UniStar Nuclear Energy; Combined License Application for Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3; Exemption, 81994-81996 [2011-33464]
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81994
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 250 / Thursday, December 29, 2011 / Notices
(B) Reporting requirements; or (G)
Scheduling requirements.
The NRC staff’s determination that
each of the applicable criteria for this
categorical exclusion is met is justified
as follows:
(i) There is no significant hazards
consideration;
Staff analysis: The criteria for
determining whether there is no
significant hazards consideration are
found in 10 CFR 50.92. The proposed
action involves only a schedule change
regarding the submission of an update
to the application for which the
licensing review is currently underway.
Therefore, there are no significant
hazard considerations because granting
the proposed exemption 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.
(ii) There is no significant change in
the types or significant increase in the
amounts of any effluents that may be
released offsite;
Staff analysis: The proposed action
involves only a schedule change which
is administrative in nature, and does not
involve any changes to be made in the
types or significant increase in the
amounts of effluents that may be
released offsite.
(iii) There is no significant increase in
individual or cumulative public or
occupational radiation exposure;
Staff analysis: Since the proposed
action involves only a schedule change
which is administrative in nature, it
does not contribute to any significant
increase in occupational or public
radiation exposure.
(iv) There is no significant
construction impact;
Staff analysis: The proposed action
involves only a schedule change which
is administrative in nature; the
application review is underway and no
license will be issued prior to receipt of
the afore-mentioned application’s
March 30, 2012 submittal of the revised
FSAR, hence the proposed action does
not involve any construction impact.
(v) There is no significant increase in
the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents;
Staff analysis: The proposed action
involves only a schedule change which
is administrative in nature, and does not
impact the probability or consequences
of accidents.
(vi) The requirements from which an
exemption is sought involve:
(B) Reporting requirements; or (G)
Scheduling requirements.
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Staff analysis: The exemption request
involves requirements in both of these
categories because it involves
submitting an updated FSAR by PPL
Bell Bend, LLC and also relates to the
schedule for submitting FSAR updates
to the NRC.
4.0 Conclusion
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 are present.
Therefore, the NRC hereby grants PPL
Bell Bend LLC a one-time exemption
from the requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii) pertaining to the BBNPP
COL application to allow submittal of
the next FSAR update, no later than
March 30, 2012.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22, the NRC
has determined that the exemption
request meets the applicable categorical
exclusion criteria set forth in 10 CFR
51.22(c)(25), and the granting of this
exemption will not have a significant
effect on the quality of the human
environment.
This exemption is effective upon
issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day
of December, 2011.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Segala,
Chief, Licensing Branch1, Division of New
Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2011–33466 Filed 12–28–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52–016; NRC–2008–0250]
UniStar Nuclear Energy; Combined
License Application for Calvert Cliffs
Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3;
Exemption
1.0 Background:
UniStar Nuclear Energy (UNE)
submitted to the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the
Commission ) a Combined License
(COL) Application for a single unit of
AREVA NP’s U.S. EPR in accordance
with the requirements of Title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
Subpart C of part 52, ‘‘Licenses,
Certifications, and Approvals for
Nuclear Power Plants.’’ This reactor is
to be identified as Calvert Cliffs Nuclear
Power Plant Unit 3 (CCNPP3) and
located at a site in Calvert County,
Maryland. The CCNPP3 COL
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application incorporates by reference
AREVA NP’s application for a Standard
Design Certification for the U.S. EPR.
The NRC docketed the CCNPP3 COL
application on June 3, 2008. The NRC is
currently performing concurrent
reviews of the CCNPP3 COL
application, as well as the AREVA NP’s
application for design certification of
the U.S. EPR.
2.0 Request/Action
The regulations specified in 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii), require that an applicant
for a combined license under 10 CFR
part 52 shall, during the period from
docketing of a COL application until the
Commission makes a finding under 10
CFR 52.103(g) pertaining to facility
operation, submit an annual update to
the application’s Final Safety Analysis
Report (FSAR), which is a part of the
application.
On December 20, 2010, UNE
submitted Revision 7 to the COL
application, including updates to the
FSAR. Pursuant to 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii), the next annual update
is due by December 2011. UNE has
requested a one-time exemption from
the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements
to submit the scheduled 2011 update,
and proposed, for approval, a new
submittal deadline of March 30, 2012,
for the next FSAR update.
In summary, the requested exemption
is a one-time schedule change from the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii).
The exemption would allow UNE to
submit the next FSAR update at a later
date. The current FSAR update schedule
could not be changed, absent the
exemption. UNE requested the
exemption by letter dated November 8,
2011 (Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System (ADAMS)
Accession No. ML11318A013).
