[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 26, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10305-10308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3581]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-424 and 50-425]


Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2; Notice of 
Consideration of Issuance of Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses, 
Proposed No Significant Hazards; Consideration Determination, and 
Opportunity for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission, or the NRC) 
is considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License 
Nos. NPF-68 and NPF-81 to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (the 
licensee) for operation of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 
1 and 2 (Vogtle 1 and 2), which are located in Burke County, Georgia.
    The proposed amendments in the licensee's application dated 
February 13, 2008, propose a one-time steam generator (SG) tubing eddy 
current inspection interval revision to the Vogtle Electric Generating 
Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Vogtle 1 and 2) Technical Specifications (TSs) 
5.5.9, ``Steam Generator (SG) Program,'' to incorporate an interim 
alternate repair criterion (ARC) in the provisions for SG tube repair 
criteria during the Vogtle 1 inspection performed in refueling outage 
14 and subsequent operating cycle, and during the Vogtle 2 inspection 
performed in refueling outage 13 and subsequent 18-month SG tubing eddy 
current inspection interval and subsequent 36-month SG tubing eddy 
current inspection interval. These amendments request approval of an 
interim ARC that requires full-length inspection of the tubes within 
the tubesheet but does not require plugging tubes if any axial or 
circumferential cracking observed in the region greater than 17 inches 
below the top of the tubesheet (TTS) is less than a value sufficient to 
permit the remaining circumferential ligament to transmit the limiting 
axial loads. These amendments are required to preclude unnecessary 
plugging while still maintaining structural and leakage integrity. 
These amendments also revise TS 5.6.10, ``Steam Generator Tube 
Inspection Report,'' where three new reporting requirements are 
proposed to be added to the existing seven requirements. For TS 5.5.9, 
the amendments would replace the existing ARC in TS 5.5.9.c.1 for SG 
tube inspections that were approved in Amendment Nos. 146 and 126 
issued September 12, 2006, for refueling outage 13 and the subsequent 
operating cycle for Vogtle 1, and for refueling outage 12 and the 
subsequent operating cycle for Vogtle 2.
    Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission 
will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations.
    The Commission has made a proposed determination that the amendment 
request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under the 
Commission's regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), Section 50.92, this means that operation of the facility in 
accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) involve a 
significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident 
previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or 
(3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. As required 
by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of the issue 
of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented below:

    (1) Does the proposed change involve a significant increase in 
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    Of the various accidents previously evaluated, the proposed 
changes only affect the steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) event 
evaluation and the postulated steam line break (SLB), locked rotor 
and control rod ejection accident evaluations. Loss-of-coolant 
accident (LOCA) conditions cause a compressive axial load to act on 
the tube. Therefore, since the LOCA tends to force the tube into the 
tubesheet rather than pull it out, it is not a factor in this 
licensing amendment

[[Page 10306]]

