[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 48 (Friday, March 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11947-11948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5433]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-498 and 50-499; NRC-2010-0060]


STP Nuclear Operating Company, South Texas Project, Units 1 and 
2; Exemption

1.0 Background

    STP Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC, the licensee) is the holder 
of Facility Operating Licenses numbered NPF-76 and NPF-80, which 
authorize operation of the South Texas Project (STP), Units 1 and 2, 
respectively. The licenses provide, among other things, that the 
facility is subject to the 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 
Matagorda County, Texas.

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 the licensees. In addition, the amendments to 
10 CFR 73.55 include new requirements to further enhance site security 
based upon insights gained from implementation of the post September 
11, 2001, security orders. STPNOC 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 18, 2009, the licensee requested an 
exemption in accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' The 
licensee's letter contains security-related information and, 
accordingly, those portions are not available to public. The licensee 
has requested an exemption from March 31, 2010, compliance date, 
stating that it must complete certain modifications to address the new 
10 CFR Part 73 requirements. Specifically, the request is to extend the 
compliance date for one specific requirement from the current March 31, 
2010, deadline to June 30, 2010. Granting this exemption for the one 
item would allow the licensee to complete design, procurement, and 
installation of plant upgrades to meet the 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, to June 30, 2010, of the implementation 
date for one specific requirement of the new rule. The NRC staff has 
determined that granting the licensee's proposed exemption request 
would not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended, or Commission's regulations. Therefore, the exemption is 
authorized by law.
    In the draft final power reactor security 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 to allow 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,

[[Page 11948]]

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.

South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, Schedule Exemption Request

    The licensee provided detailed information in Enclosure 1 of its 
submittal dated November 18, 2009, requesting the exemption.
    Enclosure 2 provides the licensee's basis for exemption, and states 
that the duration of the modification project is expected to extend 
from 12 to 18 months. The licensee describes a plan to install 
equipment related to certain requirements in the new Part 73 rule and 
provides a timeline for achieving full compliance with the new 
regulation. The submittal contains security-related information 
regarding the site security plan, details of the specific portions of 
the regulation for which the site cannot be in compliance by March 31, 
2010, deadline, and the required changes and a timeline, with critical 
path activities, that would enable the licensee to achieve full 
compliance by June 30, 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 will become 
operational. A redacted version of the licensee's exemption request is 
publicly available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML093280174.
    Notwithstanding the scheduled 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, 2010, STP Units 1 and 2 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 Review

    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 June 30, 2010, with regard 
to the specified 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 when the STP Units 1 and 2 equipment installation is 
complete, justifies extending the compliance date with regard to the 
specified requirement of 10 CFR 73.55. The significant security 
enhancements that STP Units 1 and 2 need to complete are new 
requirements imposed by March 27, 2009, amendments to 10 CFR 73.55, and 
are in addition to those required by security orders issued in response 
to the events of September 11, 2001. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes 
that the licensee's proposed actions are in the best interest of the 
protection of public health and safety, through the security changes 
that would result from granting the exemption.
    As per licensee's request and the NRC staff's regulatory authority 
to grant an extension from the March 31, 2010, implementation deadline 
for requirements specified in the licensee's letter dated November 18, 
2009, the licensee is required to be in full compliance by June 30, 
2010. In achieving compliance, the licensee is reminded that it is 
responsible for determining the appropriate licensing mechanism (i.e. 
10 CFR Part 50.54(P) or 10 CFR Part 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 8150; February 23, 2010).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of March 2010.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert A. Nelson,
Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-5433 Filed 3-11-10; 8:45 am]
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