Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC; Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating License, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination and Opportunity for a Hearing, 66395-66398 [2010-27275]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 208 (Thursday, October 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66395-66398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-27275]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-269, 50-270, and 50-287; NRC-2010-0334]


Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC; Notice of Consideration of Issuance 
of Amendment to Facility Operating License, Proposed No Significant 
Hazards Consideration Determination and Opportunity for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) is 
considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility Operating 
License Nos. DPR-38, DPR-47, and DPR-55 issued to Duke Energy 
Carolinas, LLC (the licensee) for operation of the Oconee Nuclear 
Station, Units 1, 2, and 3, (ONS) located in Oconee County, South 
Carolina.
    The proposed amendment would approve the transition of the fire 
protection licensing basis at ONS from Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Section 50.48(b) to 10 CFR 50.48(c), National Fire 
Protection Association (NFPA) 805.
    Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission 
will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended (the Act), and the Commission's regulations.
    The Commission has made a proposed determination that the amendment 
request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under the 
Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation of 
the facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) 
involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an 
accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new 
or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; 
or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. As 
required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of 
the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented 
below:

    (1) Does the proposed amendment involve a significant increase 
in the probability or consequences of an accident previously 
evaluated?
    Response: No.
    Operation of ONS in accordance with the proposed amendment does 
not increase the probability or consequences of accidents previously 
evaluated. The Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR) 
documents the analyses of design basis accidents (DBA) at ONS. The 
proposed amendment does not adversely affect accident initiators nor 
alter design assumptions, conditions, or configurations of the 
facility and does not adversely affect the ability of structures, 
systems, and components (SSCs) to perform their design function. 
SSCs required to safely shut down the reactor and to maintain it in 
a safe shutdown (SSD) condition will remain capable of performing 
their design functions.
    The purpose of this amendment is to permit ONS to adopt a new 
fire protection (FP) licensing basis which complies with the 
requirements in 10 CFR 50.48(a) and (c) and the guidance in Revision 
1 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.205. The NRC considers that National 
Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 805 provides an acceptable 
methodology and performance criteria for licensees to identify FP 
systems and features that are an acceptable alternative to the 
Appendix R FP features (69 FR 33536, June 16, 2004). Engineering 
analyses, in accordance with NFPA 805, have been performed to 
demonstrate that the risk-informed, performance-based (RI-PB) 
requirements per NFPA 805 have been met.
    NFPA 805, taken as a whole, provides an acceptable alternative 
to 10 CFR 50.48(b) and satisfies 10 CFR 50.48(a) and General Design 
Criterion (GDC) 3 of Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 50 and meets the 
underlying intent of the NRC's existing FP regulations and guidance, 
and achieves defense-in-depth (DID) and the goals, performance 
objectives, and performance criteria specified in Chapter 1 of the 
standard. The small increases in core damage frequency associated 
with this LAR submittal are consistent with the Commission's Safety 
Goal Policy. Additionally 10 CFR 50.48(c) allows self approval of 
fire protection program changes post-transition. If there are any 
increases post-transition in core damage frequency (CDF) or risk, 
the increase will be small and consistent with the intent of the 
Commission's Safety Goal Policy.
    Based on this, the implementation of this amendment does not 
significantly increase the probability of any accident previously 
evaluated. Equipment required to mitigate an accident remains 
capable of performing the assumed function. Therefore, the 
consequences of any accident previously evaluated are not 
significantly increased with the implementation of this amendment.
    (2) Does the proposed amendment create the possibility of a new 
or different kind of accident from any kind of accident previously 
evaluated?
    Response: No.
    Operation of ONS in accordance with the proposed amendment does 
not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident 
from any accident previously evaluated. Any scenario or previously 
analyzed accident with offsite dose was included in the evaluation 
of DBAs documented in the UFSAR. The proposed change does not alter 
the requirements or

[[Page 66396]]

