Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2017, 30682-30708 [2017-13520]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
[NRC–2016–0081]
RIN 3150–AJ73
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee
Recovery for Fiscal Year 2017
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is amending the
licensing, inspection, special project,
and annual fees charged to its
applicants and licensees. These
amendments are necessary to
implement the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1990 as amended
(OBRA–90), which requires the NRC to
recover approximately 90 percent of its
annual budget through fees.
DATES: This final rule is effective on
August 29, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2016–0081 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–2016–0081. 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.
• 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 this document. For
the convenience of the reader, the
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SUMMARY:
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ADAMS accession numbers and
instructions about obtaining materials
referenced in this document are
provided 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:
Michele Kaplan, Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001, telephone: 301–415–
5256, email: Michele.Kaplan@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background; Statutory Authority
II. Discussion
III. Opportunities for Public Participation
IV. Public Comment Analysis
V. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
VI. Regulatory Analysis
VII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
VIII. Plain Writing
IX. National Environmental Policy Act
X. Paperwork Reduction Act
XI. Congressional Review Act
XII. Voluntary Consensus Standards
XIII. Availability of Guidance
XIV. Availability of Documents
I. Background; Statutory Authority
The NRC’s fee regulations are
governed primarily by two laws: (1) The
Independent Offices Appropriations Act
of 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C. 9701), and (2)
OBRA–90. The OBRA–90 statute
requires the NRC to recover
approximately 90 percent of its budget
authority through fees; this fee-recovery
requirement may exclude amounts
appropriated for Waste Incidental to
Reprocessing, generic homeland
security activities, $5 million for
advanced reactor regulatory
infrastructure, and Inspector General
(IG) services for the Defense Nuclear
Facilities Safety Board. The OBRA–90
statute first requires the NRC to use its
IOAA authority to collect user fees for
NRC work that provides specific
benefits to identifiable applicants and
licensees (such as licensing work,
inspections, special projects). The
regulations at part 170 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
authorize these fees. But, because the
NRC’s fee recovery under the IOAA (10
CFR part 170) does not equal 90 percent
of the NRC’s budget authority, the NRC
also assesses generic ‘‘annual fees’’
under 10 CFR part 171 to recover the
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remaining fees necessary to achieve
OBRA–90’s 90-percent fee recovery.
These annual fees recover generic
regulatory costs that are not otherwise
collected through 10 CFR part 170.
II. Discussion
FY 2017 Fee Collection—Overview
The NRC is issuing the FY 2017 final
fee rule based on the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2017 (Pub. L. 115–
31), in the amount of $917.1 million, a
decrease of $85.0 million from FY 2016.
As explained previously, certain
portions of the NRC’s total budget are
excluded from the NRC’s fee-recovery
amount—specifically, these exclusions
include: $1.3 million for wasteincidental-to-reprocessing activities,
$1.0 million for IG services for the
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board,
and $15.8 million and for generic
homeland security activities. Also, for
the first time, the enacted budget
includes $5 million for advanced reactor
infrastructure, which is required to be
excluded from the fee base.
Additionally, OBRA–90 requires the
NRC to recover only approximately 90
percent of the remaining budget
authority, leaving the remaining 10
percent to be funded by a congressional
appropriation.
After accounting for the OBRA–90
exclusions, this 10-percent
appropriation, and net billing
adjustments (the sum of unpaid current
year invoices (estimated) minus
payments for prior year invoices) the
NRC must bill approximately $805.9
million in FY 2017 to licensees. Of this
amount, the NRC estimates that $297.3
million will be recovered through 10
CFR part 170 user fees, which leaves
approximately $508.6 million to be
recovered through 10 CFR part 171
annual fees. Table I summarizes the feerecovery amounts for the FY 2017 final
fee rule using the enacted budget and
taking into account excluded activities,
the 10-percent appropriation, and net
billing adjustments (individual values
may not sum to totals due to rounding).
The FY 2017 appropriation includes
access to $23.0 million in carryover
funds. The use of carry over funds
allows the NRC to accomplish the work
needed without additional costs to
licensees because fees are calculated
based on the new appropriation and not
carryover funds.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
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TABLE I—BUDGET AND FEE RECOVERY AMOUNTS
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
final rule
FY 2017
final rule
Percentage
change
Total Budget Authority .................................................................................................................
Less Excluded Fee Items ............................................................................................................
$1,002.1
¥21.1
$917.1
¥23.1
¥8.5
9.5
Balance .................................................................................................................................
Fee Recovery Percent .................................................................................................................
Total Amount to be Recovered: ..................................................................................................
10 CFR part 171 Billing Adjustments:
Unpaid Current Year Invoices (estimated)
Less Prior Year Billing Credit for Transportation Fee Class
Less Payments Received in Current Year for Previous Year Invoices (estimated)
$981.0
90
$882.9
$894.0
90
$804.6
¥8.9
0.0
¥8.9
6.3
¥0.2
¥5.6
6.2
0.0
¥4.9
¥1.6
100.0
¥12.5
Subtotal .........................................................................................................................
Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 Fees .........................................
Less Estimated 10 CFR part 170 Fees ...............................................................................
0.5
$883.4
¥332.7
1.3
$805.9
¥297.3
160.0
¥8.8
¥10.7
10 CFR Part 171 Fee Collections Required .................................................................
$550.7
$508.6
¥7.6
The NRC uses an hourly rate to assess
fees for specific services provided by the
NRC under 10 CFR part 170. The hourly
rate also helps determine flat fees
(which are used for the review of certain
types of license applications). This rate
would be applicable to all activities for
which fees are assessed under §§ 170.21
and 170.31.
The NRC’s hourly rate is derived by
adding the budgeted resources for: (1)
Mission-direct program salaries and
benefits; 1 (2) mission-indirect program
support; 2 and (3) agency support,3
which includes corporate support and
the IG, and then dividing this sum by
total mission-direct full-time equivalent
(FTE) converted to hours. The missiondirect FTE converted to hours is the
product of the mission-direct FTE
multiplied by the estimated annual
mission-direct FTE productive hours.
The following shows the hourly rate
calculation:
For FY 2017, the NRC is decreasing
the hourly rate from $265 to $263. The
0.8 percent decrease in the FY 2017
hourly rate is due primarily to the
decline in total budgetary resources and
an increase in productive hours worked,
offset by a decline in mission-direct FTE
from FY 2016 to FY 2017. The FY 2017
estimated annual direct hours per staff
is 1,500 hours, up from 1,440 hours in
FY 2016. The productive-hours
assumption reflects the average number
of hours that a mission-direct employee
spends on mission-direct work in a
given year. This excludes hours charged
to annual leave, sick leave, holidays,
training and general administration
tasks. Table II shows the hourly rate
calculation methodology. The FY 2016
amounts are provided for comparison.
FY 2017 Fee Collection—Hourly Rate
TABLE II—HOURLY RATE CALCULATION
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
final rule
1 Mission-direct program salaries and benefits
resources are allocated to perform core work
activities committed to fulfilling the agency’s
mission of protecting the public health and safety,
promoting the common defense and security, and
protecting the environment. The majority of the
resources assigned under the direct business lines
(Operating Reactors, New Reactors, Fuel Facilities,
Nuclear Materials Users, Decommissioning and
Low-Level Waste, and Spent Fuel Storage and
Transportation) are core work activities considered
mission-direct.
2 Mission-indirect program support resources are
those that support the core mission-direct activities.
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They include, for example, supervisory and
nonsupervisory support and mission travel and
training. Supervisory and nonsupervisory support
and mission travel and training resources assigned
under direct business line structure are considered
mission-indirect due to their supporting role of the
core mission activities.
3 Agency support (corporate support and the IG)
resources are located in executive, administrative,
and other support offices such as the Office of the
Commission, the Office of the Secretary, the Office
of the Executive Director for Operations, the Offices
of Congressional and Public Affairs, the Office of
the Inspector General, the Office of Administration,
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$369.6
140.6
$340.6
137.3
Percentage
change
¥7.9
¥2.3
the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the Office
of the Chief Information Officer, the Office of the
Chief Human Capital Officer and the Office of Small
Business and Civil Rights. These budgeted costs
administer the corporate or shared efforts that more
broadly support the activities of the agency. These
activities also include information technology
services, human capital services, financial
management, and administrative support.
4 Does not include contract dollars billed to
licensees separately.
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Mission-Direct Program Salaries & Benefits ...............................................................................
Mission-Indirect Program Support ...............................................................................................
FY 2017
final rule
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TABLE II—HOURLY RATE CALCULATION—Continued
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
final rule
FY 2017
final rule
Percentage
change
Agency Support (Corporate Support and the IG) .......................................................................
Subtotal .................................................................................................................................
Less Offsetting Receipts 5 ...........................................................................................................
314.0
824.2
¥0.1
309.6
787.5
¥0.1
¥1.4
¥4.5
¥31.2
Total Budgeted Resources Included in Hourly Rate ............................................................
Mission-Direct FTE (Whole numbers) .........................................................................................
Mission-Direct FTE productive hours ..........................................................................................
Mission-Direct FTE Converted to Hours (Mission-Direct FTE multiplied by Mission-Direct FTE
productive hours worked annually) (In Millions) ......................................................................
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budget Included in Hourly Rate Divided by FTE Converted to
Hours) (Whole Numbers) .........................................................................................................
824.1
2,157
1,440
787.4
1,996
1,500
¥4.5
¥7.5
4.2
3.1
3.0
¥3.6
265
263
¥0.8
FY 2017 Fee Collection—Flat
Application Fee Changes
The NRC is amending the flat
application fees that it charges to
applicants for import and export
licenses, applicants for materials
licenses and other regulatory services,
and holders of materials in its schedule
of fees in §§ 170.21 and 170.31, to
reflect the revised hourly rate of $263.
The NRC calculates these flat fees by
multiplying the average professional
staff hours needed to process the
licensing actions by the proposed
professional hourly rate for FY 2017.
The NRC analyzes the actual hours
spent performing licensing actions and
then estimates the average professional
staff hours that are needed to process
licensing actions as part of its biennial
review of fees, which is required by
Section 902 of the Chief Financial
Officers Act of 1990 (31 U.S.C. 902(8)).
The NRC performed this review in FY
2017 and will perform this review again
in FY 2019. For the most part,
application fees decreased due to a
lower hourly rate along with efficiencies
achieved in the licensing and inspection
programs. Please see the final fee rule
work papers (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17164A283) for moredetail.
The NRC rounds these flat fees in
such a way that ensures both
convenience for its stakeholders and
that any rounding effects are minimal.
Accordingly, fees under $1,000 are
rounded to the nearest $10, fees
between $1,000 and $100,000 are
rounded to the nearest $100, and fees
greater than $100,000 are rounded to the
nearest $1,000.
