83 FR 50700 - Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 and Updates to Tier 1 Table 2.5.2-3

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 195 (October 9, 2018)

Page Range		50700-50702
FR Document		2018-21912

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 is issuing License Amendment Nos. 143 and 142 to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-91 and NPF-92, respectively. 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 (collectively SNC); 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 195 (Tuesday, October 9, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50700-50702]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21912]

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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 Updates to Tier 1 Table 2.5.2-3

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 is issuing
License Amendment Nos. 143 and 142 to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-91
and NPF-92, respectively. 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 (collectively SNC); 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.

DATES: The exemption and amendment were issued on September 25, 2018.

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

[[Page 50701]]

for Docket ID NRC-2008-0252. Address questions about NRC dockets to
Jennifer Borges telephone: 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 ``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
amendment and exemption was submitted by letter dated April 20, 2018,
and available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18110A113.
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: Chandu Patel, Office of New Reactors,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-415-3025; email: Chandu.Patel@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

The NRC is granting 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 issuing License Amendment Nos. 143 and 142 to COLs, NPF-
91 and NPF-92, respectively, to SNC. 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 SNC to depart from
Tier 1 information. With the requested amendment, SNC sought proposed
changes that would revise the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report in
the form of departures from the plant-specific Design Control Document
(DCD) Tier 2 information and involves changes to plant-specific Tier 1
information with corresponding changes to the associated COL Appendix C
information. Specifically, the amendment proposes changes to plant-
specific Tier 1 (and COL Appendix C) Table 2.5.2-3, ``PMS Automatically
Actuated Engineered Safety Features,'' to revise the nomenclature for
``Auxiliary Spray and Letdown Purification Line Isolation'' and to
include ``Component Cooling System Containment Isolation Valve
Closure'' in Table 2.5.2-3.
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, 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. ML18232A535.
Identical exemption documents (except for referenced unit numbers
and license numbers) were issued to SNC for VEGP Units 3 and 4 (COL
Nos. NPF-91 and NPF-92). The exemption documents for VEGP Units 3 and 4
can be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML18232A528 and ML18232A529,
respectively. The exemption is reproduced (with the exception of
abbreviated titles and additional citations) in Section II of this
document. The amendment documents for COL Nos. NPF-91 and NPF-92 are
available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML18232A530 and ML18232A532,
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 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 April 20, 2018, SNC requested from the
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 18-010, ``Updates to Tier 1
Table 2.5.2-3.''
For the reasons set forth in Section 3.2 of the NRC staff's Safety
Evaluation, which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML18232A535, 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 from the certified DCD
Tier 1 information, with corresponding changes to Appendix C of the
facility Combined License, as described in the licensee's request dated
April 20, 2018. This exemption is related to, and necessary for the
granting of License Amendment No. 143 (Unit 3) and No. 142 (Unit 4),
which is being issued concurrently with this exemption.
3. As explained in Section 5.0 of the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation
(ADAMS Accession No. ML18232A535), 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 April 20, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18110A113),
SNC requested that the NRC amend the COLs for VEGP, Units 3 and 4, COLs
NPF-91 and NPF-92. The proposed amendment is described in Section I of
this Federal Register notice.
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 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
May 22, 2018 (83 FR 23738). No comments were received during the 30-day
comment period.

[[Page 50702]]

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 exemptions and issued the amendments that SNC
requested on April 20, 2018. The exemption and amendment were issued on
September 25, 2018, as part of a combined package to SNC (ADAMS
Accession No. ML18232A526).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of October 2018.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of Licensing, Siting, and
Environmental Analysis, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2018-21912 Filed 10-5-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

