[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 51 (Thursday, March 15, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15530-15554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6153]
[[Page 15529]]
Vol. 77
Thursday,
No. 51
March 15, 2012
Part III
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2012; Proposed
Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 77 , No. 51 / Thursday, March 15, 2012 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 15530]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
[NRC-2011-0207]
RIN 3150-AJ03
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2012
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission)
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 the NRC to recover through fees
approximately 90 percent of its budget authority in Fiscal Year (FY)
2012, not including amounts appropriated for Waste Incidental to
Reprocessing (WIR), and amounts appropriated for generic homeland
security activities. President Obama signed the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2012 on December 23, 2011, giving the NRC a total
appropriation of $1,038.1 million for FY 2012. The FY 2012 proposed fee
rule, based on the FY 2012 appropriation, would require the NRC to
recover fees of approximately $909.5 million from licensees. After
accounting for billing adjustments, the total amount to be billed as
fees is approximately $901 million.
DATES: Submit comments on the proposed rule by April 16, 2012. Comments
received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do
so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments
received on or before this date. Because OBRA-90 requires that the NRC
collect the FY 2012 fees by September 30, 2012, requests for extensions
of the comment period will not be granted.
ADDRESSES: You may access information and comment submissions related
to this proposed rulemaking, which the NRC possesses and is publicly
available, by searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID
NRC-2011-0207. You may submit comments by the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2011-0207. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact
us at 301-415-1677.
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission at 301-415-1101.
Mail 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. (Eastern Time) Federal
workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.
For additional direction on accessing information and submitting
comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arlette Howard, Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1481, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments
II. Background
III. Proposed Action
A. Amendments to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (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
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
IV. Plain Writing
V. Availability of Documents
VI. Voluntary Consensus Standards
VII. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion
VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
IX. Regulatory Analysis
X. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
XI. Backfit Analysis
I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments
A. Accessing Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2011-0207 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this proposed rule. You may
access information related to this proposed rulemaking, which the NRC
possesses and is publicly available, by the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2011-0207.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is
referenced. In addition, for the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS
accession numbers are provided in a table in Section V, Availability of
Documents, of this document.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2011-0207 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly
disclosed. The NRC posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering the comment submissions into
ADAMS, and the NRC does not edit comment submissions to remove
identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information in their comment submissions
that they do not want to be publicly disclosed. Your request should
state that the NRC will not edit comment submissions to remove such
information before making the comment submissions available to the
public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.
To obtain additional information on the NRC's FY 2012 budget
request, commenters and others may review NUREG-1100, Volume 27,
``Congressional Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2012'' (February
2011), which describes the NRC's budget for FY 2012, including the
activities to be performed in each program. This document is available
on the NRC's
[[Page 15531]]
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1100/v27/. The allocation of the budget to each fee
class and fee-relief category is included in the publicly available
work papers supporting this rulemaking (ADAMS Accession No.
ML12040A341).
II. Background
Over the past 40 years the NRC, (and earlier as the Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC), the NRC's predecessor agency), has assessed and
continues to assess fees to applicants and licensees to recover the
cost of its regulatory program. The NRC's cost recovery principles for
fee regulation are governed by two major laws, the Independent Offices
Appropriations Act of 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C. 483(a)) and OBRA-90 (42
U.S.C. 2214), as amended. The NRC is required each year, under OBRA-90,
as amended, to recover approximately 90 percent of its budget
authority, not including amounts appropriated from the Nuclear Waste
Fund, amounts appropriated for WIR, and amounts appropriated for
generic homeland security activities (non-fee items), through fees to
NRC licensees and applicants. The following discussion explains the
various court decisions, congressional mandates and Commission policy
which form the basis for the NRC's current fee policy and cost recovery
methodology, which forms the basis for this rulemaking.
Establishment of Fee Policy and Cost Recovery Methodology
In 1968, the AEC adopted its first license fee schedule in response
to Title V of the IOAA. This statute authorized and encouraged Federal
regulatory agencies to recover to the fullest extent possible costs
attributable to services provided to identifiable recipients. The AEC
established fees under 10 CFR part 170 in two sections, Sec. 170.21
and Sec. 170.31. Section 170.21 established a flat application fee for
filing applications for nuclear power plant construction permits. Fees
were set by a sliding scale, depending on plant size, for construction
permits and operating license fees, and annual fees were levied on
holders of Commission operating licenses under 10 CFR part 50. Section
170.31 established application fees and annual fees for materials
licenses. Between 1971 and 1973, the 10 CFR part 170 fee schedules were
adjusted to account for increased costs resulting from expanded
services which included health and safety inspection services and
manufacturing licenses and environmental and antitrust reviews. The
annual fees assessed by the Commission began to include inspection
costs and the material fee schedule expanded from 16 to 28 categories
for fee assessment. During this period, the schedules continued to be
modified based on the Commission's policy to recover costs attributable
to identifiable beneficiaries for the processing of applications,
permits and licenses, amendments to existing licenses, and health and
safety inspections relating to the licensing process.
On March 4, 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered major decisions
in two cases, 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), regarding the charging of fees by
Federal agencies. 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
Court, thus, invalidated the Federal Power Commission's annual fee rule
because its fee structure assessed annual fees against the regulated
industry at large without considering whether anyone had received
benefits from any Commission services during the year in question. As a
result of these decisions, the AEC promptly eliminated annual licensing
fees and issued refunds to licensees, but left the remainder of the fee
schedule unchanged.
In November 1974, the AEC published proposed revisions to its
license fee schedule (39 FR 39734; November 11, 1974). The Commission
reviewed public comments while simultaneously considering alternative
approaches for the proper evaluation of expanding services and proper
assessment based upon increasing costs of Commission services.
While this effort was under way, the Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia issued four opinions in fee cases--National Cable
Television Assoc. v. FCC, 554 F.2d 1094 (D.C. Cir. 1976); National
Association of Broadcasters v. FCC, 554 F.2d 1118 (D.C. Cir. 1976);
Electronic Industries Association v. FCC, 554 F.2d 1109 (D.C. Cir.
1976); and Capital Cities Communication, Inc. v. FCC, 554 F.2d 1135
(D.C. Cir. 1976). These decisions invalidated the license fee schedules
promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission, and they provided
the AEC with additional guidance for the prompt adoption and
promulgation of an updated licensee fee schedule. Based on the court
decisions, the NRC developed new guidelines for use in fee development
and the establishment of a new proposed fee schedule.
On January 19, 1975, under the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974,
the licensing and related regulatory functions of the AEC were
transferred to the NRC. The NRC, prompted by recent court decisions
concerning fee policy, developed new guidelines for use in fee
development and the establishment of a new proposed fee schedule.
The NRC published a summary of guidelines as a proposed rule (42 FR
22149; May 2, 1977), and the Commission held a public meeting to
discuss the notice on May 12, 1977. A summary of the comments on the
guidelines and the NRC's responses were published in the Federal
Register (43 FR 7211; February 21, 1978).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the
Commission's fee guidelines on August 24, 1979, 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 of 1954, as amended, and with applicable
regulations;
(3) The NRC could charge for costs incurred in conducting
environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act
(42 U.S.C. 4321);
(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.
The NRC's Current Statutory Requirement for Cost Recovery Through Fees
In 1986, Congress passed the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act (COBRA) (H.R. 3128), which required the NRC to
assess and collect annual charges from persons licensed by the
Commission. These charges, when added to other amounts collected by the
NRC, totaled about 33 percent of the NRC's estimated budget. In
response to this mandate and separate congressional inquiry on NRC
fees, the NRC prepared a report on alternative approaches to annual
fees and published the decision on annual
[[Page 15532]]
fees for power reactor operating licenses in 10 CFR part 171 for public
comment (51 FR 24078; July 1, 1986). The final rule (51 FR 33224;
September 18, 1986) included a summary of the comments and the NRC's
related responses. The decision was challenged in the DC Circuit 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).
In 1987, the NRC retained the established annual and 10 CFR part
170 fee schedules in the Federal Register (51 FR 33224; September 18,
1986).
In 1988, the NRC was required to collect 45 percent of its budget
authority through fees. The NRC published a proposed rule that included
an hourly increase recommendation for public comment in the Federal
Register (53 FR 24077; June 27, 1988). The NRC staff could not properly
consider all comments received on the proposed rule. Therefore, on
August 12, 1988, the NRC published an interim final rule in the Federal
Register (53 FR 30423). The interim final rule was limited to changing
the 10 CFR part 171 annual fees.
In 1989, the Commission was required to collect 45 percent of its
budget authority through fees. The NRC published a proposed fee rule in
the Federal Register (53 FR 24077; June 25, 1988). A summary of the
comments and the NRC's related responses were published in the Federal
Register (53 FR 52632; December 28, 1988).
On November 5, 1990, with respect to 10 CFR part 171, the Congress
passed OBRA-90, requiring that the NRC collect 100 percent of its
budget authority, less appropriations from the NWF, through the
assessment of fees. The OBRA-90 allowed the NRC to collect user fees
for the recovery of the costs of providing special benefits to
identifiable applicants and licensees in compliance with 10 CFR part
170 and under the authority of the IOAA (31 U.S.C. 9701). These fees
recovered the cost of inspections, applications for new licenses and
license renewals, and requests for license amendments. The OBRA-90 also
allowed the NRC to recover annual fees under 10 CFR part 171 for
generic regulatory costs not otherwise recovered through 10 CFR part
170 fees. In compliance with OBRA-90, the NRC adjusted its fee
regulations in 10 CFR part 170 and 171 to be more comprehensive without
changing their underlying basis. The NRC published these regulations in
a proposed rule for public comment in the Federal Register (54 FR
49763; December 1, 1989). The NRC held three public meetings to discuss
the proposed changes and questions. A summary of comments and the NRC's
related responses were published in the Federal Register (55 FR 21173;
May 23, 1990).
In FYs 1991-2000, the NRC continued to comply with OBRA-90
requirements in its proposed and final rules. In 1991, the NRC's annual
fee rule methodology was challenged and upheld by the DC Circuit Court
of Appeals in Allied Signal v. NRC, 988 F.2d 146 (D.C. Cir. 1993).
The FY 2001 Energy and Water Development Appropriation 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 was 90 percent in
FY 2005.
The FY 2006 Energy and Water Development Appropriation Act extended
this 90 percent fee recovery requirement for FY 2006. Section 637 of
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 made the 90 percent fee recovery
requirement permanent in FY 2007.
In addition to the requirements of OBRA-90, as amended, the NRC was
also required to comply with the requirements of the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. This Act encouraged small
businesses to participate in the regulatory process, and required
agencies to develop more accessible sources of information on
regulatory and reporting requirements for small businesses and create a
small entity compliance guide. The NRC, in order to ensure equitable
fee distribution among all licensees, developed a fee methodology
specifically for small entities that consisted of a small entity
definition and the Small Business Administration's most common
receipts-based size standards as described under the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) identifying industry codes. The
NAICS is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies to classify
business establishments for the purposes of collecting, analyzing, and
publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. The
purpose of this fee methodology was to lessen the financial impact on
small entities through the establishment of a maximum fee at a reduced
rate for qualifying licensees.
