2019-18506. In the Matter of Entergy Nuclear Generation Company, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., Holtec Pilgrim, LLC, Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC, and Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Direct and indirect transfer of license; order.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an Order approving the direct transfer of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-35 for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim), and its general license for the Pilgrim Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation, from the currently licensed operator, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENOI), to Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI). This Order also approves the indirect transfer of control of Entergy Nuclear Generation Company's (ENGC) ownership interests in the facility to Holtec International (Holtec). The NRC is also issuing a conforming amendment for the facility operating license for administrative purposes to reflect the direct transfer of the license from ENOI to HDI and the planned name change for ENGC, from ENGC to Holtec Pilgrim, LLC (Holtec Pilgrim).

DATES:

The Order was issued on August 22, 2019, and is effective for one year.

ADDRESSES:

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0279 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this document using any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0279. Address questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
• 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 license transfer Order, the NRC safety evaluation supporting the staff's findings, and the conforming license amendment are available in ADAMS Package Accession No. ML19170A147.
• NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The text of the Order is attached.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of August, 2019.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Scott P. Wall,

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

Attachment—

Order Approving the Direct and Indirect Transfer of Licenses.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-293 and 72-1044; NRC-2018-0279]

In the Matter of Entergy Nuclear Generation Company and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

ORDER APPROVING DIRECT AND INDIRECT TRANSFER OF LICENSE AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT

I.

Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENOI) and Entergy Nuclear Generation Company (ENGC) are the holders of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-35, for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim), and the general license for the Pilgrim Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). Pilgrim permanently ceased operations on May 31, 2019. Pursuant to Sections 50.82(a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), by letter dated June 10, 2019 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML19161A033), ENOI certified to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that it had permanently ceased operations at Pilgrim and that all fuel had been permanently removed from the reactor. Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2), operations at Pilgrim are no longer authorized under the license issued under 10 CFR part 50, “Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,” and ENOI and ENGC are licensed to possess, but not use or operate, Pilgrim under Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-35, subject to the conditions specified therein. The Pilgrim site is located in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, in Plymouth County on Cape Cod Bay.

II.

By letter dated November 16, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18320A031), and as supplemented by letters dated November 16, 2018, April 17, 2019, and July 29, 2019 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML18320A040, ML19109A177, and ML19210E470, respectively), ENOI, on behalf of itself and ENGC (to be known as Holtec Pilgrim, LLC), Holtec International (Holtec), and Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI) (together, the Applicants), requested that the NRC consent to the proposed direct and indirect transfer of the Pilgrim Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-35 and the general license for the Pilgrim ISFSI (collectively referred to as the facility). Specifically, the Applicants requested that the NRC consent to the direct transfer of ENOI's currently licensed authority (licensed operator for decommissioning) to HDI. In addition, the Applicants requested the indirect transfer of control of ENGC's ownership interests in the facility licenses to Holtec. The Applicants also requested that the NRC approve a conforming administrative amendment to the facility licenses to reflect the proposed direct transfer of the license from ENOI to HDI, as well as a planned name change from ENGC to Holtec Pilgrim. The Applicants submitted these direct and indirect transfer requests to the NRC for approval under Section 184, “Inalienability of Licenses,” of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA); 10 CFR 50.80, “Transfer of Licenses”; 10 CFR 72.50, “Transfer of Licenses”; and 10 CFR 50.90, “Application for Amendment of License, Construction Permit, or Early Site Permit.”

ENOI and ENGC intend to transfer the licensed possession, maintenance, and decommissioning authorities to HDI to implement expedited decommissioning at Pilgrim. Following approval and implementation of the proposed direct transfer of control of the license, HDI would assume licensed responsibility for Pilgrim through the direct transfer of ENOI's responsibility for licensed activities at Pilgrim to HDI. If the proposed indirect transfer of control is approved, ENGC would change its name to Holtec Pilgrim, LLC (Holtec Pilgrim), but the same legal entity would continue to exist before and after the proposed transfer. Holtec Pilgrim would also enter into an operating agreement with HDI, which provides for HDI to act as Holtec Pilgrim's agent and for HDI to pay Holtec Pilgrim's costs of operation, including all decommissioning costs. Holtec Pilgrim would own the Pilgrim facility as well as its associated assets and real estate, including its nuclear decommissioning trust fund, title to spent nuclear fuel, and rights pursuant to the terms of its Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste with the U.S. Department of Energy. Upon the proposed license transfer, HDI would assume responsibility for compliance with the current licensing basis, including regulatory commitments that exist at the closing of the transaction between the Applicants, and would implement any changes under applicable regulatory requirements and practices. HDI's licensed activities will involve possessing and disposing of radioactive material, maintaining the facility in a safe condition (including handling, storing, controlling, and protecting the spent fuel), decommissioning and decontaminating the facility, and maintaining the ISFSI until it can be decommissioned, each in accordance with the license and NRC regulations.

