Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2011, 14748-14775 [2011-5968]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 52 (Thursday, March 17, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14748-14775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5968]



[[Page 14747]]

Vol. 76

Thursday,

No. 52

March 17, 2011

Part II





Nuclear Regulatory Commission





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10 CFR Parts 170 and 171



Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2011; Proposed 
Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 76 , No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 14748]]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 170 and 171

RIN 3150-AI93
[NRC-2011-0016]


Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2011

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
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 the NRC to recover through fees 
approximately 90 percent of its budget authority in Fiscal Year (FY) 
2011, not including amounts appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund 
(NWF), amounts appropriated for Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR), 
and amounts appropriated for generic homeland security activities. The 
NRC is currently operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) set to 
expire on March 4, 2011. Based on the FY 2011 budget submitted to the 
Congress, the NRC's required fee recovery amount for the FY 2011 budget 
is approximately $915.3 million. After accounting for billing 
adjustments, the total amount to be billed as fees is approximately 
$915.7 million.

DATES: Submit comments on the proposed rule by April 18, 2011. Comments 
received after the above date will be considered if it is practical to 
do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments 
received on or before this date. Because OBRA-90 requires that the NRC 
collect the FY 2011 fees by September 30, 2011, requests for extensions 
of the comment period will not be granted.

ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2011-0016 in the subject line 
of your comments. For instructions on submitting comments and accessing 
documents related to this action, see Section I, ``Submitting Comments 
and Accessing Information'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
the document. You may submit comments by any one of the following 
methods.
     Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-
2011-0016. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, 
telephone: 301-492-3668; e-mail: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
     Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff.
     E-mail comments to: Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. If you do 
not receive a reply e-mail confirming that we have received your 
comments, contact us directly at 301-415-1677.
     Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm Federal workdays. 
(telephone: 301-415-1677).
     Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission at 301-415-1101.
    To obtain additional information on the NRC's FY 2011 budget 
request, commenters and others may review NUREG-1100, Volume 26, 
``Performance Budget: Fiscal Year 2011'' (SEP 2010), which describes 
the NRC's budget for FY 2011, including the activities to be performed 
in each program. This document is available on the NRC's public Web 
site at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1100/v26. The allocation of the budget to each fee class and fee-
relief category is included in the publicly available work papers 
supporting this rulemaking.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Renu Suri, Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0161, e-mail: Renu.Suri@NRC.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Submitting Comments and Accessing Information
II. Background
III. Proposed Action
    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
    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
IV. Plain Language
V. Voluntary Consensus Standards
VI. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion
VII. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
VIII. Regulatory Analysis
IX. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
X. Backfit Analysis

I. Submitting Comments and Accessing Information

    Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted 
on the NRC Web site https://www.regulations.gov. Because your comments 
will not be edited, the NRC cautions you against including any 
information in your submission that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed. The NRC requests that any party soliciting or aggregating 
comments received from other persons for submission to the NRC inform 
those persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any 
identifying or contact information, and therefore, they should not 
include any information in their comments that they do not want 
publicly disclosed.
    You can access publicly available documents related to this 
document using the following methods:
     NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine 
and have copied for a fee publicly available documents at the NRC's 
PDR, Room O1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC 
are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at 
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public 
can gain entry into 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's 
PDR reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to 
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov.
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and 
supporting materials related to this proposed rule can be found at 
https://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID NRC-2011-0016.

II. Background

    The NRC is required each year, under OBRA-90 (42 U.S.C. 2214), as 
amended, to recover approximately 90 percent of its budget authority, 
not including amounts appropriated from the NWF, amounts appropriated 
for WIR, and amounts appropriated for generic homeland security 
activities (non-fee items), through fees to NRC licensees and 
applicants. The NRC receives 10 percent of its budget authority (not 
including non-fee items) from the general fund each year to pay for the

[[Page 14749]]

cost of agency activities that do not provide a direct benefit to NRC 
licensees, such as international assistance and Agreement State 
activities (as defined under Section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended).
    The NRC assesses two types of fees to meet the requirements of 
OBRA-90. First, user fees, presented in Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (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 cost of providing special benefits to identifiable applicants and 
licensees. For example, the NRC assesses these fees to cover the cost 
of inspections, applications for new licenses and license renewals, and 
requests for license amendments. Second, annual fees, presented in 10 
CFR Part 171 under the authority of OBRA-90, recover generic regulatory 
costs not otherwise recovered through 10 CFR Part 170 fees.
    The NRC is currently operating under an CR for FY 2011 (Pub. L. 
111-322) that is effective through March 4, 2011. This means that the 
FY 2011 funds currently available are similar to the NRC's funding in 
FY 2010. Although the NRC has not received a new appropriation for FY 
2011 at the time this proposed fee rule was submitted for publication 
in the Federal Register, the NRC must proceed with this rulemaking to 
collect the required fee amounts by September 30, 2011. Therefore, the 
NRC is establishing fees in this rulemaking based on the FY 2011 NRC 
budget sent to the Congress in February 2010.
    If the Congress enacts a different version of the NRC budget than 
that included in the NRC submission, the fees in the NRC's FY 2011 
final fee rule will be adjusted to reflect the enacted budget. 
Therefore, fees in the FY 2011 final fee rule may differ from the fees 
in this proposed rule. The NRC will adjust the FY 2011 final fees based 
on the enacted version of the budget without seeking further public 
comment.
    Under a full-year CR with funding similar to FY 2010, the NRC's 
total required fee recovery amount could decrease by approximately $3.1 
million, as compared to the FY 2011 NRC budget submitted to Congress. 
Nevertheless, the NRC's exact fee recovery amount would depend on the 
specific provisions in such legislation. A given licensee's Part 171 
annual fees under a full-year CR could be similar to or higher than the 
fees included in this proposed fee rule. Although, some licensees may 
be affected more than others based on which NRC activities are subject 
to budget changes. It is possible that some annual fees may increase 
from this proposed rule under a full-year CR, because the NRC's fee-
relief surplus adjustment in this proposed rule (discussed more in 
Section III.B.1, Application of ``Fee Relief/Surcharge'' of this 
document), could be reduced or revert to becoming a surcharge similar 
to the previous year. Fees in the FY 2011 final fee rule may also 
change from this proposed fee rule for other reasons, such as changes 
in the amount expected to be received from Part 170 fees in FY 2011.
    Based on the FY 2011 budget submitted to the Congress, the NRC's 
required fee recovery amount for the FY 2011 budget is approximately 
$915.3 million, which is increased by approximately $0.4 million to 
account for billing adjustments (i.e., expected unpaid invoices, 
payments for prior year invoices), resulting in a total of 
approximately $915.7 million to be billed as fees in FY 2011.
    In accordance with OBRA-90, $26.1 million of the agency's budgeted 
resources for generic homeland security activities are excluded from 
the NRC's fee base in FY 2011. These funds cover generic activities 
such as rulemakings, development of guidance documents that support 
entire license fee classes or classes of licensees, and major 
information technology systems that support tracking of source 
materials. Under its IOAA authority, the NRC will continue to charge 
Part 170 fees for all licensee-specific homeland security-related 
services provided, including security inspections and security plan 
reviews.
    The amount of the NRC's required fee collections is set by law, and 
is, therefore, outside the scope of this rulemaking. In FY 2011, the 
NRC's total fee recovery amount has increased by $3.1 million from FY 
2010. The FY 2011 budget supports activities associated with the safe 
and secure operations of civilian nuclear power reactors, research and 
test reactors, various fuel facilities, use of nuclear materials, and 
storage and transportation of spent nuclear fuel. The FY 2011 budget 
was allocated to the fee classes that the budget activities support. 
The annual fees for power reactors and uranium recovery facilities 
decrease while fees for spent fuel storage facilities, nonpower 
reactors, fuel facilities, most materials users, and Department of 
Energy's (DOE) uranium recovery and transportation increases. Another 
factor affecting the amount of annual fees for each fee class is the 
estimated collection under Part 170, discussed in Section III, 
``Proposed Action,'' of this document.

III. Proposed Action

    The NRC is proposing to amend its licensing, inspection, and annual 
fees to recover approximately 90 percent of its FY 2011 budget 
authority less the appropriations for non-fee items. The NRC's total 
budget authority for FY 2011 is $1,053.6 million. The non-fee items 
include $10 million appropriated from the NWF, $0.5 million for WIR 
activities, and $26.1 million for generic homeland security activities. 
Based on the 90 percent fee-recovery requirement, the NRC will have to 
recover approximately $915.3 million in FY 2011 through Part 170 
licensing and inspection fees and Part 171 annual fees. The amount 
required by law to be recovered through fees for FY 2011 would be $3.1 
million more than the amount estimated for recovery in FY 2010, an 
increase of less than 1 percent.
    The FY 2011 fee recovery amount is increased by $0.4 million to 
account for billing adjustments (i.e., for FY 2011 invoices that the 
NRC estimates will not be paid during the fiscal year, less payments 
received in FY 2011 for prior year invoices). This leaves approximately 
$915.7 million to be billed as fees in FY 2011 through Part 170 
licensing and inspection fees and Part 171 annual fees.
    Table I summarizes the budget and fee recovery amounts for FY 2011. 
FY 2010 amounts are provided for comparison purposes. (Individual 
values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)

[[Page 14750]]



