39474 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 154 / Thursday, August 9, 2018 / Notices 

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 exemptions and issued the 

amendments that the licensee requested 

on August 31, 2017, and supplemented 

by letters dated March 23, and May 18, 

2018 (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML17243A444, ML18082B369 and 

ML18138A398, respectively). 

The exemption and amendment were 

issued to the licensee on June 28, 2018, 

as part of a combined package (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML18152B267). 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day 

of August 2018. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity, 

Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of 

Licensing, Siting, and Environmental 

Analysis, Office of New Reactors. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16996 Filed 8–8–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 52–025 and 52–026; NRC– 

2008–0252] 

Southern Nuclear Operating Company, 

Inc.; Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, 

Units 3 and 4; Tier 1 and Tier 2* 

Editorial and Consistency Changes 

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 AP1000 design control 

document (DCD) and is issuing License 

Amendment Nos. 125 and 124 to 

Combined Licenses (COL), NPF–91 and 

NPF–92, respectively. The COLs were 

issued to Southern Nuclear Operating 

Company, Inc., 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 (the licensee); 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 in 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 May 31, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2008–0252 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 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2008–0252. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer 

Borges; 301–287–9127; email: 

Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. 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 obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection 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 pdr.resource@

nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number 

for each document referenced (if it is 

available in ADAMS) is provided the 

first time that it is mentioned in this 

document. The request for the 

amendment and exemption was 

submitted by letters dated November 30, 

2017, and March 16, 2018, and are 

available in ADAMS under Accession 

Nos. ML17334B211 and ML18075A438. 

• 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: 

Peter Hearn, Office of New Reactors, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–415–1189; email: Peter.Hearn@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

The NRC is granting an exemption 

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. 125 and 124 

to COL Nos. NPF–91 and NPF–92, 

respectively, to the licensee. The 

exemption is required by paragraph A.4 

of section VIII, ‘‘Processes for Changes 

and Departures,’’ appendix D, to 10 CFR 

part 52 to allow the licensee to depart 

from Tier 1 information. With the 

requested amendment, the licensee 

sought proposed changes to plantspecific DCD Tier 2 and Tier 2* 

information and related changes to 

plant-specific Tier 1 information, with 

corresponding changes to Inspections, 

Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance 

Criteria (ITAAC) in COL Appendix C. 

Specifically the changes corrected 

various editorial and consistency issues 

between Tier 1 and Tier 2 in Tier 1 text, 

tables and figures. 

Part of the justification for granting 

the exemption was provided by the 

review of the amendment. Because the 

exemption is necessary in order to issue 

the requested license amendment, the 

NRC granted the exemption and issued 

the amendment 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 exemption met all 

applicable regulatory criteria set forth in 

10 CFR 50.12, 10 CFR 52.7, and section 

VIII.A.4 of appendix D to 10 CFR part 

52. The license amendment was found 

to be acceptable as well. The combined 

safety evaluation is available in ADAMS 

under Accession No. ML18106A638. 

Identical exemption documents 

(except for referenced unit numbers and 

license numbers) were issued to the 

licensee 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. ML18106A629 and ML18106A631, 

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. 

ML18106A632 and ML18106A635, 

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 

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 November 30, 

2017, as supplemented by the letter 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 154 / Thursday, August 9, 2018 / Notices 39475 

dated March 16, 2018, the Southern 

Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) 

requested from the Commission an 

exemption to allow departures from Tier 

1 information in the certified DCD 

incorporated by reference in 10 CFR 

part 52, appendix D, as part of license 

amendment request 17–042, ‘‘Tier 1 and 

Tier 2* Editorial and Consistency 

Changes.’’ 

For the reasons set forth in Section 3.2 

of the NRC staff’s Safety Evaluation that 

which can be found in ADAMS under 

Accession No. ML18106A638), 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, the licensee 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 November 30, 

2017, as supplemented by the letter 

dated March 16, 2018. This exemption 

is related to, and necessary for, the 

granting of License Amendment No. 125 

[for Unit 3 and No. 124 for Unit 4], 

which is being issued concurrently with 

this exemption. 

3. As explained in Section 5.0 of the 

NRC staff’s Safety Evaluation (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML18106A638), 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 November 30, 2017 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML17334B211), 

the licensee requested that the NRC 

amend the COLs for VEGP, Units 3 and 

4, COLs NPF–91 and NPF–92. The 

proposed amendment is described in 

Section I of this document. 

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 COL, 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 March 30, 2018 (83 FR 

13796). 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 the licensee requested 

on November 30, 2017. 

The exemption and amendment were 

issued on May 31, 2018, as part of a 

combined package to the licensee 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML18106A626). 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day 

of August 2018. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity, 

Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of 

Licensing, Siting, and Environmental 

Analysis Office of New Reactors. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16995 Filed 8–8–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2018–0066] 

Dry Storage and Transportation of 

High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Draft NUREG; request for 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is issuing for public 

comment a draft NUREG, NUREG–2224, 

‘‘Dry Storage and Transportation of High 

Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel.’’ The draft 

NUREG provides technical background 

information applicable to high burnup 

spent nuclear fuel (HBU SNF), provides 

an engineering assessment of recent 

NRC-sponsored mechanical testing of 

HBU SNF, and proposes example 

approaches for licensing and 

certification of HBU SNF in 

transportation and dry storage. 

DATES: Submit comments on the draft 

NUREG–2224 by September 24, 2018. 

Comments received after this date will 

be considered if it is practical to do so, 

but the NRC is able to ensure 

consideration only for comments 

received on or before this date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2018–0066. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer 

Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127; 

email: Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For 

technical questions, contact the 

individual listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. 

• Mail comments to: May Ma, Office 

of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN–7– 

A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001. 

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: 

Wendy Reed, Office of Nuclear Material 

Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301– 

415–7213; email: Wendy.Reed@nrc.gov; 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and 

Submitting Comments 

A. Obtaining Information 

Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2018– 

0066 when contacting the NRC about 

the availability of information for this 

action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this 

action by any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2018–0066. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection 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– 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES