[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 47 (Monday, March 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15383-15385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-05488]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 70-7003 and 70-7004; NRC-2010-0355]


Approval of Direct Transfer of Licenses and Issuance of License 
Amendment To Effectuate Such Transfers for American Centrifuge 
Operating, LLC

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of approval of direct transfer of control and issuance 
of license amendments to effectuate such transfers.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing a 
notice of consent to the direct transfer of licenses and issuance of 
License Amendment 7 to Materials License No. SNM-7003 for the American 
Centrifuge Lead Cascade Facility (Lead Cascade), and Amendment 3 to 
Materials License No. SNM-2011 for the American Centrifuge Plant (ACP). 
This action authorized the direct transfer of these licenses from USEC 
Inc. (USEC) to American Centrifuge Operating, LLC (ACO).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Osiris Siurano-Perez, Project Manager, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-492-3117; 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 2.106(1) of Title 10 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC is providing a notice of 
consent to the direct transfer of licenses and issuance of License 
Amendment 7 to Materials License No. SNM-7003 for Lead Cascade, and 
Amendment 3 to Materials License No. SNM-2011 for ACP. This action 
authorized the direct transfer of these licenses from USEC to ACO. The 
NRC's receipt of the request to take this licensing action was 
previously noticed in the Federal Register on November 17, 2010 (75 FR 
70300), with a notice of an opportunity to request a hearing. No 
requests for a hearing were received. However, by letter dated December 
5, 2010, the Ohio Sierra Club submitted a request for a public 
discussion of USEC's application. In response, on January 4, 2011, the 
NRC staff held a Category 2 public meeting in Piketon, Ohio, to discuss 
the NRC's process for reviewing USEC's request to transfer their 
material licenses for the Lead Cascade and the ACP from USEC to ACO. No 
decisions were made at this meeting.

[[Page 15384]]

    By Order dated February 10, 2011, the NRC approved the proposed 
direct transfer subject to the following conditions:
    (1) USEC will obtain NRC approval on the revised financial 
assurance instruments for decommissioning of the Lead Cascade facility;
    (2) ACO, as stated in the request, will abide by all commitments 
and representations previously made by USEC with respect to the 
licenses; and
    (3) USEC will provide to the NRC, a copy of the executed facilities 
subleasing agreement(s) naming ACO as the tenant and clarifying U.S. 
Department of Energy (DOE) indemnification, before the transfers are 
completed.
    The Order also stated that, if the proposed direct transfer of 
licenses was not completed within 180 days from the date of the 
issuance of the Order, the Order shall become null and void; however, 
on written application and for good cause shown, such date may be 
extended by order. The order was accompanied by a Safety Evaluation 
Report (SER) documenting the basis for the NRC staff's approval.
    By letter dated July 22, 2011, as supplemented by electronic 
communication dated August 1, 2011, USEC submitted an ``Extension 
Request for Implementation of Order Relating to Consent to Transfer 
Materials Licenses,'' from August 9, 2011, to February 9, 2012. The 
extension was requested to allow USEC additional time to fully 
implement the conditions of Order EA-11-013. The NRC evaluated the 
information provided and concluded that USEC's submittal showed good 
cause for extending the effectiveness of the NRC's Order. The NRC staff 
also concluded that the basis for originally approving the transfers of 
USEC's licenses remained valid and fully supported the NRC staff's 
previous findings and, as such, the NRC issued Order EA-11-180 
extending the implementation date of Order EA-11-013 to February 9, 
2012. The Order was accompanied by an SER documenting the basis for the 
NRC staff's approval.
    By letter dated January 6, 2012, USEC submitted a second 
``Extension Request for Implementation of Orders Relating to Consent to 
Transfer Materials Licenses,'' from February 9, 2012, to May 18, 2012. 
By letter dated January 27, 2012, USEC provided supplemental 
information requesting a change for the implementation of the Order 
from May 18, 2012, to February 8, 2013. In its submittals, USEC stated 
that, although it has been working diligently with DOE to achieve 
conditional commitment (the next step of the loan guarantee process), 
this process had not been concluded such that implementation of the 
Order conditions would be met by the due date (i.e., August 9, 2011). 
USEC also stated that it appeared that the date for completion of 
activities associated with the sub-lease will extend beyond May 18, 
2012, and it will not be able to fully satisfy the Order Conditions by 
February 9, 2012, as required by Order EA-11-180. The NRC evaluated the 
information provided and concluded that USEC's submittal showed good 
cause for extending the effectiveness of Order EA-11-013. The NRC also 
determined that the basis for originally approving the transfers of 
USEC's licenses for the Lead Cascade and the ACP from USEC to ACO 
remained valid. As a result, the NRC issued Order EA-12-027 extending 
the implementation date of Orders EA-11-013 and EA-11-180 to February 
8, 2013. The Order also stated that, if the proposed direct transfer of 
licenses is not completed by February 8, 2013, this Order and the 
February 10, 2011, Order shall become null and void. However, upon 
written application and for good cause shown, the February 8, 2013, 
date may be extended by further Order. The order was accompanied by an 
SER documenting the basis for the NRC staff's approval.
    In accordance with Order EA-11-013, by letter dated February 7, 
2013 (ACO 13-0011), USEC informed the NRC of the completion of the 
Order requirements. The transfer took place on February 8, 2013, on 
which date the License Amendments were issued. These actions comply 
with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 
as amended, and NRC's rules and regulations as set forth in 10 CFR 
Chapter 1.

Further Information

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's ``Agency Rules of 
Practice and Procedure,'' the details with respect to this action, 
including the SER and accompanying documentation, and license amendment 
request, are available electronically at the NRC's Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the 
NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which 
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS 
accession numbers for the documents related to this notice are:

 
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1...................  NRC Order EA-11-013,      ML103630745
                       dated February 10, 2011.
2...................  Safety Evaluation Report  ML103630748
                       on Request for Written
                       Consent for the Direct
                       Transfer of Licenses.
3...................  Summary of Public         ML110280305
                       Meeting With Ohio
                       Sierra Club.
4...................  NRC Order EA-11-180,      ML112140086
                       dated August 8, 2011.
5...................  Safety Evaluation Report  ML112140088
                       on Request to Extend
                       the Date by Which the
                       Direct Transfer of
                       Licenses is to be
                       Completed.
6...................  NRC Order EA-12-027,      ML12027A033
                       dated February 8, 2012.
7...................  Safety Evaluation Report  ML12027A034
                       on Second Request to
                       Extend the Date by
                       Which the Direct
                       Transfer of Licenses is
                       to be Completed.
8...................  Amendment 7 to SNM-7003,  ML13038A708
                       dated February 8, 2013.
9...................  Amendment 3 to SNM-2011,  ML13038A709
                       dated February 8, 2013.
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     Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or who encounter problems 
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC 
Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or via email to [email protected].
    These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction 
contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of February, 2013.


[[Page 15385]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Osiris Siurano-Perez,
 Project Manager, Uranium Enrichment Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle 
Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2013-05488 Filed 3-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P