Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2006, 7350-7380 [06-1163]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7350-7380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1163]



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Part IV





Nuclear Regulatory Commission





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10 CFR Parts 170 and 171



Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2006; Proposed Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 71 , No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2006 / 
Proposed Rules

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 170 and 171

RIN 3150-AH83


Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2006

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend 
the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its applicants 
and licensees. The proposed amendments are necessary to implement the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-90), as amended, which 
requires that the NRC recover approximately 90 percent of its budget 
authority in fiscal year (FY) 2006, less the amounts appropriated from 
the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF) and for Waste Incidental to Reprocessing 
(WIR) activities. The required fee recovery amount for the FY 2006 
budget is approximately $624 million, which is increased by 
approximately $0.9 million to account for billing adjustments, 
resulting in a total of approximately $625 million that must be 
recovered through fees in FY 2006.

DATES: The comment period expires March 13, 2006. Comments received 
after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the 
NRC is able to ensure only that comments received on or before this 
date will be considered. Because OBRA-90 requires that the NRC collect 
the FY 2006 fees by September 30, 2006, requests for extensions of the 
comment period will not be granted.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods. 
Please include number RIN 3150-AH83 in the subject line of your 
comments. Comments on rulemakings submitted in writing or in electronic 
form will be made available to the public in their entirety on the NRC 
rulemaking Web site. Personal information will not be removed from your 
comments.
    Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
    E-mail comments to: SECY@nrc.gov. If you do not receive a reply e-
mail confirming that we have received your comments, contact us 
directly at (301) 415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's 
rulemaking Web site at https://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address questions 
about our Web site to Ms. Carol Gallagher, 301-415-5905; e-mail 
CAG@nrc.gov. Comments can also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. (Telephone 
301-415-1966).
    Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 
(301) 415-1101.
    Publicly available documents related to this rulemaking may be 
viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR), Room O1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR reproduction contractor 
will copy documents for a fee. Selected documents, including comments, 
may be viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC rulemaking Web 
site at https://ruleforum.llnl.gov. The Commission notes that it is 
providing improved summary documentation of the fee calculations used 
in this rulemaking as part of the publicly available documents, and 
believes that these new reports will enhance the transparency of the 
fee calculations and provide additional explanation of any changes in 
fees.
    Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after 
November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this 
site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image 
files of NRC's public documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or 
if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, 
contact the NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209; 301-415-4737 or 
by e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tammy Croote, telephone 301-415-6041; 
Office of the Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Proposed Action
III. Plain Language
IV. Voluntary Consensus Standards
V. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion
VI. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
VII. Regulatory Analysis
VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
IX. Backfit Analysis

I. Background

    For FYs 1991 through 2000, OBRA-90 (Pub. L. 101-508), as amended, 
required that the NRC recover approximately 100 percent of its budget 
authority, less the amount appropriated from the U.S. Department of 
Energy (DOE) administered NWF, by assessing fees. To address fairness 
and equity concerns related to charging NRC license holders for agency 
budgeted costs that do not provide a direct benefit to the licensee, 
the FY 2001 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 
106-377) amended OBRA-90 to decrease the NRC's fee recovery amount by 2 
percent per year beginning in FY 2001, until the fee recovery amount 
was 90 percent in FY 2005. The FY 2006 Energy and Water Development 
Appropriations Act (EWDAA) (Pub. L. 109-103), as amended by the 
Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address 
Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006 
(Pub. L. 109-148), extended this 90 percent fee recovery requirement 
through FY 2006. As a result, the NRC is required to recover 
approximately 90 percent of its FY 2006 budget authority, less the 
amounts appropriated from the NWF and for WIR activities, through fees. 
The required fee recovery amount for the FY 2006 budget is 
approximately $624 million, which is increased by approximately $0.9 
million to account for billing adjustments, resulting in a total of 
approximately $625 million that must be recovered through fees in FY 
2006.
    The NRC assesses two types of fees to meet the requirements of 
OBRA-90, as amended. First, license and inspection fees, established in 
10 CFR part 170 under the authority of the Independent Offices 
Appropriation Act of 1952 (IOAA), 31 U.S.C. 9701, recover the NRC's 
costs of providing special benefits to identifiable applicants and 
licensees. Examples of the services provided by the NRC for which these 
fees are assessed are the review of applications for new licenses and, 
for certain types of existing licenses, the review of renewal 
applications, the review of amendment requests, and inspections. 
Second, annual fees established in 10 CFR part 171 under the authority 
of OBRA-90, recover generic and other regulatory costs not otherwise 
recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees.
    The amount of the NRC's required fee collections are set by law and 
are therefore outside the scope of this rulemaking. In FY 2006, the 
NRC's total

[[Page 7351]]

fee recoverable budget increased by $83.4 million from FY 2005 in 
response to increased workload. As such, most annual fees increased. 
The budget, including the increases, was allocated to the fee classes 
that the budgeted activities support. As discussed in more detail 
below, another factor affecting the amount of annual fees for each fee 
class is the estimated collection under part 170.
    Additional factors will affect the NRC's required fee recovery in 
future years. For example, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-
58) permanently extends the 90 percent fee recovery requirement 
beginning in FY 2007. The Energy Policy Act also permanently removes 
certain homeland security activities from the fee base beginning in FY 
2007. Section 637 states that the NRC will not recover in fees:

(iv) amounts appropriated to the Commission for homeland security 
activities of the Commission for the fiscal year, except for the 
costs of fingerprinting and background checks required by section 
149 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2169) and the costs 
of conducting security inspections.

    Under this legislative requirement, the budgeted resources for all 
generic homeland security activities (those activities that support an 
entire license fee class or classes of licensees, such as rulemakings, 
guidance development, and vulnerability assessments) will be removed 
from the fee base beginning with the FY 2007 fee rulemaking. Pursuant 
to the NRC's authority under the IOAA, the NRC will continue to bill 
under part 170 for all licensee-specific homeland security-related 
services provided, including security inspections and security plan 
reviews. This legislative change will provide fee relief for NRC 
licensees. However, the net change in annual fees in FY 2007 will also 
depend on other factors, especially the amount of the NRC's FY 2007 
appropriated budget and the allocation of these resources to the 
license fee classes and surcharge categories (surcharge categories 
include the resources associated with activities for which the NRC does 
not charge fees, as described in more detail in Section II of this 
document), as well as any other policy decisions of the Commission.

II. Proposed Action

    The NRC is proposing to amend its licensing, inspection, and annual 
fees to recover approximately 90 percent of its FY 2006 budget 
authority less the appropriations received from the NWF and for WIR 
activities. The NRC's total budget authority for FY 2006 is $741.5 
million, of which approximately $45.7 million has been appropriated 
from the NWF, and $2.5 million for WIR activities. Based on the 90 
percent fee recovery requirement, the NRC must recover approximately 
$624 million in FY 2006 through part 170 licensing and inspection fees 
and part 171 annual fees. The amount required by law to be recovered 
through fees for FY 2006 is $83.4 million more than the amount 
estimated for recovery in FY 2005, an increase of over 15 percent.
    The FY 2006 fee recovery amount is increased by $0.9 million to 
account for billing adjustments (i.e., for FY 2006 invoices that the 
NRC estimates will not be paid during the fiscal year, less payments 
received in FY 2006 for FY 2005 invoices). There is no FY 2005 
carryover to apply to FY 2006 fee collections. This leaves 
approximately $625 million to be recovered in FY 2006 through part 170 
licensing and inspection fees and part 171 annual fees.
    The NRC estimates that approximately $188.7 million will be 
recovered in FY 2006 from part 170 fees. This represents an increase of 
over 22 percent as compared to the actual part 170 collections for FY 
2005 of $154.1 million. The NRC derived the FY 2006 estimate of part 
170 fee collections based on the previous four quarters of billing data 
for each license fee class, with adjustments to account for changes in 
the NRC's FY 2006 budget, as appropriate, and the increase in the 
hourly rates from FY 2005 to FY 2006. The remaining $436.2 million 
would be recovered through the part 171 annual fees in FY 2006, 
compared to $380.5 million for FY 2005, an increase of approximately 15 
percent.
    Table I summarizes the budget and fee recovery amounts for FY 2006 
(individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding).

          Table I.--Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts for FY 2006
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Budget Authority.....................................       $741.5
    Less NWF and WIR.......................................        -48.1
                                                            ------------
        Balance............................................       $693.4
    Fee Recovery Rate for FY 2006..........................      x 90.0%
                                                            ------------
Total Amount to be Recovered For FY 2006...................       $624.0
    Less Carryover from FY 2005............................         -0.0
    Plus Part 171 Billing Adjustments:
        Unpaid FY 2006 Invoices (estimated)................          3.2
        Less Payments Received in FY 2006 for Prior Year            -2.3
         Invoices (estimated)..............................
                                                            ------------
        Subtotal...........................................          0.9
                                                            ============
Amount to be Recovered Through Parts 170 and 171 Fees......       $625.0
                                                            ============
    Less Estimated Part 170 Fees...........................       -188.7
                                                            ------------
Part 171 Fee Collections Required..........................       $436.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FY 2006 final fee rule will be a ``major rule'' as defined by 
the Congressional Review Act of 1996. Therefore, the NRC's fee 
schedules for FY 2006 would become effective 60 days after publication 
of the final rule in the Federal Register. The NRC will send an invoice 
for the amount of the annual fee to reactors and major fuel cycle 
facilities upon publication of the FY 2006 final rule. For these 
licensees, payment would be due on the effective date of the FY 2006 
rule. Those materials licensees whose license anniversary date during 
FY 2006 falls before the effective date of the final FY 2006 rule would 
be billed for the annual fee during the anniversary month of the

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license at the FY 2005 annual fee rate. Those materials licensees whose 
license anniversary date falls on or after the effective date of the 
final FY 2006 rule would be billed for the annual fee at the FY 2006 
annual fee rate during the anniversary month of the license, and 
payment would be due on the date of the invoice.
    As a matter of courtesy, the NRC plans to continue mailing the 
proposed fee rule to all licensees, although, as a cost saving measure, 
in accordance with its FY 1998 announcement, the NRC has discontinued 
mailing the final fee rule to all licensees. Accordingly, the NRC does 
not plan to routinely mail the FY 2006 final fee rule or future final 
fee rules to licensees.
    However, the NRC will send the final rule to any licensee or other 
person upon specific request. To request a copy, contact the License 
Fee Team, Division of Financial Management, Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer, at 301-415-7554, or e-mail fees@nrc.gov. The NRC 
plans to publish the final fee rule no later than June 2006. In 
addition to publication in the Federal Register, the final rule will be 
available on the Internet at https://ruleforum.llnl.gov for at least 90 
days after the effective date of the final rule.
    The NRC is proposing to make changes to 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 as 
discussed in Sections A and B of this document.

A. Amendments to 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

    The NRC is proposing to establish hourly rates to recover the full 
cost of activities under part 170, and to use these rates to calculate 
``flat'' application fees. Additionally, the NRC is proposing to charge 
Federal agencies part 170 fees (with the exception of certain 
Federally-owned test and research reactors); clarify that the tracking 
and monitoring of shipments necessary for certain licensing actions is 
subject to full cost fees under part 170; establish additional import/
export fee categories (subclasses); and make minor administrative 
changes for purposes of clarification, consistency, and to eliminate 
redundancy.
    The NRC is proposing the following changes:
1. Hourly Rates
    The NRC is proposing to establish in Sec.  170.20 two professional 
hourly rates for NRC staff time. These proposed rates would be based on 
the number of FY 2006 direct program full time equivalents (FTEs) and 
the NRC's FY 2006 fee recoverable budget, excluding direct program 
support costs. These rates are used in assessing full cost fees for 
specific services provided, as well as flat fees for certain 
application reviews. The proposed rate for the Nuclear Reactor Safety 
(Reactor) Program is $217 per hour. This rate would be applicable to 
all activities for which fees are assessed under Sec.  170.21 of the 
fee regulations (with the exception of reactor decommissioning and 
import/export licensing activities). The proposed rate for the Nuclear 
Materials and Waste Safety (Materials) Program is $215 per hour. This 
rate would be applicable to all activities for which fees are assessed 
under Sec.  170.31 of the fee regulations, as well as the reactor 
decommissioning and import/export activities under Sec.  170.21. In the 
FY 2005 final fee rule, the Reactor and Materials Program rates were 
$205 and $197, respectively. The increases to the Reactor and Materials 
Program rates are due to the recent Government-wide pay raise and to 
the more accurate allocation of agency overhead to these Programs and 
fee-exempt activities.
    The hourly rate is derived by dividing the sum of budgeted 
resources for (1) direct labor, (2) allocated program overhead, and (3) 
allocated agency overhead, by budgeted direct hours. This calculation 
is performed for both the Reactor and Materials Programs, and excludes 
the budgeted resources and associated overhead for fee exempt 
activities. The specific method used to determine the two professional 
hourly rates is as follows:
    a. Direct program budgeted FTE, as well as all associated program 
overhead (FTE and contracts), are allocated at the planned activity 
level to the fee classes and surcharge (i.e., fee exempt) categories 
based on who benefits from these activities. Direct contract support, 
which is the use of contract or other services in support of the line 
organization's mission-direct program, is excluded from the calculation 
of the hourly rates because the costs for direct contract support are 
recovered directly through either part 170 or 171 fees.
    b. All management and support budgeted resources (FTE and 
contracts), including resources associated with the Office of the 
Inspector General, are allocated to each fee class and surcharge 
category based on the percent of the total budgeted resources allocated 
to each fee class and surcharge category in step a.
    c. The hourly rate for the Reactor Program is calculated by 
dividing the total budgeted resources (calculated in steps a. and b.) 
allocated to the power reactor and test and research reactor fee 
classes by the direct hours allocated to those classes. Similarly, the 
hourly rate for the Materials Program is calculated by dividing the 
total budgeted resources allocated to the spent fuel/reactor 
decommissioning, fuel facility, transportation, materials users, 
uranium recovery, rare earth, and import/export fee classes by the 
direct hours allocated to those fee classes. An hourly rate for 
surcharge activities is not needed, however, the appropriate allocation 
of budgeted resources (including all associated overhead) and hours to 
the surcharge categories is calculated to ensure that these budgeted 
resources and hours are excluded from the Reactor and Materials Program 
hourly rates.
    The direct hours used in the denominator of this hourly rate 
calculation continue to be calculated based on an estimate of 1,446 
direct hours worked per direct FTE per year, as established in the FY 
2005 fee rule (70 FR 30526; May 26, 2005). As explained in the FY 2005 
fee rule, this estimate is based on data from the NRC's time and labor 
system. The NRC continues to believe this estimate appropriately 
reflects the direct time expended per direct FTE.
    Table II shows the results of this hourly rate calculation 
methodology. Due to rounding, adding the individual numbers in the 
table may result in a total that is slightly different than the one 
shown.

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   Table II.--FY 2006 Budget Authority to be Included in Hourly Rates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Reactor      Materials
                                                 program       program
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Program Salaries & Benefits..........      $182.4M        $41.4M
Program Overhead Salaries & Benefits, and           81.9M         18.0M
 Contract Support...........................
Allocated Agency Management and Support.....       151.5M         34.0M
                                             ---------------
    Subtotal................................       415.7M         93.4M
Less Offsetting Receipts....................        -0.1M         -0.0M
                                             ---------------
    Total Budget Included in Hourly Rate....      $415.6M        $93.4M
Program Direct FTEs.........................     1,322.8         300.6
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budget            $217          $215
 Included in Hourly Rate divided by Program
 Direct FTE times 1,446 hours)..............
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As shown in Table II, dividing the $415.6 million budgeted amount 
(rounded) included in the hourly rate for the Reactor Program by the 
Reactor Program direct hours (1,322.8 FTE times 1,446 hours) results in 
an hourly rate of $217 for the Reactor Program for FY 2006. Similarly, 
dividing the $93.4 million budgeted amount (rounded) included in the 
hourly rate for the Materials Program by the program direct hours 
(300.6 FTE times 1,446 hours) results in an hourly rate of $215 for the 
Materials Program in FY 2006. These hourly rates are rounded to the 
nearest whole dollar.
2. Fee Adjustments
    The NRC is proposing to adjust the current part 170 fees in 
Sec. Sec.  170.21 and 170.31 to reflect the changes in the revised 
hourly rates. The full cost fees assessed under Sec. Sec.  170.21 and 
170.31 would be based on the proposed professional hourly rates and any 
direct program support (contractual services) costs expended by the 
NRC. Any professional hours expended on or after the effective date of 
the final rule would be assessed at the FY 2006 hourly rates.
    The fees in Sec. Sec.  170.21 and 170.31 that are based on the 
average time to review an application (flat fees) would be adjusted to 
reflect the change in the Materials Program professional hourly rate 
from FY 2005. The proposed flat fees are calculated by multiplying the 
average professional staff hours needed to process the licensing 
actions by the proposed Materials Program professional hourly rate for 
FY 2006. The agency estimates the average professional staff hours 
needed to process licensing actions every other year as part of its 
biennial review of fees performed in compliance with the Chief 
Financial Officers Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-578). (This review was last 
performed as part of the FY 2005 fee rulemaking.) The amounts of the 
materials licensing flat fees are rounded so that the fees would be 
convenient to the user and the effects of rounding would be ``de 
minimis.'' Fees under $1,000 are rounded to the nearest $10, fees that 
are greater than $1,000 but less than $100,000 are rounded to the 
nearest $100, and fees that are greater than $100,000 are rounded to 
the nearest $1,000.
    The proposed licensing flat fees are applicable for fee categories 
K.1 through K.5 of Sec.  170.21, and fee categories 1.C, 1.D, 2.B, 2.C, 
3.A through 3.P, 4.B through 9.D, 10.B, 15.A through 15.R, 16, and 17 
of Sec.  170.31. The proposed higher hourly rate of $215 for the 
Materials Program is the reason for the increases in these proposed 
licensing fees. Applications filed on or after the effective date of 
the final rule would be subject to the revised fees in this proposed 
rule.
3. Charging Part 170 Fees to Federal Agencies/Fees for Research 
Reactors
    The NRC proposes to amend Sec. Sec.  170.11 and 170.31 to provide 
that part 170 fees will be assessed to Federal agencies where 
applicable. Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Section 623), the NRC 
was granted authority to assess fees for specific services provided to 
any Federal government agency which applies to the NRC for, or is 
issued by the NRC, a license or certificate. The NRC currently recovers 
the costs of licensee-specific activities for non-Federal licensees, 
applicants, and certificate holders under part 170, but lacked the 
authority to assess these fees to Federal agencies (other than the 
Tennessee Valley Authority) until the effective date of the Energy 
Policy Act.
    Because activities such as processing license applications provide 
a specific benefit to the recipient, the Commission believes it is fair 
and appropriate to implement this new authority and thereby recover the 
costs of providing specific services to Federal agencies through part 
170 fees. The NRC has provided written notification to Federal 
agencies, that have an NRC license or certificate, that the NRC plans 
to implement this new authority in the FY 2006 final fee rule, so that 
they may include this cost in their budgets.
    The Commission notes that this provision of the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 cannot legally be applied to services the NRC provides to 
Federal agencies that are not NRC licensees, certificate holders, or 
applicants. Therefore, the NRC is not proposing to charge part 170 fees 
to Federal agencies for activities that are not subject to NRC 
licensing. Examples of NRC activities not related to a license or 
certificate, and therefore not subject to part 170 fees under this 
proposed rulemaking, include those to support the DOE in its 
decommissioning of the West Valley site in New York, and technical 
assistance provided to the Department of Transportation for certain 
foreign approved transport package designs for import/export (for which 
NRC does not have regulatory authority).
    Under these proposed changes to part 170, Federal agency licensees, 
certificate holders, and applicants would be assessed fees in the same 
manner as are non-Federal agency licensees, certificate holders, and 
applicants. This means that Federal agencies would be required to pay 
part 170 fees for NRC services provided, including reviews of 
applications and other licensing actions, inspections, and 
decommissioning activities. This change does not require the 
calculation of any new fee amounts or establishment of new fee 
categories for Federal agencies. The only exception is that the NRC is 
proposing to establish a new flat application fee of $17,800 for fee 
category 17, ``Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to 
Government agencies,'' under Sec.  170.31. There is currently no 
application fee listed for this fee category because the only licensees 
in this fee category are for the Federal government. The proposed flat 
application fee was calculated in the same manner as other flat 
application fees; it equals the product of the average

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hours estimated to process these types of applications and the 
Materials Program hourly rate. Because of insufficient data on average 
processing times for these master materials licenses (because there are 
only three such NRC licensees), the NRC based its estimate of average 
processing time for master materials licensees on other license 
applications of similar complexity.
    Additionally, to implement this new authority, the NRC is proposing 
to change fee category 18.A under Sec.  170.31 to specify that full 
cost fees will be assessed for licensing and inspection activities 
associated with DOE's part 71 Certificates of Compliance.
    The NRC is proposing to exempt from part 170 fees Federally-owned 
test and research reactors that meet the fee exemption criteria set 
forth in Section 2903 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-
486). [These criteria relate to factors such as thermal power level and 
whether the reactor contains a liquid fuel loading, and are listed 
under both Sec. Sec.  170.11(a)(9) and 171.11(a)(2). Three Federally-
owned research reactors currently meet this criteria (reactors at the 
Veteran's Administration Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, the U.S. 
Geological Survey in Denver, Colorado, and the Armed Forces 
Radiobiological Institute in Bethesda, Maryland)]. As implemented by 
Sec.  171.11(a)(2), Federally-owned test and research reactors that 
meet the statutory criteria are already exempt from paying annual fees. 
At the time Congress enacted this fee exemption, however, Federally-
owned reactors (other than the Tennessee Valley Authority) were not 
subject to part 170 fees. Therefore, the exemption criteria set forth 
in the Energy Policy Act of 1992 did not specifically address part 170 
fees. Now that NRC has the authority to charge part 170 fees to 
Federally-owned reactors, the NRC believes that it is appropriate as a 
matter of policy to apply the same criteria to Federally-owned test and 
research reactors, and exempt those meeting the criteria from part 170 
fees. State-owned reactors meeting this same criteria are currently 
exempt from part 170 fees under Sec.  170.11(a)(9). The Commission 
explained the rationale for this decision in the FY 1994 fee rule (59 
FR 36895; July 20, 1994) by stating that the NRC believed this was ``* 
* * consistent with the legislative intent of the Energy Policy Act of 
1992 that government-owned research reactors be exempt from fees if 
they meet the technical design criteria of the exemption and are used 
primarily for educational training and academic research purposes.'' 
The Commission continues to believe this is consistent with the intent 
of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, and therefore is proposing to exempt 
these Federally-owned reactors from part 170 fees. However, the NRC 
will re-evaluate this proposal in formulating its final rule after 
reviewing any public comments.
    Note, as part of the proposed revisions to Sec.  170.11(a)(9), the 
NRC is clarifying that the fee exemption therein remains in effect even 
after the reactors meeting this criteria are no longer authorized to 
operate.
4. Charging Part 170 Fees for Tracking and Monitoring Shipments of 
Classified Matter
    The NRC is proposing to clarify that full cost part 170 fees will 
be assessed to track and monitor shipments of classified materials 
(e.g., components of gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facilities). The 
NRC currently has under review applications to build and operate gas 
centrifuge uranium enrichment facilities. Because of the sensitive 
technology, many of the components associated with these facilities are 
classified as Restricted Data under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (Pub. 
L. 83-703), as amended. Furthermore, some of these components are 
voluminous and cannot be transported under the standard classified 
matter transportation requirements of Sec.  95.39(b) and (c) (e.g., 
double wrapping, marking, and tracking). In these cases, the NRC 
requires the licensee or applicant to submit a security plan under 
Sec.  95.39(e) for transporting this non-standard classified matter. 
One aspect of classified matter transportation security plans is 
continuous telemetric position monitoring and tracking of shipments of 
classified matter, including a capability for notification of local law 
enforcement officials and the NRC in the case of an emergency.
    Because of the inherent national security concerns associated with 
the transportation of Restricted Data components and the current threat 
environment, the NRC has not considered permitting licensees to 
establish their own telemetric position monitoring and tracking 
capability for shipments of classified matter, nor to contract with a 
commercial service to meet this requirement. Instead, the NRC intends 
to require that these shipments be tracked and monitored by a U.S. 
government owned or operated system (e.g., systems operated by the U.S. 
Departments of Defense or Energy). As such, the NRC is establishing an 
interagency agreement and memorandum of understanding and reimbursable 
agreement with another government agency to provide the necessary 
tracking, monitoring, and communications center capabilities. 
Accordingly, the costs incurred by the NRC from this other government 
agency in monitoring these shipments will be passed on to the 
applicable licensee in full. While this is a new activity, the recovery 
of these costs through part 170 fees is consistent with the NRC's 
existing full cost recovery policy for licensing activities.
    The NRC is proposing to make this clarification by modifying the 
definition of ``special projects'' in Sec.  170.3 to include this type 
of activity. This definition currently includes examples of special 
projects; including this activity as an example would ensure that 
licensees are informed that these activities are subject to part 170 
fees.
5. Revisions to Import/Export Fee Categories
    The NRC is proposing to modify the import and export fee categories 
at Sec.  170.31 to reflect revisions to 10 CFR part 110 that were 
published on July 1, 2005 (70 FR 37985), effective December 28, 2005. 
These part 110 revisions take into account provisions in the 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Code of Conduct on the Safety 
and Security of Radioactive Sources concerning the import and export of 
radioactive sources, and the supplemental IAEA guidance on the Import 
and Export of Radioactive Sources.
    The specific radioactive material and quantities newly covered by 
NRC regulations, per the July 1, 2005 revisions, are listed in Table 1 
of Appendix P to part 110, and are essentially identical to the list of 
radioactive materials in Category 1 and Category 2 of the Code of 
Conduct. The amendments to part 110 require NRC authorization of 
certain exports and imports by specific license. As a result of these 
changes, it is necessary to add additional import/export fee categories 
under Sec.  170.31 to accommodate these new types of licensees.
    Therefore, the NRC is proposing to modify fee category 15 at Sec.  
170.31 to include separate fee categories for Category 1 Exports (fee 
categories 15.F through 15.I), Category 2 Exports (fee categories 15.J 
through 15.L), Category 1 Imports (fee categories 15.M and 15.N), 
Category 2 Imports (fee category O), Category 1 Imports with Agent and 
Multiple Licensees (fee categories 15.P and 15.Q), and minor amendments 
to Category 1 and 2 Exports and Imports (fee category 15.R). As with 
other flat fees established under Sec.  170.31, the proposed fees 
associated with each fee category reflect the NRC's estimate of

[[Page 7355]]

average hours required to process the license application, multiplied 
by the hourly rate. These proposed changes also establish that for a 
combined import and export license application for material listed in 
Appendix P to part 110, only the higher of the two applicable fee 
amounts must be paid. This is because the difference in level of effort 
associated with processing a combined import and export license versus 
processing just the export license (for the material listed in Appendix 
P to part 110, only) is negligible.
6. Administrative Amendments
    The NRC is proposing to eliminate the reference to ``route 
approvals for shipment of radioactive materials'' in the definition of 
``special projects'' under Sec.  170.3. This activity is currently 
covered under Sec.  170.31, fee category 10 C., which establishes full 
cost recovery for this and other related activities; therefore, the 
additional reference to this activity as a special project (for which 
the NRC assesses full cost fees) is redundant.
    The NRC is also proposing to modify Sec.  170.11(a)(4) to clarify 
that the fee exemption does not apply if an institution meets at least 
one of the criteria listed in Sec.  170.11(a)(4)(I)--(iv). Currently, 
these criteria are connected with an ``and,'' rather than an ``or,'' 
making it unclear whether the fee exemption in Sec.  170.11(a)(4) 
applies to an institution that meets one of the criteria. This revised 
language would be consistent with the language used for this same 
exemption as applied to part 171 fees under Sec.  171.11(a)(1) and 
would enhance the clarity of this provision.
    Additionally, the NRC is proposing to clarify which hourly rate is 
applicable to which activities. Currently, Sec.  170.20 states that the 
Reactor Program rate is applicable to Sec.  170.21 activities, and the 
Materials Program rate is applicable to Sec.  170.31 activities. The 
NRC is proposing to amend Sec.  170.20 to clarify that (1) the Reactor 
Program hourly rate would be applicable to all activities for which 
fees are assessed under Sec.  170.21 of the fee regulations, with the 
exception of reactor decommissioning and import/export licensing 
activities, and (2) the Materials Program rate is applicable to all 
activities for which fees are assessed under Sec.  170.31 of the fee 
regulations, as well as the reactor decommissioning and import/export 
activities under Sec.  170.21. This change would better align the 
applicable hourly rate with the data used to calculate that rate (i.e., 
reactor decommissioning resources are included in the Materials Program 
hourly rate).
    Finally, the NRC is proposing to create a new fee category under 
Sec.  170.31, which would effectively split the current fee category 
1.A.2.b (``other'' fuel facilities) into two categories, one for gas 
centrifuge enrichment demonstration facilities and one for hot cell 
facilities. This change would keep the fee categories under parts 170 
and 171 consistent, in light of the same change the NRC is proposing to 
make to Sec.  171.16. This change would not affect part 170 fee 
recovery requirements, as each category would be subject to full cost 
part 170 fees where applicable. This change would result in different 
annual fees for the existing fee category 1.A.2.b and the new fee 
category 1.A.2.c, as explained in more detail under Section B.5 of this 
document.
    In summary, the NRC is proposing the following changes to 10 CFR 
part 170--
    1. Establish revised Reactor and Materials Program hourly rates;
    2. Revise the licensing fees to be assessed to reflect the Reactor 
and Materials Program hourly rates;
    3. Amend Sec. Sec.  170.11 and 170.31 to provide that part 170 fees 
will be assessed to Federal agencies where applicable (except for 
certain Federally-owned research reactors);
    4. Revise Sec.  170.3 to clarify that full cost part 170 fees will 
be assessed to track and monitor shipments of classified matter;
    5. Modify the import and export fee categories under Sec.  170.31; 
and
    6. Make minor administrative changes for purposes of clarification, 
consistency, and to eliminate redundancy.

B. Amendments to 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

    The NRC proposes to proceed with a presumption in favor of 
rebaselining annual fees beginning with the final FY 2006 rule; recover 
generic transportation costs as part of other existing annual fees; 
revise the annual fees for FY 2006 to reflect the FY 2006 budget, 
changes in the number of NRC licensees, and the division of an existing 
fuel facilities fee category into two categories; eliminate the 
existing fee payment method exception for Class I and Class II uranium 
recovery licensees; and make an administrative change to clarify the 
definition of ``overhead and general and administrative costs.'' The 
proposed amendments are described below.
1. Rebaselining Annual Fees
    The NRC uses one of two methods to determine the amounts of the 
annual fees established in its fee rule each year. One method is 
``rebaselining,'' for which the NRC's budget is analyzed in detail and 
budgeted resources are allocated to fee classes and categories of 
licensees. The second method is the ``percent change'' method, for 
which fees are revised based on the percent change in the total budget, 
taking into account other adjustments, such as the number of licensees 
and the projected revenue to be received from part 170 fees.
    The NRC is proposing to establish rebaselined annual fees for FY 
2006, and to proceed with a presumption in favor of rebaselining when 
determining annual fees for FY 2007 and beyond. The Commission's 
previous policy regarding the method of calculating annual fees, made 
in the statement of consideration of the FY 1995 fee rule (60 FR 32218; 
June 20, 1995), and further explained in the statement of consideration 
of the FY 1999 fee rule (64 FR 31448; June 10, 1999), was that annual 
fees would be rebaselined at least every third year, and more 
frequently if there was a substantial change in the total NRC budget or 
in the magnitude of the budget allocated to a specific class of 
licensees. The NRC is proposing to establish a presumption in favor of 
rebaselining beginning with the FY 2006 rulemaking because (1) 
rebaselining is usually appropriate because there is often a 
substantial change in the total NRC budget or in the magnitude of the 
budget allocated to a specific class of licensees, and (2) delaying 
rebaselining can result in larger fee changes in the years when fees 
are rebaselined. The use of the percent change method would remain an 
option should there be a year in which there are no significant changes 
to the total budget or individual programs for fee classes. The NRC 
expects that in most years, annual fees would be rebaselined.
    Until FY 1996, annual fees were determined using the rebaselining 
method. In an effort to stabilize fees, the NRC decided to adjust 
annual fees using the percent change method beginning in FY 1996, 
unless there was a substantial change in the NRC budget or in the 
magnitude of a specific budget allocation to a class of licensees. Fees 
were determined using the percent change method in the FYs 1996-1998 
fee rules.
    The NRC rebaselined fees in the FY 1999 fee rule, and solicited 
comment on the use and frequency of the percent change method. Some 
commenters,

[[Page 7356]]

such as the Nuclear Energy Institute, supported rebaselining every 
year, believing that this method best supports the accurate alignment 
of costs to fee classes and the in-depth review needed to maximize 
agency efficiency. Other commenters appreciated the fee stability 
provided by the percent change method. In response to these comments, 
the Commission determined that annual fees should be rebaselined every 
three years, or more frequently if there is a substantial change in the 
total NRC budget or in the magnitude of the budget allocated to a 
specific class of licensees. Fees were calculated using the percent 
change method in FY 2000, and were rebaselined in FYs 2001-2005.
    As mentioned previously, the NRC believes that it should proceed, 
in future rulemakings, with a presumption in favor of rebaselining 
because there is often a substantial change in the total NRC budget or 
in the magnitude of the budget allocated to a specific class of 
licensees. Changes occurring in FY 2006 and beyond that warrant a 
rebaselining of fees include those in the areas of new reactor 
licensing, homeland security (including the removal of certain homeland 
security costs from the fee base beginning in FY 2007, per the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005), and new regulatory authority for naturally 
occurring and accelerator produced radioactive material. Accordingly, 
the Commission has concluded that the percent change method should be 
used infrequently, and therefore, is proposing to proceed with a 
presumption in favor of rebaselining each year beginning with this fee 
rule.
2. Recovering Generic Transportation Costs as Part of Other Existing 
Annual Fees
    The NRC is proposing that generic transportation costs unrelated to 
DOE be recovered as part of existing annual fees for license fee 
classes, rather than through a separate annual fee for part 71 Quality 
Assurance (QA) program approval holders (as is the current practice). 
Under this change, the annual fee for fee categories 10.B.1 and 10.B.2 
under Sec.  171.16 would be eliminated; however, the NRC is not 
proposing to change or eliminate the annual fee under Sec.  171.16, fee 
category 18.A, for DOE transportation activities, which would continue 
to be calculated using the current methodology (described further under 
Section 3.h of this document). This change would enhance the equity of 
NRC's fees, increase the consistency of 10 CFR parts 71 and 72 fee 
recovery, and decrease the administrative burden associated with a 
separate transportation annual fee.
    All NRC licensees must perform some activities related to the 
transportation of radioactive material as a necessary part of their 
licensed activities. This transportation is authorized by their NRC 
license (under 10 CFR parts 30, 40, 50, 70, etc.). [10 CFR 71.17 
establishes a general license that authorizes NRC licensees to make 
shipments using packages with an approved Certificate of Compliance 
(CoC), without further approval.] For example, all licensees receive 
licensed material at their site, and ship products and waste materials. 
Because the NRC does not issue separate licenses under part 71 for 
transportation activities, the NRC currently recovers the cost of all 
``generic'' transportation activities (i.e., those activities that are 
not licensee-specific, and therefore not recovered through part 170 
fees) through annual fees for QA program approvals. QA program 
approvals are required for entities holding NRC approved CoCs for 
transportation packages and for licensees that ship large (Type B) 
quantities of radioactive material or fissile material. NRC licensees 
must also use an approved CoC to transport radioactive material.
    The NRC currently charges annual fees for the two types of QA 
program approvals it issues: (1) Use (approximately 80 programs), and 
(2) use and fabrication (approximately 40 programs). However, the 
resources for generic transportation activities--which are recovered 
through these two annual fees--support many other transportation-
related NRC approvals and services, including the issuance of CoCs, 
route approvals, and evaluations of transportation devices and security 
plans. (The NRC charges part 170 fees for these specific services, not 
annual fees for various reasons.)
    One reason this approach raises fairness concerns is that a company 
is required to have only one QA program approval regardless of the 
number of CoCs it holds. This means companies pay the same annual fee 
regardless of whether they own one or many CoCs. As industry 
consolidation has increased over the past decade and the NRC has issued 
fewer QA program approvals, this equity concern has increased.
    The NRC believes generic transportation resources would be 
recovered more equitably if these costs were included in the existing 
annual fees for NRC licenses for 10 CFR parts 30, 40, 50, 70, etc. The 
resources associated with generic transportation activities would be 
distributed to the license fee classes based on the number of CoCs 
benefitting (used by) that fee class, as a proxy for the generic 
transportation resources expended for each fee class. (This is a method 
similar to that used to calculate DOE's annual fee for transportation 
activities under Sec.  171.16 fee category 18.A.) In this way, the 
annual fee for a license would include the estimated share of 
transportation resources needed to support that license, similar to the 
recovery of other types of generic resources such as rulemakings and 
risk assessments. Note the amount of generic transportation resources 
distributed to the fee classes does not include the cost of activities 
associated with fee-exempt entities (e.g., nonprofit educational 
institutions). Additionally, the distribution of these resources to the 
fee classes is adjusted to account for the licensees in each fee class 
that are fee exempt. [For example, if two CoCs benefit the entire test 
and research reactor class, but only four of 31 test and research 
reactors are subject to annual fees, the number of CoCs used to 
determine the proportion of generic transportation resources allocated 
to test and research reactor annual fees equals ((4/31)*2), or 0.26 
CoCs.]
    Under this new approach, reactors would pay approximately 38 
percent of these costs in FY 2006, materials users approximately 32 
percent, fuel facilities approximately 21 percent, spent fuel/reactor 
decommissioning licensees approximately nine percent, and test and 
research reactors approximately 0.3 percent.
    This new approach would also increase the consistency of parts 71 
and 72 fee recovery. Part 72 QA programs are approved as part of the 
CoC approval process, and an annual fee is not assessed for either this 
QA approval or the CoC. The generic costs associated with spent fuel 
storage are recovered as part of the annual fee assessed to operating 
power reactors, decommissioning power reactors, and independent spent 
fuel storage installation licensees who do not hold a part 50 license.
    Finally, an additional benefit of this approach is that it would 
decrease administrative burden and costs for both NRC and licensees by 
eliminating a required systems interface for NRC fee billing purposes, 
as well as reduce the number of NRC bills and accounts receivable 
transactions.
3. Revised Annual Fees
    The annual fees in Sec. Sec.  171.15 and 171.16 would be revised 
for FY 2006 to recover approximately 90 percent of the NRC's FY 2006 
budget authority, less the estimated amount to be recovered through 
part 170 fees and the amounts appropriated from the NWF and for WIR 
activities. The total amount to be

