[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19999-20000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07904]
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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; Reconciliation of Tier 1 Valve Differences
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 1 information in the generic design control
document (DCD) and issuing License Amendment No. 31 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 1 information and promotes
consistency with the VCSNS updated final safety analysis report (UFSAR)
Tier 2 information. 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: April 6, 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 action by 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 it is mentioned in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
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 III.B 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. 31 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 for changes to generic DCD
Tier 1 information. Specifically, with the requested amendment, the
licensee sought to make changes to Tier 1 tables and promote
consistency with the UFSAR Tier 2 information. The request for the
amendment and exemption were submitted by letter dated February 7, 2013
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13042A005), and supplemented by letters dated
July 19, 2013, November 21, 2013, February 6, 2014, February 20, 2014,
May 12, 2014, September 22, 2014, and November 19, 2014 (ADAMS
Accession Nos. ML13205A148, ML13329A723, ML14041A095, ML14052A379,
ML14133A488, ML14266A014, and ML14323A333, respectively).
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
[[Page 20000]]
52. The license amendment was found to be acceptable as well. The
combined safety evaluation is available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML15204A476.
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. ML15204A442 and ML15204A445,
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. ML15204A416 and ML15204A426,
respectively. A summary of the amendment documents is provided in
Section III of this document.
II. Exemption
Reproduced below is the exemption 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 in order to grant the
exemption:
1. In a letter dated February 7, 2013, and supplemented by the
letters dated July 19, 2013, November 21, 2013, February 6, 2014,
February 20, 2014, May 12, 2014, September 22, 2014, and November 19,
2014, South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (licensee) requested from
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC/Commission) an exemption to
allow departures from Tier 1 information in the certified design
control document (DCD) incorporated by reference in title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), part 52, appendix D, ``Design
Certification Rule for the AP1000 Design,'' as part of license
amendment request (LAR) 13-04, ``Reconciliation of Tier 1 Valve
Differences.''
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.
ML15204A476, 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 and COL Appendix C, Tables 2.1.2-1. 2.2.1-1,
2.2.2-1, 2.2.3-1, 2.2.3-3, 2.2.5-1, 2.3.2-1, 2.3.2-3, and 2.3.6-1, as
described in the licensee's request dated February 7, 2013, and
supplemented by the letters dated July 19, 2013, November 21, 2013,
February 6, 2014, February 20, 2014, May 12, 2014, September 22, 2014,
and November 19, 2014. This exemption is related to, and necessary for
the granting of License Amendment No. 31, which is being issued
concurrently with this exemption.
3. As explained in Section 5.0 of the NRC staff's safety evaluation
(ADAMS Accession No. ML15204A476), 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 February 7, 2013, as supplemented, the licensee
requested that the NRC amend the COLs for VCSNS Units 2 and 3, COLs
NPF-93 and NPF-94. The licensee request and supplements are listed 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 amendments.
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 29, 2013 (78 FR 64541). 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 September 3, 2015. The exemption and amendment were issued
to the licensee on September 3, 2015 as part of a package of documents
(ADAMS Accession No. ML15204A391).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th 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. 2016-07904 Filed 4-5-16; 8:45 am]
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