[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 62 (Thursday, April 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16518-16520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7389]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-302, NRC-2010-0105]
Florida Power Corporation, et al.; Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear
Generating Plant; Exemption
1.0 Background
Florida Power Corporation (FPC, the licensee) is the holder of
Facility Operating License No. DPR-72 that authorizes operation of the
Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant (CR-3). The license
provides, 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 one pressurized water reactor located in
Citrus County, Florida.
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 as a
final rule in the Federal Register on March 27, 2009 (74 FR 13926-
13993), 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 plans. 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 CR-3 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
[[Page 16519]]
implemented by the licensee by March 31, 2010.
By letter dated November 30, 2009 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System Accession No. ML093370143), and as supplemented by
letter dated January 15, 2010, the licensee requested an exemption in
accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' Attachment 1 of
the licensee's November 30, 2009, letter and its letter dated January
15, 2010, contain security-related information and, accordingly, are
not available to the public. 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 four specific requirements
stated in 10 CFR 73.55 from the current March 31, 2010, deadline to
November 15 and December 15, 2010. Being granted this exemption for the
four items would allow the licensee to implement specific parts of the
revised requirements that involve significant physical upgrades to the
CR-3 security system. A major security project that is planned is the
expansion of the site protected area. Other plant modifications that
are significant in scope involve the construction of new facilities,
extensive design and procurement efforts, and work with high voltage
cabling and the personnel safety risk associated with such work.
3.0 Discussion of Part 73 Schedule Exemption From the March 31, 2010,
Full Implementation Date
As stated in 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.''' In accordance with 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 would, as noted above, allow an
extension from March 1, 2010, until November 15 and December 15, 2010,
for 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 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
reach 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 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.
Crystal River Schedule Exemption Request
The licensee provided detailed information in Attachment 1 of the
FPC letter dated November 30, 2009, requesting an exemption. It
describes the specific security systems at CR-3 that require
modification to comply with the requirements, which includes relocation
and upgrades to the security intrusion detection system, construction
of a building addition, and the addition of uninterruptable power
supplies. These plant modifications are significant in scope involving
the construction of new facilities, extensive design and procurement
efforts, and work with high voltage cabling. These modifications
warrant a thorough review of the safety-security interface and have to
be coordinated with the CR-3 refueling outage in fall 2009. All of
these efforts require careful design, planning, procurement, and
implementation efforts. Attachment 1 of the November 30, 2009, letter
contains security-related information regarding the site security plan,
details of specific portions of the regulation of which the site cannot
be in compliance by the March 31, 2010, deadline, changes to the site's
security configuration to meet the new requirements, and a timeline
with critical path activities for the licensee to achieve full
compliance by December 15, 2010. The timeline provides dates indicating
when (1) Design activities are completed and approved, (2) expansion of
the protected area begins and is completed, and (3) the new and
relocated equipment is to be installed and tested.
The site-specific information provided within the CR-3 exemption
request is relative to the requirements from which the licensee
requested exemption and demonstrates the need for modification to meet
the four specific requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. The proposed
implementation schedule depicts the critical activity milestones of the
security system upgrades; is consistent with the licensee's solution
for meeting the requirements; is consistent with the scope of the
modifications and the issues and challenges identified; and is
consistent with the licensee's requested compliance date.
Notwithstanding the proposed schedule exemption 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 December 15, 2010, CR-3 will be in full compliance with all
of 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 provided adequate justification for its request
for an extension of the compliance date with regard to four specified
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55 until November 15 and December 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.
[[Page 16520]]
The long-term benefits that will be realized when the security
systems upgrade is complete justify extending the March 31, 2010, full
compliance date with regard to the specific requirements of 10 CFR
73.55 for this particular licensee. The security measures that CR-3
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 to the March 31, 2010, deadline for the four items
specified in Attachment 1 of the FPC letter dated November 30, 2009,
and January 15, 2010, letter, the licensee is required to be in partial
compliance and in full compliance with 10 CFR 73.55 by November 15, and
December 15, 2010, 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.
In accordance with 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 13320, dated March 19, 2010).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25 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. 2010-7389 Filed 3-31-10; 8:45 am]
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