[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 29 (Friday, February 11, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7074-7075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-3189]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-344]


Portland General Electric Company (Trojan Nuclear Plant); 
Exemption

I.

    Portland General Electric Company (licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating License No. NPF-1, which authorizes the licensee to 
possess the Trojan Nuclear Plant (TNP). The license states, in part, 
that the facility is subject to all the rules, regulations, and orders 
of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or NRC) now 
or hereafter in effect. The facility consists of a pressurized water 
reactor located at the licensee's site in Columbia County, Oregon. The 
facility is permanently shut down and defueled and the licensee is no 
longer authorized to operate or place fuel in the reactor.

II.

    Section 50.54(p) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
states that ``The licensee shall prepare and maintain safeguards 
contingency plan procedures in accordance with appendix C of part 73 of 
this chapter for effecting the actions and decisions contained in the 
Responsibility Matrix of the safeguards contingency plan.''
    Part 73 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, ``PHYSICAL 
PROTECTION OF PLANT AND MATERIALS,'' states that ``This part prescribes 
requirements for the establishment and maintenance of a physical 
protection system which will have capabilities for the protection of 
special nuclear material at fixed sites and in transit and of plants in 
which special nuclear material is used.'' Section 73.55 of Title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations, ``Requirements for physical protection 
of licensed activities in nuclear power reactors against radiological 
sabotage,'' states 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 January 27, 1993, the licensee informed the NRC 
that they no longer intend to operate the Trojan facility and intend to 
remove all spent nuclear fuel from the 10 CFR part 50 licensed site. By 
letter dated January 29, 1998, the licensee requested an exemption from 
the security requirements of 10 CFR 50.54(p) and 10 CFR part 73. 10 CFR 
50.54(p) and 10 CFR 73.55 provide security requirements to protect the 
spent fuel while within the boundary of a licensed power reactor site. 
The requested exemption from the security requirements for the Trojan 
Nuclear Plant would be effective after the spent fuel has been removed 
from the reactor site by the licensee and relocated to the new 
independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI), which is not 
physically associated with the reactor site. The new ISFSI has been 
licensed under 10 CFR Part 72 for storage facilities not associated 
with a reactor site and possesses an approved physical plan as required 
by 10 CFR 72.180 and 10 CFR 73.51.

[[Page 7075]]

    Subpart H of 10 CFR Part 72 establishes requirements for physical 
protection for the independent storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste and refers to 10 CFR 73.51 to define the 
requirements for physical protection of spent nuclear fuel stored under 
a specific license issued pursuant to 10 CFR part 72. The Trojan ISFSI 
has an NRC-approved security plan to protect the spent nuclear fuel 
stored there from radiological sabotage and diversion as required by 10 
CFR part 72, subpart H.
    Pursuant 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific exemptions,'' the Commission may, 
upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, 
grant exemptions from the requirements of the regulations of these 
parts, which are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to 
the public health and safety, and are consistent with the common 
defense and security. Additionally, 10 CFR 50.12 states that the 
Commission will not consider granting an exemption to 10 CFR part 50 
unless special circumstances are present. Special circumstances are 
present when application of the regulation in the particular 
circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule and 
when compliance would result in costs significantly in excess of those 
incurred by others similarly situated. Also, pursuant to 10 CFR 73.5, 
``Specific exemptions,'' the Commission may grant exemptions from the 
regulations in this part as it determines are authorized by law and 
will not endanger life or property, and are otherwise in the public 
interest.

III.

    The Commission has determined that the existing 10 CFR part 73 
requirements need to be maintained at the Trojan Nuclear Plant until 
the spent fuel located in the spent fuel pool is physically relocated 
from the defueled site to the new security area at the ISFSI. With the 
completion of the spent fuel movement into the ISFSI, there will no 
longer be any special nuclear material located within the 10 CFR part 
50 licensed site. At that time, the potential for radiological sabotage 
or diversion of special nuclear material at the 10 CFR part 50 licensed 
site would be eliminated. The security requirements of 10 CFR part 73, 
as applicable to a 10 CFR part 50 license site, presume that the 
purpose of the facility is to possess and utilize special nuclear 
material. Therefore, the continued application of the 10 CFR part 73 
requirements to the Trojan facility would no longer be necessary to 
achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. Additionally, with the 
transfer of the special nuclear material to the ISFSI, the 10 CFR part 
50 licensed site would be comparable to a source and byproduct licensee 
in terms of the level of security needed to protect the public health 
and safety. The continued application of 10 CFR part 73 security 
requirements would cause the licensee to expend significantly more 
funds for security requirements than other source and byproduct 
facilities. Therefore, compliance with 10 CFR part 73 would result in 
costs significantly in excess of those incurred by others similarly 
situated. Based on the above, the NRC has determined that the removal 
of all special nuclear material from the 10 CFR part 50 licensed site 
constitutes special circumstances. The security of the special nuclear 
material will be maintained following relocation of the spent nuclear 
fuel to the 10 CFR part 72 licensed ISFSI since new assurance 
objectives and general performance requirements will be in place to 
protect the spent fuel by the security requirements in 10 CFR part 72. 
Therefore, protection of the special nuclear material will continue 
following relocation of the spent nuclear fuel from the 10 CFR part 50 
licensed site.

IV.

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.12(a), an exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or 
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the 
public interest based on the continued maintenance of appropriate 
security requirements for the special nuclear material. Additionally, 
special circumstances are present based on the relocation of the spent 
nuclear fuel from the 10 CFR part 50 site to the 10 CFR part 72 site. 
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Portland General Electric 
Company an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.54(p) at the 
Trojan Nuclear Plant.
    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
73.5, an exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or 
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the 
public interest based on the maintenance of appropriate security 
requirements for the special nuclear material under the 10 CFR part 72 
license. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Portland General 
Electric Company an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR part 73 
at the Trojan Nuclear Plant.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that this 
exemption will not have a significant on the quality of the human 
environment (64 FR 46422).
    This exemption is effective upon completion of the transfer of the 
spent nuclear fuel at the Trojan Nuclear Plant to the Trojan 
independent spent fuel storage installation.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of February 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John A. Zwolinski,
Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-3189 Filed 2-10-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P