In FY 2009, the NRC computed the small entity fee based on a
biennial adjustment of 39 percent, a fixed percent applied to the prior
2-year weighted average for all fee categories that have small entity
licensees. The NRC also used 39 percent to compute the small entity
annual fee for FY 2005, the same year the agency was required to
recover only 90 percent of its budget authority. The methodology
allowed small entity licensees to be able to predict changes in their
fees in the biennial year based on the materials users' fees for the
previous 2 years. Using a 2-year weighted average lessened the
fluctuations caused by programmatic and budget variables within the fee
categories for the majority of small entities.
The agency also determined that there should be a lower-tier annual
fee based on 22 percent of the maximum small entity annual fee to
further reduce the impact of fees. In FY 2011, the NRC applied this
methodology which would have resulted in an upper-tier small entity fee
of $3,300, an increase of 74 percent or $1,400 from FY 2009, and a
lower-tier small entity fee of $700, an increase of 75 percent or $300
from FY 2009. The NRC determined that implementing this increase would
have a disproportionate impact upon small licensees and performed a
trend analysis to calculate the appropriate fee tier levels. From FY
2000 to FY 2008, $2,300 was the maximum upper-tier small entity fee and
$500 was the maximum lower-tier small entity fee. Therefore, in order
to lessen financial hardship for small entity licensees, the NRC
concluded that for FY 2011 $2,300 should be the maximum upper-tier
small entity fee and $500 should be the lower-tier small entity fee.
For this fee rule, the small entity fees would remain unchanged. The
next small entity biennial review is scheduled for FY 2013.
III. Proposed Action
The NRC assesses two types of fees to meet the requirements of
OBRA-90. First, user fees, presented in 10 CFR part 170 under the
authority of the IOAA, recover the NRC's costs of providing special
benefits to identifiable applicants and licensees. For example, the NRC
assesses these fees to cover the costs of inspections, applications for
new licenses and license renewals, and requests for license amendments.
Second, annual fees, presented in 10 CFR part 171 under the authority
of OBRA-90, recover generic regulatory costs not otherwise recovered
through 10 CFR part 170 fees. Under this rulemaking, the NRC would
continue the fee cost recovery principles through the adjustment of
fees without changing the underlying principles of the NRC fee policy
in order to ensure that the NRC continues to comply with the statutory
requirements of OBRA-90, the Atomic Energy Act, and the IOAA.
[[Page 15533]]
On December 23, 2011, President Obama signed the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2012, giving the NRC a total appropriation of
$1,038.1 million. Accordingly, in compliance with the Atomic Energy Act
of 1954, as amended, and OBRA-90, the NRC proposes to amend its
licensing, inspection, and annual fees to recover approximately 90
percent of its FY 2012 budget authority less the appropriations for
non-fee items. The amount of the NRC's required fee collections is set
by law, and is, therefore, outside the scope of this rulemaking.
The NRC's total budget authority for FY 2012 is $1,038.1 million.
The non-fee items excluded outside of the fee base includes $0.8
million for WIR activities and $26.7 million for generic homeland
security activities. Based on the 90 percent fee-recovery requirement,
the NRC is required to recover approximately $909.5 million in FY 2012
through 10 CFR part 170 licensing and inspection fees and through 10
CFR part 171 annual fees. This amount is $6.3 million less than the
amount estimated for recovery in FY 2011, a decrease of less than 1
percent. The FY 2012 fee recovery amount is decreased by -$8.5 million
to account for billing adjustments (i.e., for FY 2012 invoices that the
NRC estimates will not be paid during the fiscal year, less payments
received in FY 2012 for prior year invoices). This leaves approximately
$901 million to be billed as fees in FY 2012 through 10 CFR part 170
licensing and inspection fees and 10 CFR part 171 annual fees.
Table I summarizes the budget and fee recovery amounts for FY 2012.
The FY 2011 amounts are provided for comparison purposes. (Individual
values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table I--Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2011 final FY 2012 proposed
rule rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Budget Authority.............. $1,054.1 $1,038.1
Less Non-Fee Items.................. -36.5 -27.5
-----------------------------------
Balance......................... 1,017.6 1,010.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fee Recovery Rate for FY 2012....... 90% 90%
-----------------------------------
Total Amount to be Recovered for 915.8 909.5
FY 2012........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 CFR Part 171 Billing Adjustments:
Unpaid Current Year Invoices 3.0 2.3
(estimated)....................
Less Payments Received in -2.6 -10.8
Current Year for Previous Year.
Invoices (estimated)............
-----------------------------------
Subtotal.................... 0.4 -8.5
Amount to be Recovered Through 10 916.2 901.0
CFR Parts 170 and 171 Fees.........
Less Estimated 10 CFR Part 170 -369.3 -371.4
Fees...........................
-----------------------------------
10 CFR Part 171 Fee Collections 546.9 529.6
Required...........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NRC estimates that $371.4 million will be recovered from 10 CFR
part 170 fees in FY 2012, which represents a $2.1 million increase as
compared to 10 CFR part 170 collections of $369.3 million for FY 2011.
The NRC derived the FY 2012 estimate of 10 CFR part 170 fee collections
based on the latest billing data available for each license fee class,
with adjustments to account for changes in the NRC's FY 2012 budget, as
appropriate. The remaining $529.6 million is to be recovered through
the 10 CFR part 171 annual fees in FY 2012, which is a decrease of 3.2
percent compared to the estimated 10 CFR part 171 collections of $546.9
million for FY 2011. The change for each class of licensees affected is
discussed in Section III.B.3 of this document.
The NRC plans to publish the final fee rule no later than June
2012. The FY 2012 final fee rule will be a ``major rule'' as defined by
the Congressional Review Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 801-808). Therefore, the
NRC's fee schedules for FY 2012 will become effective 60 days after
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. Upon publication
of the final rule, the NRC will send an invoice for the amount of the
annual fees to reactor licensees, 10 CFR part 72 licensees, major fuel
cycle facilities, and other licensees with annual fees of $100,000 or
more. For these licensees, payment is due on the effective date of the
FY 2012 final rule. Because these licensees are billed quarterly, the
payment amount due is the total FY 2012 annual fee less payments made
in the first three quarters of the fiscal year.
Materials licensees with annual fees of less than $100,000 are
billed annually. Those materials licensees whose license anniversary
date during FY 2012 falls before the effective date of the FY 2012
final rule will be billed for the annual fee during the anniversary
month of the license at the FY 2011 annual fee rate. Those materials
licensees whose license anniversary date falls on or after the
effective date of the FY 2012 final rule will be billed for the annual
fee at the FY 2012 annual fee rate during the anniversary month of the
license, and payment will be due on the date of the invoice.
The NRC no longer mails the proposed fee rule to licensees, but
will send the proposed rule to any licensee or individual upon specific
request. To request a copy, contact the Division of Planning and
Budget, Budget Operations Branch II, Office of the Chief Financial
Officer, at 301-415-1481. In addition to publication in the Federal
Register, the proposed rule will be available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov.
The NRC is proposing to amend 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 as discussed
in Section III.A and III.B of this document.
[[Page 15534]]
A. Amendments to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (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
In FY 2012, the NRC is proposing to increase the hourly rate to
recover the full cost of activities under 10 CFR part 170 and use this
rate to calculate ``flat'' application fees.
The NRC is proposing to make the following changes:
1. Hourly Rate
The NRC's hourly rate is used in assessing full cost fees for
specific services provided, as well as flat fees for certain
application reviews. The NRC is proposing to change the FY 2012 hourly
rate to $274. This rate would be applicable to all activities for which
fees are assessed under Sec. Sec. 170.21 and 170.31.
The FY 2012 hourly rate is less than one percent higher than the FY
2011 hourly rate of $273. The increase in the hourly rate is due
primarily to higher agency direct budgeted resources, partially offset
by a small increase in the number of direct full-time equivalents
(FTEs). The following paragraphs described the hourly rate calculation
in further detail.
The NRC's hourly rate is derived by dividing the sum of recoverable
budgeted resources for (1) mission direct program salaries and
benefits; (2) mission indirect program support; and (3) agency
corporate support and the Inspector General (IG), by mission direct FTE
hours. The mission direct FTE hours are the product of the mission
direct FTE multiplied by the hours per direct FTE. The only budgeted
resources excluded from the hourly rate are those for contract
activities related to mission direct and fee-relief activities.
In FY 2012, the NRC is using 1,371 hours per direct FTE, the same
amount as FY 2011, to calculate the hourly fees. The NRC has reviewed
data from its time and labor system to determine if the annual direct
hours worked per direct FTE estimate requires updating for the FY 2012
fee rule. Based on this review of the most recent data available, the
NRC determined that 1,371 hours is the best estimate of direct hours
worked annually per direct FTE. This estimate excludes all indirect
activities such as training, general administration, and leave.
Table II shows the results of the hourly rate calculation
methodology. The FY 2011 amounts are provided for comparison purposes.
(Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table II--Hourly Rate Calculation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2011 final FY 2012 proposed
rule rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Direct Program Salaries & $337.4 $349.9
Benefits...........................
Mission Indirect Program Support.... 25.9 25.9
Agency Corporate Support, and the IG 474.1 472.3
-----------------------------------
Subtotal........................ 837.4 848.0
Less Offsetting Receipts............ -0.0 -0.0
-----------------------------------
Total Budget Included in Hourly 837.4 848.0
Rate...........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Direct FTEs................. 2,236 2,258
Professional Hourly Rate (Total 273 274
Budget Included in Hourly Rate
divided by Mission Direct FTE
Hours).............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As shown in Table II, dividing the FY 2012 $848 million budget
amount included in the hourly rate by total mission direct FTE hours
(2,257 FTE times 1,371 hours) results in an hourly rate of $274. The
hourly rate is rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
2. Flat Application Fee Changes
The NRC is proposing to adjust the current flat application fees in
Sec. Sec. 170.21 and 170.31 to reflect the revised hourly rate of
$274, an increase of $1 from FY 2011. These flat fees are calculated by
multiplying the average professional staff hours needed to process the
licensing actions by the proposed professional hourly rate for FY 2012.
The agency estimates the average professional staff hours needed to
process licensing actions every other year as part of its biennial
review of fees performed in compliance with the Chief Financial
Officers Act of 1990. The NRC last performed this review as part of the
FY 2011 fee rulemaking. The higher hourly rate of $274 is the primary
reason for the increase in application fees.
The amounts of the materials licensing flat fees are rounded so
that the fees would be convenient to the user and the effects of
rounding would be minimal. 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, and fees that are greater than $100,000
are rounded to the nearest $1,000.
The proposed licensing flat fees are applicable for fee categories
K.1. through K.5. of Sec. 170.21, and fee categories 1.C., 1.D., 2.B.,
2.C., 3.A. through 3.S., 4.B. through 9.D., 10.B., 15.A. through 15.R.,
16, and 17 of Sec. 170.31. Applications filed on or after the
effective date of the FY 2012 final fee rule would be subject to the
revised fees in the final rule.
