[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 13, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68888-68890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-28761]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-272, 50-311, 50-354, and 50-219; License Nos. DPR-70, 
DPR-75, NPF-57, and DPR-16]


PSEG Nuclear, LLC and Amergen Energy Company, LLC; Notice of 
Issuance of Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206

    Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

[[Page 68889]]

Regulation, has issued a Director's Decision with regard to a letter 
dated September 17, 2001, filed by the UNPLUG Salem Campaign, 
hereinafter referred to as the ``petitioner.'' The petition was 
supplemented on January 9 and 10, 2002. The petition concerns the 
operation of the Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 
(Salem), Hope Creek Generating Station (Hope Creek), and Oyster Creek 
Nuclear Generating Station (Oyster Creek).
    The petitioner requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (Commission or NRC) take the following actions:
    (1) Order either the closure of, or an immediate security upgrade 
at, the Salem, Hope Creek, and Oyster Creek.
    (2) Order the plants' defenses to be upgraded to withstand a jet 
crash similar to that which occurred at the World Trade Center (WTC) on 
September 11, 2001.
    (3) Require all spent fuel pools to be brought into the containment 
buildings, or a new containment building, able to withstand a jet 
crash, should be built for them.
    (4) Cancel all plans for a dry cask storage at any of New Jersey's 
plants until a jet-bomber-proofed containment is built for them.
    (5) Triple the number of Operational Safeguards Response Evaluation 
(OSRE) security inspections.
    (6) Cancel proposals to allow nuclear plants to conduct their own 
security inspections.
    As a basis for the request described above, the Petitioner cited 
the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, stating that New Jersey's 
four nuclear power plants are vulnerable to terrorist threats, 
including a suicide airplane attack similar to the attack on the WTC. 
The UNPLUG Salem Campaign considers such operation to be potentially 
unsafe and to be in violation of Federal regulations.
    On December 7, 2001, the NRC staff informed the Petitioner in a 
telephone call that the Commission had decided to treat the letter 
dated September 17, 2001, as a petition pursuant to Sec.  2.206 of 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 2.206). In 
addition, the NRC staff informed the Petitioner that because the 
September 17, 2001, letter raised sensitive security issues, the 
Commission was deferring application of certain public aspects of the 
process described in Management Directive (MD) 8.11, ``Review Process 
for 10 CFR 2.206 Petitions,'' pending further developments related to 
the NRC's security review. Accordingly, the NRC staff did not offer the 
Petitioner the opportunity to provide, in a public forum, additional 
information to support the September 17, 2001, letter before the NRC's 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Petition Review Board (PRB). 
Rather, the NRC staff requested that the Petitioner forward any 
additional information related to the petition to the assigned petition 
manager.
    By an acknowledgment letter dated December 20, 2001, the NRC staff 
formally notified the Petitioner that the letter dated September 17, 
2001, met the criteria for review under 10 CFR 2.206, and that the NRC 
staff would act on the request within a reasonable time. The 
acknowledgment letter further stated that the Commission had, in 
effect, partially granted the Petitioner's request for immediate 
actions in that the NRC took action immediately after September 11, 
2001, to enhance security at all nuclear facilities, including the four 
nuclear power plants located in New Jersey. The NRC staff also informed 
the Petitioner in the acknowledgment letter that the issues raised in 
the petition were being referred to NRR for appropriate action.
    The Petitioner responded to the acknowledgment letter by electronic 
mail on January 9 and 10, 2002, and provided additional information 
that the staff considered in its evaluation of the petition. When the 
NRC received the Petitioner's original letter and additional 
information, it was determining the criteria for releasing security-
related information in light of the events of September 11, 2001. As 
such, certain correspondence was initially withheld from the public 
document room due to the potential for sensitive, security-related 
information to be contained in these documents. With the exception of 
one report, the Petitioner's incoming letter and subsequent 
correspondence are now publicly-available.
    The NRC sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to the 
Petitioner and to licensees for comment on May 16, 2002. The Petitioner 
responded with comments on August 4 and 7, 2002, and PSEG Nuclear LLC 
(PSEG) responded on June 21, 2002. The comments and the NRC staff's 
response to them are included with the Director's Decision.
    The Petitioner raised a number of issues associated with protecting 
our nation's nuclear power plants from terrorism. However, long before 
the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the Commission had recognized 
the need for strict safeguards and security measures at these 
facilities. NRC regulations have ensured that nuclear power plants are 
among the most hardened and secure industrial facilities in our nation. 
Since September 11, 2001, the NRC has directed a number of security 
enhancements at nuclear power plants to address the continuing threat 
environment. The Congress, as well as other Federal, State, and Local 
governmental authorities involved in protecting public health and 
safety, have also responded to protect all industrial facilities, both 
nuclear and non-nuclear, against terrorism. The Director of the Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has determined that the Commission has, 
in effect, partially granted certain elements of the Petitioner's 
request for increased security at Salem, Hope Creek, and Oyster Creek 
to the extent that many of the Petitioner's requests were included 
within the scope of Orders issued to all nuclear power plants on 
February 25, 2002, and are a part of the NRC staff's comprehensive 
review to evaluate the agency's security and safeguards programs. The 
reasons for this decision are explained in the Director's Decision 
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 DD-02-03, the complete text of which is 
available for inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, 
located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 
Rockville, Maryland, or from the ADAMS Public Library component on the 
NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html (the Public Electronic 
Reading Room). Documents associated with this Director's Decision may 
be found in ADAMS by referencing Package Accession No. ML022470404, or 
individually as follows: (1) Director's Decision, ML022470314; (2) 
UNPLUG Salem response dated August 4, 2002, ML022480149; (3) Union of 
Concerned Scientists letter dated August 7, 2002, ML022480163; (4) PSEG 
letter dated June 21, 2002, ML022480173; and (5) Memorandum to Ledyard 
Marsh, ``Staff Response to Comments on Proposed Director's Decision,'' 
ML022470402.
    A copy of the Director's Decision will be filed with the Secretary 
of the Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.206 of the Commission's regulations. As provided for by this 
regulation, the Director's Decision will constitute the final action of 
the Commission 25 days after the date of the decision, unless the 
Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the Director's 
Decision in that time.

    Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of November, 2002.


[[Page 68890]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jon R. Johnson,
Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-28761 Filed 11-12-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P