[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18450-18451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9291]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Public Service Electric and Gas Company; Salem Nuclear Generating 
Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2; Exemption

[Docket Nos. 50-272 and 50-311]

I

    Public Service Electric and Gas Company (the licensee) is the 
holder of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-70 and DPR-75 for the 
Salem Nuclear Generating Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. The 
license provides, among other things, that the licensee is subject to 
all rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission now or hereafter 
in effect.
    This facility consists of two pressurized water reactors located in 
Salem County, New Jersey.

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 UFSAR] does not exceed 24 months.'' The two units at 
the Salem plant share a common UFSAR, therefore, this rule requires the 
licensee to update the same document annually or within 6 months after 
each unit's refueling outage (approximately every 9 months).

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. * * *'' 
The licensee has proposed updating the unified Salem UFSAR 6 months 
after each Unit 1 refueling outage, provided the interval between 
successive updates does not exceed 24 months. The underlying purpose of 
the rule was to relieve licensees of the burden of filing annual UFSAR 
revisions while assuring that such revisions are made at least every 24 
months. The Commission reduced the burden, in part, by permitting a 
licensee to submit its UFSAR revisions 6 months after refueling outages 
for its facility, but did not provide in the rule for multiple unit 
facilities sharing a common UFSAR. Rather, the Commission stated that 
``With respect to * * * multiple facilities sharing a common UFSAR, 
licensees will have maximum flexibility for scheduling updates on a 
case-by-case basis'' (57 FR 39355 (1992)).
    The Salem units are on an 18-month fuel cycle. As noted In the NRC 
Staff's Safety Evaluation, the licensee's proposed schedule for the 
Salem UFSAR updates will ensure that the UFSAR will be maintained 
current for both units within 24 months of the last revision. The 
proposed schedule satisfies the maximum 24-month interval between UFSAR 
revisions specified by 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4). The requirement to revise 
the UFSAR annually or within 6 months after refueling outages for each 
unit, therefore, is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of 
the rule. 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 Salem UFSAR 
annually or within 6 months of each unit's refueling outage. The 
licensee will be required to submit updates to the Salem UFSAR within 6 
months after each Salem Unit 1 refueling outage, not

[[Page 18451]]

to exceed 24 months between successive revisions.
    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 (64 FR 16764).

    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of April, 1999.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-9291 Filed 4-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P