[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 212 (Thursday, November 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54948-54951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23840]
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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; Exemptions
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption in response to a June 27, 2018, request from Southern Nuclear
Operating Company, Inc., as applicable to Vogtle Electric Generating
Plant (VEGP) Units 3 and 4. Specifically, SNC requested an exemption
that would modify the requirement for the level 1 and level 2 PRA for
VEGP Units 3 and 4 to cover those initiating events and modes for which
Regulatory Guide 1.200, Revision 2, endorses standards.
DATES: The exemption was issued on October 26, 2018.
[[Page 54949]]
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 Regulations.gov Docket IDs 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 ``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 April 20, 2018,
and available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18110A113.
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].
I. Background
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
(collectively SNC) are the holder of facility Combined License (COL)
Nos. NFP-91 and NPF-92, which authorize the construction and operation
of Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP) Units 3 and 4. The COLs,
issued under part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR), provide, among other things, that the facilities are subject to
all rules, regulations, and orders of the NRC or the Commission now or
hereafter in effect. The facilities consist of two AP1000 pressurized-
water reactors located in Burke County, Georgia.
Section 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1) requires each holder of a COL, no later
than the scheduled date for initial loading of fuel, to develop a level
1 and a level 2 probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) that covers those
initiating events and modes for which NRC-endorsed consensus standards
on PRA exist one year prior to the scheduled date for initial loading
of fuel. Based on the anticipated timing of the VEGP Unit 3 fuel load,
the PRA development for VEGP Units 3 and 4 is proceeding in accordance
with the current PRA consensus standards in Regulatory Guide (RG)
1.200, ``An Approach for Determining the Technical Adequacy of
Probabilistic Risk Assessment Results for Risk-Informed Activities,''
Revision 2. However, the next revision to RG 1.200 may take place more
than one year prior to fuel load at VEGP Unit 3 and/or VEGP Unit 4;
therefore, it is possible that the PRA for VEGP Unit 3 and/or VEGP Unit
4 could be required to cover new initiating events and modes. Based on
a review of the scope of work for SNC's PRA development, a requirement
that SNC meet new PRA standards established one year or more prior to
the scheduled fuel load date could delay fuel load until the PRA was
completed. It is, therefore, not practicable for SNC to shift PRA
development from Rev. 2 of RG 1.200 to newly endorsed standards as
required by 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1).
II. Request/Action
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, ``Specific exemptions,'' SNC requested,
by letter dated June 27, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18178A533), an
exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1), as applicable to
VEGP Units 3 and 4. Specifically, SNC requested an exemption that would
modify the requirement for the level 1 and level 2 PRA for VEGP Units 3
and 4 to cover those initiating events and modes for which RG 1.200,
Rev. 2, endorses standards. Thus, under the requested exemption, SNC
would be required to meet the PRA standards in RG 1.200, Rev. 2, for
initial fuel loading at VEGP Units 3 and 4, even if the NRC endorses
new standards on PRA one year or more prior to the scheduled fuel load
date at VEGP Unit 3 or Unit 4. The requested exemption from 10 CFR
50.71(h)(1) applies to the development of the VEGP Units 3 and 4 level
1 and level 2 PRA, but SNC still must follow the PRA upgrade
requirements in 10 CFR 50.71(h)(2). Therefore, the effect of the
requested exemption would be temporary, as the upgraded PRA must cover
initiating events and modes of operation contained in NRC-endorsed
consensus standards on PRA in effect one year prior to each required
upgrade under 10 CFR 50.71(h)(2).
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by
any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from
the requirements of 10 CFR part 50 when (1) the exemptions are
authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health and
safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security; and
(2) when special circumstances are present. These special circumstances
include, among other things, when application of the regulation in the
particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the
rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.
The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
This exemption would allow SNC to modify the requirement for the
level 1 and level 2 PRA developed prior to initial fuel loading for
VEGP Units 3 and 4 to cover those initiating events and modes for which
RG 1.200, Rev. 2, endorses standards. As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12
allows the NRC to grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part
50. The NRC staff has determined that granting of SNC's proposed
exemption will not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended, or the Commission's regulations. Therefore, the
exemption is authorized by law.
The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and
Safety
The proposed exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1)
would allow SNC to develop the level 1 and level 2 PRA to cover those
initiating events and modes for which RG 1.200, Rev. 2, endorses
standards. The change is needed to allow SNC sufficient time to fulfill
the requirement.
