June 29, 2016 

The Honorable Ron Wyden 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Senator Wyden: 

 On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to a 

May 13, 2016, letter from you and a number of your colleagues. In your letter, you urge the 

Commission to reject the NRC staff’s recommendation that the agency initiate an expedited 

rulemaking to clarify that only licensees can make final access authorization determinations. 

The staff had provided its recommendation to the Commission in SECY-15-0149, “Role of ThirdParty Arbitrators in Licensee Access Authorization and Fitness-For-Duty Determinations at 

Nuclear Power Plants.” The Commission has now completed its deliberations on the matter and 

I am writing to advise you of the Commission’s decision. 

 The Commission has approved a modified version of the staff’s proposal to proceed with 

the rulemaking process to further explore the issues raised in SECY-15-0149 and to consider 

the divergent comments offered by labor organizations and licensees. Specifically, the 

Commission directed the staff as it proceeds with this rulemaking to do the following: 

• Endeavor to ensure that any proposed revisions to NRC regulations are as narrow in 

scope as is necessary to ensure the public safety and security; 

• Not unnecessarily preclude arbitration outright but consider how the NRC’s goals can be 

achieved while still allowing redressability with respect to a licensee’s access 

determinations; 

• Make specific outreach to potentially affected labor organizations regarding the 

proposed content and timeframe for the proposed rule, in addition to the NRC staff’s 

normal outreach efforts during rulemaking; 

• Ensure that, in any further rule on access authorizations and fitness-for-duty 

determinations at nuclear power plants, there is a reasonable and balanced 

accommodation of interests in access determinations; 

• Provide a robust appeal process for workers whose access authorization is denied or 

revoked; 

• Address third-party review of fitness-for-duty determinations in the same rulemaking; 

and 

• Maintain awareness of ongoing arbitration of access authorization determinations so that 

orders can be prepared in any case in which Commission intervention is necessary to 

ensure the safety and security of a nuclear power plant. 
 - 2 - 

The Commission’s direction to the staff will ensure that the views of all affected parties will 

be fully considered. If you need any additional information, please contact me or Eugene 

Dacus, Director of the Office of Congressional Affairs, at (301) 415-1776. 

Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

Stephen G. Burns 
Identical letters sent to: 

The Honorable Ron Wyden 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Patty Murray 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Jack Reed 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Maria Cantwell 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Benjamin L. Cardin 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Barbara Boxer 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Richard J. Durbin 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Robert Menendez 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Bernard Sanders 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Sherrod Brown 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Jon Tester 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Jeffrey A. Merkley 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Kirsten Gillibrand 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Richard Blumenthal 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Tammy Baldwin 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Mazie K. Hirono 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Elizabeth Warren 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Cory A. Booker 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Tom Udall 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Michael F. Bennet 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 
- 2 - 

The Honorable Al Franken 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Brian Schatz 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Christopher Murphy 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Martin Heinrich 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Edward J. Markey 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Gary Peters 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510