Non-Substantive Amendments to Adjudicatory Proceeding Requirements
| Citation | 85 FR 70507 |
| Record Number | 2020-24152 |
| Published date | 05 November 2020 |
| Court | Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 215 (Thursday, November 5, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 215 (Thursday, November 5, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70507-70508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24152]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 2
[NRC-2020-0033]
RIN 3150-AK46
Non-Substantive Amendments to Adjudicatory Proceeding
Requirements
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to
amend its regulations to revise and clarify the agency's rules of
practice and procedure to reflect current Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board Panel practice, Commission case law, and a decision of the
Supreme Court of the United States and to enhance consistency within
the NRC's regulations.
DATES: Submit comments by December 7, 2020. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0033. 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.
Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact
us at 301-415-1677.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemaking and
Adjudications Staff.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian Irvin, Office of the General
Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-287-9193; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
II. Rulemaking Procedure
III. Background
IV. Plain Writing
V. Paperwork Reduction Act
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0033 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-2020-0033.
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 ``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, at 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for
each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the
first time that it is mentioned in 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.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2020-0033 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Rulemaking Procedure
Because the NRC considers this action to be non-controversial, the
NRC is publishing this proposed rule concurrently with a direct final
rule in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal
Register. The direct final rule will become effective on January 19,
2021. However, if the NRC receives any significant adverse comments by
December 7, 2020, then the NRC will publish a document that withdraws
the direct final rule. If the direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC
will address the comments in a subsequent final rule. Absent
significant modifications to the proposed revisions requiring
republication, the NRC will not initiate a second comment period on
this action in the event the direct final rule is withdrawn.
A significant adverse comment is a comment where the commenter
explains why the rule would be inappropriate, including challenges to
the rule's underlying premise or approach, or would be ineffective or
unacceptable without a change. A comment is adverse and significant if:
(1) The comment opposes the rule and provides a reason sufficient
to require a substantive response in a notice-and-comment process. For
example, a substantive response is required when:
(a) The comment causes the NRC to reevaluate (or reconsider) its
position or conduct additional analysis;
(b) The comment raises an issue serious enough to warrant a
substantive
[[Page 70508]]
response to clarify or complete the record; or
(c) The comment raises a relevant issue that was not previously
addressed or considered by the NRC.
(2) The comment proposes a change or an addition to the rule, and
it is apparent that the rule would be ineffective or unacceptable
without incorporation of the change or addition.
(3) The comment causes the NRC to make a change (other than
editorial) to the rule.
For a more detailed discussion of the proposed rule changes and
associated analyses, see the direct final rule published in the Rules
and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register.
III. Background
The NRC's regulations governing the conduct of adjudicatory
proceedings before the agency are contained in part 2 of title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Agency Rules of Practice
and Procedure.'' Periodically, the NRC has amended these rules,
including adopting changes in 2004 to enhance efficiency; in 2012 to
promote fairness, efficiency, and openness; and in 2016 to reflect
technological advances and current agency practice. Since the last
update to the agency's rules of practice and procedure, the NRC has
identified various provisions that should be updated to reflect
technological advances and current agency practice. This proposed rule
would make those updates and also clarify that any administrative law
judge designated to preside over an NRC adjudication must be appointed
by the Commission consistent with the Supreme Court decision in Lucia
v. Securities and Exchange Commission (138 S. Ct. 2044 (2018)).
IV. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, well-organized manner.
The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the Plain
Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain Language in
Government Writing,'' published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 31883). The NRC
requests comment on the proposed rule with respect to clarity and
effectiveness of the language used.
V. Paperwork Reduction Act
This proposed rule does not contain a collection of information as
defined in the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)
and, therefore, is not subject to the requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
Public Protection Notification
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information unless the document requesting
or requiring the collection displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
Dated October 21, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Margaret M. Doane,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2020-24152 Filed 11-4-20; 8:45 am]
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