[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 243 (Monday, December 20, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79423-79425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31855]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. (Redacted), License Nos.: (Redacted), EA (Redacted); NRC-
2010-0351]
In the Matter of All Power Reactor Licensees and Research Reactor
Licensees Who Transport Spent Nuclear Fuel; Order Modifying License
(Effective Immediately)
I
The licensees identified in Attachment 1 to this Order have been
issued a specific license by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC or Commission) authorizing the possession of spent nuclear fuel
and a general license authorizing the transportation of spent nuclear
fuel [in a transportation package approved by the Commission] in
accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and Title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 50 and 71. This Order is
being issued to all such licensees who transport spent nuclear fuel.
Commission regulations for the shipment of spent nuclear fuel at 10 CFR
3.37(a) require these licensees to maintain a physical protection
system that meets the requirements contained in 10 CFR 73.37(b), (c),
(d), and (e).
II
On September 11, 2001, terrorists simultaneously attacked targets
in New York, NY, and Washington, DC, utilizing large commercial
aircraft as weapons. In response to the attacks and intelligence
information subsequently obtained, the Commission issued a number of
Safeguards and Threat Advisories to its licensees in order to
strengthen licensees' capabilities and readiness to respond to a
potential attack on a nuclear facility or regulated activity. The
Commission has also communicated with other Federal, State and local
government agencies and industry representatives to discuss and
evaluate the current threat environment in order to assess the adequacy
of security measures at licensed facilities. In addition, the
Commission has been conducting a comprehensive review of its safeguards
and security programs and requirements.
As a result of its consideration of current safeguards and security
plan requirements, as well as a review of information provided by the
intelligence community, the Commission has determined that certain
additional security measures are required to be implemented by
licensees as prudent, interim measures, to address the current threat
environment in a consistent manner. Therefore, the Commission is
imposing requirements, as set forth in Attachment 2 of this Order, on
all licensees identified in Attachment 1 of this Order.\1\ These
additional security requirements, which supplement existing regulatory
requirements, will provide the Commission with reasonable assurance
that the common defense and security continue to be adequately
protected in the current threat environment. These requirements
[[Page 79424]]
will remain in effect until the Commission determines otherwise.
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\1\ Attachments 1 and 2 contain SAFEGUARDS INFORMATION and will
not be released to the public.
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The Commission recognizes that licensees may have already initiated
many of the measures set forth in Attachment 2 to this Order in
response to previously issued Safeguards and Threat Advisories or on
their own. It is also recognized that some measures may not be possible
or necessary for all shipments of spent nuclear fuel, or may need to be
tailored to accommodate the licensees' specific circumstances to
achieve the intended objectives and avoid any unforeseen effect on the
safe transport of spent nuclear fuel.
Although the additional security measures implemented by licensees
in response to the Safeguards and Threat Advisories have been adequate
to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection of common
defense and security, in light of the current threat environment, the
Commission concludes that the security measures must be embodied in an
Order consistent with the established regulatory framework. In order to
provide assurance that licensees are implementing prudent measures to
achieve a consistent level of protection to address the current threat
environment, all licenses identified in Attachment 1 to this Order
shall be modified to include the requirements identified in Attachment
2 to this Order. In addition, pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202, and in light of
the common defense and security matters identified above which warrant
the issuance of this Order, the Commission finds that the public
health, safety, and interest require that this Order be immediately
effective.
III
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 53, 103, 104, 161b, 161i, 161o,
182 and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the
Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Parts 50 and 71, it
is hereby ordered, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, that all licenses identified
in attachment 1 to this order are modified as follows:
A. All licensees shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any
Commission regulation or license to the contrary, comply with the
requirements described in Attachment 2 to this Order except to the
extent that a more stringent requirement is set forth in the licensee's
security plan. The licensees shall immediately start implementation of
the requirements in Attachment 2 to the Order and shall complete
implementation by December 8, 2010, unless otherwise specified in
Attachment 2, or before the first shipment after January 7, 2011,
whichever is earlier.
B.1. All licensees shall, within twenty (20) days of the date of
this Order, notify the Commission, (1) if they are unable to comply
with any of the requirements described in Attachment 2, (2) if
compliance with any of the requirements is unnecessary in their
specific circumstances, or (3) if implementation of any of the
requirements would cause the licensee to be in violation of the
provisions of any Commission regulation or the facility license. The
notification shall provide the licensee's justification for seeking
relief from or variation of any specific requirement.
2. Any licensee that considers that implementation of any of the
requirements described in Attachment 2 to this Order would adversely
impact the safe transport of spent fuel must notify the Commission,
within twenty (20) days of this Order, of the adverse safety impact,
the basis for its determination that the requirement has an adverse
safety impact, and either a proposal for achieving the same objectives
specified in the Attachment 2 requirement in question, or a schedule
for modifying the activity to address the adverse safety condition. If
neither approach is appropriate, the licensee must supplement its
response to Condition B1 of this Order to identify the condition as a
requirement with which it cannot comply, with attendant justifications
as required in Condition B1.
