[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4465-4467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01148]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52-039; NRC-2008-0603]
PPL Bell Bend, LLC; Combined License Application for Bell Bend
Nuclear Power Plant; Exemption
1.0 Background
PPL Bell Bend, LLC, submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) a combined license application (COL) 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 Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant
(BBNPP), in Salem County, Pennsylvania. The NRC docketed the BBNPP COL
application on October 10, 2008. The BBNPP COL application incorporates
by reference AREVA NP's application for a standard design certification
for the U.S. EPR. Additionally, the BBNPP COL application is based upon
the U.S. EPR reference COL (RCOL) application for UniStar's Calvert
Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3 (CCNPP3). The NRC is currently
performing the detailed reviews of the CCNPP3 RCOL application, and
AREVA NP's application for design certification of the U.S. EPR. PPL
Bell Bend, LLC previously requested an exemption on October 21, 2011,
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) to allow for late filing of their
mandatory application revision for calendar year 2011. The NRC granted
the exemption as described in Federal Register notice (FRN) 76 FR 81992
(December 29, 2011).
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 Final Safety
Analysis Report (FSAR).
On March 30, 2012, PPL Bell Bend, LLC submitted Revision 3 to the
COL application, including updates to the FSAR. Since this submittal
was provided to satisfy their approved exemption of December 29, 2011,
the next annual update is due by the end of calendar year 2012. PPL
Bell Bend, LLC has again requested a one-time exemption from the 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements to submit the scheduled 2012 update, and
proposed a new submittal deadline of April 15, 2013, for the next FSAR
update.
In summary, the 2012 requested exemption is a one-time schedule
change from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). The exemption
would allow PPL Bell Bend, LLC to submit the next FSAR update at a
later date. The current FSAR update schedule could not be changed,
absent the exemption. PPL Bell Bend, LLC requested the exemption by
letter dated November 2, 2012 (Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML12321A037). Documents related
to this action, including the application for amendment and supporting
documentation, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic
Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this
site, you can access ADAMS, which provides text and image files of
NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the documents
related to this notice are ML12325A753 and ML12325A841.
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 Section 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)).
PPL Bell Bend, LLC, commits to submit the next COL FSAR update by
April 15, 2013, and would need to identify all changes to the U.S. EPR
FSAR in order to prepare a COL application FSAR revision that
accurately and completely reflects the changes to the U.S. EPR FSAR.
The requested one-time schedule exemption to defer submittal of the
next update to the BBNPP COL application FSAR would provide only
temporary relief from the regulations of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii).
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 PPL
Bell Bend, LLC to submit the next BBNPP COL application FSAR update on
or before April 15, 2013. Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC staff has
determined that granting PPL Bell Bend, LLC, 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
(SER). 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. 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 PPL Bell Bend, LLC to submit
the next FSAR update on or before April 15, 2013. 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)).
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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 SER. 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 PPL
Bell Bend, LLC, time to carefully review the most recent revisions of
the U.S. EPR FSAR, and fully incorporate these revisions into a
comprehensive update of the FSAR associated with the BBNPP 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 SER. For this reason, application of 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii) in the particular circumstances is not necessary to
achieve the underlying purpose of that rule. Therefore, special
circumstances exist under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii). In addition, special
circumstances are also present under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v), because
granting a one-time exemption from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) would
provide only temporary relief, and PPL Bell Bend, LLC, has made good
faith efforts to comply with the regulation by submitting Revision 3 to
the COL application on March 30, 2012. That revision incorporated
changes resulting from Revisions 2 and 3 of the U.S. EPR FSAR and COLA
changes resulting from relocation of the plant footprint within the
existing project boundary. For the above reasons, 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 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). Under
10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), granting of an exemption from the requirements of
any regulation of 10 CFR Chapter 1 [which includes 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii)] is an action that is a categorical exclusion,
provided that:
(i) There is no significant hazards consideration;
(ii) There is no significant change in the types or significant
increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite;
(iii) There is no significant increase in individual or cumulative
public or occupational radiation exposure;
(iv) There is no significant construction impact;
(v) There is no significant increase in the potential for or
consequences from radiological accidents; and
(vi) The requirements from which an exemption is sought involve:
(A) Recordkeeping requirements;
(B) Reporting requirements;
(C) Inspection or surveillance requirements;
(D) Equipment servicing or maintenance scheduling requirements;
(E) Education, training, experience, qualification, requalification
or other employment suitability requirements;
(F) Safeguard plans, and materials control and accounting inventory
scheduling requirements;
(G) Scheduling requirements;
(H) Surety, insurance or indemnity requirements; or
(I) Other requirements of an administrative, managerial, or
organizational nature.
The requirements from which this exemption is sought involve only
(B) Reporting requirements; or (G) Scheduling requirements of those
required by 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi).
The NRC staff's determination that each of the applicable criteria
for this categorical exclusion is met is justified as follows:
I. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i) There is no significant hazards
consideration;
Staff Analysis: The criteria for determining if the exemption
involves a 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 is currently underway. Therefore, there are no significant
hazard 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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(ii) There is no significant change in the
types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may
be released offsite;
Staff Analysis: 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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iii) There is no significant increase in
individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure;
Staff Analysis: 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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iv) There is no significant construction
impact;
Staff Analysis: The proposed action involves only a schedule
change, which is administrative in nature. The application review is
underway and no license will be issued prior to receipt of the afore-
mentioned application's April 15, 2013, submittal of the revised FSAR,
therefore, the proposed action does not involve any construction
impact.
V. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(v) There is no significant increase in the
potential for or consequences from radiological accidents;
Staff Analysis: The proposed action involves only a schedule change
which is administrative in nature and does not impact the probability
or consequences of accidents.
VI. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi) The requirements from which this
exemption is sought involve only (B) Reporting requirements; or (G)
Scheduling requirements of those required by this regulation.
(B) Reporting requirements; or (G) Scheduling requirements
Staff Analysis: The exemption request involves requirements in both
of these categories (reporting requirements and scheduling
requirements) because it involves submitting an updated FSAR by PPL
Bell Bend, LLC and also relates to the schedule for submitting FSAR
updates to the NRC.
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 PPL Bell Bend, LLC a one-time exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) pertaining to the BBNPP COL
application to allow submittal of the next FSAR update, no later than
April 15, 2013.
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
[[Page 4467]]
51.22(c)(25), and the granting of this exemption will not have a
significant impact on the human environment.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of January 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Segala,
Chief, Licensing Branch1, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2013-01148 Filed 1-18-13; 8:45 am]
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