ML12027A200

Ltr. to W. Norton Yankee Atomic Electric Company, Yankee Nuclear Power Station - Notice of Violation EA-2011-283 (TAC No. L24566)

ML12027A200
Person / Time
Site:	Yankee Rowe
Issue date:	01/27/2012
From:	Michael Waters NRC/NMSS/SFST/LID/LB
To:	Norton W Yankee Atomic Electric Co
John Goshen NMSS/SFST 492-3325
Shared Package
ML12027A197	List: ML12027A200 ML12027A204
References
EA-2011-283, TAC L24566
Download: ML12027A200 (5)

Text

January 27, 2012 EA-2011-283 Mr. Wayne Norton President and Chief Executive Officer Yankee Atomic Electric Company 49 Yankee Road Rowe, MA 01367

SUBJECT:

YANKEE ATOMIC ELECTRIC COMPANY, YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION - NOTICE OF VIOLATION EA-2011-283 (TAC NO. L24566)

Dear Mr. Norton:

This letter refers to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) staffs (staffs) review related to the indirect license transfer that will result from a proposed merger of Northeast Utilities (NU) and NSTAR. By application dated December 6, 2010 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession (ADAMS) No. ML103490133), as supplemented by letters dated March 16, 2011 (ML110770022), May 16, 2011 (ML11139A088),

June 8, 2011 (ML11166A124), August 16, 2011 (ML11235A723), August 24, 2011 (ML11243A087), and August 25, 2011 (ML112490526), Yankee Atomic Electric Company (YAEC or licensee) requested NRC consent to the indirect transfer of control of License No.

DPR-3 for the Yankee Nuclear Power Station, to the extent effected by the proposed merger between NU and NSTAR.

As part of the indirect license transfer review, the staff examined compliance with the Commissions rules and regulations. The staffs review included a review of foreign ownership, control or domination (FOCD) requirements in 10 CFR 50.38. As stated, 10 CFR 50.38 requires that any person who is a citizen, national, or agent of a foreign country, or any corporation, or other entity which the Commission knows or has reason to believe is owned, controlled, or dominated by an alien, a foreign corporation, or a foreign government, shall be ineligible to apply for and obtain a license. As YAECs Yankee Nuclear Power Station is currently licensed under 10 CFR Part 50, the provisions of 10 CFR 50.38 apply.

During the staffs review, an apparent violation of the requirements in 10 CFR 50.38 was identified. A series of incremental ownership changes has resulted in YAEC being owned, controlled, or dominated by two foreign corporations - Iberdrola, based in Spain, and National Grid, based in the United Kingdom. Although NRC consent or approval was not required for those cases where the specific ownership changes did not constitute a transfer of control that would necessitate a license transfer, compliance with 10 CFR 50.38 was still required.

Based on the totality of circumstances, the staff has determined that the existing ownership of YAEC is contrary to the requirements of 10 CFR 50.38. Specifically, YAECs shareholders are ultimately owned, in part, by foreign entities, and YAEC is governed by a board of directors whose members are appointed, in part, by companies that are also ultimately controlled by foreign entities, as follows: New England Power Co. (34.5% - National Grid), and Central Maine Power Co. (9.5% - Iberdrola S.A.).

W. Norton On April 20, 2011 (ML111101402), the staff requested additional information from YAEC. The letter stated, the NRC staff knows and has reason to believe that the [licensee is] owned, controlled, or dominated by foreign corporations (i.e., YAEC is not meeting the requirements of 10 CFR 50.38). The letter also requested YAEC to submit a negation action plan to negate the FOCD (using the methods identified in the Final Standard Review Plan on Foreign Ownership, Control, or Domination (64 FR 52355; September 28, 1999)), or take action to remove the FOCD, to restore compliance with 10 CFR 50.38.

Your May 16, 2011, response to the request for additional information (ML11139A088) acknowledged the foreign ownership and stated that establishing a negation action plan would result in undue hardship to the licensee and shareholders. In lieu of submitting a negation action plan and restoring compliance with NRC regulations, you requested an exemption from the FOCD requirements in 10 CFR 50.38, in your May 16, 2011, letter. The NRC is reviewing this exemption request separately and you will be informed of the results of this review under separate correspondence.

