The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday unveiled details of how it will levy civil penalties against anyone who violates a federal authorization to export nuclear technology to foreign countries.
The proposed rule, posted in the Federal Register, does not establish the civil penalties for violating an authorization under Section 810 of the Atomic Energy Act. Congress did that last year in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The proposed rulemaking lays out DOE procedure for assessing those penalties, if necessary.
Congress in the 2019 NDAA set a maximum civil penalty of $100,000 for 810 violations, which range from sharing secrets about nuclear technology or materials to failing to file a report with the Energy Department regarding authorized exchanges of nuclear-know-how with a foreign country or person.
The authorization to share nuclear technology or knowledge with foreign entities is called an 810 authorization after Part 810 of the Atomic Energy Act: the federal law that created the Energy Department and its predecessor agencies, and which governs the use and spread of nuclear technology.
However, DOE dithered a little in its proposed rulemaking notice about whether congressionally prescribed inflation adjustments might boost the maximum daily penalty to more than $250,000. The agency said Congress did not specify in the 2019 NDAA whether the new 810 civil-penalty ceiling is subject to a 1990s law that retroactively raised federal fines and penalties across the board to account for years and decades of inflation.
Anyone deemed to have triggered a civil penalty for violating a Part 810 authorization would receive a contestable notice of violation, in writing, from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, under the planned rule.
If a proposed penalty is contested, the deputy administrator would decide whether to drop or modify the penalty, according to the proposed rule. If the nonproliferation chief upholds a penalty, the penalized individual could appeal to the NNSA administrator, who would have final say.
Earlier this year, DOE disclosed that it had given seven U.S. companies 810 authorizations to share nuclear-technology information — but not any nuclear material — with Saudi Arabia.
Some in Congress, citing the alleged October 2018 murder of U.S. citizen and journalist Jamal Khashoggi by agents of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud, slammed the authorizations as a bad idea. Energy Secretary Rick Perry defended the 810 authorizations, saying the Saudis, who say they want nuclear power to supplement their vast domestic oil reserves, should buy U.S. nuclear systems and none other.
Those who wish to comment on the rule may do so online by Nov. 4.