The licensing flat fees are applicable
for import and export licensing actions
(see fee categories K.1. through K.5. of
§ 170.21), as well as certain materials
licensing actions (see fee categories 1.C.
through 1.D., 2.B. through 2.F., 3.A.
through 3.S., 4.B. through 5.A., 6.A.
through 9.D., 10.B., 15.A. through 15.L.,
15.R., and 16 of § 170.31). Applications
filed on or after the effective date shown
in the DATES section of this document
will be subject to the revised fees in this
final rule.
FY 2017 Fee Collection—Fee-Relief and
Low-Level Waste (LLW) Surcharge
As previously noted, OBRA–90
requires the NRC to recover only
approximately 90-percent of its budget
authority. The remaining 10 percent that
is not recovered through fees is applied
by the NRC to offset certain budgeted
activities—see Table III for a full listing.
These activities are referred to as ‘‘feerelief’’ activities. Any difference
between the 10-percent non-feerecoverable amount and the budgeted
amount of these fee-relief activities
results in a fee adjustment (either an
increase or decrease) to all licensees’
annual fees, based on their percentage
share of the NRC’s budget.
In FY 2017, the NRC’s budgeted feerelief activities exceeded the 10-percent
threshold—therefore, the NRC assessed
a fee-relief adjustment (i.e., surcharge)
to increase all licensees’ annual fees
based on their percentage share of the
budget. The surcharge is due primarily
to a decrease in the 10-percent fee relief
threshold, along with increases in
infrastructure for medical isotope
production and regulatory support to
agreement state activities. Table III
summarizes the fee-relief activities for
FY 2017. The FY 2016 amounts are
provided for comparison.
TABLE III—FEE-RELIEF ACTIVITIES
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
budgeted
costs
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Fee-relief activities
1. Activities not attributable to an existing NRC licensee or class of licensee:
a. International activities 6 .....................................................................................................
b. Agreement State oversight ...............................................................................................
c. Scholarships and Fellowships ..........................................................................................
d. Medical Isotope Production Infrastructure .......................................................................
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:
5 The fees collected by the NRC for Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) services and indemnity
(financial protection required of licensees for public
liability claims at 10 CFR part 140) are subtracted
from the budgeted resources amount when
calculating the 10 CFR part 170 hourly rates, per the
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guidance in Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Circular A–25, User Charges. The budgeted
resources for FOIA activities are allocated under the
product for Information Services within the
Corporate Support business line. The indemnity
activities are allocated under the Licensing Actions
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$12.6
12.6
18.2
1.0
FY 2017
budgeted
costs
$13.8
12.9
17.9
4.2
Percentage
change
9.7
2.1
¥1.6
320.0
and the Research & Test Reactors products within
the Operating Reactors business line.
6 This amount includes international assistance
activities, conventions and treaties, and specific
cooperation activities.
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TABLE III—FEE-RELIEF ACTIVITIES—Continued
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
budgeted
costs
Fee-relief activities
FY 2017
budgeted
costs
Percentage
change
a. Fee exemption for nonprofit educational institutions .......................................................
b. Costs not recovered from small entities under 10 CFR 71.16(c) ....................................
c. Regulatory support to Agreement States .........................................................................
d. Generic decommissioning/reclamation (not related to the power reactor and spent fuel
storage fee classes) ..........................................................................................................
e. In Situ leach rulemaking and unregistered general licensees .........................................
f. Potential Department of Defense remediation program MOU activities ...........................
10.1
8.5
16.5
9.7
7.4
18.5
¥3.9
¥12.9
11.8
15.2
1.6
1.7
14.6
1.4
1.1
¥3.9
¥12.5
¥34.0
Total fee-relief activities ...............................................................................................................
Less 10 percent of the NRC’s total FY budget (less non-fee items) ...................................
98.0
¥98.1
101.5
¥89.4
3.5
¥8.9
Fee-Relief Adjustment to be Allocated to All Licensees’ Annual Fees ........................
¥0.1
12.1
17,357.7
Table IV shows how the NRC
allocates the $12.1 million fee-relief
adjustment (surcharge) to each license
fee class.
In addition to the fee-relief
adjustment, the NRC also assesses a
generic LLW surcharge of $3.2 million.
Disposal of LLW occurs at commercially
operated LLW disposal facilities that are
licensed by either the NRC or an
Agreement State. There are four existing
LLW disposal facilities in the United
States that accept various types of lowlevel waste. All are in Agreement States
and, therefore, regulated by the State
authority. The NRC allocates this
surcharge to its licensees based on data
available in the DOE Manifest
Information Management System. This
database contains information on total
LLW volumes and NRC usage
information from four generator classes:
Academic, industry, medical, and
utility. The ratio of utility waste
volumes to total LLW volumes over a
period of time is used to estimate the
portion of this surcharge that should be
allocated to the power reactors, fuel
facilities, and materials fee classes. The
materials portion is adjusted to account
for the fact that a large percentage of
materials licensees are licensed by the
Agreement States rather than the NRC.
Table IV shows the surcharge, and its
allocation across the various fee classes.
TABLE IV—ALLOCATION OF FEE-RELIEF ADJUSTMENT AND LLW SURCHARGE, FY 2017
[Dollars in millions]
LLW surcharge
Percent
Fee-relief adjustment
$
Percent
Total
$
$
Operating Power Reactors ..................................................
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning ...................
Research and Test Reactors ...............................................
Fuel Facilities .......................................................................
Materials Users ....................................................................
Transportation ......................................................................
Rare Earth Facilities ............................................................
Uranium Recovery ...............................................................
24.0
0.0
0.0
62.0
14.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.8
0.0
0.0
2.0
0.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
85.4
3.9
0.2
4.5
3.6
0.6
0.0
1.8
10.3
0.5
0.0
0.6
0.4
0.1
0.0
0.2
11.1
0.5
0.0
2.5
0.8
0.1
0.0
0.2
Total ..............................................................................
100.0
3.2
100.0
12.1
15.2
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FY 2017 Fee Collection—Revised
Annual Fees
In accordance with SECY–05–0164,
‘‘Annual Fee Calculation Method,’’
dated September 15, 2005 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML052580332), the NRC
re-baselines its annual fees every year.
Re-baselining entails analyzing the
budget in detail and then allocating the
budgeted costs to various classes or
subclasses of licensees. It also includes
updating the number of NRC licensees
in its fee calculation methodology.
The NRC revised its annual fees in
§§ 171.15 and 171.16 to recover
approximately 90 percent of the NRC’s
FY 2017 budget authority (less non-fee
amounts and the estimated amount to be
recovered through 10 CFR part 170
fees). The total estimated 10 CFR part
170 collections for this final rule are
$297.3 million, a decrease of $35.4
million from the FY 2016 final rule. The
NRC, therefore, must recover $508.6
million through annual fees from its
licensees, which is a decrease of $42.1
million from the FY 2016 final rule.
Table V shows the re-baselined fees
for FY 2017 for a representative list of
categories of licensees. The FY 2016
amounts are provided for comparison.
TABLE V—RE-BASELINED ANNUAL FEES
FY 2016
final annual
fee
Class/category of licenses
Operating Power Reactors ..........................................................................................................
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$4,659,000
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FY 2017
final annual
fee
$4,308,000
Percentage
change
¥7.5
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TABLE V—RE-BASELINED ANNUAL FEES—Continued
FY 2016
final annual
fee
Class/category of licenses
FY 2017
final annual
fee
Percentage
change
+ Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning .......................................................................
197,000
188,000
¥4.6
Total, Combined Fee ............................................................................................................
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning ..........................................................................
Research and Test Reactors/Non-power Reactors ....................................................................
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility ...........................................................................................
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility ............................................................................................
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion Facility .................................................................................
Conventional Mills ........................................................................................................................
Typical Materials Users:
Radiographers (Category 3O) ..............................................................................................
Well Loggers (Category 5A) .................................................................................................
All Other Specific Byproduct Material Licenses (Category 3P) ...........................................
Broad Scope Medical (Category 7B) ...................................................................................
4,856,000
197,000
81,500
7,867,000
2,736,000
1,625,000
38,900
4,496,000
188,000
81,400
7,700,000
2,790,000
1,590,000
38,900
¥7.4
¥4.6
¥0.1
¥2.1
2.0
¥2.2
0.0
26,000
14,500
7,900
37,400
27,000
16,000
9,300
33,800
3.8
10.3
17.7
¥9.6
The work papers that support this final
rule show in detail how the NRC
allocated the budgeted resources for
each class of licenses and how the fees
are calculated.
Paragraphs a. through h. of this
section describe budgetary resources
allocated to each class of licensees and
the calculations of the re-baselined fees.
For more information about detailed fee
calculations for each class, please
consult the accompanying work papers.
a. Fuel Facilities
The NRC will collect $33.9 million in
annual fees from the fuel facility class.
TABLE VI—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR FUEL FACILITIES
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
final
Summary fee calculations
FY 2017
final
Percentage
change
Total budgeted resources ............................................................................................................
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts ..................................................................................
$40.5
¥11.7
$33.9
¥9.6
¥16.3
¥17.9
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources ...........................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation ..................................................................................................
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge .........................................................................................
Billing adjustments .......................................................................................................................
28.8
1.1
1.7
0.0
24.3
1.6
2.5
0.0
¥15.6
45.5
47.1
0.0
Total remaining required annual fee recovery .....................................................................
31.6
28.4
¥10.1
In FY 2017, the fuel facilities
budgetary resources decreased due to
continued construction delays at
multiple sites (including the Shaw
Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication and the
International Isotope facilities) and
efficiencies achieved within the
licensing and inspection programs,
offset by declining estimated 10 CFR
part 170 billings for license renewals
and amendments, and a reduction of
one licensee in the fee class—Centrus
Energy Corporation Lead Cascade Gas
Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration
facility. Due to the proration rules in our
regulation, this licensee will remain for
the FY 2017 final fee rule calculation,
and be removed from the fee rule for FY
2018.
The NRC allocates annual fees to
individual fuel facility licensees based
on the effort/fee determination matrix
developed in the FY 1999 final fee rule
(64 FR 31447; June 10, 1999). To briefly
recap, that matrix groups licensees into
various categories. The NRC’s fuel
facility project managers determine the
effort levels associated with regulating
each category. This is done by assigning
separate effort factors for the safety and
safeguards activities associated with
each category (for more information
about this matrix, see the work papers).
These effort levels are reflected in Table
VII.
TABLE VII—EFFORT FACTORS FOR FUEL FACILITIES, FY 2017
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Facility type
(fee category)
Effort factors
(percent of total)
Number of
facilities
Safety
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)) ....................................................................................
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)) .....................................................................................
Limited Operations (1.A.(2)(a)) ....................................................................................................
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b)) ..............................................................
Hot Cell (1.A.(2)(c)) .....................................................................................................................
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.) ..........................................................................................................
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2
3
0
1
1
1
30JNR4
88 (44.0)
70 (35.0)
0 (0.0)
3 (1.5)
6 (3.0)
21 (10.5)
Safeguards
96 (55.2)
30 (17.2)
0 (0.0)
15 (8.6)
3 (1.7)
23 (13.2)
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30687
TABLE VII—EFFORT FACTORS FOR FUEL FACILITIES, FY 2017—Continued
Facility type
(fee category)
Effort factors
(percent of total)
Number of
facilities
Safety
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1)) ...............................................................................
