10 C.F.R. § 820.2

Current through October 31, 2024
Section 820.2 - Definitions
(a) The following definitions apply to this part:

Act or AEA means the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

Administrative Law Judge means an Administrative Law Judge appointed under 5 U.S.C. 3105 .

Consent Agreement means any written document, signed by the Director and a person, containing stipulations or conclusions of fact or law and a remedy acceptable to both the Director and the person.

Contractor means any person under contract (or its subcontractors or suppliers) with the Department of Energy with the responsibility to perform activities or to supply services or products that are subject to DOE Nuclear Safety Requirements.

Department means the United States Department of Energy or any predecessor agency.

Director means the DOE Official to whom the Secretary has assigned the authority to issue Notices of Violation under subpart B of this part, including the Director of Enforcement, or his designee. With regard to activities and facilities covered under E.O. 12344, 42 U.S.C. 7158 note, pertaining to Naval nuclear propulsion, the Director shall mean the Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors or his designee.

Docketing Clerk means the Office in DOE with which documents for an enforcement action must be filed and which is responsible for maintaining a record and a public docket for enforcement actions commencing with the filing of a Preliminary Notice of Violation. It is also the Office with which interpretations, exemptions, and any other documents designated by the Secretary shall be filed.

DOE means the United States Department of Energy or any predecessor agency.

DOE Nuclear Safety Requirements means the set of rules, regulations, orders, and other requirements relating to nuclear safety adopted by DOE to govern the conduct of persons in connection with any DOE nuclear activity and includes any program, plan, or other provision required to implement these rules, regulations, orders, or other requirements. DOE Nuclear Safety Requirements include the following:

(i) 10 CFR part 830 ;
(ii) 10 CFR part 835 ;
(iii)10 CFR 820.11 ;
(iv) Compliance Orders issued pursuant to 10 CFR part 820, subpart C; and
(v)10 CFR 708.43 , to the extent that subject activities concern nuclear safety.

DOE Official means the person, or his designee, in charge of making a decision under this part.

Enforcement adjudication means the portion of the enforcement process that commences when a respondent requests an on-the-record adjudication of the assessment of a civil penalty and terminates when a Presiding Officer files an initial decision.

Exemption means the final order that sets forth the relief, waiver, or release, either temporary or permanent, from a DOE Nuclear Safety Requirement, as granted by the appropriate Secretarial Officer pursuant to the provisions of subpart E of this part.

Filing means, except as otherwise specifically indicated, the completion of providing a document to the Office of the Docketing Clerk and serving the document on the person to whom the document is addressed.

Final Notice of Violation means a document issued by the Director in which the Director determines that the respondent has violated or is continuing to violate a DOE Nuclear Safety Requirement and includes:

(i) A statement specifying the DOE Nuclear Safety Requirement to which the violation relates;
(ii) A concise statement of the basis for the determination;
(iii) Any remedy, including the amount of any civil penalty;
(iv) A statement explaining the reasoning behind any remedy; and
(v) If the Notice assesses a civil penalty, notice of respondent's right:
(A) To waive further proceedings and pay the civil penalty;
(B) To request an on-the-record adjudication of the assessment of the civil penalty; or
(C) To seek judicial review of the assessment of the civil penalty.

Final Order means an order of the Secretary that represents final agency action and, where appropriate, imposes a remedy with which the recipient of the order must comply.

General Counsel means the General Counsel of DOE or his designee.

Hearing means an on-the-record enforcement adjudication open to the public and conducted under the procedures set forth in subpart B of this part.

Initial Decision means the decision filed by the Presiding Officer based upon the record of the enforcement adjudication out of which it arises.

Interpretation means a statement by the General Counsel concerning the meaning or effect of the Act, a Nuclear Statute, or a DOE Nuclear Safety Requirement which relates to a specific factual situation but may also be a ruling of general applicability where the General Counsel determines such action to be appropriate.

NNSA means the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Nuclear Statute means any statute or provision of a statute that relates to a DOE nuclear activity and for which DOE is responsible.

Party means the Director and the respondent in an enforcement adjudication under this part.

Person means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, Government agency, any State or political subdivision of, or any political entity within a State, any foreign government or nation or any political subdivision of any such government or nation, or other entity and any legal successor, representative, agent or agency of the foregoing; provided that person does not include the Department or the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. For purposes of civil penalty assessment, the term also includes affiliated entities, such as a parent corporation.

Preliminary Notice of Violation means a document issued by the Director in which the Director sets forth the preliminary conclusions that the respondent has violated or is continuing to violate a DOE Nuclear Safety Requirement and includes:

(i) A statement specifying the DOE Nuclear Safety Requirement to which the violation relates;
(ii) A concise statement of the basis for alleging the violation;
(iii) Any proposed remedy, including the amount of any proposed civil penalty; and
(iv) A statement explaining the reasoning behind any proposed remedy.

Presiding Officer means the Administrative Law Judge designated to be in charge of an enforcement adjudication who shall conduct a fair and impartial hearing, assure that the facts are fully elicited, adjudicate all issues, avoid delay, and shall have authority to:

(i) Conduct an adjudicatory hearing under this part;
(ii) Rule upon motions, requests, and offers of proof, dispose of procedural requests, and issue all necessary orders;
(iii) Exercise the authority set forth in § 820.8 ;
(iv) Admit or exclude evidence;
(v) Hear and decide questions of fact, law, or discretion, except for the validity of regulations and interpretations issued by DOE;
(vi) Require parties to attend conferences for the settlement or simplification of the issues, or the expedition of the proceedings;
(vii) Draw adverse inferences against a party that fails to comply with his orders;
(viii) Do all other acts and take all measures necessary for the maintenance of order and for the efficient, fair and impartial adjudication of issues arising in proceedings governed by these rules.

Remedy means any action necessary or appropriate to rectify, prevent, or penalize a violation of the Act, a Nuclear Statute, or a DOE Nuclear Safety Requirements, including the assessment of civil penalties, the requirement of specific actions, or the modification, suspension or recision of a contract.

Respondent means any person to whom the Director addresses a Notice of Violation.

Secretarial Officer means an individual who is appointed to a position in the Department by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate or the head of a departmental element who is primarily responsible for the conduct of an activity under the Act. With regard to activities and facilities covered under E.O. 12344, 42 U.S.C. 7158 note, pertaining to Naval nuclear propulsion, Secretarial Officer means the Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors.

Secretary means the Secretary of Energy or his designee.

(b) Terms defined in the Act and not defined in these rules are used consistent with the meanings given in the Act.
(c) As used in this part, words in the singular also include the plural and words in the masculine gender also include the feminine and vice versa, as the case may require.

10 C.F.R. §820.2

58 FR 43692, Aug. 17, 1993, as amended at 71 FR 68732 , Nov. 28, 2006; 72 FR 31921 , June 8, 2007; 81 FR 94913 , Dec. 27, 2016
81 FR 94913, 1/26/2017; 82 FR 8807, 1/31/2017