function for systems required during accident conditions. 
Implementation of the new FP licensing basis which complies with the 
requirements in 10 CFR 50.48(a) and (c) and the guidance in Revision 
1 of RG 1.205 will not result in new or different accidents.
    The proposed amendment does not adversely affect accident 
initiators nor alter design assumptions, conditions, or 
configurations of the facility. The proposed amendment does not 
adversely affect the ability of SSCs to perform their design 
function. SSCs required to safely shut down the reactor and maintain 
it in a safe shutdown condition remain capable of performing their 
design functions.
    The purpose of this amendment is to permit ONS to adopt a new FP 
licensing basis which complies with the requirements in 10 CFR 
50.48(a) and (c) and the guidance in Revision 1 of RG 1.205. The NRC 
considers that NFPA 805 provides an acceptable methodology and 
performance criteria for licensees to identify FP systems and 
features that are an acceptable alternative to the Appendix R FP 
features (69 FR 33536, June 16, 2004).
    The requirements in NFPA 805 address only FP and the impacts of 
fire on the plant have already been evaluated. Based on this, the 
implementation of this amendment does not create the possibility of 
a new or different kind of accident from any kind of accident 
previously evaluated. The proposed changes do not involve new 
failure mechanisms or malfunctions that can initiate a new accident. 
Therefore, the possibility of a new or different kind of accident 
from any kind of accident previously evaluated is not created with 
the implementation of this amendment.
    (3) Does the proposed amendment involve a significant reduction 
in the margin of safety?
    Response: No.
    Operation of ONS in accordance with the proposed amendment does 
not involve a significant reduction in the margin of safety. The 
proposed amendment does not alter the manner in which safety limits, 
limiting safety system settings or limiting conditions for operation 
are determined. The safety analysis acceptance criteria are not 
affected by this change. The proposed amendment does not adversely 
affect existing plant safety margins or the reliability of equipment 
assumed to mitigate accidents in the UFSAR. The proposed amendment 
does not adversely affect the ability of SSCs to perform their 
design function. SSCs required to safely shut down the reactor and 
to maintain it in a safe shutdown condition remain capable of 
performing their design functions.
    The purpose of this amendment is to permit ONS to adopt a new FP 
licensing basis which complies with the requirements in 10 CFR 
50.48(a) and (c) and the guidance in Revision 1 of RG 1.205. The NRC 
considers that NFPA 805 provides an acceptable methodology and 
performance criteria for licensees to identify FP systems and 
features that are an acceptable alternative to the Appendix R FP 
features (69 FR 33536, June 16, 2004). Engineering analyses, which 
may include engineering evaluations, probabilistic safety 
assessments, and fire modeling calculations, have been performed to 
demonstrate that the performance-based methods do not result in a 
significant reduction in the margin of safety.
    Based on this, the implementation of this amendment does not 
significantly reduce the margin of safety. The proposed changes are 
evaluated to ensure that risk and safety margins are kept within 
acceptable limits. Therefore, the transition does not involve a 
significant reduction in the margin of safety.
    NFPA 805 continues to protect public health and safety and the 
common defense and security because the overall approach of NFPA 805 
is consistent with the key principles for evaluating license basis 
changes, as described in RG 1.174, is consistent with the defense-
in-depth philosophy, and maintains sufficient safety margins.
    Margins previously established for the ONS FP program in 
accordance with 10 CFR 50.48(b) and Appendix R to 10 CFR 50 are not 
significantly reduced. Therefore, this LAR does not result in a 
reduction in a margin of safety

    The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on 
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are 
satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the 
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration.
    The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed 
determination. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice will be considered in making any final 
determination.
    Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the 
expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The 
Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60-
day period provided that its final determination is that the amendment 
involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the 
Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30-
day comment period should circumstances change during the 30-day 
comment period such that failure to act in a timely way would result, 
for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility. Should the 
Commission take action prior to the expiration of either the comment 
period or the notice period, it will publish in the Federal Register a 
notice of issuance. Should the Commission make a final No Significant 
Hazards Consideration Determination, any hearing will take place after 
issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will 
occur very infrequently.
    Written comments may be submitted by mail to the Chief, Rules, 
Announcements and Directives Branch (RADB), TWB-05-B01M, Division of 
Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the 
publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. 
Written comments may also be faxed to the RADB at 301-492-3446. 
Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area 
O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any 
person(s) whose interest may be affected by this action may file a 
request for a hearing and a petition to intervene with respect to 
issuance of the amendment to the subject facility operating license. 
Requests for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene shall be 
filed in accordance with the Commission's ``Rules of Practice for 
Domestic Licensing Proceedings'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested person(s) 
should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, which is available at 
the Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, Public File 
Area O1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. 
Publicly available records will be accessible from the Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic 
Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. If a request for a hearing or petition 
for leave to intervene is filed by the above date, the Commission or a 
presiding officer designated by the Commission or by the Chief 
Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, 
will rule on the request and/or petition; and the Secretary or the 
Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 
will issue a notice of a hearing or an appropriate Order.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene 
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in 
the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of 
the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons 
why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the 
following general requirements: (1) The name, address and telephone 
number of the requestor or petitioner; (2) the nature of the 
requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the 
proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the requestor's/petitioner's 
property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the 
possible

