ML20053A124
| ML20053A124 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/30/1982 |
| From: | NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20053A121 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8205240589 | |
| Download: ML20053A124 (20) | |
Text
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ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1981 ON ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE ACT OF 1976 ef* ""%>,
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UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 8205240589 820503 OYkgpop CORRE
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l TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1
1.
Agency Reporting............................................
1 2.
Year Being Reported.........................................
3.
Total Number'of Meetings....................................
1 1
4.
Exemptions Used for Closing Meetings........................
2 Budget Meetings........................................
Congressional Testimony Meetings.......................
2 3
Briefings by Agency Staff..............................
3 i
5.
Description of Litigation...................................
4 6.
N o ta ti on Vo ti n g.............................................
7.
Pu bl i c Ob servati on.......................................... 4 8.
P u bl i c N o t i c e...............................................
5 9.
P u bl i c I n te re s t.............................................
6 10.
Rel easing of Meeti ng Records................................
7 11.
Requests to 0 pen............................................
8 12.
Formal Complaints...........................................
9 13.
E]LParteCommunications.....................................
9 14.
Additional Information......................................
9 4
APPENDIX A - Definition of Meetings APPENDIX B - Tabulation of Open and Closed Meetings by Month APPENDIX C - Tabulation of Meetings by Days' Notice APPENDIX D - NRC Regulations as Amended Implementing the Sunshine Act APPENDIX E - NRC E}( Parte and Separation of Functions Regulations APPENDIX F - Sample Page of Index
(
O O
ANNUAL PIFORT GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE ACT 1.
AGENCY NAME:
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission 2.
CALENDAR YEAR:
1981 3.
MEETINGS:
(See definitions in Appendix A)
A.
Total Number of Open......................... 160 (62%)
B.
Total Number of Cl osed.......................
80 (31%)
C.
Total Number of Partially Open/ Closed........
18 (7%)
Total Number of Meetings................
258 The above meetings are counted by the number of separate agenda topics discussed as described in the Appendix.
The same number of topics counted by the method used by Common Cause results in the following number of meetings (see definitions in Appendix A):
D.
Total Sessions 0 pen...........................l10 E.
Total Sessions Closed........................
44 F.
Total Sessions Partially Open/ Closed.........
44 Total Number of Sessions................ 198 Throughout this report, meeting numbers quoted are counts of individual items.
4.
EXEMPTIONS USED FOR CLOSING OR PARTIALLY CLOSING MEETINGS A.
Exemption 1...................................
7 Exemption 5...................................
5 Exemption 9...................................
5 E x emp t i o n 10.................................
4 6 Exemptions 1, 2 and 6'..........................
1 Exemptions 1 and 9............................
2 Exemptions 2 and 6...........................
17
2 Exemptions 2, 6, and 9.............................
1 Exemptions 2, 6, 9, and 10........................
2 Exemptions 5, 9, and 10...........................
3 Exemptions 5 and 10...............................
5 Exemptions 7 and 10...............................
2 Exemptions 9 and 10...............................
2 T0TAL........................
98 The increase in the number of closed meetings in 1981 as as compared to 1980 is attributable to 26 meetings on contested issues in three operating license proceedings (Diablo Canyon--12; THI-l Restart--9; McGuire--5).
B.
HRC's policy regarding the closing of meetings pertaining to the budget, Congressional testimony, and briefings of agency i
members by staff is as follows:
(1) Budget meetings.
The NRC held six meetings on budgetary matters in 1981.
The Commission held four budget sessions which were open to public attendance and two budget sessions which were closed under Exemption 9.
The commission also held a meeting to discuss Congressional budget testimony, see below.
During the closed sessions, the Commission considered budget strategies and priorities, and reached decisions regarding future interactions and negotiations with the Executive Branch and the Congress with respect to funding levels for NRC's licensing research and regulatory activities.
(See Section 5, Description of Litigation.)
The Comission's policy on the release of budget transcripts will be handled in a manner consistent with recent court litigation--see Description of Litigation infra.
Transcripts of all closed budget meetings held in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981 are currently available in the Public Docucent Room (PDR).
(2)~' Meetings at which Congressional' testimony is discussed.
The Commission has interpreted ' Exemption 9(B) of the Sunshine Act as authorizing the closing of-Commission meetings held for the purpose of preparing testimony to be given to Congress 3
or developing options to be followed in negotiations on pending legislation.
Consistent with this view, in 1981 the Commission voted to close the four meetings held for the purpose of discussing Congressional testimony (including one meeting held to discuss budget testimony).
(The
3 transcripts of two of these meetings have been released to the public and the.other two are currently under review).
4 Recent litigation (see Section 5, Description of Litigation) has cast some doubt whether Exemption'9(B) permits the closing In of meetings on Congressional testimony and legislation.
future meetings on Congressional testimony or legislation, the Commission will detemine whether the subjects of those meetin5s permit closure under Exemption 9(B) or any other exemption under the Act.
Briefings of agency members by NRC staff.
All briefings (3) by NRC staff of a quorum of the Comission are considered to be the conduct of official Commission business and are therefore treated as meetings under provisions of the Act.. Of the total,f 258 meetings held in 1981, there were approximately 165 staff briefings; 111 were held in public session, 47 were in closed session and 7 were part open, part closed.
Copies cf viewgraphs and principal staff papers are provided to the public at open briefings and placed in the public Document Room after the briefing along with a verbatim transcript.
Meeting records of closed briefings are reviewed for retention / release as described in Section 10 below.-
5.
DESCRIPTION OF LITIGATION.
In July 1981, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia held that the Commission had acted contrary to the requirements of the Sunshine Act when it closed its FY 1982 preliminary staff budget briefing under Exemption 9(B) and issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the Comission from closing " meetings of a similar nature."' Comon Cause v. NRC, 517 F. Supp. 608 (D.D.C.1981).
i On July 27, 1981, the Comission held a meeting for the purpose of developing.its final FY 1983 budget submission to OMS.
Believing this markup meeting to be substantively dissimilar from its preliminary staff budget briefing, the Commission voted to close the meeting under Exemptions 2, 6, and 9(B). Subsequently, the District Court construed its injunction as prohibiting the closure of any b'udget meeting under any exemptions and ordered a transcript of the meeting released to comon Cause.
Common Cause v. NRC, 522 F. Supp. 487
( D.D. C. 1981).
A stay of the order was issued by the Court of Appeals for the District of' Columbia. The Comission later obtained a second stay from the Court of Appeals to permit.the holding of a closed meeting for the purpose of formulating an appeal to the Director of OMB from proposed budget reductions.
On review, the Court of Appeals vacated the District Court's orders.
However, it concluded'that no exemption under the Sunshine Act authorized the closure of a budget meeting as a class and that a
4 i
review of the transcripts of the meetirgs at issue did not, reveal any items of discussion that independently qualified for confioentiality under the Act. Accordingly, the Court issued its own order directing that the transcripts be released ; these are now publicly available.
Common Cause v. NRCr D.C. Cir. Nos. 81-2002,81-2147'(Feb.26,1982).
6.
NOTATION VOTING.
Two types of notation voting are used:
First, notation voting is utilized to obtain decisions on agency Section 201(a)(1) quire formal vote in an open meeting, pursuant toof the Ener business which re but is not of such a complex nature as to require iterative conversation
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between Commissioners in the presence of each other. After all participating Commissioners have voted, regular Sunshine meetings are then scheduled for the purpose of formal declaration of votes (or affirming the issue).
Substantive discussion of the issues in these meetings is rare.
Examples of matters which are handled in this manner are:
appointments and reappointments to advisory committees, delegations of authority, granting certain security clearances, denial of F0IA appeals, final rulemakings, responses to certain petitions, review of Atomic Safety Licensing Appeal Board decisions, and residual administrative action on policy matters when the substance of the issuc has been previously discussed in a Commission meeting.
Second, the Commission employs procedures under which individual Commissioners are given an opportunity to comment on and approve staff actions in writing to the Secretary. Typical examples include responses to Congress on GA0 reports, agreements with foreign governments or Executive Branch agencies, outgoing Commission correspondence, and notation of actions being taken or about to be taken under delegations of authority to the staff.
7.
PUBLIC OBSERVATION.
The Commission has continued its policy of providing meaningful public observation and understanding of open meetings through the following measures:
A.
The Commission's main conference room with a seating capacity of 130 and an adjoining conference roon, which seats 50 people, are provided with mult.iple overhead speakers and wit!.
a closed-circuit television system to ensure that every person desiring to attend a meeting can see and hear as well as any other attendee.
1
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s 5
B.
Copies of any viewgraphs to b'e used in the course of meetings are made available to meeting attendees at the entrance to the conference room prior to the comencement of the meeting.
C.
Copies of the principal staff papers scheduled to be considered at the meeting are also provided to public attendees in the conference room.
These papers are also placed in the Public Documerit Room at the conclusion of the meeting, along with viewgraphs and other material handed out at the meeting.
Additionally, copies of other papers referenced at the meeting are normally released.
During 1981, 277 meeting-related documents were released.
s D.
Public attendees are pennitted to tape record Commission discussions of open meetings.
E.
Transcripts are taken of all open Comission meetings. These are unofficial transcripts which are not edited by the Comissioners or by the staff and are placed in the Commission's Public Document Room within 48 hours5.555556e-4 days <br />0.0133 hours <br />7.936508e-5 weeks <br />1.8264e-5 months <br /> of the conclusion of the meeting.
Transcripts of the 178 open or partially open meetings and briefings in 1981 are available in the PDR.
F.
A pamphlet entitled " Guide to NRC Open Meetings" is available in the Comissioners' Conference Room and in the Public Document Room.
The guide describes for public att'endees the normal seating arrangement for participants at the conference table, the general functional responsibilities of these participants, Commission procedures for voting.on agenda items, general rules for public conduct at Commission meetings, and sources of additional information on the, Commission and its meetings.
G.
A list of abbreviations and acronyms has been placed in the Public Document Room to further help the public in under-standing the many technical terms discussed in Commission papers.
H.
It is the Commission's practice to allow camera and television coverage of open meetings and briefings without prior notification.
The.use of cameras, including television coverage, at open licensing proceedings conducted by NRC's licensing and appeal boards is also permitted.
8.
PUBLIC NOTICE.
Each meeting is publicly announced by the methods listed below.
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A.
Use of an automatic telephone answering service which provides daily information on the schedule of Commission meetings (202-634-1498).
e B.
Publicly posting in the NRC Public Document Room,1717 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20555, a' copy of the announcement at the ti,me it is sent to the Federal Register.
C.
Mailing a copy of the announcement to those persons on a mailing list maintained for that purpose (currently over 150 names and addresses) at the time it is sent to the Federal Register.
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D.
Publishing in the Federal Register the time, date and location of the meeting, the topic (s) to be discussed, whether it is open or closed, and the name and telephone number of a contact.
E.
Submittal of a copy of the Federal Register notice to the news
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media (AP, UPI, Energy Daily, Nucleonics Week, the Washington Post, and Nuclear Industry Magazine) at the time it is sent to the Federal Register.
F.
Telephoning interested parties when public meetings of high public interest are scheduled with less than one week's notice.
Appendix C contains a tabulation of the number of days' notice for NRC meetings.
In sur: mary, 84 percent of the 1981 meetings (216 of 258) were announced with seven or more days' notice. The remaining meetings (13 open, 26 closed, and 3 part open, part closed) were announced with less than seven days' notice.
The Commission is sensitive to the large number of short-notice meetings. However, the Commission continues to be faced with the need to consider urgent operational problems in a timely manner.
9.
PUBLIC INTEREST.
The Comission, in adopting its Sunshine regulations, explained how it would employ the public interest criterion in exercising agency discretion to open meetings when an exemption is available:
"Section 9.104(a) of the rules, like the proposals of several other agencies, gives presumptive but not conclusive force to the deter-mination that an exemption is available in deciding the public 1
interest question.. The fact.that a. meeting does come within a j
specific provision of 59.104(a) indicates that the Congress recognized a public interest in closing, not opening, meetings of this character.
The Commission staff has been instructed to consider the public interest in recomending to the CoTaission whether or not to close particular meetings.
The Commission believes that this internal
l 7
procedure and the awareness of the Comissioners themselves and their advisors of public interest concerns will ensure adequate consideration of the public interest before any decision to close a meeting is made, without need for a formal procedure of the type proposed."
42 Fed. Reg.12876 (March 7,1977)
In the implementation of its rules, the Comission calls upon the staff to consider the public interest factors in any recomendations to the Comission for closed meeting discussions.
The Comissioners review staff's recomendations for closed meetings, consider the advice of the General Counsel as to whether the item is properly closeable, and discuss among themselves the necessity for precluding public attendance, including the interest of the public in the subject matter.
Implicit in this procedure is the understanding that a vote to c)use represents the Comission's determination that the public interest does not require ar. open meeting.
10.
RELEASING OF TRANSCRIPTS, RECO~iDINGS AND MINUTES OF CLOSED MEETI A.
The policy of the Commission is to make available to the public the record of all meetings except for such items of discussion as the agency determines to contain information which may be withheld under the provisions of Section 552b(c),
the Government in the Sunshine Act.
To insure that the maxi. vim amount of information is released, the Comission requires three independent levels of review.
Normally, an initial review is performed by the staff office which was the proponent of the briefing or discussion. The second review is acccnplished by the Office of the General Counsel.
- Finally, the Comission reviews the record and makes the final deter-mination regarding public disclosure.
Comission procedures also provide for periodic reviews of meeting records to further ensure that material is released to the public as changing conditions permit. The review process has resulted in the release of 257 transcripts to the Commission's Public Document Room since the enactment of the Sunshine Act The Comission has a separate procedure for the records of closed adjudicatory meetings which normally consist of long-form minutes.
These are reviewed by the Office of the General Counsel and by the Commissioners on an annual basis to determine whether the bases for the initial withholding action continue to apply.
The minutes of al.1 closed adjudicatory sessions held in 1977 and 1978 except one have been released to.the Public Document Room.
withheld pursuant to Section 552b(c)(10).The minutes for 1979 Examination of the 1981 minutes will be initiated in May 1982.
8 B.
Index Systems and Tabulation of Requests for Transcripts, Recordings and Minutes (Open and Closed)
The Nuclear Regulatory Comission indexes and abstracts all documents placed in the PDR including transcripts of open and closed meetings and meeting sumaries.
A daily accession listing of this material, with monthly cunulations, is made publicly available in the Comission's Public Document Reading Room and mailed out to interested parties and citizens.
Appendix F is a sample page from the systern used to index these documents and identifies the data elernents used.
During 1981, members of the public using the PDR made an estimated 1,300 requests for transcripts of Comission meetings; the number of PDR documents reproduced for the public was approximately 400.
During 1981, NRC received two requests for transcripts of four closed meetings.
All four requested transcripts were denied (three transcripts were withheld under Exemptions 5 and 10; the other was withheld under Exemption 1 of the Government in the Sunshine Act).
These requests are processed in the NRC Division of Rules and Records and are reviewed first by the staff responsible for the subject meeting, second by the General Counsel, then by the Commission. The average time from date received to date responded was 19 days.
11.
REQUESTS TO OPEN.
The Comission's rules describe the procedure to be followed by a person who wishes to request a change in the status of a closed meeting.
10 CFR 9.106(b)' and (c) provide that "any person" may ask the Commission to reconsider its decision to close a meeting by filing a petition for reconsideration.
Any such petition must specifically state the grounds on which the petitioner believes the Comission decision is erroneous, and the public interest in opening the meeting. All requests, formal or infonnal, are referred to the Commission for decision.
Filing such a petition does not automatically act to stay the effectiveness of the Commission decision or to postpone the meeting in question.
The Comission received two requests to open in 1981.
One request related to the Commission's budget session eventually held on July 27,1981 The Commission concluded at the time that the meeting could properlh be closed under Exemption 9 (see Section 5, D of Litigation).
(The transcript of this meeting was later released.
The second request to open cor:cerned a November 4,1982, Discussion of NRC Export Responsibilities.
The Commission determined that this meeting involved classified information and could be properly closed under Exemption 1.
9 12.
FORMAL COMPLAINTS.
No formal complaints were received in 1981 on NRC's Sunshine procedures and practices.
(See Sections 5 and 11, however.)
13.
EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS.
On March 7,1979 the Commission published in the Federal Reoister (44 Fed. Reg. 12428) proposed revisions to its current ex parte and separation of functions regulations (10 CFR 2.719 and 2.780) that were designed to make technical changes to bring the rules into greater conformity with the Administrative Procedures Act.
Final action on these revisions has not occurred, however.
- Instead, prompted by a March 1980 report of the Office of the General Counsel (NUREG-0670), additional revisions to the regulations, which could 1
include substantive changes, were contemplated. At year's end, the Commission was continuing its consideration of these revisions.
Further proposed revisions may be published during 1982.
14.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
This report was prepared in the Office of the Secretary, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Comments or inquiries on this report or related matters are invited and should be addressed to:
Office of the Secretary Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
20555 Telephone inquiries can be made to the Office of the Secretary on (202) 634-1410.
APPENDICES A.
Definition of Meetings B.
Tabulation of Open and Closed Meetings by Month C.
Tabulation of Meetings by Days' Notice D.
NRC Regulations as Amended Implementing the Eunshine Act (10 CFR 569.100-9.109)
E.
NRC Ex Parte (10 CFR 52.780) and Separation of Functions ReguTations (10 CFR 52.719)
F.
Sample Page of Index (Section 10)
3 APPENDIX A Definition _of Meetings NRC's Statutory Meetir,g Requirement The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is a five-member independent regulatory comission established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (P.L.93-408).
It is responsible fo assuring the protection of the public health and safety through the licensing and regulation of the uses of nuclear materials.
The Comission is required by the Energy Reorganization Act to take action only through meetings.
Section 201(a)(1) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 5841(a)(1), states thnt " action of the Comission shall be taken by a majority vote of members present."
In keeping with its significant and substantial public health and safety responsibilities, this Comission has emphasized the participation of each Commissioner in its decision-making activities.
Comission meetings are therefore generally scheduled at times when all Comissioners can be present so that each may participate in and contribute to the deliberations.
)
Meetings Defined by Sunshine Act With enactment of the Government in the Sunshine Act and in compliance with its provisions, NRC has adopted regulations clearly defining meetings of the Comission which are subject to the announcement and record keeping requirements of the Sunshine Act.
In summary, a meeting is defined as the deliberation of at least a quorum of Comissioners where such deliberation determines or results in the joint conduct or disposition of official Commission business.
Gatherings of a social or ceremonial nature and certain informational discussions which are conducted without specific reference to any particular matter pending before the Commission are considered exempt from the provisions of the Sunshine Act.
A complete definition of the term " meeting" is contained in Section 9.101 of NRC's Sunshine Regulations (Appendix D).
For purposes of tabulating meetings in this report, each agenda item scheduled for discussion or briefing is counted as a meeting.
Each session at which one or more Commission Papers were scheduled for affinnation under the limited notation voting procedure described elsewhere is counted as a meeting.
Page one includes counts of meeting statistics reported using the above definition, and also using the " Common Cause method".
The latter method counts as one meeting a single meeting, whether that meeting lasts one hour or one day and irrespective of the number of agenda items considered.
Both methods are reported here to allow comparisons of statistics by those who use the Comon Cause method.
APPENDIX B TABULATION OF OPEN AND CLOS'ED MEETINGS BY MONTH CY 1981 OPEN CLOSED OPEN/ CLOSED TOTAL Jan(NRC) l'4 7
1 22 (CC) 10 3
4 17 Feb (NRC) 14 7
2 23 (CC) 9 4
3 16 2
Mar (NRC) 21 5
0 26 (CC) 16 3
2 21 Apr (NRC) 17 2
0 19 (CC) 13 0
2 15 May (NRC) 16 4
1 21 (CC) 9 1
4 14-Jun(NRC) 19 7
3 29 (CC) 10 2
8 20 Jul(NRC) 6 2
0 8
(CC) 5 2
0 7
Aug (NRC) 5 8
3 16 (CC) 4 7
3 14 Sep(NRC) 17 12 1
30 (CC) 12 8
4 24 Oct(NRC) 11 9
4 24 (CC) ~
8 4
7 19 Nov(NRC) 9 11 2
22 (CC) 6 6
5 17 Dec(NRC) 11 6
1 18 (CC) 8 4
2 14 GRAND TOTAL (NRC) 160(62%)
80 (31%).
18 (7%)
258 (CC) 110(55%)
44 (22%)
44 (23%)
198 "CC" = Comon Cause method of counting (see Appendix A).
APPENDIX C TABULATION OF MEETINGS BY DAYS' NOTICE CY 1981 DAYS' NOTICE OPEN CLOSED CLOSED /0 PEN TOTAL 12 or more 28 17 3
48 11 11 9
2 10 3
2 3
8 9
17 1
2 20 8
29 7
2 38 7
61 25 5
91 Subtotal 147 54 15 216 5
6 2
3 7
5 7
4 1
3 1
5 2
3 2
3 2
2 1
1 3
2 1
6 Less than 1 3
10 1
14 Subtotal 13 26 3
42 GRAND TOTAL 160 80 18 258 1
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$ 90101 DeSmMeme.
As twedin this subpart:
l ta) "C-*."
means the ec3csia!
body of Svc f%"mi=ri'mers or a quorum thereci as prtrrided by section 21 of the i
I:::ergy Reorgmestic= Act of 1SM ce-
)
any subdivision cf that coLegial body an-thorized to act on its behalf, amid shad not mean s.ny body not composed of zoembers of thatcoDerialbody.
l tb)
"""*'"4'"='"
zoesnt an indi-vidual who is a member at the Causmis-i sion.
(c)
- Wetting"2neans the delfberaSons cf at least a croorms of r%mmi=i==s where such dei!berst6cos determ1De er result h the.totnt conduct ce dispostman of c5cial t'ammianim bustness, but does 4
mitted by Il S.105. 2.20s, or I 3.10ste).
riot include delfbers*.icas required or per.
gatherings of a social or eeremacial nat-ure cr briennes of the %=w= by representat2ves of other agencies or ee-partments of the United states govern-i zeent or representatives of fortign gov-ernments or international bodies where such brienngs or dia"4~ are hiarma-tional in nat=re and are not conducted with speciS: reference to Any particular matter then pending beiare the Commh-sien.
(d) "C3csed meeting" means a meeting cf the Co-"* closed to puhuc ob-l servation as provided by i S.104.
<e) "Open meeting" means a tr.eettng cf the Co- -i"i'm open to puhuc ob-servation pursuant to thh sub;mrt, (f) " Secretary" mesas the Secreta:y
, E to the *d"*a" 2 (g) " General Cotmeel" mesas the Gen-
'" ersl Co.msel of tla Ca'a-Mon as pro-E vided by section 25(b)'c! the Atomi: Z:n-u ergy Act cf 1954 and section 2 cit!) of
' th9 I:nergy Reorganizate Act cf 1974, and, smin such time as the c5:es of that cSce; are in the same location as those of the O~--5"ics, any member of his c5ce spectany designated in writing by him pursuant to this schsecti:n to earry out his rerpons!b2ities U.nder this subpart.
$ 9.102 Ceneral requircment; Co==issioners sha3 not jotnt2y eco-duct or dispose of Co-*"* business 2n Commission nectings other than in
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ac ctdance with this sub; art. Except as
.provided in i 9.104, every portion of every to pubDe observation. " ten shall be cpen meeting cf the '"-4
[ 9.103 Cener 1penisions.
'Ibe Secretary shan ensure that an Subpart C-Covemment in the Sunshine open Commission snee*.*.nss art held in a A:t Regulations location such that there h reasonable space, and adequate visibmtr and accus-
$ 9.100 Scope of Sabput.
ti=s. ior puhuc obserratien. No additicnal This subpart prescribes procedums right to partiMste in Commission meet-pursuant to which NRC meetints shad ings is seted to e person by thh sub-be open to pubbe observation pursuant to part. An open meetina 3 not pe.rt of the the provisions cf 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552b. m for=al or informal record of decision of sdpa.rt does not sfect the procedures the matters discussed thertin except as otherwise required by law. Statements cf h av. scant to wh!ch NRC reecrds are made p-anshie to the public for inspection ind views or czpressions of cpinion z=ade by Co=mMoners or NRC c=plc7ets at open
" ce;ying which remain goreined by sub-meetings are not intended to repre**at part A. except that,the exempti:n.t set Anal deter =inatiens cr beliefs-
{ fcrth in i 9.100s) shad gover in the case u' of any request made pursuant to I 9.8 f*
Such statements Inay not be to ee; y or inspect the trans:ript.s. recerd.
5 pleaded, cited or relled upon beiort ings er sninutes described in i 9.10g*
- the Cor-WMon or in any p6 C
Access to documents censidered at NRC under part 2 of these regulatio=s (10 meetings shan cont:nue to be sove.ned a CTR part :) except as the Cc~mt"ics by subpsrt A cf this Part.
} =ay direct.
i j
- Correction 4 6 FR 2 356 April 17.1981 9-11
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PART S o PUBLIC RECORDS
["
Members if the public attend.
(vD gndanger the life er phyr.:.1 sa!e:y (b) Withm one diy cf any vote takec W ing opes Commission meetings may of law enforcement personnel; pursuant to paragraph (a) cf ttds see-M use aman electronic sound recorders to M) (Reservedl tion. I 9.10ga) or 3 0,103(c) the Secre-(9) disclose inior:na* ion the ;:re=at=,
.tary shall =ske publicly ava!1able in the
[ record the meeting, but the use of i other electronic recording equipment
- elvure of which would be likely to Public Doc = cent Room a Writ:en copy of i
Q and camerna requires the advance signi'Leantly' frustrate impleme taton of such vote :taecting the vote of each a proposed Commission action, exce;g membe on:he quesuon.If aportionof a ;
{a-tttan approvalof the Secretary, that this subparsgraph shan not apply in muting is u be closed to the puhuc, the '
l any instance where the CamWien has Secre*.ary shaII, within one day of the
- I 9,104 CM W already disclosed to the public the cc.3-vote taken purstant to paragraph (a)
(a) Dreept where the Comminaion tent or nature of its proposed a& tion, cr of this secenn or i 9.106(a), make pub-finds
- that the public interest requires where the Commiuion.is rec:1 red to licly armHaMe in the Public Domment otherwue, Commtastrm. meetings sh.C be mske such disclosure on its omm initistve Room a fe"2 wMtten explawim of its closed, and the requirements of II 9.105 prior tc talcing Anal action on such ;m.
action cicsi:t the portion together with a list of a:1 persons expected to attend and 9.101 shan not apply to any infor-posal; c.
mation pertaining to such meeting other*
f10) Spec 1Scally concern the Com=is.
the meeting and their a!Bliation, (c) The nodcas and Ilsts required by wise required by this subpart to be dis
- siWs issuance of a subpoens or the closed to the public, where the Commis*
Commission's participation :n a cava paragraph 0) of this section to be made public may be withheld from the public sion determines in accordance with the action or proceeding or an actis: or p o.
to the exte:n that the Commission deter.
procedures of I 9.105 that opening such ceeding be! ore a state or federal admin.
mines that s:ch informationitself would meetings or portions thereof or Marla'*
1strative atency, an action in a foreign ing such information, is likely to:
court or international tribunal. or an be protected against disclosure by I 9.204 (a). Any s=h determlutions shan be (1) Disclose matters that are (D spe-arbitration, or the initiation, conduct er made indepedently of the t'ammkunnes c1ScaDy authorised under criteria es" disposition by the Commi" ton of a pse.
tablished by an Executive order to be ucular case of formal agency Wudca.
ceterminattn pursuant to paragraph (a). ]
of this sec:en to close a meeting, but 2n,
kept secret in the interests of national tion pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Sec. 554 cr accedance with me procedure af that )
defense or foreign policy, and (11) in otherwise involving a determination c=
f act picperly class 1 Sed pursuant to such the record after an opportuntry for a subsec:fo 1. iny such determination, in )
Execut!ve order; hearing pursuant to part 2 or em.
cluding a written explanation for the s
action and te seecific provision or pro-i (2) Relate solely to the internal per.
provisins visions ci iS.2ma) reded upa must '
sonnel rules and practices of the Com-(b) Nmples of situations b which be made pc.ncly avaDable tothe extent 1 missim:
Commiuten action may be decned to be permitted 4 2e cimunstances.
(3) D'.sclose matters spec 1 Scal 17 ex-significantly frus*. rated are (1) !! open-ins any Con =issim meeung e negem-
$W bns ayeeted and h USC ec. 5 2) to e t cons would be nely to disclose Wor-h m ens h atma.
a such statute (D requires that the mat-maWrwided or requests made 2 m (a) Whmer any person whose inter-I ters be Mthheld irom the pubbe in such -
a mannt as to leave no discretion on
, Co n
w '-
ests may be directly affected by a por-0n tion of a meeting requests that the Com-the issue, or (11) establishes particular not have been provided or made othe -
m* ch such porum to tM pubuc e' criteria !or withholding or refers to par-2, wise: (2) if opening a meeting or dis 2 for any of the reasons referred to in E ticular types of matters to be withheld:dsclose trade secrets and com.
- closing any infomauon wodd rmalput 2 0
(4) other policy advice.
- Commi"ic::. upon request of any one mercial or financial information ob. Olegal Me knowledge of which culd substanW e Commi"ic:c, shan vote by recortle c:
tatned from a person and privileged or 6
E conadental, including such information g at:ect the outcome or conduct of pend
- Z vote'wlaethe-to close such meettng,
, ing or reasonably anticipated litigation, (b) Any ;cson may petition the Com-as de".ned in i 2.190(d) of this title; w negoutuons; cr (3) U opening a4 mission to reconsider its action under (5) involve accusing any person of a meeting or disclosing any info ma*Jen i 9.105(a) o paragraph (a) of this sec-c-1:ne i= posing a civil penalty en any would reveal information requested by er tion by fili g a petition for reconsiders-person : :rsuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2282 or tesumony or proposals to be stven to tion w!th the Commission within seven 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5846, or any revocation of other agencies of government. includar days after the date of such action and any license pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec.
the Congress s.nd the Executtre Branch before the meeting in question is held.
2236. or formany censuring any person:
before the requesting agency would r**
(c) A petucn for reconsideration !!1ed (6) disclose information of a personal ceive the information, testimony or pro-pursuant tc paragraph (b) of this sec-natde vbere such disclosure would con.
posals. The examoles in the above sen-tion tha11 s:ste snecifictDy the grounfJ stitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of tence are for 1Dustrative purposes en27 on which the Commission action is personal privacy; and are not intended to be
- 4tive.
claimed to be erroneous, and shan se3 (7) esclose investigatory reports com.
pDed fc? law enforcement purposes, in-g 9.105 Comminion procedarm.
forth. if stropriate, the public interest in the clo<ng or opening of the meeG cluding specificaHy enforcement of the (a) Action under i 9.104 shall be taken ing. The f2ng of such a petition shan Atomic Dergy Act of 1954, as amended.
only when a maiority of the entire mem*
riot act to stay the effectiveness of the 42 U.S C. Sec. 2011 et seq., and the En-bership of the Commission votes to tale Commission action or to riostpone or de-ergy Reorganization Act of 1974, as such action. A separate vote of the Co=*
lay the meeting in cuestion unless the amended. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5801 et sec, or.
missioners shan be taken with respect to Comm9ttien orders otherwise.
informston which it written would be each Commission meeting a portion c; contained in such records, but only to portions of whleh are pronosed to be
$ 9.107,,Public announcement of Com.
the extent that the production of such closed to the public pursuant to 19.104, rum om meetings, reco-ds cr information would (D inter.
or with respect to any infomaton wht:h (a) In the case of each meeting, the fere Mth enforcement proceedings, (iD Secretary sian make public annmmce-or pa 1
u ton (
c).
le to e a take n t re consutute an unwarranted invasion of spect to a series of meetings, a por*Jon ment, at lesst one week before the meet-personal privacy (iv) disclose the iden-of portions, of which are proposed to be ing, of the time, place, and subject tity of a con!! dent!c2 source and. in the closed to the public, or with respect to matter of 'J.e meeting, whether it ta to be case of a record como11ed by a criminal any information concerning such serxs open cr cbsed to.the pubuc. and the law enf ercement authority in the course of meetings, so long as each rneeting in name a.nd,hane number of the c 5ch of a crt=inal investigation.. or by an such series involves the same particuls.r designated by the Commun to. respond to mum for infomation about W agency cenducting a lawful national se*
znatters and is sched61ed to be held no me a ouncement -shan b curity inte 1gence investigation,' cons
- more than thirty days after the initial made @ amajority of theInhu dential information furnished only.by meeting in such series. 'he vote of es.-h the Co-on determines by a recorde<
Com tissioner participating in such vote the conndential source. (v) disclose in-vestigative techniques and procedures, or shan be recorded.and no proxies shaU be ts
& g ca a
anowed.
9 12 August 1,1980
-~.
l o
s PART 9 e PUBLIC RECORDS date. In which case the Secretary ahan vision unlese the Na*icn votes pur-mation frem the public which has pre-make public announcement of the time, suant to I 9.105tc) that such certifica-viousar been withheld, then such mfor-place and subject matter of such meeting, tion 1s protected aratnat disclosure by mation sbC be made available, and whether open or closed to the pubhe, I 9.104(a). A copy of such cert:2 cation,.
st the earliest practical time.
together with a ssatement from the pre.
59.1W Rme to Con-a.
(b) The time or place of a meetmg siding omoer of the meeting setting forth he Secrttary anall annually report to may be changed foDowing the public the time and plare of the mee*.*.ng, and, the Congren rewarding the Commission's announcement required by paragraph the persons present, shan be retained by ~ comp? lance with the Government in the (a) of this section only if the Secretary the Commianton. %e Cnmmianics shan 2 Sunshbe Ac. including a tabulation of publicly armmces such changes at the maintain a cam #ete transcribt or elec " the total nr.ber of open meetings, the g
earliest practicable time. ne subject tmnic recording adequate to record fuDy a, total numbe of closed meetings, the matter of a meeting, er the determina-the pWm== af each et!=g, or por* 7 reasons for closing such meetings and tion of the Ca==t-ton to open or close tion of a meeting clmed to the put11; ex-a meeting cent that in the case of a meeting, or por-a description of any litigation brought the publicI, or portion of a meeting, to tion of a meeting, etna,d to the pubuc against the Commission pursuant to the may be chans,ed fonowmg the public announcement required by pursuant to paragraph (10) of I 9.104(c),
Government :n the Semahtne Act,includ-this subsection only if (1) a snajority of the Commiazion shan maintain such s ing any ecsts assmaed against the Com-the entire membership of the Commis-transcript or recording or a set of min-mission in ru-h litigation (whether or not.
slon determines by a recorded vote that u
S ch min paid by the Commission).
Commission business so requires and that g matters d
no earlier announcement of the channe provide a fun and accurate sm-ary of was possible, and (2) the Secretary pub-any actions taken, and the reasons Ilcly announces such change and the vote therefor, including a description cf each of each member upon suc}; charge at of.the views expressed on any item and the earliest practicable time.
h md d w MM W WNW the vote of each e==woner on the (c) Immediately foDowing each public question). AH Nents'ct=sidered in announcement, required by this ser tion, connection with any action shall be iden-notice of the time, place, and subject tified in such minutes.
matter of a meeting, whetber the meet-R (b) The Cem *1on shen make ing is open or closed, auf change in one e of the preceding, and the name s.nd promptly avatinhle to the public, in the Public Document Room, the trsnscript, phone number of the occial designated c lectronic recording, or minutes (as re-e by the Commission to respond to requests qutred by paragraph (a) of this section) for information about the meeting, shall [v of the discussion of any ite.m en the also be submitted for publication in the agenda, or of any item of the testmony Fr% ERA 1. Rsczsrza.
of any witness received at the meeting, (d) ne public announcement required except for such item or items ci such by paragraph (a) of this section shall discussion or testimony as the Commis-consistof theSecretary:
sion determines pursuant to paragraph (1) publicly posting a copy of the docu-(c) of this section to contain informa '
g ment in the Public Document Room at tion which may be withheld under i 9.104 to 1717.H Street, N.W., Washington. D.C.;
or i 9,105(c): Copies of such transcript, C and, to the extent appropriate under the or minutes, or a transcription of such re.
% circumstances.
cording disclosing the identity cf each (2) m tMr a copy to SH persons whose speeker, shall be furnished to any person names are on a mailing list maintained upon payment of the actual cost of du.
for this purpose; p11 cation or transcription as provided in (3) submitting a copy for poss!ble 19.14. The Secretary shall maintain a pubbeat2on to.at least two newspapers complete verbatim copyof the trs= script, of geners! circulation in the.Washtng-a complete copy of the minutes, or a ton, D.C. rnetropolitan area; complete electronic recording cf each (4) any other means which the Sec-meeting, or portion of a meeting, closed retary be11t'es win serve to further in-to the public, for a period of at least two form any persons who might be inter-years afler such meeting, or until one ested.
year after the conclusion of any Com.
(e) Action under the second sentence mMon proceeding with respect to which of paragrs'ph h) or (b) of this.section
'the meeting or portion was. held, which.
shall be taken orily when the Commh-8*#
sion finds thal the public interest;'in (cIIn the' case of Any meet.ng closed prompt Commblon actinn or the need pursuant to i 9.204 'as the last item of to protect 92e e-emon defense or secu;-
business, the A""un shan deter-
~
rity or to protect 'the mblic hesjth or mine which, !! any, portions of the elec-safety overrides the pubbe interest in tronic recording, transcript or Intnutes having fun pr$or notice of Comminatmi and which, H any, items of information withheld pursuant to I 9.105(c) con-meetings.
tain information which should be with-
$ 9,108 Certi & % %
N-held pursuant to I 9.104 provided how, Magn J haan.
ever, that should the Commisuon not make gg
,y g
-such determinations immediately following to submragra (1) through (10) es any such closed meeting, tty Secre!.ary of the 19.104(a) for every determtnattest Commission,* upon the advice of the Office pursuant to subnection; 9.le6(c), the of the General Counsel and after consulting Ococral Counsel shall pcblicly certify at with the Commission,shall make such the itzme 4thg3aMie'anneancement g determinations.
the meeting, or At there is no pubtsd an.
nounce-nmt at.the earl!ast. practical
_ (d) If at some hter time the Commis-time, tha.tcin his or her opinkus, the rJon determines that there is no further meting may be closed to the public and justiScation for v1thhcidJnr any trzns-shah state each relevant szemptive pro-script recording or other item of inlon I
t 9 13 August 1,1980
maawnn e
PART 2 o RULES OF PRACTICE FOR DOMESTIC LICENSING PROCEEDINGS s
quasi-judicial fur-tions wi!! request cr (2) General health and safety entenain off the record except from problems anc responsibilities of :no each other, not (2) any pany to a pro-Commiss mnt er ceeding for the iss ua nce, denial.
(3) The sis:us of proceedings.
a me n d m e nt, tra ns fer, re newal.
(e ) In any adjudication for tse modincation, suspension. or revoca-determination of an application for ini
- tion of a license or. permit, or any itial licensing. other than a contested I omcer employee, representative, or procce ding. Commissioners, members'
- any other person directly or indirectly
- of theirimmed: ate staffs and other NRC C acting in behalf thereof, shall submit omeials and e=ployees who advise $c "off the record to Commissioners or
{ Commissionen in the exercise of their such staff members, officials. and c quasi-judicial functions may conauk employees. any evidence, explanation, y the staff. and se staff may communi.
analpts, or advice, whether written or p; case with Cot.missioners, memben of oral regarding any sub:tantive maner their immediate staffs and other NRC at issue in a proceeding on the record omeials and c:nployees who advise de then pending before the NRC forthe is-Commissionen in the exercise of their suance, denial, amendment, transfer.
quasi-judicial functions.
renewal. modification, suspension, or (f) The prmisions and limitations of revocation of a license or permit. For this section applicable to Com=is-the purposes of this section, the term sinners, members of their immediate proceeding on the record then per d-staffs and otner NRC omeials and
~
ing before the NRC" shallinclude any employees who advise the Comrr.is-apphcation or matter which has been sioners in the exercise of their quasi-noticed for hearing or concerning judicial functbns are applicable to.
which a hearing has been requested memben of the Atomic Safety and
-pursant to this part.
Ucensing Appeal Board, members of their immediate staffs, and other NRC
- (b) Copies of written commur.ica.
officials and employees who advise tions covered by paragraph (a) of this members of the Ancal Board in the section shall be placed m the NRC cxercise of th:ir quasi-judicial fuec.
public document room and served by tions,
the Secretary on the communicator
~
and the parties to the proceeding in-Ig)In the case of an application cf for volved.
a license under Part 60 of this chapter (c ) A Commissioner. member of his (relating to disposal of high-level immediate staff. or other NRC official radioactive wastes in geologic or employee advis ing the Commis -
repositortes). this Part requires a sinner in the, emercise of their quasi-3 proceeding on *,he record prior to the judicial functions, to whom is at.
- issuance of a ccnstruction authorization.
tempted any oral communication con-
= Unless the Ccmmission orders
, cerning any substantive matteratissue I otherwise the issuance of a constn:ction in a procceding on, the record as
- descrihed in paragraph (a)of this sec-
- authorization (or a final decision to deny e
a construction authorization) shall'ce i tion,will decline to listen to such com]
deemed. for p::rposes of this sectier. to munication and will esplam that the terminate all p.oceedings on the rec =rd a
matter is pending for deiermination. If then pending before the NRC with unsuccessfulin preventing such com-respect to such application.
munication. the recipient thereof will udvise the communicator that a written summary of the conversation will be delivered to the NRC public document 1
room and a copy served by the Secre-tary of the Commission on the com-municator and the parties to the pro-ceeding involved. The recipient of the oral communication thereupon will make a fair. written summary of such communica:Lm and deliver such sum-mary to the NRC public document room and serve copies thereof upon the communicator and the panies to the proceediiig involved.
Ex PoTI Cowuw cv'"4 (d) This section does not apply to 1 2.780 Es parte enmmunicatiora.
c o m m u n ic a tio n s a u th o rize d by (D E'x c 'e pr a t Tre v id e d in paragraph (c)of this section.to the dis-parag raph (e) of this section, neither position of ez pane matters authorized (1) Commissioners, members of their by law. or to communications re.
inediate staffs.or other NRC officials quested by the Commission cocnern-and employees she advise the Com-ingt mis sinne n in the c zercise of their (1) Its proprietary functionst 2 30 October 16,1981(re at)
T o RULES OF PRACTICE FOR DOMESTIC LICENSING PROCEEDINGS
~
(c) In any tdjudication f;r the dItu.
mination of an application for initial licensing, other than a contested pro-cceding, the presiding ofncer may con.
suit 1) the staff, and (2) members of the k pane (l appointed by the Commssiordrurn
!2 which members of atomic safety. and E licensing boards are drawn: Pro @ed, hoerr. That in adjudications in which e"
exceptions to the initial decision may be taken to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board,the presiding officer shall not consult any member of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board or any fact in issue.
(di Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section and i 2.780(e), in any case of adjudication, no officer or employee of the Commission who has engaged in the performance of any in.
i vestigative or prosecuting function in the case of a factually related case may par.
ticipate or advise in the initial or final decision, except as a witness or counsel in the proceeding. Where an initial or final decision is stated to rest in whole or in part on fact or opinion obtained as a result of a consultation or communica.
tion authorized by paragraph (c) of this section or i 2.780(e).the substance of the communication shall be specified in the record in the proceeding and every party shall be afforded an opportunity to con.
trovert the fact or opinion. If the parties have not had an opportunity to con.
trovert such fact or opinion prior to the k filing of the decision, a party may con.
!2 trovert the fact or opimon by filing an E exception to the initial decision, or a
- petition for reconsideration of a final decision clearly and concisely utting forth the information or argument relied on to show the contrary.
.i 2.719 Separation of functions.
i (a) A presiding officer shall perform 4 no duties inconsistent with his respon.
O sibilities as a presiding officer, and will 2 not be responsible to or subject to the g supervisor or direction of any officer or employee engaged in the performance of invtstigative or prosecuting functions.
y (b) In any a djudication, the presiding i
{
c! Deer may not consult any person other j
than a member of his stafT or a special
- assist
- nt as provided for in i 2.72.2 on
- any fact in Issue unless on notice and
- cpp;rtunity for all parties to participate..
O except (1) as required for the disposition p of exporte matters as authorized bylaw L and (2) as provided in paragraph (c) of
\\_this section.
m SeptImber 19,1980
. UNITEU STATES NUCLEAD REGULATORY COMMISSION
- ~
-POR HONTHLY ACCE3510N LIST PAGE IS 79/01/01 - 79/01/31 FILE LOCATION
"!LE t.EVELS 00C. DATE o................................
10CFR PT9.T 790111 T9/01/11 ACCESSIUtl NBR 7901170380 TASK NBHt 10CFR PT9.7 790111 00C.'TYPEI MEMO FICHE filtN h0R. PAGES 1P.
NOTARIZEDI 79011702998 UDCAET DATEI LPONE N0 HEPUNT NHH4 0FFICE OF THE SECHETART OF THE COMMISSION AUTHURI CHILK,3.J.
AFFILI HECIP.3 AFFILt OFFICE OF THE SECHETARY OF THE COMMISSION t
SU8 JECT 4 COHHISSION DETERHINATION RE PUBLIC DISCLO5URE UNDER THE COVT -
jN THE SUNSHINE ACT OF TRANSCRIPT OF LICENSING HEFORM DISCUSSION OF 771215.1RANSCRIPT MILL BE NIlllHELO FHOM PUBLIC UISCLUSDHE3 HAY HE H.ELEASEU AFTER CONGRESS ADJ00RNS.
FR P19.7 790112 79/01/12 ACCESSION NURI 7901250024 1ASK NURS 10CFR DUC. TYPE HEh0 FICHE NURI PT9.7 790112 NBH. PAGES IP.
NOTARIZEDI 00CRET UATER LPURI NO HEPUNT niiHI AUTHURI CHILN,S.J.
AFFILI 0FFICE OF THE SECRETARY UF THE COMH18810N I
HECIP.4 AFFILI 0FFICE OF THE SECRETART OF THE COMMISSION i
CONMISSION RELEASES " TRANSCRIPT OF COHHISSION DISCUSSION OF SUHJECTI
).
bupGET HANKUF FY79tAUGUST 26,19TT" IN ITS EhTIHETY.
CFR P19,7 790118 18CFR 79/01/18 ACCESSION N6Mt 7901290337 TASK NBR8 DUC. TYPEI LEGAL DUCUMENT FICHE NDHI P79.7 790118 h6R. PAGEst 41PP.
ta0T AHilEDI 7901290337 00CKE1 OAIEt LPUNI NU HEPUH1 WitHI AUTHURI ItENORIE,J.H.
AFFIL: COMMISSION AUTHURI KENNEDY,H.T.
AFFILS COMMISSION
?{
AU1HURI dHAUF04DeP.A.
AFFILI COMMISSION 5
-4 SUBJECTI TRANSCRJPT OF A 790118 NEETING IN MASHINGION,0C,RE SECY-78-624 A PING PET 1110N 10 AHENU 10CFN100 NE POPULATION 71 DEh511Y CHITEHIA ANUUND NUCLEAR REACTON $1IES.PPl=41.,
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.