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Adjudication (Hearings)
Access to Hearing Documents for Parties and the Public
Reactors, Materials and Other Hearings
High-Level Waste Hearings
Adjudicatory Process
The Hearing Process
Types of Hearings
Public Involvement in Hearings
Hearing Opportunities
Hearing Decisions
Overview for Using the Electronic Hearing Docket
ASLBP and Commission Responsibilities
ASLBP Responsibilities
Commission Adjudicatory Responsibilities
Related Information
Understanding 10 CFR Part 2: Rules of Practice
NRC Staff Practice and Procedure Digest

Types of Hearings

The NRC's regulations (see 10 CFR Part 2) provide the opportunity for numerous hearings that include the following types of proceedings:

  • Commission-Ordered Proceedings. Hearings can be conducted for any nuclear-related matter that the NRC Commission directs (see also Subparts H and O of 10 CFR Part 2).

  • Enforcement Proceedings. Hearings are available to individuals, employees, licensees, contractors, subcontractors, and vendors to contest penalties such as monetary fines, facility shutdown, or license revocation for infractions of NRC regulations (see also Subparts B, C, G, L, and N of 10 CFR Part 2).

  • Reactor License Amendments. Affected parties may challenge proposed license amendments that seek to change the operating requirements, ownership, or the physical configuration of nuclear reactors or spent fuel pools. If public health and safety warrants, hearings will be required before the license amendment is authorized (see also Subparts A, C, K, L, and M to 10 CFR Part 2).

  • Materials Licenses. Hearings may be conducted to contest NRC actions licensing the commercial use of nuclear materials. These licenses involve manufacturing, treatment, disposal, or storage of radioactive materials and their commercial use in fields such as nuclear medicine and radiography (see Subparts C and L to 10 CFR Part 2).

  • Reactor Licensing. The Atomic Energy Act requires that a hearing be held on every application for a construction permit for a nuclear power reactor and an opportunity to request a hearing on an application for a license to operate such a reactor facility. In addition, the Atomic Energy Act requires a hearing be held on every application for a combined construction permit and operating license for a nuclear power reactor and an opportunity to request a hearing on a combined licensee’s request for the NRC to authorize operation under a combined license. Affected individuals and organizations may raise health, safety and, in some instances, antitrust issues, in these hearings (see also Subparts C, D, E, F, G, and L to 10 CFR Part 2).

  • High-Level Waste. If the NRC receives an application from the Department of Energy to license a high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the ASLBP (subject to Commission review) will determine, after a formal hearing, whether the repository satisfies applicable safety and environmental requirements for licensing. Licensing of a geologic repository is a two-stage process: (1) issuance of a construction authorization and (2) issuance of a license to receive and possess waste. The NRC operates the Licensing Support Network (LSN), an Internet-based electronic discovery document management system for the potential repository licensing proceeding (see Subparts C, G, and J to 10 CFR Part 2).

 



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Wednesday, February 21, 2007