[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 10, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 10CFR12.308]

[Page 266]
 
                            TITLE 10--ENERGY
 
                CHAPTER I--NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
 
PART 12_IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT IN AGENCY 
PROCEEDINGS--Table of Contents
 
            Subpart C_Procedures for Considering Applications
 
Sec. 12.308  Agency review.

    (a) Either the applicant or the NRC counsel may seek review of the 
initial decision on the fee application, or the Commission may decide to 
review the decision on its own initiative, in accordance with the 
Commission's review procedures set out in 10 CFR 2.786. The filing of a 
petition for review is mandatory for a party to exhaust its 
administrative remedies before seeking judicial review. If neither the 
applicant nor NRC counsel seeks review and the Commission does not take 
review on its own initiative, the initial decision on the application 
shall become a final decision of the NRC forty (40) days after it is 
issued.
    (b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other part of 
the Commission's regulations, the initial decision shall be inoperative 
(i.e., the decision shall not be final and any award made shall not be 
paid) until the later of--
    (1) The expiration of the forty-day period provided in paragraph (a) 
of this section; or
    (2) If within the forty-day period provided in paragraph (a) of this 
section the Commission elects to review the decision, the Commission's 
issuance of a final decision on review of the initial decision.
    (c) Whether to review a decision on its own motion is a matter 
within the discretion of the Commission. If review is taken, the 
Commission will issue a final decision on the application or remand the 
application to the adjudicative officer for further proceedings.