78500 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 30, 2014 / Notices 

to comply by the earlier of a restart or 

the review or December 31, 2015, and 

the purpose of the rule would still be 

achieved. Additionally, because EOI 

requested the NRC to suspend its review 

of the GGNS COL application, the 

Departures Report and DCD Update, if 

provided, would not be reviewed by the 

NRC. Therefore, compelling EOI to 

provide Departures Report and DCD 

Update would result in an unnecessary 

burden and hardship for the applicant. 

In addition, the exemption is a 

temporary exemption from the 

requirements of 10 CFR part 52, 

Appendix E, Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, 

and X.B.3.b. EOI has made good faith 

efforts to comply with the regulation. 

The exemption would allow EOI to 

suspend maintaining the Departures 

Report and the DCD Update Report and 

forego submitting these reports until 

December 31, 2015, or coincident with 

resuming the review of the GGNS COL 

application, whichever comes first. 

Therefore, the special circumstances 

required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), (iii), 

and (v) for the granting of an exemption 

from 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E, 

Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, and X.B.3.b 

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) and 

justified by the NRC staff as discussed 

below. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i): The criteria for 

determining whether there is no 

significant hazards consideration are 

found in 10 CFR 50.92(c)(1)–(3). 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. There are 

no significant hazards considerations 

because granting the proposed 

exemption would not involve a 

significant increase in the probability or 

consequences of an accident previously 

evaluated, create the possibility of a 

new or different kind of accident from 

any accident previously evaluated or 

involve a significant reduction in a 

margin of safety. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(ii): 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. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iii): 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. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iv): The proposed 

action involves only a schedule change 

which is administrative in nature; the 

COL 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. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(v): The proposed 

action involves only a schedule change 

which is administrative in nature, and 

does not impact the probability or 

consequences of radiological accidents. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(B) and (G): 

The exemption request involves 

submitting an updated COL application 

by EOI and relates to the schedule for 

submitting a COL application update to 

the NRC. 

IV. Conclusion 

Accordingly, the Commission has 

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 

50.12(a)(1) and (2), 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 as described in 10 

CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), (iii), and (v) are 

present. Therefore, the Commission 

hereby grants EOI the exemption from 

the requirements of 10 CFR part 50, 

Appendix E, Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, 

and X.B.3.b pertaining to the Grand Gulf 

Nuclear Station COL application to 

allow submittal of the Departures Report 

and the DCD Update Report the earlier 

of any request to the NRC to resume the 

review or by 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 22nd 

day of December 2014. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Perry Buckberg, 

Acting Branch Chief, Licensing Branch 3, 

Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of 

New Reactors. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30581 Filed 12–29–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 52–036; NRC–2008–0616] 

Entergy Operations, Inc.; Combined 

License Application for River Bend 

Station Unit 3 Exemption 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Exemption; issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is issuing an 

exemption in response to an October 16, 

2014, letter from Entergy Operations, 

Inc. (EOI) which requested an 

exemption to suspend maintaining the 

Departures Report and the design 

control document (DCD) Update Report 

until December 31, 2015, or coincident 

with resuming the review of the for 

River Bend Station Unit 3 (RBS3) 

Combined License (COL) application, 

whichever comes first. The NRC staff 

reviewed this request and determined 

that it is appropriate to grant the 

exemption. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2008–0616 when contacting the 

NRC about the availability of 

information regarding this document. 

You may access publicly-available 

information related to this action by the 

following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2008–0616. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Carol 

Gallagher; telephone: 301–287–3422; 

email: Carol.Gallagher@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 access 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 

the 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. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 30, 2014 / Notices 78501 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lynnea Wilkins, Office of New Reactors, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–415–5136; email: Lynnea.Wilkins@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

following sections include the text of 

the exemption in its entirety as issued 

to EOI. 

I. Background 

The NRC accepted for docketing the 

River Bend Station Unit 3 (RBS3) COL 

application on December 4, 2008 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML083370275, 

Docket No. 52–036). On January 9, 2009, 

EOI requested that the NRC temporarily 

suspend review of the application and 

the NRC granted EOI’s request (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML090080277) while the 

application remained docketed. On 

October 16, 2014, (ADAMS Accession 

No. ML14289A521), EOI requested an 

exemption from the requirements of 10 

CFR part 52, Appendix E, Paragraphs 

X.A.1, X.A.2, and X.B.3.b until 

December 31, 2015, or coincident with 

resuming the review of the for RBS3 

COL application, whichever comes first. 

II. Request/Action 

10 CFR part 52, Appendix E, 

Paragraph X.A.1 requires that the 

applicant for this appendix shall 

maintain a copy of the generic DCD 

[design control document] that includes 

all generic changes it makes to Tier 1 

and Tier 2, and the generic TS and other 

operational requirements. The applicant 

shall maintain sensitive unclassified 

non-safeguards information (including 

proprietary information and securityrelated information) and safeguards 

information referenced in the generic 

DCD for the period that this appendix 

may be referenced, as specified in 

Section VII of this appendix. 

10 CFR part 52, Appendix E, 

Paragraph X.A.2 requires that an 

applicant or licensee who references 

this appendix shall maintain the plantspecific DCD to accurately reflect both 

generic changes to the generic DCD and 

plant-specific departures made under 

Section VIII of this appendix throughout 

the period of application and for the 

term of the license (including any 

period of renewal). 

10 CFR part 52, Appendix E, 

Paragraph X.B.3.b requires that during 

the interval from the date of application 

for a license to the date the 

Commissions makes its findings 

required by 10 CFR 52.103(g), the 

[Departures] report must be submitted 

semiannually. Updates to the plantspecific DCD must be submitted 

annually and may be submitted along 

with amendments to the application. 

By letter dated January 9, 2009, EOI 

requested that the NRC suspend review 

of the RBS3 COL application. The NRC 

granted EOI’s request for suspension of 

all review activities while the 

application remained docketed. In a 

letter dated, October 16, 2014, EOI 

requested an exemption from the 

requirements of 10 CFR part 52, 

Appendix E, Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, 

and X.B.3.b until December 31, 2015 or 

coincident with resuming the review of 

the for RBS3 COL application, 

whichever comes first. 

EOI’s requested exemption is seen as 

a schedule change from the 

requirements of 10 CFR part 52, 

Appendix E, Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, 

and X.B.3.b. The exemption would 

allow EOI to suspend maintaining the 

Departures Report and the DCD Update 

Report and forego submitting these 

reports until December 31, 2015, or 

coincident with resuming the review of 

the RBS3 COL application, whichever 

comes first. 

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 10 CFR part 52, Appendix E, 

Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, and X.B.3.b, 

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: ‘‘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)); ‘‘compliance would 

result in undue hardship or other costs 

that are significantly in excess of those 

contemplated when the regulation was 

adopted, or that are significantly in 

excess of those incurred by others 

similarly situated’’ (10 CFR 

50.12(a)(2)(iii)) or; ‘‘the 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 purposes of 10 CFR part 52, 

Appendix E, Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, 

and X.B.3.b are to maintain reports 

pertaining to the ESBWR and plantspecific DCDs associated with a COL 

application current and to provide 

timely, current, comprehensive reports 

and updates in order to support an 

effective and efficient review by NRC 

staff and issuance of the staff’s safety 

evaluation report. 

Because EOI requested the NRC to 

suspend its review of the RBS3 COL 

application, the Departures Report and 

DCD Update, if provided, would not be 

reviewed by the NRC. Therefore, 

compelling EOI to provide Departures 

Report and DCD Update would result in 

an unnecessary burden and hardship for 

the applicant. For this reason the 

application of 10 CFR part 52, Appendix 

E, Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, and X.B.3.b 

can be deemed unnecessary and 

therefore, special circumstances are 

present. 

Authorized by Law 

The exemption is a temporary 

exemption from the requirements of 10 

CFR part 52, Appendix E, Paragraphs 

X.A.1, X.A.2, and X.B.3.b. The 

exemption would allow EOI to suspend 

maintaining the Departures Report and 

the DCD Update Report and forego 

submitting these reports until December 

31, 2015, or coincident with resuming 

the review of the RBS3 COL application, 

whichever comes first. As stated above, 

10 CFR 50.12 allows the NRC to grant 

exemptions from the requirements of 10 

CFR part 52. The NRC staff has 

determined that granting EOI the 

requested exemption from the 

requirements of 10 CFR part 50, 

Appendix E, Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, 

and X.B.3.b will be only temporary, 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 purposes of 10 CFR 

part 52, Appendix E, Paragraphs X.A.1, 

X.A.2, and X.B.3.b are to maintain 

reports pertaining to the ESBWR and 

plant-specific DCDs associated with a 

COL application current and to provide 

timely, current, comprehensive reports 

and updates in order to support an 

effective and efficient review by NRC 

staff and issuance of the staff’s safety 

evaluation report. The requested 

exemption is administrative in nature in 

that it pertains to activities for which a 

license has not been granted; hence, 

there are no safety implications. 

Specifically, there are no new health or 

safety issues created and no increase in 

the probability of postulated accidents 

or their consequences associated with 

this exemption request. Therefore, there 

is no undue risk to public health and 

safety. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

78502 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 30, 2014 / Notices 

Consistent With Common Defense and 

Security 

The exemption would allow EOI to 

suspend maintaining the Departures 

Report and the DCD Update Report and 

forego submitting these reports until 

December 31, 2015, or coincident with 

resuming the review of the RBS3 COL 

application, whichever comes first. 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), are present 

whenever ‘‘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)); compliance would result 

in undue hardship or other costs that 

are significantly in excess of those 

contemplated when the regulation was 

adopted, or that are significantly in 

excess of those incurred by others 

similarly situated (10 CFR 

50.12(a)(2)(iii)) or; ‘‘the 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 

underlying purposes of 10 CFR part 52, 

Appendix E, Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, 

and X.B.3.b are to maintain reports 

pertaining to the ESBWR and plantspecific DCDs associated with a COL 

application current and to provide 

timely, current, comprehensive reports 

and updates in order to support an 

effective and efficient review by NRC 

staff and issuance of the staff’s safety 

evaluation report. 

Because the requirement to maintain 

reports pertaining to the ESBWR and 

plant-specific DCDs associated with a 

COL application was intended for active 

reviews and the RBS3 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 EOI would then be required 

to comply by the earlier of a restart or 

the review or December 31, 2015, and 

the purpose of the rule would still be 

achieved. Additionally, because EOI 

requested the NRC to suspend its review 

of the GGNS COL application, the 

Departures Report and DCD Update, if 

provided, would not be reviewed by the 

NRC. Therefore, compelling EOI to 

provide Departures Report and DCD 

Update would result in an unnecessary 

burden and hardship for the applicant. 

In addition, the exemption is a 

temporary exemption from the 

requirements of 10 CFR part 52, 

Appendix E, Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, 

and X.B.3.b. EOI has made good faith 

efforts to comply with the regulation. 

The exemption would allow EOI to 

suspend maintaining the Departures 

Report and the DCD Update Report and 

forego submitting these reports until 

December 31, 2015, or coincident with 

resuming the review of the GGNS COL 

application, whichever comes first. 

Therefore, the special circumstances 

required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), (iii), 

and (v) for the granting of an exemption 

from 10 CFR part 50, Appendix E, 

Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, and X.B.3.b 

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) and 

justified by the NRC staff as discussed 

below. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(i): The criteria for 

determining whether there is no 

significant hazards consideration are 

found in 10 CFR 50.92(c)(1)–(3) . 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. There are 

no significant hazards considerations 

because granting the proposed 

exemption would not involve a 

significant increase in the probability or 

consequences of an accident previously 

evaluated, create the possibility of a 

new or different kind of accident from 

any accident previously evaluated or 

involve a significant reduction in a 

margin of safety. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(ii): 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. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iii): 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. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(iv): The proposed 

action involves only a schedule change 

which is administrative in nature; the 

COL 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. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(v): The proposed 

action involves only a schedule change 

which is administrative in nature, and 

does not impact the probability or 

consequences of radiological accidents. 

10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(B) and (G): 

The exemption request involves 

submitting an updated COL application 

by EOI and relates to the schedule for 

submitting a COL application update to 

the NRC. 

IV. Conclusion 

Accordingly, the Commission has 

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 

50.12(a)(1) and (2), 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 as described in 10 

CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), (iii), and (v) are 

present. Therefore, the Commission 

hereby grants EOI the exemption from 

the requirements of 10 CFR part 50, 

Appendix E, Paragraphs X.A.1, X.A.2, 

and X.B.3.b pertaining to the River Bend 

Station Unit 3 COL application to allow 

submittal of the Departures Report and 

the DCD Update Report the earlier of 

any request to the NRC to resume the 

review or by 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 22nd 

day of December 2014. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Perry Buckberg, 

Acting Branch Chief, Licensing Branch 3, 

Division of New Reactor Licensing, Office of 

New Reactors. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30585 Filed 12–29–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2014–0263] 

Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory 

and Deregulatory Actions; Correction 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Semiannual regulatory agenda; 

correction. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES