[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53768-53769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-22650]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-206]
In the Matter of Southern California Edison Company; San Onofre
Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 1
Exemption
I
Southern California Edison Company (SCE or the licensee) is the
holder of Facility Operating License No. DPR-13, which authorizes the
licensee to possess the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 1
(SONGS1). The license states, in part, that the facility is subject to
all the rules, regulations, and orders of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (the Commission or NRC) now or hereafter in effect. The
facility consists of a pressurized-water reactor located at the
licensee's site in San Diego County, California. The facility is
permanently shut down and defueled, and the licensee is no longer
authorized to operate or place fuel in the reactor.
II
It is stated in Title 10 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) section 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.''
By letter dated April 28, 2000, as supplemented by letter dated
July 21, 2000, the licensee requested 12 exemptions from certain
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55. These requirements are: (1) 10 CFR
73.55(a) the requirement that any emergency suspension of safeguards
measures be approved by a licensed senior operator, (2) 10 CFR
73.55(c)(1)--the requirement that a protected area be maintained, (3)
10 CFR 73.55(c)(3)--the requirement that isolation zones be maintained
in outdoor areas adjacent to the physical barrier at the perimeter of
the protected area, (4) 10 CFR 73.55(c)(4)--the requirement that
intrusion detection equipment for the perimeter of the protected area
be utilized, (5) 10 CFR 73.55(c)(5)--the requirement that exterior
illumination levels for the spent fuel building be maintained at the
0.2 footcandle level, (6) 10 CFR 73.55(c)(6)--the requirement that the
control room be bullet resisting, (7) 10 CFR 73.55(c)(7)--the
requirement that a vehicle barrier system be maintained around the
spent fuel pool, (8) 10 CFR 73.55(d)(1)--the requirement that the last
access control point be bullet resisting, (9) 10 CFR 73.55(e)(1)--the
requirements that the central alarm station be located within the
protected area, that there be a secondary alarm station, and that a
secondary power supply system for the alarm annunciation equipment be
within a vital area, (10) 10 CFR 73.55(e)(2)--the requirement for the
alarm transmission lines to be tamper indicating and self-checking,
(11) 10 CFR 73.55(h)(3)--the requirement to have five or more guards
per shift immediately available to fulfill response commitments, and
(12) 10 CFR 73.55(h)(6)--the requirement to remotely observe the
isolation zone and physical barrier at the perimeter of the protected
area. The proposed exemption is a preliminary step toward enabling SCE
to revise the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Security Plan under
10 CFR 50.54(p) to develop and implement a defueled security plan to
protect against radiological sabotage at SONGS1, a permanently shutdown
reactor facility with fuel stored in the spent fuel storage pool.
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 Commission is allowed to authorize a
licensee to provide alternative measures for protection against
radiological sabotage, provided the licensee demonstrates that the
proposed measures meet the general performance requirements of the
regulation and that the overall level of system performance provides
protection against radiological sabotage equivalent to that provided by
the regulation.
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 73.55 is to provide reasonable
assurance that adequate security measures can be taken in the event of
an act of radiological sabotage. Because of its permanently shutdown
and defueled condition, the number of target sets susceptible to
sabotage attacks has been reduced. In addition, with more than 90
months of radiological and heat decay since SONGS1 was shut down in
1992, the radiological hazards associated with the remaining target
sets, even if subject to sabotage attack, do not pose a significant
threat to the public health and safety.
IV
For the foregoing reasons, the Commission has determined that the
proposed alternative measures for protection against radiological
sabotage meet the same assurance objective and the general performance
requirements of 10 CFR 73.55 considering the permanently shutdown
conditions at SONGS1 with all of the fuel in the spent fuel pool. In
addition, the Commission has determined that the overall level of the
proposed system's performance, as limited by this exemption, would not
result in a reduction in the physical protection capabilities for the
protection of special nuclear material or of SONGS1. Specifically, an
exemption is being granted for 12 specific areas in
[[Page 53769]]
which the licensee is authorized to modify the existing security plan
commitments commensurate with the security threats associated with a
permanently shutdown and defueled site for Unit 1 as follows:
(1) 10 CFR 73.55(a)--the requirement that any emergency suspension
of safeguards measures be approved by a licensed senior operator in
accordance with 10 CFR 50.54(x) and 50.54(y) for Unit 1 and that
authority assigned to a certified fuel handler, (2) 10 CFR
73.55(c)(1)--the requirement that a protected area be maintained, since
there are no vital areas, (3) 10 CFR 73.55(c)(3)--the requirement that
isolation zones be maintained, since there are no vital areas, (4) 10
CFR 73.55(c)(4)--the requirement that an exterior intrusion detection
system be located around the spent fuel building of the new security
area, (5) 10 CFR 73.55(c)(5)--the requirement that the exterior
illumination levels surrounding the spent fuel building be maintained
at 0.2 footcandle measured horizontally at ground level, (6) 10 CFR
73.55(c)(6)--the requirement that the control room walls, doors,
ceiling, floor, and any windows in the walls and in the doors be
bullet-resisting, (7) 10 CFR 73.55(c)(7)--the requirement that a
vehicle barrier system be maintained around the spent fuel building,
(8) 10 CFR 73.55(d)(1)--the requirement that the individual responsible
for the last access control function must be isolated within a bullet-
resisting structure to assure the ability to respond or to summon
assistance, (9) 10 CFR 73.55(e)(1)--the requirement that a continuously
manned central alarm station be located within the protected area, the
requirement for a continuously manned secondary alarm station, and the
need for a secondary power supply system for the alarm annunciation
equipment to be located within a vital area, (10) 10 CFR 73.55(e)(2)--
the requirement that alarm transmission lines be tamper indicating and
self-checking, (11) 10 CFR 73.55(h)(3)--the requirement that at least
five guards be immediately available for responding to threats, theft,
and radiological sabotage associated with the spent fuel pool, and (12)
10 CFR 73.55(h)(6)--the requirement that assessment capability of the
protected area and isolation zones be provided.
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
73.5, this exemption is authorized by law, will not endanger life or
property or the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants SCE an
exemption as described above from those requirements of 10 CFR 73.55 at
SONGS1 in its permanently shutdown and defueled condition based on the
safety evaluation enclosed with NRC letter to SCE dated August 29,
2000, which issues the exemption.
This exemption does not apply to SONGS Unit 2 or 3 or to the
storage of any SONGS Unit 2 or 3 spent fuel in the SONGS Unit 1 spent
fuel pool.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that this
exemption will not have a significant effect on the quality of the
human environment (65 FR 42402, dated July 10, 2000).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated: Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of August
2000.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John A. Zwolinski,
Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 00-22650 Filed 9-1-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P