[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 87 (Monday, May 8, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21432-21433]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09203]


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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; Passive Core Cooling System (PXS) 
Condensate Return

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. 72 and 71 to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-91 
and NPF-92, for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP) Units 3 and 
4, respectively. 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 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 27, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0252 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access information related to this document, which the NRC 
possesses and is publicly-available, 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 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 November 4, 2016, as supplemented November 16, 2016 (ADAMS 
Accession Nos. ML16319A120 and ML16321A416, respectively).
     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: 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

    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 Nos. 72 and 71 to COLs, NPF-91 
and NPF-92, respectively, to the licensee. The exemption is required by 
paragraph A.4 of Section VIII, ``Processes for Changes and 
Departures,'' of Appendix D, to 10 CFR part 52 to allow the licensee to 
depart from Tier 1 information. The amendment authorizes changes to the 
VEGP Units 3 and 4 Updated Final Safety Analysis Report in the form of 
departures from the incorporated plant specific Design Control Document 
Tier 2 information, proposes to depart from involved plant-specific 
Tier 1 information (and associated COL Appendix C information) and from 
involved plant-specific Technical Specifications as incorporated in 
Appendix A of the COL. With the requested amendment, the licensee 
proposed changes to reflect an increase in the efficiency of the return 
of condensate utilized by the passive core cooling system to the in-
containment refueling water storage tank to support the capability for 
long-term cooling.
    Part of the justification for granting the exemption was provided 
by the

[[Page 21433]]

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 
Sec. Sec.  50.12, 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. 
ML17024A307.
    Identical exemption documents (except for referenced unit numbers, 
license numbers and amendment 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. 
ML17024A254 and ML17024A271, 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. ML17024A237 and 
ML17024A245, 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 November 4, 2016, as supplemented November 16, 
2016, 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 16-026, ``Passive Core Cooling System (PXS) Condensate 
Return.''
    For the reasons set forth in Section 3.0 of the NRC staff's Safety 
Evaluation, which can be found at ADAMS Accession No. ML17024A307, 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 Facility Combined Licenses as described in the 
licensee's request dated November 4, 2016, as supplemented November 16, 
2016. This exemption is related to, and necessary for the granting of 
License Amendment [Nos. 72 and 71 for Units 3 and 4, respectively], 
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. ML17024A307), 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 November 4, 2016, as supplemented November 16, 2016 
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML16319A120 and ML16321A416), 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 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 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 
December 12, 2016 (81 FR 89516). 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 letter dated November 4, 2016, as supplemented November 
16, 2016. The exemption and amendment were issued on February 27, 2017, 
as part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17024A317).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of May 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer Dixon-Herrity,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of 
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2017-09203 Filed 5-5-17; 8:45 am]
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