ML19305D871
| ML19305D871 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/10/1980 |
| From: | Ahearne J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Babcock S ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE OF THE U.S. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19305D872 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8004160024 | |
| Download: ML19305D871 (2) | |
Text
..,....
r u.o o
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
(@/%
f
,U
, g, _- -
wAswiwovow, o. c. zosos
[
DNk March 10,1980 CHAIRMAN Mr. Stephen L. Babcock, Executive Director Administrative (cnference of the United States 2120 L Street, N.W.
Suite 500 Washington, D.C.
20037
Dear Mr. Babcock:
Thank you for sending the Nuclear Regulatory Commission a copy of Recommendation 79-5, Hybrid Rulemaking Procedures of the Federal Trade Commission -- Adminis-tration of the Program to Reimburse Participants' Expenses.
The Recommenda-tion, and the consultant's report accompanying it, will prove helpful to this agency as it attempts to fashion its own reimbursement program.
Currently, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not have a reimbursement program.
However, the Commission included in our fiscal year 1981 budget a request for $500,000 to implement a pilot program for intervenor funding.
The Office of Management and Budget approved this request, with the expecta-tion that the Commission will draw regulations assuring that priority for funding is given to those intervenors -- such as local groups who might be adversely impacted by a nuclear facility -- which would otherwise lack the funding to participate in our proceedings.
However, OMB made it clear that it did not intend to restrict funding to such local groups, but rather desired to give the Commission flexibility to experiment with this program.
Of course we must await the outcome of the legislative process before implement-ing any funding program.
While the Commission is pursuing its fiscal year 1981 budget with Congress, it has also sought to eliminate potential doubts about its general authority under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, to establish a funding pro-gram.
In November.1979, the agency inquired of the Comptroller General of the United States (1) whether it is legal to use appropriated funds to provide financial assistance to intervenors in adjudicatory and/or rulemaking proceed-ings when Congress has neither expressly prohibited nor approved such funding; and (2) whether, in light of certain language in Congressional Committee
, reports accompanying our fiscal year 1980 budget, there are circumstances under which the Commiss. ion may legally use public funds, as appropriated in fiscal year 1980, to provide financial assistance to intervenors. The latter question was an outgrowth of a statement in the House 6ppropriations Committee report, agreed to by the Conference Committee, that "the budget request and the Committee recommendation do not include funds for intervenors."
80041600
,, Mr. Stephen L. Babcock -,
In January, 1980, the Comptroller General replied that based on the authority given by its organic legislation, the Commission may use appropriated funds to assist an intervenor in its proceedings if it determines that the participation of that party can reasonably be expected to contribute substantially to a full and fair determination of the issue before it, and if the party is indigent, or otherwise unable to finance its own participation.
Furthennore, the Comptroller General concluded that the Commission was not legally bound by the restrictive language in the Committee reports since the appropriations bill itself included no such language.
However, the Comptroller General noted, as in a previous opinion, "... This does not mean agencies are free to ignore clearly expressed legislative history applicable to the use of appropriated funds.
They ignore such expressions of intent at the peril of strained relations wit'a the Congress." In light of that and other considerations, we intend to abide by the language in the Committee reports and not to institute a funding program in Fiscal Year 1980.
It is the Comission's intention to draft standards for the imple.nentatien of a funding program while our present budget request receives Congrassional consideration.
In draf ting these standards, we hope to be able to profit from Recomendation 79-7 and the consultant's report.
Of course, since our program would likely include reimbursement in licensing proceedings, the Comission may well find it necessary to adopt standards which differ in certain respects from the Administrative Conference's recommendations for hybrid rulemakings.
I will be glad to keep you informed of further develop-ments in this regard.
Sincerely, i
\\/ / (
Ykh b.
hn F. Ahearne c
l
[
-