[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 45 (Monday, March 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11455-11456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5947]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-315 and 50-316]


Indiana Michigan Power Company (Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, 
Units 1 and 2); Exemption

I

    Indiana Michigan Power Company (the licensee) is the holder of 
Facility

[[Page 11456]]

Operating License Nos. DPR-58 and DPR-74, which authorize operation of 
the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, respectively. The 
Donald C. Cook facilities are pressurized-water reactors located at the 
licensee's site in Berrien County, Michigan. The license provides, 
among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, 
regulations, and orders of the Commission now or hereafter in effect.

II

    Section 50.71(e)(4) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 
``Maintenance of records, making of reports,'' states, in part, that 
``Subsequent revisions [to the final safety analysis report (FSAR)] 
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 two Donald C. Cook facilities share a common FSAR; 
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), ``Specific exemptions,'' makes the following 
statement:
    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) states that special circumstances are 
present whenever--
    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.

IV

    As noted in the staff's safety evaluation, the licensee's proposed 
schedule for FSAR updates will ensure that the FSAR for the Donald C. 
Cook Nuclear Plant will be kept current within 24 months of the last 
revision and will not exceed a 24-month maximum interval for submission 
of updates to the FSAR pusuant to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4). The Commission 
has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), an exemption is 
authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health 
and safety, and is consistent with common defense or security, and is 
otherwise in the public interest. The Commission has also determined 
that there are special circumstances as defined in 10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(ii) since the recent revision to 10 CFR 50.71(e), intended 
to decrease the burden associated with submittal of revisions to the 
FSAR, did not address multiple-unit sites with a common FSAR and 
provides that FSAR updates must be filed every 24 months. The 
licensee's proposed exemption provides the decrease in burden which was 
intended by the revision and, therefore, achieves the underlying 
purpose of the rule. The Commission hereby grants the licensee an 
exemption from the requirement of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) to submit updates 
to the FSAR for the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant within 6 months of 
each outage. The licensee will be required to submit updates to the 
Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant FSAR once every Unit 1 fuel cycle, but not 
to exceed 24 months from the last submittal.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the 
granting of this exemption will have no significant impact on the 
quality of the human environment (62 FR 59753).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3d day of March 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-5947 Filed 3-6-98; 8:45 am]
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