ML19284B516
| ML19284B516 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 10/27/1980 |
| From: | Ahearne J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Udall M HOUSE OF REP., INTERIOR & INSULAR AFFAIRS |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19284B517 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8011110578 | |
| Download: ML19284B516 (3) | |
Text
4 y@M J,
,. 1 UNITED STATES i i d
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION c
if n ASHIN GTON. O C. 20555 3.
MG' 4.....-
October 27, 1980 orrice or THE C H AIR M AN The Honorable Morris K. Udall, Chairman Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C.
20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
The Commission has considered the matters raised in your letter of June 11, 1980.
The past practice of the Commission with regard to each of these issues is described below.
I believe that our procedures for providing information to intervenors who have been admitted to NRC proceedings do rat impede their participation.
The first issue involves materials which are transmitted by applicants to the NRC.
This material typically consists of a license application, a Safety Analysis Report, an Environmental Report, Antitrust Informa-tion, amendments to these reports, and other technical information provided in response to requests by the NRC.
Information pertaining to a specific nuclear power facility is routinely placed in the respec-tive local public document room located near that facility and in the NRC Public Document Room in Washington, D.C.
This provides the public with reannable access to this information.
Intervenors can usually obtain copies of information relating to contentions that have been admitted to a proceeding either through informal or formal discovery.
In addition, intervenors are frequently provided with a copy of relevant sections of the Safety Analysis Report, the Environmental Report, and the respective amendments.
With respect to correspondence between the applicant and the NRC staff which is originated during the course of the hearing process, the NRC staff has a policy of providing copies of all of its correspondence with the applicant to all intervenors in a proceeding.
Al though applicants are not required to provide copies of their correspondence with the NRC staff to intervenors, some do so as a matter of policy.
However, copies of all correspondence relating to a given docketed application which is originated within NRC or received by NRC is transmitted to both the applicable local public document room and to the NRC Public Document Room in Washington, D.C.
This assures that intervenors who have reasonable access to the public document rooms wi ~ be aware of correspondence exchanges between the NRC and +he applicant.
The presiding licensing boards do not require NRC staff or applicants to serve copies of correspondence on intervenors unless the correspondence is to be included in the adjudicatory record of a proceeding.
8 011114 6 U
The Honoreble Morris K. Udall Our policy on meetings is set forth in "Open Meetings and Statement of HRC Staff policy" (40 F.R. 28058) dated June 10, 1978.
As it is stated in the open meeting policy, "... The Commission and staff try to involve concerned citizens in any Commission activity in which they have expressed an interest." Therefore, the policy requires that, "... reasonable efforts will be made by the NRC staff to inform the party or petitioner of forthcoming meetings conducted by the NRC technical staff so that appropriate arrangements for attendance can be made."
The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation implements this policy by informing the pubisc with written meeting notices or by telephone in instances where there is insufficient time to issue a meeting notice. The Open Meeting Policy is a formal articulation of the general practice that has been followed by the staff for several years.
Many technical meetings between the NRC and applicants are held in Bethesda, Maryland, to use staff manpower efficiently and to minimize government travel costs.
Some meetings are held at the site of the nuclear facility because the staff needs to visit the site or the facility in order to conduct the meeting properly.
When voluminous, detailed information is required for a technical meeting, these meetings are held at the vendor or architect-engineer office.
In addition, public meetings are occasionally held near a nuclear facility to discuss issues which the staff considers to be of particular interest to the public surrounding that nuclear facility, such as emergency planning.
A policy of holding all technical meetings near the site of the nuclear facility would result in excessive travel costs, would strain the staff's resources, and due to the inability of the staff to attend all of those meetings held away from Bethesda, it would restrict the number of technical meetings.
This would probably result in a longer review time for an application.
In regard to records of meetings, a transcript is prepared for open meetings of the Commissioners and one Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.
These transcripts are placed in the NRC's public document Technical meetings held by the NRC staff are summarized by a room.
member of the staff and copies are sent to the local public document rooms and to intervenors for the proceedings that are the subject of those meetings.
While the depth and breath of the summaries vary with individual preparers, it is the Commission's position that such summaries should be as accurate a portrayal as possible of the thrust of meetings.
An alternative would be to transcribe all technical meetings but the associated costs would be substantial.
The Honorable Morris K. Udall In an effort to improve our public outreach activities, we have detailed two professionals to the Office of Public Affairs.
These people will be working to broaden our contacts with members of the public, assist in the planning of public meetings on subjects of broad interest (such as our new proposed enforcement policy) and preparing raterials to better acquaint the public with NRC rulemaking and public hearing procedures.
They will also be available to help citizens who are having difficulty obtaining information from the technical staff.
Corrissioner Gilinsky adds:
I do not believe the paragraph immediately above goes far enough in offering assistance to parties in a proceeding.
Since there are sometimes difficulties in obtaining ready access to information, I would assior, on a trial basis, an individual in the General Counsel's Office to mediate any differences between concerned citizens and the stcff over access to information during a proceeding.
Further, I would note the availability of such assistance in each Federal Register notice that offers an opportunity for a hearing.
I trust that this information is responsive to your request.
Sincer.ly, boh r
Chairman cc:
Rep. Steven Symms
-