3.0 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 Section
50.71(e)(3)(iii) when: (1) The
exemptions are authorized by law, will
not present an undue risk to public
health or safety, and are consistent with
the common defense and security; and
(2) special circumstances are present. As
relevant to the requested exemption,
special circumstances exist if: (1)
‘‘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’’ (10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(ii)); or (2) ‘‘The exemption
would provide only temporary relief
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from the applicable regulation and the
licensee or applicant has made good
faith efforts to comply with the
regulation’’ (10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v)).
UNE commits to submit the next
FSAR update by March 30, 2012, and
would need to identify all changes to
the U.S. EPR FSAR in order to prepare
a COL application FSAR revision that
accurately and completely reflects the
changes to the U.S. EPR FSAR.
The requested one-time schedule
exemption to defer submittal of the next
update to the CCNPP3 COL application
FSAR would provide only temporary
relief from the regulations of 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii). .
Authorized by Law
The exemption is a one-time schedule
exemption from the requirements of 10
CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). The exemption
would allow UNE to submit the next
CCNPP3 COL application FSAR update
on or before March 30, 2012. As stated
above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to
grant exemptions. The NRC staff has
determined that granting UNE the
requested one-time exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii)
will provide only temporary relief from
this regulation and will not result in a
violation of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended, or the NRC’s
regulations. Therefore, the exemption is
authorized by law.
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No Undue Risk to Public Health and
Safety
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii) is to provide for a timely
and comprehensive update of the FSAR
associated with a COL application in
order to support an effective and
efficient review by the NRC staff and
issuance of the NRC staff’s safety
evaluation report. The requested
exemption is solely administrative in
nature, in that it pertains to the
schedule for submittal to the NRC of
revisions to an application under 10
CFR part 52, for which a license has not
been granted. Based on the nature of the
requested exemption as described
above, no new accident precursors are
created by the exemption; thus, neither
the probability, nor the consequences of
postulated accidents are increased.
Therefore, there is no undue risk to
public health and safety.
Consistent With Common Defense and
Security
The requested exemption would
allow UNE to submit the next FSAR
update on or before March 30, 2012. The
requested schedule change has no
relation to security issues. Therefore,
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81995
the common defense and security is not
impacted by this exemption.
Eligibility for Categorical Exclusion
From Environmental Review
Special Circumstances
With respect to the exemption’s
impact on the quality of the human
environment, the NRC has determined
that this specific exemption request is
eligible for categorical exclusion as
identified in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25). Under
10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), granting of an
exemption from the requirements of any
regulation of 10 CFR Chapter 1 is an
action that is a categorical exclusion,
provided that:
(i) There is 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;
(iii) There is no significant increase in
individual or cumulative public or
occupational radiation exposure;
(iv) There is no significant
construction impact;
(v) There is no significant increase in
the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents; and
(vi) The requirements from which an
exemption is sought involve:
(B) Reporting requirements; or (G)
Scheduling requirements.
The NRC staff’s determination that each
of the applicable criteria for this
categorical exclusion is met is justified
as follows:
(i) There is no significant hazards
consideration;
Staff analysis: The criteria for
determining whether there is no
significant hazards consideration are
found in 10 CFR 50.92. The proposed
action involves only a schedule change
regarding the submission of an update
to the application for which the
licensing review is currently underway.
Therefore, there are no significant
hazard considerations because granting
the proposed exemption 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.
(ii) There is no significant change in
the types or significant increase in the
amounts of any effluents that may be
released offsite;
Staff analysis: The proposed action
involves only a schedule change which
is administrative in nature, and does not
involve any changes to be made in the
types or significant increase in the
amounts of effluents that may be
released offsite.
Special circumstances, in accordance
with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), are present
whenever: (1) ‘‘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’’ (10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(ii)); or (2) ‘‘The exemption
would provide only temporary relief
from the applicable regulation and the
licensee or applicant has made good
faith efforts to comply with the
regulation’’ (10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v)).
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii) is to provide for a timely
and comprehensive update of the FSAR
associated with a COL application in
order to support an effective and
efficient review by the NRC staff and
issuance of the NRC staff’s safety
evaluation report. As discussed above,
the requested one-time exemption is
solely administrative in nature, in that
it pertains to a one-time schedule
change for submittal of revisions to an
application under 10 CFR Part 52, for
which a license has not been granted.
