ComEd 2006 Annual Report Download - page 27

exceeded its authority under the Clean Water Act, failed to adequately set forth its rationale for the
rule, or failed to follow required procedures for public notice and comment. The court remanded the
rule back to the EPA for revisions consistent with the court’s opinion. The court’s opinion has created
significant uncertainty about the specific nature, scope and timing of the final compliance requirements.
See Note 18 of the Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for detail on the impact of
this rule to Generation.
On December 16, 2005 and February 27, 2006, the Illinois EPA issued violation notices to
Generation alleging violations of state groundwater standards as a result of historical discharges of
liquid tritium from a line at the Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station. On March 16, 2006, the Attorney
General of the State of Illinois, and the State’s Attorney for Will County, Illinois filed a civil enforcement
action, seeking, among other things, injunctive relief to require certain remedial actions for past tritium
releases, and to prevent future releases. In addition, a class action lawsuit and several individual
lawsuits were filed on behalf of persons living within the vicinity of the Braidwood Nuclear Generating
Station. As of December 31, 2006 and 2005, Generation had a reserve of $3 million and $7 million
(pre-tax), respectively, for this matter, which Generation deems adequate to cover the costs of
remediation and potential related corrective measures.
Generation launched an initiative across its nuclear fleet to systematically assess systems that
handle tritium and take the necessary actions to minimize the risk of inadvertent discharge of tritium to
the environment. On September 28, 2006, Generation announced the final results of the assessment,
concluding that no active leaks had been identified at any of Generation’s 11 nuclear plants and no
detectable tritium had been identified beyond any of the plants’ boundaries other than from permitted
discharges, with the exception of Braidwood, as discussed above. The assessment further concluded
that none of the tritium concentrations identified in the assessment pose a health or safety threat to the
public or to Generation’s employees or contractors. See Note 18 of the Combined Notes to
Consolidated Financial Statements for further detail.
Generation is also subject to the jurisdiction of certain other state and regional agencies, including
the Delaware River Basin Commission and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.
Solid and Hazardous Waste
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as
amended (CERCLA), provides for immediate response and removal actions coordinated by the EPA in
the event of threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment and authorizes the
U.S. Government either to clean up sites at which hazardous substances have created actual or
potential environmental hazards or to order persons responsible for the situation to do so. Under
CERCLA, generators and transporters of hazardous substances, as well as past and present owners
and operators of hazardous waste sites, are strictly, jointly and severally liable for the cleanup costs of
waste at sites, most of which are listed by the EPA on the National Priorities List (NPL). These
potentially responsible parties (PRPs) can be ordered to perform a cleanup, can be sued for costs
associated with an EPA-directed cleanup, may voluntarily settle with the U.S. Government concerning
their liability for cleanup costs, or may voluntarily begin a site investigation and site remediation under
state oversight prior to listing on the NPL. Various states, including Illinois and Pennsylvania, have
enacted statutes that contain provisions substantially similar to CERCLA. In addition, the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) governs treatment, storage and disposal of solid and
hazardous wastes and cleanup of sites where such activities were conducted.
Generation, ComEd and PECO and their subsidiaries are or are likely to become parties to
proceedings initiated by the EPA, state agencies and/or other responsible parties under CERCLA and
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