Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and UniStar Nuclear Operating Services, LLC Combined License Application for Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant Exemption, 4879-4881 [2013-01326]
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 23, 2013 / Notices
Register notice with a 60-day comment
period on this information collection on
September 24, 2012 (77 FR 58871).
1. Type of submission, new, revision,
or extension: New.
2. The title of the information
collection: NRC Reactor Vendor
Registration.
3. Current OMB approval number:
3150–XXXX.
4. The form number if applicable: N/
A.
5. How often the collection is
required: Annually.
6. Who will be required or asked to
report: Power reactor licensee and
applicants, and vendors are asked to
report voluntary.
7. An estimate of the number of
annual responses: 192.
8. The estimated number of annual
respondents: 192.
9. An estimate of the total number of
hours needed annually to complete the
requirement or request: 183.5.
10. Abstract: The NRC is commencing
an effort to identify vendors of safetyrelated parts and services to nuclear
power plants both directly (vendors)
and indirectly (sub-vendors). For the
purpose of this document, the term
vendor includes supplier. The NRC
licensees and applicants are responsible
for the safety of facilities licensed by the
NRC. As such, they are responsible for
ensuring that their vendors meet
applicable regulations and
requirements, both technical and
quality, in purchase documents. In
order to ensure that licensees are
meeting the regulatory requirements in
this area, the NRC inspects vendors to
evaluate their conformance with
technical and quality requirements in
part 21 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), ‘‘Reporting of
Defects and Noncompliance,’’ and
Appendix B, ‘‘Quality Assurance
Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and
Fuel Reprocessing Plants,’’ to 10 CFR
Part 50, as required by procurement
contracts with licensees. There is no
requirement for vendors to register with
the NRC. This collection will assist the
NRC in assessing the number and
variety of vendors of safety-related parts
and services for resource and vendor
inspection planning. As part of that
effort, the NRC plans to (1) issue a
communication to power reactor
licensee and applicants requesting the
voluntary submittal of vendor
information and (2) create a Web page
on its public Web site that allows
vendor and sub-vendor information to
be submitted individually. When power
reactor licensee and applicants respond
either by submitting their information
by mail or online they will be asked to
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provide the following information:
Vendor names, vendor addresses,
vendor points of contact, vendor point
of contact email address, vendor
telephone number, scope of supply, and
comments. Additionally, Vendors will
also be able to use this Web page
voluntarily to complete self registration.
The public may examine and have
copied for a fee publicly available
documents, including the final
supporting statement, at the NRC’s
Public Document Room, Room O–1F21,
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The
OMB clearance requests are available at
the NRC’s Web site: https://www.nrc.gov/
public-involve/doc-comment/omb/. The
document will be available on the
NRC’s home page site for 60 days after
the signature date of this notice.
Comments and questions should be
directed to the OMB reviewer listed
below by February 22, 2013. Comments
received after this date will be
considered if it is practical to do so, but
assurance of consideration cannot be
given to comments received after this
date.
Chad Whiteman, Desk Officer, Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs
(3150–XXXX), NEOB–10202, Office of
Management and Budget, Washington,
DC 20503.
Comments can also be emailed to
Chad_S_Whiteman@omb.eop.gov or
submitted by telephone at 202–395–
4718.
The NRC Clearance Officer is
Tremaine Donnell, 301–415–6258.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day
of January, 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Tremaine Donnell,
NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. 2013–01204 Filed 1–22–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52–038; NRC–2008–0581]
Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC
and UniStar Nuclear Operating
Services, LLC Combined License
Application for Nine Mile Point 3
Nuclear Power Plant Exemption
1.0 Background
Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project,
LLC, and UniStar Nuclear Operating
Services, LLC (UniStar), submitted a
Combined License (COL) Application
for a single unit of AREVA NP’s U.S.
EPR to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) in accordance with
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4879
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 Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Power
Plant (NMP3NPP), and located adjacent
to the current Nine Mile Point Nuclear
Station, Unit 1 and Unit 2, in Oswego
County, New York. The NMP3NPP COL
application incorporates by reference
AREVA NP’s application for a Standard
Design Certification for the U.S. EPR.
Additionally, the NMP3NPP COL
application is based upon the U.S. EPR
reference COL (RCOL) application for
UniStar’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power
Plant, Unit 3 (CCNPP3). The NRC
docketed the NMP3NPP COL
application on December 12, 2008. On
March 31, 2009, UNE submitted
Revision 1 to the COL application,
including updates to the Final Safety
Analysis Report (FSAR). On December
1, 2009, UniStar Nuclear Energy (UNE),
acting on behalf of the COL applicant’s
Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC,
and UniStar Nuclear Operating Services,
LLC, requested that the NRC
temporarily suspend the NMP3NPP
COL application review, including any
supporting reviews by external agencies,
until further notice. Based on this
request, the NRC discontinued all
review activities associated with the
NMP3NPP COL application. By letter to
the NRC dated December 9, 2010, UNE
requested a one-time exemption from
the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements
to submit the scheduled 2010 and 2011
COL application FSAR updates, and
proposed for approval of a new
submittal deadline of December 31,
2012, for the next FSAR update. The
NRC granted the exemption as described
in Federal Register Notice (FRN) 76 FR
32994 (June 7, 2011). The NRC is
currently performing a detailed review
of the CCNPP3 RCOL application, as
well as 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.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii),
the next annual update of the NMP3NPP
COL application FSAR would be due in
December 2012. By letter to the NRC
dated November 27, 2012, UNE
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4880
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 23, 2013 / Notices
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with
requested a one-time exemption from
the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements
to submit the scheduled 2012 COL
application FSAR update, and proposed
for approval of a new submittal deadline
of December 31, 2013, for the next FSAR
update.
