[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 59 (Monday, March 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15462-15463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6885]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-387 and 50-388; NRC-2010-0109]


PPL Susquehanna, LLC; Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 
and 2; Exemption

1.0 Background

    PPL Susquehanna, LLC (PPL or the licensee) is the holder of Renewed 
Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-14 and NPF-22, which authorize 
operation of the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station (SSES), Units 1 and 
2. 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 boiling-water reactors located in 
Luzerne County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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 three of these new 
requirements that PPL 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 3, 2009, as supplemented by letters dated 
January 8 and 29, 2010, the licensee requested an exemption in 
accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' The portions of 
the licensee's letters dated December 3, 2009, as supplemented by 
letters dated January 8 and 29, 2010, contain sensitive security 
information and accordingly are withheld from public disclosure in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.390. The licensee has requested an exemption 
from the March 31, 2010, compliance date, stating that it must complete 
a number of significant modifications to the current site security 
configuration before all requirements can be met. Specifically, the 
request is to extend the compliance date for one specific requirement 
to October 29, 2010, and until July 31, 2011, for two other 
requirements from the current March 31, 2010, deadline. Being granted 
this exemption for the three items would allow the licensee to complete 
the modifications designed to update aging equipment and incorporate 
state-of-the-art technology to meet or exceed 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.
    This NRC approval of the exemption as noted above, would allow an 
extension of implementation date in the new rule from March 31, 2010, 
to October 29, 2010, for one specific requirement and until July 31, 
2011, for two other requirements. 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 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 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

[[Page 15463]]

licensees, with good cause, to apply for relief from the compliance 
date (Reference: letter dated June 4, 2009, from R.W. Borchardt, NRC, 
to M.S. Fertel, Nuclear Energy Institute, Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Number ML091410309). The 
licensee's request for an exemption is, therefore, consistent with the 
approach set forth by the Commission and discussed in the letter dated 
June 4, 2009.

SSES Units 1 and 2 Schedule Exemption Request

    The licensee provided detailed information in its submissions dated 
December 3, 2009, as supplemented by letters dated January 8 and 29, 
2010, requesting an exemption. In its submissions, PPL stated that 
implementation of specific parts of the new requirements will require 
more time to implement since they involve significant physical 
modifications requiring: (1) Specific parts that are proving to be long 
lead time items, (2) specialized industry expertise whose availability 
is being challenged by the significant demand for a limited resource, 
or (3) a major interface with the plant for installation that must be 
carefully planned and implemented to avoid impact to the plant 
protective strategy. The licensee provided a timeline for achieving 
full compliance with the new regulation. The licensee's submissions 
dated December 3, 2009, as supplemented by letters dated January 8 and 
29, 2010, contain sensitive security information regarding (1) The site 
security plan, (2) details of the specific requirements of the 
regulation for which the site cannot be in compliance by the March 31, 
2010, deadline and justification for the same, (3) the required changes 
to the site's security configuration, and (4) a timeline with critical 
path activities that will bring the licensee into full compliance by 
July 31, 2011, for all the regulatory requirements of 10 CFR 73.55, as 
issued on March 27, 2009 (by October 29, 2010, for one specific 
requirement, by July 31, 2011, for two other requirements, and by March 
31, 2010, for all other requirements). The timeline provides dates 
indicating when (1) construction will begin on various phases of the 
project (e.g., 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 schedule exemptions for these limited 
requirements, the licensee stated that it 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 July 31, 2011, SSES, 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 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 July 31, 2011, with regard to three 
specified requirements 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 modifications described in PPL's letter dated 
December 3, 2009, as supplemented by letters dated January 8 and 29, 
2010, are complete, justifies exceeding the full compliance date in the 
case of this particular licensee. The security measures PPL 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 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, implementation deadline for 
the three items specified in its letter dated December 3, 2009, as 
supplemented by letter dated January 8 and January 29, 2010, the 
licensee is required to be in full compliance July 31, 2011 (by October 
29, 2010, for one specific requirement, by July 31, 2011, for two other 
requirements, and by March 31, 2010, for all other requirements.) 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 13322; dated March 19, 2010.
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 22nd 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. 2010-6885 Filed 3-26-10; 8:45 am]
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