[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 154 (Thursday, August 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39474-39475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16995]
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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; Tier 1 and Tier 2* Editorial and
Consistency 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 AP1000 design control document (DCD) and is
issuing License Amendment Nos. 125 and 124 to Combined Licenses (COL),
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 May 31, 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 ``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 letters dated November 30,
2017, and March 16, 2018, and are available in ADAMS under Accession
Nos. ML17334B211 and ML18075A438.
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,'' to part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR), and issuing License Amendment Nos. 125 and 124 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 plant-specific DCD Tier 2 and Tier
2* information and related changes to plant-specific Tier 1
information, with corresponding changes to Inspections, Tests,
Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC) in COL Appendix C.
Specifically the changes corrected various editorial and consistency
issues between Tier 1 and Tier 2 in Tier 1 text, tables and figures.
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. ML18106A638.
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. ML18106A629 and
ML18106A631, 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. ML18106A632 and
ML18106A635, 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 a letter dated November 30, 2017, as supplemented by the
letter
[[Page 39475]]
dated March 16, 2018, the Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC)
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 17-042,
``Tier 1 and Tier 2* Editorial and Consistency Changes.''
For the reasons set forth in Section 3.2 of the NRC staff's Safety
Evaluation that which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML18106A638), 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 License, as described in the
licensee's request dated November 30, 2017, as supplemented by the
letter dated March 16, 2018. This exemption is related to, and
necessary for, the granting of License Amendment No. 125 [for Unit 3
and No. 124 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
(ADAMS Accession No. ML18106A638), 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 30, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17334B211), 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. 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 30, 2018 (83 FR 13796). 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 November 30, 2017.
The exemption and amendment were issued on May 31, 2018, as part of
a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession No. ML18106A626).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of August 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of Licensing, Siting, and
Environmental Analysis Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2018-16995 Filed 8-8-18; 8:45 am]
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