[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 42 (Friday, March 3, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13357-13384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03940]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
[NRC-2021-0024]
RIN 3150-AK58
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2023
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to
amend the licensing, inspection, special project, and annual fees
charged to its applicants and licensees. The proposed amendments are
necessary to comply with the Nuclear Energy Innovation and
Modernization Act, which requires the NRC to recover, to the maximum
extent practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget less
certain amounts excluded from this fee-recovery requirement.
DATES: Submit comments by April 3, 2023. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is
only able to ensure consideration for comments received before this
date. Because the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act
requires the NRC to collect fees for fiscal year 2023 by September 30,
2023, the NRC must finalize any revisions to its fee schedules
promptly, and thus is unable to grant any extension request of the
comment period.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website:
Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0024. 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 proposed rule.
Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact
us at 301-415-1677.
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission at 301-415-1101.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff.
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (ET) Federal workdays;
telephone: 301-415-1677.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Rossi, Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-7341; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
II. Background; Statutory Authority
III. Discussion
IV. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
V. Regulatory Analysis
VI. Backfitting and Issue Finality
VII. Plain Writing
VIII. National Environmental Policy Act
IX. Paperwork Reduction Act
Public Protection Notification
X. Voluntary Consensus Standards
XI. Availability of Guidance
XII. Public Meeting
XIII. Availability of Documents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0024 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0024.
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 or 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader,
the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in the ``Availability of
Documents'' section of this document.
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-
[[Page 13358]]
4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic submission of comments through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2021-0024 in your comment.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment. The NRC will post all comments at https://www.regulations.gov
as well as enter the comments into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely
edit comments to remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comments. Your request should state that
the NRC does not routinely edit comments to remove such information
before making the comments available to the public or entering the
comments into ADAMS.
II. Background; Statutory Authority
The NRC's fee regulations are primarily governed by two laws: (1)
the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C.
9701), and (2) the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act
(NEIMA) (42 U.S.C. 2215). The IOAA authorizes and encourages Federal
agencies to recover, to the fullest extent possible, costs attributable
to services provided to identifiable recipients. Under NEIMA, the NRC
must recover, to the maximum extent practicable, approximately 100
percent of its annual budget, less the budget authority for excluded
activities. Under section 102(b)(1)(B) of NEIMA, ``excluded
activities'' include any fee-relief activity as identified by the
Commission, generic homeland security activities, waste incidental to
reprocessing activities, Nuclear Waste Fund activities, advanced
reactor regulatory infrastructure activities, Inspector General
services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, research and
development at universities in areas relevant to the NRC's mission, and
a nuclear science and engineering grant program. In fiscal year (FY)
2023, the fee-relief activities identified by the Commission are
consistent with prior fee rules, which are listed in Table 1--Excluded
Activities.
Under NEIMA, the NRC must use its IOAA authority first to collect
service fees for NRC work that provides specific benefits to
identifiable recipients (such as licensing work, inspections, and
special projects). The NRC's regulations in 10 CFR part 170, ``Fees for
Facilities, Materials, Import and Export Licenses, and Other Regulatory
Services Under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as Amended,'' explain how
the agency collects service fees from specific beneficiaries. Because
the NRC's fee recovery under the IOAA (10 CFR part 170) will not equal
100 percent of the agency's total budget authority for the fiscal year
(less the budget authority for excluded activities), the NRC also
assesses ``annual fees'' under 10 CFR part 171, ``Annual Fees for
Reactor Licenses and Fuel Cycle Licenses and Materials Licenses,
Including Holders of Certificates of Compliance, Registrations, and
Quality Assurance Program Approvals and Government Agencies Licensed by
the NRC,'' to recover the remaining amount necessary to comply with
NEIMA.
III. Discussion
FY 2023 Fee Collection--Overview
The NRC is issuing this FY 2023 proposed fee rule based on the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (the enacted budget). The
proposed fee rule reflects a total budget authority in the amount of
$927.2 million, which is an increase of $39.5 million from FY 2022. As
explained previously, certain portions of the NRC's total budget
authority for the fiscal year are excluded from NEIMA's fee-recovery
requirement under section 102(b)(1)(B) of NEIMA. Based on the FY 2023
enacted budget, these exclusions total $137.0 million, which is an
increase of $6.0 million from FY 2022. These excluded activities
consist of $97.1 million for fee-relief activities, $23.8 million for
advanced reactor regulatory infrastructure activities, $13.4 million
for generic homeland security activities, $1.2 million for waste
incidental to reprocessing activities, and $1.5 million for Inspector
General services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Table
I summarizes the excluded activities for the FY 2023 proposed fee rule.
The FY 2022 amounts are provided for comparison purposes.
Table I--Excluded Activities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2022 final FY 2023
rule proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fee-Relief Activities:
International activities............ 25.5 28.7
Agreement State oversight........... 11.1 11.9
Medical isotope production 3.7 2.6
infrastructure.....................
Fee exemption for nonprofit 11.6 13.5
educational institutions...........
Costs not recovered from small 7.4 8.8
entities under 10 CFR 171.16(c)....
Regulatory support to Agreement 12.1 14.2
States.............................
Generic decommissioning/reclamation 15.9 13.8
activities (not related to the
operating power reactors and spent
fuel storage fee classes)..........
Uranium recovery program and 3.0 2.3
unregistered general licensees.....
Potential Department of Defense 0.9 0.9
remediation program Memorandum of
Understanding activities...........
Non-military radium sites........... 0.3 0.2
-------------------------------
Subtotal Fee-Relief Activities.. 91.5 97.1
Activities under section 16.5 16.1
102(b)(1)(B)(ii) of NEIMA (Generic
Homeland Security activities, Waste
Incidental to Reprocessing activities,
and the Defense Nuclear Facilities
Safety Board)..........................
Advanced reactor regulatory 23.0 23.8
infrastructure activities..............
-------------------------------
Total Excluded Activities... 131.0 137.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 13359]]
After accounting for the exclusions from the fee-recovery
requirement and net billing adjustments (i.e., for FY 2023 invoices
that the NRC estimates will not be paid during the fiscal year, less
payments received in FY 2023 for prior-year invoices), the NRC must
recover approximately $791.4 million in fees in FY 2023. Of this
amount, the NRC estimates that $195.4 million will be recovered through
10 CFR part 170 service fees and approximately $596.0 million will be
recovered through 10 CFR part 171 annual fees. Table II summarizes the
fee-recovery amounts for the FY 2023 proposed fee rule using the FY
2023 enacted budget and takes into account the budget authority for
excluded activities and net billing adjustments. For all information
presented in the following tables in this proposed rule, individual
values may not sum to totals due to rounding. Please see the work
papers, available as indicated in the ``Availability of Documents''
section of this document, for actual amounts.
In FY 2023, the explanatory statement associated with the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, includes direction for the NRC
to use $16.0 million in prior-year unobligated carryover funds for the
University Nuclear Leadership Program. Consistent with the requirements
of NEIMA, the NRC does not assess fees in the current fiscal year for
any carryover funds because fees are calculated based on the budget
authority enacted for the current fiscal year. Fees were already
assessed in the fiscal year in which the carryover funds were
appropriated. The FY 2022 amounts are provided for comparison purposes.
Table II--Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2022 final FY 2023
rule proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budget authority.................. $887.7 $927.2
Less Budget Authority for Excluded -131.0 -137.0
Activities:............................
-------------------------------
Balance............................. 756.7 790.2
Fee Recovery Percent.................... 100.0 100.0
-------------------------------
Total Amount to be Recovered:........... 756.7 790.2
Less Estimated Amount to be -198.8 -195.4
Recovered through 10 CFR part 170
Fees...............................
-------------------------------
Estimated Amount to be Recovered 557.9 594.8
through 10 CFR part 171 Fees.......
10 CFR part 171 Billing Adjustments:
Unpaid Current Year Invoices 2.0 4.9
(estimated)........................
Less Payments Received in Current -6.0 -3.7
Year for Previous Year Invoices
(estimated)........................
-------------------------------
Adjusted 10 CFR part 171 Annual Fee 553.9 596.0
Collections Required...................
-------------------------------
Adjusted Amount to be Recovered through 752.7 791.4
10 CFR parts 170 and 171 Fees..........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2023 Fee Collection--Professional Hourly Rate
The NRC uses a professional hourly rate to assess fees under 10 CFR
part 170 for specific services it provides. The professional hourly
rate also helps determine flat fees (which are used for the review of
certain types of license applications). This rate is applicable to all
activities for which fees are assessed under Sec. Sec. 170.21 and
170.31.
The NRC's professional hourly rate is derived by adding budgeted
resources for (1) mission-direct program salaries and benefits, (2)
mission-indirect program support, and (3) agency support (corporate
support and the Inspector General (IG)). The NRC then subtracts certain
offsetting receipts and divides this total by the mission-direct full-
time equivalent (FTE) converted to hours (the mission-direct FTE
converted to hours is the product of the mission-direct FTE multiplied
by the estimated annual mission-direct FTE productive hours). The only
budgeted resources excluded from the professional hourly rate are those
for mission-direct contract resources, which are generally billed to
licensees separately. The following shows the professional hourly rate
calculation:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP03MR23.000
For FY 2023, the NRC is proposing to increase the professional
hourly rate from $290 to $300. The 3.4 percent increase in the
professional hourly rate is primarily due to a 4.6 percent increase in
budgeted resources of approximately $34.1 million. The increase in
budgeted resources is primarily due to an increase in salaries and
benefits to support Federal pay raises for NRC employees. The
anticipated decline in the number of mission-direct FTE compared to FY
2022 also contributed to the proposed increase in the professional
hourly rate. The professional hourly rate is inversely related to the
mission-direct FTE amount; therefore, as the number of mission-direct
FTE decrease, the professional hourly rate may increase. The number of
mission-direct FTE is expected to decline by approximately 24,
primarily due to: (1) the closure of the Palisades Nuclear Plant
(Palisades); (2) a reduction in resources for development of the
operating reactors licensing action infrastructure for process
improvements and special projects; and (3) planned completions and
budget reallocations to support the restoration of resources for Byron
Station, Units 1 and 2, and Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and
3.
[[Page 13360]]
The FY 2023 estimate for annual mission-direct FTE productive hours
is 1,551 hours, which is an increase from 1,510 hours in FY 2022. This
estimate, also referred to as the ``Productive Hours Assumption,''
reflects the average number of hours that a mission-direct employee
spends on mission-direct work in a given year. This estimate,
therefore, excludes hours charged to annual leave, sick leave,
holidays, training, and general administrative tasks. Table III shows
the professional hourly rate calculation methodology. The FY 2022
amounts are provided for comparison purposes.
Table III--Professional Hourly Rate Calculation
[Dollars in millions, except as noted]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2022 final FY 2023
rule proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission-Direct Program Salaries & $349.3 $359.2
Benefits...............................
Mission-Indirect Program Support........ $115.1 $118.8
Agency Support (Corporate Support and $278.9 $299.5
the IG)................................
Subtotal................................ $743.3 $777.5
Less Offsetting Receipts \1\............ $0.0 $0.0
Total Budgeted Resources Included in $743.3 $777.5
Professional Hourly Rate...............
Mission-Direct FTE...................... 1,696.1 1,672.2
Annual Mission-Direct FTE Productive 1,510 1,551
Hours (Whole numbers)..................
Mission-Direct FTE Converted to Hours 2,561,111 2,593,582
(Mission-Direct FTE multiplied by
Annual Mission-Direct FTE Productive
Hours).................................
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budgeted $290 $300
Resources Included in Professional
Hourly Rate Divided by Mission-Direct
FTE Converted to Hours) (Whole Numbers)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The fees collected by the NRC for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
services and indemnity fees (financial protection required of all
licensees for public liability claims at 10 CFR part 140) are
subtracted from the budgeted resources amount when calculating the 10
CFR part 170 professional hourly rate, per the guidance in the Office
of Management and Budget Circular A-25, ``User Charges.'' The budgeted
resources for FOIA activities are allocated under the product for
Information Services within the Corporate Support business line. The
budgeted resources for indemnity activities are allocated under the
Licensing Actions and Research and Test Reactors products within the
Operating Reactors business line.
