[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 129 (Tuesday, July 7, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36721-36722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17920]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-309]


Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company; Maine Yankee Atomic Power 
Station; Exemption

I

    Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company (MYAPCo or the licensee) is the 
holder of Facility Operating License No. DPR-36, which authorizes 
operation of Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station (Maine Yankee). The 
license provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to 
all rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (the Commission) now or hereafter in effect. The facility is 
a pressurized-water reactor located on the licensee's site in Lincoln 
County, Maine. On August 7, 1997, the licensee informed the Commission 
that it had decided to permanently cease operations at Maine Yankee and 
that all fuel had been permanently removed from the reactor. In 
accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(2), the certifications in the letter 
modified the facility operating license to permanently withdraw 
MYAPCo's authority to operate the reactor and to load fuel in the 
reactor vessel.

II

    It is stated in 10 CFR 73.55, ``Requirements for physical 
protection of licensed activities in nuclear power reactors against 
radiological sabotage,'' paragraph (a), that ``The licensee shall 
establish and maintain an onsite physical protection system and 
security organization which will have as its objective to provide high 
assurance that activities involving special nuclear material are not 
inimical to the common defense and security and do not constitute an 
unreasonable risk to the public health and safety.''
    By letter dated November 25, 1997, the licensee requested 11 
exemptions from certain requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. Eight exemptions 
are being granted at this time as follows: (1) 10 CFR 73.55(a)--an 
exemption from the requirement that a licensed senior operator suspend 
safeguards measures and assigning that authority to a certified fuel 
handler; (2) 10 CFR 73.55(e)(1)--an exemption from the requirement that 
the secondary power supply be located in a security area; (3)--10 CFR 
73.55(d)(1) ``an exemption from the requirement that a last access 
control point at the entrance to the protected area be bullet 
resistant; (4) 10 CFR 73.55(h)(3)'an exemption reducing the required 
number of guards and armed trained personnel; (5) 10 CFR 73.55(e)(1)--
an exemption from the requirement for a secondary alarm station, (6) 10 
CFR 73.55(f)(4)--exemption from the requirement that non-portable 
communication equipment located in the central alarm station remain 
operable from independent power sources if normal power is lost, (7) 10 
CFR 73.55(e)(1)--exemption from the requirement that an alarm station 
be located outside the protected area, and (8) 10 CFR 73.55(e)(1) and 
(c)(6)--exemption from the requirement that the alarm station and new 
control room be bullet resistant. The proposed exemption is a 
preliminary step toward enabling MYAPCo to revise the Maine Yankee 
Security Plan under 10 CFR 50.54(p) to implement a defueled security 
plan that was developed to protect against radiological sabotage at a 
permanently shutdown reactor facility with all fuel stored in the spent 
fuel storage pool.

III

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions,'' the Commission 
may, upon application of any interested person or upon its own 
initiative, grant such exemptions in this part as it determines are 
authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the common 
defense and security, and are otherwise in the public interest. The 
Code of Federal Regulations at 10 CFR 73.55 allows the Commission to 
authorize a licensee to provide alternative measures for protection 
against radiological sabotage, provided the licensee demonstrates that 
the proposed measures meet the general performance requirements of the 
regulation and that the overall level of system performance provides 
protection against radiological sabotage equivalent to that provided by 
the regulation.
    The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 73.55 is to provide reasonable 
assurance that adequate security measures can be taken in the event of 
an act of radiological sabotage. Because of its permanently shutdown 
and defueled condition, the radiological risk from Maine Yankee is less 
than the risk from an operating unit. With more than 16 months of 
radiological and heat decay since the plant was shut down on December 
6, 1996, the potential source term associated with the remaining 
design-basis accidents and radiological sabotage has decreased 
significantly.

IV

    For the foregoing reasons, the Commission has determined that the 
proposed alternative measures for protection against radiological 
sabotage meet the same assurance objective and the general performance 
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55 associated with the reduced risk of 
radiological sabotage for a permanently shutdown reactor site that has 
all of the fuel in the spent fuel pool. In addition, the staff has 
determined that the overall level of the proposed system's performance, 
as limited by this exemption, would not result in a reduction in the 
physical protection capabilities for the protection of special nuclear 
material or of Maine Yankee. Specifically, a limited exemption is being 
granted for eight (8) specific areas in which the licensee is 
authorized to modify the existing security plan commitments 
commensurate with the security threats associated with a permanently 
shutdown and defueled site, as follows: (1) 10 CFR 73.55(a)--an 
exemption from the requirement that a licensed senior operator suspend 
safeguards measures and assigning that authority to a certified fuel 
handler; (2) 10 CFR 73.55(e)(1)--an exemption from the requirement that 
the secondary power supply be located in a security area; (3) 10 CFR 
73.55(d)(1)--an exemption from the requirement that a last access 
control point at the entrance to the protected area be bullet 
resistant; (4) 10 CFR 73.55(h)(3)--an exemption reducing the required 
number of guards and armed trained personnel; (5) 10 CFR 73.55(e)(1)--
an exemption from the requirement a secondary alarm station; (6) 10 CFR 
73.55(f)(4)--exemption from the requirement that non-portable 
communication equipment located in the central alarm station; remain 
operable from independent power sources if normal power is lost; (7) 10 
CFR 73.55(e)(1)--exemption from the requirement that an alarm station 
be located outside the protected area; and (8) 10 CFR 73.55(e)(1) and 
(c)(6)--exemption from the requirement that the alarm station and new 
control room be bullet resistant.
    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR 
73.5, this exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or 
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the 
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants MYAPCo a 
limited exemption as described above from those requirements of 10 CFR 
73.55 at Maine Yankee in its permanently defueled condition.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that this 
exemption will not have a significant effect on the quality of the 
human

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environment (63 FR 35295, dated June 29, 1998).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, MD, this 29th day of June 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-17920 Filed 7-6-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P