ML18073A108

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Management Directive 3.16, NRC Announcement Program.
ML18073A108
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Issue date: 06/02/2016
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DT-17-113 MD 3.16
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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION MANAGEMENT DIRECTIVE (MD)

MD 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM DT-17-113 Volume 3, Information Management Part 1: Publications, Mail, and Information Disclosure Approved by: Cynthia A. Carpenter, Director Office of Administration Date Approved: June 2, 2016 Cert. Date: N/A, for the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

Issuing Office: Office of Administration Division of Administrative Services Contact Name: Kathleen Raynor 301-415-3568 EXECUTIVE

SUMMARY

Management Directive (MD) 3.16, NRC Announcement Program, is revised to reflect changes made to the program as a result of recommendations from Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Audit OIG-14-A-19, Audit of NRCs Process for Revising Management Directives. Specifically, policy-related Yellow Announcements now are required to include an expiration date and an MD reference that includes a citation for the specific section of the related MD. This revision also reflects administrative changes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. POLICY..............................................................................................................................2 II. OBJECTIVES ....................................................................................................................2 III. ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY ........... 2 A. Chairman ......................................................................................................................2 B. Commissioners .............................................................................................................3 C. Executive Director for Operations (EDO) ......................................................................3 D. Office of the General Counsel (OGC) ...........................................................................3 E. Inspector General (IG) ..................................................................................................3 F. Chief Financial Officer (CFO)........................................................................................3 G. Director, Office of Administration (ADM) .......................................................................4 H. Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) ...........................................................................4 For updates or revisions to policies contained in this MD that were issued after the MD was signed, please see the Yellow Announcement to Management Directive index (YA-to-MD index).

MD 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 I. Chief Information Officer (CIO) .....................................................................................4 J. Office Directors and Regional Administrators ...............................................................5 K. Director, Division of Administrative Services (DAS), ADM ............................................5 IV. APPLICABILITY ................................................................................................................5 V. DIRECTIVE HANDBOOK ..................................................................................................5 VI. REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................6 I. POLICY It is the policy of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure effective and timely communication of information to agency employees. The NRC Announcement Program encompasses systems and methods used to communicate information agencywide and ensure programmatic changes are captured in durable policy and guidance.

II. OBJECTIVES Provide guidelines for authorized use, required approval, proper issuance, and required retention of all types of agencywide announcements, including urgent or time-sensitive announcements, issued through the NRC Announcement Program.

Ensure that an agencywide announcement is properly approved for issuance.

Manage the volume, timing, and frequency of agencywide announcements, and provide guidelines for the approval and establishment of a uniquely identified, special e-mail account for an announcement issued as an e-mail bulletin.

III. ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY A. Chairman

1. Approves NRC announcement policy.
2. Approves the issuance of an NRC Yellow Announcement that (a) Conveys information about new policies, practices, or procedures; (b) Introduces information about a change in policies, practices, or procedures; (c) Announces a senior staff assignment or organizational change; (d) Addresses an agencywide event; and (e) Communicates other information of significance to agency employees.
3. Delegates the responsibilities described in Sections III.A.1 and III.A.2 of this directive, as appropriate.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 2

MD 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 B. Commissioners Approve and sign an NRC Yellow Announcement regarding a staff assignment in their respective offices.

C. Executive Director for Operations (EDO)

1. The Chairman has delegated the following authorities to the Executive Director for Operations (EDO):

(a) Approves NRC announcement policy.

(b) Approves and signs an NRC Yellow Announcement that (i) Conveys information about new policies, practices, or procedures; (ii) Introduces information about a change in policies, practices, or procedures; (iii) Announces a senior staff assignment or organizational change; (iv) Addresses an agencywide event; and (v) Communicates other information of significance to agency employees.

2. The EDO may redelegate the responsibilities and authorities delineated in Section III.C.1 of this directive, as appropriate.

D. Office of the General Counsel (OGC)

1. Advises on Yellow Announcements concerning legal requirements or issues.
2. Exercises the same role and responsibilities listed in Section III.J, Office Directors and Regional Administrators, of this directive.