FY 2023 Fee Collection--Flat Application Fee Changes
The NRC proposes to amend the flat application fees it charges in
its schedule of fees in Sec. 170.31 to reflect the revised
professional hourly rate of $300. The NRC charges these fees to
applicants for materials licenses and other regulatory services, as
well as to holders of materials licenses. The NRC calculates these flat
fees by multiplying the average professional staff hours needed to
process the licensing actions by the professional hourly rate for FY
2023. As part of its calculations, the NRC analyzes the actual hours
spent performing licensing actions and estimates the five-year average
of professional staff hours that are needed to process licensing
actions as part of its biennial review of fees. These actions are
required by section 205(a) of the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990
(31 U.S.C. 902(a)(8)). The NRC performed this review for the FY 2023
proposed rule and will perform this review again for the FY 2025
proposed rule. The biennial review adjustments and the higher
professional hourly rate of $300 is the primary reason for the increase
in flat application fees (see the work papers).
In order to simplify billing, the NRC rounds these flat fees to a
minimal degree. Specifically, the NRC rounds these flat fees (up or
down) in such a way that ensures both convenience for its stakeholders
and minimal effects due to rounding. Accordingly, fees under $1,000 are
rounded to the nearest $10, fees between $1,000 and $100,000 are
rounded to the nearest $100, and fees greater than $100,000 are rounded
to the nearest $1,000.
The proposed flat fees are applicable for certain materials
licensing actions (see fee categories 1.C. through 1.D., 2.B. through
2.F., 3.A. through 3.S., 4.B. through 5.A., 6.A. 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 2023 final fee rule will be
subject to the revised fees in the final rule. Since international
activities are an excluded activity, fees are not assessed for import
and export licensing actions under 10 CFR parts 170 and 171.
FY 2023 Fee Collection--Low-Level Waste Surcharge
The NRC proposes to assess a generic low-level waste (LLW)
surcharge of $4.023 million. Disposal of LLW occurs at commercially-
operated LLW disposal facilities that are licensed by either the NRC or
an Agreement State. Four existing LLW disposal facilities in the United
States accept various types of LLW. All are located in Agreement States
and, therefore, are regulated by an Agreement State, rather than the
NRC. The NRC proposes to allocate this surcharge to its licensees based
on data available in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Manifest
Information Management System. This database contains information on
total LLW volumes disposed of by four generator classes: academic,
industrial, medical, and utility. The ratio of waste volumes disposed
of by these generator classes to total LLW volumes disposed over a
period of time is used to estimate the portion of this surcharge that
will be allocated to the power reactors, fuel facilities, and the
materials users fee classes. The materials users fee class portion is
adjusted to account for the large percentage of materials licensees
that are licensed by the Agreement States rather than the NRC.
Table IV shows the allocation of the LLW surcharge and its
allocation across the various fee classes.
[[Page 13361]]
Table IV--Allocation of LLW Surcharge FY 2023
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LLW surcharge
Fee classes -------------------------------
Percent $
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors................ 88.4 3.556
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor 0.0 0.000
Decommissioning........................
Non-Power Production or Utilization 0.0 0.000
Facilities.............................
Fuel Facilities......................... 9.2 0.370
Materials Users......................... 2.4 0.097
Transportation.......................... 0.0 0.000
Rare Earth Facilities................... 0.0 0.000
Uranium Recovery........................ 0.0 0.000
-------------------------------
Total............................... 100.0 4.023
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2023 Fee Collection--Revised Annual Fees
In accordance with SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation Method,''
the NRC rebaselines its annual fees every year. ``Rebaselining''
entails analyzing the budget in detail and then allocating the FY 2023
budgeted resources to various classes or subclasses of licensees. It
also includes updating the number of NRC licensees in its fee
calculation methodology.
The NRC is proposing revisions to its annual fees in Sec. Sec.
171.15 and 171.16 to recover approximately 100 percent of the NRC's FY
2023 enacted budget (less the budget authority for excluded activities
and the estimated amount to be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees).
Table V shows the proposed rebaselined fees for FY 2023 for a
sample of licensee categories. The FY 2022 amounts are provided for
comparison purposes.
Table V--Rebaselined Annual Fees
[Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2023
Class/category of licenses FY 2022 final proposed
annual fee annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors................ $5,165,000 $5,486,000
+ Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor 227,000 267,000
Decommissioning........................
-------------------------------
Total, Combined Fee................. 5,392,000 5,753,000
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor 227,000 267,000
Decommissioning........................
Non-Power Production or Utilization 90,100 98,900
Facilities.............................
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility 4,334,000 5,136,000
(Category 1.A.(1)(a))..................
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility 1,469,000 1,741,000
(Category 1.A.(1)(b))..................
Uranium Enrichment (Category 1.E)....... 1,888,000 2,238,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion Facility 436,000 1,320,000
(Category 2.A.(1)......................
Basic In Situ Recovery Facilities 42,000 49,500
(Category 2.A.(2)(b))..................
Typical Users:
Radiographers (Category 3O)......... 29,600 43,700
All Other Specific Byproduct 9,900 12,500
Material Licensees (Category 3P)...
Medical Other (Category 7C)......... 17,000 18,100
Device/Product Safety Evaluation-- 18,100 17,600
Broad (Category 9A)................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The work papers that support this proposed rule show in detail how
the NRC allocates the budgeted resources for each class of licensees
and calculates the fees.
Paragraphs a. through h. of this section describe the budgeted
resources allocated to each class of licensees and the calculations of
the rebaselined fees. For more information about detailed fee
calculations for each class, please consult the accompanying work
papers for this proposed rule.
a. Operating Power Reactors
The NRC proposes to collect $510.2 million in annual fees from the
operating power reactors fee class in FY 2023, as shown in Table VI.
The FY 2022 operating power reactors fees are shown for comparison
purposes.
Table VI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Operating Power Reactors
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2022 final FY 2023
Summary fee calculations rule proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $645.4 $665.3
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -165.8 -160.2
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 479.6 505.1
[[Page 13362]]
Allocated generic transportation........ 0.4 0.5
Allocated LLW surcharge................. 3.8 3.6
Billing adjustment...................... -3.4 1.0
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 480.3 510.2
Total operating reactors............ 93 93
-------------------------------
Annual fee per operating reactor........ 5.165 5.486
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 proposed annual fee for the
operating power reactors fee class is increasing primarily due to the
following: (1) an increase in budgeted resources; (2) a decrease in 10
CFR part 170 estimated billings; and (3) an increase in the 10 CFR part
171 billing adjustment. These components are discussed in the following
paragraphs.
The budgeted resources for the operating power reactors fee class
increased primarily as a result of an increase in the fully-costed FTE
rate compared to FY 2022 due to an increase in salaries and benefits.
The increase is offset by a decrease in the budgeted resources
primarily due to a reduction in FTE for the following: (1) the closure
of Palisades; (2) a reduction resources for the development of
operating reactors licensing action infrastructure for process
improvements and special projects; (3) a reduction in contract support
resources for baseline inspections in the reactors safety program now
being performed in-house; and (4) planned completions and budget
reallocations to support the restoration of resources for Byron
Station, Units 1 and 2, and Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2 and
3.
The proposed annual fee is increasing due to a reduction in the 10
CFR part 170 estimated billings resulting from: (1) a decrease in hours
associated with the closure of Palisades and (2) delays to planned new
reactor design and licensing applications, topical reports, and white
papers.
The proposed annual fee increase is also affected by these
contributing factors: (1) an increase in the10 CFR part 171 billing
adjustment (moving from a credit to a surcharge) due to the timing of
invoices issued in FY 2022, and (2) an increase in the generic
transportation surcharge due to an increase in the overall budgeted
resources for certificates of compliance (CoCs) for the operating power
reactors fee class.
The fee-recoverable budgeted resources, including the proposed
assessment of annual fees for Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Unit 3,
are divided equally among the 93 licensed operating power reactors,
resulting in an annual fee of $5,486,000 per reactor. Additionally,
each licensed operating power reactor will be assessed the FY 2023
spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning proposed annual fee of
$267,000 (see Table VII and the discussion that follows). The combined
FY 2023 proposed annual fee for each operating power reactor is
$5,753,000.
Section 102(b)(3)(B)(i) of NEIMA established a cap for the annual
fees charged to operating reactor licensees; under this provision, the
annual fee for an operating reactor licensee, to the maximum extent
practicable, shall not exceed the annual fee amount per operating
reactor licensee established in the FY 2015 final fee rule (80 FR
37432; June 30, 2015), adjusted for inflation. The NRC included an
estimate of the operating power reactors fee class annual fee in
Appendix C, ``Estimated Operating Power Reactors Annual Fee,'' of the
FY 2023 Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ) (NUREG-1100, Volume
38) to increase transparency for stakeholders. The NRC developed this
estimate based on the staff's allocation of the FY 2023 CBJ to fee
classes under 10 CFR part 170, and allocations within the operating
power reactors fee class under 10 CFR part 171. The fee estimate
included in the FY 2023 CBJ assumed 94 operating power reactors in FY
2023 and applied various data assumptions from the FY 2021 final fee
rule. Based on these allocations and assumptions, the operating power
reactor annual fee included in the FY 2023 CBJ was estimated to be $5.2
million, approximately $0.5 million below the FY 2015 operating power
reactors annual fee amount adjusted for inflation of $5.7 million. The
assumptions made between budget formulation and the development of this
proposed rule have changed; however, the FY 2023 proposed annual fee of
$5,486,000 remains below the FY 2015 operating power reactors annual
fee amount, as adjusted for inflation.
In FY 2016, the NRC amended its licensing, inspection, and annual
fee regulations to establish a variable annual fee structure for light-
water small modular reactors (SMRs) (81 FR 32617; May 24, 2016). Under
the variable annual fee structure, an SMR annual fee would be assessed
as a function of its bundled licensed thermal power rating. Currently,
there are no operating SMRs; therefore, the NRC will not assess an
annual fee in FY 2023 for this type of licensee.
b. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning
The NRC proposes to collect $32.9 million in annual fees from 10
CFR part 50 and 10 CFR part 52 power reactor licensees, and from 10 CFR
part 72 licensees that do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license or a 10 CFR
part 52 combined license, to recover the budgeted resources for the
spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning fee class in FY 2023, as
shown in Table VII. The FY 2022 spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning fees are shown for comparison purposes.
[[Page 13363]]
Table VII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Spent Fuel Storage/
Reactor Decommissioning
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2022 final FY 2023
Summary fee calculations rule proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $40.4 $42.9
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -13.8 -11.7
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 26.6 31.2
Allocated generic transportation costs.. 1.3 1.6
Billing adjustments..................... -0.2 0.1
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 27.7 32.9
Total spent fuel storage facilities. 122 123
-------------------------------
Annual fee per facility................. 0.227 0.267
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 proposed annual fee for the
spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning fee class is increasing
primarily due to the following: (1) an increase in the budgeted
resources; (2) a decrease in the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings and
(3) an increase in the 10 CFR part 171 billing adjustment. These
components are discussed in the following paragraphs.
The budgeted resources for the spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning fee class increased primarily due to the following: (1)
an increase in the fully-costed FTE rate compared to FY 2022 due to an
increase in salaries and benefits; (2) an increase in licensing and
oversight activities for one additional power reactor in
decommissioning; and (3) an increased number of power reactors
transitioning to accelerated decommissioning schedule status. This
increase in the budgeted resources is offset by a decline in contract
support due to the completion of research activities related to
accident tolerant fuel (ATF), the assessment of gross ruptures in high
burnup fuel, and standardized computer analysis for licensing
evaluation (SCALE) code verification and validation.
The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings for the spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning fee class decreased primarily due to the
following: (1) a reduction in hours and contract support associated
with the staff's review of applications for renewals, amendments,
exemptions, and inspections for independent spent fuel storage
installation (ISFSI) licenses and dry cask storage CoCs; (2) the near
completion of the safety and environmental review of the Holtec HI-
STORE consolidated interim storage facility application; (3) the
completion of the staff's review of the Interim Storage Partners
consolidated interim storage facility application and issuance of the
license; (4) the completion of decommissioning transition activities
for the Duane Arnold Energy Center and the site entering a period of
dormancy; (5) the near termination of the LaCrosse Boiling Water
Reactor and preparation to release the site from NRC oversight; (6) the
termination of the 10 CFR part 50 license for the Humboldt Bay Nuclear
Power Plant; and (7) the decrease in decommissioning license amendment
requests and inspection activities at multiple sites.
