Enforcement Manual - Revision 5 - Summary of Changes

Revision 5 was issued on September 28, 2006. The revision completely updated the Enforcement Manual (Manual), revising existing guidance and information and adding new guidance on various activity areas including, for example, security orders. In addition, the manual has been reformatted and hyperlinks have been added to aid the user.

This revision is a joint effort that draws on the knowledge and experience of the enforcement staff in both the Office of Enforcement (OE) and the Regions. Because it is a living document and it is important to ensure that the most recent version of the Manual is being used by the Enforcement staff, the most recent version of the Manual resides on the OE's Web page.

This following briefly describes the changes that have been made:

The Abstract was revised slightly to update information.

The Introduction and Chapter 1 were combined into the revised Introduction.

The information in the revised Chapter 1 was originally in Chapter 2. The information in the unrevised Chapter 1, "General" has been compressed and is now covered by the Abstract and Introduction. The revised Chapter 1 updates and reformats information (e.g., distinguishes the differences in the roles played by NMSS, NRR, and NSIR, i.e., when they are providing support and when they are acting as the "regional office" in an enforcement action; changes the time frame to 60 days for 3-week email responses. In addition, the revised chapter adds: (1) a section describing the responsibilities and authorities of the EDO and DEDOs as they pertain to the enforcement program (section 1.1); (2) a paragraph in section 1.3 describing the responsibilities and authorities of the Chief, Enforcement Policy and Program Oversight Section in OE (paragraph 1.3.4); (3) a section describing the responsibilities and authorities of NSIR (section 1.8) ; and (4) a section setting out the signature authorities for escalated enforcement actions (1.13).

The information in the revised Chapter 2 was originally in Chapter 3. The revised Chapter 2 updates and reformats information (e.g., updates information on the Significance Determination Process (SDP)). In addition, the examples in section 2.10 addressing minor violations have been tailored.

The information in the revised Chapter 3 was originally in Chapter 4. The revised Chapter 3 updates and reformats information regarding non-cited and non-escalated actions enforcement actions (e.g., it reflects the decision to extend the time the regions have to approve a licensee's request to extend its response to an NOV, from 2 weeks to 30 days before the regions require OE approval). Information regarding Form 591 for non-escalated materials enforcement, has been removed in its entirety because it was determined that this is inspection information which we typically do not put in the Manual.

The information in the revised Chapter 4 was originally in Chapter 5. The revised Chapter 4 updates and reformats information regarding escalated enforcement actions.

The information in the revised Chapter 5 was originally in Chapter 6. Chapter 5 updates and reformats information regarding the exercise of discretion.

The revised Chapter 6 is a new chapter. The information included in this chapter was originally part of Chapter 7, Miscellaneous Guidance. The new Chapter 6 contains additional information regarding wrongdoing and updates and reformats existing information on this topic. It also includes new guidance addressing the length of time to be used for orders banning individuals from NRC licensed activities.

The revised Chapter 7 is a new chapter. The information in the new Chapter 7 was originally part of Chapter 7, Miscellaneous Guidance, and Chapter 8, Guidance on Activity Areas.

The new Chapter 7 focuses only on reactor operations. The amount of information that was added or revised to this activity area was extensive enough to warrant putting this information into its own chapter. The new Chapter 7 updates safeguards information, emergency preparedness information and fitness-for-duty information, as well as adding security information. Section 8.1.7.1 of the former Chapter 8, Fire Induced Circuit Failures, has been removed completely from the revised Chapter 7 because this guidance is no longer applicable.

The revised Chapter 8 is a new chapter. The information in the new Chapter 8 focuses on various topics addressing materials enforcement activities, including new guidance addressing Master Materials Licensees (MMLs) and the lost source policy.

Appendix A contains an updated list of Enforcement Guidance Memoranda (EGMs).

Appendix B contains updated standard formats for enforcement packages which includes updated document marking.

Appendix C contains updated standard citations that have been reviewed by the Office of the General Counsel.

Appendix D contains updated enforcement processing aids and forms.

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Tuesday, July 14, 2015