[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 147 (Wednesday, July 31, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49623-49627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-19198]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 147 / Wednesday, July 31, 2002 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 49623]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 170

RIN No. 3150-AH03


Cost Recovery for Contested Hearings Involving U.S. National 
Security Initiatives

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend 
its regulations to allow the agency to recover its costs associated 
with contested hearings involving U. S. Government national security-
related proceedings through licensing or other regulatory service fees 
assessed to the affected applicant or licensee. This proposed amendment 
would be a special exception to the Commission's longstanding policy of 
not charging this type of fee for contested hearings and instead 
recovering the costs through the annual fees assessed to licensees 
within the affected class.

DATES: The comment period expires August 30, 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.

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 am and 4:15 pm 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 
Website (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].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Carlson, telephone 301-415-
8165, or Glenda Jackson, telephone 301-415-6057, 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

    The NRC has a longstanding policy of charging the affected 
applicant part 170 fees to recover the agency's costs for any 
uncontested hearings that the NRC holds on applications to construct a 
power reactor or enrichment facility. These hearings are mandated by 
statute. However, the NRC's costs for all contested hearings \1\ have 
been recovered through part 171 annual fees assessed to the members of 
the particular class of licensee to which the applicant belongs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ A contested proceeding is defined in 10 CFR 2.4 as (1) a 
proceeding in which there is a controversy between the staff of the 
Commission and the applicant for a license concerning the issuance 
of the license or any of the terms or conditions thereof or (2) a 
proceeding in which a petition for leave to intervene in opposition 
to an application for a license has been granted or is pending 
before the Commission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC published the final rule establishing the part 170 and part 
171 fees for FY 2002 on June 24, 2002 (67 FR 42612). The NRC had 
received a comment on the proposed rule from a nuclear industry group 
concerning the assessment of annual fees to the fuel facility class of 
licensees for recovery of the costs involving a contested hearing 
related to the application for a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication 
facility. The industry group commented that assessing the MOX contested 
hearing costs to the fuel facility fee class was unfair, and that it 
was a violation of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-
90), as amended, to charge licensees for an agency activity or program 
from which the licensees receive no benefit. The commenter asserted 
that fuel facility licensees should not be responsible for bearing the 
costs of contested hearings associated with MOX fabrication because 
this process has no relation to the NRC's regulatory services from 
which fuel facility licensees obtain a benefit.\2\ The commenter added 
that the beneficiaries of the MOX program are the Federal government 
and the Nation's citizenry because it will aid in the reduction of 
weapons-grade plutonium. The commenter contended that commercial fuel 
facility licensees should not have to subsidize the Federal 
government's efforts to ensure national security, and that such costs 
should be appropriated through the General Fund and removed from the 
NRC fee base.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The MOX program is a Federal government initiative to ensure 
national security through the disposition of plutonium from 
dismantled nuclear weapons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC responded that it must recover its hearing costs through 
either part 170 fees for services or through part 171 annual fees in 
order to recover most of its budgeted costs (less the amounts 
appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund) through fees as required by 
OBRA-90, as amended. The Commission's longstanding policy of recovering 
contested hearing costs through part 171 annual fees assessed to the 
affected class of licensee has been confirmed repeatedly in the course 
of many past fee rulemakings, in court pleadings, and in an NRC report 
to Congress on fees.
    In this case, however, the Commission has stated in the FY 2002 
final fee rule that there is merit in the commenter's concern about the 
assessment of annual fees targeted to the fuel facility class for

