[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 10, Volume 1] [Revised as of January 1, 2001] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 10CFR7.12] [Page 196] TITLE 10--ENERGY CHAPTER I--NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION PART 7--ADVISORY COMMITTEES--Table of Contents Sec. 7.12 Public participation in and public notice of advisory committee meetings. (a) Each meeting of an NRC advisory committee shall be held at a reasonable time and in a place reasonably accessible to the public. The size of the meeting room must be sufficient to accommodate advisory committee members, committee or agency staff, and interested members of the public; except that, the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply where an entire NRC advisory committee meeting has been closed pursuant to Sec. 7.15. (b) Any member of the public who wishes to do so shall be permitted to file a written statement with an NRC advisory committee regarding any matter discussed at a meeting of the committee. The committee chairman may also permit members of the public to speak at meetings of the committee in accordance with procedures established by the committee. (c) Except when the President or his designee determines in writing that no notice should be published for reasons of national security, at least 15 days prior to an NRC advisory committee meeting, a notice that includes the following information shall be published in the Federal Register: (1) The exact name of the advisory committee as chartered; (2) The time, date, place, and purpose of the meeting; (3) A summary of the agenda of the meeting; and (4) Whether all or part of the meeting is open to the public. If any part of the meeting is closed, the notice shall provide the reasons for the closure, citing the specific matter that has been determined to justify the closure under Sec. 7.15. (d) In exceptional circumstances, less than 15 days notice of an advisory committee meeting may be given, provided that there is as much prior notice as possible and the reasons for the shorter time are included in the committee meeting notice published in the Federal Register. (e) In addition to notice required by paragraph (c) of this section, the NRC may also use other forms of notice, such as public releases and notice by mail, to inform the public of advisory committee meetings. To that end, the Designated Federal Officer of each NRC advisory committee will, to the extent practicable, maintain lists of people and organizations interested in that advisory committee and notify them of meetings by mail.