[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 125 (Monday, June 30, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37124-37154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15193]
[[Page 37123]]
Vol. 79
Monday,
No. 125
June 30, 2014
Part V
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2014; Final
Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 125 / Monday, June 30, 2014 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 37124]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
[NRC-2013-0276]
RIN 3150-AJ32
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2014
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending the
licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its applicants and
licensees. These 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) 2014, not including amounts appropriated
for Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR), amounts appropriated for
generic homeland security activities, and Inspector General (IG)
services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). These
fees represent the cost of the NRC's services provided to applicants
and licensees.
DATES: This final rule is effective on August 29, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0276 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information for this final rule. You may
access publicly-available information related to this final rule by any
of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0276. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this final rule.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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]. For
the convenience of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials
referenced in this document are provided in the ``Availability of
Documents'' section 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.
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:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Discussion
III. Opportunities for Public Participation
IV. Public Comment Analysis
V. Section-by-Section Analysis
VI. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
VII. Regulatory Analysis
VIII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
IX. Plain Writing
X. National Environmental Policy Act
XI. Paperwork Reduction Act
XII. Congressional Review Act
XIII. Voluntary Consensus Standards
XIV. Availability of Guidance
XV. Availability of Documents
I. Background
Over the past 40 years the NRC (and earlier, as the Atomic Energy
Commission, 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: (1) The Independent Offices
Appropriations Act of 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C. 483(a)); and (2) 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 for WIR, amounts
appropriated for generic homeland security activities (non-fee items),
and IG services for the DNFSB, through fees to the NRC licensees and
applicants.
In addition to the requirements of OBRA-90, as amended, the NRC is
also required to comply with the requirements of the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. This Act encourages small
businesses to participate in the regulatory process, and requires
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, develops 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 is to lessen the financial impact on
small entities through the establishment of a maximum fee at a reduced
rate for qualifying licensees.
In FY 2013, the NRC staff performed a biennial review using the fee
methodology developed in FY 2009 that applies a fixed percentage of 39
percent to the prior 2-year weighted average of materials users' fees.
This methodology disproportionately impacted NRC's small licensees
compared to other licensees; therefore, the NRC staff limited the
increase to 21 percent, the same as FY 2011. The change resulted in a
fee of $2,800 for an upper-tier small entity and $600 for a lower-tier
small entity for FY 2013. The NRC staff believes these small-entity
fees are reasonable and provide relief to small entities while at the
same time recovering from those licensees some of the NRC's costs for
activities that benefit them. For this fee rule, the small entity fees
remain unchanged. The next biennial review will be conducted in FY
2015.
II. Discussion
In compliance with OBRA-90, as amended, and the Atomic Energy Act
(AEA), the NRC amends its fee schedules for 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 to
recover approximately 90 percent of its FY 2014 budget authority, less
the amounts appropriated for WIR, the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF), generic
homeland security activities, and IG services for the DNFSB. The 10 CFR
part 170 user fees, 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. The 10 CFR part 171 annual fees
recover generic regulatory costs not otherwise recovered through 10 CFR
part 170 fees.
[[Page 37125]]
FY 2014 Fee Collection
The NRC received total appropriations of $1,055.9 million for FY
2014 based on the Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 113-76),
signed by President Obama on January 17, 2014. Based on OBRA-90, as
amended, the NRC is required to recover $930.7 million through 10 CFR
part 170 licensing and inspections and 10 CFR part 171 annual fees for
FY 2014. This amount excludes non-fee items for WIR activities totaling
$1.4 million, IG services for the DNFSB totaling $0.9 million, and
generic homeland security activities totaling $19.5 million. The
required fee recovery amount is $66.8 million more than the amount
estimated for recovery in FY 2013, an increase of 7.7 percent. After
accounting for billing adjustments, this amount is further decreased by
$14.0 million as a result of net billing adjustments (sum of unpaid
current year invoices (estimated) minus payments for prior year
invoices and current year collections for a reclassified fuel facility
licensee). This leaves approximately $916.7 million in FY 2014 to be
billed as fees to licensees for 10 CFR part 170 licensing and
inspection fees and 10 CFR part 171 annual fees. This amount represents
a $2.2 million decrease in fees assessed to licensees from the FY 2014
proposed fee rule published on April 14, 2014 (79 FR 21036).
Table I summarizes the budget and fee recovery amounts for FY 2014.
The FY 2013 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]
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FY 2013 final FY 2014 final
rule rule
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Total Budget Authority...................................................... $985.6 $1,055.9
Less Non-Fee Items.......................................................... -25.7 -21.8
Balance................................................................. $959.9 $1,034.1
Fee Recovery Rate........................................................... 90% 90%
-----------------------------------
Total Amount to be Recovered............................................ 864.0 930.7
10 CFR Part 171 Billing Adjustments:
Unpaid Current Year Invoices (estimated)................................ 2.2 0.5
Less Current Year from Collections (Terminated or Reclassified -4.6 -2.2
licensees).............................................................
Less Payments Received in Current Year for Previous Year................ -2.0 -12.3
Invoices (estimated)....................................................
-----------------------------------
Subtotal............................................................ -4.4 -14.0
Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR Parts 170 and 171 from Current $859.6 $916.7
Licensees Fees.............................................................
Less Estimated 10 CFR Part 170 Fees..................................... -327.1 -332.5
Less Prior Year Unbilled 10 CFR Part 170 Fees........................... -20.9 -0
10 CFR Part 171 Fee Collections Required from Current Licensees............. $511.6 $584.2
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Changes From the FY 2013 Final Fee Rule
In this final fee rule, the NRC amends fees for power reactors,
spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning, non-power reactors, uranium
recovery facilities, fuel facilities, materials users, and the U.S.
Department of Energy's (DOE) transportation license as compared to the
FY 2013 final fee rule. The total amount of annual fees to be
recovered, $584.2 million, represents an increase of $72.6 million from
the FY 2013 final rule. Overall, the operating reactors' annual fees
increase from the FY 2013 final rule as a result of increased budgetary
resources with an unsequestrated budget, the absence of a one-time
billing credit of approximately $20 million from FY 2013, and the
reduction of two reactors (San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
(SONGS), Units 2 and 3).
Changes From the FY 2014 Proposed Fee Rule
In this final rule, the 10 CFR part 170 fees also increase $8
million due to an increase in licensing actions for operating reactors
of $10.5 million and generic decommissioning by approximately $0.1
million offset by a decrease in 10 CFR part 170 of $2.6 million for
fuel facilities. The operating reactor annual fees decrease by
approximately $10.5 million from the FY 2014 proposed fee rule
estimate.
The fuel facilities annual fees increase by $0.4 million from the
FY 2014 proposed rule as a result of reduced 10 CFR part 170 billings
of $2.6 million due to new construction project delays with an offset
of a $2.2 million reclassification adjustment for current year billings
for an approved downgraded fuel facility licensee (USEC Paducah) under
fee category 1.E., Licenses or certificates for the operation of a
uranium enrichment facility. The NRC removed USEC Paducah from the
enrichment category and placed the facility under 10 CFR part 171
annual fee category 1.A.(2)(a), ``Limited Operations,'' on May 28,
2014. The USEC Paducah shut down with no plans to restart the
enrichment cascades. The USEC Paducah shipped uranium hexafluoride
(UF6) feed and product material to other facilities for
storage and management and is currently in the process of deleasing the
facilities. The one-time credit applied to fuel facility licensees is
for the current year revenue received while USEC Paducah was licensed
under fee category 1.E. Decreases in some fuel facilities annual fees
can also be attributed to revisions to their effort factors within the
Fuel Facilities matrix used to compute the fee calculations.
As a result of these changes, the 10 CFR part 171 annual fees for
current licensees decrease by $10.2 million from the proposed rule.
Overall, the percentage changes in most annual fees increase moderately
compared to the previous year with the exception of operating reactors
and uranium recovery annual fees. For this final rule, the FTE rate
used to convert budgetary resources into FTE dollars remains unchanged
from the proposed rule.
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 increasing the current hourly rate of
$272 to $279 in FY 2014. This rate is
[[Page 37126]]
applicable to all activities for which fees are assessed under
Sec. Sec. 170.21 and 170.31.
The FY 2014 hourly rate is 2.6 percent higher than the FY 2013
hourly rate of $272. The increase in the hourly rate is due primarily
to higher agency-budgeted resources and a decrease in the number of
mission direct full-time equivalents (FTE) compared to FY 2013.
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 IG, which is all agency indirect costs (i.e.
overhead, 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 2014, the NRC used 1,375 hours per direct FTE, an increase of
24 hours from FY 2013, to calculate the hourly fee rate. These hours
exclude all indirect activities such as training, general
administration, and leave, and include only those activities that
directly support the NRC's mission. The NRC generated this 1,375 hour
figure by reviewing data from its time and labor system.
Table II shows the results of the hourly rate calculation
methodology. The FY 2013 amounts are provided for comparison purposes.
(Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table II--Hourly Rate Calculation
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FY 2013 final FY 2014 final
rule rule
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Mission-Direct Program Salaries & Benefits.................................. $345.1 $359.2
Mission-Indirect Program Support............................................ 19.7 21.0
Agency Corporate Support, and the IG........................................ 474.8 486.0
-----------------------------------
Subtotal................................................................ 839.6 866.2
Less Offsetting Receipts.................................................... -0.0 -0.0
-----------------------------------
Total Budget Included in Hourly Rate (Millions of Dollars).............. 839.6 866.2
Mission-Direct FTE (Whole numbers).......................................... 2,285 2,254
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budget Included in Hourly Rate divided by 272 279
Mission-Direct FTE Hours) (Whole Numbers)..................................
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As shown in Table II, dividing the FY 2014 $866.2 million budget
amount included in the hourly rate by total mission-direct FTE hours
(2,254 FTE times 1,375 hours) results in an hourly rate of $279. The
hourly rate is rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
Flat Application Fee Changes
The NRC is amending the current flat application fees in Sec. Sec.
170.21 and 170.31 to reflect the revised hourly rate of $279. These
flat fees are calculated by multiplying the average professional staff
hours needed to process the licensing actions by the professional
hourly rate for FY 2014. 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 2013 fee rulemaking. The higher hourly rate of
$279 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 final licensing flat fees are applicable for fee categories
K.1. through K.5. of Sec. 170.21, and fee categories 1.C. through
1.D., 2.B. through 2.F., 3.A. through 3.S., 4.B. through 9.D., 10.B.,
15.A. through 15.L., 15.R., and 16 of Sec. 170.31. Applications filed
on or after the effective date of the FY 2014 final fee rule are
subject to the revised fees in the final rule.
Application of Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste (LLW) Surcharge
The NRC will assess a total of $1.9 million to licensees' annual
fees for both fee-relief activities and LLW surcharge based on their
share of the fee recoverable budget authority. For this rulemaking, the
NRC establishes rebaselined annual fees by changing the number of
licensees in accordance with SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation
Method,'' September 15, 2005 (ADAMS Accession No. ML052580332). The
rebaselining method analyzes the budget in detail and allocates the
budgeted costs to various classes or subclasses of licensees. This
method is currently used by the NRC every year.
Specifically, the NRC will use its fee-relief surplus to decrease
all licensees' annual fees, based on their percentage share of the
budget. The NRC will apply 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.
In comparison to FY 2013, the budgetary resources in FY 2014
increased for fee-relief activities due to increased rulemaking
activities for research and test reactors, increased training and
travel resources under Agreement State Oversight, and a reduction in
decommissioning billings under 10 CFR part 170, which lowered the
offset under decommissioning activities for total fee relief resources.
In comparison to the FY 2014 proposed fee rule, budgetary resources
decrease for fee relief in this final due in part to a $100,000
reduction to the fee relief budget from increased 10 CFR part 170
billings for the generic decommissioning/reclamation under the fee
relief categories. As a result, of this change, some licensees received
a minimal reduction in fees in this final rule.
Table III summarizes the fee-relief activities for FY 2014. The FY
2013
[[Page 37127]]
amounts are provided for comparison purposes. (Individual values may
not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table III--Fee-Relief Activities
[Dollars in millions]
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FY 2013 budgeted FY 2014 budgeted
Fee-relief activities costs costs
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1. Activities not attributable to an existing NRC licensee or class of
licensee:
a. International activities............................................. $10.2 $11.2
b. Agreement State oversight............................................ 10.3 12.6
c. Scholarships and Fellowships......................................... 16.4 18.9
d. Medical Isotope Production........................................... 3.5 3.1
2. Activities not assessed under 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 educational institutions................. 10.2 11.9
b. Costs not recovered from small entities under 10 CFR 171.16(c)....... 7.7 8.4
c. Regulatory support to Agreement States............................... 16.3 17.9
d. Generic decommissioning/reclamation (not related to the power reactor 13.9 17.1
and spent fuel storage fee classes)....................................
e. In Situ leach rulemaking and unregistered general licensees.......... 1.3 1.0
-----------------------------------
Total fee-relief activities............................................. 89.8 102.1
Less 10 percent of the NRC's total FY budget (less non-fee items)........... -96.0 -103.4
Fee-Relief Adjustment to be Allocated to All Licensees' Annual Fees......... -6.2 -1.3
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Table IV shows how the NRC will allocate the $1.3 million fee-
relief assessment adjustment to each license fee class. As explained
previously, the NRC will allocate this fee-relief adjustment to each
license fee class based on their percentage of the budget for their 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 and Agreement States, the costs of
these activities are recovered through annual fees. In FY 2014, this
allocation percentage remains the same as FY 2013 based on a recent
review of data by fee class.
Table IV also shows the allocation of the LLW surcharge activity.
For FY 2014, the total budget allocated for LLW activity is $3.2
million. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)
Table IV--Allocation of Fee-Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2014
[Dollars in millions]
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LLW surcharge Fee-relief adjustment Total
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Percent $ Percent $ $
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Operating Power Reactors........ 53.0 1.7 86.5 -1.1 0.5
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor .............. .............. 3.6 0.0 0.0
Decommissioning................
Research and Test Reactors...... .............. .............. 0.3 0.0 0.0
Fuel Facilities................. 37.0 1.2 5.2 -0.1 1.1
Materials Users................. 10.0 0.3 2.8 -0.0 0.3
Transportation.................. .............. .............. 0.5 -0.0 0.0
Uranium Recovery................ .............. .............. 1.2 -0.0 0.0
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Total....................... 100.0 3.2 100.0 -1.3 1.9
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Annual Fee Policy Change
The staff examined 10 CFR 171.15(a) regarding independent spent
fuel storage installation (ISFSI) licenses and determined that the
current regulations are inconsistent with how other classes of
licensees are assessed annual fees based on operational status. Under
10 part 171.15(a), licensees for new nuclear reactors under 10 CFR part
52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power
Plants,'' may not operate a facility and are not assessed annual fees
until the Commission determines that the acceptance criteria in a
combined license have been met as stated under 10 CFR 52.103(g).
However, licensees under 10 CFR part 72, ``Licensing Requirements for
the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level
Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than Class C Waste,''
that do not hold licenses under 10 CFR part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of
Production and Utilization Facilities,'' or 10 CFR part 52, must pay an
annual fee regardless of operational status. This creates a regulatory
inconsistency because the NRC's current fee regulations fail to
consider the Commission's requirement that 10 CFR part 72 licensees
notify the Commission of their readiness to begin operations at least
90 days prior to the first storage of spent fuel, high-level waste, or
reactor-related Greater than Class C waste in an ISFSI or a monitored
retrievable storage installation.
In the cases of licensees under both 10 CFR part 72 and 10 CFR part
52, the Commission ultimately determines a licensee's operational
status through
[[Page 37128]]
established criteria that either requires a licensee to notify the
Commission of its readiness to operate or the Commission's finding that
acceptance criteria in the combined license have been met before
operation of a facility. The OBRA-90, as amended, requires the NRC to
fairly and equitably recover the costs of providing regulatory services
in its collection of fees from licensees. Therefore, the NRC modifies
10 CFR 171.15(a) to allow an ISFSI licensee to be charged an annual fee
when the licensee has the ability to use or to derive benefit from the
license--that is, when an ISFSI licensee notifies the Commission of its
readiness to operate. This change mirrors the practice for licensees
under the power reactor and fuel cycle facility fee categories.
Revised Annual Fees
The NRC is required to establish rebaselined annual fees, which
includes updating the number of NRC licensees in the FY 2014 fee
calculations. Therefore, the NRC is revising its annual fees in
Sec. Sec. 171.15 and 171.16 for FY 2014 to recover approximately 90
percent of the NRC's FY 2014 budget authority, less non-fee amounts and
the estimated amount to be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees. The
total estimated 10 CFR part 170 collections for this final rule total
$332.5 million, a decrease of $15.5 million from the FY 2013 fee rule.
The total amount to be recovered through annual fees from current
licensees for this final rule is $584.2 million, an increase of $72.68
million from the FY 2013 final rule. The required annual fee collection
in FY 2013 was $511.6 million.
In the agency's FY 2006 final fee rule (71 FR 30721; May 30, 2006),
the Commission determined that the agency should proceed with a
presumption in favor of rebaselining when calculating annual fees each
year. Rebaselining involves a detailed analysis of the NRC's budget,
with the NRC allocating budgeted resources 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.
For FY 2014, the NRC's total fee recoverable budget, as mandated by
law, is $930.7 million, an increase of $66.8 million compared to FY
2013. The FY 2014 budget was allocated to the appropriate fee class
based on budgeted activities. As compared with the FY 2013 annual fees,
the FY 2014 rebaselined fees decrease for three classes--spent fuel
storage/reactor and decommissioning, some fuel facilities, and DOE
Transportation Activities. The annual fees increase for five fee
classes--operating reactors, research and test reactors, most fuel
facilities, materials users, and uranium recovery licensees.
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 2014), 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 remains at
10 percent for FY 2014, the same as FY 2013.
Table V shows the rebaselined fees for FY 2014 for a representative
list of categories of licensees. The FY 2013 amounts are provided for
comparison purposes. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to
rounding.)
Table V--Rebaselined Annual Fees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2013 final FY 2014 final
Class/category of licenses annual fee annual fee
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors (Including Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor $4,390,000 $5,223,000
Decommissioning Annual Fee)................................................
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning.................................. 231,000 224,000
Research and Test Reactors (Nonpower Reactors).............................. 81,600 84,500
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility......................................... 6,997,000 7,175,000
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility.......................................... 2,633,000 2,469,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion Facility.................................... 1,429,000 1,466,000
Conventional Mills.......................................................... 27,900 33,800
Typical Materials Users:
Radiographers (Category 3O)............................................. 27,200 29,800
Well Loggers (Category 5A).............................................. 12,600 13,600
Gauge Users (Category 3P)............................................... 6,400 6,800
Broad Scope Medical (Category 7B)....................................... 32,900 35,700
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The work papers (ADAMS Accession No. ML14064A394) that support this
final 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 as indicated in Section XV,
``Availability of Documents,'' of this document.
Paragraphs a. through h. of this section describes budgetary
resources 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.
a. Fuel Facilities
The FY 2014 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 $29.5 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 2014, the LLW surcharge for fuel facilities is added to the
allocated fee-relief adjustment (see Table IV, ``Application of Fee-
Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2014,'' in Section II,
``Discussion,'' of this document). The summary calculations used to
derive this value are presented in Table VI for FY 2014, with FY 2013
values shown for comparison. (Individual values may not sum to totals
due to rounding.)
[[Page 37129]]
Table VI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Fuel Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2013 Final FY 2014 Final
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources.................................................... 50.7 47.2
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts..................................... -19.5 -16.7
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources............................................... 31.2 30.5
Allocated generic transportation............................................ +0.8 0.6
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge......................................... +0.9 1.1
Billing adjustments......................................................... -0.0 -0.6
Reclassification of licensee current year fee billing received:............. 0.0 -2.2
-----------------------------------
Total remaining required annual fee recovery............................ 32.9 29.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comparison to FY 2013, the FY 2014 budgetary resources for fuel
facilities decreased due to new construction project delays within the
oversight process and reduced 10 CFR part 170 billings.
As a result of the NRC's approval to reclassify a fuel facility
licensee (USEC Paducah) to another fee category, the remaining fuel
facility licensees receive a $2.2 million credit adjustment of current
year collections for FY 2014. The NRC allocates the total remaining
annual fee recovery amount 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
10 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: 1 (low regulatory effort), 5
(moderate regulatory effort), and 10 (high regulatory effort). The NRC
then totals separate effort factors for safety and safeguards
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). 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 2013. However, as a result of the downgraded licensee, USEC
Paducah, in May 2014, the effort factors changed significantly for the
fee category 1.E., Uranium Enrichment, and slightly for fee category
1.A.(2)(a), Limited Operations, from the FY 2014 proposed and FY 2013
final rule.
Table VII--Effort Factors for Fuel Facilities, FY 2014
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effort factors (percent of total)
Facility type (fee category) Number of -----------------------------------
facilities Safety Safeguards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))................... 2 89 (43.8) 97 (54.5)
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)).................... 3 70 (34.5) 26 (14.6)
Limited Operations (1.A.(2)(a))........................... 1 2 (1.0) 7 (3.9)
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b))...... 1 3 (1.5) 15 (8.7)
Hot Cell (1.A.(2)(c))..................................... 1 6 (3.0) 3 (1.7)
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)................................. 1 21 (10.3) 23 (12.9)
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1))................. 1 12 (5.9) 7 (3.9)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 37130]]
For FY 2014, the total budgeted resources for safety activities are
$16.2 million, excluding the fee-relief adjustment and the
reclassification adjustment. 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 $14.3 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, $1.1
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 2014 final
Facility type (fee category) annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))............... $7,175,000
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b))................ 2,469,000
Limited Operations (1.A(2)(a))........................ 747,000
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b)).. 1,389,000
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c)).................... 694,000
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)............................. 3,395,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1))............. 1,466,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
b. Uranium Recovery Facilities
The total FY 2014 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 $1.2 million. The derivation of this value is shown
in Table IX, with FY 2013 values shown for comparison purposes.
Table IX--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Uranium Recovery
Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary fee calculations FY 2013 final FY 2014 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $9.9 $10.9
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -8.9 -9.5
receipts...........................
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 1.0 1.3
Allocated generic transportation.... N/A N/A
Fee-relief adjustment............... -0.0 -0.0
Billing adjustments................. -0.0 -0.1
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 1.0 1.2
recovery.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The increase in total budgeted resources and annual fees allocated
to uranium recovery in FY 2014 is primarily due to an increase in
environmental reviews, inspections, and licensing actions.
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 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 2014, the annual fee assessed to DOE includes recovery of the
costs specifically budgeted for the NRC's UMTRCA Title I and II
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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2014 final
Summary of costs annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I and Title II)
General Licenses:
UMTRCA Title I and Title II budgeted costs less 10 $774,185
CFR part 170 receipts............................
10 percent of generic/other uranium recovery 42,009
budgeted costs...................................
[[Page 37131]]
10 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief -1,554
adjustment.......................................
-----------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE (rounded)..... 815,000
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses:
90 percent of generic/other uranium recovery 378,082
budgeted costs less the amounts specifically
budgeted for Title I and Title II activities.....
90 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief -13,986
adjustment.......................................
-----------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium 364,096
Recovery Licenses............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The DOE fee would increase by 16.4 percent in FY 2014 compared to
FY 2013 due to increased budgetary resources for UMTRCA activities.
Again, the annual fee for uranium recovery licensees increases due to
environmental reviews, inspections, and licensing actions.
The NRC will continue to use a matrix, which is included in the
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 $378,082 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 2014 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, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act
(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: 0 (no regulatory benefit), 5 (moderate regulatory benefit),
and 10 (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. Therefore, these benefit factors reflect
the relative regulatory benefit associated with each licensee and fee
category.
Table XI displays the benefit factors per licensee and per fee
category, for each of the non-DOE fee categories included in the
uranium recovery fee class 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 6 190 1,140 71
(2.A.(2)(b))...........................
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities 1 215 215 13
(2.A.(2)(c))...........................
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing 1 85 85 5
tailings sites (2.A.(4))...............
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5))....... 1 25 25 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................... 10 665 1,615 100%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applying these factors to the approximately $364,096 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.
Table XII--Annual Fees for Uranium Recovery Licensees
[Other than DOE]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2014 final
Facility type (fee category) annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a))........ $33,800
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b))........ 42,800
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c))..... 48,500
[[Page 37132]]
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites 19,200
(2.A.(4))............................................
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5))..................... 5,600
------------------------------------------------------------------------
c. Operating Power Reactors
The total budgeted costs to be recovered from the power reactor fee
class in FY 2014 in the form of annual fees is $499.9 million, as shown
in Table XIII. The FY 2013 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 2013 final FY 2014 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $734.7 $799.3
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -$303.8 -$290.9
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 430.9 508.4
Allocated generic transportation.... 1.3 1.1
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge. -3.4 0.6
Billing adjustment.................. 0.2 -10.2
-----------------------------------
2nd billing adjustment (terminated -4.6 0.0
license)...........................
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 424.2 499.9
recovery.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The budgetary resources for operating power reactors primarily
increase in FY 2014 due to increased resources to support Fukushima
Near-Term Task Force (NTTF) recommendations (``Recommendations for
Enhancing Reactor Safety in the 21st Century: The Near-Term Task Force
Review of Insights from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident'' (ADAMS
Accession No. ML111861807), dated July 12, 2011; Commission-directed
high- and medium-priority rulemaking activities; the Force on Force
program; and the maintenance, operation and eventual replacement of the
Reactor Program System (RPS).
The annual fees for power reactors increase primarily as a result
of: (1) Decreased 10 CFR part 170 billings due to the decline in
current year licensing actions and delays in major design certification
applications and combined license applications (this decline in 10 CFR
part 170 billings means that 10 CFR part 171 fees need to increase to
make up the difference and ensure that the NRC collects approximately
90 percent of its budget authority); (2) increased generic regulatory
work related to domestic post-Fukushima regulatory actions and the
development of the new waste confidence rule, which the NRC cannot bill
to a specific licensee; and (3) the shutdown of two operating reactors
(San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 2 and 3), which lowered
the number of licensees in the power reactor annual fee class. The
budgeted costs to be recovered through annual fees to power reactors
are divided equally among the 100 power reactors licensed to operate,
resulting in an FY 2014 annual fee of $4,999,000 per reactor.
