[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 27, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14818-14841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7114]



[[Page 14817]]

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Part III





Nuclear Regulatory Commission





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10 CFR Parts 170 and 171



Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2002; Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 67 , No. 59 / Wednesday, March 27, 2002 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 14818]]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 170 and 171

RIN 3150-AG95


Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2002

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend 
the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its applicants 
and licensees. The proposed amendments are necessary to implement the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-90), as amended, which 
requires that the NRC recover approximately 96 percent of its budget 
authority in fiscal year (FY) 2002, less the amounts appropriated from 
the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF) and the General Fund. The amount to be 
recovered for FY 2002 is approximately $479.5 million.

DATES: The comment period expires April 26, 2002. Comments received 
after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the 
NRC is able to ensure only that comments received on or before this 
date will be considered. Because OBRA-90 requires that the NRC collect 
the FY 2002 fees by September 30, 2002, requests for extensions of the 
comment period will not be granted.

ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attn: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff. Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal 
workdays. (Telephone 301-415-1678). Comments may be faxed to  (301) 
415-1101.
    Comments may also be submitted via the NRC's interactive rulemaking 
Web site (http://ruleforum.llnl.gov). This site provides the ability to 
upload comments as files (any format), if your Web browser supports 
that function. For information about the interactive rulemaking site, 
contact Ms. Carol Gallagher, 301-415-5905; e-mail [email protected].
    With the exception of restricted information, documents created or 
received at the NRC after November 1, 1999, are also available 
electronically at the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, 
the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of 
NRC's public documents. For more information, contact the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, 
or by e-mail to [email protected].
    In addition to being available in ADAMS, the agency workpapers that 
support these proposed changes to 10 CFR Parts 170 and 171 may also be 
examined during the 30-day comment period at the NRC Public Document 
Room, Room O-1F22, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, MD 20852-2738.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glenda Jackson; Telephone 301-415-6057 
or Robert Carlson; Telephone 301-415-8165, Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   

I. Background
II. Proposed Action
III. Plain Language
IV. Voluntary Consensus Standards
V. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion
VI. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
VII. Regulatory Analysis
VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
IX. Backfit Analysis

I. Background

    For FYs 1991 through 2000, OBRA-90, as amended, required that the 
NRC recover approximately 100 percent of its budget authority, less the 
amount appropriated from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 
administered NWF, by assessing fees. To address fairness and equity 
concerns raised by the NRC related to charging NRC license holders for 
agency expenses that do not provide a direct benefit to the licensee, 
the FY 2001 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act amended 
OBRA-90 to decrease the NRC's fee recovery amount by 2 percent per year 
beginning in FY 2001, until the fee recovery amount is 90 percent in FY 
2005. As a result, the NRC is required to recover approximately 96 
percent of its FY 2002 budget authority, less the amounts appropriated 
from the NWF, through fees and other offsetting receipts. In addition, 
$36.0 million has been appropriated from the General Fund for 
activities related to homeland security. The FY 2002 Defense 
Appropriations Act states that this $36.0 million shall be excluded 
from license fee revenues. The total amount to be recovered in fees and 
other offsetting receipts for FY 2002 is approximately $479.5 million.
    The NRC assesses two types of fees to meet the requirements of 
OBRA-90, as amended. First, license and inspection fees, established in 
10 CFR part 170 under the authority of the Independent Offices 
Appropriation Act of 1952 (IOAA), 31 U.S.C. 9701, recover the NRC's 
costs of providing special benefits to identifiable applicants and 
licensees. Examples of the services provided by the NRC for which these 
fees are assessed are the review of applications for new licenses, and 
for certain types of existing licenses, the review of renewal 
applications, the review of amendment requests, and inspections. 
Second, annual fees established in 10 CFR Part 171 under the authority 
of OBRA-90, recover generic and other regulatory costs not otherwise 
recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees.

II. Proposed Action

    The NRC is proposing to amend its licensing, inspection, and annual 
fees to recover approximately 96 percent of its FY 2002 budget 
authority, including the budget authority for its Office of the 
Inspector General, less the appropriations received from the NWF and 
the General Fund. The NRC's total budget authority for FY 2002 is 
$559.1 million, of which approximately $23.7 million has been 
appropriated from the NWF. In addition, $36.0 million has been 
appropriated from the General Fund for activities related to homeland 
security. Based on the 96 percent fee recovery requirement, the NRC 
must collect approximately $479.5 million in FY 2002 through part 170 
licensing and inspection fees, part 171 annual fees, and other 
offsetting receipts. The total amount to be recovered through fees and 
other offsetting receipts for FY 2002 is $26.2 million more than the 
amount estimated for recovery in FY 2001.
    The FY 2002 fee recovery amount is reduced by a $1.7 million 
carryover from additional collections in FY 2001 that were 
unanticipated at the time the final FY 2001 fee rule was published. 
This leaves approximately $477.8 million to be recovered in FY 2002 
through part 170 licensing and inspection fees, part 171 annual fees, 
and other offsetting receipts.
    The NRC estimates that approximately $120.7 million will be 
recovered in FY 2002 from part 170 fees and other offsetting receipts. 
For FY 2002, the NRC also estimates a net adjustment of approximately 
$8.2 million for FY 2002 invoices that the NRC estimates will not be 
paid during the fiscal year, and for payments received in FY 2002 for 
FY 2001 invoices. The remaining $348.9 million

[[Page 14819]]

would be recovered through the part 171 annual fees, compared to $331.6 
million for FY 2001.
    Table I summarizes the budget and fee recovery amounts for FY 2002. 
Due to rounding, adding the individual numbers in the table may result 
in a total that is slightly different than the one shown.

          Table I.--Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts for FY 2002
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Budget Authority....................................      $559.1
    Less NWF..............................................       -23.7
    Less General Fund.....................................       -36.0
                                                           -------------
        Balance...........................................      $499.5
    Fee Recovery Rate for FY 2002.........................     x  96.0%
                                                           -------------
Total Amount to be Recovered For FY 2002..................      $479.5
    Less Carryover from FY 2001...........................        -1.7
                                                           -------------
Amount to be Recovered Through Fees and Other Receipts....      $477.8
    Less Estimated Part 170 Fees and Other Receipts.......      -120.7
                                                           =============
Part 171 Fee Collections Required.........................      $357.1
Part 171 Billing Adjustments:
    Unpaid FY 2002 Invoices (estimated)...................         2.9
    Less Payments Received in FY 2002 for Prior Year             -11.1
     Invoices (estimated).................................
                                                           -------------
        Subtotal..........................................        -8.2
                                                           =============
Adjusted Part 171 Collections Required....................      $348.9
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FY 2002 final fee rule will be a ``major'' final action as 
defined by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1996. Therefore, the NRC's fees for FY 2002 would become effective 60 
days after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. The 
NRC will send an invoice for the amount of the annual fee to reactors 
and major fuel cycle facilities upon publication of the FY 2002 final 
rule. For these licensees, payment would be due on the effective date 
of the FY 2002 rule. Those materials licensees whose license 
anniversary date during FY 2002 falls before the effective date of the 
final FY 2002 rule would be billed for the annual fee during the 
anniversary month of the license at the FY 2001 annual fee rate. Those 
materials licensees whose license anniversary date falls on or after 
the effective date of the final FY 2002 rule would be billed for the 
annual fee at the FY 2002 annual fee rate during the anniversary month 
of the license, and payment would be due on the date of the invoice.
    The NRC, in proposing FY 2002 fees for uranium recovery licensees, 
is cognizant that the National Mining Association (NMA) has filed a 
petition requesting the commencement of a rulemaking proceeding which 
would result in a modification of the fee schedules to waive all fees 
for uranium recovery licensees. Alternatively, the NMA requested the 
waiver of fees associated with a contemplated rulemaking that would 
establish requirements for licensing uranium and thorium recovery 
facilities. The NRC not only published the petition in the Federal 
Register for comment (66 FR 55604; November 2, 2001), but also mailed 
the Federal Register document noticing the petition and inviting public 
comment to each of the NRC's more than 5,000 licensees. The comment 
period expired on January 16, 2002. The NRC is now evaluating the 
comments it has received in response to this action.
    The Commission anticipates issuing its decision on the rulemaking 
petition before the projected promulgation of the final FY 2002 fee 
rule in June. Should the Commission decide to grant the rulemaking 
petition and provide immediate fee relief to the uranium recovery 
industry, this could result in higher fees for other NRC licensees. The 
additional fees to be distributed among other licensees could be 
between $3.0 and $4.0 million in FY 2002. In such a case, more than 85 
percent of this sum would be allocated to power reactors based on the 
NRC's established method for allocating costs not attributable to those 
licensees paying annual fees. Thus, the NRC is inviting those who have 
arguments to place before the Commission that were not submitted in 
response to the November 2, 2001, Federal Register document requesting 
public comment on the petition to do so now.
    As a matter of courtesy, the NRC plans to continue mailing the 
proposed fee rules to all licensees, although, in accordance with its 
FY 1998 announcement, the NRC has discontinued mailing the final rule 
to all licensees as a cost-saving measure. Accordingly, the NRC does 
not plan to routinely mail the FY 2002 final rule or future final fee 
rules to licensees. However, the NRC will send the final rule to any 
licensee or other person upon specific request. To request a copy, 
contact the License Fee and Accounts Receivable Branch, Division of 
Accounting and Finance, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, at 301-
415-7554, or e-mail us at [email protected]. It is our intent to publish the 
final rule in June 2002. In addition to publication in the Federal 
Register, the final rule will be available on the Internet at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov for at least 90 days after the effective date of the 
final rule.
    The NRC is proposing to make changes to 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 as 
discussed in Sections A and B below.

A. Amendments to 10 CFR Part 170: Fees for Facilities, Materials, 
Import and Export Licenses, and Other Regulatory Services Under the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, As Amended

    The NRC is proposing to revise the hourly rates used to calculate 
fees and to adjust the part 170 fees based on the revised hourly rates. 
Additionally, the NRC is proposing to revise part 170 to clarify that 
full cost fees will be assessed for amendments and inspections related 
to the storage of reactor-related Greater than Class C (GTCC) waste 
under part 72, and to clarify the fee waiver provisions for special 
projects, including topical reports.
    The proposed amendments are as follows:
1. Hourly Rates
    The NRC is proposing to revise the two professional hourly rates 
for NRC staff time established in Sec. 170.20. These proposed rates 
would be based on the number of FY 2002 direct program full time 
equivalents (FTEs) and the FY 2002 NRC budget, excluding direct program 
support costs and NRC's appropriations from the NWF and the General 
Fund. These rates are used to determine the part 170 fees. The proposed 
hourly rate for the reactor program is $156 per hour ($276,345 per 
direct FTE). This rate would be applicable to all activities for which 
fees are assessed under Sec. 170.21 of the fee regulations. The 
proposed hourly rate for the materials program (nuclear materials and 
nuclear waste programs) is $152 per hour ($269,451 per direct FTE). 
This rate would be applicable to all activities for which fees are 
assessed under Sec. 170.31 of the fee regulations. In the FY 2001 final 
fee rule, the reactor and materials program rates were $150 and $144, 
respectively. The proposed increases are primarily due to the 
Government-wide pay increase in FY 2002.
    The method used to determine the two professional hourly rates is 
as follows:
    a. Direct program FTE levels are identified for the reactor program 
and the materials program (nuclear materials and nuclear waste 
programs).

[[Page 14820]]

    b. Direct contract support, which is the use of contract or other 
services in support of the line organization's direct program, is 
excluded from the calculation of the hourly rates because the costs for 
direct contract support are charged directly through the various 
categories of fees.
    c. All other program costs (i.e., Salaries and Benefits, Travel) 
represent ``in-house'' costs and are to be collected by dividing them 
uniformly by the total number of direct FTEs for the program. In 
addition, salaries and benefits plus contracts for non-program direct 
management and support, and for the Office of the Inspector General, 
are allocated to each program based on that program's direct costs. 
This method results in the following costs which are included in the 
hourly rates. Due to rounding, adding the individual numbers in the 
table may result in a total that is slightly different than the one 
shown.

   Table II.--FY 2002 Budget Authority To Be Included in Hourly Rates
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Reactor         Materials
                                            programs         program
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Program Salaries & Benefits....            117.0             32.2
Overhead Salaries & Benefits, Program              59.2             15.6
 Travel and Other Support.............
Allocated Agency Management and                   106.9             29.0
 Support..............................
                                       ---------------------------------
    Subtotal..........................            283.1             76.8
Less offsetting receipts..............            -0 .1             -0.0
                                       ---------------------------------
    Total Budget Included in Hourly               283.0             76.8
     Rate.............................
                                       =================================
Program Direct FTEs...................           1024.0            285.1
Rate per Direct FTE...................        276,345          269,451
Professional Hourly Rate (Rate per                156              152
 direct FTE divided by 1,776 hours)...
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As shown in Table II, dividing the $283.0 million budgeted amount 
(rounded) included in the hourly rate for the reactor program by the 
reactor program direct FTEs (1024.0) results in a rate for the reactor 
program of $276,345 per FTE for FY 2002. The Direct FTE Hourly Rate for 
the reactor program would be $156 per hour (rounded to the nearest 
whole dollar). This rate is calculated by dividing the cost per direct 
FTE ($276,345) by the number of productive hours in one year (1,776 
hours) as set forth in the revised OMB Circular A-76, ``Performance of 
Commercial Activities.'' Similarly, dividing the $76.8 million budgeted 
amount (rounded) included in the hourly rate for the materials program 
by the program direct FTEs (285.1) results in a rate of $269,451 per 
FTE for FY 2002. The Direct FTE Hourly Rate for the materials program 
would be $152 per hour (rounded to the nearest whole dollar). This rate 
is calculated by dividing the cost per direct FTE ($269,451) by the 
number of productive hours in one year (1,776 hours).
2. Fees for Storage of Greater Than Class C Waste Under Part 72
    On October 11, 2001 (66 FR 51823), the NRC published a final rule 
revising part 72 to allow licensing for the interim storage of reactor-
related Greater than Class C (GTCC) waste in a manner that is 
consistent with current licensing for the interim storage of spent 
fuel. As provided in Sec. 72.6, reactor-related GTCC waste can only be 
stored under the provisions of a specific license. The NRC stated in 
the statement of considerations for the final rule that subsequent to 
issuing the final revision of part 72, part 170 would be amended to 
clarify that full cost fees will be assessed for amendments and 
inspections related to the storage of reactor-related GTCC waste under 
part 72. Therefore, the NRC is revising Category 1.B. of Sec. 170.31 to 
specifically include storage of reactor-related GTCC waste licensed 
under part 72. Category 1.B. of Sec. 170.31 currently refers only to 
specific licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel at an 
independent storage installation.
3. Fee Adjustments
    The NRC is proposing to adjust the current part 170 fees in 
Secs. 170.21 and 170.31 to reflect the changes in the revised hourly 
rates. The full cost fees assessed under Secs. 170.21 and 170.31 would 
be based on the proposed professional hourly rates and any direct 
program support (contractual services) costs expended by the NRC. Any 
professional hours expended on or after the effective date of the final 
rule would be assessed at the FY 2002 hourly rates.
    The fees in Secs. 170.21 and 170.31 that are based on the average 
time to review an application (``flat'' fees) would be adjusted to 
reflect the increase in the professional hourly rates from FY 2001. The 
amounts of the materials licensing ``flat'' fees were rounded so that 
the amounts would be de minimis and the resulting flat fee would be 
convenient to the user. Fees under $1,000 are rounded to the nearest 
$10. Fees that are greater than $1,000 but less than $100,000 are 
rounded to the nearest $100. Fees that are greater than $100,000 are 
rounded to the nearest $1,000.
    The proposed licensing ``flat'' fees are applicable to fee 
categories K.1 through K.5 of Sec. 170.21, and fee categories 1C, 1D, 
2B, 2C, 3A through 3P, 4B through 9D, 10B, 15A through 15E, and 16 of 
Sec. 170.31. Applications filed on or after the effective date of the 
final rule would be subject to the revised fees in this proposed rule.
4. Fee Waivers
    In the FY 2001 final fee rule (66 FR 32452; June 14, 2001), the NRC 
revised criterion (c) of Footnote 4 to Sec. 170.21 and criterion (c) of 
Footnote 5 to Sec. 170.31 to clarify that fees will not be assessed for 
requests or reports submitted to the NRC as a means of exchanging 
information between industry organizations and the NRC for the purpose 
of supporting the NRC's generic regulatory improvements or efforts. 
However, the NRC has continued to receive requests for fee exemptions 
that do not meet the intent of the waiver provisions. In addition, 
Footnote 4 to Sec. 170.21, Footnote 5 to Sec. 170.31, and material in 
the definition of Special Projects in Sec. 170.3 concerning these types 
of requests and reports provide information that is more suitable for 
inclusion in Sec. 170.11, Exemptions.

