ML20049K048
| ML20049K048 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Fermi, Pilgrim, Susquehanna, Limerick, 05000000, Zimmer, Shoreham, Allens Creek, Black Fox |
| Issue date: | 03/26/1982 |
| From: | Schwencer A Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Lewis S NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE LEGAL DIRECTOR (OELD) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19264C529 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8203290349 | |
| Download: ML20049K048 (1) | |
Text
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March JL, 1982
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Stephen H. Lewis 7
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Albert Schwencer U
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SUBJECT:
NRR POLICY REGARDING BOARD NOTIFICATION This is in response to your inquiry concerning NRR's policy with regard to notifying Boards. That policy is set cut in NRR Office Letter 19, a copy of which is attached.
Pursuant to Paragraph D of the Office Letter, Board notifications which contain new information that is material and relevant to a facility which is the subject of an NRC licensing proceeding are to be addressed in the SER supplements or other documents for the particular facility. Any items that are not resolved in those documents are to be presented to the licensing board in a summary list 30 days before the start of the hearing. This policy was followed by the Staff with regard to Board Notification 82 08, which was not, therefore, provided to the Board sitting in the Limerick OL proceeding.
Albert Schwencer Chief, Licensing Branch No. 2 Division of Licensing l
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DATE :3f,)')/82 8203290349 820326 PDR ADOCK 05000352 A
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l MEMORANDUM FOR: Darrell G. Eisenhut. Director, Division of Licensing.
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Richard li. Vollmer Director Division of Engineering Stephen H. Hanauer Director, Division of Human Factors Safety l
Denwood F. Ross, Director, Division of Systems Integration Thomas E. Murley, Director Division of Safety Technology Bernard J. Snyder, Program Director, TMI Program Office
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FROM:
Harold R. Denton, Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor l
Regulation 1
SUBJECT:
NRR OFFICE LETTER NO.19, REVISION 1 PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFICATION TO LICENSING BOARDS OF RELEVANT AND MATERIAL NEW INFORMATION i
Effective immediately, all NRR. personnel will use the following revised procedures for assuring prompt and appropriate action on notifying Licensing t
Boards, Appeal Panel and the Cccinission of new information which is c:nsidered by th( staff to be relevant and material to one or more licensing preceedings.
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These revised procedures reflect the experience we have gained since issuing
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the original Office Letter No.19 on July 6,1978.
l This Office Letter places an obligation on all NRR staff members to be alert to the significance of new infomation that is developed in the course of :neir review and to consider whether this infomation could reasonably be regarded as putting a new or different light upon an issue before Boards or as raising a new issue after publication of the staff's principal evidentiary decuments.
This is the central theme of the procedures and requires the exercise of gcod judgment to assure that Boards will not be burdened wit's material beycnd that I
potentially significant to the individual licensing proceedings.
Harold R. Denton, ' Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation l
Enclosure:
Board Notification Procedure cc:
E. Christenbury OELD R. 'Rosenthal, ASLAP R. Lazo, ASLBP C, 14 o eA l u
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BOARD NOTIFIrail0N PROCEDURE
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A.
BACKGROUND Following Comission approval of its Board Notification policy on May 4, 1978, the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation issued NRR Office Letter 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 a Licensing Board, Appeal Panel, or the Comission which can recionably 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 a memorandum dated May 10, 1978, the Comission requested that an evaluation of the Board Notification policy be prepared when approximately one year et 'xperience was available. To this end, Comission Paper SECY-80-129, dat
- March 10, 1980, provided an assessment of then current procedures and )..oposed changes to those procedures to correct problems encountered in carrying out the Board Notification policy.
B.
DISCUS $10N There were three significant changes to the Board Notification procedures
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recomended in SECY-80-129 and approved by the Comission:
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1.
Change the time threshold for initiating the formal Board Notification
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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 itcensees. Staff correspondence and I
notices to applicants and itcensees 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-5$1, as follows:
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supply an exposition adequate to allow a ready appreciation of the a.
precise nature of the Board Notification 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;
' n the event a conclusion with regard to the safety or environmental i
c.
significance of the Board Notification matter is presented, set forth l
the reasoning underlying that conclusion sufficient to allow the board to make an infor-ad judrent en the validity of the cer.clusion; s
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d.
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.
C.
DETERMINATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BOARD NOTIFICATION BY TECHNICAL REVIEW Ga0VPS AND PROJECT MANAGERS The Board Notification policy is applicable to operating license proceedings as well as construction permit proceedings.
In these proceedings the staff will send new information relevant and material to safety or environemntal issues to the Boards regardless of the specific issues which have been olaced in controversy. This 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 consideration in the hearing. All staff members are responsibla for reviewing all information received in the course of their assigned tasks, including reports identified by the Research and Standards Coordination Branch as being appropriate for consideration for Board Notification, to determine whether it may be related to licensing proceedings and may represent relevant and material new information
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ihich should be provided to appropriate Boards.
y Information received from outside sources and considered to be suitable for Board Notification should be handled in an expeditious manner. Some exagles of information from outside sources are:
(1) the reportin errors discovered in a vendors Energency Core Cooling System (ECCS)g of models or codes which could result in changes to analyses previously 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, ud (3) those reports identified by the Research and Standards Coordination Branch as being appropriate for consideration for Board Notification.
t Internally generated information that could reasonably be regarded as putting a new or different light upon an issue before Boards should also be reported as expeditiously as practicable. However, the Comission's policy recognizes the difficulty of determining the point when an individual staff member's perceived concern has developed into 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 from a source external to the staf f.
That is, if such new information is determined to be of sufficient importance to seek further infornation, analyses, tests, etc., fr:9 licensees er veners, MC certr?.ct:, er others outside the NRC stsif, then che issue has developed to the point s_
where concerned Boardg 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 tnat (1) such information is of sufficient importance to call into question 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.
Staff members should provide promptly the following information,
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through their management, to the Director, Division of Licensing:
a.
The item reconnended for notification of Boards.
b.
An exposit' ion adequate to allow a ready appreciation of the precise nature of Board Notification matter.
Considerations regarding relevancy and materiality; i.e.,
c.
putting a new or different light upon an issue before the Board or raising a new issue.
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 fa,cility before the Board.
le. A statement as to the perceived significance of the information
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as it may affect current staff positions.
(A clear assessment of the significance is not required at this time and the recom:.endation should not be delayed in order to permit lengthy determinations.
If a clear assessment and final resolution is available, it obviously provides for a clean Board submittal.
For all recommendations which do not contain a final resolution followup action is required to inform the Boards as to the ultimate i
staf f cisposition.)
f.
In the event a conclusion with regard to the safsty 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.
g.
Where the Board has limited jurisdiction, spell out the possible relationship between the subject matter of the notification and e
one or more of the issues before the Board.
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If the information relates to a specific docket, a statesent as to possible applicability to other dockets.
2.
NRR also has a responsibility for identifying inforration 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 (NMSS). Staff members should make any such reconrnendations through their management to the Director, Division of Licensing. The information provided should, to the extent possible, conform to that listed in Item 1. above. The Director,' Division of Licensing,,will forward the Board Notification material to the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
37 3.
Recomendations may be judged by the Director, Division of Licensing, not to be raterial and relevant and a menorandum to that effect will be provided to the originator.
If the originator still feels that the 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 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.
Board Notifications on differing professional opinions will follow the procedures of NRC Manual Chapter 4125. " Differing Professional Opinions."
D.
PROCESSING OF BOARD NOTIFICATION RECOM'd.ENDATIONS 1.
The key to comencement of Board Notifications on a specific case is the establishment 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 othee documents. Mcwever, if there are itens,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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The Office of the Director, DL, will establish and ma1ntain the
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record-keeping system related to all Board Notification matters.
This will include a log of current proceedings and a detailed list of issues under consideration.
4.
The Director, Division of Licensing, shall review all recomendations,'
and determine whether they are relevant and material (5 working days from logging). Recomendations containing information considered to
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be directly related to a specific case are also reviewed for applicability to other cases.
If it is determined that a reconinendation is not considered to be relevant and material, a nemrandum to that effect is sent to the recomending parties.
If the information and accogarty-ing recomendation are not clear enough for a determination to be made, the Director will request clarifying information from the originator.
5.
For instances prior to 30 days of the evidentiary hearing, the Director, Division of Licensing, shall forward a rremrandum to the cognizant DL Assistant Director (s) advising them that the item he brought to the attention of the Board through incorporation in the SER or as supple-mental staff testimny. A copy of the memrandum will be sent to 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).
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6.
For instances within 30 days of (or during) the evidentiary hearing, the Director, Division of Licensing, shall forward a memranda to the cognizant DL Assistant Director advising them that the item rust be brought pre @tly to the attention of the appropriate Boards.
The cognizant DL Assistant Director shall assure that the item is brought progtly to the attention of the Boards (5 working days from receipt of the Director's memrandum). Copies of the Board Notification shall be sent to the originator, technical review group, Office of the Director, DL (Board Notification Coordinator) and l
OELD (Hearing Division Director and Chief Counsel).
7.
A finding by the Director, Division of Licensing, with regard to Board l
recommendations shall be reviewed by the DL Assistant Directors for applicability to proceedings related to applications for construction-permits, post-CP proceedings, applications for operating licenses, as well as proceedings relating to issuance of license amend.ents..
Proceedirigs related to research and test facilities licensed under Part 50 are to be taken into consideration also.
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