98-16538. Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant); Revocation of Exemption

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 119 (Monday, June 22, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 33966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16538]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-244]


Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power 
Plant); Revocation of Exemption

I

    The Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (the licensee) is the 
holder of Facility Operating License No. DPR-18, which authorizes 
operation of the R. E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant. The license provides 
that the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of 
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) now or 
hereafter in effect.
    The facility consists of a pressurized-water reactor at the 
licensee's site located in Wayne County, New York.

II

    On March 21, 1985, the NRC issued 11 exemptions from the 
requirements of Section III.G of Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50. The 
first exemption, relevant here, related to the Refueling Water Storage 
Tank (RWST). The licensee was granted an exemption from the technical 
requirements of Section III.G.2 in connection with the absence of a 
required continuous fire-rated barrier between redundant shutdown 
systems in the Auxiliary Building Fire Areas ABBM and ABI. The RWST 
extends through the concrete floor/ceiling at elevation 271 feet, which 
provides the common boundary between Fire Area ABBM and ABI. An 8-foot 
concrete block wall partially circles the circumference of the RWST on 
the upper side of the barrier. At the time the exemption was granted, 
there was a 6-inch gap around the circumference of the RWST.

III

    By letter dated January 13, 1998, the licensee informed the NRC 
that the exemption is no longer required. The licensee indicated that 
the subject barrier has now been sealed by insertion of a 12 inch 
minimum depth of kaowool into the 6-inch gap around the circumference 
of the tank and closure of the gap by a \3/4\-inch thick steel plate.
    On the basis of the licensee's submittal, the Commission hereby 
revokes the exemption granted on March 21, 1985, from the technical 
requirements of Section III.G of Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50 with 
respect to the absence of a continuous fire-rated barrier at the common 
boundary between Fire Areas ABBM and ABI. The NRC staff did not review 
the modification that the licensee implemented to eliminate the need 
for the original exemption. The NRC staff may review the modification 
and its supporting technical bases during a future on-site inspection.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the 
revocation of the exemption will have no significant impact on the 
quality of the human environment (63 FR 31534).
    This revocation of exemption is effective upon issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of June 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
S. Singh Bajwa,
Director, Project Directorate I-1, Division of Reactor Projects--I/II, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-16538 Filed 6-19-98; 8:45 am]
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