UNE’s requested exemption is a onetime schedule change from the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii).
The exemption would allow UNE to
submit the next FSAR update by
December 31, 2013. The current FSAR
update schedule could not be changed,
absent the exemption. UNE requested
the exemption by letter dated November
27, 2012 (Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS) Accession Number
ML12342A012). The NRC notes that the
granting of the exemption applies
prospectively, rather than retroactively,
so this exemption applies to required
actions from the date of exemption
issuance and does not retroactively
authorize a previous failure to take
required action.
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)).
The review of the NMP3NPP COL
application FSAR has been suspended
since December 1, 2009. Since the COL
application incorporates by reference
the application for a Standard Design
Certification for the U.S. EPR, many
changes in the U.S. EPR FSAR require
an associated change to the COL
application FSAR, and because the NRC
review of the COL application is
suspended, the updates to the COL
application FSAR will not be reviewed
by the NRC staff until the NMP3NPP
COL application review is resumed.
Thus, the optimum time to prepare a
revision to the COL application FSAR is
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sometime prior to UNE requesting the
NRC to resume its review. Preparing and
submitting a COL application FSAR
update when the review remains
suspended and in the absence of any
decision by UNE to request the NRC to
resume the review would require UNE
to spend significant time and effort, and
would be of no value, particularly due
to the fact that the U.S. EPR FSAR is
still undergoing periodic revisions and
updates. UNE commits to submit the
next FSAR update by December 31,
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 NMP3NPP COL
application FSAR would provide only
temporary relief from the regulations of
10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). UNE has made
good faith efforts to comply with 10 CFR
50.71(e)(3)(iii) by submitting Revision 1
to the COL application on March 31,
2009, prior to requesting the review
suspension. Revision 1 incorporated
information provided in prior
supplements and standardized language
with the RCOL application.
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
NMP3NPP COL application FSAR
update on or before December 31, 2013.
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. In addition, since the
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Sfmt 4703
review of the application has been
suspended, any update to the
application submitted by UNE will not
be reviewed by the NRC at this time.
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 December 31, 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
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
NMP3NPP COL application. This onetime 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
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 15 / Wednesday, January 23, 2013 / Notices
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 1 to the COL application on
March 31, 2009, prior to requesting the
review suspension. Revision 1
incorporated information provided in
prior supplements and standardized
language with the RCOL 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.
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with
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), and
justified by the NRC staff as follows:
(c) The following categories of actions
are categorical exclusions:
(25) Granting of an exemption from
the requirements of any regulation of
this chapter, provided that—
(i) There is no significant hazards
consideration;
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 has been suspended. Therefore,
there is no significant hazards
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;
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
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15:22 Jan 22, 2013
Jkt 229001
amounts of effluents that may be
released offsite.
(iii) There is no significant increase in
individual or cumulative public or
occupational radiation exposure;
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;
The proposed action involves only a
schedule change which is
administrative in nature; the application
review is suspended until further
notice, and there is no consideration of
any construction at this time, and 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
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;
The exemption request involves
submitting an updated FSAR by UNE
(G) Scheduling requirements;
The proposed exemption 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 NMP3NPP COL
application to allow submittal of the
next FSAR update no later than
December 31, 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
effect on the quality of the human
environment.
This exemption is effective upon
issuance.
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4881
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. 2013–01326 Filed 1–22–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT
Excepted Service
U.S. Office of Personnel
Management (OPM).
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Notice.
This notice identifies
Schedule A, B, and C appointing
authorities applicable to a single agency
that were established or revoked from
November 1, 2012, to November 31,
2012.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Senior Executive Resources Services,
Executive Resources and Employee
Development, Employee Services, 202–
606–2246.
In
accordance with 5 CFR 213.103,
Schedule A, B, and C appointing
authorities available for use by all
agencies are codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR). Schedule A,
B, and C appointing authorities
applicable to a single agency are not
codified in the CFR, but the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM)
publishes a notice of agency-specific
authorities established or revoked each
month in the Federal Register at
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/. OPM also
publishes annually a consolidated
listing of all Schedule A, B, and C
appointing authorities current as of June
30 as a notice in the Federal Register.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Schedule A
No schedule A authorities to report
during November 2012.
Schedule B
No schedule B authorities to report
during November 2012.
