[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12137-12138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05130]


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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 and Gas; Reclassification of Tier 2* Information on Fire Area 
Figures

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 from certain Tier 2* information in the generic design 
control document (DCD) and issuing License Amendment No. 40 to Combined 
Licenses (COL), NPF-93 and NPF-94. The COLs were issued to South 
Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G) and South Carolina Public Service 
Authority (Santee Cooper) (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 2* 
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.

DATES: March 8, 2016.

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 available in 
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The 
request for the amendment and exemption were submitted by letter dated 
May 4, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15124A911).
     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: Billy Gleaves, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-415-5848; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is granting an exemption from Section VIII.B.6.b, Item (4), 
``Processes for Changes and Departures,'' 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. 40 
to COLs, NPF-93 and NPF-94, to the licensee. The exemption is required 
by paragraph VIII.B.6.b of Section VIII, ``Processes for Changes and 
Departures,'' appendix D to 10 CFR part 52 to allow the licensee to 
change the designation of Tier 2* information. Specifically, with the 
requested amendment, the licensee sought to redesignate the Fire Area 
Figures, designated as Tier 2* in appendix D, as Tier 2. This requires 
an exemption, rather than the departure that would be required for 
changes to the figures that preserve the Tier 2* designation, because 
it has been established that departures do not alter the change control 
process applicable to specific sections of a design certification rule.
    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 10 CFR 52.63(b)(1) of appendix 
D to 10 CFR part 52. The license amendment was found to be acceptable 
as well. The combined safety evaluation is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML15328A276.
    Identical exemption documents (except as needed to reflect the 
unique 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. ML15328A289 and ML15328A293, 
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. ML15328A281 and ML15328A284, 
respectively. A summary of the

[[Page 12138]]

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 4, 2015, the South Carolina Electric & Gas 
Company (SC&G/licensee) requested from the NRC an exemption from the 
provisions of part 50, appendix D of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Design Certification Rule for AP1000 Design,'' 
Section VIII.B.6.b, Item (4), to allow a departure from the certified 
information as part of license amendment request (LAR) 15-07, ``Request 
for License Amendment and Exemption: Reclassification of Tier 2* 
Information on Fire Area Figures.''
    For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1 of the NRC staff's Safety 
Evaluation that supports this license amendment, which can be found at 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession 
Number ML15328A276, 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 AP1000 DCD Tier 2* information, as described in the 
licensee's request dated May 4, 2015. This exemption is related to, and 
necessary for, the granting of License Amendment No. 40, which is being 
issued concurrently with this exemption.
    3. As explained in Section 5 of the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation 
that supports this license amendment (ADAMS Accession Number 
ML15328A276), 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

    By letter dated May 4, 2015, the licensee requested that the NRC 
amend the COLs for VCSNS Units 2 and 3, COLs NPF-93 and NPF-94. 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 October 27, 2015 (80 FR 65814). 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. 
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 4, 2015. The exemption and amendment were issued to 
the licensee on February 1, 2016 as part of a package of documents 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML15331A026).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of March 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William (Billy) Gleaves,
Senior Project Manager, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor 
Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2016-05130 Filed 3-7-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P