                                    Table I--Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts
                                              [Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   FY 2010 final rule     FY 2011 proposed rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Budget Authority........................................                 $1,066.9                 $1,053.6
Less Non-Fee Items............................................                    -53.3                    -36.6
                                                               -------------------------------------------------
    Balance...................................................                 $1,013.6                 $1,017.0
Fee Recovery Rate for FY 2011.................................                      90%                      90%
Total Amount to be Recovered for FY 2011......................                   $912.2                   $915.3
Less Part 171 Billing Adjustments:
    Unpaid Current Year Invoices (estimated)..................                      2.1                      3.0
    Less Payments Received in Current Year for Previous Year                       -3.2                     -2.6
     Invoices (estimated).....................................
                                                               -------------------------------------------------
    Subtotal..................................................                     -1.1                      0.4
Amount to be Recovered Through Parts 170 and 171 Fees.........                   $911.1                   $915.7
Less Estimated Part 170 Fees..................................                   -357.3                   -369.3
                                                               -------------------------------------------------
    Part 171 Fee Collections Required.........................                   $553.8                   $546.4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC estimates that $369.3 million would be recovered from Part 
170 fees in FY 2011. This represents an increase of approximately 1.5 
percent as compared to the actual Part 170 collections of $364 million 
for FY 2010. The NRC derived the FY 2011 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 2011 budget, as appropriate. The remaining $546.4 million 
would be recovered through the Part 171 annual fees in FY 2011, which 
is an increase of less than 1 percent compared to actual Part 171 
collections of $545.6 million for FY 2010.
    The NRC plans to publish the final fee rule no later than June 
2011. The FY 2011 final fee rule will be a ``major rule'' as defined by 
the Congressional Review Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 801-808). Therefore, the 
NRC's fee schedules for FY 2011 will 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 reactor licensees, 
10 CFR Part 72 licensees, major fuel cycle facilities, and other 
licensees with annual fees of $100,000 or more, upon publication of the 
FY 2011 final rule. For these licensees, payment is due on the 
effective date of the FY 2011 final rule. Because these licensees are 
billed quarterly, the payment due is the amount of the total FY 2011 
annual fee, less payments made in the first three quarters of the 
fiscal year.
    Materials licensees with annual fees of less than $100,000 are 
billed annually. Those materials licensees whose license anniversary 
date during FY 2011 falls before the effective date of the FY 2011 
final rule will be billed for the annual fee during the anniversary 
month of the license at the FY 2010 annual fee rate. Those materials 
licensees whose license anniversary date falls on or after the 
effective date of the FY 2011 final rule will be billed for the annual 
fee at the FY 2011 annual fee rate during the anniversary month of the 
license, and payment will be due on the date of the invoice.
    The NRC will send licensees a short summary of the proposed rule 
and information on how to access the complete proposed rule on the 
internet. The NRC currently does not mail the final fee rule to all 
licensees, but will send the final rule or the proposed rule to any 
licensee or other person upon specific request. To request a copy, 
contact the Accounts Receivable/Payable Branch, Division of the 
Controller, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, at 301-415-7554, or 
e-mail fees.resource@nrc.gov. In addition to publication in the Federal 
Register, both the proposed and final rules will be available on the 
Internet at https://www.regulations.gov.
    The NRC, in conjunction with internal and external stakeholders, 
reviewed its fee policies for power reactors in anticipation of the 
receipt of new applications for licensing small and medium sized 
commercial nuclear reactors. The NRC has prepared a paper for the 
Commission's information in support of the Nuclear Energy Institute's 
position to calculate annual fees for each new licensed power reactor 
as a function of its licensed thermal power rating (MWt).
    The NRC changed its current policy with regard to billing 
inspection costs. Instead of billing a licensee when the inspection is 
completed, the NRC will now bill the licensee for any inspection cost 
incurred during the quarter even if the inspection is still ongoing. 
Billing for incurred inspections costs began in the first quarter of FY 
2011, when the NRC's new accounting system was implemented. This policy 
change does not require a revision to Part 170.
    The NRC is proposing to amend 10 CFR Parts 170 and 171 as discussed 
in Sections III.A. and III.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

    In FY 2011, the NRC is proposing to increase the hourly rate to 
recover the full cost of activities under Part 170, and using this rate 
to calculate ``flat'' application fees.
    The NRC is proposing the following changes:
1. Hourly Rate
    The NRC's hourly rate is used in assessing full cost fees for 
specific services provided, as well as flat fees for certain 
application reviews. The NRC is proposing to change the FY 2011 hourly 
rate to $273. This rate would be applicable to all activities for which 
fees are assessed under Sec. Sec.  170.21 and 170.31.
    The FY 2011 proposed hourly rate is higher than the hourly rate of 
$259 in the FY 2010 final fee rule. The increase in hourly rate is due 
to higher FY 2011 agency overhead budgeted resources, and a small 
reduction in the number of direct full-time equivalents (FTEs). In FY 
2011 the NRC revised its budget structure. This new structure allows 
the agency to accurately identify all its direct and overhead costs. 
Under this new FY 2011 structure, more of the budgeted resources have 
been identified as overhead costs. The agency is using this information 
to further streamline its costs and make efficient use of all its 
resources. The FTEs for direct program

[[Page 14751]]

activities in the Reactor program decrease in FY 2011. The hourly rate 
calculation is described in further detail in the following paragraphs.
    The NRC's hourly rate is derived by dividing the sum of recoverable 
budgeted resources for (1) mission direct program salaries and 
benefits; (2) mission indirect program support; and (3) agency 
corporate support and the Inspector General (IG), by mission direct FTE 
hours. The mission direct FTE hours are the product of the mission 
direct FTE times the hours per direct FTE. The only budgeted resources 
excluded from the hourly rate are those for contract activities related 
to mission direct and fee-relief activities.
    In FY 2011, the NRC is proposing to use 1,371 hours per direct FTE, 
the same amount as FY 2010, to calculate the hourly fees. The NRC has 
reviewed data from its time and labor system to determine if the annual 
direct hours worked per direct FTE estimate requires updating for the 
FY 2011 fee rule. Based on this review of the most recent data 
available, the NRC determined that 1,371 hours is the best estimate of 
direct hours worked annually per direct FTE. This estimate excludes all 
indirect activities such as training, general administration, and 
leave.
    Table II shows the results of the hourly rate calculation 
methodology. FY 2010 amounts are provided for comparison purposes. 
(Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)

