[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 52 (Friday, March 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14964-14968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05787]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2016-0178]
Enhancing Participation in NRC Public Meetings
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Revision to policy statement; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has revised its
policy statement, ``Enhancing Participation in NRC Public Meetings,''
to further clarify and enhance participation in public meetings
conducted by the NRC. The revised policy statement redefines the three
categories of public meetings and identifies the level of public
participation offered at each category of meeting. The revised policy
statement also clarifies notification expectations for meetings that
include physical presence in the meeting room and meetings that rely
solely on remote access technology such as teleconferencing. The
revisions will improve the consistency of the NRC's public meetings and
help participants better prepare for NRC meetings.
DATES: This policy statement is effective on March 19, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0178 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may
obtain publicly-available information related to this action by any of
the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0178. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407;
email: [email protected]. For technical questions contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time
that a document is referenced. The policy statement, ``Enhancing Public
Participation in NRC Meetings,'' is available as an attachment to this
document.
Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request
to the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne Dennis, Office of the
Executive Director for Operations, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0760; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 14965]]
I. Background
The NRC has had a formal policy regarding open meetings since 1978;
the most recent revision was issued in 2002. In 2014 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML14149A323), the NRC assembled a task group to complete a
comprehensive look at the NRC's public meeting policies, processes, and
guidance, including their implementation, and to work toward making
improvements to those aspects of the agency's work. The task group on
Enhancing NRC Public Meetings was formed in June 2014, and produced a
set of recommendations in January 2015 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15029A456).
In SECY-16-0007, ``Proposed Revisions to Policy Statement on
Enhancing Public Participation in NRC Meetings,'' dated January 22,
2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15282A074), the NRC staff provided its
proposed revisions to the NRC's policy statement on public meetings to
address the task group's recommendations. The proposed revisions
modified the public meeting categorization system and redefined the
three categories of public meetings. The proposed revisions also
included topics such as civility at NRC public meetings and NRC staff
innovation with meeting formats. In the staff requirements memorandum
(SRM) for SECY-16-0007, dated June 24, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML16176A227), the Commission approved the proposed revisions to the
policy statement for publication in the Federal Register for public
comment. The Commission also directed the NRC staff to hold a public
meeting related to the revised policy statement in order to have a
dialogue on the expectations for and by stakeholders at NRC public
meetings.
The draft revisions to the policy statement were published in the
Federal Register on August 31, 2016 (81 FR 60026). On September 29,
2016, the NRC staff conducted a public meeting to provide information
regarding the proposed revisions to the policy statement (ADAMS
Accession No. ML16274A128). Additionally, the NRC staff provided
information regarding the proposed revisions to the policy statement in
a September 19, 2016, blog post (https://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/2016/09/19/back-to-basics-seeking-comment-on-a-new-commission-public-meeting-policy/).
II. Overview of Public Comments
In response to the proposed revisions to the policy statement, the
NRC received 30 comments from 7 members of the public. Based on the
public comments, the NRC staff made several modifications to improve
the clarity of the policy statement. This section provides a summary of
the changes made to the policy statement as a result of comments and
includes discussion of comments that the NRC did not accept.
The NRC updated the ``Level of Participation'' section for
Observation Meetings to clarify that members of the public can pose
questions to the NRC during Observation Meetings and that licensees or
other parties are not precluded from responding to questions during
Observation Meetings.
The NRC updated the ``Notice and Access'' section of the policy
statement to state that the NRC will ensure that public meeting notices
are sent out to interested stakeholders using the mechanisms available,
such as the applicable NRC listservs.
The NRC updated the ``Participation in NRC Public Meetings''
section to include a statement that the NRC should always be open to
listening and responding to questions from members of the public,
regardless of when the interaction occurs.
The NRC updated the ``Notice and Access'' section of the policy
statement to state that the NRC will ensure that available ADAMS
documents related to the topic of the meeting are linked to the meeting
notice as background documents to the extent practical.
