Press Release-02-069, NRC Revises Public Meeting Policy
| ML021960274 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/03/2002 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-02-069 | |
| Download: ML021960274 (2) | |
Text
NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov Web Site: www.nrc.gov No.02-069 June 3, 2002 NRC REVISES PUBLIC MEETING POLICY The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has revised its public meeting policy to enhance and clarify the opportunity for public participation. The policy changes, which were announced in broad form in January, are in response to suggestions made at an April 2001 public meeting.
The revised policy continues NRCs longstanding practice of providing the public with substantial information on its activities and of conducting business in an open manner, while balancing the need for the NRC staff to exercise its regulatory and safety responsibilities without undue administrative burden.
It sets out three categories of public meetings and describes for each the type of information that will be available, the ways the public is invited to participate and staff follow-up actions.
Category 1 meetings are typically held with one licensee to discuss specific regulatory issues.
The public is invited to observe the business portion of the meeting and is provided an opportunity to ask questions of the NRC staff before the meeting is adjourned. Category 2 meetings are typically held with a group of industry representatives, licensees, vendors or non-governmental organizations to discuss issues which could apply to several facilities. These meetings provide an opportunity for the public to not only observe and gain information, but also to participate by providing the NRC with feedback on the analysis of the issues, alternatives and/or decisions. Category 3 meetings are typically held with representatives of non-governmental organizations, private citizens, interested parties or various businesses or industries. The objective of these meetings is to provide the public an opportunity to work directly with the NRC to provide a range of views, information, concerns and suggestions regarding regulatory issues.
Meeting agendas, background documents and meeting summaries will be available in NRCs Agency-wide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS) and at NRCs web site for certain categories of meetings. The policy also provides guidance on teleconferencing, visitor security and other administrative issues.
The policy applies to NRC staff-sponsored and conducted meetings. It does not apply to Commission meetings or meetings sponsored by NRC offices that report directly to the Commission, to
meetings between NRC staff and representatives of State governments, or to meetings conducted by outside groups that NRC staff members attend.
NRCs web page at http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/meeting-faq.html contains links to the revised policy and frequently asked questions about public meetings. For further information on NRCs public meeting policy, contact Mindy Landau or Ramin Assa at 301-415-8703 or 301-415-8709, respectively.