Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4, 4722-4726 [2020-01267]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 17 (Monday, January 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4722-4726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01267]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 052-00025 and 052-00026; NRC-2008-0252]


Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License amendment application; opportunity to comment, request 
a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of an amendment to Combined Licenses (NPF-91 and NPF-92), 
issued to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC), and Georgia 
Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, MEAG Power SPVM, LLC, MEAG 
Power SPVJ, LLC, MEAG Power SPVP, LLC, Authority of Georgia, and the 
City of Dalton, Georgia (collectively, SNC), for construction and 
operation of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP), Units 3 and 
4, located in Burke County, Georgia.

DATES: Submit comments by February 26, 2020. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the 
Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received 
before this date. A request for a hearing or petition for leave to

[[Page 4723]]

intervene must be filed by March 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by 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 docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    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: Donald Habib, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-000; telephone: 301-415-1035; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0252 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0252.
     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 ``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 request for license amendment, 
dated December 13, 2019, is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML19347C046.
     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-2008-0252 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 submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Introduction

    The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to facility 
Operating License Nos. NPF-91 and NPF-92, issued to SNC for operation 
of the VEGP Units 3 and 4, located in Burke County, Georgia.
    The proposed changes would revise the normal thermal loads for the 
passive containment cooling system tank; revise the accident thermal 
loads for the exterior walls below grade and basemat in the auxiliary 
building; and update the critical section tables for the auxiliary 
building basemat, concrete walls, and floors, the shield building roof, 
and the spent fuel pool west wall in the Updated Final Safety Analysis 
Report.
    Before any issuance of the proposed license amendment, the NRC will 
need to make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended (the Act), and NRC's regulations.
    The NRC has made a proposed determination that the license 
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under 
the NRC's regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation of the 
facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) 
involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an 
accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new 
or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; 
or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. As 
required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of 
the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented 
below:
    1. Does the proposed amendment involve a significant increase in 
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    The design functions of the nuclear island structures are to 
provide support, protection, and separation for the seismic Category 1 
mechanical and electrical equipment located in the nuclear island. The 
nuclear island structures are structurally designed to meet seismic 
Category 1 requirements as defined in Regulatory Guide 1.29.
    The proposed changes to revise the normal thermal loads for the 
[passive containment cooling system (PCS)] tank; revise the accident 
thermal loads for the exterior walls below grade and basemat in the 
auxiliary building; and update the critical section tables for the 
auxiliary building basemat, concrete walls, and floors, the shield 
building roof, and the [spent fuel pool (SPF)] west wall do not have an 
adverse impact on the response of the nuclear island structures to safe 
shutdown earthquake ground motions or loads to anticipated or 
postulated accident conditions. The proposed changes do not adversely 
affect the design function of any [structures, systems, and components 
(SSCs)] contained within the nuclear island. This change does not 
involve any accident initiating components or events, thus leaving the 
probabilities of an accident unaltered. The changes do not impact the 
support, design, or operation of mechanical and fluid systems. There is 
no change to plant systems or the response of systems to postulated 
accident conditions. There is no change to the predicted radioactive 
releases due to normal operation or postulated accident conditions. The 
plant response to previously evaluated accidents or external events is 
not adversely affected, nor do the proposed changes create any new 
accident precursors.
    Therefore, the proposed amendment does not involve a significant 
increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously 
evaluated.
    2. Does the proposed amendment create the possibility of a new or 
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
    Response: No.
    The proposed changes to revise the normal thermal loads for the PCS 
tank; revise the accident thermal loads for the exterior walls below 
grade and basemat in the auxiliary building; and update the critical 
section tables for the auxiliary building basemat, concrete walls, and

[[Page 4724]]

floors, the shield building roof, and the SPF west wall do not change 
the design requirements of the nuclear island structures. The proposed 
changes do not adversely affect the design function of any SSC 
contained within the nuclear island, or any other SSC design functions 
or methods of operation in a manner that results in a new failure mode, 
malfunction, or sequence of events that affect safety-related or non-
safety-related equipment. The proposed changes do not change the 
design, function, support, or operation of mechanical and fluid 
systems.
    Therefore, the proposed amendment does not create the possibility 
of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously 
evaluated.
    3. Does the proposed amendment involve a significant reduction in a 
margin of safety?
    Response: No.
    The proposed changes to revise the normal thermal loads for the PCS 
tank; revise the accident thermal loads for the exterior walls below 
grade and basemat in the auxiliary building; and update the critical 
section tables for the auxiliary building basemat, concrete walls, and 
floors, the shield building roof, and the SPF west wall do not alter 
any safety-related equipment, applicable design codes, code compliance, 
design function, or safety analysis. These changes maintain conformance 
to American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) N690 and American 
Concrete Institute (ACI) 349-01. The criteria and requirements of AISC 
N690 and ACI 349-01 provide a margin of safety to structural failure. 
The design of the nuclear island SSCs conform to criteria and 
requirements in AISC N690 and ACI 349-01 and therefore, maintains the 
margin of safety. The change does not alter any design function, design 
analysis, or safety analysis input or result, and sufficient margin 
exists to justify departure. Consequently, no safety analysis or design 
basis acceptance limit/criterion is challenged or exceeded by the 
proposed change, thus the margin of safety is not reduced.
    Therefore, the proposed amendment does not involve a significant 
reduction in a margin of safety.
    The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on 
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are 
satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the 
license amendment request involves no significant hazards 
consideration.
    The NRC is seeking public comments on this proposed determination 
that the license amendment request involves no significant hazards 
consideration. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice will be considered in making any final 
determination.
    Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the 
expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The 
Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60-
day notice period if the Commission concludes the amendment involves no 
significant hazards consideration. In addition, the Commission may 
issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30-day comment 
period should circumstances change during the 30-day comment period 
such that failure to act in a timely way would result, for example, in 
derating or shutdown of the facility. Should the Commission take action 
prior to the expiration of either the comment period or the notice 
period, the Commission will publish a notice of issuance in the Federal 
Register. Should the Commission make a final no significant hazards 
consideration determination, any hearing will take place after 
issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will 
occur very infrequently.

III. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To 
Intervene

    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any 
persons (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may 
file a request for a hearing and a petition to intervene (petition) 
with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in accordance with 
the Commission's ``Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure'' in 10 CFR 
part 2. Interested persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 
2.309, which is available at the NRC's PDR, located at One White Flint 
North, Room O1-F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland 20852. The NRC's regulations are accessible electronically 
from the NRC Library on the NRC's website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. If a petition is filed within 60 days, 
the Commission or a presiding officer designated by the Commission or 
by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing 
Board Panel, will rule on the petition; and the Secretary or the Chief 
Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel 
will issue a notice of a hearing or an appropriate order.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition shall set forth with 
particularity the interest of the petitioner in the proceeding, and how 
that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding. The 
petition should specifically explain the reasons why intervention 
should be permitted with particular reference to the following general 
requirements: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the 
petitioner; (2) the nature of the petitioner's right to be made a party 
to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the petitioner's 
property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the 
possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the 
proceeding on the petitioner's interest. The petition must also set 
forth the specific contentions which the petitioner seeks to have 
litigated at the proceeding.
    Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 
petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the bases for the 
contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert 
opinion which support the contention and on which the petitioner 
intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. The 
petitioner must also provide references to those specific sources and 
documents of which the petitioner is aware and on which the petitioner 
intends to rely to establish those facts or expert opinion to support 
its position on the issue. The petition must include sufficient 
information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on 
a material issue of law or fact. Contentions shall be limited to 
matters within the scope of the proceeding. The contention must be one 
which, if proven, would entitle the petitioner to relief. A petitioner 
who fails to satisfy these requirements with respect to at least one 
contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
    Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, 
and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the 
hearing with respect to resolution of that person's admitted 
contentions consistent with the NRC's regulations, policies, and 
procedures.
    Petitions for leave to intervene must be filed no later than 60 
days from the date of publication of this notice. Requests for hearing, 
petitions for leave to intervene, and motions for leave to file new or 
amended contentions that are filed after the 60-day deadline will not 
be entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer that the 
filing demonstrates good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 
CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii).

