[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 20, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23205]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 20, 1994]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Staff Meetings Open to the Public; Final Policy Statement
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final policy statement.
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SUMMARY: This statement presents the policy that the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) staff will follow in opening meetings between the NRC
staff and one or more outside persons to public observation. This
policy statement also announces central agency services available to
the public for obtaining schedules for the staff meetings that are open
to public attendance. Implementing guidance will be issued to the NRC
staff as a management directive. The policy statement relates only to
meetings involving the NRC staff and does not affect existing
regulations that apply to public attendance at meetings such as
Commission meetings, advisory committee meetings, and enforcement
conferences.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 1, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Management Directive 3.5 and copies of comments received on
the proposed policy statement are available for inspection at the NRC
Public Document Room, 2120 L St., NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donnie H. Grimsley, Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.
20555-0001, telephone: (301) 504-1881.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The NRC first published its policy for open staff meetings in the
Federal Register on June 28, 1978 (43 FR 28058). On September 14, 1993
(58 FR 48080), the NRC published for public comment a proposed policy
statement entitled ``Staff Meetings Open to the Public'' in the Federal
Register that would supersede the policy statement of 1978 (58 FR
48080). The NRC requested comments on the proposed policy statement and
on comments submitted previously by the American Mining Congress that
were made in response to an interim NRC policy statement similar to the
policy statement that was proposed.
II. Summary of Public Comments on the Proposed Policy Statement and NRC
Responses
General Comments
In late 1993, the NRC received 13 letters with comments on the
proposed policy statement on ``Staff Meetings Open to the Public.''
These comments were from the following organizations: the American
Mining Congress; two law firms, Winston & Strawn and Newman &
Holtzinger, P.C.; and seven utilities, including Texas Electric, Yankee
Atomic Electric Company, Commonwealth Edison Company, Florida Power
Corporation, Georgia Power Company, Virginia Electric and Power
Company, and Southern Nuclear Operating Company; the Nuclear Management
and Resources Council, the State of New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection and Energy, and Ohio Citizens for Responsible
Energy, Inc. (OCRE). Two of these commenters, Georgia Power Company and
Virginia Electric and Power Company, endorsed the comments of the
Nuclear Management and Resources Council.
Two commenters endorsed the proposed policy statement. The other
commenters either objected to the proposed policy statement or
expressed their preference for retaining the 1978 policy statement.
Several endorsed the general concept of opening staff meetings. Most
offered suggestions for improving the proposed policy statement should
it be adopted by the Commission.
Impact on the Quality of Public Meetings
The principal concern expressed was that having the public present
during meetings with the NRC staff would have an adverse impact on the
quality of those meetings. Several commenters indicated that the
presence of the public at meetings with the NRC staff would
unnecessarily complicate NRC and licensee discussions, would adversely
affect the candor of those discussions (because the public would likely
misunderstand and misconstrue the content of conversations), and would
generally have an adverse effect on open communications between the NRC
and licensees.
The NRC has been conducting public meetings for nearly 15 years
under the 1978 policy statement. Since September 1992, the Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, the Office for Analysis and Evaluation of
Operational Data, and the regional offices have operated under an
interim policy similar to the proposed policy statement. The NRC has
not found that meetings open to the public under the 1978 policy
statement or under the 1992 Interim Policy Statement have substantially
interfered with the NRC staff's ability to accomplish its meeting goals
or that the presence of public observers adversely affected its ability
to communicate openly with licensees and other participants. Even
though the NRC recognizes that having meetings open to public
observation exposes the participants to the risk that information may
be misunderstood or misconstrued, the NRC has not, in its many years of
public meetings, found that risk to be of sufficient concern to
outweigh the public confidence gained in the NRC's regulatory programs
that comes from public observation of NRC staff meetings with outside
persons.
Policy Expansion
Several commenters viewed the presumption that all staff meetings
are open for public observation unless they fall into one of the
exemptions detailed in the proposed policy statement as representing a
significant extension of the agency policy on open staff meetings over
that published in the 1978 policy statement. They also argue that the
extension adds little to existing opportunities for public
participation.
