[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 150 (Monday, August 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43666-43669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15191]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-247 and 50-286; License Nos. DPR-26 and DPR-64; EA-07-
189]


In the Matter of Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc; Indian Point 
Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3; Order Modifying License 
(Effective Immediately)

I

    Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Licensee) is the holder of 
Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-26 and DPR-64 issued by the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50. 
The licenses authorize the operation of Indian Point Nuclear Generating 
Unit Nos. 2 and 3, in accordance with the conditions specified therein. 
The facilities are located on the Licensee's site in Buchanan, New 
York.

II

    On April 23, 2007, the NRC issued to Entergy Nuclear Operations, 
Inc. (Entergy) a Notice of Violation (NOV) and Proposed Imposition of 
Civil Penalty for a violation involving the failure to meet the 
requirements of a Confirmatory Order (EA-05-190) that was issued to 
Entergy on January 31, 2006. On January 23, 2007, the NRC granted 
Entergy's request, provided in a letter dated January 11, 2007, to 
extend the full implementation date until April 15, 2007. The NRC 
issued the NOV and Proposed Civil Penalty after Entergy informed the 
NRC that the ``radio only activation'' feature of the emergency 
notification system (ENS) did not meet its test acceptance criteria, 
resulting in the ENS not being fully operable by April 15, 2007, the 
date it was required to be operable. Entergy responded to the NOV on 
May 23, 2007, and committed to declaring the new ENS operable by August 
24, 2007. In its response, Entergy admitted to the violation of the 
Confirmatory Order, identified the apparent causes of the violation, 
and described corrective actions that were taken or planned to correct 
the violation.
    Subsequent to the Licensee's May 23, 2007, letter, the NRC held a 
public meeting with Entergy officials on July 9, 2007, to clarify 
Entergy's actions to comply with the Confirmatory Order, particularly 
with respect to ensuring that the new ENS met the applicable Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regulations, as well as to ensure 
that any specific county needs were identified and addressed prior to 
Entergy declaring the new ENS operable.
    The NRC has evaluated Entergy's response to the NOV and the 
additional information gathered during the July 9, 2007, public 
meeting. The NRC has determined that additional actions are needed to 
ensure that the new ENS with backup power supply capability is operable 
by August 24, 2007, as committed to in Entergy's May 23, 2007 letter. 
These actions include: Completing the outstanding requirements 
delineated in the aforementioned Confirmatory Order issued January 31, 
2006, as modified herein; implementing those measures necessary for 
FEMA to accept the new ENS as the primary ENS for alerting the public 
by August 24, 2007; and, completing the necessary software and 
procedure upgrades and training of county personnel responsible for 
actuation of the system.

III

    Adequate backup power for the ENS, as required by the Energy Policy 
Act of 2005 (Act) (see 42 U.S.C. 2210 et seq.) Section 651(b), requires 
that: (a) The backup power supply for the Public Alerting System (PAS) 
must meet commonly-applicable standards, such as National Fire 
Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1221, Standard for the 
Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency Communications Systems 
(2002) and Underwriters Laboratory (UL) 2017, Section 58.2; (b) each 
PAS and PAS Alerting Appliance (PASAA) must receive adequate power to 
perform their intended functions such that backup power is sufficient 
to allow operation in standby mode for a minimum of 24 hours and in 
alert mode for a minimum of 15 minutes; (c)

[[Page 43667]]

batteries used for backup power must recharge to at least 80 percent of 
their capacity in a period of not more than 24 hours; (d) except for 
those components that are in facilities staffed on a continuous basis 
(24 hours per day, 7 days per week) or otherwise monitored on a 
continuous basis, immediate automatic indication of a loss of power 
must be provided to the Licensee and appropriate government agencies; 
and (e) except for those components that are in facilities staffed on a 
continuous basis (24 hours per day, 7 days per week) or otherwise 
monitored on a continuous basis, an automatic notification of an 
unplanned loss of power must be made to the Licensee in sufficient time 
to take compensatory action before the backup power supply can not meet 
the requirements of Section IV, part II. A. 2 of the Confirmatory 
Order.
    The requirements needed to implement the foregoing are set forth in 
Section IV below. Based on the above, and in consideration of other 
communications involving the NRC, FEMA, New York State, the four 
counties within the 10 mile Emergency Planning Zone, and Entergy 
officials, additional actions are needed to ensure Entergy is in 
compliance with the Commission's requirements and that the public 
interest will be protected. Therefore, License Nos. DPR-26 and DPR-64 
should be modified to require compliance with Section 651(b) of the 
Act. Furthermore, pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202, and in consideration of the 
ongoing violation of the Confirmatory Order, as well as the prior 
enforcement related to such, I find that the significance of compliance 
with the Act described above is such that the public interest requires 
that this Order be immediately effective.

IV

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 104b, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 
186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; Section 651(b) of the 
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58, 119 Stat 594); and the 
Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 50, it is 
hereby ordered, effective immediately, that license nos. Dpr-26 and 
dpr-64 are modified as follows:
    I. The Licensee shall meet all the provisions contained in the 
January 31, 2006, Confirmatory Order (see Appendix A of this Order), 
except as specifically modified or supplemented herein. With respect to 
the requirement to provide and maintain an ENS with backup power supply 
capability for the Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3 
facilities, the new ENS intended to comply with that requirement shall 
meet applicable requirements of state and federal authorities such that 
it is declared operable and placed into service as the primary system 
by August 24, 2007.
    II. The Licensee shall provide to NRC within 7 days of this order a 
report describing the steps and the expected schedule for completing 
each of the steps that the licensee understands are necessary to meet 
applicable requirements of state and federal authorities to place the 
new ENS system into service as the Primary Notification system. The 
report should identify any uncertainties in identification of 
requirements or in schedules associated with requirements.
    III. Prior to declaring the new ENS operable and using it as the 
primary system, the Licensee shall: (a) Obtain FEMA approval that the 
system, as installed, meets the design criterion of the approved ENS 
Design Report and is in compliance with all applicable FEMA regulations 
and guidance; and, (b) complete all necessary software and procedure 
upgrades and training of all the four county response organizations, 
accounting for the specific training needs identified by the counties, 
in the proper use of the new ENS and response to associated alarming 
conditions.
    IV. The Licensee shall maintain the existing ENS fully available 
(including conducting routine maintenance and testing activities) and 
establish the necessary procedures and actions to enable its use as a 
backup to the new ENS when the new ENS is declared in use as the 
primary system, until such time that FEMA grants approval to remove the 
existing ENS from service.
    The Director, Office of Enforcement, may, in writing, relax or 
rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by the Licensee 
of good cause.

V

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the Licensee must, and any other 
person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to this 
Order within 20 days of its issuance. In addition, the Licensee and any 
other person adversely affected by this Order may request a hearing on 
this Order within 20 days of its issuance. Where good cause is shown, 
consideration will be given to extending the time to request a hearing. 
A request for extension of time must be made in writing to the 
Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555, and include a statement of good cause for the 
extension. Any answer or request for a hearing shall be submitted to 
the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Chief, 
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC 20555. Copies of 
the hearing request shall also be sent to the Director, Office of 
Enforcement, to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and 
to the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; 
to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, U.S. NRC Region I, 475 
Allendale Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415; and to the Licensee, 
Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., 440 Hamilton Avenue, White Plains, NY 
10601, if the answer or hearing request is by a person other than the 
Licensee. It is requested that answers and requests for hearing or for 
time extensions be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission 
either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-1101, or by e-mail 
to [email protected], and also to the Office of the General Counsel 
either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail 
to [email protected]. If a person other than the Licensee requests 
a hearing, that person shall set forth with particularity the manner in 
which his interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall 
address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d).
    If the hearing is requested by the Licensee or a person whose 
interest is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order 
designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, 
the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order 
should be sustained.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), the Licensee, may, in addition 
to demanding a hearing, at the time the answer is filed or sooner, move 
the presiding officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of the 
Order on the ground that the Order, including the need for immediate 
effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere suspicion, 
unfounded allegations, or error.
    In the absence of any request for hearing or written approval of an 
extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions 
specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from the date of 
this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of 
time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions 
specified in Section IV shall be final when the extension expires if a 
hearing request has not been received. An answer or a request for 
hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this order.


[[Page 43668]]


    Dated this 30th day of July 2007.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cynthia A. Carpenter,
Director, Office of Enforcement.

Appendix A--Section IV Excerpt From NRC Confirmatory Order, Dated 
January 31, 2006

IV

    I. The Licensee shall provide and maintain a backup power supply 
for the ENS for the Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3, 
facilities. The ENS is the primary prompt notification system used to 
alert the public of an event at a nuclear power plant.
    II. The Licensee shall implement II.A, II.B, and II.C.1-3 by 
January 30, 2007. The backup power system for the ENS shall be declared 
operable by January 30, 2007. The backup power supply for the ENS shall 
include, as a minimum:
    A.1. A backup power supply for the PAS and each PASAA which shall 
provide adequate power for each component to perform their design 
function. These functions include the following as examples: sound 
output, rotation, speech intelligibility, or brightness as applicable. 
This criterion includes the associated activation, control, monitoring, 
and testing components for the backup power supply to the ENS 
including, but not limited to: radio transceivers, testing circuits, 
sensors to monitor critical operating parameters of the PAS and PASAA.
    The Licensee is required to meet all applicable standards, such as 
NFPA Standard 1221, Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use 
of Emergency Communications Systems (2002) and UL 2017, Section 58.2.
    2. The backup power supply for each PAS and PASAA shall be designed 
for operation in standby mode, including, but not limited to: radio 
transceivers, testing circuits, sensors fully operational and providing 
polling data to the activation, control, monitoring, and test system 
for at least 24 hours without AC supply power from the local electric 
distribution grid. The backup power supply then shall be capable of 
performing its intended function, without recharge, by operating the 
PAS and PASAA in its alerting mode at its full design capability for a 
period of at least 15 minutes. This sequence shall be assumed to occur 
at the most unfavorable environmental conditions including, but not 
limited to, temperature, wind, and precipitation specified for PAS and 
PASAA operation and assume that the batteries are approaching the end 
of their design life (i.e., the ensuing recharge cycle will bring the 
batteries back to the minimum state that defines their design life).
    3. In defining battery design life, automatic charging shall be 
sized such that batteries in the backup power are fully recharged to at 
least 80 percent of their maximum rated capacity from the fully 
discharged state in a period of not more than 24 hours.
    4. Battery design life and replacement frequency shall comply with 
vendor(s) recommendations.
    5. Except for those components that are in facilities staffed on a 
continuous basis (24 hours per day, 7 days per week) or otherwise 
monitored on a continuous basis, there shall be a feedback system(s) 
that provides immediate automatic indication of a loss of power to the 
Licensee and the appropriate government agencies, and an automatic 
notification of an unplanned loss of power must be made to the Licensee 
in sufficient time to take compensatory action before the backup power 
supply can not meet the requirements of Section IV, part II.A.2.
    6. The Licensee shall implement a preventative maintenance and 
testing program of the ENS including, but not limited to: the equipment 
that activates and monitors the system, equipment that provides backup 
power, and the alerting device to ensure the ENS system performs to its 
design specifications.
    B.1. The Licensee shall implement any new Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) guidance pertaining to backup power for ENS that may 
affect the system requirements outlined in this Order that is issued 
prior to obtaining DHS approval of the alerting system design. The 
Licensee shall not implement any DHS guidance that reduces the 
effectiveness of the ENS as provided for in this Order without prior 
NRC approval.
    2. The Licensee shall document the evaluation of lessons learned 
from any evaluation of the current alert and notification system (ANS) 
and address resolution of identified concerns when designing the backup 
power system and such consideration shall be included in the design 
report.
    3. The final PAS design must be submitted to DHS for approval prior 
to May 1, 2006.
    C.1. Within 60 days of the issuance of this Order, the Licensee 
shall submit a response to this Order to the NRC Document Control Desk 
providing a schedule of planned activities associated with the 
implementation of the Order including interactions with the Putnam, 
Rockland, Westchester, and Orange Counties, the State of New York, and 
DHS. In addition, the Licensee shall provide a progress report on or 
shortly before June 30, 2006.
    2. The Licensee shall submit a proposed revision to its emergency 
response plan to incorporate the implementation of items A.1-A.6, B.1-
B.3, and C.4-C.5. This plan shall be submitted to the NRC for review 
and approval within 120 days from the issuance of the Order.
    3. Prior to declaring the ENS operable, the Licensee shall, in 
accordance with a test plan submitted to and approved by the NRC in 
conjunction with the design submittal, demonstrate satisfactory 
performance of all (100%) of the ENS components including the ability 
of the backup power supply to meet its design requirements.
    4. After declaring the ENS operable, the Licensee shall conduct 
periodic testing to demonstrate reliable ENS system performance.
    5. The results from testing as discussed in paragraph C.4 shall be 
reported, in writing, to the NRC Document Control Desk, with a copy to 
the Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, documenting the results of 
each test, until there are 3 consecutive tests testing the operability 
of all ENS components used during an actual activation), conducted no 
sooner than 25 days and no more than 45 days from the previous test 
with a 97% overall entire emergency planning zone success rate with no 
individual county failure rate greater than 10%. A false negative 
report from a feedback system will constitute a siren failure for the 
purposes of this test.
    III. The Licensee shall submit a written report to the NRC Document 
Control Desk, with a copy to the Director of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, when the ENS is declared operable.
    IV. The Licensee shall submit a written report to the NRC Document 
Control Desk and provide a copy to the Director of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation when it has achieved full compliance with the requirements 
contained in this Order.
    V. The Licensee may use the criteria contained in 10 CFR 50.54(q) 
to make changes to the requirements contained in this Order without 
prior NRC approval provided that they do not reduce the effectiveness 
of the Order requirements or the approved emergency plan. The Licensee 
shall notify, in writing, the NRC Document Control Desk, with a copy to 
the Director, Division of Preparedness and Response, Office of Nuclear 
Security and Incident Response, 30 days in advance of implementing such 
a change. For other changes, the Licensee may

[[Page 43669]]

submit a request, in writing, to the NRC Document Control Desk, with a 
copy to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, to relax or 
rescind any of the above requirements upon a showing of good cause by 
the Licensee.

 [FR Doc. E7-15191 Filed 8-3-07; 8:45 am]
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