E. Inspector General (IG)

Approves and signs an NRC Yellow Announcement that conveys information about a significant new policy, a senior staff assignment, or an organizational change related to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

F. Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

1. The Chairman has delegated authority to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to approve and sign an NRC Yellow Announcement that (a) Conveys information about financial policies, practices, or procedures; (b) Conveys information about changes in financial policies, practices, or procedures; (c) Announces an Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) senior staff assignment or organizational change; For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 3

MD 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 (d) Addresses an OCFO-related agencywide event; and (e) Communicates other OCFO-related information of significance to agency employees.

2. The CFO may redelegate the responsibilities and authorities delineated in Section III.F.1 of this directive, as appropriate.

G. Director, Office of Administration (ADM)

1. Oversees the NRC Announcement Program and issues guidance on agency policy and procedures for announcements in accordance with Management Directive (MD) 9.21, Organization and Functions, Office of Administration.
2. Periodically reviews the efficiency and adequacy of the NRC Announcement Program.
3. Approves a request from an office director or regional administrator for the distribution of an urgent or time-sensitive announcement to all employees through the NRC Announcement System. (This applies to all requests for urgent announcements except those submitted by the Chairman, a Commissioner, or the EDO.)
4. Approves a request for authority to issue e-mail bulletins.
5. Exercises the same role and responsibilities listed in Section III.J, Office Directors and Regional Administrators, of this directive.

H. Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO)

1. Announces senior staff assignments or organizational changes.
2. Submits for the offices any announcement regarding a solicitation of interest, rotational opportunity, retirement, and death of a former NRC employee.
3. Concurs on an announcement related to agencywide training.
4. Exercises the same role and responsibilities listed in Section III.J, Office Directors and Regional Administrators, of this directive.

I. Chief Information Officer (CIO)

1. Ensures the timely e-mail delivery and posting of an announcement to the NRC internal Web site.
2. Creates and maintains an account for each bulletin owner to issue e-mail bulletins to all employees, after confirming approval of the Director, ADM (see Section III.G.4 of this directive).
3. Exercises the same role and responsibilities listed in Section III.J, Office Directors and Regional Administrators, of this directive.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 4

MD 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 J. Office Directors and Regional Administrators

1. Approve and sign an NRC Yellow Announcement informing agency employees of a management staff assignment or organizational change within their respective offices or conveying important information, including policy, pertaining to their functional areas of control.
2. Approve issuance of an NRC announcement within their functional areas.
3. Advise the NRC Announcement Coordinator (or designee) when a new announcement supersedes a previously issued announcement.
4. Ensure that an announcement originating in their respective offices is issued through the NRC Announcement Coordinator (or designee), is properly approved, and complies with the requirements of this directive.
5. Ensure that an approved announcement does not contain any sensitive information.
6. Ensure that an announcement concerning legal requirements or issues is appropriately coordinated with the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) or regional counsel.
7. Approve the request to the NRC Announcement Coordinator (or designee) for an urgent or time-sensitive announcement to all employees through the NRC Announcement System.
8. May delegate, as appropriate, authority to approve specific types of announcements and inform the NRC Announcement Coordinator (or designee) of these delegations.

K. Director, Division of Administrative Services (DAS), ADM

1. Develops and maintains guidelines for the NRC Announcement Program.
2. Ensures that guidelines for the NRC Announcement Program are effectively and efficiently implemented.
3. Ensures that an NRC Announcement Coordinator (or designee) is assigned to implement and coordinate guidelines for the NRC Announcement Program.
4. Approves and ensures that a public address announcement intended for NRC headquarters is announced through the NRC Public Address System in a timely and efficient manner. (This applies to all public address announcements, except those submitted by the Chairman, a Commissioner, or the EDO.)

IV. APPLICABILITY The provisions of this directive and handbook apply to and must be followed by all NRC employees and NRC contractors who are permitted access to the NRC internal Web site.

V. DIRECTIVE HANDBOOK Handbook 3.16 establishes general guidelines that apply to all announcements and describes high-level procedures related to the issuance of announcements.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 5

MD 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 VI. REFERENCES ADM Office Instruction ADM-002, Redelegation of Authority, June 2011 (ML112000396).

E-mail from Maria Schwartz, National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 28, to Barbara Sanford, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, MD/Yellow Announcement Linkage, May 11, 2016, (ML16144A575).

Memorandum from Darren B. Ash, Deputy Executive Director for Corporate Management, to Those on the Attached List, Improvements to the Management Directive and Yellow Announcement Programs, April 3, 2015 (ML15043A789).

Memorandum from Cynthia Carpenter, Director, Office of Administration, to Those on the Attached List, Status of all Policy Yellow Announcements Related to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Management Directives, March 3, 2016 (ML15162B068).

NUREG-1379, NRC Style Guide.

Office of the Inspector General Audit OIG-14-A-19, Audit of NRCs Process for Revising Management Directives (ML14258A612).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and National Treasury Employees Union Collective Bargaining Agreement, available at http://www.internal.nrc.gov/HR/pdf/cba.pdf.

Yellow Announcement to Management Directive Index (YA-to-MD Index), available at http://fusion.nrc.gov/adm/team/DAS/RADB/MD/Lists/yellowtoMD_index/AllItems.aspx.

NRC Internal Web Sites Contact Information for the NRC Announcement Coordinator (or Designee):

http://drupal.nrc.gov/content/contacts.

General Guidelines on the NRC Announcement Program:

http://drupal.nrc.gov/content/general-guidelines.

Information on the Creation and Use of Highlights:

https://drupal.nrc.gov/content/submitting-intranet-highlight.

NRC Announcement Program Web Site:

http://drupal.nrc.gov/content/nrc-announcement-program.

NRC Announcement Types:

http://drupal.nrc.gov/content/type-announcements.

NRC Announcements by Category:

http://drupal.nrc.gov/nrc/nrc-announcements-category.

NRC Announcements by Year:

http://drupal.nrc.gov/nrc/nrc-announcement-year.

NRC Internal Web Site:

http://drupal.nrc.gov/.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 6

MD 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 NRC Management Directives MD 1.1, NRC Management Directives System.

MD 9.21, Organization and Functions, Office of Administration.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 7

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DIRECTIVE HANDBOOK (DH)

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM DT-17-113 Volume 3, Information Management Part 1: Publications, Mail, and Information Disclosure Approved By: Cynthia A. Carpenter, Director Office of Administration Date Approved: June 2, 2016 Cert. Date: N/A, for the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog.

Issuing Office: Division of Administrative Services Office of Administration Contact Name: Kathleen Raynor 301-415-3568 EXECUTIVE

SUMMARY

Management Directive (MD) 3.16, NRC Announcement Program, is revised to reflect changes made to the program as a result of recommendations from Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Audit OIG-14-A-19, Audit of NRCs Process for Revising Management Directives. Specifically, policy-related Yellow Announcements now are required to include an expiration date and an MD reference that includes a citation for the specific section of the related MD. This revision also reflects administrative changes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. MANAGEMENT OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM ................................................2 A. Distribution of an Announcement and Maintenance of the Program..............................2 B. Automated Processing System for Distribution, Searching, and Archiving.......................................................................................................................2 C. Additional Guidelines Available .....................................................................................3 II. CONTENT OF AN ANNOUNCEMENT ..............................................................................3 A. An Announcement May Not Establish New or Revised Policy ......................................3 B. Expiration Date for Policy-related Yellow Announcements ............................................4 C. No Sensitive Information Permitted...............................................................................4 D. Announcement Concerning Legal Requirements or Issues ..........................................5 III. STANDARD ANNOUNCEMENTS AND YELLOW ANNOUNCEMENTS ...........................5 A. NRC Standard Announcement .....................................................................................5 B. NRC Yellow Announcement .........................................................................................5 For updates or revisions to policies contained in this MD that were published after the MD was signed, please see the Yellow Announcement to Management Directive index (YA-to-MD index).

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 IV. TYPES OF ANNOUNCEMENTS ........................................................................................7 A. General ........................................................................................................................7 B. Announcement Issued Through the NRC Announcement Program ..............................7 C. Announcement Issued Through the Public Address System .........................................8 D. Special Topic Bulletin (Sent by E-mail) .........................................................................9 E. Intranet Highlight (Posted to the NRC Internal Web Site)............................................ 10 V. CREATING AN ANNOUNCEMENT .................................................................................10 A. Guidelines ..................................................................................................................10 B. Urgent or Time-Sensitive Announcement ...................................................................11 VI. APPROVAL AND RETENTION OF AN ANNOUNCEMENT ............................................ 11 A. Approval by Agency Official Required.........................................................................11 B. Recordkeeping Requirements ....................................................................................12 C. Duration of an NRC Announcement on the NRC Internal Web Site ............................ 12 I. MANAGEMENT OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM A. Distribution of an Announcement and Maintenance of the Program

1. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Announcement Program is managed by the Office of Administration (ADM), Division of Administrative Services (DAS)

(see Section II of Management Directive (MD) 9.21, Organization and Functions, Office of Administration), and maintained electronically by the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO).

