[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78011-78012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25030]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Adjustment of Indemnification Amount for Inflation

AGENCY: Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of adjusted indemnification amount.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) is announcing 
the adjusted amount of indemnification provided under subsection 170d. 
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA), commonly known as the Price-
Anderson Act. Subsection 170t. of the AEA requires an inflation 
adjustment of the indemnification amount at least once during each 5-
year period following July 1, 2003, in accordance with the aggregate 
percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This notice 
announces $16,592,154,000 as the fourth inflation-adjusted 
indemnification amount based on the aggregate percentage change in the 
CPI during the 5-year period from July 1, 2018 to July 1, 2023.

DATES: This action is effective on November 14, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Meghan Claire Hammond, Attorney 
Advisor (GC-72), Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department of 
Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-
3806.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Price-Anderson Act (PAA), section 170 of 
the AEA (42 U.S.C. 2210), establishes a system of financial protection 
for persons who may be liable for a ``nuclear incident,'' as defined in 
section 11q. of the AEA (42 U.S.C. 2014q.). The Price-Anderson Act is 
administered by DOE with respect to the nuclear activities of 
contractors acting on DOE's behalf. Subsection 170d. provides that the 
Secretary of Energy shall enter into agreements of indemnification with 
any person who may conduct activities under a contract with DOE that 
involve the risk of public liability and that are not subject to the 
financial protection requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
system. DOE's Price-Anderson Act indemnification contract provisions 
are codified in the Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (DEAR), 
which sets forth a standard nuclear indemnification clause, the Nuclear 
Hazard Indemnity Clause at 48 CFR 952.250-70, that is incorporated into 
all DOE contracts and subcontracts in which the contractor is under 
risk of public liability for a nuclear incident or precautionary 
evacuation, as those terms are defined in the PAA.

[[Page 78012]]

    Subsection 170t.(2) of the AEA requires that the Secretary adjust 
for inflation the amount of indemnification provided under an 
indemnification agreement pursuant to subsection 170d. at least once 
during each 5-year period following July 1, 2003, in accordance with 
the aggregate percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The 
CPI is defined in subsection 170t.(3) to mean the CPI for all urban 
consumers published by the Secretary of Labor. DOE's initial adjustment 
increased the indemnification amount to $11.961 billion. 74 FR 52793 
(October 14, 2009). The second inflation adjustment, for the period 
following July 1, 2013, increased the indemnification amount to 
$12,697,798,000. 78 FR 56868 (September 16, 2013). DOE made its most 
recent inflation adjustment to the indemnification amount to 
$13,703,464,000 for the period following July 1, 2018. 83 FR 49375 
(October 1, 2018).
    This notice announces DOE's fourth periodic inflation adjustment 
for the 5-year period following July 1, 2023 based on the aggregate 
percentage change in the CPI between July 1, 2018 and July 1, 2023.
    The CPI used to calculate the inflation adjustment for the period 
following July 1, 2018 was 251.989 (June 2018). The CPI used to 
calculate the inflation adjustment that is the subject of this Notice 
is 305.109 (June 2023). This difference represents an increase of 
approximately 21.08%. Application of this increase to the current DOE 
indemnification amount results in an inflation-adjusted indemnification 
amount rounded to the nearest thousand of $16,592,154,000.
    The inflation adjustment under AEA, subsection 170t., applies only 
to a nuclear incident within the United States. There is no 
corresponding inflation adjustment for a nuclear incident outside the 
United States. Accordingly, the indemnification amount for a nuclear 
incident outside the United States continues to be $500 million.
    This notice of adjusted indemnification amount is a ``rule'' as 
defined in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 551(4)). 
However, the APA (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B)) does not require an agency to 
seek comment on a proposed rule prior to publishing a final rule ``when 
the agency for good cause finds (and incorporates the finding and a 
brief statement of reasons therefore in the rules issued) that notice 
and public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or 
contrary to the public interest.'' In this instance, DOE has concluded 
that solicitation of public comment is unnecessary. Congress has 
required DOE to adjust the amount of indemnification provided under an 
agreement of indemnification pursuant to section 170d. to reflect 
inflation in the initial and each subsequent 5-year period following 
July 1, 2003. The statute provides no discretion regarding the 
substance of the adjustment. DOE is required only to perform a 
ministerial computation to determine the relevant amount. On the same 
basis, DOE finds good cause, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive 
the requirement for a 30-day delay in the effective date for this rule. 
As such, this rule is effective November 14, 2023.
    DOE has determined that this notice of adjusted indemnification 
amount is the type of action that does not individually or cumulatively 
have a significant impact on the human environment as set forth in 
DOE's regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Specifically, the rule is covered under 
the categorical exclusion in paragraph A6 of appendix A to subpart D, 
10 CFR part 1021, which applies to rulemakings that are strictly 
procedural. Accordingly, neither an environmental assessment nor an 
environmental impact statement is required.
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires 
preparation of an initial regulatory flexibility analysis for any rule 
that by law must be proposed for public comment, unless the agency 
certifies that the rule, if promulgated, will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. As required 
by Executive Order 13272, ``Proper Consideration of Small Entities in 
Agency Rulemaking,'' 67 FR 53461 (August 16, 2002), DOE published 
procedures and policies on February 19, 2003, to ensure that the 
potential impacts of its rules on small entities are properly 
considered during the rulemaking process. 68 FR 7990. The Department 
has made its procedures and policies available on the Office of General 
Counsel's website: www.energy.gov/gc/office-general-counsel. Because 
DOE, in this final rule, is performing only a ministerial computation 
to determine the relevant indemnification amount as required by 
Congress, a general notice of proposed rulemaking is not required, and 
the analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act do not 
apply to this rulemaking.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on November 7, 
2023, by Samuel Walsh General Counsel, pursuant to delegated authority 
from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature 
and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in 
compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to 
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as 
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative 
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

     Signed in Washington, DC, on November 8, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-25030 Filed 11-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P