Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2015, 37431-37464 [2015-15763]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 125 (Tuesday, June 30, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37431-37464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15763]



[[Page 37431]]

Vol. 80

Tuesday,

No. 125

June 30, 2015

Part IV





Nuclear Regulatory Commission





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10 CFR Parts 170 and 171





Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2015; Final 
Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 80 , No. 125 / Tuesday, June 30, 2015 / Rules 
and Regulations

[[Page 37432]]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 170 and 171

[NRC-2014-0200]
RIN 3150-AJ44


Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2015

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending the 
licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its applicants and 
licensees. These 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) 2015, not including amounts appropriated 
for Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR), the Nuclear Waste Fund 
(NWF), generic homeland security activities, and Inspector General (IG) 
services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). These 
fees represent the cost of the NRC's services provided to applicants 
and licensees.

DATES: This final rule is effective on August 31, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0200 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information for this final rule. You may 
access publicly-available information related to this final rule by any 
of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0200. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this final rule.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, 
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document 
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time 
that a document is referenced. For the convenience of the reader, the 
ADAMS accession numbers are provided in a table in the ``Availability 
of Documents'' section of this document.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arlette Howard, Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-1481, email: Arlette.Howard@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
II. Discussion
III. Opportunities for Public Participation
IV. Public Comment Analysis
V. Section-by-Section Analysis
VI. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
VII. Regulatory Analysis
VIII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
IX. Plain Writing
X. National Environmental Policy Act
XI. Paperwork Reduction Act
XII. Congressional Review Act
XIII. Voluntary Consensus Standards
XIV. Availability of Guidance
XV. Availability of Documents

I. Background

    Over the past 40 years the NRC (and earlier, as the Atomic Energy 
Commission, the NRC's predecessor agency) has assessed and continues to 
assess fees to applicants and licensees to recover the cost of its 
regulatory program. The NRC's cost recovery principles for fee 
regulation are governed by two major laws: (1) The Independent Offices 
Appropriations Act of 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C. 483 (a)); and (2) OBRA-90 
(42 U.S.C. 2214), as amended. The NRC is required each year, under 
OBRA-90, as amended, to recover approximately 90 percent of its budget 
authority, not including amounts appropriated for WIR, generic homeland 
security activities, the NWF, and IG services for the DNFSB, through 
fees to NRC licensees and applicants.
    In addition to the requirements of OBRA-90, as amended, the NRC is 
also required to comply with the requirements of the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. This Act encourages small 
businesses to participate in the regulatory process, and requires 
agencies to develop more accessible sources of information on 
regulatory and reporting requirements for small businesses and create a 
small entity compliance guide. In this final rule, the NRC continues 
using a fee methodology for qualifying small entities that establishes 
a maximum annual fee and minimum annual fee at a reduced rate to ease 
the financial burden for these licensees.
    In compliance with the OBRA-90, as amended, requirement that the 
NRC collect approximately 90 percent of its budget authority through 
fee collection by the end of the fiscal year, this rulemaking is based 
on the $1,015.3 million in appropriations received by the NRC as a 
result of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 
2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), signed by President Obama on December 16, 2014.

II. Discussion

    In compliance with OBRA-90, as amended, and the Atomic Energy Act 
of 1954 (AEA), the NRC amends its fee schedules for parts 170 and 171 
of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) to recover 
approximately 90 percent of its FY 2015 budget authority, less the 
amounts appropriated for WIR, the NWF, generic homeland security 
activities, and IG services for the DNFSB. The 10 CFR part 170 user 
fees, under the authority of the IOAA, recover the NRC's costs of 
providing specific regulatory benefits to identifiable applicants and 
licensees. For example, the NRC assesses these fees to cover the costs 
of inspections, applications for new licenses and license renewals, and 
requests for license amendments. The 10 CFR part 171 annual fees, on 
the other hand, recover generic regulatory costs that are not otherwise 
recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees.

FY 2015 Fee Collection

    The NRC received total appropriations of $1,015.3 million for FY 
2015 as a result of Public Law 113-235, a decrease of $40.6 million 
from FY 2014. Based on OBRA-90, as amended, the NRC is required to 
recover $895.5 million through 10 CFR part 170 (user charges) and 10 
CFR part 171 (annual fees) for FY 2015. This amount excludes non-fee 
items for WIR activities totaling $1.4 million, IG services for the 
DNFSB totaling $0.9 million, and generic homeland security activities 
totaling $18.1 million. This required fee recovery amount is $35.2 
million less than the FY 2014 required fee recovery amount of $930.7 
million. After accounting for prior year billing adjustments, the fee 
recoverable budget is further reduced to $888.7 million to be billed as 
fees to licensees and applicants under 10 CFR parts 170 and 171. This 
amount represents a decrease

[[Page 37433]]

of $30.2 million from FY 2014 final rule and a decrease of $37.5 
million from the FY 2015 proposed fee rule published on March 23, 2015 
(80 FR 15746). This decrease is due to the fact that the FY 2015 
proposed fee rule was based on the President's proposed budget, rather 
than the actual FY 2015 appropriation, which included a reduction for 
fee-based unobligated carryover.
    Table I summarizes the final budget and fee recovery amounts for 
the FY 2015 final fee rule. The FY 2014 amounts are provided for 
comparison purposes. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to 
rounding.)

                Table I--Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2014 Final   FY 2015 Final
                                               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Budget Authority..................        $1,055.9        $1,015.3
Less Non-Fee Items......................           -21.8          -$20.3
                                         -------------------------------
    Balance.............................        $1,034.1          $995.0
Fee Recovery Rate.......................             90%             90%
                                         -------------------------------
Total Amount to be Recovered:...........          $930.7          $895.5
10 CFR Part 171 Billing Adjustments:
    Unpaid Current Year Invoices                     0.5             2.8
     (estimated)........................
    Less Current Year from Collections              -2.2               0
     (Terminated--Operating Reactors)...
    Less Payments Received in Current              -12.3            -9.6
     Year for Previous Year Invoices
     (estimated)........................
                                         -------------------------------
          Subtotal......................           -14.0            -6.8
Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR             $916.7          $888.7
 Parts 170 and 171 Fees.................
    Less Estimated 10 CFR Part 170 Fees.          -332.5         -$321.7
    Less Prior Year Unbilled 10 CFR Part            -0.0            -0.0
     170 Fees...........................
10 CFR Part 171 Fee Collections Required          $584.2          $567.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Changes From the FY 2014 Final Fee Rule
    In this final fee rule, the NRC amends fees for power reactors, 
spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning, nonpower reactors, uranium 
recovery facilities, fuel facilities, materials users, and the U.S. 
Department of Energy's (DOE) transportation license as compared to the 
FY 2014 final rule. The total amount of annual fees to be recovered, 
$567 million, represents a decrease of $19.4 million from the FY 2014 
final rule. Overall, annual fees for operating reactors decrease as a 
result of reduced budgetary resources, but this decrease is partially 
offset by a decline in 10 CFR part 170 billings and the permanent 
shutdown of Vermont Yankee. Additionally, annual fees for the fuel 
facilities fee class increase from FY 2014 as a result of the 
following: (1) Reduced 10 CFR part 170 billings for operational 
readiness reviews and inspections due to significant delays in 
construction; and (2) the termination of the certificate for the United 
States Enrichment Corporation's Paducah, Kentucky facility. For the 
transportation fee class, the annual fees increase from FY 2014, 
primarily due to rulemaking activities concerning 10 CFR part 71 
compatibility with the International Atomic Energy Agency's 
transportation standards and improvements. Additionally, the increase 
in the annual fee for the transportation fee class is attributed to 
reduced 10 CFR part 170 billings caused by shifts in workload 
priorities. For 10 CFR part 170 hourly fees, the total amount to be 
recovered is $321.7 million, a decrease of $10.8 million from FY 2014.
Changes From the FY 2015 Proposed Fee Rule (Including the FY 2015 
Estimated Final Rule Amounts)
    In comparison to the FY 2015 proposed fee rule and the estimated FY 
2015 final budget and fee rule recovery amounts, the NRC will collect 
$321.7 million in hourly fees (user charges), a decrease of $2.6 
million from both estimates, respectively, for this final rule. This 
change is a result of the decline in estimated 10 CFR part 170 
collections for the power reactor fee class due to unexpected 
application suspensions (particularly, the U.S. Evolutionary Power 
Reactor (EPR) design certification application and the Calvert Cliffs 
combined license application). The NRC will collect $567 million in 
annual fees, a decrease of $34.9 million from the FY 2015 proposed fee 
rule estimate and an increase of $4.8 million from the estimated FY 
2015 final annual fees total. The change from the FY 2015 proposed fee 
rule and estimated FY 2015 final annual fees total is the result of the 
reduced estimated 10 CFR part 170 collections, as well as the 10 CFR 
part 171 billing adjustment.
    The NRC proposed to establish an annual fee for rare earth 
facilities in the proposed FY 2015 fee rule. At the time the NRC issued 
its proposed fee rule, the NRC estimated that a portion of the budgeted 
resources for this fee class was not going to be collected through 10 
CFR part 170 user fees, therefore requiring the establishment of an 
annual part 10 CFR part 171 fee to recover the remainder of the 
budgeted authority for this fee class. Upon further analysis, the NRC 
determined all budgeted resources for the rare earth facilities will be 
collected through 10 CFR part 170 this fiscal year. Therefore, NRC 
lacks a statutory basis to assess 10 CFR part 171 fees to this fee 
class, because that fee would not bear a reasonable relationship to the 
cost of providing generic NRC services, as there are no generic 
activities supporting this fee class. Therefore, in this final rule, 
the NRC omits the annual fee for rare earth facilities.

Hourly Rate

    The NRC's hourly rate is used in assessing full cost fees for 
specific services provided by the NRC, as well as flat fees for 
activities such as NRC review of applications. For FY 2015, the NRC's 
hourly rate is $268, a decrease of $9 from the hourly rate in the FY 
2015 proposed fee rule. The FY 2014 hourly rate (the current hourly 
rate) is $279. This rate is applicable to all activities for which fees 
are assessed under Sec. Sec.  170.21 and 170.31.

[[Page 37434]]

    The decrease in the FY 2015 hourly rate is due to an increase in 
estimated direct hours worked per mission-direct full-time equivalent 
(FTE) during the year and reduced budget. The hourly rate is inversely 
related to the mission-direct FTE rate. Therefore, as the FTE rate 
increases, the hourly rate decreases.
    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 overhead 
or indirect costs--which includes corporate support, office support, 
and the IG. The mission-direct FTE hours are the product of the 
mission-direct FTE multiplied by 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. 
Billable contract activities are included as a separate line item on 
the 10 CFR part 170 invoice.
    In FY 2015, the NRC used 1,420 hours per direct FTE to calculate 
the hourly fee rate, which is higher than the FY 2014 estimate of 1,375 
hours per direct FTE and represents increased productivity. These hours 
exclude all indirect activities such as training and general 
administration. The NRC generated this figure by reviewing and 
analyzing current available time and labor data from FY 2010 through FY 
2012. As a result of that review, the NRC determined that the direct 
hours per FTE for FY 2015 budget formulation should be revised.
    Table II shows the results of the hourly rate calculation 
methodology. The FY 2014 amounts are provided for comparison purposes. 
(Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)

                    Table II--Hourly Rate Calculation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2014 Final   FY 2015 Final
                                               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission-Direct Program Salaries &                 $359.2          $365.6
 Benefits...............................
Mission-Indirect Program Support........           $21.0           $67.7
Agency Support (Corporate Support,                $486.0          $422.7
 Office Support and the IG).............
                                         -------------------------------
    Subtotal............................          $866.2            $856
Less Offsetting Receipts................           -$0.0           -$0.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Total Budget Included in Hourly Rate          $866.2            $856
     (Millions of Dollars)..............
Mission-Direct FTE (Whole numbers)......           2,254           2,250
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budget              $279            $268
 Included in Hourly Rate Divided by
 Mission-Direct FTE Hours-1420) (Whole
 Numbers)...............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As shown in Table II, dividing the FY 2015 $856 million budget 
amount included in the hourly rate by total mission-direct FTE hours 
(2,250 FTE times 1,420 hours) results in an hourly rate of $268. The 
hourly rate is rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

Flat Application Fee Changes

    The NRC amends the current flat application fees in Sec. Sec.  
170.21 and 170.31 to reflect the revised hourly rate of $268. These 
flat fees are calculated by multiplying the average professional staff 
hours needed to process the licensing actions by the professional 
hourly rate for FY 2015. 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. The NRC performed this review for 
the FY 2015 proposed rule. The lower hourly rate of $268 is the primary 
reason for the decrease in application fees.
    In general, any increases in application fees are due to the 
increased number of hours required to perform specific activities based 
on the biennial review. The NRC staff determined via a recent analysis 
that application fees for 12 fee categories (2.D., 3.C., 3.H., 3.M., 
3.P., 3.R.2., 3.S., 4.B., 5.A., 7.A., 7.C., and 17 under Sec.  170.31) 
will increase as a result of an increase in the average time spent 
processing these types of license applications. (Fee category 17 should 
have been counted in this analysis in the FY 2015 proposed fee rule.) 
The decrease in fees for 7 fee categories (2.C., 2.E., 2.F., 3.B., 
3.I., 3.N., and 3.O. under Sec.  170.31) is primarily due to the 
reduced hourly rate and a decrease in the average time to process these 
types of applications. Also, the NRC staff determined via a recent 
analysis that the application fees increase for 3 import and export fee 
categories (K.4., K.5., and 15.D. under Sec.  170.31) and decrease for 
13 import and export fee categories (15.A. thru 15.L., and 15.R. under 
Sec.  170.31), an increase of 9 fee categories from the FY 2015 
proposed fee rule as a result of the reduced hourly rate.
    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 final licensing flat fees are applicable for fee categories 
K.1. through K.5. of Sec.  170.21, and fee categories 1.C. through 
1.D., 2.B. through 2.F., 3.A. through 3.S., 4.B. through 9.D., 10.B., 
15.A. through 15.L., 15.R., and 16 of Sec.  170.31. Applications filed 
on or after the effective date of the FY 2015 final fee rule would be 
subject to the revised fees in the final rule.

Application of Rebaselining, Fee-Relief, and Low-Level Waste (LLW) 
Surcharge

    For this rulemaking, the NRC established rebaselined annual fees in 
accordance with SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation Method,'' 
September 15, 2005 (ADAMS Accession No. ML052580332). The rebaselining 
method analyzes the budget in detail and allocates the budgeted costs 
to various classes or subclasses of licensees. Stated otherwise, 
rebaselining is the annual reallocation of NRC resources based on 
changes in the NRC's budget. The NRC established the rebaselined 
methodology for calculating annual fees through notice and comment 
rulemaking in the FY 1999 fee rule (64 FR 31448; June 10, 1999), 
determining that base annual fees will be re-established (rebaselined) 
every third year, 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 licenses. The FY 2015 fee rulemaking

[[Page 37435]]

used this same rebaselining methodology.
    Moreover, in FY 2015, the NRC will use its fee-relief surcharge to 
increase all licensees' annual fees, based on their percentage share of 
the budget. Every year, the NRC applies the 10 percent of its budget 
that is excluded from fee recovery under OBRA-90 to offset the total 
budget allocated for activities that do not directly benefit current 
NRC licensees (these activities fall within the NRC's fee-relief 
category). 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 10-percent appropriation and the budgeted amount of these 
activities results in a fee-relief adjustment (either an increase or 
decrease) to all licensees' annual fees, based on their percentage 
share of the budget. In FY 2015, there is an increase to all licensees' 
annual fees, for the reasons stated.
    From the FY 2015 proposed fee rule, the most significant change 
under fee relief is under the scholarship and fellowship fee relief 
category. For this category, the budgetary resources increased to $18.9 
million from $4.1 million because the FY 2015 appropriations require 
the NRC to fund the $15 million Integrated University Program.
    Additionally, in the Staff Requirements Memorandum for SECY-14-
0082, ``Jurisdiction for Military Radium and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission Oversight of U.S. Department of Defense Remediation of 
Radioactive Material'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML14356A070), the 
Commission approved the staff's recommendation to finalize and 
implement a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department 
of Defense (DOD) for remediation of DOD unlicensed sites containing 
radioactive materials subject to the NRC's regulatory authority. The 
MOU is slated to be finalized in FY 2015. As part of this effort, the 
Commission approved the establishment of a new fee-relief category for 
the regulatory activities for the monitoring of DOD unlicensed sites 
under the MOU. Consistent with this direction, the NRC includes a new 
activity under fee-relief activities, within 10 CFR part 170 licensing 
and inspection fees or 10 CFR part 171 annual fees. These program 
activities capture site-specific oversight activities performed under 
the MOU and any ongoing non-site specific MOU-related program 
activities. These activities will, therefore, be funded by the agency's 
10-percent appropriation.
    The FY 2015 budgeted resources for fee-relief activities are 
greater than the 10-percent fee relief amount by $1.0 million, which 
differs from the -$14.6 million mentioned in the FY 2015 proposed fee 
rule due to the reasons stated. After applying the generic LLW 
surcharge amount of $3.9 million, the total net adjustment to fee 
assessments is $4.9 million. The NRC allocates 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 and Agreement States, the costs of these 
activities are recovered through annual fees from NRC licensees.
    In comparison, the FY 2014 fee relief resources were -$1.3 million. 
After applying the generic LLW surcharge amount of $3.2 million, the 
net FY 2014 fee relief adjustment to fee assessments was $1.9 million. 
Table III summarizes the fee-relief activities for FY 2015. The FY 2014 
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 2014         FY 2015
          Fee-relief activities           Budgeted costs  Budgeted costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Activities not attributable to an
 existing NRC licensee or class of
 licensee:
    a. International activities.........           $11.2            $9.3
    b. Agreement State oversight........           $12.6           $12.0
    c. Scholarships and Fellowships.....           $18.9           $18.9
    d. Medical Isotope Production.......            $3.1            $4.9
2. Activities not assessed under 10 CFR
 part 170 licensing and inspection fees
 or 10 CFR part 171 annual fees based on
 existing law or Commission policy:
    a. Fee exemption for nonprofit                 $11.9           $10.3
     educational institutions...........
    b. Costs not recovered from small               $8.4            $8.8
     entities under 10 CFR 71.16(c).....
    c. Regulatory support to Agreement             $17.9           $18.5
     States.............................
    d. Generic decommissioning/                    $17.1           $16.4
     reclamation (not related to the
     power reactor and spent fuel
     storage fee classes)...............
    e. In Situ leach rulemaking and                 $1.0            $1.4
     unregistered general licensees.....
    f. Potential Department of Defense               0.0             0.0
     remediation program MOU activities.
                                         -------------------------------
          Total fee-relief activities...          $102.1          $100.5
Less 10 percent of the NRC's total FY            -$103.4          -$99.5
 budget (less non-fee items)............
Fee-Relief Adjustment to be Allocated to           -$1.3            $1.0
 All Licensees' Annual Fees.............
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table IV shows how the NRC allocated the $4.9 million fee-relief 
assessment adjustment to each license fee class. As explained 
previously, the NRC allocated this fee-relief adjustment to each 
license fee class based on their percentage of the budget for their fee 
class compared to the NRC's total budget. This adjustment was added to 
the required annual fee recovery for each fee class.
    Table IV also shows the allocation of the LLW surcharge activity. 
For FY 2015, the total budget allocated for LLW activity is $3.9 
million. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)

[[Page 37436]]



                    Table IV--Allocation of Fee-Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2015
                                              [Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           LLW Surcharge               Fee-relief adjustment           Total
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Percent            $            Percent            $               $
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors........              32             1.2            86.1             0.8             2.1
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                     0               0             3.8             0.0             0.0
 Decommissioning................
Research and Test Reactors......               0               0             0.3             0.0             0.0
Fuel Facilities.................              54             2.1             4.9             0.0             2.1
Materials Users.................              14             0.5             3.1             0.1             0.6
Transportation..................               0               0             0.5             0.0             0.0
Rare Earth Facilities...........               0               0             0.0             0.0             0.0
Uranium Recovery................               0               0             1.2             0.0             0.0
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................             100             3.9             100             1.0             4.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Revised Annual Fees

    As previously stated, the NRC is required to establish rebaselined 
annual fees, which includes updating the number of NRC licensees in its 
fee calculation methodology. In the agency's FY 2006 final fee rule (71 
FR 30721; May 30, 2006), the Commission determined that the agency 
should proceed with a presumption in favor of rebaselining when 
calculating annual fees each year. Rebaselining involves a detailed 
analysis of the NRC's budget, with the NRC allocating budgeted 
resources to fee classes and categories of licensees.
    Therefore, in FY 2015, the NRC revises its annual fees in 
Sec. Sec.  171.15 and 171.16 to recover approximately 90 percent of the 
NRC's FY 2015 budget authority, less non-fee amounts and the estimated 
amount to be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees. For FY 2015, the 
NRC's total fee recoverable budget, as mandated by law, is $895.5 
million, a decrease of $35.2 million compared to FY 2014. After 
accounting for billing adjustments, the fee recoverable budget is 
further reduced to $888.7 million for FY 2015, a decrease of $28 
million from FY 2014. The total estimated 10 CFR part 170 collections 
for this final rule total are $321.7 million, a decrease of $10.8 
million from the FY 2014 fee rule, primarily within the power reactor 
and fuel facilities fee classes, while the spent fuel storage fee class 
has increased 10 CFR part 170 collections. The total amount to be 
recovered through annual fees from current licensees for this final 
rule is $567 million, a decrease of $17.2 million from the FY 2014 
final rule. These decreases are later explained in detail within each 
fee class.
    The FY 2015 budget was allocated to the appropriate fee class based 
on budgeted activities. Compared to FY 2014 annual fees, the FY 2015 
rebaselined fees decrease for operating reactors, spent fuel storage 
and reactor decommissioning, and research and test reactors fee classes 
while annual fees increase for DOE transportation activities, fuel 
facilities fee classes, some materials users, and most uranium recovery 
licensees.
    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 2015), the estimated 10 
CFR part 170 collections for the various classes of licenses, and 
allocation of the fee-relief surplus adjustment to all fee classes.
    Table V shows the rebaselined fees for FY 2015 for a representative 
list of categories of licensees. The FY 2014 amounts are provided for 
comparison purposes. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to 
rounding.)

                    Table V--Rebaselined Annual Fees
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          FY 2014  Final  FY 2015  Final
       Class/Category of licenses           annual  fee     annual  fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors................      $4,999,000      $4,807,000
+ Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                     224,000         223,000
 Decommissioning........................
Total, Combined Fee.....................       5,223,000       5,030,000
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                       224,000         223,000
 Decommissioning........................
Research and Test Reactors (Nonpower              84,500          83,500
 Reactors)..............................
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility.....       7,175,000       8,473,000
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility......       2,469,000       2,915,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion Facility       1,466,000       1,731,000
Conventional Mills......................          33,800          36,100
Typical Materials Users:
    Radiographers (Category 3O).........          29,800          25,800
    Well Loggers (Category 5A)..........          13,600          14,400
Gauge Users (Category 3P)...............           6,800           8,000
Broad Scope Medical (Category 7B).......          35,700          37,500
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The work papers (ADAMS Accession No. ML15160A434) that support this 
final rule show in detail the allocation of the NRC's budgeted 
resources for each class of licenses and how the fees are calculated. 
The work papers are available as indicated in Section XV, 
``Availability of Documents,'' of this document.
    Paragraphs a. through h. of this section describes budgetary 
resources allocated to each class of licenses and the calculations of 
the rebaselined fees. Individual values in the tables

[[Page 37437]]

presented in this section may not sum to totals due to rounding.
a. Fuel Facilities.
    The FY 2015 budgeted costs 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) are 
approximately $42.9 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 10 CFR part 170 collections and 
adjusted for allocated generic transportation resources and fee-relief. 
In FY 2015, the LLW surcharge for fuel facilities is added to the 
allocated fee-relief adjustment (see Table IV, ``Allocation of Fee-
Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2015,'' in Section II, 
``Discussion,'' of this document). The summary calculations used to 
derive this value are presented in Table VI for FY 2015, with FY 2014 
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]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations          FY 2014  Final  FY 2015  Final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $47.2           $42.8
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.          -$16.7          -$11.5
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......           $30.5           $31.3
Allocated generic transportation........            $0.6            $0.8
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge.....            $1.1            $2.1
Billing adjustments.....................           -$0.6           -$0.3
Reclassification of licensee current               -$2.2             0.0
 year fee billing received:.............
                                         -------------------------------
    Total remaining required annual fee            $29.5           $33.9
     recovery...........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In FY 2015, the fuel facilities budgetary resources decreased due 
to reduced construction activities and licensing amendments compared to 
FY 2014. Despite the decrease in budgeted resources, the fuel 
facilities annual fees in FY 2015 increase compared to FY 2014 due to 
reduced 10 CFR part 170 billings for operation reviews and inspections 
resulting from numerous delays at the Chicago Bridge and Iron AREVA MOX 
Services Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, the International 
Isotopes uranium de-conversion facility, the Global Laser Enrichment 
(GLE) uranium enrichment facility, and the AREVA Eagle Rock Uranium 
Enrichment facility. Annual fees also increased as a result of the 
termination of the certificate for United States Enrichment 
Corporation's Paducah, Kentucky facility. The NRC allocates the total 
remaining annual fee recovery amount 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 to reflect 
cessation of licensed activities (e.g., decommissioning or license 
termination), then that licensee will not be subject to 10 CFR part 171 
costs applicable to the fee class, and the budgeted generic costs for 
the safety and/or safeguards components that continue to be associated 
with the license will have to 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 possessed or used, and/or the 
activity or activities 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 
10 types of regulatory activities, including enrichment and scrap/
waste-related activities (see the work papers for the complete list). 
The NRC then calculates the total for all activities per licensee 
benefit factors by each fee category.
    The effort factors for the various fuel facility fee categories are 
summarized in Table VII. In this rulemaking, some of the effort factors 
changed from the FY 2015 proposed fee rule as a result of the 
decertification of the Paducah facility. The value of the effort 
factors 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). This results in the spreading of costs to 
other fee categories.

[[Page 37438]]



                             Table VII--Effort Factors for Fuel Facilities, FY 2015
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Effort factors  (percent of
                                                                     Number of                total)
                  Facility type  (fee category)                     facilities   -------------------------------
                                                                                      Safety        Safeguards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)).........................               2       89 (44.3)       97 (56.7)
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b))..........................               3       70 (34.8)       26 (15.2)
Limited Operations (1.A.(2)(a)).................................               0         0 (0.0)         0 (0.0)
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b))............               1         3 (1.5)        15 (8.8)
Hot Cell (1.A.(2)(c))...........................................               1         6 (3.0)         3 (1.8)
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.).......................................               1       21 (10.4)       23 (13.5)
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1)).......................               1        12 (6.0)         7 (4.1)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For FY 2015, the total budgeted resources for safety activities are 
$17.2 million, excluding the fee-relief adjustment and the 
reclassification adjustment. 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 $14.6 million 
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/LLW adjustment, 
$2.1 million, 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 2015
               Facility type  (fee category)                    Final
                                                              annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))....................   $8,473,000
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)).....................    2,915,000
Limited Operations (1.A(2)(a)).............................            0
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b)).......    1,640,000
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c)).........................      820,000
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)..................................    4,009,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1))..................    1,731,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. Uranium Recovery Facilities.
    The total FY 2015 budgeted costs 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) 
are approximately $1.0 million. The derivation of this value is shown 
in Table IX, with FY 2014 values shown for comparison purposes.

                Table IX--Annual Fee Summary Calculations
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations          FY 2014  Final  FY 2015  Final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $10.9           $11.3
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.           -$9.5          -$10.1
                                         -------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources...........            $1.3            $1.2
Allocated generic transportation........             N/A             N/A
Fee-relief adjustment...................           -$0.0           -$0.0
Billing adjustments.....................           -$0.1           -$0.1
                                         -------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery......            $1.2            $1.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2014, the FY 2015 budgetary resources for 
uranium recovery licensees increased due, in part, to the additional 
resources necessary to conduct the environmental reviews for materials 
licenses applications for uranium recovery facilities (including tribal 
consultations in support of the National Historic Preservation Act 
Section 106 reviews). Specifically, the NRC staff has been developing 
process changes to facilitate the environmental reviews for uranium 
recovery applications.
    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.
    In FY 2015, the annual fee assessed to DOE includes recovery of the 
costs

[[Page 37439]]

specifically budgeted for the NRC's UMTRCA Title I and II activities, 
plus 10 percent of the remaining annual fee amount, including generic/
other costs (plus 10 percent of the fee-relief/LLW adjustment), for the 
uranium recovery class. The NRC assesses the remaining 90 percent 
generic/other costs plus 90 percent of the fee-relief adjustment, to 
the other NRC licensees in the fee class that are subject to annual 
fees.
    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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           FY 2015 Final
                    Summary of costs                        annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I and Title II)             $622,898
 General Licenses:......................................
    UMTRCA Title I and Title II budgeted costs less 10
     CFR part 170 receipts
    10 percent of generic/other uranium recovery                  41,986
     budgeted costs.....................................
    10 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment           1,251
                                                         ---------------
          Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE (rounded).....         666,000
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses:..         377,874
    90 percent of generic/other uranium recovery
     budgeted costs less the amounts specifically
     budgeted for Title I and Title II activities.......
    90 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment          11,255
                                                         ---------------
          Total Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium              389,129
           Recovery Licenses............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC will continue to use a matrix, which is included in the 
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 $377,874 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). 
In this rulemaking, some of the matrix factors changed slightly from 
the FY 2015 proposed fee rule to accurately reflect the number of 
materials licensees. The matrix is described as follows.
    First, the methodology identifies the categories of licenses 
included in this fee class (besides DOE). These categories are: 
Conventional uranium mills and heap leach facilities; uranium In Situ 
Recovery (ISR) and resin ISR facilities, and mill tailings disposal 
facilities, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the AEA (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 matrix relate to 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 matrix. 
These benefit factors are first multiplied by the relative weight 
assigned to each activity. The NRC then calculates the total for all 
activities per licensee benefit factors by each fee category. 
Therefore, these benefit factors reflect the relative regulatory 
benefit associated with each licensee and fee category.
    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. The relative weight of each type of activity is then 
determined, based on the regulatory resources associated with each 
activity. These benefit factors are first multiplied by the relative 
weight assigned to each activity. The NRC then calculates total and per 
licensee benefit factors for each fee category.
    Table XI displays the benefit factors per licensee and per fee 
category, for each of the non-DOE fee categories included in the 
uranium recovery fee class 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             150             150               9
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b))..               6             190           1,140              71
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities                           1             215             215              13
 (2.A.(2)(c))...................................
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings               1              85              85               5
 sites (2.A.(4))................................
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5))...............               1              25              25               2
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................              10             665           1,615             100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Applying these factors to the approximately $389,129 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

[[Page 37440]]

that fee category, as summarized in Table XII.

          Table XII--Annual Fees for Uranium Recovery Licensees
                            (Other than DOE)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           FY 2015 Final
              Facility type (fee category)                  annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a))..........         $36,100
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b))..........          45,800
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c)).......          51,800
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites            20,500
 (2.A.(4))..............................................
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5)).......................           6,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

c. Operating Power Reactors
    The total budgeted costs to be recovered from the power reactor fee 
class in FY 2015 in the form of annual fees is $475.9 million, as shown 
in Table XIII. The FY 2014 values are shown for comparison. (Individual 
values may not sum to totals due to rounding.)

Table XIII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Operating Power Reactors
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations           FY 2014 Final   FY 2015 Final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................          $799.3          $762.1
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.         -$290.9         -$284.1
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......          $508.4          $478.0
Allocated generic transportation........            $1.1            $1.7
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge.....            $0.6            $2.1
Billing adjustment......................          -$10.2            -5.9
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..          $499.9          $475.9
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2014, the operating reactor budgetary resources 
decrease in FY 2015 to reflect the conclusion of Kewaunee, Crystal 
River 3, and San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Units 1 and 2, 
operating reactor oversight responsibilities. In FY 2015, the operating 
power reactor annual fee decreases as a result of reduced budgetary 
resources and are partially offset by a decrease in 10 CFR part 170 
billings due to unexpected new reactor application suspensions and the 
shutdown of one power reactor, Vermont Yankee. The permanent shutdown 
of the Vermont Yankee reactor decreases the fleet of operating 
reactors, which subsequently increases the annual fees for the rest of 
the fleet.
    The budgeted costs to be recovered through annual fees to power 
reactors are divided equally among the 99 power reactors licensed to 
operate, resulting in an FY 2015 annual fee of $4,807,000 per reactor. 
Additionally, each power reactor licensed to operate would be assessed 
the FY 2015 spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee of 
$223,000. The total FY 2015 annual fee is $5,030,000 for each power 
reactor licensed to operate. The annual fees for power reactors are 
presented in Sec.  171.15.
d. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactors in Decommissioning
    For FY 2015, budgeted costs of $32.4 million for spent fuel 
storage/reactor decommissioning would be recovered through annual fees 
assessed to 10 CFR part 50 power reactors and to 10 CFR part 72 
licensees who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license. Those reactor 
licensees that have ceased operations and have no fuel onsite would not 
be subject to these annual fees.
    In comparison to FY 2014, the decreased annual fee is a result of a 
decrease in budgetary resources and increased estimated 10 CFR part 170 
collections for inspections at Beaver Valley and Pilgrim Power Stations 
for FY 2015. Table XIV shows the calculation of this annual fee amount. 
The FY 2014 values are shown for comparison. (Individual values may not 
sum to totals due to rounding.)

 Table XIV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for the Spent Fuel Storage/
                  Reactor in Decommissioning Fee Class
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations           FY 2014 Final   FY 2015 Final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $32.7           $32.4
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.           -$5.4           -$5.9
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......           $27.3           $26.5
Allocated generic transportation........            $0.6            $1.0

[[Page 37441]]

 
Fee-relief adjustment...................            $0.0           -$0.0
                                         -------------------------------
Billing adjustments.....................           -$0.4           -$0.3
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..           $27.5           $27.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The required annual fee recovery amount is divided equally among 
122 licensees, resulting in an FY 2015 annual fee of $223,000 per 
licensee.
e. Research and Test Reactors (Nonpower Reactors)
    Approximately $330,000 in budgeted costs would be recovered through 
annual fees assessed to the research and test reactor class of licenses 
for FY 2015. Table XV summarizes the annual fee calculation for the 
research and test reactors for FY 2015. The FY 2014 values are shown 
for comparison. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to 
rounding.)

Table XV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Research and Test Reactors
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations           FY 2014 Final   FY 2015 Final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $2.63           $2.51
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.          -$2.28          -$2.19
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......           $0.35           $0.32
Allocated generic transportation........           $0.03           $0.03
Fee-relief adjustment...................          -$0.01          -$0.00
                                         -------------------------------
Billing adjustments.....................          -$0.03          -$0.02
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..           $0.34           $0.33
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In FY 2015, the annual fees decrease for research and test reactors 
as result of a slight decline in budgetary resources. The required 
annual fee recovery amount is divided equally among the four research 
and test reactors subject to annual fees and results in an FY 2015 
annual fee of $83,500 for each licensee.
f. Materials Users.
    The NRC will recover $35.7 million through annual fees assessed to 
materials users licensed under 10 CFR parts 30, 40, and 70. Table XVI 
shows the calculation of the FY 2015 annual fee amount for materials 
users licensees. The FY 2014 values are shown for comparison. Note the 
following fee categories under Sec.  171.16 are included in this fee 
class: 1.C., 1.D., 1.F., 2.B., 2.C. through 2.F., 3.A. through 3.S., 
4.A. through 4.C., 5.A., 5.B., 6.A., 7.A. through 7.C., 8.A., 9.A. 
through 9.D., and 17. (Individual values may not sum to totals due to 
rounding.)

     Table XVI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Materials Users
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary Fee Calculations           FY 2014 Final   FY 2015 Final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $32.8           $34.1
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.           -$0.9           -$1.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......           $31.9           $33.1
Allocated generic transportation........            $1.3            $2.2
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge.....            $0.2            $0.6
Billing adjustments.....................           -$0.3           -$0.2
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..           $33.1           $35.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To equitably and fairly allocate the $35.7 million in FY 2015 
budgeted costs to be recovered in annual fees from the approximately 
2,900 diverse materials users licensees, the NRC continues to base the 
annual fees for each fee category within this class on the 10 CFR part 
170 application fees and estimated inspection costs for each fee 
category. Because the application fees and inspection costs are 
indicative of the complexity of the license, this approach continues to 
provide a proxy for allocating the generic and other regulatory costs 
to the diverse categories of licenses based on the NRC's cost to 
regulate each category. This fee calculation also considers the

[[Page 37442]]

inspection frequency (priority), which is indicative of the safety risk 
and resulting regulatory costs associated with the categories of 
licenses.
    The annual fee for these categories of materials users' licenses is 
developed as follows:
    Annual fee = Constant x [Application Fee + (Average Inspection 
Cost/Inspection Priority)] + Inspection Multiplier x (Average 
Inspection Cost/Inspection Priority) + Unique Category Costs.
    For FY 2015, the constant multiplier necessary to recover 
approximately $26 million in general costs (including allocated generic 
transportation costs) is 1.52. The average inspection cost is the 
average inspection hours for each fee category multiplied by the hourly 
rate of $268. The inspection priority is the interval between routine 
inspections, expressed in years. The inspection multiplier is the 
multiple necessary to recover approximately $8.9 million in inspection 
costs, and is 1.73 for FY 2015. The unique category costs are any 
special costs that the NRC has budgeted for a specific category of 
licenses. For FY 2015, approximately $235,000 in budgeted costs for the 
implementation of revised 10 CFR part 35, ``Medical Use of Byproduct 
Material (unique costs),'' has been allocated to holders of NRC human-
use licenses.
    The annual fee to be assessed to each licensee also includes a 
share of the fee-relief assessment of approximately $31,000 allocated 
to the materials users fee class (see Table IV, ``Allocation of Fee-
Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2015,'' in Section II, 
``Discussion,'' of this document), and for certain categories of these 
licensees, a share of the approximately $542,700 surcharge costs 
allocated to the fee class. The annual fee for each fee category is 
shown in Sec.  171.16(d).
g. Transportation
    Table XVII shows the calculation of the FY 2015 generic 
transportation budgeted resources to be recovered through annual fees. 
In comparison to FY 2014, the total budgetary resources for generic 
transportation activities, including those to support DOE Certificate 
of Compliance (CoCs), increase in FY 2015 due to: (1) Rulemaking 
activities involving 10 CFR part 71 Compatibility with IAEA 
Transportation Standards and Improvements, (2) the increased activities 
from the development of the Continued Storage Rule and associated 
generic environmental impact statement combined, and (3) a significant 
decrease in transportation licensing work due to shifts towards storage 
licensing priorities. For FY 2015, the total amount of annual fees to 
be collected for generic transportation activities, including those to 
support DOE CoCs, is $7.4 million, due to the reasons mentioned.
    The FY 2014 values are shown for comparison. (Individual values may 
not sum to totals due to rounding.)

