[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 116 (Tuesday, June 17, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 32831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-15833]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-413, 50-414, 50-369 and 50-370]


Duke Power Company (Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2) and 
(McGuire Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2); Exemption

I

    Duke Power Company (the licensee) is the holder of Facility 
Operating License Nos. NPF-35 and NPF-52, for the Catawba Nuclear 
Station (CNS), Units 1 and 2; and NPF-9 and NPF-17 for the McGuire 
Nuclear Station (MNS), Units 1 and 2. The licenses provide, among other 
things, that the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and 
orders of the Commission now or hereafter in effect.
    These facilities consist of two pressurized water reactors located 
at each of the licensee's site in York County, South Carolina, and 
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

II

    Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.71 
``Maintenance of records, making of reports,'' paragraph (e)(4) states, 
in part, that ``Subsequent revisions [to the Updated Final Safety 
Analysis Report (UFSAR)] must be filed annually or 6 months after each 
refueling outage provided the interval between successive updates to 
the FSAR does not exceed 24 months.'' The CNS and MNS two-unit sites 
share a common UFSAR; therefore, this rule requires the licensee to 
update the same document within 6 months after a refueling outage for 
either unit.

III

    Section 50.12(a) of 10 CFR, ``Specific exemptions,'' states that

    The Commission may, upon application by any interested person, 
or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements 
of the regulations of this part, which are (1) Authorized by law, 
will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and 
are consistent with the common defense and security. (2) The 
Commission will not consider granting an exemption unless special 
circumstances are present.

    Section 50.12(a)(2)(ii) of 10 CFR states that special circumstances 
are present when ``Application of the regulation in the particular 
circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is 
not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule * * *.'' As 
noted in the staff's Safety Evaluation, the licensee's proposed 
schedule for UFSAR updates will ensure that the CNS and MNS UFSARs will 
be maintained current within 24 months of the last revision and the 
interval for submission of the 10 CFR 50.59 design change report will 
not exceed 24 months. The proposed schedule fits within the 24-month 
duration specified by 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4). Literal application of 10 CFR 
50.71(e)(4) would require the licensee to update the same document 
within 6 months after a refueling outage for either unit, a more 
burdensome requirement than intended. Accordingly, the Commission has 
determined that special circumstances are present as defined in 10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(ii). The Commission has further determined that, pursuant 
to 10 CFR 50.12, the exemption is authorized by law, will not present 
an undue risk to the public health and safety and is consistent with 
the common defense and security, and is otherwise in the public 
interest. The Commission hereby grants the licensee an exemption from 
the requirement of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) to submit updates to the CNS and 
MNS UFSARs within 6 months of each unit's refueling outage. The 
licensee will be required to submit updates to the Catawba UFSAR and 
McGuire UFSAR within six months after each station's Unit 2 refueling 
outage. With the current length of fuel cycles, UFSAR updates would be 
submitted every 18 months, but not to exceed 24 months from the last 
submittal.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that 
granting of this exemption will have no significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment (62 FR 28906).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of June 1997.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-15833 Filed 6-16-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P