NRC-New Policy on Releasing Info.

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Looks like the NRC has decided to blackout the public three days before they make any future annoucements.

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Public Affairs Washington, DC 20555 Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234 Internet: opa@nrc.gov No. 00-015 January 21, 2000 NRC Announces Policy on Timing Release of Documents to The Public The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has established a general policy for the timely release of documents to the public under the new "Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)." Under the policy, documents received by the agency will be released to the public three working days after they are electronically entered into the ADAMS public library. Documents are entered into ADAMS within about eight hours of receipt during the normal work day. Documents that are produced by the agency and sent to either external or internal addressees will be released three working days after the date of the document. These changes will allow recipients of the documents reasonable time to review their correspondence before it is available to the general public. The brief delay also will help prevent release of any proprietary or privacy-related information sent to the agency. Certain documents will be excluded from this policy, as is current practice, and will carry their own release conditions. For example, certain Commission papers will be made available to the public ten business days after issuance. Commission staff requirements memoranda, voting records, and Commission action memoranda will be made available immediately after final Commission action. The entire list of types of documents that are exceptions to the three-day release policy is attached. With the arrival of ADAMS, documents are available to the public within days instead of weeks, as was the case with the previous document management system. On November 1, the agency began placing all newly received and created public records in electronic form at the ADAMS public library on the website, accessible by computers in homes, schools, offices, libraries, and the agency's Public Document Room, using a standard web browser. To date, there are approximately 12,000 documents that have been newly entered into the ADAMS public library which can be accessed at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html . Many documents are also available on NRC's main website. Those who cannot access computers or who prefer not to use them, may contact NRC's Public Document Room (202-634-3273). The Public Document Room will search for and retrieve documents, and upon request, will have them copied for a fee. Documents With Specific Release Conditions DOCUMENT TYPEWHEN TO RELEASE1. Notification of significant enforcement actionsThree business days after the enforcement action is issued2. Documents related to byproduct material licenses (10 CFR Parts 30 through 39)Three business days after the final licensing action is completed (e.g., license issued)3. Route approval letters to licensee Ten business days after the last of a series of shipments in a shipping campaign4. Nonsensitive information papersTen business days after issuance of the paper5. Nonsensitive SECY papers not listed elsewhereImmediately after final Commission action6. Commission staff requirements memoranda, voting records, and Commission action memoranda (COM)Immediately after final Commission action7. Congressional and executive correspondenceFive business days after it is sent to recipient8. Generic requirements proposed to 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 requirements9. CRGR meeting minutes After the NRC has decided on the matter addressed in the minutes10. Contract solicitation documents (requests for proposals)Maintained in the PDR until solicitation closing date11. Office of Public Affairs press releases and speechesImmediately12. Emergency preparedness exercise objectives and scenarios, including NRC and FEMA comments and reviewsAfter conduct of exercise13. Regulatory guides and draft regulatory guidesOne business day after Congressional committees receive printed copies14. Facility-submitted operator licensing written examinationsAfter the conduct of the examination # # # # # [ NRC Home Page | News and Information | E-mail ]

-- Trish (adler2@webtv.net), January 22, 2000

Answers

Actually Trish, The NRC is going to be releasing via ADAMS an easy way to get information on the Internet, instead of only to NRC document reading rooms scattered around cities with nuclear plants. These are documents of which some were not accessible to the general public unless they went to one of the facilities (usually university libraries).

Information such as daily reports, preliminary notifications, etc., will continue to be released daily. In short, the public will have better and easier access to more information.

Regards,

-- FactFinder (FactFinder@bzn.com), January 22, 2000.


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