[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9620-9622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4380]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-321 and 50-366; NRC-2010-0024]
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.; Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear
Plant, Units 1 and 2; Exemption
1.0 Background
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC, the licensee), is
the holder of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-57 and
[[Page 9621]]
NPF-5, which authorizes operation of the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant,
Units 1 and 2 (HNP). The licenses provide, among other things, that the
facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) now, or hereafter,
in effect.
The facility consists of two boiling-water reactors located in
Appling County, Georgia.
2.0 Request/Action
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Part 73,
``Physical protection of plants and materials,'' Section 73.55,
``Requirements for physical protection of licensed activities in
nuclear power reactors against radiological sabotage,'' published March
27, 2009, effective May 26, 2009, with a full implementation date of
March 31, 2010, requires licensees to protect, with high assurance,
against radiological sabotage by designing and implementing
comprehensive site security programs. The amendments to 10 CFR 73.55
published on March 27, 2009, establish and update generically
applicable security requirements similar to those previously imposed by
Commission orders issued after the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001, and implemented by licensees. In addition, the amendments to 10
CFR 73.55 include additional requirements to further enhance site
security based upon insights gained from implementation of the post
September 11, 2001, security orders. It is from one requirement of
these new requirements that HNP now seeks an exemption from the March
31, 2010, implementation date. All other physical security requirements
established by this recent rulemaking have already been or will be
implemented by the licensee by March 31, 2010.
By letter dated November 6, 2009, as supplemented by letter dated
November 20, 2009, the licensee requested an exemption in accordance
with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' The licensee's letters
contain proprietary information and, accordingly, those portions are
not available to the public. The licensee has requested an exemption
from the March 31, 2010, compliance date stating that a number of
issues will present a significant challenge to timely completion of the
project related to a specific requirement in 10 CFR Part 73.
Specifically, the request is to extend the compliance date for one
specific requirement from the current March 31, 2010, deadline to
December 6, 2010. Being granted this exemption for the one item will
allow the licensee to complete the modifications designed to update
equipment and incorporate state-of-the-art technology to meet the noted
regulatory requirement.
3.0 Discussion of Part 73 Schedule Exemptions From the March 31, 2010,
Full Implementation Date
Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.55(a)(1), ``By March 31, 2010, each nuclear
power reactor licensee, licensed under 10 CFR Part 50, shall implement
the requirements of this section through its Commission-approved
Physical Security Plan, Training and Qualification Plan, Safeguards
Contingency Plan, and Cyber Security Plan referred to collectively
hereafter as `security plans.' '' Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.5, the
Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its
own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part
73 when the exemptions are authorized by law, and will not endanger
life or property or the common defense and security, and are otherwise
in the public interest.
NRC approval of this exemption would; as noted above, allow an
extension from March 31, 2010, to December 6, 2010, for the
implementation date for one specific requirement of the new rule. The
NRC staff has determined that granting of the licensee's proposed
exemption will not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended, or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the
exemption is authorized by law.
In the draft final rule provided to the Commission (SECY-08-0099
dated July 9, 2008), the NRC staff proposed that the requirements of
the new regulation be met within 180 days. The Commission directed a
change from 180 days to approximately 1 year for licensees to fully
implement the new requirements. This change was incorporated into the
final rule. From this, it is clear that the Commission wanted to
provide a reasonable timeframe for licensees to achieve full
compliance.
As noted in the final rule, the Commission also anticipated that
licensees would have to conduct site specific analyses to determine
what changes were necessary to implement the rule's requirements, and
that changes could be accomplished through a variety of licensing
mechanisms, including exemptions. Since issuance of the final rule, the
Commission has rejected a generic industry request to extend the rule's
compliance date for all operating nuclear power plants, but noted that
the Commission's regulations provide mechanisms for individual
licensees, with good cause, to apply for relief from the compliance
date (Reference: June 4, 2009, letter from R.W. Borchardt, NRC, to M.S.
Fertel, Nuclear Energy Institute). The licensee's request for an
exemption is therefore consistent with the approach set forth by the
Commission as discussed in the June 4, 2009, letter.
HNP Schedule Exemption Request
The licensee provided detailed information in its letter dated
November 6, 2009, as supplemented November 20, 2009, requesting an
exemption. It describes a comprehensive plan to install equipment
related to a certain requirement in the new Part 73 rule and provides a
timeline for achieving full compliance with the new regulation. The
submittals contain proprietary information regarding the site security
plan, details of the specific requirement of the regulation for which
the site cannot be in compliance by the March 31, 2010, deadline and
why, the required changes to the site's security configuration, and a
timeline with critical path activities that will bring the licensee
into full compliance by December 6, 2010. The timeline provides dates
indicating (1) when various phases of the project begin and end (i.e.,
design, field construction), (2) outages scheduled for each unit, and
(3) when critical equipment will be ordered, installed, tested and
become operational.
Notwithstanding the schedular exemption for this limited
requirement, the licensee will continue to be in compliance with all
other applicable physical security requirements as described in 10 CFR
73.55 and reflected in its current NRC approved physical security
program. By December 6, 2010, HNP will be in full compliance with all
the regulatory requirements of 10 CFR 73.55, as issued on March 27,
2009.
4.0 Conclusion for Part 73 Schedule Exemption Request
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's submittals and concludes
that the licensee has provided adequate justification for its request
for an extension of the compliance date to December 6, 2010, with
regard to a specific requirement of 10 CFR 73.55.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR
73.5, ``Specific exemptions,'' an exemption from the March 31, 2010,
compliance date is authorized by law and will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the requested
exemption.
The NRC staff has determined that the long-term benefits that will
be realized
[[Page 9622]]
when the HNP equipment installation is complete justifies extending the
full compliance date with regard to the specific requirement of 10 CFR
73.55. The security measure, that HNP needs additional time to
implement, is a new requirement imposed by the March 27, 2009,
amendments to 10 CFR 73.55, and is in addition to those required by the
security orders issued in response to the events of September 11, 2001.
Therefore, it is concluded that the licensee's actions are in the best
interest of protecting the public health and safety through the
security changes that will result from granting this exemption.
As per the licensee's request and the NRC's regulatory authority to
grant an exemption from the March 31, 2010, implementation deadline for
the requirement specified in the SNC letter dated November 6, 2009, as
supplemented November 20, 2009, the licensee is required to be in full
compliance by December 6, 2010. In achieving compliance, the licensee
is reminded that it is responsible for determining the appropriate
licensing mechanism (i.e., 10 CFR 50.54(p) or 10 CFR 50.90) for
incorporation of all necessary changes to its security plans.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, ``Finding of no significant impact,'' the
Commission has previously determined that the granting of this
exemption will not have a significant effect on the quality of the
human environment (75 FR 3761; dated January 22, 2010).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of February 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Allen G. Howe,
Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-4380 Filed 3-2-10; 8:45 am]
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