[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: 10CFR2.313]

[Page 51-52]
 
                            TITLE 10--ENERGY
 
                CHAPTER I--NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
 
PART 2_RULES OF PRACTICE FOR DOMESTIC LICENSING PROCEEDINGS AND 
ISSUANCE OF ORDERS--Table of Contents
 
Subpart C_Rules of General Applicability: Hearing Requests, Petitions to 
 
Sec. 2.313  Designation of presiding officer, disqualification, 
unavailability, and substitution.

    (a) Designation of presiding officer. The Commission may provide in 
the notice of hearing that one or more members of the Commission, an 
administrative law judge, an administrative judge, an Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board, or a named officer who has been delegated final 
authority in the matter, shall be the presiding officer. The Commission 
alone shall designate the presiding officer in a hearing conducted under 
subpart O. If the Commission does not designate the presiding officer 
for a hearing under subparts G, J, K, L, M, or N of this part, then the 
Chief Administrative Judge shall issue an order designating:
    (1) An Atomic Safety and Licensing Board appointed under Section 191 
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or an administrative law 
judge appointed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3105, for a hearing conducted under 
subparts G, J, K, L, or N of this part; or
    (2) An Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, an administrative law 
judge, or an administrative judge for a hearing conducted under subpart 
M of this part.
    (b) Disqualification. (1) If a designated presiding officer or a 
designated member of an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board believes that 
he or she is disqualified to preside or to participate as a board member 
in the hearing, he or she shall withdraw by notice on the record and 
shall notify the Commission or the Chief Administrative Judge, as 
appropriate, of the withdrawal.
    (2) If a party believes that a presiding officer or a designated 
member of an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board should be disqualified, 
the party may move that the presiding officer or the Licensing Board 
member disqualify himself or herself. The motion must be supported by 
affidavits setting forth the alleged grounds for disqualification. If 
the presiding officer does not grant the motion or the Licensing Board 
member does not disqualify himself, the motion must be referred to the 
Commission. The Commission will determine the sufficiency of the grounds 
alleged.
    (c) Unavailability. If a presiding officer or a designated member of 
an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board becomes unavailable during the 
course of a hearing, the Commission or the Chief Administrative Judge, 
as appropriate, will designate another presiding officer or Atomic 
Safety and Licensing Board member. If he or she becomes unavailable 
after the hearing has been concluded, then:
    (1) The Commission may designate another presiding officer;
    (2) The Chief Administrative Judge or the Commission, as 
appropriate, may designate another Atomic Safety

[[Page 52]]

and Licensing Board member to participate in the decision;
    (3) The Commission may direct that the record be certified to it for 
decision.
    (d) Substitution. If a presiding officer or a designated member of 
an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board is substituted for the one 
originally designated, any motion predicated upon the substitution must 
be made within five (5) days after the substitution.