[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 139 (Tuesday, July 21, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39015-39016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-19362]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 139 / Tuesday, July 21, 1998 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 39015]]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 140

RIN 3150-AG01


Adjustment of the Maximum Retrospective Deferred Premium

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its 
regulations to increase the maximum secondary retrospective deferred 
premium, presently established at $75.5 million per reactor per 
accident (but not to exceed $10 million in any 1 year), to $83.9 
million per reactor per accident (but not to exceed $10 million in any 
1 year), for liability insurance coverage in the event of nuclear 
incidents at licensed, operating, commercial nuclear power plants with 
a rated capacity of 100,000 kW or more. The change is based on the 
aggregate percentage change of 11.16 percent in the Consumer Price 
Index (CPI) from September 1993 through December 1997. This inflation 
adjustment is required by the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 
(Pub. L. 100-408, 102 Stat. 1066) to be made at least once each 5 
years.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 20, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ira Dinitz, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-
0001, telephone 301-415-1289, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part 140, ``Financial Protection 
Requirements and Indemnity Agreements,'' provides requirements and 
procedures for implementing the financial protection requirements for 
certain licensees and other persons pursuant to Section 170 of the 
Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954, as amended. Section 140.11(a)(4) 
specifies the amount of financial protection required of a licensee for 
a nuclear reactor that is licensed to operate, is designed for the 
production of electrical energy, and has a rated capacity of 100,000 kW 
or more. This amount is presently set at the sum of $200 million and 
the amount available as secondary financial protection in the form of 
private liability insurance under an industry retrospective rating 
plan. These limits are currently $75.5 million per reactor per incident 
(plus any surcharge assessed under Subsection 170o.(1)(E) of the AEA) 
for the maximum standard deferred premium and $10 million per reactor 
per incident per calendar year.
    Section 15, ``Inflation Adjustment,'' of Pub. L. 100-408, the 
Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 (``the Act''), enacted on August 
20, 1988, requires the Commission to adjust the amount of the maximum 
standard deferred premium (currently $75.5 million) based on inflation. 
Section 15 of the Act added a new Section 170t to the AEA, which 
provides as follows:

    t. INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.--(1) The Commission shall adjust the 
amount of the maximum standard deferred premium under subsection 
b(1) [Section 170b(1) of the AEA] not less than once during each 5-
year period following the date of the enactment of the Price-
Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 in accordance with the aggregate 
percentage change in the Consumer Price Index since --
    (A) such date of enactment, in the case of the first adjustment 
under this subsection; or
    (B) the previous adjustment under this subsection.

(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ``Consumer Price 
Index'' means the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers 
published by the Secretary of Labor.

    The inflation adjustment required by Section 170t(1)(B) of the AEA 
must be made at least once during the period from August 20, 1993, to 
August 20, 1998, and must be in accordance with the aggregate 
percentage change (since August 1993) in the CPI for all urban 
consumers, as published by the Secretary of Labor. The aggregate 
percentage increase in the CPI from September 1993 through December 
1997 is 11.16 percent. This number is derived by dividing the September 
1993 CPI index by the December 1997 CPI index. When the percentage 
increase is applied to the current $75.5 million maximum retrospective 
deferred premium, the new maximum retrospective deferred premium will 
increase to $83.9 million per reactor per incident. The limit of $10 
million per reactor per incident per year will be unchanged.
    To implement this inflation adjustment, the Commission is issuing 
revisions to 10 CFR 140.11(a)(4), which will become effective by August 
20, 1998, that will require that large nuclear power plant licensees 
maintain, in addition to $200 million in primary financial protection, 
a new maximum standard deferred premium of $83.9 million per reactor 
per incident (but not to exceed $10 million in any 1 year). Because 
this inflation adjustment by the Commission is essentially ministerial 
in nature, the Commission finds that there is good cause for omitting 
notice and public procedure (in the form of a proposed rule) on this 
action as unnecessary, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure 
Act (5 U.S.C. 553b).
    The next inflation adjustment in the amount of the standard 
deferred premium will be made not later than August 20, 2003, and will 
be based on the incremental change in the CPI since December 1997.

Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion

    The NRC has determined that this final rule is the type of action 
described in categorical exclusion 10 CFR 51.22(c)(1). Therefore, 
neither an environmental impact statement nor an environmental 
assessment has been prepared for this final rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    This final rule does not contain a new or an amended information 
collection requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing requirements were approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget, approval number 3150-0039.

Public Protection Notification

    If an information collection does not display a currently valid OMB 
control number, the NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, the information collection.

Regulatory Analysis

    Because this inflation adjustment is required by statute, no other 
alternatives

[[Page 39016]]

were considered. See also the discussion in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Certification for this rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 
605(b), the Commission certifies that this final rule will not have a 
significant impact upon a substantial number of small entities. The 
rule will potentially affect licensees of approximately 110 nuclear 
power reactors. Nuclear power plant licensees do not fall within the 
definition of small businesses as defined in Section 3 of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632), the Small Business Size Standards of the 
Small Business Administration (13 CFR Part 121), or the Commission's 
Size Standards (10 CFR 2.810)

Backfit Analysis

    The NRC has determined that this final rule does not require 
analysis under the backfit rule (10 CFR 50.109(a)(1)) because it is 
statutorily required and the statute does not confer any discretion on 
the NRC.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    In accordance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996, the NRC has determined that this action is not a 
major rule and has verified this determination with the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB.

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 140

    Criminal penalty, Extraordinary nuclear occurrence, Insurance, 
Intergovernmental relations, Nuclear materials, Nuclear power plants 
and reactors, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of 
the AEA, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (as amended), and 5 
U.S.C. 552 and 553, the NRC is adopting the following amendment to 10 
CFR Part 140:

PART 140--FINANCIAL PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS AND INDEMNITY 
AGREEMENTS

    1. The authority citation for Part 140 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Secs. 161, 170, 68 Stat. 948, 71 Stat. 576, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 2201, 2210); secs. 201, as amended, 202, 88 Stat. 
1242, as amended, 1244 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842).

    2. In Sec. 140.11 the introductory text of paragraph (a) and 
paragraph (a)(4) are revised to read as follows:


Sec. 140.11  Amounts of financial protection for certain reactors.

    (a) Each licensee is required to have and maintain financial 
protection:
* * * * *
    (4) In an amount equal to the sum of $200,000,000 and the amount 
available as secondary financial protection (in the form of private 
liability insurance available under an industry retrospective rating 
plan providing for deferred premium charges equal to the pro rata share 
of the aggregate public liability claims and costs, excluding costs 
payment of which is not authorized by subsection 170o.(1)(D) of the 
Act, in excess of that covered by primary financial protection) for 
each nuclear reactor which is licensed to operate and which is designed 
for the production of electrical energy and has a rated capacity of 
100,000 electrical kilowatts or more: Provided, however, that under 
such a plan for deferred premium charges for each nuclear reactor which 
is licensed to operate, no more than $83,900,000 with respect to any 
nuclear incident (plus any surcharge assessed under subsection 
170o.(1)(E) of the Act) and no more than $10,000,000 per incident 
within one calendar year shall be charged.
* * * * *
    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of July, 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James L. Blaha,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 98-19362 Filed 7-20-98; 8:45 am]
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