Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Notices 17221

for a hearing and a petition for leave to

intervene. Requests for a hearing and a

petition for leave to intervene shall be

filed in accordance with the

Commission’s ‘‘Rules of Practice for

Domestic Licensing Proceedings’’ in 10

CFR part 2. Interested persons should

consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.714

which is available at the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, and at the local public

document room located at the Vespasian

Warner Public Library, 120 West

Johnson Street, Clinton, Illinois 61727.

If a request for a hearing or petition for

leave to intervene is filed by the above

date, the Commission or an Atomic

Safety and Licensing Board, designated

by the Commission or by the Chairman

of the Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board Panel, will rule on the request

and/or petition; and the Secretary or the

designated Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board will issue a notice of hearing or

an appropriate order.

As required by 10 CFR 2.714, a

petition for leave to intervene shall set

forth with particularity the interest of

the petitioner in the proceeding, and

how that interest may be affected by the

results of the proceeding. The petition

should specifically explain the reasons

why intervention should be permitted

with particular reference to the

following factors: (1) The nature of the

petitioner’s right under the Act to be

made a party to the proceeding; (2) the

nature and extent of the petitioner’s

property, financial, or other interest in

the proceeding; and (3) the possible

effect of any order which may be

entered in the proceeding on the

petitioner’s interest. The petition should

also identify the specific aspect(s) of the

subject matter of the proceeding as to

which petitioner wishes to intervene.

Any person who has filed a petition for

leave to intervene or who has been

admitted as a party may amend the

petition without requesting leave of the

Board up to 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, but such an amended

petition must satisfy the specificity

requirements described above.

Not later than 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, a petitioner shall file a

supplement to the petition to intervene

which must include a list of the

contentions which are sought to be

litigated in the matter. Each contention

must consist of a specific statement of

the issue of law or fact to be raised or

controverted. In addition, the petitioner

shall provide a brief explanation of the

bases of the contention and a concise

statement of the alleged facts or expert

opinion which support the contention

and on which the petitioner intends to

rely in proving the contention at the

hearing. The petitioner must also

provide references to those specific

sources and documents of which the

petitioner is aware and on which the

petitioner intends to rely to establish

those facts or expert opinion. Petitioner

must provide sufficient information to

show that a genuine dispute exists with

the applicant on a material issue of law

or fact. Contentions shall be limited to

matters within the scope of the

amendment under consideration. The

contention must be one which, if

proven, would entitle the petitioner to

relief. A petitioner who fails to file such

a supplement which satisfies these

requirements with respect to at least one

contention will not be permitted to

participate as a party.

Those permitted to intervene become

parties to the proceeding, subject to any

limitations in the order granting leave to

intervene, and have the opportunity to

participate fully in the conduct of the

hearing, including the opportunity to

present evidence and cross-examine

witnesses.

A request for a hearing or a petition

for leave to intervene must be filed with

the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention:

Docketing and Services Branch, or may

be delivered to the Commission’s Public

Document Room, the Gelman Building,

2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC, by

the above date. Where petitions are filed

during the last 10 days of the notice

period, it is requested that the petitioner

promptly so inform the Commission by

a toll-free telephone call to Western

Union at 1-(800) 248–5100 (in Missouri

1-(800) 342–6700). The Western Union

operator should be given Datagram

Identification Number N1023 and the

following message addressed to Gail

Marcus, Director, Project Directorate III–

3: petitioner’s name and telephone

number; date petition was mailed; plant

name; and publication date and page

number of this Federal Register notice.

A copy of the petition should also be

sent to the Office of the General

Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, and to Leah Manning Stetzner,

Vice President, General Counsel, and

Corporate Secretary, 500 South 27th

Street, Decatur, Illinois 62525, attorney

for the licensee.

Nontimely filings of petitions for

leave to intervene, amended petitions,

supplemental petitions and/or requests

for hearing will not be entertained

absent a determination by the

Commission, the presiding officer or the

presiding Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board that the petition and/or request

should be granted based upon a

balancing of the factors specified in 10

CFR 2.714(a)(1)(i)–(v) and 2.714(d).