3. Administrative Amendments
This rule would make administrative changes for clarity as follows:
a. Sec. 170.21, fee category G, change the title for the
description from ``Other Production and Utilization Facility'' to read
``Other Production or Utilization Facility.''
b. Sec. 170.31, revise fee schedule. Under 10 CFR part 170, the
descriptions for categories 14A and 14B would be revised to add the
phrase ``including MMLs'' in order to capture work activities outside
of the category 17 description involving decommissioning actions and
activities for master material license (MML) agencies (i.e., U.S.
Department of Veteran Affairs, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force) and the fees
would be subject to full cost. This methodology would ensure equitable
fee distribution among licensees by charging the full cost for services
over and above routine oversight activities to specific MMLs while
minimizing the financial impact of annual fee distribution for all MMLs
for the next biennial review.
[[Page 15535]]
In summary, the NRC is proposing to make the following changes to
10 CFR part 170:
1. Establish a revised professional hourly rate to use in assessing
fees for specific services;
2. Revise the license application fees to reflect the FY 2012
hourly rate; and
3. Make administrative changes to Sec. Sec. 170.21 and 170.31.
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 use its fee-relief surplus to decrease all
licensees' annual fees based on their percentage share of the fee
recoverable budget authority. This rulemaking would also make changes
to the number of NRC licensees and establish rebaselined annual fees
based on Pub. L. 112-10. The amendments are described as follows:
1. Application of Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste (LLW) Surcharge
The NRC would use its fee-relief surplus to decrease all licensees'
annual fees, based on their percentage share of the budget. The NRC
applies the 10 percent of its budget that is excluded from fee recovery
under OBRA-90, as amended (fee-relief), to offset the total budget
allocated for activities that do not directly benefit current NRC
licensees. The budget for these fee-relief activities is totaled and
then reduced by the amount of the NRC's fee-relief. Any difference
between the fee-relief and the budgeted amount of these activities
results in a fee-relief adjustment (increase or decrease) to all
licensees' annual fees, based on their percentage share of the budget,
which is consistent with the existing fee methodology.
The FY 2012 budget resources for the NRC's fee-relief activities
are $91.1 million. The NRC's 10 percent fee-relief amount in FY 2012 is
$101.1 million, leaving a $10 million fee-relief surplus that will
reduce all licensees' annual fees based on their percentage share of
the budget. The FY 2012 budget for fee-relief activities is higher than
FY 2011, primarily due to a decrease in budgeted resources for
nonprofit educational exemptions, international activities and support
agreement states licensees and generic decommissioning reclamation
activities. Also, the NRC has included medical isotope production under
fee relief categories to capture program activity for medical isotope
production facilities for regulatory basis development. The FY 2012 NRC
medical isotope budget of approximately $3 million is not attributable
to existing NRC licensees. The funding for this activity along with
other activities not attributable to existing NRC licensees will be
offset by the agency's 10 percent appropriation. These values are shown
in Table III. The FY 2011 amounts are provided for comparison purposes.
(Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table III--Fee-Relief Activities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2011 budgeted FY 2012 budgeted
Fee-relief activities costs costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Activities not attributable to an
existing NRC licensee or class of
licensee:
a. International activities..... $15.1 $9.0
b. Agreement State oversight.... 14.1 11.0
c. Scholarships and Fellowships. 11.5 16.8
d. Medical Isotope Production... N/A 3.4
2. Activities not assessed 10 CFR
part 170 licensing and inspection
fees or 10 CFR part 171 annual fees
based on existing law or Commission
policy:
a. Fee exemption for nonprofit 13.3 11.2
educational institutions.......
b. Costs not recovered from 5.6 6.5
small entities under 10 CFR
171.16(c)......................
c. Regulatory support to 18.0 17.5
Agreement States...............
d. Generic decommissioning/ 16.6 14.0
reclamation (not related to the
power reactor and spent fuel
storage fee classes)...........
e. In Situ leach rulemaking and 1.2 1.7
unregistered general licensees.
-----------------------------------
Total fee-relief activities..... 95.4 91.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less 10 percent of NRC's FY 2011 -101.8 -101.1
total budget (less non-fee items)..
-----------------------------------
Fee-Relief Adjustment to be -6.4 -10.0
Allocated to All Licensees' Annual
Fees...............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table IV shows how the NRC is allocating the $10 million fee-relief
surplus adjustment to each license fee class. As explained previously,
the NRC is allocating this fee-relief adjustment to each license fee
class based on the percent of the budget for that fee class compared to
the NRC's total budget. The fee-relief surplus adjustment is subtracted
from the required annual fee recovery for each fee class.
Separately, the NRC has continued to allocate the LLW surcharge
based on the volume of LLW disposal of three classes of licenses:
operating reactors, fuel facilities, and materials users. Because LLW
activities support NRC licensees, the costs of these activities are
recovered through annual fees. In FY 2012, this allocation percentage
was updated based on review of recent data which reflects the change in
the support to the various fee classes. The allocation percentage of
LLW surcharge decreased for operating reactors and increased for fuel
facilities and materials users compared to FY 2011.
Table IV also shows the allocation of the LLW surcharge activity.
For FY 2012, the total budget allocated for LLW activity is $3.9
million. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
[[Page 15536]]
Table IV--Allocation of Fee-Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2012
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LLW Surcharge
Fee-relief adjustment Total
----------------------------------------------------------------
Percent $ Percent $ $
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors........ 60.0 2.3 86.0 -8.6 -6.3
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor .............. .............. 3.3 -0.3 -0.3
Decommissioning................
Research and Test Reactors...... .............. .............. 0.2 0.0 0.0
Fuel Facilities................. 32.0 1.2 6.1 -0.6 0.6
Materials Users................. 9.0 0.3 2.8 -0.3 0.0
Transportation.................. .............. .............. 0.5 -0.1 -0.0
Uranium Recovery................ .............. .............. 1.0 -0.1 -0.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................... 100.0 3.9 100.0 -10.0 -6.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Revised Annual Fees
The NRC is revising its annual fees in Sec. Sec. 171.15 and 171.16
for FY 2012 to recover approximately 90 percent of the NRC's FY 2012
budget authority, after subtracting the non-fee amounts and the
estimated amount to be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees. The 10
CFR part 170 collections estimate for this proposed rule is $371.4
million, an increase of $2.1 million from the FY 2011 fee rule. The
total amount to be recovered through annual fees for this proposed rule
is $529.6 million, a decrease of $17.3 million from the FY 2011 fee
rule. The required annual fee collection in FY 2011 was $546.9 million.
The Commission has determined (71 FR 30721; May 30, 2006) that the
agency should proceed with a presumption in favor of rebaselining when
calculating annual fees each year. Under this method, the NRC's budget
is analyzed in detail, and budgeted resources are allocated to fee
classes and categories of licensees. The Commission expects that for
most years there will be budgetary and other changes that warrant the
use of the rebaselining method.
As compared with the FY 2011 annual fees, the FY 2012 proposed
rebaselined fees are lower for three classes of licensees, operating
power reactors, spent fuel storage/reactors decommissioning facilities,
and research and test reactors and higher for fuel facilities. Within
the uranium recovery fee class, the annual fees decrease for most
licensees. The annual fee increases for most fee categories in the
materials users' fee class.
The NRC's total fee recoverable budget, as mandated by law, is $6.3
million lower in FY 2012 as compared with FY 2011. The FY 2012 budget
was allocated to the fee classes that the budgeted activities support.
The decrease is primarily due to the lower FY 2012 budget supporting
the operating reactors, spent fuel storage, research and test reactors,
partially offset by higher FY 2012 budget for uranium recovery
facilities, materials users, and fuel facility reviews.
The factors affecting all annual fees include the distribution of
budgeted costs to the different classes of licenses (based on the
specific activities the NRC will perform in FY 2012), the estimated 10
CFR part 170 collections for the various classes of licenses, and
allocation of the fee-relief surplus adjustment to all fee classes. The
percentage of the NRC's budget not subject to fee recovery remained at
10 percent from FY 2011 to FY 2012.
Table V shows the rebaselined fees for FY 2012 for a representative
list of categories of licensees. The FY 2011 amounts are provided for
comparison purposes. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to
rounding.)
Table V--Rebaselined Annual Fees
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012
Class/category of licenses FY 2011 Annual Proposed annual
fee fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors (Including $4,673,000 $4,525,000
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor
Decommissioning Annual Fee)........
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor 241,000 211,000
Decommissioning....................
Research and Test Reactors (Nonpower 86,300 34,700
Reactors)..........................
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility. 6,085,000 6,116,000
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility.. 2,290,000 2,302,000
UF6 Conversion Facility............. 1,243,000 1,250,000
Conventional Mills.................. 32,300 23,600
Typical Materials Users: 25,700 25,900
Radiographers (Category 3O)........
Well Loggers (Category 5A).......... 10,000 10,200
Gauge Users (Category 3P)........... 4,800 4,900
Broad Scope Medical (Category 7B)... 45,400 46,100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The work papers that support this proposed rule show in detail the
allocation of the NRC's budgeted resources for each class of licenses
and how the fees are calculated. The work papers are available at
http://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID NRC-2011-0207, in
ADAMS at ADAMS Accession No. ML12040A341, and in the NRC Library at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The work papers may also be
examined at the NRC's PDR located at One White Flint North, Room O1-
F22, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
Paragraphs a. through h. of this section describe the budgeted
costs allocated to each class of licenses and the calculations of the
rebaselined fees. Individual values in the tables presented in this
section may not sum to totals due to rounding.
[[Page 15537]]
a. Fuel Facilities
The FY 2012 budgeted costs to be recovered in the annual fees
assessment to the fuel facility class of licenses (which includes
licensees in fee categories 1.A.(1)(a), 1.A.(1)(b), 1.A.(2)(a),
1.A.(2)(b), 1.A.(2)(c), 1.E., and 2.A.(1), under Sec. 171.16) are
approximately $29 million. This value is based on the full cost of
budgeted resources associated with all activities that support this fee
class, which is reduced by estimated 10 CFR part 170 collections and
adjusted for allocated generic transportation resources and fee-relief.
In FY 2012, the LLW surcharge for fuel facilities is added to the
allocated fee-relief adjustment (see Table IV in Section III.B.1,
``Application of Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste Surcharge,'' of this
document). The summary calculations used to derive this value are
presented in Table VI for FY 2012, with FY 2011 values shown for
comparison. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table VI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Fuel Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012
Summary fee calculations FY 2011 final proposed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $55.7 $54.4
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -26.6 -26.6
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 29.1 27.8
Allocated generic transportation.... +0.6 +0.9
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge. +0.3 +0.6
Billing adjustments................. -0.0 -0.5
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 30.1 28.7
recovery...................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The decrease in total budgeted resources allocated to this fee
class from FY 2011 to FY 2012 is primarily due to decreased support for
licensing amendments and rulemaking. The NRC allocates the total
required annual fee recovery amount is allocated to the individual fuel
facility licensees, based on the effort/fee determination matrix
developed for the FY 1999 final fee rule (64 FR 31447; June 10, 1999).
