[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20688-20690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08123]
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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; Control Rod Drive Mechanism Motor Generator Set
Field Relay Change
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
[[Page 20689]]
exemption to allow a departure from the certification information of
Tier 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and is issuing
License Amendment No. 27 to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-93 and NPF-
94. The COLs were issued to South Carolina Electric & Gas Company, (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 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: 301-415-
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 this
document. The request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by
letter dated October 30, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14303A448).
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: Paul Kallan, Office of New Reactors,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-415-2809; email: [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. 27 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 proposed changes that
specifies the use of latching control relays in lieu of breakers to de-
energize the control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) motor generator (MG)
set generator field on a diverse actuation system (DAS) reactor trip
signal. The replacement of the CRDM MG set generator field breakers
with field control relays requires an updated final safety analysis
report (UFSAR) Tier 2 departure that involves changes to COL Appendix
C, Tables 2.5.1-4, ``Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance
Criteria,'' and 3.7-1, ``Risk-Significant Components,'' along with
corresponding departures from plant-specific DCD Tier 1 information.
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 Section VIII.A.4 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. ML15135A211.
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). The exemption documents for VCSNS Units 2
and 3 can be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML15135A160 and
ML15135A170, 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. ML15135A145 and
ML15135A156, 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 Summer Units 2
and Unit 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 October 30, 2014, the licensee requested from
the Commission an exemption from the provisions of 10 CFR part 52,
appendix D, Section III.B, as part of license amendment request 13-27,
``Control Rod Mechanism Motor Generator Set Field Relay Change (LAR-13-
27).''
For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1, ``Evaluation of
Exemption,'' of the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation, which can be found
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15135A211, 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, COL appendix C, Table 2.5.1-4, and Table 3.7-1,
as described in the licensee's request dated October 30, 2014. This
exemption is related to, and necessary for the granting of License
Amendment No. 27, which is being issued concurrently with this
exemption.
3. As explained in Section 5.0, ``Environmental Consideration,'' of
the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation (ADAMS Accession No. ML15135A211),
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 June 10, 2015.
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III. License Amendment Request
By letter dated October 30, 2014, 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 of this document.
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 January 6, 2015 (80 FR 520). No comments were received
during the 30-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 October 30, 2014. The exemption and amendment were issued
on June 10, 2015 as part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS
Accession No. ML15135A140).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of March 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John McKirgan,
Acting Branch Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor
Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2016-08123 Filed 4-7-16; 8:45 am]
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