Additionally, each power reactor licensed to operate will be assessed
the FY 2014 spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee of
$224,000. The total FY 2014 annual fee is $5,223,000 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 2014, budgeted costs of $27.5 million for spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning will 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 will not
be subject to these annual fees. Table XIV shows the calculation of
this annual fee amount. The FY 2013 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 2013 final FY 2014 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $33.4 $32.7
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -5.4 -5.4
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 28.0 27.3
Allocated generic transportation.... 0.6 0.6
[[Page 37133]]
Fee-relief adjustment............... -0.2 0.0
Billing adjustments................. 0.0 -0.4
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 28.4 27.5
recovery.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The budgetary resources for this fee class are reduced in FY 2014
due to a decline in activities related to Commission-directed
improvements for storage and transportation regulations and processes.
The required annual fee recovery amount is divided equally among 123
licensees, resulting in an FY 2014 annual fee of $224,000 per licensee.
e. Research and Test Reactors (Non-Power Reactors)
Approximately $340,000 in budgeted costs would be recovered through
annual fees assessed to the test and research reactor class of licenses
for FY 2014. Table XV summarizes the annual fee calculation for the
research and test reactors for FY 2014. The FY 2013 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 2013 final FY 2014 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $1.50 $2.63
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -1.19 -2.28
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 0.30 0.35
Allocated generic transportation.... 0.03 0.03
Fee-relief adjustment............... -0.01 -0.01
Billing adjustments................. -0.00 -0.03
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 0.33 0.34
recovery.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For FY 2014, budgetary resources for research and test reactors
increase due to more emphasis on rulemaking activities to streamline
license renewal processes. 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 2014 annual fee of $84,500 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 2014.
g. Materials Users
For FY 2014, budget costs of $33.1 million for materials users
would be recovered through annual fees assessed to 10 CFR parts 30, 40,
and 70 licensees. Table XVI shows the calculation of the FY 2014 annual
fee amount for materials users licensees. The FY 2013 values are shown
for comparison. Note the following fee categories under Sec. 171.16
are included in this fee class: 1.C., 1.D., 1.F., 2.B., 2.C. through
2.F., 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., 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 2013 final FY 2014 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $30.7 $32.8
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -1.2 -0.9
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 29.5 31.9
Allocated generic transportation.... 1.5 1.3
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge. 0.2 0.2
Billing adjustments................. -0.0 -0.3
-----------------------------------
Total required annual fee 31.2 33.1
recovery.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 37134]]
The total required annual fees to be recovered for materials
licensees increase in FY 2014 mainly for oversight activities. To
equitably and fairly allocate the $33.1 million in FY 2014 budgeted
costs to be recovered in annual fees assessed to the approximately
3,000 diverse materials users licensees, the NRC continues 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 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/
Inspection Priority)] + Inspection Multiplier x (Average Inspection
Cost/Inspection Priority) + Unique Category Costs
The constant is the multiple necessary to recover approximately
$23.8 million in general costs (including allocated generic
transportation costs) and is 1.59 for FY 2014. The average inspection
cost is the average inspection hours for each fee category multiplied
by the hourly rate of $279. The inspection priority is the interval
between routine inspections, expressed in years. The inspection
multiplier is the multiple necessary to recover approximately $8.8
million in inspection costs, and is 2.4 for FY 2014. The unique
category costs are any special costs that the NRC has budgeted for a
specific category of licenses. For FY 2014, approximately $238,500 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 assessment of approximately $34,000 allocated
to the materials users fee class (see Table IV, ``Allocation of Fee-
Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2014,'' in Section II,
``Discussion,'' of this document), and for certain categories of these
licensees, a share of the approximately $319,000 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 2014 generic
transportation budgeted resources to be recovered through annual fees.
The FY 2013 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 2013 final FY 2014 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources............ $8.2 $8.0
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 -2.7 -3.1
receipts...........................
-----------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources... 5.5 4.9
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 2014 budgetary resources for generic transportation
activities, including those to support DOE CoCs, are $4.9 million. The
decrease in 10 CFR part 171 resources in FY 2014 is primarily due to
the winding down of 10 CFR parts 71 and 72 rulemaking activities and
increased 10 CFR part 170 billing activities. 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 continues 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 four 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) x 4, or 0.5 CoCs.
[[Page 37135]]
Table XVIII--Distribution of Generic Transportation Resources, FY 2014
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allocated
Number of CoCs Percentage of generic
License fee class/DOE benefiting fee total CoCs transportation
class or DOE resources
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total..................................................... 85.5 100.0 $4.89
DOE....................................................... 20.0 23.4 1.14
Operating Power Reactors.................................. 20.0 23.4 1.14
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning................ 11.0 12.9 0.63
Research and Test Reactors................................ 0.5 0.6 0.03
Fuel Facilities........................................... 11.0 12.9 0.63
Materials Users........................................... 23.0 26.9 1.32
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NRC assesses an annual fee to DOE based on the 10 CFR part 71
CoCs it holds and does 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 Table IV, ``Allocation of Fee-Relief
Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2014,'' in Section II, ``Discussion,''
of this document), resulting in a total annual fee of $1,084,000 for FY
2014. The annual fee decreases in FY 2014 are primarily due to the
conclusion of 10 CFR parts 71 and 72 rulemaking activities and an
increase in 10 CFR part 170 billings.
Administrative Changes
The NRC also makes the following nine administrative changes:
(1) Amends the Definition for ``Research Reactor'' under 10 CFR
170.3, ``Definitions,'' to Correct Reference. A final rule was
published in the Federal Register on August 1, 1968 (33 FR 10924), that
added 10 CFR part 170 to the Code of Federal Regulations. The
definitions section was contained in Sec. 170.3 and included the
definitions for ``research reactor'' and ``testing facility.'' However,
the definitions section also originally included paragraph designations
of (a), (b), (c), etc. The definition for ``research reactor'' was
paragraph (h) and referenced paragraph (m), which was the definition
for ``testing facility.'' In a final rule published on May 23, 1990 (55
FR 21179), the paragraph designations were removed and the definitions
placed in alphabetical order. However, the reference contained in the
definition for ``research reactor'' was not corrected to refer to the
definition for ``testing facility'' and not ``paragraph (m).''
Therefore, the NRC amends the definition for ``research reactor'' to
remove the reference to paragraph (m), which no longer exists. The
final definition correctly references the definition for ``testing
facility.''
(2) Deletes the Language under 10 CFR 170.12, ``Payment of Fees,''
Regarding Deferred Application Costs, Which is Not Applicable to the
Current Fleet of Licensees. The NRC staff recently queried the NRC's
cost accounting system and determined current installment payment plans
between the NRC and licensees have installment payment plan duration
periods of up to 3 years in FY 2014, and current language regarding
application costs deferred before August 9, 1991, is no longer
applicable. Therefore, the NRC modifies paragraph (b)(3) and deletes
paragraphs (b)(5), (b)(6), and (b)(7) of this section.
(3) Amends the Language under 10 CFR 170.12, ``Payment of Fees,''
to Address Underpayment of Fees. The NRC modifies 10 CFR 170.12 to
include a provision to allow for the collection of any underpayment in
fees resulting from an error by the NRC. This provision provides
clarity to licensees that the NRC must collect fees resulting from
billing errors to satisfy the requirements of OBRA-90, as amended.
(4) Modifies the Language under 10 CFR 170.31, ``Schedule of Fees
for Materials Licenses and Other Regulatory Services, Including
Inspections, and Import and Export Licenses,'' to Avoid Duplicate
Billing. As currently written, the regulations in this section could
allow licensees in certain fee categories to be charged duplicate fees
for identical activities in similar fee categories. Therefore, the NRC
modifies the descriptions for three fee categories in this section by
adding footnotes for fee categories 2.B., 3.P., and 7.C. These
footnotes provide an exemption from other fee category codes with
identical activities associated with the license to avoid duplicate
billing.
(5) Adds a New Paragraph Regarding Filing Fee Exemption Requests.
The current placement of the language identifying the time period to
file an exemption request under 10 CFR 171.11, ``Exemptions,'' implies
that only one exemption criterion is subject to the filing period, when
all exemption criteria are subject to the same filing period.
Therefore, the NRC removes the language currently under paragraph (b)
concerning the filing period for fee exemption requests and moves it to
a new paragraph (a) to emphasize the time period is required for all
exemption requests filed by licensees with the NRC. Current paragraphs
(a), (b), (c), and (d) are redesignated as paragraphs (b), (c), (d),
and (e), respectively.
(6) Modifies the Language under 10 CFR 171.15, ``Annual Fees:
Reactor Licenses and Spent Fuel Storage Reactor Licenses,'' to Correct
the Types of Non-Power Reactors. The NRC modifies the language under
paragraphs (a) and (e) by replacing ``and'' with ``or'' to clarify that
research reactors and test reactors are two types of non-power
reactors.
(7) Modifies the Language under 10 CFR 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,'' to
Delete Footnote Reference. Removes reference to footnote 5 (which
indicates that there is no licensee under a particular fee category)
for fee category 1.A.(2)(a) in paragraph (d) due to an existing
licensee that was recently moved into this fee category.
(8) Modifies the Language under 10 CFR 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,'' to
Avoid Duplicate Billing. As currently written, the regulations in this
section could allow licensees in certain fee categories to be charged
duplicate fees for identical activities in similar fee categories.
Therefore, the NRC modifies the descriptions for three fee categories
in this section by adding footnotes for fee categories 2.B., 3.P., and
7.C. These footnotes provide an exemption from other fee category codes
that have
[[Page 37136]]
identical activities associated with the license to avoid duplicate
billing.
(9) Amends the Language under 10 CFR 171.19, ``Payment,'' to
Address Underpayment of Fees. The NRC modifies 10 CFR 171.19 to include
a provision to allow for the collection of any underpayment in fees
resulting from an error by the NRC. This provision provides clarity to
licensees that the NRC must collect fees resulting from billing errors
to satisfy the requirements of OBRA-90, as amended.
FY 2014 Billing
The FY 2014 final fee rule is 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 2014 will become effective 60 days after
date of 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 2014 final rule. Because these licensees are
billed quarterly, the payment amount due is the total FY 2014 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 2014 falls before the effective date of the FY 2014
final rule will be billed for the annual fee during the anniversary
month of the license at the FY 2013 annual fee rate. Those materials
licensees whose license anniversary date falls on or after the
effective date of the FY 2014 final rule will be billed for the annual
fee at the FY 2014 annual fee rate during the anniversary month of the
license, and payment will be due on the date of the invoice.
III. Opportunities for Public Participation
The NRC published the FY 2014 Proposed Fee Rule in the Federal
Register on April 14, 2014 (79 FR 21036), for a 30-day public comment
period. The rule proposed to amend the licensing, inspection, and
annual fees charged to the NRC's applicants and licensees in order to
implement OBRA-90, as amended, which requires the NRC to recover
through fees approximately 90 percent of its budget authority in FY
2014, not including amounts appropriated for WIR, amounts appropriated
for generic homeland security activities, and IG services for the
DNFSB. These fees represent the cost of the NRC's services provided to
applicants and licensees. The public comment period for the proposed
rule closed on May 14, 2014.
IV. Public Comment Analysis
Overview of Public Comments
The NRC received 20 comment submissions, including one duplicate
submission, for the proposed rule. A comment submission means a
communication or document submitted to the NRC by an individual or
entity, with one or more distinct comments addressing a subject or an
issue. A comment, on the other hand, refers to a statement made in the
submission addressing a subject or issue. Seven of the comment
submissions were received after the 30-day comment period closed, and
the NRC has addressed all seven of the late-filed comment submissions
as part of this final rule.
All 20 commenters are opposed to the hourly rate increase and the
fee increases in the FY 2014 Proposed Fee Rule. The primary concern for
the majority of the commenters is that the FY 2014 Proposed Fee Rule
lacked adequate justification to support an increase in fees and the
hourly rate, denying the public an opportunity to submit meaningful
commentary for consideration in the FY 2014 Final Fee Rule. The
commenters are listed in Table XIX, and are classified as follows: One
private citizen (John Public); one government agency (DOE); three
members of the uranium industry (Kennecott Uranium Company, National
Mining Association (NMA), and Wyoming Mining Association (WMA)); three
utilities (Florida Power & Light Company (FPLC), PPL Susquehanna, LLC,
and South Carolina Electric and Gas Company (SCEG-1 and SCEG-2)); one
materials licensee (Indiana University Medical Center (IU/Medical
Center); and nine members of the nuclear industry (Dominion Resources
Services, Inc. (Dominion), Duke Energy (Duke), Exelon Generation, LLC
(Exelon), FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), Luminant
Generation Company, LLC (Luminant Power), NAC International (NAC),
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), Public Service Enterprise Group
Nuclear, LLC (PSEG), and STARS Alliance).
Table XIX--FY 2014 Proposed Fee Rule Commenter Submissions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commenter Affiliation ADAMS ML Acronym
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mack L. Richard.................. Indiana University, ML14106A340 (1)..... IU/Medical Center.
Medical Center.
John Public...................... N/A...................... ML14118A245 (2)..... Private Citizen.
Michael Pacilio.................. President and Chief ML14132A374 (3)..... Exelon.
Nuclear Officer, Exelon
Generation Company, LLC.
Anthony R. Pietrangelo........... Senior Vice President and ML14133A245 (4)..... NEI.
Chief Nuclear Officer,
Nuclear Generation,
Nuclear Energy Institute.
Travis Deti...................... Assistant Director, ML14133A694 (5)..... WMA.
Wyoming Mining
Association.
James M. Petro, Jr............... Nuclear Licensing and ML14134A467 (6)..... FPLC.
Regulatory Compliance
Director, Florida Power
& Light Company.
Gregory H. Hanlon................ FENOC Director, Fleet ML14134A519 (7)..... FENOC.
Regulatory Affairs,
FirstEnergy Nuclear
Operating Company.
Jon A. Franke.................... Site Vice President, PPL ML14134A529 (8)..... PPL Susquehanna.
Susquehanna, LLC.
Alfred M. Paglia................. Manager, Nuclear ML14134A582 (9)..... SCEG-1.
Licensing, New Nuclear
Deployment, South
Carolina Electric and
Gas Company.
Oscar Paulson.................... Facility Supervisor, ML14134A601 (10).... Kennecott Uranium
Kennecott Uranium Company.
Company.
Travis Deti...................... Assistant Director, ML14135A328 (11).... WMA.
Wyoming Mining
Association.
Thomas D. Gatlin................. Vice President, Nuclear ML14135A332 (12).... SCEG-2.
Operations, South
Carolina Electric and
Gas Company.
Robert Braun..................... Senior Vice President and ML14135A336 (13).... PSEG.
Chief Operating Officer,
PSEG Nuclear LLC.
Katie Sweeney.................... National Mining ML14135A344 (14).... NMA.
Association.
Scott A. Bauer................... Regulatory Affairs ML14135A354 (15).... STARS Alliance,
Functional Area Manager, LLC.
STARS Alliance LLC.
[[Page 37137]]
Thomas R. Huber.................. Director, Nuclear ML14135A547 (16).... Dominion.
Licensing and Operations
Support, Dominion
Resources Services, Inc.
Tony L. Patko.................... Director, Licensing, NAC ML14136A318 (17).... NAC.
International, Inc.
Thomas C. Pauling................ Director, Office of Site ML14148A454 (18).... DOE.
Operations, Office of
Legacy Management, U.S.
Department of Energy.
Benjamin C. Waldrep.............. Duke Energy.............. ML14148A469 (19).... Duke.
Fred W. Madden................... Director, External ML14160B112 (20).... Luminant Power.
Affairs, Luminant
Generation Company LLC
(Luminant Power).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information about obtaining the comment submissions is available in
Section XV, ``Availability of Documents,'' of this document.
Public Comments and Overall NRC Responses
The NRC has carefully considered the public comments received. The
comments have been organized by topic followed by the NRC response.
A. Inadequate Explanation and Transparency
1. Uranium Recovery
Comment: The FY 2014 Proposed Fee Rule does not provide any details
regarding how the FY 2014 rebaselining effort resulted in a 21 percent
increase in the annual fees for uranium recovery licensees. (WMA)
Response: The NRC disagrees with the comment. The NRC established
the rebaselined methodology for calculating annual fees through public
notice and comment rulemaking in the FY 1999 fee rule (64 FR 31448;
June 10, 1999), determining that base annual fees will be re-
established (i.e., rebaselined) at every third year, and more
frequently, if there is a substantial change in the total NRC budget or
in the magnitude of the budget allocated to a specific class of
licenses. The NRC staff allocates the total budget resources for
uranium recovery facilities to individual uranium recovery fee
categories in accordance with the effort/benefit fee determination
matrix developed for the FY 1995 final fee rule (60 FR 32217; June 20,
1995). The NRC uses this matrix to determine the level of effort
associated with conducting the generic regulatory actions for the
different (non-DOE) licensees in the uranium recovery fee class.
The FY 2014 Proposed Fee Rule described the methodology used by the
NRC staff to determine the annual fees for uranium recovery facilities.
In addition, Tables IX through XII of the proposed rule show the
application of the NRC's rebaselining methodology. The supporting work
papers for the fee calculations are publicly available and were
referenced in the proposed rule. The work papers provided detail on the
FTE and contract resources for each product activity that were
allocated to uranium recovery fee class. The work papers also provided
information on all the values of the effort/benefit factors used in the
uranium recovery matrix for FY 2014. No change was made to the final
rule in response to this comment.
2. Operating Reactor Fees
Comment: The increase in hourly rates charged under 10 CFR part 170
to $279 is not adequately explained and does not appear justified. The
increase is due primarily to a higher overall budget in combination
with a decrease in the number of mission-direct FTEs. The commenter
believes this increase is unjustified and that hourly fees should be
held constant at the FY 2013 level of $272 through a combination of
process efficiencies, an increase in mission-direct FTE, and meaningful
prioritization and closure of regulatory matters. (NEI)
Response: The NRC disagrees with the comment that the basis for the
hourly rate is not adequately explained and that the hourly rate should
remain constant at $272. The NRC discussed the process for calculating
the hourly rate in the proposed rule's Hourly Rate section, and the
process is also summarized in this final rule. The 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 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. For
FY 2014, the NRC is unable to the keep the hourly rate constant because
most of the components used to calculate the hourly rate are dependent
on the NRC's FY 2014 appropriation. Because the NRC's FY 2014
appropriation increased from FY 2013, the allocation of our budgetary
resources through the various NRC programs also changed in FY 2014;
therefore, this change is reflected in the components used to calculate
the hourly rate, and results in an increase in the hourly rate from
$272 to $279. No change was made to the final rule in response to this
comment.
Comment: The 21.4 percent operating reactor increase in fees from
FY 2013 to FY 2014 is not warranted and places an unacceptable burden
upon electric customers who then have to pay higher electricity rates.
The NRC should be restricted to increases that do not exceed cost of
living increases and be required to make cost reductions as needed to
balance their books. (John Public)
Response: The operating reactor fee increase is warranted because
the NRC's fees are based on its annual appropriations. The NRC's budget
authority for FY 2014 is $1,055.9 million, an increase of $70.3 million
from FY 2013. The OBRA-90 (codified at 42 U.S.C. 2214), as amended,
requires the NRC to collect an amount that approximates 90 percent of
its budget authority through annual fees. For FY 2014, the operating
reactor annual fee increase is due to increases from the previous
year's budget, reductions in the estimated amount of 10 CFR part 170
billings, and a decrease in the number of operating reactors. The 10
CFR part 170 estimated billings are reduced due to a decline in current
year licensing actions and delays in five major applications for design
certification and combined operating licenses. Because of the shutdown
of the SONGS, Units 2 and 3, power reactors in FY 2013, the operating
reactors budget must be spread amongst fewer operating reactors,
thereby increasing the share of the annual fee per operating reactor.
Further in FY 2013, there was a one-time, prior-period collection
resulting in an increase of $20.9 million in collections of fees for
services (10 CFR part 170), which resulted in a one-time reduction in
annual fees. Approximately 21 percent of the increase in annual fees
between FY 2013 and FY 2014 is due to that one-time adjustment.
[[Page 37138]]
Finally, the NRC cannot restrict license fee increases to the cost
of living increases as measured by the Consumer Price Index or any
other price index because OBRA-90, as amended, requires the NRC to
collect an amount that approximates 90 percent of its budget authority
in the fiscal year. No change was made to the final rule in response to
this comment.
Comment: The proposed fee rule and work papers do not provide
sufficient detail on how the 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 operating reactor
fee estimates were calculated, denying the public meaningful
opportunity to comment and rendering the proposed fee rule arbitrary
and capricious. Neither the proposed rule nor the work papers provide
any information showing the specific costs that are being recovered
through annual fees. The work papers merely list all items comprising
the entire NRC budgeted resources for new reactors, operating reactors,
and unexplained materials licensing activities and derive the annual
fee by subtracting the portion of estimated 10 CFR part 170 collections
attributed to entities paying user fees ($280.5 million).
As a consequence, it is impossible to determine which of the
specific line items are being recovered through user fees and which are
being recovered under annual fees. The descriptions of the line items
are very vague, preventing one from determining whether they are
generic, and potentially appropriate for recovery under 10 CFR part
171, or attributable to a service provided to an identifiable
beneficiary, and therefore, appropriate for recovery under 10 CFR part
170. (Exelon)
Response: The NRC disagrees with the comment that the work papers
are too vague. Consistent with prior years, license fees are based on
the NRC's budget formulation structure hierarchy of business lines,
product lines, and products. The NRC provides those business lines,
product lines, and products in its work papers. Detailed information
below the product level (e.g. cost centers) is determined when the
budget is executed. The work papers do not distinguish by specific
budget line items which fees are recovered through user and annual fees
because it is impractical for the NRC to determine in advance what
precise percent of a given business line will be recovered through 10
CFR part 170 user fees versus 10 CFR part 171 annual fees. No change
was made to the final rule in response to this comment; however, the
NRC is open to input for improving transparency in the FY 2015 fee rule
package.
Comment: The FY 2014 Proposed Fee Rule does not provide a
description of the specific work that the NRC FTEs will complete during
the 1375 hours allotted, only that the NRC will bill licensees that
amount of hours to meet the budget. The NRC should provide an estimate
of the specific work that will be completed and assessed under 10 CFR
parts 170 and 171 for each licensee. (Kennecott Uranium Company)
Response: The NRC disagrees with the comment. The NRC presumes that
``specific work'' means a detailed description or an itemization of the
work to be performed by NRC FTEs during the allotted 1375 hours of the
fiscal year. Neither the applicable regulations in 10 CFR parts 170 and
171 nor the Administrative Procedure Act require that level of detail
for the proposed fee rule. Such a detailed or itemized description is
not cost-effective, and it would not result in a reduction of fees.
Further, with respect to 10 CFR part 170 fees, licensing and inspection
actions may be difficult to prioritize in advance and the amount of
time spent on any particular licensing or inspection action may vary
considerably, depending on the novelty and complexity of the license
application under review or the facility being inspected. Similarly,
with respect to 10 CFR part 171 annual fees, the nature of the generic
research, safety, environmental, or safeguards activities that apply to
materials licenses, may also vary considerably, given changes in
Commission priorities, external events, interactions with Agreement
States, other Federal agencies, state, local and tribal governments,
the regulated industry, and members of the public. No change was made
to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: The proposed rule and the work papers do not state how the
estimated $324.5 million in 10 CFR part 170 costs are calculated for
licensees. (Exelon)
Response: The NRC estimates the amount of 10 CFR part 170 fees
based on established fee methodology guidelines (42 FR 22149; May 2,
1977), which specified that the NRC has the authority to recover the
full cost of providing services to identifiable beneficiaries. As in
previous years, the NRC applied longstanding principles to calculate
the 10 CFR part 170 estimates based on the analysis of financial data.
The data analyzed included: (1) Four quarters of the most recent
billing data (hourly rate invoice data); (2) actual contractual work
charged (prior period data) to develop contract work estimates; and (3)
the number of FTE hours charged, multiplied by the NRC professional
hourly rate. These factors, along with work load projections, are used
by the NRC to determine the 10 CFR part 170 estimated charges. Because
the fee calculation worksheets used to develop the 10 CFR part 170
estimates involve thousands of calculations, it would be impractical
for the NRC to provide details on every calculation, let alone
explanations for every calculation such that each individual
calculation became accessible and understandable to members of the
public. No change was made to the final rule in response to this
comment.
Comment: The work papers allocate to operating reactors certain
budgeted resources for the business lines pertaining to fuel
facilities, nuclear materials users, and decommissioning and low-level
waste. There is no explanation of how these activities apply to
operating reactors. The line items under these business lines with
amounts allocated to operating reactors relate predominantly to
training. If there are not direct program support activities allocable
to operating reactors under these business lines, it is unclear how
there can be training costs allocable to reactors. (NEI)
Response: Although the work papers provide adequate detail for the
purpose of the fees, the NRC will explore opportunities to provide
greater transparency for our stakeholders and licensees. The costs
described under the fuel facilities, nuclear materials users, and
decommissioning and low-level waste categories are for things such as
(but not limited to) generic low-level waste disposal, dosimeter, and
high-level/spent fuel disposal costs.
Comment: The work papers allocate to operating reactors over $10
million for SFST. As there is no meaningful description, one cannot
determine whether the allocated costs are attributable solely to the
Waste Confidence rulemaking or include other activities as well. The
$10 million is in addition to the $27.5 million for spent fuel storage
and decommissioning activities recovered through an annual fee on power
reactors and 10 CFR part 72 licensees that do not hold a 10 CFR part 50
license. The NRC should inform the operating reactors whether the SFST
costs assessed to operating reactors includes activities pertaining to
spent fuel disposal activities listed in the FY 2014 CBJ. These costs
should be counted separately or be an offset from the carry-over
appropriation relating to the review of Yucca Mountain license
application or recovered through user fees assessed to DOE or the NWF.
The NRC should also provide a detailed
[[Page 37139]]
breakdown of the annual fee for SFST costs by specifying any amounts
that are attributable to spent fuel disposal activities for long-term
storage attributable to the DOE's failure to meet its contractual
obligations. Any activities relating to DOE's obligations under the
Nuclear Waste Policy Act should either be offset by the carry-over
appropriation from the NWF or recovered from DOE through a user fee.