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    If a hearing is requested, and the Commission has not made a final 
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration, the 
Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no 
significant hazards consideration. The final determination will serve 
to decide when the hearing is held. If the final determination is that 
the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration, 
the Commission may issue the amendment and make it immediately 
effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing held 
would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the final 
determination is that the amendment request involves a significant 
hazards consideration, then any hearing held would take place before 
the issuance of any amendment unless the Commission finds an imminent 
danger to the health or safety of the public, in which case it will 
issue an appropriate order or rule under 10 CFR part 2.
    A State, local governmental body, Federally-recognized Indian 
Tribe, or agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to 
participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(1).
    The petition should state the nature and extent of the petitioner's 
interest in the proceeding. The petition should be submitted to the 
Commission by March 27, 2020. The petition must be filed in accordance 
with the filing instructions in the ``Electronic Submissions (E-
Filing)'' section of this document, and should meet the requirements 
for petitions set forth in this section, except that under 10 CFR 
2.309(h)(2) a State, local governmental body, or Federally-recognized 
Indian Tribe, or agency thereof does not need to address the standing 
requirements in 10 CFR 2.309(d) if the facility is located within its 
boundaries. A State, local governmental body, Federally-recognized 
Indian Tribe, or agency thereof may also have the opportunity to 
participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
    If a hearing is granted, any person who does not wish, or is not 
qualified, to become a party to the proceeding may, in the discretion 
of the presiding officer, be permitted to make a limited appearance 
pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.315(a). A person making a 
limited appearance may make an oral or written statement of position on 
the issues, but may not otherwise participate in the proceeding. A 
limited appearance may be made at any session of the hearing or at any 
prehearing conference, subject to the limits and conditions as may be 
imposed by the presiding officer. Details regarding the opportunity to 
make a limited appearance will be provided by the presiding officer if 
such sessions are scheduled.

IV. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene (petition), any 
motion or other document filed in the proceeding prior to the 
submission of a request for hearing or petition to intervene, and 
documents filed by interested governmental entities participating under 
10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with the NRC's E-Filing 
rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended at 77 FR 46562, August 
3, 2012). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and 
serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some cases to 
mail copies on electronic storage media. Detailed guidance on making 
electronic submissions may be found in the Guidance for Electronic 
Submissions to the NRC and on the NRC website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may not submit paper copies 
of their filings unless they seek an exemption in accordance with the 
procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to request (1) a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition (even 
in instances in which the participant, or its counsel or 
representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). 
Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish an electronic 
docket for the hearing in this proceeding if the Secretary has not 
already established an electronic docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. Once a participant has obtained a 
digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the participant 
can then submit a petition. Submissions should be in Portable Document 
Format (PDF). Additional guidance on PDF submissions is available on 
the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the 
documents are submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system 
no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of 
a transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an email notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
E-Filing system also distributes an email notice that provides access 
to the document to the NRC's Office of the General Counsel and any 
others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to 
participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the 
documents on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing petition to 
intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document via 
the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 7 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government 
holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a document in this manner are 
responsible for serving the document on all other participants. Filing 
is considered complete by first-class mail as of the time of deposit in 
the mail, or by courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service 
upon depositing the document with the

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provider of the service. A presiding officer, having granted an 
exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a participant or 
party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer subsequently determines 
that the reason for granting the exemption from use of E-Filing no 
longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission, or the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued 
digital ID certificate as described above, click ``cancel'' when the 
link requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to 
the NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to access 
any publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. 
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information, 
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or home phone numbers 
in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law requires 
submission of such information. For example, in some instances, 
individuals provide home addresses in order to demonstrate proximity to 
a facility or site. With respect to copyrighted works, except for 
limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and 
would constitute a Fair Use application, participants are requested not 
to include copyrighted materials in their submission.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for license amendment dated December 13, 2019 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML19347C046).
    Attorney for licensee: Mr. M. Stanford Blanton, Balch & Bingham 
LLP, 1710 Sixth Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203-2015.
    NRC Branch Chief: Victor E. Hall.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of January 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor E. Hall,
 Chief, Vogtle Project Office, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020-01267 Filed 1-24-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P