[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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