3264 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 14 / Thursday, January 22, 2015 / Notices 

This exemption is effective upon 

issuance. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day 

of January 2015. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Michele G. Evans, 

Director, Division of Operating Reactor 

Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01032 Filed 1–21–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

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. 

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: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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/readingrm/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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 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: Scott.Stovall@nrc.gov, or Edward 

O’Donnell, telephone: 301–251–7455, 

email: Edward.Odonnell@nrc.gov. 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 § 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 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 14 / Thursday, January 22, 2015 / Notices 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] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

Advisory Committee On Reactor 

Safeguards (ACRS) Meeting of the 

ACRS Subcommittee on Planning and 

Procedures; Notice of Meeting 

The ACRS Subcommittee on Planning 

and Procedures will hold a meeting on 

February 4, 2015, Room T–2B3, 11545 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. 

The meeting will be open to public 

attendance with the exception of a 

portion that may be closed pursuant to 

5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(2) and (6) to discuss 

organizational and personnel matters 

that relate solely to the internal 

personnel rules and practices of the 

ACRS, and information the release of 

which would constitute a clearly 

unwarranted invasion of personal 

privacy. 

The agenda for the subject meeting 

shall be as follows: 

Wednesday, February 4, 2015—12:00 

p.m. Until 1:00 p.m. 

The Subcommittee will discuss 

proposed ACRS activities and related 

matters. The Subcommittee will gather 

information, analyze relevant issues and 

facts, and formulate proposed positions 

and actions, as appropriate, for 

deliberation by the Full Committee. 

Members of the public desiring to 

provide oral statements and/or written 

comments should notify the Designated 

Federal Official (DFO), Quynh Nguyen 

(Telephone 301–415–5844 or Email: 

Quynh.Nguyen@nrc.gov) five days prior 

to the meeting, if possible, so that 

arrangements can be made. Thirty-five 

hard copies of each presentation or 

handout should be provided to the DFO 

thirty minutes before the meeting. In 

addition, one electronic copy of each 

presentation should be emailed to the 

DFO one day before the meeting. If an 

electronic copy cannot be provided 

within this timeframe, presenters 

should provide the DFO with a CD 

containing each presentation at least 

thirty minutes before the meeting. 

Electronic recordings will be permitted 

only during those portions of the 

meeting that are open to the public. 

Detailed procedures for the conduct of 

and participation in ACRS meetings 

were published in the Federal Register 

on October 13, 2014 (79 FR 59307– 

59308). 

Information regarding changes to the 

agenda, whether the meeting has been 

canceled or rescheduled, and the time 

allotted to present oral statements can 

be obtained by contacting the identified 

DFO. Moreover, in view of the 

possibility that the schedule for ACRS 

meetings may be adjusted by the 

Chairman as necessary to facilitate the 

conduct of the meeting, persons 

planning to attend should check with 

the DFO if such rescheduling would 

result in a major inconvenience. 

If attending this meeting, please enter 

through the One White Flint North 

building, 11555 Rockville Pike, 

Rockville, MD. After registering with 

security, please contact Mr. Theron 

Brown (240–888–9835) to be escorted to 

the meeting room. 

Dated: January 15, 2015. 

Mark L. Banks, 

Chief, Technical Support Branch, Advisory 

Committee on Reactor Safeguards. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01027 Filed 1–21–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT 

CORPORATION 

Sunshine Act Meeting; OPIC Annual 

Public Hearing 

TIME AND DATE: 1 p.m., Wednesday, 

March 11, 2015. 

PLACE: Offices of the Corporation, 

Twelfth Floor Board Room, 1100 New 

York Avenue NW., Washington, DC 

STATUS: Hearing OPEN to the Public at 

1 p.m. 

PURPOSE: Annual Public Hearing to 

afford an opportunity for any person to 

present views regarding the activities of 

the Corporation. 

PROCEDURES: Individuals wishing to 

address the hearing orally must provide 

advance notice to OPIC’s Corporate 

Secretary no later than 5 p.m. Friday, 

February 27, 2015. The notice must 

include the individual’s name, title, 

organization, address, email, telephone 

number, and a concise summary of the 

subject matter to be presented. 

Oral presentations may not exceed ten 

(10) minutes. The time for individual 

presentations may be reduced 

proportionately, if necessary, to afford 

all participants who have submitted a 

timely request an opportunity to be 

heard. 

Participants wishing to submit a 

written statement for the record must 

submit a copy of such statement to 

OPIC’s Corporate Secretary no later than 

5 p.m. Friday, February 27, 2014. Such 

statement must be typewritten, doublespaced, and may not exceed twenty-five 

(25) pages. 

Upon receipt of the required notice, 

OPIC will prepare an agenda for the 

hearing identifying speakers, setting 

forth the subject on which each 

participant will speak, and the time 

allotted for each presentation. The 

agenda will be available at the hearing. 

A written summary of the hearing will 

be compiled, and such summary will be 

made available, upon written request to 

OPIC’s Corporate Secretary, at the cost 

of reproduction. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR INFORMATION: 

Information on the hearing may be 

obtained from Connie M. Downs at (202) 

336–8438, or via email at 

connie.downs@opic.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OPIC is a 

U.S. Government agency that provides, 

on a commercial basis, political risk 

insurance and financing in friendly 

developing countries and emerging 

democracies for environmentally sound 

projects that confer positive 

developmental benefits upon the project 

country while creating employment in 

the U.S. OPIC is required by section 

231A(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

1961, as amended (the ‘‘Act’’) to hold at 

least one public hearing each year. 

Dated: January 20, 2015. 

Connie M. Downs, 

OPIC Corporate Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01132 Filed 1–20–15; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 3210–01–P 

POSTAL SERVICE 

Temporary Emergency Committee of 

the Board of Governors; Sunshine Act 

Meeting 

DATES AND TIMES: Thursday, February 5, 

2015, at 10:00 a.m.; and Friday, 

February 6, at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES