[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2187-2188]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28631]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 2

[NRC-2022-0205]


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. This revision addresses the 
requirements of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 
Improvements Act of 2015, which requires Federal agencies to adjust 
their maximum civil monetary penalty amounts annually for inflation.

DATES: This action is effective on January 13, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0205 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0205. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407; 
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 https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, 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, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susanne Woods, Office of Enforcement, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
telephone: 301-287-9446, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    In 1990, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 
Adjustment Act of 1990 (FCPIAA) to provide for regular adjustments 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 4 years.
    On November 2, 2015, the President of the United States signed into 
law the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 
Act of 2015 (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. The requirements of 
the 2015 Improvements Act 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 Sec.  
2.205(j) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
``Civil penalties''; and (2) a false claim or statement made under the 
Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, codified in Sec.  13.3, ``Basis for 
civil penalties and assessments.''
    Pursuant to the 2015 Improvements Act, the NRC published today in 
the Rules section of the Federal Register the revised maximum daily 
base CMP, based on the percentage change in the consumer price index 
between October 2021 and October 2022, and codified in Sec.  2.205. In 
connection with this final rule, the NRC is publishing a corresponding 
update to the NRC's Enforcement Policy to adjust the monetary amounts 
listed in Section 8.0, ``Table of Base Civil Penalties.'' This monetary 
adjustment does not include item f. since its monetary value is based 
on the estimated or actual cost of authorized disposal and is not 
calculated based on the monetary value codified in Sec.  2.205(j). 
Adjustments to item f. base civil penalty amounts are being examined 
under a separate effort.
    Accordingly, the NRC has revised its Enforcement 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         $350,000
 plants, and high-level waste repository................
b. Fuel fabricators authorized to possess Category I or          175,000
 II quantities of SNM and uranium conversion facilities.
c. All other fuel fabricators, including facilities               87,500
 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,          35,000
 industrial radiographers, and other large material
 users..................................................
e. Research reactors, academic, medical, or other small           17,500
 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.......           8,750
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II. 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 collections of information were 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget

[[Page 2188]]

(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.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This action is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5 
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has 
determined that it is not a ``major rule'' as defined by the 
Congressional Review Act.

    Dated: December 21, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel H. Dorman,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2022-28631 Filed 1-12-23; 8:45 am]
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