(Exelon)
Response: A small portion of the operating reactors' fees include
SFST business line activities pertaining to analysis, data collection,
modeling future alternate strategies for disposal of spent fuel and
high-level waste, and monitoring national-level developments stemming
from the report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear
Future and DOE's response to that report. Beginning in FY 2011, the NRC
began budgeting for potential alternatives for the ultimate geological
disposal of spent nuclear fuel, which was driven by the recognition of
DOE's intent not to pursue the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain.
At that time, the NRC determined that it was appropriate to include
these SFST resources in the power reactors fee class because power
reactors ultimately benefit from disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The
user fees assessed to DOE are specifically for DOE's transportation and
uranium recovery activities, and are not related to the ultimate
disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Further, it is neither feasible nor
appropriate for the NRC to parse out fees for activities that might be
attributable to DOE's contractual obligations with respect to spent
fuel versus those fees that would have been borne by licensees even if
DOE had performed. Finally, with respect to offsetting fees from the
carryover appropriations relating to the review of the Yucca Mountain
license application or recovering costs through user fees assessed to
the NWF, the NRC disagrees with the comment. Funds appropriated from
the NWF may only be used for activities prescribed in Section 302(d) of
the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which includes licensing activities
associated with the Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository. That
section covers neither the NRC's work on future alternative strategies
for disposal of high-level waste, nor monitoring national-level
developments stemming from the report of the Blue Ribbon Commission.
Therefore, these activities are not chargeable to NWF appropriations.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
B. Fairness of Fees
Comment: The increase in operating power reactor fees is
significant and problematic, particularly since it is being noticed
well after licensee budgets for the year have been established. The
problem is compounded due to the fact that the FY 2014 Proposed Fee
Rule is being issued one month later than the historical practice, and
the fourth quarter billing adjustment will impose an increase of $1
million per reactor than in previous quarters. (NEI)
Response: The NRC recognizes that the increase in fees will have a
significant impact on licensee budgets. However, the NRC cannot
schedule its assessment of generic activities to coincide with licensee
budget planning. The OBRA-90 requires that the NRC collect an amount
that approximates 90 percent of its budget authority through fees by
the end of the fiscal year, and the NRC must set its fees in accordance
with its own budget. The budget is established by Congress on a
schedule that the NRC does not control. No change was made to the final
rule in response to this comment.
Comment: The proposed fee rule fails to subtract from the NRC
budget the cost of activities that are covered by appropriations and
carry-over appropriations from the NWF. (Exelon)
Response: The NRC disagrees with the comment. The NRC's FY 2014
activities related to review of the Yucca Mountain high-level waste
repository are being charged to the carryover balance of the NRC's NWF
appropriations from prior years and will not be billed to licensees.
The OBRA-90, as amended, specifies that the NRC must deduct from the
annual charges collected from all licensees any ``amounts appropriated
to the Commission from the Nuclear Waste Fund for the fiscal year.'' 42
U.S.C. 2214(c)(2)(A)(ii) (emphasis added). But in FY 2014, the NRC did
not receive any new appropriations from the NWF. Therefore, there was
no NWF amount to subtract from the budget in calculating FY 2014 annual
fees; all the carryover money that the NRC is using in FY 2014 was
already deducted during the years in which it was appropriated. No
change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: The proposed fee rule fails to recover user fees from
every person who receives a service or thing of value the full cost of
such service or thing of value. Of the $930 million that the Commission
must recover through fees, only $324.5 million is estimated to be
recovered through 10 CFR part 170 user fees. This could be correct only
if approximately two-thirds of the NRC's budget does not benefit any
identifiable entity, which is presumed not the case. As an example,
user fees do not appear to be imposed for vendor inspections despite
the fact that vendors are identifiable persons receiving the benefit of
NRC inspections to establish their qualifications to provide safety-
related services. Also, the costs for advanced reactor research should
be recovered through user fees charged to applicants or pre-applicants.
(Exelon)
Response: Initially, the NRC notes that the comment is outside of
the scope of the proposed fee rule. As proposed, the rule would simply
amend the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to the
applicants and licensees currently subject to the NRC's fee rules for
FY 2014. The NRC does not charge nuclear industry vendors user fees.
Establishing vendors as a new recipient of user fees would require the
NRC to revise its existing 10 CFR part 171 regulations. The NRC process
for initiating a rulemaking to consider such a change is included under
10 CFR 2.802, ``Petition for Rulemaking.''
That being said, the NRC notes that NRC licensees are ultimately
responsible for ensuring the acceptability of the items and services
they receive from vendors. The NRC's vendor inspections are intended to
provide an additional level of safety, not to relieve the applicant or
licensee of its responsibility for providing vendor oversight. As for
the costs associated with advanced reactor research, these are, by
their nature, generic costs that the NRC cannot charge to a specific
applicant or pre-applicant. No changes will be made to the final rule
as a result of this comment.
Comment: The NRC should consider imposing an annual fee for
activities on holders of design certifications, design approvals and
manufacturing licenses, licensees that hold or have active applications
for combined licenses, and holders of active construction permits.
Because OBRA-90 authorizes annual charges collected from ``licensees
and certificate holders'' under 42 U.S.C. 2214(c), the NRC should
define a new reactor licensee for the purpose of the fee rule to
include holders of design certifications, design approvals or any other
approvals. This would impose new reactor costs on those entities that
have the closest relationship to the regulatory services being provided
and would be the most fair and equitable allocation. Many operating
reactor licenses are not pursuing any new reactor licensing
applications; therefore, the NRC is not fairly allocating fees to the
new reactor applicants that directly benefit from NRC new reactor
activities
[[Page 37140]]
as required by OBRA-90. If the NRC is unable to recover the full amount
of its new reactor costs through user fees, then the NRC should define
a new, more focused class of licensees that should be assessed the
annual fee needed to collect the remainder of these fees. (Exelon)
Response: Initially, the NRC notes that the comment is outside of
the scope of the proposed fee rule. As proposed, the rule would simply
amend the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to the
applicants and licensees currently subject to the NRC's fee rules for
FY 2014. Establishing a new class to capture new reactor activities
would require the NRC to completely overhaul its existing 10 CFR part
171 regulations. The NRC process for initiating a rulemaking to
consider such a change is included under 10 CFR 2.802, ``Petition for
Rulemaking.''
That being said, the NRC disagrees with the comment that the
proposed FY 2014 fee rule violates OBRA-90. To the extent that the
NRC's reactor safety work directly benefits a licensee or applicant,
then the NRC assesses 10 CFR part 170 user fees upon that licensee or
applicant. As a result, existing operating reactor licensees are not
paying any fees for new reactor work that directly benefits an entity
engaged in new reactor activities. As for the portion of the new
reactor work that is not collected through 10 CFR part 170 user fees,
OBRA-90, as amended, requires that the NRC allocate those costs of this
work fairly and equitably. Because the NRC's generic new reactor work
yields indirect benefits for existing operating reactor licensees, the
NRC's current system of allocating all operating reactor costs to
existing licensees satisfies OBRA-90's requirements.
The NRC generic work prompted by new reactor applications benefits
operating reactor licensees in several ways. First, regulations and
guidance that are on their face directed at future nuclear power plants
reactors may also benefit existing reactor licensees. For example, if
an existing licensee sought to obtain NRC approval for a design change
to a safety significant structure at an operating plant, then the NRC
may use guidance that was developed for new reactor applications to
analyze the design change. As a specific example, the regulatory
guidance developed to support the review of seismic and flooding issues
for new reactors has informed the review of Fukushima NTTF
Recommendation 2.1 for current operating plants. This is just one
example of how the distinction between new reactor work and operating
reactor work is less rigid than the comment implies.
Second, entities holding licenses for currently operating reactors
may also be, either now or in the future, applicants for new nuclear
power plant licenses. Given the evolving nature of the new reactor
landscape, the NRC concludes that there is no practicable or reliable
method to determine which existing NRC licensees will develop an
interest in future reactor activities.
Third, all power plant licensees indirectly benefit from rulemaking
or other generic activities that enhance and develop the new reactor
licensing framework because these generic activities help to establish
and maintain the regulatory infrastructure at the NRC. This provides
existing nuclear reactor licensees with regulatory predictability that
is useful for business planning purposes. Along those lines, the NRC
performs generic activities related to license renewal. These costs are
spread among all holders of power reactor operating licenses without
regard to whether the operating license holder intends to seek renewal.
This is because a stable and efficient regulatory regime for license
renewal indirectly benefits all existing power plants even if an
existing power reactor has no immediate plans to seek license renewal.
The same is true for new reactor licensing.
Ultimately, identification of fee classes is a matter of drawing
practical distinctions. By virtue of being a generic activity without a
specific, concrete beneficiary, all the activities that fall in the 10
CFR part 171 annual fee category could be theoretically parsed into an
almost infinite amount of fee classes. For example, if the NRC were to
base fees on distinctions such as whether generic work benefited
boiling-water reactors versus pressurized-water reactors or coastal
versus inland reactors, the exercise would result in distinctions that
are both artificial and unduly burdensome from an administrative and
recordkeeping standpoint. Therefore, the NRC's decision to draw the fee
class line in such a way that encompasses generic new reactor work
satisfies OBRA-90's requirement that costs be allocated fairly and
that, ``[t]o the maximum extent practicable, the charges shall have a
reasonable relationship to the cost of providing regulatory services.''
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: The annual fee for operating reactors should not be
assessed solely on the 100 current operating licensees licensed under
10 CFR part 50, but should also include holders of combined licenses
(COLs) under 10 CFR part 52. The NRC generic activities for operating
reactors, such as Fukushima NTTF activities, benefit 10 CFR part 52
combined license holders as much as 10 CFR part 50 operating licensees.
Assigning costs only to 10 CFR part 50 operating licenses is
inequitable, particularly because the current COL holders are far
better positioned to recover these costs than many current operating
licensees because they remain electric utilities able to recover costs
through rates and regulatory costs during construction are largely
capitalized. (Exelon)
Response: Initially, the NRC notes that the comment is outside of
the scope of the proposed fee rule. As proposed, the rule would simply
amend the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to the
applicants and licensees currently subject to the NRC's fee rules for
FY 2014. Enlarging the annual fee class for operating reactors to
include COL holders would require the NRC to completely overhaul its
existing 10 CFR part 171 regulations. The NRC process for initiating a
rulemaking to consider such a change is included under 10 CFR 2.802,
``Petition for Rulemaking.''
That being said, the NRC disagrees with the proposed
recommendation. Historically, plants licensed under 10 CFR part 50 did
not enter into the fee class of operating plants until permission was
granted by the NRC to load fuel and begin power operation. Although
combined license holders under 10 CFR part 52 do hold an operating
license, they do not approach a comparable status to plants licensed
under 10 CFR part 50 until the Commission determines that the
inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria are satisfied (10
CFR 52.103(g) finding) and all operational programs are functional and
program compliance with regulations demonstrated. Therefore, the NRC
believes that fairness concerns dictate that the NRC should not charge
COL holders the same fees as operating plants during their construction
and pre-operation phases. No change was made to the final rule in
response to this comment.
C. Other Issues
Comment: Fukushima NTTF Tier 1 and Tier 2 actions transition from
generic activities (10 CFR part 171) to site specific activities (10
CFR part 170), and as Fukushima-related rulemakings are finalized, the
NRC should restore greater balance in the distribution of fee-for-
service and annual fee costs. (NEI)
Response: The NRC learned many lessons from Fukushima, some of
which were immediately implemented at sites
[[Page 37141]]
through orders and requests for information, and some of which required
further policy development and technical study (rulemakings, spent fuel
pool impacts). As the NRC completes generic regulatory actions (e.g.,
rulemakings) which resulted from the Fukushima NTTF report, the costs
related to those actions will decline. And as the affected licensees
and certificate holders implement the regulatory actions, follow-on
activities will likely result in site-specific action on the part of
the NRC. This shift in activities will likely cause an increase in fees
for site specific activities (10 CFR part 170) the costs related to
site-specific actions to increase for that workload. These changes in
costs can be reflected in the fee basis. However, many generic
regulatory actions that resulted from the Fukushima NTTF report are
still in progress and the current cost distribution reflects that
workload. No change was made to the final rule in response to this
comment.
Comment: One commenter stated that the FY 2014 proposed increase in
annual fees and hourly rates for operating reactors will result in
unplanned regulatory expenses approaching $4,000,000 and may impact
already planned activities, and could result in the deferral of planned
improvements enhancing safety. (FENOC)
Response: The NRC recognizes that the increase in fees will have a
significant impact on licensee budgets. However, the NRC cannot
schedule its rulemaking process to coincide with licensee budget
planning. The NRC expects licensees to comply with all safety
requirements, notwithstanding fluctuations in revenues and expenses. No
change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: The NRC should provide relief if licensees elect to
combine licenses under fee categories 7.A. and 7.B., since there would
be an administrative cost savings to the NRC and institutions. The NRC
should maintain the annual fee for category 7.B., as it is the broad
medical license which drives most of the radiation safety program
(e.g., administrative processes, approval of authorized users, review
of incidents, etc.), and reduce the annual fee for fee category 7.A. by
at least 50 percent. This would provide an incentive to combine
licenses. (IU/Medical Center)
Response: The NRC computes the material licenses fee categories,
which includes fee categories 7.A. and 7.B, based on 10 CFR part 170
application fees and estimated inspection costs for each fee category.
