Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Notices 71791 

examination will be used to trend 

conditions in the shaft and may be 

performed more frequently if deemed 

necessary by the operator. 

(4) The examination on the day(s) the 

skip is to be used to transport persons 

will occur prior to the maintenance 

being performed. 

(5) The petitioner will comply with 

all other applicable requirements of the 

Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 

1977 and it corresponding regulations. 

The petitioner asserts that the 

proposed alternative method of 

examining the lining of the shaft will 

guarantee no less than the same measure 

of protection to the miners as would be 

provided by the existing standard, and 

will not result in a diminution of safety 

to the miners. 

Sheila McConnell, 

Acting Director, Office of Standards, 

Regulations and Variances. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28441 Filed 12–2–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–43–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 52–022 and 52–023; NRC– 

2013–0261] 

Duke Energy Progress; Combined 

License Application for Shearon Harris 

Nuclear Power Plants Units 2 and 3 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Exemption; issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is issuing an 

exemption in response to an August 1, 

2014, letter from Duke Energy Progress 

(DEP), which requested an exemption 

from certain regulatory requirements 

that requires DEP to submit an update 

to the Final Safety Analysis Report 

(FSAR) included in their combined 

license (COL) application by December 

31, 2014. The NRC staff reviewed this 

request and determined that it is 

appropriate to grant the exemption, but 

stipulated that the update to the FSAR 

must be submitted prior to, or 

coincident with the resumption of the 

COL application review or by December 

31, 2015, whichever comes first. 

DATES: The exemption is effective on 

December 3, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2013–0261 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 Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2013–0261. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Carol 

Gallagher; telephone: 301–287–3422; 

email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For 

technical questions, contact the 

individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly 

available documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/

adams.html. To begin the search, select 

‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then 

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 in this document 

(if that document is available in 

ADAMS) is provided the first time that 

a document is referenced. 

• 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: 

Brian Hughes, Office of New Reactors, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–415–6582; email: Brian.Hughes@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On February 18, 2008, DEP submitted 

to the NRC a COL application for two 

units of Westinghouse Electric 

Company’s AP1000 advanced 

pressurized water reactors to be 

constructed and operated at the existing 

Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant (Harris) 

site (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML080580078). The NRC docketed the 

Shearon Harris Units 2 and 3 COL 

application (Docket Numbers 52–022 

and 52–023) on April 23, 2008. On April 

15, 2013, (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML13112A761) DEP submitted Revision 

5 to the COL application including 

updates to the FSAR, per subsection 

50.71(e)(3)(iii) of Title 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (10 CFR). On May 

2, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML13123A344), DEP requested that the 

NRC suspend review of the Shearon 

Harris Nuclear Plant Units 2 and 3 COL 

application. On August 7, 2013 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML13220B004), 

DEP requested an exemption from the 

10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements to 

submit the COL application FSAR 

update, which NRC granted through 

December 31, 2014. On August 1, 2014 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML14216A431), 

DEP requested another exemption from 

the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) requirements 

to submit the COL application FSAR 

update by December 31, 2015. 

II. Request/Action 

Paragraph 50.71(e)(3)(iii) requires that 

an applicant for a COL under Subpart C 

of 

10 CFR part 52, submit updates to 

their FSAR annually during the period 

from docketing the application to the 

Commission making its 52.103(g) 

finding. 

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) the 

next annual update of the FSAR 

included in the Harris Units 2 and 3 

COL application would be due by 

December 31, 2014. In a letter dated 

August 1, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML14216A431), DEP requested that the 

Harris Units 2 and 3 COL application be 

exempt from the 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) 

requirements until December 31, 2015, 

or prior to a request to reactivate the 

Harris Units 2 and 3 COL application 

review. 

The exemption would allow DEP to 

submit the next FSAR update at a later 

date, but still in advance of NRC’s 

reinstating its review of the application 

and, in any event, by December 31, 

2015. The current requirement to submit 

an FSAR update could not be changed, 

absent the exemption. 

III. Discussion 

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12 the 

Commission may, upon application by 

any interested person or upon its own 

initiative, grant exemptions from the 

requirements of 10 CFR part 50, 

including Section 50.71(e)(3)(iii) when: 

(1) The exemption(s) are authorized by 

law, will not present an undue risk to 

public health or safety, and are 

consistent with the common defense 

and security; and (2) special 

circumstances are present. As relevant 

to the requested exemption, special 

circumstances exist if: ‘‘[a]pplication 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’’ (10 CFR 

50.12(a)(2)(ii)) and if ‘‘[t]he exemption 

would provide only temporary relief 

from the applicable regulation and the 

licensee or applicant has made good 

faith efforts to comply with the 

regulation’’ (10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v)). 

The purpose of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) 

is to ensure that the NRC has the most 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
71792 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Notices 

up to date information regarding the 

COL application, in order to perform an 

efficient and effective review. The rule 

targeted those applications that are 

being actively reviewed by the NRC. 