In the matrix included in the publicly available NRC work papers,
licensees are grouped into categories according to their licensed
activities (i.e., nuclear material enrichment, processing operations,
and material form) and 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 licensees, current licensees,
licensees in unique license situations, and certificate holders.
This methodology is adaptable to changes in the number of licensees
or certificate holders, licensed or certified material and/or
activities, and total programmatic resources to be recovered through
annual fees. When a license or certificate is modified, it may result
in a change of category for a particular fuel facility licensee, as a
result of the methodology used in the fuel facility effort/fee matrix.
Consequently, this change may also have an effect on the fees assessed
to other fuel facility licensees and certificate holders. For example,
if a fuel facility licensee amends its license/certificate (e.g.,
decommissioning or license termination) that results in it not being
subject to 10 CFR part 171 costs applicable to the fee class, then the
budgeted costs for the safety and/or safeguards components will be
spread among the remaining fuel facility licensees/certificate holders.
The methodology is applied as follows. First, a fee category is
assigned, based on the nuclear material and activity authorized by
license or certificate. Although a licensee/certificate holder may
elect not to fully use a license/certificate, the license/certificate
is still used as the source for determining authorized nuclear material
possession and use/activity. Second, 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 licensees/certificate holders by authorized material
types and use/activities.
Each year, the NRC's fuel facility project managers and regulatory
analysts determine the level of effort associated with regulating each
of these facilities. This is done by assigning, for each fuel facility,
separate effort factors for the safety and safeguards activities
associated with each type of regulatory activity. The matrix includes
ten types of regulatory activities, including enrichment and scrap/
waste-related activities (see the work papers for the complete list).
Effort factors are assigned as follows: One (low regulatory effort),
five (moderate regulatory effort), and ten (high regulatory effort).
The NRC then totals separate effort factors for safety and safeguard
activities for each fee category.
The effort factors for the various fuel facility fee categories are
summarized in Table VII. The value of the effort factors shown, as well
as the percent of the total effort factor for all fuel facilities,
reflects the total regulatory effort for each fee category (not per
facility). In FY 2012, the total effort factors for the Limited
Operations fee category are being zeroed because the licenses in this
fee category were terminated. This results in spreading of costs to
other fee categories. The Uranium Enrichment fee category factors have
shifted with minimal increases and decreases between safety and
safeguards factors compared to FY 2011.
Table VII--Effort Factors for Fuel Facilities, FY 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effort factors (percent of total)
Facility type (fee category) Number of -----------------------------------
facilities Safety Safeguards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))................... 2 89 (38.5) 97 (47.0)
[[Page 15538]]
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)).................... 3 70 (30.3) 35 (17.0)
Limited Operations (1.A.(2)(a))........................... 0 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0)
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b))...... 1 3 (1.3) 15 (7.3)
Hot Cell (1.A.(2)(c))..................................... 1 6 (2.6) 3 (1.5)
Uranium Enrichment (1.E).................................. 2 51 (22.1) 49 (23.8)
UF6 Conversion (2.A.(1)).................................. 1 12 (5.2) 7 (3.4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For FY 2012, the total budgeted resources for safety activities,
before the fee-relief adjustment is made, are $14.9 million. This
amount is allocated to each fee category based on its percent of the
total regulatory effort for safety activities. For example, if the
total effort factor for safety activities for all fuel facilities is
100, and the total effort factor for safety activities for a given fee
category is 10, that fee category will be allocated 10 percent of the
total budgeted resources for safety activities. Similarly, the budgeted
resources amount of $13.3 million for safeguards activities is
allocated to each fee category based on its percent of the total
regulatory effort for safeguards activities. The fuel facility fee
class' portion of the fee-relief adjustment $0.6 million is allocated
to each fee category based on its percent of the total regulatory
effort for both safety and safeguards activities. The annual fee per
licensee is then calculated by dividing the total allocated budgeted
resources for the fee category by the number of licensees in that fee
category. The fee (rounded) for each facility is summarized in Table
VIII.
Table VIII--Annual Fees for Fuel Facilities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012 Proposed
Facility type (fee category) annual fee
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
High Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))........... $6,116,000
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b))............ 2,302,000
Limited Operations Facility (1.A.(2)(a)).......... 0
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration 1,184,000
(1.A.(2)(b)).....................................
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c))................ 592,000
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)......................... 3,288,000
UF6 Conversion (2.A.(1)).......................... 1,250,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
b. Uranium Recovery Facilities
The total FY 2012 budgeted costs to be recovered through annual
fees assessed to the uranium recovery class (which includes licensees
in fee categories 2.A.(2)(a), 2.A.(2)(b), 2.A.(2)(c), 2.A.(2)(d),
2.A.(2)(e), 2.A.(3), 2.A.(4), 2.A.(5) and 18.B., under Sec. 171.16)
are approximately $1 million. The derivation of this value is shown in
Table IX, with FY 2011 values shown for comparison purposes.
Table IX--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Uranium Recovery
Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2011 Final FY 2012 Proposed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $7.15 $9.52
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -6.09 -8.30
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 1.06 1.22
Allocated generic transportation.... N/A N/A
Fee-relief adjustment............... -0.05 -0.1
Billing adjustments................. 0.00 -0.00
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 1.01 1.03
recovery.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The increase in total budgeted resources allocated to this fee
class from FY 2011 is primarily due to increased support of licensing
activities for new applications and U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's)
Title I licensing activities underestimated 10 CFR part 170
collections.
Since FY 2002, the NRC has computed the annual fee for the uranium
recovery fee class by allocating the total annual fee amount for this
fee class between the DOE and the other licensees in this fee class.
The NRC regulates DOE's Title I and Title II activities under the
Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA). The Congress
established the two programs, Title I and Title II under UMTRCA, to
protect the public and the environment from uranium milling. The UMTRCA
Title I program is for remedial action at abandoned mill tailings sites
where tailings resulted
[[Page 15539]]
largely from production of uranium for the weapons program. The NRC
also regulates DOE's UMTRCA Title II program, which is directed toward
uranium mill sites licensed by the NRC or Agreement States in or after
1978.
In FY 2012, the annual fee assessed to DOE includes recovery of the
costs specifically budgeted for the NRC's UMTRCA Title I activities,
plus 10 percent of the remaining annual fee amount, including generic/
other costs (minus 10 percent of the fee relief adjustment), for the
uranium recovery class. The NRC assesses the remaining 90 percent
generic/other costs minus 90 percent of the fee relief adjustment, to
the other NRC licensees in this fee class that are subject to annual
fees.
The costs to be recovered through annual fees assessed to the
uranium recovery class are shown in Table X.
Table X--Costs Recovered Through Annual Fees; Uranium Recovery Fee Class
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I and Title II)
general licenses:
UMTRCA Title I budgeted costs less 10 CFR part 170 $ 751,298
receipts...........................................
10 percent of generic/other uranium recovery 38,509
budgeted costs.....................................
10 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment -10,464
---------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE (rounded)....... 779,000
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses:
90 percent of generic/other uranium recovery 346,577
budgeted costs less the amounts specifically
budgeted for Title I activities....................
90 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment -94,176
---------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium 252,401
Recovery Licenses..............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The DOE fee increases by 1 percent in FY 2012 compared to FY 2011
due to slightly higher budgeted resources for UMTRCA Title I
activities. The annual fee for other uranium recovery licensees
decreases in FY 2012.
The NRC will continue to use a matrix (which is included in the
supporting work papers) to determine the level of effort associated
with conducting the generic regulatory actions for the different (non-
DOE) licensees in this fee class. The weights derived in this matrix
are used to allocate the approximately $252,000 annual fee amount to
these licensees. The use of this uranium recovery annual fee matrix was
established in the FY 1995 final fee rule (60 FR 32217; June 20, 1995).
The FY 2012 matrix is described as follows.
First, the methodology identifies the categories of licenses
included in this fee class (besides DOE). These categories are
conventional uranium mills and heap leach facilities, uranium In Situ
Recovery (ISR) and resin ISR facilities mill tailings disposal
facilities (11e.(2) disposal facilities), and uranium water treatment
facilities.
Second, the matrix identifies the types of operating activities
that support and benefit these licensees. The activities related to
generic decommissioning/reclamation are not included in the matrix
because they are included in the fee-relief activities. Therefore, they
are not a factor in determining annual fees. The activities included in
the matrix are operations, waste operations, and groundwater
protection. The relative weight of each type of activity is then
determined, based on the regulatory resources associated with each
activity. The operations, waste operations, and groundwater protection
activities have weights of 0, 5, and 10, respectively, in the matrix.
Each year, the NRC determines the level of benefit to each licensee
for generic uranium recovery program activities for each type of
generic activity in the matrix. This is done by assigning, for each fee
category, separate benefit factors for each type of regulatory activity
in the matrix. Benefit factors are assigned on a scale of 0 to 10 as
follows: zero (no regulatory benefit), five (moderate regulatory
benefit), and ten (high regulatory benefit). These benefit factors are
first multiplied by the relative weight assigned to each activity
(described previously). The NRC then calculates total and per licensee
benefit factors for each fee category. These benefit factors thus
reflect the relative regulatory benefit associated with each licensee
and fee category.
The benefit factors per licensee and per fee category, for each of
the non-DOE fee categories included in the uranium recovery fee class,
are as follows:
Table XI--Benefit Factors for Uranium Recovery Licenses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Benefit factor Benefit factor
Fee category licensees per licensee Total value percent total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills 1 150 150 9
(2.(A).2.a.)...........................
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities 5 190 950 59
(2.(A).2.b.)...........................
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities 1 215 215 13
(2.(A).2.c.)...........................
In Situ Recovery Resin facilities 1 180 180 11
(2.(A).2.d.)...........................
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing 1 65 65 4
tailings sites (2.(A).4.)..............
Uranium water treatment (2.(A).5.)...... 1 45 45 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................... ................ ................ 1,605 ................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applying these factors to the approximately $252,000 in budgeted
costs to be recovered from non-DOE uranium recovery licensees results
in the total annual fees for each fee category. The annual fee per
licensee is calculated by dividing the total allocated budgeted
resources for the fee category by the number of licensees in that fee
category, as summarized in Table XII:
[[Page 15540]]
Table XII--Annual Fees for Uranium Recovery Licensees
[Other than DOE]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012 Proposed
Facility type (fee category) annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a))...... $23,600
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b))...... 29,900
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c))... 33,800
In Situ Recovery Resin facilities (2.A.(2)(d))...... 28,300
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings 10,200
sites (2.A.(4))....................................
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5))................... 7,100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
c. Operating Power Reactors
The $448.6 million in budgeted costs to be recovered through FY
2012 annual fees assessed to the power reactor class was calculated as
shown in Table XIII. The FY 2011 values are shown for comparison.
(Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table XIII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Operating Power Reactors
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2011 Final FY 2012 Proposed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $783.6 $781.4
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -320.6 -320.6
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 463.0 460.9
Allocated generic transportation.... +0.9 +1.3
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge. -3.4 -6.3
Billing adjustments................. 0.4 -7.3
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 460.9 448.6
recovery.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The annual fee for power reactors decreases in FY 2012 compared to
FY 2011 due to higher fee-relief adjustments/LLW surcharges and billing
adjustments compared to FY 2011. The budgeted costs to be recovered
through annual fees to power reactors are divided equally among the 104
power reactors licensed to operate, resulting in an FY 2012 annual fee
of $4,314,000 per reactor. Additionally, each power reactor licensed to
operate would be assessed the FY 2012 spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning annual fee of $211,000. The total FY 2012 annual fee is
$4,525,000 for each power reactor licensed to operate. The annual fees
for power reactors are presented in Sec. 171.15.
d. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactors in Decommissioning
For FY 2012, budgeted costs of $25.9 million for spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning are to be recovered through annual fees
assessed to 10 CFR part 50 power reactors, and to 10 CFR part 72
licensees who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license. Those reactor
licensees that have ceased operations and have no fuel onsite are not
subject to these annual fees. Table XIV shows the calculation of this
annual fee amount. The FY 2011 values are shown for comparison.
(Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table XIV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for the Spent Fuel Storage/
Reactor in Decommissioning Fee Class
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2011 Final FY 2012 Proposed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $33.4 $29.4
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -4.0 -3.6
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 29.4 25.8
Allocated generic transportation.... +0.5 +0.7
Fee-relief adjustment............... -0.2 -0.3
Billing adjustments................. 0.0 -0.3
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 29.7 25.9
recovery.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The value of total budgeted resources for this fee class is lower
in FY 2012 than in FY 2011, due to decreased budgeted resources for
spent fuel storage licensing and certification activities, higher fee-
relief surplus and billing adjustment, and underestimated 10 CFR part
170 collections. The required annual fee recovery amount is
[[Page 15541]]
divided equally among 123 licensees, resulting in an FY 2012 annual fee
of $211,000 per licensee.
e. Research and Test Reactors (Nonpower Reactors)
Approximately $139,000 in budgeted costs is to be recovered through
annual fees assessed to the research and test reactor class of licenses
for FY 2012. Table XV summarizes the annual fee calculation for
research and test reactors for FY 2012. The FY 2011 values are shown
for comparison. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to
rounding.)
Table XV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations For Research and Test Reactors
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2011 Final FY 2012 Proposed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $1.87 $1.68
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -1.54 -1.54
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 0.33 0.14
Allocated generic transportation.... +0.02 +0.03
Fee-relief adjustment............... -0.01 -0.05
Billing adjustments................. 0.00 -0.02
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 0.35 0.13
recovery.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The decrease in annual fees from FY 2011 to FY 2012 is primarily
due to decreased budgetary resources for nonbillable power reactors.
The required annual fee recovery amount is divided equally among the
four research and test reactors subject to annual fees and results in
an FY 2012 annual fee of $34,700 for each licensee.
f. Rare Earth Facilities
The agency does not anticipate receiving an application for a rare
earth facility this fiscal year, so no budgeted resources are allocated
to this fee class, and no annual fee will be published in FY 2012.
g. Materials Users
For FY 2012, budget costs of $30.4 million for material users are
to be recovered through annual fees assessed to 10 CFR part 30
licensees. Table XVI shows the calculation of the FY 2012 annual fee
amount for materials users licensees. The FY 2011 values are shown for
comparison. Note the following fee categories under Sec. 171.16 are
included in this fee class: 1.C., 1.D., 2.B., 2.C., 3.A. through 3.S.,
4.A. through 4.C., 5.A., 5.B., 6.A., 7.A. through 7.C., 8.A., 9.A.
through 9.D., 16, and 17. (Individual values may not sum to totals due
to rounding.)
Table XVI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Materials Users
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2011 Final FY 2012 Proposed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $30.0 $30.6
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -1.6 -1.6
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 28.5 29.0
Allocated generic transportation.... +1.0 +1.5
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge. -0.0 +0.1
Billing adjustments................. -0.0 -0.2
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 29.5 30.4
recovery.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The total required annual fees to be recovered from materials
licensees increase in FY 2012, mainly because of increases in the
budgeted resources allocated to this fee class for oversight activities
and a higher LLW surcharge partially offset by higher billing
adjustments compared to FY 2011. Annual fees for most fee categories
within the materials users' fee class increase.
To equitably and fairly allocate the $30.4 million in FY 2012
budgeted costs to be recovered in annual fees assessed to the
approximately 3,000 diverse materials users licensees, the NRC will
continue to base the annual fees for each fee category within this
class on the 10 CFR part 170 application fees and estimated inspection
costs for each fee category. 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
the NRC's cost to regulate each category. This 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 materials users' 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
$22.2 million in general costs (including allocated generic
transportation costs) and is 1.58 for FY 2012. The average inspection
cost
[[Page 15542]]
is the average inspection hours for each fee category multiplied by the
hourly rate of $274. The inspection priority is the interval between
routine inspections, expressed in years. The inspection multiplier is
the multiple necessary to recover approximately $8.0 million in
inspection costs, and is 2.3 for FY 2012. The unique category costs are
any special costs that the NRC has budgeted for a specific category of
licenses. For FY 2012, approximately $110,000 in budgeted costs for the
implementation of revised 10 CFR part 35, Medical Use of Byproduct
Material (unique costs), has been allocated to holders of NRC human-use
licenses.
The annual fee to be assessed to each licensee also includes a
share of the fee-relief surplus adjustment of approximately $282,000
allocated to the materials users fee class (see Section III.B.1,
``Application of Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste Surcharge,'' of this
document), and for certain categories of these licensees, a share of
the approximately $335,000 in LLW surcharge costs allocated to the fee
class. The annual fee for each fee category is shown in Sec.
171.16(d).
h. Transportation
Table XVII shows the calculation of the FY 2012 generic
transportation budgeted resources to be recovered through annual fees.
The FY 2011 values are shown for comparison. (Individual values may not
sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table XVII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Transportation
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2011 Final FY 2012 Proposed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $7.5 $9.2
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -3.4 -3.4
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 4.1 5.9
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NRC must approve any package used for shipping nuclear material
before shipment. If the package meets NRC requirements, the NRC issues
a Radioactive Material Package Certificate of Compliance (CoC) to the
organization requesting approval of a package. Organizations are
authorized to ship radioactive material in a package approved for use
under the general licensing provisions of 10 CFR part 71, ``Packaging
and Transportation of Radioactive Material.'' The resources associated
with generic transportation activities are distributed to the license
fee classes based on the number of CoCs benefitting (used by) that fee
class, as a proxy for the generic transportation resources expended for
each fee class.
The total FY 2012 budgeted resources for generic transportation
activities including those to support DOE CoCs is $5.9 million. The
increase in 10 CFR part 171 resources in FY 2012 compared to FY 2011 is
primarily due to an increase in budgeted resources for transportation
regulatory programs. Generic transportation resources associated with
fee-exempt entities are not included in this total. These costs are
included in the appropriate fee-relief category (e.g., the fee-relief
category for nonprofit educational institutions).
Consistent with the policy established in the NRC's FY 2006 final
fee rule (71 FR 30721; May 30, 2006), the NRC will recover generic
transportation costs unrelated to DOE as part of existing annual fees
for license fee classes. The NRC will continue to assess a separate
annual fee under Sec. 171.16, fee Category 18.A., for DOE
transportation activities. The amount of the allocated generic
resources is calculated by multiplying the percentage of total CoCs
used by each fee class (and DOE) by the total generic transportation
resources to be recovered.
The distribution of these resources to the license fee classes and
DOE is shown in Table XVIII. The distribution is adjusted to account
for the licensees in each fee class that are fee-exempt. For example,
if 4 CoCs benefit the entire research and test reactor class, but only
4 of 31 research and test reactors are subject to annual fees, the
number of CoCs used to determine the proportion of generic
transportation resources allocated to research and test reactor annual
fees equals (4/31)*4, or 0.5 CoCs.
Table XVIII--Distribution of Generic Transportation Resources, FY 2012
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allocated
Number CoCs Percentage of generic
License fee class/DOE benefiting fee total CoCs transportation
class or DOE resources
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total..................................................... 87.5 100.0 $5.86
DOE....................................................... 21.0 24.0 1.41
Operating Power Reactors.................................. 20.0 22.9 1.34
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning................ 10.0 11.4 0.67
Research and Test Reactors................................ 0.5 0.6 0.03
Fuel Facilities........................................... 13.0 14.8 0.87
Materials Users........................................... 23.0 26.3 1.54
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NRC is proposing to assess an annual fee to DOE based on the 10
CFR part 71 CoCs it holds and not allocate these DOE-related resources
to other licensees' annual fees, because these resources specifically
support DOE. Note that DOE's annual fee includes a reduction for the
fee-relief surplus adjustment (see Section III.B.1, ``Application of
Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste Surcharge,'' of this document),
resulting in a total annual fee of $1,309,000 for FY 2012. This fee
increase from FY 2011 is primarily
[[Page 15543]]
related to higher budgeted resources for the NRC's transportation
activities.
3. Administrative Amendments
This rule would make certain administrative changes for clarity:
a. Sec. 171.16(d), revise fee schedule. Under 10 CFR part 170, the
descriptions for categories 14A and 14B would be revised to add the
phrase ``including MMLs'' to capture work activities outside of the
category 17 description involving decommissioning actions and
activities for MML agencies (i.e., U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs,
U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force) and the fees would be subject to full cost.
This methodology would ensure equitable fee distribution among
licensees by charging the full cost for services over and above routine
oversight activities to specific MMLs while minimizing the financial
impact of annual fee distribution for all MMLs for the next biennial
review.
b. Revise import and export licensing descriptions. The import and
export licensing fee descriptions are updated for 15.F, 15.G, 15.J,
15K, and 15H for clarity of the rule.
c. Identify ``POL'' under 10 CFR 171.17, ``Proration,'' as
``possession-only-license;'' and
d. Revise the language for clarity under 10 CFR 171.17(a)(3) and
(b)(3) for downgraded licenses.
In summary, the NRC is proposing to make the following changes to
10 CFR part 171:
1. Use the NRC's fee-relief surplus to reduce all licensees' annual
fees, based on their percentage share of the NRC budget;
2. Establish rebaselined annual fees for FY 2012; and
3. Make administrative changes to Sec. Sec. 171.16 and 171.17.
IV. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, well-organized manner
that also follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or
field and the intended audience. Although regulations are exempt under
the Act, the NRC is applying the same principles to its rulemaking
documents. Therefore, the NRC has written this document, including the
proposed amended and new rule language, to be consistent with the Plain
Writing Act. In addition, where existing rule must be changed, the NRC
has rewritten that language to improve its organization and
readability. The NRC requests comment on the proposed rule specifically
with respect to the clarity and effectiveness of the language used.
Comments should be sent to the NRC as explained in the ADDRESSES
caption of this document.
