[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 55 (Friday, March 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16146-16147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05905]
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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; Automatic Depressurization System
(ADS) and Core Makeup Tank (CMT) Design Parameters
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. 176 and 175 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 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 March 11, 2020.
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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0252. Address
questions about NRC dockets in Regulations.gov 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 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 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 designated License Amendment Request (LAR)
19-009 and submitted by letter dated September 30, 2019, and
supplemented by letter dated December 19, 2019 (ADAMS Accession Nos.
ML19273A953 and ML19353B752).
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: Alina Schiller, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-8177; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is issuing License Amendment Nos. 176 and 175 to COLs NPF-
91 and NPF-92, respectively, and is granting an exemption from Tier 1
information in the plant-specific DCD for the AP1000. The AP1000 DCD is
incorporated by reference in Appendix D, ``Design Certification Rule
for the AP1000,'' to part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR). The exemption, granted pursuant to paragraph A.4
of section VIII, ``Processes for Changes and Departures,'' of 10 CFR
part 52, Appendix D, allows the licensee to depart from the Tier 1
information. With the requested amendment, SNC sought proposed changes
to revise automatic depressurization system (ADS) and core makeup tank
(CMT) parameters. Specifically, the requested amendment required
changes to reflect revisions in the design parameters of: (a) The
maximum stroke times for the ADS Stage 1, 2, and 3 valves; (b) the
minimum effective flow areas for the ADS Stage 2 and 3 valves; and (c)
the CMT minimum volume.
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 sections 50.12, 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. ML20049A808.
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. ML20049A734 and ML20049A747,
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. ML20049A761 and ML20049A788,
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 September 30, 2019, as supplemented by letter
dated December 19, 2019, Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC)
requested from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (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) 19-009, ``Automatic
Depressurization System (ADS) and Core Makeup Tank (CMT) Design
Parameters.''
For the reasons set forth in Section 3.2 of the NRC staff's Safety
Evaluation that supports this license amendment, which can be found at
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession
Number ML20049A808, the Commission finds that:
A. the exemption is authorized by law;
B. the exemption presents no undue risk to public health and
safety;
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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 the licensee's request dated
September 30, 2019, and as supplemented by letter dated December 19,
2019. This exemption is related to, and necessary for, the granting of
License Amendment No. 176 [for Unit 3, No. 175 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. ML20049A808), this exemption meets the eligibility
criteria for a 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 September 30, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML19273A953), as supplemented by letter dated December 19, 2019 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML19353B752), 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 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
December 3, 2019 (84 FR 66234). 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 to 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 September 30, 2019. The exemptions and amendments were
issued on March 11, 2020, as part of a combined package to SNC (ADAMS
Accession No. ML20049A655).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of March 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor E. Hall,
Chief, Vogtle Project Office, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020-05905 Filed 3-19-20; 8:45 am]
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