[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 14 (Thursday, January 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3264-3265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00985]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2014-0183]
Laboratory Investigations of Soils and Rocks for Engineering
Analysis and Design of Nuclear Power Plants
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory guide: issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Revision 3 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.138, ``Laboratory Investigations
of Soils and Rocks for Engineering Analysis and Design of Nuclear Power
Plants.'' This guide describes a method that the NRC staff considers
acceptable for use in the laboratory testing of soils and rocks needed
to comply with NRC requirements for the siting and design of nuclear
power plants.
DATES: January 22, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0183 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-2014-0093. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. 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 access publicly available documents online in the NRC
Library 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 [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is
referenced. Revision 3 of Regulatory Guide 1.138 is available in ADAMS
under Accession No. ML14289A600. The regulatory analysis may be found
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14289A602.
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.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not
required to reproduce them.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Stovall, telephone: 301-251-
7922, email: [email protected], or Edward O'Donnell, telephone:
301-251-7455, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing guide in the NRC's
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and
make available to the public such information as methods that are
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the
NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating
specific problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff
needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
Revision 3 of RG 1.138 was issued with a temporary identification
as draft regulatory guide (DG)-1256. The guide describes laboratory
investigations and testing practices acceptable to the NRC staff for
determining soil and rock properties and characteristics needed for
engineering analysis and design of foundations and earthworks for
nuclear power plants. The guide was reformatted and was revised to
reflect changes in standards for testing procedures developed since
2003. The most significant change is in Section C.6.3, ``Resonant
Column Tests,'' which provides an alternative method for resonant
column and torsional shear testing of soil and rock samples.
II. Additional Information
The DG-1256 was published in the Federal Register on August 4, 2014
(79 FR 45223), for a 60-day public comment period. The public comment
period closed on October 3, 2014. No public comments were received.
III. Congressional Review Act
This regulatory guide is a rule as defined in the Congressional
Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and
Budget has not found it to be a major rule as defined in the
Congressional Review Act.
IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality
Issuance of this guide in final form does not constitute
backfitting as defined in Sec. 50.109 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) (the Backfit Rule) and is not otherwise
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. This
guide would not apply to any construction permits, operating licenses,
early site permits, or limited work authorizations already issued under
10 CFR 50.10 for which the NRC issued a final environmental impact
statement (EIS) preceded by a draft EIS under 10 CFR 51.76 or 51.75, or
combined licenses, any of which were issued by the NRC prior to
issuance of the final regulatory guide. The NRC has already completed
its siting determination for those construction permits, operating
licenses, early site permits, limited work authorizations, and combined
licenses. Absent voluntary action by the licensee (e.g., license
amendment, exemption request), no further NRC regulatory action on
siting will occur for those licenses, permits, and authorizations for
which the guidance in the guide would be relevant. Licensees and
holders of NRC regulatory approvals may perform testing of soils and
rocks for engineering analysis and design activities consistent with
the licensing basis for each permit and license. This testing need not
comply with this regulatory guide. However, when a licensee or holder
of an NRC regulatory approval voluntarily requests a change to its
license or regulatory approval for which new soils or rock testing is
necessary and is an essential consideration of the NRC's evaluation of
the request, then the NRC may condition its approval of the request on
the licensee's or holder's agreement to conduct the soil or rock
testing in accordance with the guidance in the guide.
The guidance in this regulatory guide may be applied to
applications for early site permits, combined licenses, and limited
work authorizations issued under 10 CFR 50.10 (including information
under 10 CFR 51.49(b) or (f)), any of which are docketed and under
review by the NRC as of the date of issuance of the final regulatory
guide. The guidance in this regulatory guide may also be applied to
applications for
[[Page 3265]]
construction permits, early site permits, combined licenses, and
limited work authorizations (including information under 10 CFR
51.49(b) or (f)), any of which are submitted after the issuance of the
final regulatory guide. Such action does not constitute backfitting as
defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) and is not otherwise inconsistent with
the applicable issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. Applicants
and potential applicants are not, with certain exceptions, protected by
either the Backfit Rule or any issue finality provisions under part 52.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of December 2014.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2015-00985 Filed 1-21-15; 8:45 am]
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