V. Availability of Documents
The NRC is making the documents identified below available to
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as
indicated. To access documents related to this action, see the
ADDRESSES section of this document.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document PDR Web ADAMS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2012 Work Papers..................................... X ................. ML12040A341
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis......................... ................. ................. ML12046A885
Small Entity Compliance Guide........................... ................. ................. ML12041A317
NUREG-1100, Volume 27, ``Congressional Budget X ................. ................
Justification: Fiscal Year 2012'' (February 2011)......
NRC Form 526............................................ ................. X ................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vl. Voluntary Consensus Standards
The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15
U.S.C. 3701) requires that Federal agencies use technical standards
that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies,
unless using these standards is inconsistent with applicable law or is
otherwise impractical. The NRC is proposing to amend the licensing,
inspection, and annual fees charged to its licensees and applicants as
necessary to recover approximately 90 percent of its budget authority
in FY 2012, as required by the OBRA-90, as amended. This action does
not constitute the establishment of a standard that contains generally
applicable requirements.
VIl. 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 rule. By its very
nature, this regulatory action does not affect the environment and,
therefore, no environmental justice issues are raised.
VIII. 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.).
Public Protection Notification
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a request for information or an information collection
requirement, unless the requesting document displays a currently valid
Office of Management and Budget control number.
IX. Regulatory Analysis
Under OBRA-90, as amended, and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended (AEA), the NRC is required to recover 90 percent of its budget
authority, or $909.5 million in FY 2012. The NRC established fee
methodology guidelines for 10 CFR part 170 in 1978 and more fee
methodology guidelines in the establishment of 10 CFR part 171 in 1986.
In subsequent rulemakings, the NRC has adjusted its fees by rulemaking
without changing the underlying principles of its fee policy in order
to ensure that the NRC continues to comply with the statutory
requirements for cost recovery in OBRA-90 and the AEA.
In this rulemaking, the NRC proposes to continue this long-standing
approach. Therefore, the NRC did not identify any alternatives to the
current fee structure guidelines and did not prepare a regulatory
analysis for this rulemaking.
X. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The NRC is required by the OBRA-90, as amended, to recover
approximately 90 percent of its FY 2012 budget authority through the
assessment of user fees. The OBRA-90 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 necessary
for the NRC to recover its budget authority of 90 percent for FY 2012.
This proposed rule would result in increases in the
[[Page 15544]]
annual fees charged to certain licensees and holders of certificates,
registrations, and approvals, and in decreases in annual fees charged
to others. Licensees affected by the annual fee increases and decreases
include those that qualify as a small entity under NRC's size standards
in 10 CFR 2.810. Additionally, the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act (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, the ``Small Entity
Compliance Guide'' is available via ADAMS Accession No. ML12041A317.
XI. 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 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: Section 9701, Public Law 97-258, 96 Stat. 1051 (31
U.S.C. 9701); sec. 301, Public Law 92-314, 86 Stat. 227 (42 U.S.C.
2201w); sec. 201, Public Law 93-438, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended (42
U.S.C. 5841); sec. 205a, Public Law 101-576, 104 Stat. 2842, as
amended (31 U.S.C. 901, 902); sec. 1704, 112 Stat. 2750 (44 U.S.C.
3504 note), sec. 623, Public Law 109-58, 119 Stat. 783 (42 U.S.C.
2201(w)); sec. 651(e), Public Law 109-58, 119 Stat. 806-810 (42
U.S.C. 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111).
2. 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,
10 CFR part 55 re-qualification and replacement examinations and tests,
other required reviews, approvals, and inspections under Sec. Sec.
170.21 and 170.31 will be calculated using the professional staff-hour
rate of $274 per hour.
3. In Sec. 170.21, in the table, the heading for fee category G
and fee category K are revised to read as follows:
Sec. 170.21 Schedule of fees for production or utilization
facilities, review of standard referenced design approvals, special
projects, inspections, and import and export licenses.
* * * * *
Schedule of Facility Fees
[See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Facility categories and type of fees Fees \1\ \2\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
G. Other Production or Utilization Facility:
* * * * * * *
K. Import and export licenses:
Licenses for the import and export only of
production or utilization facilities or the export
only of components for production or utilization
facilities issued under 10 CFR part 110.
1. Application for import or export of
production or utilization facilities\4\
(including reactors and other facilities) and
exports of components requiring Commission and
Executive Branch review, for example, actions
under 10 CFR 110.40(b).
Application--new license, or amendment; or $17,800
license exemption request..................
2. Application for export of reactor and other
components requiring Executive Branch review,
for example, those actions under 10 CFR
110.41(a).
Application--new license, or amendment; or 9,600
license exemption request..................
3. Application for export of components
requiring the assistance of the Executive
Branch to obtain foreign government assurances.
Application--new license, or amendment; or 4,400
license exemption request..................
4. Application for export of facility components
and equipment not requiring Commission or
Executive Branch review, or obtaining foreign
government assurances.
Application--new license, or amendment; or 2,700
license exemption request..................
5. Minor amendment of any active export or
import license, for example, to extend the
expiration date, change domestic information,
or make other revisions which do not involve
any substantive changes to license terms or
conditions or to the type of facility or
component authorized for export and therefore,
do not require in-depth analysis or review or
consultation with the Executive Branch, U.S.
host state, or foreign government authorities.
[[Page 15545]]
Minor amendment to license.................. 1,400
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fees will not be charged for orders related to civil penalties or
other civil sanctions issued by the Commission under Sec. 2.202 of
this chapter or for amendments resulting specifically from the
requirements of these orders. For orders unrelated to civil penalties
or other civil sanctions, fees will be charged for any resulting
licensee-specific activities not otherwise exempted from fees under
this chapter. 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, 10
CFR 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.
\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
when 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.
* * * * * * *
\4\ Imports only of major components for end-use at NRC-licensed
reactors are now authorized under NRC general import license.
4. In Sec. 170.31, the table 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.
* * * * *
Schedule of Materials Fees
[See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category of materials licenses and type of fees
\1\ Fee \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 Full Cost.
(High Enriched Uranium) [Program
Code(s): 21130].
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Full Cost.
Form Used for Fabrication of Power
Reactor Fuel [Program Code(s): 21210].
(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 Full Cost.
[Program Code(s): 21310, 21320].
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment Full Cost.
demonstration facilities.
(c) Others, including hot cell Full Cost.
facilities.
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of Full Cost.
spent fuel and reactor-related Greater
than Class C (GTCC) waste at an
independent spent fuel storage
installation (ISFSI) [Program Code(s):
23200].
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 [Program Code(s): 22140]... $1,300.
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
under Category 1.A.\4\
Application [Program Code(s): 22110, $2,500.
22111, 22120, 22131, 22136, 22150,
22151, 22161, 22163, 22170, 23100,
23300, 23310].
E. Licenses or certificates for Full Cost.
construction and operation of a uranium
enrichment facility [Program Code(s):
21200].
2. Source material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of Full Cost.
source material for refining uranium mill
concentrates to uranium hexafluoride
[Program Code(s): 11400].
(2) Licenses for possession and use of
source material in recovery operations
such as milling, in-situ recovery, 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.
(a) Conventional and Heap Leach Full Cost.
facilities [Program Code(s): 11100].
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities Full Cost.
[Program Code(s): 11500].
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery Full Cost.
facilities [Program Code(s): 11510].
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities Full Cost.
[Program Code(s): 11550].
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities Full Cost.
[Program Code(s): 11555].
(f) Other facilities [Program Code(s): Full Cost.
11700].
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of Full Cost
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 the fees
in Category 2.A.(2) or Category 2.A.(4)
[Program Code(s): 11600, 12000].
(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of Full Cost.
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 2.A.(2)
[Program Code(s): 12010].
[[Page 15546]]
(5) Licenses that authorize the Full Cost.
possession of source material related
to removal of contaminants (source
material) from drinking water [Program
Code(s): 11820].
B. Licenses which authorize the possession,
use, and/or installation of source
material for shielding.
Application [Program Code(s): 11210]... $600.
C. All other source material licenses. $5,400.
Application [Program Code(s): 11200,
11220, 11221, 11230, 11300, 11800, 11810].
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 [Program Code(s): 03211, $12,800.
03212, 03213].
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 [Program Code(s): 03214, $4,400.
03215, 22135, 22162].
C. Licenses issued under Sec. Sec. 32.72
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).
Application [Program Code(s): 02500, $6,500.
02511, 02513].
D. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
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 [Program Code(s): 03510, $3,200.
03520].
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 [Program Code(s): 03511]... $6,400.
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 [Program Code(s): 03521]... $61,200.
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 [Program Code(s): 03254, $4,300.
03255].
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 [Program Code(s): 03250, $11,500.
03251, 03252, 03253, 03256].
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 [Program Code(s): 03240, $2,000.
03241, 03243].
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 [Program Code(s): 03242, $1,100.
03244].
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 [Program Code(s): 01100, $5,400.
01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612,
03613].
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 [Program Code(s): 03620]... $3,500.
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 3.P.; and
(2) Licenses that authorize waste
disposal services are subject to the
fees specified in fee Categories 4.A.,
4.B., and 4.C.
Application [Program Code(s): $6,400.
03219, 03225, 03226].
O. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material issued under part 34 of
this chapter for industrial radiography
operations.
Application [Program Code(s): 03310, $4,000.
03320].
P. All other specific byproduct material
licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
through 9.D.
Application [Program Code(s): 02400, $1,500.
02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123,
03124, 03220, 03221, 03222, 03800,
03810, 22130].
Q. Registration of a device(s) generally
licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
Registration........................... $400.
R. Possession of items or products
containing radium-226 identified in 10 CFR
31.12 which exceed the number of items or
limits specified in that section.\5\
[[Page 15547]]
1. Possession of quantities exceeding
the number of items or limits in 10
CFR 31.12(a)(4), or (5) but less than
or equal to 10 times the number of
items or limits specified.
Application [Program Code(s): $2,500.
02700].
2. Possession of quantities exceeding
10 times the number of items or limits
specified in 10 CFR 31.12(a)(4), or
(5).
Application [Program Code(s): $1,500.
02710].
S. Licenses for production of accelerator-
produced radionuclides.
Application [Program Code(s): 03210]... $6,500.
4. Waste disposal and processing:
A. Licenses specifically authorizing the Full Cost.
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. [Program
Code(s): 03231, 03233, 03235, 03236,
06100, 06101].
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 [Program Code(s): 03234]... $8,400.
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 [Program Code(s): 03232]... $4,900.
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 [Program Code(s): 03110, $3,300.
03111, 03112].
B. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material for field flooding
tracer studies.
Licensing [Program Code(s): 03113]..... 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 [Program Code(s): 03218]... $21,800.
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 gamma stereotactic
radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices,
or similar beam therapy devices.
Application [Program Code(s): 02300, $8,800.
02310].
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. This
category also includes the possession and
use of source material for shielding when
authorized on the same license.
Application [Program Code(s): 02110]... $8,500.
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 [Program Code(s): 02120, $2,700.
