Vogtle Electric Generating Station, Units 3 and 4; Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Annex Building Structure and Layout Changes, 17081-17083 [2015-07277]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 61 / Tuesday, March 31, 2015 / Notices to the Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences (DSOS) report. STATUS: Closed. This meeting will be held by teleconference. Please refer to the National Science Board Web site www.nsf.gov/nsb for additional information and schedule updates (time, place, subject matter or status of meeting) which may be found at https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/notices/. Point of contact for this meeting is John Veysey at jveysey@nsf.gov. Ann Bushmiller, Senior Counsel to the National Science Board. [FR Doc. 2015–07467 Filed 3–27–15; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 7555–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS); Meeting of the ACRS Subcommittee on Metallurgy & Reactor Fuels; Notice of Meeting The ACRS Subcommittee on Metallurgy & Reactor Fuels will hold a meeting on April 7, 2015, Room T–2B1, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The meeting will be open to public attendance. The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Tuesday, April 7, 2015—8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The Subcommittee will discuss Consequential Steam Generator Tube Rupture (C–SGTR). The Subcommittee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with the NRC staff and other interested persons regarding this matter. The Subcommittee will gather information, analyze relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the Full Committee. Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official (DFO), Christopher Brown (Telephone 301–415–7111 or Email: Christopher.Brown@nrc.gov) five days prior to the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Thirty-five hard copies of each presentation or handout should be provided to the DFO thirty minutes before the meeting. In addition, one electronic copy of each presentation should be emailed to the DFO one day before the meeting. If an electronic copy cannot be provided within this timeframe, presenters should provide the DFO with a CD containing each VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:32 Mar 30, 2015 Jkt 235001 presentation at least thirty minutes before the meeting. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the meeting that are open to the public. Detailed procedures for the conduct of and participation in ACRS meetings were published in the Federal Register on October 13, 2014 (79 FR 59307–59308). Detailed meeting agendas and meeting transcripts are available on the NRC Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/doc-collections/acrs. Information regarding topics to be discussed, changes to the agenda, whether the meeting has been canceled or rescheduled, and the time allotted to present oral statements can be obtained from the Web site cited above or by contacting the identified DFO. Moreover, in view of the possibility that the schedule for ACRS meetings may be adjusted by the Chairman as necessary to facilitate the conduct of the meeting, persons planning to attend should check with these references if such rescheduling would result in a major inconvenience. If attending this meeting, please enter through the One White Flint North building, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. After registering with security, please contact Mr. Theron Brown (Telephone 240–888–9835) to be escorted to the meeting room. Dated: March 25, 2015. Mark L. Banks, Chief, Technical Support Branch, Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards. [FR Doc. 2015–07350 Filed 3–30–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 52–025 and 52–026; NRC– 2015–0074] Vogtle Electric Generating Station, Units 3 and 4; Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Annex Building Structure and Layout Changes Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Exemption and combined license amendment issuance. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is granting an exemption to allow a departure from the certification information of Tier 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and is issuing License Amendment No. 27 to Combined Licenses (COL), NPF– 91 and NPF–92. The COLs were issued to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., and Georgia Power SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 17081 Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, and the City of Dalton, Georgia (the licensee); for construction and operation of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP), Units 3 and 4, located in Burke County, Georgia. The granting of the exemption allows the changes to Tier 1 information requested in the amendment. Because the acceptability of the exemption was determined in part by the acceptability of the amendment, the exemption and amendment are being issued concurrently. Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2015–0074 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this document using any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2015–0074. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 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. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The request for the amendment and exemption were submitted by letter dated August 22, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14234A423). The licensee revised this request by letter dated September 23, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14266A656), and supplemented the request by letters dated October 30 and November 6, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML14303A660 and ML14310A831, respectively). • 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. ADDRESSES: E:\FR\FM\31MRN1.SGM 31MRN1 17082 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 61 / Tuesday, March 31, 2015 / Notices FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chandu Patel, Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–3025; email: Chandu.Patel@ nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES I. Introduction The NRC is granting an exemption from Paragraph B of Section III, ‘‘Scope and Contents,’’ of appendix D, ‘‘Design Certification Rule for the AP1000,’’ to part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) and issuing License Amendment No. 27 to COLs, NPF–91 and NPF–92, to the licensee. The exemption is required by Paragraph A.4 of Section VIII, ‘‘Processes for Changes and Departures,’’ appendix D to 10 CFR part 52 to allow the licensee to depart from Tier 1 information. With the requested amendment, the licensee sought: (a) Installation of an additional nonsafety-related battery; (b) Revision to the annex building internal configuration by converting a shift turnover room to a battery room, adding an additional battery equipment room, and moving a fire area wall; (c) Increase in the height of a room in the annex building; and (d) Increase in thicknesses of certain annex building floor slabs. In addition, the proposed changes also include reconfiguring existing rooms and related room, wall, and access path changes and making changes to the corresponding Tier 1 information in appendix C to the Combined Licenses. These changes were necessary as part of structural and layout design modifications to the annex building. Part of the justification for granting the exemption was provided by the review of the amendment. Because the exemption is necessary in order to issue the requested license amendment, the NRC granted the exemption and issued the amendment concurrently, rather than in sequence. This included issuing a combined safety evaluation containing the NRC staff’s review of both the exemption request and the license amendment. The exemption met all applicable regulatory criteria set forth in 10 CFR 50.12, 10 CFR 52.7, and Section VIII.A.4. of appendix D to 10 CFR part 52. The license amendment was found to be acceptable as well. The combined safety evaluation is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14323A649. Identical exemption documents (except for referenced unit numbers and license numbers) were issued to the licensee for VEGP Units 3 and 4 (COLs VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:32 Mar 30, 2015 Jkt 235001 NPF–91 and NPF–92). The exemption documents for VEGP Units 3 and 4 can be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML14323A623 and ML14323A629, respectively. The exemption is reproduced (with the exception of abbreviated titles and additional citations) in Section II of this document. The amendment documents for COLs NPF–91 and NPF–92 are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML14323A635 and ML14323A640, respectively. A summary of the amendment documents is provided in Section III of this document. II. Exemption Reproduced below is the exemption document issued to Vogtle Units 3 and Unit 4. It makes reference to the combined safety evaluation that provides the reasoning for the findings made by the NRC (and listed under Item 1) in order to grant the exemption: 1. In a letter dated August 22, 2014, and revised by letter dated September 23, 2014, and supplemented by letters dated October 30 and November 6, 2014, the licensee requested from the Commission an exemption from the provisions of 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, Section III.B, as part of license amendment request 13–038, ‘‘Annex Building Structure and Layout Changes’’ (LAR–13–038). For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1, ‘‘Evaluation of Exemption,’’ of the NRC staff’s Safety Evaluation, which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14323A649, the Commission finds that: A. The exemption is authorized by law; B. the exemption presents no undue risk to public health and safety; C. the exemption is consistent with the common defense and security; D. special circumstances are present in that the application of the rule in this circumstance is not necessary to serve the underlying purpose of the rule; E. the special circumstances outweigh any decrease in safety that may result from the reduction in standardization caused by the exemption; and F. the exemption will not result in a significant decrease in the level of safety otherwise provided by the design. 2. Accordingly, the licensee is granted an exemption to the provisions of 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, Section III.B, to allow departures from the certified Design Control Document Tier 1, Table 3.3–1, ‘‘Definition of Wall Thickness for Nuclear Island Buildings, Turbine Building, and Annex Building,’’ and Figure 3.3–11A, ‘‘Annex Building Plan View at Elevation 100′-0″ (sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 (SUNSI)). The proposed changes include non-system based design descriptions and other detailed information related to these design descriptions and associated ITAAC, such changes to concrete floor thicknesses, annex building wall location descriptions, and the interior configuration of the annex building as described in the licensee’s request dated August 22, 2014, and revised by letter dated September 23, 2014, and supplemented by letters dated October 30 and November 6, 2014. This exemption is related to, and necessary for the granting of License Amendment No. 27, which is being issued concurrently with this exemption. 3. As explained in Section 3.1, ‘‘Evaluation of Exemption,’’ of the NRC staff’s Safety Evaluation (ADAMS Accession No. ML14323A649), this exemption meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment needs to be prepared in connection with the issuance of the exemption. 4. This exemption is effective as of December 23, 2014. III. License Amendment Request By letter dated August 22, 2014, and revised by letter dated September 23, 2014, and supplemented by letters dated October 30 and November 6, 2014, the licensee requested that the NRC amend the COLs for VEGP, Units 3 and 4, COLs NPF–91 and NPF–92. The proposed amendment would depart from Tier 2 material previously incorporated into the Updated Final Safety Evaluation Report (UFSAR). Additionally, these Tier 2 changes involve changes to Tier 1 Information in the UFSAR, and the proposed amendment would also revise the associated material that has been included in Appendix C of each of the VEGP, Units 3 and 4 COLs. The requested amendment would revise the Tier 2 UFSAR information by revising UFSAR to (1) install an additional nonsafety-related battery; (2) revise the annex building internal configuration; (3) increase the height of Containment Filtration Room A (Room 40551) by 4 feet from elevation (EL.) 146′-3″ to 150′-3″; and (4) increase concrete thicknesses from 6 inches to 8 inches in a number of floor slabs. Additionally, the licensee proposed consistency and editorial changes to Tier 1 Table 3.3–1, as well as the corresponding information in Appendix C. These changes were necessary as part of a design modification to the structure and layout of the annex building. E:\FR\FM\31MRN1.SGM 31MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 61 / Tuesday, March 31, 2015 / Notices The Commission has determined for these amendments that the application complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission’s rules and regulations. The Commission has made appropriate findings as required by the Act and the Commission’s rules and regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I, which are set forth in the license amendment. A notice of consideration of issuance of amendment to facility operating license or combined license, as applicable, proposed no significant hazards consideration determination, and opportunity for a hearing in connection with these actions, was published in the Federal Register on October 14, 2014 (79 FR 61662). The September 23, 2014, application revision, and the October 30 and November 6, 2014, supplements had no effect on the no significant hazards consideration determination, and no comments were received during the 60day comment period. The Commission has determined that these amendments satisfy the criteria for categorical exclusion in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22. Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared for these amendments. IV. Conclusion Using the reasons set forth in the combined safety evaluation, the staff granted the exemption and issued the amendment that the licensee requested on August 22, 2014, and revised by letter dated September 23, 2014, and supplemented by letters dated October 30 and November 6, 2014. The exemption and amendment were issued on December 23, 2014 as part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession No. ML14323A609). asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of March 2015. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Lawrence Burkhart, Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors. [FR Doc. 2015–07277 Filed 3–30–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:32 Mar 30, 2015 Jkt 235001 17083 [NRC–2015–0073] Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses Involving No Significant Hazards Considerations Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555– 0001; telephone: 301–415–1506, email: Kay.Goldstein@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Biweekly notice. AGENCY: Pursuant to Section 189a. (2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing this regular biweekly notice. The Act requires the Commission to 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 March 5, 2015 to March 18, 2015. The last biweekly notice was published on March 17, 2015. DATES: Comments must be filed by April 30, 2015. A request for a hearing must be filed by June 1, 2015. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods (unless this document describes a different method for submitting comments on a specific subject): • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2015–0073. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN–12–H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see ‘‘Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kay Goldstein, Office of Nuclear Reactor SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 A. Obtaining Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2015– 0073 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this action by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2015–0073. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 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. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. • 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–2015– 0073, facility name, unit number(s), application date, and subject in your comment submission. The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC posts all comment submissions at https:// www.regulations.gov as well as entering 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 E:\FR\FM\31MRN1.SGM 31MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 61 (Tuesday, March 31, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17081-17083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07277]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 52-025 and 52-026; NRC-2015-0074]


