ML20151S839

Notation Vote Approving W/Edits & comments,SECY-98-197, Proposed Rule Rev to Part 2 Establishing Subpart M to Govern Requests for License Transfer Approval & Associated Requests for Hearings

ML20151S839
Person / Time
Issue date:	08/21/1998
From:	Shirley Ann Jackson, The Chairman NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
To:	Hoyle J NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY)
Shared Package
ML20151S834	List: ML20151S832 ML20151S839 ML20151S843 ML20151S848
References
SECY-98-197-C, NUDOCS 9809090073
Download: ML20151S839 (16)

Text

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.i NOTATION VOTE i

RESPONSE SHEET TO:

John C. Hoyle, Secretary l

FROM:

CHAIRMAN JACKSON

SUBJECT:

SECY-93-197 - PROPOSED RULE - REVISION TO PART 2 j

ESTABLISHING SUBPART M TO GOVERN REQUESTS FOR LICENSE TRANSFER APPROVAL AND ASSOCIATED REQUESTS FOR HEARINGS w/ edits and comments Approved x

Disapproved Abstain Not Participating COMMENTS:

SEE ATTACHED EDITS AND COMMENTS i

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SIGNATURE

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August 21, 1998 DATE Entered on "AS" Yes No

"J"c"oE! Tac"*

CORRESPONDENCE PDR

CHAIRMAN JACKSON'S COMMENTS ON SECY-98-197 1 approve publication in the Federal Register of the proposed revision to 10 C.F.R. Part 2 establishing a Subpart M to govern requests for license transfer approval and associated requests for hearings. In particular, I would like to compliment the Office of the General Counsel on developing a comprehensive, balanced, and thorough rule that provides specific uniform procedures aimed at making license transfer hearing proceedings more efficient and equitable in my view, the rule provides for expedited license transfer hearings that ensure a fair airing of pertinent issues by all affected parties to the proceeding. This is a pivotal step as we anticipate the continued high rate of requests for license transfers during this period of electric industry restructuring.

Title 10 - Energy Chapter 1 - Nuclear Regulatory Commission Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders Agency; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Action: Proposed Rule c

' Summary:

The Nucle ulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations by adding a new

' Subpart t$ art'2 v b erf9-Ho provide specific uniform procedures and rules of pra'ctice

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for handling requests for hearings associated with license transfer applications involving both material and reactor licensees. Conforming amendments are also made to certain other parts of the Commission's regulations. This new "Subpart M' provides for public participation and opportunity for an informal hearing on matters relating to license transfers, specifies procedures for filing and docketing applications for license transfers, and assigns appropriate authorities for issuance of administrative amendments to reflect approved license transfers. This rulemaking also adds a categorical exclusion to 10 C.F.R. S 51.22(c) which will permit processing of transfer applications without preparation of Environmental Assessments.

Dates:

The comment period expires (30 days after publication). Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. Comments may be submitted either electronically or in written form.

ADDRESSES: Wriiten comments should be sent to: Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications

. Staff.

l You may also provide comments via the NRC's interactive rulemaking web site through the NRC home page (http:#www.nrc. gov). From the home page, select "Rulemaking" from the tool bar.

The interactive rulemaking web site can then be accessed by selecting "Rulemaking Forum."

This site provides the ability to upload comments as files (any format), if your web browser supports that function. For information about the interactive rulemaking web site, contact Ms.

Carol Gallagher, (301) 415-5905; e-mail CAG@nrc. gov.

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l Single copies of this proposed rulemaking ma4be obtained by written request to the Reproduction and Distribution Services Sectior, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555, or by faxing a request t'o (301) 415-2289. Comments received on 1 rulemaking, may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room,2120 L Street NW (Lower Level), Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph R. Gray, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone (301) 415-1740, j

E-mail JRG@NRC. GOV.

Supplementary information:

Introduction and Purpose As part of broader efforts to improve the effectiveness of the agency's programs and processes, j

the Commission has begun an examination of its practices and procedures for considering proposed licensing and regulatory actions before it. The Commission recently issued a

" Statement of Policy on Conduct of Adjudicatory Proceedings" directing its hearing boards and presiding officers to employ certain measures to ensure efficient conduct of proceedings within the frametvork of 10 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart G, the agency's formal adjudicatory hearing procedures. See 63 F.R. 41,872 (1998).

