[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35066-35067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-12918]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 52-025 and 52-026; NRC-2008-0252]
Vogtle Electric Generating Station, Units 3 and 4; Southern
Nuclear Operating Company; 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 is issuing License Amendment No. 44 to
Combined Licenses (COLs) NPF-91 and NPF-92. The COLs were issued to
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC); Georgia Power Company;
Oglethorpe Power Corporation; MEAG Power SPVM, LLC; MEAG Power SPVJ,
LLC; MEAG Power SPVP, LLC; and the City of Dalton, Georgia (together
``the licensee'') for construction and operation of the Vogtle Electric
Generating Plant (VEGP) Units 3 and 4, located in Burke County,
Georgia.
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: June 1, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0252 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-2008-0252. 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 March 6, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15065A362).
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: Chandu Patel, Office of New Reactors,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-415-3025; 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 is issuing License Amendment No.
44 to COLs NPF-91 and NPF-92 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, 10 CFR 52.63(b)(1) and 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. ML15191A194.
Identical exemption documents (except as needed to reflect the
unique unit numbers and license numbers) were issued to the licensee
for VEGP Units 3 and 4 (COLs NPF-91 and NPF-92). The exemption
documents for VEGP Units 3 and 4 can be found in ADAMS under Accession
Nos. ML15191A185 and ML15191A190, 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-91 and NPF-92 are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos.
ML15191A158 and ML15191A176, 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 Vogtle Units 3
and 4 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 March 6, 2015, Southern Nuclear Operating
Company (licensee) requested from the Commission an exemption from the
provisions of 10 CFR part 52, Appendix D, Section VIII.B.6.b, Item (4),
``Design Certification Rule for the AP1000 Design, Processes for
Changes and Departures,'' to allow a departure from the certified
information as part of license amendment request (LAR) 15-007,
``Reclassification of Tier 2* Information on Fire Area Figures.''
For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1, ``Evaluation of
Exemption,'' of the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation that supports this
license amendment, which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML15191A194, 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
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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 2* information, as described in the licensee's
request dated March 6, 2015. This exemption is related to, and
necessary for, the granting of License Amendment No. 44, which is being
issued concurrently with this exemption.
3. As explained in Section 5, ``Environmental Consideration,'' of
the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation that supports this license amendment
(ADAMS Accession No. ML15191A194), 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 March 6, 2015, the licensee requested that the NRC
amend the COLs for VEGP, Units 3 and 4, COLs NPF-91 and NPF-92. The
proposed amendment is described in Section I of this Federal Register
notice.
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 April 14, 2015 (80 FR 20020).
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 February 1, 2016. The exemption and amendment were issued
to the licensee as part of a combined package (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15191A128).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of May 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John McKirgan,
Acting Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing,
Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2016-12918 Filed 5-31-16; 8:45 am]
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