The requested one-time exemption will
permit UNE time to carefully review the
most recent revisions of the U.S. EPR
FSAR, and fully incorporate these
revisions into a comprehensive update
of the FSAR associated with the
CCNPP3 COL application. This one-time
exemption will support the NRC staff’s
effective and efficient review of the COL
application as well as issuance of the
safety evaluation report. For this reason,
application of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) in
the particular circumstances is not
necessary to achieve the underlying
purpose of that rule. Therefore, special
circumstances exist under 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(ii). In addition, special
circumstances are also present under 10
CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v) because granting a
one-time exemption from 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii) would provide only
temporary relief, and UNE has made
good faith efforts to comply with the
regulation by submitting Revision 7 to
the COL application on December 20,
2010. Revision 7 of the COL application
incorporated information provided in
prior supplements and standardized
language with the U.S. EPR Design
Certification application. For the above
reasons, the special circumstances
required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2) for the
granting of an exemption from 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii) exist.
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(iii) There is no significant increase in
individual or cumulative public or
occupational radiation exposure;
Staff analysis: Since the proposed
action involves only a schedule change
which is administrative in nature, it
does not contribute to any significant
increase in occupational or public
radiation exposure.
(iv) There is no significant
construction impact;
Staff analysis: The proposed action
involves only a schedule change which
is administrative in nature; the
application review is underway and no
license will be issued prior to receipt of
the afore-mentioned March 30, 2012
submittal of the revised FSAR, hence
the proposed action does not involve
any construction impact.
(v) There is no significant increase in
the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents; and
Staff analysis: The proposed action
involves only a schedule change which
is administrative in nature, and does not
impact the probability or consequences
of accidents, and
(vi) The requirements from which an
exemption is sought involve:
(B) Reporting requirements; or
(G)Scheduling requirements;
Staff analysis: The proposed
exemption involves requirements in
both of these categories because it
involves submitting an updated FSAR
by UNE and also relates to the schedule
for submitting FSAR updates to the NRC
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4.0
Conclusion
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 are present.
Therefore, the NRC hereby grants UNE
a one-time exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii)
pertaining to the CCNPP3 COL
application to allow submittal of the
next FSAR update, no later than March
30, 2012.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22, the NRC
has determined that the exemption
request meets the applicable categorical
exclusion criteria set forth in 10 CFR
51.22(c)(25), and the granting of this
exemption will not have a significant
effect on the quality of the human
environment.
This exemption is effective upon
issuance.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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15:12 Dec 28, 2011
Jkt 226001
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day
of December, 2011.
John Segala,
Chief, Licensing Branch 1, Division of New
Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2011–33464 Filed 12–28–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50–416; NRC–2011–0262]
Entergy Operations, Inc.; Notice of
Intent To Prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement and Conduct the
Scoping Process for Grand Gulf
Nuclear Station, Unit 1
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Intent to prepare environmental
impact statement and conduct scoping
process; public meeting.
AGENCY:
Entergy Operations, Inc.
(Entergy) has submitted an application
for renewal of Facility Operating
License NPF–29 for an additional 20
years of operation at Grand Gulf Nuclear
Station, Unit 1 (GGNS). GGNS is located
in Claiborne County, Mississippi.
The current operating license for
GGNS expires on November 1, 2024.
The application for renewal, dated
October 28, 2011, was submitted
pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 54,
which included an environmental
report (ER). A separate notice of receipt
and availability of the application was
published in the Federal Register on
November 17, 2011 (76 FRN 71379). A
notice of acceptance for docketing of the
application and opportunity for hearing
regarding renewal of the facility
operating license is also being published
in the Federal Register. The purpose of
this notice is to inform the public that
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC or the Commission)
will be preparing an environmental
impact statement (EIS) related to the
review of the license renewal
application and to provide the public an
opportunity to participate in the
environmental scoping process, as
defined in 10 CFR 51.29.
As outlined in 36 CFR 800.8,
‘‘Coordination with the National
Environmental Policy Act,’’ the NRC
plans to coordinate compliance with
Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) in meeting the
requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA). Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c),
the NRC intends to use its process and
documentation for the preparation of
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
the EIS on the proposed action to
comply with Section 106 of the NHPA
in lieu of the procedures set forth at 36
CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.53(c)
and 10 CFR 54.23, Entergy submitted
the ER as part of the application.
DATES: Submit comments by February
27, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID
NRC–2011–0262 in the subject line of
your comments. For additional
instructions on submitting comments
and instructions on accessing
documents related to this action, see
‘‘Submitting Comments and Accessing
Information’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
You may submit comments by any one
of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for documents filed under Docket ID
NRC–2011–0262. Address questions
about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher,
telephone: (301) 492–3668; email:
Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
• Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey,
Chief, Rules, Announcements, and
Directives Branch (RADB), Office of
Administration, Mail Stop: TWB–05–
B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001.
