSS r/f FCLB r/f (A:\forbetr) b 0FC YLB (CLB VCLB OGC Ndd /FCLB r /)

NAME CGhn DAllbadiey Tk N 'twf#iM MsW RPier kn DATE 7/ /9h 7/ /9k 7/ h E = COVER & ENCLOSURE 7/ /96 7/7/96 N = NO COPY 7/5/96 C = C0VER EL AS 0 T Oth{20%hgkAR A T S 1E N 00 M L T Lkt

-