2. The NRC Announcement Coordinator (or designee) processes all NRC announcement requests in accordance with the policies and procedures detailed in this MD. Contact information is available on the NRC internal Web site at http://drupal.nrc.gov/content/contacts.
3. The OCIO Web team provides technical assistance to the NRC Announcement Coordinator, as needed, to maintain and make improvements to the system.
4. NRC announcements are available only to NRC staff and those NRC contractors who are permitted access to the NRC internal Web site. They are not available to the public.

B. Automated Processing System for Distribution, Searching, and Archiving

1. Distribution An NRC announcement is received and issued through an automated system that allows Web posting, daily e-mail distribution, and online archiving of announcements.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 2

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016

2. Searching (a) To search for a word or phrase contained within an NRC announcement, go to the NRC internal home page at http://drupal.nrc.gov.

(b) At the top of the page (right-hand corner in the blue section), there is a search box. Type the key word or phrase into the search box and select search.

Alternatively, for a more specific search, on the right side of the main section of the home page, go to Granular Search. Type the key word or phrase into the search box and use the drop down menu to select either Announcements or Yellows and then click search.

(c) The search results will contain the relevant announcement(s).

3. Archiving An NRC announcement is stored in the NRC announcements archive, which is accessible from the NRC internal home page and searchable by category or year. In addition, you can search by other parameters by going to the bottom of the announcement section on the home page and selecting View all Announcements.

This will take you to a search page where you can search for an announcement by title, category, and date.

(a) To access an NRC announcement by category, go to http://drupal.nrc.gov/nrc/nrc-announcements-category.

(b) To access an NRC announcement by year, go to http://drupal.nrc.gov/nrc/nrc-announcement-year.

4. Yellow Announcements Yellow Announcements are archived both in the NRC announcements archive and as official agency records in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS).

C. Additional Guidelines Available Additional guidelines can be found on the NRC Announcement Program Web site at http://drupal.nrc.gov/content/nrc-announcement-program. To go to the NRC Announcement Program Web site, select the Announcement Program tab in the Announcement box on the home page. Select Read More, which will take you to the Announcement Program Web site.

II. CONTENT OF AN ANNOUNCEMENT An NRC announcement communicates information of significance or interest to agency employees and is subject to the content restrictions listed below.

A. An Announcement May Not Establish New or Revised Policy

1. Policy for the agency is issued through other vehicles; for example, memoranda signed by the Chairman, the Secretary of the Commission, or the Executive Director for Operations (EDO).

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 3

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016

2. Because it can be issued more quickly than an MD or other document, an NRC Yellow Announcement is the vehicle used to notify employees of new or revised policy or describe the process to implement a policy; however, it may not establish new or revised policy.

Example: A revised MD might be published on October 1, 2008, and then again on July 15, 2013. Several Yellow Announcements related to the MD might have been issued after October 1, 2008, and before July 15, 2013. The author of the MD and the appropriate office director will ensure that all relevant Yellow Announcements issued after October 1, 2008, and before July 15, 2013, are appropriately incorporated into the revised MD that is published on July 15, 2013. (See also Handbook,Section VIII, of MD 1.1, NRC Management Directives System, for the requirements for incorporating a Yellow Announcement into the MD system.)

3. An office that conveys new or revised policy in an NRC Yellow Announcement must post the document containing the policy on the NRC internal Web site. The NRC Yellow Announcement will reference that document and provide a link to the online MD catalog.