Making the changes proposed in the exemption request would not
adversely affect SNC's ability to satisfy other PRA requirements in the
regulations or COLs. Using the standards currently endorsed by RG
1.200, Rev. 2, instead of potential newly endorsed standards, will
continue to provide adequate protection of public health and safety.
Risk insights from the design certification have already been
incorporated into the design. Additionally, the proposed exemption does
not introduce any new industrial, chemical, or radiological hazards
that would present a public
[[Page 54950]]
health or safety risk, nor does it modify or remove any design or
operational controls or safeguards intended to mitigate any existing
on-site hazards. The proposed exemption does not allow for a new
fission product release path, result in a new fission product barrier
failure mode, or create a new sequence of events that would result in
fuel cladding failures. Accordingly, the exemption does not present an
undue risk to the public health and safety.
The Exemption Is Consistent With the Common Defense and
Security
The exemption would allow SNC to develop the level 1 and level 2
PRA prior to initial fuel loading for VEGP Units 3 and 4 to cover those
initiating events and modes for which RG 1.200, Rev. 2, endorses
standards. The change does not alter or impede the design, function, or
operation of any plant structures, systems, or components associated
with the facility's physical or cyber security and, therefore, does not
affect any plant equipment that is necessary to maintain a safe and
secure plant status. In addition, the changes have no impact on plant
security or safeguards. Therefore, the staff has determined that this
exemption does not adversely impact common defense and security.
Special Circumstances
Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii),
are present whenever application of the regulation in the particular
circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is
not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. The
underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(h) is to require COL holders to
maintain and upgrade a PRA to meet endorsed standards over the lifetime
of the facility. Under the proposed exemption SNC would be required to
use the endorsed standards in RG 1.200, Rev. 2, which would provide
sufficient time for SNC to develop the level 1 and level 2 PRA required
by 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1). Subsequently, 10 CFR 50.71(h)(2) and 10 CFR
50.71(h)(3) will continue to require SNC to maintain and upgrade the
VEGP Units 3 and 4 PRA to meet future endorsed standards over the
lifetime of the facilities.
Moreover, the underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1) is to ensure
that before beginning to operate, SNC has developed a PRA that
accurately models the plant as it has been built and as it will be
operated. The requested exemption from 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1) serves only
to remove a degree of uncertainty as to which consensus standards will
apply to the PRA model for VEGP Units 3 and 4. A plant-specific PRA
that meets the standards endorsed by RG 1.200, Rev. 2, has been and
will remain adequate until it is upgraded in accordance with 10 CFR
50.71(h)(2). Therefore, the underlying purposes of 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1)
would be achieved by requiring the level 1 and level 2 PRA to meet
currently endorsed standards. For the reasons discussed above, applying
the provisions of 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1) addressed by the exemption request
is not necessary to meet the underlying purpose of the rule. Therefore,
the special circumstances required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) for the
granting of an exemption from 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1) exist.
Additionally, special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(iii), are present whenever compliance would result in undue
hardship or other costs that are significantly in excess of those
contemplated when the regulation was adopted, or that are significantly
in excess of those incurred by others similarly situated. The time
required to update the PRA model to the new standards (which may
include new initiating events and modes), peer review the model,
resolve facts and observations from the peer review, and perform the
plant walkdown is likely to take longer than one year, which could
delay fuel load until the PRA was completed. In that case, compliance
with 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1) would result in undue hardship or other costs
that are significantly in excess of those contemplated when the
regulation was adopted with no significant benefit to safety;
therefore, the special circumstances required by 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(iii) for the granting of an exemption from 10 CFR
50.71(h)(1) exist.
Environmental Considerations
The NRC staff determined that the exemption discussed herein meets
the eligibility criteria for the categorical exclusion set forth in 10
CFR 51.22(c)(25) because the request seeks to change the timing of
standards required by 10 CFR 50.71(h)(1) but does not make changes to
the facility or operating procedures. Under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25),
granting of an exemption from the requirements of any regulation of
chapter I to 10 CFR is a categorical exclusion provided that (i) there
is no significant hazards consideration; (ii) there is no significant
change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any
effluents that may be released offsite; (iii) there is no significant
increase in individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation
exposure; (iv) there is no significant construction impact; (v) there
is no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents; and (vi) the requirements from which an
exemption is sought involve certain categories of requirements, such as
reporting requirements related to the timing of using NRC-endorsed
consensus standards on PRA, which detail the initiating events and
modes that must be covered in the PRA.
