[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70628-70629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-29873]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Notice of Issuance of Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206

    Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, has issued a Director's Decision with regard to a petition 
dated March 11, 2002, and supplements dated March 21, 22, and 27, 2002 
(the Petition), submitted by Mr. David A. Lochbaum, a Nuclear Safety 
Engineer in the Washington, DC Office of the Union of Concerned 
Scientists (UCS), and the co-petitioners identified in the petition 
supplements dated March 21 and March 22, 2002 (the Petitioners). The 
Petitioners have requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC or the Commission) take action with regard to the nuclear power 
facilities listed in Attachment 1 to the Petition (multiple nuclear 
power facilities). The

[[Page 70629]]

Petitioners request that the NRC immediately issue Orders to the owners 
of all operating nuclear power plants to take measures that will reduce 
the risk from sabotage of irradiated fuel. Specifically, those measures 
are:
    (1) The NRC should ``impose a 72-hour limit for operation when the 
number of operable onsite alternating current power sources (i.e., 
emergency diesel generators) is one less than the number in the 
Technical Specification limiting condition for operation. This 72-hour 
limit would be applicable when the nuclear plant is in any mode of 
operation other than hot shutdown, cold shutdown, refueling, or 
defueled.'' Oconee Nuclear Station does not rely on emergency diesel 
generators, but ``equivalent protection for its emergency power 
supply'' should be provided. The NRC should also ``cease and desist 
issuing NOEDs [Notices of Enforcement Discretion] that allow nuclear 
reactors to operate for longer periods of time with broken emergency 
diesel generators.'' This requested action would apply to the 
facilities listed in Attachment 1 to the Petition.
    (2) The NRC should ``impose a minimum 24-hour time-to-boil for the 
spent fuel pool water. This limit would be applicable at all times.'' 
This requested action would apply to the facilities listed in 
Attachment 1 to the Petition.
    The Petition also requested that the NRC hold a public meeting to 
precede ``the Petition Review Board (PRB) non-public meeting regarding 
this petition'' and assign ``someone other than the Director of NRR 
[Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation] to be responsible for our 
petition. The Deputy Executive Director for Reactor Programs or the 
Deputy Director of NRR would be acceptable to UCS.''
    As the basis for the Petition, the Petitioners cite the need to 
reduce the risk from sabotage of irradiated fuel.
    On March 26, 2002, in lieu of a public meeting, the Petitioners 
accepted and participated in a telephone conference (teleconference) 
with the NRC's PRB to discuss the Petition. The transcript of the 
teleconference was considered as a supplement to the Petition. After 
the teleconference, the PRB discussed the Petition. The PRB considered 
the contributions of the Petitioners to the teleconference in deciding 
on the requests for immediate action and in setting the schedule for 
the review of the Petition. The PRB concluded that the Petition 
satisfied the criteria for review under title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Subsection 2.206.
    By letter dated May 8, 2002, the NRC staff acknowledged receiving 
the Petition, informed the Petitioners that the Petition met the 
requirements for review under 10 CFR 2.206, and the Petition had been 
referred to the Director of NRR for action and would be acted upon 
within a reasonable time. The petitioners were also informed in that 
letter that the NRC staff declined to grant the Petitioners' request 
for immediate action.
    The NRC sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to the 
Petitioners for comment by letter dated September 4, 2002. The 
Petitioners responded with comments by letter dated September 23, 2002. 
The Petitioners' comments and the NRC staff responses to the comments 
are addressed in Enclosure No. 2 and No. 3 to the November 15, 2002, 
letter to Mr. David A. Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists.
    The Director, NRR, concluded that the information contained in the 
Petition does not warrant NRC staff action to: ``Impose a 72-hour limit 
for operation when the number of operable onsite alternating current 
power sources (i.e., emergency diesel generators) is one less than the 
number in the Technical Specification limiting condition for 
operation'' during plant operation. In addition, the Director, NRR, 
concluded that the information contained in the Petition does not 
warrant NRC staff action to ``cease and desist issuing NOEDs that allow 
nuclear reactors to operate for longer periods of time with broken 
emergency diesel generators.'' These requests are denied.
    With regard to the Petitioners' second request, that the NRC 
``impose a minimum 24-hour time-to-boil for the spent fuel pool water. 
This limit would be applicable at all times,'' the Director, NRR, has 
concluded that this request is partially granted by staff actions 
already taken. However, for the reasons discussed in the Director's 
Decision, the NRC staff concludes that the actions specifically 
requested by the Petitioners are not necessary. The reasons for these 
decisions are explained in the Director's Decision pursuant to 10 CFR 
2.206 (DD-02-07), the complete text of which is available in the 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) for 
inspection in the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR) located at 
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland, and electronically accessible in ADAMS through the NRC Public 
Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML022800647). Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or 
who encounter problems in accessing documents located in ADAMS should 
contact the NRC PDR reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 
301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected].
    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 at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of November, 2002.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-29873 Filed 11-21-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P