02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220,
02230, 02231, 02240, 22160].
8. Civil defense:
A. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material for civil defense
activities.
Application [Program Code(s): 03710]... $2,500.
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............... $7,700.
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............... $8,900.
C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
containing byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material,
except reactor fuel, for commercial
distribution.
Application--each source............... $10,400.
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............... $1,040.
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and
shipping containers.
1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and Full Cost.
plutonium air packages.
2. Other Casks......................... Full Cost.
B. Quality assurance program approvals
issued under part 71 of this chapter.
1. Users and Fabricators.
Application........................ $3,900.
Inspections........................ Full Cost.
[[Page 15548]]
2. Users.
Application........................ $3,900.
Inspections........................ Full Cost.
C. Evaluation of security plans, route Full Cost.
approvals, route surveys, and
transportation security devices (including
immobilization devices).
11. Review of standardized spent fuel Full Cost.
facilities.
12. Special projects:
Including approvals, preapplication/ Full Cost.
licensing activities, and inspections.
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Full Cost.
Compliance.
B. Inspections related to storage of spent Full Cost.
fuel under Sec. 72.210 of this chapter.
14. A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear Full Cost.
material licenses and other approvals
authorizing decommissioning, decontamination,
reclamation, or site restoration activities
under parts 30, 40, 70, 72, and 76 of this
chapter, including MMLs.
B. Site-specific decommissioning activities Full Cost.
associated with unlicensed sites,
including MMLs, regardless of whether or
not the sites have been previously
licensed.
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, and the export only
of heavy water, or nuclear grade graphite (fee
categories 15.A. through 15.E.).
A. Application for export or import of
nuclear materials, including radioactive
waste requiring Commission and Executive
Branch review, for example, those actions
under 10 CFR 110.40(b).
Application--new license, or amendment; $17,800.
or license exemption request.
B. Application for export or import of
nuclear material, including radioactive
waste, requiring Executive Branch review,
but not Commission review. This category
includes applications for the export and
import of radioactive waste and requires
NRC to consult with domestic host state
authorities (i.e., Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Compact Commission, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, etc.).
Application--new license, or amendment; $9,600.
or license exemption request.
C. Application for export of nuclear
material, for example, routine reloads of
low enriched uranium reactor fuel and/or
natural uranium source material requiring
the assistance of the Executive Branch to
obtain foreign government assurances.
Application--new license, or amendment; $4,400.
or license exemption request.
D. Application for export or import of
nuclear material, including radioactive
waste, not requiring Commission or
Executive Branch review, or obtaining
foreign government assurances. This
category includes applications 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 located
in the same country, 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, or amendment; $2,700.
or license exemption request.
E. Minor amendment of any active export or
import license, for example, to extend the
expiration date, change domestic
information, or make other revisions which
do not involve any substantive changes to
license terms and conditions or to the
type/quantity/chemical composition of the
material authorized for export and,
therefore, do not require in-depth
analysis, review, or consultations with
other Executive Branch, U.S. host state,
or foreign government authorities.
Minor amendment........................ $1,400.
Licenses issued under part 110 of this chapter
for the import and export only of Category 1
and Category 2 quantities of radioactive
material listed in Appendix P to part 110 of
this chapter (fee categories 15.F. through
15.R.).
Category 1 (Appendix P, 10 CFR part 110)
Exports:
F. Application for export of Appendix P
Category 1 materials requiring Commission
review (e.g. exceptional circumstance
review under 10 CFR 110.42(e)(4)) and to
obtain one government-to-government
consent for this process. For additional
consent see 15.H.).
Application--new license, or amendment; $15,100.
or license exemption request.
G. Application for export of Appendix P
Category 1 material requiring Executive
Branch review and to obtain one government-
to-government consent for this process.
For additional consents see 15.H.
Application--new license, or amendment; $8,800.
or license exemption request.
H. Requests for additional government-to-
government consent requests in support of
an export license application or active
export.
Application--new license, or amendment; $5,500.
or license exemption request.
I. Requests for additional government-to-
government consents in support of an
export license application or active
export license.
Application--new license, or amendment; $270.
or license exemption request.
Category 2 (Appendix P, 10 CFR part 110)
Exports:
J. Application for export of Appendix P
Category 2 materials requiring Commission
review (e.g. exceptional circumstance
review under 10 CFR 110.42(e)(4)).
Application--new license, or amendment; $15,100.
or license exemption request.
K. Applications for export of Appendix P
Category 2 materials requiring Executive
Branch.
Application--new license, or amendment; $8,800.
or license exemption request.
L. Application for the export of Category 2
materials.
Application--new license, or amendment; $5,500.
or license exemption request.
M. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
N. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
O. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
P. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
Q. [Reserved].............................. N/A.
Minor Amendments (Category 1 and 2, Appendix P,
10 CFR part 110, Export and Imports):
[[Page 15549]]
R. Minor amendment of any active export
license, for example, to extend the
expiration date, change domestic
information, or make other revisions which
do not involve any substantive changes to
license terms and conditions or to the
type/quantity/chemical composition of the
material authorized for export and,
therefore, do not require in-depth
analysis, review, or consultations with
other Executive Branch, U.S. host state,
or foreign authorities.
Minor amendment........................ $1,400.
16. Reciprocity:
Agreement State licensees who conduct
activities under the reciprocity
provisions of 10 CFR 150.20.
Application............................ $2,300.
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope
issued to Government agencies.
Application [Program Code(s): 03614]... Full Cost.
18. Department of Energy.
A. Certificates of Compliance. Evaluation Full Cost.
of casks, packages, and shipping
containers (including spent fuel, high-
level waste, and other casks, and
plutonium air packages).
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Full Cost.
Act (UMTRCA) activities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Types of fees--Separate charges, as shown in the schedule, will be
assessed for preapplication consultations and reviews; applications
for new licenses, approvals, or license terminations; possession-only
licenses; issuances 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:
(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 1.C. only.
(b) Licensing fees. Fees for reviews of applications for new licenses,
renewals, and amendments to existing licenses, preapplication
consultations and other documents submitted to the NRC for review, and
project manager time for fee categories subject to full cost fees 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 an export or
import 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 nonroutine 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 related to civil penalties or
other civil sanctions issued by the Commission under 10 CFR 2.202 or
for amendments resulting specifically from the requirements of these
orders. For orders unrelated to civil penalties or other civil
sanctions, fees will be charged for any resulting licensee-specific
activities not otherwise exempted from fees under this chapter. 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 9.A. through 9.D.
\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 when 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 for which 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 1.A., 1.B., and 1.E. are not
subject to fees under Categories 1.C. and 1.D. for sealed sources
authorized in the same license, except for an application that deals
only with the sealed sources authorized by the license.
\5\ Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational
purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in
this category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources
are possessed for storage only.)
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
5. The authority citation for part 171 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: Section 7601, Public Law 99-272, 100 Stat. 146, as
amended by sec. 5601, Public Law 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330, as amended
by sec. 3201, Public Law 101-239, 103 Stat. 2132, as amended by sec.
6101, Public Law 101-508, 104 Stat. 1388, as amended by sec. 2903a,
Public Law 102-486, 106 Stat. 3125 (42 U.S.C. 2213, 2214), and as
amended by Title IV, Public Law 109-103, 119 Stat. 2283 (42 U.S.C.
2214); sec. 301, Public Law 92-314, 86 Stat. 227 (42 U.S.C. 2201w);
sec. 201, Public Law 93-438, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended (42 U.S.C.
5841); sec. 1704, 112 Stat. 2750 (44 U.S.C. 3504 note), sec. 651(e),
Public Law 109-58, 119 Stat. 806-810 (42 U.S.C. 2014, 2021, 2021b,
2111).
6. In Sec. 171.15, paragraph (b)(1), the introductory text of
paragraph (b)(2), paragraph (c)(1), the introductory text of paragraphs
(c)(2) and (d)(1), and paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3), and (e) are revised
to read as follows:
Sec. 171.15 Annual fees: Reactor licenses and independent spent fuel
storage licenses.
* * * * *
(b)(1) The FY 2012 annual fee for each operating power reactor
which must be collected by September 30, 2012, is $4,525,000.
[[Page 15550]]
(2) The FY 2012 annual fee is comprised of a base annual fee for
power reactors licensed to operate, a base spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning annual fee, and associated additional charges (fee-
relief adjustment). The activities comprising the spent storage/reactor
decommissioning base annual fee are shown in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and
(ii) of this section. The activities comprising the FY 2012 fee-relief
adjustment are shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this section. The
activities comprising the FY 2012 base annual fee for operating power
reactors are as follows:
* * * * *
(c)(1) The FY 2012 annual fee for each power reactor holding a 10
CFR part 50 license that is in a decommissioning or possession-only
status and has spent fuel onsite, and for each independent spent fuel
storage 10 CFR part 72 licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50
license, is $211,000.
(2) The FY 2012 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 (fee-relief adjustment). The
activities comprising the FY 2012 fee-relief adjustment are shown in
paragraph (d)(1) of this section. The activities comprising the FY 2012
spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning rebaselined annual fee are:
* * * * *
(d)(1) The fee-relief adjustment allocated to annual fees includes
a surcharge for the activities listed in paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this
section, plus the amount remaining after total budgeted resources for
the activities included in paragraphs (d)(1)(ii) and (d)(1)(iii) of
this section are reduced by the appropriations the NRC receives for
these types of activities. If the NRC's appropriations for these types
of activities are greater than the budgeted resources for the
activities included in paragraphs (d)(1)(ii) and (d)(1)(iii) of this
section for a given FY, annual fees will be reduced. The activities
comprising the FY 2012 fee-relief adjustment are as follows:
* * * * *
(2) The total FY 2012 fee-relief adjustment allocated to the
operating power reactor class of licenses is a $6.3 million fee-relief
surplus, not including the amount allocated to the spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning class. The FY 2012 operating power reactor fee-
relief adjustment to be assessed to each operating power reactor is
approximately a $60,055 fee relief surplus. This amount is calculated
by dividing the total operating power reactor fee-relief surplus
adjustment, $6.3 million, by the number of operating power reactors
(104).
(3) The FY 2012 fee-relief adjustment allocated to the spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning class of licenses is a $331,202 fee-
relief surplus. The FY 2012 spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning
fee-relief adjustment 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 10
CFR part 72 licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license, is a
$2,693 fee-relief surplus. This amount is calculated by dividing the
total fee-relief adjustment costs allocated to this class by the total
number of power reactor licenses, except those that permanently ceased
operations and have no fuel onsite, and 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do
not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license.
(e) The FY 2012 annual fees for licensees authorized to operate a
research and test (nonpower) 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--$34,700
Test reactor--$34,700
7. In Sec. 171.16, paragraph (d) and the introductory text of
paragraph (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.
* * * * *
(d) The FY 2012 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee and
an allocation for fee-relief adjustment. The activities comprising the
FY 2012 fee-relief adjustment are shown for convenience in paragraph
(e) of this section. The FY 2012 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
Category of materials licenses \1\ \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 (High $6,1116,000
Enriched Uranium) [Program Code(s): 21130].....
