[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 65 (Thursday, April 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16128-16129]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8139]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-3392, License No. SUB-526, EA 02-025]


Honeywell International, Inc., Metropolis Works Facility, 
Metropolis, Illinois; Order Modifying License; (Effective Immediately)

I

    Honeywell International, Inc. (``Honeywell'' or the ``licensee'') 
holds Materials License No. SUB-526, issued by the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) authorizing the licensee to 
receive, acquire, possess and transfer byproduct and source material in 
accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and 10 CFR parts 30 and 
40. Commission regulations at 10 CFR 20.1801, require the licensee to 
secure licensed material from unauthorized removal or access from 
controlled or unrestricted areas. Further, License Condition 10 of 
Materials License No. SUB-526, as amended, requires that the licensee 
implement and maintain specific measures to control public and private 
access to the facility as described in the October 1, 1998 enclosure to 
its application dated September 23, 1998.

II

    On September 11, 2001, terrorists simultaneously attacked targets 
in New York, NY, and Washington, DC, utilizing large commercial 
aircraft as weapons. In response to the attacks and intelligence 
information subsequently obtained, the Commission issued a number of 
Safeguards and Threat Advisories to its licensees in order to 
strengthen licensees' capabilities and readiness to respond to a 
potential attack on a nuclear facility. The Commission has also 
communicated with other Federal, State and local government agencies 
and industry representatives to discuss and evaluate the current threat 
environment in order to assess the adequacy of security measures at 
licensed facilities. In addition, the Commission has commenced a 
comprehensive review of its safeguards and security programs and 
requirements.
    As a result of its initial consideration of current safeguards and 
security plan requirements, as well as a review of information provided 
by the intelligence community, the Commission issued a Confirmatory 
Action Letter, No. RIII-01-005, dated December 21, 2001, to Honeywell, 
confirming the Licensee's agreement to immediately implement enhanced 
security measures and review longer term security enhancements to the 
site. The Commission has now determined that certain compensatory 
measures should be required to be implemented by the licensee as 
prudent, interim measures to address the current threat. Therefore, the 
Commission is imposing interim requirements, set forth in Attachment 1 
\1\ of this Order, which supplement existing regulatory requirements, 
to provide the Commission with reasonable assurance that the public 
health and safety and common defense and security continue to be 
adequately protected in the current threat environment. This order 
supercedes the Confirmatory Action Letter of December 21, 2001. These 
requirements will remain in effect pending notification from the 
Commission that a significant change in the threat environment occurs, 
or until the Commission determines that other changes are needed 
following a comprehensive re-evaluation of current safeguards and 
security programs.
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    \1\ Attachment 1 contains SAFEGUARDS information and will not be 
released to the public.
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    The Commission recognizes that some of the requirements set forth 
in Attachment 1 \2\ to this Order may already have been initiated by 
Honeywell in response to previously issued advisories, Confirmatory 
Action Letter No. RIII-01-005, or on its own. It is also recognized 
that some measures may need to be tailored to specifically accommodate 
the specific circumstances and characteristics existing at the 
licensee's facility to achieve the intended objectives and avoid any 
unforeseen effect on safe operation. And, although the licensee's 
response to the Safeguards and Threat Advisories and the December 21, 
2001 Confirmatory Action Letter has been adequate to provide reasonable 
assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety, the 
Commission believes that the response must be supplemented because the 
current threat environment has persisted longer than expected and as a 
result, it is appropriate to require certain security measures so that 
they are maintained within the established regulatory framework. Thus, 
in order to provide assurance that the licensee is implementing prudent 
measures to achieve a consistent level of protection to address the 
current threat environment, Materials License No.