[[Page 14821]]

    Therefore, the NRC is proposing to delete Footnote 4 to Sec. 170.21 
and Footnote 5 to Sec. 170.31, to modify the language that is currently 
in those footnotes and add the revised fee waiver provisions to the 
Exemption section as Sec. 170.11(a)(1). The NRC also proposes to remove 
the language relating to certain reports and requests submitted to the 
NRC for review from the definition of Special Projects in Sec. 170.3. 
The fee waiver provisions will be revised to specifically state that 
the fee waiver criteria apply only when it has been demonstrated that 
the report or request has been submitted to the NRC for the specific 
purpose of supporting the generic regulatory improvements or efforts of 
the NRC, rather than the industry, and that the NRC, at the time of the 
submission, plans to use the submission for that purpose. The proposed 
modification would also clarify that the waiver provisions do not apply 
to reports or documents submitted for the NRC's review that the NRC, at 
the time of the submission, does not plan to use to improve its 
regulatory program, and that therefore will primarily provide only a 
special benefit to identifiable recipients, such as the industry, 
vendors, or specific licensees. These criteria will allow the NRC to 
make waiver determinations soon after the documents are submitted. As 
provided in Sec. 170.5, fee exemption requests should be made to the 
NRC's Chief Financial Officer. To further assist applicants in 
determining in advance whether their submittals meet the fee waiver 
criteria, specific examples of the types of submissions that meet the 
fee waiver criteria and those that do not would be provided in 
Sec. 170.11(a)(1).
    In summary, the NRC is proposing to amend 10 CFR part 170 to--
    1. Revise the materials and reactor program FTE hourly rates;
    2. Revise the licensing fees to be assessed to reflect the revised 
hourly rates;
    3. Revise fee category 1.B. of Sec. 170.31 to clarify that full 
cost fees would be assessed for amendments and inspections related to 
the storage of GTCC Waste under part 72; and
    4. Add to Sec. 170.11, Exemptions, the fee waiver provisions that 
are currently in Footnote 4 to Sec. 170.21 and Footnote 5 to 
Sec. 170.31, and clarify the fee waiver provisions currently in 
criterion (c) of these Footnotes. These footnotes, as well as material 
in the definition of Special Projects in Sec. 170.3 related to certain 
special requests and reports submitted to NRC for review, would be 
deleted.

B. Amendments to 10 CFR Part 171: Annual Fees for Reactor Licenses, and 
Fuel Cycle Licenses and Materials Licenses, Including Holders of 
Certificates of Compliance, Registrations, and Quality Assurance 
Program Approvals, and Government Agencies Licensed by the NRC

    The NRC proposes to revise the annual fees for FY 2002, to amend 
part 171 to specifically cover combined licenses issued under part 52, 
to clarify the annual fee exemption provision for reactors, and to 
modify the methodology for allocating the uranium recovery annual fee 
amount among the types of uranium recovery licenses. The proposed 
amendments are as follows.
1. Annual Fees
    The NRC is proposing to establish rebaselined annual fees for FY 
2002. The Commission's policy commitment, made in the statement of 
considerations accompanying the FY 1995 fee rule (60 FR 32225; June 20, 
1995), and further explained in the statement of considerations 
accompanying the FY 1999 fee rule (64 FR 31448; June 10, 1999), 
establishes that base annual fees will be re-established (rebaselined) 
at least every third year, and more frequently if there is a 
substantial change in the total NRC budget or in the magnitude of the 
budget allocated to a specific class of licenses. The fees were last 
rebaselined in FY 2001. Based on the change in the magnitude of the 
budget to be recovered through fees, the Commission has determined that 
it is appropriate to rebaseline the annual fees again this year. 
Rebaselining fees would result in increased annual fees for all classes 
of licenses, except for the non-power reactor and spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning classes, which would have annual fee decreases.
    The annual fees in Secs. 171.15 and 171.16 would be revised for FY 
2002 to recover approximately 96 percent of the NRC's FY 2002 budget 
authority, less the estimated amount to be recovered through part 170 
fees and the amounts appropriated from the NWF and the General Fund. 
The total amount to be recovered through annual fees for FY 2002 is 
$348.9 million, compared to $331.6 million for FY 2001.
    The proposed FY 2002 annual fees would increase for most categories 
of licenses and decrease for others from the previous year. The 
increases in annual fees range from approximately 5.1 percent for 
materials licenses authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct materials 
and packaging/repackaging of the material (Waste Receipt/Packaging), to 
approximately 129 percent for rare earth facilities. The decreases in 
annual fees range from approximately 3.6 percent for non-power 
reactors, to approximately 18 percent for the Title II uranium recovery 
specific licenses.
    Factors affecting the changes to the annual fee amounts include 
changes in budgeted costs for the different classes of licenses, the 
reduction in the fee recovery rate from 98 percent for FY 2001 to 96 
percent for FY 2002, the estimated part 170 collections for the various 
classes of licenses, a $1.7 million carryover from additional 
collections in FY 2001 that were unanticipated at the time the final FY 
2001 fee rule was published (compared to a $3.1 million carryover from 
FY 2000 which reduced FY 2001 annual fees), the increased hourly rates, 
and decreases in the numbers of licensees for certain categories of 
licenses. In addition, the proposed decreases for the Title II uranium 
recovery specific licenses are based on a proposed change to the 
methodology for allocating the annual fee amount for the uranium 
recovery class among Title I and Title II licenses. This proposed 
change is described in detail in B. below.
    In addition, for some classes of materials licenses, a change in 
policy for assigning Project Managers (PMs) has contributed to the 
annual fee increases. In the last few years, part 170 fees have 
increased for certain classes of licenses due to initiatives to recover 
costs for additional activities through fees for services rather than 
annual fees. One such initiative was the policy for full cost recovery 
under part 170 for PMs, which became effective with the FY 1999 final 
fee rule (64 FR 31448; June 10, 1999). However, in response to concerns 
expressed by materials licensees, the Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards (NMSS) in July 2001 changed its policy for assigning 
PMs. The revised NMSS policy has resulted in classifying approximately 
four staff members as PMs at this time, compared to approximately 97 in 
FY 2000. Under NMSS's revised policy, if project management duties to 
support a licensee/facility do not exceed 75 percent of the assigned 
person's time for any given two week period, then the staff member will 
be considered a ``Point of Contact.'' As a result, that person's time 
which is not specifically associated with a licensing action or 
inspection is now recovered under part 171.
    Although the change in policy for assigning PMs causes a decrease 
in estimated part 170 collections for some classes, it also results in 
more of the budgeted costs for that class being

[[Page 14822]]

recovered through annual fees. However, the change does not result in 
an increase in total fees paid by these classes. Licensees in the rare 
earth facility class, for example, would have an annual fee increase of 
approximately 129 percent, although the total budgeted costs for the 
class actually decreased from FY 2001. The increase in annual fees is 
primarily the result of the change in PM policy which caused a shift in 
cost recovery from part 170 to part 171. The effect of this change on 
the part 170 fees, part 171 fees, and the total fees for the class 
compared to FY 2001 is illustrated in Table III below.

                        Table III.--Fees for the Rare Earth Class for FY 2001 and FY 2002
                                              [Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      FY 2001         FY 2002       Difference
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated part 170 fees.........................................            $.81            $.50           -$.31
Total annual fee amount.........................................             .09             .21             .12
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................             .90             .71            -.19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table IV below shows the proposed rebaselined annual fees for FY 
2002 for representative categories of licenses.

             Table IV.--Rebaselined Annual Fees for FY 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Proposed FY
               Class/category of licenses                   2002 annual
                                                                fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors (including Spent Fuel Storage/       $2,869,000
 Reactor Decommissioning annual fee)....................
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning..............         239,000
Nonpower Reactors.......................................          71,300
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility.....................       4,073,000
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility......................       1,366,000
UF6 Conversion Facility.................................         585,000
Uranium Mills...........................................           7,700
Transportation:
    Users/Fabricators...................................          72,800
    Users Only..........................................           7,300
Typical Materials Users:
    Radiographers.......................................          13,700
    Well Loggers........................................          10,000
    Gauge Users.........................................           2,700
    Broad Scope Medical.................................          26,200
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The annual fees assessed to each class of licenses include a 
surcharge to recover those NRC budgeted costs that are not directly or 
solely attributable to the classes of licenses, but must be recovered 
from licensees to comply with the requirements of OBRA-90, as amended. 
Based on the FY 2001 Energy and Water Appropriations Act which amended 
OBRA-90 to decrease the NRC's fee recovery amount by 2 percent per year 
beginning in FY 2001, until the fee recovery amount is 90 percent in FY 
2005, the total surcharge costs for FY 2002 will be reduced by about 
$20.0 million. The total FY 2002 budgeted costs for these activities 
and the reduction to these amounts for fee recovery purposes are shown 
in Table V. Due to rounding, adding the individual numbers in the table 
may result in a total that is slightly different than the one shown.

                        Table V.--Surcharge Costs
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              FY 2002
                    Category of costs                     budgeted costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Activities not attributable to an existing NRC
 licensee or class of licensee:
    a. International activities.........................            $8.4
    b. Agreement State oversight........................             8.7
    c. Low-level waste disposal generic activities......             1.5
    d. Site decommissioning management plan activities               8.3
     not recovered under part 170.......................
2. Activities not assessed part 170 licensing and
 inspection fees or part 171 annual fees based on
 existing law or Commission policy:
    a. Fee exemption for nonprofit educational                       7.9
     institutions.......................................
    b. Licensing and inspection activities associated                3.7
     with other Federal agencies........................
    c. Costs not recovered from small entities under 10              4.5
     CFR 171.16(c)......................................
3. Activities supporting NRC operating licensees and
 others:
    a. Regulatory support to Agreement States...........            13.0
    b. Generic decommissioning/reclamation (except those             8.3
     related to power reactors).........................
                                                         ---------------
        Total surcharge costs...........................            64.4

[[Page 14823]]

 
Less 4 percent of NRC's FY 2002 total budget (NWF and              -20.0
 General Fund amounts)..................................
                                                         ===============
        Total Surcharge Costs to be Recovered...........            44.4
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As shown in Table V, $44.4 million would be the total surcharge 
cost allocated to the various classes of licenses for FY 2002. The NRC 
would continue to allocate the surcharge costs, except Low-Level Waste 
(LLW) surcharge costs, to each class of licenses based on the percent 
of the budget for that class. The NRC would continue to allocate the 
LLW surcharge costs based on the volume of LLW disposed of by certain 
classes of licenses. The proposed surcharge costs allocated to each 
class would be included in the annual fee assessed to each licensee. 
The FY 2002 proposed surcharge costs that would be allocated to each 
class of licenses are shown in Table VI. Due to rounding, adding the 
individual numbers in the table may result in a total that is slightly 
different than the one shown.

                                       Table VI.--Allocation of Surcharge
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           LLW surcharge                 Non-LLW surcharge             Total
                                 ----------------------------------------------------------------    surcharge
                                                                                                 ---------------
                                      Percent           $,M           Percent           $,M             $,M
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors........              74             1.1            79.7            34.1            35.3
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor        ..............  ..............             7.7             3.3             3.3
 Decomm.........................
Nonpower Reactors...............  ..............  ..............             0.1             0.0             0.0
Fuel Facilities.................               8             0.1             5.8             2.5             2.6
Materials Users.................              18             0.3             4.5             1.9             2.2
Transportation..................  ..............  ..............             1.3             0.5             0.5
Rare Earth Facilities...........  ..............  ..............             0.2             0.1             0.1
Uranium Recovery................  ..............  ..............             0.9             0.4             0.4
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Surcharge.............             100             1.5           100.0            42.9            44.4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The budgeted costs allocated to each class of licenses and the 
calculations of the rebaselined fees are described in A. through H. 
below. The workpapers which support this proposed rule show in detail 
the allocation of NRC's budgeted resources for each class of licenses 
and how the fees are calculated. The workpapers are available 
electronically at the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet at Website address http://www.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 
During the 30-day public comment period, the workpapers may also be 
examined at the NRC Public Document Room located at One White Flint 
North, Room O-1F22, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738.
    Because the FY 2002 fee rule will be a ``major'' final action as 
defined by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1996, the NRC's fees for FY 2002 would become effective 60 days after 
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. The NRC will 
send an invoice for the amount of the annual fee upon publication of 
the FY 2002 final rule to reactors and major fuel cycle facilities. For 
these licensees, payment would be due on the effective date of the FY 
2002 rule. Those materials licensees whose license anniversary date 
during FY 2002 falls before the effective date of the FY 2002 final 
rule would be billed for the annual fee during the anniversary month of 
the license, and continue to pay annual fees at the FY 2001 rate in FY 
2002. However, those materials licensees whose license anniversary date 
falls on or after the effective date of the FY 2002 final rule would be 
billed for the annual fee at the FY 2002 rate during the anniversary 
month of the license, and payment would be due on the date of the 
invoice.

A. Fuel Facilities

    The FY 2002 budgeted costs to be recovered in annual fees assessed 
to the fuel facility class of licenses is approximately $18.8 million. 
This amount includes the LLW and other surcharges allocated to the fuel 
facility class. The costs are allocated to the individual fuel facility 
licensees based on the fuel facility matrix established in the FY 1999 
final fee rule (64 FR 31448; June 10, 1999). In this matrix, licensees 
are grouped into five categories according to their licensed activities 
(i.e., nuclear material enrichment, processing operations, and material 
form) and according to the level, scope, depth of coverage, and rigor 
of generic regulatory programmatic effort applicable to each category 
from a safety and safeguards perspective. This methodology can be 
applied to determine fees for new and current licensees, licensees in 
unique license situations, and certificate holders.
    The methodology allows for changes in the number of licensees or 
certificate holders, licensed-certified material/activities, and total 
programmatic resources to be recovered through annual fees. When a 
license or certificate is modified, this fuel facility fee methodology 
may result in a change in fee category and may have an effect on the 
fees assessed to other licensees and certificate holders. For example, 
if a fuel facility licensee amended its license/certificate in such a 
way that it resulted in the licensee not being subject to part 171 fees 
applicable to fuel facilities, the budgeted costs included in the 
annual fee would be spread among the remaining licensees/certificate 
holders, and result in a higher fee for those remaining in that fee 
category.
    Prior to the beginning of FY 2002, one low enriched uranium fuel 
facility

[[Page 14824]]

permanently ceased licensed operations and filed for an amendment to 
place its license in a decommissioning status. The proposed annual fees 
for the fuel facility class reflect this change in the number of 
licensees subject to annual fees.
    The methodology is applied as follows. First, a fee category is 
assigned based on the nuclear material and activity authorized by the 
license or certificate. Although a licensee/certificate holder may 
elect not to fully utilize a license/certificate, it is still used as 
the basis for determining authorized nuclear material possession and 
use/activity. Next, the category and license/certificate information 
are used to determine where the licensee/certificate holder fits into 
the matrix. The matrix depicts the categorization of licensee/
certificate holders by authorized material types and use/activities and 
the relative programmatic effort associated with each category. The 
programmatic effort (expressed as a numeric value in the matrix) 
reflects the safety and safeguards risk significance associated with 
the nuclear material and use/activity, and the commensurate generic 
regulatory program (i.e., scope, depth, and rigor).
    The effort factors for the various subclasses of fuel facility 
licenses are summarized in Table VII below.

