[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 55 (Thursday, March 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14917-14919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05786]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 52-025 and 52-026; NRC-2008-0252]
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Vogtle Electric
Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4 Containment Hydrogen Igniter Changes
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. 61 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 December 22, 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
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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 February 6, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15037A715), as
supplemented by letter dated September 15, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15258A555).
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 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. 61 to COLs, NPF-91 and NPF-
92, 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 VEGP Units 3 and 4 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.
The amendment authorizes changes to the VEGP Units 3 and 4 UFSAR:
(1) To add two additional hydrogen igniters to the in-containment
refueling water storage tank roof vents; (2) to remove control of the
hydrogen igniters from the protection and safety monitoring system; (3)
to clarify the controls available for the hydrogen igniters at the
remote shutdown workstation; and (4) to make changes to the design
aspects of the hydrogen igniters to maintain consistency within various
licensing documents. 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. ML16096A449.
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. ML16096A431 and
ML16096A433, 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. ML16096A424 and
ML16096A427, 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 VEGP 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 February 6, 2015, and supplemented by letter
dated September 15, 2015, the licensee requested from the Commission 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 15-003, ``Containment Hydrogen Igniter
Changes.''
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.
ML16096A449, 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 related to hydrogen igniter, as
described in the licensee's request dated February 6, 2015, and
supplemented by letter dated September 15, 2015. This exemption is
related to, and necessary for the granting of License Amendment No. 61,
which is being issued concurrently with this exemption.
3. As explained in Section 5.0 of the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16096A449), 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 February 6, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15037A715),
as supplemented by letter dated September 15, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15258A555), 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 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.
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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 COL, 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
March 2, 2016 (81 FR 10920). Comments were received during the 30-day
comment period.
IV. Public Comments
A request for a hearing was filed on May 2, 2016, by the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League (``BREDL'') and its chapter, Concerned
Citizens of Shell Bluff (ADAMS Accession No. ML16124B062). The Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) denied BREDL's request for hearing in
an order dated September 16, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16259A157).
Subsequently, on October 11, 2016, BREDL appealed the ASLB decision
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16285A548). On February 16, 2017, the Commission
affirmed the ASLB's decision (ADAMS Accession No. ML17047A149).
Under its regulations, the Commission may issue and make an
amendment immediately effective, notwithstanding the pendency before it
of a request for a hearing from any person, in advance of the holding
and completion of any required hearing, where it has made a final
determination that no significant hazards consideration is involved.
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.
V. 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 6, 2015, and supplemented by letter dated
September 15, 2015. The exemption and amendment were issued on December
22, 2016, as part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS
Accession No. ML16096A345).
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. 2017-05786 Filed 3-22-17; 8:45 am]
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