A number of categories of NRC licensees, but in particular the electric power industry, have undergone and will continue to undergo significant transformations as a result of changes to the economic and regulatory environment in which they operate. Electric utilities in particular are now operating in an environment which is increasingly characterized by restructuring and organizational change. In recent years, the Commission has seen a significa7t increase in the number of requests for transfers of NRC licenses. The number of requests related to reactor licenses has increased from a historical average of 2-3 per year to more than 20 requests in fiscal year 1997. With the restructuring that the energy industry is undergoing, we expect this high rate of requests for approval of license transfers to continue. Because of the need for expeditious decision making from all agencies, including the Commission, for these kinds of transactions, timely and effectively resolution of requests for transfers on the part of the Commission is essential.

In general, license transfers do not involve any changes to plant operations or significant changes in personnel of consequence to the continued reasonable assurance of public health and safety, but rather involve changes in ownership or partial ownership of facilities at a corporate level. Section 184 ef the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA), specifies, however, that:

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[n]o license granted hereunder...shall be transferred, assigned, or in any manner 2

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disposed of, either voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, through i

I transfer of control of any license to any person, unless the Commission shall, after securing full information, find that the transfer is in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and shall give its consent in writing.

d 42 U.S.C. S 2234; 10 C.F.R. SS 30.34(b),40.46,50.80. Transfers falling within the foregoing provisioninclude indirect transfers which might entail, for example, the establishment of a holding company over an existing licensee, as well as direct transfers, such as transfer of an ownership interest held by a non-operating, minority owner, and the comp,ete transfer of the ownership and operating authority of a single or majority owner. Althougl other requirements of j

I th: Commission's licensing provisions may also be addressed to the extent relevant to the particular transfer action, typical staff review of such coptications consists largely of assuring that the ultimately licensed entity has the capaoility to n.M Mancial qualification and d: commissioning funding aspects of NRC regulations. Theso 'inancial capabilities aie important over the long term, but have no direct or innum Nie ;mpact on the requirements for day-to-day operations at a licensed facility. The sEme is generally true of applications involving the transfer of materials licenses.

Notwithstanding the nature of the issues relevant to a decision on whether to give consent to a license transfer, past Commission practice has generally used formal hearing procedures in accordance with the provisions of 10 C.F.R. Pad 2, Subpart G, for reactor license transfers or informal hearing procedures as provided by 10 C.F.R. Pad 2, Subpad L, in connection with materials licenses. As explained above, however, such transfers do not, as a general proposition, involve the type of complex technical issues with immediate impact on the actual operation of tae facilities that could benefit frem review by a multi-member, multi-disciplined Atomic Safety and Licensing Board typically ased by the Commission in hearings on initial licensing or issuing amendments to licenses that substantially affect the technical operations of a lic,ensed reactor facility. Accordingly, the Commission has determined that requests for h arings on applications for license transfert would be more effectively handled by a separate Subpart of 10 C.F.R. Part 2 which establishes an efficient and appropriate process for handling hearing requests associated with transfer applications commensurate with the nature of the is ues involved and the rights of all padies.

The basic requirement for an opportunity for a hearing on a license transfer is found in Section 189.a of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA), which provides that:

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[i]n any proceeding under this Act, for the granting, suspending, revoking, or j

amending of any license or construction permit, or application to transfer v

control....the Commission shall grant a hearing upon the request of any person

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i whose interest'may be affected by the proceeding and shall admit any such pe j

j party to such proceeding.

42 U.S.C 9 2239(a)(1).

i The Commission believes AEA sections 184 and 189 give the Commission the flexibility to fashion procedures which provide for a fair process to consider any issues raised conceming license transfers while still proceeding in an expedited manner.

