[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 90 (Friday, May 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 27449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09894]



[[Page 27449]]

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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; Tornado Missile Protection for Main 
Steam Vent Stacks and Wall 11

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Combined license amendment; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
License Amendment No. 178 for Unit 3 and No. 177 for Unit 4 to Combined 
Licenses (COLs), NPF-91 and NPF-92. 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, the 
licensees, for which SNC has the authority to represent the licensees), 
for construction and operation of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant 
(VEGP) Units 3 and 4, located in Burke County, Georgia.

DATES: The amendments were issued on April 23, 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 docket IDs 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 was submitted by letter dated August 16, 2019, and 
supplemented February 14, 2020, and available in ADAMS under Accession 
Nos. ML19228A241 and ML20045D590, respectively.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Billy Gleaves, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-5848; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is issuing VEGP Units 3 and 4 License Amendment Nos. 178 
and 177 to COLs NPF-91 and NPF-92, respectively. With the requested 
amendments, SNC proposed changes to the description and analysis in the 
Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) of the auxiliary building 
main steam safety valve (MSSV) vent stack openings and the auxiliary 
building Wall 11 openings for protection from tornado-generated 
missiles for both units. SNC stated that the changes include the 
evaluation of horizontal missiles targeting the MSSV vent stacks, the 
evaluation of vertical missiles targeting the MSSV vent stack openings, 
and the evaluation of missiles targeting the auxiliary building Wall 11 
openings. SNC stated that the evaluations demonstrate that the tornado 
missiles will not prevent safe shutdown and will not result in an 
offsite release exceeding the limits defined in title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.34.
    SNC indicated that the requested amendment requires changes to the 
licensing basis documents for VEGP Units 3 and 4 in the form of 
departures from the plant-specific Design Control Document (DCD) Tier 2 
information as incorporated into the UFSAR. SNC stated that no change 
was made to Tier 1, Tier 2*, or COL information; that this change 
involves a revision to plant-specific Tier 2 information that meets the 
criteria for a license amendment under 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, 
Section VIII.B.5.b(8), in that it was determined that the proposed 
change would result in a departure from a method of evaluation 
described in the plant-specific DCD used in establishing the design 
bases or in the safety analyses, and thus requires NRC approval for the 
Tier 2 departures.

II. License Amendment Request

    By letter dated August 16, 2019, and supplemented February 14, 
2020, available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML19228A241 and 
ML20045D590, respectively, 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.
    As documented in an SE dated April 23, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML20050L183), 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 amendments.
    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 
October 22, 2019 (84 FR 56478). No comments were received during the 
30-day comment period.
    As documented in the SE, 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.

III. Conclusion

    Using the reasons set forth in the combined SE, the staff approved 
the amendment and it was issued to SNC on April 23, 2020, as part of a 
combined package (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML20050J685).

    Dated: May 5, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor E. Hall,
Chief, Vogtle Project Office Branch, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020-09894 Filed 5-7-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P