UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

CHARTER 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON REACTOR SAFEGUARDS 

(Pursuant to Section 9 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act) 

1. The Committee’s official designation.

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) 

2. Authority.

ACRS is a statutory Committee under Section 29 of the Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended.

3. The Committee’s objectives and the scope of its activity.

a. Section 29 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, provides: 

“There is hereby established an Advisory Committee on Reactor 

Safeguards consisting of a maximum of fifteen members appointed by the 

Commission for terms of four years each. The Committee shall review 

safety studies and facility license applications referred to it and shall make 

reports thereon, shall advise the Commission with regard to the hazards of 

proposed or existing reactor facilities and the adequacy of proposed 

reactor safety standards, and shall perform such other duties as the 

Commission may request. One member shall be designated by the 

Committee as its Chairman. The members of the Committee shall receive 

a per diem compensation for each day spent in meetings or conferences, 

or other work of the Committee, and all members shall receive their 

necessary traveling or other expenses while engaged in the work of the 

Committee. The provisions of Section 163 shall be applicable to the 

Committee.” 

b. Section 182b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, provides: 

“The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards shall review each 

application under section 103 or section 104b. for a construction permit or 

an operating license for a facility, any application under section 104c. for a 

construction permit or an operating license for a testing facility, any 
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application under section 104a. or c. specifically referred to it by the 

Commission, and any application for an amendment to a construction 

permit or an amendment to an operating license under section 103 or 

104a., b., or c. specifically referred to it by the Commission, and shall 

submit a report thereon which shall be made part of the record of the 

application and available to the public except to the extent that security 

classification prevents disclosure.” 

c. Chapter 21, Section 313(f), of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended 

(by Public Law 100-456, The National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 

1989), established the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and provides 

that: 

“With the consent of and under appropriate support arrangements with the 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Board may obtain the advice and 

recommendations of the staff of the Commission on matters relating to the 

Board’s responsibilities and may obtain the advice and recommendations 

of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards on such matters.” 

d. 10 CFR 1.13 provides that the ACRS: 

“... upon request of the Department of Energy (DOE), reviews and advises 

with regard to the hazards of DOE nuclear activities and facilities; reviews 

any generic issues or other matters referred to it by the Commission for 

advice. The Committee, on its own initiative, may conduct reviews of 

specific generic matters or nuclear facility safety-related items.” 

e. The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended by Section 6 of Public 

Law 95-209, added the ACRS Fellowship Program providing that: 

“To assist the ACRS in carrying out its function, the Committee shall 

establish a fellowship program under which persons having appropriate 

engineering or scientific expertise are assigned particular tasks relating to 

the functions of the Committee. Such fellowships are for two-year periods 

and the recipients of such fellowships shall be selected pursuant to such 

criteria as may be established by the Committee.” 

f. 10 CFR 52.23, 10 CFR 52.53, and 10 CFR 52.87 provide that the application 

for Early Site Permits, Standard Design Certifications, and Combined 

Licenses, respectively, be referred by the Commission to the ACRS and that 

the ACRS report on those portions of the applications which concern safety. 

g. 10 CFR 54.25 provides that each application for the renewal of an Operating 

License for a nuclear power plant be referred to the ACRS and that the ACRS 

review and report on each application. 
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h. The ACRS shall report to and advise the Commission on issues associated 

with nuclear materials and waste management. The bases of reviews include 

10 CFR Parts 20, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, 71, and 72, and other closely related 

regulations and legislative mandates. These reviews shall include matters 

related to waste management, radiation health effects, and health physics as 

they pertain to the disposal of nuclear waste (including transportation issues) 

and the processing of nuclear materials. 

4. Description of Duties.

See item 3 above. 

5. Agency or official to whom this Committee reports.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

6. Agency responsible for providing necessary support for the Committee.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

7. The estimated annual operating costs in dollars and staff years.

a. $5,827,153 

b. 37 

8. Designated Federal Official.

A full-time federal employee will serve as the Designated Federal Official (DFO) 

at all committee and subcommittee meetings. The DFO will announce all 

meetings, attend all meetings, prepare and approve all meeting agendas, adjourn 

meetings if determined to be in the public interest, and chair meetings when 

called upon. 

9. The estimated number and frequency of Committee meetings.

Frequency of meetings: 10 meetings per year of the full Committee; and an 

estimated 50 meetings per year of ACRS subcommittees. 

10. The time period necessary for the Committee to carry out its purposes.

The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards is a continuing Committee, as 

provided in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (see Item 2, above). 
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11. Termination date. 

Not applicable, ACRS is a statutory continuing Committee. 

12. Membership and Designation.

The ACRS may have up to 15 members appointed as Special Government 

Employees, as provided in Section 29 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 

amended. 

13. Subcommittees.

The Committee may create subcommittees that report to the full committee. All 

work prepared by subcommittees is reviewed and approved by the full 

committee. 

14. Recordkeeping.

All records of the Committee and any subcommittees shall be handled in 

accordance with NARA and NRC requirements and shall be available to the 

public for inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 

5USC 552.

15. Filing Date.

December 5, 2012 

 /RA/ 

 

 Andrew L. Bates 

 Advisory Committee Management Officer