The NRC agrees that the proposed policy statement would result in
more meetings being open to the public than would have been under the
1978 policy statement. The 1978 policy covered only meetings between
the NRC and parties to proceedings. The proposed policy statement
reflects NRC's longstanding practice of providing the public with the
fullest information practicable on its activities and of conducting
business in an open manner. Evolving agency practice since 1978 has
resulted in additional types of meetings being open to the public that
are not covered by the 1978 policy statement. These include meetings
with licensees on technical issues, with licensee senior management on
Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance reports, and with
licensees on exit meetings for special team inspections or by accident
investigation and diagnostic evaluation teams. In addition, NRC has
open meetings with trade organizations and with public interest groups
regarding policy and technical issues and the agency's regulatory
responsibilities. The policy statement codifies current practice by
establishing uniform guidelines for the staff.
Definition of a Public Meeting
Several commenters offered suggestions for refining the definition
of ``public meeting.'' Several commenters suggested that the type of
individuals attending a meeting should be a determinant of whether the
meeting is open to the public. One commenter suggested limiting public
meetings to those where a decision-maker was attending. Other
commenters suggested limiting public meetings only to those where
technical staff were in attendance or where only a project manager and
one or more license representatives were present. The NRC strongly
believes that the subject matter of the meeting, or the administrative
burden of opening the meeting, rather than the type of participant in
attendance, should be the determining criterion for deciding if a
meeting should be considered open for public observation.
One commenter expressed concern that the policy does not apply to
state and local governments, including agreement states. The policy
statement does apply to those entities as provided for in Section C.1.
of the policy statement.
A commenter suggested language be included to establish a
presumption that meetings between the NRC staff and outside parties be
open. The NRC believes its policy statement clearly announces a policy
of openness and establishes only a limited number of necessary
exemptions. The NRC believes the policy statement provides meaningful
opportunities for the public to be informed of NRC activities without
unduly affecting open and candid discussions between licensees and the
NRC staff or interfering with the NRC staff's ability to exercise its
regulatory and safety responsibilities without undue administrative
burden.
Other commenters suggested that the definition of a public meeting
specifically exclude all meetings other than ``face to face meetings,''
that is, exclude meetings using electronic communications, such as
telephone conference calls or teleconferencing. The NRC agrees that the
definition of a public meeting is not intended to include conversations
using electronic communications and has modified the definition to
clarify that meetings covered by this policy statement are those where
participants are physically present at a single meeting site.
One commenter suggested that the definition of a public meeting be
limited to one in which public interest has been expressed or where the
NRC has reason to believe there is substantial public interest. The use
of this type of criterion would require that the NRC judge what is of
significant interest to a wide range of groups that have varied
interests. The NRC does not presume to judge for these varied groups
what meetings they may consider to be of significant interest. The NRC
believes that it is the responsibility of members of the public, not
the NRC, to decide if they are interested in attending a staff meeting.
Several commenters suggested that the public's role at open staff
meetings be clearly limited to that of observers. The preamble of the
proposed policy statement clearly states that staff meetings open to
the public would be open only to observation. However, in response to
this concern, the NRC has amended the definition of a public meeting to
include the phrase, ``open to public observation.''
Several commenters suggested that the policy statement include
specific ways to limit public participation, such as permitting members
of the public to ask questions only at the conclusion of a meeting or
requiring them to submit written comments or questions. The policy
statement is not intended to address the role of the public beyond that
of observation. However, the NRC recognizes that some meetings open
under the policy statement may warrant a greater degree of public
participation. If participation beyond that of observation is allowed
for a particular meeting, a description of the degree of participation
will be specified when the meeting is announced and at the outset of
the meeting by the senior NRC official participating in the meeting.
One commenter asked that NRC prohibit members of the public from
interrupting meetings to pursue a personal agenda or raise public
policy issues. The NRC recognizes the concern outside persons may have
regarding this possibility. As above, the NRC staff will indicate the
ground rules for a public meeting at the beginning of a meeting and
adhere to those rules throughout the meeting.
The suggestion that the term ``encounter'' in the definition of a
public meeting be changed to ``meeting'' was rejected. Had this
suggestion been accepted, the definition would have read, ``A public
meeting is a formal meeting,* * *'' phrasing that does not comply with
the logical terms of a definition.