The NRC believes that the current fee category descriptions and annual
fees associated with these fee categories accurately reflect the NRC's
cost of providing generic activities and other regulatory costs to the
licensees. For example, licensees that fall into the 7.A. fee category
have unique regulatory requirements over and above the requirements of
7.B. licensees. Fee category 7.A. licensees require additional
licensing and inspection actions and guidance documents that are
specific to the large sources they are authorized to possess.
D. Department of Energy Comments
Comment: The basis for the NRC's determination of generic/other
uranium recovery costs and other line items affecting the DOE annual
fee amount, including the specific regulatory actions and activities
that account for the fees, is not provided. Considering the NRC
proposes to collect 70 percent of the uranium recovery licensee fees
from DOE, the NRC has not demonstrated that more than half of the
uranium recovery license support scope is the direct result of DOE
oversight, particularly since DOE is invoiced separately for site-
specific document reviews. The DOE is aware of significant uranium
recovery license activity involving specific licensees while the pace
of Title II site transitions to DOE-Legacy Management has slowed as the
NRC evaluates groundwater remedies at former mill sites that are
regulated under specific licenses. Greater detail in the work papers is
warranted to justify this allocation. (DOE)
Response: The NRC described the overall methodology for determining
fees for uranium recovery facilities, including DOE, in the 2002 fee
rule (67 FR 42612; June 24, 2002). The NRC recovers fees from DOE
through both user fees charged under 10 CFR part 170 for specific
UMTRCA oversight activities and annual fees charged under 10 CFR part
171 for generic and other costs related to UMTRCA and other uranium
recovery activities. As shown in the work papers referenced in the
proposed FY 2014 rule, the NRC calculated the total amount of budgeted
resources for UMTRCA activities related to DOE sites in the FY 2014
appropriation by computing the cost of staff hours budgeted to conduct
the work (in terms of full-time equivalent, or FTE) and the budgeted
contract costs. The total amount of budgeted resources was reduced by
the amount expected to be recovered by direct fees for site-specific
UMTRCA activities. The NRC estimated the amount of direct fees by
analyzing billing data and the actual contractual work charged to DOE
for the previous four quarters. The estimate, therefore, reflects any
recent reductions in NRC oversight activities. The remainder of the
UMTRCA budgeted amount related to DOE sites was charged to DOE for
generic activities. In addition to those generic costs, DOE was charged
for 10 percent of the overall generic costs attributable to the uranium
recovery program. The remaining 90 percent of the overall generic costs
was charged to other members of the uranium recovery class. Therefore,
DOE is not paying a disproportionate amount for NRC costs for generic
regulatory efforts.
The NRC performs several types of activities in its oversight of
UMTRCA sites that have been transferred to DOE for long-term
surveillance and maintenance. The NRC staff reviews the reports
generated by DOE, including routine ground water monitoring reports,
annual site remediation performance reports, annual inspection reports
and other technical reports generated by DOE. The NRC staff also
reviews and provides comments on non-routine reports such as the
reports developed by DOE concerning Many Devils Wash at the Shiprock
site and the Phytoremediation Pilot Study at the Monument Valley site.
In addition, if DOE proposes to revise a ground water corrective action
plan or remediation plan at a site, the NRC staff would review and
concur on the revised plan. The NRC staff also performs observational
site visits at UMTRCA sites to observe the DOE, and DOE contractors,
performing the annual inspections of the UMTRCA sites required by the
site long-term surveillance plan. Other significant staff actions
include participating in the activities related to the development and
implementation of the 5-year plan to address uranium contamination on
the Navajo Nation. No change was made to the final rule in response to
this comment.
Comment: The NRC should explain why the work paper line item
includes $36,000 in contract dollars since this line item has been a
non-zero cost item since 2007. (DOE)
Response: The NRC agrees with this comment, and provided the
analysis of the DOE pilot study to DOE staff on April 28, 2014. The
$36,000 was to support a contract with the Center for Nuclear Waste
Regulatory Analysis for the review of the DOE report, ``Monitored
Natural and Enhanced Attenuation of the Alluvial Aquifer and Subpile
Soils at the Monument Valley, Arizona Site: Final Pilot Study Report,''
dated April 2013. No change was made
[[Page 37142]]
to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: The hourly rate increased by 2.6 percent from FY 2013 to
FY 2014, in contrast to long-term surveillance charges, which assumes a
discount rate of 1 percent annually. The funds collected for long-term
surveillance at any given site will be exhausted if the cost of
inflation outpaces the discount rate, after which long-term
surveillance and maintenance costs will be borne by the tax payer.
(DOE)
Response: The hourly fee established for this rule is used to
assess fees is applicable to all NRC activities for which fees are
charged. The long-term surveillance charges referred to by the
commenter are paid by mill operators into the general treasury of the
United States or an appropriate State agency to cover costs of long-
term surveillance after termination of the mill license. The NRC
regulations in appendix A to 10 CFR part 40, criterion X, state that
the total charge must be such that, with an assumed 1 percent annual
real interest rate, the collected funds will yield interest in an
amount sufficient to cover annual surveillance costs. Long-term
surveillance is an activity that is carried out by DOE, but not the
NRC. The matter of whether surveillance charges will be sufficient to
cover DOE's surveillance costs is, therefore, not within the scope of
the NRC's fee rule. The DOE is free to file a rulemaking petition to
request a change in criterion X if the current provisions are
insufficient to ensure that sufficient funds are collected to cover
surveillance costs in the long term.
Comment: The proposed rule should indicate if the DOE annual fee
includes oversight for the Moab UMTRCA Title I site, where the disposal
cell is currently under construction. (DOE)
Response: The NRC disagrees that the rule should state whether the
DOE annual fee includes oversight for the Moab UMTRCA Title I site. The
NRC calculates the total annual fee for DOE, but leaves the
responsibility of distributing the annual fee to specific sites to DOE
as it deems appropriate. No change was made to the final rule in
response to this comment.
E. Process Efficiencies
Comment: Many commenters from the nuclear industry, mining and
uranium recovery industry commented about improving resource
utilization and streamlining regulatory processes such as NUREG-1910,
``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for In-Situ Leach Uranium
Milling Facilities,'' performance-based licensing for uranium recovery
licensees and Section 106 consultation process, etc.
Response: Initially, the NRC notes that these comments are outside
of the scope of the proposed fee rule. As proposed, the rule would
simply amend the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to the
applicants and licensees currently subject to the NRC's fee rules for
FY 2014. In any event, the NRC takes process efficiencies seriously and
the NRC will continue to examine ways to utilize its resources more
efficiently and streamline licensing processes for licensees and
applicants. The NRC is open to input from industry and would be
willingly to discuss areas for process improvement in a publicly
noticed meeting at the request of the industry.
F. Out of Scope Comments
Comments: The NRC should implement a number of recommendations to
improve the efficiency of NRC operations and the effect of perceived
inefficiencies on the fees the NRC charges. Recommendations include:
Favoring and enhancing risk-informed, performance-based licensing and
regulatory approaches; increasing the efficiency of certain
environmental reviews; adhering to existing Commission-approved
guidance while working to prepare new guidance with the aid of
stakeholder input; certifying standardized designs for uranium recovery
facilities to streamline the application and review process; developing
guidance, after an opportunity for public comment, regarding the
consultation process under Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act; shifting experienced NRC staff personnel from the
Office of New Reactors to the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation; and
increasing the agency's focus on resource management, workload
prioritization, and issue closure to promote timely NRC reviews of
licensing actions and to improve management of the agency's generic
activities, such as rulemakings. Some commenters also raised the
concern that the higher the NRC's fees, the greater the financial
burden on those required to pay them.
Response: These comments are out of the scope of this rulemaking.
The primary purpose of the NRC's annual fee recovery rulemaking is to
update the NRC's fee schedules to account for the appropriations the
NRC received for the current fiscal year, and to make other necessary
corrections or appropriate changes to specific aspects of the NRC's fee
regulations. Procedurally, by the time the NRC is developing its fee
recovery rule, Congress has set the NRC's appropriation and, thus, the
amount the NRC must collect in fees. This situation leaves little to no
room for the NRC to make substantial operational or regulatory changes
during the development of the fee recovery rule that could meaningfully
impact the fees that the rulemaking is addressing. Consequently, making
changes to the way the NRC operates as an agency, manages its
personnel, or conducts regulatory activities is, therefore, not within
the scope of this rulemaking.
With that said, the NRC takes very seriously the importance of
examining and improving the efficiency of its operations and the
prioritization of its regulatory activities. Recognizing the importance
of continuous reexamination and improvement of the way the agency does
business, the NRC has undertaken, and continues to undertake, a number
of significant initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency of NRC
operations and enhancing the agency's approach to regulating. Though
comments addressing these issues may not be within the scope of this
fee rulemaking, the NRC takes input of this type very seriously and
will consider these comments in our program operations.
V. Section-by-Section Analysis
The following paragraphs describe the specific amendments for this
final rule.
10 CFR 170.3, Definitions
The NRC amends the definition of ``research reactor'' to correctly
reference the definition of ``testing facility.''
10 CFR 170.12, Payments of Fees
The NRC modifies paragraph (b)(3) and deletes paragraphs (b)(5),
(b)(6), and (b)(7) based on the latest accounting cost system
information, which deems the language referencing application costs
deferred before August 9, 1991, as obsolete. The NRC also adds a new
paragraph (g) to clarify that the NRC is authorized to collect any
underpayment of fees from licensees to satisfy the requirements of
OBRA-90, as amended.
10 CFR 170.20, Average Cost per Professional Staff Hour
The NRC revises this section to reflect the hourly rate for FY
2014.
[[Page 37143]]
10 CFR 170.21, Schedule of Fees for Production or Utilization
Facilities, Review of Standard Referenced Design Approvals, Special
Projects, Inspections, and Import and Export Licenses
The NRC revises fees for fee category code K. to reflect the FY
2014 hourly rate for flat fee applications.
10 CFR 170.31, Schedule of Fees for Materials Licenses and Other
Regulatory Services, Including Inspections, and Import and Export
Licenses
The NRC revises the fee category description for 2.B. by adding
footnotes 6, 7, and 8 to avoid duplicate billing and to provide
exemptions of fees from fee category codes with identical requirements.
The NRC revises the fee category descriptions for 3.P. and 7.C. by
adding footnotes 9 and 10, respectively, for the same reasons.
10 CFR 171.11, Exemptions
The NRC redesignates paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) as
paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e), respectively, adds a new paragraph
(a), and revises newly redesignated paragraph (c) to clarify the time
period for filing exemption requests applies to all exemption criteria
instead of one exemption criterion.
10 CFR 171.15, Annual Fees: Reactor Licenses and Independent Fuel
Storage Licenses
The NRC revises paragraph (a) to allow an ISFSI licensee to be
charged an annual fee only when the licensee has the ability to use or
to derive benefit from the license. The NRC further revises paragraph
(a) by replacing ``and'' with ``or'' to clarify that research reactors
and test reactors are two separate types of non-power reactors. The NRC
revises paragraph (b)(1) to reflect the required FY 2014 annual fee to
be collected from each operating power reactor by September 30, 2014.
The NRC revises the introductory text of paragraph (b)(2) to reflect FY
2014 in reference to annual fees and fee relief adjustment. The NRC
revises paragraph (c)(1) and the introductory text of paragraph (c)(2)
to reflect the FY 2014 spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning and
spent fuel storage annual fee for 10 CFR part 50 licenses and 10 CFR
part 72 licensees who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license, and the FY
2014 fee relief adjustment. The NRC revises the introductory text of
paragraph (d)(1) and paragraphs (d)(2) and (d)(3) to reflect the FY
2014 fee-relief adjustment for the operating reactor power class of
licenses, the number of operating power reactors, and the FY 2014 fee
relief adjustment for spent fuel storage reactor decommissioning class
of licenses. The NRC revises paragraph (e) to reflect the FY 2014
annual fees for research reactors and test reactors. The NRC further
revises paragraph (e) by replacing ``and'' with ``or'' to clarify that
research reactors and test reactors are two separate types of non-power
reactors.
10 CFR 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
The NRC revises paragraphs (d) and (e) to reflect FY 2014 annual
fees and the FY 2014 fee-relief adjustment. The NRC removes the
reference to footnote 5 (which indicates that there is no licensee
under a particular fee category) for fee category 1.A.(2)(a) in
paragraph (d) due to a licensee that was recently moved to this fee
category. The NRC revises the fee category code description to 2.B. to
add footnotes 16, 17, and 18 to avoid duplicate billing and to provide
an exemption of fees from fee category codes with identical
requirements. The NRC also revises fee category code descriptions 3.P.
and 7.C. to add footnotes 19 and 20, respectively, for the same
reasons.
10 CFR 171.19, Payment of Fees
The NRC adds paragraph (f) to clarify that the NRC is authorized to
collect any underpayment of fees from licensees to satisfy the
requirements of OBRA-90, as amended.