In 1983, a hearing on a i

materials license amendment was held not to be required by statute, i.e 189.a of the Atomic l

Energy Act, to be conducted "on the record". City of West Chicago v. U.S. NuclearRegulatory I

Commission,' 701 F.2d 632,641-45 (7* Cir.1983)..There, the court declined to read section 189.a as requiring "on-the-record

• hearings, in the absence of clear Congressional " intent to trigger the fomial on-the-record hearing provisions of the APA." Id. at 641. The Commission has since stated that it interprets section 189.a as not requiring formal hearings in reactor i

. licensing proceedings. En Banc Brief for Respondents dated August 30,1991 (filed in the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 89-1381, NuclearInformation and

' Resource Service v. NRC at pp. 32-38.

l During the past several years, the Commission has, on several occasions, undertaken to tailor-procedures appropriate to reaching decisions on particular types of proposed actions. These approaches have been upheld by the courts using the principles set forth in Chevron U.S.A. v.

i Natural Resource Defense Council,467 U.S. 837,[842-844 (1984). In NuclearInformation i

~ Resource Service Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 969'F.2d 1169 (D.C. Cir.1992)?

upholding the Commission's new procedures for issuance of a combined license for standardized reactor designs, the Court noted that l

While this section [189.a] plainly requires a " hearing upon request' before the

" granting" of a license, it provides no unambiguous instruction as to how the l

" hearing". is to be held; nor does it speak in any direct fashion to the question of whether the Commission must rehear issues already resolved at earlier stages in the licensing process. As we noted in Union of Concerned Scientists v. NRC,

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920 F.2d 50. (D.C. Cir.1990) ( "UCS ll"):

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[t]he [ Atomic Energy] Act itself nowhere describes the content of a hearing orprescribes the mannerin which this ' hearing'is to be run...

We are, of ot>urse, obliged to defer to the operating procedures

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employed by the agency [i.e., move to a Chevron step ll analysis]

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f7 when the goveming statute requires only that a " hearing" be held..

O (emphasis in original).

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In Kelley v. Selin, 42 F.3d 1501,1511 (6* Cir,1995), the court followed a similar line of p

reasoning in concluding that the procedures adopted by the Commission to approve casks for l

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potential actions and licensees (covering essentially all amendments for a wide variety of j

materials licensees) is govemed by a single hearing process. This flexibility, however, inevitably leads to delays as each party to the hearings proposes and presents arguments to the Presiding Officer conceming how the hearing should be structured.

Where, as in the proposed rule, the Commission is concerned with only one type of approval, the Commission has the ability to resolve through rulemaking many of these procedural points conceming the conduct of the hearing. The resolution of these issues will allow the parties in license transfer proceedings to move expeditiously to examination of the substantive issues in the proceeding. The proposed process, similar to a legislative-type hearing, will also result in the record promptly reaching the Commission where a final agency determination can be made.

The proposed rule dictates that oral hearings be held on each application for which a hearing request is granted unless the parties unanimously agree to forgo the oral hearing. This will remove the potential for a delay while parties petition the Presiding Officer for an oral hearing.

Further, the proposed rule provides that the Presiding Officer will conduct all questioning of witnesses and there are no provisions for formal discovery, although docket files with relevant materials will be publicly available. The proposed rule resolves several areas of frequent dispute in Subpart L proceedings and was seen, therefore, as being more appropriate for license transfer proceedings where a timely decision is important to the public interest. These efficiencies can be achieved without any negative effect on substantive decisionmaking or the rights of all parties to a fuil and fair hearing since all parties will be allowed to present relevant witnesses, written testimony, and oral arguments, which should result in a high quality record on substantive issues for use by the Commission in reaching a decision on contested issues.