Based on our review of the information in your May 16, 2011, letter and the information you submitted during the license transfer review, the NRC has determined that a Severity Level IV violation of the requirements in 10 CFR 50.38 has occurred. The violation was evaluated in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy. The current Enforcement Policy is included on the NRC's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/enforce-pol.html.

The violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice). The violation is being cited in the Notice because it was identified by the NRC.

You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing your response. If you have additional information that you believe the NRC should consider, you may provide it in your response to the Notice. The NRC review of your response to the Notice will also determine whether further enforcement action is necessary to ensure timely compliance with regulatory requirements.

The staff acknowledges receipt of your December 21, 2011, letter (ML11364A053), which provided additional information on FOCD matters and included a negation action plan that outlined certain foreign ownership negation and exclusion measures. You stated that resolutions implementing the plan were adopted by YAEC on December 14, 2011. In your response to the Notice, you may reference this correspondence and should provide additional details on the actions you have taken to implement the negation measures, including all documents relevant to implementation of the negation action plan (e.g., executed copies of the board resolutions signed by the board of directors, signed copies of the certifications, and/or updates to your by-laws, as referenced in your letter).

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its enclosure, and your response, will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from ADAMS, accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, sensitive, or safeguards information, so that it can be made available to the public without redaction.

W. Norton If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 492-3297, or John Goshen of my staff, at (301) 492-3325.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Michael D. Waters, Chief Licensing Branch Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket Nos.: 50-029, 72-31 License No.: DPR-3 TAC No.: L24566

Enclosure:

Notice of Violation cc: Yankee (Rowe) Nuclear Power Station Service List

W. Norton If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 492-3297, or John Goshen of my staff, at (301) 492-3325.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Michael D. Waters, Chief Licensing Branch Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket Nos.: 50-029, 72-31 License No.: DPR-3 TAC No.: L24566

Enclosure:

Notice of Violation cc: Yankee (Rowe) Nuclear Power Station Service List DISTRIBUTION:

SFST R/F BBenney ASimmons TFredrichs JSimpson ARivera DWeaver MAshley JLubinski BMizuno SUttal EBowdenBerry SHamman/RI KMattern NHilton MMcLaughlin/RI NSheehan/RI ADeFrancisco/RI G:\SFST\Northeast Utilities\NOV Jan 2012\YAEC NOV cover letter.docx

\YAEC NOV.docx ADAMS :

OFC NMSS/SFST NMSS/SFST NMSS/SFST NMSS/SFST NRR NAME JGoshen WWheatley RWharton RTemps CRegan DATE 1/11/12 1/11/12 1/11/12 1/ 11/12 1/13/12 OFC NMSS/SFST OGC OE NMSS/SFST NAME CAraguas CSafford JWray MWaters DATE 1/ 25/12 1/ 20/12 1/ 20 /12 1/27/12 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Yankee (Rowe) Nuclear Power Station Service List cc:

Mr. Wayne Norton Diane Screnci, Region I President and Chief Executive Officer U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Yankee Atomic Electric Company 475 Allendale Road 49 Yankee Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 Rowe, MA 01367 John Giarrusso Mr. Joseph Fay State Liaison Officer General Counsel Division Chief, Planning and Preparedness Yankee Atomic Electric Company Massachusetts Emergency Management 49 Yankee Road Agency Rowe, MA 01367 400 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702-5399 Mr. Robert Capstick Regulatory Affairs Director Yankee Atomic Electric Company 77 Lakewood Rd.

Newton, MA 02461 Assistant Attorney General Commonwealth of Massachusetts 200 Portland Street Boston, MA 02114 Director MA Radiation Control Program Schrafft Center, Suite 1M2A 529 Main Street Charlestown, MA 02129 Secretary Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety One Ashburton Place Room 2133 Boston, MA 02108 Peggy Sloan, AICP Franklin Regional Council of Governments 425 Main Street, Suite 20 Greenfield, MA 01301-3313 Regional Administrator, Region I U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406