[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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