[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7335-7336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02382]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-321 and 50-366; NRC-2020-0043]


Southern Nuclear Operating Company: Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, 
Units 1 and 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an 
exemption in response to a December 16, 2019, request from Southern 
Nuclear Operating Company to allow periodic updates of the Edwin I. 
Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, Updated Final Safety Analysis 
Reports by August 31 of every even-numbered year and not to exceed 24-
months between successive updates.

DATES: The exemption was issued on January 30, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0043 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0043. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual(s) 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 https://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 ``Request for Exemption from 10 
CFR50.71(e)(4) Final Safety Analysis Report Update Schedule'' is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ADAMS ML19350C266.
     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: John G. Lamb, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3100, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of February 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John G. Lamb,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Attachment--Exemption from UFSAR Schedule for HNP, Units 1 and 2

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket Nos. 50-321 and 50-366

Southern Nuclear Operating Company

Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2

Exemption

I. Background

    Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC, the licensee) is the 
holder of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-57 and NPF-5, for the 
Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant (HNP), Units 1 and 2, respectively. The 
licenses provide, among other things, that the licensee is subject 
to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission now or 
hereafter in effect.
    The HNP facility consists of two boiling-water reactors located 
at the licensee's site in Appling County, Georgia.

II. Request/Action

    Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 
50.71, ``Maintenance of records, making of reports,'' paragraph 
(e)(4) states, in part, that ``Subsequent revisions [to the Updated 
Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR)] must be filed annually or 6 
months after each refueling outage provided that the interval 
between successive updates [to the UFSAR] does not exceed 24 
months.'' By letter dated December 16, 2019 (Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML19350C266), SNC 
requested that the due date for submittal of HNP, Unit 1, and HNP, 
Unit 2, UFSARs be by August 31 of every even-numbered year, provided 
the interval between successive updates does not exceed 24 months.

III. Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC may, upon application by any 
interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from 
the requirements of 10 CFR part 50, including 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) 
when: (1) The exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an 
undue risk to the public health or safety, and are consistent with 
the common defense and security; and (2) when special circumstances 
are present. Under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), special circumstances 
include, among other things, when application of the specific 
regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve, or is 
not necessary to achieve, the underlying purpose of the rule.

A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law

    In accordance with 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC may grant an exemption 
from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50 if the exemption is 
authorized by law. The exemption requested in this instance is 
authorized by law, because no other

[[Page 7336]]

prohibition of law exists to preclude the activities which would be 
authorized by the exemption. Additionally, even with the granting of 
the exemption, the underlying purpose of the regulation will 
continue to be served. The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) 
is to ensure that licensees periodically update their UFSARs to 
assure that the UFSARs remain up-to-date such that they accurately 
reflect the plant design and operation. The rule does not require 
that licensees review all of the information contained in the UFSAR 
for each periodic update. Rather, the intent of the rule is for 
licensees to update only those portions of the UFSAR that have been 
affected by licensee activities since the previous update. As 
required by 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4), UFSAR updates shall be submitted 
within 6 months after each refueling outage provided that the 
intervals between successive updates do not exceed 24 months. 
Submitting updates to the HNP, Units 1 and 2, UFSARs by August 31 of 
even-numbered years and not exceeding 24 months between successive 
updates continues to meet the intent of the regulation from the 
perspective of regulatory burden reduction and maintaining UFSAR 
information up-to-date. Therefore, this exemption request is 
authorized by law.

B. The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

    The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) is to ensure that 
licensees periodically update their UFSARs to assure that the UFSARs 
remain up-to-date such that they accurately reflect the plant design 
and operation. The NRC has determined by rule that an update 
frequency not exceeding 24 months between successive updates is 
acceptable for maintaining UFSAR content up-to-date. The requested 
exemption provides an equivalent level of protection to the existing 
requirements, because it ensures that updates to the HNP, Units 1 
and 2, UFSARs are submitted with no greater than 24 months between 
successive updates. The requested exemption also meets the intent of 
the rule for regulatory burden reduction. Additionally, based on the 
nature of the requested exemption and the fact that updates will not 
exceed 24 months from the last submittal as described above, no new 
accident precursors are created by the exemption; therefore, neither 
the probability nor the consequences of postulated accidents are 
increased. In conclusion, the requested exemption does not result in 
any undue risk to the public health and safety.