For FY 2017, the total budgeted
resources for safety activities are $13.8
million. To calculate the annual fee, the
NRC allocates this amount to each fee
category based on its percent of the total
regulatory effort for safety activities.
Similarly, the NRC allocates the
budgeted resources for safeguards
activities, $12.1 million, to each fee
category based on its percent of the total
regulatory effort for safeguards
activities. Finally, the fuel facility fee
class’ portion of the fee-relief
adjustment/LLW surcharge—$2.5
million—is allocated to each fee
category based on its percent of the total
1
Safeguards
12 (6.0)
7 (4.0)
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 for
each facility is summarized in Table
VIII.
TABLE VIII—ANNUAL FEES FOR FUEL FACILITIES
FY 2016
final
annual fee
Facility type
(fee category)
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)) ....................................................................................
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)) .....................................................................................
Limited Operations (1.A(2)(a)) .....................................................................................................
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b)) ..............................................................
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c)) .................................................................................................
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.) ..........................................................................................................
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1)) ...............................................................................
$7,867,000
2,736,000
0.0
1,539,000
770,000
3,762,000
1,625,000
FY 2017
final
annual fee
$7,700,000
2,790,000
0.0
1,507,000
753,000
3,340,000
1,590,000
Percentage
change
¥2.1
2.0
0.0
¥2.1
¥2.2
¥11.2
¥2.2
b. Uranium Recovery Facilities
TABLE IX—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR URANIUM RECOVERY FACILITIES
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
final
Summary fee calculations
FY 2017
final
Percentage
change
$12.3
¥11.4
$14.3
¥13.5
16.3
18.4
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources ...........................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation ..................................................................................................
Fee-relief adjustment ...................................................................................................................
Billing adjustments .......................................................................................................................
0.9
N/A
0.0
0.0
0.8
N/A
0.2
0.0
¥11.1
N/A
100.0
0.0
Total required annual fee recovery ......................................................................................
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Total budgeted resources ............................................................................................................
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts ..................................................................................
0.9
1.0
7.7
In comparison to FY 2016, the FY
2017 budgetary resources for uranium
recovery licensees increased due to
increased work expected for additional
safety and environmental reviews
associated with new licensing actions
and increased hearing activities. In
addition, the NRC regulates DOE’s Title
I and Title II activities under the
Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation
Control Act (UMTRCA).7 For the
7 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
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UMTRCA program, budgetary resources
increased for the expected review of five
groundwater correction plans and two
long term surveillance plans.
Estimated 10 CFR part 170 fees
increased due to the Ludeman
expansion, Kennecott safety evaluation
report, and the Marsland environmental
assessment. For the UMTRCA program,
10 CFR part 170 fees decreased due to
delays in the submission of the
Monument Valley groundwater
correction action plan, the Lakeview
long-term surveillance plan, and the
completion of the review of the Durango
toward uranium mill sites licensed by the NRC or
Agreement States in or after 1978.
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site evaporation pond decommissioning
plan.
The NRC will collect approximately
$1.0 million in annual fees from the
uranium recovery facilities fee class for
both DOE and non-DOE licensees, an
increase of about eight percent from FY
2016. In comparison with FY 2016, nonDOE licensees annual fees will remain
flat for most licensees and decrease for
some. The NRC computes the 10 CFR
part 171 annual fee for the uranium
recovery fee class by dividing the total
annual fee recovery amount between
DOE and the other licensees in this fee
class. The final annual fee assessed to
DOE includes the costs specifically
budgeted for the NRC’s UMTRCA Title
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I and II activities, as well as 10 percent
of the remaining budgeted cost for this
fee class. The DOE’s UMTRCA annual
fee increased because of an increase in
budgetary resources combined with a
decrease in 10 CFR part 170 billings.
The NRC assesses the remaining 90
percent of its budgeted costs to the rest
of the licensees in this fee class, as
described in the work papers. This is
reflected in Table X.
TABLE X—COSTS RECOVERED THROUGH ANNUAL FEES; URANIUM RECOVERY FEE CLASS
FY 2016
final
annual fee
Summary of costs
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I and Title II) General Licenses:
UMTRCA Title I and Title II budgeted costs less 10 CFR part 170 receipts ......................
10 percent of generic/other uranium recovery budgeted costs ...........................................
10 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment .........................................................
FY 2017
final
annual fee
Percentage
change
$503,708
41,157
¥94
$574,595
19,079
21,940
14.1
¥53.6
23,440.4
Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE (rounded) ..............................................................
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses:
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 .........................................................
545,000
616,000
13.0
370,415
¥844
171,714
197,464
¥53.6
23,496.2
Total Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses ...............................
369,571
369,178
0.0
Further, for the non-DOE licensees,
the NRC uses a matrix to determine the
effort levels associated with conducting
the generic regulatory actions for the
different (non-DOE) licensees in this fee
class; this is similar to the NRC’s
approach for fuel facilities, described
previously.
The matrix methodology for uranium
recovery licensees first identifies the
licensee categories included within this
fee class (excluding DOE). These
categories are: Conventional uranium
mills and heap leach facilities; uranium
In Situ Recovery (ISR) and resin ISR
facilities; mill tailings disposal facilities;
and uranium water treatment facilities.
The matrix identifies the types of
operating activities that support and
benefit these licensees, along with each
activity’s relative weight (for more
information, see the work papers). 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.
TABLE XI—BENEFIT FACTORS FOR URANIUM RECOVERY LICENSES
Number of
licensees
Fee category
Benefit factor
per licensee
Total value
Benefit factor
percent total
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a)) .............................
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b)) ....................................
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c)) ............................
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites (2.A.(4)) ..........
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5)) ...................................................
1
5
1
1
1
150
190
215
85
25
150
950
215
85
25
10.5
66.7
15.1
6.0
1.7
Total ..........................................................................................
9
665
1,425
100
Applying these factors to the
approximate $369,178 in budgeted costs
to be recovered from non-DOE uranium
recovery licensees results in the total
annual fees for each fee category. The
annual fee per licensee is calculated by
dividing the total allocated budgeted
resources for the fee category by the
number of licensees in that fee category,
as summarized in Table XII.
TABLE XII—ANNUAL FEES FOR URANIUM RECOVERY LICENSEES
[Other than DOE]
FY 2016
final
annual fee
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
Facility type
(fee category)
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a)) .........................................................................
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b)) ...............................................................................
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c)) ........................................................................
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites (2.A.(4)) ......................................................
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5)) ...............................................................................................
c. Operating Power Reactors
The NRC will collect $426.5 million
in annual fees from the power reactor
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$38,900
49,300
55,800
22,000
6,500
fee class in FY 2017, as shown in Table
XIII. The FY 2016 values and percentage
change are shown for comparison.
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30JNR4
FY 2017
final
annual fee
$38,900
49,200
55,700
22,000
6,500
Percentage
change
0.0
¥0.2
¥0.2
0.0
0.0
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30689
TABLE XIII—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR POWER REACTORS
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
final
Summary fee calculations
FY 2017
final
Percentage
change
Total budgeted resources ............................................................................................................
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts ..................................................................................
$750.4
¥287.8
$670.3
¥256.3
¥10.7
¥10.9
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources ...........................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation ..................................................................................................
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge .........................................................................................
Billing adjustment .........................................................................................................................
462.6
1.8
1.0
0.6
414.0
0.3
11.1
1.1
¥10.5
¥83.3
1,110.0
83.3
Total required annual fee recovery ......................................................................................
465.9
426.5
¥8.5
In comparison to FY 2016, the operating
power reactors budgetary resources
decreased in FY 2017 primarily due to
fewer resources needed to reduce the
licensing actions backlog and a
reduction for generic work such as the
Fukushima-related rulemaking, ‘‘Station
Blackout Mitigation Strategies.’’ In
addition, budgetary resources for new
reactors decreased because of the
completed combined operating licenses
for Duke Lee, South Texas Project, and
Levy and an application withdrawal
from Bell Bend.
Compared with FY 2016, 10 CFR part
170 fees decreased due to completion of
actions to address the licensing actions
backlog, and the transition of Fort
Calhoun to decommissioning status in
November 2016.
The budgeted costs are divided
equally among the 99 currently
operating power reactors, resulting in a
final 10 CFR part 171 annual fee of
$4,308,000 per reactor. Additionally,
each licensed power reactor is assessed
the FY 2017 spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning 10 CFR part 171
annual fee of $188,000 (see the
discussion that follows). The combined
FY 2017 annual fee for power reactors
is, therefore, $4,496,000 which is a
decrease from the combined FY 2016 10
CFR part 171 annual fee of $4,856,000.
On May 24, 2016 (81 FR 32617), the
NRC published a final rule that
amended its licensing, inspection, and
annual fee regulations to establish a
variable annual fee structure for lightwater small modular reactors (SMRs).
Under the variable annual fee structure,
effective June 23, 2016, an SMR’s
annual fee would be calculated as a
function of its licensed thermal power
rating. Currently, there are no operating
SMRs; therefore, the NRC will not assess
an annual fee in FY 2017 for this type
of licensee.
d. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactors in
Decommissioning
To collect the budgeted resources for
spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning, the NRC will collect
$23.0 million in annual fees from 10
CFR part 50 power reactors and from 10
CFR part 72 licensees who do not hold
a 10 CFR part 50 license.
TABLE XIV—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR THE SPENT FUEL STORAGE/REACTOR IN DECOMMISSIONING FEE
CLASS
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
final
Summary fee calculations
FY 2017
final
Percentage
change
$30.5
¥7.5
$29.5
¥7.9
¥3.3
5.3
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources ...........................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation costs ........................................................................................
Fee-relief adjustment ...................................................................................................................
Billing adjustments .......................................................................................................................
23.0
1.0
0.0
0.0
21.6
0.8
0.5
0.1
¥6.1
¥20.0
100.0
100.0
Total required annual fee recovery ......................................................................................
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
Total budgeted resources ............................................................................................................
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts ..................................................................................
24.0
23.0
¥4.2
In comparison to FY 2016, the
decrease in annual fee is mainly the
result of a decrease in budgetary
resources for storage licensing and
rulemaking activities and an increase in
10 CFR part 170 estimated billings due
to the application for a consolidated
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interim storage facility for Holtec/Eddy
Lea Energy and the technical review of
an application submitted by Waste
Control Specialists.
The required annual fee recovery
amount is divided equally among 122
licensees, resulting in an FY 2017
annual fee of $188,000 per licensee.
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e. Research and Test Reactors/NonPower Reactors
The NRC will collect $0.326 million
in annual fees from the research and test
reactor licensee class.
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TABLE XV—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS/NON-POWER REACTORS
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
final
Summary fee calculations
FY 2017
final
Percentage
change
Total budgeted resources ............................................................................................................