                    Table II--Hourly Rate Calculation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          FY 2010  final      FY 2011
                                               rule        proposed rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Direct Program Salaries &                 $343.8          $337.6
 Benefits...............................
Mission Indirect Program Support........          $135.6           $25.9
Agency Corporate Support, and the IG....          $330.4          $473.4
                                         -------------------------------
    Subtotal............................          $809.8          $836.9
Less Offsetting Receipts................            -0.0            -0.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Total Budget Included in Hourly Rate          $809.8          $836.9
Mission Direct FTEs.....................           2,276           2,236
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budget              $259            $273
 Included in Hourly Rate divided by
 Mission Direct FTE Hours)..............
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As shown in Table II, dividing the FY 2011 $836.9 million budget 
amount included in the hourly rate by total mission direct FTE hours 
(2,236 FTE times 1,371 hours) results in an hourly rate of $273. The 
hourly rate is rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
2. ``Flat'' Application Fee Changes
    The NRC is proposing to adjust the current flat application fees in 
Sec. Sec.  170.21 and 170.31 to reflect the revised hourly rate of 
$273. These flat fees are calculated by multiplying the average 
professional staff hours needed to process the licensing actions by the 
proposed professional hourly rate for FY 2011.
    Biennially, the NRC evaluates historical professional staff hours 
used to process a new license application for materials users fee 
categories subject to flat application fees. This is in accordance with 
the requirements of the Chief Financial Officer's Act. The NRC 
conducted this biennial review for the FY 2011 fee rule which also 
included license and amendment applications for import and export 
licenses.
    Evaluation of the historical data in FY 2011 shows that the average 
number of professional staff hours required to complete licensing 
actions in the materials program should be increased in some fee 
categories and decreased in others to more accurately reflect current 
data for completing these licensing actions. The average number of 
professional staff hours needed to complete new licensing actions was 
last updated for the FY 2009 final fee rule. Thus, the revised proposed 
average professional staff hours in this fee rule reflect the changes 
in the NRC licensing review program that have occurred since that time.
    The higher hourly rate of $273 is the main reason for the increases 
in the application fees. Application fees for 11 fee categories (3.G., 
3.I., 3.P., 3.R.1., 3.R.2., 4.B., 7.C., 8.A., 9.C., 9.D., and 17., 
under Sec.  170.31) also increase because of the results of the 
biennial review, which showed an increase in average time to process 
these types of license applications. The decrease in fees for 9 fee 
categories (2.C., 3.B., 3.H., 3.L., 3.M., 3.O., 5.A., 7.A., and 9.A., 
under Sec.  170.31) is due to a decrease in average time to process 
these types of applications.
    The flat application fee for fee Category 17., master materials 
licenses of broad scope issue to Government agencies, is being 
eliminated. Instead, any application received for fee Category 17. will 
be reviewed on a full-cost basis; i.e., staff hours required to review 
application times the NRC hourly rate. The regulatory effort to review 
a new master materials license application varies with each license 
application. Therefore, a full cost application fee would be equitable 
since the actual cost of review will be charged to the applicant.
    Based on the biennial review, the following changes have been made 
to the fee categories for import and export licenses. The current 
export fee Category 15.H. is deleted because the description for the 
fee was incorrect and not used in export licensing. The current fee 
Category 15.I. is renumbered as 15.H. A new export fee Category 15.H. 
is established to reflect a new fee category for government-to-
government consents for exports of Category 1 quantities for 
radioactive material listed in Appendix P to 10 CFR Part 110. The new 
15.H. fee category reflects the NRC's activity related to obtaining 
government-to-government consents as specified in Sec.  110.42(e)(3). 
In addition, fee categories 15.M. through and including 15.Q. are being 
eliminated since the requirement to obtain a specific license for 
imports of radioactive materials listed in Appendix P to 10 CFR Part 
110 was eliminated as part of a 2010 rule change to 10 CFR Part 110 
(July 28, 2010; 75 FR 44072).
    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 minimal. 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.S., 4.B. through 9.D., 10.B.,

[[Page 14752]]

15.A. through 15.L., 15.R., 16, and 17 of Sec.  170.31. Applications 
filed on or after the effective date of the FY 2011 final fee rule 
would be subject to the revised fees in the final rule.
    In FY 2011, NRC will be eliminating fee Category 3.D. under 
byproduct materials since the agency does not expect to receive any 
license under the current definition of this fee category. The fee 
category will be reserved for future use.
3. Administrative Amendments
    In Sec.  170.11, the NRC is inserting a semicolon at the end of 
paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(A), inserting a semicolon and the word ``and'' at 
the end of paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(B), and removing and reserving 
paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(D) for ease of reading. There is no change to the 
NRC's fee exemption policy.
    In Sec.  170.31, the NRC is eliminating footnote 5 and renumbering 
footnote 6 to 5.
    In summary, the NRC is proposing to make the following changes to 
10 CFR Part 170:
    1. Establish a revised professional hourly rate to use in assessing 
fees for specific services;
    2. Revise the fee categories for import and export licenses. Also 
revise the license application fees to reflect the proposed FY 2011 
hourly rate; and
    3. Make certain administrative changes for purposes of improving 
the clarity of the rule.

