2021-11528. Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2; Byron Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2; Clinton Power Station, Unit No. 1; Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 1, 2, and 3; James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear ...

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Application for indirect transfer of licenses; opportunity to comment, request a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene; extension of comment period.

SUMMARY:

On May 3, 2021, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) solicited comments on an application for indirect transfer of licenses in the Federal Register. The public comment period was originally scheduled to close on June 2, 2021. The NRC has decided to extend the public comment period until June 23, 2021, to allow more time for members of the public to develop and submit their comments.

DATES:

The due date for comments requested in the document published on May 3, 2021 (86 FR 23437), is extended. Comments should be filed no later than June 23, 2021. Comments received after this date will be considered, if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by any of the following methods; however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal Rulemaking website:

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0099. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
• Email comments to: [e-mail]. If you do not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact us at 301-415-1677.
• Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 301-415-1101.
• Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.

For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see “Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments” in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Blake A. Purnell, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0099 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly available information related to this action by any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0099.
• NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html. To begin the search, select “Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [e-mail]. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this document.
• Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request to the PDR via email at [e-mail] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please include Docket ID NRC-2021-0099 in your comment submission.

The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove identifying or contact information.

If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Discussion

On May 3, 2021, the NRC solicited comments on an application dated February 25, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21057A273), as supplemented by letter dated March 25, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21084A165), filed by Exelon Generation Company, LLC (EGC), on behalf of itself and Exelon Corporation; Exelon FitzPatrick, LLC; Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC; R. E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC; and Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, LLC. The application is seeking NRC approval of the indirect transfer of control of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-72 and NPF-77 for Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2, respectively; Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-37 and NPF-66 for Byron Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, respectively; Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-53 and DPR-69 for Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (Calvert Cliffs), Units 1 and 2, respectively; Facility Operating License No. NPF-62 for Clinton Power Station, Unit No. 1; Facility Operating License No. DPR-2 and Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25 for Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively; Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-59 for James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant (FitzPatrick); Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-11 and NPF-18 for LaSalle County Station, Units 1 and 2, respectively; Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-39 and NPF-85 for Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 and 2, respectively; Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-63 and NPF-69 for Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station (NMP), Units 1 and 2, respectively; Facility Operating License No. DPR-12 and Subsequent Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-44 and DPR-56 for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively; Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-29 and DPR-30 for Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2, respectively; Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-18 for R. E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (Ginna); Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-70 and DPR-75 for Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, respectively; Renewed Facility License No. DPR-50 for Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1; Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-39 and DPR-48 for Zion Nuclear Power Station (Zion), Units 1 and 2, respectively; Renewed Materials License No. SNM-2505 for the independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) at Calvert Cliffs; and the general licenses for the ISFSIs at the other sites (collectively, the licenses). These reactor units and associated ISFSIs are collectively referred to as the facilities. The NRC is also considering amending the licenses for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer.

The application, as supplemented, requests that the NRC consent to the indirect transfer of control of the licenses to support a proposed transaction in which Exelon Corporation will transfer its 100 percent ownership of EGC to a newly created subsidiary that will then be spun off to Exelon Corporation shareholders, becoming EGC's new ultimate parent company. Once the spin transaction is completed, the new ultimate parent company, EGC, and its subsidiaries will no longer be affiliated with Exelon Corporation. EGC will remain the same Pennsylvania limited liability company as before the proposed transaction and will continue to own and/or operate the facilities, as applicable, and hold the licenses, but it will be renamed and reorganized. The name of the new ultimate parent company and the renamed EGC are yet to be determined; therefore, the application refers to these companies as HoldCo and SpinCo, respectively. The application also requests that the NRC consent to the indirect transfer of control of the licenses for the FitzPatrick, NMP, and Ginna facilities (i.e., the reactor units and associated ISFSIs) to support the reorganization of EGC.

The application, as supplemented, also requests NRC approval to replace existing nuclear operating services agreements and financial support agreements associated with the ownership and operation of the Calvert Cliffs, NMP, Ginna, and FitzPatrick facilities. The application requests NRC approval to transfer the qualified and non-qualified trusts for FitzPatrick from Exelon Generation Consolidation, LLC (a subsidiary of EGC) to New FitzPatrick, LLC. Pursuant to section 50.90 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the application, as supplemented, requests amendments to the Calvert Cliffs, Units 1 and 2; NMP, Units 1 and 2; and Ginna licenses to delete conditions referencing the Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, LLC (a subsidiary of EGC at the time of the proposed transaction) Board and its operating agreement to reflect the internal reorganization of EGC described in the application.

By order dated November 26, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19228A130), as modified by orders dated October 21, 2020, and May 12, 2021 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML20259A469 and ML21110A606, respectively), the NRC authorized the direct transfer of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-39 and DPR-48 for Zion, Units 1 and 2, respectively, and the generally licensed Zion ISFSI from Zion Solutions, LLC to EGC. According to the February 25, 2021, application, the Zion license transfer will be completed prior to the spin transaction.

The public comment period on this action was originally scheduled to close on June 2, 2021. The NRC has decided to extend the public comment period until June 23, 2021, to allow more time for members of the public to develop and submit their comments. Separately, by order dated May 24, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21144A125), the Acting Secretary of the Commission extended the time for filing hearing requests and petitions to intervene on this action until June 14, 2021.

Dated: May 26, 2021.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Blake A. Purnell,

Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch III, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.