[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73337-73339]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25994]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-026; NRC-2008-0252]


Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.,Vogtle Electric 
Generating Plant, Unit 4, Electrical Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and 
Acceptance Criteria Optimization

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 Tier 1 information in the 
plant-specific design control document (DCD) and is issuing License 
Amendment No. 187 to Combined License (COL) NPF-92. The COL was issued 
to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC); Georgia Power 
Company; Oglethorpe Power Corporation; MEAG Power SPVM, LLC; MEAG Power 
SPVJ, LLC; MEAG Power SPVP, LLC; and the City of Dalton, Georgia; for 
the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP) Unit 4, located in Burke 
County, Georgia. SNC is the entity that is licensed to construct and 
operate VEGP Unit 4.
    The granting of the exemption allows the departure from 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 November 22, 2022.

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 Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

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

[[Page 73338]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is issuing License Amendment No. 187 to COL NPF-92, and is 
granting an exemption to allow a departure from Tier 1 information in 
the plant-specific DCD for VEGP Unit 4. The generic 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 plant-
specific Tier 1 information. With the requested amendment, SNC sought 
changes from the Tier 1 requirements in the VEGP Unit 4 plant-specific 
Tier 1 information and COL appendix C that remove certain Inspections, 
Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC) that are duplicated by 
other ITAAC and consolidate a number of other certain ITAAC. The 
license amendment as issued deletes ITAAC Nos. 26 (2.1.02.07b), 83 
(2.1.03.09b), 103 (2.2.01.06b), 172 (2.2.03.07b), 233 (2.2.04.07b), 263 
(2.2.05.06a), 296 (2.3.02.06b), 368 (2.3.06.07b), 399 (2.3.07.06a), 878 
(2.3.10.11a), 467 (2.3.13.06b), 527 (2.5.02.05a), 582 (2.6.01.03a), and 
687 (2.7.01.06a) in COL appendix C and plant-specific DCD Tier 1 
information. In addition to deleting ITAAC, the license amendment 
consolidates requirements from certain ITAAC into a subsuming ITAAC as 
follows: ITAAC Nos. 789 (3.3.00.07aa), 792 (3.3.00.07ba), 803 
(3.3.00.07x.iii.a), 806 (3.3.00.07d.iv.a), and 809 (3.3.00.07d.v.a) are 
subsumed into ITAAC Index No. 800 (3.3.00.07d.ii.a) and ITAAC Nos. 790 
(3.3.00.07ab), 793 (3.3.00.07bb), 804 (3.3.00.07d.iii.b), 807 
(3.3.00.07d.iv.b), and 810 (3.3.00.07d.v.b) are subsumed into ITAAC 
Index No. 801 (3.3.00.07d.ii.b), and ITAAC Index Nos. 791 
(3.3.00.07ac), 794(3.3.00.07bc), 805 (3.3.00.07d.iii.c), 808 
(3.3.00.07d.iv.c), and 811 (3.3.00.07d.v.c) are subsumed into ITAAC 
Index No. 802 (3.3.00.07d.ii.c).
    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 Sec. Sec.  50.12, 52.7, 52.63, 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. ML22284A133.
    An exemption document was issued to SNC for VEGP Unit 4 (COL NPF-
92). The exemption document for VEGP Unit 4 can be found in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML22284A132. The exemption is reproduced (with the 
exception of abbreviated titles and additional citations) in Section II 
of this document. The amendment document for VEGP COL NPF-92 is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML22284A131. A summary of the 
amendment document is provided in Section III of this document.

II. Exemption

    Reproduced in this document is the exemption document issued to 
VEGP Unit 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 2, 2022, Southern Nuclear Operating 
Company (SNC) requested from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or 
Commission) an exemption to allow departures from plant-specific Tier 1 
information as part of license amendment request (LAR) 22-003, 
``Electrical Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria 
(ITAAC) Optimization.''
    For the reasons set forth in Section 3.2 of the NRC staff's 
combined safety evaluation, which can be found at ADAMS Accession No. 
ML22284A133, 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 to allow a departure 
from the plant-specific Tier 1 information, with corresponding changes 
to Appendix C of the Facility Combined License, as described in the 
licensee's request dated September 2, 2022. This exemption is related 
to, and necessary for, the granting of License Amendment No. 187 for 
Unit 4, which is being issued concurrently with this exemption.
    3. As explained in Section 6.0 of the NRC staff's combined safety 
evaluation, 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 September 2, 2022 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML22245A122), SNC requested that the NRC amend the COL for VEGP, Unit 
4, COL NPF-92. The proposed amendment is described in Section I of this 
Federal Register notice.
    For the reasons set forth in the NRC staff's combined safety 
evaluation, 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 the COL, a 
proposed no significant hazards consideration determination, and an 
opportunity for a hearing in connection with these actions, was 
published in the Federal Register on September 27, 2022 (87 FR 58540). 
No comments were received during the 30-day comment period. The NRC has 
made a final no significant hazards consideration determination as 
discussed in Section 4.0 of the NRC staff's combined safety evaluation.
    The Commission has determined that these amendments satisfy the 
criteria for categorical exclusion in accordance with 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(9). 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 exemption and issued the amendment that SNC requested 
on September 2, 2022. The exemption and amendment were issued on 
November

[[Page 73339]]

22, 2022, as part of a combined package to SNC (ADAMS Package Accession 
No. ML22284A125).

    Dated: November 23, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor E. Hall,
Director, Vogtle Project Office, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2022-25994 Filed 11-28-22; 8:45 am]
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