     TABLE XVII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Transportation
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary Fee Calculations           FY 2014 Final   FY 2015 Final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Budgeted Resources................            $8.0           $10.0
Less Estimated 10 CFR Part 170 Receipts.           -$3.1           -$2.6
Net 10 CFR Part 171 Resources...........            $4.9            $7.4
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC must approve any package used for shipping nuclear material 
before shipment. If the package meets NRC requirements, the NRC issues 
a Radioactive Material Package CoC to the organization requesting 
approval of a package. Organizations are authorized to ship radioactive 
material in a package approved for use under the general licensing 
provisions of 10 CFR part 71, ``Packaging and Transportation of 
Radioactive Material.'' The resources associated with generic 
transportation activities are 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.
    Generic transportation resources associated with fee-exempt 
entities are not included in this total. These costs are included in 
the appropriate fee-relief category (e.g., the fee-relief category for 
nonprofit educational institutions).
    Consistent with the policy established in the NRC's FY 2006 final 
fee rule (71 FR 30721; May 30, 2006), the NRC recovers generic 
transportation costs unrelated to DOE as part of existing annual fees 
for license fee classes. The NRC continues to assess a separate annual 
fee under Sec.  171.16, fee category 18.A., for DOE transportation 
activities. The amount of the allocated generic resources is calculated 
by multiplying the percentage of total CoCs used by each fee class (and 
DOE) by the total generic transportation resources to be recovered.
    The distribution of these resources to the license fee classes and 
DOE is shown in Table XVIII. The distribution is adjusted to account 
for the licensees in each fee class that are fee-exempt. For example, 
if four CoCs benefit the entire research and test reactor class, but 
only 4 of 31 research and test reactors are subject to annual fees, the 
number of CoCs used to determine the proportion of generic 
transportation resources allocated to research and test reactor annual 
fees equals (4/31) x 4, or 0.5 CoCs.

                     Table XVIII--Distribution of Generic Transportation Resources, FY 2015
                                              [Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Allocated
                                                                  Number of CoCs   Percentage of      generic
                      License fee class/DOE                       benefiting fee    total CoCs    transportation
                                                                   class or DOE                      resources
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total...........................................................            90.4           100.0            7.46
DOE.............................................................            20.0            22.1            1.65
Operating Power Reactors........................................            21.0            23.2            1.73
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning......................            12.0            13.3            0.99

[[Page 37443]]

 
Research and Test Reactors......................................             0.4             0.4            0.03
Fuel Facilities.................................................            10.0            11.1            0.83
Materials Users.................................................            27.0            29.9            2.23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC assesses an annual fee to DOE based on the 10 CFR part 71 
CoCs it holds and does not allocate these DOE-related resources to 
other licensees' annual fees, because these resources specifically 
support DOE. Note that DOE's annual fee includes a reduction for the 
fee-relief surplus adjustment (see Table IV, ``Allocation of Fee-Relief 
Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2015,'' in Section II, ``Discussion,'' 
of this document), resulting in a total annual fee of $1,623,000 
million for FY 2015. The overall increase is due to rulemaking 
activities involving 10 CFR part 71 Compatibility with IAEA 
Transportation Standards and Improvements combined with a significant 
decrease in transportation licensing work due to shifts towards storage 
licensing priorities. This rulemaking is essential for 10 CFR part 71 
updates and compliance.
h. Small Entity Fees
    For FY 2015, the NRC staff performed a biennial review using the 
fee methodology developed in FY 2009 that applies a fixed percentage of 
39 percent to the prior 2-year weighted average of materials users' 
fees. This methodology disproportionately impacted NRC's small 
licensees fees by increasing fees by an approximate 43 percent on 
average compared to other materials licensees not eligible for small 
entity fee status whose fees increased by 38 percent or less for FY 
2015; therefore, the NRC staff limited the increase to 21 percent based 
on historical applications of the fee methodology. Consequently, the 
change resulted in a fee of $3,400 for an upper-tier small entity and 
$700 for a lower-tier small entity for FY 2015. The NRC staff believes 
these fees are reasonable and provide relief to small entities while 
simultaneously recovering from those licensees some of the NRC's costs 
for activities that benefit the industry.
    The NRC prematurely published a change to the small entity size 
standards in the FY 2015 proposed fee rule. Therefore, the NRC is not 
changing or amending the size standards in the final fee rule. 
Licensees should continue to refer to 10 CFR 2.810 to determine 
eligibility under NRC's size standards. The NRC will conduct the next 
biennial review in FY 2017.

Administrative Changes

    The NRC also makes 11 administrative changes:
    1. Increase Direct Hours per Full-Time Equivalent in the Hourly 
Rate Calculation. The hourly rate in 10 CFR part 170 is calculated by 
dividing the cost per direct FTE by the number of direct hours per 
direct FTE in a year. ``Direct hours'' are hours charged to mission 
direct activities in the Nuclear Reactor Safety Program and Nuclear 
Reactor Materials and Waste Program. The FY 2014 final fee rule used 
1,375 hours per direct FTE in the hourly rate calculations. During the 
FY 2015 budget formulation process, the NRC staff reviewed and analyzed 
time and labor data from FY 2010 through FY 2012 to determine whether 
it should revise the direct hours per FTE. Between FY 2010 and FY 2012, 
the total direct hours charged by direct employees increased. The 
increase in direct hours was apparent in all mission business lines. To 
reflect this increase in productivity as demonstrated by the time and 
labor data, the staff determined that the number of direct hours per 
FTE should increase to 1,420 hours for FY 2015. The staff used 1,420 
hours in the FY 2015 budget formulation cycle.
    2. Adds New Definition for ``Overhead and General and 
Administrative Costs'' under 10 CFR 170.3, ``Definitions.'' The NRC 
adds a new definition to describe overhead and general and 
administrative costs that are included in full cost charges relating to 
hours charged by resident inspectors and project managers to licensees. 
The identical definition is added under 10 CFR 171.5, ``Definitions.''
    3. Amends Definition for ``Utilization Facility'' under 10 CFR 
170.3, ``Definitions.'' The NRC amends the definition for ``utilization 
facility'' to reflect the definition contained in the direct final 
rule, ``Definition of a Utilization Facility,'' published October 17, 
2014 (79 FR 62329), and effective December 31, 2014. The amended 
definition would allow the NRC to add SHINE Medical Technologies, 
Inc.'s, proposed accelerator-driven subcritical operating assemblies to 
the NRC's definition of a ``utilization facility.''
    4. Revises the Assessment of Administrative Time for Project 
Managers and Resident Inspectors. The NRC staff has examined the 
charging of administrative allocation time for project managers and 
resident inspectors under 10 CFR part 170. The current practice evenly 
distributes overhead time charges among the sites assigned to the 
individual. The NRC staff believes this method of distribution does not 
consider that some licensees generate more direct work than others. The 
NRC, therefore, will allocate administrative allocation costs to each 
licensee based on direct time to each docket. This method ensures that 
a licensee's administrative allocation costs are proportional to the 
regulatory services rendered by the NRC. This method aligns with the 
NRC's longstanding fee policy that fees assessed to licensees should, 
to the maximum extent practicable, reflect the actual costs of NRC 
regulatory services, and does not penalize licensees who require fewer 
regulatory services.
    5. Adds Fee Subcategories to 10 CFR 170.31 to Reflect a License 
with Multiple Sites. The NRC adds fee subcategories to 3.L. licenses 
(broad scope) under 10 CFR 170.31 to assess additional fees to 
licensees such as the United States Department of Agriculture and the 
Department of the Army, in order to accurately reflect the cost of 
services provided by the NRC. The staff spends a disproportionate 
amount of time on these licensees as compared to other licensees in the 
same fee category. These two broad scope licenses also have a 
considerable number of sites throughout the country and operate in a 
manner similar to master materials licenses under fee category 17. In 
FY 2014, the staff compared the work

[[Page 37444]]

efforts expended by the NRC for master materials licenses with multiple 
sites to NRC work efforts for broad scope licenses with multiple sites. 
The staff concluded that NRC work efforts for multi-site broad scope 
licensees are similar to work efforts for master materials licensees. 
Therefore, consistent with NRC policy that fees assessed to licensees 
accurately reflect the cost of services provided, the NRC revises its 
fee categories to consider the number of sites a broad scope licensee 
has in establishing fees. An identical change is made to 10 CFR 171.16, 
``Annual Fees: Materials Licensees, Holders of Certificates of 
Compliance, Holders of Sealed Source and Device Registrations, Holders 
of Quality Assurance Program Approvals, and Government Agencies 
Licensed by the NRC.''
    6. Amends 10 CFR 170.31, Footnote 6, to Avoid Duplicate Billing. 
The NRC amends footnote 6 to 10 CFR 170.31, ``Schedule of Fees for 
Materials Licenses and Other Regulatory Services, Including 
Inspections, and Import and Export Licenses,'' to avoid duplicate 
billing for fuel cycle facility licensees. The NRC currently charges a 
single annual fee to fuel cycle facility licensees for major 
activities. These licensees are not charged additional annual fees for 
ancillary activities. An identical change is made under 10 CFR 171.16, 
``Annual Fees: Materials Licensees, Holders of Certificates of 
Compliance, Holders of Sealed Source and Device Registrations, Holders 
of Quality Assurance Program Approvals, and Government Agencies 
Licensed by the NRC.''
    7. Modifies Definition for ``Overhead and General and 
Administrative Costs'' under 10 CFR 171.5, ``Definitions.'' The NRC 
modifies the definition for ``Overhead and General and Administrative 
Costs'' to reflect the FY 2008 merger of the Advisory Committee on 
Nuclear Waste with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.
    8. Revises Fees to Reflect Biennial Review of Fees. To comply with 
the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, the NRC evaluates, on a 
biennial basis, the historical professional staff hours used to process 
a new license application. The NRC also evaluates the inspection time 
by reviewing hours spent by NRC staff on those materials users' fee 
categories that are subject to flat application fees. This review also 
includes new license and amendment applications for import and export 
licenses. Changes resulting from this biennial review impact 10 CFR 
part 170 flat fees for the small materials users and import and export 
licensees.
    Two program offices, the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards (NMSS) and the Office of International Programs (OIP), have 
completed their biennial review to the CFO regarding the FY 2015 fees. 
The NMSS recommended changes to the professional staff hours for most 
of the small materials users. The OIP also recommended changes to the 
hours for some import and export license fee categories.
    Cumulatively, the FY 2015 biennial review resulted in increased 
professional staff hours within 11 fee categories and decreased 
professional staff hours within 11 fee categories. The changes in the 
number of hours and the hourly rate are components that will be used to 
determine the 10 CFR part 170 fees for the materials user's licenses as 
well as import and export applications.
    9. Modifies Small Entity Fees. In accordance with NRC policy, the 
staff conducted a biennial review of small entity fees to determine if 
the fees should be changed. The small entity fees primarily impact the 
NRC's small materials licensees. In FY 2015, the staff performed a 
biennial review using the fee methodology developed in FY 2009 that 
applies a fixed percentage of 39 percent to the prior 2-year weighted 
average of materials users' fees. As a result, the upper tier small 
entity fee increased from $2,800 to $4,000 and the lower-tier fee 
increased from $600 to $900. This constitutes a 43-percent and 50-
percent increase, respectively. Implementing this increase would have a 
disproportionate impact upon the NRC's small licensees compared to 
other licensees. Therefore, the NRC staff revised the increase to 21 
percent for the upper-tier fee. The 21-percent increase was applied 
based on historical trends in the small entity fee and has been used in 
previous biennial reviews. The NRC staff amends the upper-tier small 
entity fee to $3,400 and amends the lower-tier small entity fee to $700 
for FY 2015. The staff believes these fees are reasonable and provide 
relief to small entities while at the same time recovering from those 
licensees some of the NRC's costs for activities that benefit them.
    10. Adds Fee Subcategories to 10 CFR 171.16 to Reflect a License 
with Multiple Sites. The NRC adds fee subcategories to 3.L. licenses 
(broad scope) under 10 CFR 171.16 to assess additional fees to 
licensees such as the United States Department of Agriculture and the 
Department of the Army, in order to accurately reflect the cost of 
services provided by the NRC. The staff spends a disproportionate 
amount of time on these licensees as compared to other licensees in the 
same fee category. These two broad scope licenses also have a 
considerable number of sites throughout the country and operate in a 
manner similar to master materials licenses under fee category 17. In 
FY 2014, the staff compared the work efforts expended by the NRC for 
master materials licenses with multiple sites to NRC work efforts for 
broad scope licenses with multiple sites. The staff concluded that NRC 
work efforts for multi-site broad scope licensees are similar to work 
efforts for master materials licensees. Therefore, consistent with NRC 
policy that fees assessed to licensees accurately reflect the cost of 
services provided, the NRC modifies its fee categories to consider the 
number of sites a broad scope licensee has in establishing fees.
    11. Amends 10 CFR 171.16, Footnote 16, to Avoid Duplicate Billing. 
The NRC modifies the footnote description under 10 CFR 171.16, ``Annual 
Fees: Materials Licensees, Holders of Certificates of Compliance, 
Holders of Sealed Source and Device Registrations, Holders of Quality 
Assurance Program Approvals, and Government Agencies Licensed by the 
NRC,'' to avoid duplicate billing for fuel cycle facility licensees. 
The NRC's current policy charges a single, large annual fee to fuel 
cycle facility licensees for major activities. These licensees are not 
charged additional annual fees for ancillary activities.

FY 2015 Billing

    The FY 2015 fee rule is 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 2015 will become effective 60 days after 
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. Upon publication 
of the final rule, the NRC will send an invoice for the amount of the 
annual fees to reactor licensees, 10 CFR part 72 licensees, major fuel 
cycle facilities, and other licensees with annual fees of $100,000 or 
more. For these licensees, payment is due 30 days after the effective 
date of the FY 2015 final rule. Because these licensees are billed 
quarterly, the payment amount due is the total FY 2015 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 2015 falls before the effective date of the FY 2015 
final rule will be billed for the annual fee during the anniversary 
month of the license at the FY 2014 annual fee rate. Those materials 
licensees whose license anniversary

[[Page 37445]]

date falls on or after the effective date of the FY 2015 final rule 
will be billed for the annual fee at the FY 2015 annual fee rate during 
the anniversary month of the license, and payment will be due on the 
date of the invoice.

III. Opportunities for Public Participation

    The NRC published the FY 2015 proposed fee rule in the Federal 
Register on March 23, 2015 (80 FR 15476), for a 30-day public comment 
period. The rule proposed to amend the licensing, inspection, and 
annual fees charged to the NRC's applicants and licensees in order to 
implement OBRA-90, as amended, which requires the NRC to recover 
approximately 90 percent of its budget authority in FY 2015 through 
fees (not including amounts appropriated for WIR, the NWF, generic 
homeland security activities, and IG services for the DNFSB.) These 
fees represent the cost of the NRC's services provided to applicants 
and licensees. The public comment period for the proposed rule closed 
on April 22, 2015.
    The NRC also held a public meeting on April 20, 2015, to provide 
more transparency regarding fees in relation to the budget process and 
fulfill its commitment to external stakeholders to address NRC program 
processes and inefficiencies mentioned in the comments submitted for 
the FY 2014 proposed fee rule. The first session of the public meeting 
addressed the FY 2015 budget for the following program areas: Operating 
reactors, new reactors, fuel facilities, decommissioning, low-level 
waste, and mission support. The second session of the public meeting 
addressed the NRC fee process in relation to the budget laws that 
govern fees, the calculation of fees, FY 2015 proposed fee rule 
highlights including improvements, and next steps regarding the final 
rule. Additionally, the second session addressed the fee billing 
process including the charging of staff hours, validation of charges, 
preparation of invoices, and allocation of administrative time for 
program managers and resident inspectors. During the public meeting, 
the NRC received comments on the FY 2015 proposed fee rule. These 
comments are detailed in the transcription of the public meeting (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15153A028). All of these comments except one are 
identical to comments later received as comment submissions for the FY 
2015 proposed fee rule. The NRC responds to the one additional comment 
raised in the public meeting, as well as all other comment submissions, 
in Section IV, Public Comment Analysis, of this document.

IV. Public Comment Analysis

A. Overview of Public Comments

    The NRC received 11 written comment submissions for the proposed 
rule. A comment submission for the purpose of this rule is defined as a 
communication or document submitted to the NRC by an individual or 
entity, with one or more distinct comments addressing a subject or an 
issue. A comment, on the other hand, refers to a statement made in the 
submission addressing a subject or issue. Nine comment submissions were 
received after the 30-day comment period closed; the NRC has addressed 
all nine late-filed comment submissions as part of this final rule.
    The primary concern for the majority of the commenters is that the 
FY 2015 proposed fee rule was published late in the fiscal year and 
that the work papers lacked adequate justification to substantiate a 
change in fees, thereby denying the public an opportunity to submit 
meaningful commentary for consideration in the FY 2015 final fee rule. 
The commenters are listed in Table XIX, and are classified as follows: 
One government agency (DOE); two members of the uranium industry 
(Kennecott Uranium Company and Wyoming Mining Association (WMA)); one 
materials licensee (Rendezvous Engineering, P.C.); one rare earth 
applicant (Rare Element Resources); and six members of the nuclear 
industry (Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC), Duke Energy (Duke), 
Exelon Generation, LLC (Exelon), Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), 
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and AREVA, Inc. (AREVA)).

                           Table XIX--FY 2015 Proposed Fee Rule Commenter Submissions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Commenter               Affiliation                 ADAMS Accession No.                  Acronym
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas C. Pauling.............  Department of      ML15112A215 (#1)..........................  DOE
                                 Energy.
Anthony R. Pietrangelo........  Nuclear Energy     ML15113A307 (#2)..........................  NEI
                                 Institute.
Jonathan Downing..............  Wyoming Mining     ML15113B224 (#3)..........................  WMA
                                 Association.
Bryan C. Hanson...............  Exelon Generation  ML15113B230 (#4)..........................  Exelon
C.R. Pierce...................  Southern Nuclear   ML15117A174 (#5)..........................  SNC
                                 Operating
                                 Company.
M. Christopher Nolan..........  Duke Energy......  ML15117A324 (#6)..........................  Duke
Gayle Elliott.................  AREVA, Inc.......  ML15119A447 (#7)..........................  AREVA
Matthew F. Ostdiek, P.E.......  Rendezvous         ML15119A453 (#8)..........................  N/A
                                 Engineering, P.C.
Oscar Paulson.................  Kennecott Uranium  ML15119A504 (#9)..........................  N/A
                                 Company.
Jaye T. Pickarts..............  Rare Element       ML15127A144 (#10).........................  N/A
                                 Resources.
J.W. Shea.....................  Tennessee Valley   ML15131A477 (#11).........................  TVA
                                 Authority.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Information about obtaining the complete text of the comment 
submissions is available in Section XV, ``Availability of Documents,'' 
of this document.
Public Comments and Overall NRC Responses
    The NRC has carefully considered the public comments received. The 
comments have been organized by topic followed by the NRC response.
A. Inadequate Explanation and Transparency
1. Uranium Recovery
    Comment: Neither the FY 2015 proposed fee rule nor the work papers 
explain the rationale for recovery costs associated with generic and 
other uranium program activities that are assessed to DOE and other 
uranium recovery licensees. (DOE)
    Response: The NRC described the overall methodology for determining 
fees for uranium recovery facilities, including DOE, in the 2002 fee 
rule (67 FR 42612; June 24, 2002). The NRC recovers fees from DOE 
through both user fees charged under 10 CFR part 170 and annual fees 
charged under 10 CFR part 171. The user fees cover specific UMTRCA 
oversight activities, while the 10 CFR part 171 fees cover generic work 
related to UMTRCA and other uranium recovery activities. As shown in 
the work papers, the NRC calculated the

