[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 249 (Friday, December 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76539-76541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31199]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-037; NRC-2008-0556]


Ameren Missouri; Combined License Application For Callaway Plant, 
Unit 2; Exemption

1.0 Background

    Union Electric Company, doing business as Ameren UE, submitted to 
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) a Combined License (COL) 
Application for a single unit of AREVA NP's U.S. EPR in accordance with 
the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR), Subpart C of Part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals 
for Nuclear Power Plants.'' This reactor is to be identified as 
Callaway Plant (Callaway), Unit 2, and located at the current Callaway 
County, Missouri site of the Callaway Power Plant. The Callaway, Unit 
2, COL application is based upon and linked to the U.S. EPR reference 
COL (RCOL) application for UniStar's Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power 
Plant, Unit 3 (CCNPP3). The NRC docketed the Callaway, Unit 2, COL 
application on December 12, 2008. On February 25, 2009, Ameren 
submitted Revision 1 to the COL application, including updates to the 
Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). In its letter to the NRC dated 
April 28, 2009, Ameren informed the NRC that it was suspending its 
efforts to build a nuclear power plant in Missouri. Subsequently, by 
letter dated June 23, 2009, Ameren requested the NRC to suspend all 
review activities relating to the Callaway, Unit 2, COL application. 
The NRC informed Ameren by letter dated June 29, 2009, that it had 
suspended all review activities relating to the Callaway, Unit 2, COL 
application. By letter to the NRC dated October 26, 2010, Ameren 
requested a one-time exemption from the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) 
requirements to submit the scheduled 2010 and 2011 COL application FSAR 
updates, and proposed for approval of a new submittal deadline of 
December 31, 2012, for the next FSAR update. The NRC granted the 
exemption as described in Federal Register Notice (FRN) 76 FR 3927 
(January 21, 2011). The NRC is currently performing a detailed review 
of the CCNPP3 RCOL application, as well as AREVA NP's application for 
design certification of the U.S. EPR.

2.0 Request/Action

    The regulations specified in 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii), require that 
an applicant for a combined license under 10 CFR Part 52 shall, during 
the period from docketing of a COL application until the Commission 
makes a finding under 10 CFR 52.103(g) pertaining to facility 
operation, submit an annual update to the application's FSAR, which is 
a part of the application.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii), the next annual update of the 
Callaway, Unit 2, COL application FSAR would be due in December 2012. 
By letter to the NRC dated October 15, 2012, Ameren requested a one-
time exemption from the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements to submit 
the scheduled 2012 as well as the 2013 COL application FSAR updates, 
and proposed for approval of a new submittal deadline of December 31, 
2014, for the next FSAR update.
    Ameren's requested exemption is a one-time schedule change from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). The exemption would allow 
Ameren to submit the next FSAR update at a later date, but still in 
advance of NRC's reinstating its review of the application and in any 
event, by December 31, 2014. The current FSAR update schedule could not 
be changed, absent the exemption. Ameren requested the exemption by 
letter dated October 15, 2012 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession Number ML12311A370).

3.0 Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC may, upon application by any 
interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the 
requirements of 10 CFR Part 50, including Sec.  50.71(e)(3)(iii) when: 
(1) The exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue 
risk to public health or safety, and are consistent with the common 
defense and security; and (2) special circumstances are present. As 
relevant to the requested exemption, special circumstances exist if: 
(1) ``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'' (10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(ii)); or (2) ``The exemption would provide only temporary 
relief from the applicable regulation and the licensee or applicant has 
made good faith efforts to comply with the regulation'' (10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(v)).
    The review of the Callaway, Unit 2, COL application FSAR has been 
suspended since June 29, 2009. Since the COL application FSAR is 
directly linked to the CCNPP3 RCOL application, many changes in the 
RCOL application require an associated change to the COL application 
FSAR and, because the NRC review of the COL application is suspended, 
the updates to the FSAR will not be reviewed by the NRC staff until the 
Callaway, Unit 2, COL application review is resumed. Thus, the optimum 
time to prepare a revision to the COL application FSAR is sometime 
prior to Ameren requesting the NRC to resume its review. To prepare and 
submit a COL application FSAR update when the review remains suspended 
and in the absence of any decision by Ameren to request the NRC to 
resume the review would require Ameren to spend significant time and 
effort and would be of no value, particularly due to the fact that the 
RCOL application and the U.S. EPR FSAR are still undergoing periodic 
revisions and updates. Furthermore, the adjudicatory proceedings 
related to the Callaway, Unit 2, COL application were terminated by the 
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) after agreements were made 
between Ameren, the NRC, and the petitioners for intervention, as 
documented in ``AMERENUE (Callaway Plant Unit 2) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER 
(Approving Settlement Agreement and Terminating Contested Adjudicatory 
Proceeding) LBP-09-23 (August 28, 2009)'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML092400189). Ameren commits to submit the next FSAR update prior to 
any request to the NRC to resume review of the COL application and, in 
any event, by December 31, 2014. Ameren would need to identify all 
committed changes to the RCOL application since the last revisions to 
the RCOL application and the U.S. EPR FSAR in order to prepare a COL 
application FSAR revision that accurately and completely reflects the 
committed changes to the RCOL application as well as the U.S. EPR FSAR.
    The requested one-time exemption to defer submittal of the next 
update to the Callaway, Unit 2, COL application FSAR would provide only 
temporary relief from the regulations of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). 
Ameren has made good faith efforts to comply with 10 CFR 
50.71(e)(3)(iii) by submitting Revision 1 to the COL application dated 
February 25, 2009, prior to requesting the review suspension. Revision 
1 incorporated information provided in prior supplements and 
standardized language with the RCOL application.