VI. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
Section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to
perform an analysis that considers the impact of a rulemaking on small
entities. The NRC prepared a FY 2013 biennial regulatory flexibility
analysis in accordance with the FY 2001 final rule (66 FR 32467; June
14, 2001). This rule also stated the small entity fees will be
reexamined every 2 years and in the same years the NRC conducts the
biennial review of fees as required by the Chief Financial Officer Act
of 1990. For the FY 2013 final rule, small entity fees increased to
$2,800 for the maximum upper-tier small entity fee and increased to
$600 for the lower-tier small entity fee as a result of the biennial
review, which factored in the number of increased hours for application
reviews and inspections in the fee calculations. These fees remain
unchanged for this final rule. The NRC's regulatory flexibility
analysis for the FY 2013 final rule is available as indicated in
Section XV, ``Availability of Documents,'' of this document. The next
small entity biennial review is scheduled for FY 2015.
VII. Regulatory Analysis
Under OBRA-90, as amended, and the AEA, the NRC is required to
recover 90 percent of its budget authority, or total appropriations of
$1,055.9 million, in FY 2014. The NRC established fee methodology
guidelines for 10 CFR part 170 in 1978, and more fee methodology
guidelines through the establishment of 10 CFR part 171 in 1986. In
subsequent rulemakings, the NRC has adjusted its fees 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 continues 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.
VIII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
The NRC has determined that the backfit rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does
not apply to this final rule and that a backfit analysis is not
required. A backfit analysis is not required because these amendments
do not require the modification of, or addition 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.
IX. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, and well-organized
manner. The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the
Plain Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain
Language in Government Writing,'' published June 10, 1998 (63 FR
31883).
X. National Environmental Policy Act
The NRC has determined that this rule is the type of action
described in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(1). Therefore, neither an environmental
impact statement nor environmental assessment has been prepared for
this final rule.
XI. Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not contain any information collection requirements
and, therefore, is not subject to the
[[Page 37144]]
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
OMB control number.
XII. Congressional Review Act
In accordance with the Congressional Review Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C.
801-808), the NRC has determined that this action is a major rule and
has verified the determination with the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget.
XIII. Voluntary Consensus Standards
The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, Pub.
L. 104-113, requires that Federal agencies use technical standards that
are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies unless
the use of such a standard is inconsistent with applicable law or
otherwise impractical. In this final fee rule, the NRC amends 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 2014, as required by OBRA-90, as amended. This
action does not constitute the establishment of a standard that
contains generally applicable requirements.
XIV. Availability of Guidance
The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act requires all
Federal agencies to prepare a written compliance guide for each rule
for which the NRC is required by 5 U.S.C. 604 to prepare a regulatory
flexibility analysis. The NRC, in compliance with the law, prepared the
``Small Entity Compliance Guide'' for the FY 2013 final fee rule. This
document, which has been relabeled for FY 2014, is available as
indicated in Section XV, ``Availability of Documents,'' of this
document. The next compliance guide will be developed when the NRC
completes the next small entity biennial review in FY 2015.
XV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as
indicated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADAMS Accession No./Web link/Federal
Document Register citation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2014 Final Fee Rule Work ML14064A394
Papers.
FY 2013 Regulatory Flexibility ML13067A088
Analysis.
FY 2014 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory ML14055A070
Commission Small Entity
Compliance Guide.
NUREG-1100, Volume 29, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-
``Congressional Budget collections/nuregs/staff/sr1100/v29/
Justification: Fiscal Year
2014'' (April 2013).
NRC Form 526, Certification of http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-
Small Entity Status for the collections/forms/nrc526.pdf
Purposes of Annual Fees Imposed
under 10 CFR Part 171.
FY 2014 Proposed Fee Rule, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-
``Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee 04-14/pdf/2014-08221.pdf
Recovery for Fiscal Year 2014;
Proposed Fee Rule,'' published
April 14, 2014.
SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee ML052580332
Calculation Method,'' September
15, 2005.
``Recommendations for Enhancing ML111861807
Reactor Safety in the 21st
Century: The Near-Term Task
Force Review of Insights From
the Fukushima Dai-ichi
Accident,'' July 12, 2011.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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, Nonpayment
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. 552 and 553, the NRC is adopting
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
0
1. The authority citation for part 170 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Independent Offices Appropriations Act sec. 501 (31
U.S.C. 9701); Atomic Energy Act sec. 161(w) (42 U.S.C. 2201(w));
Energy Reorganization Act sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841); Chief Financial
Officers Act sec. 205 (31 U.S.C. 901, 902); Government Paperwork
Elimination Act sec. 1704 (44 U.S.C. 3504 note); Energy Policy Act
secs. 623, Energy Policy Act of 2005 sec. 651(e), Pub. L. 109-58,
119 Stat. 783 (42 U.S.C. 2201(w), 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111).
0
2. In Sec. 170.3, revise the definition ``research reactor'' to read
as follows:
Sec. 170.3 Definitions.
* * * * *
Research reactor means a nuclear reactor licensed by the Commission
under the authority of subsection 104c of the Act and pursuant to the
provisions of Sec. 50.21(c) of this chapter for operation at a thermal
power level of 10 megawatts or less, and which is not a testing
facility as defined in this section.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 170.12, revise paragraph (b)(3), remove paragraphs (b)(5),
(b)(6), and (b)(7), and add a new paragraph (g) to read as follows:
Sec. 170.12 Payment of fees.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(3) The NRC intends to bill each applicant or licensee at quarterly
intervals for all accumulated costs for each application the applicant
or licensee has on file for NRC review, until the review is completed.
* * * * *
(g) Collection of underpayment of fees. The NRC is entitled to
collect any
[[Page 37145]]
underpayment of fees as a result of an error by the NRC.
0
4. Revise Sec. 170.20 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 $279 per hour.
0
5. In Sec. 170.21, in the table, revise the fee category K. 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
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 $18,200
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 $9,800
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 $4,500
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 $3,400
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.
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.
* * * * * * *
\4\ Imports only of major components for end-use at NRC-licensed
reactors are authorized under NRC general import license in 10 CFR
110.27.
0
6. In Sec. 170.31, revise the table 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 Full Cost.
Material (High Enriched Uranium)
[Program Code(s): 21130].
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Full Cost.
Dispersible 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 Full Cost.
operations [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 of less than
a critical mass as defined in Sec.
70.4 in sealed sources contained in
devices used in industrial measuring
systems, including x-ray fluorescence
analyzers.\4\
Application [Program Code(s): $1,300.
22140].
[[Page 37146]]
D. All other special nuclear material
licenses, except licenses authorizing
special nuclear material in sealed or
unsealed form in combination that
would constitute a critical mass, as
defined in Sec. 70.4 of this
chapter, for which the licensee shall
pay the same fees as those under
Category 1.A.\4\
Application [Program Code(s): $2,600.
22110, 22111, 22120, 22131,
22136, 22150, 22151, 22161,
22170, 23100, 23300, 23310].
E. Licenses or certificates for Full Cost.
construction and operation of a
uranium enrichment facility [Program
Code(s): 21200].
F. For special nuclear materials Full Cost.
licenses in sealed or unsealed form
of greater than a critical mass as
defined in Sec. 70.4 of this
chapter.\4\ [Program Code(s): 22155].
2. Source material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use Full Cost.
of source material for refining
uranium mill concentrates to uranium
hexafluoride or for deconverting
uranium hexafluoride in the
production of uranium oxides for
disposal. [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 Full Cost.
facilities [Program Code(s):
11500].
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery Full Cost.
facilities [Program Code(s):
11510].
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin Full Cost.
facilities [Program Code(s):
11550].
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities Full Cost.
[Program Code(s): 11555].
(f) Other facilities [Program Full Cost.
Code(s): 11700].
(3) Licenses that authorize the Full Cost.
receipt of byproduct material, as
defined in Section 11e.(2) of the
Atomic Energy Act, from other persons
for possession and disposal, except
those licenses subject to the fees in
Category 2.A.(2) or Category 2.A.(4)
[Program Code(s): 11600, 12000].
(4) Licenses that authorize the Full Cost.
receipt of byproduct material, as
defined in Section 11e.(2) of the
Atomic Energy Act, from other persons
for possession and disposal
incidental to the disposal of the
uranium waste tailings generated by
the licensee's milling operations,
except those licenses subject to the
fees in Category 2.A.(2) [Program
Code(s): 12010].
(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.6 7
8
Application [Program Code(s): $1,230.
11210].
C. Licenses to distribute items
containing source material to persons
exempt from the licensing
requirements of part 40 of this
chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): $6,900.
11240].
D. Licenses to distribute source
material to persons generally
licensed under part 40 of this
chapter.
Application [Program Codes(s): $2,000.
11230, 11231].
E. Licenses for possession and use of
source material for processing or
manufacturing of products or
materials containing source material
for commercial distribution.
Application [Program Code(s): $2,800.
11710].
F. All other source material licenses.
Application [Program Code(s): $2,800.
11200, 11220, 11221, 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): $13,100.
03211, 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): $3,900.
03214, 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): $4,900.
02500, 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): $3,200.
03510, 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): $6,500.
03511].
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): $62,400.
03521].
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): $5,100.
03254, 03255, 03257].
[[Page 37147]]
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): $11,500.
03250, 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): $2,000.
03240, 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): $1,100.
03242, 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): $5,500.
01100, 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): $3,700.
03620].
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): $7,400.
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): $4,100.
03310, 03320].
P. All other specific byproduct
material licenses, except those in
Categories 4.A. through 9.D.\9\
Application [Program Code(s): $2,000.
02400, 02410, 03120, 03121,
03122, 03123, 03124, 03130,
03140, 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\
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): $2,600.
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): $2,000.
02710].
S. Licenses for production of
accelerator-produced radionuclides.
Application [Program Code(s): $13,200.
03210].
4. Waste disposal and processing:
A. Licenses specifically authorizing Full Cost.
the receipt of waste byproduct
material, source material, or special
nuclear material from other persons
for the purpose of contingency
storage or commercial land disposal
by the licensee; or licenses
authorizing contingency storage of
low-level radioactive waste at the
site of nuclear power reactors; or
licenses for receipt of waste from
other persons for incineration or
other treatment, packaging of
resulting waste and residues, and
transfer of packages to another
person authorized to receive or
dispose of waste material. [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): $6,000.
03234].
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): $5,000.
03232].
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): $3,900.
03110, 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): $22,300.
03218].
7. Medical licenses:
[[Page 37148]]
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): $9,000.
02300, 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.\10\
Application [Program Code(s): $8,700.
02110].
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): $3,400.
02120, 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): $2,600.
03710].
9. Device, product, or sealed source
safety evaluation:
A. Safety evaluation of devices or
products containing byproduct
material, source material, or special
nuclear material, except reactor fuel
devices, for commercial distribution.
Application--each device.......... $5,400.
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.......... $9,100.
C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
containing byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear
material, except reactor fuel, for
commercial distribution.
Application--each source.......... $5,300.
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.......... $1,060.
10. Transportation of radioactive
material:
A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and
shipping containers:
1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, Full Cost.
and 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................... $4,200.
Inspections................... Full Cost.
2. Users:
Application................... $4,200.
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, pre-application/
licensing activities, and
inspections:
Application [Program Code: 25110]. Full Cost.
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate Full Cost.
of Compliance.
B. Inspections related to storage of Full Cost.
spent fuel under Sec. 72.210 of
this chapter.
14. A. Byproduct, source, or special Full Cost.
nuclear material licenses and other
approvals authorizing decommissioning,
decontamination, reclamation, or site
restoration activities under parts 30,
40, 70, 72, and 76 of this chapter,
including MMLs. Application [Program
Code(s): 3900, 11900, 21135, 21215,
21240, 21325, 22200]
B. Site-specific decommissioning Full Cost.
activities 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 $18,200.
amendment; 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 $9,800.
amendment; 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 $4,500.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
D. Application for export or import of
nuclear material not requiring
Commission or Executive Branch
review, or obtaining foreign
government assurances.
[[Page 37149]]
Application--new license, or $3,400.
amendment; 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
government-to-government consent for
this process. For additional consent
see 15.I.).
Application--new license, or $15,400.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
G. Application for export of Appendix
P Category 1 materials requiring
Executive Branch review and to obtain
government-to-government consent for
this process. For additional consents
see.
15. Application--new license, or $8,900.
amendment; or license exemption request.
H. Application for export of Appendix
P Category 1 materials and to obtain
one government-to-government consent
for this process. For additional
consents see 15.I.
Application--new license, or $6,700.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
I. Requests for each additional
government-to-government consent in
support of an export license
application or active export license.
Application--new license, or $280.
amendment; 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 $15,400.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
K. Applications for export of Appendix
P Category 2 materials requiring
Executive Branch review.
Application--new license, or $8,900.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
L. Application for the export of
Category 2 materials.
Application--new license, or $5,600.
amendment; 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):
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....................... $1,900.
17. Master materials licenses of broad
scope issued to Government agencies.
Application [Program Code(s): Full Cost.
03614].
18. Department of Energy:
A. Certificates of Compliance. Full Cost.
Evaluation of casks, 11 packages, and
shipping containers (including spent
fuel, high-level waste, and other
casks, and plutonium air packages).
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Full Cost.
Control Act (UMTRCA) activities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Types of fees--Separate charges, as shown in the schedule, will be
assessed for pre-application 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, pre-application
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).