[[Page 37446]]

total amount of budgeted resources for UMTRCA activities related to DOE 
sites in the FY 2015 appropriation by computing the cost of staff hours 
budgeted to conduct the work (in terms of FTE) and the budgeted 
contract costs. The total amount of budgeted resources was then reduced 
by the amount expected to be recovered by direct fees for site-specific 
UMTRCA activities. The NRC produced this estimate of direct fees by 
analyzing billing data and the actual contractual work charged to DOE 
for the previous four quarters. The estimate, therefore, reflects any 
recent reductions in NRC oversight activities. The remainder of the 
UMTRCA budgeted amount related to DOE sites was assessed to DOE for 
generic activities. In addition to those generic costs, DOE was 
assessed for 10 percent of the overall generic costs attributable to 
the uranium recovery program. The remaining 90 percent of the overall 
generic costs was assessed to other members of the uranium recovery 
class.
    The NRC performs several types of activities in its oversight of 
UMTRCA sites that have been transferred to DOE for long-term 
surveillance and maintenance. The NRC staff reviews the reports 
generated by DOE, including routine ground water monitoring reports, 
annual site remediation performance reports, annual inspection reports 
and other technical reports generated by DOE. The NRC staff also 
reviews and provides comments on non-routine reports such as the 
reports developed by DOE concerning the Many Devils Wash at the 
Shiprock site and the Phytoremediation Pilot Study at the Monument 
Valley site. In addition, if DOE proposes to revise a Ground Water 
Corrective Action Plan or Remediation Plan at a site, the NRC staff 
reviews and (if appropriate) concurs on the revised plan. The NRC staff 
also performs Observational Site Visits at UMTRCA sites to observe the 
DOE, and DOE contractors, performing the annual inspections of the 
UMTRCA sites required by the site Long-Term Surveillance Plan. Other 
significant staff actions include participating in the activities 
related to the development and implementation of the 5-year plan to 
address uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation. No change was made 
to the final rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: The FY 2015 proposed fee rule lacks adequate justification 
regarding the 20-percent increase in fees for uranium recovery 
licenses. The justification that the NRC provides regarding the Section 
106 Tribal Consultation process as one of the factors triggering the 
fee increase for uranium recovery licensees is not substantiated since 
this process should be streamlined and not used as justification for 
higher annual fees. (WMA, Kennecott Uranium Recovery)
    Response: Regarding the 20-percent increase in annual fees, the FY 
2015 annual fee recoverable amount was higher for all other uranium 
recovery licensees for primarily two reasons. First, under the NRC's 
established fee methodology, once the NRC determines how much the 
UMTRCA program will need to pay in annual fees, then the remainder of 
the NRC's budgetary authority must be recouped through the remaining 
uranium recovery licensees. The reduced budgetary resources for the 
UMTRCA program, therefore, contributed to this year's fee increase for 
the other uranium recovery licensees. Second, there are increased 
budgetary resources in FY 2015 to support contested uranium recovery 
hearings before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board; the work on 
these contested hearings must be recouped through annual fees.
    Additionally, the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 
consultation process associated with uranium recovery licensing actions 
has grown significantly over the past several years. This growth can be 
attributed to two main factors: (1) The siting of these projects in 
areas that are known to be the aboriginal homelands of a large number 
of Federally-recognized Native American tribes and tribes at or near 
sites that are considered sacred by these tribes (e.g., the Pumpkin 
Buttes, the Missouri Buttes, Devils Tower, and the Black Hills); and 
(2) the increased interest from tribes to participate as consulting 
parties in the Section 106 process for uranium recovery licensing 
actions. No change was made to the final rule in response to this 
comment.
    Comment: The proposed rule and work papers do not reflect the 
resources that have been authorized by the Further Continuing 
Appropriations Act of 2015, which became law more than 3 months before 
the publication of this rulemaking. Instead, the proposed rule and work 
papers are based on the earlier President's Budget, which was $44.2 
million greater than the appropriated amount. Due to this course of 
action, it is impossible to determine whether any of the resource 
allocations in the work papers are accurate. The proposed rule 
indicates that the final rule will make appropriate estimated 
adjustments without allowing the public any meaningful opportunity to 
understand the actual calculations or comment on this adjustment. 
(Exelon)
    Response: In its proposed rule, the NRC provided estimated final FY 
2015 calculations based on the anticipated impacts as a result of the 
FY 2015 appropriation. To meet the requirements of OBRA-90 that NRC 
collect approximately 90 percent of its appropriation by the end of the 
fiscal year and Administrative Procedure Act requirements concerning 
opportunity for public comment, the NRC published the proposed fee 
rule, which included estimated FY 2015 final fees based on the most 
accurate data available at the time of publication. No change was made 
to the final rule in response to this comment.
2. Operating Reactor Fees
    Comment: Regarding annual fees, the proposed fee rule and work 
papers do not provide sufficient detail on how the 10 CFR parts 170 and 
171 operating reactor fee estimates were calculated, rendering the 
proposed fee rule arbitrary and capricious. (Exelon)
    Response: The NRC disagrees with the comment that the work papers 
contain insufficient detail with respect to how the 10 CFR parts 170 
and 171 operating reactor fee estimates were calculated. Consistent 
with prior years, license fees are based on the NRC's budget 
formulation structure hierarchy of business lines, product lines, and 
products. The NRC provides those business lines, product lines, and 
products in its work papers. Detailed information below the product 
level (e.g., cost centers) is determined when the budget is executed. 
The work papers do not distinguish by specific budget line items which 
fees are recovered through user and annual fees because it is 
impractical for the NRC to determine in advance the precise percent of 
a given business line that will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 
user fees versus 10 CFR part 171 annual fees. No change was made to the 
final rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: Neither the proposed rule nor the work papers provide any 
information showing the specific costs that are being recovered through 
annual fees. The work papers merely list all items comprising the 
entire NRC-budgeted resources for new reactors, operating reactors, and 
unexplained materials licensing activities and derive the annual fee by 
subtracting the portion of estimated 10 CFR part 170 collections 
attributed to entities paying user fees ($288.5 million). As a 
consequence, it is impossible to determine which of the specific line 
items are being recovered through user fees and which are being 
recovered under annual fees. The descriptions of the line items are 
very

[[Page 37447]]

vague, preventing one from determining whether they are generic, and 
potentially appropriate for recovery under 10 CFR part 171 or 
attributable to a service provided to an identifiable beneficiary and, 
therefore, appropriate for recovery less than 10 CFR part 170. (Exelon)
    Response: The NRC disagrees with the comment that the work papers 
contain insufficient detail with respect to which specific line items 
are being recovered through user fees, and which are being recovered 
through annual fees. Consistent with prior years, license fees are 
based on the NRC's budget formulation structure hierarchy of business 
lines, product lines, and products. The commenter is correct that the 
work papers do not distinguish these activities on the basis of whether 
these line items will be recovered through user or annual fees. But, 
that is because it would prove unduly burdensome for the NRC to perform 
this type of calculation for every business line, product line, and 
product in its budget. No change was made to the final rule in response 
to this comment.
    Comment: The proposed rule and the work papers do not state how the 
estimated $324.3 million in 10 CFR part 170 costs are calculated for 
licensees. (Exelon)
    Response: The NRC estimates the amount of 10 CFR part 170 fees 
based on established fee methodology guidelines (42 FR 22149; May 2, 
1977), which specified that the NRC has the authority to recover the 
full cost of providing services to identifiable beneficiaries. As in 
previous years, the NRC applied longstanding principles to calculate 
the 10 CFR part 170 estimates based on the analysis of financial data. 
The data analyzed to devise the 10 CFR part 170 estimate included: (1) 
Four quarters of the most recent billing data (hourly rate invoice 
data); (2) actual contractual work charged (prior period data) to 
develop contract work estimates; and (3) the number of FTE hours 
charged, multiplied by the NRC professional hourly rate. These factors, 
along with workload projections, are used by the NRC to determine the 
10 CFR part 170 estimated charges. Because the fee calculation 
worksheets used to develop the 10 CFR part 170 estimates involve 
thousands of calculations, it would be impractical for the NRC to 
provide details on every calculation, let alone explanations for every 
calculation such that each individual calculation became accessible and 
understandable to members of the public. No change was made to the 
final rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: The work papers allocate to operating reactors over $7 
million for spent fuel storage and transportation (SFST). As there is 
no meaningful description, one cannot determine whether the allocated 
costs are attributable solely to the Waste Confidence rulemaking or 
include other activities as well. (Exelon)
    Response: The SFST business line activities include efforts to 
maintain and enhance its technical capabilities and understanding of 
the potential behavior of different geologic environments and 
engineered barrier systems for disposal of spent fuel and high-level 
waste, and monitoring national-level developments stemming from the 
report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future and 
DOE's response to that report. Beginning in FY 2011, the NRC began 
budgeting for interim measures for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel. 
At that time, the NRC determined that it was appropriate to include 
these SFST resources in the power reactors fee class because power 
reactors ultimately benefit from disposal of spent nuclear fuel. These 
activities are in addition to the Waste Confidence (now Continued 
Storage) rulemaking activities. No change was made to the final rule in 
response to this comment.
    Comment: The $7 million is in addition to the $28.9 million for 
spent fuel storage and decommissioning activities recovered through an 
annual fee on power reactors and 10 CFR part 72 licensees that do not 
hold a 10 CFR part 50 license. The NRC should inform the operating 
reactors whether the SFST costs assessed to operating reactors includes 
activities pertaining to spent fuel disposal activities listed in the 
FY 2014 CBJ. These costs should be counted separately or be an offset 
from the carry-over appropriation relating to the review of Yucca 
Mountain license application or recovered through user fees assessed to 
DOE or the NWF. (Exelon)
    Response: The Waste Confidence (Continued Storage) rulemaking was 
completed in FY 2014. A small portion of the operating reactors' fees 
include SFST business line activities to maintain and enhance the NRC's 
technical capabilities and understanding of the potential behavior of 
different geologic environments and engineered barrier systems for 
disposal of spent fuel and high-level waste, and monitoring national-
level developments stemming from the report of the Blue Ribbon 
Commission on America's Nuclear Future and DOE's response to that 
report. Beginning in FY 2011, the NRC began budgeting for interim 
measures for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel. At that time, the NRC 
determined that it was appropriate to include these SFST resources in 
the power reactors fee class because power reactors ultimately benefit 
from disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Further, it continues to be 
neither feasible nor appropriate for the NRC to parse out fees for 
activities that might be attributable to DOE's contractual obligations 
with respect to spent fuel versus those fees that would have been borne 
by licensees even if DOE had performed under the Standard Contract. 
Finally, with respect to offsetting fees from the carryover 
appropriations relating to the review of the Yucca Mountain 
construction authorization application or recovering costs through user 
fees assessed to the NWF, the NRC disagrees with the comment. Funds 
appropriated from the NWF may only be used for activities prescribed in 
section 302(d) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which includes 
licensing activities associated with the Yucca Mountain high-level 
waste repository. That section covers neither the NRC's work on interim 
strategies for disposal of high-level waste, nor monitoring national-
level developments stemming from the report of the Blue Ribbon 
Commission. Therefore, these activities are not chargeable to NWF 
appropriations. The NRC's NWF carryover funding is not included in the 
``fee relief items'' or any part of the FY 2015 budget that is to be 
recovered by fees. No change was made to the final rule in response to 
this comment.
    Comment: The NRC work papers imply that up to $1 million/reactor 
(20 percent) of the 10 CFR part 171 fees could be supporting NRC work 
on new and advanced reactors. The NRC should justify in a transparent 
manner how much of the annual fees support this new reactor business 
line, and how this portion of the annual fee directly supports 
operating plant regulatory activities. (SNC)
    Response: The NRC does not compute new reactors costs separately 
when it determines the operating reactor annual fee. In other words, 
the NRC does not break the annual fee for operating reactors into 
separate, constituent parts in such a way that it can extract new 
reactor costs from operating reactor costs. This is because these costs 
are all intertwined within the operating reactor annual fee 
calculations. The fee calculation for the operating reactor fee class 
is derived from a methodology that includes analyzing the NRC's budget 
structure, and then making multiple adjustments to account for fee 
relief, generic transportations cost, estimated 10 CFR part 170 
collections, etc. It is

[[Page 37448]]

not, therefore, possible to simply analyze the budgeted business line 
for new reactors, and then extrapolate from there. No change was made 
to the final rule in response to this comment.
3. Rare Earth Facilities
    Comment: The NRC should reevaluate the proposed annual fee for rare 
earth facilities to assure consistency with the NRC's statutory 
obligation to ``fairly and equitably'' allocate annual fees among 
licensees in a manner that has a reasonable relationship to the cost of 
providing regulatory services. The agency should explain in detail the 
basis for the proposed rare earth facilities fee in Table XVI in 
comparison to uranium recovery and other rare earth facilities fees. 
The rare earth facilities' proposed annual fee amount of $83,800 is 
more than double the conventional uranium mill facilities' proposed 
annual fee ($40,700) and significantly larger than the fees associated 
with in situ uranium recovery facilities ($51,500 and $58,300). In 
addition, the annual fee charged by the California Radiologic Health 
Branch for the Mountain Pass rare earth facility is capped at $29,418--
approximately one-third of the NRC's proposed annual fee. (Rare Element 
Resources)
    Response: The NRC agrees with this comment. As mentioned 
previously, the proposed FY 2015 fee rule established an annual fee for 
rare earth facilities. Upon further analysis, however, the NRC 
determined that all the budgeted resources for the rare earth facility 
fee class will be collected through 10 CFR part 170 fees this fiscal 
year. Therefore, in this final rule, the NRC omitted the annual fee for 
rare earth facilities in response to this comment.

B. Fairness of Fees

    Comment: The proposed fee rule fails to subtract from the NRC 
budget the cost of activities that are covered by appropriations and 
carry-over appropriations from the NWF. There is no reason not to treat 
a carry-over appropriation as an appropriation for the fiscal year, 
because that appropriation remains available. But even if the NRC could 
not deduct the carry-over appropriation as a non-fee item, it would be 
inappropriate to charge the costs of the Yucca Mountain application to 
reactors as an annual fee, because these costs are direct services to 
an applicant (DOE), not generic costs. (Exelon)
    Response: The NRC disagrees with the comment. The NRC received no 
new NWF appropriations in FY 2015. The NRC's FY 2015 activities related 
to review of the Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository application 
are being charged to the carryover balance of the NRC's NWF 
appropriations from prior years and will not be billed to licensees. 
OBRA-90 specifies that the NRC must deduct from the annual charges 
collected from all licensees any ``amounts appropriated to the 
Commission from the Nuclear Waste Fund for the fiscal year.'' 42 U.S.C. 
2214(c)(2)(A)(ii) (emphasis added). In FY 2015, the NRC did not receive 
any new appropriations from the NWF. Therefore, there was no amount to 
subtract from the budget in calculating FY 2015 annual fees; all the 
carryover money that the NRC is using in FY 2015 was already deducted 
during the years in which it was appropriated. No change was made to 
the final rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: The NRC should recover its generic new reactor costs 
through a more focused class of licensees. Specifically, NRC should 
recover its generic new reactor costs by creating a new fee class 
consisting of the holders of design certifications and design 
approvals, licensees that hold or have active applications for combined 
licenses, holders of active construction permits, and holders of any 
other NRC approvals allowing or pertaining to new plant activities. 
(Exelon)
    Response: Initially, to the extent that the NRC's new reactor 
safety work directly benefits a licensee or applicant, the NRC assesses 
10 CFR part 170 user fees to that licensee or applicant. As a result, 
existing operating reactor licensees are not paying any fees for new 
reactor work that directly benefits an entity engaged in new reactor 
activities. As for the portion of the new reactor work that is not 
collected through 10 CFR part 170 user fees, OBRA-90, as amended, 
requires that the NRC allocate those costs of this work fairly and 
equitably. Because the NRC's generic new reactor work yields benefits 
for existing operating reactor licensees, the NRC's current system of 
allocating all operating reactor costs to existing licensees satisfies 
OBRA-90's requirements.
    Implementing a new fee class would be unduly burdensome, costly, 
and generally unworkable for two reasons. First, although generic new 
reactor activities may preferentially benefit new reactor vendors or 
licensees, there are many activities that appear to be focused on new 
reactors but ultimately have a direct benefit to operating units. To 
illustrate, consider the rulemaking effort to change the financial 
qualification standards for merchant plants. Although this rulemaking 
was initially focused on new reactor applicants, the Commission, in 
approving the rulemaking, expanded its scope to include license 
transfers, which provides a direct and appreciable benefit to existing 
operating reactors. Similarly, the expertise developed in the areas of 
seismic and flooding analysis was developed to address new reactor 
applicants. Now, however, that expertise is being brought to bear on 
seismic and flooding reevaluations being done in response to the 
Fukushima event.
    Contrary to Exelon's comment, these are not ``indirect'' benefits 
to existing reactors, but rather concrete cases where work that, on its 
face, was geared towards new reactor activities yielded valuable and 
tangible benefits for the existing fleet, and therefore was 
appropriately billed to existing reactors. To devise methods to 
separate the NRC's generic new reactor costs from generic operating 
reactor costs, and then implement oversight to ensure the costs were 
correctly allocated, would require appreciable and recurring expenses 
that would be billed to all licensees. Further, such a process, which 
would have to be performed on a year-to-year basis, would be unworkable 
in any practical sense given the fluid nature of the NRC's generic 
regulatory work vis-[agrave]-vis power reactors.
    Second, creating a new fee class would also prove impracticable 
because entities holding licenses for currently operating reactors may 
also be, either now or in the future, applicants for new nuclear power 
plant licenses. Given the evolving nature of the new reactor landscape, 
there is no practicable or reliable method to determine which existing 
NRC licensees will develop an interest in future reactor activities. 
Exelon's comment argues that the NRC should merely identify those 
entities that have pending regulatory approvals pertaining to new plant 
activities. But the existing marketplace is more fluid than Exelon's 
comment suggests, and having a stable and predictable regulatory 
infrastructure benefits more entities than just those currently seeking 
pending regulatory approvals because it promotes business planning. 
Exelon itself was engaged in new reactor activities from 2003-2012 
(and, therefore, directly benefitted from all of the NRC's generic new 
reactor work). It is plausible that an entity previously involved in 
new reactor activities could re-engage in those activities at some time 
in the future.
    Ultimately, identification of fee classes is a matter of line-
drawing. By virtue of being a generic activity without a specific, 
concrete beneficiary, activities that fall in the 10 CFR part 171

[[Page 37449]]

annual fee category could be theoretically parsed into an almost 
infinite amount of fee classes. For example, if the NRC were to base 
fees on distinctions such as whether generic work benefited boiling 
water reactors versus pressurized water reactors or coastal versus 
inland reactors, the exercise likely would result in distinctions that 
are both artificial and unduly burdensome from an administrative and 
recordkeeping standpoint. The NRC's decision to draw the fee class line 
in such a way that encompasses generic new reactor work satisfies OBRA-
90's requirement that costs be allocated fairly and that, ``[t]o the 
maximum extent practicable, the charges shall have a reasonable 
relationship to the cost of providing regulatory services.'' No change 
was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: The proposed fee rule fails to recover user fees from 
every person who receives a service or thing of value the full cost of 
such service or thing of value. Of the $935.3 million that the 
Commission must recover through fees, only $324.5 million is estimated 
to be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 user fees. This could be 
correct only if approximately two-thirds of the NRC's budget does not 
benefit any identifiable entity, which is presumably not the case. As 
an example, user fees do not appear to be imposed for vendor 
inspections despite the fact that vendors are identifiable persons 
receiving the benefit of NRC inspections to establish their 
qualifications to provide safety-related services. Also, the costs for 
advanced reactor research should be recovered through user fees charged 
to applicants or pre-applicants. (Exelon)
    Response: Within the confines of the IOAA, the NRC recovers user 
fees from as many people as legally possible. To take the commenter's 
specific examples, the NRC cannot assess user fees when performing 
vendor inspections. The NRC's vendor inspection program verifies that 
reactor licensees are fulfilling their regulatory obligations with 
respect to providing effective oversight of the supply chain. The 
licensee, not the NRC, establishes a vendor's qualifications to provide 
safety-related items and services; the vendor, therefore, does not 
receive a tangible benefit from the NRC when the NRC performs its 
inspection because the vendor is not receiving any sort of NRC stamp-
of-approval or certification. The NRC cannot bill vendor inspections 
directly to specific licensees because the vendor is typically 
supplying more than one licensee at any given time. It is expected that 
many licensees will benefit from the inspection, both the specific 
customers at the time of the inspection, future customers who may not 
be known at the time of the inspection, and the industry in general 
because the Nuclear Procurement Issues Committee (NUPIC) uses NRC 
vendor inspection findings in preparation for its audits.
    Regarding advanced reactor research, the NRC is not conducting any 
generic research for advanced non-light water reactor designs that can 
be charged as user fees to specific applicants. Because these are 
generic costs that do not directly benefit a specific applicant, NRC 
cannot legally recover these costs through IOAA user fees. No change 
was made to the final rule in response to this document.
    Comment: The annual fee for operating reactors should not be 
assessed solely on the 99 current operating licensees licensed under 10 
CFR part 50, but should also include holders of COLs under 10 CFR part 
52. The NRC's generic activities for operating reactors, such as 
Fukushima Near-Term Task Force activities, benefit 10 CFR part 52 
combined license holders as much as 10 CFR part 50 operating licensees. 
Assigning costs only to 10 CFR part 50 operating licenses is 
inequitable, particularly because the current COL holders are far 
better positioned to recover these costs than many current operating 
licensees; they remain electric utilities able to recover costs through 
rates and regulatory costs during construction are largely capitalized. 
(Exelon)
    Response: The NRC disagrees with the commenter's proposed 
recommendation. Historically, plants licensed under 10 CFR part 50 did 
not enter into the fee class of operating plants until permission was 
granted by the NRC to load fuel and begin power operation. Although 
combined license holders under 10 CFR part 52 do hold an operating 
license, they do not approach a comparable status to plants licensed 
under 10 CFR part 50 until the Commission determines that the 
inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria are satisfied 
pursuant to 10 CFR 52.103(g), all operational programs are functional, 
and program compliance with regulations demonstrated. Therefore, the 
NRC believes that fairness concerns dictate that the NRC should not 
charge COL holders the same fees as operating plants during their 
construction and pre-operation phases. No change was made to the final 
rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: The FY 2015 proposed fee rule hourly rate of $277 remains 
high in comparison to the hourly rates of consultants working for the 
uranium recovery industry which contributes to huge regulatory costs 
for licensees due to the large number of hours expended by NRC staff. 
(WMA, Kennecott Uranium Recovery)
    Response: The fees assessed to licensees and applicants by the NRC 
must conform to OBRA-90 and IOAA requirements, in contrast to industry 
consultants working for the uranium recovery industry. Under the IOAA, 
the NRC must recover the full costs of providing specific regulatory 
benefits to identifiable applicants and licensees. In so doing, the NRC 
establishes an hourly rate for its work. Consistent with the law, the 
NRC determines its hourly rate by dividing the sum of recoverable 
budgeted resources for: (1) Mission-direct program salaries and 
benefits; (2) mission-indirect program support; and (3) agency overhead 
or indirect costs--which includes corporate support, office support and 
the IG. The mission-direct FTE hours are the product of the mission-
direct FTE multiplied by 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. No 
change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.