• Fax comments to: RADB at (301)
492–3446.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Submitting Comments and Accessing
Information
Comments submitted in writing or in
electronic form will be posted on the
NRC Web site and on the Federal
rulemaking Web site, https://
www.regulations.gov. Because your
comments will not be edited to remove
any identifying or contact information,
the NRC cautions you against including
any information in your submission that
you do not want to be publicly
disclosed.
The NRC requests that any party
soliciting or aggregating comments
received from other persons for
submission to the NRC inform those
persons that the NRC will not edit their
comments to remove any identifying or
contact information, and therefore, they
should not include any information in
their comments that they do not want
publicly disclosed.
You can access publicly available
documents related to this document
using the following methods:
• NRC’s Public Document Room
(PDR): The public may examine and
have copied, for a fee, publicly available
documents at the NRC’s PDR, O1–F21,
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 250 (Thursday, December 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81994-81996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33464]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52-016; NRC-2008-0250]
UniStar Nuclear Energy; Combined License Application for Calvert
Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 3; Exemption
1.0 Background:
UniStar Nuclear Energy (UNE) submitted to the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission ) a Combined License (COL)
Application for a single unit of AREVA NP's U.S. EPR in accordance with
the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR), Subpart C of part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals
for Nuclear Power Plants.'' This reactor is to be identified as Calvert
Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 (CCNPP3) and located at a site in
Calvert County, Maryland. The CCNPP3 COL application incorporates by
reference AREVA NP's application for a Standard Design Certification
for the U.S. EPR. The NRC docketed the CCNPP3 COL application on June
3, 2008. The NRC is currently performing concurrent reviews of the
CCNPP3 COL application, as well as the AREVA NP's application for
design certification of the U.S. EPR.
2.0 Request/Action
The regulations specified in 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii), require that
an applicant for a combined license under 10 CFR part 52 shall, during
the period from docketing of a COL application until the Commission
makes a finding under 10 CFR 52.103(g) pertaining to facility
operation, submit an annual update to the application's Final Safety
Analysis Report (FSAR), which is a part of the application.
On December 20, 2010, UNE submitted Revision 7 to the COL
application, including updates to the FSAR. Pursuant to 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii), the next annual update is due by December 2011. UNE
has requested a one-time exemption from the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii)
requirements to submit the scheduled 2011 update, and proposed, for
approval, a new submittal deadline of March 30, 2012, for the next FSAR
update.
In summary, the requested exemption is a one-time schedule change
from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). The exemption would
allow UNE to submit the next FSAR update at a later date. The current
FSAR update schedule could not be changed, absent the exemption. UNE
requested the exemption by letter dated November 8, 2011 (Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No.
ML11318A013).
3.0 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 Section 50.71(e)(3)(iii)
when: (1) The exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an
undue risk to public health or safety, and are consistent with the
common defense and security; and (2) special circumstances are present.
As relevant to the requested exemption, special circumstances exist if:
(1) ``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'' (10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(ii)); or (2) ``The exemption would provide only temporary
relief
[[Page 81995]]
from the applicable regulation and the licensee or applicant has made
good faith efforts to comply with the regulation'' (10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(v)).
UNE commits to submit the next FSAR update by March 30, 2012, and
would need to identify all changes to the U.S. EPR FSAR in order to
prepare a COL application FSAR revision that accurately and completely
reflects the changes to the U.S. EPR FSAR.
The requested one-time schedule exemption to defer submittal of the
next update to the CCNPP3 COL application FSAR would provide only
temporary relief from the regulations of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). .
Authorized by Law
The exemption is a one-time schedule exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). The exemption would allow UNE
to submit the next CCNPP3 COL application FSAR update on or before
March 30, 2012. As stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant
exemptions. The NRC staff has determined that granting UNE the
requested one-time exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii) will provide only temporary relief from this
regulation and will not result in a violation of the Atomic Energy Act
of 1954, as amended, or the NRC's regulations. Therefore, the exemption
is authorized by law.
No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) is to provide for
a timely and comprehensive update of the FSAR associated with a COL
application in order to support an effective and efficient review by
the NRC staff and issuance of the NRC staff's safety evaluation report.
The requested exemption is solely administrative in nature, in that it
pertains to the schedule for submittal to the NRC of revisions to an
application under 10 CFR part 52, for which a license has not been
granted. Based on the nature of the requested exemption as described
above, no new accident precursors are created by the exemption; thus,
neither the probability, nor the consequences of postulated accidents
are increased. Therefore, there is no undue risk to public health and
safety.