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts ..................................................................................
$3.799
¥3.510
$1.982
¥1.724
¥47.8
¥50.9
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources ...........................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation ..................................................................................................
Fee-relief adjustment ...................................................................................................................
Billing adjustments .......................................................................................................................
0.289
0.034
0.000
0.003
0.258
0.034
0.031
0.003
¥10.7
0.0
100.0
0.0
Total required annual fee recovery ......................................................................................
0.326
0.326
¥0.2
In FY 2017, the research and test/nonpower reactors budgetary resources
decreased due to a decrease in the
NRC’s workload for licensing medical
isotope utilization and production
facilities. Accordingly, the estimated 10
CFR part 170 billings decreased for the
medical isotope production review. For
research and test reactors, in
comparison to FY 2016, the 10 CFR part
171 annual fee remained flat. 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 2017 annual fee of
$81,400 for each licensee.
f. Rare Earth
The application for a rare-earth
facility has been placed on hold until
late FY 2017. Therefore, the NRC has
not allocated any budgetary resources to
this fee class and will not assess an
annual fee in FY 2017 for this fee class.
g. Materials Users
The NRC will collect $35.4 million in
annual fees from materials users
licensed under 10 CFR parts 30, 40, and
70.
TABLE XVI—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR MATERIALS USERS
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
final
Summary fee calculations
FY 2017
final
Percentage
change
$33.2
¥1.1
$33.7
¥0.9
1.5
¥18.2
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources ...........................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation ..................................................................................................
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge .........................................................................................
Billing adjustments .......................................................................................................................
32.1
2.4
0.5
0.0
32.8
1.6
0.9
0.1
2.2
¥33.3
80
100.0
Total required annual fee recovery ......................................................................................
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
Total budgeted resources for licensees not regulated by Agreement States .............................
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts ..................................................................................
35.0
35.4
1.1
To equitably and fairly allocate the
$35.4 million in FY 2017 budgeted costs
among approximately 2,700 diverse
materials users licensees, the NRC
calculates the annual fees for each fee
category within this class based 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 provides 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 method
also considers the inspection frequency
(priority), which is indicative of the
safety risk and resulting regulatory cost
associated with each category of license.
The annual fee for these categories of
materials users’ licenses is developed as
follows:
Annual fee = Constant × [Application
Fee + (Average Inspection Cost/
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Inspection Priority)] + Inspection
Multiplier × (Average Inspection Cost/
Inspection Priority) + Unique Category
Costs.
For FY 2017, the constant multiplier
necessary to recover approximately
$25.9 million in general costs (including
allocated generic transportation costs) is
1.46 (see work papers for more detail).
The average inspection cost is the
average inspection hours for each fee
category multiplied by the hourly rate of
$263. The inspection priority is the
interval between routine inspections,
expressed in years. The inspection
multiplier is the multiple necessary to
recover approximately $8.4 million in
inspection costs, and is 1.65 for FY
2017. The unique category costs are any
special costs that the NRC has budgeted
for a specific category of licenses. For
FY 2017, approximately $275,000 in
budgeted costs for the implementation
of revised 10 CFR part 35, ‘‘Medical Use
of Byproduct Material’’ (unique costs),
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has been allocated to holders of NRC
human-use licenses.
The annual fee assessed to each
licensee also includes a share of the feerelief surcharge assessment of
approximately $430,421 allocated to the
materials users fee class (see Table IV,
‘‘Allocation of Fee-Relief Adjustment
and LLW Surcharge, FY 2017,’’ in
Section III, ‘‘Discussion,’’ of this
document), and for certain categories of
these licensees, a share of the
approximately $442,000 LLW surcharge
costs allocated to the fee class. The
annual fee for each fee category is
shown in § 171.16(d).
h. Transportation
The NRC will collect $5.8 million in
annual fees to recover generic
transportation budgeted resources. The
FY 2016 values are shown for
comparison.
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TABLE XVII—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR TRANSPORTATION
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2016
final
Summary fee calculations
FY 2017
final
Percentage
change
Total Budgeted Resources ..........................................................................................................
Less Estimated 10 CFR part 170 Receipts .................................................................................
$11.3
¥3.5
$8.9
¥3.1
¥21.2
¥11.4
Net 10 CFR part 171 Resources .........................................................................................
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge .........................................................................................
Billing adjustments .......................................................................................................................
7.8
0.0
0.0
5.8
0.0
0.0
¥25.6
0.0
0.0
Total required annual fee recovery ......................................................................................
7.8
5.8
¥25.6
In comparison to FY 2016, the total
budgetary resources for generic
transportation activities decreased due
to a reduction in rulemaking activities
involving revisions to transportation
safety requirements and compatibility
with International Atomic Energy
Agency Transportation Standards,
hence reducing all fee class generic
transportation annual fees. The 10 CFR
part 170 estimated billings are expected
to decrease due in part to a reduction in
activities for Areva Federal Services and
NAC International.
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 assesses a separate annual fee
under § 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 Certificates of
Compliance (CoCs) used by each fee
class (and DOE) by the total generic
transportation resources to be recovered.
The DOE annual fee increase is mainly
due to the elimination of a prior year
credit totaling approximately $220,000
from FY 2016, as well as a rise in CoCs
by 4, or 22 percent.
This resource distribution to the
licensee fee classes and DOE is shown
in Table XVIII. Specifically, for the
research and test reactors fee class, the
NRC allocates the distribution to only
the licensees that are subject to annual
fees. Four CoCs benefit the entire
research and test reactor class, but only
4 out 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 reactors
annual fees is adjusted to 0.6 so that the
licensees subject to annual fees are
charged a fair and equitable portion of
the total. For more information see the
work papers.
TABLE XVIII—DISTRIBUTION OF GENERIC TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES, FY 2017
[Dollars in millions]
Number of CoCs
benefiting fee
class or DOE
License fee class/DOE
Percentage
of total
CoCs
Allocated generic
transportation
resources
DOE ...........................................................................................................................
Operating Power Reactors ........................................................................................
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning ........................................................
Research and Test Reactors .....................................................................................
Fuel Facilities .............................................................................................................
Materials Users ..........................................................................................................
22.0
5.0
13.0
0.5
24.0
25.0
24.6
5.6
14.5
0.6
26.8
27.9
1.4
0.3
0.9
0.0
1.6
1.6
Total ....................................................................................................................
89.5
100.0
5.8
The NRC assesses an annual fee to
DOE based on the 10 CFR part 71 CoCs
it holds. The NRC, therefore, does not
allocate these DOE-related resources to
other licensees’ annual fees because
these resources specifically support
DOE.
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
FY 2017—Administrative Changes
The NRC makes three administrative
changes:
1. Increase Mission-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 mission-
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direct hours per direct FTE in a year.
‘‘Mission-direct hours’’ are hours
charged to mission-direct activities in
the Nuclear Reactor Safety Program and
Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety
Program. The FY 2016 final fee rule
used 1,440 hours per direct FTE in the
hourly rate calculations. During the FY
2017 budget formulation process, the
NRC staff reviewed and analyzed time
and labor data from FY 2016 to
determine whether it should revise the
direct hours per FTE. In FY 2016, the
total mission-direct hours charged by
direct employees increased due to
increased accuracy in coding time to
direct work in the time and labor
system, as well as decreased time coded
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for training. The increase in missiondirect hours was apparent in all mission
business lines. To reflect this increase in
productivity as demonstrated by the
time and labor data, the NRC staff
determined that the number of missiondirect hours per FTE should increase to
1,500 hours for FY 2017.
2. Change Small Entity Fees
In accordance with NRC policy, in
2017 the NRC staff conducted a biennial
review of small entity fees to determine
whether the NRC should change those
fees. The NRC staff used the fee
methodology, developed in FY 2009,
which applies a fixed percentage of 39
percent to the prior 2-year weighted
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average of materials users’ fees when
performing its biennial review. As a
result of this review, the upper tier
small entity fee would increase from
$3,400 to $4,500 and the lower-tier fee
would increase from $700 to $900. This
would constitute a 43-percent and 50percent increase, respectively. The NRC
staff determined that implementing this
increase would have a disproportionate
impact upon the NRC’s small licensees
compared to other licensees, so the NRC
staff lowered the increase to 21 percent
for the upper-tier and lower-tier fees.
The NRC staff chose 21 percent based
on the average percentage increase for
the prior three biennial reviews of small
entity fees. As a result of applying the
21-percent increase to the FY 2015
small entity fees, the NRC staff is now
amending the upper-tier small entity fee
to $4,100 and amending the lower-tier
small entity fee to $850 for FY 2017.
The NRC 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.
3. Amends 10 CFR 171.19(d), To
Include Fee Category 3G
The NRC modifies the description
under 10 CFR 171.19, ‘‘Payment,’’ to
include fee category 3G in the
description as the annual fee is below
$100,000. These licensees in fee
category 3G should now be billed
annual fees on their anniversary month
due to the annual fee being less than
$100,000. This change resulted from a
decrease in budgeted resources
allocated to this fee class for the final
rule caused by a decrease in the final
appropriation.
Fees Transformation
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
recommendations were similar to
stakeholder comments the staff received
during outreach on the NRC’s fees and
fee development process. In addition, an
interoffice steering committee of NRC
staff evaluated the current fee process to
identify potential; solutions for
concerns raised by NRC stakeholders.
Based on comments received from the
public and input from steering
committee members, the staff developed
over 40 process and policy
improvements to be implemented over
the next 4 years that addressed concerns
with the current fee process. On August
15, 2016, the Chief Financial Officer
(CFO) submitted a paper for Notation
Vote (SECY–16–0097 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML16194A365)) to the
Commission. This memorandum
identified 14 process improvements in
six categories that the staff would
implement in FY 2017 and requested
Commission approval to further analyze
four improvements as policy issues. The
Commission disapproved the policy
issues with the exception of a voluntary
pilot initiative to explore whether a flat
fee structure could be established for
routine licensing matters in the area of
uranium recovery policy issues. The
Commission also directed staff to
accelerate the process improvements for
future consideration including
transition to an electronic billing
system.
Currently, 10 of the 14 process
improvements for FY 2017 have been
completed and the NRC is wellpositioned to complete the remaining 4
process improvements by the end of the
fiscal year. In addition, 3 of the 9
improvements for FY 2018 have been
accelerated and completed. The
voluntary pilot project for uranium
recovery flat fees and activities to
support electronic invoicing are
underway. For more information on our
fees transformation initiative, please see
our License Fees Web site at https://
www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/
licensing/fees.html.
III. Opportunities for Public
Participation
The NRC published the FY 2017
proposed fee rule in the Federal
Register on January 3, 2017 (82 FR
8696), for a 30-day public comment
period. The rule proposed to amend the
licensing, inspection, special project,
and annual fees charged to the NRC’s
applicants and licensees. The public
comment period for the proposed rule
closed on March 1, 2017.
The NRC also held a public meeting
on February 16, 2017, 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 2016
proposed fee rule. During the public
meeting, the NRC received no comments
on the FY 2017 proposed fee rule. The
public meeting transcript is available as
indicated in Section XIV, Availability of
Documents, of this document.
IV. Public Comment Analysis
Overview of Public Comments
The NRC received four 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. In general,
the commenters were supportive of the
specific proposed regulatory changes,
although most commenters expressed
concerns about broader fee-policy issues
related to transparency and fairness.
The commenters are listed in Table
XIX, and are classified as follows: One
member of the uranium industry
(Wyoming Mining Association (WMA));
one nuclear power plant operator
(Exelon); one private citizen; and one
industry trade group (Nuclear Energy
Institute (NEI)).
TABLE XIX—FY 2017 PROPOSED FEE RULE COMMENTER SUBMISSIONS
ADAMS accession
No.
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Commenter
Affiliation
Travis Deti .................................................................
J. Bradley Fewell ......................................................
Joseph E. Pollock .....................................................
Kevin Ramsey ...........................................................
Wyoming Mining Association ...................................
Exelon Generation Company, LLC ..........................
Nuclear Energy Institute ...........................................
Private Citizen ..........................................................
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ML17108A267
ML17108A266
ML17108A264
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Abbreviation
WMA.
Exelon.
NEI.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
Information about obtaining the
complete text of the comment
submissions is available in Section XIV,
‘‘Availability of Documents,’’ of this
document.
Public Comments and NRC Responses
The NRC has carefully considered the
public comments received. The
comments have been organized by topic
followed by the NRC response.
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A. Uranium Recovery
Comment: The increases for each
category of uranium recovery license
over the 2016 annual fees exceed 8
percent. This increase exceeds the
current rate of inflation and increases in
costs from vendors, suppliers, and
contractors with which the uranium
recovery industry does business. It
exceeds annual salary increases for
uranium recovery workers as well.
Uranium prices have been in overall
decline for the past five (5) years. The
uranium recovery industry fails to see
how increases of this magnitude can be
justified. (WMA)
Response: As discussed in the
proposed FY 2017 fee rule, the proposed
amendments to the annual fees are
necessary to comply with OBRA–90,
which requires the NRC to recover
approximately 90 percent of its annual
budget through fees. Because the NRC
(by law) must recover approximately 90
percent of its annual budget authority,
the NRC cannot take the rate of inflation
or other economic indicators into
account when deriving the annual fees.
Further, for the FY 2017 final fee rule,
the annual fee for non-DOE uranium
recovery licensees will remain flat for
most licensees. This change from the
projected 8 percent increase in the
proposed rule is due to a decrease in
budgetary resources and an increase in
non-DOE 10 CFR part 170 estimated
billings. For additional information,
refer to the uranium recovery section of
this final rule.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
Comment: It is not clear how the NRC
will address the change in workload for
this license class when the NRC will
lose nearly all of the uranium recovery
licenses with the entry of Wyoming as
an Agreement State. Per the Fee Work
Papers, there are approximately 29 FTE
for 9 uranium recovery licensees. Basic
In-Situ recovery facilities have seen
annual fees increase 80% since FY
2012, and this small licensee class
cannot continue to absorb additional
losses to the fee base without
corresponding NRC resource reductions.
(NEI, Exelon)
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Response: Specific to Wyoming’s
request to become an Agreement State,
the NRC staff has established a
transition team to evaluate the potential
impacts and appropriately transition
work in the event the NRC approves
Wyoming’s application. As part of our
Wyoming transition initiative, the NRC
will review its resource requirements for
future budgets and explore alternative
methods of developing the fee schedule
to support a continued fair and
equitable assessment of fees from a
smaller set of licensees after Wyoming
becomes an Agreement State.
In addition, as part of the fees
transformation initiative, the NRC is
beginning a voluntary pilot to explore
whether a flat fee structure could be
established for routine licensing matters
in the area of uranium recovery. As part
of this pilot the NRC will engage with
stakeholders to solicit feedback on the
proposed strategy before a final decision
is made.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
Comment: The WMA questions why
work on specific projects should
increase fees for all licensees. Costs
related to specific projects should be
recovered through hourly charges.
(WMA)
Response: Costs related to specific
projects are recovered through hourly
charges and do not increase fees for all
licensees. The part of the FY 2017 fee
rule discussion being questioned by the
commenter is only a general description
of the business environment affecting
the 10 CFR part 170 user fees (i.e.,
hourly charges). As described in the FY
2017 fee rule, the annual fees are
determined after deducting the amount
to be recovered through 10 CFR part 170
user fees.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
Comment: The proposed fee rule
contains a 9% annual fee increase for
uranium recovery facilities due to, in
part, an increase in the budgeted
resources to ‘‘support contested hearing
activities.’’ The NRC should consider
modifying the existing policy for
treatment of contested hearings,
particularly for fee categories comprised
of a small number of licensees where
imposition of these additional costs are
punitive and disadvantage licensees’
ability to compete in global markets.
The industry supports treating costs
associated with contested hearings, for
all licensee classes, as non-fee activities.
(NEI, Exelon)
Response: Hearing costs are not
recovered through 10 CFR part 170 user
fees due to longstanding fairness and
equity concerns with billing the
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applicant for the costs of a public
hearing. Therefore, the work on these
contested hearings must be recouped
through annual fees. Hearings are
budgeted as our best estimate based on
historical expenditures; however, the
actual resources expended will vary
depending on the number of
contentions and the complexity of each
contention. Each hearing is different.
Further, for the FY 2017 final fee rule,
the annual fee for non-DOE uranium
recovery licensees will remain flat for
most licensees. This change from the
projected 8 percent increase in the
proposed rule is due to a decrease in
budgetary resources and an increase in
non-DOE 10 CFR part 170 estimated
billings. For additional information,
refer to the uranium recovery section of
this final rule.
As part of our Wyoming transition
initiative, the NRC will explore
alternative methods of developing the
fee schedule to support a continued fair
and equitable assessment of fees to
recover the budgetary resources
associated with contested hearings. The
alternative methods may include
seeking an appropriation off the fee
base, developing an alternate fee class
structure, or classifying the resources as
fee relief. The NRC will evaluate these
changes and the associated impacts
across the various fee classes and
categories in a future fee rule.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
Comment: Page 8702 of the Federal
Register document states that uranium
recovery licensee fees increased, in part,
due to the increased workload for
congressional hearings and inquiries. It
is inappropriate to seek compensation
from any licensee for this activity. The
level of NRC resources to support this
activity is not transparent. We expect to
see the recovery amount for this
business line to go down as a result of
the removal of this activity. (NEI,
Exelon)
Response: OBRA–90 requires the NRC
to collect fees for a broad amount of
activities necessary to operate the
agency including guidance and
regulatory infrastructure as well as
government compliance activities.
Because congressional hearings and
inquiries are not a major factor when
setting annual fees for the uranium
recovery fee class, this language will be
deleted from the final rule. This change
will not impact the recovery amount or
fees assessed.
B. Transparency
Comment: Although the NRC has
added some additional information to
the work papers supporting the
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proposed fee rule, the papers still lack
enough detail to precisely determine the
specific costs that are being recovered
through annual fees. For example, the
work papers indicate that several items
dominate the contracting portion
encompassed by the operating reactor
annual fee. However, the work papers
provide no information regarding the
specific projects driving these
contracting numbers, such as the issues
being researched, the type of
information technology support needed,
and the licensing actions anticipated.
We encourage the NRC to continue
adding detail to the work papers to
allow licensees to discern exactly what
work their annual fees are funding.
(Exelon)
Response: 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. However,
distinguishing these activities would
prove unduly burdensome for the NRC
to perform this type of analysis for every
business line, product line, and product
in its budget.
The NRC would not be able to provide
specific information on contracts since
it is proprietary in nature. However, as
part of the fees transformation initiative,
project managers are providing
enhanced licensee outreach to increase
awareness of general contract activities
and costs.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
Comment: While the NRC provided a
clear explanation of the difference
between international cooperation and
assistance activities and how fees are
accounted for each, there continues to
be a lack of transparency with the
benefit provided to the regulated
community. The proposed fee rule
Table III, ‘‘Fee-Relief Activities’’, clearly
identifies $13.9 million for international
assistance activities. However, to
ascertain the international cooperation
budgeted activities requires going
through each product line to add the
budgeted costs. Clear transparency of
the cooperation activities budget and a
better description of the specific
activities and how they benefit the
regulated community is needed. This
request does not question the overall
value of the benefits of assistance and
cooperation activities to the safety and
security of the world and United States.
The split between assistance and
cooperation is difficult to ascertain
without laborious work. (NEI, Exelon)
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Response: The NRC agrees with the
comment. In the final rule, the NRC has
improved transparency for international
cooperation by compiling all such costs
in a table in the work papers, which
should allow the split between
assistance and cooperation activities to
be more easily determined by the
reader. As stated in the proposed rule,
the amount of international activities
that the NRC allocated to international
fee relief is $13.9 million, which
includes international nuclear safety
and radioactive source security
assistance activities, as well as support
for international conventions and
treaties, and technical cooperation
activities whose benefits range across
several classes of licensees and therefore
cannot be identified by fee class.
The amount not included under
international fee relief activities
represents international resources that
the NRC assigned to each mission-direct
fee class in the work papers.
Specifically, these resources represent
international cooperation activities that
benefit a specific fee class (rather than
international assistance activities or
technical cooperation activities whose
benefits range across several classes of
licensees). These fee-recoverable
cooperation activities provide direct
input to the NRC’s regulations and the
NRC’s oversight of its licensees and,
therefore, benefit a group of NRC
licensees. For example, international
cooperative activities involve sharing
information, knowledge, and technical
expertise with the NRC’s international
regulatory counterparts. These
international cooperative activities
enhance the NRC’s regulatory programs
by providing direct input into the NRC’s
regulation and oversight of its licensees.
International cooperation activities also
provide other benefits to NRC licensees,
such as collaborative research that is
relevant to the NRC’s regulatory
programs. The NRC continuously
assesses and, where relevant,
incorporates international operating
experience and research insights into
the NRC’s domestic regulatory program.
As an example of the relevance of
international cooperation work to the
NRC’s nuclear safety mission, power
reactor licensees benefit from
international efforts to exchange
information on operational events,
regulatory experience, and expertise on
construction, startup, and the operation
of nuclear power plants.
Changes were made to the final rule
work papers in response to this
comment.
Comment: While detailed calculations
of the annual fee are provided, there is
a lack of detail related to the basis
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behind 10 CFR part 170 fees. In the
interest of transparency, NRC should
provide the data or assumptions used to
make these estimates. For example,
historical information could be
provided for average inspection hours
for a licensee class, estimated number of
staff hours for license reviews, and
hours spent on pre-application activities
for small modular and advanced
reactors. This information would
provide stakeholders with the ability to
analyze the efficiency and effectiveness
of NRC’s review. (NEI, 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.
Unrelated to the calculation of 10 CFR
part 170 estimates, the NRC is currently
developing estimates for services to be
posted on our Web site as part of our
Fee Transformation initiative.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
C. Workload/Non-Mission-Direct
Resources
Comment: The hourly rate remains
very high especially in comparison to
the hourly rates of consultants working
for the uranium recovery industry.
(WMA)
Response: To the extent the
commenter believes that the NRC’s
hourly rate should be comparable to the
hourly rate for uranium-recovery
consultants, the NRC disagrees with this
comment. All 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
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NRC must recover its 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
IOAA, the NRC determines its hourly
rate by dividing the sum of recoverable
budgeted resources for: (1) Missiondirect program salaries and benefits; (2)
mission-indirect program support; and
(3) agency support—which includes
corporate 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 missiondirect and fee-relief activities.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
Comment: Of a 2080 hour working
year, for 2017 only 1,500 of those hours
are deemed to be spent on missiondirect work which is considered to be
an improvement over Fiscal Year 2016
when only 1,440 hours were deemed
spent on mission-direct work. The
remaining hours (the 580 hours in Fiscal
Year 2016 spent on non-mission-direct
work) are . . . charged to annual leave,
sick leave, holidays, training and
general administration tasks.
The WMA considers the proportion of
hours (28%) spent on non-missiondirect work to be excessive and that a
much smaller portion of time should be
devoted to non-mission-direct work.
(WMA)
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
addition, Title V of the United States
Code establishes holidays, annual leave
and sick leave amounts government
wide for all employees.
In the final fee rule for FY 2005 (70
FR 30526, May 26, 2005), the NRC
revised its estimate of the number of
mission-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 determines a
realistic estimate of direct hours per
FTE based on the most recent data. The
estimate does not include time for
administration, training, and other
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activities a mission-direct program FTE
may perform that, while relevant to
consider for certain costing purposes,
would more accurately be considered
overhead rather than mission-direct
time for purposes of calculating a rate
per hour of direct activities. When the
NRC calculates the fees required to
recover the budget enacted by Congress,
this estimate of mission-direct hours per
FTE is used to calculate the hourly rate.
The estimate of 1,500 hours per FTE
used in the fee rule calculation for FY
2017 was based on an analysis of actual
time and labor data from FY 2016. Use
of an updated, realistic estimate of
mission-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.
D. Decreasing Number of Licensees in
Fee Class
Comment: The FY 2017 proposed fee
rule continues to provide fee relief for
fuel cycle facilities. However, Page 8701
states that the fuel facilities fee class
[annual fee] will be adjusted in the final
rule with the expected departure of a
current licensee. The loss of this
licensee has been known for over one
year and represents approximately 5%
of the total annual fees collected from
fuel facilities. It is our expectation that
NRC has appropriately planned for this
license termination and will decrease
the licensing and oversight resources
needed and the overall budget in the
fuel facilities business line, rather than
force operating facilities to absorb these
annual fees. Therefore, this closure
should not result in an increased fee
burden to the remaining licensees. (NEI,
Exelon)
Response: The NRC removes licensees
from the fuel facilities fee class after the
licensee permanently ceases principal
activities. The commenter is correct that
the NRC was aware that the referenced
licensee had informed the NRC that they
were planning to cease principal
activities. However, the licensee did not
cease principal activities until late in
the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, after
the proposed fee rule had been issued.
At that point, the licensee was officially
placed in decommissioning status and
will be assessed a prorated annual fee
according to our regulations.
Notwithstanding, the policy of the
agency remains that the portion of the
annual fee not assessed to the licensee
leaving the fee class will be distributed
to the remaining fuel facilities licensees.
However, the NRC will continue to
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analyze changes to workload, budget
resources and the composition of fee
classes to support a fair and equitable
fee setting process.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
E. FY 2017 Congressional Appropriation
Comment: The proposed FY 2017 fee
rule, based on right sizing agency
activities and additional re-baselining
reductions, represents a move in the
right direction by lowering excessive
annual fees, some significantly, for a
majority of licensees. Adopting a fee
structure based on FY 2016 spending
levels would be a move backwards and
would ignore the progress the agency
has made to appropriately prioritize its
work and staff size. Therefore, if the
NRC receives a continuing resolution for
the remainder of the year, the FY 2017
proposed rule should be considered a
ceiling for NRC spending. (NEI, Exelon)
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
budgetary resources as this practice
ensures that NRC fees assessed bear a
reasonable relationship to the cost of
NRC services. This rule is based upon
the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2017 (Pub. L. 115–31), dated May 5,
2017.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
F. Invoicing
Comment: There have been some
recent improvements regarding
invoicing; however, problems remain. In
addition, there is no predictability for
budgeting purposes regarding the
magnitude of these invoices in regards
to the review of a given submittal. The
uranium recovery industry needs, for
budgeting purposes, to be able to
estimate the total value of future review
invoices for a given submittal. Members
of the uranium recovery industry have
no idea of the magnitude of the
quarterly review invoices until they
arrive and must be paid. This creates a
difficult situation in the form of large,
unanticipated expenses for uranium
recovery operators. If the agency as part
of its completeness review were to
provide an approximate and nonbinding estimate of cost to compete the
review of a given submittal it would be
very helpful to uranium recovery
operators. (WMA)
Response: The NRC currently
provides, by request, preliminary
estimates of costs incurred on a
biweekly basis to licensees. The
estimates include all (10 CFR part 170)
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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 names
associated with contract costs, which
offer licensees additional detail. These
estimates may assist licensees in budget
planning and their preparation 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. In addition, the uranium
recovery staff have offered to meet with
licensees and applicants on a quarterly
basis to forecast upcoming workload so
that licensees and applicants have an
idea of the work that will be included
on future invoices. Lastly, the NRC staff
has posted on its public Web site
estimates of the cost of major uranium
recovery licensing actions. For more
information, please see our Licenses
Fees Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/
about-nrc/regulatory/licensing/
fees.html.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
Comment: Exelon applauds the fee
development process improvements that
the NRC has thus far implemented. To
that end, we encourage the NRC to
continue striving for additional
efficiency gains, such as electronic
invoicing. The NRC should explore
immediate, incremental steps towards
electronic invoicing short of an entire
system upgrade (which the NRC is not
planning to implement until FY 2020).
This could include, for example,
automatically emailing copies of the
paper invoices as soon as those invoices
are mailed to the licensee. Even that
small step would benefit licensees by
providing more timely invoices.
(Exelon)
Response: The NRC focused on the
improvement initiatives currently
underway that include improving
billing data, accuracy, and electronic
invoicing. The NRC issues more than
5,000 invoices per year. Emailing
invoices to licensees with the current
information technology systems and
configuration would be an intensive
manual process requiring substantial
resources.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
Comment: WMA continues to be
concerned about the agency’s invoicing
process.
In its comments dated May 4, 2016 on
the Request for Information—Fees
Development and Communications—
(Federal Register Volume 81, Number.
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the WMA commented extensively on
invoicing and concluded:
The WMA believes that a substantial
problem with the agency’s invoicing is
the lack of predictability in the invoice
amounts. This could be mitigated to
some extent by flat fee invoicing for
some items however for others, it would
require that the agency prepare a
nonbinding estimate of cost to complete
the review. (WMA)
Response: As previously noted,
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. Also, the NRC will
explore how to display more detailed
invoice information. It should be noted
that contractor information in most
cases is considered proprietary but we
will work with our contractors to
determine what information can be
released.
Additionally, as directed in SRM–
SECY–16–0097, ‘‘Fee Setting
Improvements and Fiscal Year 2017
Proposed Fee Rule,’’ dated October 19,
2016, (ADAMS Accession No.
ML16293A902) the NRC staff is
exploring whether a flat fee structure
could be established for routine
licensing matters in the area of uranium
recovery. In addition, staff is also
evaluating the level of detail to be
provided in invoices.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
Comment: The administrative change
from the FY 2015 final fee rule to revise
the assessment of administrative time
for project managers by adding a 6%
Project Manager/Resident Inspector
allocation continues to be an excessive
burden on licensees that double, and in
some instances triple charge, for project
manager work. This change intended to
allocate overhead costs to each licensee
based on direct time to each docket to
ensure that a licensee’s overhead costs
are proportional to the regulatory
services rendered by the NRC. While we
understand that this is a temporary
charge, it continues to be a hidden extra
fee for the licensee for non-direct work
activities when these activities are
already being fully billed as cost
recovery items that project managers
charge for work on a specific task. For
example, some licensees have received
invoices for project manager time on the
same activity being triple charged under
(1) Project management general work
cost activity codes (CACs); (2) technical
CAC; and (3) the 6% Project Manager/
Resident Inspector allocation. The 6%
allocation on all NRC staff hours
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effectively increases the proposed
hourly rate from $267 to $283. We
advise consistency with regards to
project manager 10 CFR part 170
invoicing and awareness training for
project managers of the 6% allocation to
avoid multiple billings for the same
work. (NEI, Exelon)
Response: To the extent the
commenter believes that the NRC is
double- and triple- billing licensees, the
NRC disagrees with this comment. The
NRC staff charges to direct billable
CACs only when that work benefits a
single, identifiable licensee. The project
manager (PM)/resident inspector
allocation recovers the costs for all PMs
and senior resident inspectors (SRIs)
that are not directly attributable to a
single licensee, but rather benefit the
entire class of licensees (e.g., indirect
activities such as PM technical support
to the regional offices, PM training and
attendance at conferences, PM
participation in working groups). When
a PM or SRI supports work under this
allocation, the PM is not directly billing
a licensee. This activity is pooled and
distributed to all licensees as 6 percent
of the direct labor charges provided by
agency staff. Because these activities
ultimately benefit all licensees, the
agency has instituted average cost
recovery to recover from all licensees for
these activities.
As part of the fees transformation
direction from the Commission, SRM–
SECY–16–0097: Fee Setting
Improvements and Fiscal Year 2017
Proposed Fee Rule (ML16293A902) the
Commission directed staff to review the
2015 fee rule revised methodology of
charging overhead time for project
managers and resident inspectors and
modify it for more clarity. As part of this
initiative, the NRC will consider
alternate strategies for recovery of the
resources allocated to administrative
time for project managers and resident
inspectors and develop a new approach
to be implemented by October 2018.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
G. Predictability
Comment: Industry appreciates the
move in the right direction to publish
the proposed FY 2017 fee rule earlier in
the year. However, 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 and the final fee rule in the
second quarter or early in the third
quarter of the fiscal year. Accelerating
the rulemaking schedule would not
appear to be problematic for the NRC
because the Congressional Budget
Justification (CBJ) is publicly-released
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coinciding with transmittal of the
President’s Budget Request to Congress
(i.e., in February before the fiscal year
begins), and the CBJ currently provides
a fee recovery estimate. Early
publication would allow licensees to
plan, adjust budgets and manage cash
flow. (NEI, Exelon)
Response: OBRA–90 requires that the
NRC collect approximately 90 percent of
its budget authority through fees by the
end of the fiscal year. The NRC must set
its fees in accordance with its final
budget authority. Further, the annual
appropriation cycle places additional
constraints upon the NRC. Even though
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 starts the rulemaking
process in the preceding summer. The
NRC believes that reliance on the most
up-to-date financial data available in
determining fees, using the CBJ
(adjusted for fact-of-life-changes)
supports compliance with the
requirements of OBRA–90. 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 the NRC’s budget for a given fiscal
year. For FY 2017, the NRC published
the proposed fee rule in January; two
months earlier than in FY 2016.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
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H. Miscellaneous
Comment: The Schedule of Materials
Fees has several errors and omissions in
the Program Codes listed for Special
Nuclear Material.
—Category 1A(1)(a) should reference
Program Code 21213, not 21130.
—Category 1A(2)(a) should include
Program Code 21240.
—Category 1A(2)(b) should reference
Program Code 21205.
—Category 1A(2)(c) should reference
Program Codes 21130 and 31133. (KR)
Response: The NRC agrees with this
comment. The Schedule of Materials
Fees is corrected in this final rule to
reflect the correct program codes with
the following exception:
For Category 1A(2)(c), program code
31133 is not in our system. We assume
the commenter meant program code
21133. The NRC added program code
21133 to Category 1A(2)(c).
Comment: We continue to be
concerned that an excessive portion of
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the budget is funding corporate support
and non-mission-direct activities. NRC
has cumulatively reduced budgeted
amounts for mission direct and mission
indirect expenditures by 6.5%. That
represents a move in the right direction
from re-baselining agency activities.
However, the budget for agency support
increased by 3%. The proposed fee rule
Table II, ‘‘Hourly Rate Calculation,’’
identifies $340.5 million for mission
direct program activities and $136.7
million for mission indirect program
support, which represents 60% of the
total adjusted amount to be recovered
through fees ($801.4 million). Yet, the
portion of the budget allocated to
corporate support is $324.2 million and
represents 40% of budgeted resources.
Agency support, which is a key factor in
both the hourly rate and annual fee
calculations, appears to be
disproportionately large with respect to
the resources allocated for mission
direct and mission indirect activities.
These overhead costs not only remain
excessive compared to its peer agencies,
but have also increased from FY 2016.
In order to maintain credibility, NRC
must focus their resources on mission
critical activities that have a direct
correlation with maintaining public
health and safety and must reduce
overhead costs. (NEI, Exelon)
Response: The NRC agrees that the
proportion of corporate support and
mission support resources, compared to
program resources, is one factor to
consider in assembling a budget that
accomplishes NRC’s mission in an
effective and efficient manner.
The NRC notes that, in calculating the
percentage of mission-direct program
activities, the commenter does not take
into account all mission-direct resources
contained in the total budget authority
presented in the FY 2017 proposed fee
rule. The $340.5 million referenced by
the commenter includes only missiondirect salaries and benefits—it does not
include the mission-direct amount for
contract support, which is an additional
$125.3 million. Although not included
within the hourly rate, mission-direct
contract support is a significant
component of the direct costs within the
agency’s total budget authority. Total
mission-direct program activities in the
proposed rule—including salaries,
benefits, and contract support—equaled
$465.8 million. Further, the $136.7
million that the NRC budgeted for
mission-indirect program support in the
proposed rule brings the NRC’s total
budgeted mission costs to $602.5
million, or 65 percent of the total budget
authority less excluded fee items. The
remaining 35 percent for Agency
Support in the proposed rule included
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30697
resources for the NRC’s Office of the
Inspector General, which is not
included when calculating corporate
support.
No change was made to the final rule
in response to this comment.
I. Comments on Matters Not Related to
This Rulemaking
Some comments suggested that the
NRC implement a number of
recommendations to streamline the
regulatory process, review the changing
technical guidance to licensees, and
consider risk when executing regulatory
oversight activities.
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 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.
V. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
As required by the Regulatory
Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended
(RFA),8 the NRC has prepared a
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (RFA)
relating to this final rule. The RFA is
available as indicated in Section XIV,
Availability of Documents, of this
document.
VI. Regulatory Analysis
Under OBRA–90, the NRC is required
to recover approximately 90 percent of
its budget authority in FY 2017. The
NRC established fee methodology
guidelines for 10 CFR part 170 in 1978,
and established additional fee
methodology guidelines for 10 CFR part
171 in 1986. In subsequent rulemakings,
the NRC has adjusted its fees without
changing the underlying principles of
its fee policy to ensure that the NRC
8 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601–612, has
been amended by the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), Public
Law 104–121, Title II, 110 Stat. 847 (1996).
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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.
VII. 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.
VIII. 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).
The NRC requests comment on this final
rule with respect to the clarity and
effectiveness of the language used.
IX. National Environmental Policy Act
The NRC has determined that this
rule will amend NRC’s administrative
requirements in 10 CFR part 170 and 10
CFR part 171. Therefore, this action is
categorically excluded from needing
environmental review as described in 10
CFR 51.22(c)(1). Consequently, neither
an environmental impact statement nor
an environmental assessment has been
prepared for this final rule.
X. Paperwork Reduction Act
This final rule does not contain new
or amended information collection
requirements that are subject to the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
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.
XI. Congressional Review Act
This final rule is a rule as defined in
the Congressional Review Act of 1996 (5
U.S.C. 801–808). The Office of
Management and Budget has found it to
be a major rule as defined in the
Congressional Review Act.
XII. Voluntary Consensus Standards
The National Technology Transfer
and Advancement Act of 1995, Public
Law 104–113, requires that Federal
Document
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Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Pub. L. 115–31) ...............................................
21:31 Jun 29, 2017
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XIII. 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 agency 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 2017
final fee rule. The compliance guide was
developed when the NRC completed the
small entity biennial review for FY
2017. This document is available as
indicated in Section XIV, Availability of
Documents, of this document.
XIV. 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.
ADAMS Accession No./web link
SECY–16–0009, ‘‘Recommendations Resulting from the Integrated Prioritization and
Re-baselining of Agency Activities,’’ dated February 9, 2016.
SECY–16–0097, ‘‘Fee Setting Improvements and Fiscal Year 2017 Proposed Fee
Rule,’’ dated August 15, 2016.
SRM–SECY–16–0097: Fee Setting Improvements and Fiscal Year 2017 Proposed
Fee Rule.
FY 2017 Final Rule Work Papers ....................................................................................
FY 2017 Regulatory Flexibility Analysis ..........................................................................
FY 2017 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Small Entity Compliance Guide ...........
NUREG–1100, Volume 32, ‘‘Congressional Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2017’’
(February 2016).
NRC Form 526, Certification of Small Entity Status for the Purposes of Annual Fees
Imposed under 10 CFR Part 171.
FY 2017 Proposed Fee Rule Comment Submissions ....................................................
FY 2017 Proposed Fee Rule ...........................................................................................
FY 2017 Proposed Rule Work Papers ............................................................................
Meeting Summary Notes for the Public Meeting on the FY 2017 Proposed Fee Rule
held on February 16, 2017.
SECY–05–0164, ‘‘Annual Fee Calculation Method,’’ dated September 15, 2005 ..........
OMB’s Circular A–25, ‘‘User Charges’’ ...........................................................................
VerDate Sep<11>2014
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
proposes to amend 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
2017, as required by OBRA–90, as
amended. This action does not
constitute the establishment of a
standard that contains generally
applicable requirements.
Frm 00018
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ML16104A158.
ML16194A365.
ML16293A902.
ML17164A283.
ML16340A151.
ML16340A149.
https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1603/ML16036A086.pdf.
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/forms/
nrc526.pdf.
ML17108A263.
ML16337A270.
ML16358A648.
ML17062A797.
ML052580332.
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/circulars_
a025/.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/
244.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended;
the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974,
as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553,
the NRC is adopting the following
amendments to 10 CFR parts 170 and
171.
List of Subjects
10 CFR Part 170
Byproduct material, Import and
export licenses, Intergovernmental
relations, Non-payment penalties,
Nuclear energy, Nuclear materials,
Nuclear power plants and reactors,
Source material, Special nuclear
material.
10 CFR Part 171
Annual charges, Approvals,
Byproduct material, Holders of
certificates, Intergovernmental relations,
Nonpayment penalties, Nuclear
materials, Nuclear power plants and
reactors, Registrations, Source material,
Special nuclear material.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble and under the authority of the
PART 170—FEES FOR FACILITIES,
MATERIALS, IMPORT AND EXPORT
LICENSES, AND OTHER
REGULATORY SERVICES UNDER THE
ATOMIC ENERGY ACT OF 1954, AS
AMENDED
1. The authority citation for part 170
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
secs. 11, 161(w) (42 U.S.C. 2014, 2201(w));
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, sec. 201
(42 U.S.C. 5841); 42 U.S.C. 2214; 31 U.S.C.
901, 902, 9701; 44 U.S.C. 3504 note.
■
2. Revise § 170.20 to read as follows:
§ 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 §§ 170.21 and 170.31
will be calculated using the professional
staff-hour rate of $263 per hour.
3. In § 170.21, in the table, revise fee
category K. to read as follows:
■
§ 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]
Fees 1 2
Facility categories and type of fees
*
*
*
*
*
*
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 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 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 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 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.
Minor amendment to license ..............................................................................................................................................
*
$18,400
9,200
4,500
4,500
2,600
1 Fees will not be charged for orders related to civil penalties or other civil sanctions issued by the Commission under § 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.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
4. In § 170.31, revise the table to read
as follows:
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■
§ 170.31 Schedule of fees for materials
licenses and other regulatory services,
including inspections, and import and
export licenses.
*
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*
*
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*
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*
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SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES
[See footnotes at end of table]
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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 (High Enriched Uranium) [Program Code(s): 21213] ..............................................
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible 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 [Program Code(s): 21240, 21310, 21320] ..................................................................
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration facilities [Program Code(s): 21205] .............................................................
(c) Others, including hot cell facilities [Program Code(s): 21130, 21133] ............................................................................
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of 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 § 70.4 in sealed
sources contained in devices used in industrial measuring systems, including x-ray fluorescence analyzers.4 Application
[Program Code(s): 22140].
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 § 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, 22111, 22120, 22131, 22136,
22150, 22151, 22161, 22170, 23100, 23300, 23310].
E. Licenses or certificates for construction and operation of a uranium enrichment facility [Program Code(s): 21200] ............
F. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear material greater than critical mass, as defined in § 70.4 of this chapter, for development and testing of commercial products, and other non-fuel-cycle activities.4 [Program Code(s): 22155].
2. Source material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of 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 facilities [Program Code(s): 11100] ...............................................................................
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities [Program Code(s): 11500] ...........................................................................................
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities [Program Code(s): 11510] ....................................................................................
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities [Program Code(s): 11550] ..........................................................................................
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities [Program Code(s): 11555] ....................................................................................................
(f) Other facilities [Program Code(s): 11700] .......................................................................................................................