Because DEP requested the NRC 

suspend its review of the Harris Units 

2 and 3 COL application, compelling 

DEP to submit its FSAR on an annual 

basis is not necessary as the FSAR will 

not be changed or updated until the 

review is restarted. Requiring the 

updates would result in undue hardship 

on DEP, and the purpose of 

50.71(e)(3)(iii) would still be achieved if 

the update is submitted prior to 

restarting the review, and in any event 

by December 31, 2015. 

The requested exemption to defer 

submittal of the next update to the 

FSAR included in the Harris Units 2 

and 3 COL application would provide 

only temporary relief from the 

regulations in 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). As 

evidenced by the proper submittal of 

annual updates on June 23, 2009 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML091810540), 

April 12, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML101120592), April 14, 2011 (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML080580078), April 12, 

2012 (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML12122A656) and April 15, 2013 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML13112A761), 

DEP has made good faith efforts to 

comply with 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) 

prior to requesting suspension of the 

review. In its subsequent request dated 

August 1, 2014, DEP asked the NRC to 

grant exemption from 10 CFR 

50.71(e)(3)(iii) until December 31, 2015, 

or prior to any request to reactivate 

Harris Units 2 and 3 COL application 

review. For the reasons stated above, the 

application of § 50.71(e)(3)(iii) in this 

particular circumstance can be deemed 

unnecessary and the granting of the 

exemption would allow only temporary 

relief from a rule that the applicant had 

made good faith efforts to comply with, 

therefore special circumstances are 

present. 

Authorized by Law 

The exemption is a schedule 

exemption from the requirements of 10 

CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii). The exemption 

would allow DEP to submit the next 

Harris Units 2 and 3 COL application 

FSAR update on or before December 31, 

2015, in lieu of the required scheduled 

submittal in December 31, 2014. As 

stated above, 10 CFR 50.12 allows the 

NRC to grant exemptions from the 

requirements of 10 CFR part 50. The 

NRC staff has determined that granting 

DEP the requested exemption from the 

requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) 

will provide only temporary relief from 

this regulation and will not result in a 

violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended, or the NRC’s 

regulations. Therefore, the exemption is 

authorized by law. 

No Undue Risk to Public Health and 

Safety 

The underlying purpose of 10 CFR 

50.71(e)(3)(iii) is to provide for a timely 

and comprehensive update of the FSAR 

associated with a COL application in 

order to support an effective and 

efficient review by the NRC staff and 

issuance of the NRC staff’s safety 

evaluation report. The requested 

exemption is solely administrative in 

nature, in that it pertains to the 

schedule for submittal to the NRC of 

revisions to an application under 10 

CFR part 52, for which a license has not 

been granted. In addition, since the 

review of the application has been 

suspended, any update to the 

application submitted by DEP will not 

be reviewed by the NRC at this time. 

Plant construction cannot proceed until 

the NRC’s review of the application is 

completed, a mandatory hearing is 

completed, and a license is issued. 

Additionally, based on the nature of the 

requested exemption as described 

above, no new accident precursors are 

created by the exemption; thus neither 

the probability, nor the consequences of 

postulated accidents are increased. 

Therefore, there is no undue risk to 

public health and safety. 

Consistent With Common Defense and 

Security 

The requested exemption would 

allow DEP to submit the next FSAR 

update prior to requesting the NRC to 

resume the review and, in any event, on 

or before December 31, 2015. This 

schedule change has no relation to 

security issues. Therefore, the common 

defense and security is not impacted. 

Special Circumstances 

Special circumstances, in accordance 

with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) are present 

whenever: (1) 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’’ (10 CFR 

50.12(a)(2)(ii)). The underlying purpose 

of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) is to ensure 

that the NRC has the most up-to date 

information in order to perform its 

review of a COL application efficiently 

and effectively. Because the requirement 

to annually update the FSAR was 

intended for active reviews and the 

Shearon Harris Units 2 and 3 COL 

application review is now suspended, 

the application of this regulation in this 

particular circumstance is unnecessary 

in order to achieve its underlying 

purpose. If the NRC were to grant this 

exemption, and DEP were then required 

to update its FSAR by December 31, 

2015, or prior to any request to restart 

of their review, the purpose of the rule 

would still be achieved. 

Special circumstances in accordance 

with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(v) are present 

whenever the exemption would provide 

only temporary relief from the 

regulation and the applicant has made 

good faith efforts to comply with this 

regulation. Because of the assumed and 

imposed new deadline of December 31, 

2015, DEP’s exemption request seeks 

only temporary relief from the 

requirement that it file an update to the 

FSAR included in the Shearon Harris 

Units 2 and 3 COL application. 

Additionally DEP submitted the 

required annual updates to its FSAR 

throughout the application process until 

asking for suspension of its review. 

Therefore, since the relief from the 

requirements of 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) 

would be temporary and the applicant 

has made good faith efforts to comply 

with the rule, and the underlying 

purpose of the rule is not served by 

application of the rule in this 

circumstance, the special circumstances 

required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) and 

50.12(a)(2)(v) for the granting of an 

exemption from 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) 

exist. 

