UniStar Nuclear Energy, Combined License Application for Calvert Cliffs Power Plant, Unit 3, Exemption, 4467-4469 [2013-01145]
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 14 / Tuesday, January 22, 2013 / Notices
51.22(c)(25), and the granting of this
exemption will not have a significant
impact on the human environment.
This exemption is effective upon
issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day
of January 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Segala,
Chief, Licensing Branch1, Division of New
Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2013–01148 Filed 1–18–13; 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
Power Plant, Unit 3, Exemption
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with
1.0 Background
UniStar Nuclear Energy (UNE), on
behalf of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Project,
LLC and UniStar Nuclear Operating
Services, LLC, submitted to the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 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
(CCNPP Unit 3), and is to be located in
Calvert County, MD. The NRC docketed
Part 2 of the CCNPP Unit 3 COL
application on June 3, 2008. The CCNPP
Unit 3 COL application incorporates by
reference AREVA NP’s application for a
standard design certification for the U.S.
EPR. The NRC is currently performing
concurrent reviews of the CCNPP Unit
3 COL application, as well as AREVA
NP’s application for design certification
of the U.S. EPR. UNE previously
requested an exemption on November 8,
2011, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(iii) to
submit the scheduled 2011 update, and
proposed, for approval, a new submittal
deadline of March 30, 2012. The NRC
granted the exemption as described in
Federal Register notice (FR) 76 FR
81994 (December 29, 2011).
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
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18:11 Jan 18, 2013
Jkt 229001
the application’s Final Safety Analysis
Report (FSAR), which is a part of the
COL application.
On March 27, 2012, UNE submitted
Revision 8 to the COL application,
including updates to the FSAR. Since
this submittal was provided to satisfy
their requested exemption of November
8, 2011, pursuant to 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii), the next annual update
is due by the end of December 2012.
UNE has again requested a one-time
exemption from the 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements to submit
the scheduled 2012 update, and
proposed for approval, a new submittal
deadline of March 29, 2013, 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 2,
2012 (Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System (ADAMS)
Accession No. ML12311A270).
Documents related to this action,
including the application for
amendment and supporting
documentation, are available
electronically at the NRC’s Electronic
Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/
reading-rm/adams.html. From this site,
you can access the NRC’s ADAMS,
which provides text and image files of
NRC’s public documents. The ADAMS
accession numbers for the documents
related to this notice are ML12341A189
and ML12341A262.
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
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)).
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4467
UNE commits to submit the next COL
FSAR update by March 29, 2013, 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 CCNPP Unit 3 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
CCNPP Unit 3 COL application FSAR
update on or before March 29, 2013. Per
10 CFR 50.12. 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 29, 2013.
This 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
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 14 / Tuesday, January 22, 2013 / Notices
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with
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 CCNPP
Unit 3 COL application. This one-time
exemption will support the NRC staff’s
effective and efficient review of the COL
application when resumed, 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 8 to the COL application on
March 27, 2012. This COLA revision
incorporated changes resulting from
Revision 3 of the U.S. EPR FSAR and
COLA changes resulting from UNE’s
responses to the NRC requests for
additional information submitted
through February 12, 2012. 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
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18:11 Jan 18, 2013
Jkt 229001
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 [which
includes 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii)] 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:
(A) Recordkeeping requirements;
(B) Reporting requirements;
(C) Inspection or surveillance
requirements;
(D) Equipment servicing or
maintenance scheduling requirements;
(E) Education, training, experience,
qualification, requalification or other
employment suitability requirements;
(F) Safeguard plans, and materials
control and accounting inventory
scheduling requirements;
(G) Scheduling requirements;
(H) Surety, insurance or indemnity
requirements; or
(I) Other requirements of an
administrative, managerial, or
organizational nature.
The requirements from which this
exemption is sought involve only (B)
Reporting requirements; or (G)
Scheduling requirements of those
required by 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi).
The NRC staff’s determination that
each of the applicable criteria for this
categorical exclusion is met is justified
as follows:
I. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i) There is no
significant hazards consideration;
Staff Analysis: The criteria for
determining if an exemption involves a
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
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
(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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(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 aforementioned application’s March
29, 2013, submittal of the revised FSAR,
therefore, the proposed action does not
involve any construction impact.
V. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi) The
requirements from which this
exemption is sought involve only (B)
Reporting requirements; or (G)
Scheduling requirements of those
required this regulation.
Staff Analysis: The exemption request
involves requirements in both of these
categories because it involves
submitting an updated COL FSAR by
JUNE and also relates to the schedule
for submitting COL 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.
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 14 / Tuesday, January 22, 2013 / Notices
Therefore, the NRC hereby grants UNE
a one-time exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii)
pertaining to the CCNPP Unit 3 COL
application to allow submittal of the
next FSAR update, no later than March
29, 2013.
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
impact on the human environment.
This exemption is effective upon
issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day
of January 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Segala,
Chief, Licensing Branch 1, Division of New
Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2013–01145 Filed 1–18–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
I. Accessing Information and
Submitting Comments
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
A. Accessing Information
[NRC–2013–0012]
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with
Biweekly Notice; Applications and
Amendments to Facility Operating
Licenses and Combined Licenses
Involving No Significant Hazards
Considerations
Background
Pursuant to Section 189a.(2) of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended
(the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (the Commission or NRC)
is publishing this regular biweekly
notice. The Act requires the
Commission publish notice of any
amendments issued, or proposed to be
issued and grants the Commission the
authority to issue and make
immediately effective any amendment
to an operating license or combined
license, as applicable, upon a
determination by the Commission that
such amendment involves no significant
hazards consideration, notwithstanding
the pendency before the Commission of
a request for a hearing from any person.
This biweekly notice includes all
notices of amendments issued, or
proposed to be issued from December
27, 2012 to January 9, 2013. The last
biweekly notice was published on
January 8, 2013 (78 FR 1267).
ADDRESSES: You may access information
and comment submissions related to
this document, which the NRC
possesses and are publically available,
by searching on https://
www.regulations.gov under Docket ID
NRC–2013–0012. You may submit
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:11 Jan 18, 2013
comments by any of the following
methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2013–0012. 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.
For additional direction on accessing
information and submitting comments,
see ‘‘Accessing Information and
Submitting Comments’’ in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Jkt 229001
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2013–
0012 when contacting the NRC about
the availability of information regarding
this document. You may access
information related to this document by
any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2013–0012.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publiclyavailable documents online in the NRC
Library at https://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/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.
Documents may be viewed in ADAMS
by performing a search on the document
date and docket number.
• 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.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC–2013–
0012 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure
that the NRC is able to make your
comment submission available to the
public in this docket.
The NRC cautions you not to include
identifying or contact information that
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4469
that you do not want to be publicly
disclosed in your comment submission.
The NRC will post all comment
submissions at https://
www.regulations.gov as well as enter the
comment submissions into ADAMS.
The NRC does not routinely edit
comment submissions to remove
identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating
comments from other persons for
submission to the NRC, then you should
inform those persons not to include
identifying or contact information that
they do not want to be publicly
disclosed in their comment submission.
Your request should state that the NRC
does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove such information
before making the comment
submissions available to the public or
entering the comment submissions into
ADAMS.
Notice of Consideration of Issuance of
Amendments to Facility Operating
Licenses and Combined Licenses,
Proposed No Significant Hazards
Consideration Determination, and
Opportunity for a Hearing
The Commission has made a
proposed determination that the
following amendment requests involve
no significant hazards consideration.
Under the Commission’s regulations in
section 50.92 of Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 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. The basis for this
proposed determination for each
amendment request is shown below.
