Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 1997 / Notices 15545

Nuclear Power Station, Unit No. 2,

located in New London, Connecticut.

The proposed amendment would

have revised the Technical

Specifications to clarify the design basis

for the Emergency Diesel Generator fuel

oil supply.

The Commission had previously

issued a Notice of Consideration of

Issuance of Amendment published in

the Federal Register on December 21,

1994 (59 FR 65818). However, by letter

dated February 24, 1997, the licensee

withdrew the proposed change.

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated November 30, 1994,

as supplemented May 8 and August 1,

1995, and the licensee’s letter dated

February 24, 1997, which withdrew the

application for license amendment. The

above documents are available for

public inspection at the Commission’s

Public Document Room, the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, and at the local public

document room located at the Three

Rivers Community—Technical College,

574 New London Turnpike, Norwich,

Connecticut, and the Waterford Library,

ATTN: Vince Juliano, 49 Rope Ferry

Road, Waterford, Connecticut.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day

of March 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Daniel G. McDonald,

Senior Project Manager, Special Projects

Office—Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–8203 Filed 3–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

[Docket No. 50–271]

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power

Corporation (Vermont Yankee Nuclear

Power Station); Exemption

I

The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power

Corporation (VYNPC, the licensee) is

the holder of Facility Operating License

No. DPR–28 which authorizes operation

of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power

Station (the facility) at power levels no

greater than 1593 megawatts thermal.

The facility is a single-unit boiling water

reactor (BWR) located at the licensee’s

site in Windham County, Vermont.

The License provides, among other

things, that the Vermont Yankee

Nuclear Power Station is subject to all

rules, regulations, and orders of the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the

Commission) now or hereafter in effect.

II

On November 19, 1980, the

Commission published a revised

Section 10 CFR 50.48 and a new

Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50 regarding

fire protection features of nuclear power

plants. The revised Section 50.48 and

Appendix R became effective on

February 17, 1981. Section III of

Appendix R contains 15 subsections,

lettered A through O, each of which

specifies requirements for a particular

aspect of the fire protection features at

a nuclear power plant. Subsection III.J is

the subject of the licensee’s exemption

request.

Section III.J of Appendix R requires

that emergency lighting units with at

least an 8-hour battery power supply

shall be provided in all areas needed for

operation of safe shutdown equipment

and in access and egress routes thereto.

III

By letter dated June 17, 1996, the

licensee requested an exemption from

Section III.J of Appendix R. In

particular, the licensee stated that it

cannot meet the requirements for

emergency lighting units with at least an

8-hour battery power supply in the

following areas:

(1) A portion of general yard areas for

access and egress to the nitrogen

containment inerting tank area and the

nitrogen storage bottle area, and

(2) the nitrogen containment inerting

tank area and the nitrogen storage tank

area.

The licensee proposes to utilize the

security perimeter lighting for outdoor

egress routes and for tasks performed in

either of two locations. Based on the

staff’s review of the information

provided by the licensee, the staff has

concluded, given that the security

lighting is powered from a separate

power source, the security lighting is

not vulnerable to fire loss. The security

lighting is inspected and maintained as

part of the plant security requirements.

The licensee has confirmed that the

illumination levels in the affected areas

of the plant are adequate to enable

operators to implement the actions

required for safe shutdown.

Therefore, the staff considers the

licensee’s alternative lighting

configuration to be equivalent to that

achieved by literal conformance with

Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50 and,

therefore, meets the underlying purpose

of Section III.J of Appendix R.

Therefore, the licensee’s request for

exemption from the requirements of

Section III.J in the subject locations

should be granted.

IV

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2), the

Commission will not consider granting

an exemption unless special

circumstances are present. Item (ii) of

the subject regulation includes special

circumstances where application of the

subject regulation would not serve the

underlying purpose of the rule or is not

necessary to achieve the underlying

purpose of the rule.

The underlying purpose of Section

III.J of Appendix R is to provide

adequate illumination to assure the

capability of performing all necessary

safe shutdown functions as well as

provide illumination for required

movements into and out of the plant. In

lieu of the 8-hour battery powered units

specified by Appendix R, the licensee

has proposed using existing security

lighting. The staff has reviewed the

proposed alternative and has concluded,

as described above, that the security

lighting system would be a reliable

alternative and would provide an

adequate level of illumination to assure

that all required safe shutdown

functions and required personnel

movements can be performed.

Therefore, the staff concludes that

special circumstances exist for the

licensee’s requested exemption in that

imposition of the literal requirements of

the regulation in these particular

circumstances is not necessary to

achieve the underlying purpose of

Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50.

Accordingly, the Commission has

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR

50.12(a)(2)(ii), special circumstances

exist in that existing levels of emergency

lighting satisfy the underlying purpose

of Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50.

Further, the staff has concluded that the

requested 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. Therefore, the Commission

hereby grants the exemption request

from the requirements of Section III.J of

Appendix R to 10 CFR Part 50 described

in Section III above.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

issuance of this exemption will have no

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment (62 FR 12255).

This Exemption is effective upon issuance.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 23rd day

of March 1997.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–8205 Filed 3–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P