Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 250 / Friday, December 29, 1995 / Notices 67365

1A stay will be issued routinely by the

Commission in those proceedings where an

informed decision on environmental issues

(whether raised by a party or by the Commission’s

Section of Environmental Analysis in its

independent investigation) cannot be made before

the effective date of the notice of exemption. See

Exemption of Out-of-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d

377 (1989). Any entity seeking a stay on

environmental concerns is encouraged to file its

request as soon as possible in order to permit the

Commission to review and act on the request before

the effective date of this exemption.

2 See Exempt. of Rail Abandonment—Offers of

Finan. Assist., 4 I.C.C.2d 164 (1987).

3 The Commission will accept a late-filed trail

use request as long as it retains jurisdiction to do

so.

4 Legislation to sunset the Commission on

December 31, 1995, and transfer remaining

functions is now under consideration in Congress.

Until further notice, parties submitting pleadings

should continue to use the current name and

address.

Forsyth and Stokes Counties and the

City of Rural Hall, NC.

YVRR and NS certify that: (1) No local

traffic has moved over the line for at

least 2 years; (2) any overhead traffic

can be rerouted over other lines or will

be retained and interchanged between

NS and YVRR on track now lying

between MP CF–29.8 and MP CF–31.2,

which will be reclassified as house or

interchange track; (3) no formal

complaint filed by a user of rail service

on the line (or by a state or local

government entity acting on behalf of

such user) regarding cessation of service

over the line either is pending with the

Commission or with any U.S. District

Court or has been decided in favor of

the complainant within the 2-year

period; and (4) the requirements at 49

CFR 1105.7 (service of environmental

report on agencies), 49 CFR 1105.8

(service of historic report on State

Historic Preservation Officer), 49 CFR

1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 CFR

1105.12 (newspaper publication), and

49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (service of verified

notice on governmental agencies) have

been met.

As a condition to use of this

exemption, any employee adversely

affected by the abandonment shall be

protected under Oregon Short Line R.

Co.—Abandonment—Goshen, 360 I.C.C.

91 (1979). To address whether this

condition adequately protects affected

employees, a petition for partial

revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10505(d)

must be filed.

Provided no formal expression of

intent to file an offer of financial

assistance (OFA) has been received, this

exemption will be effective on January

28, 1996, unless stayed pending

reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do

not involve environmental issues,1

formal expressions of intent to file an

OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),2 and

trail use/rail banking requests under 49

CFR 1152.29 3 must be filed by January

8, 1996. Petitions to reopen or requests

for public use conditions under 49 CFR

1152.28 must be filed by January 18,

1996, with: Office of the Secretary, Case

Control Branch, Interstate Commerce

Commission, Washington, DC 20423.4

A copy of any pleading filed with the

Commission should be sent to

applicant’s representative: Jo A.

DeRoche, Attorney for YVRR, Weiner,

Brodsky, Sidman & Kider, 1350 New

York Ave., N.W. Suite 800, Washington,

DC 20005–4797; and James R. Paschall,

Norfolk Southern Corporation, Three

Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510.

If the notice of exemption contains

false or misleading information, the

exemption is void ab initio.

Applicant has filed an environmental

report which addresses the

abandonment’s effects, if any, on the

environment and historic resources. The

Section of Environmental Analysis

(SEA) will issue an environmental

assessment (EA) by January 3, 1996.

Interested persons may obtain a copy of

the EA by writing to SEA (Room 3219,

Interstate Commerce Commission,

Washington, DC 20423) or by calling

Elaine Kaiser, Chief of SEA, at (202)

927–6248. Comments on environmental

and historic preservation matters must

be filed within 15 days after the EA

becomes available to the public.

Environmental, historic preservation,

public use, or trail use/rail banking

conditions will be imposed, where

appropriate, in a subsequent decision.

Decided: December 21, 1995.

By the Commission, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–31500 Filed 12–28–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7035–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50–395]

South Carolina Electric & Gas

Company and South Carolina Public

Service Authority (Virgil C. Summer

Nuclear Station Unit 1); Exemption

I

South Carolina Electric & Gas

Company, et al. (the licensee) is the

holder of Facility Operating License No.

NPF–12, which authorizes operation of

the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station,

(VCSNS) Unit 1. The license provides,

among other things, that the licensee is

subject to all rules, regulations, and

orders of the Commission now or

hereinafter in effect. The facility

consists of one pressurized water reactor

located in Fairfield County, South

Carolina.

II

It is stated in 10 CFR 73.55,

‘‘Requirements for physical protection

of licensed activities in nuclear power

reactors against radiological sabotage,’’

paragraph (a), that ‘‘The licensee shall

establish and maintain an onsite

physical protection system and security

organization which will have as its

objective to provide high assurance that

activities involving special nuclear

material are not inimical to the common

defense and security and do not

constitute an unreasonable risk to the

public health and safety.’’

It is specified in 10 CFR 73.55(d),

‘‘Access Requirements,’’ paragraph (1),

that ‘‘The licensee shall control all

points of personnel and vehicle access

into a protected area.’’ It is specified in

10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) that ‘‘A numbered

picture badge identification system shall

be used for all individuals who are

authorized access to protected areas

without escort.’’ It 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

* * *.’’

The licensee proposed to implement

an alternative unescorted access control

system which would eliminate the need

to issue and retrieve badges at each

entrance/exit location and would allow

all individuals with unescorted access

to keep their badges with them when

departing the site.

An exemption from 10 CFR

73.55(d)(5) is required to allow

contractors who have unescorted access

to take their badges offsite instead of

returning them when exiting the site. By

letter dated June 28, 1995, the licensee

requested an exemption from certain

requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5) for

this purpose.

