46536 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2017 / Notices 

Dates 

October 1–December 15, 2017. 

Nadene G. Kennedy, 

Polar Coordination Specialist, Office of Polar 

Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21446 Filed 10–4–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 52–025 and 52–026; NRC– 

2008–0252] 

Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 

3 and 4; Southern Nuclear Operating 

Company; Hydrogen Venting from 

Passive Core Cooling System (PXS) 

Compartments 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Exemption and combined 

license amendment; issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is granting 

exemption to allow a departure from the 

certification information of Tier 1 of the 

generic design control document (DCD) 

and is issuing License Amendment Nos. 

84 and 83 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, Authority of Georgia, 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 that is 

requested 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 exemptions and 

amendments were issued on August 23, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2008–0252 when contacting the 

NRC about the availability of 

information regarding this document. 

You may access information related to 

this document, which the NRC 

possesses and is publicly available, 

using any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2008–0252. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Carol 

Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; 

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 obtain publiclyavailable 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 (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 letter 

dated February 22, 2017 (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML17053A425) and 

supplemented by letter dated June 2, 

2017 (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML17153A362). 

• 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: Paul 

Kallan, Office of New Reactors, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–415–2809; email: Paul.Kallan@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

The NRC is granting exemptions 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. 84 and 83 to 

COLs, NPF–91 and NPF–92, 

respectively, to the licensee. The 

exemptions are 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 

proposes to depart from approved 

AP1000 DCD Tier 2 information (test 

and tables) as incorporated into the 

Updated Final Safety Analysis Report 

(UFSAR) as plant-specific DCD 

information, and also proposes to depart 

from involved plant-specific Tier 1 

information (and associated COL 

Appendix C information). Specifically, 

the amendment request proposes to 

revise the licensing basis information to 

reflect changes to the locations of the 

hydrogen venting primary openings in 

the passive core cooling system (PXS) 

valve/accumulator rooms inside 

containment. 

Part of the justification for granting 

the exemptions was provided by the 

review of the amendments. Because the 

exemption is necessary in order to issue 

the requested license amendment, the 

NRC granted the exemptions and issued 

the amendments 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 exemptions met all 

applicable regulatory criteria set forth in 

§§ 50.12, 52.7, and Section VIII.A.4 of 

appendix D to 10 CFR part 52. The 

license amendments were found to be 

acceptable as well. The combined safety 

evaluation is available in ADAMS under 

Accession No. ML17213A224. 

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. ML17213A219 and ML17213A221, 

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. 

ML17213A222 and ML17213A223, 

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 Vogtle Units 3 and 

Unit 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 February 22, 2017, 

and supplemented by letter dated June 

2, 2017, the licensee requested from the 

Commission an exemption from the 

provisions of 10 CFR part 52, appendix 

D, Section III.B, as part of license 

amendment request 17–003, ‘‘Hydrogen 

Venting from Passive Core Cooling 

System (PXS) Compartments (LAR–17– 

003).’’ 

For the reasons set forth in Section 

3.1, ‘‘Evaluation of Exemption,’’ of the 

NRC staff’s Safety Evaluation, which 

can be found in ADAMS under 


ethrower on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2017 / Notices 46537 

Accession No. ML17213A224, 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 Licenses as described in the 

licensee’s request dated February 22, 

2017 and supplemented by letter dated 

June 2, 2017. This exemption is related 

to, and necessary for, the granting of 

License Amendment Nos. 84 and 83, 

which is being issued concurrently with 

this exemption. 

3. As explained in Section 5.0, 

‘‘Environmental Consideration,’’ of the 

NRC staff’s Safety Evaluation (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML17213A224), these 

exemptions 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. These exemptions are effective as of 

the date of its issuance. 

III. License Amendment Request 

By letter dated February 22, 2017, and 

supplemented by letter dated June 2, 

2017, 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 Federal Register notice. 

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 combined license, 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 28, 2017 (82 FR 15377). 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 exemptions and issued the 

amendments that the licensee requested 

on February 22, 2017 and supplemented 

June 2, 2017. 

The exemptions and amendments 

were issued on August 23, 2017 as part 

of a combined package to the licensee 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML17213A217). 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day 

of September 2017. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Jennifer Dixon-Herrity, 

Branch Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division 

of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New 

Reactors. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21497 Filed 10–4–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

Advisory Committee on Reactor 

Safeguards (ACRS); Meeting of the 

ACRS Subcommittee on Planning and 

Procedures; Notice of Meeting 

The ACRS Subcommittee on Planning 

and Procedures will hold a meeting on 

October 5, 2017, 11545 Rockville Pike, 

Room T–2B3, Rockville, Maryland 

20852. 

The meeting will be open to public 

attendance. 

The agenda for the subject meeting 

shall be as follows: 

Thursday, October 5, 2017—11:30 a.m. 

Until 12:30 p.m. 

The Subcommittee will discuss 

proposed ACRS activities and related 

matters. The Subcommittee will gather 

information, analyze relevant issues and 

facts, and formulate proposed positions 

and actions, as appropriate, for 

deliberation by the Full Committee. 

Members of the public desiring to 

provide oral statements and/or written 

comments should notify the Designated 

Federal Official (DFO), Quynh Nguyen 

(Telephone 301–415–5844 or Email: 

Quynh.Nguyen@nrc.gov) five days prior 

to the meeting, if possible, so that 

arrangements can be made. Thirty-five 

hard copies of each presentation or 

handout should be provided to the DFO 

thirty minutes before the meeting. In 

addition, one electronic copy of each 

presentation should be emailed to the 

DFO one day before the meeting. If an 

electronic copy cannot be provided 

within this timeframe, presenters 

should provide the DFO with a CD 

containing each presentation at least 

thirty minutes before the meeting. 

Electronic recordings will be permitted 

only during those portions of the 

meeting that are open to the public. 

Detailed procedures for the conduct of 

and participation in ACRS meetings 

were published in the Federal Register 

on October 17, 2016, (81 FR 71543). 

Information regarding changes to the 

agenda, whether the meeting has been 

canceled or rescheduled, and the time 

allotted to present oral statements can 

be obtained by contacting the identified 

DFO. Moreover, in view of the 

possibility that the schedule for ACRS 

meetings may be adjusted by the 

Chairman as necessary to facilitate the 

conduct of the meeting, persons 

planning to attend should check with 

the DFO if such rescheduling would 

result in a major inconvenience. 

If attending this meeting, please enter 

through the One White Flint North 

building, 11555 Rockville Pike, 

Rockville, Maryland 20852. After 

registering with Security, please contact 

Mr. Theron Brown at 240–888–9835 to 

be escorted to the meeting room. 

Dated: September 27, 2017. 

Mark L. Banks, 

Chief, Technical Support Branch, Advisory 

Committee on Reactor Safeguards. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21499 Filed 10–4–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket Nos. 052–00025 and 052–00026; 

NRC–2008–0252] 

Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 

3 and 4 Southern Nuclear Operating 

Company; Resolution of Auxiliary 

Building Wall Thickness and 

Description Inconsistencies 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: License amendment application; 

opportunity to comment, request a 

hearing, and petition for leave to 

intervene. 


ethrower on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES