Fees Development and Communications, 15352-15353 [2016-06422]

Download as PDF 15352 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 22, 2016 / Notices Planning Staff, Two Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE., Suite 3E.405B, Washington, DC 20530. Dated: March 17, 2016. Jerri Murray, Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice. [FR Doc. 2016–06383 Filed 3–21–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410–09–P NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Office of Government Information Services FOIA Advisory Committee; Solicitation for Committee Member Nominations National Archives and Records Administration. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) seeks member nominations for our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee (Committee). DATES: We must receive nominations for Committee membership before 5 p.m. EDT on April 30, 2016. ADDRESSES: Email nominations to OGIS at foia-advisory-committee@nara.gov, fax them to Kate Gastner’s attention at 202–741–5769, or mail them to Kate Gastner; National Archives and Records Administration; Office of Government Information Services; 8601 Adelphi Road; College Park, MD 20740–6001. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Gastner by phone at 202–741–5770, by mail at National Archives and Records Administration; Office of Government Information Services; 8601 Adelphi Road; College Park, MD 20740–6001, or by email at foia-advisory-committee@ nara.gov. SUMMARY: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES I. Background We established the Committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., to advise NARA on improvements to the FOIA and to study the current FOIA landscape across the executive branch. We also established the Committee in accordance with the second United States Open Government National Action Plan released on December 5, 2013, and the directive in the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552(h)(1)(C), that the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) within NARA ‘‘recommend policy changes . . . to improve’’ FOIA administration. 17:34 Mar 21, 2016 Jkt 238001 II. Charter and Membership Appointment Terms We first chartered the Committee on May 20, 2014, and we anticipate renewing the charter for another twoyear term beginning in May 2016. Member appointment terms run for two years, concurrently with the Committee charter. III. Committee Membership [NARA 2016–022] VerDate Sep<11>2014 This Committee is subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the FOIA, and the Government in the Sunshine Act (GISA). The Committee includes at least eight Government and seven non-Government representatives. We select Committee members so that the Committee membership includes the following range of representatives, at a minimum: Government members: Three FOIA professionals from Cabinet-level Departments; three FOIA professionals from non-Cabinet agencies; one representative from the Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy; and one representative from NARA. Non-Government Members: Two individuals representing the interests of non-Governmental organizations that advocate on FOIA matters; one individual representing the interests of FOIA requesters who qualify for the ‘‘all other’’ FOIA requester fee category; one individual representing the interests of requesters who qualify for the ‘‘news media’’ FOIA requester fee category; one individual representing the interests of requesters who qualify for the ‘‘commercial’’ FOIA requester fee category; one individual representing the interests of historians and historyrelated organizations; and one individual representing the interests of academia. IV. Nomination information All nominations for Committee membership should provide the following information: 1. Your name, title, and relevant contact information (including phone, fax, and email address); 2. The nominee’s name, title, and relevant contact information, and the Committee position for which you are submitting the nominee; 3. A short paragraph or biography about the nominee (fewer than 250 ´ words), summarizing their resume or otherwise highlighting the contributions the nominee would bring to the Committee; and ´ 4. The nominee’s resume or curriculum vitae. PO 00000 Frm 00133 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 OGIS will notify nominees selected for appointment to the Committee in the summer of 2016. Dated: March 16, 2016. Patrice Little Murray, Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. 2016–06319 Filed 3–21–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7515–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2016–0056] Fees Development and Communications Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Request for information. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting information from the public on a number of issues associated with the development of the agency’s fees. Specifically, the NRC would like stakeholder input regarding the general communications the NRC provides about its fees and the public’s understanding of the NRC’s fees. The information collected will be used by the NRC in developing ways to improve the transparency of its fees development and invoicing processes. DATES: Submit information and comments by May 6, 2016. Information and comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to assure consideration only for information and comments received on or before this date. SUMMARY: You may submit information and comments by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2016–0056. 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 document. • Mail information and comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN–12–H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. For additional direction on obtaining and submitting information and comments, see ‘‘Obtaining and Submitting Information and Comments’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. ADDRESSES: E:\FR\FM\22MRN1.SGM 22MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 22, 2016 / Notices remove such information before making the submissions available to the public or entering the submission into ADAMS. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Bradford, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–1560; email: Anna.Bradford@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Obtaining and Submitting Information and Comments A. Obtaining Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2016– 0056 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this action by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2016–0056. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable 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 (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. • 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. asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES B. Submitting Information and Comments Please include Docket ID NRC–2016– 0056 in your submission. The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your submission. The NRC will post all submissions at https:// www.regulations.gov as well as enter the submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely remove identifying or contact information. If you are requesting or aggregating information from other persons for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their submissions. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit submissions to VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:34 Mar 21, 2016 Jkt 238001 II. Background Each year, the NRC determines its hourly, annual, and flat fees via the rulemaking process. During that rulemaking process, the NRC receives public comments regarding the specific fees being proposed, and at times also receives more generalized comments regarding the processes that the NRC uses to calculate and communicate those fees—such comments are outside the scope of the annual rulemaking process. In a January 30, 2015, paper to the Commission (SECY–15–0015, ‘‘Project Aim 2020 Report and Recommendations,’’ ADAMS Accession No. ML15012A594), the NRC staff recommended that the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) undertake an effort to: 1) Simplify how the NRC calculates its fees, 2) improve transparency, and 3) improve the timeliness of the NRC’s communications about fee changes. These areas overlap with the out-of-scope comments that the NRC at times receives during its annual fee rulemaking. In addition, the NRC staff’s paper recommended that the OCFO assess alternative methods of allocating fees; specifically, the paper recommended that the OCFO look at whether the NRC should continue to assess flat fees to materials licensees, and whether the NRC should use flat fees for other regulatory activities. The Commission approved these recommendations in a Staff Requirements Memorandum dated June 8, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15159A234). In accordance with the Commission’s direction in June 2015, the NRC is now seeking input from its stakeholders. The focus of this information-gathering effort is to obtain information for the NRC to consider in evaluating the changes (if any) that the NRC can make to improve the transparency and the timeliness of its fees development and invoicing processes. Potential improvements identified as a result of this informationgathering effort may be implemented in a variety of ways, including during the development of future annual fee rulemakings or by making changes to other agency communication methods (e.g., by posting additional information to the public Web site regarding fees). III. Requested Information and Comments The NRC is interested in obtaining stakeholder comments regarding the PO 00000 Frm 00134 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 15353 general communications the NRC provides about its fees and the public’s understanding of the NRC’s fees. In particular, the NRC is requesting answers to the following questions: 1. What are some specific ways that the NRC can improve the public’s understanding of its fees and how those fees relate to the agency’s budget? 2. What are some specific improvements that could be made to the fee-related work papers or forms that would assist in the public’s understanding of those papers and forms? For example, can the NRC improve the clarity and content of NRC invoice forms? If so, how? 3. How can the NRC improve its explanation of any changes to the annual fees or hourly rates in the annual fee rule? 4. What additional information can the NRC provide along with the proposed fee rule and work papers to help explain how the NRC determines fees? 5. Given the statutory requirement to base the NRC’s fees on the annual appropriation enacted by Congress, are there any ways that the NRC can improve the timeliness of completing its annual fee rulemaking or communicating fee changes? 6. Are there activities that the NRC should convert from fee-billable to nonfee-billable (or vice versa) and, if so, why? For example, should hearings for new licenses be fee-billable, or should the NRC continue to recover those costs through 10 CFR part 171 annual charges? 7. Are there activities or fee classes that are more suited to flat fees rather than hourly? For example, should reviews of topical reports be subject to a flat fee or is the level of effort associated with individual topical reports too variable? 8. Are the current fee classes and categories appropriately defined? If not, how should they be revised and why? 9. Is there general information that the NRC can add to its public Web site that would assist stakeholders in their understanding of the NRC’s fees development and invoicing processes? Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of March, 2016. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Maureen E. Wylie, Chief Financial Officer. [FR Doc. 2016–06422 Filed 3–21–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P E:\FR\FM\22MRN1.SGM 22MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15352-15353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06422]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2016-0056]


