[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15748-15749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7030]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-341; NRC-2010-0099]
Detroit Edison Company; Fermi 2; Exemption
1.0 Background
Detroit Edison Company (the licensee) is the holder of Facility
Operating License No. NPF-43, which authorizes operation of Fermi 2.
The license provides, 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 one boiling-water reactor located in
Monroe County, Michigan.
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 on March 27, 2009, establish and update generically
applicable security requirements similar to those previously imposed by
Commission orders issued after the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001, and implemented by 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 five of these new
requirements that Fermi 2 now seeks an exemption from the March 31,
2010, implementation date. All other physical security requirements
established by this recent rulemaking have already been or will be
implemented by the licensee by March 31, 2010.
By letter dated November 19, 2009, as supplemented by letter dated
December 23, 2009, the licensee requested an exemption in accordance
with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' The licensee's November 19,
2009, and December 23, 2009, letters, have certain portions which
contain proprietary and safeguards information and, accordingly, are
not available to the public. The licensee has requested an exemption
from the March 31, 2010, compliance date stating that it must complete
a number of significant modifications to the current site security
configuration before all requirements can be met. Specifically, the
request is to extend the compliance date for five requirements that
would be in place by May 31, 2011, versus the March 31, 2010, deadline.
Being granted this exemption for the five requirements would allow the
licensee to complete the modifications designed to update aging
equipment and incorporate state-of-the-art technology to meet or exceed
the noted regulatory requirements.
3.0 Discussion of Part 73 Schedule Exemptions From the March 31, 2010,
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 exemption, as noted above, would allow an extension
from March 31, 2010, to May 31, 2011, for the implementation date for
five specified areas of the new rule. The NRC staff has determined that
granting of the licensee's proposed exemption would 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 power reactor security 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 any such 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: June 4, 2009, letter, 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 June 4, 2009, letter.
Fermi 2 Schedule Exemption Request
The licensee provided detailed information in Enclosures 1 and 2 of
its supplemental submittal to its November 19, 2009, letter, requesting
an exemption. It describes a comprehensive plan which provides a
[[Page 15749]]
timeline for achieving full compliance with the new regulation.
Enclosures 1 and 2 contain proprietary information regarding the site
security plan, details of the specific requirements of the regulation
for which the site cannot be in compliance by the March 31, 2010,
deadline and why, the required changes to the site's security
configuration, and a timeline with ``critical path'' activities that
will enable the licensee to achieve full compliance by May 31, 2011.
The timeline provides dates indicating when (1) construction will begin
on various phases of the project (i.e., new buildings and fences), and
(2) critical equipment will be installed, tested and become
operational.
Notwithstanding the schedule exemptions of these limited
requirements, the licensee indicated that it will continue to be in
compliance with all other applicable physical security requirements as
described in 10 CFR 73.55 and reflected in its current NRC-approved
physical security program. By May 31, 2011, the licensee also stated
that Fermi 2 will be in full compliance with the regulatory
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55, as issued on March 27, 2009.
4.0 Conclusion for Part 73 Schedule Exemption Request
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's submittals and concludes
that the licensee has provided adequate justification for its request
for an extension of the compliance date to May 31, 2011, with regard to
five 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 March 31, 2010,
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. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants the requested
exemption. The NRC staff has determined that the long-term benefits
that will be realized when the Fermi 2 modifications are completed
justifies exceeding the full compliance date in the case of this
particular licensee. The security measures Fermi 2 needs additional
time to implement are new requirements imposed by March 27, 2009,
amendments to 10 CFR 73.55, and are in addition to those currently
required by the security orders issued in response to the events of
September 11, 2001. 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 the NRC's regulatory authority to
grant an exemption from the March 31, 2010, deadline for the five
requirements specified in Enclosure 1 of the Detroit Edison letter
dated December 23, 2009, the licensee is required to be in full
compliance by May 31, 2011. 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 [75 FR 11946; dated March 12, 2010].
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of March 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Allen G. Howe,
Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-7030 Filed 3-29-10; 8:45 am]
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