Regulatory Flexibility Certification In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980,5 U.S.C. S 605(b), the Commission hereby certifies that this rule will not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This proposed rule does not change any requirements for submittal of license transfer requests to NRC, rather, the procedures designate how NRC will handle requests for hearings on applications for license transfers. Most requested hearings on license transfer applications involve reactor licensees which are large organizations which do not fall within the definition of a small business found in section 3 of the Small Business Action, 15 (S[C. S 632, or within the small Business Standards set forth in 13 C.F.R. Part 121. Based on the historically low number of requests for hearings involving materials licensees, it is not expected that this rule will have any significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesM b

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PART 2 - RULES OF PRACTICE FOR DOMESTIC LICENSING PROCEEDINGS

1. The authority citation for Part 2 is revised to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 161,181, 68 Stat. 948, 953, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2201, 2231); sec.191, as amended, Pub; L.87-615, 76 Stat. 409 (42 U.S.C. 2241); sec. 201,88 Stat.1242, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5841); 5 U.S.C. 552.

Section 2.101 also issued under secs. 53, 62, 63, 81,103,104,105, 68 Stat. 930, 932, 933, 935,936,937,938, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2073, 2092, 2093, 2111, 2133, 2134, 2135); sec. 114(f); Pub. L.97-425, 96 Stat. 2213, as amended (42 U.S.C.10134(f)); sec.102, Pub. L.91-190, 83 Stat. 853, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4332); sec. 301, 88 Stat.1248 (42 U.S.C. 5871).

Sections 2.102, 2.103, 2.104, 2.105, 2.721 also issued under secs. 102,103,104,105,183i 189, 68 Stat. 936, 937, 938, 954, 955, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2132,2133,2134,2135,2233, 2239). Section 2.105 also issued under Pub. L.97-415, 96 Stat. 2073 (42 U.S.C. 2239).

Sections 2.200-2.206 also issued under secs.161 b, i, o,182,186,234,68 Stat. 948-951, 955, 83 Stat. 444, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2201 (b), (i), (o), 2236, 2282), sec. 206, 88 Stat 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5846). Sections 2.205(j) also issued under Pub. L. 101-410,104 Stat. 890, as amended by section 31001(s). Pub. L.104-134,110 Stat.1321-373 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note).

Sections 2.600-2.606 also issued under sec.102, Pub. L.91-190, 83 Stat. 853, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4332). Sections 2.700a,2.719 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 554. Sections 2.754, 2.760,2.770,2.780 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 557. Section 2.764 also issued under secs.135, 141, Pub. L.97-425,96 Stat. 2232,2241 (42 U.S.C.10155,10161). Section 2.790 also issued under sec.103,68 Stat. 936, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2133) and 5 U.S.C. 552. Sections 2.800 and 2.808 also issued under 5 U. S. C. 553, Section 2.809 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 553 and sec.29, Pub. L.85-256,71 Stat. 579, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2039). Subpart K also issued under sec.189,68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.O. 2239); sec.134, Pub. L.97-425, 96 Stat. 2230 (42 U.S.C.10154). Subpart L also issued under sec.189, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2239). Subpart M also issued under sec. sec.184 (42 U.S.C. 2234) and sec.189,68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2239).

Appendix A also issued under sec. 6, Pub. L.91-560, 84 Stat.1473 (42 U.S.C. 2135).

2. In Part 2, Section 2.101 is revised by amending paragraph (a)(1) to read:

2.101..

(a)(1) An application for a licensh, a license transfer, or an amendment to a license shall be filed with the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation or Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, as prescribed by the applicable provisions of this chapter. A prospective applicant may confer informally with the staff prior to the filing of a'n application.

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3. In Part 2, Section 2.1201(a)(1) is amended to read:

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62.1201...

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(a)...

(1) The grant, renewal or licensee-initiated amendment of a materials license subject to parts

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30, 32 through 35,' 39,40, or 70 of this chapter, with the exception of license amendments related to an application to transfer a license; or

4. In Part 2, Section 2.1205, paragraphs (a) and the first sentence of paragraph (b), are revised

- to read:

@2.1205..

(a) Any person whose interest may be affected by a proceeding for the grant, renewal, or licensee-initiated amendment of a license subject to this Subpart may file a request for a hearing.

(b) An applicant for a license, a license amendment, or a license renewal who is issued a notice of proposed denial or a notice of denial and who desires a hearing shall file the request d for the hearing within the time specified in S 2.103 in all cases.

