[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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