Eligibility for Categorical Exclusion 

From Environmental Review 

With respect to the exemption’s 

impact on the quality of the human 

environment, the NRC has determined 

that this specific exemption request is 

eligible for categorical exclusion as 

identified in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25) 

provided that: 

(i) There is no significant hazards 

consideration; 

The criteria for determining whether 

there is no significant hazards 

consideration are found in 10 CFR 

50.92. The proposed action involves 

only a schedule change regarding the 

submission of an update to the 

application for which the licensing 

review has been suspended. Therefore, 

there is no significant hazards 

consideration because granting the 

proposed exemption 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. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Notices 71793 

(ii) There is no significant change in 

the types or significant increase in the 

amounts of any effluents that may be 

released offsite; 

The proposed action involves only a 

schedule change which is 

administrative in nature, and does not 

involve any changes to be made in the 

types or significant increase in the 

amounts of effluents that may be 

released offsite. 

(iii) There is no significant increase in 

individual or cumulative public or 

occupational radiation exposure; 

Since the proposed action involves 

only a schedule change which is 

administrative in nature, it does not 

contribute to any significant increase in 

occupational or public radiation 

exposure. 

(iv) There is no significant 

construction impact; 

The proposed action involves only a 

schedule change which is 

administrative in nature; the application 

review is suspended until further 

notice, and there is no consideration of 

any construction at this time, and hence 

the proposed action does not involve 

any construction impact. 

(v) There is no significant increase in 

the potential for or consequences from 

radiological accidents; and 

The proposed action involves only a 

schedule change which is 

administrative in nature, and does not 

impact the probability or consequences 

of accidents. 

(vi) The requirements from which an 

exemption is sought involve: 

(B) Reporting requirements; 

The exemption request involves 

submitting an updated FSAR by DEP 

and 

(G) Scheduling requirements; 

The proposed exemption relates to the 

schedule for submitting FSAR updates 

to the NRC. 

IV. Conclusion 

Accordingly, the Commission has 

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 

50.12(a), 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. Also special circumstances 

are present. Therefore, the Commission 

hereby grants DEP a one-time exemption 

from the requirements of 10 CFR 

50.71(e)(3)(iii) pertaining to the Shearon 

Harris Nuclear Power Plant Units 2 and 

3 COL application to allow submittal of 

the next FSAR update prior to any 

request to the NRC to resume the 

review, and in any event no later than 

December 31, 2015. 

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22, the 

Commission has determined that the 

exemption request meets the applicable 

categorical exclusion criteria set forth in 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), and the granting of 

this exemption will not have a 

significant effect on the quality of the 

human environment. 

This exemption is effective upon 

issuance. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24 day 

of November 2014. 

For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Frank Akstulewicz, 

Director, Division of New Reactor Licensing, 

Office of New Reactors. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28456 Filed 12–2–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 52–022 and 52–023; NRC– 

2013–0261] 

Duke Energy Progress Inc; Combined 

License Applications for Shearon 

Harris Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Exemption; issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is issuing an 

exemption in response to an August 1, 

2014, letter from Duke Energy Progress 

(DEP). On May 2, 2013, DEP requested 

that the NRC suspend review of its 

combined license (COL) application 

until further notice. On August 1, 2014, 

DEP requested an exemption from 

certain regulatory requirements which, 

if granted, would allow them to revise 

their COL application in order to 

address enhancements to the Emergency 

Preparedness (EP) rules by December 

31, 2015, rather than by December 31, 

2013, as the regulations currently 

require. The NRC staff reviewed this 

request and determined that it is 

appropriate to grant the exemption to 

the EP update requirements until 

December 31, 2015, but stipulated that 

the updates to the Final Safety Analysis 

Report (FSAR) must be submitted prior 

to requesting the NRC resume its review 

of the COL application, or by December 

31, 2015, whichever comes first. 

DATES: The exemption is effective on 

December 3, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2013–0261 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 Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2013–0261. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Carol 

Gallagher; telephone: 301–287–3422; 

email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For 

technical questions, contact the 

individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly 

available documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/

adams.html. To begin the search, select 

‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then 

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 in this document 

(if that document is available in 

ADAMS) is provided the first time that 

a document is referenced. 

• 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: 

Brian Hughes, Office of New Reactors, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–415–6582; email: Brian.Hughes@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On February 18, 2008 (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML080580078), DEP 

submitted to the NRC a COL application 

for two units of Westinghouse Electric 

Company’s AP1000 advanced 

pressurized water reactors to be 

constructed and operated at the existing 

Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant (Harris) 

site (Docket Numbers 52–22 and 52–23). 

The NRC docketed the Harris Units 2 

and 3 COL application on April 23, 

2008. On May 2, 2013 (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML13123A344), DEP 

requested that the NRC suspend review 

of the Harris Units 2 and 3 COL 

application. The NRC granted DEP’s 

request for suspension and all review 

activities related to the Harris Units 2 

and 3 COL application were suspended 

while the application remained 

docketed. On July 29, 2013 (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML13212A361), DEP 

requested an exemption from the 

requirements in Part 50 Appendix E 

Section I.5 of Title 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (10 CFR), as 

referenced by 10 CFR 52.79(a)(21), to 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES