11578 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 47 / Thursday, March 11, 2010 / Notices 

301–492–3668 or via e-mail at 

Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 

Mail comments to: Michael T. Lesar, 

Chief, Rulemaking and Directives 

Branch (RDB), Division of 

Administrative Services, Office of 

Administration, Mail Stop: TWB–05– 

B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001, or by fax to RDB at (301) 492– 

3446. 

To be considered in the scoping 

process, written comments should be 

postmarked by May 11, 2010. Comments 

will be available electronically and 

accessible through ADAMS at http:// 

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 

Participation in the scoping process 

for the supplement to the GEIS does not 

entitle participants to become parties to 

the proceeding to which the supplement 

to the GEIS relates. Matters related to 

participation in any hearing are outside 

the scope of matters to be discussed at 

this public meeting. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day 

of March 2010. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Bo M. Pham, 

Chief, Projects Branch 1, Division of License 

Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5270 Filed 3–10–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 50–263; NRC–2010–0045] 

Northern States Power Company of 

Minnesota, Monticello Nuclear 

Generating Plant; Exemption 

1.0 Background 

Northern States Power Company of 

Minnesota (NSPM, the licensee) is the 

holder of Facility Operating License No. 

DPR–22, which authorizes operation of 

the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant 

(MNGP). 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 a General 

Electric boiling-water reactor located in 

Wright County, Minnesota. 

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 two 

of these new requirements that NSPM 

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 3, 2009, the 

licensee requested an exemption in 

accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ‘‘Specific 

exemptions.’’ The licensee’s November 

3, 2009, letter contains security-related 

information and, accordingly, is not 

available to the public. The licensee 

submitted a redacted version of its 

exemption request on December 15, 

2009, which is publicly available. 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 two specific items 

from the current March 31, 2010, 

deadline to June 30, 2011. Being granted 

this exemption for the two items would 

allow the licensee to complete the 

modifications designed to update aging 

equipment and incorporate state-of-theart technology to meet 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. 

This exemption would, as noted 

above, allow an extension from March 

31, 2010, until June 30, 2011, to allow 

for temporary noncompliance with the 

new rule in two specified areas. As 

stated above, 10 CFR 73.5 allows the 

NRC to grant exemptions from the 

requirements of 10 CFR part 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 sitespecific 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 request to generically 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. 

MNGP’s Schedule Exemption Request 

The licensee provided detailed 

information in its November 3, 2009, 

request for exemption. It described a 

comprehensive plan to install 

equipment related to certain 

requirements in the new Part 73 rule 

and provided a timeline for achieving 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 47 / Thursday, March 11, 2010 / Notices 11579 

full compliance with the new 

regulation. The submittal contains 

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 

cannot be completed by the deadline, 

and a timeline with critical path 

activities that will bring MNGP into full 

compliance by June 30, 2011. The 

timeline provides dates indicating when 

(1) construction will begin on various 

phases of the project (e.g., buildings, 

fences); (2) critical equipment will be 

ordered, installed, tested and become 

operational; and (3) anticipated 

impediments to construction such as 

planned refueling outages and winter 

weather conditions that may impair 

construction. 

Notwithstanding the schedular 

exemptions for these limited 

requirements, the licensee 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 

June 30, 2011, MNGP will be in full 

compliance with all 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 submittal and concludes that 

the licensee has provided adequate 

justification for its request for an 

extension of the compliance date to June 

30, 2011, with regard to the specified 

requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. 

Accordingly, the Commission has 

determined that pursuant to 10 CFR 

73.5, ‘‘Specific exemptions,’’ 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 long-term benefits that will be 

realized when the modifications to the 

two specific items are complete justify 

exceeding the full compliance date in 

the case of this particular licensee. The 

security measures that the licensee 

needs additional time to implement are 

new requirements imposed by the 

March 27, 2009, amendments to 10 CFR 

73.55, and are in addition to those 

required by the security orders issued in 

response to the events of September 11, 

2001. Therefore, the NRC staff 

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 requirement specified 

in the licensee’s November 3, 2009, 

submittal, the licensee is required to be 

in full compliance by June 30, 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 6224, dated 

February 8, 2010). 

This exemption is effective upon 

issuance. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day 

of February, 2010. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Allen G. Howe, 

Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor 

Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation. 

[FR Doc. 2010–4526 Filed 3–10–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 50–261; NRC–2010–0062] 

Carolina Power & Light Company H. B. 

Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit 

No. 2; Exemption 

1.0 Background 

Carolina Power & Light Company (the 

licensee) is the holder of Facility 

Operating License No. DPF–23, which 

authorizes operation of the H. B. 

Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit 2 

(HBRSEP). 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 a pressurized 

water reactor located in Darlington 

County, South Carolina. 

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 2 of 

these new requirements that HBRSEP 

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 30, 2009, 

the licensee requested an exemption in 

accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ‘‘Specific 

exemptions.’’ The licensee’s November 

30, 2009, letter contains proprietary and 

security-related information that, 

accordingly, is 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 

for two requirements that will be met by 

December 30, 2010, versus the March 

31, 2010, deadline to. Being granted this 

exemption for the two items will allow 

the licensee to complete the 

modifications designed 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 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES