The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it is accepting comments through Oct. 17 regarding the proposed transfer of the operating license for the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York from power company Entergy to anticipated new owner Exelon.
Interested parties also have until Oct. 5 to request a hearing or petition to intervene on the matter, according to a Federal Register notice.
Exelon announced in August it would buy the Oswego County facility for $110 million from Entergy, which had previously said it would close FitzPatrick by 2017 in the face of low natural gas prices, increased operational costs, and a troubling market design. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Clean Energy Standard, which would pay upstate nuclear plant operators up to $1 billion in zero-emissions credits over two years, gave Exelon sufficient cause to acquire and keep the plant open.
The deal, though, is contingent on the OK from the NRC.
“The NRC is considering the issuance of an order under § 50.80 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) approving the direct transfer of control of FitzPatrick, currently held by [Entergy],” the agency said in the notice. “The transfer would be to Exelon. The NRC is also considering amending the renewed facility operating licenses for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer.”
The application for the license transfer would be approved if Exelon can show it is qualified to control the license and if the NRC finds that the transfer does not breach any laws, regulations, or agency orders, according to the Federal Register notice. The NRC will look for confirmation that Exelon can safety operate the plant and then carry out decommissioning when the time comes, agency spokesman Neil Sheehan said by telephone Thursday.
Exelon operates the largest nuclear power plant fleet in the United States, meaning it is a known quantity to the NRC. But there are variables to consider as well, Sheehan added, such as the economic challenges that have led to the closure or planned shutdowns of a number of atomic energy facilities around the nation in recent years.
Other government agencies would also have to sign off on the deal, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the New York state Public Service Commission.
FitzPatrick’s current operating license expires in 2034. Sheehan said he could not say how long it might take for the NRC to rule on the license transfer application. The process could be extended by a request for a hearing on the matter, in which the applicants would have to show both standing and merit to request the meeting, Sheehan said.
“We are following our process in regulatory filings and await decisions,” Entergy spokeswoman Tammy Holden said by email Thursday. “We anticipate closing of this transaction in the second quarter of 2017, pending successful regulatory approvals.”
Another issue is the plant’s decommissioning trust fund. The New York Power Authority, FitzPatrick’s previous owner, has agreed to transfer the fund to Entergy, according to an Aug. 9 Exelon press release. Ultimately, the NRC would have to approve transferring the fund again to Exelon. That application was filed on Aug. 17, with the ruling also expected no later than next spring, Holden said.
The trust fund stood at $746 million as of Dec. 31, 2015. That was almost exactly $100 million more than the minimum amount it should hold under an NRC formula to ensure there is enough money available when the 41-year-old plant is eventually decommissioned, Sheehan said.
Comments on the license transfer can be emailed to the NRC at Hearingdocket@nrc.gov; faxed to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 301-415-1101; mailed to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff; or submitted in person to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
Submissions are also being accepted at the federal rulemaking website, http://www.regulations.gov , under Docket ID NRC-2016-0195.