Exemptions
In reviewing the comments regarding the exemptions and scope of the
policy statement, the NRC staff recognizes that exemption ``g'' should
be clarified. The phrase, ``Is a general information exchange'' has
been added to the exemption. Furthermore, guidance has been provided to
the staff at the end of Section C.2 as follows: ``Also note that
meetings between staff and licensees or trade groups to discuss
technical issues or licensee performance would normally be open because
they may lead to a specific regulatory decision or action. However,
should a meeting involving a general information exchange be closed and
should discussions during such a meeting approach issues that might
lead to a specific regulatory decision or action, the NRC staff may
advise the meeting attendees that such matters cannot be discussed in a
closed meeting and propose discussing the issues in a future open
meeting.''
Several commenters suggested that the policy statement contain
additional specific exemptions for closing a meeting. For example, one
commenter suggested closing meetings that are administrative in nature,
that are held to discuss scheduling or constraints associated with
licensee actions, or that are held to review material submitted to the
NRC by licensees. The NRC believes that these types of meetings will be
exempt to the extent the definition of a public meeting encompasses
only meetings where substantive issues are discussed. Also, exemption
``g'' as rewritten covers those types of meetings because they are held
only for the exchange of information.
Several commenters suggested closing meetings for the exchange of
preliminary, unverified information; meetings held within a licensee's
protected areas; and meetings between NRC Resident Inspectors and
licensees. The NRC believes that these types of meetings are already
exempted by the policy statement in that the first type would be closed
under exemption ``f,'' and second and third types would be closed under
exemption ``h.''
One commenter suggested that exemptions ``f,'' ``g,'' and ``h''
need to be refined to preserve NRC's flexibility to carry out its
health and safety responsibilities without being unduly inhibited by
the expanded openness policy. Another commenter believed these
exemptions were too broad. NRC believes exemption ``f'' is sufficiently
focused to be clearly interpreted. Exemptions ``g'' and ``h'' have been
refined and the NRC believes that the policy statement has sufficient
flexibility to ensure that NRC meets its safety and regulatory
responsibilities. The policy statement clearly enunciates this
flexibility in stating, ``[t]his policy is a matter of NRC discretion
and may be departed from as NRC convenience and necessity may
dictate.'' The commenter specifically requested that the term
``substantially'' be deleted from exemption ``h.'' The NRC agrees
because the NRC will not open a meeting if the NRC staff believes the
administrative burden will interfere with the efficient performance of
its safety and regulatory responsibilities and exemption ``h'' has been
broadened to specifically exclude meetings held as an integral part of
an NRC inspection.
One commenter interpreted the provision in exemption ``f'' in the
policy statement as a means to exempt meetings convened to solve
potential problems, such as reclamation proposals or enforcement
matters. The NRC does not agree with this interpretation. The exemption
addresses meetings that could result in the inappropriate disclosure
and dissemination of ``preliminary, unverified information.'' The
purpose of this exemption is not to close all meetings for which
preliminary information, proposals, or concerns are discussed, but to
specifically ensure that agency licensees and applicants will not be
inhibited in bringing preliminary, unverified information to the
attention of the NRC.
The NRC staff believes that this reasoning applies to another
commenter who believes that meetings between the staff and licensees,
where technical issues or approaches to emerging issues are discussed,
should also be classified as ``preliminary'' in nature and not open to
the public.
Meeting Arrangements
Several commenters raised issues regarding arrangements for public
meetings. One recommended that public recording and transcription of
meetings be prohibited. The NRC does not believe it should limit public
attendees when they want to record or transcribe proceedings which they
have a right to attend. This type of a prohibition would be difficult
to enforce and would infringe upon an established practice of media
representatives and others who routinely record public proceedings for
their convenience and subsequent use.
One commenter suggested that ``outside parties'' be consulted
before announcing a meeting open to public observation because they may
wish to submit proprietary, personal, or other confidential information
prior to the meeting. Another suggested that the NRC staff inform the
``outside parties'' if a meeting will be a public meeting. This is the
current NRC practice; however, the NRC will include a provision in its
implementing management directive emphasizing that the NRC staff should
make outside persons aware when a meeting will be a public meeting.
This practice will allow the outside persons to raise concerns
regarding confidential information before a meeting.
Several commenters expressed the concern that essential or urgent
meetings would not be scheduled promptly enough because of the need to
provide ``ten days advanced notice.'' This provision is intended to
ensure that when the NRC staff deems that a meeting should be a public
meeting there is sufficient time to provide adequate public notice of
the meeting. When a meeting is deemed essential and adequate public
notice cannot be provided, exemption ``h'' of the policy statement
would apply because trying to provide notice would constitute an
administrative burden that could interfere with the NRC staff's
efficient execution of its safety and regulatory responsibilities;
however, limited notice would still be provided using available
telephone and electronic bulletin board systems.