5. In Part 2, a new Subpart M is added which reads:

Subpart M - Public Notification, Availability of Documents and Records, Hearing J

Requests and erocedures for Hearings on ticenseKTransrer Appiications 92.1300 Scope of Subpart M

$2.1301 Public Notice of Receipt of a License Transfer Application 52.1302 Notice of Withdrawal of an Application 52.1303 Availability of Documents in the Public Document Room 92.1304 Hearbg Procedures l

$2.1305 Written Comments

$2.1306 Hearing Request orintervention Petition

$2.1307 ' Answers and Replies 92.1308 Commission Action on a Hearing Request or intervention Petition l

$2.1309 Notice of Oral Hearina

$2.1310 Notice of Hearing Consisting of Written Comments l

$2.1311 Conditions in a Notice or Order 9? 1312 Authority of the Secretary l

42.1313 Filing and Service 92.1314 Computation of Time

$2.1315 Generic Determination Regarding License Amendments to Reflect Transfer 13 i

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I applicant chooses to make to the comments must be submitted within 10 days of service of the comments on the applicant. Such responses do not constitute part of the decisional record.

S2.1306 - Hearing Request or intervention Petition t

(a) Any person whose interest may be affected by the Commission's action on the application may request a hearing or petition for leave to intervene on a license application for approval of a direct or indirect transfer of a specific license.

(b) Hearing requests and intervention petitions must-1)

State the name, address, and telephone number of the' requestor or petitioner;

$g (2)

Set forth the issues sought to be raised and (i) demonstrate that such issues are within the scope of the proceeding on the license transfer application, (ii) demonstrate that such issues are relevant to the findings the NRC must make to grant the application for license transfer, (iii) provide a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert opinions which support the petitioner's position on the issues and on which the petitioner intends to rely at hearing, together with references to the specific sources and documents on which the petitioner intends to rely to support its position on the issues, and (iv) provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on a materialissue of law or fact.

(3)

Specify both the facts pertaining to the petitioner't; interest and how the interest may be affected, with particular reference to the factors in 2.1308(a).

(4)

Be served on both the applicant and the NRC Office of the Secretary by any of the methods for service specified in 92.1313.

(c) Hearing requests and intervention petitions will be considered timely on,y if filed not latcr than:

(1) 20 days after notice of receipt is published in the Federal Register, for those applications published in the Federal Register; (2) 45 days after notice of receipt is placed in the Public Document Room for all other applications, or (3)

Such other time as may be provided by the Commission.

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S2.1307 Answers and Replies

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(a) Unless otherwise specified by the Commission, an answer to a hearing request or p

intervention petition may be filed within 10 days after the request or petition has been served.

(b) Unless otherwise specified by the Commiss'on, a reply to an answer may be filed within 5

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days after all timely answers have been served.

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(c). Answers and replies should address the fa tors in $2.1308.

$2.1308. Commission Action. on a Hearing Request or intervention Petition (a) In considering a hearing request or intervention petition on an application for a transfer of an NRC license, the Commission will consider (1)

The nature of the Petitioner's alleged interest; (2)

Whether that interest will be affected by an approval or denial of the applicati n for M'pdd' bN transfer;

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(3)

The possible effect of ankordedon that interest, including whether the relief requested is within the Commission's authonty, and, if so, whether granting the relief requested would redress the alleged injury; and (4)

Whether the issues sought to be litigated are (i) within the scope of the proceeding, (ii) relevant to the findings the Commission must make to act on the application for license transfer, (iii) appropriate for litigation in the proceeding, and (iv) adequately supported by the statements, allegations and documentation required by e2.1306(b)(2)(iii) and (iv).

(b) Untimely hearing requests or intervention petitions may be denied unless good cause for failure to file on time is established. In reviewing untimely requests or petitions, the Commission will also consider (1) ' The availability of.other means by which the requestor's or petitioners' interest will be protected or' represented by other participants in a hearing; and (2)

The extent to which the issues will be broadened or final action on the application delayed.

/ (c)

The Commission will deny a request or petition to t t the extent it pertaire solely to matters outside its jurisdiction.