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 use its fee-relief surplus by decreasing all 
licensees' annual fees. This rulemaking also proposed to make changes 
to the number of NRC licensees and to establish rebaselined annual fees 
based on the FY 2011 budget submitted to the Congress. The proposed 
amendments are described as follows:
1. Application of Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste (LLW) Surcharge
    The NRC is proposing to use its fee-relief surplus by decreasing 
all licensees' annual fees, based on their percentage share of the 
budget. The NRC applies the 10 percent of its budget that is excluded 
from fee recovery under OBRA-90, as amended (fee-relief), to offset the 
total budget allocated for activities which do not directly benefit 
current NRC licensees. The budget for these fee-relief activities is 
totaled and then reduced by the amount of the NRC's fee-relief. Any 
difference between the fee-relief and the budgeted amount of these 
activities results in a fee-relief adjustment (increase or decrease) to 
all licensees' annual fees, based on their percentage share of the 
budget (i.e., over 80 percent is allocated to power reactors each 
year).
    In FY 2011, the 10 percent fee-relief exceeded the total budget by 
$6.4 million. The FY 2011 budget for fee-relief activities is lower 
than FY 2010, primarily due to a decrease in budgeted resources for 
nonprofit educational exemptions, international activities, small 
entity subsidies, and grants for fellowships and scholarships. The NRC 
is decreasing all licensees' annual fees to use the surplus amount of 
$6.4 million, based on their percentage share of the fee recoverable 
budget authority.
    This is consistent with the existing fee methodology. Any fee-
relief surplus is allocated as a reduction of license fees when the NRC 
fee-relief amount is more than the budget for fee-relief activities. A 
fee-relief shortfall amount is allocated as an increase in license fee 
to licensees when the NRC fee-relief amount is less than the budgeted 
resources for fee-relief activities. In FY 2011, the power reactors 
class of licensees will be allocated approximately 86 percent of the 
fee-relief surplus based on their share of the NRC fee recoverable 
budget authority.
    The FY 2011 budgeted resources for NRC's fee-relief activities are 
$95.3 million. The NRC's total fee-relief in FY 2011 is $101.7 million, 
leaving a $6.4 million fee-relief surplus that will reduce licensees' 
annual fees. These values are shown in Table III. The FY 2010 amounts 
are provided for comparison purposes. (Individual values may not sum to 
totals due to rounding.)

                    Table III--Fee-Relief Activities
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              FY 2010         FY 2011
          Fee-relief activities           budgeted costs  budgeted costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Activities not attributable to an
 existing NRC licensee or class of
 licensee:
    a. International activities.........           $18.2           $15.0
    b. Agreement State oversight........            11.2            14.1
    c. Scholarships and Fellowships.....            15.0            11.5
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                  17.4            13.3
     educational institutions...........
    b. Costs not recovered from small                6.1             5.6
     entities under 10 CFR 171.16(c)....
    c. Regulatory support to Agreement              23.1            18.0
     States.............................
    d. Generic decommissioning/                     15.1            16.6
     reclamation (not related to the
     power reactor and spent fuel
     storage fee classes)...............
    e. In situ leach rulemaking and                  2.4             1.2
     unregistered general licensees.....
                                         -------------------------------
        Total fee-relief activities.....           108.5            95.3
Less 10 percent of NRC's FY 2011 total            -101.4          -101.7
 budget (less non-fee items)............
                                         -------------------------------
    Fee-Relief Adjustment to be                      7.1            -6.4
     Allocated to All Licensees' Annual
     Fees...............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table IV shows how the NRC is allocating the $6.4 million fee-
relief surplus adjustment to each license fee class. As explained 
previously, the NRC is allocating this fee-relief adjustment to each 
license fee class based on the percent of the budget for that fee class 
compared to the NRC's total budget. The fee-relief surplus adjustment 
is

[[Page 14753]]

subtracted from the required annual fee recovery from each fee class.
    Separately, the NRC has continued to allocate the LLW surcharge 
based on the volume of LLW disposal of three classes of licenses: 
Operating reactors, fuel facilities, and materials users. Because LLW 
activities support NRC licensees, the costs of these activities are 
recovered through annual fees. In FY 2011, this allocation percentage 
was updated based on review of recent data which reflects the change in 
the support to the various fee classes. The allocation percentage of 
LLW surcharge increased for operating reactors and fuel facilities, and 
decreased for materials users compared to FY 2010.
    Table IV also shows the allocation of the LLW surcharge activity. 
For FY 2011, the total budget allocated for LLW activity is $3.0 
million. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)

                    Table IV--Allocation of Fee-Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2011
                                              [Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           LLW surcharge               Fee-relief adjustment           Total
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Percent            $            Percent            $               $
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors........            70.0             2.1            85.9            -5.5            -3.4
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor        ..............  ..............             3.7            -0.2            -0.2
 Decommissioning................
Research and Test Reactors......  ..............  ..............             0.2             0.0             0.0
Fuel Facilities.................            24.0             0.7             6.2            -0.4             0.3
Materials Users.................             6.0             0.2             2.8            -0.2             0.0
Transportation..................  ..............  ..............             0.5             0.0             0.0
Uranium Recovery................  ..............  ..............             0.8             0.0             0.0
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................           100.0             3.0           100.0            -6.4            -3.3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Revised Annual Fees
    The NRC is proposing to revise its annual fees in Sec. Sec.  171.15 
and 171.16 for FY 2011 to recover approximately 90 percent of the NRC's 
FY 2011 budget authority, after subtracting the non-fee amounts and the 
estimated amount to be recovered through Part 170 fees.
    The Commission has determined (71 FR 30721; May 30, 2006) that the 
agency should proceed with a presumption in favor of rebaselining when 
calculating annual fees each year. Under this method, the NRC's budget 
is analyzed in detail, and budgeted resources are allocated to fee 
classes and categories of licensees. The Commission expects that most 
years there will be budgetary and other changes that warrant the use of 
the rebaselining method.
    As compared with FY 2010 annual fees, the FY 2011 proposed 
rebaselined fees are higher for four classes of licensees (spent fuel 
storage and reactors in decommissioning facilities, research and test 
reactors, fuel facilities and transportation), and lower for one class 
of licensees (power reactors). Within the uranium recovery fee class, 
the proposed annual fees for most licensees decrease, while the 
proposed annual fee for one fee category increases. The annual fee 
increases for most fee categories in the materials users' fee class.
    The NRC's total fee recoverable budget, as mandated by law, is 
approximately $3.1 million higher in FY 2011 as compared with FY 2010. 
The FY 2011 budget was allocated to the fee classes that the budgeted 
activities support. The increase is primarily due to the higher FY 2011 
budget supporting the spent fuel storage and transportation activities, 
fuel facility reviews, materials user's activities, uranium recovery 
facilities, and research and test reactor reviews.
    The factors affecting all annual fees include the distribution of 
budgeted costs to the different classes of licenses (based on the 
specific activities the NRC will perform in FY 2011), the estimated 
Part 170 collections for the various classes of licenses, and 
allocation of the fee-relief surplus adjustment to all fee classes. The 
percentage of the NRC's budget not subject to fee recovery remained at 
10 percent from FY 2010 to FY 2011.
    Table V shows the rebaselined fees for FY 2011 for a representative 
list of categories of licensees. The FY 2010 amounts are provided for 
comparison purposes. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to 
rounding.)

