[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14755-14756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05684]
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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; IDS Fuse Isolation Panel Additions
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 Nos. 69 and 68 to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-91
and NPF-92. The COLs were issued to Southern Nuclear Operating Company,
Inc., and Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, MEAG
Power SPVM, LLC, MEAG Power SPVJ, LLC, MEAG Power SPVP, LLC, Authority
of Georgia, and the City of Dalton, Georgia (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 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.
DATES: The exemption and amendment were issued on February 9, 2017.
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 access publicly available documents online in the NRC
Library 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 in this document (if it is available in
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The
request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by letter dated
September 9, 2016 (ADAMS accession no. ML16253A204).
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:
[[Page 14756]]
I. Introduction
The NRC is granting exemptions 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 Nos. 69 and 68 to COLs, NPF-91
and NPF-92 respectively, to the licensee. The exemptions are 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 would revise the updated final
safety analysis report (UFSAR) in the form of departures from the
incorporated plant-specific DCD 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 that revise information concerning the details of the
Class 1E dc and uninterruptible power supply system (IDS), specifically
adding seven Class 1E fuse panels to the IDS design. These proposed
changes provide electrical isolation between the non-Class 1E IDS
battery monitors and their respective Class 1E battery banks.
Part of the justification for granting the exemptions was provided
by the review of the amendments. Because the exemption is necessary in
order to issue the requested license amendment, the NRC granted the
exemptions and issued the amendments 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 exemptions 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 amendments were found to be acceptable
as well. The combined safety evaluation is available in ADAMS under
Accession No. ML16363A436.
Identical exemption documents (except for referenced 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. ML16363A422 and
ML16363A424, 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. ML16363A409 and
ML16363A420, 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 Unit 4. 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 September 9, 2016, 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 16-022,
``IDS Fuse Isolation Panel Additions (LAR-16-022).''
For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1 of the NRC staff's Safety
Evaluation, which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML16363A436, 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 information, with corresponding changes to
Appendix C of the COLs as described in the licensee's request dated
September 9, 2016. This exemption is related to, and necessary for, the
granting of License Amendment Nos. 69/68, 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. ML16363A436),
these exemptions meet 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. These exemptions are effective as of the date of its issuance.
III. License Amendment Request
By letter dated September 9, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML16253A204), 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 document.
The Commission has determined 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 the facility
COL, proposed no significant hazards consideration determination, and
opportunity for a hearing in connection with these actions, was
published in the Federal Register on October 11, 2016 (81 FR 70186). 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 exemptions and issued the amendments that the
licensee requested on September 9, 2016. The exemptions and amendments
were issued on February 9, 2017, as part of a combined package to the
licensee (ADAMS accession no. ML16363A398).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of March 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer Dixon-Herrity,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2017-05684 Filed 3-21-17; 8:45 am]
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