[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 29, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17837-17838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-07358]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)
2025 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 as
described below for Full Committee and Subcommittee meetings; 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. A means for the
public to access the meetings virtually will be provided as described
below. 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 and on the NRC
and ACRS public websites 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 their 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 wish to submit comments for the record regarding
the agenda items may do so by sending via email to the DFO or by
transmitting 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. Email is preferred. Comments should be limited to items
being considered by the Committee. In order to ensure that the comments
can be considered by the Committee prior to the meeting, the comments
should be submitted to 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) Audio and visual recordings of the meeting will be permitted at
the discretion of the Chairman and in accordance with NRC procedures
and policies, and subject to the condition that recording will not
interfere with the conduct of the meeting. The DFO must be notified at
least 5 working days prior to the meeting and will authorize the
recording of the meeting after consultation with the Chairman. The
recording will be restricted as necessary to protect proprietary or
privileged information that may be in documents, folders, etc., in the
meeting room. 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 on the NRC and ACRS public websites and
in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), One White Flint North, Room O-
1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738. ACRS
meeting agendas, transcripts, letter reports, and certified minutes are
available (1) on the ACRS public website, (2) at [email protected], or by
calling the PDR at 1-800-397-4209, or (3) 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) Virtual attendance opportunities will be made available to
public attendees for observing open sessions of ACRS meetings. The
relevant information will be included in the agenda on the NRC and ACRS
public websites and may be obtained from the cognizant DFO.
ACRS Subcommittee Meetings
Subcommittee meetings are held to conduct preparatory activities
and work that will be the subject of deliberations at a Full Committee
meeting. 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 (which is always the
case). Advice provided to the Commission by the ACRS will only be
approved in 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, rather than publish an
agenda in the Federal Register 15 calendar days prior to the meeting,
the ACRS will publish agendas of Subcommittee meetings on the NRC and
ACRS public meeting websites 10 calendar days prior to the meeting. The
NRC and ACRS public meeting websites may be found at www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg and www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acrs/agenda. Using the
procedures mentioned above for Full Committee meetings, members of the
public who desire to provide written or oral input to the Subcommittee
may do so by contacting the DFO.
Special Provisions for Closing ACRS Meetings
Under 5 U.S.C. 552b, portions of ACRS meetings may be closed to the
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public for the purpose of discussing matters involving classified,
proprietary, personnel, or otherwise sensitive information. When a
portion of an ACRS meeting is closed, the agenda will identify the
portions of the meeting that will be closed. With regard to discussions
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 owner of the proprietary information will be consulted
prior to the start of the meeting regarding who may observe such
discussions.
With respect to proprietary-information agreements, the DFO should
be informed of such an agreement at least 5 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.
In addition, sessions with ACRS member attendance may not be open
to the public for the purposes of training, conduct of retreats,
international conferences, or other activities that do not involve
matters about which the Committee intends to deliberate for the purpose
of providing advice to the Commission.
Dated: April 24, 2025.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Russell E. Chazell,
Federal Advisory Committee Management Officer, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-07358 Filed 4-28-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P