On May 24, 2016, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced that the agency has approved the transfer of the license for the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor from the Dairyland Power Cooperative to LaCrosseSolutions.

The La Crosse plant—which is located in Genoa, Wisconsin—has been shut down since 1987.  At that time, the NRC modified the original operating license to a possession-only license for the purpose of storage of nuclear materials and waste and decommissioning activities.

On October 8, 2015, Dairyland submitted an application to the NRC requesting transfer of the license to LaCrosseSolutions, which is a subsidiary of EnergySolutions.  The license transfer would allow LaCrosseSolutions to expedite decommissioning activities on the site.

Under the terms of the transfer, Dairyland will remain the owner of the site and retain title to and responsibility for the spent nuclear fuel, which is currently stored in dry casks on the site. LaCrosseSolutions will lease the above-ground structures (other than the spent fuel storage site) and assume responsibility for decommissioning under NRC requirements.

EnergySolutions entered into a similar arrangement as that being done for the La Crosse nuclear power plant when it began to decommission the shuttered Zion nuclear power plant in Illinois in 2010.

The NRC’s order approving the transfer and its safety evaluation of the transfer are available in the NRC’s ADAMS document database at ML16123A049.

For additional information, please contact Maureen Conley of the NRC at (301) 415-8200.