83 FR 13799 - Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.; Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4; Resolution of Auxiliary Building Wall Thickness and Description Inconsistencies

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 62 (March 30, 2018)

Page Range		13799-13801
FR Document		2018-06393

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an exemption to allow a departure from the certification information of Tier 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and issued License Amendment Nos. 103 and 102 to Combined License (COL) Nos. 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 (the licensee); for construction and operation of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP), Units 3 and 4, located in Burke County, Georgia. The granting of the exemption allows the changes to 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.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 62 (Friday, March 30, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13799-13801]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06393]

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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; Resolution of Auxiliary Building Wall
Thickness and Description Inconsistencies

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption and combined license amendment; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an
exemption to allow a departure from the certification information of
Tier 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and issued License
Amendment Nos. 103 and 102 to Combined License (COL) Nos. 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 (the licensee); for construction and operation
of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP), Units 3 and 4, located
in Burke County, Georgia.

[[Page 13800]]

The granting of the exemption allows the changes to 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 December 19, 2017.

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 http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0252. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; 301-287-9127; email:
Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. 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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 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 amendments and exemptions were submitted
by letters dated December 14, 2016, and August 25, 2017, and are
available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML16349A583 and ML17237C049,
respectively.
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: Peter Hearn, Office of New Reactors,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-415-1189; email: Peter.Hearn@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The NRC has granted an exemption from 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 issued License Amendment Nos. 103 and 102 to COLs, NPF-91
and NPF-92, respectively, 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 proposed changes to the Updated Final Safety Analysis
Report and plant-specific Tier 1 information, with corresponding
changes to the associated COL Appendix C information to address
inconsistencies in the design thicknesses of the auxiliary building
column line 1 wall and column line I wall, and the location description
for the auxiliary building labyrinth wall.
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 request. The exemption met all applicable regulatory criteria
set forth in Sec. Sec. 50.12 and 52.7 of 10 CFR, 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. ML17293A348.
Identical exemption documents (except for referenced unit numbers
and license numbers) were issued to the licensee for VEGP Units 3 and 4
(COLs Nos. NPF-91 and NPF-92). The exemption documents for VEGP, Units
3 and 4, can be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML17293A344 and
ML17293A345, respectively. The exemption is reproduced (with the
exception of abbreviated titles and additional citations) in Section II
of this notice. The amendment documents for COL Nos. NPF-91 and NPF-92
are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML17293A346 and
ML17293A347, respectively. A summary of the amendment documents is
provided in Section III of this notice.

II. Exemption

Reproduced below is the exemption document issued to VEGP, Units 3
and 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 December 14, 2016, as revised by letter dated
August 25, 2017, the licensee requested from the NRC or Commission an
exemption to allow departures from Tier 1 information in the certified
DCD incorporated by reference in 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, as part of
license amendment request (LAR) 16-033, ``Resolution of Auxiliary
Building Wall Thickness and Description Inconsistencies.''
For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1 of the NRC staff's safety
evaluation that supports this license amendment, 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 information, as described in the licensee's
request dated December 14, 2016, as revised by letter dated August 25,
2017. This exemption is related to, and necessary for, the granting of
License Amendment No. 103 [for Unit 3, 102 for Unit 4], which is being
issued concurrently with this exemption.
3. As explained in Section 5.0 of the NRC staff's safety evaluation
that supports this license amendment, 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 December 14, 2016, as revised by letter dated
August 25, 2017, the licensee requested that the NRC amend the COLs for
VEGP, Units 3 and 4, COL Nos. NPF-91 and NPF-92. The proposed amendment
is described in Section I of this notice.
The Commission has determined that the application for amendment
complies with the standards and requirements of

[[Page 13801]]

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 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 5, 2017 (82 FR 46537). No comments were received during the 30-
day comment period.
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.

IV. Conclusion

Using the reasons set forth in the combined safety evaluation, the
staff granted the exemption and issued these amendments on December 19,
2017, as part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession
No. ML17293A341).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, on March 26, 2018.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2018-06393 Filed 3-29-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

Document Created: 2018-11-01 08:58:35
Document Modified: 2018-11-01 08:58:35

Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Notices
Action		Exemption and combined license amendment; issuance.
Dates		The exemption and amendment were issued on December 19, 2017.
Contact		Peter Hearn, Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1189; email: [email protected]
FR Citation		83 FR 13799