ML20125B792
| ML20125B792 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/04/1985 |
| From: | Chilk S NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY) |
| To: | Michele Sampson YAKIMA INDIAN NATION |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20125B796 | List: |
| References | |
| FRN-50FR2579, RULE-PR-60 NUDOCS 8506110551 | |
| Download: ML20125B792 (2) | |
Text
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ObMMm-OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY l
00i Citt unnc Mr. Melvin R. Sampson, Vice Chairman Yakima Tribal Council 15 xl-5 All:23 Yakima Indian Nation Confederated Tribes and Bands D'rt a g.OCxErsrf.h74 Post Office Box 151 Toppenish, Washington 98948 BRANCH
Dear Mr. Sampson:
This is in response to your letter of April 17, 1985 in which you requested a meeting with the Comission to comment on the proposed amendment to 10 CFR Part 60, " Disposal of High-level Radioactive Waste in Geologic Repositories:
Amendments to Licensing Procedures." These proposed amendments were published for coment in the Federal Register _ on January 17,1985(50FR 2579).
In your letter, you indicated that such a meeting would provide affected states and Indian tribes with a good opportunity to discuss their concerns directly with the Comission.
The Comission appreciates your concern that the issues in this rulemaking be fully aired and that the public be given adequate opportunity to coment. However, the Comission believes that in this particular rulemaking it has provided adequate opportunity for public coment; indeed, the Comission, in recognition of the possibility of heightened interest in the proposed changes in Part 60, has gone beyond the procedures it customarily follows in promulgating a rule.
These additional procedures included the provision of a preliminary draft of the proposed rule to states and other interested persons during the spring of 1983 and the Comission's staff discussion of this preliminary draf t with states and other interested persons at a meeting held in Dallas, Texas in August 1983.
Following that meeting, the staff prepared a proposed rule which it submitted to the Comission in June 1984. At the same time, the proposed rule was made available to interested States. Coments were received on the proposed rule and the staff prepared a second paper in November 1984 which considered those coments. More recently, the proposed rule was pubitshed in the Federal _ Register on January 17, 1985 and coments were solicited and received. Thus, it is clear that the Comission has actively sought and obtained coments from states and other interested persons on several occasions.
Moreover, the Comission does not generally hold meetings as part of its notice and coment rulemaking proceedings but rather solicits written comments.
The Comission conducts such meetings only when it is clear that the opportunities for written coments have been inadequate.
This is not the case here for the reasons discussed above.
Finally, if such a
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public meeting were to be found necessary, simple fairness would require the Connission to invite all commenters and not just affected' states and tribes.
For the above reasons, the Commission has decided that the meeting you requested is not advisable.
The Connission appreciates the concern and interest of the Yakima Indian Nation on this important matter.
The Connission will give all of the connents which you submitted on the proposed rule full consideration in our deliberations on the final rule.
Commissioner Asselstine disagrees with this response. He believes that a public meeting with all interested parties on these very important rule changes is warranted.
s incerely, ud
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amuel J. Ch h S
Secretary I
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