[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 44292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18515]
[[Page 44292]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-282 and 50-306; NRC-2010-0022; License Nos. DPR-42 and
DPR-60]
Northern States Power Company; Prairie Island Nuclear Generating
Plant, Units 1 and 2; Notice of Issuance of Director's Decision
Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, has issued a Director's Decision with regard to a petition
dated September 4, 2009, filed by Mr. David Sebastian, hereinafter
referred to as the ``petitioner.'' On September 30, 2009, the
petitioner requested an opportunity to address the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) Petition Review Board (PRB) to provide any
additional information to support the petition. A teleconference took
place on October 13, 2009.
The petition requested that the NRC take the following actions:
(1) Order Xcel Energy Inc. (Xcel) to cease and desist from its
current arbitrary and capricious practice of using the Access
Authorization and Fitness-for-Duty (AA/FFD) Programs for purposes other
than their original intent, as they are being applied against him.
(2) Order compliance with:
(A) The NRC's regulations at Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) 73.56, ``Personnel Access Authorization
Requirements for Nuclear Power Plants'';
(B) The rationale described in the final rule ``Access
Authorization Program for Nuclear Power Plants'' (RIN 3150-AA90)
published in the Federal Register on April 26, 1991 (56 FR 18997); and
(C) The Nuclear Energy Institute's (NEI's) implementation guidance
in NEI 03-01, ``Nuclear Power Plant Access Authorization Program,''
Revision 2, issued October 2008.
(3) Grant the petitioner access authorization without further delay
to perform his accepted job tasks, with all record of said denial
removed from any and all records wherever found.
(4) Issue any other order, or grant any other relief, to which the
petitioner may have shown himself entitled.
As the basis for the September 4, 2009, request, the petitioner
stated that Xcel is in violation of 10 CFR 73.56 in denying him access
to the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant using the AA/FFD
Programs by basing the decision solely upon an existing tax lien. The
petitioner stated that Xcel failed to base the decision to grant or
deny unescorted access authorization on a review and evaluation of all
pertinent information. The petitioner stated that Xcel failed to
incorporate all three elements (i.e., background investigation,
psychological assessment, and behavioral observation) of the unescorted
access authorization program when making the decision to deny
unescorted access and that this is contrary to the rationale for
rulemaking, as discussed in 56 FR 18997.
On October 26 and December 2, 2009, the NRC PRB convened to discuss
the petition under consideration to determine whether it met the
criteria established in NRC Management Directive (MD) 8.11, ``Review
Process for 10 CFR 2.206 Petitions,'' dated October 25, 2000, for
acceptance into the process under 10 CFR 2.206, ``Requests for Action
under This Subpart.'' The PRB made the following final recommendations:
(1) Item 1 met the criteria established in MD 8.11 for acceptance
into the 10 CFR 2.206 process for the petition under consideration.
(2) Item 2 met the criteria established in MD 8.11 for acceptance
into the 10 CFR 2.206 process for the petition under consideration.
(3) Item 3 did not meet the MD 8.11 criteria for further review
under the 10 CFR 2.206 process, in that the request did not
specifically address an enforcement-related action.
(4) Item 4 did not meet the MD 8.11 criteria for further review
under the 10 CFR 2.206 process, in that the petition provided
insufficient facts to support the request.
The NRC sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to the
petitioner and the licensee for comment on May 7, 2010. The licensee
had no comments on the proposed Director's Decision. On June 4, 2010,
the NRC staff received comments on the proposed Director's Decision
from the petitioner. The Director's Decision includes the comments and
the NRC staff's response to them.
The Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation has
determined that the request pertaining to Xcel be denied. The
Director's Decision, DD-10-02, explains the reasons for this decision
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206. The complete text of the decision is
available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS) Electronic Reading Room (ADAMS Accession No. ML101650032) on
the NRC's Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, and for
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, located at One
White Flint North, Room O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),
Rockville, Maryland.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulations,
the staff will file a copy of the Director's Decision with the
Secretary of the Commission for the Commission's review. As provided
for by this regulation, the director's decision will constitute the
final action of the Commission 25 days after the date of the decision,
unless the Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the
Director's Decision within that time.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of July 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Leeds,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-18515 Filed 7-27-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P