Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Procedures for Meetings

Background

This notice describes procedures to be followed with respect to meetings conducted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). These procedures are set forth so that they may be incorporated by reference in future notices for individual meetings.

The ACRS is a statutory advisory Committee established by Congress to review and report on nuclear safety matters and applications for the licensing of nuclear facilities. The Committee's reports become a part of the public record.

The ACRS meetings are conducted in accordance with FACA; they are normally open to the public and provide opportunities for oral or written statements from members of the public to be considered as part of the Committee's information gathering process. ACRS reviews do not normally encompass matters pertaining to environmental impacts other than those related to radiological safety.

The ACRS meetings are not adjudicatory hearings such as those conducted by the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel as part of the Commission's licensing process.

General Rules Regarding ACRS Full Committee Meetings

An agenda will be published in the Federal Register for each full Committee meeting. There may be a need to make changes to the agenda to facilitate the conduct of the meeting. The Chairman of the Committee is empowered to conduct the meeting in a manner that, in his/her judgment, will facilitate the orderly conduct of business, including making provisions to continue the discussion of matters not completed on the scheduled day on another day of the same meeting. Persons planning to attend the meeting may contact the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) specified in the Federal Register notice prior to the meeting to be advised of any changes to the agenda that may have occurred.

The following requirements shall apply to public participation in ACRS Full Committee meetings:

(a) Persons who plan to submit written comments at the meeting should provide 35 copies to the DFO at the beginning of the meeting. Persons who cannot attend the meeting, but wish to submit written comments regarding the agenda items may do so by sending a readily reproducible copy addressed to the DFO specified in the Federal Register notice, care of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Comments should be limited to items being considered by the Committee. Comments should be in the possession of the DFO 5 days prior to the meeting to allow time for reproduction and distribution.

(b) Persons desiring to make oral statements at the meeting should make a request to do so to the DFO; if possible, the request should be made 5 days before the meeting, identifying the topic(s) on which oral statements will be made and the amount of time needed for presentation so that orderly arrangements can be made. The Committee will hear oral statements on topics being reviewed at an appropriate time during the meeting as scheduled by the Chairman.

(c) Information regarding topics to be discussed, changes to the agenda, whether the meeting has been canceled or rescheduled, and the time allotted to present oral statements can be obtained by contacting the DFO.

(d) The use of still, motion picture, and television cameras will be permitted at the discretion of the Chairman and subject to the condition that the use of such equipment will not interfere with the conduct of the meeting. The DFO will have to be notified prior to the meeting and will authorize the use of such equipment after consultation with the Chairman. The use of such equipment will be restricted as is necessary to protect proprietary or privileged information that may be in documents, folders, etc., in the meeting room. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the meeting that are open to the public.

(e) A transcript will be kept for certain open portions of the meeting and will be available in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), One White Flint North, Room O-1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738. A copy of the certified minutes of the meeting will be available at the same location three months following the meeting. Copies may be obtained upon payment of appropriate reproduction charges. ACRS meeting agendas, transcripts, and letter reports are available at pdr@nrc.gov, or by calling the PDR at 1-800-397-4209, or from Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) which is accessible from the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html or http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/ACRS/agenda/.

(f) Video teleconferencing service may be available for observing open sessions of ACRS meetings. Those wishing to use this service for observing ACRS meetings should contact the ACRS Audio Visual Office, telephone: 301-415-6702, between 7:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time at least 10 days before the meeting to ensure the availability of this service. Individuals or organizations requesting this service will be responsible for telephone line charges and for providing the equipment and facilities that they use to establish the video teleconferencing link. The availability of video teleconferencing services is not guaranteed.

ACRS Subcommittee Meetings

In accordance with FACA, the agency is not required to apply the FACA requirements to meetings conducted by the Subcommittees of the NRC Advisory Committees if the Subcommittee's recommendations would be independently reviewed by its parent Committee. Most, if not all, Subcommittee meetings are held to conduct preparatory activities and work that will be the subject of deliberations at a full Committee meeting.

In an effort to maintain transparency of Subcommittee activities, the ACRS has chosen to conduct its Subcommittee meetings in accordance with the procedures noted above for ACRS Full Committee meetings, as appropriate and with the exception noted below, to facilitate public participation, and to provide a forum for stakeholders to express their views on regulatory matters being considered by the ACRS. One specific exception is that for Subcommittee meetings not subject to FACA, rather than publish an agenda in the Federal Register, the ACRS will publish agendas of Subcommittee meetings on the NRC public meeting schedule website and the ACRS public meeting website, which may be found at www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg and www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acrs/agenda. Consistent with past practice for full Committee and Subcommittee meetings, members of the public who desire to provide written or oral input to the Subcommittee may continue to do so and should contact the DFO five days prior to the meeting, as practicable. When Subcommittee meetings are held at locations other than at NRC facilities, reproduction facilities may not be available at a reasonable cost. Accordingly, 50 copies of the materials to be used during the meeting should be provided for distribution at such meetings.

Special Provisions When Proprietary Sessions Are To Be Held

If it is necessary to hold closed sessions for the purpose of discussing matters involving proprietary information, persons with agreements permitting access to such information may attend those portions of the ACRS meetings where this material is being discussed upon confirmation that such agreements are effective and related to the material being discussed.

The DFO should be informed of such an agreement at least five working days prior to the meeting so that it can be confirmed and a determination can be made regarding the applicability of the agreement to the material that will be discussed during the meeting. The minimum information provided should include information regarding the date of the agreement, the scope of material included in the agreement, the project or projects involved, and the names and titles of the persons signing the agreement. Additional information may be requested to identify the specific agreement involved. A copy of the executed agreement should be provided to the DFO prior to the beginning of the meeting for admittance to the closed session.