request. Another faulted load consideration is a safe shutdown 
earthquake (SSE); however, the seismic analysis of Model F steam 
generators has shown that axial loading of the tubes is negligible 
during an SSE.
    At normal operating pressures, leakage from primary water stress 
corrosion cracking (PWSCC) below 17 inches from the top of the 
tubesheet is limited by both the tube-to-tubesheet crevice and the 
limited crack opening permitted by the tubesheet constraint. 
Consequently, negligible normal operating leakage is expected from 
cracks within the tubesheet region.
    For the Unit 1 SGTR event, the required structural margins of 
the steam generator tubes is maintained by limiting the allowable 
ligament size for a circumferential crack to remain in service to 
214 degrees below 17 inches from the top of the tubesheet. For the 
Unit 2 SGTR event, the required structural margins of the steam 
generator tubes is maintained by limiting the allowable ligament 
size for a circumferential crack to remain in service to 214 degrees 
below 17 inches from the top of the tubesheet for the 18-month SG 
tubing eddy current inspection interval and to remain in service 183 
degrees below 17 inches from the top of the tubesheet for the 36-
month SG tubing eddy current inspection interval. Tube rupture is 
precluded for cracks in the hydraulic expansion region due to the 
constraint provided by the tubesheet. The potential for tube pullout 
is mitigated by limiting the Unit 1 allowable crack size to 214 
degrees and limiting the Unit 2 allowable crack size to 214 degrees 
for the 18-month SG tubing eddy current inspection interval and to 
183 degrees for the 36-month SG tubing eddy current inspection 
interval. These allowable crack sizes take into account eddy current 
uncertainty and crack growth rate. It has been shown that a Unit 1 
circumferential crack with an azimuthal extent of 214 degrees and a 
Unit 2 circumferential crack with an azimuthal extent of 214 degrees 
for the 18-month SG tubing eddy current inspection interval and an 
azimuthal extent of 183 degrees for the 36-month SG tubing eddy 
current inspection interval meet the performance criteria of NEI 97-
06, Rev. 2, ``Steam Generator Program Guidelines'' and the 
Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.121, ``Bases for Plugging Degraded PWR Steam 
Generator Tubes.'' Likewise, a best effort visual inspection will be 
conducted to confirm that a Unit 1 circumferential crack of greater 
than 294 degrees and that a Unit 2 circumferential crack of greater 
than 294 degrees for the 18-month SG tubing eddy current inspection 
interval and a circumferential crack of greater than 263 degrees for 
the 36-month SG tubing eddy current inspection interval do not 
remain in service in the tube end weld metal in any tube mitigating 
the potential for tube pullout. Therefore, the margin against tube 
burst/pullout is maintained during normal and postulated accident 
conditions and the proposed change does not result in a significant 
increase in the probability or consequence of a SGTR.
    The probability of a SLB is unaffected by the potential failure 
of a SG tube as the failure of a tube is not an initiator for a SLB 
event. SLB leakage is limited by leakage flow restrictions resulting 
from the leakage path above potential cracks through the tube-to-
tubesheet crevice. The leak rate during postulated accident 
conditions (including locked rotor and control rod ejection) has 
been shown to remain within the accident analysis assumptions for 
all axial or circumferentially oriented cracks occurring 17 inches 
below the top of the tubesheet. Since normal operating leakage is 
limited to 150 gpd (approximately 0.10 gpm), the attendant accident 
condition leak rate, assuming all leakage to be from indications 
below 17 inches from the top of the tubesheet, would be bounded by 
0.35 gpm. This value is within the accident analysis assumptions for 
the limiting design basis accident for VEGP, which is the postulated 
SLB event.
    Based on the above, the performance criteria of NEI-97-06, Rev. 
2 and draft Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.121 continue to be met and the 
proposed change does not involve a significant increase in the 
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
    (2) Does the proposed change create the possibility of a new or 
different accident from any accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    The proposed change does not introduce any changes or mechanisms 
that create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident. 
Tube bundle integrity is expected to be maintained for all plant 
conditions upon implementation of the interim alternate repair 
criterion. The proposed change does not introduce any new equipment 
or any change to existing equipment. No new effects on existing 
equipment are created nor are any new malfunctions introduced.
    Therefore, based on the above evaluation, the proposed changes 
do not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident 
from any accident previously evaluated.
    (3) Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in 
a margin of safety?
    Response: No.
    The proposed change maintains the required structural margins of 
the steam generator tubes for both normal and accident conditions. 
NEI 97-06, Rev. 2 and RG 1.121 are used as the basis in the 
development of the limited tubesheet inspection depth methodology 
for determining that steam generator tube integrity considerations 
are maintained within acceptable limits. RG 1.121 describes a method 
acceptable to the NRC staff for meeting General Design Criteria 14, 
15, 31, and 32 by reducing the probability and consequences of an 
SGTR. RG 1.121 concludes that by determining the limiting safe 
conditions of tube wall degradation beyond which tubes with 
unacceptable cracking, as established by inservice inspection, 
should be removed from service or repaired, the probability and 
consequences of a SGTR are reduced. This RG uses safety factors on 
loads for tube burst that are consistent with the requirements of 
Section III of the ASME Code.
    For axially oriented cracking located within the tubesheet, tube 
burst is precluded due to the presence of the tubesheet. For 
circumferentially oriented cracking in a tube or the tube-to-
tubesheet weld, Reference 3 defines a length of remaining tube 
ligament that provides the necessary resistance to tube pullout due 
to the pressure induced forces (with applicable safety factors 
applied). Additionally, it is shown that application of the limited 
tubesheet inspection depth criteria will not result in unacceptable 
primary-to-secondary leakage during all plant conditions.
    Based on the above, it is concluded that the proposed changes do 
not result in any reduction of margin with respect to plant safety 
as defined in the Updated Safety Analysis Report or bases of the 
plant Technical Specifications.

