[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 67 (Monday, April 9, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17440-17441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6644]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 67 / Monday, April 9, 2007 / Proposed 
Rules  

[[Page 17440]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 73

[Docket No. PRM-73-13]


Union of Concerned Scientists; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of receipt.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing for 
public comment a notice of receipt of a petition for rulemaking, dated 
February 21, 2007, which was filed with the Commission by David 
Lochbaum, Director, Nuclear Safety Project, on behalf of the Union of 
Concerned Scientists. The petition was docketed by the NRC on February 
23, 2007, and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-73-13. The petitioner 
requests that the NRC amend its regulations to close a loophole in 
current regulations that would enable persons who do not meet 
trustworthiness and reliability standards for unescorted access to 
protected areas of nuclear power plants the permission to enter 
protected areas with an unarmed escort. The petitioner believes that 
current regulations create a security vulnerability that could 
potentially compromise public health and safety.

DATES: Submit comments by June 25, 2007. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 
is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods. 
Please include PRM-73-13 in the subject line of your comments. Comments 
on petitions submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made 
available for public inspection. Because your comments will not be 
edited to remove any identifying or contact information, the NRC 
cautions you against including any information in your submission that 
you do not want to be publicly disclosed.
    Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
    E-mail comments to: [email protected]. If you do not receive a reply e-
mail confirming that we have received your comments, contact us 
directly at (301) 415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's 
rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address questions 
about our rulemaking Web site to Carol Gallagher (301) 415-5905; e-mail 
[email protected]. Comments can also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
    Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. (Telephone 
(301) 415-1966).
    Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 
(301) 415-1101.
    Publicly available documents related to this petition may be viewed 
electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR), Room O1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR reproduction contractor 
will copy documents for a fee. Selected documents, including comments, 
may be viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC rulemaking Web 
site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov.
    Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after 
November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this 
site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Document 
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 PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by 
e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking, 
Directives and Editing Branch, Division of Administrative Services, 
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone: 301-415-7163 or Toll Free: 800-
368-5642.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Petitioner

    The petitioner is the Union of Concerned Scientists. The petitioner 
states that it is a nonprofit partnership of scientists and citizens 
that combines scientific analysis, policy development, and citizen 
advocacy to achieve practical environmental solutions. In 2002, the 
Union of Concerned Scientists had 61,300 members.
    The petitioner states that the Union of Concerned Scientists has 
been an active participant in the past in public meetings conducted by 
NRC regarding security regulations, and that the petitioner continues 
to articulate potential problems and recommended solutions in various 
public arenas.

Background

    Current regulations at 10 CFR part 73 contain requirements for the 
physical protection of nuclear power plants and materials. 
Specifically, Sec. Sec.  73.55(d), 73.56(b), and 73.57(b) outline 
procedures for granting access to protected areas of nuclear power 
plants. Section 73.55 (d)(6) states that a person who has not been 
granted unescorted access to protected areas may be granted access with 
an escort. Section 73.56(b) requires that licensees establish and 
maintain an access authorization program granting individuals 
unescorted access to protected and vital areas with the objective of 
providing high assurance that individuals granted unescorted access are 
trustworthy and reliable. Section 73.57 requires the fingerprinting of 
persons who have been granted unescorted access.
    The petitioner states that while current regulations require access 
control to protected areas, including fingerprinting and background 
clearances, Sec.  73.55(d)(6) would allow access to protected areas by 
persons who do not meet trustworthiness and reliability standards for 
unescorted access to the protected area. The petitioner further states 
that current regulations enable persons who do not meet trustworthiness 
and reliability standards for unescorted access to the protected area 
to be escorted through protected areas by unarmed persons that may not 
be members of the security force. The petitioner believes that this is

[[Page 17441]]

a loophole that creates a security vulnerability that could potentially 
compromise public health and safety.

The Proposed Amendments

    The petitioner requests that 10 CFR part 73 be amended to require 
that licensees implement procedures to ensure that: (1) When 
information becomes known to a licensee about an individual that would 
prevent that individual from gaining unescorted access to the protected 
area of a nuclear power plant, the licensee will implement measures to 
ensure the individual does not enter the protected area, whether 
escorted or not; and (2) when sufficient information is not available 
to a licensee about an individual to determine whether the criteria for 
unescorted access are satisfied, the licensee will implement measures 
to allow that individual to enter the protected area only when escorted 
at all times by an armed member of the security force who remains in 
periodic communication with security supervision. In the case of the 
first proposal, the petitioner believes that when it is known that a 
person's trustworthiness and reliability do not meet the prescribed 
standards identified in Sec.  73.56(b), access to protected areas, 
either escorted or unescorted, should be denied. In the case of the 
second proposal, the petitioner recognizes that it is impractical and 
burdensome to conduct background investigations of every person 
requiring access to a protected area, noting persons may need one-time 
access. With that in mind, the petitioner proposes granting these 
persons access to protected areas, but only when escorted by an armed 
member of the security force and only when this armed member is in 
periodic communication with security supervision.

Conclusion

    The petitioner believes that current regulations create a security 
vulnerability that could potentially compromise public health and 
safety. The petitioner believes that its proposed amendments to 10 CFR 
part 73 will address this vulnerability in current regulations that 
enables persons who do not meet trustworthiness and reliability 
standards for unescorted access to protected areas of nuclear power 
plants permission to enter protected areas with an unarmed escort. 
Accordingly, the petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations 
related to the physical protection of nuclear power plants and 
materials as described previously in the section titled, ``The Proposed 
Amendments.''

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of April 2007.
Kenneth R. Hart,
Acting Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. E7-6644 Filed 4-6-07; 8:45 am]
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