THE ATOMIC 

SAFETY AND 

LICENSING 

BOARD PANEL

I I
THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD PANEL 

T hrough the Atomic Energy Act, Congress made it pos

sible for the public to get a full and fair hearing on 

civilian nuclear matters. Individuals who are directly 

affected by any licensing action involving a facility producing 

or utilizing nuclear materials may participate in a hearing 

before independent judges of the Atomic Safety and Licensing 

Board Panel (ASLBP or Panel). 

Hearings often involve difficult, interdisciplinary 

questions at the cutting edge of science and technology. 

In addition, NRC hearings air local concerns about the conse

quences of severe accidents and continue the national debate 

over the role nuclear power should play in meeting the 

nation's energy needs. 

Contested hearings at the NRC are conducted either 

by three judges or by a single administrative judge drawn 

from the Panel. Hearings before these judges are among the 

most complex, lengthy, and controversial administrative pro

ceedings conducted by the Federal government. 

The Panel considers issues arising out of the opera

tion of the nation's more than 100 nuclear power plants and 

out of programs related to approximately 5,000 nuclear 

materials licensees. Hearings have shifted away from the 

large nuclear power plant operating licenses and construction 

permits and instead focus on license extensions, site deconta

mination, enforcement actions, and reactor and materials 

license amendments. 

Future proceedings are also likely to involve plant 

life extensions, licensing of a high-level radioactive waste 

repository, and decommissioning activities. The proceeding 

to license a high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 

Nevada, in particular, will involve novel and complex scien

tific issues.
Types of Hearings 

The NRC's regulations provide the opportunity for numerous 

hearings that include the following types: 

ANTITRUST PROCEEDINGS. The licensing of a nuclear reactor 

may be contested on antitrust grounds if its operation is 

inconsistent with the antitrust laws. 

COMMISSION-ORDERED PROCEEDINGS. Hearings can be con

ducted for any nuclear-related matter that the NRC 

Commission directs. For example, although hearings are not 

required for rulemaking, the NRC's regulations allow for a 

hearing opportunity to contest proposed rules that would cer

tify designs for new reactors. 

ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS. Hearings are available to indi

viduals, employees, licensees, contractors, subcontractors, and 

vendors to contest penalties such as monetary fines, facility 

shutdown, or license revocation for infractions of NRC regu

lations. 

LICENSE AMENDMENTS. Affected parties may challenge pro

posed license amendments that seek to change the operating 

functions or the physical configuration of nuclear reactors. If 

public health and safety warrants, hearings will be required 

before the license amendment is authorized. 

MATERIALS LICENSES. Hearings may be conducted to contest 

NRC actions licensing the commercial use of nuclear materi

als. These licenses involve manufacturing, treatment, dispos

al, or storage of radioactive materials and their commercial 

use in fields such as nuclear medicine and radiography. 

PERSONNEL MATTERS. Hearings are also available for 

employee grievances or agency personnel actions, differing 

professional opinions, and appeals from sanctions for fraudu

lent claims. 

REACTOR LICENSING. The Atomic Energy Act requires that a 

hearing be held on every application for a license to build and 

operate a nuclear facility that produces electric power. The 

combined construction permit and operating license hearing 

provides an opportunity for affected individuals and organiza

tions to raise health, safety, and antitrust issues. Separate hear

ings may be held on applications for construction permits or 

for operating licenses for a nuclear power plant or related 

facility if a combined license is not requested.
How Does the Public Participate? 

The public can participate in NRC hearings by 

1 submitting written statements for consideration; 

2 making oral presentations at hearings; or 

3 becoming "intervenors" in hearings with full 

participatory rights as parties. Parties to NRC hearings may 

appeal adverse Commission decisions to the Federal Circuit 

Courts of Appeals and ultimately to the Supreme Court of 

the United States. 

Formality of Hearings 

Hearings may be either formal or informal. The Panel's for

mal hearing procedures are spelled out in the Administrative 

Procedure Act and the Commission's own rules of practice. 

Formal proceedings employ the traditional procedures used 

in non-jury Federal court cases, including pretrial discovery 

between the parties and formal trial procedures at the evi

dentiary hearing. Formal procedures are used in reactor 

licensing cases and in enforcement proceedings brought by 

the agency against individuals and licensees. 

Informal hearing procedures are generally followed 

in matters affecting one of the NRC's materials licensees. 

While the deliberative process for judges remains the same 

under either type of hearing, informal hearings grant the par

ties significantly fewer procedural rights for developing the 

record upon which decisions must be based. The informal 

hearings utilize written submittals by the parties with a limit

ed opportunity for oral presentations. Discovery by the par

ties is not permitted. 

High-Level Waste 

The Panel plans to make the initial decision in a formal hearing 

on whether the Department of Energy's (DOE) high-level waste 

repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, satisfies applicable safe

ty and environmental requirements before granting DOE a 

license to operate it. 

The Panel is also responsible for developing and operat

ing the Licensing Support Network (LSN), an Internet-based 

electronic discovery document management system for the 

repository licensing proceeding. Within the next few years, the 

Panel will adjudicate any disputes in connection with the mil

lions of pages of documents that will be available electronically 

to all parties and participants prior to DOE's repository license 

application.
Other Panel Responsibilities 

ADVISORY OPINIONS. The Panel monitors all proposed 

rules, final rules, and legislation affecting the NRC's hearing 

process and advises the Commission when potential prob

lems exist. The Panel may comment on rules and regulations 

proposed by the NRC's Office of the General Counsel. 

ELECTRONIC HEARING DOCKET. The Panel has been working 

with other NRC offices to consolidate and computerize the 

NRC's adjudicatory dockets and to develop methods of elec

tronic document filing in administrative hearings. 

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. Panel members are 

trained in Alternative Dispute Resolution techniques. This 

resource is available to the agency for mediation and facilita

tion services. 

MANAGING COURT REPORTING SERVICES. The Panel man

ages NRC court reporting services for itself and the rest of 

NRC, covering proceedings, meetings, depositions, public 

hearings, oral arguments, and investigative interviews held in 

the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 

Litigation Technology 

TWO WHITE FLINT NORTH HEARING ROOM 

In July 1994, the NRC opened a new hearing room, accom

modating 60 people, in its Two White Flint North building in 

Rockville, Maryland. The "well of the court" has a circular 

design to afford all hearing participants an unobstructed view. 

INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES: THE PAPERLESS COURTROOM 

To handle large, complex proceedings efficiently and effectively, 

the Panel utilizes audio, video, and computer technology, 

including a local area network and a speakerphone system that 

permits conference calls between the Panel and parties to the 

proceeding at distant locations. Participants can also locate and 

view electronic text and images of exhibits and record materi

als, perform searches on the Internet, and access outside library 

materials. Video capabilities include a voice-activated video 

tape court reporting system with cameras and monitors and a 

videoconferencing system to allow parties and witnesses to par

ticipate from multiple remote locations. A video record is 

available immediately after the day's testimony.
ELECTRONIC FILING 

The Panel is testing a system for electronic filing in adminis

trative proceedings. The system will make it possible for the 

parties' computers to send documents instantly to each other 

and the NRC regardless of their software and hardware con

figurations. This system could save considerable time and 

resources and may establish a standard for all government 

agencies. 

Research 

Judges can access the full text and images of documents from 

their computers while simultaneously conducting legal 

research through external systems such as LEXIS and WEST

LAW. In addition, the shared local area network allows 

members of the Panel to access documents and exchange 

information with each other. 

All significant Panel decisions are published in the 

"NRC Issuances" law books, along with other Commission 

decisions dating back to 1956, and are available in the NRC's 

Public Document Room, at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

MD, telephone 800-397-4209, e-mail: pdr@ nrc.gov 

Recent decisions can be found on NRC's 

Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 

(ADAMS), with access to the public through the NRC's 

Internet web site Public Electronic Reading Room link at 

http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html 

Panel Members 

The Panel's judges include lawyers, medical doctors, physi

cists, engineers, and environmental scientists. They are 

employees of the NRC whose decisions are subject to 

Commission review, but the Administrative Procedure Act 

grants them independence from the Commission. Thus, the 

ex parte and separation of functions rules dictate that the 

Panel and its members remain "at arms length" to avoid the 

appearance of a conflict of interest. 

For a current list of judges, see the Panel's home 

page at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ASLBP/homepage.html or 

call 301-415-7550. 

•a REOt% 

, " U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

NUREG/BR-0249, Rev. 1 

AUGUST 2000