[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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