B. Expiration Date for Policy-related Yellow Announcements

1. When an NRC Yellow Announcement is issued to notify employees of new or revised policy, the expiration date for the related MD will appear at the top of the Yellow Announcement under the signature date. In cases where a Yellow Announcement cites more than one MD, the expiration date is that of the last MD to be revised. (See the memorandum from Cynthia Carpenter, Director, ADM, to Office Directors, Status of all Policy Yellow Announcements Related to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Management Directives, ADAMS Accession No. ML15162B068, and MD 1.1, Handbook,Section XIII.P.)
2. Once the Yellow Announcement has expired (the related MD is revised and published), the NRC Announcement Coordinator (or designee) will ensure that the Yellow Announcement that is posted on the NRC Intranet is clearly marked superseded. If the related MD is not revised before its expiration date, the Yellow Announcement will not be marked as superseded until after the revised MD is published. The policy announced in the Yellow Announcement is considered in effect until the Yellow Announcement is superseded by a new or revised MD or by a new Yellow Announcement, including cases where there is no related MD.

C. No Sensitive Information Permitted

1. An announcement must not contain sensitive information. Sensitive information includes classified information, safeguards information, proprietary information, personally identifiable information, or other information determined to be sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information.
2. Office directors and regional administrators must ensure that the announcements they approve do not contain sensitive information.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 4

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 D. Announcement Concerning Legal Requirements or Issues Office directors and regional administrators must ensure that an announcement concerning legal requirements or issues is appropriately coordinated with the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) or regional counsel. In the case of Yellow Announcements, OGC must provide a legal review of the Yellow Announcement itself.

III. STANDARD ANNOUNCEMENTS AND YELLOW ANNOUNCEMENTS A. NRC Standard Announcement

1. Content An NRC standard announcement communicates information of significance or interest to agency employees. A standard announcement can be issued on an expedited basis to communicate urgent or time-sensitive information. For more information about the types of standard announcements, see the Announcement Program General Guidelines Web page (http://drupal.nrc.gov/content/general-guidelines).
2. Approval Required An NRC standard announcement must be approved by the appropriate NRC official or his or her designee, but does not require a signature.
3. A Standard Announcement Is Not a Permanent Agency Record An NRC standard announcement is not retained as a permanent agency record in ADAMS.

B. NRC Yellow Announcement

1. Content An NRC Yellow Announcement may be used to convey information about significant matters including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) New or significant change to policies, practices, or procedures; (b) Senior or management staff assignment or appointment; (c) Major organizational change; (d) New or revised employee benefit or program; (e) Financial matter of significance; (f) Major agencywide event; (g) Major security or safety matter; (h) New or revised information technology (IT) or information management (IM) resource and service; For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 5

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 (i) Significant health or wellness matter; and (j) New or significant change to service provided to agency employees.

2. Approval Required In addition to the appropriate authorization, an NRC Yellow Announcement requires a signature. See Section VI of this handbook for the appropriate signature authority.
3. An NRC Yellow Announcement Is a Permanent Agency Record (a) An NRC Yellow Announcement is saved and declared in ADAMS as an official agency record.

(b) The NRC Announcement Coordinator (or designee) assigns an announcement number to an NRC Yellow Announcement.

4. Provision in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (a) The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and National Treasury Employees Union Collective Bargaining Agreement (available at http://www.internal.nrc.gov/HR/pdf/cba.pdf) contains the following provision regarding Yellow Announcements, as applicable:

NRC will make all NRC Management Directives concerning personnel policies, practices, and conditions of employment available to employees on the Agency intranet. NRC will also provide an index of all Management Directives with related Yellow Announcements on the Agency intranet. As Management Directives are updated, a direct link will be provided to any related Yellow Announcements. Yellow Announcements not indexed or linked to a Management Directive are not effective with regard to personnel policies, practices and conditions of employment.

(b) Newly published MDs (as of the beginning of the third quarter 2016) have the following footer on the first page that links to the Yellow Announcement to Management Directive index on SharePoint (http://fusion.nrc.gov/adm/team/DAS/RADB/MD/Lists/yellowtoMD_index/AllItems.

aspx).

For updates or revisions to policies contained in this MD that were issued after the MD was signed, please see the Yellow Announcement to Management Directive index (YA-to-MD index).

5. Citation Requirement for Policy and Policy Reminder Yellow Announcements (a) A policy-related Yellow Announcement must cite both the MD to which it is related and the specific section of the MD affected by the policy in the Yellow Announcement (see the Memorandum to Those on the Attached List from Darren B. Ash, Deputy Executive Director for Corporate Management, Improvements to the Management Directive and Yellow Announcement Programs, dated April 3, 2015, ADAMS Accession No. ML15043A789; and Office of the Inspector General Audit OIG-14-A-19, Audit of NRCs Process for Revising Management Directives).

