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Public Involvement in EnforcementPublic involvement and information about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's activities is a cornerstone of strong, fair regulation of the nuclear industry. The NRC recognizes the public's interest in the proper regulation of nuclear activities and provides opportunities for citizens to make their opinions known. This page describes the various ways the public may get involved in the NRC's enforcement program. On this page:
CommentsNOTE: Please be aware that any comments that you submit to the NRC will be considered a public record and entered into the agency's electronic record keeping system. Commenting on the Enforcement Policy or Program The public may always provide general comments on the enforcement program or Enforcement Policy. If you would like to send a comment, please use our online form to Contact Us About Enforcement.
Status of OE-lead Agency InitiativesSolicitation of Comments on Draft Section 6.0, Supplements-Violation Examples, of the Proposed Revised Enforcement Policy On June 8, 2009, (74 FR 27191), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a notice of availability of draft and request for comments on its revised draft Section 6.0, Supplements-Violation Examples, of the proposed revised Enforcement Policy. The NRC is now soliciting written comments from interested parties including public interest groups, states, members of the public and the regulated industry (i.e., reactor and materials licensees, vendors, and contractors), on additional proposed revisions to Section 6.0, Supplements-Violation Examples, of the proposed revised Enforcement Policy. The notice of availability and request for comments applies only to the draft revision of Section 6.0 of the proposed revised Enforcement Policy. The draft revised Supplements-Violation Examples are available at NRC’s Electronic Reading Room or accessible via ADAMS Accession Number ML091520156. On September 15, 2008 (73 FR 53286) the NRC published a notice of availability of draft and request for comments on its entire proposed revised Enforcement Policy. A corrected proposed revised Enforcement Policy was also published on October 16, 2008 (73 FR 61442). The public comment period for the entire revised Enforcement Policy ended on November 14, 2008. The NRC is currently evaluating the numerous comments received during that comment period. However, based on comments received on the proposed revised Enforcement Policy, the NRC has reconsidered its original plan to have abbreviated violation examples in the revised Enforcement Policy and detailed violation examples in the Enforcement Manual. The NRC now proposes to continue its past practice of providing violation examples only in the Enforcement Policy. These violations supplements in the revised Policy will cover, in more detail than originally planned, a broad range of circumstances in each of the four severity levels in each of 14 activity areas. Because the revised violation supplements that are now being proposed for the revised Enforcement Policy have, in some instances, been changed significantly from those previously published, the NRC is providing an opportunity for public comments on these proposed revised supplements. It should be noted that the supplements in Section 6.0 of the proposed revised Enforcement Policy are not intended to address every possible circumstance and are therefore neither exhaustive nor controlling. To provide comment on the draft Supplements-Violation Examples, please utilize the web link below. The NRC will accept comments on the draft Supplements on or before July 8, 2009. 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. As noted in the FRN, comments may be submitted by any one of the following methods:
For Further Information Contact: Doug Starkey, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-001; E-mail: Doug Starkey; Telephone: (301) 415-3456; Fax Number: (301) 415-3431; or see our Contact Us Form. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) The enforcement Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Process pilot program concluded. The results of the pilot indicated that the use of ADR in certain kinds of enforcement cases was generally successful. Based on the results of the pilot, improvements were made to the ADR process and the agency will continue to use this process for certain kinds of enforcement cases. Enforcement Actions Involving Individuals/Discrimination Task Group (DTG)During CY 2006, no changes were made to Section VIII of the Enforcement Policy which addresses enforcement actions against individuals. The most recent revision was proposed by an internal NRC working group chaired by OE to evaluate and propose recommendations to this section of the Enforcement Policy. The proposed revision was published in the Federal Register on March 9, 2001, and sought stakeholder feedback on the proposed revision. The NRC received comments from several stakeholders including the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). The staff evaluated these comments; however, since the Discrimination Task Group (DTG) was considering a related question, namely whether hearing rights should be granted to individuals who receive NOVs, revision to Section VIII was placed on hold pending issuance of the DTG Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM). Issued on March 26, 2003, the DTG SRM provided the staff with the Commission’s direction to "fully explore the policy and resource implications of providing hearing rights (either formal or informal) to individuals subject to an NOV in connection with violations of the employee protection regulations." During the ADR pilot program, the staff engaged in mediation with individuals as well as licensees. Although it was a challenge to coordinate and honor confidentiality issues, the staff, as well as some external stakeholders, believed that ADR offered an opportunity to resolve these matters in a positive manner. The ADR pilot program offered individuals creative actions meeting the agency’s interest in deterrence and compliance. In addition, the staff allowed individuals to gain their employer’s agreement to certain actions prior to finalizing a settlement agreement. Consequently, the staff concluded in SECY-06-0102, that offering ADR to individuals accused of wrongdoing provides the alternative process for individuals the Commission directed the staff to continue considering in the DTG SRM. The Enforcement Policy will be revised to incorporate the use of ADR for individuals subject to an NOV in connection with violations of the employee protection regulations. |
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