[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 49 (Thursday, March 13, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11934-11935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-6344]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-344]
Portland General Electric Company (Trojan Nuclear Plant); Order
Approving Application Regarding the Planned Merger of Portland General
Corporation, the Parent Holding Company for Portland General Electric,
With Enron Corporation
I
Portland General Electric Company (PGE or the licensee) owns a
67.5-percent interest in the Trojan Nuclear Plant (TNP) located on the
west bank of the Columbia River in Columbia County, Oregon. PGE holds
Facility Operating License No. NPF-1 issued by the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant to Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50) on November 21, 1975. Under
this license, PGE has the authority to possess and maintain but not
operate TNP. PGE is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Portland
General Corporation (PGC).
II
By letter dated August 20, 1996, as supplemented by letters dated
October 16, 1996, and October 30, 1996, PGE informed the Commission
that PGE's parent company, PGC, has agreed to a merger with Enron
Corporation (Enron), subject to certain conditions. Those conditions
include approval by the shareholders of the companies and obtaining
appropriate governmental approvals which do not impose terms or
conditions that would be reasonably likely to have an adverse effect on
PGE or Enron.
In the August 20, 1996, submittal, as supplemented by letters dated
October 16, 1996, and October 30, 1996, PGE requested the Commission's
consent to the planned merger to the extent necessary under Sections
81, 101, and 184 of the Atomic Energy Act, and under 10 CFR 50.80 and
10 CFR 30.34. Notice of this application was published in the Federal
Register on January 16, 1997 (62 FR 2399). Under the agreement and plan
of merger, the businesses of Enron and PGC would be combined by means
of the reincorporation of Enron as an Oregon corporation through the
merger of Enron with and into a wholly owned Enron subsidiary
(hereinafter referred to as the ``Merger Company''), and the merger of
PGC into the Merger Company. The shareholders of Enron will become
shareholders of the Merger Company, and likewise the shareholders of
PGC will become shareholders of the Merger Company on a one-for-one
basis. The Merger Company will be known as Enron. PGE will continue to
be headquartered in Portland, Oregon and senior management will remain
in place. The merger will not affect PGE's status as a regulated public
utility in the State of Oregon. After the merger, PGE will continue to
be the NRC licensee for TNP and no direct transfer of the operating
license or interests in the unit will result from the merger. Direct
control of the possession-only license for TNP now held by PGE and its
co-owners will remain with PGE and the same co-owners, and will not be
affected by the planned merger.
Under 10 CFR 50.80, no license shall be transferred, directly or
indirectly, through transfer of control of the license, unless the
Commission shall give its consent in writing. Upon review of the
information submitted in the letter of August 20, 1996, and
supplemental letters dated October 16, 1996, and October 30, 1996, and
other information before the Commission, the NRC staff has determined
that the proposed merger will not affect the qualifications of PGE as
holder of the license, and that the transfer of control of the license
for TNP, to the extent effected by the merger, is otherwise consistent
with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by
the Commission, subject to the conditions set forth herein. These
findings are supported by a safety evaluation dated March 6, 1997.
An Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
was published in the Federal Register on March 5, 1997 (62 FR 10094).
III
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 161b, 161i, 161o, and 184 of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 USC 2201(b), 2201(i), 2201(o)
and 2234, and 10 CFR 50.80, it is hereby ordered that the Commission
approves the application regarding the merger agreement between PGC and
Enron subject to the following: (1) PGE shall continue to fund its
decommissioning trust funds in accordance with the schedule stated in
the licensee's Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR),
and (2) PGE will provide the Director, NRR, with at least 60 days prior
notice of a transfer (excluding grants of security interests or liens),
from PGE to its parent or to any other affiliated company, of
facilities for the production, transmission, or distribution of
electric energy having a depreciated book value exceeding 10 percent of
PGE's consolidated net utility plant, as recorded on PGE's books of
account; provided, however, this condition (2) shall not apply once (a)
PGE has completed all major decommissioning activities, as that term is
defined in 10 CFR 50.2, or (b) PGE's external decommissioning trust
fund has been funded in an amount sufficient to pay PGE's share of site
radiological decommissioning costs as estimated in the PSDAR. Any such
notice to the Director, NRR, shall be exempt from public disclosure to
the extent permitted by the NRC's regulations implementing the Freedom
of Information Act. In addition, should the merger between PGC and
Enron not be consummated by December 31, 1997, this Order shall become
null and void, provided, however, an application and for good cause
shown, such date may be extended.
This Order is effective upon issuance.
IV
By April 14, 1997, any person adversely affected by this Order may
file a request for a hearing with respect to issuance of the Order. Any
person requesting a hearing shall set forth with particularity how that
interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d).
If a hearing is to be held, the Commission will issue an order
designating the time and place of such hearing.
The issue to be considered at any such hearing shall be whether
this Order should be sustained.
Any request for a hearing must be filed with the Secretary of the
Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, Attention: Docketing and Services Branch, or may be delivered to
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland between 7:45 am and 4:15 pm
Federal workdays, by the above date. Copies should be also sent to the
Office of the General Counsel and to the Director, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, and to Mr. Douglas R. Nichols, Esq., Assistant General
Counsel PGE, 121 S.W. Salmon
[[Page 11935]]
Street, Suite 1300, Portland, Oregon 97204.
For further details with respect to this Order, see PGE's
application dated August 20, 1996, and supplemental letters dated
October 16, 1996, and October 30, 1996, which are available for public
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, Gelman Building,
2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., and at the TNP local public
document room located at the Branford Price Millar Library, Portland
State University, Portland, Oregon 97207.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of March 1997.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-6344 Filed 3-12-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P