                    Table V--Rebaselined Annual Fees
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              FY 2010         FY 2011
       Class/category of licenses           annual fee      annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors (Including           $4,784,000      $4,669,000
 Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor
 Decommissioning Annual Fee)............
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                       148,000         241,000
 Decommissioning........................
Research and Test Reactors (Nonpower              81,700          86,100
 Reactors)..............................
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility.....       5,439,000       6,078,000
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility......       2,047,000       2,287,000
UF6 Conversion Facility.................       1,111,000      1,242 ,000
Conventional Mills......................          38,300          31,900
Typical Materials Users:
    Radiographers (Category 3O).........          28,200          25,700
    Well Loggers (Category 5A)..........          11,900           9,900
    Gauge Users (Category 3P)...........           4,500           4,800
    Broad Scope Medical (Category 7B)...          45,100          45,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 14754]]

    The work papers that 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. Beginning in FY 2011, the NRC is 
transitioning to a new budget structure. Therefore, the reports 
included in these work papers summarize the FY 2011 budgeted FTE and 
contract dollars allocated to each fee class and fee-relief category at 
the product line level. Since the FY 2010 and FY 2011 budget structures 
are appreciably different, the reports comparing the FY 2011 
allocations to FY 2010 are at a higher summary level. The work papers 
are available electronically at https://www.regulations.gov by searching 
on Docket ID NRC-2011-0016 and at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room on 
the Internet at Web site address https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The work papers may also be examined at the NRC PDR located 
at One White Flint North, Room O-1F22, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852.
    The budgeted costs allocated to each class of licenses and the 
calculations of the rebaselined fees are described in paragraphs a. 
through h. of this section. Individual values in the Tables presented 
in this section may not sum to totals due to rounding.
a. Fuel Facilities
    The FY 2011 budgeted cost to be recovered in the annual fees 
assessment to the fuel facility class of licenses [which includes 
licensees in fee categories 1.A.(1)(a), 1.A.(1)(b), 1.A.(2)(a), 
1.A.(2)(b), 1.A.(2)(c), 1.E., and 2.A.(1), under Sec.  171.16] is 
approximately $30 million. This value is 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 
for allocated generic transportation resources and fee-relief 
adjustment. In FY 2011, the LLW surcharge for fuel facilities is added 
to the allocated fee-relief adjustment (see Table IV in Section 
III.B.1., ``Application of Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste Surcharge'' 
of this document). The summary calculations used to derive this value 
are presented in Table VI for FY 2011, with FY 2010 values shown for 
comparison. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)

      Table VI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Fuel Facilities
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              FY 2011
        Summary fee calculations          FY 2010  final     proposed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $48.8           $55.7
Less estimated Part 170 receipts........           -21.2           -26.6
                                         -------------------------------
    Net Part 171 resources..............            27.6            29.1
Allocated generic transportation........            +0.5            +0.6
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge.....            +0.7            +0.3
Billing adjustments.....................            -0.1            -0.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..            28.8            30.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The increase in total budgeted resources allocated to this fee 
class from FY 2010 to FY 2011 is primarily due to increased support for 
licensing amendments, and rulemaking for regulatory framework for 
reprocessing.
    The total required annual fee recovery amount is allocated to the 
individual fuel facility licensees, based on the effort/fee 
determination matrix developed for the FY 1999 final fee rule (64 FR 
31447; June 10, 1999). In the matrix included in the publicly available 
NRC work papers, licensees are grouped into categories according to 
their licensed activities (i.e., nuclear material enrichment, 
processing operations, and material form) and the level, scope, depth 
of coverage, and rigor of generic regulatory programmatic effort 
applicable to each category from a safety and safeguards perspective. 
This methodology can be applied to determine fees for new licensees, 
current licensees, licensees in unique license situations, and 
certificate holders.
    This methodology is adaptable to changes in the number of licensees 
or certificate holders, licensed or certified material and/or 
activities, and total programmatic resources to be recovered through 
annual fees. When a license or certificate is modified, it may result 
in a change of category for a particular fuel facility licensee, as a 
result of the methodology used in the fuel facility effort/fee matrix. 
Consequently, this change may also have an effect on the fees assessed 
to other fuel facility licensees and certificate holders. For example, 
if a fuel facility licensee amends its license/certificate (e.g., 
decommissioning or license termination) that results in it not being 
subject to Part 171 costs applicable to the fee class, then the 
budgeted costs for the safety and/or safeguards components will be 
spread among the remaining fuel facility licensees/certificate holders.
    The methodology is applied as follows. First, a fee category is 
assigned, based on the nuclear material and activity authorized by 
license or certificate. Although a licensee/certificate holder may 
elect not to fully use a license/certificate, the license/certificate 
is still used as the source for determining authorized nuclear material 
possession and use/activity. Second, the category and license/
certificate information are used to determine where the licensee/
certificate holder fits into the matrix. The matrix depicts the 
categorization of licensees/certificate holders by authorized material 
types and use/activities.
    Each year, the NRC's fuel facility project managers and regulatory 
analysts determine the level of effort associated with regulating each 
of these facilities. This is done by assigning, for each fuel facility, 
separate effort factors for the safety and safeguards activities 
associated with each type of regulatory activity. The matrix includes 
ten types of regulatory activities, including enrichment and scrap/
waste-related activities (see the work papers for the complete list). 
Effort factors are assigned as follows: one (low regulatory effort), 
five (moderate regulatory effort), and ten (high regulatory effort). 
These effort factors are then totaled for each fee category, so that 
each fee category has a total effort factor for safety activities and a 
total effort factor for safeguards activities.
    The effort factors for the various fuel facility fee categories are 
summarized in Table VII. The value of the effort factors