Another commenter noted that its experience has been that some past
public meetings noticed in the Federal Register were published on the
day of the meeting or published so close to the date of the meeting
that public attendance was impossible. The NRC recognizes that delays
may occur because of the requirement to publish a notice of the meeting
in the Federal Register. Consequently, the NRC did not adopt
publication in the Federal Register as the principal mechanism for
announcing public staff meetings. The NRC will announce public meetings
through a toll-free telephone recording, a toll-free electronic
bulletin board, weekly distribution of public meeting announcements to
the Press, and by posting meeting announcements in the NRC Public
Document Room.
One commenter suggested that minutes of closed meetings be prepared
when substantive regulatory issues are raised in a closed meeting or
when minutes of the closed meeting can be prepared and released to the
public. The NRC recognizes that closed meetings may involve discussions
regarding substantive regulatory matters, such as those involving
preliminary, unverified information; meetings may also be closed
because of the administrative burden of opening the meeting for public
observation. The NRC does not believe it is necessary to require in the
policy statement the preparation of meeting minutes or summaries of
closed meetings. However, current NRC practice, when appropriate, is to
make publicly available summaries of non-public meetings. This practice
will continue.
Duration of Policy
One commenter suggested that any revised policy adopted by the NRC
be limited to a two-year trial basis similar to that approved for open
enforcement conferences. Another commenter suggested that the policy
statement should be limited to a period necessary to determine if there
is sufficient interest to justify the expense of opening routine
meetings to the public. The NRC believes that its long-term experience
with open meetings justifies opening staff meetings and that this
practice has resulted in significant benefits to the public. Thus the
NRC does not believe its policy should be limited for any particular
period of time.
Costs
Several commenters expressed concern regarding expenditures that
would be required by the NRC and licensees to accommodate public
observation of meetings. Two commenters expressed concern that
additional expenditures would be incurred without commensurate
benefits; for example, that public meetings may be held with no public
attendance. Should this happen, these commenters suggested that these
types of meetings be added as exemptions because no public interest in
them would have been demonstrated. Others believed that the proposal
should be abandoned because it would affect fee assessments under the
agency's 100-percent user fee policy, resulting in a net loss in
regulatory effectiveness and with no public benefit. The NRC does not
envision more than a nominal increase in expenditures because the
meetings in question will be held with or without public attendance,
and are usually held at NRC facilities and meetings at licensee
facilities are normally held in a facility readily accessible to the
public. NRC's costs associated with operating the toll-free telephone
line and the public-access electronic bulletin board are minimal and,
to a great extent, offset by consolidating several current meeting
notice telephone systems into one. Press notices of public meetings
will be included in the agency's Weekly Press Release Compilation.
Concerns related to fee assessments are routinely addressed as part of
rulemakings for 10 CFR Parts 170 and 171. In February 1994, the NRC
issued the ``Report to the Congress on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission's Licensee Policy Review Required by the Energy Policy Act
of 1992'' that addresses concerns raised regarding the NRC licensee fee
policy.
American Mining Congress Comments
The NRC invited public comment on concerns that had been submitted
by the American Mining Congress (AMC) on the September 1992, Interim
Policy Guidance that had been used by the NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, the Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data,
and the NRC regional offices. The AMC stated that the proposed policy
was generally responsive to its concerns. AMC's additional comments and
the concerns of other commenters who referenced AMC's concerns are
addressed in the preceding analysis of comments in Section II of this
document.
III. Discussion of the Policy
The purpose of revising the open meeting policy is to further the
goal of providing meaningful opportunities for the public to be
informed of NRC activities without unduly affecting open and candid
discussions between licensees and the NRC staff or interfering with the
NRC staff's ability to exercise its regulatory and safety
responsibilities without undue administrative burden. The policy also
provides guidance to the NRC staff concerning the types of meetings
that should be open to public observation. The open meeting policy is a
matter of NRC discretion and may be departed from as NRC convenience
and necessity may dictate.