[[Page 37150]]
(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 fee 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.
\4\ Licensees paying fees under categories 1.A., 1.B., and 1.E. are not
subject to fees under categories 1.C., 1.D. and 1.F. 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.)
\6\ Licensees paying fees under 3.O. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\7\ Licensees paying fees under 3.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\8\ Licensees paying fees under 7.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\9\ Licensees paying fees under 3.N. are not subject to paying fees
under 3.P. for calibration or leak testing services authorized on the
same license.
\10\ Licensees paying fees under 7.B. are not subject to paying fees
under 7.C. for broad scope license 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 authorized on the same
license.
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
0
7. The authority citation for part 171 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act sec.
7601, Pub. L. 99-272, as amended by sec. 5601, Pub. L. 100-203, as
amended by sec. 3201, Pub. L. 101-239, as amended by sec. 6101, Pub.
L. 101-508, as amended by sec. 2903a, Pub. L. 102-486 (42 U.S.C.
2213, 2214), and as amended by Title IV, Pub. L. 109-103 (42 U.S.C.
2214); Atomic Energy Act sec. 161(w), 223, 234 (42 U.S.C. 2201(w),
2273, 2282); Energy Reorganization Act sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841);
Government Paperwork Elimination Act sec. 1704 (44 U.S.C. 3504
note); Energy Policy Act of 2005 sec. 651(e), Pub. L. 109-58 (42
U.S.C. 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111).
0
8. In Sec. 171.11, redesignate paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) as
paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e), respectively, add a new paragraph
(a), and revise newly redesignated paragraph (c) to read as follows:
Sec. 171.11 Exemptions.
(a) All requests for exemptions must be filed with the NRC within
90 days from the effective date of the final rule establishing the
annual fees for which the exemption is sought in order to be
considered. Absent extraordinary circumstances, any exemption requests
filed beyond that date will not be considered. The filing of an
exemption request does not extend the date on which the bill is
payable. Only timely payment in full ensures avoidance of interest and
penalty charges. If a partial or full exemption is granted, any
overpayment will be refunded. Requests for clarification of or
questions relating to an annual fee bill must also be filed within 90
days from the date of the initial invoice to be considered.
* * * * *
(c) The Commission may, upon application by an interested person or
on its own initiative, grant an exemption from the requirements of this
part that it determines is authorized by law or otherwise in the public
interest.
* * * * *
0
9. In Sec. 171.15, revise paragraphs (a) and (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) to
read as follows:
Sec. 171.15 Annual fees: Reactor licenses and independent spent fuel
storage licenses.
(a) Each person holding an operating license for a power, test, or
research reactor; each person holding a combined license under part 52
of this chapter after the Commission has made the finding under 10 CFR
52.103(g); each person holding a part 50 or part 52 power reactor
license that is in decommissioning or possession only status, except
those that have no spent fuel onsite; and each person holding a part 72
license who does not hold a part 50 or part 52 license and provides
notification in accordance with 10 CFR 72.80(g), shall pay the annual
fee for each license held during the Federal fiscal year in which the
fee is due. This paragraph does not apply to test or research reactors
exempted under Sec. 171.11(a).
(b)(1) The FY 2014 annual fee for each operating power reactor
which must be collected by September 30, 2014, is $5,223,000.
(2) The FY 2014 annual fees are 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 2014 fee-relief
adjustment are shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this section. The
activities comprising the FY 2014 base annual fee for operating power
reactors are as follows:
* * * * *
(c)(1) The FY 2014 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 $224,000.
(2) The FY 2014 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 a fee-relief adjustment. The activities comprising the FY
2014 fee-relief adjustment are shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this
section. The activities comprising the FY 2014 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
[[Page 37151]]
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 2014 fee-relief adjustment are as follows:
* * * * *
(2) The total FY 2014 fee-relief adjustment allocated to the
operating power reactor class of licenses is a $621,500 fee-relief
surplus, not including the amount allocated to the spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning class. The FY 2014 operating power reactor fee-
relief adjustment to be assessed to each operating power reactor is
approximately a $6,094 fee relief surplus. This amount is calculated by
dividing the total operating power reactor fee-relief surplus
adjustment, $621,500 by the number of operating power reactors (100).
(3) The FY 2014 fee-relief adjustment allocated to the spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning class of licenses is a -$44,500 fee-
relief assessment. The FY 2014 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 -$361 fee-relief assessment. 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 2014 annual fees for licensees authorized to operate a
research or 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........................................... $84,500
Test reactor............................................... 84,500
0
10. In Sec. 171.16, revise paragraph (d) and the introductory text of
paragraph (e) 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 2014 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee and
an allocation for fee-relief adjustment. The activities comprising the
FY 2014 fee-relief adjustment are shown for convenience in paragraph
(e) of this section. The FY 2014 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]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category of materials licenses Annual fees 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 $7,175,000.
Material (High Enriched Uranium)
[Program Code(s): 21130].
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in $2,469,000.
Dispersible 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 $747,000.
operations [Program Code(s): 21310,
21320].
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment $1,389,000.
demonstration facilities.
(c) Others, including hot cell $694,000.
facilities.
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of N/A.\11\
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 $3,800.
special nuclear material of less than a
critical mass, as defined in Sec.
70.4 of this chapter, in sealed sources
contained in devices used in industrial
measuring systems, including x-ray
fluorescence analyzers.\15\ [Program
Code(s): 22140].
D. All other special nuclear material $7,400.
licenses, except licenses authorizing
special nuclear material in sealed or
unsealed form in combination that would
constitute a critical mass, as defined
in Sec. 70.4 of this chapter, for
which the licensee shall pay the same
fees as those under Category 1.A.\15\
[Program Code(s): 22110, 22111, 22120,
22131, 22136, 22150, 22151, 22161,
22170, 23100, 23300, 23310].
E. Licenses or certificates for the $3,395,000.
operation of a uranium enrichment
facility [Program Code(s): 21200].
F. For special nuclear materials $7,500.
licenses in sealed or unsealed form of
greater than a critical mass as defined
in Sec. 70.4 of this chapter.\15\
[Program Code: 22155].
2. Source material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use $1,466,000.
of source material for refining uranium
mill concentrates to uranium
hexafluoride or for deconverting
uranium hexafluoride in the production
of uranium oxides for disposal.
[Program Code: 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 $33,800.
facilities [Program Code(s): 11100].
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery $42,800.
facilities [Program Code(s): 11500].
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery $48,500.
facilities [Program Code(s): 11510].
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin $0.
facilities [Program Code(s): 11550].
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities N/A.\5\
[Program Code(s): 11555].
(f) Other facilities \4\ [Program N/A.\5\
Code(s): 11700].
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt N/A.\5\
of byproduct material, as defined in
Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy
Act, from other persons for possession
and disposal, except those licenses
subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2)
or Category 2.A.(4) [Program Code(s):
11600, 12000].
[[Page 37152]]
(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt $19,200.
of byproduct material, as defined in
Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy
Act, from other persons for possession
and disposal incidental to the disposal
of the uranium waste tailings generated
by the licensee's milling operations,
except those licenses subject to the
fees in Category 2.A.(2) [Program
Code(s): 12010].
(5) Licenses that authorize the $5,600.
possession of source material related
to removal of contaminants (source
material) from drinking water [Program
Code(s): 11820].
B. Licenses that authorize possession, $3,300.
use, and/or installation of source
material for shielding.16 17 18
[Program Code: 11210].
C. Licenses to distribute items $12,500.
containing source material to persons
exempt from the licensing requirements
of part 40 of this chapter. [Program
Code: 11240].
D. Licenses to distribute source $5,100.
material to persons generally licensed
under part 40 of this chapter [Program
Code(s): 11230 and 11231].
E. Licenses for possession and use of $7,800.
source material for processing or
manufacturing of products or materials
containing source material for
commercial distribution. [Program Code:
11710].
F. All other source material licenses. $8,600.
[Program Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221,
11300, 11800, 11810].
3. Byproduct material:
A. Licenses of broad scope for $55,100.
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 [Program Code(s): 03211,
03212, 03213].
B. Other licenses for possession and use $13,800.
of 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. $20,200.
32.72 and/or 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]........................... N/A.\5\
E. Licenses for possession and use of $9,500.
byproduct 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 $13,900.
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 in which the source is not
exposed for irradiation purposes
[Program Code(s): 03511].
G. Licenses for possession and use of $127,900.
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 in which the source is not
exposed for irradiation purposes
[Program Code(s): 03521].
H. Licenses issued under subpart A of $10,700.
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, 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 $20,800.
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, 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 $5,100.
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,
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 $4,100.
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,
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 $17,500.
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 [Program
Code(s): 01100, 01110, 01120, 03610,
03611, 03612, 03613].
M. Other licenses for possession and use $10,000.
of 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 $18,000.
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. [Program Code(s):
03219, 03225, 03226].
O. Licenses for possession and use of $29,800.
byproduct 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 $6,800.
licenses, except those in Categories
4.A. through 9.D.\19\ [Program Code(s):
02400, 02410, 03120, 03121, 03122,
03123, 03124, 03140, 03130, 03220,
03221, 03222, 03800, 03810, 22130].
Q. Registration of devices generally N/A.\13\
licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
[[Page 37153]]
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 $9,600.
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 [Program Code(s): 02700].
2. Possession of quantities $9,200.
exceeding 10 times 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 $33,000.
accelerator-produced radionuclides
[Program Code(s): 03210].
4. Waste disposal and processing:
A. Licenses specifically authorizing the N/A.\5\
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 $21,100.
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 [Program Code(s):
03234].
C. Licenses specifically authorizing the $16,700.
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 [Program Code(s): 03232].
5. Well logging:
A. Licenses for possession and use of $13,600.
byproduct 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 N/A.\5\
byproduct material for field flooding
tracer studies. [Program Code(s):
03113].
6. Nuclear laundries:
A. Licenses for commercial collection $44,400.
and laundry of items contaminated with
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material [Program
Code(s): 03218].
7. Medical licenses:
A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, $23,800.
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. 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 $35,700.
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.\9\
[Program Code(s): 02110].
C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, $9,900.
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. This
category also includes the possession
and use of source material for
shielding when authorized on the same
license.\9, 20\ [Program Code(s):
02120, 02121, 02200, 02201, 02210,
02220, 02230, 02231, 02240, 22160].
8. Civil defense:
A. Licenses for possession and use of $9,600.
byproduct 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 $8,600.
evaluation of 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 $14,500.
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.
C. Registrations issued for the safety $8,400.
evaluation of sealed sources containing
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material, except
reactor fuel, for commercial
distribution.
D. Registrations issued for the safety $1,700.
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.
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 N/A.\6\
plutonium air packages.
2. Other Casks...................... N/A.\6\
B. Quality assurance program approvals
issued under part 71 of this chapter:
1. Users and Fabricators............ N/A.\6\
2. Users............................ N/A.\6\
C. Evaluation of security plans, route N/A.\6\
approvals, route surveys, and
transportation security devices
(including immobilization devices).
11. Standardized spent fuel facilities...... N/A.\6\
12. Special Projects [Program Code(s): N/A.\6\
25110].
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate N/A.\6\
of Compliance.
[[Page 37154]]
B. General licenses for storage of spent N/A.\12\
fuel under 10 CFR 72.210.
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation:
A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear N/A.\7\
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 master materials licenses
(MMLs) [Program Code(s): 3900, 11900,
21135, 21215, 21240, 21325, 22200].
B. Site-specific decommissioning N/A.\7\
activities associated with unlicensed
sites, including MMLs, whether or not
the sites have been previously licensed.
15. Import and Export licenses.............. N/A.\8\
16. Reciprocity............................. N/A.\8\
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope $383,000.
issued to Government agencies [Program
Code(s): 03614].
18. Department of Energy:
A. Certificates of Compliance........... $1,084,000.\10\
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation $815,000.
Control Act (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, 2012, 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.
\2\ Payment of the prescribed annual fee does not automatically renew
the license, certificate, registration, or approval for which the fee
is paid. Renewal applications must be filed in accordance with the
requirements of parts 30, 40, 70, 71, 72, or 76 of this chapter.
\3\ Each 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 fee categories 7.B. or 7.C.
\10\ This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to the U.S.
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.)
\15\ Licensees paying annual fees under category 1.A., 1.B., and 1.E.
are not subject to the annual fees for categories 1.C., 1.D., and 1.F.
for sealed sources authorized in the license.
\16\ Licensees paying fees under 3.O. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\17\ Licensees paying fees under 3.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\18\ Licensees paying fees under 7.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\19\ Licensees paying fees under 3.N. are not subject to paying fees
under 3.P. for calibration or leak testing services authorized on the
same license.
\20\ Licensees paying fees under 7.B. are not subject to paying fees
under 7.C. for broad scope license 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 authorized on the same
license.
(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 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 (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 2014 fee-relief adjustment are as
follows:
* * * * *
0
11. In Sec. 171.19, add a new paragraph (f) to read as follows:
Sec. 171.19 Payment.
* * * * *
(f) The NRC is entitled to collect any underpayment of fees as a
result of an error by the NRC.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of June 2014.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mary Muessle,
Acting Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-15193 Filed 6-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P