[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14208-14209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6496]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-293; NRC-2010-0094]


Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station; 
Exemption

1.0 Background

    Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee) is the 
holder of Facility Operating License No. DPR-35, which authorizes 
operation of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim). The license 
provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all 
rules, regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC or the Commission) now or hereafter in effect.
    The facility consists of a boiling-water reactor located in 
Plymouth County, Massachusetts.

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 four of these new 
requirements that Pilgrim 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 January 22, 2010, as supplemented by letter dated 
February 2, 2010, the licensee requested an exemption in accordance 
with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' The licensee's letters dated 
January 22, 2010, and February 2,2010, contain security-related 
information and, accordingly, are not available to the public pursuant 
to 10 CFR 2.390(d)(1). Publicly available versions of the licensee's 
submittals are available at Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS) accession numbers ML100260716 and ML100351182. The 
licensee has requested an exemption from the March 31, 2010, compliance 
date stating that, due to the scope of the design, procurement, and 
installation activities and in consideration of impediments to 
construction such as winter weather conditions and equipment delivery 
schedules, completion of some of the new requirements contained in 10 
CFR 73.55 will require additional time beyond March 31, 2010. 
Specifically, the request to extend the compliance date is for four 
specific requirements from the current March 31, 2010, deadline to 
September 15, 2010. Being granted this exemption for the four items 
would allow the licensee to complete upgrades to its security system 
necessary for it to be in full compliance with the 10 CFR Part 73 Final 
Rule.

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.
    This exemption would, as noted above, allow an extension from March 
31, 2010, until September 15, 2010, to allow temporary non-compliance 
with the new rule in four specified areas. 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 will not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy 
Act of 1954, as amended, or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, 
the NRC approval of the licensee's exemption request 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 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

[[Page 14209]]

the final rule, the Commission has rejected a request to generically 
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.

Pilgrim Schedule Exemption Request

    The licensee provided detailed information in a letter dated 
January 22, 2010, requesting an exemption, as supplemented by letter 
dated February 2, 2010. It describes a comprehensive plan including the 
scope of work such as the design, procurement, and installation 
activities, consideration of impediments to construction such as winter 
weather conditions and equipment delivery schedules, and provides a 
timeline for achieving full compliance with the new regulation. 
Attachment 1 contains (1) proprietary information regarding the site 
security plan, (2) details of specific portions of the regulation for 
which the site cannot be in compliance by the March 31, 2010, deadline 
and the reasons for the same, (3) the required changes to the site's 
security configuration, and (4) a timeline with critical path 
activities that would enable the licensee to achieve full compliance by 
September 15, 2010. 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 requested 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 September 15, 2010, Pilgrim indicated that it 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 justified its request for an extension of the 
compliance date with regard to four specified requirements of 10 CFR 
73.55 to September 15, 2010.
    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 design, procurement, and installation activities 
are complete, justifies extending the full compliance date in the case 
of this particular licensee. The security measures Pilgrim 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, the NRC has 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, deadline for the four items 
specified in the licensee's letter dated January 22, 2010, as 
supplemented by letter dated February 2, 2010, the licensee is required 
to be in full compliance with the provisions of 10 CFR 73.55 by 
September 15, 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 11205; dated March 10, 2010).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th 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. 2010-6496 Filed 3-23-10; 8:45 am]
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