                                 Table VII.--Effort Factors for Fuel Facilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          Effort factors
                           Facility type                              Number of  -------------------------------
                                                                      facilities      Safety        Safeguards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High Enriched Uranium Fuel.........................................            2      91 (36.0%)      76 (57.1%)
Enrichment.........................................................            2      70 (27.7%)      34 (25.6%)
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel..........................................            3      66 (26.1%)      18 (13.5%)
UF6 Conversion.....................................................            1       12 (4.7%)          0 (0%)
Limited Operations Facility........................................            1        8 (3.2%)        3 (2.3%)
Others.............................................................            1        6 (2.4%)        2 (1.5%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Applying these factors to the safety, safeguards, and surcharge 
components of the $18.8 million total annual fee amount for the fuel 
facility class results in the proposed annual fees for each licensee 
within the subcategories of this class summarized in the table below.

          Table VIII.--Proposed Annual Fees for Fuel Facilities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Proposed FY
                       Facility type                             2002
                                                              annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
High Enriched Uranium Fuel.................................   $4,073,000
Uranium Enrichment.........................................    2,537,000
Low Enriched Uranium.......................................    1,366,000
UF6 Conversion.............................................      585,000
Limited Operations Facility................................      537,000
Others.....................................................      390,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Uranium Recovery Facilities

    The FY 2002 budgeted costs, including surcharge costs, to be 
recovered through annual fees assessed to the uranium recovery class is 
approximately $1.7 million. Based on the following proposed change in 
the way NRC allocates these costs, approximately $1.0 million of this 
amount would be assessed to DOE. The remaining $0.7 million would be 
recovered through annual fees assessed to conventional mills, in-situ 
leach solution mining facilities, and 11e.(2) mill tailings disposal 
facilities.
    The NRC is proposing to revise its methodology for allocating 
uranium recovery budgeted costs to be recovered through annual fees 
among the two major types of programs in the uranium recovery class. 
The first type is the NRC's Title I program for DOE sites under the 
Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978. The 
second type is the NRC's UMTRCA Title II program; specifically, 
commercial solution mining facilities, conventional mills, and 11e.(2) 
mill tailings disposal facilities. Although the Title I program is part 
of the uranium recovery class, DOE is not currently assessed a portion 
of the NRC budgeted costs attributed to generic/other activities for 
the uranium recovery program. As a consequence, licensees under the 
NRC's specific licensing program (UMTRCA Title II) bear the entire cost 
of these activities.
    In recognizing that the uranium recovery class is comprised of two 
types of licensees falling under either the NRC's Title I or Title II 
program, the Commission determined that it was appropriate to divide 
the generic and other costs included in the uranium recovery annual fee 
evenly among the two programs. Furthermore, DOE stands to gain from 
NRC's generic regulatory efforts because DOE eventually will also 
accept the Title II specifically licensed sites under a general license 
from the NRC for long term surveillance and care.
    Therefore, the proposed methodology would allocate the total annual 
fee amount, less the amounts specifically budgeted for Title I 
activities, equally between Title I and Title II licensees. This would 
result in an annual fee being assessed to DOE to recover the costs 
specifically budgeted for NRC's Title I activities plus 50 percent of 
the remaining annual fee amount, including the surcharge, for the 
uranium recovery class. The remaining surcharge, generic, and other 
costs would be assessed to the NRC Title II program licensees that are 
subject to annual fees. Thus, the costs to be recovered through annual 
fees assessed to the uranium recovery class are shown below. Due to 
rounding, adding the individual numbers in the table may result in a 
total that is slightly different than the one shown.


[[Page 14825]]



DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I and Title II
 general licenses):
    UMTRCA Title I budgeted costs.......................        $377,232
    50% of generic/other uranium recovery budgeted costs         489,259
    50% of uranium recovery surcharge...................         189,509
                                                         ---------------
        Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE.................       1,056,000
Annual Fee Amount for UMTRCA Title II Specific Licenses:
    50% of generic/other uranium recovery budgeted costs         489,259
    50% of uranium recovery surcharge...................         189,509
                                                         ---------------
        Total Annual Fee Amount for Title II Specific            678,768
         Licenses.......................................
 

    The costs allocated to the various categories of Title II specific 
licensees are based on the uranium recovery matrix established in the 
FY 1999 final fee rule (64 FR 31448; June 10, 1999). The methodology 
for establishing part 171 annual fees for Title II uranium recovery 
licensees has not changed and is as follows:
    (1) The methodology identifies three categories of licenses: 
conventional uranium mills (Class I facilities), uranium solution 
mining facilities (Class II facilities), and mill tailings disposal 
facilities (11e.(2) disposal facilities). Each of these categories 
benefits from the generic uranium recovery program efforts (e.g., 
rulemakings, staff guidance documents);
    (2) The matrix relates the category and the level of benefit by 
program element and subelement;
    (3) The two major program elements of the generic uranium recovery 
program are activities related to facility operations and those related 
to facility closure;
    (4) Each of the major program elements was further divided into 
three subelements;
    (5) The three major subelements of generic activities associated 
with uranium facility operations are regulatory efforts related to the 
operation of mills, handling and disposal of waste, and prevention of 
groundwater contamination. The three major subelements of generic 
activities associated with uranium facility closure are regulatory 
efforts related to decommissioning of facilities and land clean-up, 
reclamation and closure of tailings impoundments, and groundwater 
clean-up. Weighted values were assigned to each program element and 
subelement considering health and safety implications and the 
associated effort to regulate these activities. The applicability of 
the generic program in each subelement to each uranium recovery 
category was qualitatively estimated as either significant, some, 
minor, or none.
    The relative weighted factors per facility type for the various 
subclasses of specifically licensed Title II uranium recovery licensees 
are as follows:

                            Table IX.--Weighted Factors for Uranium Recovery Licenses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                           Level of benefit
                                                    ------------------------------------------------------------
                   Facility type                                                           Total weight
                                                      Number of      Category    -------------------------------
                                                      facilities      weight           Value          Percent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class I (conventional mills).......................            3             770           2,310              34
Class II (solution mining).........................            6             645           3,870              58
11e.(2) disposal...................................            1             475             475               7
11e.(2) disposal incident to existing tailings                 1              75              75               1
 sites.............................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Applying these factors to the $0.7 million in budgeted costs to be 
recovered from Title II specific licensees results in the following 
proposed annual fees:

          Table X.--Annual Fees for Title II Specific Licenses
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Proposed FY
                      Facility type                         2002 annual
                                                                fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class I (conventional mills)............................         $77,700
Class II (solution mining)..............................          65,100
11e.(2) disposal........................................          47,900
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites..           7,600
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the FY 2001 final rule (66 FR 32478), the NRC revised 
Sec. 171.19 to establish a quarterly billing schedule for the Class I 
and Class II licensees, regardless of the annual fee amount. Therefore, 
as provided in Sec. 171.19(b), if the amounts collected in the first 
three quarters of FY 2002 exceed the amount of the revised annual fee, 
the overpayment will be refunded. The remaining categories of Title II 
facilities are subject to billing based on the anniversary date of the 
license as provided in Sec. 171.19(c).

C. Power Reactors

    The approximately $273.6 million in budgeted costs to be recovered 
through FY 2002 annual fees assessed to the power reactor class would 
be divided equally among the 104 power reactors licensed to operate. 
This results in a proposed FY 2002 annual fee of $2,630,000 per 
reactor. Additionally, each power reactor licensed to operate would be 
assessed the proposed FY 2002 spent fuel storage/reactor 
decommissioning annual fee of $239,000. This would result in a total FY 
2002 annual fee of $2,869,000 for each power reactor licensed to 
operate.

[[Page 14826]]

D. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning

    For FY 2002, budgeted costs of approximately $28.9 million for 
spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning are to be recovered through 
annual fees assessed to part 50 power reactors, and to part 72 
licensees who do not hold a part 50 license. Those reactor licensees 
that have ceased operations and have no fuel onsite are not subject to 
these annual fees. The costs would be divided equally among the 121 
licensees, resulting in a proposed FY 2002 annual fee of $239,000 per 
licensee.

E. Non-Power Reactors

    Approximately $285,200 in budgeted costs is to be recovered through 
annual fees assessed to the non-power reactor class of licenses for FY 
2002. This amount would be divided equally among the four non-power 
reactors subject to annual fees. This results in a proposed FY 2002 
annual fee of $71,300 for each licensee.

F. Rare Earth Facilities

    The FY 2002 budgeted costs of approximately $205,300 for rare earth 
facilities to be recovered through annual fees would be divided equally 
among the three licensees who have a specific license for receipt and 
processing of source material. The result is a proposed FY 2002 annual 
fee of $68,400 for each rare earth facility.
    As explained previously, the increase in annual fees for the rare 
earth class is not the result of increased budgeted costs for the 
class, but rather the result of the change in NMSS's revised PM policy, 
which resulted in a shift of cost recovery for certain activities from 
part 170 to part 171.

G. Materials Users

    To equitably and fairly allocate the $25.1 million in FY 2002 
budgeted costs to be recovered in annual fees assessed to the 
approximately 5,000 diverse materials users and registrants, the NRC 
has continued to use the FY 1999 methodology to establish baseline 
annual fees for this class. The annual fees are based on the part 170 
application fees and an estimated cost for inspections. Because the 
application fees and inspection costs are indicative of the complexity 
of the license, this approach continues to provide a proxy for 
allocating the generic and other regulatory costs to the diverse 
categories of licenses based on how much it costs the NRC to regulate 
each category. The fee calculation also continues to consider the 
inspection frequency (priority), which is indicative of the safety risk 
and resulting regulatory costs associated with the categories of 
licenses. The annual fee for these categories of licenses is developed 
as follows:
    Annual fee = Constant  x  [Application Fee + (Average Inspection 
Cost divided by Inspection Priority)]+ Inspection Multiplier  x  
(Average Inspection Cost divided by Inspection Priority) + Unique 
Category Costs.
    The constant is the multiple necessary to recover approximately 
$17.5 million in general costs and is 1.07 for FY 2002. The inspection 
multiplier is the multiple necessary to recover approximately $5.3 
million in inspection costs for FY 2002, and is 1.1 for FY 2002. The 
unique category costs are any special costs that the NRC has budgeted 
for a specific category of licenses. For FY 2002, of the unique costs 
attributable to medical licensees for the medical development program, 
approximately $126,900 would be allocated to NRC medical licensees.
    The annual fee assessed to each licensee also includes a share of 
the $1.9 million in surcharge costs allocated to the materials user 
class of licenses and, for certain categories of these licenses, a 
share of the approximately $300,000 in LLW surcharge costs allocated to 
the class. The proposed annual fee for each fee category is shown in 
Sec. 171.16(d).

H. Transportation

    Of the approximately $4.8 million in FY 2002 budgeted costs to be 
recovered through annual fees assessed to the transportation class of 
licenses, approximately $1.4 million would be recovered from annual 
fees assessed to DOE based on the number of part 71 Certificates of 
Compliance that it holds. Of the remaining $3.4 million, approximately 
25 percent would be allocated to the 77 quality assurance plans 
authorizing use only and the 39 quality assurance plans authorizing use 
and design/fabrication. The remaining 75 percent would be allocated 
only to the 39 quality assurance plans authorizing use and design/
fabrication. This results in a proposed annual fee of $7,300 for each 
of the holders of quality assurance plans that authorize use only, and 
a proposed annual fee of $72,800 for each of the holders of quality 
assurance plans that authorize use and design/fabrication.
2. Part 52  Combined Licenses
    The NRC proposes revising part 171 to: authorize assessment of 
annual fees for holders of combined licenses issued under part 52; 
clarify that the annual fees would be assessed for each license, and 
not for each unit; and establish when assessment of annual fees would 
begin.
    Part 171 currently covers annual fees for part 50 licenses, but 
does not specifically cover annual fees for combined licenses issued 
under part 52. Additionally, neither part 52 nor part 171 addresses 
when NRC would begin to assess an annual fee to a part 52 license 
holder. The NRC proposes to revise Sec. 171.3 ``Scope'' to specify that 
the annual fee regulations also apply to any person holding a combined 
license issued under part 52.
    The annual fees for a part 52 combined license would be assessed 
only after construction has been completed, all regulatory requirements 
have been met, and the Commission has authorized operation of the 
reactor(s). This approach is consistent with the Commission's policy of 
not imposing annual fees on those entities only holding a power reactor 
construction permit.
    Currently, Sec. 171.15(a) provides that reactor licensees shall pay 
an annual fee ``* * * for each unit for each license held * * *''. It 
is the agency's present practice to charge annual fees per license, and 
the NRC is proposing to revise Sec. 171.15(a) to clarify that the 
annual fees are assessed for each license, and not for each unit.
    At this time, the NRC is not proposing a specific annual fee 
category or amount for part 52 combined licenses because there are no 
existing combined licenses issued under part 52. However, the NRC is 
proposing these changes so potential applicants for a part 52 combined 
license are aware that such a license will be subject to annual fees in 
the future.
3. Fee Exemption for Reactors in 10 CFR 171.11
    The NRC is modifying Sec. 171.11(c) to clarify that the annual fee 
exemption provision applies only to ``operating'' reactors. This change 
is consistent with the statement of considerations in the 1986 final 
fee rule (51 FR 33224; September 18, 1986), which added this specific 
fee exemption to the regulation. Therein the Commission stated it had 
considered calculating the annual fee for power reactors with 
``operating'' licenses based on the thermal megawatt ratings of those 
reactors. However, the Commission decided against determining its fees 
based on the size of the reactor because the NRC found no necessary 
relationship between the thermal megawatt rating of a reactor and the 
agency's regulatory costs. Nevertheless, the NRC stated because it was 
not the Commission's intent to promulgate a fee schedule that would

[[Page 14827]]

have the effect of forcing smaller, older reactors to shut down, it was 
adding an annual fee exemption provision in Sec. 171.11 which takes 
reactor size, age, and other relevant factors into consideration. In 
the section-by-section analysis for Sec. 171.11, the NRC stated that 
the added exemption section ``* * * provides that the holder of a 
license to `operate' a power reactor * * * may apply to the Commission 
for partial relief from annual fee[s].''
    In the FY 1999 final fee rule (64 FR 31448; June 10, 1999), the NRC 
established the Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning (SFSRD) 
class with an annual fee to be assessed to all reactor licensees having 
fuel onsite, regardless of their operating status. In the statement of 
considerations for the FY 1999 fee rule, the NRC stated that the 
Commission determined all reactors, including those which are shut 
down, should pay the SFSRD annual fee to recover the NRC's costs 
related to generic reactor decommissioning and spent fuel storage 
activities. It is clear from the statement of considerations that the 
Commission did not intend to relieve reactors that are not operating 
from the annual fee requirements unless they had permanently ceased 
operations and had no fuel onsite.
    The Commission reemphasizes that all communications concerning 
annual fees, including exemption requests, should be addressed to the 
Chief Financial Officer, U.S. NRC, Washington DC 20555-0001 in 
accordance with Sec. 171.9.
4. Administrative Amendment
    The NRC is proposing to modify Category 1.B. of Sec. 171.16(d) to 
specifically include licenses issued under part 72 for the reactor-
related GTCC waste. This is an administrative change that would be made 
only to ensure consistency with the proposed description for fee 
category 1.B. of Sec. 170.31 as described in A. above. The NRC is not 
proposing an annual fee for this category of license.
    In summary, the NRC is proposing to--
    1. Establish rebaselined annual fees for FY 2002;
    2. Modify part 171 to specifically authorize assessment of annual 
fees to part 52 combined licenses;
    3. Clarify that the annual fee exemption provision in 
Sec. 171.11(c) applies only to ``operating'' reactors;
    4. Make an administrative change to fee category 1.B. of 
Sec. 171.16(d) to be consistent with the proposed change to category 
1.B. of Sec. 170.31.