Fees Development and Communications

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Request for information.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting 
information from the public on a number of issues associated with the 
development of the agency's fees. Specifically, the NRC would like 
stakeholder input regarding the general communications the NRC provides 
about its fees and the public's understanding of the NRC's fees. The 
information collected will be used by the NRC in developing ways to 
improve the transparency of its fees development and invoicing 
processes.

DATES: Submit information and comments by May 6, 2016. Information and 
comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical 
to do so, but the NRC is able to assure consideration only for 
information and comments received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit information and comments by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0056. 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 document.
     Mail information and comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of 
Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN-12-H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on obtaining and submitting information 
and comments, see ``Obtaining and Submitting Information and Comments'' 
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

[[Page 15353]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Bradford, Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer, U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone:
    301-415-1560; email: Anna.Bradford@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining and Submitting Information and Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0056 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0056.
     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 (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
     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.

B. Submitting Information and Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2016-0056 in your submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
submission. The NRC will post all submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the submissions into ADAMS. The 
NRC does not routinely remove identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating information from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their submissions. Your request should state that 
the NRC does not routinely edit submissions to remove such information 
before making the submissions available to the public or entering the 
submission into ADAMS.

II. Background

    Each year, the NRC determines its hourly, annual, and flat fees via 
the rulemaking process. During that rulemaking process, the NRC 
receives public comments regarding the specific fees being proposed, 
and at times also receives more generalized comments regarding the 
processes that the NRC uses to calculate and communicate those fees--
such comments are outside the scope of the annual rulemaking process.
    In a January 30, 2015, paper to the Commission (SECY-15-0015, 
``Project Aim 2020 Report and Recommendations,'' ADAMS Accession No. 
ML15012A594), the NRC staff recommended that the Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer (OCFO) undertake an effort to: 1) Simplify how the 
NRC calculates its fees, 2) improve transparency, and 3) improve the 
timeliness of the NRC's communications about fee changes. These areas 
overlap with the out-of-scope comments that the NRC at times receives 
during its annual fee rulemaking. In addition, the NRC staff's paper 
recommended that the OCFO assess alternative methods of allocating 
fees; specifically, the paper recommended that the OCFO look at whether 
the NRC should continue to assess flat fees to materials licensees, and 
whether the NRC should use flat fees for other regulatory activities. 
The Commission approved these recommendations in a Staff Requirements 
Memorandum dated June 8, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15159A234).
    In accordance with the Commission's direction in June 2015, the NRC 
is now seeking input from its stakeholders. The focus of this 
information-gathering effort is to obtain information for the NRC to 
consider in evaluating the changes (if any) that the NRC can make to 
improve the transparency and the timeliness of its fees development and 
invoicing processes. Potential improvements identified as a result of 
this information-gathering effort may be implemented in a variety of 
ways, including during the development of future annual fee rulemakings 
or by making changes to other agency communication methods (e.g., by 
posting additional information to the public Web site regarding fees).

III. Requested Information and Comments

    The NRC is interested in obtaining stakeholder comments regarding 
the general communications the NRC provides about its fees and the 
public's understanding of the NRC's fees. In particular, the NRC is 
requesting answers to the following questions:
    1. What are some specific ways that the NRC can improve the 
public's understanding of its fees and how those fees relate to the 
agency's budget?
    2. What are some specific improvements that could be made to the 
fee-related work papers or forms that would assist in the public's 
understanding of those papers and forms? For example, can the NRC 
improve the clarity and content of NRC invoice forms? If so, how?
    3. How can the NRC improve its explanation of any changes to the 
annual fees or hourly rates in the annual fee rule?
    4. What additional information can the NRC provide along with the 
proposed fee rule and work papers to help explain how the NRC 
determines fees?
    5. Given the statutory requirement to base the NRC's fees on the 
annual appropriation enacted by Congress, are there any ways that the 
NRC can improve the timeliness of completing its annual fee rulemaking 
or communicating fee changes?
    6. Are there activities that the NRC should convert from fee-
billable to non-fee-billable (or vice versa) and, if so, why? For 
example, should hearings for new licenses be fee-billable, or should 
the NRC continue to recover those costs through 10 CFR part 171 annual 
charges?
    7. Are there activities or fee classes that are more suited to flat 
fees rather than hourly? For example, should reviews of topical reports 
be subject to a flat fee or is the level of effort associated with 
individual topical reports too variable?
    8. Are the current fee classes and categories appropriately 
defined? If not, how should they be revised and why?
    9. Is there general information that the NRC can add to its public 
Web site that would assist stakeholders in their understanding of the 
NRC's fees development and invoicing processes?

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of March, 2016.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Maureen E. Wylie,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-06422 Filed 3-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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