2019-00391. Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.; Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 3 and 4, Passive Core Cooling System (PXS) Gutter Drain Line Vents

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. 149 and 148 to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-91 and NPF-92. The COLs were issued to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., 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) Units 3 and 4, located in Burke County, Georgia.

The granting of the exemption allows the changes to Tier 1 information asked for 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 December 18, 2018.

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 http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0252. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Krupskaya Castellon; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. 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 access publicly available documents online in the NRC Library at http://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 [e-mail]. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The request for the amendment and exemption was submitted by letter dated August 27, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18239A375).
• 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: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

The NRC is granting exemptions 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. 149 and 148 to COLs, NPF-91 and NPF-92, to SNC. 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 SNC to depart from Tier 1 information. With the requested amendment, SNC requires changes to the UFSAR in the form of departures from the incorporated plant-specific DCD Tier 2 information and related changes to the VEGP Units 3 and 4 COL and COL Appendix C (and corresponding plant-specific DCD Tier 1) information. Specifically, the requested amendment revises the COL and licensing basis documents to add vent lines to the piping between the passive core cooling system (PXS) collection boxes and in-containment refueling water storage tank (IRWST) to remove entrained air and improve the drain line flow rates.

Part of the justification for granting the exemptions was provided by the review of the amendments. Because the exemption is necessary in order to issue the requested license amendment, the NRC granted the exemptions and issued the amendments 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 exemptions met all applicable regulatory criteria set forth in sections 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. ML18341A086.

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. ML18341A080 and ML18341A081, 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. ML18341A082 and ML18341A084, 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 27, 2018, SNC requested from the Commission an exemption from the provisions of 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, section III.B, as part of license amendment request (LAR) 18-022, “Passive Core Cooling System (PXS) Gutter Drain Line Vents.”

For the reasons set forth in Section 3.1, “Evaluation of Exemption,” of the NRC staff's safety evaluation, which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18341A086, 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, SNC is granted an exemption from the certified DCD Tier 1 information, with corresponding changes to Appendix C of the Facility Combined License, as described in the licensee's request dated August 27, 2018. This exemption is related to, and necessary for the granting of License Amendment Nos. 149 [(Unit 3) and 148 (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. ML18341A086), 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 27, 2018, SNC requested that the NRC amend the COLs for VEGP, Units 3 and 4, COL Nos. 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 combined license, as applicable, proposed no significant hazards consideration determination, and opportunity for a hearing in connection with these actions, was published in the Federal Register on October 9, 2018 (83 FR 50691). 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 August 27, 2018. The exemptions and amendments were issued on December 18, 2018, as part of a combined package to SNC (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML18341A078).

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of January 2019.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity,

Chief, Licensing Branch 2, Division of Licensing, Siting, and Environmental Analysis, Office of New Reactors.