III. Plain Language

    The Presidential Memorandum dated June 1, 1998, entitled, ``Plain 
Language in Government Writing,'' directed that the Federal 
government's writing be in plain language (63 FR 31883; June 10, 1998). 
The NRC requests comments on this proposed rule specifically with 
respect to the clarity and effectiveness of the language used. Comments 
on the language used should be sent to the NRC as indicated under the 
ADDRESSES heading.

IV. Voluntary Consensus Standards

    The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, Pub. 
L. 104-113, requires that Federal agencies use technical standards that 
are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies unless 
using such a standard is inconsistent with applicable law or is 
otherwise impractical. In this proposed rule, the NRC is amending the 
licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its licensees and 
applicants as necessary to recover approximately 96 percent of its 
budget authority in FY 2002 as is required by the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended. This action does not constitute 
the establishment of a standard that contains generally applicable 
requirements.

V. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion

    The NRC has determined that this proposed rule is the type of 
action described in categorical exclusion 10 CFR 51.22(c)(1). 
Therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental 
impact statement has been prepared for the proposed regulation. By its 
very nature, this regulatory action does not affect the environment 
and, therefore, no environmental justice issues are raised.

VI. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    This proposed rule does not contain information collection 
requirements and, therefore, is not subject to the requirements of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

VII. Regulatory Analysis

    With respect to 10 CFR Part 170, this proposed rule was developed 
pursuant to Title V of the Independent Offices Appropriation Act of 
1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C. 9701) and the Commission's fee guidelines. When 
developing these guidelines the Commission took into account guidance 
provided by the U.S. Supreme Court on March 4, 1974, in National Cable 
Television Association, Inc. v. United States, 415 U.S. 36 (1974) and 
Federal Power Commission v. New England Power Company, 415 U.S. 345 
(1974). In these decisions, the Court held that the IOAA authorizes an 
agency to charge fees for special benefits rendered to identifiable 
persons measured by the ``value to the recipient'' of the agency 
service. The meaning of the IOAA was further clarified on December 16, 
1976, by four decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District 
of Columbia: National Cable Television Association v. Federal 
Communications Commission, 554 F.2d 1094 (D.C. Cir. 1976); National 
Association of Broadcasters v. Federal Communications Commission, 554 
F.2d 1118 (D.C. Cir. 1976); Electronic Industries Association v. 
Federal Communications Commission, 554 F.2d 1109 (D.C. Cir. 1976); and 
Capital Cities Communication, Inc. v. Federal Communications 
Commission, 554 F.2d 1135 (D.C. Cir. 1976). The Commission's fee 
guidelines were developed based on these legal decisions.
    The Commission's fee guidelines were upheld on August 24, 1979, by 
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Mississippi Power 
and Light Co. v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 601 F.2d 223 (5th 
Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1102 (1980). This court held that--
    (1) The NRC had the authority to recover the full cost of providing 
services to identifiable beneficiaries;
    (2) The NRC could properly assess a fee for the costs of providing 
routine inspections necessary to ensure a licensee's compliance with 
the Atomic Energy Act and with applicable regulations;
    (3) The NRC could charge for costs incurred in conducting 
environmental reviews required by NEPA;
    (4) The NRC properly included the costs of uncontested hearings and 
of administrative and technical support services in the fee schedule;
    (5) The NRC could assess a fee for renewing a license to operate a 
low-level radioactive waste burial site; and
    (6) The NRC's fees were not arbitrary or capricious.
    With respect to 10 CFR Part 171, on November 5, 1990, the Congress 
passed Pub. L. 101-508, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 
(OBRA-90), which required that, for FYs 1991 through 1995, 
approximately 100 percent of the NRC budget authority be recovered 
through the assessment of fees. OBRA-90 was subsequently amended to 
extend the 100 percent fee recovery requirement through FY 2000. The FY 
2001 Energy and Water

[[Page 14828]]

Development Appropriations Act amended OBRA-90 to decrease the NRC's 
fee recovery amount by 2 percent per year beginning in FY 2001, until 
the fee recovery amount is 90 percent in FY 2005. The NRC's fee 
recovery amount for FY 2002 is 96 percent. To comply with this 
statutory requirement and in accordance with Sec. 171.13, the NRC is 
publishing the proposed amount of the FY 2002 annual fees for reactor 
licensees, fuel cycle licensees, materials licensees, and holders of 
Certificates of Compliance, registrations of sealed source and devices 
and QA program approvals, and Government agencies. OBRA-90, consistent 
with the accompanying Conference Committee Report, and the amendments 
to OBRA-90, provides that--
    (1) The annual fees be based on approximately 96 percent of the 
Commission's FY 2002 budget of $559.1 million less the amounts 
collected from part 170 fees and funds directly appropriated from the 
NWF to cover the NRC's high level waste program;
    (2) The annual fees shall, to the maximum extent practicable, have 
a reasonable relationship to the cost of regulatory services provided 
by the Commission; and
    (3) The annual fees be assessed to those licensees the Commission, 
in its discretion, determines can fairly, equitably, and practicably 
contribute to their payment.
    In addition, $36.0 million has been appropriated from the General 
Fund for activities related to homeland security. The FY 2002 Defense 
Appropriations Act states that this $36.0 million shall be excluded 
from license fee revenues.
    10 CFR part 171, which established annual fees for operating power 
reactors effective October 20, 1986 (51 FR 33224; September 18, 1986), 
was challenged and upheld in its entirety in Florida Power and Light 
Company v. United States, 846 F.2d 765 (D.C. Cir. 1988), cert. denied, 
490 U.S. 1045 (1989). Further, the NRC's FY 1991 annual fee rule 
methodology was upheld by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Allied 
Signal v. NRC, 988 F.2d 146 (D.C. Cir. 1993).

VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    The NRC is required by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1990, as amended, to recover approximately 96 percent of its FY 2002 
budget authority through the assessment of user fees. This act further 
requires that the NRC establish a schedule of charges that fairly and 
equitably allocates the aggregate amount of these charges among 
licensees.
    This proposed rule would establish the schedules of fees that are 
necessary to implement the Congressional mandate for FY 2002. The 
proposed rule would result in increases in the annual fees charged to 
certain licensees and holders of certificates, registrations, and 
approvals, and decreases in annual fees for others, including those 
that qualify as a small entity under NRC's size standards in 10 CFR 
2.810. The Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, prepared in accordance with 
5 U.S.C. 604, is included as Appendix A to this proposed rule.
    The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 
(SBREFA) was signed into law on March 29, 1996. The SBREFA requires all 
Federal agencies to prepare a written compliance guide for each rule 
for which the agency is required by 5 U.S.C. 604 to prepare a 
regulatory flexibility analysis. Therefore, in compliance with the law, 
Attachment 1 to the Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is the small entity 
compliance guide for FY 2002.

IX. Backfit Analysis

    The NRC has determined that the backfit rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does 
not apply to this proposed rule and that a backfit analysis is not 
required for this proposed rule. The backfit analysis is not required 
because these proposed amendments do not require the modification of or 
additions to systems, structures, components, or the design of a 
facility or the design approval or manufacturing license for a facility 
or the procedures or organization required to design, construct, or 
operate a facility.

List of Subjects

10 CFR Part 170

    Byproduct material, Import and export licenses, Intergovernmental 
relations, Non-payment penalties, Nuclear materials, Nuclear power 
plants and reactors, Source material, Special nuclear material.

10 CFR Part 171

    Annual charges, Byproduct material, Holders of certificates, 
Registrations, Approvals, Intergovernmental relations, Non-payment 
penalties, Nuclear materials, Nuclear power plants and reactors, Source 
material, Special nuclear material.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the Energy Reorganization 
Act of 1974, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 553, the NRC is proposing to 
adopt the following amendments to 10 CFR parts 170 and 171.

PART 170--FEES FOR FACILITIES, MATERIALS, IMPORT AND EXPORT 
LICENSES, AND OTHER REGULATORY SERVICES UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT 
OF 1954, AS AMENDED

    1. The authority citation for part 170 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Sec. 9701, Pub. L. 97-258, 96 Stat. 1051 (31 U.S.C. 
9701); sec. 301, Pub. L. 92-314, 86 Stat. 227 (42 U.S.C. 2201w); 
sec. 201, Pub. L. 93-438, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
5841); sec. 205a, Pub. L. 101-576, 104 Stat. 2842, as amended (31 
U.S.C. 901, 902).

    2. Section 170.3 is amended by revising the definition of Special 
projects and adding, in alphabetical order, the definition for Greater 
than Class C Waste or GTCC Waste to read as follows:


Sec. 170.3  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Greater than Class C Waste or GTCC Waste means low-level 
radioactive waste that exceeds the concentration limits of 
radionuclides established for Class C waste in 10 CFR 61.55.
* * * * *
    Special projects means those requests submitted to the Commission 
for review for which fees are not otherwise specified in this chapter. 
Examples of special projects include, but are not limited to, topical 
report reviews, early site reviews, waste solidification facilities, 
route approvals for shipment of radioactive materials, services 
provided to certify licensee, vendor, or other private industry 
personnel as instructors for part 55 reactor operators, reviews of 
financial assurance submittals that do not require a license amendment, 
reviews of responses to Confirmatory Action Letters, reviews of uranium 
recovery licensees' land-use survey reports, and reviews of 10 CFR 
50.71 final safety analysis reports.
* * * * *
    3. In Sec. 170.11, paragraph (a)(1) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 170.11  Exemptions.

    (a) * * *
    (1) A special project that is a request/report submitted to the 
NRC--
    (i) In response to a Generic Letter or NRC Bulletin that does not 
result in an amendment to the license, does not result in the review of 
an alternate method or reanalysis to meet the requirements of the 
Generic Letter, or does not involve an unreviewed safety issue;

[[Page 14829]]

    (ii) In response to an NRC request (at the Associate Office 
Director level or above) to resolve an identified safety, safeguards, 
or environmental issue, or to assist NRC in developing a rule, 
regulatory guide, policy statement, generic letter, or bulletin; or
    (iii) As a means of exchanging information between industry 
organizations and the NRC for the specific purpose of supporting the 
NRC's generic regulatory improvements or efforts.
    (A) This fee exemption applies only when:
    (1) It has been demonstrated that the report/request has been 
submitted to the NRC specifically for the purpose of supporting NRC's 
development of generic guidance and regulations (e.g., rules, 
regulations, guides and policy statements); and
    (2) The NRC, at the time the document is submitted, plans to use it 
for one of the purposes given in paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(A)(1) of this 
section. In this case, the exemption applies even if ultimately the NRC 
does not use the document as planned.
    (B) An example of the type of document that meets the fee exemption 
criteria is a topical report that is submitted to the NRC for the 
specific purpose of supporting the NRC's development of a Regulatory 
Guide, and which the NRC plans to use in the development of that 
Regulatory Guide.
    (C) Fees will not be waived for reports/requests that are not 
submitted specifically for the purpose of supporting the NRC's generic 
regulatory improvements or efforts, because the primary beneficiary of 
the NRC's review and approval of such documents is the requesting 
organization. In this case, the waiver provision does not apply even 
though the NRC may realize some benefits from its review and approval 
of the document.
    (D) An example of the type of document that does not meet the fee 
waiver criteria is a topical report submitted for the purpose of 
obtaining NRC approval so that the report can be used by the industry 
in the future to address licensing or safety issues.
* * * * *
    4. Section 170.20 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 170.20  Average cost per professional staff-hour.

    Fees for permits, licenses, amendments, renewals, special projects, 
part 55 re-qualification and replacement examinations and tests, other 
required reviews, approvals, and inspections under Secs. 170.21 and 
170.31 will be calculated using the following applicable professional 
staff-hour rates:

(a) Reactor Program (Sec. 170.21 Activities)--$156 per hour
(b) Nuclear Materials and Nuclear Waste Program (Sec. 170.31 
Activities)--$152 per hour

    5. In Sec. 170.21, the introductory text and, in the table, 
Category J, Category K, and footnotes 1, 2, and 3 are revised and 
footnote 4 is removed to read as follows:


Sec. 170.21  Schedule of fees for production and utilization 
facilities, review of standard referenced design approvals, special 
projects, inspections and import and export licenses.

    Applicants for construction permits, manufacturing licenses, 
operating licenses, import and export licenses, approvals of facility 
standard reference designs, re-qualification and replacement 
examinations for reactor operators, and special projects and holders of 
construction permits, licenses, and other approvals shall pay fees for 
the following categories of services:

                        Schedule of Facility Fees
                     [See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Facility categories and type of fees              Fees\1\ \2\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
*                  *                  *                  *
                  *                  *                  *
J. Special projects:
    Approvals and preapplication/licensing      Full Cost.
     activities.
    Inspections \3\...........................  Full Cost.
K. Import and export licenses: Licenses for
 the import and export only of production and
 utilization facilities or the export only of
 components for production and utilization
 facilities issued under 10 CFR part 110.
    1. Application for import or export of
     reactors and other facilities and exports
     of components which must be reviewed by
     the Commissioners and the Executive
     Branch, for example, actions under 10 CFR
     110.40(b).
        Application-new license...............  $9,900.
        Amendment.............................  $9,900.
    2. Application for export of reactor and
     other components requiring Executive
     Branch review only, for example, those
     actions under 10 CFR 110.41(a)(1)-(8).
        Application-new license...............  5,800.
        Amendment.............................  5,800.
    3. Application for export of components
     requiring foreign government assurances
     only.
        Application-new license...............  1,800.
        Amendment.............................  1,800.
    4. Application for export of facility
     components and equipment not requiring
     Commissioner review, Executive Branch
     review, or foreign government assurances.
        Application-new license...............  1,200.
        Amendment.............................  1,200.
    5. Minor amendment of any export or import
     license to extend the expiration date,
     change domestic information, or make
     other revisions which do not require in-
     depth analysis or review.

[[Page 14830]]

 
        Amendment.............................  230.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fees will not be charged for orders issued by the Commission under
  Sec.  2.202 of this chapter or for amendments resulting specifically
  from the requirements of these types of Commission orders. Fees will
  be charged for approvals issued under a specific exemption provision
  of the Commission's regulations under Title 10 of the Code of Federal
  Regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 50.12, 73.5) and any other sections in
  effect now or in the future, regardless of whether the approval is in
  the form of a license amendment, letter of approval, safety evaluation
  report, or other form. Fees for licenses in this schedule that are
  initially issued for less than full power are based on review through
  the issuance of a full power license (generally full power is
  considered 100 percent of the facility's full rated power). Thus, if a
  licensee received a low power license or a temporary license for less
  than full power and subsequently receives full power authority (by way
  of license amendment or otherwise), the total costs for the license
  will be determined through that period when authority is granted for
  full power operation. If a situation arises in which the Commission
  determines that full operating power for a particular facility should
  be less than 100 percent of full rated power, the total costs for the
  license will be at that determined lower operating power level and not
  at the 100 percent capacity.
\2\ Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff
  time and appropriate contractual support services expended. For
  applications currently on file and for which fees are determined based
  on the full cost expended for the review, the professional staff hours
  expended for the review of the application up to the effective date of
  the final rule will be determined at the professional rates in effect
  at the time the service was provided. For those applications currently
  on file for which review costs have reached an applicable fee ceiling
  established by the June 20, 1984, and July 2, 1990, rules but are
  still pending completion of the review, the cost incurred after any
  applicable ceiling was reached through January 29, 1989, will not be
  billed to the applicant. Any professional staff-hours expended above
  those ceilings on or after January 30, 1989, will be assessed at the
  applicable rates established by Sec.  170.20, as appropriate, except
  for topical reports whose costs exceed $50,000. Costs which exceed
  $50,000 for any topical report, amendment, revision or supplement to a
  topical report completed or under review from January 30, 1989,
  through August 8, 1991, will not be billed to the applicant. Any
  professional hours expended on or after August 9, 1991, will be
  assessed at the applicable rate established in Sec.  170.20.
\3\ Inspections covered by this schedule are both routine and non-
  routine safety and safeguards inspections performed by NRC for the
  purpose of review or follow-up of a licensed program. Inspections are
  performed through the full term of the license to ensure that the
  authorized activities are being conducted in accordance with the
  Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, other legislation, Commission
  regulations or orders, and the terms and conditions of the license.
  Non-routine inspections that result from third-party allegations will
  not be subject to fees.

