[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 209 (Wednesday, October 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64418-64419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25757]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 52-027 and 52-028; NRC-2008-0441]
Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 and 3; South Carolina
Electric & Gas Company; Reclassification of Portions of Human Factors
Verification and Validation Planning Documents
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption and combined license amendment; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is granting an
exemption to allow a departure from the certification information of
Tier 2* of the generic design control document (DCD) and issuing
License Amendment No. 18 to Combined Licenses (COL), NPF-93 and NPF-94.
The COLs were issued to South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G),
and South Carolina Public Service Authority, (the licensee), for
construction and operation of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station
(VCSNS), Units 2 and 3 located in Fairfield County, South Carolina. The
amendment revises the updated final safety analysis report (UFSAR) by
reclassifying portions of the five Tier 2* Human Factors & Validation
(V&V) Technical Reports listed in the UFSAR Table 1.6-1 and Chapter 18,
Subsection 18.11.2.
The granting of the exemption allows the changes to Tier 2*
information asked for in the amendment. Because the acceptability of
the exemption was determined in part by the acceptability of the
amendment, the exemption and amendment are being issued concurrently.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0441 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0441. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time
that a document is referenced. The request for the amendment was
submitted by the letter dated March 19, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Number
ML14079A599). The request for the exemption was submitted by the letter
dated March 19, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Number ML14079A599). The licensee
supplemented this request by letters dated June 3, 2014 (ADAMS
Accession Number ML14155A210), June 20, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Number
ML14174B135) and July 9, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Number ML14190B356).
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's P DR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ravindra Joshi, Office of New
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-6191; e- mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is granting an exemption from Paragraph B of Section III,
``Scope and Contents,'' of Appendix D, ``Design Certification Rule for
the AP1000,'' to part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) and issuing License Amendment No. 18 to COLs, NPF-93 and NPF-
94, to the licensee. The exemption is required by Paragraph B.6.c of
Section VIII, ``Processes for Changes and Departures,'' Appendix D to
10 CFR part 52 to allow the licensee to depart from Tier 2*
information. With the requested amendment, the licensee sought changes
to the UFSAR by reclassifying portions of the five Tier 2* Human
Factors V&V Technical Reports listed in UFSAR Table 1.6-1 and Chapter
18, Subsection 18.11.2.
Part of the justification for granting the exemption was provided
by the review of the amendment. Because the exemption is necessary in
order to issue the requested license amendment, the NRC granted the
exemption and issued the amendment concurrently, rather than in
sequence. This included issuing a combined safety evaluation containing
the NRC staff's review of both the exemption request and the license
amendment. The exemption met all applicable regulatory criteria set
forth in 10 CFR 50.12, 10 CFR 52.7, and 52.63(b)(1). The license
amendment was found to be acceptable as well. The combined safety
evaluation is available in ADAMS under Accession Number ML14252A153.
Identical exemption documents (except for referenced unit numbers
and license numbers) were issued to the licensee for VCSNS Units 2 and
3 (COLs NPF-93 and NPF-94). These documents can be found in ADAMS under
Accession Numbers ML14252A112 and ML14252A129, respectively. The
exemption is reproduced (with the exception of abbreviated titles and
additional citations) in Section II of this document. The amendment
documents for COLs NPF-93 and NPF-94 are available in ADAMS under
Accession Nos. ML14252A069 and ML14252A072, respectively. A summary of
the amendment documents is provided in Section III of this document.
II. Exemption
Reproduced below is the exemption document issued to VCSNS Units 2
and 3. It makes reference to the combined safety evaluation that
provides the reasoning for the findings made by the NRC (and listed
under Item 1) in order to grant the exemption:
1. In a letter dated March 19, 2014, and supplemented by the
letters dated June 3, June 20, and July 9, 2014, South Carolina
Electric and Gas Company (licensee) requested from the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (Commission) an exemption from the provisions
of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 52,
Appendix D, Section III.B, ``Design Certification Rule for the
AP1000 Design, Scope, and Contents,'' as part of license amendment
request (LAR) 13-34, ``Reclassification of Portions of Human Factors
Verification and Validation of Planning Documents'' (LAR 13-34).
For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1 of the NRC staff's
Safety Evaluation, which can be found at Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System Accession Number ML14252A153, the Commission
finds that:
A. The exemption is authorized by law;
B. the exemption presents no undue risk to public health and
safety;
C. the exemption is consistent with the common defense and
security;
D. special circumstances are present in that the application of
the rule in this circumstance is not necessary to serve the
underlying purpose of the rule;
E. the special circumstances outweigh any decrease in safety
that may result from the reduction in standardization caused by the
exemption; and
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F. the exemption will not result in a significant decrease in
the level of safety otherwise provided by the design.
2. Accordingly, the licensee is granted an exemption to the
provisions of 10 CFR Part 52, Appendix D, Section III.B, to allow
deviations from the certified Design Control Document (DCD) Tier 2*
information, as described in the licensee's request dated March 19,
2014, and supplemented by the letters dated June 3, June 20, and
July 9, 2014. This exemption is related to, and necessary for the
granting of License Amendment No. 18, which is being issued
concurrently with this exemption.
3. As explained in Section 5 of the NRC staff's Safety
Evaluation (ADAMS Accession Number ML14252A153), this exemption
meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth
in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no
environmental impact statement or environmental assessment needs to
be prepared in connection with the issuance of the exemption.
4. This exemption is effective as of October 8, 2014.
III. License Amendment Request
The request for the amendment was submitted by the letter dated
March 19, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Number ML14079A599). The request for
the exemption was submitted by the letter dated March 19, 2014 (ADAMS
Accession Number ML14079A599). The licensee supplemented this request
by letters dated June 3, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14155A210), June
20, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14174B135), and July 9, 2014 (ADAMS
Accession Number ML14190B356). The proposed license amendment request
revises the UFSAR by reclassifying portions of the five Tier 2* Human
Factors V&V Technical Reports listed in UFSAR Table 1.6-1 and Chapter
18, Subsection 18.11.2.
The Commission has determined for these amendments that the
application complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules
and regulations. The Commission has made appropriate findings as
required by the Act and the Commission's rules and regulations in 10
CFR Chapter I, which are set forth in the license amendment.
A notice of consideration of issuance of amendment to the facility
operating license or combined license, as applicable, proposed no
significant hazards consideration determination, and opportunity for a
hearing in connection with these actions, was published in the Federal
Register on August 5, 2014 (79 FR 45470). No comments were received
during the 60-day comment period.
The Commission has determined that these amendments satisfy the
criteria for categorical exclusion in accordance with 10 CFR
51.22(c)(9). Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental
impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared for these
amendments.
IV. Conclusion
Using the reasons set forth in the combined safety evaluation, the
staff granted the exemption and issued the amendment that the licensee
requested on March 19, 2014, and supplemented by letters dated June 3,
June 20, and July 9, 2014. The exemption and amendment were issued on
October 8, 2014 as part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS
Accession Number ML14252A056).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of October 2014.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Lawrence J. Burkhart,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2014-25757 Filed 10-28-14; 8:45 am]
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