[[Page 66397]]

effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the proceeding 
on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The petition must also 
identify the specific contentions which the requestor/petitioner seeks 
to have litigated at the proceeding.
    Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 
requestor/petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the bases for 
the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert 
opinion which support the contention and on which the petitioner 
intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. The 
requestor/petitioner must also provide references to those specific 
sources and documents of which the petitioner is aware and on which the 
petitioner intends to rely to establish those facts or expert opinion. 
The petition must include sufficient information to show that a genuine 
dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact. 
Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of the 
amendment under consideration. The contention must be one which, if 
proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. A requestor/petitioner 
who fails to satisfy these requirements with respect to at least one 
contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, 
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing.
    If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final 
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration. The 
final determination will serve to decide when the hearing is held. If 
the final determination is that the amendment request involves no 
significant hazards consideration, the Commission may issue the 
amendment and make it immediately effective, notwithstanding the 
request for a hearing. Any hearing held would take place after issuance 
of the amendment. If the final determination is that the amendment 
request involves a significant hazards consideration, any hearing held 
would take place before the issuance of any amendment.
    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or 
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by 
interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), 
must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, 
August 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit 
and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some 
cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Participants may not 
submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in 
accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 
ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should 
contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
hearing.docket@nrc.gov, or by telephone at (301) 415-1677, to request 
(1) a digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its 
counsel or representative) to digitally sign documents and access the 
E-Submittal server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and
    (2) advise the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a 
request or petition for hearing (even in instances in which the 
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the 
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the hearing in this 
proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic 
docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html. System requirements for accessing 
the E-Submittal server are detailed in NRC's ``Guidance for Electronic 
Submission,'' which is available on the agency's public Web site at 
https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may 
attempt to use other software not listed on the Web site, but should 
note that the NRC's E-Filing system does not support unlisted software, 
and the NRC Meta System Help Desk will not be able to offer assistance 
in using unlisted software.
    If a participant is electronically submitting a document to the NRC 
in accordance with the E-Filing rule, the participant must file the 
document using the NRC's online, Web-based submission form. In order to 
serve documents through EIE, users will be required to install a Web 
browser plug-in from the NRC Web site. Further information on the Web-
based submission form, including the installation of the Web browser 
plug-in, is available on the NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
    Once a participant has obtained a digital ID certificate and a 
docket has been created, the participant can then submit a request for 
hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions should be in 
Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance 
available on the NRC public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the 
documents are submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system 
no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of 
a transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an e-mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
E-Filing system also distributes an e-mail notice that provides access 
to the document to the NRC Office of the General Counsel and any others 
who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to 
participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the 
documents on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition 
to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document 
via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the agency's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC Meta System 
Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site 
at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by e-mail at 
MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a toll-free call at (866) 672-7640. The 
NRC Meta System Help Desk is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., 
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth 
Floor, One White Flint North,

[[Page 66398]]

11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Attention: Rulemaking 
and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a document in this manner 
are responsible for serving the document on all other participants.
    Filing is considered complete by first-class mail as of the time of 
deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or expedited delivery 
service upon depositing the document with the provider of the service. 
A presiding officer, having granted an exemption request from using E-
Filing, may require a participant or party to use E-Filing if the 
presiding officer subsequently determines that the reason for granting 
the exemption from use of E-Filing no longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
https://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant 
to an order of the Commission, or the presiding officer. Participants 
are requested not to include personal privacy information, such as 
social security numbers, home addresses, or home phone numbers in their 
filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submission of 
such information. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited 
excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would 
constitute a Fair Use application, participants are requested not to 
include copyrighted materials in their submission.
    Petitions for leave to intervene must be filed no later than 60 
days from the date of publication of this notice. Non-timely filings 
will not be entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer 
that the petition or request should be granted or the contentions 
should be admitted, based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 
CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii).
    For further details with respect to this license amendment 
application, see the application for amendment dated May 30, 2008, as 
supplemented by letters dated October 31, 2008, January 30, February 9, 
February 23, May 31, August 3, September 29, and November 30, 2009. By 
letter dated April 14, 2010, the licensee resubmitted the application 
which superseded the content of the application letters dated May 30, 
2008, and October 31, 2008. This resubmitted application, however, does 
not supersede previous responses to request for additional information 
submitted by letters dated January 30, February 9, February 23, May 31, 
August 3, September 29, and November 30, 2009, which are available for 
public inspection at the Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint 
North, File Public Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 
Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible 
electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the 
NRC Web site, https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do 
not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the 
documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff 
by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to 
pdr.resource@nrc.gov.
    Attorney for licensee: Lara S. Nichols, Associate General Counsel, 
Duke Energy Corporation, 526 South Church Street--EC07H, Charlotte, NC 
28202

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of October 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jon Thompson,
Acting Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of 
Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-27275 Filed 10-27-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P