[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 103 (Tuesday, June 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29298-29299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11433]
[[Page 29298]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. STN 50-528, STN 50-529, STN 50-530, and 72-44; NRC-2021-
0031]
In the Matter of Arizona Public Service Company, Public Service
Company of New Mexico, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1,
2, and 3, and Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Indirect transfer of licenses; order.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
Order approving the application dated December 2, 2020, as supplemented
by letters dated February 26, 2021 and May 14, 2021, filed by Arizona
Public Service Company (APS), on behalf of Public Service Company of
New Mexico (PNM), Avangrid, Inc. (Avangrid), and their corporate
affiliates. The application sought NRC consent to the indirect transfer
of PNM's interests in Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-41,
NPF-51, and NPF-74 for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (Palo
Verde), Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and the general license for
the Palo Verde Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI)
(together, the Facility). No physical changes to the Facility or
operational changes were proposed in the application.
DATES: The Order was issued on May 25, 2021, and is effective for 1
year.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0031 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-2021-0031. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-287-0624; email: [email protected]. 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 [email protected]. The license transfer Order and the
NRC staff safety evaluation supporting the Order are available in ADAMS
under ADAMS Package Accession No. ML21119A050.
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 [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or
301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Siva P. Lingam, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1564, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.
Dated: May 25, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Siva P. Lingam,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division of Operating
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
Attachment--Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Licenses
United States of America
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
In the Matter of: Arizona Public Service Company, Public Service
Company of New Mexico, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1,
2, 3, and Independent Spent, Fuel Storage Installation, Docket Nos. STN
50-528, STN 50-529, STN 50-530, and 72-44, License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51,
and NPF-74.
Order Approving Indirect Transfer of Licenses
I
Arizona Public Service Company (APS) is the licensed operator and a
licensed co-owner of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-41,
NPF-51, and NPF-74 for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (Palo
Verde), Units 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and the general license for
the Palo Verde Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI).
Palo Verde is located in Maricopa County, Arizona. The other licensed
co-owners (tenants-in-common), Salt River Project Agricultural
Improvement and Power District; Southern California Edison Company; El
Paso Electric Company; Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM);
Southern California Public Power Authority; and Los Angeles Department
of Water and Power, hold possession-only rights for these licenses
(i.e., they are not licensed to operate the facility).
II
By application dated December 2, 2020 (Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML20337A344), as
supplemented by letters dated February 26, 2021, and May 14, 2021
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML21061A156 and ML21134A244, respectively), APS,
on behalf of PNM, Avangrid, Inc. (Avangrid), and their corporate
affiliates (together, the Applicants), requested, pursuant to Title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Sections 50.80 and 72.50,
that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission)
consent to the indirect transfer of PNM's interests in Renewed Facility
Operating License Nos. NPF-41, NPF-51, and NPF-74 for Palo Verde Units
1, 2, and 3, respectively, and the general license for the Palo Verde
ISFSI to Avangrid.
According to the application, PNM currently owns a 10.2 percent
tenant-in-common interest and holds possession-only rights in the NRC
licenses. The proposed indirect license transfer would result from
Avangrid acquiring PNM and its parent holding company as its
subsidiaries, thereby owning 100 percent of the shares in PNM. APS owns
a 29.1 percent tenant-in-common interest and holds both operating and
possession rights in the NRC licenses. Further, APS operates, and would
continue to operate, each of the Palo Verde units and the ISFSI
pursuant to the operating rights granted to it under the license of
each Palo Verde unit. The remaining tenant-in-common co-owners that
hold possession-only rights in the NRC licenses are: Salt River Project
Agricultural Improvement and Power District (17.49 percent); Southern
California Edison Company (15.8 percent); El Paso Electric Company
(15.8 percent); Southern California Public Power Authority (5.91
percent); and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (5.7 percent).
The proposed transaction would implicate only an indirect upstream
change in control over PNM's possession-only rights in the NRC
licenses. The proposed transaction would not involve or implicate any
change in PNM's rights and obligations under any of the NRC licenses,
nor would it implicate APS's or any other possession-only co-owners'
rights and obligations under any of the NRC licenses.
No physical changes or operational changes are proposed in the
application.
[[Page 29299]]
A notice of the application and opportunity to comment, request a
hearing, and petition for leave to intervene on the application was
published in the Federal Register (FR) on January 27, 2021 (86 FR
7310). The NRC did not receive any comments or hearing requests on the
application.
Under 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, no license for a production or
utilization facility or ISFSI, 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, the NRC staff has determined that PNM can indirectly
transfer its 10.2 percent tenant-in-common interest and possession-only
rights in the NRC licenses to Avangrid. The proposed transferee is
qualified to be the indirect holder of the licenses and the indirect
transfer of the licenses is otherwise consistent with applicable
provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by the Commission
pursuant thereto, subject to the condition set forth below.
The findings set forth above are supported by an NRC staff safety
evaluation dated the same date as this Order, which is available at
ADAMS Accession No. ML21118B028.
III
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b), 2201(i), and 2234;
and 10 CFR 50.80 and 10 CFR 72.50, it is hereby ordered that the
application regarding the proposed indirect license transfer is
approved for Palo Verde Units 1, 2, and 3, and the Palo Verde ISFSI,
subject to the following condition.
Avangrid, Inc. must ensure that:
1. At the time of the indirect license transfer, Public Service
Company of New Mexico (``PNM'') will implement the Negation Action
Plan provided as Attachment 2 to Enclosure 1 of the Application for
Order Approving Indirect Transfers of Control of Licenses dated
December 2, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20337A344).
2. The sole shareholder of PNM must consent to amend the Bylaws
of PNM to provide that authority over PNM's interests in Palo Verde
be delegated to the President of PNM.
3. PNM shall provide thirty (30) days prior written notice to
the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, before any
further material amendment to Article IV, Section 2 of PNM's Bylaws.
4. The President of PNM must be a U.S. citizen.
5. The PNM President may delegate authority to one or more
designated PNM representatives for Palo Verde co-owner matters, and
these representatives also must be U.S. citizens under the
supervision of the PNM President.
6. The amendment to the Bylaws must specifically provide that
the sole shareholder or any of its parent companies cannot remove
the PNM President or fail to reappoint the PNM President based upon
a decision made with respect to Palo Verde.
7. The PNM President must sign a certificate acknowledging the
duties owed to the NRC and the United States regarding the
prohibition of foreign ownership, control or domination of any
reactor license.
It is further ordered that after receipt of all required regulatory
approvals of the proposed indirect transfer action, the Applicants
shall inform the Director of the NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation in writing of such receipt, and of the date of the closing
of the transfer, no later than 2 business days prior to the date of the
closing of the transfer. Should the proposed indirect transfer not be
completed within 1 year of the date of this Order, 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. The
condition of this Order may be amended upon application by the
Applicants and approval by the Director of the Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
This Order is effective upon issuance.
For further details with respect to this Order, see the application
dated December 2, 2020, as supplemented by letters dated February 26,
2021, and May 14, 2021, and the NRC staff's safety evaluation dated the
same date as this Order, which are available for public inspection
electronically through ADAMS in the NRC Library at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who
encounter problems accessing the documents located in ADAMS should
contact the NRC Public Document Room reference staff by telephone at 1-
800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by email to [email protected].
Dated: May 25, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Caroline L. Carusone,
Deputy Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-11433 Filed 5-28-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P