    6. Section 170.31 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 170.31  Schedule of fees for materials licenses and other 
regulatory services, including inspections, and import and export 
licenses.

    Applicants for materials licenses, import and export licenses, and 
other regulatory services, and holders of materials licenses or import 
and export licenses shall pay fees for the following categories of 
services. The following schedule includes fees for health and safety 
and safeguards inspections where applicable:

                       Schedule of Materials Fees
                     [See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Category of materials licenses and type of
                   fees \1\                             Fees 2 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of 200
     grams or more of plutonium in unsealed
     form or 350 grams or more of contained U-
     235 in unsealed form or 200 grams or more
     of U-233 in unsealed form. This includes
     applications to terminate licenses as
     well as licenses authorizing possession
     only:
        Licensing and Inspection..............  Full Cost.
    B. Licenses for receipt and storage of
     spent fuel and reactor-related Greater
     than Class C (GTCC) waste at an
     independent spent fuel storage
     installation (ISFSI):
        Licensing and inspection..............  Full Cost.
    C. Licenses for possession and use of
     special nuclear material in sealed
     sources contained in devices used in
     industrial measuring systems, including x-
     ray fluorescence analyzers: \4\
        Application...........................  $700.
    D. All other special nuclear material
     licenses, except licenses authorizing
     special nuclear material in unsealed form
     in combination that would constitute a
     critical quantity, as defined in Sec.
     150.11 of this chapter, for which the
     licensee shall pay the same fees as those
     for Category 1A: \4\
        Application...........................  $1,400.
    E. Licenses or certificates for
     construction and operation of a uranium
     enrichment facility:
        Licensing and inspection..............  Full Cost.
2. Source material:
    A.(1) Licenses for possession and use of
     source material in recovery operations
     such as milling, in-situ leaching, heap-
     leaching, refining uranium mill
     concentrates to uranium hexafluoride, ore
     buying stations, and ion exchange
     facilities, and in processing of ores
     containing source material for extraction
     of metals other than uranium or thorium,
     including licenses authorizing the
     possession of byproduct waste material
     (tailings) from source material recovery
     operations, as well as licenses
     authorizing the possession and
     maintenance of a facility in a standby
     mode:
        Licensing and inspection..............  Full Cost.
    (2) Licenses that authorize the receipt of
     byproduct material, as defined in Section
     11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, from
     other persons for possession and disposal
     except those licenses subject to fees in
     Category 2A(1):
        Licensing and inspection..............  Full Cost.
    (3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of
     byproduct material, as defined in Section
     11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, from
     other persons for possession and disposal
     incidental to the disposal of the uranium
     waste tailings generated by the
     licensee's milling operations, except
     those licenses subject to the fees in
     Category 2A(1):
        Licensing and inspection..............  Full Cost.

[[Page 14831]]

 
    B. Licenses which authorize the
     possession, use, and/or installation of
     source material for shielding:
        Application...........................  $170.
    C. All other source material licenses:
        Application...........................  $6,000.
3. Byproduct material:
    A. Licenses of broad scope for the
     possession and use of byproduct material
     issued under parts 30 and 33 of this
     chapter for processing or manufacturing
     of items containing byproduct material
     for commercial distribution:
        Application...........................  $7,100.
    B. Other licenses for possession and use
     of byproduct material issued under part
     30 of this chapter for processing or
     manufacturing of items containing
     byproduct material for commercial
     distribution:
        Application...........................  $2,300.
    C. Licenses issued under Secs.  32.72,
     32.73, and/or 32.74 of this chapter that
     authorize the processing or manufacturing
     and distribution or redistribution of
     radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent
     kits, and/or sources and devices
     containing byproduct material. This
     category does not apply to licenses
     issued to nonprofit educational
     institutions whose processing or
     manufacturing is exempt under Sec.
     170.11(a)(4). These licenses are covered
     by fee Category 3D.
        Application...........................  $9,200.
    D. Licenses and approvals issued under
     Secs.  32.72, 32.73, and/or 32.74 of this
     chapter authorizing distribution or
     redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals,
     generators, reagent kits, and/or sources
     or devices not involving processing of
     byproduct material. This category
     includes licenses issued under Secs.
     32.72, 32.73, and/or 32.74 of this
     chapter to nonprofit educational
     institutions whose processing or
     manufacturing is exempt under Sec.
     170.11(a)(4).
        Application...........................  $2,600.
    E. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material in sealed sources for
     irradiation of materials in which the
     source is not removed from its shield
     (self-shielded units):
        Application...........................  $1,800.
    F. Licenses for possession and use of less
     than 10,000 curies of byproduct material
     in sealed sources for irradiation of
     materials in which the source is exposed
     for irradiation purposes. This category
     also includes underwater irradiators for
     irradiation of materials where the source
     is not exposed for irradiation purposes.
        Application...........................  $3,600.
    G. Licenses for possession and use of
     10,000 curies or more of byproduct
     material in sealed sources for
     irradiation of materials in which the
     source is exposed for irradiation
     purposes. This category also includes
     underwater irradiators for irradiation of
     materials where the source is not exposed
     for irradiation purposes.
        Application...........................  $8,500.
    H. Licenses issued under Subpart A of part
     32 of this chapter to distribute items
     containing byproduct material that
     require device review to persons exempt
     from the licensing requirements of part
     30 of this chapter. The category does not
     include specific licenses authorizing
     redistribution of items that have been
     authorized for distribution to persons
     exempt from the licensing requirements of
     part 30 of this chapter:
        Application...........................  $2,400.
    I. Licenses issued under Subpart A of part
     32 of this chapter to distribute items
     containing byproduct material or
     quantities of byproduct material that do
     not require device evaluation to persons
     exempt from the licensing requirements of
     part 30 of this chapter. This category
     does not include specific licenses
     authorizing redistribution of items that
     have been authorized for distribution to
     persons exempt from the licensing
     requirements of part 30 of this chapter:
        Application...........................  $3,600.
    J. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part
     32 of this chapter to distribute items
     containing byproduct material that
     require sealed source and/or device
     review to persons generally licensed
     under part 31 of this chapter. This
     category does not include specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of
     items that have been authorized for
     distribution to persons generally
     licensed under part 31 of this chapter:
        Application...........................  $1,100.
    K. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part
     32 of this chapter to distribute items
     containing byproduct material or
     quantities of byproduct material that do
     not require sealed source and/or device
     review to persons generally licensed
     under part 31 of this chapter. This
     category does not include specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of
     items that have been authorized for
     distribution to persons generally
     licensed under part 31 of this chapter:
        Application...........................  $620.
    L. Licenses of broad scope for possession
     and use of byproduct material issued
     under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for
     research and development that do not
     authorize commercial distribution:
        Application...........................  $6,000.
    M. Other licenses for possession and use
     of byproduct material issued under part
     30 of this chapter for research and
     development that do not authorize
     commercial distribution:
        Application...........................  $2,600.
    N. Licenses that authorize services for
     other licensees, except:
        (1) Licenses that authorize only
         calibration and/or leak testing
         services are subject to the fees
         specified in fee Category 3P; and
        (2) Licenses that authorize waste
         disposal services are subject to the
         fees specified in fee Categories 4A,
         4B, and 4C:
        Application...........................  $2,700.
    O. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material issued under part 34
     of this chapter for industrial
     radiography operations:
        Registration..........................  $4,400.
    P. All other specific byproduct material
     licenses, except those in Categories 4A
     through 9D:
        Application...........................  $1,400.
    Q. Registration of a device(s) generally
     licensed under part 31 of this chapter:
        Application...........................  $450.
4. Waste disposal and processing:

[[Page 14832]]

 
    A. Licenses specifically authorizing the
     receipt of waste byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material from other persons for the
     purpose of contingency storage or
     commercial land disposal by the licensee;
     or licenses authorizing contingency
     storage of low-level radioactive waste at
     the site of nuclear power reactors; or
     licenses for receipt of waste from other
     persons for incineration or other
     treatment, packaging of resulting waste
     and residues, and transfer of packages to
     another person authorized to receive or
     dispose of waste material:
        Licensing and inspection..............  Full Cost.
    B. Licenses specifically authorizing the
     receipt of waste byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material from other persons for the
     purpose of packaging or repackaging the
     material. The licensee will dispose of
     the material by transfer to another
     person authorized to receive or dispose
     of the material:
        Application...........................  $1,800.
    C. Licenses specifically authorizing the
     receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct
     material, source material, or special
     nuclear material from other persons. The
     licensee will dispose of the material by
     transfer to another person authorized to
     receive or dispose of the material:
        Application...........................  $2,700.
5. Well logging:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material, source material, and/
     or special nuclear material for well
     logging, well surveys, and tracer studies
     other than field flooding tracer studies:
        Application...........................  $5,900.
    B. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material for field flooding
     tracer studies:
        Licensing.............................  Full Cost.
6. Nuclear laundries:
    A. Licenses for commercial collection and
     laundry of items contaminated with
     byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material:
        Application...........................  $12,100.
7. Medical licenses:
    A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40,
     and 70 of this chapter for human use of
     byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material in sealed
     sources contained in teletherapy devices:
        Application...........................  $6,600.
    B. Licenses of broad scope issued to
     medical institutions or two or more
     physicians under parts 30, 33, 35, 40,
     and 70 of this chapter authorizing
     research and development, including human
     use of byproduct material, except
     licenses for byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material in
     sealed sources contained in teletherapy
     devices:
        Application...........................  $4,700.
    C. Other licenses issued under parts 30,
     35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human
     use of byproduct material, source
     material, and/or special nuclear
     material, except licenses for byproduct
     material, source material, or special
     nuclear material in sealed sources
     contained in teletherapy devices:
        Application...........................  $2,300.
8. Civil defense:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material for civil
     defense activities:
        Application...........................  $350.
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety
 evaluation:
    A. Safety evaluation of devices or
     products containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material, except reactor fuel devices,
     for commercial distribution:
        Application--each device..............  $5,600.
    B. Safety evaluation of devices or
     products containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material manufactured in accordance with
     the unique specifications of, and for use
     by, a single applicant, except reactor
     fuel devices:
        Application--each device..............  $5,600.
    C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
     containing byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material,
     except reactor fuel, for commercial
     distribution:
        Application--each source..............  $1,700.
    D. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
     containing byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material,
     manufactured in accordance with the
     unique specifications of, and for use by,
     a single applicant, except reactor fuel:
        Application--each source..............  $580.
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
    A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and
     shipping containers:
        Licensing and inspections.............  Full Cost.
    B. Evaluation of 10 CFR Part 71 quality
     assurance programs:
        Application...........................  $680.
        Inspections...........................  Full Cost.
11. Review of standardized spent fuel
 facilities:
    Licensing and inspection..................  Full Cost.
12. Special projects:
    Approvals and preapplication/Licensing      Full Cost.
     activities.
    Inspections...............................  Full Cost.
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of
 Compliance:
        Licensing.............................  Full Cost.
    B. Inspections related to spent fuel        Full Cost.
     storage cask Certificate of Compliance.
    C. Inspections related to storage of spent  Full Cost.
     fuel under Sec.  72.210 of this chapter.
14. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear
 material licenses and other approvals
 authorizing decommissioning, decontamination,
 reclamation, or site restoration activities
 under parts 30, 40, 70, 72, and 76 of this
 chapter:
    Licensing and inspection..................  Full Cost.

[[Page 14833]]

 
15. Import and Export licenses:
    Licenses issued under part 110 of this
     chapter for the import and export only of
     special nuclear material, source
     material, tritium and other byproduct
     material, heavy water, or nuclear grade
     graphite.
    A. Application for export or import of
     high enriched uranium and other
     materials, including radioactive waste,
     which must be reviewed by the
     Commissioners and the Executive Branch,
     for example, those actions under 10 CFR
     110.40(b). This category includes
     application for export or import of
     radioactive wastes in multiple forms from
     multiple generators or brokers in the
     exporting country and/or going to
     multiple treatment, storage or disposal
     facilities in one or more receiving
     countries.
        Application--new license..............  $9,900.
        Amendment.............................  $9,900.
    B. Application for export or import of
     special nuclear material, source
     material, tritium and other byproduct
     material, heavy water, or nuclear grade
     graphite, including radioactive waste,
     requiring Executive Branch review but not
     Commissioner review. This category
     includes application for the export or
     import of radioactive waste involving a
     single form of waste from a single class
     of generator in the exporting country to
     a single treatment, storage and/or
     disposal facility in the receiving
     country.
        Application--new license..............  $5,800.
        Amendment.............................  $5,800.
    C. Application for export of routine
     reloads of low enriched uranium reactor
     fuel and exports of source material
     requiring only foreign government
     assurances under the Atomic Energy Act.
        Application--new license..............  $1,800.
        Amendment.............................  $1,800.
    D. Application for export or import of
     other materials, including radioactive
     waste, not requiring Commissioner review,
     Executive Branch review, or foreign
     government assurances under the Atomic
     Energy Act. This category includes
     application for export or import of
     radioactive waste where the NRC has
     previously authorized the export or
     import of the same form of waste to or
     from the same or similar parties,
     requiring only confirmation from the
     receiving facility and licensing
     authorities that the shipments may
     proceed according to previously agreed
     understandings and procedures.
        Application--new license..............  $1,200.
        Amendment.............................  $1,200.
    E. Minor amendment of any export or import
     license to extend the expiration date,
     change domestic information, or make
     other revisions which do not require in-
     depth analysis, review, or consultations
     with other agencies or foreign
     governments.
        Amendment.............................  $230.
16. Reciprocity:
    Agreement State licensees who conduct
     activities under the reciprocity
     provisions of 10 CFR 150.20.
        Application...........................  $1,400.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Types of fees--Separate charges, as shown in the schedule, will be
  assessed for pre-application consultations and reviews and
  applications for new licenses and approvals, issuance of new licenses
  and approvals, certain amendments and renewals to existing licenses
  and approvals, safety evaluations of sealed sources and devices, and
  certain inspections. The following guidelines apply to these charges:
(a) Application and registration fees. Applications for new materials
  licenses and export and import licenses; applications to reinstate
  expired, terminated, or inactive licenses except those subject to fees
  assessed at full costs; applications filed by Agreement State
  licensees to register under the general license provisions of 10 CFR
  150.20; and applications for amendments to materials licenses that
  would place the license in a higher fee category or add a new fee
  category must be accompanied by the prescribed application fee for
  each category.
(1) Applications for licenses covering more than one fee category of
  special nuclear material or source material must be accompanied by the
  prescribed application fee for the highest fee category.
(2) Applications for new licenses that cover both byproduct material and
  special nuclear material in sealed sources for use in gauging devices
  will pay the appropriate application fee for fee Category 1C only.
(b) Licensing fees. Fees for reviews of applications for new licenses
  and for renewals and amendments to existing licenses, for pre-
  application consultations and for reviews of other documents submitted
  to NRC for review, and for project manager time for fee categories
  subject to full cost fees (fee Categories 1A, 1B, 1E, 2A, 4A, 5B, 10A,
  11, 12, 13A, and 14) are due upon notification by the Commission in
  accordance with Sec.  170.12(b).
(c) Amendment fees. Applications for amendments to export and import
  licenses must be accompanied by the prescribed amendment fee for each
  license affected. An application for an amendment to a license or
  approval classified in more than one fee category must be accompanied
  by the prescribed amendment fee for the category affected by the
  amendment unless the amendment is applicable to two or more fee
  categories, in which case the amendment fee for the highest fee
  category would apply.
(d) Inspection fees. Inspections resulting from investigations conducted
  by the Office of Investigations and non-routine inspections that
  result from third-party allegations are not subject to fees.
  Inspection fees are due upon notification by the Commission in
  accordance with Sec.  170.12(c).
(e) Generally licensed device registrations under 10 CFR 31.5.
  Submittals of registration information must be accompanied by the
  prescribed fee.
\2\ Fees will not be charged for orders issued by the Commission under
  10 CFR 2.202 or for amendments resulting specifically from the
  requirements of these types of Commission orders. However, fees will
  be charged for approvals issued under a specific exemption provision
  of the Commission's regulations under Title 10 of the Code of Federal
  Regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 30.11, 40.14, 70.14, 73.5, and any other
  sections in effect now or in the future), regardless of whether the
  approval is in the form of a license amendment, letter of approval,
  safety evaluation report, or other form. In addition to the fee shown,
  an applicant may be assessed an additional fee for sealed source and
  device evaluations as shown in Categories 9A through 9D.
\3\ Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff
  time multiplied by the appropriate professional hourly rate
  established in Sec.  170.20 in effect at the time the service is
  provided, and the appropriate contractual support services expended.
  For applications currently on file for which review costs have reached
  an applicable fee ceiling established by the June 20, 1984, and July
  2, 1990, rules, but are still pending completion of the review, the
  cost incurred after any applicable ceiling was reached through January
  29, 1989, will not be billed to the applicant. Any professional staff-
  hours expended above those ceilings on or after January 30, 1989, will
  be assessed at the applicable rates established by Sec.  170.20, as
  appropriate, except for topical reports whose costs exceed $50,000.
  Costs which exceed $50,000 for each topical report, amendment,
  revision, or supplement to a topical report completed or under review
  from January 30, 1989, through August 8, 1991, will not be billed to
  the applicant. Any professional hours expended on or after August 9,
  1991, will be assessed at the applicable rate established in Sec.
  170.20.
\4\ Licensees paying fees under Categories 1A, 1B, and 1E are not
  subject to fees under Categories 1C and 1D for sealed sources
  authorized in the same license except for an application that deals
  only with the sealed sources authorized by the license.


[[Page 14834]]

PART 171--ANNUAL FEES FOR REACTOR LICENSES AND FUEL CYCLE LICENSES 
AND MATERIAL LICENSES, INCLUDING HOLDERS OF CERTIFICATES OF 
COMPLIANCE, REGISTRATIONS, AND QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM APPROVALS 
AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY THE NRC

    7. The authority citation for part 171 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Sec. 7601, Pub. L. 99-272, 100 Stat. 146, as amended 
by sec. 5601, Pub. L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330, as amended by sec. 
3201, Pub. L. 101-239, 103 Stat. 2132, as amended by sec. 6101, Pub. 
L. 101-508, 104 Stat. 1388, as amended by sec. 2903a, Pub. L. 102-
486, 106 Stat. 3125 (42 U.S.C. 2213, 2214); sec. 301, Pub. L. 92-
314, 86 Stat. 227 (42 U.S.C. 2201w); sec. 201, Pub. L. 93-438, 88 
Stat. 1242, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5841).

    8. Section 171.3 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 171.3.  Scope.

    The regulations in this part apply to any person holding an 
operating license for a power reactor, test reactor or research reactor 
issued under part 50 of this chapter and to any person holding a 
combined license issued under part 52 of this chapter that authorizes 
operation of a power reactor. The regulations in this part also apply 
to any person holding a materials license as defined in this part, a 
Certificate of Compliance, a sealed source or device registration, a 
quality assurance program approval, and to a Government agency as 
defined in this part.
    9. In Sec. 171.5, the definition of Greater than Class C Waste or 
GTCC waste is added in alphabetical order to read as follows:


Sec. 171.5  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Greater than Class C Waste or GTCC waste means low-level 
radioactive waste that exceeds the concentration limits of 
radionuclides established for Class C waste in 10 CFR 61.55.
* * * * *
    10. In Sec. 171.11, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 171.11  Exemptions.

* * * * *
    (c) An exemption for operating reactors under this provision may be 
granted by the Commission taking into consideration each of the 
following factors:
    (1) Age of the reactor;
    (2) Size of the reactor;
    (3) Number of customers in rate base;
    (4) Net increase in KWh cost for each customer directly related to 
the annual fee assessed under this part; and
    (5) Any other relevant matter which the licensee believes justifies 
the reduction of the annual fee.
* * * * *
    11. Section 171.15 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 171.15  Annual Fees: Reactor licenses and independent spent fuel 
storage licenses.

    (a) Each person licensed to operate a power, test, or research 
reactor; each person holding a part 50 power reactor license that is in 
decommissioning or possession only status, except those that have no 
spent fuel on-site; and each person holding a part 72 license who does 
not hold a part 50 license shall pay the annual fee for each license 
held at any time during the Federal FY in which the fee is due. This 
paragraph does not apply to test and research reactors exempted under 
Sec. 171.11(a).
    (b)(1) The FY 2002 annual fee for each operating power reactor 
which must be collected by September 30, 2002, is $2,869,000.
    (2) The FY 2002 annual fee is comprised of a base operating power 
reactor annual fee, a base spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning 
annual fee, and associated additional charges (surcharges). The 
activities comprising the FY 2002 spent storage/reactor decommissioning 
base annual fee are shown in paragraph (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of this 
section. The activities comprising the FY 2002 surcharge are shown in 
paragraph (d)(1) of this section. The activities comprising the FY 2002 
base annual fee for operating power reactors are as follows:
    (i) Power reactor safety and safeguards regulation except licensing 
and inspection activities recovered under part 170 of this chapter and 
generic reactor decommissioning activities.
    (ii) Research activities directly related to the regulation of 
power reactors, except those activities specifically related to reactor 
decommissioning.
    (iii) Generic activities required largely for NRC to regulate power 
reactors, e.g., updating part 50 of this chapter, or operating the 
Incident Response Center. The base annual fee for operating power 
reactors does not include generic activities specifically related to 
reactor decommissioning.
    (c)(1) The FY 2002 annual fee for each power reactor holding a part 
50 license that is in a decommissioning or possession only status and 
has spent fuel on-site and each independent spent fuel storage part 72 
licensee who does not hold a part 50 license is $239,000.
    (2) The FY 2002 annual fee is comprised of a base spent fuel 
storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee (which is also included in 
the operating power reactor annual fee shown in paragraph (b) of this 
section), and an additional charge (surcharge). The activities 
comprising the FY 2002 surcharge are shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this 
section. The activities comprising the FY 2002 spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning rebaselined annual fee are:
    (i) Generic and other research activities directly related to 
reactor decommissioning and spent fuel storage; and
    (ii) Other safety, environmental, and safeguards activities related 
to reactor decommissioning and spent fuel storage, except costs for 
licensing and inspection activities that are recovered under part 170 
of this chapter.
    (d)(1) The activities comprising the FY 2002 surcharge are as 
follows:
    (i) Low level waste disposal generic activities;
    (ii) Activities not attributable to an existing NRC licensee or 
class of licenses (e.g., international cooperative safety program and 
international safeguards activities, support for the Agreement State 
program, and site decommissioning management plan (SDMP) activities); 
and
    (iii) Activities not currently subject to 10 CFR part 170 licensing 
and inspection fees based on existing law or Commission policy, e.g., 
reviews and inspections conducted of nonprofit educational 
institutions, licensing actions for Federal agencies, and costs that 
would not be collected from small entities based on Commission policy 
in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.
    (2) The total FY 2002 surcharge allocated to the operating power 
reactor class of licenses is $35.3 million, not including the amount 
allocated to the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning class. The 
FY 2002 operating power reactor surcharge to be assessed to each 
operating power reactor is approximately $339,400. This amount is 
calculated by dividing the total operating power reactor surcharge 
($35.3 million) by the number of operating power reactors (104).
    (3) The FY 2002 surcharge allocated to the spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning class of licenses is $3.3 million. The FY 2002 
spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning surcharge to be assessed to 
each operating power reactor, each power reactor in decommissioning or 
possession only status that has spent fuel onsite, and to each 
independent spent fuel storage part 72 licensee who does not hold a 
part 50 license is approximately $27,300. This amount is

[[Page 14835]]

calculated by dividing the total surcharge costs allocated to this 
class by the total number of power reactor licenses, except those that 
permanently ceased operations and have no fuel on site, and part 72 
licensees who do not hold a part 50 license.
    (e) The FY 2002 annual fees for licensees authorized to operate a 
non-power (test and research) reactor licensed under part 50 of this 
chapter, unless the reactor is exempted from fees under Sec. 171.11(a), 
are as follows:

Research reactor--$71,300
Test reactor--$71,300

    12. In Sec. 171.16, paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) are revised to 
read as follows:


Sec. 171.16  Annual Fees: Materials Licensees, Holders of Certificates 
of Compliance, Holders of Sealed Source and Device Registrations, 
Holders of Quality Assurance Program Approvals and Government Agencies 
Licensed by the NRC.

* * * * *
    (c) A licensee who is required to pay an annual fee under this 
section may qualify as a small entity. If a licensee qualifies as a 
small entity and provides the Commission with the proper certification 
along with its annual fee payment, the licensee may pay reduced annual 
fees as shown in the following table. Failure to file a small entity 
certification in a timely manner could result in the denial of any 
refund that might otherwise be due. The small entity fees are as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Maximum
                                                                 annual
                                                                fee per
                                                                licensed
                                                                category
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing and Small Not-
 For-Profit Organizations (Gross Annual Receipts):
    $350,000 to $5 million...................................     $2,300
    Less than $350,000.......................................        500
Manufacturing entities that have an average of 500 employees
 or less:
    35 to 500 employees......................................     $2,300
    Less than 35 employees...................................        500
Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly
 supported educational institutions) (Population):
    20,000 to 50,000.........................................     $2,300
    Less than 20,000.........................................        500
Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly
 Supported, and have 500 Employees or Less:
    35 to 500 employees......................................     $2,300
    Less than 35 employees...................................        500
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (1) A licensee qualifies as a small entity if it meets the size 
standards established by the NRC (See 10 CFR 2.810).
    (2) A licensee who seeks to establish status as a small entity for 
the purpose of paying the annual fees required under this section must 
file a certification statement with the NRC. The licensee must file the 
required certification on NRC Form 526 for each license under which it 
is billed. NRC Form 526 can be accessed through the NRC's external web 
site at http://www.nrc.gov. For licensees who cannot access the NRC's 
external web site, NRC Form 526 may be obtained through the local point 
of contact listed in the NRC's ``Materials Annual Fee Billing 
Handbook,'' NUREG/BR-0238, which is enclosed with each annual fee 
billing. The form can also be obtained by calling the fee staff at 301-
415-7554, or by e-mailing the fee staff at [email protected].>
    (3) For purposes of this section, the licensee must submit a new 
certification with its annual fee payment each year.
    (4) The maximum annual fee a small entity is required to pay is 
$2,300 for each category applicable to the license(s).
    (d) The FY 2002 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee and 
an additional charge (surcharge). The activities comprising the FY 2002 
surcharge are shown for convenience in paragraph (e) of this section. 
The FY 2002 annual fees for materials licensees and holders of 
certificates, registrations or approvals subject to fees under this 
section are shown in the following table:

   Schedule of Materials Annual Fees and Fees for Government Agencies
                             Licensed by NRC
                     [See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Annual fees 1,
             Category of materials licenses                    2, 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material:
    A.(1) Licenses for possession and use of U-235 or
     plutonium for fuel fabrication activities.
        (a) Strategic Special Nuclear Material:
            Babcock & Wilcox, SNM-42....................      $4,073,000
            Nuclear Fuel Services, SNM-124..............       4,073,000
        (b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form
         Used for Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel:
            General Electric Company, SNM-1097..........       1,366,000
            Siemens Nuclear Power, SNM-1227.............       1,366,000
            Westinghouse Electric Company, SNM-1107.....       1,366,000
    (2) All other special nuclear materials licenses not
     included in Category 1.A.(1) which are licensed for
     fuel cycle activities.
        (a) Facilities with limited operations:
            Framatome Cogema SNM-1168...................         537,000
        (b) All Others:
            General Electric SNM-960....................         390,000
    B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel           \11\ N/A
     and reactor-related Greater than Class C (GTCC)
     waste at an independent spent fuel storage
     installation (ISFSI)...............................
    C. Licenses for possession and use of special                  1,500
     nuclear material in sealed sources contained in
     devices used in industrial measuring systems,
     including x-ray fluorescence analyzers.............
    D. All other special nuclear material licenses,                3,600
     except licenses authorizing special nuclear
     material in unsealed form in combination that would
     constitute a critical quantity, as defined in Sec.
     150.11 of this chapter, for which the licensee
     shall pay the same fees as those for Category
     1.A.(2)............................................
    E. Licenses or certificates for the operation of a         2,537,000
     uranium enrichment facility........................
2. Source material:
    A.(1) Licenses for possession and use of source              585,000
     material for refining uranium mill concentrates to
     uranium hexafluoride...............................

[[Page 14836]]