[[Page 49624]]

the MOX contested hearing costs, because the NRC licensing action that 
is the subject of the hearing involves a U.S. Government national 
security initiative to dispose of plutonium stockpiles. Accordingly, 
the FY 2002 final fee rule provided that FY 2002 budgeted costs for the 
MOX contested hearing be recovered through part 171 annual fees 
assessed to all classes of licensees. The final rule also stated that 
it was the Commission's intent to issue a proposed rule for public 
comment that would, beginning in FY 2003, recover the costs for 
contested hearings on licensing actions involving U.S. Government 
national security initiatives through part 170 fees assessed to the 
affected applicant or licensee.
    Accordingly, the NRC is seeking public comment on its proposal to 
recover the agency's costs for contested hearings on licensing actions 
directly involving U.S. Government national security initiatives, as 
determined by the NRC, through part 170 fees assessed to the affected 
applicant or licensee. This proposed change would be a special 
exception to the Commission's policy of not recovering contested 
hearing costs through part 170 fees assessed to the affected applicant 
or licensee. The proposed change would only apply to contested hearings 
on licensing actions directly associated with U.S. Government national 
security initiatives, such as Presidentially directed national security 
programs. The affected applicant or licensee would be responsible for 
the payment of the part 170 fees assessed for these types of contested 
hearings under the proposed approach. However, because part 170 fees 
would only be assessed for contested hearings on licensing actions 
directly involving U.S. Government national security initiatives, the 
Commission expects that generally the costs would ultimately be borne 
by the Federal government, rather than the applicant.
    In addition to the contested hearing on the MOX fuel fabrication 
facility application, any potential contested hearing on the TVA 
license amendments to produce tritium at the Watts Bar and Sequoyah 
reactors for the Nation's nuclear weapons program would be another 
example of a contested hearing on a licensing action directly involving 
a U.S. Government national security initiative for which part 170 fees 
would be assessed under this proposed rule. Examples of contested 
hearings on licensing actions that do not involve a U.S. Government 
national security initiative include the contested hearing on the 
application for a uranium recovery license filed by Hydro Resources 
Inc., and the contested hearing on the independent spent fuel storage 
installation application filed by Private Fuel Storage L.L.C. 
Furthermore, the proposed rule would leave intact the existing policy 
of not assessing part 170 fees for contested hearings associated with 
applications or licenses that are used to provide routine services to 
U.S. Government agencies.
    It should be noted that the Independent Offices Appropriation Act 
(IOAA) prohibits the NRC from assessing part 170 fees to Federal 
agencies, except in limited circumstances, such as licensing and 
inspection of TVA power reactors. Therefore, the proposed change would 
not apply to most contested hearings on licensing actions involving 
U.S. Government national security initiatives where a Federal agency is 
the applicant or licensee.
    In the future, the Commission plans to consider a similar approach 
for recovering NRC's costs for other activities involving U.S. 
Government national security-related programs, such as allegations and 
10 CFR 2.206 petitions, through part 170 fees assessed to the applicant 
or licensee.

II. Proposed Action

    The NRC is proposing to amend 10 CFR part 170 to establish a 
provision for assessing part 170 fees to the affected applicant or 
licensee to recover the NRC's full costs of contested hearings on 
licensing actions directly involving U.S. Government national security 
initiatives, as determined by the NRC. To implement this special 
exception to the Commission's longstanding policy of not assessing part 
170 fees for contested hearing costs, the NRC is proposing to add a fee 
exemption to Sec. 170.11 for contested hearings, and to specifically 
exclude contested hearings on licensing actions directly related to 
U.S. Government national security initiatives, as determined by the 
NRC, from the fee exemption. The NRC is proposing to revise the 
definition of Special Projects to include contested hearings on 
licensing actions related to U.S. Government national security 
initiatives, and to make corresponding changes to the section related 
to the payment of special project fees and to fee category J. of 
Sec. 170.21 and fee category 12. of Sec. 170.31. Only those contested 
hearings on licensing actions directly associated with a U.S. 
Government national security initiative, such as those specifically 
related to Presidentially directed national security programs, would be 
subject to cost recovery under part 170. The NRC would continue to 
recover its costs for those contested hearings that are exempted from 
part 170 fees through part 171 annual fees assessed to the particular 
class of licensees.
    The final rule will not be a ``major'' final action as defined by 
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. 
Therefore, the NRC anticipates that the final rule would become 
effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. It is the 
agency's intent to publish the final rule no later than the first 
quarter of FY 2003.
    As a matter of courtesy, the NRC is mailing this proposed rule to 
all licensees. The NRC will not routinely mail the final rule to all 
licensees; however the final rule will be mailed 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]. 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.

