[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9625-9626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4382]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-282 and 50-306; NRC-2010-0046]


Northern States Power Company--Minnesota Prairie Island Nuclear 
Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2; Exemption

1.0 Background

    Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota corporation (NSPM, the 
licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-42 and 
DPR-60, which authorize operation of the Prairie Island Nuclear 
Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2 (PINGP). 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 pressurized-water reactors located in 
Goodhue County, Minnesota.

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 five of these new 
requirements that PINGP 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 5, 2009, as supplemented by letters dated 
November 30 and December 17, 2009, the licensee requested an exemption 
in accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' The licensee's 
November 5 and December 17, 2009, letters, and certain portions of its 
November 30, 2009 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS) Accession No. ML100050096), letter, contain security-related 
information and, accordingly, are not available to the public. The 
licensee has requested an exemption from the March 31, 2010, compliance 
date identified in 10 CFR 73.55(a)(1), stating that specific parts of 
the new requirements will require more time to implement before all 
requirements can be met. Specifically, the request is to extend the 
compliance date for five specific requirements from the current March 
31, 2010, deadline to June 30, 2011. Being granted this exemption for 
the five requirements would allow the licensee to complete the 
modifications designed to provide significant upgrades to the security 
system to meet the noted regulatory requirements.

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, extend the 
required compliance date for the requirements specified in the 
licensee's

[[Page 9626]]

request from March 31, 2010, to June 30, 2011, for five specific 
requirements of the new rule. As stated above, 10 CFR 73.5 allows the 
NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 73. The 
NRC staff has determined that granting of the licensee's proposed 
exemption would 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 on 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 Power Reactor Security Requirements rule (74 
FR 13925, March 27, 2009), 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 these 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 and discussed in the June 4, 2009, letter.

PINGP Schedule Exemption Request

    The licensee provided detailed information in Enclosures 1 and 2 of 
its November 5, 2009, submittal letter requesting an exemption, as well 
as in its supplemental letter dated December 17, 2009. It describes a 
comprehensive plan to upgrade the security capabilities of the PINGP 
site and provides a timeline for achieving full compliance with the new 
regulation. Enclosures 1 and 2 contain security-related information 
regarding the site security plan, details of specific portions 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 June 30, 2011. The licensee 
stated that the schedule for the physical modifications associated with 
this request were developed based on current information and 
anticipated impediments to construction such as planned refueling 
outages at both Units 1 and 2 and winter weather conditions that may 
impair construction due to frozen ground or extreme cold that creates 
personnel safety issues.
    Enclosure 2 to the November 5, 2009, submittal includes a timeline 
that provides dates indicating when (1) construction will begin on 
various phases of the project, (2) outages are scheduled for each unit, 
and (3) critical equipment will be ordered, installed, and become 
operational.
    Notwithstanding the schedular exemptions for these limited 
requirements, 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 June 30, 2011, PINGP 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 staff has reviewed the licensee's submittals and concludes that 
the licensee has provided adequate justification for its request for an 
exemption from the March 31, 2010, compliance date to June 30, 2011, 
with regard to the specified requirements of 10 CFR 73.55.
    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR 
73.5, ``Specific exemptions,'' 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 when these projects are complete justify extending the 
March 31, 2010, full compliance date with regard to the specified 
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55 for this particular licensee. The security 
measures, that PINGP needs additional time to implement, are new 
requirements imposed by March 27, 2009 amendments to 10 CFR 73.55, and 
are 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, compliance date for the 
five requirements specified in Enclosure 1 of the NSPM letter dated 
November 5, 2009, the licensee is required to be in full compliance by 
June 30, 2011. 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 6225; dated February 8, 2010].
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd 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. 2010-4382 Filed 3-2-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P