The NRC published the notice of NRC consideration of the license transfer application in the Federal Register (FR) on January 31, 2019 (84 FR 816), and included an opportunity to comment, request a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene. On February 20, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19051A114), the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene, submitting two contentions challenging the proposed license transfer. On February 20, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19051A019), Pilgrim Watch also filed a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene with two contentions challenging the proposed license transfer. On April 24, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19114A519), the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed a motion to supplement its motion to intervene and request for hearing with new information. On April 26, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19116A162) and May 9, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19129A473), Pilgrim Watch filed motions to supplement its motion to intervene and request for hearing with new information. On July 16, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19197A330), Pilgrim Watch submitted a motion to file a new contention. On August 1, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19213A313), the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed a motion to stay the license transfer proceeding for 90 days to permit the completion of settlement negotiations. These requests are currently pending before the Commission. The NRC also received public comments on this application for license transfer, which are summarized in the safety evaluation for this license transfer request.

The NRC staff notes, in Enclosure 2 of the application dated November 16, 2018, in support of the license transfer request, that the Applicants submitted a request for an exemption to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) to allow Holtec Pilgrim and HDI to make withdrawals from the Pilgrim decommissioning trust fund for spent fuel management and site restoration activities. The staff approved the exemption request on August 22, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19192A083). The NRC is issuing the exemption to Holtec Pilgrim and HDI simultaneously with this Order.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license for a production or utilization facility, or any right thereunder, shall be transferred, either voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, through transfer of control of the license to any person, unless the Commission gives its consent in writing. Upon review of the information in the application and other information before the Commission, and relying upon the representations and agreements contained in the application, the NRC staff has determined that Holtec Pilgrim and HDI are qualified to be the holders of the licenses, and that the direct and indirect transfer of the licenses, as described in the application, is otherwise consistent with the applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission pursuant thereto, subject to the condition set forth below.

Upon review of the application for a conforming amendment to the Pilgrim license to reflect the direct and indirect transfer of the Pilgrim licenses, the NRC staff determined the following:

(1) The application for the proposed license amendment complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR Chapter I, “Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”

(2) There is reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by the proposed license amendment can be conducted without endangering public health and safety and that such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations.

(3) The issuance of the proposed license amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to public health and safety.

(4) The issuance of the proposed license amendment is in accordance with 10 CFR part 51, “Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,” of the Commission's regulations, and all applicable requirements have been satisfied.

The findings set forth above are supported by an NRC safety evaluation dated August 22, 2019, which is available at ADAMS Accession No. ML19170A250.

III.

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; 42 U.S.C. Sections 2201(b), 2201(i), 2201(o), and 2234; and 10 CFR 50.80, 10 CFR 72.50, and 10 CFR 50.90, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the application for the direct and indirect transfer of the licenses, as described herein, is approved for Pilgrim and the ISFSI, subject to the following conditions:

(1) Prior to the closing of the license transfer, Holtec Pilgrim and HDI shall provide the Directors of NRC's Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) and Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) satisfactory documentary evidence that they have obtained the appropriate amount of insurance required of a licensee under 10 CFR 140.11(a)(4) and 10 CFR 50.54(w) of the Commission's regulations.

(2) The NRC staff's approval of this license transfer is subject to the Commission's authority to rescind, modify, or condition the approved transfer based on the outcome of any post-effectiveness hearing on the license transfer application. For example, if the Commission overturns the NRC staff's approval of this license transfer, this Order and any conforming amendments reflecting this transfer, will be rescinded, and the Applicants must return the plant ownership to the status quo ante and revert to the conditions existing before the transfer.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), the license amendment that makes changes, as indicated in Enclosure 2 to the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform the license to reflect the subject direct and indirect license transfer, is approved. The amendment shall be issued and made effective within 30 days of the date when the proposed direct and indirect license transfer action is completed.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Holtec Pilgrim and HDI shall, at least 2 business days prior to closing, inform the Directors of NMSS and NRR in writing of the date of closing of the license transfer for Pilgrim and the ISFSI. Should the transfer of the license not be completed within 1 year of this Order's date of issuance, this Order shall become null and void; provided, however, that 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 initial application dated November 16, 2018, as supplemented by letters dated November 16, 2018, April 17, and July 29, 2019, and the associated NRC safety evaluation dated August 22, 2019, which are available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available documents are accessible electronically through ADAMS in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html. Persons who encounter problems with ADAMS should contact the NRC's Public Document Room reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to [e-mail].

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 22nd day of August, 2019.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Ho K. Nieh,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.