Consistent With Common Defense and Security
The requested exemption would allow UNE to submit the next FSAR
update on or before March 30, 2012. The requested schedule change has
no relation to security issues. Therefore, the common defense and
security is not impacted by this exemption.
Special Circumstances
Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), are
present whenever: (1) ``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'' (10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(ii)); or (2) ``The exemption would provide only temporary
relief from the applicable regulation and the licensee or applicant has
made good faith efforts to comply with the regulation'' (10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(v)).
The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) is to provide for
a timely and comprehensive update of the FSAR associated with a COL
application in order to support an effective and efficient review by
the NRC staff and issuance of the NRC staff's safety evaluation report.
As discussed above, the requested one-time exemption is solely
administrative in nature, in that it pertains to a one-time schedule
change for submittal of revisions to an application under 10 CFR Part
52, for which a license has not been granted. The requested one-time
exemption will permit UNE time to carefully review the most recent
revisions of the U.S. EPR FSAR, and fully incorporate these revisions
into a comprehensive update of the FSAR associated with the CCNPP3 COL
application. This one-time exemption will support the NRC staff's
effective and efficient review of the COL application as well as
issuance of the safety evaluation report. For this reason, application
of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) in the particular circumstances is not
necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of that rule. Therefore,
special circumstances exist under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii). In addition,
special circumstances are also present under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v)
because granting a one-time exemption from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii)
would provide only temporary relief, and UNE has made good faith
efforts to comply with the regulation by submitting Revision 7 to the
COL application on December 20, 2010. Revision 7 of the COL application
incorporated information provided in prior supplements and standardized
language with the U.S. EPR Design Certification application. For the
above reasons, the special circumstances required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)
for the granting of an exemption from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) exist.
Eligibility for Categorical Exclusion From Environmental Review
With respect to the exemption's impact on the quality of the human
environment, the NRC has determined that this specific exemption
request is eligible for categorical exclusion as identified in 10 CFR
51.22(c)(25). Under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), granting of an exemption from
the requirements of any regulation of 10 CFR Chapter 1 is an action
that is a categorical exclusion, provided that:
(i) There is 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;
(iii) There is no significant increase in individual or cumulative
public or occupational radiation exposure;
(iv) There is no significant construction impact;
(v) There is no significant increase in the potential for or
consequences from radiological accidents; and
(vi) The requirements from which an exemption is sought involve:
(B) Reporting requirements; or (G) Scheduling requirements.
The NRC staff's determination that each of the applicable criteria for
this categorical exclusion is met is justified as follows:
(i) There is no significant hazards consideration;
Staff analysis: The criteria for determining whether there is no
significant hazards consideration are found in 10 CFR 50.92. The
proposed action involves only a schedule change regarding the
submission of an update to the application for which the licensing
review is currently underway. Therefore, there are no significant
hazard considerations because granting the proposed exemption 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.
(ii) There is no significant change in the types or significant
increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite;
Staff analysis: The proposed action involves only a schedule change
which is administrative in nature, and does not involve any changes to
be made in the types or significant increase in the amounts of
effluents that may be released offsite.
[[Page 81996]]
(iii) There is no significant increase in individual or cumulative
public or occupational radiation exposure;
Staff analysis: Since the proposed action involves only a schedule
change which is administrative in nature, it does not contribute to any
significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure.
(iv) There is no significant construction impact;
Staff analysis: The proposed action involves only a schedule change
which is administrative in nature; the application review is underway
and no license will be issued prior to receipt of the afore-mentioned
March 30, 2012 submittal of the revised FSAR, hence the proposed action
does not involve any construction impact.
(v) There is no significant increase in the potential for or
consequences from radiological accidents; and
Staff analysis: The proposed action involves only a schedule change
which is administrative in nature, and does not impact the probability
or consequences of accidents, and
(vi) The requirements from which an exemption is sought involve:
(B) Reporting requirements; or (G)Scheduling requirements;
Staff analysis: The proposed exemption involves requirements in
both of these categories because it involves submitting an updated FSAR
by UNE and also relates to the schedule for submitting FSAR updates to
the NRC
4.0 Conclusion
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 are present. Therefore, the
NRC hereby grants UNE a one-time exemption from the requirements of 10
CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) pertaining to the CCNPP3 COL application to allow
submittal of the next FSAR update, no later than March 30, 2012.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22, the NRC has determined that the exemption
request meets the applicable categorical exclusion criteria set forth
in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), and the granting of this exemption will not
have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of December, 2011.
John Segala,
Chief, Licensing Branch 1, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2011-33464 Filed 12-28-11; 8:45 am]
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