This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

17440 

Vol. 72, No. 67 

Monday, April 9, 2007 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 73 

[Docket No. PRM–73–13] 

Union of Concerned Scientists; 

Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking 

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice 

of receipt. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is publishing for 

public comment a notice of receipt of a 

petition for rulemaking, dated February 

21, 2007, which was filed with the 

Commission by David Lochbaum, 

Director, Nuclear Safety Project, on 

behalf of the Union of Concerned 

Scientists. The petition was docketed by 

the NRC on February 23, 2007, and has 

been assigned Docket No. PRM–73–13. 

The petitioner requests that the NRC 

amend its regulations to close a 

loophole in current regulations that 

would enable persons who do not meet 

trustworthiness and reliability standards 

for unescorted access to protected areas 

of nuclear power plants the permission 

to enter protected areas with an 

unarmed escort. The petitioner believes 

that current regulations create a security 

vulnerability that could potentially 

compromise public health and safety. 

DATES: Submit comments by June 25, 

2007. Comments received after this date 

will be considered if it is practical to do 

so, but the Commission is able to assure 

consideration only for comments 

received on or before this date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any one of the following methods. 

Please include PRM–73–13 in the 

subject line of your comments. 

Comments on petitions submitted in 

writing or in electronic form will be 

made available for public inspection. 

Because your comments will not be 

edited to remove any identifying or 

contact information, the NRC cautions 

you against including any information 

in your submission that you do not want 

to be publicly disclosed. 

Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN: 

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. 

E-mail comments to: SECY@nrc.gov. If 

you do not receive a reply e-mail 

confirming that we have received your 

comments, contact us directly at (301) 

415–1966. You may also submit 

comments via the NRC’s rulemaking 

Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. 

Address questions about our rulemaking 

Web site to Carol Gallagher (301) 415– 

5905; e-mail cag@nrc.gov. Comments 

can also be submitted via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Hand deliver comments to: 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. 

Federal workdays. (Telephone (301) 

415–1966). 

Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 

415–1101. 

Publicly available documents related 

to this petition may be viewed 

electronically on the public computers 

located at the NRC’s Public Document 

Room (PDR), Room O1 F21, One White 

Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 

Rockville, Maryland. The PDR 

reproduction contractor will copy 

documents for a fee. Selected 

documents, including comments, may 

be viewed and downloaded 

electronically via the NRC rulemaking 

Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. 

Publicly available documents created 

or received at the NRC after November 

1, 1999, are available electronically at 

the NRC’s Electronic Reading Room at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. From this site, the public 

can gain entry into the NRC’s 

Agencywide Document Access and 

Management System (ADAMS), which 

provides text and image files of NRC’s 

public documents. If you do not have 

access to ADAMS or if there are 

problems in accessing the documents 

located in ADAMS, contact the PDR 

Reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301– 

415–4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking, 

Directives and Editing Branch, Division 

of Administrative Services, Office of 

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001, Telephone: 301–415–7163 or Toll 

Free: 800–368–5642. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Petitioner 

The petitioner is the Union of 

Concerned Scientists. The petitioner 

states that it is a nonprofit partnership 

of scientists and citizens that combines 

scientific analysis, policy development, 

and citizen advocacy to achieve 

practical environmental solutions. In 

2002, the Union of Concerned Scientists 

had 61,300 members. 

The petitioner states that the Union of 

Concerned Scientists has been an active 

participant in the past in public 

meetings conducted by NRC regarding 

security regulations, and that the 

petitioner continues to articulate 

potential problems and recommended 

solutions in various public arenas. 

Background 

Current regulations at 10 CFR part 73 

contain requirements for the physical 

protection of nuclear power plants and 

materials. Specifically, §§ 73.55(d), 

73.56(b), and 73.57(b) outline 

procedures for granting access to 

protected areas of nuclear power plants. 

Section 73.55 (d)(6) states that a person 

who has not been granted unescorted 

access to protected areas may be granted 

access with an escort. Section 73.56(b) 

requires that licensees establish and 

maintain an access authorization 

program granting individuals 

unescorted access to protected and vital 

areas with the objective of providing 

high assurance that individuals granted 

unescorted access are trustworthy and 

reliable. Section 73.57 requires the 

fingerprinting of persons who have been 

granted unescorted access. 

The petitioner states that while 

current regulations require access 

control to protected areas, including 

fingerprinting and background 

clearances, § 73.55(d)(6) would allow 

access to protected areas by persons 

who do not meet trustworthiness and 

reliability standards for unescorted 

access to the protected area. The 

petitioner further states that current 

regulations enable persons who do not 

meet trustworthiness and reliability 

standards for unescorted access to the 

protected area to be escorted through 

protected areas by unarmed persons that 

may not be members of the security 

force. The petitioner believes that this is 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSAL
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 67 / Monday, April 9, 2007 / Proposed Rules 17441 

a loophole that creates a security 

vulnerability that could potentially 

compromise public health and safety. 

