[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