[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22535-22536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10350]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2018-0082]


Revision of the NRC Enforcement Policy

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Revision to policy statement.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing a 
revision to its Enforcement Policy (Enforcement Policy or Policy) to 
address the requirements of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 
Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Improvements Act). The 
2015 Improvements Act amended the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 
Adjustment Act (FCPIAA) of 1990, and now requires Federal agencies to 
adjust their maximum civil monetary penalty annually for inflation.

DATES: This action was effective on January 12, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0082 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0082. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     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].
     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: Gerry Gulla, Office of Enforcement, 
telephone: 301-287-9143, email: [email protected], U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In 1990, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 
Adjustment Act of 1990, to provide for regular adjustment for inflation 
of civil monetary penalties (CMPs). As amended by the Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996, the FCPIAA required that the head of each 
Federal agency review, and if necessary, adjust by regulation the CMPs 
assessed under statutes enforced by the agency at least once every four 
years.
    On November 2, 2015, the President of the United States signed into 
law the 2015 Improvements Act, which further amended the FCPIAA and 
requires Federal agencies to adjust their CMPs annually for inflation 
no later than January 15 of each year. These requirements apply to the 
NRC's maximum CMP amounts for (1) a violation of the Atomic Energy Act 
(AEA) of 1954, as amended, or any regulation or order issued under the 
AEA, codified in section 2.205(j) of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR), ``Civil Penalties''; and (2) a false claim or 
statement made under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, codified in 
10 CFR 13.3, ``Basis for Civil Penalties and Assessments.''
    Pursuant to the 2015 Improvements Act, the NRC codified on January 
12,

[[Page 22536]]

2018 (83 FR 1515), the revised maximum daily base CMP based on the 
percentage change in the consumer price index between October 2017 and 
October 2016. Because this revised monetary value directly impacts the 
CMPs assessed to NRC licensees, the NRC's Enforcement Policy table of 
civil penalties requires revision. Specifically, the monetary amounts 
found in Section 8.0, ``Table of Base Civil Penalties'' items a--e and 
g. This monetary adjustment does not include item ``f'' since its 
monetary value is based on the estimated or actual cost of authorized 
disposal and not on the monetary value codified in 10 CFR 2.205(j).
    Accordingly, the NRC has revised its Policy to read as follows:

                   8.0--Table of Base Civil Penalties
                                 Table A
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a. Power reactors, gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment         $290,000
 plants, and high-level waste repository................
b. Fuel fabricators authorized to possess Category I or          145,000
 II quantities of SNM and uranium conversion facilities.
c. All other fuel fabricators, including facilities               72,500
 under construction, authorized to possess Category III
 quantities of SNM, industrial processors, independent
 spent fuel and monitored retrievable storage
 installations, mills, gas centrifuge and laser uranium
 enrichment facilities..................................
d. Test reactors, contractors, waste disposal licensees,          29,000
 industrial radiographers, and other large material
 users..................................................
e. Research reactors, academic, medical, or other small           14,500
 material users.........................................
f. Loss, abandonment, or improper transfer or disposal
 of regulated material, regardless of the use or type of
 licensee:
    1. Sources or devices with a total activity greater           54,000
     than 3.7 x 104 MBq (1 Curie), excluding hydrogen-3
     (tritium)..........................................
    2. Other sources or devices containing the materials          17,000
     and quantities listed in 10 CFR 31.5(c)(13)(i).....
    3. Sources and devices not otherwise described above           7,000
g. Individuals who release safeguards information.......           7,250
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II. Procedural Requirements

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    This policy statement does not contain any new or amended 
collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing collection of information were 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), approval numbers 
3150-0010 and 3150-0136.

Public Protection Notification

    The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless the document requesting 
or requiring the collection displays a currently valid OMB control 
number.

Congressional Review Act

    This action is not a rule as defined in the Congressional Review 
Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of May 2018.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 Victor McCree,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2018-10350 Filed 5-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P