If a request for a hearing is received,

the Commission’s staff may issue the

amendment after it completes its

technical review and prior to the

completion of any required hearing if it

publishes a further notice for public

comment of its proposed finding of no

significant hazards consideration in

accordance with 10 CFR 50.91 and

50.92.

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated April 1, 1997, which

is available for public inspection at the

Commission’s Public Document Room,

the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street,

NW., Washington, DC, and at the local

public document room located at the

Vespasian Warner Public Library, 120

West Johnson Street, Clinton, Illinois

61727.

Dated at Rockville, MD, this 3rd day of

April 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Cynthia A. Carpenter,

Acting Director, Project Directorate III–3,

Division of Reactor Projects—III/IV, Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–9060 Filed 4–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50–269, 50–270, 50–287, 50–

369, 50–370, 50–413 and 50–414]

Environmental Assessment and

Finding of no Significant Impact;

Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and

3; Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1

and 2; McGuire Nuclear Station, Units

1 and 2

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) is

considering issuance of an exemption

from certain requirements of its

regulations in Facility Operating

Licenses issued to Duke Power

Company, et al. (the licensee). License

Nos. DPR–38, DPR–47, and DPR–55 are

for operation of the Oconee Nuclear

Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, located in

Oconee County, South Carolina. License

Nos. NPF–35 and NPF–52 are for

operation of the Catawba Nuclear

Station located in York County, South

Carolina. License Nos. NPF–9 and NPF–

17 are for operation of the McGuire

Nuclear Station located in Mecklenburg

County, North Carolina.
17222 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Notices

Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

The proposed action is in accordance

with the licensee’s application dated

August 23, 1996, for exemption from

certain requirements of 10 CFR 73.55,

‘‘Requirements for Physical Protection

of Licensed Activities in Nuclear Power

Reactors Against Radiological

Sabotage.’’ The exemption would allow

implementation of a hand geometry

biometrics system to control site access

at the Oconee, Catawba, and McGuire

nuclear stations so that photo

identification badges may be kept and

taken offsite by individuals not

employed by the licensee who have

been granted unescorted access into

protected and vital areas.

The Need for the Proposed Action

Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.55, paragraph

(a), Duke Power Company shall

establish and maintain an onsite

physical protection system and security

organization. Regulation 10 CFR

73.55(d), ‘‘Access Requirements,’’

paragraph (1), specifies that the

‘‘licensee shall control all points of

personnel and vehicle access into a

protected area.’’ Regulation 10 CFR

73.55(d)(5) specifies that, ‘‘A numbered

picture badge identification system shall

be used for all individuals who are

authorized access to protected areas

without escort.’’

Regulation 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) also

states that an individual not employed

by the licensee (i.e., contractors) may be

authorized access to protected areas

without escort provided the individual

‘‘receives a picture badge upon entrance

into the protected area which must be

returned upon exit from the protected

area. * * * ’’ Currently, unescorted

access into protected areas at the

Oconee, Catawba, and McGuire nuclear

stations is controlled through the use of

a photograph on a badge/keycard

(hereafter referred to as a ‘‘badge’’),

which is stored at the access point when

not in use. The security officers at each

entrance station use the photograph on

the badge to visually identify the

individual requesting access. The

badges for licensee employees and

contractor personnel who have been

granted unescorted access are given to

the individuals at the entrance location

upon entry and are returned upon exit.

In accordance with 10 CFR

73.55(d)(5), contractor badges are not

allowed to be taken offsite.

The licensee proposes to implement

an alternate unescorted access control

system that would eliminate the need to

issue and retrieve badges at the entry

point and would allow all individuals

with unescorted access to keep their

badges when departing the site.

An exemption from 10 CFR

73.55(d)(5) is required to permit

contractors to take their badges offsite

instead of returning them when exiting

the site.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed

Action

The Commission has completed its

evaluation of the licensee’s application.

Under the proposed system, each

individual who is authorized

unescorted access would have the

physical characteristics of his/her hand

(i.e., hand geometry) registered with his/

her badge number in the access control

system. When an individual enters the

badge into the card reader and places

his/her hand on the measuring surface,

the system would record the

individual’s hand image. The unique

characteristics of the hand image would

be compared with the previously stored

template to verify authorization for

entry. Individuals, including licensee

employees and contractors, would be

allowed to keep their badges when

departing the site.

