Entergy Operations, Inc., Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1; Exemption, 15749-15750 [2010-7022]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15749-15750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7022]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-416; NRC-2010-0082]


Entergy Operations, Inc., Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1; 
Exemption

1.0 Background

    Entergy Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee), is the holder 
of Facility Operating License No. NPF-29 which authorizes operation of 
the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (GGNS). The license provides, 
among other things, that the facility is subject to the rules, 
regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the 
Commission) now or hereafter in effect.
    The facility consists of a boiling-water reactor located in 
Claiborne County, Mississippi.

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 (74 FR 13926), 
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 additional requirements that 
Entergy 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 application dated January 14, 2010, as supplemented by letters 
dated January 18 and February 4, 2010, the licensee requested an 
exemption in accordance with 10 CFR 73.5, ``Specific exemptions.'' The 
licensee's letters dated January 14 and February 4, 2010, contain 
security-related information and, accordingly, are being withheld from 
public disclosure. The licensee's letter dated January 18, 2010, is 
publicly available in Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS) Accession No. ML100190852. The licensee has requested an 
exemption from the March 31, 2010, implementation date, stating that it 
must complete a number of modifications to the current site security 
configuration before all requirements can be met. Specifically, the 
request is to extend the implementation date from the current March 31, 
2010, deadline to July 30, 2010, for one requirement and to March 31, 
2011, for a second requirement. Granting this exemption for the two 
requirements would allow the licensee to complete the modifications 
designed to provide significant upgrades 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

[[Page 15750]]

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, to July 30, 2010, for the implementation 
date of one specific requirement and to March 31, 2011, for the 
implementation date of another specific requirement 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, NRC approval of the licensee's 
exemption request 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 any such 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 the 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.

GGNS Schedule Exemption Request

    The licensee provided detailed information in the Attachments to 
its letters dated January 14 and February 4, 2010, requesting an 
exemption. The licensee is requesting additional time to implement 
certain new requirements due to the long equipment lead time from the 
vendor, the time required for installation and testing of the new 
security equipment, and the impact to available resources from a 
scheduled spring 2010 refueling outage. The licensee describes a 
comprehensive plan to expand the protected area with upgrades to the 
security capabilities of its GGNS site and provides a timeline for 
achieving full compliance with the new regulation. The Attachments to 
the licensee's letters contain 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, justification for the exemption request, a description 
of the required changes to the site's security configuration, and a 
timeline with ``critical path'' activities that would enable the 
licensee to achieve full compliance by March 31, 2011. The timeline 
provides dates indicating when (1) construction will begin on various 
phases of the project (e.g., new buildings and fences), and (2) 
critical equipment will be ordered, installed, tested and become 
operational. A redacted version of the licensee's exemption request, 
including attachment, is publicly available at Agencywide Documents 
Management and Access System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML100190852.
    Notwithstanding the schedule exemptions for these limited 
requirements, the licensee indicated that it 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 March 31, 2011, GGNS also stated that it 
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 submittal and concludes that 
the licensee has provided adequate justification for its request for an 
extension of the compliance date with regard to one specified 
requirement of 10 CFR 73.55 until March 31, 2011, and another specified 
requirement of 10 CFR 73.55 until July 30, 2010.
    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 GGNS modifications are complete justifies 
extending the full compliance date in the case of this particular 
licensee. The security measures GGNS needs additional time to complete 
are new requirements imposed by the March 27, 2009, amendments to 10 
CFR 73.55, and are in addition to those currently 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 two items 
specified in the Attachments to Entergy's letters dated January 14, 
January 18, and February 4, 2010, the licensee is required to be in 
full compliance with 10 CFR 73.55 by March 31, 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 9955; March 4, 2010).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd 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. 2010-7022 Filed 3-29-10; 8:45 am]
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