[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37843-37845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16196]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2010-0059; Docket Nos. 50-275 and 50-323]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Unit 
1 and 2; Exemption

1.0 Background

    Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E, the licensee) is the holder 
of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-80 and DPR-82, which authorize 
operation of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Unit 1 and 2 (DCPP). 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 
San Luis Obispo County, California.

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 in the Federal Register 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 
PG&E now seeks an exemption from the implementation date. All other 
physical

[[Page 37844]]

security requirements established by this recent rulemaking have been 
implemented by the licensee.
    By letter dated April 13, 2011, the licensee requested an exemption 
in accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' The licensee 
submitted two letters on April 13, 2011, a version containing sensitive 
unclassified non-safeguards information (security-related) and a 
redacted version, which is publicly available in the Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under Accession No. 
ML11112A022. By letter dated March 2, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML100210207), the NRC granted a previous exemption to PG&E for specific 
items subject to the revised rule in 10 CFR 73.55, allowing the 
implementation to be deferred until June 30, 2011. The licensee has 
requested an additional exemption from the current implementation date 
established in the prior exemption, based on a significant change in 
scope of the project for one specific item needed to meet the 
requirements of the new rule. Specifically, the request is to extend 
the compliance date from the June 30, 2011, deadline to March 31, 2012, 
for one item. Granting this exemption for extending the implementation 
date for the one remaining item would allow the licensee to complete 
the modifications for a more conservative approach for achieving full 
compliance.

3.0 Discussion of Part 73 Schedule Exemption From the June 30, 2011, 
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, will allow an 
extension from June 30, 2011, until March 31, 2012, for the 
implementation date for one specific item in two specified areas of the 
new rule. As stated above, 10 CFR 73.5 allows the NRC to grant 
exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR 73. The NRC staff has 
determined that granting of the licensee's proposed exemption will 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 (Reference: letter dated June 4, 2009, 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 letter dated June 4, 2009.

DCPP Schedule Exemption Request

    The licensee provided detailed information in Enclosure 1 of its 
letter dated April 13, 2011, requesting an exemption. Enclosure 1 
describes a comprehensive plan for the implementation of one item 
regarding the construction, testing, and turnover of the new equipment 
to enhance the security capabilities at the DCPP site and provides a 
timeline for achieving full compliance with the new regulation. 
Enclosure 1 of the letter dated April 13, 2011, contains security-
related information regarding the site security plan, details of the 
specific requirements of the regulation and why the site cannot be in 
compliance by the June 30, 2011, deadline, the required changes to the 
site's security configuration, and a timeline with critical path 
activities that will bring the licensee into full compliance by March 
31, 2012. The timeline provides dates indicating when construction will 
begin on various phases of the project (i.e., buildings, and fences) 
and critical equipment will be installed, tested and become 
operational.
    As described in its submittal dated April 13, 2011, the licensee 
stated that all parts of the new 10 CFR part 73 security measures will 
be implemented by June 30, 2011, except for the one specified item, for 
which the current security system will be maintained until the licensee 
is in full compliance. This will continue to provide acceptable 
physical protection of the DCPP.

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 compliance date to March 31, 2012 with regard 
to one item for two specified requirements of 10 CFR 73.55.
    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR 
73.5, ``Specific exemptions,'' an exemption from the June 30, 2011, 
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.
    The NRC staff has determined that the long-term benefits that will 
be realized when the DCPP security modifications are complete justifies 
exceeding the full compliance date with regard to the specified 
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. 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 consistent with the NRC's 
regulatory authority to grant an exemption from the June 30, 2011, 
deadline for the one item specified in Enclosure 1 of the PG&E letter 
dated April 13, 2011, the licensee is required to be in full compliance 
by March 31, 2012. 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 (January 3, 2011; 76 FR 187).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.


[[Page 37845]]


    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of June 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph G. Giitter,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011-16196 Filed 6-27-11; 8:45 am]
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