Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4; Issuance of Amendment and Exemption Changes to Tier 1 Information Regarding Invessel Components, 60658-60659 [2021-23942]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 210 (Wednesday, November 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60658-60659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23942]


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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; Issuance of Amendment and Exemption 
Changes to Tier 1 Information Regarding Invessel Components

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption and combined license amendment; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is granting an 
exemption to allow a departure from the Tier 1 certification 
information in the generic design control document (DCD) for the AP1000 
design certification and is issuing License Amendment Nos. 188 and 186 
to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-91 and NPF-92, respectively. The COLs 
were 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, and the City of 
Dalton, Georgia; for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP) Units 
3 and 4, located in Burke County, Georgia. SNC is the entity that is 
licensed to construct and operate VEGP Units 3 and 4. The granting of 
the exemption allows the departures from 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 October 15, 2021.

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 Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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 ``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 designated License Amendment Request (LAR) 
21-001 and submitted by letter dated August 24, 2021 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML21236A305).
     Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request 
to the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 
301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Billy Gleaves, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301 415-5848; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is issuing License Amendment Nos. 188 and 186 to COLs NPF-
91 and NPF-92, respectively, and is granting an exemption from Tier 1 
information in the plant-specific DCD for the AP1000. The AP1000 DCD is 
incorporated by reference in appendix D, ``Design Certification Rule 
for the AP1000,'' to part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR). The exemption, granted pursuant to paragraph A.4 
of section VIII, ``Processes for Changes and Departures,'' of 10 CFR 
part 52, appendix D, allows the licensee to depart from the Tier 1 
information. With the requested amendment, SNC sought proposed changes 
to requirements in the plant-specific Tier 1 information and COL 
appendix C that are associated with components that cannot be installed 
in their final operational location until fuel is loaded into the 
reactor. The license amendment as issued revises Inspections, Tests, 
Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC) Nos. 68 (2.1.03.01), 75 
(2.1.03.06.i), 515 (2.5.01.03e), 565 (2.5.05.02.i), and 570 
(2.5.05.03b) in COL appendix C and plant-specific design control 
document (PS-DCD) Tier 1 information to remove requirements regarding 
location-specific inspection of components where the requirements are 
intended to reflect the final installed location of the components, and 
certain components cannot be installed in their final location until 
after fuel load. Because ITAAC must be satisfied before fuel load, 
these ITAAC could not have been completed as written. As revised, the 
ITAAC can be completed, and the ITAAC combined with post-fuel load 
verifications still verify that the applicable design requirements are 
met. The changes to the ITAAC and to the PS-DCD Tier 1 information also 
clarify certain design terminology and eliminate duplication.\1\
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    \1\ The amendment as issued differs from the proposed license 
markups in the LAR in two respects: (1) The NRC made certain non-
substantive editorial changes to reflect the standard format of the 
license, and (2) the NRC applied a requested change for one ITAAC to 
a more limited set of components to be consistent with the 
justification provided in the LAR and the LAR's discussion of SNC's 
planned actions.
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    Part of the justification for granting the exemption was provided 
by the

[[Page 60659]]

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 
Sec. Sec.  50.12, 52.7, 52.63, 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. ML21237A240.
    Identical exemption documents (except for referenced unit numbers 
and license numbers) were issued to SNC 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. ML21237A238 and ML21237A239, 
respectively. The exemption is reproduced (with the exception of 
abbreviated titles and additional citations) in Section II of this 
document. The amendment documents for VEGP COLs NPF-91 and NPF-92 are 
available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML21237A234 and ML21237A236, 
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 VEGP 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 24, 2021, Southern Nuclear Operating 
Company (SNC) requested from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or 
Commission) an exemption to allow departures from Tier 1 information in 
the certified Design Control Document (DCD) incorporated by reference 
in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 52, 
appendix D, ``Design Certification Rule for the AP1000 Design,'' as 
part of license amendment request (LAR) 21-001, ``Clarification of 
ITAAC Regarding Invessel Components.''
    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. 
ML21237A240, 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 would not serve the underlying purpose of the 
rule or 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, SNC is granted an exemption from the certified 
AP1000 DCD Tier 1 information, with corresponding changes to Appendix C 
of the Facility Combined License, as described in the licensee's 
request dated August 24, 2021. This exemption is related to, and 
necessary for the granting of License Amendment No. 188 [and 186 for 
Unit 4] which is being issued concurrently with this exemption.
    3. As explained in Section 6.0 of the NRC staff's Safety Evaluation 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML21237A240), 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 the date of its issuance.

III. License Amendment Request

    By letter dated August 24, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21236A305), 
SNC 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 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 COL, 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 3, 2021 (86 FR 49572). 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 exemption and issued the amendment that SNC requested 
on October 15, 2021. The exemption and amendment were issued on October 
15, 2021, as part of a combined package to SNC (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML21237A205).

    Dated: October 28, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor E. Hall,
Chief, Vogtle Project Office, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-23942 Filed 11-2-21; 8:45 am]
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