Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Vogtle Electric Generating Station, Units 3 and 4; Addition of a Residual Heat Removal Suction Relief Valve for Low-Temperature Overpressure Protection, 5465-5467 [2018-02473]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 7, 2018 / Notices financial responsibility for health care benefits. 8. National Indian Gaming Commission, Division of Public Affairs (DAA–0600–2017–0012, 9 items, 2 temporary items). Non-senior level biographical files and speeches. Proposed for permanent retention are bulletins, press releases, senior official biographical files and speeches, and digital audiUS ovisual records documenting agency programs and activities. 9. Postal Regulatory Commission, Agency-wide (DAA–0458–2018–0001, 37 items, 11 temporary items). Staff records related to internal briefings, draft reports, and protective conditions. Proposed for permanent retention are records related to dockets, required reporting, high level officials, and Commission meetings and hearings. 10. United States International Trade Commission, Office of the General Counsel (DAA–0081–2017–0004, 11 items, 10 temporary items). Administrative or operational related legal memoranda, litigation case files, investigations and summaries of violations to Commission rules, trade policy support files, policy development and review files, and working files. Proposed for permanent retention are historically significant legal memoranda. Laurence Brewer, Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government. [FR Doc. 2018–02404 Filed 2–6–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7515–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes; Meeting Notice Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of meeting. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) on March 7– 8, 2018. A sample of agenda items to be discussed during the public session includes: (1) A discussion on medicalrelated events; (2) an update on the worldwide supply and domestic production of molybdenum-99; (3) a discussion on the resources needed to address the development of emerging medical technologies; and (4) a discussion of staff’s evaluation of the ACMUI’s recommendations related to medical event reporting under title 10 VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:17 Feb 06, 2018 Jkt 244001 Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 35.3045 and impact on safety culture at medical institutions. The agenda is subject to change. The current agenda and any updates will be available at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/acmui/meetings/2018.html or by emailing Ms. Sophie Holiday at the contact information below. Purpose: Discuss issues related to 10 CFR part 35 Medical Use of Byproduct Material. Date and Time for Open Sessions: March 7, 2018, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and March 8, 2018, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Address for Public Meeting: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Two White Flint North Building, Room T2– B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Public Participation: Any member of the public who wishes to participate in the meeting in person or via phone should contact Ms. Holiday using the information below. The meeting will also be webcast live at https:// video.nrc.gov/. Contact Information: Sophie Holiday, email: sophie.holiday@nrc.gov, telephone: (301) 415–7865. Conduct of the Meeting Philip O. Alderson, M.D. will chair the meeting. Dr. Alderson will conduct the meeting in a manner that will facilitate the orderly conduct of business. The following procedures apply to public participation in the meeting: 1. Persons who wish to provide a written statement should submit an electronic copy to Ms. Holiday using the contact information listed above. All submittals must be received by March 2, 2018, three business days before the meeting, and must pertain to the topics on the agenda for the meeting. 2. Questions and comments from members of the public will be permitted during the meeting, at the discretion of the Chairman. 3. The draft transcript and meeting summary will be available on ACMUI’s website https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ doc-collections/acmui/meetings/ 2018.html on or about April 19, 2018. 4. Persons who require special services, such as those for the hearing impaired, should notify Ms. Holiday of their planned attendance. This meeting will be held in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (primarily Section 161a); the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App); and the Commission’s regulations in 10 CFR part 7. PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 5465 Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 1st day of February, 2018. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Russell E. Chazell, Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. 2018–02375 Filed 2–6–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 52–025 and 52–026; NRC– 2008–0252] Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Vogtle Electric Generating Station, Units 3 and 4; Addition of a Residual Heat Removal Suction Relief Valve for Low-Temperature Overpressure Protection 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 Nos. 104 and 103 to Combined Licenses (COL), NPF–91 and NPF–92, respectively. The COLs were issued to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., and Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, MEAG Power SPVM, LLC, MEAG Power SPVJ, LLC, MEAG Power SPVP, LLC, 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 that is 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. SUMMARY: The exemptions and amendments were issued on December 20, 2017. ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2008–0252 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may access information related to this document, which the NRC possesses and is publicly available, using any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2008–0252. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol DATES: E:\FR\FM\07FEN1.SGM 07FEN1 5466 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 7, 2018 / Notices sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES 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 is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this document. The request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by letter dated July 14, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17195B047) and supplemented by letter dated October 3, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17276B537). • 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. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Kallan, Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–2809; email: Paul.Kallan@ 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 Nos. 104 and 103 to COLs, NPF–91 and NPF–92, respectively, to the licensee. The exemptions are 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 proposes to depart from Tier 2 information in the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (which includes the plant-specific DCD Tier 2 information) and involves related changes to plantspecific Tier 1 (and associated COL Appendix C) information, and COL Appendix A, Technical Specifications. Specifically, the requested amendment VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:17 Feb 06, 2018 Jkt 244001 proposes changes to add a second normal residual heat removal system (RNS) suction relief valve in parallel to the current RNS suction relief valve, with the necessary piping changes. Additionally, a change is proposed to Tier 1 Figure 2.2.1–1, for penetration P19, to accurately depict the orientation of the class break of containment isolation valve RNS–PL–V061. 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 amendments were found to be acceptable as well. The combined safety evaluation is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML17332A521. 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. ML17332A515 and ML17332A516, 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. ML17332A517 and ML17332A519, 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 July 14, 2017, and supplemented by letter dated October 3, 2017, the licensee requested from the Commission an exemption to allow departures from Tier 1 information in the certified DCD incorporated by reference 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, ‘‘Design Certification Rule for the AP1000 Design,’’ as part of license amendment request (LAR) 17–022, ‘‘Addition of a Residual Heat Removal PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Suction Relief Valve for LowTemperature Overpressure Protection.’’ For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1, of the NRC staff’s Safety Evaluation, which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML17332A521, 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 from the certified DCD Tier 1 information, with corresponding changes to Appendix C of the Facility Combined Licenses as described in the licensee’s request dated July 14, 2017, and supplemented by letter dated October 3, 2017. This exemption is related to, and necessary for, the granting of License Amendment Nos. 104 (Unit 3) and 103 (Unit 4), which is being issued concurrently with this exemption. 3. As explained in Section 5.0, ‘‘Environmental Consideration,’’ of the NRC staff’s Safety Evaluation (ADAMS Accession No. ML17332A521), these exemptions 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. These exemptions are effective as of the date of its issuance. III. License Amendment Request By letter dated July 14, 2017, and supplemented by letter dated October 3, 2017, the licensee requested that the NRC amend the COLs for VEGP, Units 3 and 4, COLs NPF–91 and NPF–92. The proposed amendment is described in Section I of this Federal Register notice. 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 E:\FR\FM\07FEN1.SGM 07FEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 7, 2018 / Notices 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 September 12, 2017 (82 FR 42844). No comments were received during the 30day 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 exemptions and issued the amendments that the licensee requested on July 14, 2017 and supplemented October 3, 2017. The exemptions and amendments were issued on December 20, 2017 as part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession No. ML17332A513). Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of February 2018. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity, Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New Reactors. [FR Doc. 2018–02473 Filed 2–6–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 52–025 and 52–026; NRC– 2008–0252] Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4; Shield Building Roof 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 elements of the certification information of Tier 1 of the generic AP1000 design control document (DCD) and is issuing License Amendment Nos. 106 and 105 to Combined Licenses (COL), NPF–91 and NPF–92, respectively. The COLs sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:17 Feb 06, 2018 Jkt 244001 were issued to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., and Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, MEAG Power SPVM, LLC, MEAG Power SPVJ, LLC, MEAG Power SPVP, LLC, and the City of Dalton, Georgia (collectively referred to as 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 asked for 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. DATES: The exemption and amendment were issued on January 11, 2018. ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2008–0252 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 website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2008–0252. 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 is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this document. The request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by letter dated November 30, 2016, (ADAMS Accession No. ML16335A453) and revised by letters dated June 16 and October 6, 2017, (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML17167A335 and ML17279B086, respectively) designated License Amendment Request (LAR) 16–031. • NRC’s PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 5467 White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William (Billy) Gleaves, Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001; telephone: 301–415–5848; email: Bill.Gleaves@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 Nos. 106 and 105 to COLs, NPF–91 and NPF–92, respectively, to the licensee. The exemption revises the plant-specific Tier 1 information and corresponding changes to COL Appendix C, and the amendment changes the plant-specific DCD Tier 2* and associated Tier 2 material incorporated into the VEGP Updated Final Safety Analysis Report, by revising the design details for the shield building roof, tension ring, and air inlets and removing tie rods. 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 proposed changes to plant-specific Tier 1 information and corresponding changes to COL Appendix C, plantspecific DCD Tier 2*, and associated Tier 2 material incorporated into the VEGP Updated Final Safety Analysis Report, by revising the design details for the shield building roof, tension ring, and air inlets and removing tie rods. 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. ML17332A154. 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. ML17332A152 and ML17332A153, 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. E:\FR\FM\07FEN1.SGM 07FEN1