 
    (2) Licenses for possession and use of source
     material in recovery operations such as milling, in-
     situ leaching, heap-leaching, ore buying stations,
     ion exchange facilities and in processing of ores
     containing source material for extraction of metals
     other than uranium or thorium, including licenses
     authorizing the possession of byproduct waste
     material (tailings) from source material recovery
     operations, as well as licenses authorizing the
     possession and maintenance of a facility in a
     standby mode.
        Class I facilities \4\..........................          77,700
        Class II facilities \4\.........................          65,100
        Other facilities \4\............................          68,400
    (3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct          47,900
     material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the
     Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for
     possession and disposal, except those licenses
     subject to the fees in Category 2A(2) or Category
     2A(4)..............................................
    (4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct           7,600
     material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the
     Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for
     possession and disposal incidental to the disposal
     of the uranium waste tailings generated by the
     licensee's milling operations, except those
     licenses subject to the fees in Category 2A(2).....
    B. Licenses that authorize only the possession, use              760
     and/or installation of source material for
     shielding..........................................
    C. All other source material licenses...............          12,300
3. Byproduct material:
    A. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of          22,400
     byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of
     this chapter for processing or manufacturing of
     items containing byproduct material for commercial
     distribution.......................................
    B. Other licenses for possession and use of                    5,700
     byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
     chapter for processing or manufacturing of items
     containing byproduct material for commercial
     distribution.......................................
    C. Licenses issued under Secs.  32.72, 32.73, and/or          14,000
     32.74 of this chapter authorizing the processing or
     manufacturing and distribution or redistribution of
     radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits and/
     or sources and devices containing byproduct
     material. This category also includes the
     possession and use of source material for shielding
     authorized under part 40 of this chapter when
     included on the same license. This category does
     not apply to licenses issued to nonprofit
     educational institutions whose processing or
     manufacturing is exempt under Sec.  171.11(a)(1).
     These licenses are covered by fee Category 3D......
    D. Licenses and approvals issued under Secs.  32.72,           4,500
     32.73, and/or 32.74 of this chapter authorizing
     distribution or redistribution of
     radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits and/
     or sources or devices not involving processing of
     byproduct material. This category includes licenses
     issued under Secs.  32.72, 32.73 and 32.74 of this
     chapter to nonprofit educational institutions whose
     processing or manufacturing is exempt under Sec.
     171.11(a)(1). This category also includes the
     possession and use of source material for shielding
     authorized under part 40 of this chapter when
     included on the same license.......................
    E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct                3,600
     material in sealed sources for irradiation of
     materials in which the source is not removed from
     its shield (self-shielded units)...................
    F. Licenses for possession and use of less than                6,500
     10,000 curies of byproduct material in sealed
     sources for irradiation of materials in which the
     source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This
     category also includes underwater irradiators for
     irradiation of materials in which the source is not
     exposed for irradiation purposes...................
    G. Licenses for possession and use of 10,000 curies           23,200
     or more of byproduct material in sealed sources for
     irradiation of materials in which the source is
     exposed for irradiation purposes. This category
     also includes underwater irradiators for
     irradiation of materials in which the source is not
     exposed for irradiation purposes...................
    H. Licenses issued under Subpart A of part 32 of               3,700
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material that require device review to
     persons exempt from the licensing requirements of
     part 30 of this chapter, except specific licenses
     authorizing redistribution of items that have been
     authorized for distribution to persons exempt from
     the licensing requirements of part 30 of this
     chapter............................................
    I. Licenses issued under Subpart A of part 32 of               5,300
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material or quantities of byproduct
     material that do not require device evaluation to
     persons exempt from the licensing requirements of
     part 30 of this chapter, except for specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of items that
     have been authorized for distribution to persons
     exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30
     of this chapter....................................
    J. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part 32 of               2,400
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material that require sealed source and/
     or device review to persons generally licensed
     under part 31 of this chapter, except specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of items that
     have been authorized for distribution to persons
     generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter...
    K. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part 31 of               1,600
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material or quantities of byproduct
     material that do not require sealed source and/or
     device review to persons generally licensed under
     part 31 of this chapter, except specific licenses
     authorizing redistribution of items that have been
     authorized for distribution to persons generally
     licensed under part 31 of this chapter.............
    L. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of          11,200
     byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of
     this chapter for research and development that do
     not authorize commercial distribution..............
    M. Other licenses for possession and use of                    4,900
     byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
     chapter for research and development that do not
     authorize commercial distribution..................
    N. Licenses that authorize services for other
     licensees, except:
        (1) Licenses that authorize only calibration and/
         or leak testing services are subject to the
         fees specified in fee Category 3P; and
        (2) Licenses that authorize waste disposal                 5,300
         services are subject to the fees specified in
         fee Categories 4A, 4B, and 4C..................
    O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct               13,700
     material issued under part 34 of this chapter for
     industrial radiography operations. This category
     also includes the possession and use of source
     material for shielding authorized under part 40 of
     this chapter when authorized on the same license...
    P. All other specific byproduct material licenses,             2,700
     except those in Categories 4A through 9D...........
    Q. Registration of devices generally licensed               \13\ N/A
     pursuant to part 31 of this chapter................

[[Page 14837]]

 
4. Waste disposal and processing:
    A. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of          \5\ N/A
     waste byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material from other persons for the
     purpose of contingency storage or commercial land
     disposal by the licensee; or licenses authorizing
     contingency storage of low-level radioactive waste
     at the site of nuclear power reactors; or licenses
     for receipt of waste from other persons for
     incineration or other treatment, packaging of
     resulting waste and residues, and transfer of
     packages to another person authorized to receive or
     dispose of waste material..........................
    B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of           10,300
     waste byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material from other persons for the
     purpose of packaging or repackaging the material.
     The licensee will dispose of the material by
     transfer to another person authorized to receive or
     dispose of the material............................
    C. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of            8,100
     prepackaged waste byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material from other
     persons. The licensee will dispose of the material
     by transfer to another person authorized to receive
     or dispose of the material.........................
5. Well logging:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct               10,000
     material, source material, and/or special nuclear
     material for well logging, well surveys, and tracer
     studies other than field flooding tracer studies...
    B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct              \5\ N/A
     material for field flooding tracer studies.........
6. Nuclear laundries:
    A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of          19,200
     items contaminated with byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material..............
7. Medical licenses:
    A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of          15,500
     this chapter for human use of byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material in
     sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices.
     This category also includes the possession and use
     of source material for shielding when authorized on
     the same license...................................
    B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medical                  26,200
     institutions or two or more physicians under parts
     30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter authorizing
     research and development, including human use of
     byproduct material except licenses for byproduct
     material, source material, or special nuclear
     material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy
     devices. This category also includes the possession
     and use of source material for shielding when
     authorized on the same license.\9\.................
    C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and           5,100
     70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct
     material, source material, and/or special nuclear
     material except licenses for byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material in
     sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices.
     This category also includes the possession and use
     of source material for shielding when authorized on
     the same license.\9\...............................
8. Civil defense:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct                1,200
     material, source material, or special nuclear
     material for civil defense activities..............
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety evaluation:
    A. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of           6,700
     devices or products containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material,
     except reactor fuel devices, for commercial
     distribution.......................................
    B. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of           6,700
     devices or products containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material
     manufactured in accordance with the unique
     specifications of, and for use by, a single
     applicant, except reactor fuel devices.............
    C. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of           2,000
     sealed sources containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material,
     except reactor fuel, for commercial distribution...
    D. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of             690
     sealed sources containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material,
     manufactured in accordance with the unique
     specifications of, and for use by, a single
     applicant, except reactor fuel.....................
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
    A. Certificates of Compliance or other package
     approvals issued for design of casks, packages, and
     shipping containers.
        Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium air          \6\ N/A
         packages.......................................
        Other Casks.....................................         \6\ N/A
    B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under
     part 71 of this chapter.
        Users and Fabricators...........................          72,800
        Users...........................................           7,300
11. Standardized spent fuel facilities..................         \6\ N/A
12. Special Projects....................................         \6\ N/A
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance         \6\ N/A
    B. General licenses for storage of spent fuel under         \12\ N/A
     10 CFR 72.210......................................
14. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material               \7\ N/A
 licenses and other approvals authorizing
 decommissioning, decontamination, reclamation, or site
 restoration activities under parts 30, 40, 70, 72, and
 76 of this chapter.....................................
15. Import and Export licenses..........................         \8\ N/A
16. Reciprocity.........................................         \8\ N/A
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to           283,000
 Government agencies....................................
18. Department of Energy:
    A. Certificates of Compliance.......................  \10\ 1,368,000

[[Page 14838]]

 
    B. Uranium Mill Tailing Radiation Control Act             1,056,000
     (UMTRCA) activities................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Annual fees will be assessed based on whether a licensee held a
  valid license with the NRC authorizing possession and use of
  radioactive material during the current fiscal year. However, the
  annual fee is waived for those materials licenses and holders of
  certificates, registrations, and approvals who either filed for
  termination of their licenses or approvals or filed for possession
  only/storage licenses prior to October 1, 2001, and permanently ceased
  licensed activities entirely by September 30, 2001. Annual fees for
  licensees who filed for termination of a license, downgrade of a
  license, or for a possession only license during the fiscal year and
  for new licenses issued during the fiscal year will be prorated in
  accordance with the provisions of Sec.  171.17. If a person holds more
  than one license, certificate, registration, or approval, the annual
  fee(s) will be assessed for each license, certificate, registration,
  or approval held by that person. For licenses that authorize more than
  one activity on a single license (e.g., human use and irradiator
  activities), annual fees will be assessed for each category applicable
  to the license. Licensees paying annual fees under Category 1A(1) are
  not subject to the annual fees for Category 1C and 1D for sealed
  sources authorized in the license.
\2\ Payment of the prescribed annual fee does not automatically renew
  the license, certificate, registration, or approval for which the fee
  is paid. Renewal applications must be filed in accordance with the
  requirements of parts 30, 40, 70, 71, 72, or 76 of this chapter.
\3\ Each fiscal year, fees for these materials licenses will be
  calculated and assessed in accordance with Sec.  171.13 and will be
  published in the Federal Register for notice and comment.
\4\ A Class I license includes mill licenses issued for the extraction
  of uranium from uranium ore. A Class II license includes solution
  mining licenses (in-situ and heap leach) issued for the extraction of
  uranium from uranium ores including research and development licenses.
  An ``other'' license includes licenses for extraction of metals, heavy
  metals, and rare earths.
\5\ There are no existing NRC licenses in these fee categories. If NRC
  issues a license for these categories, the Commission will consider
  establishing an annual fee for this type of license.
\6\ Standardized spent fuel facilities, 10 CFR Parts 71 and 72
  Certificates of Compliance, and special reviews, such as topical
  reports, are not assessed an annual fee because the generic costs of
  regulating these activities are primarily attributable to users of the
  designs, certificates, and topical reports.
\7\ Licensees in this category are not assessed an annual fee because
  they are charged an annual fee in other categories while they are
  licensed to operate.
\8\ No annual fee is charged because it is not practical to administer
  due to the relatively short life or temporary nature of the license.
\9\ Separate annual fees will not be assessed for pacemaker licenses
  issued to medical institutions who also hold nuclear medicine licenses
  under Categories 7B or 7C.
\10\ This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to DOE that are not
  under the Nuclear Waste Fund.
\11\ See Sec.  171.15(c).
\12\ See Sec.  171.15(c).
\13\ No annual fee is charged for this category because the cost of the
  general license registration program will be recovered through 10 CFR
  Part 170 fees.

    (e) The activities comprising the surcharge are as follows:
    (1) LLW disposal generic activities;
    (2) Activities not directly attributable to an existing NRC 
licensee or class(es) of licenses; e.g., international cooperative 
safety program and international safeguards activities; support for the 
Agreement State program; Site Decommissioning Management Plan (SDMP) 
activities; and
    (3) Activities not currently assessed licensing and inspection fees 
under 10 CFR Part 170 based on existing law or Commission policy (e.g., 
reviews and inspections of nonprofit educational institutions and 
reviews for Federal agencies; activities related to decommissioning and 
reclamation; and costs that would not be collected from small entities 
based on Commission policy in accordance with the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of March, 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jesse L. Funches,
Chief Financial Officer.

    Note: This Appendix will not appear in the Code of Federal 
Regulations.

Appendix A to This Proposed Rule--Draft Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
for the Amendments to 10 CFR Part 170 (License Fees) and 10 CFR Part 
171 (Annual Fees)

I. Background

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as amended, (5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq.) requires that agencies consider the impact of their 
rulemakings on small entities and, consistent with applicable 
statutes, consider alternatives to minimize these impacts on the 
businesses, organizations, and government jurisdictions to which 
they apply.
    The NRC has established standards for determining which NRC 
licensees qualify as small entities (10 CFR 2.801). These size 
standards reflect the Small Business Administration's most common 
receipts-based size standards and include a size standard for 
business concerns that are manufacturing entities. The NRC uses the 
size standards to reduce the impact of annual fees on small entities 
by establishing a licensee's eligibility to qualify for a maximum 
small entity fee. The small entity fee categories in Sec. 171.16(c) 
of this proposed rule are based on the NRC's size standards.
    From FY 1991 through FY 2000, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 
Act (OBRA-90), as amended, required that the NRC recover 
approximately 100 percent of its budget authority, less 
appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund, by assessing license and 
annual fees. The FY 2001 Energy and Water Development Appropriations 
Act amended OBRA-90 to decrease the NRC's fee recovery amount by 2 
percent per year beginning in FY 2001, until the fee recovery amount 
is 90 percent in FY 2005. In addition, $36 million has been 
appropriated from the General Fund, and therefore not subject to fee 
recovery, for activities related to homeland security. The amount to 
be recovered for FY 2002 is approximately $479.5 million.
    OBRA-90 requires that the schedule of charges established by 
rule should fairly and equitably allocate the total amount to be 
recovered from the NRC's licensees and be assessed under the 
principle that licensees who require the greatest expenditure of 
agency resources pay the greatest annual charges. Since 1991, the 
NRC has complied with OBRA-90 by issuing a final rule that amends 
its fee regulations. These final rules have established the 
methodology used by NRC in identifying and determining the fees to 
be assessed and collected in any given fiscal year.
    In FY 1995, the NRC announced that, in order to stabilize fees, 
annual fees would be adjusted only by the percentage change (plus or 
minus) in NRC's total budget authority, adjusted for changes in 
estimated collections for 10 CFR Part 170 fees, the number of 
licensees paying annual fees, and as otherwise needed to assure the 
billed amounts resulted in the required collections. The NRC 
indicated that if there were a substantial change in the total NRC 
budget authority or the magnitude of the budget allocated to a 
specific class of licenses, the annual fee base would be 
recalculated.
    In FY 1999, the NRC concluded that there had been significant 
changes in the allocation

[[Page 14839]]

of agency resources among the various classes of licenses and 
established rebaselined annual fees for FY 1999. The NRC stated in 
the final FY 1999 rule that to stabilize fees it would continue to 
adjust the annual fees by the percent change method established in 
FY 1995, unless there is a substantial change in the total NRC 
budget or the magnitude of the budget allocated to a specific class 
of licenses, in which case the annual fee base would be 
reestablished.
    Based on the change in the magnitude of the budget to be 
recovered through fees, the Commission has determined that it is 
appropriate to rebaseline its part 171 annual fees again in FY 2002. 
Rebaselining fees would result in increased annual fees for a 
majority of the categories of licenses, and decreased annual fees 
for other categories.
    The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 
(SBREFA) is intended to reduce regulatory burdens imposed by Federal 
agencies on small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and 
governmental jurisdictions. SBREFA also provides Congress with the 
opportunity to review agency rules before they go into effect. Under 
this legislation, the NRC annual fee rule is considered a ``major'' 
rule and must be reviewed by Congress and the Comptroller General 
before the rule becomes effective. SBREFA also requires that an 
agency prepare a guide to assist small entities in complying with 
each rule for which a final regulatory flexibility analysis is 
prepared. This Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (RFA) and the small 
entity compliance guide (Attachment 1) have been prepared for the FY 
2002 fee rule as required by law.

II. Impact on Small Entities

    The fee rule results in substantial fees being charged to those 
individuals, organizations, and companies that are licensed by the 
NRC, including those licensed under the NRC materials program. The 
comments received on previous proposed fee rules and the small 
entity certifications received in response to previous final fee 
rules indicate that NRC licensees qualifying as small entities under 
the NRC's size standards are primarily materials licensees. 
Therefore, this analysis will focus on the economic impact of the 
annual fees on materials licensees. About 20 percent of these 
licensees (approximately 1,300 licensees for FY 2001) have requested 
small entity certification in the past. A 1993 NRC survey of its 
materials licensees indicated that about 25 percent of these 
licensees could qualify as small entities under the NRC's size 
standards.
    The commenters on previous fee rulemakings consistently 
indicated that the following results would occur if the proposed 
annual fees were not modified:
    1. Large firms would gain an unfair competitive advantage over 
small entities. Commenters noted that small and very small companies 
(``Mom and Pop'' operations) would find it more difficult to absorb 
the annual fee than a large corporation or a high-volume type of 
operation. In competitive markets, such as soils testing, annual 
fees would put small licensees at an extreme competitive 
disadvantage with their much larger competitors because the proposed 
fees would be the same for a two-person licensee as for a large firm 
with thousands of employees.
    2. Some firms would be forced to cancel their licenses. A 
licensee with receipts of less than $500,000 per year stated that 
the proposed rule would, in effect, force it to relinquish its soil 
density gauge and license, thereby reducing its ability to do its 
work effectively. Other licensees, especially well-loggers, noted 
that the increased fees would force small businesses to get rid of 
the materials license altogether. Commenters stated that the 
proposed rule would result in about 10 percent of the well-logging 
licensees terminating their licenses immediately and approximately 
25 percent terminating their licenses before the next annual 
assessment.
    3. Some companies would go out of business.
    4. Some companies would have budget problems. Many medical 
licensees noted that, along with reduced reimbursements, the 
proposed increase of the existing fees and the introduction of 
additional fees would significantly affect their budgets. Others 
noted that, in view of the cuts by Medicare and other third party 
carriers, the fees would produce a hardship and some facilities 
would experience a great deal of difficulty in meeting this 
additional burden.
    Approximately 3,000 license, approval, and registration 
terminations have been requested since the NRC first established 
annual fees for materials licenses. Although some of these 
terminations were requested because the license was no longer needed 
or licenses or registrations could be combined, indications are that 
other termination requests were due to the economic impact of the 
fees.
    To alleviate the significant impact of the annual fees on a 
substantial number of small entities, the NRC considered the 
following alternatives in accordance with the RFA, in developing 
each of its fee rules since 1991.
    1. Base fees on some measure of the amount of radioactivity 
possessed by the licensee (e.g., number of sources).
    2. Base fees on the frequency of use of the licensed radioactive 
material (e.g., volume of patients).
    3. Base fees on the NRC size standards for small entities.
    The NRC has reexamined its previous evaluations of these 
alternatives and continues to believe that establishment of a 
maximum fee for small entities is the most appropriate and effective 
option for reducing the impact of its fees on small entities.