The open meeting policy excludes meetings where the expressed
intent is not to discuss substantive issues that are directly
associated with NRC's regulatory and safety responsibilities. Meetings
that would not need to be open could include training, conferences, and
association meetings where both NRC staff and applicant/licensee
officials participate. The open meeting policy also excludes meetings
or interviews between NRC staff and licensee staff or management
personnel that occur during the performance of an NRC inspection. The
policy also excludes meetings the NRC staff has with its own employees,
contractors, and consultants, other Federal agencies where the matter
does not relate to a specific activity for which NRC has oversight, and
with representatives of foreign governments and State and local
representatives on matters other than those relating to specific NRC
licensing or regulatory actions involving individual NRC licensees.
Exemptions to the policy will permit meetings to be closed to
ensure that classified, commercial or financial proprietary,
safeguards, personal privacy, and investigative information protected
by statute or otherwise requiring protection is not disclosed to the
public. Other exemptions are provided to ensure that the NRC staff has
sufficient flexibility to efficiently carry out its responsibilities.
A meeting to discuss preliminary, unverified information is not an
open meeting under the policy. The purpose of this exemption is to
ensure that licensees and applicants are not inhibited in bringing to
the Commission information that is not verified or sufficiently
analyzed to draw firm conclusions. It also ensures that discussions
about potential implications of this type of information occur candidly
and openly without fear that it may be misunderstood by the public as
fact or as final conclusions.
A meeting that is an information exchange having no direct,
substantive connection to a specific NRC decision or action is not an
open meeting under this policy. The purpose of this exemption is to
ensure that routine administrative matters relating to regulatory
activities can be carried out efficiently. For example, drop-in visits
or similar management meetings between senior executives of a utility
licensed to operate a nuclear power plant and the Executive Director
for Operations, Regional Administrators, or other senior NRC managers
are generally closed meetings because they typically consist of a
general exchange of information not directly related to any regulatory
action or decision. Furthermore, meetings to discuss schedules for NRC
actions, or the status of an applicant's or licensee's activities would
not be open under this exemption. Meetings between staff and licensees
or trade groups to discuss technical issues or licensee performance
would normally be open under this provision because they may lead to
specific regulatory action.
The final exemption is for meetings where the administrative burden
associated with public attendance could interfere with the NRC staff's
efficient execution of its safety and regulatory responsibilities. This
exemption ensures that the NRC staff has the discretion to have a
needed meeting on short notice where adequate public notice cannot be
provided without placing an undue burden on the agency. The meeting
could be necessary because of an urgent issue that needs addressing or
where the opportunity becomes available on short notice to meet with an
official of the applicant or licensee that would benefit the NRC staff
person in carrying out his or her duties. The meeting also might be in
a location that does not have the facilities to easily accommodate the
public, such as within a plant's protected area, because these meetings
would require an undue administrative burden to establish access
authorization for members of the public. For example, an NRC manager
may visit a facility on short notice or without any notice for purposes
other than meeting with licensee officials. These purposes may include
but are not limited to monitoring and assessing the performance of NRC
subordinates, touring the facility, or independently assessing licensee
performance. During such a trip, he or she may visit licensee officials
and may discuss substantive regulatory issues with them. Opening such a
meeting to the public would constitute an undue administrative burden
and could impede the efficient executions of the NRC's safety and
regulatory responsibilities.
The public meeting notice system planned for providing public
notice of all NRC staff meetings open to the public will have a toll-
free telephone recording and a public-access electronic bulletin board
for announcing meeting notice information. Open staff meetings will
also be announced by a weekly press release as well as being posted in
the agency's Public Document Room, as is the current practice.
IV. Commission Policy Statement on Staff Meetings Open to the Public
A. Purpose
This statement presents the policy that the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) staff will follow in opening meetings between the NRC
staff and one or more outside persons to public observation. The policy
continues NRC's longstanding practice of providing the public with the
fullest information practicable 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. This policy also announces central agency
services available to the public for obtaining schedules for the staff
meetings that are open to public attendance. Implementing guidance will
be issued to the NRC staff as a management directive. This meeting
policy is a matter of NRC discretion and may be departed from as NRC
convenience and necessity may dictate.
B. Definition
A public meeting is a planned, formal encounter open to public
observation between one or more NRC staff members and one or more
outside persons physically present at a single meeting site, with the
expressed intent of discussing substantive issues that are directly
associated with the NRC's regulatory and safety responsibilities.