III

Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.5, ‘‘Specific

exemptions,’’ the Commission may,

upon application of any interested

person or upon its own initiative, grant

such exemptions in this part as it

determines are authorized by law and

will not endanger life or property or the

common defense and security, and are

otherwise in the public interest.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 73.55, the
67366 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 250 / Friday, December 29, 1995 / Notices

Commission may authorize a licensee to

provide measures for protection against

radiological sabotage provided the

licensee demonstrates that the measures

have ‘‘the same high assurance

objective’’ and meet ‘‘the general

performance requirements’’ of the

regulation, and ‘‘the overall level of

system performance provides protection

against radiological sabotage

equivalent’’ to that which would be

provided by the regulation.

At the VCSNS site, unescorted access

into protected areas is controlled

through the use of a photograph on a

combination badge and keycard

(hereafter, referred to as badge). The

security officers at the entrance station

use the photograph on the badge to

visually identify the individual

requesting access. The badges for both

licensee employees and contractor

personnel who have been granted

unescorted access are issued upon

entrance at the entrance/exit location

and are returned upon exit. The badges

are stored and are retrievable at the

entrance/exit location. In accordance

with 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5), contractor

individuals are not allowed to take

badges offsite. In accordance with the

plant’s physical security plan, neither

licensee employees nor contractors are

allowed to take badges offsite.

Under the proposed system, each

individual who is authorized for

unescorted access into protected areas

would have the physical characteristics

of their hand (hand geometry) registered

with their badge number in the access

control system. When an individual

enters the badge into the card reader

and places the hand on the measuring

surface, the system would record the

individual’s hand image. The unique

characteristics of the extracted hand

image would be compared with the

previously stored template in the access

control system to verify authorization

for entry. Individuals, including

licensee employees and contractors,

would be allowed to keep their badges

with them when they depart the site and

thus eliminate the process to issue,

retrieve and store badges at the entrance

stations to the plant. Badges do not

carry any information other than a

unique identification number.

All other access processes, including

search function capability, would

remain the same. This system would not

be used for persons requiring escorted

access, i.e., visitors.

Based on a Sandia National

Laboratories report entitled, ‘‘A

Performance Evaluation of Biometric

Identification Devices’’ (SAND91–0276

UC–906 Unlimited Release, Printed June

1991), and on the licensee’s experience

with the current photo-identification

system, the licensee stated that the falseaccept rate for the hand geometry

system is at least equal to the current

system. The licensee will implement a

process for testing the proposed system

to ensure continued overall level of

performance equivalent to that specified

in the regulation. The Physical Security

Plan for VCSNS, Unit 1, 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.

The licensee will control all points of

personnel access into a protected area

under the observation of security

personnel through the use of a badge

and verification of hand geometry. A

numbered picture badge identification

system will continue to be used for all

individuals who are authorized

unescorted access to protected areas.

Badges will continue to be displayed by

all individuals while inside the

protected area.

Since both the badges and hand

geometry would be necessary for access

into the protected areas, the proposed

system would provide for a positive

verification process. The potential loss

of a badge by an individual, as a result

of taking the badge offsite, would not

enable an unauthorized entry into

protected areas.

For the foregoing reasons, pursuant to

10 CFR 73.55(a), the NRC staff has

determined that the proposed

alternative measures for protection

against radiological sabotage meet ‘‘the

same high assurance objective’’ and ‘‘the

general performance requirements’’ of

the regulation and that ‘‘the overall level

of system performance provides

protection against radiological sabotage

equivalent’’ to that which would be

provided by the regulation.

IV

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR

73.5, an exemption is authorized by law,

will not endanger life or property or

common defense and security, and is

otherwise in the public interest.

Therefore, the Commission hereby

grants an exemption from those

requirements of 10 CFR 73.55(d)(5)

relating to the returning of picture

badges upon exit from the protected

area such that individuals not employed

by the licensee, i.e., contractors who are

authorized unescorted access into the

protected area, may take their picture

badges offsite.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

granting of this exemption will not

result in any significant adverse

environmental impact (60 FR 43819).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day

of December 1995.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Steven A. Varga,

Director, Division of Reactor Projects—I/II,

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 95–31478 Filed 12–28–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

[Docket Nos. 50–295 and 50–304]

Commonwealth Edison Company;

Notice of Consideration of Issuance of

Amendments to Facility Operating

Licenses and Opportunity for a

Hearing

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) is

considering issuance of amendments to

Facility Operating License Nos. DPR–39

and DPR–48, issued to Commonwealth

Edison Company (ComEd, the licensee),

for operation of the Zion Nuclear Power

Station, Units 1 and 2, located in Lake

County, Illinois.

The proposed amendments, requested

by the licensee in its letter of November

3, 1995, as supplemented on November

22, 1995, would represent a full

conversion from the current Technical

Specifications (TS) to a set of TS based

on NUREG–1431, ‘‘Standard Technical

Specifications, Westinghouse Plants,’’

September 1992. NUREG–1431 has been

developed through working groups

composed of both NRC staff members

and Westinghouse owners and has been

endorsed by the staff as part of an

industry-wide initiative to standardize

and improve TS. As part of this

submittal, the licensee has applied the

criteria contained in the NRC Final

Policy Statement on Technical

Specification Improvement for Nuclear

Power Reactors (58 FR 39132, dated 7/

22/93) to the current Zion Nuclear

Power Station TS.

The licensee has categorized the

proposed changes into four general

groupings. These groupings are

characterized as relocated requirements,

administrative changes, less restrictive

changes involving deletion of

requirements, and more restrictive

changes.

‘‘R’’—Relocation of Requirements

Relocating requirements that do not

meet the TS criteria, to documents with

an established control program, allows

the TS to be reserved only for those

conditions or limitations upon reactor

operation that are necessary to