The proposed annual fee increase is also affected by these
contributing factors: (1) an increase in the 10 CFR part 171 billing
adjustment (moving from a credit to a surcharge) due to the timing of
invoices in FY 2022, and (2) an increase in the generic transportation
surcharge due to an increase in the generic transportation budgeted
resources.
The required annual fee recovery amount is divided equally among
123 licensees, resulting in a FY 2023 annual fee of $267,000 per
licensee.
c. Fuel Facilities
The NRC proposes to collect $19.9 million in annual fees from the
fuel facilities fee class in FY 2023, as shown in Table VIII. The FY
2022 fuel facilities fees are shown for comparison purposes.
Table VIII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Fuel Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2022 final FY 2023
Summary fee calculations rule proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $22.4 $26.6
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -8.0 -9.0
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 14.4 17.6
Allocated generic transportation........ 1.7 1.9
Allocated LLW surcharge................. 0.4 0.4
Billing adjustments..................... -0.1 0.0
-------------------------------
Total remaining required annual fee 16.4 19.9
recovery...........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 proposed annual fee for the
fuel facilities fee class is increasing primarily due to the increase
in budgeted resources. This increase is offset by an increase in 10 CFR
part 170 estimated billings as discussed in the following paragraphs.
The budgeted resources for the fuel facilities fee class increased
primarily as a result of an increase in the fully-costed FTE rate
compared to FY 2022 due to
[[Page 13364]]
an increase in salaries and benefits. In addition, the budgeted
resources increased to support the following: (1) licensing actions
related to enrichment and manufacturing of high assay low-enrichment
uranium fuel, advanced reactor fuel, and ATF; (2) the staff's review of
two greater than critical mass (GTCM) facility license renewal
applications and an application for a new GTCM facility; (3) cyber
security activities; (4) restart activities for the Honeywell
International, Inc. Uranium Conversion Facility and the Centrus
American Centrifuge Plant; (5) an anticipated increase in material
control and accounting inspections at Category II facilities; and (6)
fuel facilities rulemaking activities.
The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings increased as a result of the
following: (1) the staff's review of the Westinghouse Electric Company,
LLC's license renewal application for the Columbia Fuel Fabrication
Facility, which was completed in September 2022; (2) the staff's review
of the Nuclear Fuel Services U-metal amendment and an inspection that
was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) Louisiana Energy
Services' transition of the Authority to Operate from DOE to the NRC;
and (4) upgrades to National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST)-800-53 Revision 5, ``Security and Privacy Controls for
Information Systems and Organizations.'' The increase in 10 CFR part
170 estimated billings is offset by a delay in the submission of X-
Energy's environmental review for the TRISO-X facility.
The NRC will continue allocating annual fees to individual fuel
facility licensees based on the effort/fee determination matrix
developed in the FY 1999 final fee rule (64 FR 31448; June 10, 1999).
To briefly recap, the matrix groups licensees within this fee class
into various fee categories. The matrix lists processes that are
conducted at licensed sites and assigns effort factors for the safety
and safeguards activities associated with each process (these effort
levels are reflected in Table IX). The annual fees are then distributed
across the fee class based on the regulatory effort assigned by the
matrix. The effort factors in the matrix represent regulatory effort
that is not recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees (e.g., rulemaking,
guidance). Regulatory effort for activities that are subject to 10 CFR
part 170 fees, such as the number of inspections, is not applicable to
the effort factor.
Table IX--Effort Factors for Fuel Facilities, FY 2023
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Effort factors
Facility type (fee category) Number of -------------------------------
facilities Safety Safeguards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))......................... 2 88 91
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)).......................... 3 70 21
Limited Operations (1.A.(2)(a))................................. 1 3 11
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b))............ 0 0 0
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c)).............................. 0 0 0
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)....................................... 1 16 23
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1))....................... 1 21 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In FY 2023, the total remaining amount of the proposed annual fees
to be recovered, $19.9 million, is attributable to safety activities,
safeguards activities, and the LLW surcharge. For FY 2023, the total
budgeted resources proposed to be recovered as annual fees for safety
activities are approximately $11.2 million. To calculate the annual
fee, the NRC allocates this amount to each fee category based on its
percentage of the total regulatory effort for safety activities.
Similarly, the NRC allocates the budgeted resources to be recovered as
annual fees for safeguards activities, $8.3 million, to each fee
category based on its percentage of the total regulatory effort for
safeguards activities. Finally, the fuel facilities fee class portion
of the LLW surcharge--$0.4 million--is allocated to each fee category
based on its percentage of the total regulatory effort for both safety
and safeguards activities. The proposed 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
proposed annual fee for each facility is summarized in Table X.
Table X--Annual Fees for Fuel Facilities
[Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2023
Facility type (fee category) FY 2022 final proposed
annual fee annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)). $4,334,000 $5,136,000
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)).. 1,469,000 1,741,000
Facilities with limited operations 968,000 803,000
(1.A.(2)(a))...........................
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration N/A N/A
(1.A.(2)(b))...........................
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c))...... N/A N/A
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)............... 1,888,000 2,238,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion 436,000 1,320,000
(2.A.(1))..............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
d. Uranium Recovery Facilities
The NRC proposes to collect $0.2 million in annual fees from the
uranium recovery facilities fee class in FY 2023, as shown in Table XI.
The FY 2022 uranium recovery facilities fees are shown for comparison
purposes.
[[Page 13365]]
Table XI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Uranium Recovery
Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2022 final FY 2023
Summary fee calculations rule proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $0.9 $0.8
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -0.6 -0.6
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 0.3 0.2
Allocated generic transportation........ N/A N/A
Billing adjustments..................... 0.0 0.0
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 0.3 0.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 proposed annual fee for the
non-DOE licensee in the uranium recovery facilities fee class is
increasing as a result of an increase in budgeted resources attributed
to licensing reviews associated with ground water restoration
activities at one licensed uranium recovery facility and two licensed,
but not yet constructed, uranium recovery facilities.
The NRC regulates DOE's Title I and Title II activities under the
Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA).\2\ The proposed
annual fee assessed to DOE includes the resources specifically budgeted
for the NRC's UMTRCA Title I and Title II activities, as well as 10
percent of the remaining budgeted resources for this fee class. The NRC
described the overall methodology for determining fees for UMTRCA in
the FY 2002 fee rule (67 FR 42625; June 24, 2002), and the NRC
continues to use this methodology. The DOE's UMTRCA proposed annual fee
is decreasing compared to FY 2022 primarily due to a decrease in
budgeted resources needed to conduct generic work that staff will be
performing to resolve issues associated with the transfer of NRC and
Agreement State uranium mill tailings sites to DOE for long-term
surveillance and maintenance. In addition, 10 CFR part 170 estimated
billings are declining due to the anticipated workload decreases at
various DOE UMTRCA sites. The NRC assesses the remaining 90 percent of
its budgeted resources to the remaining licensee in this fee class, as
described in the work papers, which is reflected in Table XII.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Congress established the two programs, Title I and Title II,
under UMTRCA to protect the public and the environment from hazards
associated with 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 weapons programs.
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.
Table XII--Costs Recovered Through Annual Fees; Uranium Recovery
Facilities Fee Class
[Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2023
Summary of costs FY 2022 final proposed
annual fee annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I
and Title II) General Licenses:
UMTRCA Title I and Title II budgeted $206,441 $113,550
resources less 10 CFR part 170
receipts...........................
10 percent of generic/other uranium 4,665 5,504
recovery budgeted resources........
10 percent of uranium recovery fee- N/A N/A
relief adjustment..................
-------------------------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE 211,000 119,000
(rounded)......................
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium
Recovery Licenses:
90 percent of generic/other uranium 41,986 49,533
recovery budgeted resources less
the amounts specifically budgeted
for UMTRCA Title I and Title II
activities.........................
90 percent of uranium recovery fee- N/A N/A
relief adjustment..................
-------------------------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for 41,986 49,533
Other Uranium Recovery
Licensees......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further, for any non-DOE licensees, the NRC will continue using a
matrix to determine the effort levels associated with conducting
generic regulatory actions for the different licensees in the uranium
recovery facilities fee class; this is similar to the NRC's approach
for fuel facilities, described previously. The matrix methodology for
uranium recovery licensees first identifies the licensee categories
included within this fee class (excluding DOE). These categories are
conventional uranium mills and heap leach facilities, uranium in situ
recovery (ISR) and resin ISR facilities, and mill tailings disposal
facilities. The matrix identifies the types of operating activities
that support and benefit these licensees, along with each activity's
relative weight (see the work papers). Currently, there is only one
remaining non-DOE licensee, which is a basic ISR facility. Table XIII
displays the benefit factors for the non-DOE licensee in that fee
category.
[[Page 13366]]
Table XIII--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 (2.A.(2)(a)).. 0 .............. .............. 0
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b)).. 1 190 190 100
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities 0 .............. .............. 0
(2.A.(2)(c))...................................
Section 11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing 0 .............. .............. 0
tailings sites (2.A.(4)).......................
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... 1 190 190 100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The FY 2023 proposed annual fee for the remaining non-DOE licensee
is calculated by allocating 100 percent of the budgeted resources, as
summarized in Table XIV.
Table XIV--Annual Fees for Uranium Recovery Licensees
[Other than DOE]
[Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2023
Facility type (fee category) FY 2022 final proposed
annual fee annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills N/A N/A
(2.A.(2)(a))...........................
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities $42,000 $49,500
(2.A.(2)(b))...........................
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities N/A N/A
(2.A.(2)(c))...........................
Section 11e.(2) disposal incidental to N/A N/A
existing tailings sites (2.A.(4))......
------------------------------------------------------------------------
e. Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities
The NRC proposes to collect $0.297 million in annual fees from the
non-power production or utilization facilities fee class in FY 2023, as
shown in Table XV. The FY 2022 non-power production or utilization
facilities fees are shown for comparison purposes.
Table XV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Non-Power Production or
Utilization Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2022 final FY 2023
Summary fee calculations rule proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $6.072 $5.999
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -5.804 -5.751
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 0.268 0.248
Allocated generic transportation........ 0.035 0.040
Billing adjustments..................... -0.032 0.009
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 0.270 0.297
Total non-power production or 3 3
utilization facilities licenses....
Total annual fee per license 0.0901 0.0989
(rounded)..........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 proposed annual fee for the
non-power production or utilization facilities fee class is increasing,
as discussed in the following paragraphs.
In FY 2023, the budgeted resources are decreasing primarily due to
the expected completion of the staff's review of the SHINE Medical
technologies, LLC's (SHINE) operating license application. The decrease
in the budgeted resources is offset by an increase in the fully-costed
FTE rate compared to FY 2022 due to an increase in salaries and
benefits.
The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings associated with operating
non-power production or utilization facilities licensees subject to
annual fees are declining slightly due to less hours needed for
activities associated with the special team inspection and the staff's
review of a complex license amendment associated with the restart of
the NIST Neutron Reactor. The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings with
respect to the medical isotope production facilities and advanced
research and test reactors are remaining steady when compared with FY
2022 due to the following: (1) the staff's review of the operating
license application for SHINE and construction inspection activities;
(2) the staff's review of the Kairos Power, LLC's application for a
permit to construct a test reactor; and (3) pre-application meetings
due to the anticipated submission of several license applications.
Furthermore, the proposed annual fee is increasing as a result of
an increase in the 10 CFR part 171 billing adjustment (moving from a
credit to a surcharge) due to the timing of invoices issued in FY 2022.
[[Page 13367]]
The annual fee-recovery amount is divided equally among the three
non-power production or utilization facilities licensees subject to
annual fees and results in an FY 2023 proposed annual fee of $98,900
for each licensee.
f. Rare Earth
In FY 2023, the NRC has allocated approximately $0.3 million in
budgeted resources to this fee class; however, because all the budgeted
resources will be recovered through service fees assessed under 10 CFR
part 170, the NRC is not proposing to assess and collect annual fees in
FY 2023 for this fee class.
g. Materials Users
The NRC proposes to collect $39.6 million in annual fees from
materials users licensed under 10 CFR parts 30, 40, and 70 in FY 2023,
as shown in Table XVI. The FY 2022 materials users fees are shown for
comparison purposes.
