[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20031-20032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08563]
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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; Tier 1 Editorial and Consistency Changes
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 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and issuing License
Amendment No. 23 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 granting of the exemption allows the changes to Tier 1
information requested 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: 301-415-
3463; 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 obtain 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 (if it is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The
request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by the letter
dated May 20, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14140A637). The licensee
supplemented this request by letter dated June 3, 2014 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML14155A257).
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ruth Reyes, Office of New Reactors,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-415-3249; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is granting an exemption from the provisions of 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. 23 to
COLs, NPF-93 and NPF-94, to the licensee. The exemption is required by
Paragraph A.4 of Section VIII, ``Processes for Changes and
Departures,'' appendix D to 10 CFR part 52 to allow the licensee to
depart from Tier 1 information. With the requested amendment, the
licensee sought changes to COL Appendix C and corresponding plant-
specific Tier 1 information to correct editorial errors and/or
consistency errors (e.g., inconsistencies between Updated Final Safety
Analysis Report (UFSAR) (Tier 2) and Tier 1 information, and
inconsistencies between information from different locations within
Tier 1).
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 No. ML14345B029.
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 Nos. ML14352A155 and ML14352A164, respectively. The exemption
is reproduced (with the exception of abbreviated titles and additional
citations) in Section II of this
[[Page 20032]]
document. The amendment documents for COLs NPF-93 and NPF-94 are
available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML14351A419 and ML14351A424,
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 May 20, 2014, and supplemented by the letters
dated June 3, November 6, and November 14, 2014, South Carolina
Electric & Gas Company (licensee) requested from the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (Commission) an exemption to allow departures from Tier 1
information in the certified Design Control Document (DCD) incorporated
by reference in 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, ``Design Certification Rule
for the AP1000 Design,'' as part of license amendment request (LAR) 13-
42, ``Tier 1 Editorial and Consistency Changes.''
For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1 of the NRC staff's Safety
Evaluation, which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML14345B029, 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
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 from the
certified DCD Tier 1 Figures 2.2.4-1, 3.3-1 through 10, 3.3-11A, 3.3-
11B, and 3.3-12 through 14; Tables 2.2.2-3, 2.2.3-4, 2.2.3-6, 2.2.4-1,
2.2.4-4, 2.2.5-5, 2.3.2-2, 2.3.6-1, 2.3.6-4, 2.3.10-1, 2.3.10-4,
2.3.14-2, 2.6.3-3, 2.6.3-4, 3.3-1, 3.3-6, 2.1.3-4, 2.5.1-2 and 3.7-2;
and Sections 2.6.3 and 3.3, as described in the licensee's request
dated May 20, 2014, and supplemented on June 3, November 6, and
November 14, 2014. This exemption is related to, and necessary for the
granting of License Amendment No. 23, which is being issued
concurrently with this exemption.
3. As explained in Section 5.0 of the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation
(ADAMS Accession Number ML14345B029), 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 the date of its issuance.
III. License Amendment Request
The request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by the
letter dated May 20, 2014. The licensee supplemented this request by
letter dated June 3, 2014. The proposed amendment is described in
Section I, above.
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 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 September 2, 2014 (79 FR 52059). The June 3, 2014
supplement had no effect on the no significant hazards consideration
determination, and 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 May 20, 2014, and supplemented by letter dated June 3,
2014. The exemption and amendment were issued on March 10, 2015, as
part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession No.
ML14345B023).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of April 2015.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Chandu P. Patel,
Acting Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing,
Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2015-08563 Filed 4-13-15; 8:45 am]
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