The NRC updated the descriptions of all three categories of
meetings to include a statement that the NRC should strive to ensure
sufficient time for the meeting so that members of the public can pose
their questions and have them answered during the meeting to the extent
practical and that, whether all questions are addressed or not, the NRC
should emphasize ways members of the public can ask questions outside
of the meeting.
The NRC disagreed with three public comments. The NRC disagreed
with a comment that bridge line numbers should be included in all
meeting notices. There are times when the NRC staff requests that those
interested in calling in to a meeting contact an NRC staff member for
the bridge line information so that the NRC staff can understand in
advance how many participants plan to call in to a meeting and set up a
bridge line with the capacity to handle the expected number of callers.
The NRC also disagreed with two comments that the NRC should notify the
public 1 month in advance of public meetings, stating that the NRC
policy is to post meeting notices a minimum of 10 days before a meeting
and, if at all possible, the NRC staff announces meetings earlier. The
NRC believes that the current policy of providing a minimum of 10 days
notice before a public meeting provides the public with sufficient
notice of upcoming public meetings without compromising the NRC staff's
ability to conduct public meetings on time-sensitive or emerging
issues.
The NRC concluded that the remaining comments were either already
included in the proposed revision to the policy statement or that the
comments were best addressed in detail in staff-level guidance.
III. Procedural Requirements
Congressional Review Act Statement
This Policy Statement is a rule as defined in the Congressional
Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and
Budget has not found it to be a major rule as defined in the
Congressional Review Act.
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
This Policy Statement does not contain new or amended information
collection requirements and, therefore, is not subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Dated: March 16, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
Attachment--Commission Policy Statement on Enhancing Participation in
NRC Public Meetings
A. Purpose.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) longstanding
practice is to provide the public with substantial information on
its activities, to conduct business in an open manner, and to
balance openness and transparency with the need to exercise
regulatory and safety responsibilities without undue administrative
burden. The NRC's policy is to open meetings between the agency
staff and one or more outside persons to observation and
participation to the extent possible. The NRC has had a formal
policy regarding open (public) meetings since 1978. The Commission's
policy statement, ``Enhancing Public Participation in NRC
Meetings,'' was last issued in 2002 (67 FR 36920).
This policy establishes three public meeting categories based on
the level of participation offered to attendees. The policy provides
information such as descriptions of each category, information on
how public meetings are announced, post-meeting activities, and
applicability and exceptions.
B. Participation in NRC Public Meetings.
Consistent with the NRC's commitment to openness, the level of
participation, purpose, and description for each category of public
meeting are described below. When assigning a category to a meeting,
the NRC staff will
[[Page 14966]]
consider the objective of the meeting and the extent of known public
interest in the topic. The NRC staff should always be open to
listening to members of the public and responding to questions,
regardless of when the interaction occurs.
The three meeting categories are based on the level of public
participation to be provided at each type of meeting. Therefore,
some categories may support multiple meeting formats. The label for
each category provides an indication of the level of participation
meeting attendees can expect.
The NRC is committed to providing an atmosphere of civility and
inclusion at its public meetings. All participants are expected to
follow established ground rules, including those provided in the
applicable meeting notice posted on the NRC's public website, to
support this atmosphere of civility and inclusion regardless of
personal viewpoints. If the actions of one or more participants
significantly impact other participants' ability to observe or
participate in a meeting, the NRC staff shall take appropriate
actions to restore a more respectful environment or end a meeting
early, if necessary.
Observation Meeting
Meeting Purpose--The purpose of this type of meeting is for the
NRC to meet with representatives from one or more groups in an open
and transparent manner to discuss regulatory and technical matters.
The meeting will inform the public by providing information to help
them understand the applicable regulatory issues and NRC actions.
Level of Participation--Other attendees besides the
representatives noted above are invited to observe the meeting and
discuss regulatory issues with, and pose questions to, the NRC
representatives at a designated point or points identified on the
agenda. This does not preclude the licensee or other parties from
responding to questions if they choose to do so. The NRC staff
should strive to ensure sufficient time is allotted for an
Observation Meeting to ensure that members of the public can pose
questions and have them answered during the meeting. Whether all
questions are addressed or not, the NRC staff should emphasize ways
members of the public can ask questions outside the meeting.