[[Page 16129]]

SUB-526 is modified to include the requirements identified in 
Attachment 1 to this Order. In addition, pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202, I 
find that, in the circumstances described above, the public health, 
safety and interest require that this Order be immediately effective.
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    \2\ To the extent that specific measures identified in 
Attachment 1 to this Order require actions pertaining to the 
Licensee's possession and use of chemicals, such actions are being 
directed on the basis of the potential impact of such chemicals on 
radioactive materials and activities subject to NRC regulation.
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III

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 63, 81, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 
186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's 
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR parts 30 and 40, It is hereby 
ordered, effective immediately, that Materials License No. SUB-526 is 
modified as follows:
    A. The Licensee shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any 
Commission regulation or license to the contrary, comply with the 
requirements described in Attachment 1 to this Order. The Licensee 
shall immediately start implementation of the requirements in 
Attachment 1 to the Order and shall complete implementation no later 
than July 1, 2002.
    B. 1. The Licensee shall, within twenty (20) days of the date of 
this Order, notify the Commission, (1) if it is unable to comply with 
any of the requirements described in Attachment 1, (2) if compliance 
with any of the requirements is unnecessary in its specific 
circumstances, or (3) if implementation of any of the requirements 
would cause the Licensee to be in violation of the provisions of any 
Commission regulation or the facility license. The notification shall 
provide the Licensee's justification for seeking relief from or 
variation of any specific requirement.
    2. If the Licensee considers that implementation of any of the 
requirements described in Attachment 1 to this Order would adversely 
impact safe operation of the facility, the Licensee must notify the 
Commission, within twenty (20) days of this Order, of the adverse 
safety impact, the basis for its determination that the requirement has 
an adverse safety impact, and either a proposal for achieving the same 
objectives specified in the Attachment 1 requirement in question, or a 
schedule for modifying the facility to address the adverse safety 
condition. If neither approach is appropriate, the Licensee must 
supplement its response to Condition B1 of this Order to identify the 
condition as a requirement with which it cannot comply, with attendant 
justifications as required in Condition B1.
    C. 1. The Licensee shall, within twenty (20) days of the date of 
this Order, submit to the Commission, a schedule for achieving 
compliance with each requirement described in Attachment 1.
    2. The Licensee shall report to the Commission, when it has 
achieved full compliance with the requirements described in Attachment 
1.
    D. Notwithstanding any provision of the Commission's regulations to 
the contrary, all measures implemented or actions taken in response to 
this Order shall be maintained pending notification from the Commission 
that a significant change in the threat environment occurs, or until 
the Commission determines that other changes are needed following a 
comprehensive re-evaluation of current safeguards and security 
programs.
    Licensee responses to Conditions B.1, B.2, C.1, and C.2, above 
shall be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 30.6 and 40.5. In 
addition, Licensee submittals that contain Safeguards Information shall 
be properly marked and handled in accordance with 10 CFR 73.21.
    The Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, 
may, in writing, modify, relax or rescind any of the above conditions 
upon demonstration by the Licensee of good cause.

IV

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the Licensee must, and any other 
person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to this 
Order, and may request a hearing on this Order, within 20 days of the 
date of this Order. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be 
given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for 
extension of time in which to submit an answer or request a hearing 
must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555, and include a statement of good cause for the extension. The 
answer may consent to this Order. Unless the answer consents to this 
Order, the answer shall, in writing and under oath or affirmation, 
specifically set forth the matters of fact and law on which the 
Licensee or other person adversely affected relies and the reasons as 
to why the Order should not have been issued. Any answer or request for 
a hearing shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Attn: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC 
20555. Copies also shall be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, and the Director, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, 
to the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and 
Enforcement, at the same address, to the Regional Administrator, NRC 
Region III, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532, and to the 
Licensee if the answer or hearing request is by a person other than the 
Licensee. If a person other than the Licensee requests a hearing, that 
person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his 
interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the 
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d).
    If a hearing is requested by the Licensee or a person whose 
interest is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order 
designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, 
the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order 
should be sustained.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), the Licensee, may, in addition 
to demanding a hearing, at the time the answer is filed or sooner, move 
the presiding officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of the 
Order on the ground that the Order, including the need for immediate 
effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere suspicion, 
unfounded allegations, or error.
    In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of 
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions 
specified in Section III above shall be final 20 days from the date of 
this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of 
time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions 
specified in Section III shall be final when the extension expires if a 
hearing request has not been received. An answer or a request for 
hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this order.

    Dated this 29th day of March, 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Martin J. Virgilio,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 02-8139 Filed 4-3-02; 8:45 am]
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