Schedule C
The following Schedule C appointing
authorities were approved during
November 2012.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4879-4881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01326]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52-038; NRC-2008-0581]
Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC and UniStar Nuclear
Operating Services, LLC Combined License Application for Nine Mile
Point 3 Nuclear Power Plant Exemption
1.0 Background
Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear Project, LLC, and UniStar Nuclear
Operating Services, LLC (UniStar), submitted a Combined License (COL)
Application for a single unit of AREVA NP's U.S. EPR to the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 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 Nine Mile Point 3 Nuclear
Power Plant (NMP3NPP), and located adjacent to the current Nine Mile
Point Nuclear Station, Unit 1 and Unit 2, in Oswego County, New York.
The NMP3NPP COL application incorporates by reference AREVA NP's
application for a Standard Design Certification for the U.S. EPR.
Additionally, the NMP3NPP COL application is based upon the U.S. EPR
reference COL (RCOL) application for UniStar's Calvert Cliffs Nuclear
Power Plant, Unit 3 (CCNPP3). The NRC docketed the NMP3NPP COL
application on December 12, 2008. On March 31, 2009, UNE submitted
Revision 1 to the COL application, including updates to the Final
Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). On December 1, 2009, UniStar Nuclear
Energy (UNE), acting on behalf of the COL applicant's Nine Mile Point 3
Nuclear Project, LLC, and UniStar Nuclear Operating Services, LLC,
requested that the NRC temporarily suspend the NMP3NPP COL application
review, including any supporting reviews by external agencies, until
further notice. Based on this request, the NRC discontinued all review
activities associated with the NMP3NPP COL application. By letter to
the NRC dated December 9, 2010, UNE requested a one-time exemption from
the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements to submit the scheduled 2010
and 2011 COL application FSAR updates, and proposed for approval of a
new submittal deadline of December 31, 2012, for the next FSAR update.
The NRC granted the exemption as described in Federal Register Notice
(FRN) 76 FR 32994 (June 7, 2011). The NRC is currently performing a
detailed review of the CCNPP3 RCOL application, as well as 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.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii), the next annual update of the
NMP3NPP COL application FSAR would be due in December 2012. By letter
to the NRC dated November 27, 2012, UNE
[[Page 4880]]
requested a one-time exemption from the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii)
requirements to submit the scheduled 2012 COL application FSAR update,
and proposed for approval of a new submittal deadline of December 31,
2013, for the next FSAR update.
UNE's 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 by December 31, 2013. The current FSAR
update schedule could not be changed, absent the exemption. UNE
requested the exemption by letter dated November 27, 2012 (Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Number
ML12342A012). The NRC notes that the granting of the exemption applies
prospectively, rather than retroactively, so this exemption applies to
required actions from the date of exemption issuance and does not
retroactively authorize a previous failure to take required action.
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)).
The review of the NMP3NPP COL application FSAR has been suspended
since December 1, 2009. Since the COL application incorporates by
reference the application for a Standard Design Certification for the
U.S. EPR, many changes in the U.S. EPR FSAR require an associated
change to the COL application FSAR, and because the NRC review of the
COL application is suspended, the updates to the COL application FSAR
will not be reviewed by the NRC staff until the NMP3NPP COL application
review is resumed. Thus, the optimum time to prepare a revision to the
COL application FSAR is sometime prior to UNE requesting the NRC to
resume its review. Preparing and submitting a COL application FSAR
update when the review remains suspended and in the absence of any
decision by UNE to request the NRC to resume the review would require
UNE to spend significant time and effort, and would be of no value,
particularly due to the fact that the U.S. EPR FSAR is still undergoing
periodic revisions and updates. UNE commits to submit the next FSAR
update by December 31, 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 NMP3NPP COL application FSAR would provide only
temporary relief from the regulations of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). UNE
has made good faith efforts to comply with 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) by
submitting Revision 1 to the COL application on March 31, 2009, prior
to requesting the review suspension. Revision 1 incorporated
information provided in prior supplements and standardized language
with the RCOL application.
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 NMP3NPP COL application FSAR update on or before
December 31, 2013. 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. In addition, since the review of the application has been
suspended, any update to the application submitted by UNE will not be
reviewed by the NRC at this time. 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 December 31, 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 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 NMP3NPP 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
[[Page 4881]]
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
1 to the COL application on March 31, 2009, prior to requesting the
review suspension. Revision 1 incorporated information provided in
prior supplements and standardized language with the RCOL 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), and justified by the NRC staff as follows:
(c) The following categories of actions are categorical exclusions:
(25) Granting of an exemption from the requirements of any
regulation of this chapter, provided that--
(i) There is no significant hazards consideration;
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 has been suspended.
Therefore, there is no significant hazards 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;
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;
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;
The proposed action involves only a schedule change which is
administrative in nature; the application review is suspended until
further notice, and there is no consideration of any construction at
this time, and 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
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;
The exemption request involves submitting an updated FSAR by UNE
(G) Scheduling requirements;
The proposed exemption 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 NMP3NPP COL application to allow
submittal of the next FSAR update no later than December 31, 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 effect on the quality of 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. 2013-01326 Filed 1-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
