10 C.F.R. Appendix C to Part 73—Licensee Safeguards Contingency Plans
Title 10 - Energy
Introduction A licensee safeguards contingency plan is a documented plan to give guidance to licensee personnel in order to accomplish specific defined objectives in the event of threats, thefts, or radiological sabotage relating to special nuclear material or nuclear facilities licensed under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. An acceptable safeguards contingency plan must contain: (1) a predetermined set of decisions and actions to satisfy stated objectives, (2) an identification of the data, criteria, procedures, and mechanisms necessary to efficiently implement the decisions, and (3) a stipulation of the individual, group, or organizational entity responsible for each decision and action. The goals of licensee safeguards contingency plans for responding to threats, thefts, and radiological sabotage are: (1) to organize the response effort at the licensee level, (2) to provide predetermined, structured responses by licensees to safeguards contingencies, (3) to ensure the integration of the licensee response with the responses by other entities, and (4) to achieve a measurable performance in response capability. Licensee safeguards contingency planning should result in organizing the licensee's resources in such a way that the participants will be identified, their several responsibilities specified, and the responses coordinated. The responses should be timely. It is important to note that a licensee's safeguards contingency plan is intended to be complementary to any emergency plans developed pursuant to appendix E to part 50 or to §70.22(i) of this chapter. contents of the plan Each licensee safeguards contingency plan shall include five categories of information: Although the implementing procedures (the fifth category of Plan information) are the culmination of the planning process, and therefore are an integral and important part of the safeguards contingency plan, they entail operating details subject to frequent changes. They need not be submitted to the Commission for approval, but will be inspected by NRC staff on a periodic basis. The licensee is responsible for ensuring that the implementing procedures reflect the information in the Responsibility Matrix, appropriately summarized and suitably presented for effective use by the responding entities. The following paragraphs describe the contents of the safeguards contingency plan. 1. Background. Under the following topics, this category of information shall identify and define the perceived dangers and incidents with which the plan will deal and the general way it will handle these: a. Perceived Danger—A statement of the perceived danger to the security of special nuclear material, licensee personnel, and licensee property, including covert diversion of special nuclear material, radiological sabotage, and overt attacks. The statement of perceived danger should conform with that promulgated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (The statement contained in 10 CFR 73.55(a) or subsequent Commission statements will suffice.) b. Purpose of the Plan—A discussion of the general aims and operational concepts underlying implementation of the plan. c. Scope of the Plan—A delineation of the types of incidents covered in the plan. d. Definitions—A list of terms and their definitions used in describing operational and technical aspects of the plan. 2. Generic Planning Base. Under the following topics, this category of information shall define the criteria for initiation and termination of responses to safeguards contingencies together with the specific decisions, actions, and supporting information needed to bring about such responses: a. Identification of those events that will be used for signaling the beginning or aggravation of a safeguards contingency according to how they are perceived initially by licensee's personnel. Such events may include alarms or other indications signaling penetration of a protected area, vital area, or material access area; material control or material accounting indications of material missing or unaccounted for; or threat indications—either verbal, such as telephoned threats, or implied, such as escalating civil disturbances. b. Definition of the specific objective to be accomplished relative to each identified event. The objective may be to obtain a level of awareness about the nature and severity of the safeguards contingency in order to prepare for further responses; to establish a level of response preparedness; or to successfully nullify or reduce any adverse safeguards consequences arising from the contingency. 3. Licensee Planning Base. This category of information shall include the factors affecting contingency planning that are specific for each facility or means of transportation. To the extent that the topics are treated in adequate detail in the licensee's approved physical security plan, they may be incorporated by cross reference to that plan. The following topics should be addressed: a. Licensee's Organizational Structure for Contingency Responses—A delineation of the organization's chain of command and delegation of authority as these apply to safeguards contingencies. b. Physical Layout—(i) Fixed Sites—A description of the physical structures and their location on the site, and a description of the site in relation to nearby town, roads, and other environmental features important to the effective coordination of response operations. Particular emphasis should be placed on main and alternate entry routes for law-enforcement assistance forces and the location of control points for marshalling and coordinating response activities. (ii) Transportation—A description of the vehicles, shipping routes, preplanned alternate routes, and related features. c. Safeguards Systems Hardware—A description of the physical security and accounting system hardware that influence how the licensee will respond to an event. Examples of systems to be discussed are communications, alarms, locks, seals, area access, armaments, and surveillance. d. Law Enforcement Assistance—A listing of available local law enforcement agencies and a description of their response capabilities and their criteria for response; and a discussion of working agreements or arrangements for communicating with these agencies. e. Policy Constraints and Assumptions—A discussion of State laws, local ordinances, and company policies and practices that govern licensee response to incidents. Examples that may be discussed include: f. Administrative and Logistical Considerations—Descriptions of licensee practices that may have an influence on the response to safeguards contingency events. The considerations shall include a description of the procedures that will be used for ensuring that all equipment needed to effect a successful response to a safeguards contingency will be easily accessible, in good working order, and in sufficient supply to provide redundancy in case of equipment failure. 4. Responsibility Matrix. This category of information consists of detailed identification of the organizational entities responsible for each decision and action associated with specific responses to safeguards contingencies. For each initiating event, a tabulation shall be made for each response entity depicting the assignment of responsibilities for all decisions and actions to be taken in response to the initiating event. (Not all entities will have assigned responsibilities for any given initiating event.) The tabulations in the Responsibility Matrix shall provide an overall picture of the response actions and their interrelationships. Safeguards responsibilities shall be assigned in a manner that precludes conflict in duties or responsibilities that would prevent the execution of the plan in any safeguards contingency. 5. Procedures. In order to aid execution of the detailed plan as developed in the Responsibility Matrix, this category of information shall detail the actions to be taken and decisions to be made by each member or unit of the organization as planned in the Responsibility Matrix. Audit and Review (1) For nuclear facilities subject to the requirements of §73.46, the licensee shall provide for a review of the safeguards contingency plan at intervals not to exceed 12 months. For nuclear power reactor licensees subject to the requirements of §73.55, the licensee shall provide for a review of the safeguards contingency plan either: (i) At intervals not to exceed 12 months, or (ii) As necessary, based on an assessment by the licensee against performance indicators, and as soon as reasonably practicable after a change occurs in personnel, procedures, equipment, or facilities that potentially could adversely affect security, but no longer than 12 months after the change. In any case, each element of the safeguards contingency plan must be reviewed at least every 24 months. (2) A licensee subject to the requirements of either §73.46 or §73.55 shall ensure that the review of the safeguards contingency plan is by individuals independent of both security program management and personnel who have direct responsibility for implementation of the security program. The review must include an audit of safeguards contingency procedures and practices, and an audit of commitments established for response by local law enforcement authorities. (3) The licensee shall document the results and the recommendations of the safeguards contingency plan review, management findings on whether the safeguards contingency plan is currently effective, and any actions taken as a result of recommendations from prior reviews in a report to the licensee's plant manager and to corporate management at least one level higher than that having responsibility for the day-to-day plant operation. The report must be maintained in an auditable form, available for inspection for a period of 3 years. (Sec. 161i, Pub. L. 83–703, 68 Stat. 948, secs. 201, 204(b)(1), Pub L. 93–438, 88 Stat. 1243, 1245 (42 U.S.C. 2201, 5841, 5844)) [43 FR 11965, Mar. 23, 1978; 43 FR 14007, Apr. 4, 1978, as amended at 57 FR 33432, July 29, 1992; 64 FR 14818, Mar. 29, 1999]
Title 10: Energy
PART 73—PHYSICAL PROTECTION OF PLANTS AND MATERIALS
Appendix C to Part 73—Licensee Safeguards Contingency Plans
