[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 12, 1999)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 55176-55177] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-26487] ======================================================================== Proposed Rules Federal Register ________________________________________________________________________ This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules. ======================================================================== Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 12, 1999 / Proposed Rules [[Page 55176]] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Part 2 Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders; Public Meeting AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of public meeting on potential changes to NRC hearing process. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recently initiated a re- examination of the processes and procedures for making the various kinds of decisions that require a ``hearing''. This re-examination will eventually result in a proposed rule noticed in the Federal Register for public comment. However, in order to have the benefit of early and interactive comment on the rulemaking issues before the NRC staff drafts the proposed rule for Commission consideration, the NRC is convening a public workshop to solicit the views of persons representing the interests that may be affected by the rulemaking. The public workshop will be held at the Commission's headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, on October 26 and 27 (\1/2\ day), 1999. Francis X. Cameron, Special Counsel for Public Liaison, in the Commission's Office of the General Counsel, will be the convenor and facilitator for the workshop. DATES: The public workshop will be in Rockville, Maryland on October 26, 1999 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. and on October 27, 1999 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ADDRESSES: The public workshop will be held in the Commission's hearing room at NRC Headquarters at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852- 2738. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Francis X. Cameron, Special Counsel for Public Liaison, Office of the General Counsel, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone: 301-415-1642. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The legal foundation for the NRC regulatory process is the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The Act provides that a ``hearing'' (or in some cases, the opportunity for a hearing) is required for certain agency actions, but does not specify what kind of a hearing should be held. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), predecessor to the NRC, took the position that by a ``hearing,'' the Atomic Energy Act meant a formal hearing, resembling a courtroom trial, with testimony given under oath and an opportunity for the parties to cross-examine the other side's witnesses. At the time, Congress and the AEC were focusing on the procedures for licensing the construction of nuclear power plants. Over time, however, it became apparent that the same format may not be ideal for all types of Commission proceedings and that the Atomic Energy Act generally does not require a formal, courtroom trial-type hearing. Consequently, the NRC developed new, less formal procedures for some types of proceedings. In early 1999, the NRC's General Counsel sent a detailed memorandum to the Commissioners (SECY-99-006, ``Re-Examination of the NRC Hearing Process'') discussing legal requirements for NRC hearings and policy considerations to be taken into account in any revision of the NRC hearing process (the document is available to the public at the NRC's Website, www.nrc.gov, and is also available from the agency contact identified at the beginning of this Notice). The General Counsel's memorandum made no recommendation for revision of the hearing process, instead laying out the pros and cons of different approaches. In response to this memorandum, the Commission has directed the NRC legal staff to initiate a rulemaking to evaluate what changes should be made to the NRC hearing process. One of the primary issues for evaluation is the Commission's desire generally to move toward less formal proceedings. In initiating the rulemaking, the Commission recognized that it would be important to have the benefit of the expertise and concerns of those who may be affected by this action early in the rulemaking process. The public workshop is designed to solicit those views to assist in the formulation of the proposed rulemaking. The objective of the public workshop is to bring together representatives of the interests affected by the rulemaking to discuss their views on the rulemaking issues in a ``roundtable'' format. In order to have a manageable discussion, the number of participants around the table will, of necessity, be limited. The Commission, through the facilitator for the meeting, will attempt to ensure broad participation by the broad spectrum of interests affected by the rulemaking, including citizen and environmental groups, nuclear industry interests, state, tribal, and local governments, and experts from academia and other agencies. Other members of the public are welcome to attend, and the public will have the opportunity to comment on each of the agenda items slated for discussion by the roundtable participants. Questions about participation may be directed to the facilitator, Francis X. Cameron. The workshop will have a pre-defined scope and agenda (set forth below) focused on the major policy issues in regard to potential revisions to the NRC hearing process. However, the meeting format will be sufficiently flexible to allow for the introduction of additional related issues that the participants may wish to raise. Although there are important legal issues on the scope of the Commission's authority to revise its hearing process in particular ways (discussed in SECY-99- 006), the purpose of the workshop is to hear the views of the participants on the policy issues surrounding the value of implementing various types of revisions, assuming for purposes of discussion that the Commission has the legal authority to revise its processes. The agenda for the workshop is set forth below. Agenda Tuesday, October 26, 1999 8:30 a.m.--Welcome, Groundrules, Agenda Overview, Introduction of Participants F.X. Cameron, Facilitator 9:00 a.m.--Overview of NRC Hearing Process Lawrence Chandler, Associate General Counsel for Hearings, Enforcement and Administration, NRC 9:30 a.m.--Emerging issues in addressing the degree of formality in agency adjudications [[Page 55177]] Professor Jeffrey Lubbers, Washington School of Law, American University. See Attachment 2, SECY-99-006 10:15 a.m.--Break 10:40 a.m.--What are the desired objectives or ``performance goals'' of the NRC hearing process? For example, SECY-99-006 suggests five performance goals (fairness, substantive soundness, inclusiveness, efficiency, and transparency). Are there other goals or objectives? Are any of these objectives more important than others? Participant discussion 12:00 Noon--Lunch 1:15 p.m.--What are the attributes of a formal versus an informal hearing process? What are the defining characteristics of formal processes? Informal processes? For example, are discovery and sworn direct and cross-examination of witnesses solely attributes of formal processes or can they also fit into the spectrum of informal hearing processes? Participant discussion 2:15 p.m.--What are the different ``models'' or variations of an informal hearing process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these models? See Attachment 4, SECY-99-006. Participant discussion 3:00 p.m.--Break 3:30 p.m.--How do formal and informal processes compare in achieving the desired objectives of the NRC hearing process? How much do opportunities for cross-examination and discovery contribute to the hearing process? What factors, for example, complexity and difficulty of the case, experience of litigants, might influence how effectively the goals or objectives are achieved? How much is the cost to participants of different kinds of hearings a consideration? Participant discussion 5:00 p.m.--Preview of next day's discussion 5:15 p.m.--Adjourn Wednesday, October 27, 1999 8:30 a.m.--Comparison of formal and informal processes: Summary discussion by participants 9:30 a.m.--Is the informal or formal process more appropriate for one type of NRC licensing action than another? For example, what process is more appropriate for enforcement proceedings? The high-level waste repository proceeding? Initial licensing of power reactors and fuel cycle facilities? License amendments? What criteria should guide this decision? Can the selection of process be done on a case-by-case basis? By whom? At what stage of the proceeding? Participant Discussion 10:15 a.m.--Break 10:30 a.m.--Are there improvements that can be made to the Commission's formal hearing process? Are there improvements that can be made to the Commission's informal hearing process? Are there issues that the NRC should address regardless of whether an informal or a formal hearing process is used, e.g., who presides? exercise of greater control by the ``presiding officer''? role of limited appearances? standing? Discovery, cross-examination? Electronic filing? What about appeals? Is an appeal ``of right''? To the Commission? Discretionary review? Participant Discussion Noon--Wrap up: Final comments, next steps 12:15 p.m.--Adjourn Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 4th day of October, 1999. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Karen D. Cyr, General Counsel. [FR Doc. 99-26487 Filed 10-8-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P