[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 32 (Friday, February 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11064-11066]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-03241]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-424, 50-425, 52-025, and 52-026; NRC-2017-0046]


Southern Nuclear Company, Inc.; Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, 
Units 1, 2, 3 and 4

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; 
issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is making a 
finding of no significant impact for a proposed issuance of amendments 
to Renewed Facility Operating License NPF-68; Renewed Facility 
Operating License NPF-81; Facility Combined License NPF-91; and 
Facility Combined License NPF-92, held by Southern Nuclear Company, 
Inc. (SNC, the licensee) for the operation of Vogtle Electric 
Generating Plant (VEGP), Units 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, located in 
Burke County, Georgia. The proposed amendments would allow for the 
adoption of a common (fleet-wide) SNC Standard Emergency Plan (SEP), 
with site-specific annexes.

DATES: February 17, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0046 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-2017-0046. 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]. For 
the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided 
in a table in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of this 
document.
     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: Shawn A. Williams, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1009; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering issuance of amendments pursuant to Sec.  
50.54 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
``Conditions of licenses,''

[[Page 11065]]

paragraph (q), to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-68 and 
NPF-81; and Facility Combined License NPF-91 and NPF-92, held by 
Southern Nuclear Company, Inc. (SNC, the licensee) for the operation of 
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP), Unit 1, 2, 3, and 4, 
respectively, located in Georgia, Burke County.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC has prepared an 
environmental assessment (EA) that analyzes the environmental effects 
of the proposed licensing action. Based on the results of the EA, and 
in accordance with 10 CFR 51.31(a), the NRC has prepared a finding of 
no significant impact (FONSI) for the proposed amendments.

II. Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would revise the VEGP, Unit 1 and Unit 2, 
Renewed Facility Operating Licenses, and the Facility Combined Licenses 
for Units 3 and 4 in order to allow the adoption of a fleet-wide SNC 
SEP that includes site-specific annexes. If approved, the SEP would 
establish an updated licensing basis for the SNC fleet of nuclear power 
plants (Farley, Units 1 and 2; Edwin I Hatch, Units 1 and 2; and VEGP; 
Units 1, 2, 3, and 4) that complies with current NRC regulations at 10 
CFR 50.47, 10 CFR part 50, appendix E, and NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, 
Revision 1.
    Notable proposed changes are (a) adoption of a standard staff 
augmentation time period of 75 minutes from time of declaration of an 
Alert or higher Emergency Classification, (b) changes in staffing 
numbers, (c) changes in staffing duties, and (d) consolidation of the 
Joint Information Center.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated August 31, 2015, as supplemented by letters dated 
February 17, 2016; April 8, 2016; May 13, 2016; May 26, 2016; June 9, 
2016; and November 2, 2016, respectively.

Need for the Proposed Action

    Nuclear power plant owners, government agencies, and State and 
local officials work together to create a system for emergency 
preparedness and response that will serve the public in the unlikely 
event of an emergency. An effective emergency preparedness program 
decreases the likelihood of an initiating event at a nuclear power 
reactor proceeding to a severe accident. Emergency preparedness cannot 
affect the probability of the initiating event, but a high level of 
emergency preparedness increases the probability of accident mitigation 
if the initiating event proceeds beyond the need for initial operator 
actions.
    Each licensee is required to establish emergency plans to be 
implemented in the event of an accident. These emergency plans cover 
preparations for evacuation, sheltering, and other actions to protect 
residents near plants in the event of a serious incident.
    The NRC, as well as other federal and state regulatory agencies 
review the subject plans to ensure that the condition of emergency 
preparedness provides reasonable assurance that adequate protective 
measures can and will be taken in the event of a radiological 
emergency.
    Separate from this EA, the NRC staff is evaluating SNC's proposed 
changes to the SEP for VEGP. This review will be documented in the 
safety evaluation report for the proposed license amendment. The 
staff's review will determine whether there is reasonable assurance 
that adequate protective measures can and will be taken in the event of 
a radiological emergency in accordance with 10 CFR 50.47(b)(1) through 
(b)(16), and the requirements in appendix E to 10 CFR part 50.
    The proposed action is needed to make SNC's fleet of nuclear power 
plants (SNC fleet) emergency plans easier to follow and understand. By 
standardizing emergency plans, with site specific annexes, SNC will 
align the SNC fleet using consistent standards and definitions. This 
will improve the consistency throughout the SNC fleet regarding: (1) 
Emergency planning organizations, (2) duties and responsibilities of 
emergency personnel, (3) procedures, and (4) training.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action. The 
proposed action consists mainly of administrative changes related to 
the rearrangement of NRC-approved Farley, Hatch, and Vogtle emergency 
plans into one SNC SEP with site-specific annexes. Notable changes 
include (a) the adoption of a standard staff augmentation time period 
of 75 minutes from time of declaration of an Alert or higher Emergency 
Classification (b) changes in staffing numbers, (c) changes in staffing 
duties, and (d) consolidation of the Joint Information Center.
    The proposed changes would have no direct impacts on land use or 
water resources, including terrestrial and aquatic biota as the 
proposed action involves no new construction or modification of plant 
operational systems. There would be no changes to the quality or 
quantity of non-radiological effluents. No changes to the plant's 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit are needed. 
Changes in staffing levels associated with the adopted SEP, and site-
specific annex for VEGP, could result in minor changes in vehicular 
traffic and associated air pollutant emissions, but no significant 
changes in ambient air quality would be expected. In addition, there 
would be no noticeable effect on socioeconomic conditions in the 
region, no environment justice impacts, and no impacts to historic and 
cultural resources. Therefore, there would be no significant non-
radiological impacts associated with the proposed action.
    The NRC has concluded that the proposed action would not 
significantly affect plant safety and would not have a significant 
adverse effect on the probability of an accident occurring. There would 
be no change to radioactive effluents that affect radiation exposures 
to plant workers and members of the public. No changes would be made to 
plant buildings or the site property. Therefore, the proposed action 
would not result in a change to the radiation exposures to the public 
or radiation exposure to plant workers.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC considered denial 
of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). Denial of 
the license amendment request would result in no change in current 
environmental impacts.

