ML20010C663
| ML20010C663 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 02700039 |
| Issue date: | 06/29/1979 |
| From: | Christenbury E NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE LEGAL DIRECTOR (OELD) |
| To: | Barry L, Conognue D, Tucker E NRC |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20010C658 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8108200289 | |
| Download: ML20010C663 (2) | |
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AT*ACHMENT 8 r
June 29, !!79
- 4E.?CR/.fiCG1 RR: l1ulticle Addressaes (at ached)
FRC;4:
Eoard S. Christancur/
Cirec:ce & Chiaf Ccunsel Hearing 0' vision A:cacned is.he July uodata of the casas :encing before licansing 2 carts, ac::eai boarcs, or ~.ne Comission.
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Esard 5. Christanbur/
Direc cr & Chief Ccunsei Hearing Division A :achmenc 8108200289 810818^'
PDR ADOCK O2700039 C
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!!uiti:Ia Addressats
- Vulti:le accressees:
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Learned 'i. Barry Ecward E. Tucker Nc r=an.'A.
- hat i er Jaces R. Shea Rccer: G. Ryan.
Racer: 3. Mincgue
'41111am J. Ofrcks Marcic R. Centen (10 cy)
'Saul Lavine-Jcnn 3. Davis (5 cy)
Rf:.7ard E. Cunningnam Vic::r 5: allo
- c:anic 3. Vassaiio
'/ css A..Vccre Regar 5. Scyd (10 cy)
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UNITED STATES
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a-NUOLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WAI.HINGTON D.C.20$55
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l DECEMBER s B80
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MEMORANDUM FOR:. Darrell G. Eisenhut Director Division of Licensing.
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Ricnard H. Vollmer, Director, Division of Engineering
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Stephen H. Hanauer, Director, Division of Human Factors Safety Denwood F. Ross Director Division of Systems Integration Thomas E. Murley, Director. -Division of Safety Technology
~\\ Bernard J. Snyder, Prog:am Director. TMI Program Office
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FROM:
Harold R. Denton, Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
SUBJECT:
NRR OFFICE LETTER NO.19 REVISION 1
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PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFICATION TO LICENSING BOARDS OF RELEVANT AND MATERIAL NEW INFORMATION Effective immediately, all' NRR. personnel will use the following revised procedures for assuring prompt and appropriate action on notifying Licensing Boards, Appeal Panel and the Commission of.new infonnation which is considered
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.by thi staff to be relevant and material to one or more licensing proceedings.
These revised procedures reflect the experience we have gained since issuing -
the original Office Letter No.19 on July 6,1978.
This Office Letter places an obligation on all NRR staff members to be alert to the significance of new infonnation that is developed in the course of their review and to consider whether this information could reasonably be regarded as putting a ne.v or different light upon an issue before Boards or as raising a new issue after publication of the staff's principal ev.identimj documents.
This is the central theme of the procedures and requires the exercise of good judgment to assure that Boards will not be burdened with material beyond that potentially significant to the individual licensing proceedings.
Harold R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosure:
Board Notification Procedure cc:
E. Christenbury, OELD R.'Rosenthal, ASLAP R Lazo, ASLBP 1
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e wEOG slo.LLsd t s-
s BOARD NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE A.
BACKGROUND Following Comission approv'al of its Board Notification policy on May 4 1978, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation issued NRR Office Letter j
No.19, dated July 6,1978, which contained Board Notification procedures to be implemented by NRR. The term " Board Notification" refers to new information which is considered to be relevant and material to one or more licensing proceedings', i.e., material relating to an issue before aMcensing Board, Appeal Panel, or the Comission which can reasonably be regarded as putting a new or different light on that issue, or raising a new issue. (Note that the term " Board" will be used in this procedure to refer to Licensing Boards, Appeal Panel and Comission.)
In e memorandum dated May 10, 1978, the Comission requested that an evaluat, ion g
of the Board Notification policy be prepared when approximately one year of uperience was available. To this end, Comission Paper SECY-80-129, dated March 10, 1980, provided an assessment of then current procedures and proposed changes to those procedures to correct problems encountered in carrying out the Board Notification policy.
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DISCUSSION C'
There were three significant changes to the Board Notificatjon procedures recomentied in SECY-80-129 and approved by the Comission:
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1.
Change the time threshold for initiating the formal Board Notification procedures from the issuance of the ACRS Supplement and FES to 30 days before the start of the evidentiary hearing.
2.
Eliminate the routine transmittal to the Boards of staff correspondence and notices to applicants and licensees. Staff correspondence and notices to applicants and licensees would be sent to the Board only if it is determined to meet the guidelines for Board Notification, i.e., new information considered material and relevant.
3.
Incorporate the guidelines for staff appraisal and evaluation of Board Notification matter set forth in ALAB-561, as follows:
a.
supply an expositiori adequate to allow a ready appreciation of the precise nature of the Board Notificati.on matter; b.
supply an exposition adequate to allow a ready appreciation of the extent to what the Board Notification matter might have a bearing upon the particular facility before the board; c.
in the event a conclusion with regard to the safety or environmental,
significance of the Board Notification matter is presented, set forth the reasoning underlying that conclusion sufficient to allow the board to make an informed juogment on the validity of the conclusion; and e
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where the board has limited jurisdiction, spell out the possible i
relationship between the subject matter of the notification and one or more of the issues before the board.
C.
DETERMINATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BOARD NOTIFICATION BY TECHNICAL REVIEW GROUPS AND PROJECT MANAGERS _
N The Board Notificatien policy is applicable to operating license proceedings as well as construction permit proceedings.
In these proceedings the staff will send new informat. ion relevant and material to safety or environemtal issues to the Boards regardless of the specific issues which have been placed in controversy. This d
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practice. includes. proceedings for the conversion of provisional to full-term operating licenses.
In hearings concerning operating
- license amendments Board Notification is limited to the issues under
'T consideration in the hearing. All staff merrbers are responsible for reviewing all information received in the course of their assigned tasks, including reports identified by the Research and Standards t*
Coordination Branch as being appropriate for consideration for Board Notification, to determine whether it may be related to licensing r
proceedings and'may represent relevant and material new information jhich should be provided to appropriate Boards.
Information received from outside sources and considered to be suitable for Board Notification should be handled in an expeditious manner. Some exa@les of information from outside sources are:
(1) the reporting of errors discovered in a vendors Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) models or codes which could result in changes to analyses previously
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evaluated and discussed in the SER, (2) the reporting of geological features which could result in significant changes to those previously reported by the applicant and evaluated by the staff as discussed in the SER, and (3) those reports identified by the Research and Standards Coordination Branch as being appropriate for consideration for Board Notification.
Internally generated information that could reasonably be regarded as putting a new or different light upon an issue hfore Boards should also be reported as expeditiously as practicable. However, the
~c Comission's policy recognizes the difficulty of detsrminirJ the point
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when an individual staff member's perceived concern has developed into l
a staff issue of sufficient importance that Boards are to be notified.
In accordance with the Comission's policy, internally generated information should be provided to Boards at the point when the staff determines that it is necessary to get more information about a problem j
from a source. external to the staff. That is, if such new information is determined to be of sufficient importance to seek further information, analyses, tests, etc., from licensees or vendors, NRC contracts, or others outside the NRC staff, then the issue has developed to the point l
where concerned Boards should be informed.
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. As for internally generated information, technical papers and journal articles should be provided to Boards at a point when the staff determines
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that (1) such information is of sufficient importance to call into question l
staff positions and criteria or (2) the staff has determined to seek further information, analyses, tests, etc., from licensees, vendors, NRC contractors or others outside the staff.
1.
St'aff members should provide promptly the following information, through their management, to the Director, Division of Licensing:
The item, recommended for nok.ification of Boards.
a.
b.
An exposition adequate to allow a ready appreciation of the precise nature of Board Notification matter.
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Considerations regarding relevancy and materiality; i.e.,
putting a new or different light upon an issue before the Board or raising a new issue.
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d.
An exposition adequate to allow a ready appreciation of the extent to what the Board Notification matter might have a bearing upon the particular facility before the Board.
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A statement as to the perceived significance of the information as it may affect current staff positions.
(A clear assessment of the significance is not required at this time and the recomendation should not be delayed in order to pennit lengthy determinations.
If a clear assessnient and final resolution is available, it obviously provides for a clean Board submittal.
For all recomendations which do not contain a final resolution followup action is required to inform the Boards as to the ultimate staff disposition.)
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In the event a conclusion with regard to the safety or environmental significance of the Board Notification matter is presented, set forth the reasoning unde'rlying that conclusion sufficient to allow the Board to make an informed judgment on the validity of the conclusion.
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Where the Board has limited jurisdiction, spell out the possible relationship between the subject matter of the notification and one or more of the issues before the Board.
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4-h.
If the information relates to a specific docket, a statement 3
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as to possible applicability to other dockets.
2.
NRR also has a responsibility for identifying information potentially relevant and material to Boards considering facilities licensed under Part 70 and under the cognizance of the Office of Nuclear Material
' Safety and Safeguards (NKSS). Staff members should make any such recomandations through their management to the Director, Division of Licensing. The information provided should, to the extent possible.
confcrm to that listed in Item 1.~ above. The Director, Division of Licensing,,will fonvard the Board Notification material to the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
N 3.
Recomendations may be judged by the Director, Division of Licensing, 1
not to be material and relevant and a memorandum to that effect will be provided to the originator.
If the originator still feels that the 7
information should be provided to Boards, he or she should so state in a followup recomendation. Such a followup recomendation will be processed through the normal Board Notification channels. Although a
coments may be added indicating disagreement by those who judged the information not to be' relevant and material, it will be forwarded to the Board.
- k. Board Notifications on differing professional opinions will follow the procedures of NRC Manual Chapter 4125, " Differing Professional O pi ni ons. "
D.
PROCESSING 0F BOARD NOTIFICATION REC 0Kv.ENDATIONS 1.
The key to comencement of Board Notifications on a specific case is the establ'shment of the date for the beginning of evidentiary hearing and issuance of related notice by the Board. Prior to 30 days before the hearing. new material which is considered material and relevant to a proceeding is presented to the Boards via SER supplement or other documents. However, if there are items,that have not been appropriately disposed of, a sumary list is to be provided by the project manager to the Board 30 days before the start of the hearing. For cases within 30 days of (or during) the evidentiary hearing new material found material and relevant shall be forwarded promptly to the Board according to these procedures.
2.
OELD will provide DL with periodic updates of a list of current -
proceedings for facilities under the cognizance of DL, indicating whether the Licensing Board, Appeal Board or Comission has jurisdiction over proceedings.
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3.
The Office of the.irector, DL, will establish and maintain the record-keeping system related to all Board Notification matters.
l This will include a log of current proceedings and a detailed list
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of issues under consideration.
4.
The Director, Division of Licensing, shall review all reconnendations,
and determine whether they are relevant and material (5 working days -.
from logging). Reconnendations containing information considered to be directly related to a specific case are also reviewed for
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applicability to other cases. If it is determined that a reconnendation isnTo considered to be relevant and material, a memorandum to that
. effect is sent to the recodaending parties.
If the information and acconparying recomendation are not clear enough for a determination-to be made, the Director will request clarifying information from the origi nator.
5.
For instances prior to 30 days of the evidentiary hearing, the Directo'r, Division of Licensing, shall forward a memorandum to the cognizant DL Assistant Director (s) advising them that the item be brought to the
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attention of the Board through incorporation in the SER or as supple--
mental staff testimony. A copy of the memorandum will be sent to y
the originator.' The project manager is responsible for seeing that the item is covered in evidentiary documents unless it has been determined that the item has been resolved and that Board Notification
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is not required. Final disposition shall be reported to the Office of the Director,',DL (Board Notification Coordinator).
6.
For instances within 30 days of (or during) the evidentiary hearing, the Director, Division of Licensing, shall forward a memoranda to the cognizant DL Assistant Director advising them that the item nust be brought pronptly to the attention of the ' appropriate Boards.
The cognizant DL Assistant Director shall assure that the item
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is brought pronptly to the attention of the Boards (5 working days from receipt of the Director's memorandum). Copies of the Board Notification shall be sent to the originator, technical review group, Office of the Director, DL (Board Notification Coordinator) and OELD (Hearing Division Director and Chief Counsel).
7.
A finding by the Director, Division of Licensing, with regard to Board recomendations shall be reviewed by the DL Assistant Directors for applicability to proceediags related to applications for construction permits, post-CP proceed'.ngs, applications for operating licenses, as 4
well as proceedings relating to issuance of license amendments..
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Proceedings related to research and test facilities licensed under Part 50 are to be taken into consideration also.
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