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ASLBP Responsibilities
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
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.
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