(d) (1) After consideration of the factors covered by paragraphs (a) through (c), the Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a hearing request or interv.ention petition, designating the issues for any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding 17

(3)

Specify the schedule for the filing of written testimony, statements of position, proposed 4

questions for the Presiding Officer to concider for submission to the other parties, and rebuttal testimony, consistent with the schedule provisions of 92.1321.

(4)

State any other instructions the Commission deems appropriate.

92.1311 - Conditions in a Notice or Order (a) A notice or order granting a hearing or permitti.,g intervention shall (1) restrict irrelevant or duplicative testimony, and (2) require common interests to be represented by a single participant.

(b) If a pagcipant's interests do not extend to all the issues in the hearing, the notice or order may limit her/his participation accordingly.

92.1312-Authority of the Secretary The Secretary or the Assistant Secretary may rule on procedural matters relating to proceedings conducted by the Commission itself under this Subpart to the same extent they can do so under

@2.772 for proceedings under Subpart G.

S2.1313 - Filing and Service (a) Hearing requests, intervention petitions, answers, replies and accompanying documents must be served as described in paragraph (b) below by delivery, facsimile transmission, e-mail or other means that wiii ensure receipt by close of business on the due date for filing. Any participant filing hearing requests, intervention petitions, replies and accompanying documents thould include information on mail and delivery addresses, e-mail addresses, and facsimile numbers in their initial filings which may be used by the Commission, Presiding Officer and other parties for serving documents on the participant.

(b) All filings must be served upon the applicant; the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555; the Secretary of the Commission, U S.

v Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D. C. 20555, and participants if any. If service to the Secretay is by delivery or by mail, the filings should be addressed to the Secretary, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakiegs and Adjudications Staff. E-mail filings may be sent to the Secretary at the following e-mail address:

SECY@NRC. GOV. Facsimile transmission filings may be filed with the Secretary using the following number: 301-415-1101.

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(b) Where administrative license amendments are necessary to reflect an approved transfer, such amendments will be included in the order that approves the transfer. Any challenge to the administrative license amendment is limited to the question of whether the license amendment accurately reflects the approved tmnsfer.

$2.1316-Authority And Role of NRC Staff (a)

During the pendency of any hearing under this Subpart, consistent with the staff's findings in its Safety Evaluation Report (SER), the staff is expected to promptly issue approval or denial of license transfer requests. Notice of such action shall be promptly transmitted to the Presiding Officer and parties to the proceeding.

(b)

Except as otherwise directed in accordance with Section 2.130' (a)

), the staff is not 9

required to be a party to proceedings under this Subpart but will offer into evidence its SER associated with the transfer application and provide one or more sponsoring witnesses.

(c)

If the staff desires to participate as a party, the staff shall notify the Presiding Officer and the parties and shall thereupon be deemed to be a party with all the rights and responsibilities of a party.

$2.1317 - Hearing Docket For each hearing, the Secretary will, maintain a docket which will include the hearing transcript, exhibits and au papers filed or issued in connection with the hearing. This file will be made available to all parties in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.1303 and will constitute the only discovery in proceedings under this Subpart.

$2.1318 - Acceptance of Hearing Documents (a) Each document filed or issued must be clearly legible and bear the docket number, license application number, and hearing title.

(b) Each document shall be filed in one original and signed by the participant or its authorized representative, with the address and date of signature indicated. The signature is a represen-tation that the document is submitted with full authority, the person signing knows its contents and that, to the best of their knowledge, the statements made in it are true.

(c) A document not meeting the requirements of this section may be retumed with an explanation for nonacceptance and, if so, will not be docketed.

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$2.1319 - Fresiding Officer (a) The Commission will ordinarily be the Presiding Officer at a hearing under this part.

However, the Commission may provide in a hearing notice that one or more Commissioners, or any other person permitted by law, will preside.

(b) A participant may submit a written motion for the disqualification of any person presiding.

The motion shall be supported by an affidavit setting forth the alleged grounds for disquali-i fication. If the Presiding Officer does not grant the motion or the person does not disqualify l

himself, the Commission will decide the matter.

O f" (c) If any person presiding deems himself or herself disqualified, heyhe shall withdraw by notice on the record after notifying the Commission.

