4. Division of Compliance

This Division was established in June 1960. All of the Complian staff are principally concerned with the AEC regulatory program The essential purpose of the Division is to direct a program for th inspection and investigation of materials and facility licensees to de termine whether they are complying with license provisions, rule orders, and regulations of the Commission and to observe and repor upon the safety of licensed operations.

The Division functions by (a) directly performing inspections and investigations of facilities licensees and (b) providing staff guidance and assistance to licensee inspection staffs of the operations offices i their inspection and investigation of materials licensees.

Formulation of regulatory policy.-While the Division is not prir cipally responsible for development of regulatory policy, it is in a unique position, through its continuing first-hand observation of the application of AEC regulations to licensed operations, to provide val uable recommendations for changes of licensing policy and regula

tions.

Relationship with other AEC organizations. The Division of Com pliance maintains close coordination with licensing, enforcement ac tion, legal, and health and safety programs. Included in this are the transmittal of compliance inspection reports to the Division of Licens ing and Regulation and other interested divisions; performance of ir vestigations pertaining to materials or facilities subject to regulation by the Commission; and gathering and developing of evidence, re quired for the issuance of AEC orders to suspend, modify, or revoke licenses, needed for use by staff counsel in the prosecution of regulatory enforcement cases.

The Division has an especially close relationship with the license inspection staff of the operations offices. Through periodic training sessions, regular field visitation and appraisals and extensive day-today contacts regarding individual inspections and investigation, the Division exercises technical guidance over the quality and coverage of field licensee inspection program.

The Division of Inspection is notified and, together with other interested divisions and offices, is kept informed of significant inci dents involving radiation hazards.

In the interest of good public relations, the Compliance staff coop erates with the Public Information staff in providing information for release to the public.

The Compliance program has required the use of laboratory facilities and services available under other AEC programs (e.g., raw materials and reactor development) to perform analyses and tests associated with its inspection program.

Representatives of the Division of Compliance customarily attend and participate in full committee meetings of the ACRS.

Inspection of the NS Savannah and of the second-round demonstration power reactors was recently assigned to the Division of Compliance.

Contacts with other agencies and States.-Principal contacts of the Division of Compliance with outside groups are:

1. Close coordination and cooperation are maintained with the Bureau of Customs which performs a monitoring service for AEC. 2. State, county, and local municipality officials, by invitation, frequently accompany Compliance field representatives and, on occasion, participate or assist in inspections or investigations in areas under their jurisdiction. In the development and establishment of AEC-State agreements, the frequency of contacts with State personnel will increase in the form of orientation and on-the-job training of professional personnel.

3. Routine coordination and cooperation are maintained with staff of the Department of Labor and the Public Health Service on compliance matters of mutual concern with them. Cooperation and coordination are also maintained with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as appropriate, in the investigation of cases in which the Bureau has criminal jurisdiction. Where inspections or investigations reveal willful violation of AEC regulations, this information is supplied to the Office of the General Counsel for evaluation and appropriate transmission to the Department of Justice.

Contacts with applicants and licensees.-The Division of Compliance administers an extensive program of inspections, announced and unannounced, and investigations of both materials and reactor licensees. Through these firsthand observations, the Division of Compliance (and the operations office inspection staffs) serve as primary "eyes and ears" of the Commission concerning licensee compliance. Role in adjudicatory proceedings.-The staff of the Division of Compliance is frequently called upon to testify in formal hearings before AEC hearing examiners as to the facts disclosed from their compliance inspections and investigations. The Division provides guidance to field inspection personnel in the gathering, preparation, and presentation of such testimony by the latter.

5. Office of General Counsel

The Office of General Counsel is established by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. The General Counsel is appointed by the Commission and directs, and is responsible thereto for all matters of law and legal policy concerning the Atomic Energy Commission.

Under its statutory responsibility, the Office of the General Counsel is closely involved in the legal aspects of all phases of AEC licensing, regulatory, compliance, and inspection activity. Although less than 20 percent of the Office of the General Counsel headquarters staff spends full time on such activities, there is part-time involvement in these activities by many other members of the office in rendering advice to the General Manager's Office, headquarters divisions, and offices, and operations offices.

The most substantial participation by the Office of the General Counsel in the regulatory program comes through Counsel to the Divisions of Licensing and Regulation and of Compliance and Counsel, Federal-State Relations, who advises the Office of Health and Safety. Counsel to the Division of Licensing and Regulation and attorneys under his supervision become part of the AEC separated staff in connection with proceedings before the hearing examiner and the Commission concerning licensing of reactors and atomic materials. As members of such separated staff, these attorneys are not permitted by practice and rule to confer concerning issues in the proceeding with the commissioners, the hearing examiner, the General Counsel, or any other members of his staff who aid him in giving legal advice directly to the Commission in quasi-judicial proceedings, except as such communications are authorized by law.

In the exercise of their quasi-judicial function the commissioners are advised directly by the General Counsel, with the assistance of his Special Assistant and such other members of the Office of the General Counsel as he may designate, having no connection directly or indirectly with the staff on the merits of the proceeding.

The Office of the General Counsel renders legal advice to staff divisions and offices, the General Manager, and the Commission in the development of regulatory policy and in the drafting and promulgation of AEC regulations. All staff papers to be presented by the General Manager to the Commission are reviewed for legal sufficiency and advice by the Office of the General Counsel, and papers involving matters of legal policy originate in the Office of the General Counsel. The Office of the General Counsel is also responsible for preparing and for coordinating with appropriate divisions and offices, legislative material with which the Commission is concerned, including legislation initiated by the AEC and legislation submitted to the AEC for comment. The Office of the General Counsel reviews for legal sufficiency, and often drafts, testimony by members of the Commission and of the staff before the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy and other committees dealing with regulatory matters. Counsel to the Division of Licensing and Regulation attends meetings and executive sessions of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, and furnishes legal advice to the Committee.

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Role of separated staff counsel in regulatory proceedings.-Regula tory proceedings may be divided into two general categories: (1) the grant or denial of applications for initial or renewal licenses and (2) the revocation, suspension or modification of existing licenses.

In a reactor licensing case an attorney is assigned to the case when the application is received and will have achieved some degree of familiarity with it by participation in informal conferences between the prospective applicant and the staff of the Division of Licensing and Regulation before the matter is set down for hearing.

. After the issuance of the notice of hearing, the attorney analyzes the entire record of the case, including among other things the applica tion, hazards summary report, hazards analysis by the staff, and action of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards. He determines what evidence will be required on the part of the staff at the hearing and participates in the selection of witnesses and the preparation of the staff testimony. He makes any preliminary motions before the hear ing examiner, enters into any necessary stipulations with counsel for the applicant and any other parties who may have intervened, conducts legal research and writes briefs as they may be required. The attorney handling the case represents the AEC staff at the hearing. He may represent the staff at a prehearing conference with the hearing examiner and other counsel in order to define disputed issues and make preliminary arrangements for the presentation of evidence. He crossexamines witnesses for other parties, presents the evidence of the staff, and conducts such oral examination as may be required to supplement

it.

After the conclusion of the hearing, the attorney prepares proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and a trial brief, as well as a proposed form of license or recommendations in response to memorandums of the applicant.

In the event that exceptions are taken to a decision by a hearing examiner or the Commission, the counsel prepares a brief in support of or in response to the exceptions. He participates in any oral argument which may be held before the Commission. He advises the Division of Licensing and Regulation on action to implement the decision of the Commission or the hearing examiner, such as the issuance of a license.

When enforcement proceedings against a licensee are contemplated, an attorney reviews the available information and advises the Divisions of Licensing and Regulation and Compliance on the legal sufficiency of available evidence for the sanction being considered, and assists in preparing an appropriate order.

In proceedings brought against a licensee for revocation of its license or other relief because of failure to comply with the requirements of statute, regulation, or license, counsel for the AEC separated staff presents the case on behalf of the staff. He conducts direct examina tion and cross-examination, introduces evidence, prepares findings and conclusions and briefs, and makes or opposes motions in a manner comparable to that described for a licensing proceeding.