The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (ASLBP) is the independent trial-level adjudicatory body of the NRC. Acting on behalf of the Commission, individual Licensing Boards conduct public hearings concerning contested issues that arise in the course of licensing and enforcement proceedings regarding nuclear reactors and the civilian use of nuclear materials in the United States. As such, the ASLBP fulfills the NRC's obligation to afford the public and those subject to agency enforcement actions an opportunity to challenge proposed licensing and enforcement activities as required by Section 189(a) of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA). These hearings are conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act and the Commission's implementing regulations, set forth at 10 CFR Part 2.

A unique feature of the ASLBP that distinguishes it from similar federal regulatory or administrative tribunals is that each Licensing Board is comprised of three administrative judges, usually consisting of one attorney skilled in the conduct of administrative hearings and two scientific experts in technical areas relevant to the subject matter of the dispute. This scientific enhancement of the adjudicatory function is statutorily mandated by Section 191 of the AEA.

On this page:

Conduct of ASLBP Proceedings
Location of ASLBP Hearings
Litigation Technology
Issues for Adjudication
Cases on the Horizon
Related Information

Conduct of ASLBP Proceedings

The NRC practice and procedure rules (10 CFR Part 2) provide a variety of hearing procedures ranging from the very informal to something comparable to a federal or state civil trial. As a practical matter, most cases involve typical pleading and motions practice, including summary judgment (called summary disposition in NRC practice), mandatory document disclosure, and evidentiary hearings. As in many administrative proceedings, pre-filed written testimony is used extensively. Nevertheless, with few exceptions, evidentiary proceedings consist of public hearings with sworn witnesses or panels of witnesses subject to questioning by the three Licensing Board members and, under certain circumstances, cross-examination by opposing counsel. Evidentiary proceedings are followed by detailed written decisions that, depending on the number and complexity of the contentions, can be quite lengthy. Licensing Board decisions can be appealed to the NRC Commission, and review of Commission decisions is available in the United States Courts of Appeals. Significant Licensing Board and Commission decisions are published in "Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issuances" and are available on both LexisNexis and Westlaw.

Location of ASLBP Hearings

The ASLBP's primary hearing room is located at the NRC headquarters complex in Rockville, Maryland. However, consistent with the AEA's intent that decisions regarding licensing the use or possession of nuclear material be made in public hearings in which the voices of those most directly affected may be heard and considered, it is NRC policy that important aspects of Licensing Board hearings be held as near as practicable to the location of the proposed nuclear facility or material at issue. What this means in practice is that early in the proceeding oral argument concerning a petitioner's standing and the legal adequacy of its petition to intervene likely will be held in the vicinity of the proposed project, with the Licensing Board and ASLBP staff returning to that area when it conducts the evidentiary hearing on the merits of the admitted contested issues. In contrast, hearings that involve classified or safeguards information are generally held in the Panel's Rockville hearing room due to security considerations. In addition, in Las Vegas, Nevada, the NRC has built a new hearing facility, including a state-of-the-art electronic hearing room, to handle the adjudication of the United States Department of Energy's (DOE) application for licensing authorization to construct a high-level radioactive waste (HLW) repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

Litigation Technology

To handle large, complex proceedings efficiently and effectively, the ASLBP utilizes the Digital Data Management System (DDMS), which combines audio/video and computer technology. The DDMS was originally developed for use in conjunction with the licensing proceeding on DOE's proposed Yucca Mountain application, but it will also be utilized during cases on upcoming applications to construct and operate new nuclear power reactors. Using the DDMS, litigants and Panel personnel can locate and view electronic text and images of exhibits and record materials, and perform legal research on the Internet. DDMS audio/video capabilities include a voice-activated digital video recording system with cameras and monitors and a tele/videoconferencing system to allow parties and witnesses to participate from multiple remote locations. A video record of the hearing is available to the parties via the Internet shortly after the day's testimony.

Issues for Adjudication

Broadly speaking, the contested issues in NRC licensing adjudications fall into two generic categories: (1) safety/technical issues arising under the AEA; and (2) environmental issues arising under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). By way of example, if a nuclear power plant's owner files an application to renew the facility's operating license for an additional 20 years beyond its original 40-year license, that application must include detailed analyses of the potential safety issues and environmental impacts posed by operating the plant for an additional 20 years. Members of the public, state and local governments, and citizen organizations opposing the application can petition to intervene to contest the adequacy of the application's safety and/or environmental analyses. Further, regardless of the pendancy of an intervention petition, the NRC technical staff (an agency entity entirely separate from the ASLBP) conducts a thorough review and analysis of the technical and safety aspects of the application, and subsequently issues a Safety Evaluation Report that describes the staff's review and related findings. The staff also conducts a similar review on the environmental side, which typically results in the preparation of a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Because major licensing actions generally require an EIS, Licensing Board cases regarding such activities usually have a significant NEPA component in addition to safety issues.

Cases on the Horizon

ASLBP cases involve disputes over a wide range of licensing and enforcement matters regarding the civilian use of nuclear materials in this country. They include such diverse matters as whether a nearby hospital should have new nuclear imaging technology, whether a food processing company should be allowed to operate a food irradiator, whether a new nuclear power plant should be built near you, or whether the spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants should be disposed of at Yucca Mountain.

The volume and complexity of adjudicatory matters coming before the ASLBP has steadily increased in recent years. This trend will accelerate during 2007 through 2012 when a dozen or more applications to construct new nuclear power plants are expected to be filed with the NRC. These will be the first new U.S. reactor licensing proceedings in over a quarter century. And, they will be handled under a new licensing regime. Each of these applications will be an enormous undertaking by the applicant and the NRC staff, as well as the ASLBP.

In addition, during this same period DOE will be pursuing an application for a license to construct a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The HLW repository licensing proceeding, which is anticipated to commence in 2008 and continue for a number of years, is expected to be the largest, most expensive, and technically complex administrative adjudication in history. As noted above, the NRC recently constructed a large, state-of-the-art electronic hearing room in Las Vegas, which will be the primary venue for the Yucca Mountain proceeding.