[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]
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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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