Alternative Use of Resources

    There are no unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of 
available resources under the proposed action.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On January 11, 2017, the staff consulted with the Georgia State 
official, Mr. B. Simonton, Georgia Environmental Protection Division, 
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The state 
official had no comments.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The licensee has requested license amendments pursuant to 10 CFR 
50.54(q) to adopt a fleet-wide SEP, with a specific annex, for VEGP. 
The NRC is considering issuing the requested amendments. The proposed 
action would not significantly affect plant safety, would not have a 
significant adverse effect on the probability of an accident occurring, 
and would not have any significant radiological and non-

[[Page 11066]]

radiological impacts. The reason the environment would not be 
significantly affected is because the proposed changes would only 
result in minor changes in staffing levels and associated vehicular 
traffic, along with a small increase in air pollutant emissions. This 
FONSI incorporates by reference the EA in Section II of this notice. 
Therefore, the NRC concludes that the proposed action will not have a 
significant effect on the quality of the human environment. 
Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental 
impact statement for the proposed action.
    The related environmental documents are the ``Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Regarding 
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, Final Report,'' NUREG-
1437, Supplement 34; and the ``Final Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for Combined Licenses (COLs) for Vogtle Electric Generating 
Plant Units 3 and 4,'' NUREG-1947. NUREG-1437, Supplement 34 provides 
the latest environmental review of current operations at VEGP, Units 1 
and 2 and description of environmental conditions. NUREG-1947 provides 
the environmental review of initial licensing of VEGP, Units 3 and 4.
    The finding and other related environmental documents may be 
examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room 
(PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852. Publicly-available records will be 
accessible electronically from ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on 
the Internet at the NRC's Web site: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
    Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems 
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC's 
PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or 
send an email to [email protected].

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          ADAMS Accession No./ Web link/
                Document                    Federal Register Citation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southern Nuclear Operating Company,      ML15246A045
 License Amendment Request for Adoption
 of Standard Emergency Plan, dated
 August 31, 2015.
Southern Nuclear Operating Company,      ML16060A283
 Response To Request for Additional
 Information Regarding License
 Amendment Request for Adoption of
 Standard Emergency Plan, dated
 February 17, 2016.
Southern Nuclear Operating Company,      ML16105A194
 Response to Request For Additional
 Information Regarding License
 Amendment Request for Adoption of
 Standard Emergency Plan, dated April
 8, 2016.
Southern Nuclear Operating Company,      ML16146A724
 Updated Submittal of the Assessment of
 Emergency Response Staffing Regarding
 License Amendment Request for Adoption
 of Standard Emergency Plan, dated May
 13, 2016.
Southern Nuclear Operating Company,      ML16147A294
 Corrected Response to Request For
 Additional Information Regarding
 License Amendment Request for Adoption
 of Standard Emergency Plan, dated May
 26, 2016.
Southern Nuclear Operating Company,      ML16167A468
 Response to Request For Additional
 Information Regarding License
 Amendment Request for Adoption of
 Standard Emergency Plan, dated June 9,
 2016.
Southern Nuclear Operating Company,      ML16307A404
 Letter RE: Standard Emergency Plan
 Implementation Date, dated November 2,
 2016.
NUREG-1437, Supplement 34, Generic       ML083380325
 Environmental Impact Statement for
 License Renewal of Nuclear Plants:
 Regarding Vogtle Electric Generating
 Plant, Units 1 and 2, Final Report,
 dated December 2008.
NUREG-1947, Final Supplemental           ML11076A010
 Environmental Impact Statement for
 Combined Licenses (COLs) for Vogtle
 Electric Generating Plant Units 3 and
 4, Final Report, dated March 2011.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of February 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Shawn A. Williams,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of Operating 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2017-03241 Filed 2-16-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P