[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10838-10839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4937]
[[Page 10838]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-275 and 50-323; NRC-2010-0059]
Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Diablo Canyon Power Plant;
Exemption
1.0 Background
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E, the licensee) is the holder
of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-80 and DPR-82, which authorize
operation of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Units Nos. 1 and 2 (DCPP).
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
San Luis Obispo County, California.
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 in
the Federal Register on 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 on September 11, 2001, and implemented by the 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 two of these additional requirements that PG&E 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 December 4, 2009, the licensee requested an
exemption in accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.''
Portions of the December 4, 2009, submittal contain security-related
and safeguards information and, accordingly, a redacted version of the
December 4, 2009, letter was submitted by the licensee on January 22,
2010 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)
Accession No. ML100270050). This non-proprietary version is 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 the timely completion of the projects
related to certain specific requirements in 10 CFR 73. Specifically,
the request is to extend the compliance date from the March 31, 2010,
deadline to June 30, 2011. Granting this exemption for the two items
would allow the licensee to complete the modifications designed to
update aging equipment and incorporate state-of-the-art technology 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, as noted above, would allow an
extension from March 31, 2010, until June 30, 2011, of the
implementation date for two 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, 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 as documented in a letter from R. W. Borchardt, (NRC), to M. S.
Fertel, (Nuclear Energy Institute) dated June 4, 2009. 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.
DCPP Schedule Exemption Request
The licensee provided detailed information in Enclosure 1 to its
application dated December 4, 2009, letter requesting an exemption. In
that letter, the licensee describes a comprehensive plan to study,
design, construct, test, and turn over the new equipment for the
enhancement of the security capabilities at the DCPP site and provides
a timeline for achieving full compliance with the new regulation.
Enclosure 1 of the application dated December 4, 2009, contains
security-related and safeguards information regarding the site security
plan, details of the specific requirements of the regulation for which
the site cannot achieve compliance by the March 31, 2010, deadline,
justification for the extension request, a description of the required
changes to the site's security configuration, and a timeline with
critical path activities that would bring the licensee into full
compliance by June 30, 2011. The timeline provides dates indicating
when (1) Construction will begin on various phases of the project
(i.e., new roads, buildings, and fences), (2) outages are scheduled for
each unit, and (3) critical equipment will be ordered, installed,
tested and become operational.
Notwithstanding the scheduler exemptions for these limited
requirements, the licensee will continue to be in compliance with all
other
[[Page 10839]]
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, DCPP will be in full compliance with 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
extension of the compliance date to June 30, 2011 for two specified
requirements.
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 when the DCPP security modifications are complete justifies
exceeding the full compliance date with regard to the specified
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. The significant security enhancements
DCPP needs additional time to complete 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, the NRC concludes 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, deadline for the two items
specified in Enclosure 1 of PG&E letter dated December 4, 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 8152; dated February 23, 2010).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of March 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph G. Giitter,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-4937 Filed 3-8-10; 8:45 am]
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