[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 74 (Friday, April 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21269-21271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08934]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-016; NRC-2008-0250]


UniStar Nuclear Energy; Combined License Application for Calvert 
Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
exemption in response to a December 31, 2014, letter from UniStar 
Nuclear Energy (UNE), on behalf of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Project, LLC, 
and UniStar Operating Services, LLC, co-applicants for the combined 
license (COL) application for the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant 
Unit 3 (CCNPP3), which requested an exemption to delay the submission 
of the annual update of the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) to be 
included in their COL application. The NRC staff reviewed this request 
and determined that it is appropriate to grant the exemption to delay 
the FSAR update submittal up to December 31, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0250 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access the 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-2008-0250. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For the 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 in this document 
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time 
that a document is referenced.
     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: Surinder Arora, Office of New 
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-1421, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On March 14, 2008, UNE, on behalf of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear 
Project, LLC and UniStar Operating services, LLC, submitted to the NRC 
a COL application, under subpart C of part 52 of Title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) to construct and operate a single unit 
of AREVA NP's U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR), designated as 
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3, at a site in Calvert County, 
Maryland. The UNE application was docketed on June 3, 2008 (Docket 
Number 52-016). UNE's COL application for CCNPP3 incorporates by 
reference AREVA NP's application for a standard design certification 
for the U.S. EPR. The NRC is currently performing concurrent reviews of 
the CCNPP3 COL application as well as AREVA NP's application for design 
certification of the U.S. EPR. UNE also had previously requested an 
exemption on November 19, 2013 (this request was later supplemented by 
UNE's follow up updated request on March 21, 2014), under 10 CFR 
50.71(e)(3)(iii) to submit the scheduled 2013 FSAR update, and 
proposed, for approval, a new submittal deadline of December 31, 2014. 
The NRC reviewed the bases for the exemption request and granted the 
exemption as described in Federal Register notice published on 
September 11, 2014 (79 FR 54303).
    By a letter dated December 16, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14351A301), UNE requested that after January 2015, the NRC defer its 
safety review portion of the Calvert Cliffs Unit 3 COL application 
until such time that UNE formally requests that the NRC resume its 
review. The letter also stated that UNE will monitor and evaluate 
progress of the technical issue resolution for the U.S. EPR FSAR and 
the development of guidance necessary to address Foreign Ownership 
Control and Domination (FOCD) prior to requesting the NRC to resume 
review. By letter dated February 27, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML15062A050), UNE requested that after March 6, 2015, the NRC suspend 
the Calvert Cliffs Unit 3 COL application review until such time the 
UNE formally requests that the NRC

[[Page 21270]]

resume its review. The letter also stated that UNE will continue to 
monitor the U.S. EPR Design Certification efforts, as well as other 
project conditions such as foreign ownership guidance, loan guarantee 
availability and the electricity market, among others.

II. Request/Action

    The regulations at 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) require that an 
applicant for a COL under 10 CFR part 52 shall, during the period from 
docketing of a COL application and 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 Part 2 of the COL 
application. Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii), the next annual 
update of the FSAR for the CCNPP3 COL application would have been due 
by December 31, 2014.
    On September 30, 2014, UNE submitted Revision 10 of the COL 
application, including updates to the FSAR. The FSAR updates in 
Revision 10 of the CCNPP3 COL application satisfied the applicant's 
requested exemption of November 19, 2013, and the supplement follow up 
request of March 21, 2014.
    By a letter dated December 31, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML15002A245), UNE submitted a request to the NRC, for exemption from 
the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) for delaying the scheduled 
2014 FSAR updates and proposed for approval a new submittal date of 
December 31, 2015. UNE's letter states that the requested exemption is 
a schedule change from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) to 
accommodate the incorporation of the U.S. EPR Design Certification 
application revisions in an orderly and efficient manner. The current 
requirements to submit an FSAR update could not be changed, absent the 
exemption request.

III. 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 10 CFR 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 purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) is to ensure that the NRC 
has the most up-to-date information regarding the COL application, in 
order to perform an efficient and effective review. The rule targeted 
those applications that are being actively reviewed by the NRC. As 
requested by UNE in the above referenced letter dated February 27, 
2015, the NRC suspended the CCNPP3 COL application review until further 
notification by UNE. Therefore, updating the CCNPP3 FSAR would only 
cause undue hardship on UNE, and the purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) 
would still be achieved so long as the next update is submitted by 
December 31, 2015, as committed to in UNE's exemption request letter.
    The requested exemption to defer submittal of the next update to 
the FSAR included in the CCNPP3 COL application 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 UNE 
to submit the next CCNPP3 COL application FSAR update on or before 
December 31, 2015. Per 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC staff has determined that 
granting UNE 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. Based on the nature of the requested exemption as described 
above, no new accident precursors are created by the exemption; 
therefore, neither the probability, nor the consequences, of postulated 
accidents are increased. Therefore, the requested exemption does not 
result in any undue risk to public health and safety.

Consistent With Common Defense and Security

    The requested exemption would allow UNE to submit the next FSAR 
update on or before December 31, 2015. This schedule change has no 
relation to security issues. Therefore, the common defense and security 
is not impacted by the 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)).
    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. This one-time exemption 
will support the NRC staff's effective and efficient review of the 
CCNPP3 COL application, when resumed, as well as issuance of the NRC 
staff's safety evaluation report. 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. 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 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). Under

[[Page 21271]]

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 as follows:
    I. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i): There is no significant hazards 
consideration.
    Staff Analysis: The criteria for determining if an 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 suspended. 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 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. While the environmental portion of 
the application review is complete in that the final environmental 
impact statement is already issued, the safety portion of the COL 
application review has been suspended and no license will be issued 
prior to the NRC resuming the review and receipt of the aforementioned 
application's December 31, 2015, 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.''
    Staff Analysis: The exemption request involves requirements in both 
of these categories because it involves submitting an updated COL FSAR 
by December 31, 2015, and also relates to the schedule for submitting 
COL FSAR updates to the NRC.

IV. Conclusion

    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 exist under 10 CFR 
50.12(a)(2)(ii). 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 NRC staff's safety evaluation report. 
Therefore, the NRC hereby grants UNE 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 on or before 
December 31, 2015.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22, the Commission 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 9th day of April 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Frank Akstulewicz,
Director, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2015-08934 Filed 4-16-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P