[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76052-76054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30650]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 [Docket Nos. 50-348 and 50-364; NRC-2009-0375]


Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. Joseph M. Farley Nuclear 
Plant, Units 1 and 2; Exemption

1.0 Background

    Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC, the licensee), is 
the holder of Renewed Facility

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Operating License Nos. NPF-2 and NPF-8, which authorizes operation of 
the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 (FNP). 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 
Houston County, Alabama.

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 includes additional requirements to further enhance site 
security based upon insights gained from implementation of the post 
September 11, 2001, security orders. It is from three of these new 
requirements that, by its letters dated September 10 and October 5, 
2010, SNC now seeks an exemption from the March 31, 2010, 
implementation date. All other physical security requirements 
established by this recent rulemaking have already been implemented by 
the licensee by March 31, 2010.
    Previously, by letters dated June 9, and July 31, 2009, SNC 
submitted a request for an exemption from the compliance date 
identified in 10 CFR 73.55 for the three requirements of 10 CFR 73.55 
that are discussed above. The NRC staff reviewed the request and by 
letter dated August 27, 2009, granted an exemption to the March 31, 
2010, compliance date for the specific requirements identified within 
the SNC exemption request until December 15, 2010, to afford additional 
time for the necessary security system upgrades.
    Subsequently, by letters dated September 10 and October 5, 2010, 
the licensee submitted an additional request for an exemption to the 
compliance date identified in 10 CFR 73.55, in accordance with 10 CFR 
73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' The new compliance date requested for 
the specific requirements identified within this exemption request is 
July 15, 2011.
    The licensee's letters dated September 10, 2010 (NL-10-1676) and 
October 5, 2010 (NL-10-1908) contain security-related information and, 
accordingly, are not available to the public. A redacted version of the 
licensee's September 10, 2010, letter (NL-10-1795) is available at 
ADAMS Accession No. ML102560042. The licensee has requested a further 
exemption from the March 31, 2010, compliance date stating that a 
number of issues, including unforeseen growth in the amount of design 
work required, design product loss due to computer hardware failures, 
and weather-related construction delays, will present a significant 
challenge to timely completion of the project related to a specific 
requirement in 10 CFR part 73. Specifically, the request is to extend 
the compliance date for three specific requirements from the current 
March 31, 2010, deadline to July 15, 2011. Being granted this exemption 
for these items will allow the licensee to complete the modifications 
designed to update equipment and incorporate state-of-the-art 
technology to meet the noted regulatory requirement.

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.
    An NRC approval of this exemption would; as noted above, allow an 
extension from March 31, 2010, to July 15, 2011, for the implementation 
date for three specific requirements of the new rule. 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 (SECY-08-0099, 
dated July 9, 2008), 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: 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 as discussed in the June 4, 2009, letter.

FNP Schedule Exemption Request

    The licensee provided detailed information in its letters dated 
September 10 and October 5, 2010, requesting an exemption. It describes 
a comprehensive plan to install equipment related to the requirements 
in the new Part 73 rule and provides a timeline for achieving full 
compliance with the new regulation. The submittals contain security-
related 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 bring the licensee into full 
compliance by July 15, 2011. The timeline provides dates indicating (1) 
When various phases of the project begin and end (i.e., design, field 
construction), (2) outages scheduled for each unit, and (3) when 
critical equipment will be ordered, installed, tested and become 
operational.
    Notwithstanding the schedular exemption for these limited

[[Page 76054]]

requirements, the licensee is required 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 July 15, 2011, SNC will be in full compliance with all the 
regulatory requirements of 10 CFR 73.55 for the FNP, 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 July 15, 2011, with regard 
to three specific 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 FNP equipment installation is complete justifies 
extending the full compliance date with regard to the specific 
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. The security measures, that SNC needs 
additional time to implement, are new requirements imposed by the March 
27, 2009, amendments to 10 CFR 73.55, and is in addition to those 
required by the security orders issued in response to the events of 
September 11, 2001. Therefore, it is concluded 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, implementation deadline for 
the requirement specified in the SNC letters dated September 10 and 
October 5, 2010, the licensee is required to be in full compliance by 
July 15, 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 73135, dated November 29, 2010).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of December 2010.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph G. Giitter,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-30650 Filed 12-6-10; 8:45 am]
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