Description--Meetings in this category include the NRC meeting
with one or more industry groups, licensees, vendors, applicants,
potential applicants, or non-government organizations, to discuss
regulatory issues regarding a specific facility (or facilities),
certificates of compliance, licenses, or license applications. This
category of meeting could also include the NRC meeting with
representatives of task force groups, industry groups, or public
interest and citizen groups. The primary discussions are expected to
occur between the NRC and representatives of those entities or
groups.
The following description will be included in an Observation
Meeting notice:
This is a meeting in which attendees will have an opportunity to
observe the NRC performing its regulatory function or discussing
regulatory issues. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask
questions of the NRC staff or make comments about the issues
discussed following the business portion of the meeting, however the
NRC is not actively soliciting comments towards regulatory decisions
at this meeting.
Examples--Meetings of this category may include meetings with
licensees (or applicants) to discuss license renewal, amendment or
exemption requests; meetings with applicants related to topical
report reviews, combined licenses, early site permits, or design
certifications; annual public meetings to discuss plant performance
as part of the Reactor Oversight Process; renewals, or amendments.
Certain inspection exit meetings, such as those for Incident
Investigation Teams or Augmented Inspection Teams, are included
under this category.
Information Meeting With a Question and Answer Session
Meeting Purpose--The purpose of this type of meeting is for the
NRC to share information and discuss applicable regulatory issues
and NRC actions with meeting attendees. The meeting will inform the
public by providing information to help them understand the
applicable regulatory issues and NRC actions through NRC
presentations and discussions with NRC staff. These are organized,
yet informal opportunities to interact with and ask questions of the
NRC staff not associated with a more traditional public meeting
format.
Level of Participation--This type of meeting is tailored to
inform attendees and allow them to ask questions. The NRC staff
should strive to ensure sufficient time is allotted for an
Information Meeting with a Question and Answer Session to ensure
that members of the public can pose their questions and have them
answered during the meeting. Whether all questions are addressed or
not, the NRC should emphasize ways members of the public can ask
questions outside the meeting.
Description--Meetings in this category are held with interested
parties, including representatives of non-government organizations,
private citizens, or various businesses or industries, to engage
them in a discussion of regulatory issues.
The following description will be included in the notice for an
Information Meeting with a Question and Answer Session:
The purpose of this meeting is for the NRC staff to meet
directly with individuals to discuss regulatory and technical
issues. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions of the
NRC staff or make comments about the issues discussed throughout the
meeting, however the NRC is not actively soliciting comments towards
regulatory decisions at this meeting.
Examples--Meetings of this category may include town hall and
roundtable discussions, and open house meetings.
Comment-Gathering Meeting
Meeting Purpose--The purpose of this type of meeting is for the
NRC to obtain feedback on regulatory issues and NRC actions. In most
cases, the meeting will include a presentation by the NRC to explain
the regulatory issue or action. The feedback received at these
meetings is used to support actions such as licensing and rulemaking
activities.
Level of Participation--This type of meeting is focused on
allowing attendees to provide opinions, perspectives, and feedback.
The NRC staff should strive to ensure sufficient time is allotted
for a Comment-Gathering Meeting to ensure that members of the public
can pose questions and have them answered during the meeting.
Whether all questions are addressed or not, the NRC should emphasize
ways members of the public can ask questions outside the meeting.
Description--This type of meeting would be held with a broad
range of interested parties, including representatives of non-
government organizations, private citizens, or various businesses or
industries, to fully engage them in a discussion of a specific
regulatory issue.
The following description will be included in the notification
of a Comment-Gathering Meeting:
The purpose of this meeting is for NRC staff to meet directly
with individuals to receive comments from participants on specific
NRC decisions and actions to ensure that NRC staff understands their
views and concerns.