A Sandia report, ‘‘A Performance

Evaluation of Biometric Identification

Devices,’’ SAND91–0276–UC–906,

Unlimited Release, June 1991,

concluded that hand geometry

equipment possesses strong

performance and high detection

characteristics. Also, based on its own

experience with the current photoidentification system, the licensee

determined that the proposed hand

geometry system would provide the

same level of assurance as the current

system that access is only granted to

authorized individuals. Since both the

badge and hand geometry would be

necessary for access into the protected

areas, the proposed system would

provide a positive verification process.

Potential loss of a badge by an

individual, as a result of taking the

badge offsite, would not enable

unauthorized entry into protected areas.

The licensee has determined that the

proposed hand geometry access control

process for identifying personnel will

provide the same high assurance

objective regarding onsite physical

protection as provided by the photoidentification process now in use. The

access process will continue to be under

the observation of security personnel. A

numbered picture badge identification

system will continue to be used for all

individuals who are authorized access

to protected areas without escorts.

Badges will continue to be displayed by

all individuals while inside the

protected areas.

The licensee has stated it will

implement a process for periodically

testing the proposed system to ensure

continued overall level of performance

equivalent to that specified in the

regulation. The Physical Security Plan

will be revised to include

implementation and testing of the hand

geometry access control system and to

allow licensee employees and

contractors to take their badges offsite.

Accordingly, the Commission

concludes that this proposed action

would result in no significant

radiological environmental impacts.

With regard to potential nonradiological

impacts, the proposed action does not

affect non-radiological plant effluents

and has no other environmental impact.

Therefore, the Commission concludes

that there are no significant

nonradiological environmental impacts

associated with the proposed action.

Alternative to the Proposed Action

As an alternative to the proposed

action, the staff considered denial of the

proposed action. Denial of the

application would result in no change

in current environmental impacts. The

environmental impacts of the proposed

action and the alternative action are

similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

This action did not involve the use of

any resources not previously considered

in the Final Environmental Statements

related to operation of the Oconee,

Catawba, and McGuire nuclear stations.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

In accordance with its stated policy,

on April 1 and April 4, 1997, the staff

consulted with the South Carolina and

North Carolina State officials,

respectively, regarding the

environmental impact of the proposed

action. The State officials had no

comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

The Commission has determined not

to prepare an environmental impact

statement for the proposed exemption.

Based upon the foregoing environmental

assessment, the Commission has

concluded that the proposed action will

not have a significant effect on the

quality of the human environment.

For further details with respect to this

action, see the request for exemption

dated August 23, 1996, which is

available for public inspection at the

Commission’s Public Document Room,

The Gelman Building, 2120 L Street,

NW, Washington, DC and at the local

public document rooms located at the

Oconee County Library, 501 West South
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Notices 17223

Broad Street, Walhalla, South Carolina

for the Oconee Nuclear Station; the York

County Library, 138 East Black Street,

Rock Hill, South Carolina 29730 for the

Catawba Nuclear Station; and the J.

Murrey Atkins Library, University of

North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201

University City Boulevard, North

Carolina 28223 for the McGuire Nuclear

Station.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day

of April 1997.

For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Herbert N. Berkow,

Director, Project Directorate II–2, Division of

Reactor Projects—I/II, Office of Nuclear

Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–9059 Filed 4–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Biweekly Notice; Applications and

Amendments to Facility Operating

Licenses Involving no Significant

Hazards Considerations

I. Background

Pursuant to Public Law 97–415, the

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(the Commission or NRC staff) is

publishing this regular biweekly notice.

Public Law 97–415 revised section 189

of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as

amended (the Act), to require the

Commission to publish notice of any

amendments issued, or proposed to be

issued, under a new provision of section

189 of the Act. This provision grants the

Commission the authority to issue and

make immediately effective any

amendment to an operating license

upon a determination by the

Commission that such amendment

involves no significant hazards

consideration, notwithstanding the

pendency before the Commission of a

request for a hearing from any person.

This biweekly notice includes all

notices of amendments issued, or

proposed to be issued from March 17,

1997 through March 28, 1997. The last

biweekly notice was published on

March 26, 1997 (62 FR 14457).

