ML24096A132
| ML24096A132 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vogtle  |
| Issue date: | 04/05/2024 |
| From: | John Lamb NRC/NRR/DORL/LPL2-1 |
| To: | Coleman J Southern Nuclear Operating Co |
| Shared Package | |
| ML24096A190 | List: |
| References | |
| EPID L-2024-LLA-0043 | |
| Download: ML24096A132 (1) | |
Text
April 5, 2024 Ms. Jamie M. Coleman Regulatory Affairs Director Southern Nuclear Operating Co., Inc.
3535 Colonnade Parkway Birmingham, AL 35243
SUBJECT:
VOGTLE ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT, UNIT NO. 3 - INDIVIDUAL NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING AND ORDER (EPID L-2024-LLA-0043)
Dear Ms. Coleman:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has forwarded the enclosed notice of consideration of issuance of amendment to combined facility operating license NPF-91, proposed no significant hazards consideration determination, and opportunity for a hearing to the Office of the Federal Register for publication.
This notice relates to your application dated April 4, 2024, in which you propose changes to Technical Specification (TS) 5.5.13, Ventilation Filter Testing Program (VFTP), at Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (Vogtle), Unit 3. SNC requests approval of a one-time exception to the 24-month testing frequency to defer the next required performance until prior to startup from the first refueling outage. SNC proposes that this exception would apply to in-place penetration and system bypass testing of the high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, in-place penetration and system bypass testing of the charcoal adsorber, and pressure drop testing across the HEPA filter, the charcoal adsorber, and the post filter, as specified in TS 5.5.13.a.1, 5.5.13.a.2, and 5.5.13.a.4, respectively.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 301-415-3100.
Sincerely,
/RA/
John G. Lamb, Senior Project Manager Plant Licensing Branch II-1 Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Docket No.52-025
Enclosure:
As stated
cc w/encl: Distribution via Listserv FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE
INDIVIDUAL NOTICE
[7590-01-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No.52-025; NRC-2024-0071]
Southern Nuclear Operating Company;
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Unit 3;
License Amendment Application
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Opportunity to comment, request a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene.
SUMMARY
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of
an amendment to Combined License No. NPF-91, issued to Southern Nuclear Operating
Company (SNC, the licensee), for operation of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant
(Vogtle), Unit 3. The proposed amendment would change the ventilation filter testing
program testing frequency for Vogtle Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 3.
DATES:
Submit comments by May 10, 2024. 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. Requests for a hearing or petition for leave to
intervene must be filed by June 10, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; however,
the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking
website.
Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC-2024-0071. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov
to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; email: Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the For Further Information Contact
section of this document.
Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Program
Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
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: John G. Lamb, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001,
telephone: 301-415-3100; email: John.Lamb@nrc.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0071 when contacting the NRC about the
availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly available information
related to this action by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and
search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0071.
NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public
Documents collection at https://www.nr c.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the
search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems with ADAMS, please
contact the NRCs Public Document Room (P DR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at
301-415-4737, or by email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The license amendment request
2 to change the ventilation filter testing program testing frequency for Vogtle Nuclear
Generating Plant, Unit 3, is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML24095A354.
NRCs PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly
available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR,
please send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-
4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal
rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please include Docket ID NRC-
2024-0071 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you
do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all
comment submissions at https://www.regulat ions.gov as well as enter the comment
submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for
submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying
or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment
submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions
available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to Combined License No.
NPF-91, issued to SNC, for operation of Vogtle, Unit 3, located in Burke County,
3 Georgia. By letter dated April 4, 2024, SNC submitted a license amendment request to
change Technical Specification (TS) 5.5.13, Ventilation Filter Testing Program (VFTP),
at Vogtle, Unit 3. SNC proposes to provide an exception to the 24-month testing
frequency to defer the next required performance until prior to startup from the first
refueling outage. The licensee proposes that this exception would apply to in-place
penetration and system bypass testing of the high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter,
in-place penetration and system bypass testing of the charcoal adsorber, and pressure
drop testing across the HEPA filter, the c harcoal adsorber, and the post filter, as
specified in TS 5.5.13.a.1, 5.5.13.a.2, and 5.5.13.a.4, respectively.