(d) If a Presiding Officer becomes unavailable, the Commission will designate a replacement.

(e) Any motion concerning the designation of a replacement Presiding Officer shall be made within 5 days after the designation.

(f) Unless otherwise ordered by the Commission, the jurisdiction nf a Presiding Officer other than the Commission commences as designated in the hearing notice and terminates upon certification of the hearing record to the Commission, or when the Presidi.,g Officer is disqualified.

S 2.1320-Responsibility and Power of the Presiding Officer in an Oral Hearing (a) The Presiding Officer in any oral hearing shall conduct a fair hearing, develop a record that will contribute to informed decisionmaking, and, within the framework of the Commission's orders, have the power necessary to achieve these ends, including the power to:

(1)

Take action to avoid unnecessary delay and maintain order, (2)

Dispose of procedural requests; (3)

Question participants and witnesses, and entertain suggestions as to-questions which may be asked of participants and witnesses.

(4)

Order consolidation of parScipants; l

.(5)

Establish the order of presentation; l

(6)

Hold conferences before or during the hearing; (7)

Establish time limits; l

(8)

Limit the number of witnesses; and (9)

Strike or reject duplicative or irrelevant presentations.

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(g)~ No subpoenas will be granted at the request of participants for attendance and testimony L

of participants or witnesses or the production of evidence.

$2.1324 - Appearance in an Oral Hearing f

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. (a). - A participant may appear in a hearing on hehq11s own behalf.or be represented by an authorized representative.

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'(b)

A person appearing shall file a written notice stating her$is name, addyss and r

telephone number, and if an authorized representative, the bgsis of he@is eligibility and the name and address of the participant on whose behalf she(he appears.

l (c)

A person may be excluded from a hearing for disorderly, dilatory or contemptuous conduct, provided he er she is informed of the grounds and given an opportunity to respond.

n 52.1325-Motions and Requests (a) Motions and requests shall be addressed to the Presiding Officer, and, if written, also filed with the Secretary and served on other participants.

(b) Other participants may respond to the motion or request. Responses to written motions or requests shall be filed within 5 days after service unless the Commission or Presiding Officer directs otherwise.

l (c) The Presiding Officer may entertain motions for extension of time and changes in schedule L

in accordance with subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

- (d)_ When the Commission does not preside, in response to a motion or request, the Presiding l.

Officer may refer a ruling or certify a question to the Commissm for decision and notify the participants.

L (e) - Unless otherwise' ordered by the Commission, a motion or request, or the certification of a question or referral of a ruling,'shall not stay or extend any aspect of the hearing, Lg l

2.1326 - Burden of Proof i'

The applicant or the proponent of an order has the burden of proof.

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.f.

(c) Waiver petitions shall specify why application of the rule or regulation would not serve the

_ purposes for which it was adopted and shall be supported by affidavits to the extent applicable.

(d) Other participants may, within 10 days, file a response to a waiver petition.

(e) When the Commission does not preside, the Presiding Officer will certify the waiver petition to the Commission, which, in response, will grant or deny the waiver or direct any further proceedings.

@2.1330 - Reporter and Transcript for an Oral Hearing (a) A reporter designated by the Commission will record an oral hearing and prepare the official hearing transcript.

(b) Except for any portions that must be protected from disclosure under 10 C.F.R. 2.790, transcripts will be placed in the Public Document Room, and copies may be purchased from the

[ Secretary, U]S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555.

(c) Corrections of the official transcript may be made only as specified by the Secretary.

@2.1331 - Commission Action (a) Upon completion of a hearing, the Commission will issue a written opinion including its j

decision on the license transfer application and the reasons for the decision.

(b) The decision on the application following the hearing will be based on the record developed i

- at hearing.

i

^

6. 10 C.F.R. 51. 22(c) by adding a new categorical exclusion as subparagraph number 21 which reads:

10 C.F.R. 51.22 (c)..

(21) Approvals of direct or indirect transfers of any license issued by NRC and any associated

~

amendments of license required to reflect the approval of a direct or indirect transfer of an NRC license.

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