Notice of Consideration of Issuance of

Amendments to Facility Operating

Licenses, Proposed no Significant

Hazards Consideration Determination,

and Opportunity for a Hearing

The Commission has made a

proposed determination that the

following amendment requests involve

no significant hazards consideration.

Under the Commission’s regulations in

10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation

of the facility in accordance with the

proposed amendment would not (1)

Involve a significant increase in the

probability or consequences of an

accident previously evaluated; or (2)

create the possibility of a new or

different kind of accident from any

accident previously evaluated; or (3)

involve a significant reduction in a

margin of safety. The basis for this

proposed determination for each

amendment request is shown below.

The Commission is seeking public

comments on this proposed

determination. Any comments received

within 30 days after the date of

publication of this notice will be

considered in making any final

determination.

Normally, the Commission will not

issue the amendment until the

expiration of the 30-day notice period.

However, should circumstances change

during the notice period such that

failure to act in a timely way would

result, for example, in derating or

shutdown of the facility, the

Commission may issue the license

amendment before the expiration of the

30-day notice period, provided that its

final determination is that the

amendment involves no significant

hazards consideration. The final

determination will consider all public

and State comments received before

action is taken. Should the Commission

take this action, it will publish in the

Federal Register a notice of issuance

and provide for opportunity for a

hearing after issuance. The Commission

expects that the need to take this action

will occur very infrequently.

Written comments may be submitted

by mail to the Chief, Rules Review and

Directives Branch, Division of Freedom

of Information and Publications

Services, Office of Administration, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, and

should cite the publication date and

page number of this Federal Register

notice. Written comments may also be

delivered to Room 6D22, Two White

Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike,

Rockville, Maryland from 7:30 a.m. to

4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. Copies of

written comments received may be

examined at the NRC Public Document

Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L

Street, NW., Washington, DC. The filing

of requests for a hearing and petitions

for leave to intervene is discussed

below.

By May 9, 1997, the licensee may file

a request for a hearing with respect to

issuance of the amendment to the

subject facility operating license and

any person whose interest may be

affected by this proceeding and who

wishes to participate as a party in the

proceeding must file a written request

for a hearing and a petition for leave to

intervene. Requests for a hearing and a

petition for leave to intervene shall be

filed in accordance with the

Commission’s ‘‘Rules of Practice for

Domestic Licensing Proceedings’’ in 10

CFR Part 2. Interested persons should

consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.714

which is available at the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC and at the local public

document room for the particular

facility involved. If a request for a

hearing or petition for leave to intervene

is filed by the above date, the

Commission or an Atomic Safety and

Licensing Board, designated by the

Commission or by the Chairman of the

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board

Panel, will rule on the request and/or

petition; and the Secretary or the

designated Atomic Safety and Licensing

Board will issue a notice of a hearing or

an appropriate order.

As required by 10 CFR 2.714, a

petition for leave to intervene shall set

forth with particularity the interest of

the petitioner in the proceeding, and

how that interest may be affected by the

results of the proceeding. The petition

should specifically explain the reasons

why intervention should be permitted

with particular reference to the

following factors: (1) The nature of the

petitioner’s right under the Act to be

made a party to the proceeding; (2) the

nature and extent of the petitioner’s

property, financial, or other interest in

the proceeding; and (3) the possible

effect of any order which may be

entered in the proceeding on the

petitioner’s interest. The petition should

also identify the specific aspect(s) of the

subject matter of the proceeding as to

which petitioner wishes to intervene.

Any person who has filed a petition for

leave to intervene or who has been

admitted as a party may amend the

petition without requesting leave of the

Board up to 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, but such an amended

petition must satisfy the specificity

requirements described above.

Not later than 15 days prior to the first

prehearing conference scheduled in the

proceeding, a petitioner shall file a

supplement to the petition to intervene

which must include a list of the

contentions which are sought to be

litigated in the matter. Each contention

must consist of a specific statement of

the issue of law or fact to be raised or

controverted. In addition, the petitioner

shall provide a brief explanation of the

bases of the contention and a concise

statement of the alleged facts or expert