[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 213 (Friday, November 2, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55603-55604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27576]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 73

[Docket No. PRM-73-11]


Three Mile Island Alert; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of receipt.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and 
requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking filed by the Three 
Mile Island Alert. The petition has been docketed by the NRC and has 
been assigned Docket No. PRM-73-11. The petitioner is requesting that 
the NRC regulations governing physical protection of plants and 
materials be amended to require NRC licensees to post at least one 
armed guard at each entrance to the ``owner controlled areas'' (OCAs) 
surrounding all U.S. nuclear power plants. The petitioner states that 
this should be accomplished by adding armed site protection officers 
(SPOs) to the security forces--not by simply moving SPOs from their 
protected area (PA) posts to the OCA entrances. The petitioner believes 
that its proposed amendment would provide an additional layer of 
security that would complement existing measures against radiological 
sabotage and would be consistent with the long-standing principle of 
defense-in-depth.

DATES: Submit comments by January 16, 2002. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance 
of consideration cannot be given except as to comments received on or 
before this date.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications staff.
    Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 
between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm on Federal workdays.
    You may also provide comments via the NRC's interactive rulemaking 
website through the NRC home page (http://ruleforum.llnl.gov). At this 
site, you may view the petition for rulemaking, this Federal Register 
notice of receipt, and any comments received by the NRC in response to 
this notice of receipt. Additionally, you may upload comments as files 
(any format), if your web browser supports that function. For 
information about the interactive rulemaking website, contact Ms. Carol 
Gallagher, (301) 415-5905 (e-mail: [email protected]).
    Documents related to this action are available for public 
inspection at the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) located at 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.
    Documents created or received at the NRC after November 1, 1999 are 
also available electronically at the NRC's Public electronic Reading 
Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/indes.html. From 
this site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and 
image files of NRC's public documents. If you do not have access to 
ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in 
ADAMS, contact the NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737 or by e-mail to [email protected].
    For a copy of the petition, write to Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rules 
and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Lesar, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555. Telephone: 301-415-7163 or Toll-Free: 1-800-368-5642 or E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's regulations require that 
licensees establish protected areas (PAs) surrounding nuclear power 
plants, with strict access control at the PA boundaries including armed 
guards, entry barriers, vehicle barriers, intrusion detectors, 
personnel screening and vehicle screening. However, they do not require 
posting armed guards farther out, at the boundaries of the owner 
controlled areas (OCAs). The NRC has now received a petition for 
rulemaking dated September 12, 2001, submitted by the Three Mile Island 
Alert (petitioner) requesting that the regulations at 10 CFR 73.55 be 
amended to require licensees to post at least one armed guard at each 
entrance to the OCAs surrounding all nuclear power plants in the U.S.
    The NRC has determined that the petition meets the threshold 
sufficiency requirements for a petition for rulemaking under 10 CFR 
2.802. The petition has been docketed as PRM-73-11. The NRC is 
soliciting public comment on the petition for rulemaking. As a result 
of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 
11, 2001, the NRC is conducting a comprehensive reexamination of its 
security requirements including the issues raised in this petition.

Discussion of the Petition

    The petitioner believes that armed guards are needed at OCA 
entrances to serve as a physical and visual deterrent against potential 
violent actions. However, the petitioner cautions that additional site 
protection officers (SPOs) are needed and that licensees should not 
merely move SPOs from PA posts. The petitioner notes that 10 CFR 73.55, 
``Requirements for physical protection of licensed activities in 
nuclear power reactors against radiological sabotage'' does not require 
armed guards at OCA entrances in current security plans. The petitioner 
states that adding an armed guard at each entrance to the OCA at 
nuclear power plants would be consistent with defense-in-depth safety 
principles that have been in place for many years.
    The petitioner has concluded that the additional layer of security 
would complement existing measures against radiological sabotage and 
would be relatively inexpensive. The petitioner contends that the NRC 
could not inform the public and Congress that every reasonable 
precaution had been taken after an attack on a nuclear power facility 
occurs if the NRC fails to implement this proposed amendment.
    The petitioner believes that security should be a clear and visible 
presence at the OCA entrances, especially since, according to the 
petitioner, the NRC considers nuclear power plants as ``hardened 
targets.'' The petitioner states

[[Page 55604]]

that if terrorists perform reconnaissance missions at a nuclear power 
plant, the first thing they would see is that the OCA entrance is open 
and unguarded. The petitioner believes that the deterrent value of 
armed guards at the OCA entrances must not be downplayed.
    The petitioner is concerned by how the NRC has determined what is 
``adequate'' security and how the points of the ``Design Basis Threat'' 
are specified. The petitioner believes the NRC is reluctant to admit 
that terrorists might consider nuclear power plants as attractive 
targets. The petitioner states that nearly half of U.S. nuclear power 
plants have failed to demonstrate that they can defend against a 
terrorist attack during force-on-force security tests. The petitioner 
states that terrorists now take actions that are designed to kill large 
numbers of people instead of attempting to only instill fear or gain 
attention as in the past. According to the petitioner, revenge for the 
destruction of nuclear facilities in terrorists' home countries (e.g. 
Iraq) may be a motive for an attack in the U.S. The petitioner also 
states that a terrorist attack could destroy land and property that 
would be useless for many years and become a monument to terrorist 
activities. For these reasons, the petitioner has concluded that 
nuclear power plants are attractive targets to terrorists, that 
requiring guards at OCA entrances will create a visual deterrent 
against attacks, and that unguarded OCA entrances encourage attackers.
    The petitioner believes that the NRC is not protecting against a 
large ``Design Basis Bomb.'' That is, the petitioner is concerned that 
a large enough vehicle bomb driven to the PA boundary and detonated 
might be able to damage vital equipment. The petitioner states that the 
FBI has determined that a large conventional bomb is still the weapon 
of choice for terrorists.
    The petitioner believes that the ideal solution is for armed guards 
to control vehicle access at the OCA entrances and not allow access to 
the Protected Area without proper security checks. The petitioner 
contends that the presence of armed guards at the OCA entrance would 
have prevented the 1993 intrusion at Three Mile Island (TMI). The 
petitioner also contends that the NRC cannot state it has kept current 
with terrorist activities and capabilities and that unguarded OCA 
entrances create the impression that these facilities are soft targets. 
The petitioner cites a 2000 report by the U.S. Commission on National 
Security that has recommended an immediate reexamination of security 
practices because America is less secure than perceived.
    The petitioner believes there are lessons to be learned from the 
1996 Kobar Towers bombings after the U.S. Air Force was repeatedly 
assured by Saudi security officers that an expansion of the security 
perimeter was not necessary and determined that the jersey barrier 
placement provided reasonable protection proportional to any received 
threat. The petitioner recommends that the NRC read the report on this 
bombing to avoid security pitfalls and delays the U.S. Air Force 
experienced.
    The petitioner is troubled by threats associated with the 1993 
World Trade Center terrorists, citing articles from the New York Times, 
Universal Press International, and the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 
Patriot News. The petitioner states that many licensees have reduced 
the size of their guard force during the past few years, reducing the 
level of protection provided.

The Petitioner's Conclusions

    The petitioner has concluded that the NRC requirements in 10 CFR 
part 73 should be amended to require an armed guard to be posted at all 
entrances to the OCAs surrounding all U.S. nuclear power plants. The 
petitioner requests that the regulations at 10 CFR part 73 be amended 
as detailed in its petition for rulemaking.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of October, 2001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 01-27576 Filed 11-1-01; 8:45 am]
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