[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 133 (Tuesday, July 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40945-40946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17438]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2011-0150; Docket Nos. 50-003, 50-247, and 50-286; License Nos. 
DPR-5, DPR-26, and DPR-64]


Entergy Nuclear Indian Point 2, LLC, Entergy Nuclear Indian Point 
3, LLC, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Receipt of Request for Action

    Notice is hereby given that by petition dated March 28, 2011, Eric 
T. Schneiderman, Attorney General for the State of New York, the 
petitioner, has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to 
take enforcement action against Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. 
(Entergy), and its affiliates for violations of the agency's 1980 fire 
safety regulations at Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit 1, 2, and 3. 
The petitioner asked the NRC to take immediate action by issuing an 
order that requires the following actions:
     Identify the violations of paragraphs F and G of Section 
III of Appendix R, ``Fire Protection Program for Nuclear Power 
Facilities Operating prior to January 1, 1979,'' to Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of 
Production and Utilization Facilities,'' that exist as of the date of 
the petition (i.e., March 28, 2011) at Indian Point Units 1, 2, and 3.
     Compel Entergy and its affiliates to comply on or before 
September 20, 2011, with the requirements in paragraphs F and G for all 
the fire zones in Indian Point Units 2 and 3 and any Indian Point Unit 
1 fire zone or system, structure, or component relied on by Indian 
Point Units 2 and 3.
     Convene an evidentiary hearing before the Commission to 
adjudicate the violations by Entergy and its affiliates of paragraphs F 
and G at Indian Point Units 1, 2, and 3.
    As the basis for the request, the petitioner stated, in part, the 
following:
     The petitioner cited the population centers adjacent to 
the Indian Point facility. The petitioner described past investigations 
by both the NRC Office of Investigations and the Government 
Accountability Office on fire barriers, most specifically Thermo-Lag 
and Hemyc. The petitioner implied that the NRC staff has not been 
aggressive in resolving fire barrier issues or in taking

[[Page 40946]]

meaningful enforcement action toward Indian Point.
     The petitioner focused on the exemptions to Appendix R to 
10 CFR Part 50 that the licensee submitted in March 2009. The 
exemptions include operator manual actions in a large number of fire 
areas at Indian Point. The petitioner stated that the regulations do 
not authorize operator manual actions as a means for protecting a 
redundant system from fire. The petitioner referenced the ongoing 
situation in Japan and questioned whether plant operators would be 
physically able to perform these duties.
     The petitioner stated that (1) the NRC should reserve 
exemptions for extraordinary circumstances, (2) the NRC should not 
approve the exemptions, and (3) Entergy has not made a serious effort 
to comply with Federal regulations.
    The NRC is treating the request under 10 CFR 2.206, ``Requests for 
Action under This Subpart,'' and has referred the request to the 
Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). In 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.206, the NRC will take appropriate action on 
this petition within a reasonable period of time. The petitioner met 
with the NRR Petition Review Board on May 9, 2011, to discuss the 
petition. The Petition Review Board considered the results of that 
discussion in its determination of the petitioner's request for 
immediate action and in the establishment of the schedule for the 
review of the petition. A copy of the petition is available for 
inspection at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) located at One White 
Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first 
floor), Rockville, MD. Publicly available documents created or received 
at the NRC are accessible electronically through the Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) in the NRC Library at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have 
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents 
located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR reference staff by 
telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of June 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric J. Leeds,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011-17438 Filed 7-11-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P