2020-02382. Southern Nuclear Operating Company: Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Exemption; issuance.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an exemption in response to a December 16, 2019, request from Southern Nuclear Operating Company to allow periodic updates of the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, Updated Final Safety Analysis Reports by August 31 of every even-numbered year and not to exceed 24-months between successive updates.

DATES:

The exemption was issued on January 30, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0043 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-2020-0043. Address questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. For technical questions, contact the individual(s) 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 [e-mail]. The “Request for Exemption from 10 CFR50.71(e)(4) Final Safety Analysis Report Update Schedule” is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ADAMS ML19350C266.
• 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:

John G. Lamb, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone], email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The text of the exemption is attached.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of February 2020.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John G. Lamb,

Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

Attachment—Exemption from UFSAR Schedule for HNP, Units 1 and 2

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket Nos. 50-321 and 50-366

Southern Nuclear Operating Company

Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2

Exemption

I. Background

Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC, the licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-57 and NPF-5, for the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant (HNP), Units 1 and 2, respectively. The licenses provide, among other things, that the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission now or hereafter in effect.

The HNP facility consists of two boiling-water reactors located at the licensee's site in Appling County, Georgia.

II. Request/Action

Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.71, “Maintenance of records, making of reports,” paragraph (e)(4) states, in part, that “Subsequent revisions [to the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR)] must be filed annually or 6 months after each refueling outage provided that the interval between successive updates [to the UFSAR] does not exceed 24 months.” By letter dated December 16, 2019 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML19350C266), SNC requested that the due date for submittal of HNP, Unit 1, and HNP, Unit 2, UFSARs be by August 31 of every even-numbered year, provided the interval between successive updates does not exceed 24 months.

III. Discussion

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50, including 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) when: (1) The exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health or safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security; and (2) when special circumstances are present. Under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), special circumstances include, among other things, when application of the specific regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve, or is not necessary to achieve, the underlying purpose of the rule.

A. The Exemption is Authorized by Law

In accordance with 10 CFR 50.12, the NRC may grant an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR part 50 if the exemption is authorized by law. The exemption requested in this instance is authorized by law, because no other prohibition of law exists to preclude the activities which would be authorized by the exemption. Additionally, even with the granting of the exemption, the underlying purpose of the regulation will continue to be served. The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) is to ensure that licensees periodically update their UFSARs to assure that the UFSARs remain up-to-date such that they accurately reflect the plant design and operation. The rule does not require that licensees review all of the information contained in the UFSAR for each periodic update. Rather, the intent of the rule is for licensees to update only those portions of the UFSAR that have been affected by licensee activities since the previous update. As required by 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4), UFSAR updates shall be submitted within 6 months after each refueling outage provided that the intervals between successive updates do not exceed 24 months. Submitting updates to the HNP, Units 1 and 2, UFSARs by August 31 of even-numbered years and not exceeding 24 months between successive updates continues to meet the intent of the regulation from the perspective of regulatory burden reduction and maintaining UFSAR information up-to-date. Therefore, this exemption request is authorized by law.

B. The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) is to ensure that licensees periodically update their UFSARs to assure that the UFSARs remain up-to-date such that they accurately reflect the plant design and operation. The NRC has determined by rule that an update frequency not exceeding 24 months between successive updates is acceptable for maintaining UFSAR content up-to-date. The requested exemption provides an equivalent level of protection to the existing requirements, because it ensures that updates to the HNP, Units 1 and 2, UFSARs are submitted with no greater than 24 months between successive updates. The requested exemption also meets the intent of the rule for regulatory burden reduction. Additionally, based on the nature of the requested exemption and the fact that updates will not exceed 24 months from the last submittal as described above, no new accident precursors are created by the exemption; therefore, neither the probability nor the consequences of postulated accidents are increased. In conclusion, the requested exemption does not result in any undue risk to the public health and safety.

C. The Exemption is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security

The requested exemption from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) would allow SNC to submit its periodic updates to the HNP, Units 1 and 2, UFSARs by August 31 of even-numbered years, and not to exceed 24 months from the last submittal. Neither the regulation nor the proposed exemption has any relation to security issues. Therefore, the common defense and security is not impacted by the exemption.

D. Special Circumstances

Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present whenever application of the regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. The rule change promulgated in August 1992 (57 FR 39358; August 31, 1992) was intended to provide a reduction in regulatory burden by providing licensees with the option to submit UFSAR updates once per refueling outage, not to exceed 24 months between successive updates, instead of annually. HNP is a two-unit plant, with different refueling outage schedules, and each unit has its own UFSAR. However, the Unit 1 UFSAR extensively references the Unit 2 UFSAR. Therefore, the Unit 1 UFSAR cannot stand alone and the two UFSARs effectively function as a common UFSAR, such that a single schedule for UFSAR updates is appropriate. Therefore, special circumstances exist under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) in that application of the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) in these particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule and is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule.

E. Environmental Considerations

With respect to its impact on the quality of the human environment, the NRC has determined that the issuance of the exemption discussed herein meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25). Under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), the granting of an exemption from the requirements of any regulation of 10 CFR chapter I (which includes 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4)) is an action that qualifies for a categorical exclusion.

The NRC staff's determination that all of the criteria for this categorical exclusion are met is as follows:

I. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i): There is no significant hazards consideration.

Staff Analysis: The criteria for determining whether an action involves a significant hazards consideration are found in 10 CFR 50.92. The proposed action involves only a schedule change regarding the submission of an update to the UFSAR. Therefore, there are no significant hazard considerations because granting the exemption 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.

II. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(ii): There is no significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite.

Staff Analysis: The proposed action involves only a schedule change, which is administrative in nature, and does not involve any changes in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite.

III. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iii): There is no significant increase in individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure.

Staff Analysis: Since the proposed action involves only a schedule change, which is administrative in nature, it does not contribute to any significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure.

IV. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iv): There is no significant construction impact.

Staff Analysis: Since the proposed action involves only a schedule change, which is administrative in nature, it does not involve any construction impact.

V. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(v): There is no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from radiological accidents.

Staff Analysis: The proposed action involves only a schedule change, which is administrative in nature and does not impact the potential for or consequences from accidents.

VI. 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi): The requirements from which the exemption is sought involve scheduling requirements and other requirements of an administrative, managerial, or organizational nature.

Staff Analysis: The proposed action involves scheduling requirements and other requirements of an administrative, managerial, or organizational nature because it is associated with the submittal schedule requirements contained in 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4), which stipulate that revisions to the UFSAR must be filed annually or 6 months after each refueling outage provided the interval between successive updates does not exceed 24 months.

Based on the above, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed exemption meets the eligibility criteria for the categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25). Therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the NRC's issuance of this exemption.

IV. Conclusions

Accordingly, the NRC has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security. Also, special circumstances, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present. Therefore, the NRC hereby grants SNC an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(4) to allow SNC to file its periodic updates to the HNP, Units 1 and 2, UFSAR by August 31 of even-numbered years, and not to exceed 24 months from the last submittal.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of January, 2020.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Craig G. Erlanger,

Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.