80 FR 20031 - Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 and 3; South Carolina Electric & Gas Company; Tier 1 Editorial and Consistency Changes

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 71 (April 14, 2015)

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 issuing License Amendment No. 23 to Combined Licenses (COL), NPF-93 and NPF-94. The COLs were issued to South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), and South Carolina Public Service Authority (the licensee), for construction and operation of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station (VCSNS), Units 2 and 3 located in Fairfield County, South Carolina. The granting of the exemption allows the changes to Tier 1 information requested 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.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20031-20032]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08563]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 52-027 and 52-028; NRC-2008-0441]


Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Units 2 and 3; South Carolina 
Electric & Gas Company; Tier 1 Editorial and Consistency Changes

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 issuing License 
Amendment No. 23 to Combined Licenses (COL), NPF-93 and NPF-94. The 
COLs were issued to South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), and 
South Carolina Public Service Authority (the licensee), for 
construction and operation of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station 
(VCSNS), Units 2 and 3 located in Fairfield County, South Carolina.
    The granting of the exemption allows the changes to Tier 1 
information requested 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.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0441 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 Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0441. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; 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 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then 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 a document is referenced. The 
request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by the letter 
dated May 20, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14140A637). The licensee 
supplemented this request by letter dated June 3, 2014 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML14155A257).
     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: Ruth Reyes, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-415-3249; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is granting an exemption from the provisions of Paragraph B 
of Section III, ``Scope and Contents,'' of appendix D, ``Design 
Certification Rule for the AP1000,'' to part 52 of Title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) and issuing License Amendment No. 23 to 
COLs, NPF-93 and NPF-94, to the licensee. The exemption is required by 
Paragraph A.4 of Section VIII, ``Processes for Changes and 
Departures,'' appendix D to 10 CFR part 52 to allow the licensee to 
depart from Tier 1 information. With the requested amendment, the 
licensee sought changes to COL Appendix C and corresponding plant-
specific Tier 1 information to correct editorial errors and/or 
consistency errors (e.g., inconsistencies between Updated Final Safety 
Analysis Report (UFSAR) (Tier 2) and Tier 1 information, and 
inconsistencies between information from different locations within 
Tier 1).
    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 10 CFR 50.12, 10 CFR 52.7, and 52.63(b)(1). The license 
amendment was found to be acceptable as well. The combined safety 
evaluation is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14345B029.
    Identical exemption documents (except for referenced unit numbers 
and license numbers) were issued to the licensee for VCSNS Units 2 and 
3 (COLs NPF-93 and NPF-94). These documents can be found in ADAMS under 
Accession Nos. ML14352A155 and ML14352A164, respectively. The exemption 
is reproduced (with the exception of abbreviated titles and additional 
citations) in Section II of this

[[Page 20032]]

document. The amendment documents for COLs NPF-93 and NPF-94 are 
available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML14351A419 and ML14351A424, 
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 VCSNS, Units 2 
and 3. 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 May 20, 2014, and supplemented by the letters 
dated June 3, November 6, and November 14, 2014, South Carolina 
Electric & Gas Company (licensee) requested from the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (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) 13-
42, ``Tier 1 Editorial and Consistency Changes.''
    For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1 of the NRC staff's Safety 
Evaluation, which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML14345B029, 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, the licensee is granted an exemption from the 
certified DCD Tier 1 Figures 2.2.4-1, 3.3-1 through 10, 3.3-11A, 3.3-
11B, and 3.3-12 through 14; Tables 2.2.2-3, 2.2.3-4, 2.2.3-6, 2.2.4-1, 
2.2.4-4, 2.2.5-5, 2.3.2-2, 2.3.6-1, 2.3.6-4, 2.3.10-1, 2.3.10-4, 
2.3.14-2, 2.6.3-3, 2.6.3-4, 3.3-1, 3.3-6, 2.1.3-4, 2.5.1-2 and 3.7-2; 
and Sections 2.6.3 and 3.3, as described in the licensee's request 
dated May 20, 2014, and supplemented on June 3, November 6, and 
November 14, 2014. This exemption is related to, and necessary for the 
granting of License Amendment No. 23, which is being issued 
concurrently with this exemption.
    3. As explained in Section 5.0 of the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation 
(ADAMS Accession Number ML14345B029), 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

    The request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by the 
letter dated May 20, 2014. The licensee supplemented this request by 
letter dated June 3, 2014. The proposed amendment is described in 
Section I, above.
    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 combined license, 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 September 2, 2014 (79 FR 52059). The June 3, 2014 
supplement had no effect on the no significant hazards consideration 
determination, and no comments were received during the 60-day comment 
period.
    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 the licensee 
requested on May 20, 2014, and supplemented by letter dated June 3, 
2014. The exemption and amendment were issued on March 10, 2015, as 
part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14345B023).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of April 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Chandu P. Patel,
Acting Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, 
Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2015-08563 Filed 4-13-15; 8:45 am]
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