[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 250 (Thursday, December 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 96048-96050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31591]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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


South Carolina Electric & Gas Company, South Carolina Public 
Service Authority; Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 and 3; 
Radiologically Controlled Area Ventilation System

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption and combined license amendment; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 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. 53 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 issuance 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.

DATES: The exemption was issued on October 31, 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,

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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 December 17, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15351A165) and it 
was supplemented by letter dated September 6, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML16250A721).
     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: William 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 issuing 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. 53 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 to 
the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report in the form of departures from 
the incorporated plant-specific Design Control Document Tier 2 
information. The proposed amendment also involves related changes to 
plant-specific Tier 1 information, with corresponding changes to the 
associated COL Appendix C information. Specifically, the licensee 
requested changes to the Radiologically Controlled Area Ventilation 
System configuration and equipment list.
    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 also found to be 
acceptable. The combined safety evaluation is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML16273A324.
    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. ML16273A305 and 
ML16273A312, 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. ML16273A272 and 
ML16273A290, 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 December 17, 2015, as supplemented by letter 
dated September 6, 2016, the licensee requested from the Commission an 
exemption to allow changes to plant-specific Tier 1 information from 
the certified AP1000 DCD that was incorporated by reference in 10 CFR 
part 52, Appendix D, as part of license amendment request 15-15, 
``Radiologically Controlled Area Ventilation System (VAS) Design 
Changes.''
    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 in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML16273A324, 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 1 information, as described in the licensee's 
request dated December 17, 2015, as supplemented by letter dated 
September 6, 2016. This exemption is related to, and necessary for, the 
granting of License Amendment No. 53, 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, 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 December 17, 2015, as supplemented by letter dated 
September 6, 2016, 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 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 February 16, 2016 (81 FR 7840). 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

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granted the exemption and issued the amendment that the licensee 
requested on December 17, 2015 and supplemented on September 6, 2016.
    The exemption and amendment were issued on October 31, 2016 as part 
of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML16273A142).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of December 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian Hughes,
Acting Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, 
Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2016-31591 Filed 12-28-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P