Why will the NRC staff not participate in most licensing proceedings?
The Commission believes that the NRC staff should have flexibility to decide whether to enter the proceeding as a party in the majority of cases. The NRC staff will continue to be required to appear as a party where it is the proponent of an action, such as the denial of an application or the issuance of an order or enforcement action. Additionally, the presiding officer is empowered to direct that the staff be a party if he or she determines that the resolution of any issue would be materially aided by the NRC staff’s participation as a party. The Commission believes that, in most instances where the staff is not the proponent of an action, the staff should have the discretion to elect party status because the applicant will bear the burden of demonstrating that its request should be granted. This approach will conserve staff resources for those cases where the staff’s participation as a party can be of the greatest benefit to the proceeding. Now that formal discovery (e.g., interroga