50702 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 9, 2018 / Notices

The Commission has determined that this notice is to advise interested obligation under one or more but fewer
these amendments satisfy the criteria for persons of the request and to solicit than all collective bargaining
categorical exclusion in accordance their views on it. agreements under which the employer
with 10 CFR 51.22. Therefore, pursuant DATES: Comments must be submitted on has been obligated to contribute under
to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental or before November 23, 2018. the plan, while continuing to perform
impact statement or environmental ADDRESSES: Comments may be work in the jurisdiction of the collective
assessment need be prepared for these submitted by any of the following bargaining agreement of the type for
amendments. methods: which contributions were previously
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// required or transfers such work to
IV. Conclusion
www.regulations.gov. Follow the another location or to an entity or
Using the reasons set forth in the entities owned or controlled by the
instructions for submitting comments.
combined safety evaluation, the staff • Email: reg.comments@pbgc.gov. employer; or (3) permanently ceases to
granted the exemptions and issued the Refer to the UFCW Industry Plan in the have an obligation to contribute under
amendments that SNC requested on the plan for work performed at one or
subject line.
April 20, 2018. The exemption and • Mail or Hand Delivery: Regulatory more but fewer than all of its facilities,
amendment were issued on September Affairs Division, Office of the General while continuing to perform work at the
25, 2018, as part of a combined package Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty facility of the type for which the
to SNC (ADAMS Accession No. Corporation, 1200 K Street NW, obligation to contribute ceased.
ML18232A526). Washington, DC 20005–4026. Although the general rules on
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day All submissions received must complete and partial withdrawal
of October 2018. include the agency’s name (Pension identify events that normally result in a
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC) diminution of the plan’s contribution
Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity, and refer to the UFCW Industry Plan. base, Congress recognized that, in
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of All comments received will be posted certain industries and under certain
Licensing, Siting, and Environmental without change to PBGC’s website, circumstances, a complete or partial
Analysis, Office of New Reactors. http://www.pbgc.gov, including any cessation of the obligation to contribute
[FR Doc. 2018–21912 Filed 10–5–18; 8:45 am] personal information provided. Copies normally does not weaken the plan’s
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P of comments may also be obtained by contribution base. For that reason,
writing to Disclosure Division, Office of Congress established special withdrawal
the General Counsel, Pension Benefit rules for the construction and
Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street entertainment industries.
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY For construction industry plans and
CORPORATION NW, Washington, DC 20005–4026 or
employers, section 4203(b)(2) of ERISA
calling 202–326–4040 during normal
Pendency for Request for Approval of provides that a complete withdrawal
business hours. (TTY users may call the
Special Withdrawal Liability Rules: occurs only if an employer ceases to
Federal relay service toll-free at 1–800–
United Food and Commercial Workers have an obligation to contribute under
877–8339 and ask to be connected to
International Union—Industry Pension a plan and the employer either
202–326–4040.) continues to perform previously covered
Fund FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: work in the jurisdiction of the collective
AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Bruce Perlin (Perlin.Bruce@PBGC.gov), bargaining agreement or resumes such
Corporation. 202–326–4020, ext. 6818, or Elizabeth work within 5 years without renewing
ACTION: Notice of pendency of request. Coleman (Coleman.Elizabeth@ the obligation to contribute at the time
PBGC.gov), ext. 3661, Office of the of resumption. In the case of a plan
SUMMARY: This notice advises interested General Counsel, Suite 340, 1200 K terminated by mass withdrawal (within
persons that the Pension Benefit Street NW, Washington, DC 20005– the meaning of section 4041(A)(2) of
Guaranty Corporation (‘‘PBGC’’) has 4026; (TTY users may call the Federal ERISA), section 4203(b)(3) provides that
received a request from the United Food relay service toll-free at 1–800–877– the 5-year restriction on an employer’s
and Commercial Workers International 8339 and ask to be connected to 202– resuming covered work is reduced to 3
Union—Industry Pension Fund for 326–4020.) years. Section 4203(c)(1) of ERISA
approval of a plan amendment SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: applies the same special definition of
providing for special withdrawal complete withdrawal to the
liability rules. Under PBGC’s regulation Background
entertainment industry, except that the
on Extension of Special Withdrawal Section 4203(a) of the Employee pertinent jurisdiction is the jurisdiction
Liability Rules, a multiemployer Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, of the plan rather than the jurisdiction
pension plan may, with PBGC approval, as amended by the Multiemployer of the collective bargaining agreement.
be amended to provide for special Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 In contrast, the general definition of
withdrawal liability rules similar to (ERISA), provides that a complete complete withdrawal in section 4203(a)
those that apply to the construction and withdrawal from a multiemployer plan of ERISA includes the permanent
entertainment industries. Such approval generally occurs when an employer cessation of the obligation to contribute
is granted only if PBGC determines that permanently ceases to have an regardless of the continued activities of
the rules apply to an industry with obligation to contribute under the plan the withdrawn employer.
characteristics that make use of the or permanently ceases all covered Congress also established special
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES1

special rules appropriate and that the operations under the plan. Under partial withdrawal liability rules for the
rules will not pose a significant risk to section 4205 of ERISA, a partial construction and entertainment
the pension insurance system. Before withdrawal generally occurs when an industries. Under section 4208(d)(1) of
granting an approval, PBGC’s employer: (1) Reduces its contribution ERISA, ‘‘[a]n employer to whom section
regulations require PBGC to give base units by seventy percent in each of 4203(b) (relating to the building and
interested persons an opportunity to three consecutive years; or (2) construction industry) applies is liable
comment on the request. The purpose of permanently ceases to have an for a partial withdrawal only if the

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Document Created: 2018-10-06 00:59:08
Document Modified: 2018-10-06 00:59:08

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 September 25, 2018.
Contact		Chandu Patel, Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3025; email: [email protected]
FR Citation		83 FR 50700