An outside person is any individual who is not:
a. An NRC employee;
b. Under contract to the NRC;
c. Acting in an official capacity as a consultant to the NRC;
d. Acting in an official capacity as a representative of an agency of
the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the U.S. Government
(except when the agency is subject to NRC regulatory oversight);
e. Acting in an official capacity as a representative of a foreign
government;
f. Acting in an official capacity as a representative of a State or
local government (except when specific NRC licensing or regulatory
matters are discussed).
C. Applicability and Exemptions
1. This policy applies solely to NRC staff-sponsored and conducted
meetings and not to meetings conducted by outside entities that NRC
staff members might attend and participate in. It does not apply to the
Commission or offices that report directly to the Commission.
Similarly, it does not apply to meetings between the NRC staff and
representatives of State governments, including Agreement State
representatives, relating to NRC Agreement State activities or to State
regulatory actions or to other matters of general interest to the State
or to the Commission, that is, matters other than specific NRC
licensing or regulatory actions involving specific licensees. Also, the
policy is not intended to apply to or supersede any existing law, rule,
or regulation that addresses public attendance at a specific type of
meeting. For example, 10 CFR Part 7 specifically addresses public
attendance at advisory committee meetings; and 10 CFR Part 9, Subpart
C, addresses public attendance at Commission meetings. The policy also
does not negate existing Memoranda of Understanding, procedural
agreements, or other formal agreements or requirements regarding the
accessibility of the public to observe or participate in meetings
between NRC and its licensees or any other entities. In addition, the
policy does not apply to meetings involving enforcement matters under
10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C nor to settlement conferences.
2. In general, meetings between the NRC staff and outside persons
will be classified as public meetings unless the NRC staff determines
that the subject matter to be discussed--
a. Is specifically authorized by an Executive Order to be kept
secret in the interests of national defense or foreign policy
(classified information) or specifically exempted from public
disclosure by statute;
b. Contains trade secrets and commercial or financial information
(proprietary information);
c. Contains safeguards information;
d. Is of a personal nature where such disclosure would constitute a
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
e. Is related to a planned, ongoing, or completed investigation
and/or contains information compiled for law enforcement purposes;
f. Could result in the inappropriate disclosure and dissemination
of preliminary, unverified information;
g. Is a general information exchange having no direct, substantive
connection to a specific NRC regulatory decision or action;
h. Indicates that the administrative burden associated with public
attendance at the meeting could result in interfering with the NRC
staff's execution of its safety and regulatory responsibilities, such
as when the meeting is an integral part of the execution of the NRC
inspection program.
It is important to note that whether or not a meeting should be
open for public attendance is dependent primarily on the subject matter
to be discussed, not who outside nor who within the NRC staff is
participating (e.g., staff level versus senior management).
Also note that meetings between staff and licensees or trade groups
to discuss technical issues or licensee performance would normally be
open because they may lead to a specific regulatory decision or action.
However, should a meeting involving a general information exchange be
closed and should discussions during such a meeting approach issues
that might lead to a specific regulatory decision or action, the NRC
staff may advise the meeting attendees that such matters cannot be
discussed in a closed meeting and propose discussing the issues in a
future open meeting.
D. Notice to the Public
1. Normally, meeting announcement information is to be provided by
the staff to the agency's meeting announcement coordinator at least ten
days in advance of the date of the meeting so that adequate notice can
be made to the public.
Public notice will be provided through the Weekly Compilation of
Press Releases and posting in the NRC headquarter's Public Document
Room, 2120 L Street (Lower Level) NW., Washington, DC. The public may
obtain a schedule of agency staff meetings on a toll-free telephone
recording at 800-952-9674 and on a toll-free electronic bulletin board
at 800-952-9676.
2. Meetings which are scheduled for the next 60 calendar days will
be announced to the public. Meeting announcements will include the
date, time, and location of the meeting, as well as its purpose, the
agency and outside organizations in attendance, and the name and
telephone number of the agency contact for the meeting. Information
about canceled, rescheduled, and open meetings scheduled on short
notice will be updated daily or as needed by its posting at the agency
Public Document Room, on the telephone recording, and on the electronic
bulletin board.
Dated at Rockville, MD, this 14th day of September 1994.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John C. Hoyle,
Acting Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 94-23205 Filed 9-19-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P