[[Page 14755]]

shown, as well as the percent of the total effort factor for all fuel 
facilities, reflects the total regulatory effort for each fee category 
(not per facility). The following factors have changed compared to FY 
2010. The total effort factors for the Limited Operations fee category 
has increased from FY 2010, while the Uranium Enrichment fee category 
factors decreased from FY 2010 primarily due to a shift of one licensee 
from the Uranium Enrichment fee category to Limited Operations fee 
category.

                             Table VII--Effort Factors for Fuel Facilities, FY 2011
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Effort factors  (percent of
                                                                     Number of                total)
                  Facility type (fee category)                      facilities   -------------------------------
                                                                                      Safety        Safeguards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)).........................               2       89 (35.5)       97 (46.4)
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b))..........................               3       70 (27.9)       35 (16.7)
Limited Operations (1.A.(2)(a)).................................               2        15 (6.0)         8 (3.8)
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b))............               1         3 (1.2)        15 (7.2)
Hot Cell (1.A.(2)(c))...........................................               1         6 (2.4)         3 (1.4)
Uranium Enrichment (1.E)........................................               2       56 (22.3)       44 (21.1)
UF6 Conversion (2.A.(1))........................................               1        12 (4.8)         7 (3.3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For FY 2011, the total budgeted resources for safety activities, 
before the fee-relief adjustment is made, are $16,216,139. This amount 
is allocated to each fee category based on its percent of the total 
regulatory effort for safety activities. For example, if the total 
effort factor for safety activities for all fuel facilities is 100, and 
the total effort factor for safety activities for a given fee category 
is 10, that fee category will be allocated 10 percent of the total 
budgeted resources for safety activities. Similarly, the budgeted 
resources amount of $13,502,682 for safeguards activities is allocated 
to each fee category based on its percent of the total regulatory 
effort for safeguards activities. The fuel facility fee class' portion 
of the fee-relief adjustment ($343,353) is allocated to each fee 
category based on its percent of the total regulatory effort for both 
safety and safeguards activities. The 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 fee 
(rounded) for each facility is summarized in Table VIII.

               Table VIII--Annual Fees for Fuel Facilities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             FY 2011
             Facility type (fee category)                proposed annual
                                                               fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
High Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))...............        $6,078,000
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b))................         2,287,000
Limited Operations Facility (1.A.(2)(a))..............           752,000
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b))..         1,176,000
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c))....................           588,000
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.).............................         3,268,000
UF6 Conversion (2.A.(1))..............................         1,242,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If the NRC authorizes operation of a new uranium enrichment 
facility in FY 2011, the applicable fee to any type of new uranium 
enrichment facility is the annual fee in Sec.  171.16, fee Category 
1.E., Uranium Enrichment, unless the NRC establishes a new fee category 
for the facility in a subsequent rulemaking. The applicable annual fee 
for a facility that is authorized to operate during the FY will be 
prorated in accordance with the provisions of Sec.  171.17.
b. Uranium Recovery Facilities
    The total FY 2011 budgeted cost to be recovered through annual fees 
assessed to the uranium recovery class [which includes licensees in fee 
categories 2.A.(2)(a), 2.A.(2)(b), 2.A.(2)(c), 2.A.(2)(d), 2.A.(2)(e), 
2.A.(3), 2.A.(4), 2.A.(5) and 18.B., under Sec.  171.16], is 
approximately $1.0 million. The derivation of this value is shown in 
Table IX, with FY 2010 values shown for comparison purposes.

     Table IX--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Uranium Recovery
                               Facilities
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              FY 2011
        Summary fee calculations          FY 2010  final     proposed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $6.69           $7.14
Less estimated Part 170 receipts........           -5.83           -6.09
                                         -------------------------------
    Net Part 171 resources..............            0.86            1.05
Allocated generic transportation........             N/A             N/A
Fee-relief adjustment...................           +0.05           -0.05
Billing adjustments.....................           -0.01            0.00
                                         -------------------------------

[[Page 14756]]

 
    Total required annual fee recovery..            0.91            1.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The increase in total budgeted resources allocated to this fee 
class from FY 2010 to FY 2011 is primarily due to increase in DOE Title 
I licensing activities partially offset by increase in Part 170 
estimates. Since FY 2002, the NRC has computed the annual fee for the 
uranium recovery fee class by allocating the total annual fee amount 
for this fee class between the DOE and the other licensees in this fee 
class. The NRC regulates DOE's Title I and Title II activities under 
the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA). The Congress 
established the two programs, Title I and Title II under UMTRCA, to 
protect the public and the environment from 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 the 
weapons program. 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.
    The annual fee assessed to DOE includes recovery of the costs 
specifically budgeted for NRC's Title I activities, plus 10 percent of 
the remaining annual fee amount, including the fee-relief and generic/
other costs, for the uranium recovery class. The remaining 90 percent 
of the fee-relief and generic/other costs are assessed to the other NRC 
licensees in this fee class that are subject to annual fees. The 
distribution of 10 percent of the generic budgeted costs to DOE and 90 
percent to other facilities is a change from the previous year that is 
based on current NRC activities. Last year, the distribution was 35 
percent and 65 percent to DOE and other facilities, respectively.
    The costs to be recovered through annual fees assessed to the 
uranium recovery class are shown in Table X.