Vogtle Electric Generating Station, Units 3 and 4; Southern 
Nuclear Operating Company; Annex Building Structure and Layout Changes

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption and combined license amendment issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is granting an 
exemption to allow a departure from the certification information of 
Tier 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and is issuing 
License Amendment No. 27 to Combined Licenses (COL), NPF-91 and NPF-92. 
The COLs were issued to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., and 
Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electric 
Authority of Georgia, and the City of Dalton, Georgia (the licensee); 
for construction and operation of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant 
(VEGP), Units 3 and 4, located in Burke County, Georgia.
    The granting of the exemption allows the changes to Tier 1 
information requested in the amendment. Because the acceptability of 
the exemption was determined in part by the acceptability of the 
amendment, the exemption and amendment are being issued concurrently.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0074 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0074. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/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. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it available in 
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The 
request for the amendment and exemption were submitted by letter dated 
August 22, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14234A423). The licensee revised 
this request by letter dated September 23, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14266A656), and supplemented the request by letters dated October 30 
and November 6, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML14303A660 and ML14310A831, 
respectively).
     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.

[[Page 17082]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chandu Patel, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-415-3025; email: Chandu.Patel@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is granting an exemption from Paragraph B of Section III, 
``Scope and Contents,'' of appendix D, ``Design Certification Rule for 
the AP1000,'' to part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR) and issuing License Amendment No. 27 to COLs, NPF-91 and NPF-
92, to the licensee. The exemption is required by Paragraph A.4 of 
Section VIII, ``Processes for Changes and Departures,'' appendix D to 
10 CFR part 52 to allow the licensee to depart from Tier 1 information. 
With the requested amendment, the licensee sought:
    (a) Installation of an additional non-safety-related battery;
    (b) Revision to the annex building internal configuration by 
converting a shift turnover room to a battery room, adding an 
additional battery equipment room, and moving a fire area wall;
    (c) Increase in the height of a room in the annex building; and
    (d) Increase in thicknesses of certain annex building floor slabs.
    In addition, the proposed changes also include reconfiguring 
existing rooms and related room, wall, and access path changes and 
making changes to the corresponding Tier 1 information in appendix C to 
the Combined Licenses.
    These changes were necessary as part of structural and layout 
design modifications to the annex building.
    Part of the justification for granting the exemption was provided 
by the review of the amendment. Because the exemption is necessary in 
order to issue the requested license amendment, the NRC granted the 
exemption and issued the amendment concurrently, rather than in 
sequence. This included issuing a combined safety evaluation containing 
the NRC staff's review of both the exemption request and the license 
amendment. The exemption met all applicable regulatory criteria set 
forth in 10 CFR 50.12, 10 CFR 52.7, and Section VIII.A.4. of appendix D 
to 10 CFR part 52. The license amendment was found to be acceptable as 
well. The combined safety evaluation is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML14323A649.
    Identical exemption documents (except for referenced unit numbers 
and license numbers) were issued to the licensee for VEGP Units 3 and 4 
(COLs NPF-91 and NPF-92). The exemption documents for VEGP Units 3 and 
4 can be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML14323A623 and 
ML14323A629, respectively. The exemption is reproduced (with the 
exception of abbreviated titles and additional citations) in Section II 
of this document. The amendment documents for COLs NPF-91 and NPF-92 
are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML14323A635 and 
ML14323A640, respectively. A summary of the amendment documents is 
provided in Section III of this document.

