[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 165 (Thursday, August 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58540-58542]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20393]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 52-027 and 52-028; NRC-2008-0441]


South Carolina Electric & Gas Company and South Carolina Public 
Service Authority; Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 and 3; 
Piping Line Number Additions, Deletions and Functional Capability Re-
Designation

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 to allow a departure from the certification information of 
Tier 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and is issuing 
License Amendment No. 39 to Combined Licenses (COL), NPF-93 and NPF-94. 
The COLs were issued to South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), 
and South Carolina Public Service Authority (the licensee) in March 
2012, for the 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 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.

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DATES: The exemption and amendment were issued on January 20, 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 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. Specific information on 
NRC's PDR is available at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/pdr.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ruth C. Reyes, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-415-3249; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    In a letter dated December 18, 2014, the licensee requested a 
license amendment and exemption (ADAMS Accession No. ML14353A107), and 
supplemented this request by letters dated June 29 and October 16, 2015 
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML15180A248 and ML15292A075, respectively). The 
NRC is granting an exemption from Tier 1 information in the certified 
DCD incorporated by reference in part 52 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), appendix D, ``Design Certification Rule 
for the AP1000 Design,'' and issuing License Amendment No. 39 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 to add or delete line numbers of existing piping lines, 
as well as update the functional capability classification of existing 
process flow lines, to provide consistency with the Updated Final 
Safety Analysis Report Tier 2 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. ML15336A872.
    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). These documents can be found in ADAMS under 
Accession Nos. ML15336A867 and ML15336A866, 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. 
ML15336A869 and ML15336A868, 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 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 December 18, 2014, and as supplemented by 
letters dated June 29 and October 16, 2015, the licensee requested from 
the NRC an exemption to allow departures from Tier 1 information in the 
certified DCD incorporated by reference in 10 CFR part 52, appendix D 
as part of license amendment request 13-28, ``Piping Line Number 
Additions, Deletions and Functional Capability Re Designation.''
    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 
ADAMS Accession No. ML15336A872, 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 to the 
provisions of 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, Section III.B, to allow 
deviations from the certified DCD Tier 1 Tables 2.1.2-2, 2.2.1-2, 
2.2.2-2, 2.2.3-2, 2.3.6-2, 2.3.7-2, and 2.7.1-2, as described in the 
licensee's request dated December 18, 2014, and as supplemented by 
letters dated June 29 and October 16, 2015. This exemption is related 
to, and necessary for, the granting of License Amendment No. 39, 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 No. ML15336A872), 
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

    The request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by the 
letter dated December 18, 2014. The licensee supplemented this request 
by the letters dated June 29 and October 16, 2015. The proposed 
amendment is described in Section I, of this Federal Register notice.
    The Commission has determined that the amendment requested by the 
licensee complies with the standards

[[Page 58542]]

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 28, 2015 (80 FR 23606). The June 29 and October 16, 
2015, supplements had no effect on the no significant hazards 
consideration determination, and 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 December 18, 2014, and supplemented by the letters dated 
June 29 and October 16, 2015. The exemption and amendment were issued 
on January 20, 2016, as part of a combined package to the licensee 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML15336A862).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of August 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer Dixon-Herrity,
Acting Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, 
Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2016-20393 Filed 8-24-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P