[[Page 7357]]

recovered through annual fees for FY 2006 is $436.2 million, compared 
to $380.5 million for FY 2005.
    Rebaselining fees in FY 2006 would result in increased annual fees 
compared to FY 2005 for all licensees, with the exception of certain 
fuel facilities. The proposed increases in annual fees range from less 
than one percent for certain fuel facilities to approximately 120 
percent for uranium recovery facilities. However, most of the annual 
fee increases are of similar magnitude to the percentage increase in 
total required fee recovery of approximately 15 percent. The annual fee 
for certain medical licensees (fee category 7C) and industrial users of 
nuclear material (fee category 3P), which are the two fee categories 
with the largest number of licensees (with a combined total of over 
3,300 of the NRC's approximately 4,500 materials users licensees), 
would increase by approximately 18 percent and 16 percent, 
respectively.
    As mentioned previously, the most significant factor affecting the 
changes to the annual fee amounts is the increase in the NRC's fee 
recoverable budget in FY 2006. The NRC's fee recoverable budget, as 
mandated by law, is $83.4 million larger in FY 2006 as compared to FY 
2005, an increase of over 15 percent. Much of this increase is for the 
additional workload demand in areas such as new plant licensing and 
security. Other factors include adjustments in the distribution of 
budgeted costs to the different classes of licenses (based on the 
specific activities NRC will perform in FY 2006) and the estimated part 
170 collections for the various classes of licenses. The percentage of 
the NRC's budget not subject to fee recovery remained unchanged at ten 
percent from FY 2005 to FY 2006.
    Note that the NRC's total estimated part 170 fee collections 
increased by over 22 percent in FY 2006 (compared to FY 2005 actual 
part 170 collections), so that the percent of total fees collected 
under part 170 is estimated to be 30.2 percent in FY 2006, versus 29 
percent for FY 2005. This increase is mainly due to the increase in the 
FY 2005 hourly rates as compared to the FY 2004 hourly rates. As 
discussed in the FY 2005 rulemaking, the higher hourly rates 
established in FY 2005 would increase part 170 fee collections 
beginning in FY 2006. (These rates took effect near the end of FY 2005, 
and the NRC began collecting receipts from these higher rates as of the 
beginning of FY 2006.) Because costs not recovered under part 170 are 
recovered through part 171 annual fees, an increase in total part 170 
fee collections results in a reduction in total annual fees by the same 
amount. Because of the higher hourly rates and resulting higher part 
170 fee collections in FY 2006, the FY 2006 annual fees are lower than 
they would have been had NRC not established higher hourly rates in FY 
2005.
    Note the annual fees shown in this section are proposed annual fees 
based on the latest information available during the development of 
this proposed rule. Annual fees may change between the FY 2006 proposed 
and final fee rules in light of revised projections of part 170 fee 
collections for each fee class, which are based on the latest available 
data on part 170 activities. Annual fees may also change if there are 
significant changes in the allocation of the budget to planned 
activities.
    Table III shows the proposed rebaselined annual fees for FY 2006 
for a representative list of categories of licenses. The FY 2005 fee is 
also shown for comparative purposes.

