[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 167 (Monday, August 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52997-52998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21637]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2010-0061; Docket No. 50-298]
Nebraska Public Power District; Cooper Nuclear Station; Exemption
1.0 Background
Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD or the licensee) is the holder
of Facility Operating License No. DPR-46 which authorizes operation of
the Cooper Nuclear Station (CNS). 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 Nemaha
County, Nebraska.
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 (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 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. By letter dated February 26, 2010, the NRC
granted NPPD an exemption from the March 31, 2010, implementation date
until August 31, 2010, for three of these additional requirements. NPPD
now seeks an exemption from the August 31, 2010, implementation date
until December 31, 2010, for the same three additional requirements.
All other physical security requirements established by this recent
rulemaking have already been implemented by the licensee.
By application dated July 7, 2010, as supplemented by letter dated
July 20, 2010, the licensee requested an exemption in accordance with
10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' The licensee's letter contains
security-related information and, accordingly, those portions are not
available to the public. The licensee has requested an exemption from
the August 31, 2010, implementation date, stating that it must complete
a number of modifications to the current site security configuration
before all requirements can be met. Specifically, the request is for
three requirements that would be met by December 31, 2010, instead of
the August 31, 2010, deadline. Granting 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 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. By letter dated February 26, 2010 (Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No.
ML100190100), the NRC approved an exemption that allowed NPPD an
extension from March 31, 2010, until August 31, 2010, of the
implementation date for three specific requirements of the new rule.
NRC approval of this exemption, as noted above, would allow an
extension
[[Page 52998]]
from August 31, 2010, until December 31, 2010, of the implementation
date for three specific requirements 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 (ADAMS Accession
No. 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.
CNS Schedule Exemption Request
The licensee provided detailed information in the Attachment to its
letter dated July 7, 2010, as supplemented by letter dated July 20,
2010, requesting an exemption. The licensee is requesting additional
time to implement certain new requirements due to the impact on
construction activities of the extremely wet spring and flooding of the
Missouri River. The licensee describes a comprehensive plan to expand
the protected area with upgrades to the security capabilities of its
CNS site and provides a timeline for achieving full compliance with the
new regulation. The Attachment to the licensee's letter dated July 7,
2010, contains security-related information regarding the site security
plan, details of the specific requirements of the regulation for which
the site cannot be in compliance by the August 31, 2010, deadline,
justification for the exemption request, a description of the required
changes to the site's security configuration, and a timeline with
critical path activities that would bring the licensee into full
compliance by December 31, 2010. The timeline provides dates indicating
when (1) construction will begin on various phases of the project
(e.g., new buildings and fences), and (2) critical equipment will be
ordered, installed, tested, and become operational. A redacted version
of the licensee's exemption request dated July 7, 2010, including
attachment, and the licensee's letter dated July 20, 2010, are publicly
available at ADAMS Accession Nos. ML101900266 and ML102090069,
respectively.
Notwithstanding the scheduler 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 December 31, 2010, CNS 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 NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's submittal and concludes
that the licensee has justified its request for an extension of the
compliance date with regard to three specified requirements of 10 CFR
73.55 until December 31, 2010.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR
73.5, ``Specific exemptions,'' an exemption from the August 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 CNS
modifications are complete justifies extending the full compliance date
in the case of this particular licensee. The security measures that CNS
needs additional time to complete 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 August 31, 2010, deadline for the three
items specified in the Attachment to NPPD's letter dated July 7, 2010,
as supplemented by letter dated July 20, 2010, the licensee is required
to be in full compliance with 10 CFR 73.55 by December 31, 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.
The exemption extends the compliance date of three specified
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55 until December 31, 2010. The Commission
has determined that granting this exemption from the requirements of 10
CFR 73.55 involves (i) no significant hazards consideration, (ii) no
significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts
of any effluents that may be released offsite, (iii) no significant
increase in individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation
exposure, (iv) no significant construction impact, and (v) no
significant increase in the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents. In addition, the requirements from which this
exemption is sought involve 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(G), ``Scheduling
requirements.'' Accordingly, the exemption meets the eligibility
criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i)-
(vi). Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental
impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in
connection with the NRC's consideration of this exemption request.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of August 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph G. Giitter,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-21637 Filed 8-27-10; 8:45 am]
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