Southern Nuclear Operating Company Inc., Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Unit 4, 58540-58543 [2022-20847]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58540-58543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20847]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-026; NRC-2008-0252]


Southern Nuclear Operating Company Inc., Vogtle Electric 
Generating Plant Unit 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 and exemption to Combined License (COL) 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, and the City of 
Dalton, Georgia (collectively, SNC), for construction and operation of 
the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP), Unit 4, located in Burke 
County, Georgia.

DATES: Submit comments by October 27, 2022. 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 
intervene must be filed by November 28, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website:
     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.
     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: William ``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. 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)

[[Page 58541]]

reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to 
[email protected]. The application for amendment, dated September 2, 
2022 is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML22245A122.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). 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 will post all comment submissions at 
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter 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 No. NPF-92, issued to SNC for operation of the VEGP 
Unit 4, located in Burke County, Georgia.
    The proposed changes to the COL Appendix C (and plant-specific Tier 
1) would, if approved, a) remove certain Inspection, Test, Analysis, 
and Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC) for which the closure activities 
duplicate activities needed to close other ITAAC, and b) consolidate a 
number of ITAAC to improve efficiency of the ITAAC completion and 
closure process.
    Specifically, in the first category, for VEGP Unit 4 ITAAC said to 
be duplicative of other existing electrical ITAAC, SNC proposed those 
duplicative ITAAC to be deleted. ITAAC Nos. 26 (2.1.02.07b), 83 
(2.1.03.09b), 103 (2.2.01.06b), 172 (2.2.03.07b), 233 (2.2.04.07b), 263 
(2.2.05.06a), 296 (2.3.02.06b), 368 (2.3.06.07b), 399 (2.3.07.06a), 467 
(2.3.13.06b), 527 (2.5.02.05a), 582 (2.6.01.03a), 687 (2.7.01.06a) and 
878 (2.3.10.11a), are proposed to be deleted. For the second category, 
changes are proposed to consolidate multiple ITAAC into larger ITAAC to 
increase the efficiency in the ITAAC closure process. This 
consolidation is proposed for the VEGP Unit 4 ITAAC Nos. 789 
(3.3.00.07aa), 792 (3.3.00.07ba), 803 (3.3.00.07d.iii.a), 806 
(3.3.00.07d.iv.a), and 809 (3.3.00.07d.v.a) into existing ITAAC No. 800 
(3.3.00.07d.ii.a); ITAAC Nos. 790 (3.3.00.07ab), 793 (3.3.00.07bb), 804 
(3.3.00.07d.iii.b), 807 (3.3.00.07d.iv.b), and 810 (3.3.00.07d.v.b) 
into existing ITAAC No. 801 (3.3.00.07d.ii.b); and ITAAC Nos. 791 
(3.3.00.07ac), 794 (3.3.00.07bc), 805 (3.3.00.07d.iii.c), 808 
(3.3.00.07d.iv.c), and 811 (3.3.00.07d.v.c) into existing ITAAC No. 802 
(3.3.00.07d.ii.c).
    Pursuant to paragraph 52.103(g) of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), all ITAAC must be completed prior to the 
authorization to load the initial core into the reactor.
    Because these proposed changes require a departure from Tier 1 
information in the Westinghouse AP1000 design control document, the 
licensee also requested an exemption from the requirements of the 
generic design control document Tier 1 in accordance with 10 CFR 
52.63(b)(1).
    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 proposed non-technical change to Combined License (COL) 
Appendix C will consolidate, relocate and subsume redundant ITAAC in 
order to improve and create a more efficient process for the ITAAC 
Closure Notification submittals. No structure, system, or component 
(SSC) design or function is affected. No design or safety analysis 
is affected. The proposed changes do not affect any accident 
initiating event or component failure, thus the probabilities of the 
accidents previously evaluated are not affected. No function used to 
mitigate a radioactive material release and no radioactive material 
release source term is involved, thus the radiological releases in 
the accident analyses are not affected.
    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 change to COL Appendix C does not affect the design 
or function of any SSC, but will consolidate, relocate and subsume 
redundant ITAAC in order to improve efficiency of the ITAAC 
completion and closure process. The proposed changes would not 
introduce a new failure mode, fault or sequence of events that could 
result in a radioactive material release.
    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 change to COL Appendix C to consolidate, relocate 
and subsume redundant ITAAC in order to improve efficiency of the 
ITAAC completion and closure process is considered non-technical and 
would not affect any design parameter, function or analysis. There 
would be no change to an existing design basis, design function, 
regulatory criterion, or analysis. No safety analysis or design 
basis acceptance limit/criterion is involved.
    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

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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. 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, the Commission or a presiding 
officer will rule on the petition and, if appropriate, a notice of a 
hearing will be issued.
    As required by 10 CFR 2.309(d), the petition should specifically 
explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with 
particular reference to the following general requirements for 
standing: (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.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f), the petition must also set 
forth the specific contentions which the petitioner seeks to have 
litigated in 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 must 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 the specific sources and 
documents on which the petitioner intends to rely to support its 
position on the issue. The petition must include sufficient information 
to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant or licensee on 
a material issue of law or fact. Contentions must 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 the requirements at 10 CFR 2.309(f) 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 must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of 
publication of this notice. Petitions and motions for leave to file new 
or amended contentions that are filed after the 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). The petition must be filed in 
accordance with the filing instructions in the ``Electronic Submissions 
(E-Filing)'' section of this document.
    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 no later 
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. 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. Alternatively, a State, local 
governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof 
may participate as a non-party under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
    If a hearing is granted, any person who is not a party to the 
proceeding and is not affiliated with or represented by a party may, at 
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 
his or her 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 
documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body, 
Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof that 
requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process requires

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participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the 
internet, or in some cases to mail copies on electronic storage media, 
unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing method, as further 
discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is 
located in the ``Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC'' 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056) and on the NRC's public website at 
https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
    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 (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or 
other adjudicatory document (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 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. After a digital ID certificate is 
obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit adjudicatory 
documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on 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 document is 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. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a 
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing 
system also distributes an email 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 document on those 
participants separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants 
(or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a 
digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are filed to 
obtain access to the documents 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 9:00 
a.m. and 7:00 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal 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 in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this manner 
are responsible for serving their documents on all other participants. 
Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still 
meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1), 
unless the participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10 
CFR 2.302(g)(1).
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued digital ID 
certificate as previously described, 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 personal phone 
numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law 
requires submission of such information. 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 should not include copyrighted materials in their 
submission.
    For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for license amendment dated September 2, 2022.
    Attorney for licensee: Mr. M. Stanford Blanton, Balch & Bingham 
LLP, 1710 Sixth Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203-2015.
    NRC Office Director: Victor E. Hall.

    Dated: September 21, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor E. Hall,
Director, Vogtle Project Office, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2022-20847 Filed 9-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P