10838 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Notices 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 50–275 and 50–323; NRC– 

2010–0059] 

Pacific Gas and Electric Company; 

Diablo Canyon Power Plant; 

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, Units 

Nos. 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 in the 

Federal Register on 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 

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 two 

of these additional requirements that 

PG&E 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 December 4, 2009, the 

licensee requested an exemption in 

accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ‘‘Specific 

exemptions.’’ Portions of the December 

4, 2009, submittal contain securityrelated and safeguards information and, 

accordingly, a redacted version of the 

December 4, 2009, letter was submitted 

by the licensee on January 22, 2010 

(Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System (ADAMS) 

Accession No. ML100270050). This 

non-proprietary version is available to 

the public. The licensee has requested 

an exemption from the March 31, 2010, 

compliance date stating that a number 

of issues will present a significant 

challenge to the timely completion of 

the projects related to certain specific 

requirements in 10 CFR 73. Specifically, 

the request is to extend the compliance 

date from the March 31, 2010, deadline 

to June 30, 2011. Granting 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. 

NRC approval of this exemption, as 

noted above, would allow an extension 

from March 31, 2010, until June 30, 

2011, of the implementation date for 

two specific requirements of the new 

rule. 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 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 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 as 

documented in a letter from R. W. 

Borchardt, (NRC), to M. S. Fertel, 

(Nuclear Energy Institute) dated June 4, 

2009. 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. 

DCPP Schedule Exemption Request 

The licensee provided detailed 

information in Enclosure 1 to its 

application dated December 4, 2009, 

letter requesting an exemption. In that 

letter, the licensee describes a 

comprehensive plan to study, design, 

construct, test, and turn over the new 

equipment for the enhancement of the 

security capabilities at the DCPP site 

and provides a timeline for achieving 

full compliance with the new 

regulation. Enclosure 1 of the 

application dated December 4, 2009, 

contains security-related and safeguards 

information regarding the site security 

plan, details of the specific 

requirements of the regulation for which 

the site cannot achieve compliance by 

the March 31, 2010, deadline, 

justification for the extension request, a 

description of the required changes to 

the site’s security configuration, and a 

timeline with critical path activities that 

would bring the licensee into full 

compliance by June 30, 2011. The 

timeline provides dates indicating when 

(1) Construction will begin on various 

phases of the project (i.e., new roads, 

buildings, and fences), (2) outages are 

scheduled for each unit, and (3) critical 

equipment will be ordered, installed, 

tested and become operational. 

Notwithstanding the scheduler 

exemptions for these limited 

requirements, the licensee will continue 

to be in compliance with all other 


sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Notices 10839 

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, DCPP 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 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 June 

30, 2011 for two specified requirements. 

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 DCPP security modifications 

are complete justifies exceeding the full 

compliance date with regard to the 

specified requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. 

The significant security enhancements 

DCPP needs additional time to complete 

are new requirements imposed by 

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 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 two items specified in 

Enclosure 1 of PG&E letter dated 

December 4, 2009, 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 8152; dated 

February 23, 2010). 

This exemption is effective upon 

issuance. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day 

of March 2010. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Joseph G. Giitter, 

Director, Division of Operating Reactor 

Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation. 

[FR Doc. 2010–4937 Filed 3–8–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 50–395; NRC–2010–0067] 

South Carolina Electric and Gas 

Company; Virgil C. Summer Nuclear 

Station, Unit 1; Exemption 

1.0 Background 

South Carolina Electric and Gas 

Company, (SCE&G, the licensee) is the 

holder of Facility Operating License No. 

NPF–12, which authorizes operation of 

the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, 

Unit 1 (VCSNS). 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 Fairfield 

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 plans. 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 VCSNS 

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. 

On December 11, 2009, the licensee 

submitted two letters, SCE&G 

designation RC–09–0154 (NRC ADAMS 

ML093490316) and RC–09–0148 (NRC 

ADAMS ML093480496 and 

ML093480497), requesting an 

exemption in accordance with 10 CFR 

73.5, ‘‘Specific exemptions.’’ SCE&G’s 

letter RC–09–0148, contains securityrelated information and, accordingly, is 

not available to the public. SCE&G’s 

letter RC–09–0154 is a redacted version 

of RC–09–0148 that does not contain 

security related information. The 

licensee has requested an exemption 

from the March 31, 2010, compliance 

date for two provisions of the revised 10 

CFR Part 73, stating that the scope of 

work necessary to complete these two 

provisions would require a schedule 

going past the March 31, 2010, 

implementation date in the revised 10 

CFR Part 73. Specifically, the request is 

to extend the compliance date for two 

specific requirements from the current 

March 31, 2010 deadline to September 

30, 2010. Being granted this exemption 

for the two items would allow the 

licensee to complete the study, design, 

planning, procurement, construction, 

testing, and project closeout for the two 

areas on a schedule that will allow 

adherence to the licensee’s design 

control and work control processes. 

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 this exemption 

would, as noted above, allow an 

extension from March 31, 2010, until 

September 30, 2010, for the 

implementation date for two specific 

requirements 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 


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