Table XVI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Materials Users
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2022 final FY 2023
Summary fee calculations rule proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources for licensees $34.1 $38.7
not regulated by Agreement States......
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -0.9 -1.2
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 33.2 37.5
Allocated generic transportation........ 1.7 2.0
LLW surcharge........................... 0.1 0.1
Billing adjustments..................... -0.2 0.0
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 34.8 39.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The formula for calculating 10 CFR part 171 annual fees for the
various categories of materials users is described in detail in the
work papers. Generally, the calculation results in a single annual fee
that includes 10 CFR part 170 costs, such as amendments, renewals,
inspections, and other licensing actions specific to individual fee
categories.
The total annual fee recovery of $39.6 million for FY 2023 shown in
Table XVI consists of $30.2 million for general costs, $9.3 million for
inspection costs, and $0.1 million for LLW costs. To equitably and
fairly allocate the $39.6 million required to be collected among
approximately 2,400 diverse materials users licensees, the NRC
continues to calculate the annual fees for each fee category within
this class based 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 materials
license, this approach is the methodology for allocating the generic
and other regulatory costs to the diverse fee categories. This fee
calculation method also considers the inspection frequency (priority),
which is indicative of the safety risk and resulting regulatory costs
associated with the categories of licenses.
In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 proposed annual fees are
increasing for 47 fee categories within the materials users fee class
primarily as a result of an increase in the budgeted resources for: (1)
a new decision-making tool to calculate resources for direct inspection
work and support activities; (2) associated materials users rulemaking
activities; and (3) an increase in the fully-costed FTE rate compared
to FY 2022 due to an increase in salaries and benefits. In addition,
annual fees are increasing due to the following: (1) the biennial
review of licensing and inspection activities; (2) an increase in
generic transportation costs for materials users; and (3) a decrease in
the number of materials users licensees from FY 2022.
A constant multiplier is established to recover the total general
costs (including allocated generic transportation costs) of $30.2
million. To derive the constant multiplier, the general cost amount is
divided by the sum of all fee categories (application fee plus the
inspection fee divided by inspection priority) then multiplied by the
number of licensees. This calculation results in a constant multiplier
of 0.92 for FY 2023. The average inspection cost is the average
inspection hours for each fee category multiplied by the professional
hourly rate of $300. The inspection priority is the interval between
routine inspections, expressed in years. The inspection multiplier is
established in order to recover the $9.3 million in inspection costs.
To derive the inspection multiplier, the inspection costs amount is
divided by the sum of all fee categories (inspection fee divided by
inspection priority) then multiplied by the number of licensees. This
calculation results in an inspection multiplier of 1.74 for FY 2023.
The unique category costs are any special costs that the NRC has
budgeted for a specific category of licenses. Please see the work
papers for more detail about this classification.
The proposed annual fee being assessed to each licensee also takes
into account a share of approximately $0.1 million in LLW surcharge
costs allocated to the materials users fee class (see Table IV,
``Allocation of LLW Surcharge, FY 2023,'' in Section III,
``Discussion,'' of this document). The proposed annual fee for each fee
category is shown in the proposed revision to Sec. 171.16(d).
h. Transportation
The NRC proposes to collect $1.7 million in annual fees to recover
generic transportation budgeted resources in FY 2023, as shown in Table
XVII. The FY 2022 fees are shown for comparison purposes.
[[Page 13368]]
Table XVII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Transportation
[Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2022 final FY 2023
Summary fee calculations rule proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................ $10.2 $11.1
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts. -3.4 -3.5
-------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources....... 6.8 7.7
Less generic transportation resources... -5.3 -6.0
Billing adjustments..................... 0.0 0.0
-------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.. 1.5 1.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 proposed annual fee for the
transportation fee class is increasing primarily due to an increase in
the budgeted resources offset by: (1) an increase in the 10 CFR part
170 estimated billings and (2) generic transportation resources
allocated to other fee classes as discussed in the following
paragraphs.
In FY 2023, the budgeted resources increased primarily due to: (1)
an increase in the fully-costed FTE rate compared to FY 2022 due to an
increase in salaries and benefits; (2) maintenance for the storage and
transportation information management system; and (3) environmental and
licensing reviews of transportation packages for ATF, other advanced
reactors fuels, and micro-reactors. This increase is offset by a
decrease in budgeted resources associated with rulemaking activities.
The increase in the proposed annual fee is offset by an increase in
10 CFR part 170 estimated billings related to the review of new and
amended packages and generic transportation resources allocated to
respective other fee classes due to a rise in the number of CoCs.
Consistent with the policy established in the NRC's FY 2006 final
fee rule (71 FR 30721; May 30, 2006), the NRC recovers generic
transportation costs unrelated to DOE by including those costs in the
annual fees for licensee 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.
This resource distribution to the licensee fee classes and DOE is
shown in Table XVIII. Note that for the non-power production or
utilization facilities fee class, the NRC allocates the distribution to
only those licensees that are subject to annual fees. Although five
CoCs benefit the entire non-power production or utilization facilities
fee class, only three out of 30 operating non-power production or
utilization facilities licensees are subject to annual fees.
Consequently, the number of CoCs used to determine the proportion of
generic transportation resources allocated to annual fees for the non-
power production or utilization facilities fee class has been adjusted
to 0.5 so these licensees are charged a fair and equitable portion of
the total fees (see the work papers).
Table XVIII--Distribution of Transportation Resources, FY 2023
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allocated
Number of CoCs Percentage of generic
Licensee fee class/DOE benefiting fee total CoCs transportation
class or DOE resources
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials Users................................................. 24.0 25.7 $2.0
Operating Power Reactors........................................ 6.0 6.4 0.5
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning...................... 19.0 20.3 1.6
Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities.................. 0.5 0.5 0.0
Fuel Facilities................................................. 23.0 24.6 1.9
-----------------------------------------------
Sub-Total of Generic Transportation Resources............... 72.5 77.5 6.0
DOE............................................................. 21.0 22.5 1.7
-----------------------------------------------
Total................................................... 93.5 100.0 7.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NRC assesses an annual fee to DOE based on the 10 CFR part 71
CoCs it holds. The NRC, therefore, does not allocate these DOE-related
resources to other licensees' annual fees because these resources
specifically support DOE.
FY 2023--Policy Change
The NRC proposes one policy change for FY 2023.
Expand Sec. 171.15 To Be Technology-Inclusive and Create an Additional
Minimum Fee and Variable Rate
The NRC proposes to amend Sec. 171.15, ``Annual fees: Non-power
production or utilization licenses, reactor licenses, and independent
spent fuel storage licenses,'' to (1) expand the applicability of the
small modular reactor (SMR) variable fee structure to include non-light
water reactor (non-LWR) SMRs and (2) establish an additional minimum
fee and variable rate applicable to SMRs with a licensed thermal power
rating of less than or equal to 250 megawatts-thermal (MWt). The NRC
proposes these changes to be technology inclusive and establish a fair
and equitable approach for assessing annual fees to these SMRs. In
addition, there is the potential for a reduced regulatory effort (and
cost) for
[[Page 13369]]
the smallest proposed SMRs since these types of facilities are
considerably smaller in size than the current fleet of operating power
reactors, and the level of oversight could be comparable to facilities
in the non-power production or utilization facilities fee class. The
proposed revision retains the bundled unit concept for SMRs and the
approach for calculating fees for reactors with licensed thermal power
ratings greater than 250 MWt. For the purpose of calculating NRC fees,
an SMR is defined in Sec. Sec. 170.3 and 171.5, ``Definitions,'' as a
power reactor with a licensed thermal power rating of 1,000 megawatts-
thermal (MWt) or less. The rating is based on an electrical power
generating capacity of 300 megawatts-electric or less per module. This
definition currently applies only to light-water reactors (LWRs). The
proposed rule provides for a non-LWR SMR's annual fee to be calculated
the same as for a LWR SMR, as a function of its licensed thermal power
rating. In addition to the proposed amendments to Sec. 171.15, the NRC
is also proposing to make conforming changes to the relevant
definitions in Sec. Sec. 170.3 and 171.5.
In 2016, the NRC published the final rule, ``Variable Annual Fee
Structure for Small Modular Reactors'' (SMR rule). The current SMR
provisions in Sec. 171.15 were the direct result of a multi-year
agencywide effort with extensive stakeholder engagement. The goal of
the effort was to address NRC staff and industry concerns that there
may be inequities if SMR licensees were charged the same annual fee as
the current fleet of operating power reactors, which have larger
thermal power levels and electrical generating capacity. The SMR rule
was limited to LWR SMRs but left open the possibility of future
inclusion of non-LWR SMRs. The NRC stated in the final rule that,
``[T]he light-water SMR designs that have been discussed with the NRC
in pre-application discussions to date are similar to the current U.S.
operating fleet of reactors in terms of physical configuration,
operational characteristics, and applicability to the NRC's existing
regulatory framework. The NRC may consider the inclusion of non-light
water SMRs in a future rulemaking once the agency has increased
understanding of these factors with respect to non-light water
designs'' (81 FR 32625; May 24, 2016).
After issuing the SMR rule, the NRC continued to engage with
industry, other Federal agencies, the international community, and
other interested stakeholders to develop a knowledge base and
understanding of the characteristics and proposed designs of non-LWR
SMRs. The NRC conducted public meetings with stakeholders to share
information and discuss topics related to the development and licensing
of non-LWRs and participated in preapplication activities with several
applicants. During these public meetings, the NRC staff discussed
various possible approaches to assessing annual fees for non-LWR SMRs.
Stakeholders recommended that the NRC consider lower fees for non-LWR
SMRs and requested the NRC proceed with rulemaking expeditiously. In
developing a proposed approach to assess annual fees to future non-LWR
SMRs, the NRC considered stakeholder input from these public meetings
and analyzed a position paper from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI),
``NEI Input on NRC Annual Fee Assessment for Non-Light Water
Reactors.''
The NRC is in the process of conducting pre-application reviews for
several LWR and non-LWR commercial SMR designs, but no applications for
SMRs have been submitted for operating licenses under 10 CFR part 50,
``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,'' or
combined licenses under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and
Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.'' Under the current regulatory
framework, it will be several years before a new SMR is ready, if
approved, to begin commercial operation and be subject to annual fees
pursuant to 10 CFR part 171. However, industry representatives and
stakeholders have requested prompt NRC action to establish an annual
fee policy for non-LWR SMRs, including microreactors, in order to
inform business decisions and to provide regulatory predictability.
Commercial power reactors that are less than or equal to 20 MWt are
considerably smaller in size than the current fleet of operating power
reactors; the NRC anticipates that the level of oversight could be
comparable to facilities in the non-power production or utilization
facilities fee class. This position aligns with the approach presented
in two rulemaking packages before the Commission, including SECY-22-
0072, ``Alternative Physical Security Requirements for Advanced
Reactors (RIN 3150-AK19),'' dated August 15, 2022, and SECY-22-0001,
``Final Rule: Emergency Preparedness for Small Modular Reactors and
Other New Technologies (RIN 3150-AJ68; NRC-2015-0225),'' dated January
18, 2022, which would allow a future non-LWR SMR facility to have
comparable security and emergency preparedness to a non-power
production or utilization facility. In addition, non-LWR SMRs that are
less than 20 MWt may not require resident inspectors, similar to the
non-power production or utilization facilities fee class oversight
program.
As a result of this multi-year effort, the NRC is proposing to
amend Sec. 171.15 to be technology inclusive by expanding
applicability to non-LWR SMRs. Additionally, the NRC is proposing
changes to the minimum fees and the variable annual fee scale for SMRs
that have a licensed thermal power rating of less than or equal to 250
MWt in order to fairly and equitably assess annual fees for those SMRs.
The new minimum fee would be equal to the lowest annual fee that is
assessed to the non-power production or utilization facility fee class
and would be the only annual fee assessed for an SMR or for bundled
units with a combined licensed thermal power rating per site that is
less than or equal to 20 MWt. This proposed change also would create a
new variable annual fee for an SMR or for bundled units with a combined
licensed thermal power rating per site greater than 20 MWt but less
than or equal to 250 MWt that would be added to the minimum fee (the
non-power production or utilization facilities fee class annual fee).
