[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71291-71292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27115]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2021-0153]


Geologic and Geotechnical Site Characterization Investigations 
for 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) 1.132, ``Geologic and Geotechnical 
Site Characterization Investigations for Nuclear Power Plants.'' It 
provides guidance on field investigations for determining the geologic, 
geotechnical, geophysical, and hydrogeologic characteristics of a 
prospective site for engineering analysis and design of nuclear power 
plants.

DATES: Revision 3 to RG 1.132 is available on December 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0153 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 Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0153. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, 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, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for 
each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS)

[[Page 71292]]

is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this document RG 
1.132 and the regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession 
Nos. ML21298A054 and ML21194A177, respectively.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward O'Donnell, telephone: 301-415-
3317, email: [email protected] and Scott Stovall, telephone: 301-
415-2405, 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. Discussion

    The NRC is issuing RG 1.132 in the NRC's ``Regulatory Guide'' 
series. This series was developed to describe and make available to the 
public information regarding methods that are acceptable to the NRC 
staff for implementing specific parts of the agency's regulations, 
techniques that the NRC staff uses in evaluating specific issues or 
postulated events, and data that the NRC staff needs in its review of 
applications for permits and licenses.

II. Additional Information

    Revision 3 to RG 1.132 was issued for public comment on August 18, 
2021 with a temporary identification of Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1392 
and the NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1392 in the 
Federal Register on August 18, 2021 (86 FR 46279) for a 45-day public 
comment period. The public comment period closed on October 4, 2021. 
There were no public comments on DG-1392.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This RG 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 Revision 3, to RG 1.132 does not constitute as 
backfitting, as defined in section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Backfitting,'' and as described in NRC 
Management Directive (MD) 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, Forward 
Fitting, Issue Finality, and Information Requests.'' Issuance of 
Revision 3, to RG 1.132 also does not constitute as forward fitting, as 
that term is defined and described in MD 8.4, or affect issue finality 
of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certificates, 
and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.'' As explained in this 
regulatory guide, applicants and licensees are not required to comply 
with the positions set forth in this regulatory guide.

    Dated: December 9, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2021-27115 Filed 12-14-21; 8:45 am]
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