[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 62 (Thursday, April 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16521-16523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7379]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-280 and 50-281; NRC-2010-0079]
Virginia Electric and Power Company Surry Power Station, Unit
Nos. 1 and 2; Exemption
1.0 Background
The Virginia Electric and Power Company, (the licensee) is the
holder of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-32 and DPR-37, which
authorize operation of the Surry Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2
(Surry). 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
Surry, Virginia.
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 certain new
requirements that Surry now seeks an exemption from the March 31, 2010,
implementation date. All other physical scrutiny requirements
established by this recent rulemaking have already or will be
implemented by the licensee by March 31, 2010.
By letter dated December 7, 2009, the licensee requested an
exemption in accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.''
Certain portions of the licensee's December 7, 2009, letter contain
safeguards information and, accordingly, are not available to the
public. The licensee has requested an
[[Page 16522]]
exemption from the March 31, 2010, compliance date stating that it must
perform the upgrades to portions of the Surry security system before
all of the Section 73.55 requirements can be met. Specifically, the
request is to extend the compliance date for certain requirements from
the current March 31, 2010, deadline to August 31, 2010, and August 31,
2011, for Units 1 and 2, respectively. Being granted this exemption for
this item would allow the licensee to complete the modifications
designed to update equipment and incorporate state-of-the-art
technology to meet the noted regulatory requirement.
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 August 31, 2010, and August 31,
2011, for Units 1 and 2, respectively, for the implementation date for
certain requirements of the new rule. 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 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 these 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 (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.
Surry Schedule Exemption Request
The licensee provided detailed information in its December 7, 2009,
letter requesting an exemption. It describes a comprehensive plan for
implementing certain requirements in the new Part 73 rule and provides
a timeline for achieving full compliance with the new regulation. The
December 7, 2009, submittal contains safeguards information regarding
the site security plan, details of specific portions of the regulation
for which the site cannot be in compliance by the March 31, 2010,
deadline and why, the required changes to the site's security
configuration, and a timeline with critical path activities that would
allow the licensee to achieve full compliance by August 31, 2010, and
August 31, 2011, for Units 1 and 2, respectively. The timeline provides
dates indicating when (1) construction will begin on various phases of
the project, (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 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
August 31, 2010, and August 31, 2011, for Units 1 and 2, respectively,
Surry 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 reviewed the licensee's submittal and concludes that the
licensee has provided adequate justification for its request for an
extension of the compliance date to August 31, 2010, and August 31,
2011, for Units 1 and 2, respectively, with regard to certain
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 long-term benefits that will be realized when the security
system upgrades are complete justifies exceeding the full compliance
date in the case of this particular licensee. The security measures
Surry 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, it is 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, implementation deadline for
the item specified in the licensee's December 7, 2009, letter, the
licensee is required to be in full compliance with 10 CFR 73.55 by
August 31, 2010, and August 31, 2011, for Units 1 and 2, respectively.
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 9618) published March 3, 2010, as corrected in
the Federal Register on March 19, 2010 (75 FR 13318) by letter dated
March 12, 2010 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
Accession No. ML100600405).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of March 2010.
[[Page 16523]]
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph G. Giitter,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-7379 Filed 3-31-10; 8:45 am]
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