WM’03 Conference, February 23-27, 2003, Tucson, AZ Talking with the Public about Regulating High-level Waste Disposal: Recent Progress Janet P. Kotra Division of Waste Management Bret W. Leslie Risk Task Group U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 ABSTRACT Increasing public confidence in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as an effective and independent regulator is an explicit goal of the Agency (1). Consistent with long-established mechanisms and procedures, NRC provides the public access to its decision-making process. Recently, during the course of a rulemaking required by statute, NRC examined its means for inviting public access as well as the NRC staff’s effectiveness in furthering public confidence in it’s actions as a regulator. When developing new, site-specific regulations for the proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, NRC’s Division of Waste Management found it necessary to adapt and improve its efforts to inform and involve the public in NRC’s decision- making process. Major changes were made to the way in which technical staff prepare for speaking to general audiences. The format used for public meetings was modified to encourage dialogue with participants. Handout and presentation materials that explain NRC’s role and technical topics of concern in plain language were developed and are regularly updated. NRC successfully applied these and other institutional changes as it completed final regulations for Yucca Mountain and while developing and introducing a draft license review plan for public comment. INTRODUCTION NRC strives to serve the public interest as a reliable, objective, open, and efficient regulator. In fulfillment of this duty, NRC has long-established mechanisms and procedures to provide the public access to its decision-making process (2). Only recently, however, has NRC examined the manner in which it invites that access, or has it questioned its effectiveness in furthering public confidence in it’s actions as a regulator. NRC is gaining a greater appreciation of the value of dialogue with stakeholders and is seeking to expand opportunities for public interaction and participation in its regulatory process. For meaningful interaction, the public must have access to clear and understandable information about both NRC’s regulatory process and the risk-informed decisions reached through that process. In particular, when developing new, site- specific regulations for a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada (3), NRC found it needed to adapt and improve its efforts to inform and to involve the public in its decision-making process. As a result, NRC’s Division of Waste Management made major changes to the way in which it prepares for interactions with the public it serves. NRC applied