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 60day 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
E:\FR\FM\22JAN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4467-4469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01145]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52-016; NRC-2008-0250]
UniStar Nuclear Energy, Combined License Application for Calvert
Cliffs Power Plant, Unit 3, Exemption
1.0 Background
UniStar Nuclear Energy (UNE), on behalf of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear
Project, LLC and UniStar Nuclear Operating Services, LLC, submitted to
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 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 (CCNPP Unit 3), and is to be located
in Calvert County, MD. The NRC docketed Part 2 of the CCNPP Unit 3 COL
application on June 3, 2008. The CCNPP Unit 3 COL application
incorporates by reference AREVA NP's application for a standard design
certification for the U.S. EPR. The NRC is currently performing
concurrent reviews of the CCNPP Unit 3 COL application, as well as
AREVA NP's application for design certification of the U.S. EPR. UNE
previously requested an exemption on November 8, 2011, pursuant to 10
CFR 50.71(e)(iii) to submit the scheduled 2011 update, and proposed,
for approval, a new submittal deadline of March 30, 2012. The NRC
granted the exemption as described in Federal Register notice (FR) 76
FR 81994 (December 29, 2011).
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 COL application.
On March 27, 2012, UNE submitted Revision 8 to the COL application,
including updates to the FSAR. Since this submittal was provided to
satisfy their requested exemption of November 8, 2011, pursuant to 10
CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii), the next annual update is due by the end of
December 2012. UNE has again requested a one-time exemption from the 10
CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements to submit the scheduled 2012 update,
and proposed for approval, a new submittal deadline of March 29, 2013,
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 2, 2012 (Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No.
ML12311A270). Documents related to this action, including the
application for amendment and supporting documentation, are available
electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the
NRC's ADAMS, which provides text and image files of NRC's public
documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the documents related to
this notice are ML12341A189 and ML12341A262.
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 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 COL FSAR update by March 29, 2013,
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 CCNPP Unit 3 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 CCNPP Unit 3 COL application FSAR update on or
before March 29, 2013. Per 10 CFR 50.12. 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 29, 2013. This 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
[[Page 4468]]
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 CCNPP Unit
3 COL application. This one-time exemption will support the NRC staff's
effective and efficient review of the COL application when resumed, 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
8 to the COL application on March 27, 2012. This COLA revision
incorporated changes resulting from Revision 3 of the U.S. EPR FSAR and
COLA changes resulting from UNE's responses to the NRC requests for
additional information submitted through February 12, 2012. 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 [which includes
10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii)] 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:
(A) Recordkeeping requirements;
(B) Reporting requirements;
(C) Inspection or surveillance requirements;
(D) Equipment servicing or maintenance scheduling requirements;
(E) Education, training, experience, qualification, requalification
or other employment suitability requirements;
(F) Safeguard plans, and materials control and accounting inventory
scheduling requirements;
(G) Scheduling requirements;
(H) Surety, insurance or indemnity requirements; or
(I) Other requirements of an administrative, managerial, or
organizational nature.
The requirements from which this exemption is sought involve only
(B) Reporting requirements; or (G) Scheduling requirements of those
required by 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi).
The NRC staff's determination that each of the applicable criteria
for this categorical exclusion is met is justified as follows:
I. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i) There is no significant hazards
consideration;
Staff Analysis: The criteria for determining if an exemption
involves a 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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(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 aforementioned
application's March 29, 2013, submittal of the revised FSAR, therefore,
the proposed action does not involve any construction impact.
V. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(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. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi) The requirements from which this
exemption is sought involve only (B) Reporting requirements; or (G)
Scheduling requirements of those required this regulation.
Staff Analysis: The exemption request involves requirements in both
of these categories because it involves submitting an updated COL FSAR
by JUNE and also relates to the schedule for submitting COL 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.
[[Page 4469]]
Therefore, the NRC hereby grants UNE a one-time exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) pertaining to the CCNPP Unit 3
COL application to allow submittal of the next FSAR update, no later
than March 29, 2013.
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 impact on the human environment.
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of January 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Segala,
Chief, Licensing Branch 1, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2013-01145 Filed 1-18-13; 8:45 am]
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