NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA

No. 00-083 May 23, 2000

NRC REVISES GOAL; EXTENDS TIMING ON AVAILABILITY

OF DOCUMENTS TO THE PUBLIC

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has revised its goal for making documents on its new

“Agencywide Documents Access and Management System” (ADAMS) available to the public to five

full working days, rather than the previously announced three working days.

On January 21, when the agency announced its initial policy, three working days before public

release was considered sufficient. However, recent experience has demonstrated that, for NRCgenerated documents to external addressees, recipients sometimes had not received their document

before it was available to other members of the public.

For documents addressed to the NRC, the additional time will allow the agency to review a

document to ensure that it does not contain proprietary, privacy or other sensitive information that

should not be made public.

Certain documents will still be excluded from this policy, and could be released either sooner or

later than the five-working day goal. For example, NRC documents addressed to external persons or

organizations may be released earlier than the five-day goal when the NRC has verified that the

addressee has in fact received it. Press releases will be put out for immediate release. Other examples

of the types of documents that are exceptions to the five-working-day release policy are attached.

On November 1, the agency began placing all newly received and created public records in

electronic form at the ADAMS public library on the NRC web site, accessible by computers using a

standard web browser.

ADAMS is now the agency’s official method for making documents available to the public. In

the past, publicly available documents were sent to the agency’s Public Document Room on paper and

microfiche and typically were available to the public within approximately 14 working days, unless

special arrangements were made.

Those without access to computers may contact NRC’s Public Document Room (202-634-

3273). The Public Document Room will search for and retrieve documents, and upon request, will

copy them for a fee.
Examples of Documents With Specific Release Conditions

DOCUMENT TYPE WHEN TO RELEASE

1. Notification of significant enforcement actions Five working days after the final enforcement

action is issued

2. Documents related to byproduct material

licensees (10 CFR Parts 30 through 39)

Five working days after the final licensing action

is completed (e.g., license issued)

3. Route approval letters to licensees Ten working days after the last of a series of

shipments in a shipping campaign

4. Non-sensitive Commission Information

papers

Ten working days after issuance of the paper

5. Non-sensitive SECY papers not listed

elsewhere

Immediately after final Commission action

6. Commission staff requirements memoranda,

voting records, and Commission action

memoranda

Immediately after final Commission action

7. Congressional and Executive correspondence

sent to NRC

Five working days after response is sent to

recipient

8. Generic requirements proposed to the

Committee to Review Generic Requirements

(CRGR) (attachments to CRGR meeting notice

transmittal memoranda)

After the NRC has considered the proposed

requirements in a public forum or has decided on

the matter addressed in the proposed

requirements.

9. CRGR meeting minutes After the NRC has decided on the matter

addressed in the minutes

10. Emergency preparedness exercise objectives

and scenarios, including NRC and Federal

Emergency Management Agency comments and

reviews

After conduct of exercise

11. Regulatory guides and draft regulatory

guides

One working day after congressional committees

receive printed copies

12. Facility-submitted operator licensing written

examinations

After the conduct of the examination

13. Non-sensitive Freedom of Information Act

requests

Five working days after response is sent to

recipient.

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