The Proposed Amendments 

The petitioner requests that 10 CFR 

part 73 be amended to require that 

licensees implement procedures to 

ensure that: (1) When information 

becomes known to a licensee about an 

individual that would prevent that 

individual from gaining unescorted 

access to the protected area of a nuclear 

power plant, the licensee will 

implement measures to ensure the 

individual does not enter the protected 

area, whether escorted or not; and (2) 

when sufficient information is not 

available to a licensee about an 

individual to determine whether the 

criteria for unescorted access are 

satisfied, the licensee will implement 

measures to allow that individual to 

enter the protected area only when 

escorted at all times by an armed 

member of the security force who 

remains in periodic communication 

with security supervision. In the case of 

the first proposal, the petitioner believes 

that when it is known that a person’s 

trustworthiness and reliability do not 

meet the prescribed standards identified 

in § 73.56(b), access to protected areas, 

either escorted or unescorted, should be 

denied. In the case of the second 

proposal, the petitioner recognizes that 

it is impractical and burdensome to 

conduct background investigations of 

every person requiring access to a 

protected area, noting persons may need 

one-time access. With that in mind, the 

petitioner proposes granting these 

persons access to protected areas, but 

only when escorted by an armed 

member of the security force and only 

when this armed member is in periodic 

communication with security 

supervision. 

Conclusion 

The petitioner believes that current 

regulations create a security 

vulnerability that could potentially 

compromise public health and safety. 

The petitioner believes that its proposed 

amendments to 10 CFR part 73 will 

address this vulnerability in current 

regulations that enables persons who do 

not meet trustworthiness and reliability 

standards for unescorted access to 

protected areas of nuclear power plants 

permission to enter protected areas with 

an unarmed escort. Accordingly, the 

petitioner requests that the NRC amend 

its regulations related to the physical 

protection of nuclear power plants and 

materials as described previously in the 

section titled, ‘‘The Proposed 

Amendments.’’

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day 

of April 2007. 

Kenneth R. Hart, 

Acting Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. E7–6644 Filed 4–6–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. NM366 Special Conditions No. 

25–07–03–SC] 

Special Conditions: Boeing Model 787–

8 Airplane; Composite Wing and Fuel 

Tank Structure—Fire Protection 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed special 

conditions. 

SUMMARY: This notice proposes special 

conditions for the Boeing Model 787–8 

airplane. This airplane will have novel 

or unusual design features when 

compared to the state of technology 

envisioned in the airworthiness 

standards for transport category 

airplanes. These novel or unusual 

design features are associated with 

composite materials chosen for the 

construction of the fuel tank skin and 

structure. For these design features, the 

applicable airworthiness regulations do 

not contain adequate or appropriate 

safety standards for wing and fuel tank 

structure with respect to post-crash fire 

safety. These proposed special 

conditions contain the additional safety 

standards that the Administrator 

considers necessary to establish a level 

of safety equivalent to that established 

by the existing airworthiness standards. 

Additional special conditions will be 

issued for other novel or unusual design 

features of the Boeing Model 787–8 

airplanes. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before May 24, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposal 

may be mailed in duplicate to: Federal 

Aviation Administration, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, Attention: Rules 

Docket (ANM–113), Docket No. NM366, 

1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, 

Washington 98057–3356; or delivered in 

duplicate to the Transport Airplane 

Directorate at the above address. All 

comments must be marked Docket No. 

NM366. Comments may be inspected in 

the Rules Docket weekdays, except 

Federal holidays, between 7:30 a.m. and 

4 p.m. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mike Dostert, FAA, Propulsion/ 

Mechanical Systems, ANM–112, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service, 1601 Lind 

Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 

98057–3356; telephone (425) 227–2132; 

facsimile (425) 227–1320. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites interested persons to 

participate in this rulemaking by 

submitting written comments, data, or 

views. The most helpful comments 

reference a specific portion of the 

special conditions, explain the reason 

for any recommended change, and 

include supporting data. We ask that 

you send us two copies of written 

comments. 

We will file in the docket all 

comments we receive as well as a report 

summarizing each substantive public 

contact with FAA personnel concerning 

these proposed special conditions. The 

docket is available for public inspection 

before and after the comment closing 

date. If you wish to review the docket 

in person, go to the address in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice 

between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

We will consider all comments we 

receive on or before the closing date for 

comments. We will consider comments 

filed late if it is possible to do so 

without incurring expense or delay. We 

may change the proposed special 

conditions based on comments we 

receive. 

If you want the FAA to acknowledge 

receipt of your comments on this 

proposal, include with your comments 

a pre-addressed, stamped postcard on 

which the docket number appears. We 

will stamp the date on the postcard and 

mail it back to you. 

Background 

On March 28, 2003, Boeing applied 

for an FAA type certificate for its new 

Boeing Model 787–8 passenger airplane. 

The Boeing Model 787–8 airplane will 

be an all-new, two-engine jet transport 

airplane with a two-aisle cabin. The 

maximum takeoff weight will be 

476,000 pounds, with a maximum 

passenger count of 381 passengers. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under provisions of 14 CFR 21.17, 

Boeing must show that Boeing Model 

787–8 airplanes (hereafter referred to as 

‘‘the 787’’) meet the applicable 

provisions of 14 CFR part 25, as 

amended by Amendments 25–1 through 

25–117, except §§ 25.809(a) and 25.812, 

which will remain at Amendment 25–


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSAL