[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 58 (Friday, March 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14640-14641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6718]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-397; NRC-2010-0084]
Energy Northwest Columbia Generating Station; Exemption
1.0 Background
Energy Northwest (the licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating
License No. NPF-21 which authorizes operation of the Columbia
Generating Station (CGS). The license provides, among other things,
that the facility is subject to the rules, regulations, and orders of
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or
hereafter in effect.
The facility consists of a boiling-water reactor located in Benton
County, Washington.
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 (74 FR 13926),
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 of these additional requirements that
the licensee 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 application dated January 27, 2010, the licensee requested an
exemption in accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.''
Attachment 1 to the licensee's letter contains security-related
information and, accordingly, those portions of the letters are being
withheld from public disclosure. A redacted version of the licensee's
exemption request dated January 27, 2010, is publicly available in the
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No.
ML100481052. The licensee has requested an exemption from the March 31,
2010, compliance date stating that it must accommodate a potential
manufacturing delay that would result in a non-compliance of the new
security requirements. Specifically, the request is to extend the
implementation date from the current March 31, 2010, deadline to May
15, 2010. Granting this exemption for the one item would afford the
licensee additional time to perform necessary upgrades to meet or
exceed 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
[[Page 14641]]
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 May 15, 2010, of the
implementation date for one specific requirement 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 the 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.
CGS Schedule Exemption Request
The licensee provided detailed information in the Attachments to
its letter dated January 27, 2010, requesting an exemption. The
licensee is requesting additional time to perform necessary upgrades to
the CGS security system due to manufacturing delays of one item at the
vendor. The licensee describes a comprehensive plan to perform upgrades
to the security capabilities of its CGS site and provides a timeline
for achieving full compliance with the new regulation. Attachment 1 to
the licensee's letter contains security-related 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, justification for the exemption request, a description
of the required changes to the site's security configuration, and a
timeline with the activities that would bring enable the licensee to
achieve full compliance by May 15, 2010. The timeline provides dates
indicating when the critical equipment will be received, installed, and
become operational. Redacted versions of the licensee's exemption
request are included in Attachments 2 and 3 to its January 27, 2010
letter and are publicly available in ADAMS Accession No. ML100481052.
Notwithstanding the schedule 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 May 15, 2010, CGS 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 submittal and concludes that
the licensee has justified its request for an extension of the
compliance date to May 15, 2010 with regard to one 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 long-term benefits that will be realized when the CGS
modifications are complete justify extending the full compliance date
in the case of this particular licensee. The security measure for which
CGS needs additional time to complete is a new requirement imposed by
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, 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 one item
specified in the Attachments to the licensee's letter dated January 27,
2010, the licensee is required to be in full compliance with 10 CFR
73.55 by May 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 10834; March 9, 2010].
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of March 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Allen G. Howe,
Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-6718 Filed 3-25-10; 8:45 am]
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