This approach would provide for a gradual increase in the annual fee as
the licensed thermal power rating increases. The minimum fee currently
included in Sec. 171.15, which is equal to the average of the spent
fuel storage/reactor decommissioning and non-power production or
utilization facilities fee classes annual fees, would be retained as a
component of the annual fee with an added variable fee assessed for an
SMR or for bundled units with a combined licensed thermal power rating
per site greater than 250 MWt but less than or equal to 2,000 MWt.
Three different variable fees would be assessed: (1) a new variable fee
assessed for power reactors with a licensed thermal power rating
greater than 20 MWt but less than or equal to 250 MWt; (2) the existing
variable fee assessed for power reactors with a licensed thermal power
rating greater than 250 MWt but less than or equal to 2,000 MWt; and
(3) for bundled units added above 4,500 MWt, the maximum fee (equal to
the annual fee for the operating power reactor fee class) plus a
variable fee would be assessed for the incremental licensed thermal
power rating greater than 4,500 MWt up to 6,500 MWt (another 2,000 MWt
range) which constitutes an additional bundled unit. This pattern for
assessed fees would continue as licensed thermal power rating capacity
is added. The new
[[Page 13370]]
variable fee provides for a gradual increase in fees for power reactors
above 20 MWt but less than equal to 250 MWt rather than an abrupt
increase to the higher minimum fee once an increment above 20 MWt is
reached.
Without the proposed changes to Sec. 171.15, a non-LWR SMR,
regardless of size, would be required to pay the same annual fee as the
operating power reactor fee class under the NRC's current annual fee
structure. NEIMA requires that 10 CFR part 171 annual fees be assessed
in a fair and equitable manner and, to the maximum extent practicable,
be reasonably related to the cost of providing regulatory services.
NEIMA provides that annual fees may be based on the allocation of
resources of the Commission among licensees or certificate holders or
classes of licensees or certificate holders. The differences between
SMRs and the existing operating power reactor fleet will result in
significant differences in the anticipated regulatory cost, thus
applying the current fee structure to non-LWR SMRs could be
inconsistent with NEIMA requirements that the NRC's fees be fairly and
equitably allocated among its licensees.
The NRC finds the proposed policy change to be reasonable, fair,
and equitable. Pursuant to Sec. 171.15, annual fees for power reactors
licensed under 10 CFR part 50 or a combined license under 10 CFR part
52, including an SMR licensee, will not commence until the licensee has
notified the NRC in writing of the successful completion of power
ascension testing. The NRC does not expect to license a non-LWR SMR
facility for operation that would be assessed annual fees under 10 CFR
part 171 for several years. However, the NRC is proposing this policy
change, well before operation, to promote regulatory consistency and
transparency, as well as to provide potential non-LWR SMR applicants,
the industry, and the public with notice and opportunity to comment on
the methodology that will be used to calculate 10 CFR part 171 annual
fees for future licensed facilities. Furthermore, the NRC's view is
that this policy change addresses potential inconsistencies in the
current 10 CFR part 171 annual fee structure for future non-LWR SMRs.
This proposed policy change will assist industry in planning and
budgeting for future annual fees and will continue to provide a clear
method for allocating NRC generic expenses to its operating power
reactor licensees. Because the annual regulatory cost associated with
LWR and non-LWR SMRs is inherently uncertain before such a licensed
facility is operational, the NRC intends to re-evaluate the variable
annual fee structure at the appropriate time to ensure consistency with
NEIMA. This re-evaluation will occur once SMR facilities become
operational and sufficient regulatory cost data becomes available.
Operational experience data should provide insights that will identify
the correlation between design features and the level of NRC oversight
typically needed for these new types of power plants; and provide data
on whether further annual fee adjustments for SMRs may be needed. As
cost data and operating experience for LWR and non-LWR SMRs are
accumulated, the NRC will propose adjustments to fees as needed to make
sure that the fees assessed to LWR and non-LWR SMRs (and to all
operating power reactors) are commensurate with the regulatory support
services provided by the NRC to meet the requirements of NEIMA.
FY 2023--Administrative Changes
The NRC is proposing three administrative changes in FY 2023:
1. Amend Table 1 in Sec. 170.31 and Table 2 in Sec. 171.16 to add
Program Code 21131 to fee category 1(A)(2)(c).
On February 1, 2022, staff in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards added Program Code 21131, ``Medical Isotopes Production
Facility Licensed Under 10 part 70,'' to fee category 1(A)(2)(c). This
program code was created in preparation for future license applications
that the NRC anticipates will be submitted for medical isotopes
production facilities under 10 CFR part 70, ``Domestic Licensing of
Special Nuclear Material.'' The NRC is proposing to amend Table 1 in
Sec. 170.31, ``Schedule of fees for materials licenses and other
regulatory services, including inspections, and import and export
licenses,'' and Table 2 in 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,'' to add
Program Code 21131 to fee category 1(A)(2)(c), as the program code is
used as the basis for assessing 10 CFR part 170 service fees at full
cost and a future annual fee under 10 CFR part 171.
2. Amend Sec. 170.12(f), ``Method of payment,'' by clarifying the
types of payments and payment method.
The NRC proposes to amend Sec. 170.12(f), ``Method of payment,''
to add new payment method options (Amazon Pay and PayPal) now available
via www.Pay.gov. The NRC is also proposing to remove the requirement
for payment of invoices of $5,000 or more be made via the Automated
Clearing House (ACH) through the NRC's Lockbox Bank. The NRC encourages
applicants and licensees to use the electronic payment options for fee
submittal.
3. Change Small Entity Fees.
In developing this proposed rule, the NRC has conducted a biennial
review of small entity fees to determine whether the NRC should change
those fees. The NRC used the fee methodology developed in FY 2009 to
perform this biennial review (74 FR 27641; June 10, 2009). Based on
this methodology and as a result of the biennial review, the NRC is
increasing the upper tier small entity fee from $4,900 to $5,200, which
constitutes an increase of approximately 6 percent. The lower tier
small entity fee is not increasing and will remain at $1,000. The NRC
believes these 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.
IV. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended
(RFA),\3\ the NRC has prepared a regulatory flexibility analysis
related to this proposed rule. The regulatory flexibility analysis is
available as indicated in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of
this document.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, has been amended by
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996,
Public Law 104-121, Title II, 110 Stat. 847 (1996).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
V. Regulatory Analysis
Under NEIMA, the NRC is required to recover, to the maximum extent
practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget for FY 2023
less the budget authority for excluded activities. The NRC established
fee methodology guidelines for 10 CFR part 170 in 1978 and established
additional fee methodology guidelines for 10 CFR part 171 in 1986. In
subsequent rulemakings, the NRC has adjusted its fees without changing
the underlying principles of its fee policy to ensure that the NRC
continues to comply with the statutory requirements for cost recovery.
In this proposed rule, the NRC continues this longstanding
approach. Therefore, the NRC did not identify any alternatives to the
current fee structure guidelines and did not prepare a regulatory
analysis for this proposed rule.
[[Page 13371]]
VI. Backfitting and Issue Finality
The NRC has determined that the backfit and issue finality
provisions,, Sec. Sec. 50.109, ``Backfitting''; 52.39, ``Finality of
early site permit determinations''; 52.63, ``Finality of standard
design certifications''; 52.83, ``Finality of referenced NRC approvals;
partial initial decision on site suitability''; 52.98, ``Finality of
combined licenses; information requests''; 52.145, ``Finality of
standard design approvals; information requests''; 52.171, ``Finality
of manufacturing licenses; information requests''; and 70.76,
``Backfitting,'' do not apply to this proposed rule and that a backfit
analysis is not required because these amendments do not require the
modification of, or addition to, (1) systems, structures, components,
or the design of a facility; (2) the design approval or manufacturing
license for a facility; or (3) the procedures or organization required
to design, construct, or operate a facility.
VII. 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 wrote 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 31885). The NRC
requests comment on this document with respect to the clarity and
effectiveness of the language used.
VIII. National Environmental Policy Act
The NRC has determined that this proposed rule is the type of
action described in Sec. 51.22(c)(1). Therefore, neither an
environmental impact statement nor environmental assessment has been
prepared for this proposed rule.
IX. Paperwork Reduction Act
This proposed rule does not contain any new or amended collections
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, approval number 3150-
0190.
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.
X. Voluntary Consensus Standards
The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995,
Public Law 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 proposed rule, the NRC
proposes to amend the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to
its licensees and applicants, as necessary, to recover, to the maximum
extent practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget for
FY 2023 less the budget authority for excluded activities, as required
by NEIMA. This action does not constitute the establishment of a
standard that contains generally applicable requirements.
XI. 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 agency 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 2023 fee
rule. The compliance guide was developed when the NRC completed the
small entity biennial review. This compliance guide is available as
indicated in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of this
document.
XII. Public Meeting
The NRC will conduct a public meeting to describe the FY 2023
proposed rule and answer questions from the public on the proposed
rule. The NRC will publish a notice of the location, time, and agenda
of the meeting on the NRC's public meeting website within 10 calendar
days of the meeting. Stakeholders should monitor the NRC's public
meeting website for information about the public meeting at: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm.
XIII. 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documents ADAMS Accession No./FR citation/web link
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2023 Proposed Rule Work Papers................ ML23040A277.
OMB Circular A-25, ``User Charges''.............. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Circular-025.pdf.
SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation Method,'' ML052580332.
dated September 15, 2005.
``Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for 80 FR 37432.
Fiscal Year 2015,'' dated June 30, 2015.
NUREG-1100, Volume 38, ``Congressional Budget ML22089A188.
Justification: Fiscal Year 2023'' (April 2022).
``Variable Annual Fee Structure for Small Modular 81 FR 32617.
Reactors,'' dated May 24, 2016.
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 67 FR 42611.
2002,'' dated June 24, 2002.
``Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 71 FR 30721.
2006,'' dated May 30, 2006.
``Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 74 FR 27641.
2009,'' dated June 10, 2009.
SECY-22-0072, ``Proposed Rule: Alternative ML21334A004.
Physical Security Requirements for Advanced
Reactors (RIN 3150-AK19),'' dated August 2, 2022.
SECY-22-0001, ``Final Rule: Emergency ML21200A059.
Preparedness for Small Modular Reactors and
Other New Technologies (RIN 3150-AJ68; NRC-2015-
0225),'' dated January 3, 2022.
``NEI Input on NRC Annual Fee Assessment for Non- ML20328A173.
Light Water Reactors,'' dated November 23, 2020.
FY 2023 Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.......... ML22347A251.
FY 2023 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Small ML22347A247.
Entity Compliance Guide.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 13372]]
List of Subjects
10 CFR Part 170
Byproduct material, Import and export licenses, Intergovernmental
relations, Non-payment penalties, Nuclear energy, Nuclear materials,
Nuclear power plants and reactors, Source material, Special nuclear
material.
10 CFR Part 171
Annual charges, Approvals, Byproduct material, Holders of
certificates, Intergovernmental relations, Nonpayment penalties,
Nuclear materials, Nuclear power plants and reactors, Registrations,
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 proposing
to amend 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 as follows:
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: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 11, 161(w) (42
U.S.C. 2014, 2201(w)); Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, sec. 201
(42 U.S.C. 5841); 42 U.S.C. 2215; 31 U.S.C. 901, 902, 9701; 44
U.S.C. 3504 note.
0
2. In Sec. 170.3, revise the definition for ``Small modular reactor
(SMR)'' to read as follows.
Sec. 170.3 Definitions.
* * * * *
Small modular reactor (SMR) for the purposes of calculating fees,
means the class of power reactors having a licensed thermal power
rating less than or equal to 1,000 MWt per module. This rating is based
on the thermal power equivalent of an SMR with an electrical power
generating capacity of 300 MWe or less per module.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 170.12, revise paragraph (f) to read as follows.
Sec. 170.12 Payment of fees.
