[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 61 (Thursday, March 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13527-13528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06386]


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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; Testing Inspections, Tests, Analyses, 
and Acceptance Criteria Consolidation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption and combined license amendment; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an 
exemption to allow a departure from the certification information of 
Tier 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and has issued 
License Amendment Nos. 113 and 112 to Combined Licenses (COL) Nos. NPF-
91 and NPF-92, 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; 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 March 6, 2018.

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 website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0252. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges telephone: 301-287-9127; 
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 16, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17325A562).
     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. Background

    The NRC has granted 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 issued License Amendment Nos. 113 and 112 to COL Nos. 
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,'' 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 COL Appendix C and plant-specific 
design control document Tier 1 information to simplify and consolidate 
a number of inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria 
(ITAAC) to improve the efficiency of the ITAAC completion and closure 
process. 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

[[Page 13528]]

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 and 52.7 of 10 CFR, 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. ML18019A862.
    Identical exemption documents (except for referenced unit numbers 
and license numbers) were issued to the licensee for VEGP, Units 3 and 
4 (COL Nos. NPF-91 and NPF-92). The exemption documents for VEGP, Units 
3 and 4, can be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML18019A856 and 
ML18019A857, respectively. The exemption is reproduced (with the 
exception of abbreviated titles and additional citations) in Section II 
of this document. The amendment documents for COL Nos. NPF-91 and NPF-
92 are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML18019A858 and 
ML18019A860, respectively. A summary of the amendment documents is 
provided in Section III of this notice.

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 16, 2017, 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 (LAR-17-038) regarding 
testing inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria 
consolidation.
    For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1 of the NRC staff's safety 
evaluation (ADAMS Accession No. ML18019A862), 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.
    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 COL 
Appendix C, as described in the licensee's request dated November 16, 
2017. This exemption is related to, and necessary for, the granting of 
License Amendment No. 113 [for Unit 3, 112 for Unit 4], which is being 
issued concurrently with this exemption.
    3. As explained in Section 5.0 of the NRC staff's safety 
evaluation, 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 16, 2017, the licensee requested that the 
NRC amend the COL Nos. NPF-91 and NPF-92 for VEGP, Units 3 and 4, 
respectively. The proposed amendment is described in Section I of this 
notice.
    The Commission has determined that the application for amendment 
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 
January 2, 2018 (83 FR 170). 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 these amendments on March 6, 
2018, as part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML18019A854).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of March 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of 
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2018-06386 Filed 3-28-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P