III. Maximum Fee

    The RFA and its implementing guidance do not provide specific 
guidelines on what constitutes a significant economic impact on a 
small entity; therefore, the NRC has no benchmark to assist it in 
determining the amount or the percent of gross receipts that should 
be charged to a small entity. In developing the maximum small entity 
annual fee in FY 1991, the NRC examined its 10 CFR part 170 
licensing and inspection fees and Agreement State fees for those fee 
categories which were expected to have a substantial number of small 
entities. Six Agreement States, Washington, Texas, Illinois, 
Nebraska, New York, and Utah, were used as benchmarks in the 
establishment of the maximum small entity annual fee in 1991. 
Because small entities in those Agreement States were paying the 
fees, the NRC concluded that these fees did not have a significant 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. Therefore, those 
fees were considered a useful benchmark in establishing the NRC 
maximum small entity annual fee.
    The NRC maximum small entity fee was established as an annual 
fee only. In addition to the annual fee, NRC small entity licensees 
were required to pay amendment, renewal and inspection fees. In 
setting the small entity annual fee, NRC ensured that the total 
amount small entities paid annually would not exceed the maximum 
paid in the six benchmark Agreement States.
    Of the six benchmark states, the maximum Agreement State fee of 
$3,800 in Washington was used as the ceiling for the total fees. 
Thus the NRC's small entity fee was developed to ensure that the 
total fees paid by NRC small entities would not exceed $3,800. Given 
the NRC's 1991 fee structure for inspections, amendments, and 
renewals, a small entity annual fee established at $1,800 allowed 
the total fee (small entity annual fee plus yearly average for 
inspections, amendments and renewal fees) for all categories to fall 
under the $3,800 ceiling.
    In 1992, the NRC introduced a second, lower tier to the small 
entity fee in response to concerns that the $1,800 fee, when added 
to the license and inspection fees, still imposed a significant 
impact on small entities with relatively low gross annual receipts. 
For purposes of the annual fee, each small entity size standard was 
divided into an upper and lower tier. Small entity licensees in the 
upper tier continued to pay an annual fee of $1,800 while those in 
the lower tier paid an annual fee of $400.
    Based on the changes that had occurred since FY 1991, the NRC 
re-analyzed its maximum small entity annual fees in FY 2000, and 
determined that the small entity fees should be increased by 25 
percent to reflect the increase in the average fees paid by other 
materials licensees since FY 1991 as well as changes in the fee 
structure for materials licensees. The structure of the fees that 
NRC charged to its materials licensees changed during the period 
between 1991 and 1999. Costs for materials license inspections, 
renewals, and amendments, which were previously recovered through 
part 170 fees for services, are now included in the part 171 annual 
fees assessed to materials licensees. As a result, the maximum small 
entity annual fee increased from $1,800 to $2,300 in FY 2000. By 
increasing the maximum annual fee for small entities from $1,800 to 
$2,300, the annual fee for many small entities was reduced while at 
the same time materials licensees, including small entities, would 
pay for most of the costs attributable to them. The costs not 
recovered from small entities are allocated to other materials 
licensees and to power reactors.
    While reducing the impact on many small entities, the NRC 
determined that the

[[Page 14840]]

maximum annual fee of $2,300 for small entities may continue to have 
a significant impact on materials licensees with annual gross 
receipts in the thousands of dollars range. Therefore, the NRC 
continued to provide a lower-tier small entity annual fee for small 
entities with relatively low gross annual receipts, and for 
manufacturing concerns and educational institutions not State or 
publicly supported, with less than 35 employees. The NRC also 
increased the lower tier small entity fee by the same percentage 
increase to the maximum small entity annual fee. This 25 percent 
increase resulted in the lower tier small entity fee increasing from 
$400 to $500 in FY 2000.
    Unlike the annual fees assessed to other licensees, the small 
entity fees are not designed to recover the agency costs associated 
with particular licensees; rather, they are designed to provide some 
fee relief for qualifying small entity licensees while at the same 
time recovering from those licensees some of the agency's costs for 
activities that benefit them. The costs not recovered from small 
entities must be recovered from other licensees. The current small 
entity fees of $500 and $2,300 provide considerable relief to many 
small entities.
    As stated in the 2001 Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, (66 FR 
32452; June 14, 2001), the NRC will re-examine the small entity fees 
every two years, in the same years in which it conducts the biennial 
review of fees as required by the CFO Act, instead of each year that 
annual fees are rebaselined as indicated in the FY 2000 fee rule (65 
FR 36946; June 12, 2000). Therefore, the FY 2002 small entity annual 
fee will remain at $2,300, and the lower tier small entity annual 
fee will remain at $500. The NRC plans to re-examine the small 
entity fees in FY 2003.

IV. Summary

    The NRC has determined that the 10 CFR part 171 annual fees 
significantly impact a substantial number of small entities. A 
maximum fee for small entities strikes a balance between the 
requirement to recover 96 percent of the NRC budget and the 
requirement to consider means of reducing the impact of the fee on 
small entities. On the basis of its regulatory flexibility analysis, 
the NRC concludes that a maximum annual fee of $2,300 for small 
entities and a lower-tier small entity annual fee of $500 for small 
businesses and not-for-profit organizations with gross annual 
receipts of less than $350,000, small governmental jurisdictions 
with a population of less than 20,000, small manufacturing entities 
that have less than 35 employees, and educational institutions that 
are not State or publicly supported and have less than 35 employees 
reduces the impact on small entities. At the same time, these 
reduced annual fees are consistent with the objectives of OBRA-90. 
Thus, the fees for small entities maintain a balance between the 
objectives of OBRA-90 and the RFA. Therefore, the analysis and 
conclusions established in the FY 2001 fee rule remain valid for FY 
2002.

Attachment 1 to Appendix A; U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Small 
Entity Compliance Guide--Fiscal Year 2002

Contents

Introduction
NRC Definition of Small Entity
NRC Small Entity Fees
Instructions for Completing NRC Form 526

Introduction

    The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 
(SBREFA) requires all Federal agencies to prepare a written guide 
for each ``major'' final rule as defined by the Act. The NRC's fee 
rule, published annually to comply with the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-90), as amended, is considered a 
``major'' rule under SBREFA. Therefore, in compliance with the law, 
this guide has been prepared to assist NRC material licensees comply 
with the FY 2002 fee rule.
    Licensees may use this guide to determine whether they qualify 
as a small entity under NRC regulations and are eligible to pay 
reduced FY 2002 annual fees assessed under 10 CFR Part 171. The NRC 
has established two tiers of separate annual fees for those 
materials licensees who qualify as small entities under NRC's size 
standards.
    Licensees who meet NRC's size standards for a small entity must 
submit a completed NRC Form 526 ``Certification of Small Entity 
Status for the Purposes of Annual Fees Imposed Under 10 CFR Part 
171'' to qualify for the reduced annual fee. This form can be 
accessed on the NRC's external web site at http://www.nrc.gov. The 
form can then be accessed by selecting ``License Fees'' and under 
``Forms'' selecting NRC Form 526. For licensees who cannot access 
the NRC's external web site, NRC Form 526 may be obtained through 
the local point of contact listed in the NRC's ``Materials Annual 
Fee Billing Handbook,'' NUREG/BR-0238, which is enclosed with each 
annual fee billing. Alternatively, the form may be obtained by 
calling the fee staff at 301-415-7554, or by e-mailing the fee staff 
at [email protected]. The completed form, the appropriate small entity 
fee, and the payment copy of the invoice should be mailed to the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, License Fee and Accounts 
Receivable Branch, to the address indicated on the invoice. Failure 
to file the NRC small entity certification Form 526 in a timely 
manner may result in the denial of any refund that might otherwise 
be due.

NRC Definition of Small Entity

    The NRC has defined a small entity for purposes of compliance 
with its regulations (10 CFR 2.810) as follows:
    1. Small business--a for-profit concern that provides a service 
or a concern not engaged in manufacturing with average gross 
receipts of $5 million or less over its last 3 completed fiscal 
years;
    2. Manufacturing industry--a manufacturing concern with an 
average number of 500 or fewer employees based upon employment 
during each pay period for the preceding 12 calendar months;
    3. Small organizations--a not-for-profit organization which is 
independently owned and operated and has annual gross receipts of $5 
million or less;
    4. Small governmental jurisdiction--a government of a city, 
county, town, township, village, school district or special district 
with a population of less than 50,000;
    5. Small educational institutional institution--an educational 
institution supported by a qualifying small governmental 
jurisdiction, or one that is not state or publicly supported and has 
500 or fewer employees.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ An educational institution referred to in the size standards 
is an entity whose primary function is education, whose programs are 
accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or 
association , who is legally authorized to provide a program of 
organized instruction or study, who provides an educational program 
for which it awards academic degrees, and whose educational programs 
are available to the public.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To further assist licensees in determining if they qualify as a 
small entity, we are providing the following guidelines, which are 
based on the Small Business Administration's regulations (13 CFR 
part 121).
    1. A small business concern is an independently owned and 
operated entity which is not considered dominant in its field of 
operations.
    2. The number of employees means the total number of employees 
in the parent company, any subsidiaries and/or affiliates, including 
both foreign and domestic locations (i.e., not solely the number of 
employees working for the licensee or conducting NRC licensed 
activities for the company).
    3. Gross annual receipts includes all revenue received or 
accrued from any source, including receipts of the parent company, 
any subsidiaries and/or affiliates, and account for both foreign and 
domestic locations. Receipts include all revenues from sales of 
products and services, interest, rent, fees, and commissions, from 
whatever sources derived (i.e., not solely receipts from NRC 
licensed activities).
    4. A licensee who is a subsidiary of a large entity does not 
qualify as a small entity.

NRC Small Entity Fees

    In 10 CFR 171.16 (c), the NRC has established two tiers of small 
entity fees for licensees that qualify under the NRC's size 
standards. The fees are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Maximum
                                                                 annual
                                                                fee per
                                                                licensed
                                                                category
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Business Not Engaged in Manufacturing and Small Not-For
 Profit Organizations (Gross Annual Receipts):
    $350,000 to $5 million...................................     $2,300
    Less than $350,000.......................................        500
Manufacturing entities that have an average of 500 employees
 or less:
    35 to 500 employees......................................      2,300
    Less than 35 employees...................................        500

[[Page 14841]]

 
Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly
 supported educational institutions) (Population):
    20,000 to 50,000.........................................      2,300
    Less than 20,000.........................................        500
Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly
 Supported, and have 500 Employees or Less:
    35 to 500 employees......................................      2,300
    Less than 35 employees...................................        500
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To pay a reduced annual fee, a licensee must use NRC Form 526. 
Licensees can access this form on the NRC's external web site at 
http://www.nrc.gov. The form can then be accessed by selecting 
``License Fees'' and under ``Forms'' selecting NRC Form 526. Those 
licensees that qualify as a ``small entity'' under the NRC size 
standards at 10 CFR Part 2.810 can complete the form in accordance 
with the instructions provided, and submit the completed form and 
the appropriate payment to the address provided on the invoice. For 
licensees who cannot access the NRC's external web site, NRC Form 
526 may be obtained through the local point of contact listed in the 
NRC's ``Materials Annual Fee Billing Handbook,'' NUREG/BR-0238, 
which is enclosed with each annual fee invoice. Alternatively, 
licensees may obtain the form by calling the fee staff at 301-415-
7544, or by e-mailing us at [email protected].

Instructions for Completing NRC Small Entity Form 526

    1. File a separate NRC Form 526 for each annual fee invoice 
received.
    2. Complete all items on NRC Form 526 as follows:
    a. The license number and invoice number must be entered exactly 
as they appear on the annual fee invoice.
    b. The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code must be 
entered if known.
    c. The licensee's name and address must be entered as they 
appear on the invoice. Name and/or address changes for billing 
purposes must be annotated on the invoice. Correcting the name and/
or address on NRC Form 526, or on the invoice does not constitute a 
request to amend the license. Any request to amend a license is to 
be submitted to the respective licensing staffs in the NRC Regional 
or Headquarters Offices.
    d. Check the appropriate size standard for which the licensee 
qualifies as a small entity. Check only one box. Note the following:
    (1) A licensee who is a subsidiary of a large entity does not 
qualify as a small entity.
    (2) The size standards apply to the licensee, including all 
parent companies and affiliates-- not the individual authorized 
users listed in the license or the particular segment of the 
organization that uses licensed material.
    (3) Gross annual receipts means all revenue in whatever form 
received or accrued from whatever sources --not solely receipts from 
licensed activities. There are limited exceptions as set forth at 13 
CFR 121.104. These are: the term receipts excludes net capital gains 
or losses; taxes collected for and remitted to a taxing authority if 
included in gross or total income; proceeds from the transactions 
between a concern and its domestic or foreign affiliates (if also 
excluded from gross or total income on a consolidated return filed 
with the IRS); and amounts collected for another entity by a travel 
agent, real estate agent, advertising agent, or conference 
management service provider.
    (4) The owner of the entity, or an official empowered to act on 
behalf of the entity, must sign and date the small entity 
certification.
    The NRC sends invoices to its licensees for the full annual fee, 
even though some entities qualify for reduced fees as a small 
entity. Licensees who qualify as a small entity and file NRC Form 
526, which certifies eligibility for small entity fees, may pay the 
reduced fee, which for a full year is either $2,300 or $500 
depending on the size of the entity, for each fee category shown on 
the invoice. Licensees granted a license during the first six months 
of the fiscal year, and licensees who file for termination or for a 
possession only license and permanently cease licensed activities 
during the first six months of the fiscal year, pay only 50 percent 
of the annual fee for that year. Such an invoice states the ``Amount 
Billed Represents 50% Proration.'' This means the amount due from a 
small entity is not the prorated amount shown on the invoice, but 
rather one-half of the maximum annual fee shown on NRC Form 526 for 
the size standard under which the licensee qualifies, resulting in a 
fee of either $1150 or $250 for each fee category billed, instead of 
the full small entity annual fee of $2,300 or $500.
    A new small entity form (NRC Form 526) must be filed with the 
NRC each fiscal year to qualify for reduced fees in that year. 
Because a licensee's ``size,'' or the size standards, may change 
from year to year, the invoice reflects the full fee and a new Form 
526 must be completed and returned in order for the fee to be 
reduced to the small entity fee amount. LICENSEES WILL NOT BE ISSUED 
A NEW INVOICE FOR THE REDUCED AMOUNT. The completed NRC Form 526, 
the payment of the appropriate small entity fee, and the ``Payment 
Copy `` of the invoice should be mailed to the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, License Fee and Accounts Receivable Branch at 
the address indicated on the invoice.
    If you have questions regarding the NRC's annual fees, please 
call the license fee staff at 301-415-7554, e-mail the fee staff at 
[email protected], or write to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Office of the Chief Financial 
Officer.
    False certification of small entity status could result in civil 
sanctions being imposed by the NRC under the Program Fraud Civil 
Remedies Act, 31 U.S.C. 3801 et seq. NRC's implementing regulations 
are found at 10 CFR part 13.

[FR Doc. 02-7114 Filed 3-26-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P