As required by 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i), and using the criteria set
out in 10 CFR 50.92(c), the NRC staff reviewed whether the exemption
request involves no significant hazards consideration.
(1) Does the requested exemption involve a significant increase in
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
No. The proposed exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(h)(1) would allow SNC to develop the level 1 and level 2 PRA to
cover those initiating events and modes for which RG 1.200, Rev. 2,
endorses standards. The requested exemption does not alter the design,
function, or operation of any plant equipment. Therefore, granting this
exemption would not involve a significant increase in the probability
or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
(2) Does the requested exemption create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
No. The requested exemption does not alter the design, function, or
operation of any plant equipment. The requested exemption does not
create any new failure mechanisms, malfunctions, or accident
initiators. Therefore, granting this exemption does not create the
possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident
previously evaluated.
(3) Does the requested exemption involve a significant reduction in
a margin of safety?
No. A PRA is an analysis to determine the relative risk
(probability) of an undesirable outcome, specifically, core damage
frequency and large early release frequency.
While the PRA uses the design attributes of structures, systems,
and components (SSCs), the PRA does not affect SSCs. As a result, a
change to the PRA description or PRA results does not affect an SSC,
SSC design function, or method of performing or controlling a design
function. While the PRA uses the design attributes of SSCs, the PRA is
not used to establish the design bases of an SSC nor is it used in the
safety analyses. Furthermore, the requested exemption
[[Page 54951]]
does not exceed or alter a design basis or safety limit. Therefore,
granting this exemption does not involve a significant reduction in a
margin of safety.
As all of the responses to the above questions are in the negative,
under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i), the NRC staff has concluded that the
requested exemption involves no significant hazards consideration.
The requested exemption does not alter the design, function, or
operation of any plant equipment. There are no changes to effluent
types, plant radiological or non-radiological effluent release
quantities, any effluent release path, or the functionality of any
design or operational features credited with controlling the release of
effluents during plant operation or construction. Therefore, under 10
CFR 51.22(c)(25)(ii), the NRC staff concludes that the proposed
exemption does not involve a significant change in the types or
significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be
released offsite.
There are no changes to plant radiation zones and no changes to
controls required under 10 CFR part 20, which preclude a significant
increase in occupational radiation exposure. Therefore, under 10 CFR
51.22(c)(iii), the NRC staff concludes that the proposed exemption does
not involve a significant increase in individual or cumulative public
or occupational radiation exposure.
The requested exemption does not alter the design, function, or
operation of any plant equipment. No change to the facility is being
made as a result of this exemption. Therefore, under 10 CFR
51.22(c)(iv), the NRC staff concludes that the proposed exemption does
not involve a significant construction impact.
The requested exemption does not alter the design, function, or
operation of any plant equipment. There are no changes to plant
radiation zones and no changes to controls required under 10 CFR part
20, which preclude a significant increase in occupational radiation
exposure.
Therefore, under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(v), the NRC staff concludes that
the proposed exemption does not involve a significant increase in the
potential for or consequences from radiological accidents.
The requested exemption involves reporting requirements related to
the timing of using NRC-endorsed consensus standards on PRA which
detail the initiating events and modes that must be covered in the PRA.
Therefore, under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(vi)(B), the NRC staff concludes that
the proposed exemption involves a reporting requirement.
Based on the evaluation above, the NRC staff concludes that the
exemption meets the criteria of 10 CFR 51.22(c). Therefore, in
accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(b), an environmental impact statement or
environmental assessment is not required for the NRC staff's
consideration of this exemption request.
IV. Conclusions
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.12, the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue
risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common
defense and security. Also, special circumstances are present.
Therefore, the Commission hereby grants SNC an exemption from 10 CFR
50.71(h)(1) to modify the requirement for the level 1 and level 2 PRA
for VEGP Units 3 and 4 to cover those initiating events and modes for
which RG 1.200, Rev. 2, endorses standards.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of October 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael D. McCoppin,
Deputy Director (Acting), Division of Licensing, Siting, and
Environmental Analysis, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2018-23840 Filed 10-31-18; 8:45 am]
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