* * * * *
(f) Method of payment. All fee payments under 10 CFR part 170 are
to be made payable to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The
payments are to be made in U.S. funds by electronic funds transfer,
such as ACH (Automated Clearing House) using Electronic Data
Interchange (E.D.I.), check, draft, money order, credit card, Amazon
Pay, or PayPal (submit electronic payment at www.Pay.gov or manual
payment using the NRC Form 629, ``Authorization for Payment by Credit
Card''). Specific written instructions for making electronic payments
and credit card payments may be obtained by contacting the Office of
the Chief Financial Officer at 301-415-7554. In accordance with
Department of the Treasury requirements, refunds will only be made upon
receipt of information on the payee's financial institution and bank
accounts.
* * * * *
Sec. 170.20 [Amended]
0
4. In Sec. 170.20, remove the dollar amount ``$290'' and add in its
place the dollar amount ``$300''.
0
5. In Sec. 170.31, revise table 1 to read as follows:
Sec. 170.31 Schedule of fees for materials licenses and other
regulatory services, including inspections, and import and export
licenses.
* * * * *
Table 1 to Sec. 170.31--Schedule of Materials Fees
[See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category of materials licenses and type of
fees \1\ Fees \2\ \3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material: \11\
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)
\6\ [Program Code(s): 21213].
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Full Cost.
Dispersible Form Used for
Fabrication of Power Reactor
Fuel \6\ [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.\6\
(a) Facilities with limited Full Cost.
operations \6\ [Program Code(s):
21240, 21310, 21320].
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment Full Cost.
demonstration facilities.\6\
[Program Code(s): 21205].
(c) Others, including hot cell Full Cost.
facilities.\6\ [Program Code(s):
21130, 21131, 21133].
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 (ISFS)I \6\ [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
of this chapter in sealed sources
contained in devices used in industrial
measuring systems, including x-ray
fluorescence analyzers.\4\
Application [Program Code(s): 22140]. $1,400.
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): 22110, $2,800.
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 \6\ [Program
Code(s): 21200].
F. Licenses for possession and use of Full Cost.
special nuclear material greater than
critical mass as defined in Sec. 70.4
of this chapter, for development and
testing of commercial products, and
other non-fuel-cycle activities.\4\ \6\
[Program Code(s): 22155].
2. Source material: \11\
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of Full Cost.
source material for refining uranium
mill concentrates to uranium
hexafluoride or for deconverting uranium
hexafluoride in the production of
uranium oxides for disposal.\6\ [Program
Code(s): 11400].
[[Page 13373]]
(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.\6\
(a) Conventional and Heap Leach Full Cost.
facilities \6\ [Program Code(s):
11100].
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery Full Cost.
facilities \6\ [Program Code(s):
11500].
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery Full Cost.
facilities \6\ [Program Code(s):
11510].
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin Full Cost.
facilities \6\ [Program Code(s):
11550].
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities Full Cost.
\6\ [Program Code(s): 11555].
(f) Other facilities \6\ [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) \6\ [Program Code(s): 11600,
12000].
(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt Full Cost.
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) \6\ [Program
Code(s): 12010]
B. Licenses which authorize the
possession, use, and/or installation of
source material for shielding.\7\ \8\
Application [Program Code(s): 11210]. $1,300.
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): 11240]. $6,400.
D. Licenses to distribute source material
to persons generally licensed under part
40 of this chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): 11230, $3,000.
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): 11710]. $2,800.
F. All other source material licenses....
Application [Program Code(s): 11200, $2,800.
11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810,
11820].
3. Byproduct material: \11\
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. Number of
locations of use: 1-5.
Application [Program Code(s): 03211, $14,000.
03212, 03213].
(1). 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. Number of locations of
use: 6-20.
Application [Program Code(s): $18,600.
04010, 04012, 04014].
(2). 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. Number of locations of
use: more than 20.
Application [Program Code(s): $23,300.
04011, 04013, 04015].
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. Number of locations of
use: 1-5.
Application [Program Code(s): 03214, $3,900.
03215, 22135, 22162].
(1). 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. Number of
locations of use: 6-20.
Application [Program Code(s): $5,200.
04110, 04112, 04114, 04116].
(2). 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. Number of
locations of use: more than 20.
Application [Program Code(s): $6,400.
04111, 04113, 04115, 04117].
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). Number of
locations of use: 1-5.
Application [Program Code(s): 02500, $5,600.
02511, 02513].
(1). 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).
Number of locations of use: 6-20.
Application [Program Code(s): $7,500.
04210, 04212, 04214].
(2). 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).
Number of locations of use: more
than 20.
Application [Program Code(s): $9,300.
04211, 04213, 04215].
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).
[[Page 13374]]
Application [Program Code(s): 03510, $3,400.
03520].
F. Licenses for possession and use of
less than or equal to 10,000 curies of
byproduct material in sealed sources for
irradiation of materials in which the
source is exposed for irradiation
purposes. This category also includes
underwater irradiators for irradiation
of materials where the source is not
exposed for irradiation purposes.
Application [Program Code(s): 03511]. $7,000.
G. Licenses for possession and use of
greater 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): 03521]. $66,900.
H. Licenses issued under subpart A of
part 32 of this chapter to distribute
items containing byproduct material that
require device review to persons exempt
from the licensing requirements of part
30 of this chapter. The category does
not include specific licenses
authorizing redistribution of items that
have been authorized for distribution to
persons exempt from the licensing
requirements of part 30 of this chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): 03254, $7,200.
03255, 03257].
I. Licenses issued under subpart A of
part 32 of this chapter to distribute
items containing byproduct material or
quantities of byproduct material that do
not require device evaluation to persons
exempt from the licensing requirements
of part 30 of this chapter. This
category does not include specific
licenses authorizing redistribution of
items that have been authorized for
distribution to persons exempt from the
licensing requirements of part 30 of
this chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): 03250, $17,200.
03251, 03253, 03256].
J. Licenses issued under subpart B of
part 32 of this chapter to distribute
items containing byproduct material that
require sealed source and/or device
review to persons generally licensed
under part 31 of this chapter. This
category does not include specific
licenses authorizing redistribution of
items that have been authorized for
distribution to persons generally
licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): 03240, $2,200.
03241, 03243].
K. Licenses issued under subpart B of
part 32 of this chapter to distribute
items containing byproduct material or
quantities of byproduct material that do
not require sealed source and/or device
review to persons generally licensed
under part 31 of this chapter. This
category does not include specific
licenses authorizing redistribution of
items that have been authorized for
distribution to persons generally
licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): 03242, $1,200.
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.
Number of locations of use: 1-5.
Application [Program Code(s): 01100, $5,900.
01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612,
03613].
(1) 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. Number of
locations of use: 6-20.
Application [Program Code(s): $7,900.
04610, 04612, 04614, 04616,
04618, 04620, 04622].
(2) 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. Number of
locations of use: more than 20.
Application [Program Code(s): $9,800.
04611, 04613, 04615, 04617,
04619, 04621, 04623].
M. Other licenses for possession and use
of byproduct material issued under part
30 of this chapter for research and
development that do not authorize
commercial distribution.
Application [Program Code(s): 03620]. $21,600.
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.\13\
Application [Program Code(s): $9,600.
03219, 03225, 03226].
O. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material issued under part 34
of this chapter for industrial
radiography operations. Number of
locations of use: 1-5.
Application [Program Code(s): 03310, $21,100.
03320].
(1). Licenses for possession and use
of byproduct material issued under
part 34 of this chapter for
industrial radiography operations.
Number of locations of use: 6-20.
Application [Program Code(s): $28,100.
04310, 04312].
(2). Licenses for possession and use
of byproduct material issued under
part 34 of this chapter for
industrial radiography operations.
Number of locations of use: more
than 20.
Application [Program Code(s): $35,100.
04311, 04313].
P. All other specific byproduct material
licenses, except those in Categories
4.A. through 9.D.\9\ Number of locations
of use: 1-5.
Application [Program Code(s): 02400, $9,400.
02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123,
03124, 03130, 03140, 03220, 03221,
03222, 03800, 03810, 22130].
(1). All other specific byproduct
material licenses, except those in
Categories 4.A. through 9.D.\9\
Number of locations of use: 6-20.
Application [Program Code(s): $12,500.
04410, 04412, 04414, 04416,
04418, 04420, 04422, 04424,
04426, 04428, 04430, 04432,
04434, 04436, 04438].
(2). All other specific byproduct
material licenses, except those in
Categories 4.A. through 9.D.\9\
Number of locations of use: more
than 20.
Application [Program Code(s): $15,600.
04411, 04413, 04415, 04417,
04419, 04421, 04423, 04425,
04427, 04429, 04431, 04433,
04435, 04437, 04439].
Q. Registration of a device(s) generally
licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
Registration......................... $500.
[[Page 13375]]
R. Possession of items or products
containing radium-226 identified in Sec.
31.12 of this chapter 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
Sec. 31.12(a)(4) or (5) of this
chapter but less than or equal to 10
times the number of items or limits
specified.
Application [Program Code(s): $2,800.
02700].
2. Possession of quantities exceeding
10 times the number of items or
limits specified in Sec.
31.12(a)(4) or (5) of this chapter.
Application [Program Code(s): $2,700.
02710].
S. Licenses for production of accelerator-
produced radionuclides.
Application [Program Code(s): 03210]. $15,300.
4. Waste disposal and processing: \11\
A. Licenses specifically authorizing 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.
Application [Program Code(s): 03231, Full Cost.
03233, 03236, 06100, 06101].
B. Licenses specifically authorizing the
receipt of waste byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear
material from other persons for the
purpose of packaging or repackaging the
material. The licensee will dispose of
the material by transfer to another
person authorized to receive or dispose
of the material.
Application [Program Code(s): 03234]. $7,500.
C. Licenses specifically authorizing the
receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct
material, source material, or special
nuclear material from other persons. The
licensee will dispose of the material by
transfer to another person authorized to
receive or dispose of the material.
Application [Program Code(s): 03232]. $5,400.
5. Well logging: \11\
A. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material, source material, and/
or special nuclear material for well
logging, well surveys, and tracer
studies other than field flooding tracer
studies.
Application [Program Code(s): 03110, $4,900.
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: \11\
A. Licenses for commercial collection and
laundry of items contaminated with
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material.
Application [Program Code(s): 03218]. $28,000.
7. Medical licenses: \11\
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. Number
of locations of use: 1-5..
Application [Program Code(s): 02300, $12,000.
02310].
(1). 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. Number
of locations of use: 6-20.
Application [Program Code(s): $15,900.
04510, 04512].
(2). 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. Number
of locations of use: more than 20.
Application [Program Code(s): $19,900.
04511, 04513].
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. Number of locations of
use: 1-5.
Application [Program Code(s): 02110]. $9,400.
(1). 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.
Number of locations of use: 6-20.
Application [Program Code(s): $12,400.
04710].
(2). 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.
Number of locations of use: more
than 20.
Application [Program Code(s): $15,500.
04711].
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.\10\
Number of locations of use: 1-5.
Application [Program Code(s): 02120, $12,800.
02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220,
02230, 02231, 02240, 22160].
[[Page 13376]]
(1). 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.\10\ Number
of locations of use: 6-20.
Application [Program Code(s): $17,100.
04810, 04812, 04814, 04816,
04818, 04820, 04822, 04824,
04826, 04828].
(2). 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.\10\ Number
of locations of use: more than 20.
Application [Program Code(s): $11,800.
04811, 04813, 04815, 04817,
04819, 04821, 04823, 04825,
04827, 04829].
8. Civil defense: \11\
A. Licenses for possession and use of
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material for civil
defense activities.
Application [Program Code(s): 03710]. $2,800.
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............. $19,100.
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............. $9,700.
C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
containing byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material,
except reactor fuel, for commercial
distribution.
Application--each source............. $5,700.
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............. $1,100.
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and
shipping containers.
1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and Full Cost.
plutonium air packages.
2. Other Casks....................... Full Cost.
B. Quality assurance program approvals
issued under part 71 of this chapter.
1. Users and Fabricators.............
Application...................... $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 of Full Cost.
Compliance.
B. Inspections related to storage of Full Cost.
spent fuel under Sec. 72.210 of this
chapter.
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation \11\
A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear Full Cost.
material licenses and other approvals
authorizing decommissioning,
decontamination, reclamation, or site
restoration activities under parts 30,
40, 70, 72, and 76 of this chapter,
including master materials licenses
(MMLs). The transition to this fee
category occurs when a licensee has
permanently ceased principal activities.