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 6

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 (b) In the event that the Yellow Announcement is not applicable to a specific MD, the Yellow Announcement would remain in effect and would not need to be referenced to a general organizational MD for an office (see the e-mail from the Maria Schwartz, National Treasury Employees Union to Barbara Sanford, OCHCO, dated May 11, 2016, ADAMS Accession No. ML16144A575).

IV. TYPES OF ANNOUNCEMENTS A. General The NRC Announcement Program Web site describes the different types of announcements. New categories will be approved by the Director of ADM and added to the Web site, as necessary. Detailed instructions for creating and submitting each type and category of announcement are maintained on the NRC Announcement Program Web site on the agency Intranet.

B. Announcement Issued Through the NRC Announcement Program

1. Types The NRC issues standard announcements and Yellow Announcements through its online announcement system.
2. Content See Section III of this handbook for a discussion of the content of standard announcements and Yellow Announcements.
3. Approval Required An NRC standard announcement and an NRC Yellow Announcement must be approved by the appropriate NRC official or his or her designee. For additional information on approval requirements, see the Announcement Program General Guidelines Web page.

(a) An NRC standard announcement does not require a signature.

(b) The following standard announcement types require coordination with OCHCO:

(i) An NRC standard announcement regarding the death of a former or current agency employee must be sent to OCHCO, Associate Director for Human Resources Operations and Policy. A WLBB employee will submit the announcement to the announcement system.

(ii) An NRC standard announcement regarding training must be coordinated with OCHCO, Human Resources Training and Development (HRTD).

(c) An NRC Yellow Announcement does require a signature. See Section VI of this handbook for the appropriate signature authority.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 7

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 C. Announcement Issued Through the Public Address System

1. Types The NRC occasionally issues an announcement through the headquarters public address system.
2. Content An announcement issued through the public address system communicates a message that is urgent or time-sensitive. For example, the following types of messages might be issued using the public address system:

(a) Personal message from the Chairman, (b) Commission meeting with all employees, (c) Reminder of building operating condition, (d) Occupant emergency information, or (e) IT service outage with significant impact to multiple people or groups.

3. Approval Required (a) Chairman, a Commissioner, or the EDO When the Chairman, a Commissioner, or the EDO submits a public address announcement, it will be processed immediately and does not require review or approval.

(b) Office Directors (i) A public address announcement must be approved by the requesting office director.

(ii) An office director will submit a public address announcement to ASC@nrc.gov at least 1 workday before the date of the announcement.

This will allow time for review and approval by the Director, DAS, ADM.

(c) Director, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration A public address announcement approved by the requesting office director must be submitted to and approved by the Director, DAS, ADM.

4. Standard Broadcast Time To reduce impact on agency meetings, a public address announcement is usually broadcast by 7:50 a.m. eastern time.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 8

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 D. Special Topic Bulletin (Sent by E-mail)

A special topic bulletin is an individual e-mail to all employees that communicates an urgent or time-sensitive message with a short duration of interest.

1. Types The Director of ADM has authorized issuance of bulletins on the following topics:

(a) ADAMS; (b) Facilities; (c) Human Resources Management System; (d) Network, Web, and other IT; (e) Operations Center; and (f) Cybersecurity.

2. Content A special topic bulletin is not issued as an NRC announcement and is not posted to the NRC Intranet. Below is a description of the content that is appropriate for a special topic bulletin.

(a) Message Requires Immediate Action by Staff (i) Safety, security, and building operating status (ii) Unplanned outage of resources (facilities, IT, telephone, voicemail)

Example: If unexpected building repairs are required for Saturday and there will be no air conditioning, then ADM will issue a facilities bulletin on Thursday or Friday. However, if the building repairs are routine or planned, then staff should submit a standard NRC announcement at least 1 week in advance.

(b) Duration of Interest is Brief The communication does not contain long-term direction to staff or policy information.

