[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 150 (Monday, August 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52218-52220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16753]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-424 and 50-425; NRC-2023-0093]


Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Vogtle Electric Generating 
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 request dated June 30, 2022, as supplemented 
by letters dated September 13, 2022, and January 20 and May 5, 2023, 
from Southern Nuclear Operating Company to allow the use of lead test 
assemblies (LTAs) 7ST1, 7ST2, 7ST3, and 7ST4, each with four fuel rods 
with a maximum nominal Uranium 235 (U-235) enrichment of up to six 
percent by weight for up to two cycles of operation at Vogtle Electric 
Generating Plant, Unit 2, and to receive, inspect, and store the LTAs 
at Vogtle, Units 1 and 2.

DATES: The exemption was issued on August 1, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0093 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-2023-0093. 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, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for 
each document

[[Page 52219]]

referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time 
that it is mentioned in this document.
     NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

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: August 2, 2023.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John G. Lamb,
Senior Project Manager, Licensing Plant Branch 2-1, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Attachment--Exemption from 10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) to Allow the Use of Lead 
Test Assemblies, 7ST1, 7ST2, 7ST3, and 7ST4, each with four fuel rods 
with a maximum nominal Uranium 235 (U-235) enrichment of up to six 
percent by weight for up to two cycles of operation at Vogtle, Unit 2, 
and to receive, inspect, and store the LTAs at Vogtle, Units 1 and 2.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket Nos. 50-424, and 50-425

Southern Nuclear Operating Company

Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2

Exemption

I. Background

    Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC, the licensee) is the 
holder of Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-68, and NPF-81, for 
the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (Vogtle), Units 1 and 2, 
respectively. The licenses provide, among other things, that the 
licenses are subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the 
Commission now or hereafter in effect.
    The Vogtle, Units 1 and 2, consist of two pressurized-water 
reactors located at the licensee's site in Burke County, Georgia.

II. Request/Action

    By letter dated June 30, 2022 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML22181B156), as 
supplemented by letters dated September 13, 2022 (ML22256A198), and 
January 20 (ML23020A148) and May 5, 2023 (ML23125A269), SNC 
requested an exemption to title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), part 50, section 50.68, ``Criticality accident 
requirements,'' paragraph (b)(7) for Vogtle, Units 1 and 2.
    Specifically, SNC requested an exemption from 10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) 
to allow the use of lead test assemblies (LTAs) 7ST1, 7ST2, 7ST3, 
and 7ST4 each with four fuel rods with a maximum nominal Uranium 235 
(U-235) enrichment of up to six percent by weight for up to two 
cycles of operation at Vogtle, Unit 2, and allow receipt, 
inspection, and storage of the LTAs at Vogtle, Units 1 and 2.
    The regulation at 10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) states, ``The maximum 
nominal U-235 enrichment of the fresh fuel assemblies is limited to 
five (5.0) percent by weight.''

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 50.68(b)(7) 
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 prohibition of law exists to 
preclude the activities which would be authorized by the exemption.
    This exemption would allow the licensee to insert four LTAs each 
containing four fuel rods with a maximum nominal U-235 enrichment of 
up to six percent by weight. A specific nominal U-235 enrichment in 
10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) is at the discretion of the Commission consistent 
with its statutory authority. No statute required the NRC to adopt 
this specification. As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the 
Commission to grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 
50. The NRC staff has determined that granting of an exemption from 
10 CFR 50.68(b)(7) related to nominal U-235 enrichment of up to six 
percent by weight will not result in a violation of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the Commission's regulations. 
Therefore, the exemption is authorized by law.

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

    SNC stated the following in its letter dated June 30, 2022:
    The Vogtle reactors each contain 193 fuel assemblies. Each 
assembly consists of a matrix of 264 Zircaloy, ZIRLO[supreg]\[TM]\, 
or Optimized ZIRLO[supreg]\[TM]\ clad fuel rods with an initial 
composition of natural or slightly enriched uranium dioxide (UO2) as 
fuel material, not to exceed 5 wt% [weight-percent] enrichment. The 
proposed change is to load four LTAs with advanced ATF [accident-
tolerant fuel] features, including ADOPT fuel [2], AXIOM cladding 
[3], chromium coating, and four rods per LTA with up to 6 wt% 
enrichment, in limiting core locations for up to two cycles of 
operation.
    This exemption will not present an undue risk to public health 
and safety. The analysis performed in support of the enclosed LAR 
[license amendment request] addresses the safe storage of the LTAs. 
These were evaluated using AOR [analysis of record] plant-specific 
models to determine that existing storage configurations can be used 
for storage of the LTAs, with restrictions (see Section 3 above and 
Section 3.12 of Enclosure 1 [in letter dated June 30, 2022]). Thus, 
the granting of this exemption request will not pose an undue risk 
to public health and safety.
    The licensee's requested exemption to paragraph 50.68(b)(7) is 
for the fuel rods enriched above 5.0 wt% U-235. Each LTA is limited 
to four rods at 6.0 wt% U-235. Those four rods add about 0.015% more 
U-235 to the LTAs relative to the Vogtle new fuel storage rack 
(NFSR) analysis of record (AOR) and the Vogtle spent fuel pool (SFP) 
AOR maximum enrichment of 5.0 wt% U-235. SNC's evaluation considered 
the fissile material increase due to the higher enrichment and that 
due to the higher fraction of the theoretical density of the ADOPT 
fuel. The licensee established Technical Specifications to control 
the storage of the LTAs. The NRC staff has found that these controls 
provide reasonable assurance that the four LTAs as described in 
SNC's amendment and exemption requests will meet 10 CFR 50.68(b)(2), 
10 CFR 50.68(b)(3), and 10 CFR 50.68(b)(4). See the NRC staff 
evaluation (ML23093A028) for further details. Thus, the NRC staff 
finds that 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 proposed exemption would allow the use of four LTAs, each 
with four fuel rods with a nominal U-235 enrichment of up to six 
percent by weight. This change to the plant core configuration has 
no impact on security issues. Special nuclear material in the LTAs 
will continue to be handled and controlled in accordance with 
applicable regulations. Therefore, the common defense and security 
is not impacted by this 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 underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.68 is to 
provide reasonable assurance that an inadvertent criticality event 
will not occur during the storage or handling of special nuclear 
material at 10 CFR part 50 licenses. The preamble for the final rule 
promulgating 10 CFR 50.68 (Federal Register/Vol. 63, No. 218/
Thursday, November 12, 1998/Rules and Regulations [[Page 63127]]) 
indicated that increases to the

[[Page 52220]]

enrichment limit of 5.0 wt% U-235 could be addressed in the future. 
In the safety evaluation (SE) contained in ML23093A028 for the 
license amendment request, the NRC staff evaluated for Vogtle, Units 
1 and 2, four LTAs that demonstrated the acceptability of the 
nominal U-235 enrichment of up to six percent by weight of four fuel 
rods per LTA. The results showed that the LTAs would not adversely 
affect subcriticality in the spent fuel pool or new fuel storage 
racks. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that application of 10 CFR 
50.68(b)(7) in this particular circumstance is not necessary for the 
licensee 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)(9). The NRC 
staff's determination that all of the criteria for this categorical 
exclusion are met is as follows:
    The regulation 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9) states:
    Issuance of an amendment to a permit or license for a reactor 
under part 50 or part 52 of this chapter that changes a requirement 
or issuance of an exemption from a requirement, with respect to 
installation or use of a facility component located within the 
restricted area, as defined in part 20 of this chapter; or the 
issuance of an amendment to a permit or license for a reactor under 
part 50 or part 52 of this chapter that changes an inspection or a 
surveillance requirement; provided that: (i) The amendment or 
exemption involves no significant hazards consideration; (ii) There 
is no significant change in the types or significant increase in the 
amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite; and (iii) 
There is no significant increase in individual or cumulative 
occupational radiation exposure.
    Staff Analysis: The exemption is from requirements with respect 
to the installation or use of facility components located within the 
restricted area as defined in 10 CFR part 20. The criteria for 
determining whether an action involves a significant hazards 
consideration are found in 10 CFR 50.92. The proposed action 
involves installed four LTAs. As stated in the evaluation in 
ML23093A028, the Commission has previously issued a proposed finding 
that the amendments involve no significant hazards consideration, 
published in the Federal Register on November 8, 2022 (87 FR 67508), 
and there has been no public comment on such finding.
    The proposed action involves installing four LTAs, and as the 
NRC staff evaluated under the SE contained in ML23093A028, this 
action does not involve any significant change in the types or 
significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be 
released offsite.
    The proposed action involves installing four LTAs, and as the 
NRC staff evaluated under the SE contained in ML23093A028, this 
action does not involve any significant increase in individual or 
cumulative occupational exposure.
    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)(9). 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 50.68(b)(7) 
to allow the use of LTAs 7ST1, 7ST2, 7ST3, and 7ST4 each with four 
fuel rods with a nominal U-235 enrichment of up to six percent by 
weight, for up to two cycles of operation at Vogtle, Unit 2, and 
allow receipt, inspection, and storage of the LTAs at Vogtle, Units 
1 and 2.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of August, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

/RA/

Bo M. Pham,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 2023-16753 Filed 8-4-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P