[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 16672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-7711]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Relocation of the NRC Public Document Room

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notification of relocation of the NRC Public Document Room.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) is planning to relocate the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR). The 
PDR is currently located at 2120 L Street, NW, in Washington DC. The 
NRC plans to relocate the PDR to the NRC's headquarters at the White 
Flint complex in Rockville, Maryland, by September 30, 2000. The NRC is 
requesting public comment from users of the PDR on how to best optimize 
service at this new location.

DATES: The comment period expires April 28, 2000. 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.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to David L. Meyer, Chief, Rules and 
Directives Branch, Office of Administration, Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Mail Stop T-6D59, Washington, DC 20555-00001.
    Hand deliver comments to 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, 
between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is 
planning to relocate the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR). The PDR is 
currently located at 2120 L Street, NW, in Washington DC. The NRC plans 
to relocate the PDR to the NRC's headquarters at the White Flint 
complex in Rockville, Maryland, by September 30, 2000.
    The NRC's headquarters offices are located at 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland, at the intersection of Rockville Pike and 
Marinelli Drive. These offices are conveniently located across 
Marinelli Drive from the White Flint Station on Metro's Red Line and 
are a short distance from the Capital Beltway (I-495) exits 34 and 35. 
All reference services currently provided at the Washington, DC, 
location will be available in the newly renovated space at NRC 
headquarters. Dining facilities, both inside and outside the 
headquarters complex, are available. Limited free perimeter parking is 
available at the rear of the building as well as on nearby streets. The 
new facility will have handicapped access and parking.
    One function of the PDR is to manage the research collection of 
publicly available paper documents comprising those that pre-date the 
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) (before 
November 1, 1999) and those ADAMS records that are provided to the PDR 
in paper. In a recent study of document usage, it was determined that 
most of the documents requested and copied by the public are less than 
18 months old. At the time of the move, the PDR will have over a year's 
worth of documents in ADAMS, the NRC's full text-database. The NRC 
intends to retire the majority of the historical paper collection to an 
off-site storage facility with plans to provide no-cost, quick turn-
around retrieval service. Paper copies of the more frequently requested 
documents will be kept on-site. As now, the 2.5 million documents in 
the ADAMS Legacy Library will be available for immediate viewing (and 
copying) on microfiche at the new facility.

Other On-Going PDR Services

    The PDR technical reference librarians assist the public in 
identifying, retrieving, organizing, and evaluating NRC publicly 
available information and documents, as well as other resources, 
represented in electronic, microfiche, paper, and other formats. The 
PDR provides terminals for the public to access documents in the ADAMS, 
training, and other assistance in installing and using ADAMS. The PDR 
manages a contract that provides, for a fee, document duplication for 
the public. There will continue to be an ``800'' number for callers 
outside the Washington, DC, metropolitan area; however, that number 
will change when the move is finalized.
    Although NRC's headquarters office is located in Rockville, 
Maryland, section 23 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 
requires the NRC to maintain an office for the service of process and 
papers within the District of Columbia. The NRC has used its PDR at its 
current location in Washington, DC, to meet this requirement. However, 
in view of the fact that most NRC stakeholders currently serve papers 
at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, and that the NRC in the 
near future will permit electronic filings, the NRC has requested 
Congress to enact legislation that would eliminate the requirement that 
the NRC maintain an office in the District of Columbia. In the event 
that legislation is not enacted, the NRC will identify alternative 
means to satisfy the requirement in section 23. The NRC will make 
conforming changes to its regulations to reflect the new location of 
the agency's PDR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas E. Smith, Acting Chief of the 
PDR, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, telephone 202-634-3381, or toll-
free 1-800-397-4209.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of March 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Francine F. Goldberg,
Director, Information Management Division, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 00-7711 Filed 3-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P