[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 224 (Monday, November 22, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71152-71154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-29368]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-361 and 50-362; NRC-2010-0359]
Southern California Edison; San Onofre Nuclear Generating
Station, Unit 2 and Unit 3; Exemption
1.0 Background
Southern California Edison (SCE, the licensee) is the holder of the
Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-10 and NPF-15, which authorize
operation of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), Unit 2
and Unit 3, respectively. 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 or the Commission) now or
hereafter in effect.
The facility consists of two pressurized-water reactors located in
San Diego County, California.
2.0 Request/Action
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 73,
``Physical protection of plants and materials,''
[[Page 71153]]
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, 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
(74 FR 13926), establish and update generically applicable security
requirements similar to those previously imposed by Commission orders
issued after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and
implemented by the 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 one of these additional
requirements that SCE now seeks an exemption from the implementation
date. All other physical security requirements established by this
recent rulemaking have been implemented by the licensee.
By letter dated August 24, 2010, as supplemented by letter dated
October 17, 2010, the licensee requested an exemption in accordance
with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' Portions of the August 24
and October 17, 2010, submittals contain safeguards and security-
related information and, accordingly, redacted versions of those
letters are available for public review in the Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System (ADAMS), at Accession Nos. ML102380401 and
ML102920691, respectively. By letter dated March 16, 2010 (Accession
No. ML100630530), the NRC granted a previous exemption to SCE for two
specific items subject to the revised rule in 10 CFR 73.55, allowing
the implementation of one item to be deferred until October 31, 2010,
and the implementation of a second item until January 31, 2011. The
licensee has now requested an additional exemption from the current
implementation date established in the prior exemption for one item,
based on, in part, significant, unanticipated delays in the production,
acceptance testing, and delivery of critical security equipment needed
to meet the requirements of the new rule. Specifically, the licensee's
request is to extend the implementation date deadline from the current
date of October 31, 2010, to February 28, 2011, for one specific
requirement. In its October 17, 2010, supplemental letter, SCE provided
additional information supporting the requested extension for
implementation of the first item, and also determined that it is
currently in compliance with the new rule for the second item, thereby
withdrawing its exemption request for the second item. Granting this
exemption extending the implementation date for the one remaining item
would allow the licensee to complete the modifications designed to
update aging equipment and incorporate state-of-the-art technology to
meet the noted regulatory requirements.
3.0 Discussion of Part 73 Schedule Exemption 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 would allow an additional extension
of the implementation date approved under a previous exemption from
October 31, 2010, until February 28, 2011, for one specific remaining
requirement 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 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 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 a letter from R. W. Borchardt (NRC) to M. S.
Fertel (Nuclear Energy Institute) dated June 4, 2009. 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.
SONGS Schedule Exemption Request
The licensee provided detailed information in its letters dated
August 24 and October 17, 2010, requesting an exemption. In those
letters, the licensee described its comprehensive plan to design,
construct, test, and turn over the new equipment for the enhancement of
the security capabilities at the SONGS site to achieve full compliance
with the new regulation. The August 24 and October 17, 2010, letters
contain security-related and safeguards information regarding the site
security plan, details of the specific requirements of the regulation
for which the licensee seeks exemption, justification for the
additional extension request, a description of the required changes to
the site's security configuration, and a revised timeline with critical
path activities that would enable the licensee to achieve full
compliance by February 28, 2011. The timeline provides revised dates
indicating when construction will be completed on various phases of the
project and when critical equipment will be received, installed, tested
and become operational.
Notwithstanding the schedule exemption for this one remaining item,
the licensee would 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
February 28, 2011, SONGS would be in full compliance with all of the
regulatory requirements of 10 CFR 73.55, as issued on March 27, 2009.
[[Page 71154]]
4.0 Conclusion for Part 73 Schedule Exemption Request
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's submittal and concludes
that the licensee has provided adequate justification for its request
for an extension of the previously authorized compliance date from
October 31, 2010, to February 28, 2011, for one specific requirement.
This conclusion is based on the staff's determination that SCE has made
a good faith effort to meet the requirements in a timely manner, has
sufficiently described the reasons for the unanticipated delays, and
has provided an updated detailed schedule with adequate justification
for the additional time requested for the extension, based on those
delays and an expansion to the original scope of work that the staff
agrees is needed to ensure that required system capabilities are met.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR
73.5, ``Specific exemptions,'' an exemption to further extend 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 SONGS security modifications are completed
justifies exceeding the full compliance date with regard to the
specified requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. The significant security
enhancements SONGS 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 March 31, 2010, deadline for the one
remaining item specified in Enclosure 1 of SCE's letters dated August
24 and October 17, 2010, the licensee is required to be in full
compliance by February 28, 2011. 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 69136; November 10, 2010).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of November 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph G. Giitter,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-29368 Filed 11-19-10; 8:45 am]
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