C. Fuel Facilities

    Comment: The NRC should adequately explain the basis for the 
significant increase in annual fees for fuel facilities in the proposed 
fee rule. Although the proposed rule attributes the increase to a 
reduction in 10 CFR part 170 fees from construction delays and a slight 
increase in budgeted resources, it does not explain how or why the 
redirected resources that were budgeted for construction-related 
activities were redirected to 10 CFR part 171-related activities for 
fuel facilities. (NEI)
    Response: Fuel Facility Business Line (FFBL) fees for FY 2015 are 
tied to the President's FY 2015 budget. As noted by the commenter, the 
proposed FY 2015 FFBL budget, and corresponding FY 2015 fees, increased 
significantly in FY 2015. When the FY 2015 budget request was developed 
in FY 2013, drivers for the increased FFBL budget encompassed a number 
of planned or proposed activities, including: construction oversight 
activities for several facilities under construction; an increase in 
the number of complex licensing activities associated with facilities 
under construction; an application for a new facility; a continuation 
of post-Fukushima activities; and a number of

[[Page 37450]]

infrastructure enhancements. These FY 2015 planning assumptions were 
based on industry feedback and Commission direction. Some of this 
projected work did not materialize and the FFBL budget was reduced 
accordingly in the FY 2015 enacted budget. As a result of this 
reduction, the final fee increase is not as significant as the 
anticipated increase identified in the proposed rule, which was based 
on higher FFBL resources in the President's budget.
    In addition to an increase in the FFBL budget line, another factor 
for the increase in FFBL annual fees is the reduced number of FFBL 
licensees to whom the NRC can distribute those fees (one facility was 
decertified in 2015). No change was made to the final rule in response 
to this comment; however, the final rule has been changed to reflect 
changes in the FFBL calculations.

D. Other Issues

    Comment: We encourage the NRC to conduct future meetings regarding 
fees. (NEI)
    Response: The NRC supports future meetings that allow for the 
exchange information between the NRC and the public in our efforts to 
be more transparent. No change was made to the final rule in response 
to this comment.
    Comment: The NRC should improve the transparency, timeliness, and 
predictability of the fee rule by more explicitly integrating the 
rulemaking with NRC's budget process. The NRC's current schedule for 
publishing the proposed and final annual fee rule falls short of these 
objectives and inhibits sound financial planning by licensees in 
budgeting for NRC fees. Greater transparency and predictability in fee 
policy could be realized if the NRC published the proposed rule in the 
first quarter of the fiscal year (based on the CBJ if Congress has yet 
to enact appropriations) and the final fee rule in the second or early 
third quarter of the fiscal year. (NEI)
    Response: OBRA-90 requires that the NRC collect approximately 90 
percent of its budget authority through fees by the end of the fiscal 
year, and the NRC must set its fees in accordance with its own budget. 
Further, the annual appropriation cycle places additional constraints 
upon the NRC. Because the NRC does not know the amount of fees it will 
need to collect until after it receives its annual appropriation from 
Congress, the NRC cannot start the Federal rulemaking process until 
sometime in the fall, usually after the first quarter. The NRC believes 
that reliance on the most up-to-date financial data available in 
determining fees as opposed to the CBJ ensures that the NRC meets the 
requirements of OBRA-90 as this practice ensures that NRC fees assessed 
bear a reasonable relationship to the cost of NRC services. The NRC 
recognizes that the issuance of the rule may not coincide with budget 
cycles of industry; however, the NRC must promulgate a notice-and-
comment rule based on the most accurate data available regarding the 
cost of NRC services in the context of NRC's budget for a given fiscal 
year. No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: The NRC estimates that the FY 2015 final fee rule hourly 
rate will be $268, which is lower than the FY 2015 proposed fee rule 
hourly rate. Imposing the higher hourly rate for the first three 
quarters of FY 2015 amounts to an unjustified overcharge and appears 
contrary to the IOAA. The IOAA requires that charges by federal 
agencies be fair and based on, among other things, the costs to the 
agency and the value of the service to the recipient. The NRC should 
establish regulations in 10 CFR part 170 to allow for a remedy for 
licensees to be reimbursed for these overcharges as a result of NRC's 
issuance of the rule late in the year. (NEI, Exelon)
    Response: The NRC disagrees with the comment that the estimated 
lower 10 CFR part 170 hourly rate will result in an unjustified 
overcharge and contradicts the IOAA. The hourly rate is established 
annually in the NRC's final fee rules; in the prior two rules, the 
effective dates were August 30, 2013, and August 29, 2014, 
respectively. The NRC acknowledges that the hourly rate charged during 
the first 3 quarters of the fiscal year is not the same as the hourly 
rate proposed in the same fiscal year. However, the NRC cannot change 
the current hourly rate during a fiscal year until 60 days after NRC 
issuance of the final rule changing the hourly rate. The NRC notes that 
for FY 2015, licensees will receive the majority of the benefit of the 
reduced hourly rate in the following fiscal year, even if the FY 2016 
proposed fee rule contains a higher hourly rate. Therefore, no 
adjustments will be made to prior invoices as a result of the reduced 
hourly rate. No change was made to the final rule in response to this 
comment.
    Comment: The portion of the budget allocated to corporate support--
a key factor in both the hourly rate and annual fee calculation--
appears to be disproportionately large with respect to the resources 
allocated for mission-direct and mission-indirect activities. 
Transparency in the fee rule is challenged by the use of the same term 
``Corporate Support'' in the NRC CBJ, but which is apparently 
calculated in a substantially different manner. In both the fee rule 
and the CBJ, the budget for corporate support is excessive. Both fail 
to provide a clear explanation of the overhead necessary to support the 
NRC's core programs. The proposed fee rule also does not provide an 
adequate explanation of why the level of corporate support differs by 
more than $100 million between the FY 2015 CBJ and the FY 2015 proposed 
fee rule. The NRC should provide a clear explanation of the overhead 
necessary to support the NRC's core programs. (NEI, Duke Energy)
    Response: Corporate support is one component of agency support (the 
other components are office support and the IG). The NRC is committed 
to cost-efficient budgeting and the prudent use of resources to achieve 
the agency's mission objectives. In recent years, the NRC has taken a 
comprehensive look at overhead resources, reducing both FTE and 
contract support dollars through streamlining initiatives. 
Centralization of corporate functions was a primary contributor to the 
decrease. Another contributor included the merger between the Office of 
Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management and the Office 
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
    To assist in the continued streamlining of corporate support 
functions, the NRC recently contracted with an outside entity to 
conduct a review of the agency's overhead functions and to identify 
ways to reduce costs with no impact on the agency's ability to carry 
out its mission. This review, which involved interviews with and 
benchmarking against peer agencies, confirmed that there is no standard 
government-wide definition of overhead costs, but found that NRC 
overhead costs are roughly in line with peer agencies with respect to 
the standard corporate support cost categories used by the Federal 
Chief Executive Officers Council--acquisition, financial management, 
information technology, human capital, and real property. However, 
because of its mission, the NRC has additional security requirements 
that contribute to higher overhead costs in areas such as physical and 
personnel security. The review also resulted in recommendations on how 
the NRC can implement leading practices that have reduced overhead 
costs at peer agencies. The NRC will consider these recommendations in 
implementing the Project AIM strategy approved by the Commission.
    Finally, with respect to the commenters' concerns regarding

[[Page 37451]]

transparency, the NRC acknowledges that the different definitions of 
``Corporate Support'' used in the fee rule and the agency's CBJ have 
made it difficult for licensees and members of the public to understand 
the relationship between the numbers presented in the two documents. 
The NRC is committed to transparency, and it will examine ways to 
present information about overhead costs more consistently in future 
fee rules, and to clarify any differences necessitated by the unique 
requirements of the fee rule calculations. In line with related 
recommendations of the independent overhead review, the NRC will 
continue to examine how the agency can more appropriately categorize 
its resources to ensure that overhead and programmatic costs are 
properly and clearly presented. A change was made to the final rule to 
capture corporate support under agency support in this final rule as a 
result of this comment.
    Comment: The industry is concerned about the decrease in 10 CFR 
part 170-related activities under the FY 2015 proposed fee rule. (NEI)
    Response: The decline in 10 CFR part 170 activities concerning 
power reactors is a result of unexpected application suspensions 
(particularly, the U.S. EPR design certification application and the 
Calvert Cliffs combined license application). As the NRC completes the 
generic regulatory actions that resulted from the Fukushima Near-Term 
Task Force (NTTF) report, the costs related to those generic actions 
will decline. Relatedly, as the affected licensees and certificate 
holders implement the NTTF recommendations, follow-up activities will 
likely result in site-specific action on the part of the NRC. This 
shift in activities will likely cause the costs related to site-
specific actions to increase for that workload, resulting in an 
increase in fees for site-specific activities (10 CFR part 170). No 
change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: The NRC invoices lack standard details that every 
consultant, law or accounting firm in the private sector must provide 
and the NRC's hourly rates exceed those of many of these organizations 
in the Western part of the country. Also, the current invoices do not 
offer industry any opportunity to gauge the reasonableness of fees 
incurred for different phases of the licensing process making it 
impossible to implement a lessons-learned initiative on future 
licensing actions or provide for meaningful budget planning. (WMA, 
Kennecott Uranium Company)
    Response: The NRC currently offers to provide estimates of costs 
incurred on a biweekly basis to licensees. The estimates include all 
(10 CFR part 170) costs that accumulated for license fee billing during 
the previous NRC pay period. The estimates include NRC staff names with 
associated number of hours worked, as well as contractor company names 
associated with contract costs which offer licensees additional detail. 
These estimates may assist licensees in budget planning and preparing 
to receive their next quarterly invoice. Licensees may request to 
receive biweekly estimates by sending an email to FEES.Resource@nrc.gov 
with docket number(s) and licensee email address(es) to which the 
estimates should be sent. Unlike other organizations, the fees assessed 
by NRC to licensees and applicants including fees subject to NRC's 
hourly rate must comply with OBRA-90 requirements. No change was made 
to the final rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: The NRC current estimate of the direct hours per FTE 
provides does not appear to be justifiable. While the current estimate 
of direct hours per FTE increased slightly from FY 2014 to 1420 hours 
per FTE, that estimate remains below the 1446 hour estimated in 2005, 
and even further below the 1776 hours estimated in previous fiscal 
years. (Exelon)
    Response: The NRC uses an estimate of the number of direct hours 
per FTE to calculate the hourly rate used in 10 CFR part 170 billing. 
The OMB's Circular A-25, ``User Charges,'' does not specifically 
address the number of hours to assume per FTE in calculating fees, but 
does emphasize that agency fees should reflect the full cost of 
providing services to identifiable beneficiaries.
    In the final fee rule for FY 2005 (70 FR 30526), the NRC revised 
its estimate of the number of direct hours per FTE to use a realistic 
estimate based on time and labor data for program employees who perform 
activities directly associated with the programmatic mission of the 
NRC. The NRC periodically reviews time and labor data to assess changes 
in the average number of productive hours from year to year, and 
determine a realistic estimate of direct hours per FTE based on the 
most recent data. The estimate does not include time for 
administrative, training, and other activities a direct program FTE may 
perform that, while relevant to consider for certain costing purposes, 
would more accurately be considered overhead rather than ``direct'' 
time for purposes of calculating a rate per hour of direct activities. 
The analysis is conducted at the beginning of the budget formulation 
cycle. The resulting productivity assumption informs workload and 
resource estimates in the agency's budget request. When the NRC 
calculates the fees required to recover the budget enacted by Congress, 
this same estimate of direct hours per FTE is used to calculate the 
hourly rate.
    The estimate of 1,420 hours per FTE used in the fee rule 
calculation for FY 2015 was based on an analysis of actual time and 
labor data from FY 2011 through FY 2012. This was the most recent data 
available when the FY 2015 budget was formulated. Use of an updated, 
realistic estimate of direct hours per FTE helps ensure that the hourly 
rate accurately reflects the current cost of providing 10 CFR part 170 
services, allowing the NRC to more fully recover the costs of these 
services through 10 CFR part 170 fees. No change was made to the final 
rule in response this comment.
    Comment: Regarding small entity size standards, the NRC should 
consider establishing lower licensing fees by creating one or more 
additional ranges between the $520,000 and $7,500,000 gross annual 
receipts range. A fee rate schedule with more steps for small 
businesses would help reduce the license fee burden on the smaller 
entities and address small business concerns. (Rendezvous Engineering, 
P.C.)
    Response: To reduce the significance of the annual fees on a 
substantial number of small entities, the NRC established the maximum 
small entity fee in 1991. In FY 1992, the NRC introduced a second lower 
tier to the small entity fee. Because the NRC's methodology for small 
entity size standards has been approved by the Small Business 
Administration, the NRC did not modify its current methodology for this 
rulemaking. No change was made to the final rule in response to this 
comment.

E. Comments on Matters Not Related to This Rulemaking

    The NRC also received comments not related to this rulemaking. 
These comments suggested that the NRC implement a number of 
recommendations to improve the efficiency of NRC operations. These 
recommendations included: favoring and enhancing risk-informed, 
performance-based licensing and regulatory approaches; increasing the 
efficiency of certain environmental reviews; adhering to existing 
Commission-approved guidance while working to prepare new guidance with 
the aid of stakeholder input; certifying

[[Page 37452]]

standardized designs for uranium recovery facilities to streamline the 
application and review process; developing guidance, after an 
opportunity for public comment, regarding the consultation process 
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; shifting 
experienced NRC staff personnel from the Office of New Reactors to the 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation; and increasing the agency's focus 
on resource management and workload prioritization. (NEI, Exelon, WMA, 
Duke, Kennecott Uranium Recovery). The NRC also received two comments 
expressing support for the development of a proposed rule to address a 
variable annual fee structure for small modular reactors. (AREVA, TVA)
    All of these matters are outside the scope of this rulemaking. The 
primary purpose of the NRC's annual fee recovery rulemaking is to 
update the NRC's fee schedules to recover approximately 90 percent of 
the appropriations that the NRC received for the current fiscal year, 
and to make other necessary corrections or appropriate changes to 
specific aspects of the NRC's fee regulations in order to ensure 
compliance with OBRA-90, as amended. The NRC's annual fee recovery 
rulemaking is to update the NRC's fee schedules to account for the 
appropriations the NRC received for the current fiscal year, and to 
make other necessary corrections or appropriate changes to specific 
aspects of the NRC's fee regulations.
    The NRC takes very seriously the importance of examining and 
improving the efficiency of its operations and the prioritization of 
its regulatory activities. Recognizing the importance of continuous 
reexamination and improvement of the way the agency does business, the 
NRC has undertaken, and continues to undertake, a number of significant 
initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency of NRC operations and 
enhancing the agency's approach to regulating. Though comments 
addressing these issues may not be within the scope of this fee 
rulemaking, the NRC will consider this input in our future program 
operations.

V. Section-by-Section Analysis

    The following paragraphs describe the specific amendments for this 
final rule.

10 CFR 170.3, Definitions

    The NRC adds a new definition of ``Overhead and General and 
Administrative Costs'' and revises the definition for ``Utilization 
facility.''

10 CFR 170.20, Average Cost per Professional Staff-Hour

    The NRC revises this section to reflect the hourly rate for FY 
2015.

10 CFR 170.21, Schedule of Fees for Production or Utilization 
Facilities, Review of Standard Referenced Design Approvals, Special 
Projects, Inspections, and Import and Export Licenses

    The NRC revises fees for fee category code K. to reflect the FY 
2015 hourly rate for flat fee applications.

10 CFR 170.31, Schedule of Fees for Materials Licenses and Other 
Regulatory Services, Including Inspections, and Import and Export 
Licenses

    The NRC adds subcategories to fee category 3.L. licenses (broad 
scope) to assess additional fees to licensees such as the United States 
Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Army, in order to 
accurately reflect the cost of services provided by the NRC. The NRC 
revises footnote 6 to avoid duplicate billing for fuel cycle facility 
licensees.

10 CFR 171.5, Definitions

    The NRC modifies the definition for ``Overhead and General and 
Administrative Costs'' to reflect the FY 2008 merger of the Advisory 
Committee on Nuclear Waste with the Advisory Committee on Reactor 
Safeguards.

10 CFR 171.15, Annual Fees: Reactor Licenses and Independent Fuel 
Storage Licenses

    The NRC revises paragraph (b)(1) to reflect the required FY 2015 
annual fee to be collected from each operating power reactor by 
September 30, 2015. The NRC revises the introductory text of paragraph 
(b)(2) to reflect FY 2015 in reference to annual fees and fee-relief 
adjustment. The NRC revises paragraph (c)(1) and the introductory text 
of paragraph (c)(2) to reflect the FY 2015 spent fuel storage/reactor 
decommissioning and spent fuel storage annual fee for 10 CFR part 50 
licenses and 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 
license, and the FY 2015 fee-relief adjustment. The NRC revises the 
introductory text of paragraph (d)(1) and paragraphs (d)(2) and (d)(3) 
to reflect the FY 2015 fee-relief adjustment for the operating reactor 
power class of licenses, the number of operating power reactors, and 
the FY 2015 fee-relief adjustment for spent fuel storage reactor 
decommissioning class of licenses. The NRC revises paragraph (e) to 
reflect the FY 2015 annual fees for research reactors and test 
reactors.

