[Federal Register: November 25, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 227)]
[Notices]
[Page 70628-70629]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25no02-90]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Notice of Issuance of Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206
Notice is hereby given that the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, has issued a Director's Decision with regard to a petition
dated March 11, 2002, and supplements dated March 21, 22, and 27, 2002
(the Petition), submitted by Mr. David A. Lochbaum, a Nuclear Safety
Engineer in the Washington, DC Office of the Union of Concerned
Scientists (UCS), and the co-petitioners identified in the petition
supplements dated March 21 and March 22, 2002 (the Petitioners). The
Petitioners have requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC or the Commission) take action with regard to the nuclear power
facilities listed in Attachment 1 to the Petition (multiple nuclear
power facilities). The
[[Page 70629]]
Petitioners request that the NRC immediately issue Orders to the owners
of all operating nuclear power plants to take measures that will reduce
the risk from sabotage of irradiated fuel. Specifically, those measures
are:
(1) The NRC should ``impose a 72-hour limit for operation when the
number of operable onsite alternating current power sources (i.e.,
emergency diesel generators) is one less than the number in the
Technical Specification limiting condition for operation. This 72-hour
limit would be applicable when the nuclear plant is in any mode of
operation other than hot shutdown, cold shutdown, refueling, or
defueled.'' Oconee Nuclear Station does not rely on emergency diesel
generators, but ``equivalent protection for its emergency power
supply'' should be provided. The NRC should also ``cease and desist
issuing NOEDs [Notices of Enforcement Discretion] that allow nuclear
reactors to operate for longer periods of time with broken emergency
diesel generators.'' This requested action would apply to the
facilities listed in Attachment 1 to the Petition.
(2) The NRC should ``impose a minimum 24-hour time-to-boil for the
spent fuel pool water. This limit would be applicable at all times.''
This requested action would apply to the facilities listed in
Attachment 1 to the Petition.
The Petition also requested that the NRC hold a public meeting to
precede ``the Petition Review Board (PRB) non-public meeting regarding
this petition'' and assign ``someone other than the Director of NRR
[Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation] to be responsible for our
petition. The Deputy Executive Director for Reactor Programs or the
Deputy Director of NRR would be acceptable to UCS.''
As the basis for the Petition, the Petitioners cite the need to
reduce the risk from sabotage of irradiated fuel.
On March 26, 2002, in lieu of a public meeting, the Petitioners
accepted and participated in a telephone conference (teleconference)
with the NRC's PRB to discuss the Petition. The transcript of the
teleconference was considered as a supplement to the Petition. After
the teleconference, the PRB discussed the Petition. The PRB considered
the contributions of the Petitioners to the teleconference in deciding
on the requests for immediate action and in setting the schedule for
the review of the Petition. The PRB concluded that the Petition
satisfied the criteria for review under title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Subsection 2.206.
By letter dated May 8, 2002, the NRC staff acknowledged receiving
the Petition, informed the Petitioners that the Petition met the
requirements for review under 10 CFR 2.206, and the Petition had been
referred to the Director of NRR for action and would be acted upon
within a reasonable time. The petitioners were also informed in that
letter that the NRC staff declined to grant the Petitioners' request
for immediate action.
The NRC sent a copy of the proposed Director's Decision to the
Petitioners for comment by letter dated September 4, 2002. The
Petitioners responded with comments by letter dated September 23, 2002.
The Petitioners' comments and the NRC staff responses to the comments
are addressed in Enclosure No. 2 and No. 3 to the November 15, 2002,
letter to Mr. David A. Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists.
The Director, NRR, concluded that the information contained in the
Petition does not warrant NRC staff action to: ``Impose a 72-hour limit
for operation when the number of operable onsite alternating current
power sources (i.e., emergency diesel generators) is one less than the
number in the Technical Specification limiting condition for
operation'' during plant operation. In addition, the Director, NRR,
concluded that the information contained in the Petition does not
warrant NRC staff action to ``cease and desist issuing NOEDs that allow
nuclear reactors to operate for longer periods of time with broken
emergency diesel generators.'' These requests are denied.
With regard to the Petitioners' second request, that the NRC
``impose a minimum 24-hour time-to-boil for the spent fuel pool water.
This limit would be applicable at all times,'' the Director, NRR, has
concluded that this request is partially granted by staff actions
already taken. However, for the reasons discussed in the Director's
Decision, the NRC staff concludes that the actions specifically
requested by the Petitioners are not necessary. The reasons for these
decisions are explained in the Director's Decision pursuant to 10 CFR
2.206 (DD-02-07), the complete text of which is available in the
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) for
inspection in the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR) located at
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville,
Maryland, and electronically accessible in ADAMS through the NRC Public
Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html (ADAMS
Accession No. ML022800647). Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or
who encounter problems in accessing documents located in ADAMS should
contact the NRC PDR reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or
301-415-4737, or by email to pdr@nrc.gov.
A copy of the Director's Decision will be filed with the Secretary
of the Commission for the Commission's review in accordance with 10 CFR
2.206 of the Commission's regulations. As provided for by this
regulation, the Director's Decision will constitute the final action of
the Commission 25 days after the date of the decision, unless the
Commission, on its own motion, institutes a review of the Director's
Decision in that time.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of November, 2002.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-29873 Filed 11-21-02; 8:45 am]
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