C.1. All licensees shall, within twenty (20) days of the date of
this Order, submit to the Commission a schedule for achieving
compliance with each requirement described in Attachment 2.
2. All licensees shall report to the Commission when they have
achieved full compliance with the requirements described in Attachment
2.
D. Notwithstanding any provisions of the Commission's regulations
to the contrary, all measures implemented or actions taken in response
to this Order shall be maintained until the Commission determines
otherwise.
Licensee responses to Conditions B1, B2, C1, and C2 above, shall be
submitted to the NRC to the attention of the Director, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation under 10 CFR 50.4. In addition, licensee
submittals that contain Safeguards Information shall be properly marked
and handled in accordance with 10 CFR 73.21.
The Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, may, in
writing, relax or rescind any of the above conditions upon
demonstration by the licensee of good cause.
IV.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the licensee must, and any other
person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to this
Order, and may request a hearing on this Order, within twenty (20) days
of the date of publication of this Order in the Federal Register. Where
good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the time
to answer or request a hearing. A request for extension of time in
which to submit an answer or request a hearing must be made in writing
to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and include a
statement of good cause for the extension.
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a
request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by
interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c),
must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139,
August 28, 2007). The E-filing process requires participants to submit
and serve all adjudicatory documents over the Internet, or in some
cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Participants may not
submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in
accordance with the procedures described below.
To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least
ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should
contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at
[email protected], or by telephone at 301-415-1677, to request (1)
a digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel
or representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-
Submittal server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and
(2) advise the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a
request or petition for hearing (even in instances in which the
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the hearing in this
proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic
docket.
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is
available on NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-
submittals/
[[Page 79425]]
apply-certificates.html. System requirements for accessing the E-
Submittal server are detailed in NRC's ``Guidance for Electronic
Submission,'' which is available on the agency's public Web site at
http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may
attempt to use other software not listed on the Web site, but should
note that the NRC's E-Filing system does not support unlisted software,
and the NRC Meta System Help Desk will not be able to offer assistance
in using unlisted software.
If a participant is electronically submitting a document to the NRC
in accordance with the E-Filing rule, the participant must file the
document using the NRC's online, Web-based submission form. In order to
serve documents through EIE, users will be required to install a Web
browser plug-in from the NRC Web site. Further information on the Web-
based submission form, including the installation of the Web browser
plug-in, is available on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
Once a participant has obtained a digital ID certificate and a
docket has been created, the participant can then submit a request for
hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions should be in
Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance
available on the NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the
documents are submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system
no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of
a transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends
the submitter an e-mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The
E-Filing system also distributes an e-mail notice that provides access
to the document to the NRC Office of the General Counsel and any others
who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to
participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the
documents on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition
to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document
via the E-Filing system.
A person filing electronically using the agency's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC Meta System
Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site
at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by e-mail at
[email protected], or by a toll-free call at (866) 672-7640. The
NRC Meta System Help Desk is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.,
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays.
Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention:
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth
Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland
20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants
filing a document in this manner are responsible for serving the
document on all other participants. Filing is considered complete by
first-class mail as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier,
express mail, or expedited delivery service upon depositing the
document with the provider of the service. A presiding officer, having
granted an exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a
participant or party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer
subsequently determines that the reason for granting the exemption from
use of E-Filing no longer exists.
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at
http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant
to an order of the Commission, or the presiding officer. Participants
are requested not to include personal privacy information, such as
Social Security Numbers, home addresses, or home phone numbers in their
filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submission of
such information. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited
excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would
constitute a Fair Use application, participants are requested not to
include copyrighted materials in their submission. If a person other
than [individual] requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with
particularity the manner in which his interest is adversely affected by
the Order and shall address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d).
If a hearing is requested by the licensee or a person whose
interest is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order
designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held,
the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order
should be sustained.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), the licensee may, in addition to
demanding a hearing, at the time the answer is filed or sooner, move
the presiding officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of the
Order on the ground that the Order, including the need for immediate
effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere suspicion,
unfounded allegations, or error.
In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions
specified in Section III above shall be final twenty (20) days from the
date of this Order without further order or proceedings. If an
extension of time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the
provisions specified in Section III shall be final when the extension
expires if a hearing request has not been received.
An answer or a request for hearing shall not stay the immediate
effectiveness of this order.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of December 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas B. Blount,
Acting Director, Division of Policy and Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-31855 Filed 12-17-10; 8:45 am]
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