III. Plain Language

    The Presidential Memorandum dated June 1, 1998, entitled, ``Plain 
Language in Government Writing,'' directed that the 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 part 
170 to recover costs from applicants or licensees in contested hearings 
involving Commission-specified U.S. Government national security-
related initiatives. This action does not constitute the establishment 
of a standard that contains generally applicable requirements.

[[Page 49625]]

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.

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

    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).

VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 
605(b)), the Commission certifies that this proposed rule will not, if 
promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a substantial number 
of small entities. This proposed rule would impose a fee on a very 
limited number of applicants or licensees to recover the costs of 
contested hearings involving Commission-specified U.S. Government 
national security-related initiatives, and it is unlikely that these 
few organizations would fall within the scope of the definition of 
``small entities'' set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the 
size standards established by the NRC (10 CFR 2.810).

IX. Backfit Analysis

    The NRC has determined that its backfit rules do not apply to this 
proposed rule and therefore, that a backfit analysis is not required 
for this proposed rule, because these proposed amendments do not impose 
any provisions that would impose backfits as defined in 10 CFR Chapter 
1.

List of Subjects in 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.
    For the reasons set forth 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 part 170.

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 to read as follows:


Sec. 170.3  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Special projects means those requests submitted to the Commission 
for review for which fees are not otherwise specified in this chapter 
and contested hearings on licensing actions directly related to U.S. 
Government national security initiatives, as determined by the NRC. 
Examples of special projects include, but are not limited to, contested 
hearings on licensing actions directly related to Presidentially 
directed national security programs, 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)(2) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 170.11  Exemptions.

    (a) * * *
    (2) A contested hearing conducted by the NRC on a specific 
application or the authorizations and conditions of a specific NRC 
license, certificate, or other authorization. This exemption does not 
apply to a contested hearing on a licensing action that the NRC 
determines directly involves a U.S. Government national security-
related initiative, including those specifically associated with 
Presidentially directed national security programs.
* * * * *
    4. In Sec. 170.12, paragraph (d) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 170.12  Payment of fees.

* * * * *
    (d) Special Project Fees. (1) Fees for special projects are based 
on the full cost of the review or contested hearing. Special projects 
include activities such as --
    (i) Topical reports;
    (ii) Financial assurance submittals that do not require a license 
amendment;
    (iii) Responses to Confirmatory Action Letters;
    (iv) Uranium recovery licensees' land-use survey reports;
    (v) 10 CFR 50.71 final safety analysis reports; and
    (vi) Contested hearings on licensing actions directly involving 
U.S. Government national security initiatives, as determined by the 
NRC.

[[Page 49626]]

    (2) The NRC intends to bill each applicant or licensee at quarterly 
intervals until the review or contested hearing is completed. Each bill 
will identify the documents submitted for review or the specific 
contested hearing and the costs related to each. The fees are payable 
upon notification by the Commission.
* * * * *
    5. In Sec. 170.21, the introductory text is presented for the 
convenience of the user and Category J is revised 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.
    Contested hearings on licensing actions       Full Cost.
     directly related to U.S. Government
     national security initiatives.
*                  *                  *                  *
                  *                  *                  *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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. In Sec. 170.31, the introductory text is presented for the 
convenience of the user and Category 12 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\                             Fee \2,3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
*                  *                  *                  *
                  *                  *                  *
12. Special projects:
    Approvals and preapplication/licensing        Full Cost.
     activities..
    Inspections.................................  Full Cost.
    Contested hearings on licensing actions       Full Cost.
     directly related to U.S. Government
     national security initiatives.
*                  *                  *                  *
                  *                  *                  *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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,
  generally licensed device registrations, and certain inspections. The
  following guidelines apply to these charges:

[[Page 49627]]

 
(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.

* * * * *

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of July, 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jesse L. Funches,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 02-19198 Filed 7-30-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P