10 CFR 171.16, Annual Fees: Materials Licensees, Holders of 
Certificates of Compliance, Holders of Sealed Source and Device 
Registrations, Holders of Quality Assurance Program Approvals, and 
Government Agencies Licensed by the NRC

    The NRC revises paragraphs (d) and (e) to reflect FY 2015 annual 
fees and the FY 2015 fee-relief adjustment. The NRC adds subcategories 
to fee category 3.L. licenses (broad scope) to assess additional fees 
to licensees such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department 
of the Army, in order to accurately reflect the cost of services 
provided by the NRC. The NRC also revises footnote 6 to avoid duplicate 
billing for fuel cycle facility licensees.

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    Section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to 
perform an analysis that considers the impact of a rulemaking on small 
entities. The NRC's regulatory flexibility analysis for this final rule 
is available as indicated in Section XV, Availability of Documents, of 
this document, and a summary is provided in the following paragraphs.
    The NRC is required by the OBRA-90, as amended, to recover 
approximately 90 percent of its FY 2015 budget authority through the 
assessment of user fees. The OBRA-90 further requires that the NRC 
establish a schedule of charges that fairly and equitably allocates the 
aggregate amount of these charges among licensees.
    The FY 2015 final rule establishes the schedules of fees necessary 
for the NRC to recover 90 percent of its budget authority for FY 2015. 
The final rule estimates some increases in annual fees charged to 
certain licensees and holders of certificates, registrations, and 
approvals, and decreases in those annual fees charged to others. 
Licensees affected by these final estimates include those who qualify 
as small entities under the NRC's size standards in Sec.  2.810.
    The NRC prepared a FY 2015 biennial regulatory analysis in 
accordance with the FY 2001 final rule (66 FR 32467; June 14, 2001). 
This rule also stated the small entity fees will be reexamined every 2 
years and in the same years the NRC conducts the biennial review of 
fees as required by the Chief Financial Officer's Act.
    For this final rule, small entity fees increase to $3,400 for the 
maximum upper-tier small entity fee and increase to $700 for the lower-
tier small entity as a result of the biennial review which factored in 
the number of increased

[[Page 37453]]

hours for application reviews and inspections in the fee calculations. 
The next small entity biennial review is scheduled for FY 2017.
    Additionally, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act requires all Federal agencies to prepare a written compliance guide 
for each rule for which the agency is required by 5 U.S.C. 604 to 
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis. The NRC, in compliance with 
the law, has prepared the ``Small Entity Compliance Guide,'' which is 
available as indicated in Section XV, Availability of Documents, of 
this document.

VII. Regulatory Analysis

    Under OBRA-90, as amended, and the AEA, the NRC is required to 
recover 90 percent of its budget authority, or total appropriations of 
$1,015.3 million, in FY 2015. The NRC established fee methodology 
guidelines for 10 CFR part 170 in 1978, and more fee methodology 
guidelines through the establishment of 10 CFR part 171 in 1986. In 
subsequent rulemakings, the NRC has adjusted its fees without changing 
the underlying principles of its fee policy in order to ensure that the 
NRC continues to comply with the statutory requirements for cost 
recovery in OBRA-90 and the AEA.
    In this rulemaking, the NRC continues this long-standing approach. 
Therefore, the NRC did not identify any alternatives to the current fee 
structure guidelines and did not prepare a regulatory analysis for this 
rulemaking.

VIII. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    The NRC has determined that the backfit rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does 
not apply to this final rule and that a backfit analysis is not 
required. A backfit analysis is not required because these amendments 
do not require the modification of, or addition to, systems, 
structures, components, or the design of a facility, or the design 
approval or manufacturing license for a facility, or the procedures or 
organization required to design, construct, or operate a facility.

IX. Plain Writing

    The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal 
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, and well-organized 
manner. The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the 
Plain Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain 
Language in Government Writing,'' published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 
31883).

X. National Environmental Policy Act

    The NRC has determined that this rule is the type of action 
described in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(1). Therefore, neither an environmental 
impact statement nor an environmental assessment has been prepared for 
this final rule.

XI. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule does not contain any information collection requirements 
and, therefore, is not subject to the requirements of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521.

Public Protection Notification

    The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to a request for information or an information collection 
requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid 
OMB control number.

XII. Congressional Review Act

    In accordance with the Congressional Review Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 
801-808), the NRC has determined that this action is a major rule and 
has verified the determination with the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget.

XIII. Voluntary Consensus Standards

    The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, 
Public Law 104-113, requires that Federal agencies use technical 
standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus 
standards bodies unless the use of such a standard is inconsistent with 
applicable law or otherwise impractical. In this final rule, the NRC 
amends the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its 
licensees and applicants, as necessary, to recover approximately 90 
percent of its budget authority in FY 2015, as required by OBRA-90, as 
amended. This action does not constitute the establishment of a 
standard that contains generally applicable requirements.

XIV. Availability of Guidance

    The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act requires all 
Federal agencies to prepare a written compliance guide for each rule 
for which the NRC is required by 5 U.S.C. 604 to prepare a regulatory 
flexibility analysis. The NRC, in compliance with the law, prepared the 
``Small Entity Compliance Guide'' for the FY 2015 final fee rule. This 
document is available as indicated in Section XV, ``Availability of 
Documents,'' of this document.

XV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Document                   ADAMS Accession No./Web Link
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2015 Final Rule Work Papers.........  ML15160A434.
FY 2015 Regulatory Flexibility Analysis  ML15058A385.
FY 2015 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory          ML15058A332.
 Commission Small Entity Compliance
 Guide.
NUREG-1100, Volume 30, ``Congressional   https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
 Budget Justification: Fiscal Year        doc-collections/nuregs/staff/
 2015'' (March 2014).                     sr1100/v30/.
NRC Form 526, Certification of Small     https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
 Entity Status for the Purposes of        doc-collections/forms/
 Annual Fees Imposed under 10 CFR Part    nrc526.pdf.
 171.
Consolidated and Further Continuing      https://www.congress.gov/113/
 Appropriations Act, 2015.                bills/hr83/BILLS-
                                          113hr83enr.pdf.
SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation   ML052580332.
 Method,'' September 15, 2005.
Staff Requirements Memorandum for SECY-  ML14356A070.
 14-0082, ``Jurisdiction for Military
 Radium and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
 Commission Oversight of U.S.
 Department of Defense Remediation of
 Radioactive Material,'' December 22,
 2014.
FY 2015 Proposed Fee Rule Comment        ML15156A633.
 Submissions.
OMB's Circular A-25, ``User Charges''..  https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a025/.
Transcript of Public Meeting on Fees,    ML15153A028.
 April 20, 2015.
FY 2015 Proposed Fee Rule..............  ML15057A090.
FY 2015 Proposed Fee Rule Work Papers..  ML15021A198.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 37454]]

List of Subjects

10 CFR Part 170

    Byproduct material, Import and export licenses, Intergovernmental 
relations, Non-payment penalties, Nuclear materials, Nuclear power 
plants and reactors, Source material, Special nuclear material.

10 CFR Part 171

    Annual charges, Byproduct material, Holders of certificates, 
registrations, approvals, Intergovernmental relations, Nonpayment 
penalties, Nuclear materials, Nuclear power plants and reactors, Source 
material, Special nuclear material.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the Energy Reorganization 
Act of 1974, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 553, the NRC is adopting the 
following amendments to 10 CFR parts 170 and 171.

PART 170--FEES FOR FACILITIES, MATERIALS IMPORT AND EXPORT LICENSES 
AND OTHER REGULATORY SERVICES UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT OF 1954, 
AS AMENDED

0
1. The authority citation for part 170 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Independent Offices Appropriations Act sec. 501 (31 
U.S.C. 9701); Atomic Energy Act sec. 161(w) (42 U.S.C. 2201(w)); 
Energy Reorganization Act sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841); Chief Financial 
Officers Act sec. 205 (31 U.S.C. 901, 902); Government Paperwork 
Elimination Act sec. 1704 (44 U.S.C. 3504 note); Energy Policy Act 
secs. 623, Energy Policy Act of 2005 sec. 651(e), Pub. L. 109-58, 
119 Stat. 783 (42 U.S.C. 2201(w), 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111).


0
2. In Sec.  170.3, add a new definition for ``Overhead and general and 
administrative costs'' in alphabetical order and revise the definition 
for ``Utilization facility'' to read as follows:


Sec.  170.3  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Overhead and general and administrative costs means:
    (1) The Government benefits for each employee such as leave and 
holidays, retirement and disability benefits, health and life insurance 
costs, and social security costs;
    (2) Travel costs;
    (3) Overhead [e.g., supervision and support staff that directly 
support the NRC's Nuclear Reactor Safety Program and Nuclear Materials 
Safety and Waste Program; administrative support costs (e.g., rental of 
space, equipment, telecommunications, and supplies)]; and
    (4) Indirect costs that would include, but not be limited to, NRC 
central policy direction, legal, and executive management services for 
the Commission, and special and independent reviews, investigations, 
and enforcement, and appraisal of NRC programs and operations. Some of 
the organizations included, in whole or in part, are the Commissioners, 
Secretary, Executive Director for Operations, General Counsel, 
Congressional and Public Affairs (except for international safety and 
safeguards programs), Inspector General, Investigations, Enforcement, 
Small Business and Civil Rights, the Technical Training Center, 
Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, and the Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board Panel. The Commission views these budgeted costs as 
support for all its regulatory services provided to applicants, 
licensees, and certificate holders, and these costs must be recovered 
under Public Law 101-508.
* * * * *
    Utilization facility means:
    (1) Any nuclear reactor other than one designed or used primarily 
for the formation of plutonium or U-233; or
    (2) An accelerator-driven subcritical operating assembly used for 
the irradiation of materials containing special nuclear material and 
described in the application assigned docket number 50-608.

0
3. Revise Sec.  170.20 to read as follows:


Sec.  170.20  Average cost per professional staff-hour.

    Fees for permits, licenses, amendments, renewals, special projects, 
10 CFR part 55 re-qualification and replacement examinations and tests, 
other required reviews, approvals, and inspections under Sec. Sec.  
170.21 and 170.31 will be calculated using the professional staff-hour 
rate of $268 per hour.

0
4. In Sec.  170.21, in the table, revise the fee category K. to read as 
follows:


Sec.  170.21  Schedule of fees for production or utilization 
facilities, review of standard referenced design approvals, special 
projects, inspections, and import and export licenses.

* * * * *

                        Schedule of Facility Fees
                     [See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Facility categories and type of fees             Fees \1\ \2\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * * * * * * *
K. Import and export licenses:
Licenses for the import and export only of production or
 utilization facilities or the export only of components
 for production or utilization facilities issued under
 10 CFR part 110.
    1. Application for import or export of production or
     utilization facilities \4\ (including reactors and
     other facilities) and exports of components
     requiring Commission and Executive Branch review,
     for example, actions under 10 CFR 110.40(b).
          Application--new license, or amendment; or             $17,400
           license exemption request....................
    2. Application for export of reactor and other
     components requiring Executive Branch review, for
     example, those actions under 10 CFR 110.41(a).
          Application--new license, or amendment; or               9,400
           license exemption request....................
    3. Application for export of components requiring
     the assistance of the Executive Branch to obtain
     foreign government assurances.
          Application--new license, or amendment; or               4,300
           license exemption request....................
    4. Application for export of facility components and
     equipment not requiring Commission or Executive
     Branch review, or obtaining foreign government
     assurances.
          Application--new license, or amendment; or               4,800
           license exemption request....................
    5. Minor amendment of any active export or import
     license, for example, to extend the expiration
     date, change domestic information, or make other
     revisions which do not involve any substantive
     changes to license terms or conditions or to the
     type of facility or component authorized for export
     and, therefore, do not require in-depth analysis or
     review or consultation with the Executive Branch,
     U.S. host state, or foreign government authorities.

[[Page 37455]]

 
          Minor amendment to license....................           2,700
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fees will not be charged for orders related to civil penalties or
  other civil sanctions issued by the Commission under Sec.   2.202 of
  this chapter or for amendments resulting specifically from the
  requirements of these orders. For orders unrelated to civil penalties
  or other civil sanctions, fees will be charged for any resulting
  licensee-specific activities not otherwise exempted from fees under
  this chapter. Fees will be charged for approvals issued under a
  specific exemption provision of the Commission's regulations under
  Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 50.12, 10
  CFR 73.5) and any other sections in effect now or in the future,
  regardless of whether the approval is in the form of a license
  amendment, letter of approval, safety evaluation report, or other
  form.
\2\ Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff
  time and appropriate contractual support services expended. For
  applications currently on file and for which fees are determined based
  on the full cost expended for the review, the professional staff hours
  expended for the review of the application up to the effective date of
  the final rule will be determined at the professional rates in effect
  when the service was provided.
* * * * * * *
\4\ Imports only of major components for end-use at NRC-licensed
  reactors are authorized under NRC general import license in 10 CFR
  110.27.


0
5. In Sec.  170.31, revise the table to read as follows:


Sec.  170.31  Schedule of fees for materials licenses and other 
regulatory services, including inspections, and import and export 
licenses.

* * * * *

                       Schedule of Materials Fees
                     [See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category of materials licenses and type of fees
                      \1\                              Fee \2\ \3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material:
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of U-
     235 or plutonium for fuel fabrication
     activities.
        (a) Strategic Special Nuclear Material   Full Cost.
         (High Enriched Uranium) [Program
         Code(s): 21130].
        (b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible  Full Cost.
         Form Used for Fabrication of Power
         Reactor Fuel [Program Code(s): 21210].
    (2) All other special nuclear materials
     licenses not included in Category 1.A.(1)
     which are licensed for fuel cycle
     activities.
        (a) Facilities with limited operations   Full Cost.
         [Program Code(s): 21310, 21320].
        (b) Gas centrifuge enrichment            Full Cost.
         demonstration facilities.
        (c) Others, including hot cell           Full Cost.
         facilities.
    B. Licenses for receipt and storage of       Full Cost.
     spent fuel and reactor-related Greater
     than Class C (GTCC) waste at an
     independent spent fuel storage
     installation (ISFSI) [Program Code(s):
     23200].
    C. Licenses for possession and use of
     special nuclear material of less than a
     critical mass as defined in Sec.   70.4 in
     sealed sources contained in devices used
     in industrial measuring systems, including
     x-ray fluorescence analyzers.\4\
        Application [Program Code(s): 22140]...  $1,200.
    D. All other special nuclear material
     licenses, except licenses authorizing
     special nuclear material in sealed or
     unsealed form in combination that would
     constitute a critical mass, as defined in
     Sec.   70.4 of this chapter, for which the
     licensee shall pay the same fees as those
     under Category 1.A.\4\
        Application [Program Code(s): 22110,     $2,500.
         22111, 22120, 22131, 22136, 22150,
         22151, 22161, 22170, 23100, 23300,
         23310].
    E. Licenses or certificates for              Full Cost.
     construction and operation of a uranium
     enrichment facility [Program Code(s):
     21200].
    F. For special nuclear materials licenses    Full Cost.
     in sealed or unsealed form of greater than
     a critical mass as defined in Sec.   70.4
     of this chapter.\4\ [Program Code(s):
     22155].
2. Source material:
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of    Full Cost.
     source material for refining uranium mill
     concentrates to uranium hexafluoride or
     for deconverting uranium hexafluoride in
     the production of uranium oxides for
     disposal. [Program Code(s): 11400].
    (2) Licenses for possession and use of
     source material in recovery operations
     such as milling, in-situ recovery, heap-
     leaching, ore buying stations, ion-
     exchange facilities, and in processing of
     ores containing source material for
     extraction of metals other than uranium or
     thorium, including licenses authorizing
     the possession of byproduct waste material
     (tailings) from source material recovery
     operations, as well as licenses
     authorizing the possession and maintenance
     of a facility in a standby mode.
        (a) Conventional and Heap Leach          Full Cost.
         facilities [Program Code(s): 11100].
        (b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities    Full Cost.
         [Program Code(s): 11500].
        (c) Expanded In Situ Recovery            Full Cost.
         facilities [Program Code(s): 11510].
        (d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities    Full Cost.
         [Program Code(s): 11550].
        (e) Resin Toll Milling facilities        Full Cost.
         [Program Code(s): 11555].
        (f) Other facilities [Program Code(s):   Full Cost.
         11700].
    (3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of   Full Cost.
     byproduct material, as defined in Section
     11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, from
     other persons for possession and disposal,
     except those licenses subject to the fees
     in Category 2.A.(2) or Category 2.A.(4)
     [Program Code(s): 11600, 12000].
    (4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of   Full Cost.
     byproduct material, as defined in Section
     11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, from
     other persons for possession and disposal
     incidental to the disposal of the uranium
     waste tailings generated by the licensee's
     milling operations, except those licenses
     subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2)
     [Program Code(s): 12010].
    (5) Licenses that authorize the possession   Full Cost.
     of source material related to removal of
     contaminants (source material) from
     drinking water [Program Code(s): 11820].
    B. Licenses which authorize the possession,
     use, and/or installation of source
     material for shielding.\6\ \7\ \8\

[[Page 37456]]

 
        Application [Program Code(s): 11210]...  $1,180.
    C. Licenses to distribute items containing
     source material to persons exempt from the
     licensing requirements of part 40 of this
     chapter.
        Application [Program Code(s): 11240]...  $2,700.
    D. Licenses to distribute source material
     to persons generally licensed under part
     40 of this chapter.
        Application [Program Codes(s): 11230,    $2,700.
         11231].
    E. Licenses for possession and use of
     source material for processing or
     manufacturing of products or materials
     containing source material for commercial
     distribution.
        Application [Program Code(s): 11710]...  $2,500.
    F. All other source material licenses.
        Application [Program Code(s): 11200,     $2,500.
         11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810].
3. Byproduct material:
    A. Licenses of broad scope for the
     possession and use of byproduct material
     issued under parts 30 and 33 of this
     chapter for processing or manufacturing of
     items containing byproduct material for
     commercial distribution.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03211,     $12,500.
         03212, 03213].
    B. Other licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material issued under part 30 of
     this chapter for processing or
     manufacturing of items containing
     byproduct material for commercial
     distribution.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03214,     $3,500.
         03215, 22135, 22162].
    C. Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.   32.72
     and/or 32.74 of this chapter that
     authorize the processing or manufacturing
     and distribution or redistribution of
     radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent
     kits, and/or sources and devices
     containing byproduct material. This
     category does not apply to licenses issued
     to nonprofit educational institutions
     whose processing or manufacturing is
     exempt under Sec.   170.11(a)(4).
        Application [Program Code(s): 02500,     $5,000.
         02511, 02513].
    D. [Reserved]..............................  N/A.
    E. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material in sealed sources for
     irradiation of materials in which the
     source is not removed from its shield
     (self-shielded units).
        Application [Program Code(s): 03510,     $3,100.
         03520].
    F. Licenses for possession and use of less
     than 10,000 curies of byproduct material
     in sealed sources for irradiation of
     materials in which the source is exposed
     for irradiation purposes. This category
     also includes underwater irradiators for
     irradiation of materials where the source
     is not exposed for irradiation purposes.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03511]...  $6,300.
    G. Licenses for possession and use of
     10,000 curies or more of byproduct
     material in sealed sources for irradiation
     of materials in which the source is
     exposed for irradiation purposes. This
     category also includes underwater
     irradiators for irradiation of materials
     where the source is not exposed for
     irradiation purposes.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03521]...  $59,800.
    H. Licenses issued under Subpart A of part
     32 of this chapter to distribute items
     containing byproduct material that require
     device review to persons exempt from the
     licensing requirements of part 30 of this
     chapter. The category does not include
     specific licenses authorizing
     redistribution of items that have been
     authorized for distribution to persons
     exempt from the licensing requirements of
     part 30 of this chapter.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03254,     $6,400.
         03255, 03257].
    I. Licenses issued under Subpart A of part
     32 of this chapter to distribute items
     containing byproduct material or
     quantities of byproduct material that do
     not require device evaluation to persons
     exempt from the licensing requirements of
     part 30 of this chapter. This category
     does not include specific licenses
     authorizing redistribution of items that
     have been authorized for distribution to
     persons exempt from the licensing
     requirements of part 30 of this chapter.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03250,     $10,600.
         03251, 03252, 03253, 03256].
    J. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part
     32 of this chapter to distribute items
     containing byproduct material that require
     sealed source and/or device review to
     persons generally licensed under part 31
     of this chapter. This category does not
     include specific licenses authorizing
     redistribution of items that have been
     authorized for distribution to persons
     generally licensed under part 31 of this
     chapter.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03240,     $1,900.
         03241, 03243].
    K. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part
     32 of this chapter to distribute items
     containing byproduct material or
     quantities of byproduct material that do
     not require sealed source and/or device
     review to persons generally licensed under
     part 31 of this chapter. This category
     does not include specific licenses
     authorizing redistribution of items that
     have been authorized for distribution to
     persons generally licensed under part 31
     of this chapter.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03242,     $1,100.
         03244].
    L. Licenses of broad scope for possession
     and use of byproduct material issued under
     parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for
     research and development that do not
     authorize commercial distribution. Number
     of locations of use: 1-5.
        (1) Licenses of broad scope for
         possession and use of byproduct
         material issued under parts 30 and 33
         of this chapter for research and
         development that do not authorize
         commercial distribution. Number of
         locations of use: 6-20.
        (2) Licenses of broad scope for
         possession and use of byproduct
         material issued under parts 30 and 33
         of this chapter for research and
         development that do not authorize
         commercial distribution. Number of
         locations of use: 20 or more.
        Application [Program Code(s): 01100,     $5,300.
         01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612,
         03613].
    M. Other licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material issued under part 30 of
     this chapter for research and development
     that do not authorize commercial
     distribution.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03620]...  $4,800.
    N. Licenses that authorize services for
     other licensees, except:
        (1) Licenses that authorize only
         calibration and/or leak testing
         services are subject to the fees
         specified in fee Category 3.P.; and
        (2) Licenses that authorize waste
         disposal services are subject to the
         fees specified in fee Categories 4.A.,
         4.B., and 4.C.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03219,     $6,100.
         03225, 03226].