[Program Code(s): 03900, 11900, 21135,
21215, 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: \12\
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 Sec. 110.40(b) of this
chapter.
Application--new license, or N/A.
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 the 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 N/A.
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 N/A.
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.
Application--new license, or N/A.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
[[Page 13377]]
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...................... N/A.
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 Sec.
110.42(e)(4) of this chapter) and to
obtain one government-to-government
consent for this process. For additional
consent see fee category 15.I.
Application--new license, or N/A.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
G. Application for export of appendix P
Category 1 materials requiring Executive
Branch review and to obtain one
government-to-government consent for
this process. For additional consents
see fee category 15.I.
Application--new license, or N/A.
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 fee category 15.I.
Application--new license, or N/A.
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 N/A.
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 Sec.
110.42(e)(4) of this chapter).
Application--new license, or N/A.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
K. Applications for export of appendix P
Category 2 materials requiring Executive
Branch review.
Application--new license, or N/A.
amendment; or license exemption
request.
L. Application for the export of Category
2 materials.
Application--new license, or N/A.
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...................... N/A.
16. Reciprocity:
Agreement State licensees who conduct
activities under the reciprocity
provisions of Sec. 150.20 of this
chapter.
Application.......................... $3,000.
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope
issued to Government agencies.
Application [Program Code(s): 03614]..... Full Cost.
18. Department of Energy.
A. Certificates of Compliance. Evaluation Full Cost.
of casks, packages, and shipping
containers (including spent fuel, high-
level waste, and other casks, and
plutonium air packages).
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation 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:
(1) 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.
(i) 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.
(ii) 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.
(2) 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).
(3) 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.
(4) 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).
(5) Generally licensed device registrations under 10 CFR 31.5.
Submittals of registration information must be accompanied by the
prescribed fee.
[[Page 13378]]
\2\ 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 subject to fees under fee categories 1.A., 1.B., 1.E., or
2.A. must pay the largest applicable fee and are not subject to
additional fees listed in this table.
\7\ Licensees paying fees under 3.C., 3.C.1, or 3.C.2 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., 3.P.1, or 3.P.2 for calibration or leak testing services
authorized on the same license.
\10\ Licensees paying fees under 7.B., 7.B.1, or 7.B.2 are not subject
to paying fees under 7.C., 7.C.1, or 7.C.2. for broad scope 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.
\11\ A materials license (or part of a materials license) that
transitions to fee category 14.A is assessed full-cost fees under 10
CFR part 170, but is not assessed an annual fee under 10 CFR part 171.
If only part of a materials license is transitioned to fee category
14.A, the licensee may be charged annual fees (and any applicable 10
CFR part 170 fees) for other activities authorized under the license
that are not in decommissioning status.
\12\ Because the resources for import and export licensing activities
are identified as a fee-relief activity to be excluded from the fee-
recoverable budget, import and export licensing actions will not incur
fees.
\13\ Licensees paying fees under 4.A., 4.B. or 4.C. are not subject to
paying fees under 3.N. licenses that authorize services for other
licensees 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
6. The authority citation for part 171 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 11, 161(w), 223, 234
(42 U.S.C. 2014, 2201(w), 2273, 2282); Energy Reorganization Act of
1974, sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841); 42 U.S.C. 2215; 44 U.S.C. 3504
note.
0
7. In Sec. 171.5, revise the definitions for ``Bundled unit'',
``Minimum fee'', ``Small modular reactor (SMR)'', ``Variable fee'', and
``Variable rate'' to read as follows:
Sec. 171.5 Definitions.
* * * * *
Bundled unit means multiple SMR reactors on a single site that are
considered a single unit for the purpose of assessing an annual fee. A
bundled unit is assessed an annual fee based on the cumulative licensed
thermal power rating of all licensed SMR reactors on the same site. The
maximum capacity of a bundled unit is a cumulative licensed thermal
power rating of 4,500 MWt. A single SMR reactor can be part of two
bundled units if it completes the capacity of one unit and begins the
capacity of an additional unit. For a given site, the use of the
bundled unit concept is independent of the number of SMR plants, the
number of SMR licenses issued, or the sequencing of the SMR licenses
that have been issued. Bundled units with capacities greater than 2,000
MWt and less than or equal to 4,500 MWt are assessed a maximum fee that
is equivalent to the annual fee paid by the current reactor fleet.
Above 4,500 MWt establishes an additional bundled unit.
* * * * *
Minimum fee means the lowest annual fee assessed for an SMR or a
bundled unit in a thermal power rating fee assessment tier.
* * * * *
Small modular reactor (SMR) for the purposes of calculating fees
means the class of power reactors having a licensed thermal power
rating less than or equal to 1,000 MWt per module. This rating is based
on the thermal power equivalent of an SMR with an electrical power
generating capacity of 300 MWe or less per module.
* * * * *
Variable fee means an annual fee component that is added to the
minimum fee. The variable fee is designed to gradually increase as
licensed thermal power capacity is added within the bundled unit fee
assessment tier. The variable fee is calculated as the product of the
incremental increase in the thermal power rating multiplied by the
variable rate.
Variable rate means the factor used to calculate the variable fee
component of the annual fee. To determine the total annual fee, the
incremental increase in the licensed thermal power rating within the
fee assessment tier is multiplied by the variable rate resulting in a
variable fee that is added to the minimum fee. There is a different
factor for each SMR or bundled unit fee assessment tier. Each factor
represents the difference between the lower licensed thermal power
rating within each tier and the actual thermal power rating for the
unit or site.
0
8. In Sec. 171.15, revise paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) introductory
text, paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) introductory text, and paragraphs
(d)(2) and (e) to read as follows:
Sec. 171.15 Annual fees: Non-power production or utilization
licenses, reactor licenses, and independent spent fuel storage
licenses.
* * * * *
(b)(1) The FY 2023 annual fee for each operating power reactor that
must be collected by September 30, 2023, is $5,486,000.
(2) The FY 2023 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. The
activities comprising the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning
base annual fee are shown in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of this
section. The activities comprising the FY 2023 base annual fee for
operating power reactors are as follows:
* * * * *
(c)(1) The FY 2023 annual fee for each power reactor holding a 10
CFR part 50 license or combined license issued under 10 CFR part 52
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
[[Page 13379]]
a 10 CFR part 50 license or a 10 CFR part 52 combined license, is
$267,000.
(2) The FY 2023 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). The activities comprising the FY 2023 spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning rebaselined annual fee are:
* * * * *
(d) * * *
(2) The annual fees for a small modular reactor(s) located on a
single site to be collected by September 30 of each year, are as
follows:
Table 1 to Paragraph (d)(2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bundled unit thermal power rating Minimum fee Variable fee Maximum fee
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Bundled Unit(s)--cumulative MWt:
0 MWt <=20 MWt.............................................. (\a\) TBD N/A N/A
>20 MWt <=250 MWt........................................... (\a\) TBD (\d\) TBD N/A
>250 MWt <=2,000 MWt........................................ (\b\) TBD (\e\) TBD N/A
>2,000 MWt <=4,500 MWt...................................... N/A N/A (\c\) TBD
Additional Bundled Unit(s)--cumulative MWt (above the first
bundled unit of 4,500 MWt):
0 MWt <=2,000 MWt........................................... N/A (\f\) TBD N/A
>2,000 MWt <=4,500 MWt...................................... N/A N/A (\c\) TBD
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Annual fee paid by the non-power production or utilization facilities fee class.
\b\ Average of the annual fees for the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning and the non-power production
or utilization facilities fee classes.
\c\ Annual fee paid by the operating power reactors fee class.
\d\ [((b)-(a))/230] x the difference between 20 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the actual cumulative
licensed thermal power rating up to 250 MWt.
\e\ [((c)-(b))/1,750] x the difference between 250 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the actual cumulative
licensed thermal power rating up to 2,000 MWt.
\f\ [((c)-(b))/2,000] x the difference between 4,500 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the total actual
cumulative licensed thermal power rating up to 2,000 MWt.
* * * * *
(e) The FY 2023 annual fee for licensees authorized to operate one
or more non-power production or utilization facilities under a single
10 CFR part 50 license, unless the reactor is exempted from fees under
Sec. 171.11(b), is $98,900.
0
9. In Sec. 171.16, revise paragraphs (b) introductory text, (c), and
(d) 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.
* * * * *
(b) The FY 2023 annual fee is comprised of a base annual fee and
associated additional charges. The base FY 2023 annual fee is the sum
of budgeted costs for the following activities:
* * * * *
(c) A licensee who is required to pay an annual fee under this
section, in addition to 10 CFR part 72 licenses, may qualify as a small
entity. If a licensee qualifies as a small entity and provides the
Commission with the proper certification along with its annual fee
payment, the licensee may pay reduced annual fees as shown in table 1
to this paragraph (c). Failure to file a small entity certification in
a timely manner could result in the receipt of a delinquent invoice
requesting the outstanding balance due and/or denial of any refund that
might otherwise be due. The small entity fees are as follows:
Table 1 to Paragraph (c)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum annual
fee per
NRC small entity classification licensed
category
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing (Average
gross receipts over the last 5 completed fiscal years):
$555,000 to $8 million.............................. $5,200
Less than $555,000.................................. 1,000
Small Not-For-Profit Organizations (Annual Gross
Receipts):
$555,000 to $8 million.............................. 5,200
Less than $555,000.................................. 1,000
Manufacturing Entities that Have An Average of 500
Employees or Fewer:
35 to 500 employees................................. 5,200
Fewer than 35 employees............................. 1,000
Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly
supported educational institutions) (Population):
20,000 to 49,999.................................... 5,200
Fewer than 20,000................................... 1,000
Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly
Supported, and have 500 Employees or Fewer:
35 to 500 employees................................. 5,200
Fewer than 35 employees............................. 1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 13380]]
(d) The FY 2023 annual fees for materials licensees and holders of
certificates, registrations, or approvals subject to fees under this
section are shown in table 2 to this paragraph (d):
Table 2 to Paragraph (d)--Schedule of Materials Annual Fees and Fees for
Government Agencies Licensed by NRC
[See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual fees
Category of materials licenses \1\ \2\ \3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of U-235 or
plutonium for fuel fabrication activities.
(a) Strategic Special Nuclear Material (High $5,136,000
Enriched Uranium) \15\ [Program Code(s): 21213]
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form 1,741,000
Used for Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel \15\
[Program Code(s): 21210].......................
(2) All other special nuclear materials licenses not
included in Category 1.A.(1) which are licensed for
fuel cycle activities..............................
(a) Facilities with limited operations \15\ 803,000
[Program Code(s): 21310, 21320]................
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration N/A
facility \15\ [Program Code(s): 21205].........
(c) Others, including hot cell facility \15\ N/A
[Program Code(s): 21130, 21131, 21133].........
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel N/A
and reactor-related Greater than Class C (GTCC)
waste at an independent spent fuel storage
installation (ISFSI)\11\ \15\ [Program Code(s):
23200].............................................
C. Licenses for possession and use of special 2,500
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. [Program Code(s): 22140]................
D. All other special nuclear material licenses, 7,400
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. [Program Code(s): 22110, 22111,
22120, 22131, 22136, 22150, 22151, 22161, 22170,
23100, 23300, 23310]...............................
E. Licenses or certificates for the operation of a 2,238,000
uranium enrichment facility \15\ [Program Code(s):
21200].............................................
F. Licenses for possession and use of special 4,400
nuclear materials greater than critical mass, as
defined in Sec. 70.4 of this chapter, for
development and testing of commercial products, and
other non-fuel cycle activities.\4\ [Program Code:
22155].............................................
2. Source material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of source 1,320,000
material for refining uranium mill concentrates to
uranium hexafluoride or for deconverting uranium
hexafluoride in the production of uranium oxides
for disposal.\15\ [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 N/A
facilities.\15\ [Program Code(s): 11100]...
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities.\15\ 49,500
[Program Code(s): 11500]...................
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities N/A
\15\ [Program Code(s): 11510]..............
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities.\15\ \5\ N/A
[Program Code(s): 11550]...................
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities.\15\ \5\ N/A
[Program Code(s): 11555]...................
(f) Other facilities \6\ [Program Code(s): \5\ N/A
11700].....................................