The notice for such meetings should include details as to how
comments will be taken at the meeting (e.g., NRC staff taking notes,
or creating a transcript of the meeting) and how NRC will use the
comments (e.g., to inform NRC discussions, or as official comments
related to a formal NRC regulatory decision), as well as to clarify
whether participants will need to also submit comments made at the
meeting in writing to receive formal consideration.
Examples--Meetings of this category may include town hall and
roundtable discussions, environmental impact statement scoping
meetings, and workshops.
C. Notice and Access.
Although the extent of meeting outreach and preparation by NRC
staff can be different for each meeting, certain steps are usually
taken. Meeting information will be announced as soon as the NRC
staff is reasonably confident that a meeting will be held and firm
date, time, and facility arrangements have been made. This will
generally occur no fewer than 10 days before a meeting. When a
meeting must be scheduled but cannot be announced within the 10-day
timeframe, the NRC staff will provide as much advance notice as
possible.
Public notice of meetings will be made through the NRC's Public
Meetings & Involvement web page at https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve.html. Meeting changes or cancellations will also be
announced promptly on this web page. Individuals who cannot access
the NRC's public website can contact the NRC's PDR staff via a toll-
free number (1-800-397-4209) or by email ([email protected]) for
information on scheduled NRC meetings. Some meetings, specifically
meetings with a high level of public interest, may also be noticed
in the Federal Register or through
[[Page 14967]]
other means such as a press release, blog post, or advertisement in
local newspapers. The NRC staff will ensure that public meeting
notices are sent out to interested stakeholders using the mechanisms
available, such as the applicable NRC listservs.
Meeting details and materials such as an agenda, names of
participants, and background documents will be entered into the
NRC's Public Meeting Schedule website. A link to the materials as
well as the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS) accession number for additional meeting materials such as
presentations will, when possible, be provided in the meeting notice
on the NRC's public website under the ``Public Meetings &
Involvement'' web page at https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve.html.
The NRC staff will ensure that available ADAMS documents related to
the topic of the meeting are linked to the meeting notice as
background documents to the extent practical.
Audio teleconferencing and other technologies that allow
participation from locations other than a meeting room will be used
whenever possible to help ensure widespread involvement in meetings.
If information on how to participate remotely in a meeting is not
provided in the meeting notice, individuals may request the use of
such technology through the meeting contact listed on the meeting
notice. Such requests may be granted to the extent resources are
available and technical factors can be accommodated.
D. After-Meeting Activities.
The NRC staff will provide answers to questions as appropriate
during the public meeting and will inform attendees at the meeting
how it plans to address questions that cannot be answered at the
meeting. Informal follow-up (telephone or email) may be appropriate.
Individuals also have the option of calling, writing, or emailing
the NRC staff about particular concerns. NRC staff will either
provide feedback forms at public meetings or provide instructions
for submitting feedback through the NRC public website so that
comments can be reviewed and offices can track any planned
improvements or resulting actions. NRC staff will make meeting
summaries publicly available in ADAMS following the meeting.
E. Innovation.
The NRC staff will make efforts, to find new and innovative ways
to interact with individuals, including exploring varied meeting
formats and other ways to incorporate technologies that allow
participation from locations other than a meeting room. Experiences
with new methods will be shared across the agency for information
and consideration by other NRC staff.
F. Applicability and Exceptions.
This policy applies to planned, formal encounters between NRC
staff members and outside individuals or entities, with an expressed
intent of discussing substantive issues directly associated with the
NRC's regulatory responsibilities. Such meetings will be designated
in advance as public meetings, open for public attendance and
categorized in accordance with this policy, subject to the following
conditions and exceptions:
1. This policy applies solely to NRC staff-sponsored and
conducted meetings with an outside individual or entity. It does not
apply to a meeting conducted by an outside individual or entity
where an NRC staff member might participate, nor when an NRC
employee attends a meeting outside of his or her official capacity.