Authorized by Law

    The exemption is a one-time schedule exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). The exemption would allow 
Ameren to submit the next Callaway Unit 2 COL application FSAR update 
on or before December 31, 2014, in lieu of the required scheduled

[[Page 76540]]

submittals in December 2012, and December 2013. As stated above, 10 CFR 
50.12 allows the NRC to grant exemptions. The NRC staff has determined 
that granting Ameren the requested one-time exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) will provide only temporary 
relief from this regulation and will not result in a violation of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the NRC's regulations. 
Therefore, the exemption is authorized by law.

No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

    The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) is to provide for 
a timely and comprehensive update of the FSAR associated with a COL 
application in order to support an effective and efficient review by 
the NRC staff and issuance of the NRC staff's safety evaluation report. 
The requested exemption is solely administrative in nature, in that it 
pertains to the schedule for submittal to the NRC of revisions to an 
application under 10 CFR Part 52, for which a license has not been 
granted. In addition, since the review of the application has been 
suspended, any update to the application submitted by Ameren will not 
be reviewed by the NRC at this time. Based on the nature of the 
requested exemption as described above, no new accident precursors are 
created by the exemption; thus, neither the probability, nor the 
consequences of postulated accidents are increased. Therefore, there is 
no undue risk to public health and safety.

Consistent With Common Defense and Security

    The requested exemption would allow Ameren to submit the next FSAR 
update prior to requesting the NRC to resume the review and, in any 
event, on or before December 31, 2014. This schedule change has no 
relation to security issues. Therefore, the common defense and security 
is not impacted by this exemption.

Special Circumstances

    Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), are 
present whenever: (1) ``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'' (10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(ii)); or (2) ``The exemption would provide only temporary 
relief from the applicable regulation and the licensee or applicant has 
made good faith efforts to comply with the regulation'' (10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(v)).
    The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) is to provide for 
a timely and comprehensive update of the FSAR associated with a COL 
application in order to support an effective and efficient review by 
the NRC staff and issuance of the NRC staff's safety evaluation report. 
As discussed above, the requested one-time exemption is solely 
administrative in nature, in that it pertains to a one-time schedule 
change for submittal of revisions to an application under 10 CFR Part 
52, for which a license has not been granted. The requested one-time 
exemption will permit Ameren time to carefully review the most recent 
revisions of the RCOL application and the U.S. EPR FSAR, and fully 
incorporate these revisions into a comprehensive update of the FSAR 
associated with the Callaway, Unit 2, COL application. This one-time 
exemption will support the NRC staff's effective and efficient review 
of the COL application when resumed, as well as issuance of the safety 
evaluation report, and therefore does not affect the underlying purpose 
of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). Under the circumstances that Ameren has 
suspended its pursuit of the COL, the NRC has suspended its review of 
the application, and the adjudicatory proceedings have been terminated 
by ASLB, application of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) would result in Ameren 
spending significant time and effort in incorporating changes made to 
the RCOL application as well as the U.S. EPR FSAR into the Callaway, 
Unit 2, COL application, but not achieve the underlying purpose of that 
rule; granting a one-time exemption from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) would 
provide only temporary relief; and Ameren has made good faith efforts 
to comply with the regulation; therefore, the special circumstances 
required by 10 CFR 50.12 (a)(2) for the granting of an exemption from 
10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) exist.

Eligibility for Categorical Exclusion From Environmental Review

    With respect to the exemption's impact on the quality of the human 
environment, the NRC has determined that this specific exemption 
request is eligible for categorical exclusion as identified in 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(25), and justified by the NRC staff as follows:
    (c) The following categories of actions are categorical exclusions:
    (25) Granting of an exemption from the requirements of any 
regulation of this chapter, provided that--
    (i) There is no significant hazards consideration;
    The criteria for determining whether there is no significant 
hazards consideration are found in 10 CFR 50.92. The proposed action 
involves only a schedule change regarding the submission of an update 
to the application for which the licensing review has been suspended. 
Therefore, there is no significant hazards considerations because 
granting the proposed exemption 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.
    (ii) There is no significant change in the types or significant 
increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite;
    The proposed action involves only a schedule change which is 
administrative in nature, and does not involve any changes to be made 
in the types or significant increase in the amounts of effluents that 
may be released offsite.
    (iii) There is no significant increase in individual or cumulative 
public or occupational radiation exposure;
    Since the proposed action involves only a schedule change which is 
administrative in nature, it does not contribute to any significant 
increase in occupational or public radiation exposure.
    (iv) There is no significant construction impact;
    The proposed action involves only a schedule change which is 
administrative in nature; the application review is suspended until 
further notice, and there is no consideration of any construction at 
this time, and hence the proposed action does not involve any 
construction impact.
    (v) There is no significant increase in the potential for or 
consequences from radiological accidents; and
    The proposed action involves only a schedule change which is 
administrative in nature, and does not impact the probability or 
consequences of accidents.
    (vi) The requirements from which an exemption is sought involve:
    (B) Reporting requirements;
    The exemption request involves submitting an updated FSAR by Ameren
    and
    (G) Scheduling requirements;
    The proposed exemption relates to the schedule for submitting FSAR 
updates to the NRC.

[[Page 76541]]

4.0 Conclusion

    Accordingly, the NRC has 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. Also, special circumstances are present. Therefore, the 
NRC hereby grants Ameren a one-time exemption from the requirements of 
10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) pertaining to the Callaway, Unit 2, COL 
application to allow submittal of the next FSAR update prior to any 
request to the NRC to resume the review, and in any event, no later 
than December 31, 2014.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22, the NRC has determined that the exemption 
request meets the applicable categorical exclusion criteria set forth 
in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), and the granting of this exemption will not 
have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment.
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of December 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Segala,
Chief, Licensing Branch 1, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of 
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2012-31199 Filed 12-27-12; 8:45 am]
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