[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 12517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6508]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-327 and 50-328]
Tennessee Valley Authority; Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2;
Exemption
I
Tennessee Valley Authority (the licensee) is the holder of Facility
Operating License Nos. DPR-77 and DPR-79, for the Sequoyah Nuclear
Plant (SQN), Units 1 and 2. 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.
This facility consists of two pressurized water reactors located in
Hamilton County, Tennessee.
II
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 (FSAR)] must be filed annually or 6 months after each
refueling outage provided the interval between successive updates [to
the FSAR] does not exceed 24 months.'' The two units at the SQN site
share a common FSAR; therefore, this rule requires the licensee to
update the same document annually or within 6 months after each unit's
refueling outage (approximately every 9 months).
III
Section 50.12(a) of 10 CFR, ``Specific exemptions,'' states that
The Commission may, upon application by any interested person or
upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of
the regulations of this part, which are--
(1) Authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the
public health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense
and security.
(2) The Commission will not consider granting an exemption
unless special circumstances are present.
Section 50.12(a)(2)(ii) of 10 CFR states that special circumstances
are present when ``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 licensee has proposed updating the unified SQN FSAR 6 months after
each Unit 2 refueling outage. With the current length of fuel cycles,
FSAR updates would be submitted approximately every 18 months, but not
to exceed 24 months from the last submittal. The underlying purpose of
the rule was to relieve licensees of the burden of filing annual FSAR
revisions while assuring that such revisions are made at least every 24
months. The Commission reduced the burden, in part, by permitting a
licensee to submit its FSAR revisions 6 months after refueling outages
for its facility, but did not provide for multiple unit facilities
sharing a common FSAR in the rule. Rather, the Commission stated that
``With respect to * * * multiple facilities sharing a common FSAR,
licensees will have maximum flexibility for scheduling updates on a
case-by-case basis'' 57 FR 39355 (1992).
The SQN units are on an 18-month fuel cycle. As noted in the
staff's Safety Evaluation, the licensee's proposed schedule for SQN
FSAR updates will ensure that the FSAR will be maintained current for
both units within 24 months of the last revision. Likewise, should the
licensee choose to submit the 10 CFR 50.59 design-change report
together with the FSAR revision, the interval for submission of that
report will not exceed 24 months. The proposed schedule satisfies the
maximum 24-month interval between FSAR revisions specified by 10 CFR
50.71(e)(4). Revising the FSAR 6 months after refueling outages for
each unit, therefore, is not necessary to achieve the underlying
purpose of the rule. Accordingly, the Commission has determined that
special circumstances are present as defined in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii).
The Commission has further 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, and is otherwise in the public interest. The Commission
hereby grants the licensee an exemption from the requirement of 10 CFR
50.71(e)(4) to submit updates to the SQN FSAR within 6 months of each
unit's refueling outage. The licensee will be required to submit
updates to the SQN FSAR within 6 months after each Unit 2 refueling
outage, not to exceed 24 months between subsequent revisions.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that
granting of this exemption will have no significant effect on the
quality of the human environment (63 FR 10958).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of March 1998.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-6508 Filed 3-12-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
