2012 Amendments to Adjudicatory Process Rules (08/03/12)

Overview

On August 3, 2012, the NRC amended its regulations to (1) revise the § 2.309 standards for hearing requests, intervention petitions, and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions filed after the § 2.309(b) filing deadline; (2) adopt revised mandatory disclosure and discovery provisions that limit the NRC staff's mandatory disclosure obligations to documents related to the admitted contentions and that alter the timeline applicable to all parties' mandatory disclosures; (3) clarify the Secretary's authority under § 2.346(j); (4) allow for more limited certificates of service for documents filed through the NRC's E-Filing system; and (5) make other clarifications and corrections to the NRC's adjudicatory process rules. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2012 and became effective on September 4, 2012.

Applicability

The effective date of the final rule is September 4, 2012. These requirements will not be retroactively applied to presiding officer determinations and decisions issued prior to September 4, 2012 (e.g., a presiding officer order in response to a petition or motion). These requirements will also not be retroactively imposed on participants; participants will not need to compensate for past activities that were accomplished in conformance with the requirements in effect at the time, but would no longer meet the new or amended requirements in the final rule. Further, in ongoing adjudicatory proceedings, if there is a dispute over an adjudicatory obligation or situation arising prior to September 4, 2012, the former rule provisions would be used. However, the new or amended requirements will be effective and govern all obligations and disputes that arise after September 4, 2012.

Final Rule - 2012 Amendments to Adjudicatory Process Rules and Related Requirements

Federal Register Notice—Final Rule, 77 Fed. Reg. 46,562 (08/03/2012)