[[Page 37457]]

 
    O. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material issued under part 34 of
     this chapter for industrial radiography
     operations.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03310,     $3,100.
         03320].
    P. All other specific byproduct material
     licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
     through 9.D.\ 9\
        Application [Program Code(s): 02400,     $2,600.
         02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123,
         03124, 03130, 03140, 03220, 03221,
         03222, 03800, 03810, 22130].
    Q. Registration of a device(s) generally
     licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
        Registration...........................  $400.
    R. Possession of items or products
     containing radium-226 identified in 10 CFR
     31.12 which exceed the number of items or
     limits specified in that section.\5\
        1. Possession of quantities exceeding
         the number of items or limits in 10
         CFR 31.12(a)(4), or (5) but less than
         or equal to 10 times the number of
         items or limits specified.
        Application [Program Code(s): 02700]...  $2,500.
        2. Possession of quantities exceeding
         10 times the number of items or limits
         specified in 10 CFR 31.12(a)(4), or
         (5).
        Application [Program Code(s): 02710]...  $2,400.
    S. Licenses for production of accelerator-
     produced radionuclides.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03210]...  $13,700.
4. Waste disposal and processing:
    A. Licenses specifically authorizing the     N/A.
     receipt of waste byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material from other persons for the
     purpose of contingency storage or
     commercial land disposal by the licensee;
     or licenses authorizing contingency
     storage of low-level radioactive waste at
     the site of nuclear power reactors; or
     licenses for receipt of waste from other
     persons for incineration or other
     treatment, packaging of resulting waste
     and residues, and transfer of packages to
     another person authorized to receive or
     dispose of waste material. [Program
     Code(s): 03231, 03233, 03235, 03236,
     06100, 06101].
    B. Licenses specifically authorizing the
     receipt of waste byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material from other persons for the
     purpose of packaging or repackaging the
     material. The licensee will dispose of the
     material by transfer to another person
     authorized to receive or dispose of the
     material.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03234]...  $6,700.
    C. Licenses specifically authorizing the
     receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct
     material, source material, or special
     nuclear material from other persons. The
     licensee will dispose of the material by
     transfer to another person authorized to
     receive or dispose of the material.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03232]...  $4,800.
5. Well logging:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material, source material, and/
     or special nuclear material for well
     logging, well surveys, and tracer studies
     other than field flooding tracer studies.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03110,     $4,400.
         03111, 03112].
    B. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material for field flooding
     tracer studies.
        Licensing [Program Code(s): 03113].....  Full Cost.
6. Nuclear laundries:
    A. Licenses for commercial collection and
     laundry of items contaminated with
     byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03218]...  $21,400.
7. Medical licenses:
    A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40,
     and 70 of this chapter for human use of
     byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material in sealed sources
     contained in gamma stereotactic
     radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices,
     or similar beam therapy devices.
        Application [Program Code(s): 02300,     $10,700.
         02310].
    B. Licenses of broad scope issued to
     medical institutions or two or more
     physicians under parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and
     70 of this chapter authorizing research
     and development, including human use of
     byproduct material, except licenses for
     byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material in sealed sources
     contained in teletherapy devices. This
     category also includes the possession and
     use of source material for shielding when
     authorized on the same license.\10\
        Application [Program Code(s): 02110]...  $8,400.
    C. Other licenses issued under parts 30,
     35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human
     use of byproduct material, source
     material, and/or special nuclear material,
     except licenses for byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material in sealed sources contained in
     teletherapy devices.
        Application [Program Code(s): 02120,     $4,300.
         02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220,
         02230, 02231, 02240, 22160].
8. Civil defense:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material for civil defense
     activities.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03710]...  $2,500.
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety
 evaluation:
    A. Safety evaluation of devices or products
     containing byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material,
     except reactor fuel devices, for
     commercial distribution.
        Application--each device...............  $5,200.
    B. Safety evaluation of devices or products
     containing byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material
     manufactured in accordance with the unique
     specifications of, and for use by, a
     single applicant, except reactor fuel
     devices.
        Application--each device...............  $8,700.
    C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
     containing byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material,
     except reactor fuel, for commercial
     distribution.
        Application--each source...............  $5,100.

[[Page 37458]]

 
    D. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
     containing byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material,
     manufactured in accordance with the unique
     specifications of, and for use by, a
     single applicant, except reactor fuel.
        Application--each source...............  $1,020.
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
    A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and
     shipping containers.
        1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and     Full Cost.
         plutonium air packages.
        2. Other Casks.........................  Full Cost.
    B. Quality assurance program approvals
     issued under part 71 of this chapter.
        1. Users and Fabricators.
            Application........................  $4,000.
            Inspections........................  Full Cost.
        2. Users.
            Application........................  $4,000.
            Inspections........................  Full Cost.
    C. Evaluation of security plans, route       Full Cost.
     approvals, route surveys, and
     transportation security devices (including
     immobilization devices).
11. Review of standardized spent fuel            Full Cost.
 facilities.
12. Special projects:
    Including approvals, pre-application/
     licensing activities, and inspections.
        Application [Program Code: 25110]......  Full Cost.
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of    Full Cost.
 Compliance.
    B. Inspections related to storage of spent   Full Cost.
     fuel under Sec.   72.210 of this chapter.
14. A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear     Full Cost.
 material licenses and other approvals
 authorizing decommissioning, decontamination,
 reclamation, or site restoration activities
 under parts 30, 40, 70, 72, and 76 of this
 chapter, including MMLs. Application [Program
 Code(s): 3900, 11900, 21135, 21215, 21240,
 21325, 22200].
    B. Site-specific decommissioning activities  Full Cost.
     associated with unlicensed sites,
     including MMLs, regardless of whether or
     not the sites have been previously
     licensed.
15. Import and Export licenses:
Licenses issued under part 110 of this chapter
 for the import and export only of special
 nuclear material, source material, tritium and
 other byproduct material, and the export only
 of heavy water, or nuclear grade graphite (fee
 categories 15.A. through 15.E.).
    A. Application for export or import of
     nuclear materials, including radioactive
     waste requiring Commission and Executive
     Branch review, for example, those actions
     under 10 CFR 110.40(b).
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $17,400.
         or license exemption request.
    B. Application for export or import of
     nuclear material, including radioactive
     waste, requiring Executive Branch review,
     but not Commission review. This category
     includes applications for the export and
     import of radioactive waste and requires
     NRC to consult with domestic host state
     authorities (i.e., Low-Level Radioactive
     Waste Compact Commission, the U.S.
     Environmental Protection Agency, etc.).
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $9,400.
         or license exemption request.
    C. Application for export of nuclear
     material, for example, routine reloads of
     low enriched uranium reactor fuel and/or
     natural uranium source material requiring
     the assistance of the Executive Branch to
     obtain foreign government assurances.
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $4,300.
         or license exemption request.
    D. Application for export or import of
     nuclear material not requiring Commission
     or Executive Branch review, or obtaining
     foreign government assurances.
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $4,800.
         or license exemption request.
    E. Minor amendment of any active export or
     import license, for example, to extend the
     expiration date, change domestic
     information, or make other revisions which
     do not involve any substantive changes to
     license terms and conditions or to the
     type/quantity/chemical composition of the
     material authorized for export and,
     therefore, do not require in-depth
     analysis, review, or consultations with
     other Executive Branch, U.S. host state,
     or foreign government authorities.
        Minor amendment........................  $1,300.
Licenses issued under part 110 of this chapter
 for the import and export only of Category 1
 and Category 2 quantities of radioactive
 material listed in Appendix P to part 110 of
 this chapter (fee categories 15.F. through
 15.R.).
Category 1 (Appendix P, 10 CFR Part 110)
 Exports:
    F. Application for export of Appendix P
     Category 1 materials requiring Commission
     review (e.g. exceptional circumstance
     review under 10 CFR 110.42(e)(4)) and to
     obtain government-to-government consent
     for this process. For additional consent
     see 15.I.).
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $14,700.
         or license exemption request.
    G. Application for export of Appendix P
     Category 1 materials requiring Executive
     Branch review and to obtain government-to-
     government consent for this process. For
     additional consents see 15.I.
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $8,000.
         or license exemption request.
    H. Application for export of Appendix P
     Category 1 materials and to obtain one
     government-to-government consent for this
     process. For additional consents see 15.I.
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $5,400.
         or license exemption request.
    I. Requests for each additional government-
     to-government consent in support of an
     export license application or active
     export license.
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $270.
         or license exemption request.
Category 2 (Appendix P, 10 CFR Part 110)
 Exports:
    J. Application for export of Appendix P
     Category 2 materials requiring Commission
     review (e.g. exceptional circumstance
     review under 10 CFR 110.42(e)(4)).
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $14,700.
         or license exemption request.
    K. Applications for export of Appendix P
     Category 2 materials requiring Executive
     Branch review.

[[Page 37459]]

 
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $8,000.
         or license exemption request.
    L. Application for the export of Category 2
     materials.
        Application--new license, or amendment;  $4,000.
         or license exemption request.
M. [Reserved]..................................  N/A.
N. [Reserved]..................................  N/A.
O. [Reserved]..................................  N/A.
P. [Reserved]..................................  N/A.
Q. [Reserved]..................................  N/A.
Minor Amendments (Category 1 and 2, Appendix P,
 10 CFR Part 110, Export):
    R. Minor amendment of any active export
     license, for example, to extend the
     expiration date, change domestic
     information, or make other revisions which
     do not involve any substantive changes to
     license terms and conditions or to the
     type/quantity/chemical composition of the
     material authorized for export and,
     therefore, do not require in-depth
     analysis, review, or consultations with
     other Executive Branch, U.S. host state,
     or foreign authorities.
        Minor amendment........................  $1,300.
16. Reciprocity:
Agreement State licensees who conduct
 activities under the reciprocity provisions of
 10 CFR 150.20.
    Application................................  $1,900.
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope
 issued to Government agencies.
    Application [Program Code(s): 03614].......  Full Cost.
18. Department of Energy.
    A. Certificates of Compliance. Evaluation    Full Cost.
     of casks, 11packages, and shipping
     containers (including spent fuel, high-
     level waste, and other casks, and
     plutonium air packages).
    B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control   Full Cost.
     Act (UMTRCA) activities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Types of fees--Separate charges, as shown in the schedule, will be
  assessed for pre-application consultations and reviews; applications
  for new licenses, approvals, or license terminations; possession-only
  licenses; issuances of new licenses and approvals; certain amendments
  and renewals to existing licenses and approvals; safety evaluations of
  sealed sources and devices; generally licensed device registrations;
  and certain inspections. The following guidelines apply to these
  charges:
(a) Application and registration fees. Applications for new materials
  licenses and export and import licenses; applications to reinstate
  expired, terminated, or inactive licenses, except those subject to
  fees assessed at Full Cost.s; applications filed by Agreement State
  licensees to register under the general license provisions of 10 CFR
  150.20; and applications for amendments to materials licenses that
  would place the license in a higher fee category or add a new fee
  category must be accompanied by the prescribed application fee for
  each category.
(1) Applications for licenses covering more than one fee category of
  special nuclear material or source material must be accompanied by the
  prescribed application fee for the highest fee category.
(2) Applications for new licenses that cover both byproduct material and
  special nuclear material in sealed sources for use in gauging devices
  will pay the appropriate application fee for fee category 1.C. only.
(b) Licensing fees. Fees for reviews of applications for new licenses,
  renewals, and amendments to existing licenses, pre-application
  consultations and other documents submitted to the NRC for review, and
  project manager time for fee categories subject to Full Cost. fees are
  due upon notification by the Commission in accordance with Sec.
  170.12(b).
(c) Amendment fees. Applications for amendments to export and import
  licenses must be accompanied by the prescribed amendment fee for each
  license affected. An application for an amendment to an export or
  import license or approval classified in more than one fee category
  must be accompanied by the prescribed amendment fee for the category
  affected by the amendment, unless the amendment is applicable to two
  or more fee categories, in which case the amendment fee for the
  highest fee category would apply.
(d) Inspection fees. Inspections resulting from investigations conducted
  by the Office of Investigations and nonroutine inspections that result
  from third-party allegations are not subject to fees. Inspection fees
  are due upon notification by the Commission in accordance with Sec.
  170.12(c).
(e) Generally licensed device registrations under 10 CFR 31.5.
  Submittals of registration information must be accompanied by the
  prescribed fee.
\2\ Fees will not be charged for orders related to civil penalties or
  other civil sanctions issued by the Commission under 10 CFR 2.202 or
  for amendments resulting specifically from the requirements of these
  orders. For orders unrelated to civil penalties or other civil
  sanctions, fees will be charged for any resulting licensee-specific
  activities not otherwise exempted from fees under this chapter. Fees
  will be charged for approvals issued under a specific exemption
  provision of the Commission's regulations under Title 10 of the Code
  of Federal Regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 30.11, 40.14, 70.14, 73.5, and
  any other sections in effect now or in the future), regardless of
  whether the approval is in the form of a license amendment, letter of
  approval, safety evaluation report, or other form. In addition to the
  fee shown, an applicant may be assessed an additional fee for sealed
  source and device evaluations as shown in fee categories 9.A. through
  9.D.
\3\ Full Cost. fees will be determined based on the professional staff
  time multiplied by the appropriate professional hourly rate
  established in Sec.   170.20 in effect when the service is provided,
  and the appropriate contractual support services expended.
\4\ Licensees paying fees under categories 1.A., 1.B., and 1.E. are not
  subject to fees under categories 1.C., 1.D. and 1.F. for sealed
  sources authorized in the same license, except for an application that
  deals only with the sealed sources authorized by the license.
\5\ Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational
  purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in
  this category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources
  are possessed for storage only.)
\6\ Licensees subject to fees under fee categories 1.A., 1.B., 1.E., or
  2.A. must pay the largest applicable fee and are not subject to
  additional fees listed in this table.
\7\ Licensees paying fees under 3.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
  for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\8\ Licensees paying fees under 7.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
  for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\9\ Licensees paying fees under 3.N. are not subject to paying fees
  under 3.P. for calibration or leak testing services authorized on the
  same license.
\10\ Licensees paying fees under 7.B. are not subject to paying fees
  under 7.C. for broad scope license licenses issued under parts 30, 35,
  40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source
  material, and/or special nuclear material, except licenses for
  byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in
  sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices authorized on the same
  license.


[[Page 37460]]

PART 171--ANNUAL FEES FOR REACTOR LICENSES AND FUEL CYCLE LICENSES 
AND MATERIALS LICENSES, INCLUDING HOLDERS OF CERTIFICATES OF 
COMPLIANCE, REGISTRATIONS, AND QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM APPROVALS 
AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY THE NRC

0
6. The authority citation for part 171 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act sec. 
7601, Pub. L. 99-272, as amended by sec. 5601, Pub. L. 100-203, as 
amended by sec. 3201, Pub. L. 101-239, as amended by sec. 6101, Pub. 
L. 101-508, as amended by sec. 2903a, Pub. L. 102-486 (42 U.S.C. 
2213, 2214), and as amended by Title IV, Pub. L. 109-103 (42 U.S.C. 
2214); Atomic Energy Act sec. 161(w), 223, 234 (42 U.S.C. 2201(w), 
2273, 2282); Energy Reorganization Act sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841); 
Government Paperwork Elimination Act sec. 1704 (44 U.S.C. 3504 
note); Energy Policy Act of 2005 sec. 651(e), Pub. L. 109-58 (42 
U.S.C. 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111).


0
7. In Sec.  171.15, revise paragraph (b)(1), the introductory text of 
paragraph (b)(2), paragraph (c)(1), the introductory text of paragraphs 
(c)(2) and (d)(1), and paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3), and (e) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  171.15  Annual fees: Reactor licenses and independent spent fuel 
storage licenses.

* * * * *
    (b)(1) The FY 2015 annual fee for each operating power reactor 
which must be collected by September 30, 2015, is $5,030,000.
    (2) The FY 2015 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee for 
power reactors licensed to operate, a base spent fuel storage/reactor 
decommissioning annual fee, and associated additional charges (fee-
relief adjustment). The activities comprising the spent storage/reactor 
decommissioning base annual fee are shown in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and 
(ii) of this section. The activities comprising the FY 2015 fee-relief 
adjustment are shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this section. The 
activities comprising the FY 2015 base annual fee for operating power 
reactors are as follows:
* * * * *
    (c)(1) The FY 2015 annual fee for each power reactor holding a 10 
CFR part 50 license that is in a decommissioning or possession-only 
status and has spent fuel onsite, and for each independent spent fuel 
storage 10 CFR part 72 licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50 
license, is $223,000.
    (2) The FY 2015 annual fee is comprised of a base spent fuel 
storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee (which is also included in 
the operating power reactor annual fee shown in paragraph (b) of this 
section) and a fee-relief adjustment. The activities comprising the FY 
2015 fee-relief adjustment are shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this 
section. The activities comprising the FY 2015 spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning rebaselined annual fee are:
* * * * *
    (d)(1) The fee-relief adjustment allocated to annual fees includes 
a surcharge for the activities listed in paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this 
section, plus the amount remaining after total budgeted resources for 
the activities included in paragraphs (d)(1)(ii) and (d)(1)(iii) of 
this section are reduced by the appropriations the NRC receives for 
these types of activities. If the NRC's appropriations for these types 
of activities are greater than the budgeted resources for the 
activities included in paragraphs (d)(1)(ii) and (d)(1)(iii) of this 
section for a given fiscal year, annual fees will be reduced. The 
activities comprising the FY 2015 fee-relief adjustment are as follows:
* * * * *
    (2) The total FY 2015 fee-relief adjustment allocated to the 
operating power reactor class of licenses is a $2,088,700 fee-relief 
surplus, not including the amount allocated to the spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning class. The FY 2015 operating power reactor fee-
relief adjustment to be assessed to each operating power reactor is 
approximately a $21,098 fee-relief surplus. This amount is calculated 
by dividing the total operating power reactor fee-relief surplus 
adjustment, $2,088,700 million, by the number of operating power 
reactors (99).
    (3) The FY 2015 fee-relief adjustment allocated to the spent fuel 
storage/reactor decommissioning class of licenses is a $37,100 fee-
relief assessment. The FY 2015 spent fuel storage/reactor 
decommissioning fee-relief adjustment to be assessed to each operating 
power reactor, each power reactor in decommissioning or possession-only 
status that has spent fuel onsite, and to each independent spent fuel 
storage 10 CFR part 72 licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50 
license, is a $304 fee-relief assessment. This amount is calculated by 
dividing the total fee-relief adjustment costs allocated to this class 
by the total number of power reactor licenses, except those that 
permanently ceased operations and have no fuel onsite, and 10 CFR part 
72 licensees who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license.
    (e) The FY 2015 annual fees for licensees authorized to operate a 
research or test (nonpower) reactor licensed under 10 CFR part 50 of 
this chapter, unless the reactor is exempted from fees under Sec.  
171.11(a), are as follows:

 
 
 
Research reactor.............................................    $83,500
Test reactor.................................................     83,500
 


0
8. In Sec.  171.16, revise paragraph (d) and the introductory text of 
paragraph (e) to read as follows:


Sec.  171.16  Annual fees: Materials licensees, holders of certificates 
of compliance, holders of sealed source and device registrations, 
holders of quality assurance program approvals, and government agencies 
licensed by the NRC.