    The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on 
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are 
satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the 
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration.
    The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed 
determination. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice will be considered in making any final 
determination.
    Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the 
expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The 
Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60-
day period provided that its final determination is that the amendment 
involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the 
Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30-
day comment period should circumstances change during the 30-day 
comment period such that failure to act in a timely way would result, 
for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility. Should the 
Commission take action prior to the expiration of either the comment 
period or the notice period, it will publish in the Federal Register a 
notice of issuance. Should the Commission make a final No Significant 
Hazards Consideration Determination, any hearing will take place after 
issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will 
occur very infrequently.
    Written comments may be submitted by mail to the Chief, Rulemaking, 
Directives and Editing Branch, Division of Administrative Services, 
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and 
page number of this Federal Register notice. Written comments may also 
be delivered to Room 6D59, Two

[[Page 10307]]

White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 
a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. Documents may be examined, and/or 
copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at 
One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
    The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to 
intervene is discussed below.
    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, the 
person(s) may file a request for a hearing with respect to issuance of 
the amendment to the subject facility operating license and any 
person(s) whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who 
wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written 
request via electronic submission through the NRC E-filing system for a 
hearing and a petition for leave to intervene. Requests for a hearing 
and a petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with 
the Commission's (Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings( 
in 10 CFR Part 2. Interested person(s) should consult a current copy of 
10 CFR 2.309, which is available at the Commission's PDR, located at 
One White Flint North, Public File Area O1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be 
accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's 
(ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web 
site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. If a request 
for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed by the above 
date, the Commission or a presiding officer designated by the 
Commission or by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety 
and Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the request and/or petition; 
and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic 
Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of a hearing or an 
appropriate order.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene 
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in 
the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of 
the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons 
why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the 
following general requirements: 1) the name, address and telephone 
number of the requestor or petitioner; 2) the nature of the 
requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the 
proceeding; 3) the nature and extent of the requestor's/petitioner's 
property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and 4) the 
possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the 
proceeding on the requestors/petitioner's interest. The petition must 
also identify the specific contentions which the petitioner/requestor 
seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.
    Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 
petitioner/requestor shall provide a brief explanation of the bases for 
the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert 
opinion which support the contention and on which the petitioner 
intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. The 
petitioner/requestor must also provide references to those specific 
sources and documents of which the petitioner is aware and on which the 
petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts or expert opinion. 
The petition must include sufficient information to show that a genuine 
dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact. 
Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of the 
amendment under consideration. The contention must be one which, if 
proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. A petitioner/requestor 
who fails to satisfy these requirements with respect to at least one 
contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, 
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing.
    If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final 
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration. The 
final determination will serve to decide when the hearing is held. If 
the final determination is that the amendment request involves no 
significant hazards consideration, the Commission may issue the 
amendment and make it immediately effective, notwithstanding the 
request for a hearing. Any hearing held would take place after issuance 
of the amendment. If the final determination is that the amendment 
request involves a significant hazards consideration, any hearing held 
would take place before the issuance of any amendment.
    A request for hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must be 
filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule, which the NRC 
promulgated on August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49139). The E-Filing process 
requires participants to submit and serve documents over the internet 
or in some cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. 
Participants may not submit paper copies of their filings unless they 
seek a waiver in accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 
five (5) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/requestor 
must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a 
digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2) 
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances 
in which the petitioner/requestor (or its counsel or representative) 
already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each petitioner/
requestor will need to download the Workplace Forms ViewerTM 
to access the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the 
E-Filing system. The Workplace Forms ViewerTM is free and is 
available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
    Once a petitioner/requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, 
had a docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit 
a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions 
should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC 
guidance available on the NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the filer submits its documents through EIE. To be timely, an 
electronic filing must be submitted to the EIE system no later than 
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of a 
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an e-mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
EIE system also distributes an e-mail notice that provides access to 
the document to the NRC Office of the General Counsel and any others 
who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to 
participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the 
documents on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or

[[Page 10308]]

their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a digital 
ID certificate before a hearing request/petition to intervene is filed 
so that they can obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically may seek assistance through the 
``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC technical help line, 
which is available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday. The help line number is (800) 397-4209 or 
locally, (301) 415-4737. Participants who believe that they have a good 
cause for not submitting documents electronically must file a motion, 
in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) first class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth 
Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland, 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. 
Participants filing a document in this manner are responsible for 
serving the document on all other participants. Filing is considered 
complete by first-class mail as of the time of deposit in the mail, or 
by courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service upon depositing 
the document with the provider of the service.
    Non-timely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition 
and/or request should be granted and/or the contentions should be 
admitted, based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 
2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). To be timely, filings must be submitted no later 
than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant 
to an order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or 
a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include personal 
privacy information, such as social security numbers, home addresses, 
or home phone numbers in their filings. With respect to copyrighted 
works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the 
adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, 
Participants are requested not to include copyrighted materials in 
their submissions.
    For further details with respect to this license amendment 
application, see the letter dated February 13, 2008, from the Southern 
Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., which is available for public 
inspection at the Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, 
File Public Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically 
from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) 
Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have 
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents 
located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by 
telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of February 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Siva P. Lingam,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 [FR Doc. E8-3581 Filed 2-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P