[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 83 (Tuesday, April 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18324-18326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08719]


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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; Clarification of ASME Code Section III 
Compliance and Alternative Requirements for ASME Section III Pressure 
Tests Conducted Following the Completion of ASME Section III 
Construction Activities

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 departures from the certification information of 
Tier 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and is issuing 
License Amendment Nos. 157 and 155 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 (collectively SNC); 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 requested 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 April 9, 2019.

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 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-

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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 November 29, 2018, and available in ADAMS under Accession 
No. ML18333A337.
     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: Donald Habib, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-415-1035; 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. 157 and 155 to COLs, NPF-
91 and NPF-92, to SNC. 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 SNC to depart from Tier 1 information. With the 
requested amendment, SNC sought proposed changes that would revise 
plant-specific Tier 1 information with corresponding changes to the 
associated COL Appendix C information. Specifically, the amendment 
proposes changes to plant-specific Tier 1 (and COL Appendix C) Section 
1.2, ``General Provisions,'' to clarify that when the Design Commitment 
or Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria provides that 
an item or activity must comply with American Society of Mechanical 
Engineers (ASME) Code Section III, this means compliance with the ASME 
Section III Code, as incorporated by reference in 10 CFR 50.55a with 
specific conditions, or in accordance with alternatives authorized by 
the NRC pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55a.
    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 NRC also concurrently authorized SNC to use an 
alternative to the requirements of ASME Section III, NB-6221(a), NC-
6221(a), ND-6221(a), NB-6321(a), NC-6321(a), and ND-6321(a) of the ASME 
Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, 1998 Edition through the 2000 Addenda 
(Code of Record) for VEGP Units 3 and 4. The proposed request for 
alternative is applicable to pressure testing following repair and/or 
replacement activities that occur following the completion of all ASME 
Section III construction activities and application of the ASME 
certification marking. Issuance of the exemption, amendment, and 
alternative included issuing a combined safety evaluation containing 
the NRC staff's review of the exemption request, license amendment, and 
alternative. 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. The license amendment and alternative were found to be 
acceptable as well. The combined safety evaluation is available in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML19018A138.
    Identical exemption documents (except for referenced unit numbers 
and license numbers) were issued to SNC 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. ML19018A136 and ML19018A137, 
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. ML19018A132 and ML19018A134, 
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 29, 2018, 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 (LAR) 18-031, ``Clarification 
of ASME Code Section III Compliance and Alternative Requirements for 
ASME Section III Pressure Tests Conducted Following the Completion of 
ASME Section III Construction Activities.''
    For the reasons set forth in Section 3.2 of the NRC staff's Safety 
Evaluation, which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML19018A138, 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, SNC 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 SNC's request dated November 
29, 2018. This exemption is related to, and necessary for the granting 
of License Amendment No. 157 [for Unit 3, 155 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. ML19018A138), 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 29, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML18333A337), SNC 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 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

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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 30, 2019 (84 FR 496). 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 the amendments that SNC 
requested on November 29, 2018. The exemption and amendment were issued 
on April 9, 2019, as part of a combined package to SNC (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML19018A130).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of April 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity,
Chief, Licensing Branch 2, Division of Licensing, Siting, and 
Environmental Analysis, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2019-08719 Filed 4-29-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P