* * * * *
    (d) The FY 2015 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee and 
an allocation for fee-relief adjustment. The activities comprising the 
FY 2015 fee-relief adjustment are shown for convenience in paragraph 
(e) of this section. The FY 2015 annual fees for materials licensees 
and holders of certificates, registrations, or approvals subject to 
fees under this section are shown in the following table:

   Schedule of Materials Annual Fees and Fees for Government Agencies
                             Licensed by NRC
                     [See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Annual fees
             Category of materials licenses                 \1\ \2\ \3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material:
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of U-235 or
     plutonium for fuel fabrication activities.
          (a) Strategic Special Nuclear Material (High        $8,473,000
           Enriched Uranium) [Program Code(s): 21130]...
          (b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form         2,915,000
           Used for Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel
           [Program Code(s): 21210].....................

[[Page 37461]]

 
    (2) All other special nuclear materials licenses not
     included in Category 1.A.(1) which are licensed for
     fuel cycle activities.
          (a) Facilities with limited operations                       0
           [Program Code(s): 21310, 21320]..............
          (b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration          1,640,000
           facilities...................................
          (c) Others, including hot cell facilities.....         820,000
    B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel           \11\ N/A
     and reactor-related Greater than Class C (GTCC)
     waste at an independent spent fuel storage
     installation (ISFSI) [Program Code(s): 23200]......
    C. Licenses for possession and use of special                  3,200
     nuclear material of less than a critical mass, as
     defined in Sec.   70.4 of this chapter, in sealed
     sources contained in devices used in industrial
     measuring systems, including x-ray fluorescence
     analyzers.\15\ [Program Code(s): 22140]............
    D. All other special nuclear material licenses,                8,200
     except licenses authorizing special nuclear
     material in sealed or unsealed form in combination
     that would constitute a critical mass, as defined
     in Sec.   70.4 of this chapter, for which the
     licensee shall pay the same fees as those under
     Category 1.A.\15\ [Program Code(s): 22110, 22111,
     22120, 22131, 22136, 22150, 22151, 22161, 22170,
     23100, 23300, 23310]...............................
    E. Licenses or certificates for the operation of a         4,009,000
     uranium enrichment facility [Program Code(s):
     21200].............................................
    F. For special nuclear materials licenses in sealed            6,800
     or unsealed form of greater than a critical mass as
     defined in Sec.   70.4 of this chapter.\15\
     [Program Code: 22155]..............................
2. Source material:
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of source           1,731,000
     material for refining uranium mill concentrates to
     uranium hexafluoride or for deconverting uranium
     hexafluoride in the production of uranium oxides
     for disposal. [Program Code: 11400]................
    (2) Licenses for possession and use of source
     material in recovery operations such as milling, in-
     situ recovery, heap-leaching, ore buying stations,
     ion-exchange facilities and in-processing of ores
     containing source material for extraction of metals
     other than uranium or thorium, including licenses
     authorizing the possession of byproduct waste
     material (tailings) from source material recovery
     operations, as well as licenses authorizing the
     possession and maintenance of a facility in a
     standby mode.
          (a) Conventional and Heap Leach facilities              36,100
           [Program Code(s): 11100].....................
          (b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities [Program          45,800
           Code(s): 11500]..............................
          (c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities                51,800
           [Program Code(s): 11510].....................
          (d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities [Program               0
           Code(s): 11550]..............................
          (e) Resin Toll Milling facilities [Program             \5\ N/A
           Code(s): 11555]..............................
    (3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct         \5\ N/A
     material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the
     Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for
     possession and disposal, except those licenses
     subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2) or Category
     2.A.(4) [Program Code(s): 11600, 12000]............
    (4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct          20,500
     material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the
     Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for
     possession and disposal incidental to the disposal
     of the uranium waste tailings generated by the
     licensee's milling operations, except those
     licenses subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2)
     [Program Code(s): 12010]...........................
    (5) Licenses that authorize the possession of source           6,000
     material related to removal of contaminants (source
     material) from drinking water [Program Code(s):
     11820].............................................
    B. Licenses that authorize possession, use, and/or             3,500
     installation of source material for shielding.16 17
     18 [Program Code: 11210]...........................
    C. Licenses to distribute items containing source              6,800
     material to persons exempt from the licensing
     requirements of part 40 of this chapter. [Program
     Code: 11240].......................................
    D. Licenses to distribute source material to persons           6,800
     generally licensed under part 40 of this chapter
     [Program Code(s): 11230 and 11231].................
    E. Licenses for possession and use of source                   8,300
     material for processing or manufacturing of
     products or materials containing source material
     for commercial distribution. [Program Code: 11710].
    F. All other source material licenses. [Program                7,800
     Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810].
3. Byproduct material:
    A. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of          30,700
     byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of
     this chapter for processing or manufacturing of
     items containing byproduct material for commercial
     distribution [Program Code(s): 03211, 03212, 03213]
    B. Other licenses for possession and use of                   13,000
     byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
     chapter for processing or manufacturing of items
     containing byproduct material for commercial
     distribution [Program Code(s): 03214, 03215, 22135,
     22162].............................................
    C. Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.   32.72 and/or            13,500
     32.74 of this chapter authorizing the processing or
     manufacturing and distribution or redistribution of
     radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits, and/
     or sources and devices containing byproduct
     material. This category also includes the
     possession and use of source material for shielding
     authorized under part 40 of this chapter when
     included on the same license. This category does
     not apply to licenses issued to nonprofit
     educational institutions whose processing or
     manufacturing is exempt under Sec.   171.11(a)(1).
     [Program Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513].............
    D. [Reserved].......................................         \5\ N/A
    E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct                9,900
     material in sealed sources for irradiation of
     materials in which the source is not removed from
     its shield (self-shielded units) [Program Code(s):
     03510, 03520]......................................
    F. Licenses for possession and use of less than               12,300
     10,000 curies of byproduct material in sealed
     sources for irradiation of materials in which the
     source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This
     category also includes underwater irradiators for
     irradiation of materials in which the source is not
     exposed for irradiation purposes [Program Code(s):
     03511].............................................
    G. Licenses for possession and use of 10,000 curies          108,900
     or more of byproduct material in sealed sources for
     irradiation of materials in which the source is
     exposed for irradiation purposes. This category
     also includes underwater irradiators for
     irradiation of materials in which the source is not
     exposed for irradiation purposes [Program Code(s):
     03521].............................................

[[Page 37462]]

 
    H. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of              12,400
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material that require device review to
     persons exempt from the licensing requirements of
     part 30 of this chapter, except specific licenses
     authorizing redistribution of items that have been
     authorized for distribution to persons exempt from
     the licensing requirements of part 30 of this
     chapter [Program Code(s): 03254, 03255]............
    I. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of              18,300
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material or quantities of byproduct
     material that do not require device evaluation to
     persons exempt from the licensing requirements of
     part 30 of this chapter, except for specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of items that
     have been authorized for distribution to persons
     exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30
     of this chapter [Program Code(s): 03250, 03251,
     03252, 03253, 03256]...............................
    J. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of               4,700
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material that require sealed source and/
     or device review to persons generally licensed
     under part 31 of this chapter, except specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of items that
     have been authorized for distribution to persons
     generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter
     [Program Code(s): 03240, 03241, 03243].............
    K. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of               3,500
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material or quantities of byproduct
     material that do not require sealed source and/or
     device review to persons generally licensed under
     part 31 of this chapter, except specific licenses
     authorizing redistribution of items that have been
     authorized for distribution to persons generally
     licensed under part 31 of this chapter [Program
     Code(s): 03242, 03244].............................
    L. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of          17,900
     byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of
     this chapter for research and development that do
     not authorize commercial distribution. Number of
     locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s): 01100,
     01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612, 03613]..........
          (1) Licenses of broad scope for possession and          24,000
           use of product material issued under parts 30
           and 33 of this chapter for research and
           development that do not authorize commercial
           distribution. Number of locations of use: 6-
           20...........................................
          (2) Licenses of broad scope for possession and          29,900
           use of byproduct material issued under parts
           30 and 33 of this chapter for research and
           development that do not authorize commercial
           distribution. Number of locations of use: 20
           or more......................................
    M. Other licenses for possession and use of                   12,400
     byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
     chapter for research and development that do not
     authorize commercial distribution [Program Code(s):
     03620].............................................
    N. Licenses that authorize services for other                 21,200
     licensees, except: (1) Licenses that authorize only
     calibration and/or leak testing services are
     subject to the fees specified in fee Category 3.P.;
     and (2) Licenses that authorize waste disposal
     services are subject to the fees specified in fee
     categories 4.A., 4.B., and 4.C. [Program Code(s):
     03219, 03225, 03226]...............................
    O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct               25,800
     material issued under part 34 of this chapter for
     industrial radiography operations. This category
     also includes the possession and use of source
     material for shielding authorized under part 40 of
     this chapter when authorized on the same license
     [Program Code(s): 03310, 03320]....................
    P. All other specific byproduct material licenses,             8,000
     except those in Categories 4.A. through 9.D.\19\
     [Program Code(s): 02400, 02410, 03120, 03121,
     03122, 03123, 03124, 03140, 03130, 03220, 03221,
     03222, 03800, 03810, 22130]........................
    Q. Registration of devices generally licensed under         \13\ N/A
     part 31 of this chapter............................
    R. Possession of items or products containing radium-
     226 identified in 10 CFR 31.12 which exceed the
     number of items or limits specified in that
     section: \14\
          1. Possession of quantities exceeding the                8,000
           number of items or limits in 10 CFR
           31.12(a)(4), or (5) but less than or equal to
           10 times the number of items or limits
           specified [Program Code(s): 02700]...........
          2. Possession of quantities exceeding 10 times           8,300
           the number of items or limits specified in 10
           CFR 31.12(a)(4) or (5) [Program Code(s):
           02710].......................................
    S. Licenses for production of accelerator-produced            31,100
     radionuclides [Program Code(s): 03210].............
4. Waste disposal and processing:
    A. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of          \5\ N/A
     waste byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material from other persons for the
     purpose of contingency storage or commercial land
     disposal by the licensee; or licenses authorizing
     contingency storage of low-level radioactive waste
     at the site of nuclear power reactors; or licenses
     for receipt of waste from other persons for
     incineration or other treatment, packaging of
     resulting waste and residues, and transfer of
     packages to another person authorized to receive or
     dispose of waste material [Program Code(s): 03231,
     03233, 03235, 03236, 06100, 06101].................
    B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of           22,200
     waste byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material from other persons for the
     purpose of packaging or repackaging the material.
     The licensee will dispose of the material by
     transfer to another person authorized to receive or
     dispose of the material [Program Code(s): 03234]...
    C. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of           14,700
     prepackaged waste byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material from other
     persons. The licensee will dispose of the material
     by transfer to another person authorized to receive
     or dispose of the material [Program Code(s): 03232]
5. Well logging:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct               14,400
     material, source material, and/or special nuclear
     material for well logging, well surveys, and tracer
     studies other than field flooding tracer studies
     [Program Code(s): 03110, 03111, 03112].............
    B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct              \5\ N/A
     material for field flooding tracer studies.
     [Program Code(s): 03113]...........................
6. Nuclear laundries:
    A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of          40,100
     items contaminated with byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material [Program
     Code(s): 03218]....................................
7. Medical licenses:
    A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of          24,700
     this chapter for human use of byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material in
     sealed sources contained in gamma stereotactic
     radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices, or similar
     beam therapy devices. This category also includes
     the possession and use of source material for
     shielding when authorized on the same license.
     [Program Code(s): 02300, 02310]....................

[[Page 37463]]

 
    B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medical                  37,500
     institutions or two or more physicians under parts
     30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter authorizing
     research and development, including human use of
     byproduct material, except licenses for byproduct
     material, source material, or special nuclear
     material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy
     devices. This category also includes the possession
     and use of source material for shielding when
     authorized on the same license.\9\ [Program
     Code(s): 02110]....................................
    C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and          13,300
     70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct
     material, source material, and/or special nuclear
     material, except licenses for byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material in
     sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices.
     This category also includes the possession and use
     of source material for shielding when authorized on
     the same license.\9\ \20\ [Program Code(s): 02120,
     02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220, 02230, 02231,
     02240, 22160]......................................
8. Civil defense:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct                8,000
     material, source material, or special nuclear
     material for civil defense activities [Program
     Code(s): 03710]....................................
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety evaluation:
    A. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of           7,900
     devices or products containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material,
     except reactor fuel devices, for commercial
     distribution.......................................
    B. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of          13,200
     devices or products containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material
     manufactured in accordance with the unique
     specifications of, and for use by, a single
     applicant, except reactor fuel devices.............
    C. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of           7,800
     sealed sources containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material,
     except reactor fuel, for commercial distribution...
    D. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of           1,600
     sealed sources containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material,
     manufactured in accordance with the unique
     specifications of, and for use by, a single
     applicant, except reactor fuel.....................
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
    A. Certificates of Compliance or other package
     approvals issued for design of casks, packages, and
     shipping containers.
          1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium         \6\ N/A
           air packages.................................
          2. Other Casks................................         \6\ N/A
    B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under
     part 71 of this chapter.
          1. Users and Fabricators......................         \6\ N/A
          2. Users......................................         \6\ N/A
    C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals,            \6\ N/A
     route surveys, and transportation security devices
     (including immobilization devices).................
11. Standardized spent fuel facilities..................         \6\ N/A
12. Special Projects [Program Code(s): 25110]...........         \6\ N/A
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance         \6\ N/A
    B. General licenses for storage of spent fuel under         \12\ N/A
     10 CFR 72.210......................................
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation:
    A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material            \7\ N/A
     licenses and other approvals authorizing
     decommissioning, decontamination, reclamation, or
     site restoration activities under parts 30, 40, 70,
     72, and 76 of this chapter, including master
     materials licenses (MMLs) [Program Code(s): 3900,
     11900, 21135, 21215, 21240, 21325, 22200]..........
    B. Site-specific decommissioning activities                  \7\ N/A
     associated with unlicensed sites, including MMLs,
     whether or not the sites have been previously
     licensed...........................................
15. Import and Export licenses..........................         \8\ N/A
16. Reciprocity.........................................         \8\ N/A
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to           343,000
 Government agencies [Program Code(s): 03614]...........
18. Department of Energy:
    A. Certificates of Compliance.......................  \10\ 1,623,000
    B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act               666,000
     (UMTRCA) activities................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Annual fees will be assessed based on whether a licensee held a
  valid license with the NRC authorizing possession and use of
  radioactive material during the current FY. The annual fee is waived
  for those materials licenses and holders of certificates,
  registrations, and approvals who either filed for termination of their
  licenses or approvals or filed for possession only/storage licenses
  before October 1, 2015, and permanently ceased licensed activities
  entirely before this date. Annual fees for licensees who filed for
  termination of a license, downgrade of a license, or for a possession-
  only license during the FY and for new licenses issued during the FY
  will be prorated in accordance with the provisions of Sec.   171.17.
  If a person holds more than one license, certificate, registration, or
  approval, the annual fee(s) will be assessed for each license,
  certificate, registration, or approval held by that person. For
  licenses that authorize more than one activity on a single license
  (e.g., human use and irradiator activities), annual fees will be
  assessed for each category applicable to the license.
\2\ Payment of the prescribed annual fee does not automatically renew
  the license, certificate, registration, or approval for which the fee
  is paid. Renewal applications must be filed in accordance with the
  requirements of parts 30, 40, 70, 71, 72, or 76 of this chapter.
\3\ Each FY, fees for these materials licenses will be calculated and
  assessed in accordance with Sec.   171.13 and will be published in the
  Federal Register for notice and comment.
\4\ Other facilities include licenses for extraction of metals, heavy
  metals, and rare earths.
\5\ There are no existing NRC licenses in these fee categories. If NRC
  issues a license for these categories, the Commission will consider
  establishing an annual fee for this type of license.
\6\ Standardized spent fuel facilities, 10 CFR parts 71 and 72
  Certificates of Compliance and related Quality Assurance program
  approvals, and special reviews, such as topical reports, are not
  assessed an annual fee because the generic costs of regulating these
  activities are primarily attributable to users of the designs,
  certificates, and topical reports.
\7\Licensees in this category are not assessed an annual fee because
  they are charged an annual fee in other categories while they are
  licensed to operate.
\8\ No annual fee is charged because it is not practical to administer
  due to the relatively short life or temporary nature of the license.

[[Page 37464]]

 
\9\ Separate annual fees will not be assessed for pacemaker licenses
  issued to medical institutions that also hold nuclear medicine
  licenses under fee categories 7.B. or 7.C.
\10\ This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to the U.S.
  Department of Energy that are not funded from the Nuclear Waste Fund.
\11\ See Sec.   171.15(c).
\12\ See Sec.   171.15(c).
\13\ No annual fee is charged for this category because the cost of the
  general license registration program applicable to licenses in this
  category will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees.
\14\ Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational
  purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in
  this category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources
  are possessed for storage only.)
\15\ Licensees paying annual fees under category 1.A., 1.B., and 1.E.
  are not subject to the annual fees for categories 1.C., 1.D., and 1.F.
  for sealed sources authorized in the license.
\16\ Licensees subject to fees under categories 1.A., 1.B., 1.E., or
  2.A. must pay the largest applicable fee and are not subject to
  additional fees listed in this table.
\17\ Licensees paying fees under 3.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
  for possession
and shielding authorized on the same license.
\18\ Licensees paying fees under 7.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
  for possession
and shielding authorized on the same license.
\19\ Licensees paying fees under 3.N. are not subject to paying fees
  under 3.P. for calibration or leak testing services authorized on the
  same license.
\20\ Licensees paying fees under 7.B. are not subject to paying fees
  under 7.C. for broad scope license licenses issued under parts 30, 35,
  40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source
  material, and/or special nuclear material, except licenses for
  byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in
  sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices authorized on the same
  license.

    (e) The fee-relief adjustment allocated to annual fees includes the 
budgeted resources for the activities listed in paragraph (e)(1) of 
this section, plus the total budgeted resources for the activities 
included in paragraphs (e)(2) and (e)(3) of this section, as reduced by 
the appropriations the NRC receives for these types of activities. If 
the NRC's appropriations for these types of activities are greater than 
the budgeted resources for the activities included in paragraphs (e)(2) 
and (e)(3) of this section for a given fiscal year, a negative fee-
relief adjustment (or annual fee reduction) will be allocated to annual 
fees. The activities comprising the FY 2015 fee-relief adjustment are 
as follows:
* * * * *

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of June 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Maureen E. Wylie,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-15763 Filed 6-29-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P