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of \5\ N/A
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) \15\ [Program
Code(s): 11600, 12000].........................
(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of N/A
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) \15\ [Program Code(s): 12010].
B. Licenses which authorize the possession, use, and/ 2,800
or installation of source material for
shielding.\16\ \17\ Application [Program Code(s):
11210].............................................
C. Licenses to distribute items containing source 10,400
material to persons exempt from the licensing
requirements of part 40 of this chapter. [Program
Code: 11240].......................................
D. Licenses to distribute source material to persons 5,300
generally licensed under part 40 of this chapter.
[Program Code(s): 11230 and 11231].................
E. Licenses for possession and use of source 6,800
material for processing or manufacturing of
products or materials containing source material
for commercial distribution. [Program Code: 11710].
F. All other source material licenses. [Program 9,200
Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810,
11820].............................................
3. Byproduct material:
A. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of 28,800
byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of
this chapter for processing or manufacturing of
items containing byproduct material for commercial
distribution. Number of locations of use: 1-5.
[Program Code(s): 03211, 03212, 03213].............
(1). Licenses of broad scope for the possession 38,300
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. Number of
locations of use: 6-20. [Program Code(s):
04010, 04012, 04014]...........................
(2). Licenses of broad scope for the possession 47,800
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. Number of
locations of use: more than 20. [Program
Code(s): 04011, 04013, 04015]..................
B. Other licenses for possession and use of 10,000
byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
chapter for processing or manufacturing of items
containing byproduct material for commercial
distribution. Number of locations of use: 1-5.
[Program Code(s): 03214, 03215, 22135, 22162]......
[[Page 13381]]
(1). Other licenses for possession and use of 13,300
byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
chapter for processing or manufacturing of
items containing byproduct material for
commercial distribution. Number of locations of
use: 6-20. [Program Code(s): 04110, 04112,
04114, 04116]..................................
(2). Other licenses for possession and use of 16,500
byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
chapter for processing or manufacturing of
items containing byproduct material for
commercial distribution. Number of locations of
use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04111,
04113, 04115, 04117]...........................
C. Licenses issued under Sec. Sec. 32.72 and/or 9,700
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) of this chapter. Number of locations
of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513]
(1). Licenses issued under Sec. Sec. 32.72 12,800
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). Number of locations of
use: 6-20. [Program Code(s): 04210, 04212,
04214].........................................
(2). Licenses issued under Sec. Sec. 32.72 17,700
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). Number of locations of
use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04211,
04213, 04215]..................................
D. [Reserved]....................................... \5\ N/A
E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct 9,400
material in sealed sources for irradiation of
materials in which the source is not removed from
its shield (self-shielded units). [Program Code(s):
03510, 03520]......................................
F. Licenses for possession and use of less than or 9,000
equal to 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 greater than 74,300
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):
03521].............................................
H. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of 9,300
this chapter to distribute items containing
byproduct material that require device review to
persons exempt from the licensing requirements of
part 30 of this chapter, except specific licenses
authorizing redistribution of items that have been
authorized for distribution to persons exempt from
the licensing requirements of part 30 of this
chapter. [Program Code(s): 03254, 03255, 03257]....
I. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of 19,300
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,
03253, 03256]......................................
J. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of 3,700
this chapter to distribute items containing
byproduct material that require sealed source and/
or device review to persons generally licensed
under part 31 of this chapter, except specific
licenses authorizing redistribution of items that
have been authorized for distribution to persons
generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
[Program Code(s): 03240, 03241, 03243].............
K. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of 2,800
this chapter to distribute items containing
byproduct material or quantities of byproduct
material that do not require sealed source and/or
device review to persons generally licensed under
part 31 of this chapter, except specific licenses
authorizing redistribution of items that have been
authorized for distribution to persons generally
licensed under part 31 of this chapter. [Program
Code(s): 03242, 03244].............................
L. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of 13,500
byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of
this chapter for research and development that do
not authorize commercial distribution. Number of
locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s): 01100,
01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612, 03613]..........
(1) Licenses of broad scope for possession and 17,900
use of product material issued under parts 30
and 33 of this chapter for research and
development that do not authorize commercial
distribution. Number of locations of use: 6-20.
[Program Code(s): 04610, 04612, 04614, 04616,
04618, 04620, 04622]...........................
(2) Licenses of broad scope for possession and 22,300
use of byproduct material issued under parts 30
and 33 of this chapter for research and
development that do not authorize commercial
distribution. Number of locations of use: more
than 20. [Program Code(s): 04611, 04613, 04615,
04617, 04619, 04621, 04623]....................
M. Other licenses for possession and use of 25,200
byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
chapter for research and development that do not
authorize commercial distribution. [Program
Code(s): 03620]....................................
N. Licenses that authorize services for other 14,900
licensees, except: (1) Licenses that authorize only
calibration and/or leak testing services are
subject to the fees specified in fee Category 3.P.;
and (2) Licenses that authorize waste disposal
services are subject to the fees specified in fee
categories 4.A., 4.B., and 4.C.\21\ [Program
Code(s): 03219, 03225, 03226]......................
O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct 43,700
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
Number of locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s):
03310, 03320]......................................
[[Page 13382]]
(1). Licenses for possession and use of 58,500
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. Number of locations of
use: 6-20. [Program Code(s): 04310, 04312].....
(2). Licenses for possession and use of 72,900
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. Number of locations of
use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04311,
04313].........................................
P. All other specific byproduct material licenses, 12,500
except those in Categories 4.A. through 9.D.\18\
Number of locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s):
02400, 02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123, 03124,
03140, 03130, 03220, 03221, 03222, 03800, 03810,
22130].............................................
(1). All other specific byproduct material 16,700
licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
through 9.D.\18\ Number of locations of use: 6-
20. [Program Code(s): 04410, 04412, 04414,
04416, 04418, 04420, 04422, 04424, 04426,
04428, 04430, 04432, 04434, 04436, 04438]......
(2). All other specific byproduct material 20,800
licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
through 9.D.\18\ Number of locations of use:
more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04411, 04413,
04415, 04417, 04419, 04421, 04423, 04425,
04427, 04429, 04431, 04433, 04435, 04437,
04439].........................................
Q. Registration of devices generally licensed under \13\ N/A
part 31 of this chapter............................
R. Possession of items or products containing radium-
226 identified in Sec. 31.12 of this chapter
which exceed the number of items or limits
specified in that section: \14\
(1). Possession of quantities exceeding the 6,500
number of items or limits in Sec.
31.12(a)(4), or (5) of this chapter but less
than or equal to 10 times the number of items
or limits specified [Program Code(s): 02700]...
(2). Possession of quantities exceeding 10 times 6,800
the number of items or limits specified in Sec.
31.12(a)(4) or (5) of this chapter [Program
Code(s): 02710]................................
S. Licenses for production of accelerator-produced 26,300
radionuclides [Program Code(s): 03210].............
4. Waste disposal and processing:
A. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of 20,000
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, 03236, 06100, 06101]........................
B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of 15,600
waste byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material from other persons for the
purpose of packaging or repackaging the material.
The licensee will dispose of the material by
transfer to another person authorized to receive or
dispose of the material. [Program Code(s): 03234]..
C. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of 9,000
prepackaged waste byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material from other
persons. The licensee will dispose of the material
by transfer to another person authorized to receive
or dispose of the material. [Program Code(s):
03232].............................................
5. Well logging:
A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct 12,500
material, source material, and/or special nuclear
material for well logging, well surveys, and tracer
studies other than field flooding tracer studies.
[Program Code(s): 03110, 03111, 03112].............
B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct \5\ N/A
material for field flooding tracer studies.
[Program Code(s): 03113]...........................
6. Nuclear laundries:
A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of 28,200
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, 40, and 70 of 28,900
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.\9\
Number of locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s):
02300, 02310]......................................
(1). Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 38,500
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.\9\ Number of
locations of use: 6-20. [Program Code(s):
04510, 04512]..................................
(2). Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 48,200
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.\9\ Number of
locations of use: more than 20. [Program
Code(s): 04511, 04513].........................
B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medical 42,500
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\ Number of
locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s): 02110]....
[[Page 13383]]
(1). Licenses of broad scope issued to medical 56,500
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\ Number of
locations of use: 6-20. [Program Code(s):
04710].........................................
(2). Licenses of broad scope issued to medical 70,500
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\ Number of
locations of use: more than 20. [Program
Code(s): 04711]................................
C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 18,100
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\ \19\ Number of locations of
use: 1-5. [Program Code(s): 02120, 02121, 02200,
02201, 02210, 02220, 02230, 02231, 02240, 22160]...
(1). Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 24,200
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\ \19\ Number of locations of
use: 6-20. [Program Code(s): 04810, 04812,
04814, 04816, 04818, 04820, 04822, 04824,
04826, 04828]..................................
(2). Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 22,100
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\ \19\ Number of locations of
use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04811,
04813, 04815, 04817, 04819, 04821, 04823,
04825, 04827, 04829]...........................
8. Civil defense:
A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct 6,500
material, source material, or special nuclear
material for civil defense activities. [Program
Code(s): 03710]....................................
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety evaluation:
A. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of 17,600
devices or products containing byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear material,
except reactor fuel devices, for commercial
distribution.......................................
B. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of 9,000
devices or products containing byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear material
manufactured in accordance with the unique
specifications of, and for use by, a single
applicant, except reactor fuel devices.............
C. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of 5,300
sealed sources containing byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear material,
except reactor fuel, for commercial distribution...
D. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of 1,000
sealed sources containing byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear material,
manufactured in accordance with the unique
specifications of, and for use by, a single
applicant, except reactor fuel.....................
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
A. Certificates of Compliance or other package
approvals issued for design of casks, packages, and
shipping containers.
1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium \6\ N/A
air packages...................................
2. Other Casks.................................. \6\ N/A
B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under
part 71 of this chapter............................
1. Users and Fabricators........................ \6\ N/A
2. Users........................................ \6\ N/A
C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals, \6\ N/A
route surveys, and transportation security devices
(including immobilization devices).................
11. Standardized spent fuel facilities.................. \6\ N/A
12. Special Projects [Program Code(s): 25110]........... \6\ N/A
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance \6\ N/A
B. General licenses for storage of spent fuel under \12\ N/A
Sec. 72.210 of this chapter......................
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation:
A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material \7\ \20\ N/A
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). The transition to this
fee category occurs when a licensee has permanently
ceased principal activities. [Program Code(s):
03900, 11900, 21135, 21215, 21325, 22200]..........
B. Site-specific decommissioning activities \7\ N/A
associated with unlicensed sites, including MMLs,
whether or not the sites have been previously
licensed...........................................
15. Import and Export licenses.......................... \8\ N/A
16. Reciprocity......................................... \8\ N/A
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to 352,000
Government agencies.\15\ [Program Code(s): 03614]......
18. Department of Energy:
A. Certificates of Compliance....................... \10\ 1,733,000
[[Page 13384]]
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act 119,000
(UMTRCA) activities [Program Code(s): 03237, 03238]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 of the current FY, 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.A, 7.A.1, 7.A.2, 7.B., 7.B.1, 7.B.2,
7.C, 7.C.1, or 7.C.2.
\10\ This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to the DOE 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 subject to fees under categories 1.A., 1.B., 1.E., 2.A.,
and licensees paying fees under fee category 17 must pay the largest
applicable fee and are not subject to additional fees listed in this
table.
\16\ Licensees paying fees under 3.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\17\ Licensees paying fees under 7.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\18\ Licensees paying fees under 3.N. are not subject to paying fees
under 3.P., 3.P.1, or 3.P.2 for calibration or leak testing services
authorized on the same license.
\19\ Licensees paying fees under 7.B., 7.B.1, or 7.B.2 are not subject
to paying fees under 7.C., 7.C.1, or 7.C.2 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.
\20\ No annual fee is charged for a materials license (or part of a
materials license) that has transitioned to this fee category because
the decommissioning costs will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170
fees, but annual fees may be charged for other activities authorized
under the license that are not in decommissioning status.
\21\ Licensees paying fees under 4.A., 4.B. or 4.C. are not subject to
paying fees under 3.N. licenses that authorize services for other
licensees authorized on the same license.
Dated: February 21, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James C. Corbett,
Acting Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-03940 Filed 3-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P