[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 12517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6508]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-327 and 50-328]


Tennessee Valley Authority; Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2; 
Exemption

I

    Tennessee Valley Authority (the licensee) is the holder of Facility 
Operating License Nos. DPR-77 and DPR-79, for the Sequoyah Nuclear 
Plant (SQN), Units 1 and 2. The licenses provide, among other things, 
that the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of 
the Commission now or hereafter in effect.
    This facility consists of two pressurized water reactors located in 
Hamilton County, Tennessee.

II

    Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.71 
``Maintenance of records, making of reports,'' paragraph (e)(4) states, 
in part, that ``Subsequent revisions [to the updated Final Safety 
Analysis Report (FSAR)] must be filed annually or 6 months after each 
refueling outage provided the interval between successive updates [to 
the FSAR] does not exceed 24 months.'' The two units at the SQN site 
share a common FSAR; therefore, this rule requires the licensee to 
update the same document annually or within 6 months after each unit's 
refueling outage (approximately every 9 months).

III

    Section 50.12(a) of 10 CFR, ``Specific exemptions,'' states that

    The Commission may, upon application by any interested person or 
upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of 
the regulations of this part, which are--
    (1) Authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the 
public health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense 
and security.
    (2) The Commission will not consider granting an exemption 
unless special circumstances are present.

    Section 50.12(a)(2)(ii) of 10 CFR states that special circumstances 
are present when ``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 * * *.'' 
The licensee has proposed updating the unified SQN FSAR 6 months after 
each Unit 2 refueling outage. With the current length of fuel cycles, 
FSAR updates would be submitted approximately every 18 months, but not 
to exceed 24 months from the last submittal. The underlying purpose of 
the rule was to relieve licensees of the burden of filing annual FSAR 
revisions while assuring that such revisions are made at least every 24 
months. The Commission reduced the burden, in part, by permitting a 
licensee to submit its FSAR revisions 6 months after refueling outages 
for its facility, but did not provide for multiple unit facilities 
sharing a common FSAR in the rule. Rather, the Commission stated that 
``With respect to * * * multiple facilities sharing a common FSAR, 
licensees will have maximum flexibility for scheduling updates on a 
case-by-case basis'' 57 FR 39355 (1992).
    The SQN units are on an 18-month fuel cycle. As noted in the 
staff's Safety Evaluation, the licensee's proposed schedule for SQN 
FSAR updates will ensure that the FSAR will be maintained current for 
both units within 24 months of the last revision. Likewise, should the 
licensee choose to submit the 10 CFR 50.59 design-change report 
together with the FSAR revision, the interval for submission of that 
report will not exceed 24 months. The proposed schedule satisfies the 
maximum 24-month interval between FSAR revisions specified by 10 CFR 
50.71(e)(4). Revising the FSAR 6 months after refueling outages for 
each unit, therefore, is not necessary to achieve the underlying 
purpose of the rule. Accordingly, the Commission has determined that 
special circumstances are present as defined in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii). 
The Commission has further determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, 
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, and is otherwise in the public interest. The Commission 
hereby grants the licensee an exemption from the requirement of 10 CFR 
50.71(e)(4) to submit updates to the SQN FSAR within 6 months of each 
unit's refueling outage. The licensee will be required to submit 
updates to the SQN FSAR within 6 months after each Unit 2 refueling 
outage, not to exceed 24 months between subsequent revisions.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that 
granting of this exemption will have no significant effect on the 
quality of the human environment (63 FR 10958).
    This exemption is effective upon issuance.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of March 1998.
Samuel J. Collins,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 98-6508 Filed 3-12-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P