ALLEGATION MANUAL U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Enforcement Washington, DC 20555 Allegation Manual - Table of Contents 1.0 The NRC Allegation Program .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Program Description ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Policy and Objectives............................................................................................................... 2 1.3 History of the NRC Allegation Program ................................................................................... 2 1.4 Applicability ........................................................................................................................... 9 1.5 Training ........................................................................................................................... 9 1.6 Allegation Guidance Memorandum (AGM) ............................................................................. 9 1.7 NRC Public Website Information Related to the NRC Allegation Program .......................... 10 2.0 Responsibilities and Authorities............................................................................................. 12 3.0 Allegation Intake .................................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Allegation Receipt .................................................................................................................. 13 3.1.a Allegation Definition ....................................................................................................... 13 3.1.b Alleger Definition ............................................................................................................ 13 3.1.c Collect calls .................................................................................................................... 14 3.1.d NRC Staff Member/Alleger Interaction .......................................................................... 14 3.1.e Allegation Receipt and Provision of Identity Protection Information ............................. 14 3.1.e.1 Receiving the Allegation .......................................................................................... 14 3.1.e.2 Allegation Receipt by Non-Technical Personnel ..................................................... 15 3.1.e.3 Allegation Receipt Date ........................................................................................... 15 3.1.f Providing NRC Contact Information to the Alleger ........................................................... 17 3.1.f.1 OAC Contact Information......................................................................................... 17 3.1.f.2 The NRC Safety Hotline .......................................................................................... 17 3.1.g Caller Identification ........................................................................................................ 17 3.1.h Providing an Allegation to the Appropriate Action Office .............................................. 18 3.1.i Alleger Request for No Further Contact ........................................................................ 19 3.1.j Receipt of Security-Related Allegations ........................................................................ 20 3.1.k Off-the-Record Information ............................................................................................ 21 3.1.l Alleger Interview............................................................................................................. 21 3.1.m NRC/Alleger Meeting Location ...................................................................................... 21 3.1.n Dealing with Hostile/Abusive Interaction ....................................................................... 22 3.1.o Information to be Obtained/Provided During the Initial Contact with the Alleger ......... 22 3.2 Allegation Receipt Considerations and Handling Scenarios................................................. 29 3.2.a Receipt of a Concern Involving an Agreement State .................................................... 29 3.2.a.1 Agreement State Licensee and Agreement State Performance Concerns ............ 29 3.2.a.2 Information to Obtain/Provide Regarding an Agreement State-Related Concern.. 30 3.2.a.3 Allegation of Discrimination against an Agreement State Licensee ....................... 31 3.2.a.4 Actions If Concerned Individual Does Not Agree to Contact the Agreement State 32 3.2.a.5 Actions If Unable to Determine Whether Individual Objects to Agreement State Contact ..................................................................................................................... 32 3.2.a.6 Receipt of Both Agreement State Licensee and Agreement State Performance Concerns .................................................................................................................. 33 3.2.a.7 Concerns Involving Both an Agreement State Licensee and Another Federal Agency ..................................................................................................................... 33 3.2.b Processing Potential Wrongdoing Matters Identified by NRC Staff .............................. 34 3.2.b.1 NRC Staff Identification of Potential Wrongdoing ................................................... 34 3.2.b.2 Identifying Potential Wrongdoing in Testimony Provided to the NRC .................... 34 3.2.b.3 ARB Consideration of NRC Staff-Identified Wrongdoing ........................................ 35 3.2.b.4 Identifying Potential Wrongdoing in Licensee Corrective Action Program Documentation ......................................................................................................... 35 NRC Allegation Manual 12/22/2016 i 3.2.c Processing Potential Wrongdoing Matters Identified by the Licensee.......................... 35 3.2.c.1 Licensee-Identified Potential Wrongdoing ............................................................... 35 3.2.c.2 Actions When Licensee Informs NRC about a Completed Investigation into an Internally-Raised Discrimination Concern ............................................................... 36 3.2.d Processing Allegations Received in Letters to the Commission or the EDO ............... 37 3.2.d.1 Allegations Received by the Commission or the EDO ............................................ 37 3.2.d.2 Actions When Allegation-Related Information in SECY/EDO Ticketed Correspondence is Not Initially Recognized as an Allegation ................................ 38 3.2.d.3 SECY/EDO Retention of Allegation-Related Documentation ................................. 38 3.2.d.4 Allegation Correspondence/Closure Documentation Involving SECY/EDO Ticketed Correspondence....................................................................................................... 38 3.2.e Processing Allegations Received by the OIG ............................................................... 39 3.2.f Receipt of Allegations by Electronic Mail ...................................................................... 39 3.2.f.1 NRC Actions in Response to an Allegation Received by E-Mail ............................ 39 3.2.f.2 Response to Allegations Received by E-Mail When Other Contact Information is Not Available ............................................................................................................ 40 3.2.f.3 Response to Alleger Request for NRC Correspondence by E-Mail When the Request is Not Received by E-Mail ......................................................................... 40 3.2.f.4 Suggested Format of Allegation Correspondence Provided by E-Mail .................. 41 3.2.f.5 Handling E-mail Request to Verify Information at an Alternate Website ................ 41 3.2.g Allegations Received via the NRC Public Website ....................................................... 41 3.2.g.1 NRC Public Website Points of Contact ................................................................... 41 3.2.g.2 Providing Allegations Received on the NRC Public Website to the Responsible Action Office ............................................................................................................. 41 3.2.h Handling Allegations That May Impact Licensing or Certification Decisions or Allegations That Are Filed Late ..................................................................................... 42 3.2.h.1 “Late-Filed” Allegations ............................................................................................ 42 3.2.h.2 Notifications regarding “Late-Filed” Allegations ...................................................... 42 3.2.h.3 Assessment of Safety Significance of “Late-Filed” Allegations............................... 43 3.2.h.4 Determining the Resolution of a Substantiated Material Allegation........................ 43 3.2.i Allegations Provided to the NRC Headquarters Operations Officer (HOO) ................. 44 3.2.i.1 Receipt of Allegation-Related Calls by the HOO..................................................... 44 3.2.i.2 Processing Allegation-Related Information Received by the HOO ........................ 44 3.2.i.3 Re-Contacting the Alleger to Obtain Additional Information Related to HOO Calls 44 3.2.i.4 Handling Non-Allegation Issues Received by the HOO .......................................... 44 3.2.i.5 Allegation Calls to the HOO During