[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
[[Page 58542]]
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
[[Page 58543]]
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