[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 230 (Friday, December 1, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57010-57012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25867]
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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; Consistency Update to the Raceway
Separation Requirements in the Main Control Room and Remote Shutdown
Room
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. 88 and 87 to Combined Licenses (COL), 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 September 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 March 8, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17067A517).
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 (Billy) 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 granting an exemption from paragraph B of section III,
``Scope and Contents,'' of appendix D, ``Design Certification Rule for
the AP1000,'' to
[[Page 57011]]
part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), and
issuing License Amendment Nos. 88 and 87 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 generic AP1000 DCD in the plant-specific DCD Tier 2 information.
With the requested amendment, dated March 8, 2017, (ADAMS Accession
No. ML17067A517), Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., (SNC/
licensee) requested that the NRC amend the COL for VEGP Units 3 and 4,
COL Numbers NPF-91 and NPF-92, respectively. The amendment requested
changes to the VEGP COL appendix C, Table 3.3-6 (and associated plant-
specific Tier 1 table) to capture additional raceway separation
configurations for the Main Control Room and Remote Shutdown Room as
discussed in the VEGP Updated Final Safety Analysis Report. In addition
to those changes, the licensee proposed editorial changes to improve
the readability of the text by deleting one particular extraneous
period that appears only in the plant-specific Tier 1 Table 3.3-6 and
the word ``except'' in certain parts of the COL Appendix C Table 3.3-6
(and associated plant-specific Tier 1 table).
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. 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. This included issuing a combined safety evaluation
containing the NRC staff's review of both the exemption request and the
license amendment. The license amendment was found to be acceptable as
well. The safety evaluation is available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML17206A414.
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.
ML17206A416 and ML17206A415, 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. ML17206A418 and
ML17206A417, 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 Unit 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 March 8, 2017, Southern Nuclear Operating
Company requested from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or
Commission) an exemption to allow departures from Tier 1 information in
the certified Design Control Document (DCD) incorporated by reference
in 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, ``Design Certification Rule for the
AP1000 Design,'' as part of license amendment request (LAR) 17-007,
``Consistency Update to the Raceway Separation Requirements in the Main
Control Room and Remote Shutdown Room.''
For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1 of the NRC staff's safety
evaluation, which can be found at ADAMS Accession No. ML17206A414, 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 March 8, 2017. This exemption is related to,
and necessary for, the granting of License Amendment [Nos. 88 and 87
for Units 3 and 4, respectively], which is being issued concurrently
with this exemption.
3. As explained in Section 6.0 of the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation
(ADAMS Accession No. ML17206A414), 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 March 8, 2017, (ADAMS Accession No. ML17067A517),
Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., (SNC/licensee) requested that
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) amend the combined
licenses (COL) for Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP) Units 3 and
4, COL Numbers NPF-91 and NPF-92, respectively. 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
April 25, 2017 (82 FR 19105). 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 by letter dated March 8, 2017. The exemption and amendment
were issued on September 27, 2017, as part of a combined package to the
licensee (ADAMS Accession No. ML17206A413).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of November 2017.
[[Page 57012]]
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer Dixon-Herrity,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2017-25867 Filed 11-30-17; 8:45 am]
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