(c) Message is of Special Interest to the Entire Agency If a message is of special interest to the entire agency, then a special topic bulletin may be appropriate. Previous special topic bulletins have included the following:

(i) Message from the Chairman, (ii) Message from the EDO, and (iii) Message about the Operations Center and emergency exercises.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 9

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016

3. Approval Required (a) The Director, ADM, grants the authority to issue a bulletin.

(b) A non-urgent message to the staff should be sent using the NRC Announcement Program. As described above, a bulletin is reserved for an urgent or time-sensitive message when the duration of interest is brief.

(c) The Director, ADM, approves the creation of a new type of special topic bulletin.

(d) To request a new type of special topic bulletin (i) The director of the office should submit a written request to the Director, ADM, justifying the need for the special topic bulletin.

(ii) Copy the NRC Announcement Coordinator on the memorandum.

(e) The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) cannot create a special topic bulletin account without the approval of the Director, ADM.

E. Intranet Highlight (Posted to the NRC Internal Web Site)

1. Types An Intranet highlight is an image (banner) that appears on the NRC internal Web sites home page.
2. Content A highlight is used to advertise an event or draw attention to a service or information of interest to agency employees.
3. Process (a) A highlight is created by the ADM Graphics Team in coordination with the OCIO Web Team. Submit requests for a highlight by e-mail to Webgraphics@nrc.gov with an attached NRC Form 460, Request for Graphics Services (available in the NRC Forms Library on SharePoint at http://fusion.nrc.gov/nrcformsportal/default.aspx).

(b) Further information on the creation and use of a highlight can be found on the NRC Web site at https://drupal.nrc.gov/content/submitting-intranet-highlight.

V. CREATING AN ANNOUNCEMENT A. Guidelines

1. The NRC Announcement Program Web site contains guidelines regarding the following:

(a) Authorized use of an announcement, (b) Required approval that must be obtained before an announcement may be published, For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 10

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 (c) NRC Announcement system deadlines, (d) Filing an announcement in ADAMS, and (e) The duration of the Web posting for all categories of NRC announcements.

2. Submission of an announcement to the Announcement System is a request for publication. The NRC Announcement Coordinator reviews the announcement and ensures it complies with NUREG-1379, NRC Editorial Style Guide, and the Government Printing Office Style Manual. Substantive questions will be referred to the announcement submitter for resolution before the announcement is posted to the NRC internal Web site.

B. Urgent or Time-Sensitive Announcement An urgent or time sensitive announcement requires the reader to act immediately or concerns a disruption of a brief duration (e.g., an immediate, short-term service disruption). Poor planning cannot be used as a justification for an urgent announcement.

Follow these steps when requesting the issuance of an urgent or time-sensitive announcement:

1. Determine if the announcement is urgent, based on the following criteria:

(a) Requires the reader to act immediately, or (b) Concerns a disruption of brief duration.

2. Obtain approval from an office director or higher before requesting issuance.
3. When submitting the announcement to the automated system, indicate that the announcement is urgent or time-sensitive.
4. Contact the NRC Announcement Coordinator or designee directly to arrange for expedited issuance. Contact information for the NRC Announcement Coordinator or designee is available on the NRC Announcement Program Web site at http://drupal.nrc.gov/content/contacts.

VI. APPROVAL AND RETENTION OF AN ANNOUNCEMENT A. Approval by Agency Official Required

1. An NRC announcement must be approved by the appropriate agency official(s) or designee before issuance.
2. An NRC standard announcement does not require signature approval when submitted by the designee.
3. An NRC Yellow Announcement requires the signature of the appropriate agency official(s) or designee.
4. Approving authority is determined by the category of information conveyed in the announcement. Guidelines to determine the appropriate approving authority by category are available at http://drupal.nrc.gov/content/general-guidelines.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 11

DH 3.16 NRC ANNOUNCEMENT PROGRAM Date Approved: 06/02/2016 B. Recordkeeping Requirements

1. Retention of an NRC standard announcement in ADAMS is not required.
2. An NRC Yellow Announcement is retained as a permanent record in ADAMS.

C. Duration of an NRC Announcement on the NRC Internal Web Site

1. The NRC Announcement Program Web site provides general guidelines on the length of time that each announcement category will be retained on the NRC internal Web site.
2. An NRC announcement that should remain available to employees for a period of more than 2 years (i.e., a Yellow Announcement) is filed in ADAMS.

For the latest version of any NRC directive or handbook, see the online MD Catalog. 12

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