              Table X--Costs Recovered Through Annual Fees
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Uranium recovery fee class
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I and Title II)
 general licenses:
    UMTRCA Title I budgeted costs less Part 170 receipts        $745,331
    10 percent of generic/other uranium recovery                  30,984
     budgeted costs.....................................
    10 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment          -4,984
                                                         ---------------
        Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE (rounded).......         771,000
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses:
    90 percent of generic/other uranium recovery                 278,854
     budgeted costs less the amounts specifically
     budgeted for Title I activities....................
        90 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief                -44,857
         adjustment.....................................
                                                         ---------------
        Total Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium                233,996
         Recovery Licenses..............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The DOE fee increases in FY 2011 compared to FY 2010 due to higher 
budgeted resources for UMTRCA Title I activities. The annual fee for 
other uranium recovery licensees decreases in FY 2011.
    Although the distribution of the generic budgeted costs to other 
uranium facilities increased from FY 2010, the total annual fee amount 
to be recovered decreases in FY 2011 compared to FY 2010, primarily due 
to increased activities for DOE Title I facilities.
    The NRC will continue to use a matrix (which is included in the 
supporting work papers) to determine the level of effort associated 
with conducting the generic regulatory actions for the different (non-
DOE) licensees in this fee class. The weights derived in this matrix 
are used to allocate the approximately $234,000 annual fee amount to 
these licensees. The use of this uranium recovery annual fee matrix was 
established in the FY 1995 final fee rule (60 FR 32217; June 20, 1995). 
The FY 2011 matrix is described as follows.
    First, the methodology identifies the categories of licenses 
included in this fee class (besides DOE). In FY 2011, these categories 
are conventional uranium mills and heap leach facilities, uranium 
solution mining and resin In Situ Recovery (ISR) facilities, mill 
tailings disposal facilities (11e.(2) disposal facilities), and uranium 
water treatment facilities.
    Second, the matrix identifies the types of operating activities 
that support and benefit these licensees. The activities related to 
generic decommissioning/reclamation are not included in the matrix, 
because they are included in the fee-relief activities. Therefore, they 
are not a factor in determining annual fees. The activities included in 
the FY 2011 matrix are operations, waste operations, and groundwater 
protection. The relative weight of each type of activity is then 
determined, based on the regulatory resources associated with each 
activity. The operations, waste operations, and groundwater protection 
activities have weights of 0, 5, and 10, respectively, in the FY 2011 
matrix.
    Each year, the NRC determines the level of benefit to each licensee 
for generic uranium recovery program activities for each type of 
generic activity in the matrix. This is done by assigning, for each fee 
category, separate benefit factors for each type of regulatory activity 
in the matrix. Benefit factors are assigned on a scale of 0 to 10 as 
follows: Zero (no regulatory benefit), five (moderate regulatory 
benefit), and ten (high regulatory benefit). These benefit factors are 
first multiplied by the relative weight assigned to each activity 
(described previously). Total benefit factors by fee category, and per 
licensee in each fee category, are then calculated. These benefit 
factors thus reflect the relative regulatory benefit associated with 
each licensee and fee category. The NRC expects to license an ISR Resin

[[Page 14757]]

Facility in FY 2011. Therefore, the benefit factors for fee Category 
2.A.(2)(d) have been included in the FY 2011 matrix, and an annual fee 
has been established.
    The benefit factors per licensee and per fee category, for each of 
the non-DOE fee categories included in the uranium recovery fee class, 
are as follows:

                             Table XI--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.)..               1             200             200              14
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.(A).2.b.)..               4             190             760              52
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities                           1             215             215              15
 (2.(A).2.c.)...................................
In Situ Recovery Resin Facilities (2.(A).2.d.)..               1             180             180              12
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings               1              65              65               4
 sites (2.(A).4.)...............................
Uranium water treatment (2.(A).5.)..............               1              45              45               3
                                                                                 ----------------
                                                  ..............  ..............           1,465  ..............
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Applying these factors to the approximately $234,000 in budgeted 
costs to be recovered from non-DOE uranium recovery licensees results 
in the total annual fees for each fee category. The annual fee per 
licensee is calculated by dividing the total allocated budgeted 
resources for the fee category by the number of licensees in that fee 
category, as summarized in Table XII:

 Table XII--Annual Fees for Uranium Recovery Licensees (Other Than DOE)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              FY 2011
              Facility type (fee category)                   proposed
                                                            annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a))..........          31,900
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b))..........          30,300
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c)).......          34,300
In Situ Recovery Resin facilities (2.A.(2)(d))..........          28,800
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites            10,400
 (2.A.(4))..............................................
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5)).......................           7,200
------------------------------------------------------------------------

c. Ope