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form 2,302,000
Used for Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel
[Program Code(s): 21210].......................
(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 [Program \5\ N/A
Code(s): 21310, 21320].........................
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration 1,184,000
facilities.....................................
(c) Others, including hot cell facilities....... 592,000
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) [Program Code(s): 23200]......
C. Licenses for possession and use of special 3,600
nuclear material in sealed sources contained in
devices used in industrial measuring systems,
including x-ray fluorescence analyzers [Program
Code(s): 22140]....................................
D. All other special nuclear material licenses, 7,300
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) [Program Code(s): 22110, 22111, 22120,
22131, 22136, 22150, 22151, 22161, 22163, 22170,
23100, 23300, 23310]...............................
E. Licenses or certificates for the operation of a 3,288,000
uranium enrichment facility [Program Code(s):
21200].............................................
2. Source material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of source 1,250,000
material for refining uranium mill concentrates to
uranium hexafluoride [Program Code(s): 11400]......
[[Page 15551]]
(2) Licenses for possession and use of source
material in recovery operations such as milling, in-
situ recovery, 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.
(a) Conventional and Heap Leach facilities 23,600
[Program Code(s): 11100].......................
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities [Program 29,900
Code(s): 11500]................................
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities 33,800
[Program Code(s): 11510].......................
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities [Program 28,300
Code(s): 11550]................................
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities [Program \5\ N/A
Code(s): 11555]................................
(f) Other facilities \4\ [Program Code(s): \5\ N/A
11700].........................................
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct \5\ N/A
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 2.A.(2) or Category
2.A.(4) [Program Code(s): 11600, 12000]............
(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct 10,200
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 2.A.(2)
[Program Code(s): 12010]...........................
(5) Licenses that authorize the possession of source 7,100
material related to removal of contaminants (source
material) from drinking water [Program Code(s):
11820].............................................
B. Licenses that authorize only the possession, use, 1,800
and/or installation of source material for
shielding [Program Code(s): 11210].................
C. All other source material licenses [Program 12,400
Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11230, 11300, 11800,
11810].............................................
3. Byproduct material:
A. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of 43,500
byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of
this chapter for processing or manufacturing of
items containing byproduct material for commercial
distribution [Program Code(s): 03211, 03212, 03213]
B. Other licenses for possession and use of 12,400
byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
chapter for processing or manufacturing of items
containing byproduct material for commercial
distribution [Program Code(s): 03214, 03215, 22135,
22162].............................................
C. Licenses issued under Sec. Sec. 32.72 and/or 16,900
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).
[Program Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513].............
D. [Reserved]....................................... \5\ N/A
E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct 9,100
material in sealed sources for irradiation of
materials in which the source is not removed from
its shield (self-shielded units) [Program Code(s):
03510, 03520]......................................
F. Licenses for possession and use of less than 15,500
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 [Program Code(s):
03511].............................................
G. Licenses for possession and use of 10,000 curies 140,900
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 [Program Code(s):
03521].............................................
H. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of 8,300
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 [Program Code(s): 03254, 03255]............
I. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of 20,200
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 [Program Code(s): 03250, 03251,
03252, 03253, 03256]...............................
J. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of 4,800
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
[Program Code(s): 03240, 03241, 03243].............
K. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of 3,200
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 [Program
Code(s): 03242, 03244].............................
L. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of 14,700
byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of
this chapter for research and development that do
not authorize commercial distribution [Program
Code(s): 01100, 01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612,
03613].............................................
M. Other licenses for possession and use of 8,700
byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
chapter for research and development that do not
authorize commercial distribution [Program Code(s):
03620].............................................
N. Licenses that authorize services for other 14,900
licensees, except: (1) Licenses that authorize only
calibration and/or leak testing services are
subject to the fees specified in fee Category 3.P.;
and (2) Licenses that authorize waste disposal
services are subject to the fees specified in fee
categories 4.A., 4.B., and 4.C. [Program Code(s):
03219, 03225, 03226]...............................
[[Page 15552]]
O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct 25,900
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
[Program Code(s): 03310, 03320]....................
P. All other specific byproduct material licenses, 4,900
except those in Categories 4.A. through 9.D.
[Program Code(s): 02400, 02410, 03120, 03121,
03122, 03123, 03124, 3140, 3130, 03220, 03221,
03222, 03800, 03810, 22130]........................
Q. Registration of devices generally licensed under \13\ N/A
part 31 of this chapter............................
R. Possession of items or products containing radium-
226 identified in 10 CFR 31.12 which exceed the
number of items or limits specified in that
section: \14\
1. Possession of quantities exceeding the number 9,000
of items or limits in 10 CFR 31.12(a)(4), or
(5) but less than or equal to 10 times the
number of items or limits specified [Program
Code(s): 02700]................................
2. Possession of quantities exceeding 10 times 4,900
the number of items or limits specified in 10
CFR 31.12(a)(4), or (5) [Program Code(s):
02710].........................................
S. Licenses for production of accelerator-produced 15,500
radionuclides [Program Code(s): 03210].............
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 [Program Code(s): 03231,
03233, 03235, 03236, 06100, 06101].................
B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of 32,000
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 [Program Code(s): 03234]...
C. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of 14,900
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 [Program Code(s): 03232]
5. Well logging:
A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct 10,200
material, source material, and/or special nuclear
material for well logging, well surveys, and tracer
studies other than field flooding tracer studies
[Program Code(s): 03110, 03111, 03112].............
B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct \5\ N/A
material for field flooding tracer studies [Program
Code(s): 03113]....................................
6. Nuclear laundries:
A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of 46,100
items contaminated with byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material [Program
Code(s): 03218]....................................
7. Medical licenses:
A. Licenses issued under 10 CFR parts 30, 35, 40, 17,900
and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct
material, source material, or special nuclear
material in sealed sources contained in gamma
stereotactic radiosurgery units, teletherapy
devices, or similar beam therapy devices. This
category also includes the possession and use of
source material for shielding when authorized on
the same license [Program Code(s): 02300, 02310]...
B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medical 46,100
institutions or two or more physicians under 10 CFR
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\
[Program Code(s): 02110]...........................
C. Other licenses issued under 10 CFR parts 30, 35, 8,600
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. This category also includes the possession
and use of source material for shielding when
authorized on the same license.\9\ [Program
Code(s): 02120, 02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220,
02230, 02231, 02240, 22160]........................
8. Civil defense:
A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct 9,000
material, source material, or special nuclear
material for civil defense activities [Program
Code(s): 03710]....................................
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety evaluation:
A. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of 12,000
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 13,900
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 16,200
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 1,600
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
1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium \6\ N/A
air packages...................................
2. Other Casks.................................. \6\ N/A
B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under
10 CFR part 71 of this chapter
1. Users and Fabricators........................ \6\ N/A
2. Users........................................ \6\ N/A
[[Page 15553]]
C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals, \6\ N/A
route surveys, and transportation security devices
(including immobilization devices).................
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. Decommissioning/Reclamation:
A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material \7\ N/A
licenses and other approvals authorizing
decommissioning, decontamination, reclamation, or
site restoration activities under 10 CFR parts 30,
40, 70, 72, and 76 of this chapter, including MMLs.
B. Site-specific decommissioning activities \7\ N/A
associated with unlicensed sites, including MMLs,
whether or not the sites have been previously
licensed...........................................
15. Import and Export licenses.......................... \8\ N/A
16. Reciprocity......................................... \8\ N/A
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to 485,000
Government agencies [Program Code(s): 03614]...........
18. Department of Energy:
A. Certificates of Compliance....................... \10\ 1,309,000
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act 779,000
(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 FY. 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
before October 1, 2011, and permanently ceased licensed activities
entirely before this date. Annual fees for licensees who filed for
termination of a license, downgrade of a license, or for a possession-
only license during the FY and for new licenses issued during the FY
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 1.A.(1) are not subject to the annual fees
for Categories 1.C. and 1.D. 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 10 CFR parts 30, 40, 70, 71, 72, or 76 of this
chapter.
\3\ Each FY, 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\ Other facilities include 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 related Quality Assurance program
approvals, 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 that also hold nuclear medicine
licenses under Categories 7.B. or 7.C.
\10\ This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to the Department
of Energy that are not funded from 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 applicable to licenses in this
category will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees.
\14\ Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational
purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in
this category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources
are possessed for storage only.)
(e) The fee-relief adjustment allocated to annual fees includes the
budgeted resources for the activities listed in paragraph (e)(1) of
this section, plus the total budgeted resources for the activities
included in paragraphs (e)(2) and (e)(3) of this section, as reduced by
the appropriations NRC receives for these types of activities. If the
NRC's appropriations for these types of activities are greater than the
budgeted resources for the activities included in paragraphs (e)(2) and
(e)(3) of this section for a given FY, a negative fee-relief adjustment
(or annual fee reduction) will be allocated to annual fees. The
activities comprising the FY 2012 fee-relief adjustment are as follows:
* * * * *
8. In Sec. 171.17, paragraphs (a)(2), (a)(3), and (b)(3)(i) are
revised to read as follows:
Sec. 171.17 Proration.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(2) Terminations. The base operating power reactor annual fee for
operating reactor licensees who have requested amendment to withdraw
operating authority permanently during the FY will be prorated based on
the number of days during the FY the license was in effect before
docketing of the certifications for permanent cessation of operations
and permanent removal of fuel from the reactor vessel or when a final
legally effective order to permanently cease operations has come into
effect. The spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee for
reactor licensees who permanently cease operations and have permanently
removed fuel from the site during the FY will be prorated on the basis
of the number of days remaining in the FY after docketing of both the
certifications of permanent cessation of operations and permanent
removal of fuel from the site. The spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning annual fee will be prorated for those 10 CFR part 72
licensees who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license who request
termination of the 10 CFR part 72 license and permanently cease
activities authorized
[[Page 15554]]
by the license during the FY based on the number of days the license
was in effect before receipt of the termination request. The annual fee
for materials licenses with annual fees of $100,000 or greater for a
single fee category for the current FY will be prorated based on the
number of days remaining in the FY when a termination request or a
request for a possession-only license is received by the NRC, provided
the licensee permanently ceased licensed activities during the
specified period.
(3) Downgraded licenses. The annual fee for a materials license
with an annual fee of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category for
the current FY, that is subject to fees under this part and downgraded
on or after October 1 of a FY, is automatically prorated by the agency
on the basis of the number of days remaining in the FY when the
application for downgrade is received and approved by the NRC, provided
the licensee permanently ceased the stated activities during the
specified period.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(3) * * *
(i) The annual fee for a materials license that is subject to fees
under this part and downgraded on or after October 1 of a FY is
automatically prorated on the basis of the date when the application
for downgrade is received and approved by the NRC, provided the
licensee permanently ceased the stated activities during the specified
period.
* * * * *
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of February 2012.
J.E. Dyer,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-6153 Filed 3-14-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P