Before any issuance of the proposed license amendment, the NRC will need to
make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and
NRC's regulations.
The NRC has made a proposed determination that the license amendment
request involves no significant hazards consideration (NSHC). Under the NRCs
regulations in section 50.92 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), this
means that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed amendment 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. As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of the
issue of NSHC, which is presented as follows:
- 1. Does the proposed amendment involve a significant increase in the
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
4 The proposed change relaxes the time allowed to perform a Surveillance.
The time between Surveillances is not an initiator to any accident previously
evaluated. Consequently, the probability of an accident previously evaluated is
not significantly increased. The equipment being tested is still required to be
operable and capable of performing the accident mitigation function assumed in
the accident analysis. As a result, the consequences of any accident previously
evaluated are not significantly affected.
Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant increase in
the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
- 2. Does the proposed amendment create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The proposed change does not involve a physical alteration of the plant
(no new or different type of equipment will be installed) or a change in the
methods governing normal plant operation.
Therefore, the proposed change does not create the possibility of a new
or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated.
- 3. Does the proposed amendment involve a significant reduction in a
margin of safety?
Response: No.
The relaxed time allowed to perform a Surveillance does not result in a
significant reduction in the margin of safety. As supported by the historical data,
the likely outcome of any Surveillance is verification that the requirement is met.
Failure to perform a Surveillance within the currently prescribed Frequency does
not cause equipment to become inoperable. The only effect of the additional time
5 allowed to perform the Surveillance on the margin of safety is the extension of
the time until inoperable equipment is discovered to be inoperable by the missed
Surveillance. Balancing the rare occurrence of an undiscovered inoperability
against the actual risk of manipulating the plant equipment to perform the
Surveillance, leads to a conclusion of enhanced plant safety margins. In addition,
the diesel-backed normal ventilation system can perform the safety function of
the filtration train should there be an undiscovered inoperability. Thus, there is
confidence that plant safety margins are maintained.
Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant reduction
in a margin of safety.
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensees ana lysis and, based on this review, it
appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC
staff proposes to determine that the license amendment request involves NSHC.
The NRC is seeking public comments on this proposed determination that the
license amendment request involves NSHC. Any comments received within 30 days
after the date of publication of this notice will be considered in making any final
determination.
Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the expiration of 60
days after the date of publication of this notice (the notice period). However, if
circumstances change during the notice period, such that failure to act in a timely way
would result, for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility, the Commission may
issue the license amendment before the expiration of the notice period, provided that its
final determination is that the amendment involves NSHC. The final determination will
consider all public and State comments received. If the Commission takes action prior to
the expiration of either the comment period or the notice period, it will publish in the
6 Federal Register a notice of issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take
this action will occur very infrequently.
III. Opportunity to Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave to Intervene
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any person (petitioner)
whose interest may be affected by this action may file a request for a hearing and
petition for leave to intervene (petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed
in accordance with the Commissions Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure in
10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult 10 CFR 2.309. If a petition is filed, the
presiding officer will rule on the petition and, if appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be
issued.
Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of publication of this
notice in accordance with the filing instructions in the Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
section of this document. Petitions and motions for leave to file new or amended
contentions that are filed after the deadline will not be entertained absent a
determination by the presiding officer that the filing demonstrates good cause by
satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii).
If a hearing is requested and the Commission has not made a final determination
on the issue of NSHC, the Commission will make a final determination on the issue of
NSHC, which will serve to establish when the hearing is held. If the final determination is
that the amendment request involves NSHC, the Commission may issue the amendment
and make it immediately effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any
hearing would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the final determination is
that the amendment request involves a signi ficant hazards consideration, then any
hearing held would take place before the issuance of the amendment unless the
7 Commission finds an imminent danger to the health or safety of the public, in which case
it will issue an appropriate order or rule under 10 CFR part 2.
A State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or
designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to participate as a
party under 10 CFR 2.309(h) no later than 60 days from the date of publication of this
notice. Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian
Tribe, or agency thereof may participate as a non-party under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
For information about filing a petition and about participation by a person not a
party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No. ML20340A053
(https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSear ch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20340A
053) and on the NRCs public website at
https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/ adjudicatory/hearing.html#participate.
IV. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including documents filed
by an interested State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or
designated agency thereof that requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be
filed in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process requires participants to
submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some cases, to mail
copies on electronic storage media, unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing
method, as further discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is
located in the Guidance for Electronic S ubmissions to the NRC (ADAMS Accession
No. ML13031A056) and on the NRCs public websit e at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-
submittals.html.
To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 days prior to
the filing deadline, the participant should contact the Office of the Secretary by email at
8 Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov, or by telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital
identification (ID) certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing system for any
proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise the Secretary that the participant
will be submitting a petition or other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which
the participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish an electronic docket
for the proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on the NRCs
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-hel p/e-submittals/getting-started.html. After a
digital ID certificate is obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit
adjudicatory documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is
available on the NRCs public website at http s://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-
mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the document is submitted through
the NRCs E-Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the
E-Filing system no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends the submitter an
email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing system also distributes an email
that provides access to the document to the NRCs Office of the General Counsel and
any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in
the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document on those participants
separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants (or their counsel or
representative) must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory
documents are filed to obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing system.
9 A person filing electronically using the NRCs adjudicatory E-Filing system may
seek assistance by contacting the NRCs Electronic Filing Help Desk through the
Contact Us link located on the NRCs public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-
submittals.html, by email to MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a toll-free call at
1-866-672-7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. and
6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Participants who believe that they have good cause for not submitting documents
electronically must file an exemption request, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with
their initial paper filing stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such filings
must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing
adjudicatory documents in this manner are responsible for serving their documents on all
other participants. Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must
still meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1), unless the
participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the NRCs
electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd,
unless excluded pursuant to an order of the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate as previously described, click cancel when the link requests
certificates and you will be automatically directed to the NRCs electronic hearing
dockets where you will be able to access any publicly available documents in a particular
hearing docket. Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone numbers in their
filings unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submission of such information.
With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of
10 the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants should
not include copyrighted materials in their submission.
For further details with respect to this action, see the application for license
amendment dated April 4, 2024 (ADAMS Accession No. ML24095A354).
Attorney for licensee : Millicent Ronnlund, Vice President and General Counsel, P.O. Box
1295, Birmingham, AL 35201-1295.
NRC Branch Chief: Michael Markley.
Dated: April 5, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
John Lamb, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
11
SUBJECT:
VOGTLE ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT, UNIT NO. 3 - INDIVIDUAL NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING AND ORDER (EPID L-2024-LLA-0043) DATED APRIL 5, 2024
DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC RidsNrr LAKGoldstein Resource LPL2-1 R/F RidsNrrPMVogtle Resource RidsAcrsAcnw_MailCTR Resource RidsOgcRp Resource RidsNrrDorlDpr Resource RidsRgn2MailCenter Resource RidsNrrDorlLpl2-1 Resource
ADAMS Accession Nos.: Package - ML24096A190; Letter - ML24096A132; FRN - ML24096A133 OFFICE NRR/LPL2-1/PM NRR/LPL2-1/LA OGC - NLO NRR/LPL2-1/BC NRR/LPL2-1/PM NAME JLamb KGoldstein AGhosh Naber MMarkley JLamb DATE 04/05/2024 04/05/2024 04/05/2024 04/05/2024 04/05/2024 OFFICIAL AGENCY RECORD