[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 125 (Thursday, June 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30464-30465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13860]
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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; Changes to Containment Cooling and
Spent Fuel Pool Makeup Strategies
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. 126 and 125 to Combined Licenses (COLs), 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 June 7, 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; 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 amendments and exemptions were submitted
by letter dated July 14, 2017, and is available in ADAMS under
Accession No. ML17198A596.
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: Peter Hearn, Office of New Reactors,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-415-1189; 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 Design,'' to part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), and issuing License Amendment Nos. 126 and 125 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,'' 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 Tier 1 information
to change the inspected volume for the spent fuel pool and cask
washdown pit with corresponding changes to the minimum volumes and
reference measurement locations, and add an inspection for the minimum
volume for the cask loading pit.
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
[[Page 30465]]
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. ML18100A079.
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. ML18100A071 and
ML18100A073, 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. ML18100A074 and
ML18100A077, 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 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 an application dated July 14, 2017, the licensee requested
from the 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-
021, ``Changes to Containment Coolant and Spent Fuel Makeup
Strategies.''
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.
ML18100A079, 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, as described in the licensee's
request dated July 14, 2017. This exemption is related to, and
necessary for, the granting of License Amendment Nos. 126 (Unit 3) and
125 (Unit 4), 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. ML18100A079), 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.
This exemption is effective as of the date of its issuance.
III. License Amendment Request
By letter dated July 14, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17198A596),
the licensee requested that the NRC amend the COLs for VEGP Units 3 and
4, COLs NPF-91 and NPF-92. The proposed amendments are 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. 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
November 22, 2017 (82 FR 55654). 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 July 14, 2017. The exemption and amendment were issued on
June 7, 2018, as part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS
Accession No. ML18100A069).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of June, 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Paul B. Kallan,
Acting Branch Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of Licensing, Siting,
and Environmental Analysis, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2018-13860 Filed 6-27-18; 8:45 am]
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