             Table III.--Rebaselined Annual Fees for FY 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              FY 2005         FY 2006
       Class/category of licenses           annual fee      annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors (including           $3,155,000      $3,655,000
 Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor
 Decommissioning annual fee)............
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                       159,000         168,000
 Decommissioning........................
Test and Research Reactors (Nonpower              59,500          76,300
 Reactors)..............................
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility.....       5,449,000       5,579,000
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility......       1,632,000       1,643,000
UF6 Conversion Facility.................         699,000       1,076,000
Conventional Mills......................          30,200          66,400
Typical Materials Users:
    Radiographers.......................          12,800          15,300
    Well Loggers........................           4,100           4,700
    Gauge Users (Category 3P)...........           2,500           2,900
    Broad Scope Medical.................          27,300          32,600
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The annual fees assessed to each class of licenses include a 
surcharge to recover those NRC budgeted costs that are not directly or 
solely attributable to the classes of licenses, but must be recovered 
from licensees to comply with the requirements of OBRA-90, as amended. 
Based on the FY 2006 EWDAA, which amended OBRA-90 to require that the 
NRC recover 90 percent of its budget in FY 2006, the total surcharge 
costs for FY 2006 will be reduced by approximately $69.3 million. The 
total FY 2006 budgeted costs for these activities and the reduction in 
the total surcharge amount for fee recovery purposes are shown in Table 
IV (individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding).

                       Table IV.--Surcharge Costs
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               FY 2006
                     Category of costs                         budgeted
                                                                costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Activities not attributable to an existing NRC licensee
 or class of licensee:
    a. International activities............................        $14.1
    b. Agreement State oversight...........................          8.0

[[Page 7358]]

 
    c. Activities for unlicensed sites (includes                     5.4
     decommissioning costs associated with unlicensed
     sites, formerly referred to as site decommissioning
     management plan activities not recovered under part
     170; also includes activities associated with
     unregistered general licensees).......................
2. Activities not assessed part 170 licensing and
 inspection fees or part 171 annual fees based on existing
 law or Commission policy:
    a. Fee exemption for nonprofit educational institutions         11.9
    b. Licensing and inspection activities associated with           1.4
     other Federal agencies................................
    c. Costs not recovered from small entities under 10 CFR          5.7
     171.16(c).............................................
3. Activities supporting NRC operating licensees and
 others:
    a. Regulatory support to Agreement States \1\..........         20.2
    b. Generic decommissioning/reclamation (except those             6.5
     related to power reactors)............................
                                                            ============
        Total surcharge costs..............................         73.1
Less 10 percent of NRC's FY 2006 total budget (less NWF)...        -69.3
                                                            ------------
        Total Net Surcharge Costs to be Recovered..........         3.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This estimate includes the costs of homeland security activities
  associated with sources in Agreement States, even though regulatory
  authority remains with the NRC for these activities. However, fees are
  not assessed to sources in Agreement States for these activities,
  therefore these costs are included in this surcharge category.
  Additionally, this estimate includes some costs associated with
  establishing a regulatory infrastructure for naturally occurring and
  accelerator produced radioactive material because this infrastructure
  will further the future regulation of these sources by both NRC and
  Agreement States.

    As shown in Table IV, $3.7 million would be the total net surcharge 
cost allocated to the various classes of licenses for FY 2006 (i.e., 
that portion of the total surcharge not covered by the NRC's 10 percent 
fee relief). The NRC would continue to allocate these surcharge costs 
to each class of licenses based on the percent of the budget for that 
fee class compared to the NRC's total budget. The proposed surcharge 
costs allocated to each class would be included in the annual fee 
assessed to each licensee. The proposed FY 2006 surcharge costs (and 
the percent of total surcharge costs) allocated to each class of 
licenses, are shown in Table V (individual amounts may not sum to 
totals due to rounding). Separately, the NRC would continue to allocate 
the low-level waste (LLW) surcharge costs based on the volume of LLW 
disposal of certain classes of licenses. For FY 2006, the LLW surcharge 
costs are $3.5 million.

                                        Table V.--Allocation of Surcharge
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     LLW surcharge           Non-LLW surcharge          Total
                                              -----------------------------------------------------   surcharge
                                                                                                   -------------
                                                 Percent         $M        Percent         $M            $M
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors.....................           74          2.6         83.5           3.1           5.7
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decomm............  ...........  ...........          4.4           0.2           0.2
Test and Research Reactors...................  ...........  ...........          0.1           0             0
Fuel Facilities..............................            8          0.3          6.8           0.3           0.5
Materials Users..............................           18          0.6          4.2           0.2           0.8
Transportation...............................  ...........  ...........          0.4           0             0
Rare Earth Facilities........................  ...........  ...........          0.1           0             0
Uranium Recovery.............................  ...........  ...........          0.4           0             0
                                              --------------
    Total Surcharge..........................          100          3.5        100.0           3.7           7.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The budgeted costs allocated to each class of licenses and the 
calculations of the rebaselined fees are described in paragraphs a. 
through h. below. The workpapers which support this proposed rule show 
in detail the allocation of NRC's budgeted resources for each class of 
licenses and how the fees are calculated. The Commission notes that it 
is providing improved summary documentation of the fee calculations 
used in this rulemaking as part of the publicly available documents, 
and believes that these new reports will enhance the transparency of 
the fee calculations and provide additional explanation of any changes 
in fees. These reports summarize the FY 2006 budgeted FTE and contract 
dollars, at the planned activity and program level, allocated to each 
fee class and surcharge category, and compares these allocations to 
those used to develop final FY 2005 fees. The workpapers are available 
electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at 
Web site address https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. During the 
30-day public comment period, the workpapers may also be examined at 
the NRC Public Document Room located at One White Flint North, Room O-
1F22, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738.
    Note all budgeted resources and annual fee amounts presented in 
this document reflect an increase in the full cost of an FTE. This 
increase occurred due to the Government-wide pay raise

[[Page 7359]]

and the more accurate allocation of overhead to the FTEs supporting fee 
classes versus surcharge categories, which increased the full cost of 
FTEs supporting fee classes. (As a percent of total fee-based budgeted 
resources, the resources associated with NRC's overhead actually 
declined from FY 2005 to FY 2006). As such, some fee classes reflect a 
small increase in the dollar value of allocated budgeted resources, 
even while the number of FTE and value of contract dollars allocated to 
that fee class declined slightly.
    a. Fuel Facilities. The FY 2006 budgeted cost to be recovered in 
the annual fees assessment to the fuel facility class of licenses is 
approximately $25.5 million. This value is derived based on the full 
cost of budgeted resources associated with all activities that support 
this fee class, which is reduced by estimated part 170 collections and 
adjusted to reflect the net allocated surcharge, any allocated generic 
transportation resources, and billing adjustments. The summary 
calculations us