Agencies

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5465-5467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02473]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 52-025 and 52-026; NRC-2008-0252]


Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Vogtle Electric 
Generating Station, Units 3 and 4; Addition of a Residual Heat Removal 
Suction Relief Valve for Low-Temperature Overpressure Protection

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 Nos. 104 and 103 to Combined Licenses (COL), NPF-91 
and NPF-92, respectively. The COLs were issued to Southern Nuclear 
Operating Company, Inc., and Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power 
Corporation, MEAG Power SPVM, LLC, MEAG Power SPVJ, LLC, MEAG Power 
SPVP, LLC, 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 that is 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.

DATES: The exemptions and amendments were issued on December 20, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0252 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access information related to this document, which the NRC 
possesses and is publicly available, using any of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0252. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol

[[Page 5466]]

Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-3463; email: [email protected]. 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 [email protected]. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this 
document. The request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by 
letter dated July 14, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17195B047) and 
supplemented by letter dated October 3, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17276B537).
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Kallan, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-415-2809; email: [email protected].

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 Nos. 104 and 103 to COLs, NPF-
91 and NPF-92, respectively, to the licensee. The exemptions are 
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 proposes to depart from Tier 2 information in the Updated 
Final Safety Analysis Report (which includes the plant-specific DCD 
Tier 2 information) and involves related changes to plant-specific Tier 
1 (and associated COL Appendix C) information, and COL Appendix A, 
Technical Specifications. Specifically, the requested amendment 
proposes changes to add a second normal residual heat removal system 
(RNS) suction relief valve in parallel to the current RNS suction 
relief valve, with the necessary piping changes. Additionally, a change 
is proposed to Tier 1 Figure 2.2.1-1, for penetration P19, to 
accurately depict the orientation of the class break of containment 
isolation valve RNS-PL-V061.
    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 amendments were found to be acceptable 
as well. The combined safety evaluation is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML17332A521.
    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. ML17332A515 and 
ML17332A516, 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. ML17332A517 and 
ML17332A519, 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 July 14, 2017, and supplemented by letter 
dated October 3, 2017, the licensee requested from the Commission an 
exemption to allow departures from Tier 1 information in the certified 
DCD incorporated by reference 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, ``Design 
Certification Rule for the AP1000 Design,'' as part of license 
amendment request (LAR) 17-022, ``Addition of a Residual Heat Removal 
Suction Relief Valve for Low-Temperature Overpressure Protection.''
    For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1, of the NRC staff's Safety 
Evaluation, which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML17332A521, 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 from the 
certified DCD Tier 1 information, with corresponding changes to 
Appendix C of the Facility Combined Licenses as described in the 
licensee's request dated July 14, 2017, and supplemented by letter 
dated October 3, 2017. This exemption is related to, and necessary for, 
the granting of License Amendment Nos. 104 (Unit 3) and 103 (Unit 4), 
which is being issued concurrently with this exemption.
    3. As explained in Section 5.0, ``Environmental Consideration,'' of 
the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation (ADAMS Accession No. ML17332A521), 
these exemptions 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. These exemptions are effective as of the date of its issuance.

III. License Amendment Request

    By letter dated July 14, 2017, and supplemented by letter dated 
October 3, 2017, the licensee requested that the NRC amend the COLs for 
VEGP, Units 3 and 4, COLs NPF-91 and NPF-92. The proposed amendment is 
described in Section I of this Federal Register notice.
    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

[[Page 5467]]

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 September 12, 2017 (82 FR 42844). No comments were received 
during the 30-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 exemptions and issued the amendments that the 
licensee requested on July 14, 2017 and supplemented October 3, 2017.
    The exemptions and amendments were issued on December 20, 2017 as 
part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17332A513).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of February 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity,
Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of 
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2018-02473 Filed 2-6-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

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