[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-8206]



[[Page 144]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-271; License No. DPR-28]


Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear 
Operations, Inc.; 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 May 3, 2005, filed pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR), section 2.206, by Mr. Raymond Shadis on behalf of 
the New England Coalition (NEC), hereinafter referred to as the 
``Petitioner.'' The petition was supplemented on May 17, 2005. The 
petition concerns the use of the Hemyc electric raceway fire barrier 
system (EFRBS) at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Generating Station (Vermont 
Yankee).
    NRC Information Notice 2005-07, ``Results of Hemyc Electrical 
Raceway Fire Barrier System [ERFBS] Full Scale Fire Testing,'' dated 
April 1, 2005, informed the operators of nuclear power plants that the 
Hemyc ERFBS did not perform for one hour as designed. The NRC listed 
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (Vermont Yankee) among the sites 
that had installed Hemyc ERFBS. The NEC petition requested that the NRC 
promptly restore reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public 
health and safety with regard to the fire barriers in electrical cable 
protection systems at Vermont Yankee, or otherwise to order a derate of 
Vermont Yankee until such time as the operability of the fire barriers 
can be assured. Specifically, the petition requested that the 
Commission take the following actions: (1) Require Entergy Nuclear 
Vermont Yankee (ENVY) to promptly conduct a review at Vermont Yankee to 
determine the extent of condition, including a full inventory of the 
type, amount, application, and placement of Hemyc, and an assessment of 
the safety significance of each application; (2) require ENVY to 
promptly provide justification for operation in nonconformance with 10 
CFR Part 50, Appendix R; and (3) upon finding that Vermont Yankee is 
operating in an unanalyzed condition and/or that assurance of public 
health and safety is degraded, promptly order a power reduction 
(derate) of Vermont Yankee until such time as it can be demonstrated 
that ENVY is operating in conformance with 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, 
and all other applicable regulations.
    Mr. Raymond Shadis, in his capacity as the petitioner's Staff 
Technical Advisor, participated in a telephone conference call with the 
NRC's Petition Review Board (PRB) on May 17, 2005, to discuss the 
petition. The results of that discussion were considered in the PRB's 
determination regarding the Petitioner's request for action and in 
establishing the schedule for the review of the petition. During the 
May 17, 2005, PRB conference call, the Petitioner requested that the 
licensee review fire barriers beyond the Hemyc electric raceway fire 
barrier system. This request was not accepted under the 2.206 process 
because the petitioner did not provide adequate information to justify 
expanding the scope of the review.
    In an acknowledgment letter dated June 15, 2005, the NRC informed 
the Petitioner that the petition was accepted, in part, for review 
under 10 CFR 2.206 and had been referred to the Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation for appropriate action.
    The NRC staff sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to 
the Petitioner for comment on October 11, 2005. The NRC staff did not 
receive any comments.
    The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has 
determined that the NRC has in effect granted the Petitioner's request. 
The reasons for this decision are explained in the Director's Decision 
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 (DD-05-07). The Petitioner's concerns 
regarding the use of Hemyc at Vermont Yankee have been adequately 
resolved such that no further action is needed. The licensee has 
replaced the Hemyc on all equipment that is relied upon for compliance 
with 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R.
    The documents cited in this Director's Decision are available for 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR) at One White 
Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first 
floor), Rockville, Maryland and from the NRC's Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on 
the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons 
who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing 
the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR reference 
staff at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail 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 23rd day of December 2005.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
R.W. Borchardt,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 [FR Doc. E5-8206 Filed 12-30-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P