II. Exemption

    Reproduced below is the exemption document issued to Vogtle Units 3 
and Unit 4. It makes reference to the combined safety evaluation that 
provides the reasoning for the findings made by the NRC (and listed 
under Item 1) in order to grant the exemption:
    1. In a letter dated August 22, 2014, and revised by letter dated 
September 23, 2014, and supplemented by letters dated October 30 and 
November 6, 2014, the licensee requested from the Commission an 
exemption from the provisions of 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, Section 
III.B, as part of license amendment request 13-038, ``Annex Building 
Structure and Layout Changes'' (LAR-13-038).
    For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1, ``Evaluation of 
Exemption,'' of the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation, which can be found 
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14323A649, the Commission finds that:
    A. The exemption is authorized by law;
    B. the exemption presents no undue risk to public health and 
safety;
    C. the exemption is consistent with the common defense and 
security;
    D. special circumstances are present in that the application of the 
rule in this circumstance is not necessary to serve the underlying 
purpose of the rule;
    E. the special circumstances outweigh any decrease in safety that 
may result from the reduction in standardization caused by the 
exemption; and
    F. the exemption will not result in a significant decrease in the 
level of safety otherwise provided by the design.
    2. Accordingly, the licensee is granted an exemption to the 
provisions of 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, Section III.B, to allow 
departures from the certified Design Control Document Tier 1, Table 
3.3-1, ``Definition of Wall Thickness for Nuclear Island Buildings, 
Turbine Building, and Annex Building,'' and Figure 3.3-11A, ``Annex 
Building Plan View at Elevation 100'-0'' (sensitive unclassified non-
safeguards information (SUNSI)). The proposed changes include non-
system based design descriptions and other detailed information related 
to these design descriptions and associated ITAAC, such changes to 
concrete floor thicknesses, annex building wall location descriptions, 
and the interior configuration of the annex building as described in 
the licensee's request dated August 22, 2014, and revised by letter 
dated September 23, 2014, and supplemented by letters dated October 30 
and November 6, 2014. This exemption is related to, and necessary for 
the granting of License Amendment No. 27, which is being issued 
concurrently with this exemption.
    3. As explained in Section 3.1, ``Evaluation of Exemption,'' of the 
NRC staff's Safety Evaluation (ADAMS Accession No. ML14323A649), this 
exemption meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set 
forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no 
environmental impact statement or environmental assessment needs to be 
prepared in connection with the issuance of the exemption.
    4. This exemption is effective as of December 23, 2014.

III. License Amendment Request

    By letter dated August 22, 2014, and revised by letter dated 
September 23, 2014, and supplemented by letters dated October 30 and 
November 6, 2014, the licensee requested that the NRC amend the COLs 
for VEGP, Units 3 and 4, COLs NPF-91 and NPF-92. The proposed amendment 
would depart from Tier 2 material previously incorporated into the 
Updated Final Safety Evaluation Report (UFSAR). Additionally, these 
Tier 2 changes involve changes to Tier 1 Information in the UFSAR, and 
the proposed amendment would also revise the associated material that 
has been included in Appendix C of each of the VEGP, Units 3 and 4 
COLs. The requested amendment would revise the Tier 2 UFSAR information 
by revising UFSAR to (1) install an additional non-safety-related 
battery; (2) revise the annex building internal configuration; (3) 
increase the height of Containment Filtration Room A (Room 40551) by 4 
feet from elevation (EL.) 146'-3'' to 150'-3''; and (4) increase 
concrete thicknesses from 6 inches to 8 inches in a number of floor 
slabs.
    Additionally, the licensee proposed consistency and editorial 
changes to Tier 1 Table 3.3-1, as well as the corresponding information 
in Appendix C. These changes were necessary as part of a design 
modification to the structure and layout of the annex building.

[[Page 17083]]

    The Commission has determined for these amendments that the 
application complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules 
and regulations. The Commission has made appropriate findings as 
required by the Act and the Commission's rules and regulations in 10 
CFR Chapter I, which are set forth in the license amendment.
    A notice of consideration of issuance of amendment to facility 
operating license or combined license, as applicable, proposed no 
significant hazards consideration determination, and opportunity for a 
hearing in connection with these actions, was published in the Federal 
Register on October 14, 2014 (79 FR 61662). The September 23, 2014, 
application revision, and the October 30 and November 6, 2014, 
supplements had no effect on the no significant hazards consideration 
determination, and no comments were received during the 60-day comment 
period.
    The Commission has determined that these amendments satisfy the 
criteria for categorical exclusion in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22. 
Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact 
statement or environmental assessment need be prepared for these 
amendments.

IV. Conclusion

    Using the reasons set forth in the combined safety evaluation, the 
staff granted the exemption and issued the amendment that the licensee 
requested on August 22, 2014, and revised by letter dated September 23, 
2014, and supplemented by letters dated October 30 and November 6, 
2014. The exemption and amendment were issued on December 23, 2014 as 
part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14323A609).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of March 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Lawrence Burkhart,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of 
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2015-07277 Filed 3-30-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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