C. The Exemption is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security

    The requested exemption from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) would allow SNC 
to submit its periodic updates to the HNP, Units 1 and 2, UFSARs by 
August 31 of even-numbered years, and not to exceed 24 months from 
the last submittal. Neither the regulation nor the proposed 
exemption has any relation to security issues. Therefore, the common 
defense and security is not impacted by the exemption.

D. 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 rule change promulgated in August 1992 (57 
FR 39358; August 31, 1992) was intended to provide a reduction in 
regulatory burden by providing licensees with the option to submit 
UFSAR updates once per refueling outage, not to exceed 24 months 
between successive updates, instead of annually. HNP is a two-unit 
plant, with different refueling outage schedules, and each unit has 
its own UFSAR. However, the Unit 1 UFSAR extensively references the 
Unit 2 UFSAR. Therefore, the Unit 1 UFSAR cannot stand alone and the 
two UFSARs effectively function as a common UFSAR, such that a 
single schedule for UFSAR updates is appropriate. Therefore, special 
circumstances exist under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) in that application 
of the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) in these particular 
circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule and 
is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.

E. Environmental Considerations

    With respect to its impact on the quality of the human 
environment, the NRC has determined that the issuance of the 
exemption discussed herein meets the eligibility criteria for 
categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25). Under 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(25), the granting of an exemption from the requirements of 
any regulation of 10 CFR chapter I (which includes 10 CFR 
50.71(e)(4)) is an action that qualifies for a categorical 
exclusion.
    The NRC staff's determination that all of the criteria for this 
categorical exclusion are met is as follows:
    I. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i): There is no significant hazards 
consideration.
    Staff Analysis: The criteria for determining whether an action 
involves a significant hazards consideration are found in 10 CFR 
50.92. The proposed action involves only a schedule change regarding 
the submission of an update to the UFSAR. Therefore, there are no 
significant hazard considerations because granting the exemption 
would not:
    (1) Involve a significant increase in the probability or 
consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or
    (2) Create the possibility of a new or different kind of 
accident from any accident previously evaluated; or
    (3) Involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety.
    II. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(ii): There is no significant change in 
the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents 
that may be released offsite.
    Staff Analysis: The proposed action involves only a schedule 
change, which is administrative in nature, and does not involve any 
changes in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any 
effluents that may be released offsite.
    III. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iii): There is no significant increase 
in individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation 
exposure.
    Staff Analysis: Since the proposed action involves only a 
schedule change, which is administrative in nature, it does not 
contribute to any significant increase in occupational or public 
radiation exposure.
    IV. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iv): There is no significant 
construction impact.
    Staff Analysis: Since the proposed action involves only a 
schedule change, which is administrative in nature, it does not 
involve any construction impact.
    V. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(v): There is no significant increase in 
the potential for or consequences from radiological accidents.
    Staff Analysis: The proposed action involves only a schedule 
change, which is administrative in nature and does not impact the 
potential for or consequences from accidents.
    VI. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi): The requirements from which the 
exemption is sought involve scheduling requirements and other 
requirements of an administrative, managerial, or organizational 
nature.
    Staff Analysis: The proposed action involves scheduling 
requirements and other requirements of an administrative, 
managerial, or organizational nature because it is associated with 
the submittal schedule requirements contained in 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4), 
which stipulate that revisions to the UFSAR must be filed annually 
or 6 months after each refueling outage provided the interval 
between successive updates does not exceed 24 months.
    Based on the above, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed 
exemption meets the eligibility criteria for the categorical 
exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25). Therefore, in accordance 
with 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or 
environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the 
NRC's issuance of this exemption.

IV. Conclusions

    Accordingly, the NRC 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, pursuant 
to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present. Therefore, the NRC hereby 
grants SNC an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) 
to allow SNC to file its periodic updates to the HNP, Units 1 and 2, 
UFSAR by August 31 of even-numbered years, and not to exceed 24 
months from the last submittal.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of January, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 2020-02382 Filed 2-6-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P