2. This policy does not apply to meetings between the NRC staff
and outside individuals or entities who are:
a. Under contract to the NRC;
b. Acting as an official consultant to the NRC;
c. Acting as an official representative of an agency of the
executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the U.S. Government
(except on matters where the agency is subject to NRC regulatory
oversight);
d. Acting as an official representative of a foreign government
or representing an international organization such as the
International Atomic Energy Agency; or
e. Acting as an official representative of a State or local
government or Tribal official.
3. Meetings between the NRC staff and outside individuals or
entities will not be designated as public meetings if the NRC staff
determines that the subject matter or information to be discussed in
the meeting:
a. Is specifically authorized by an Executive Order to be
withheld in the interests of national defense or foreign policy
(classified information);
b. Is specifically exempt from public disclosure by statute
(e.g., safeguards or proprietary information);
c. Is of a personal nature where such disclosure would
constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
d. Is related to a planned, ongoing, or completed investigation,
or contains information compiled for law enforcement purposes;
e. Could compromise the ongoing reviews and inspections
associated with an open allegation;
f. Could result in the inappropriate disclosure and
dissemination of preliminary, pre-decisional, or unverified
information;
g. Is for general information exchange having no direct,
substantive connection to a specific NRC regulatory decision or
action; however, should discussions in a closed 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 and propose discussing the issues in a future
public meeting; or
h. Indicates that the administrative burden associated with
public attendance at the meeting could interfere 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.
4. This policy does not apply to Commission meetings, advisory
committee meetings, meetings related to financial assistance or
acquisition requirements, or to meetings sponsored by offices that
report directly to the Commission (for example, the Office of the
General Counsel or the Office of the Chief Financial Officer).
Similarly, it does not apply to ``government-to-government''
meetings: meetings between 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,
as well as meetings between NRC staff and representatives of local
or Tribal governments. Also, the policy does not apply to or
supersede any existing law, rule, or regulation that addresses
public attendance at a specific type of meeting. For example, Part 7
of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Advisory
Committees,'' and 10 CFR part 9, ``Public Records,'' will continue
to be applicable to advisory committee meetings and Commission
meetings, respectively.
5. This policy does not cover the hearings associated with
adjudicatory proceedings under the Commission's Rules of Practice
and Procedure set forth in 10 CFR part 2. The term ``hearings''
relates primarily to Commission adjudicatory proceedings on various
types of license applications and licensing actions (e.g.,
applications for initial issuance of a license, amendment of an
existing license, renewal of a license) or to enforcement actions
involving the imposition of civil penalties or orders to modify,
suspend, or revoke a license or take other appropriate action.
Specific requirements regarding participation in and the conduct of
adjudicatory proceedings (including the settlement of such
proceedings) are provided in the Commission's Rules of Practice and
Procedure set forth in 10 CFR part 2. This policy does not cover
meetings concerning the settlement of enforcement matters.
6. Certain meetings that would normally be closed under Sections
F.3.a. or F.3.b. of this policy may be opened to cleared members of
the public who also have a need-to-know. A cleared member of the
public is a person who holds a U.S. Government security clearance or
has been granted access to Safeguards Information in accordance with
10 CFR 73.22(b).
7. This policy may be applicable to only part of a meeting. For
example, an NRC meeting may have a portion that is open to the
public and a portion that is closed to the public due to any of the
exceptions listed above. In these cases, this policy statement is
applicable to the public portion of the meeting only.
8. This policy is a matter of NRC discretion; the NRC reserves
the right to depart from any stated conditions as circumstances may
warrant.
G. Contact.
The primary point of contact in the agency for general issues
related to this policy will be the Deputy Assistant for Operations,
Office of the Executive Director for Operations. The Office of
Public Affairs is also available to receive questions and
suggestions. There are also opportunities for comment on our public
participation policies, or on many of our programs through
[[Page 14968]]
the NRC's website under the ``Public Meetings & Involvement'' web
page at https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve.html.
[FR Doc. 2021-05787 Filed 3-18-21; 8:45 am]
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