[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55136-55137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22645]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2011-0208]


Implementation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Public meeting and request for nomination of participants in 
panel discussions.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
is planning to hold a public meeting in late October 2011 or early 
November 2011 to solicit feedback from its stakeholders on its 
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program in the Office of 
Enforcement (OE). The meeting will be composed of panel discussions 
addressing implementation of the ADR program and whether changes could 
be made to the program to make it more effective, transparent and 
efficient. The NRC is also soliciting nominations and requests to 
participate in the panel discussions.

DATES: Submit nominations and requests to participate in the panel 
discussions by September 16, 2011. A meeting notice with the date, 
time, and location of the meeting will be available on the NRC Public 
Meeting Schedule Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm at least 10 days prior to the meeting.

ADDRESSES: Individuals or organizations with an interest in the NRC's 
ADR Program are encouraged to nominate themselves or to submit names of 
individuals who will represent their specific organization in the panel 
discussion portion of the meeting, to the individuals listed in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
    You can access publicly available documents related to this action 
using the following methods:
     NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine 
and have copied, for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's 
PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC 
are available online in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain entry into ADAMS, 
which provides text and image files of the NRC's public documents. If 
you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing 
the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR reference staff 
at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Supporting materials related 
to this notice can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching 
on Docket ID NRC-2011-0208.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shahram Ghasemian, telephone: 301-415-
3591 or by e-mail to [email protected]; or Maria Schwartz, 
telephone: 301-415-1888 or by e-mail to [email protected]. Both of 
these individuals can also be contacted by mail at the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Office of Enforcement, Concerns Resolution 
Branch, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Congress enacted the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act (Act) 
which requires each Federal agency to, among other things; adopt a 
policy that addresses the use of ADR for resolving disputes in 
connection with agency programs. While the Act authorizes and 
encourages the use of ADR, it does not require its use. Whether to use 
or not to use ADR is at an agency's discretion; additionally, 
participation in ADR processes is by agreement of the disputants. In 
2004, the Commission incorporated the use of ADR in its Enforcement 
Program in order to achieve more timely and economical resolution of 
issues, more effective outcomes and improved relationships.
    The OE oversees, manages, and develops guidance for the NRC's ADR 
program. The ADR program is comprised of two entirely different sub-
programs; the first is pre-investigation (commonly referred to as 
``Early ADR'') and the second is post-investigation. The NRC 
established the early ADR program in 2004. The early ADR program 
provides an individual and his or her employer (or former employer) the 
opportunity to resolve the individual's allegation of discrimination 
through mediation rather than to fully litigate the discrimination 
allegation or have the NRC initiate an investigation into the 
allegation of discrimination. Mediation is an informal and voluntary 
process between an individual and his or her employer (or former 
employer) in which a trained mediator works with the parties to help 
them settle their dispute. Early resolution of discrimination 
allegations tends to preserve relationships and generally promotes a 
safety conscious work environment by facilitating timely and amicable 
resolution of discrimination concerns without resorting to prolonged 
litigation and unnecessary expenses. The second sub-program (commonly 
referred to as ``Post-Investigation ADR'') refers to the use of 
mediation after the completion of an investigation by the NRC's Office 
of Investigations (OI) and the staff's conclusion that the pursuit of 
an enforcement action appears warranted. It is offered at three stages 
after the completion of an investigation by OI: (1) Before an initial 
enforcement action; (2) after the initial enforcement action is taken, 
typically upon issuance of a notice of violation; and (3) when a civil 
penalty is imposed but before a hearing request. Post-investigation ADR 
may produce more timely and effective outcomes for the NRC and an 
entity (e.g., an NRC licensee, certificate holder, or contractor of an 
NRC licensee or certificate holder) or an individual who is subject to 
an enforcement action. Participation in either early or post-
investigation ADR is entirely voluntary. The parties involved may 
withdraw from the mediation process at any time. If mediation is 
unsuccessful in the case of early ADR, OI may initiate an investigation 
into the allegation of discrimination; while, in the case of post-
investigation ADR, OE may proceed with an enforcement action.
    The ADR has become an important aspect of the NRC's enforcement 
program. Because ADR is increasingly used in enforcement, the NRC 
believes it is time to examine our implementation of this program. The 
staff is seeking to move forward with this examination through a 
meeting planned for the end of October 2011 or beginning of November 
2011.
    In addition to this FRN, the NRC will be issuing a separate FRN in 
September 2011, to provide individuals and organizations with an 
interest in the NRC's ADR program, an opportunity to comment on the ADR 
program.

II. Public Meeting

    The goal of this meeting is to provide a forum in which 
stakeholders, including the NRC, can discuss the NRC's current ADR 
Program (early ADR and post-investigation ADR). The ADR has become an 
important aspect of the NRC's enforcement program. Because

[[Page 55137]]

ADR is increasingly used in enforcement, the NRC believes it is time to 
examine our implementation of this program. This meeting will allow 
stakeholders to provide feedback regarding their perceptions of the ADR 
program's effectiveness, transparency, and timeliness, to include, for 
example, identifying criteria for determining whether early ADR and/or 
post-investigation ADR should be offered in specific cases; and whether 
additional criteria should be developed for offering early ADR for 
violations other than discrimination and post-investigation ADR for 
violations that do not involve wrongdoing.
    To ensure that this process is open, effective, and collaborative, 
the format of the meeting will consist of panel discussions among 
stakeholders, including a representative from the NRC, representatives 
from NRC-regulated nuclear industries, public-interest groups, and 
members of the public. The panel discussions will be followed by 
interactive discussions with other meeting attendees. The NRC is 
requesting that individuals or organizations with an interest in this 
initiative nominate/self-nominate individuals to participate in the 
panel discussions. Nominations and requests to participate in the panel 
discussions are requested by September 16, 2011. Nominations should 
include information supporting the nomination such as affiliation(s) 
and expertise.
    The NRC will use the nominations and information supporting the 
nomination to select final participants with a goal of ensuring a broad 
spectrum of views and backgrounds. Nominated individuals who are not 
selected to participate in the panel discussions are highly encouraged 
to attend the meeting where there will be opportunities to offer input.
    The public meeting will be held at the NRC Headquarters building 
located at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Because on-street 
parking is extremely limited, the most convenient transportation to the 
meeting is via Metro's Red Line to the White Flint Stop which is 
directly across the street from NRC Headquarters. Please allow time to 
register with building security upon entering the building. Those 
unable to travel and attend in person may participate by Webinar. The 
meeting notices on the NRC Public Meeting Schedule Web site will 
provide information on how those unable to participate in person may do 
so via Webinar. Prior to the meeting, attendees are requested to 
register with one of the contacts listed in this FRN or that will be 
listed in the meeting notice which will provide the date, time, and 
location of the meeting so that sufficient accommodations can be made 
for their participation. Please let the contact know if special 
services, such as services for the hearing impaired, translation 
services, etc., are necessary. Please check the NRC Web site (http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/conferences.html and/or http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/adr.html) for any updates to the 
meeting schedule and/or additional information about this meeting.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of August 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2011-22645 Filed 9-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P