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of 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 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 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 Application [Program Code(s): 11210].
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].
D. Licenses to distribute source material to persons generally licensed under part 40 of this chapter. Application [Program
Codes(s): 11230, 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].
F. All other source material licenses. Application [Program Code(s): 11200, 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, 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,
03215, 22135, 22162].
C. Licenses issued under §§ 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 § 170.11(a)(4). Application [Program Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513].
D. [Reserved] ...............................................................................................................................................................................
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, 03520].
F. Licenses for possession and use of less than or equal to 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].
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Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full
Full
Full
Full
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
$1,200.
$2,400.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full
Full
Full
Full
Full
Full
Full
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
$1,200.
$2,100.
$2,600.
$2,500.
$2,500.
$12,300.
$3,400.
$4,900.
N/A.
$3,000.
$6,200.
30701
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1
Fee 2 3
G. Licenses for possession and use of greater 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): 03521].
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, 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, 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, 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,
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: 6–19.
(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, 01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612, 03613, 04610, 04611, 04612,
04613, 04614, 04615, 04616, 04617, 04618, 04619, 04620, 04621, 04622, 04623]
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].
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, 03225, 03226].
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, 03320].
P. All other specific byproduct material licenses, except those in Categories 4.A. through 9.D.9 Application [Program
Code(s): 02400, 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 ...................................................
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. 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].
S. Licenses for production of accelerator-produced radionuclides. Application [Program Code(s): 03210] ...............................
4. Waste disposal and processing:
A. Licenses specifically authorizing the 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. Application [Program Code(s): 03231,
03233, 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].
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].
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, 03111,
03112].
B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material for field flooding tracer studies. Licensing [Program Code(s):
03113].
6. Nuclear laundries:
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$58,700.
$6,300.
$9,400.
$1,900.
$1,100.
$5,200.
$6,700.
$6,900.
$3,000.
$3,300.
$500.
$2,400.
$2,400.
$13,400.
Full Cost.
$6,500.
$4,700.
$4,300.
Full Cost.
30702
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1
Fee 2 3
A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of items contaminated with byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material. Application [Program Code(s): 03218].
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, 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].
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, 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].
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.
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.
C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material, except
reactor fuel, for commercial distribution. Application—each source.
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.
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and shipping containers.
1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium air packages ...........................................................................................
2. Other Casks ......................................................................................................................................................................
B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under part 71 of this chapter.
1. Users and Fabricators.
Application .....................................................................................................................................................................
Inspections .....................................................................................................................................................................
2. Users.
Application .....................................................................................................................................................................
Inspections .....................................................................................................................................................................
C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals, route surveys, and transportation security devices (including immobilization devices).
11. Review of standardized spent fuel facilities ..................................................................................................................................
12. Special projects: Including approvals, pre-application/licensing activities, and inspections. Application [Program Code:
25110]
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance. .................................................................................................................
B. Inspections related to storage of spent fuel under § 72.210 of this chapter ..................................................................................
14. A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear 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): 03900, 11900, 21135, 21215, 21325, 22200].
B. Site-specific decommissioning activities 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; 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; 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; 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; or license exemption request.
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$21,000.
$10,500.
$8,200.
$5,200.
$2,400.
$5,100.
$8,500.
$5,000.
$1,000.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
$4,000.
Full Cost.
$4,000.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
$18,400.
$9,200.
$4,500.
$4,500.
30703
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1
Fee 2 3
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.
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; or license exemption request.
G. Application for export of appendix P Category 1 materials requiring Executive Branch review and to obtain governmentto-government consent for this process. For additional consents see 15.I. Application—new license, or amendment; 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; 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; 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; or license exemption request.
K. Applications for export of appendix P Category 2 materials requiring Executive Branch review. Application—new license,
or amendment; or license exemption request.
L. Application for the export of Category 2 materials. Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request.
M. [Reserved] ...............................................................................................................................................................................
N. [Reserved] ...............................................................................................................................................................................
O. [Reserved] ...............................................................................................................................................................................
P. [Reserved] ...............................................................................................................................................................................
Q. [Reserved] ...............................................................................................................................................................................
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.
16. Reciprocity: Agreement State licensees who conduct activities under the reciprocity provisions of 10 CFR 150.20. Application.
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to Government agencies: Application [Program Code(s): 03614] .................
18. Department of Energy.
A. Certificates of Compliance. Evaluation of casks, packages, and shipping containers (including spent fuel, high-level
waste, and other casks, and plutonium air packages).
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) activities ..........................................................................................
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
1 Types
$2,600.
$14,500.
$7,900.
$3,900.
$300.
$14,500.
$7,900.
$3,200.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
$1,300.
$1,800.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
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 costs; 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 § 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 § 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.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
3 Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff time multiplied by the appropriate professional hourly rate established in
§ 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.
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
5. The authority citation for part 171
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
secs. 11, 161(w), 223, 234 (42 U.S.C. 2014,
2201(w), 2273, 2282); Energy Reorganization
Act of 1974, sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841); 42
U.S.C. 2214; 44 U.S.C. 3504 note.
6. In § 171.15, revise paragraphs (b)(1),
(b)(2) introductory text, (c)(1), (c)(2)
introductory text, (d)(1) introductory
text, (d)(2) and (3), and (f) to read as
follows:
■
§ 171.15 Annual fees: Reactor licenses
and independent spent fuel storage
licenses.
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
*
*
*
*
*
(b)(1) The FY 2017 annual fee for each
operating power reactor which must be
collected by September 30, 2017, is
$4,496,000.
(2) The FY 2017 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 2017 fee-relief adjustment are
shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this
section. The activities comprising the
FY 2017 base annual fee for operating
power reactors are as follows:
*
*
*
*
*
(c)(1) The FY 2017 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
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licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR
part 50 license, is $188,000.
(2) The FY 2017 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 feerelief adjustment. The activities
comprising the FY 2017 fee-relief
adjustment are shown in paragraph
(d)(1) of this section. The activities
comprising the FY 2017 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
(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 (iii) of this
section for a given fiscal year, annual
fees will be reduced. The activities
comprising the FY 2017 fee-relief
adjustment are as follows:
*
*
*
*
*
(2) The total FY 2017 fee-relief
adjustment allocated to the operating
power reactor class of licenses is an
$11,074,000 fee-relief surcharge, not
including the amount allocated to the
spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning class. The FY 2017
operating power reactor fee-relief
adjustment to be assessed to each
operating power reactor is
approximately a $111,863 fee-relief
surcharge. This amount is calculated by
dividing the total operating power
reactor fee-relief surplus adjustment,
$11,074,000, by the number of operating
power reactors (99).
(3) The FY 2017 fee-relief adjustment
allocated to the spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning class of
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licenses is a $467,500 fee-relief
assessment. The FY 2017 spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning feerelief 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 $3,832 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.
*
*
*
*
*
(f) The FY 2017 annual fees for
licensees authorized to operate a
research or test (non-power) reactor
licensed under 10 CFR part 50, unless
the reactor is exempted from fees under
§ 171.11(a), are as follows:
Research reactor ..................
Test reactor ..........................
$81,400
81,400
7. In § 171.16, revise paragraphs (c)
and (d) and (e) introductory text to read
as follows:
■
§ 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.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) A licensee who is required to pay
an annual fee under this section, in
addition to 10 CFR part 72 licenses, may
qualify as a small entity. If a licensee
qualifies as a small entity and provides
the Commission with the proper
certification along with its annual fee
payment, the licensee may pay reduced
annual fees as shown in the following
table. Failure to file a small entity
certification in a timely manner could
result in the receipt of a delinquent
invoice requesting the outstanding
E:\FR\FM\30JNR4.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
balance due and/or denial of any refund
that might otherwise be due. The small
entity fees are as follows:
Maximum
annual fee
per licensed
category
Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing (Average gross receipts over last 3 completed fiscal years):
$485,000 to $7 million ..................................................................................................................................................................
Less than $485,000 ......................................................................................................................................................................
Small Not-For-Profit Organizations (Annual Gross Receipts):
$485,000 to $7 million ..................................................................................................................................................................
Less than $485,000 ......................................................................................................................................................................
Manufacturing Entities that Have An Average of 500 Employees or Fewer:
35 to 500 employees ....................................................................................................................................................................
Fewer than 35 employees ...................................................................................................................................................................
Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly supported educational institutions) (Population):
20,000 to 49,999 ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Fewer than 20,000 .......................................................................................................................................................................
Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly Supported, and have 500 Employees or Fewer
35 to 500 employees ....................................................................................................................................................................
Fewer than 35 employees ............................................................................................................................................................
(d) The FY 2017 annual fees are
comprised of a base annual fee and an
allocation for fee-relief adjustment. The
activities comprising the FY 2017 fee-
relief adjustment are shown for
convenience in paragraph (e) of this
section. The FY 2017 annual fees for
materials licensees and holders of
$4,100
850
4,100
850
4,100
850
4,100
850
4,100
850
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 1 2 3
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
Category of materials licenses
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 Enriched Uranium) [Program Code(s): 21213] ..............................................
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible 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 [Program Code(s): 21240, 21310, 21320] ..................................................................
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration facilities [Program Code(s): 21205] .............................................................
(c) Others, including hot cell facilities [Program Code(s): 21130, 21133] ............................................................................
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of 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 § 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, except licenses authorizing special nuclear material in sealed or unsealed
form in combination that would constitute a critical mass, as defined in § 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 uranium enrichment facility [Program Code(s): 21200] .................................
F. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear material greater than critical mass, as defined in § 70.4 of this chapter, for development and testing of commercial products, and other non-fuel-cycle activities.15 [Program Code: 22155] .....
2. Source material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of 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: 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 [Program Code(s): 11100] ...............................................................................
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities [Program Code(s): 11500] ...........................................................................................
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities [Program Code(s): 11510] ....................................................................................
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities [Program Code(s): 11550] ...........................................................................................
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities [Program Code(s): 11555] ....................................................................................................
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of 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 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] ........
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$7,700,000
2,790,000
$0
1,507,000
753,000
11 N/A
3,000
8,600
3,340,000
6,400
1,590,000
38,900
49,200
55,700
5 N/A
5 N/A
5 N/A
22,000
30706
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SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY NRC—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
Annual
fees 1 2 3
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
Category of materials licenses
(5) Licenses that authorize the possession of source material related to removal of contaminants (source material) from
drinking water [Program Code(s): 11820] ................................................................................................................................
B. Licenses that authorize possession, use, and/or installation of source material for shielding.16 17 18 [Program Code:
11210] .......................................................................................................................................................................................
C. Licenses to distribute items containing source 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 generally licensed under part 40 of this chapter [Program Code(s):
11230 and 11231] .....................................................................................................................................................................
E. Licenses for possession and use of source 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 Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810] ...................................
3. Byproduct material:
A. Licenses of broad scope for 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 [Program Code(s): 03211,
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 [Program Code(s): 03214, 03215, 22135,
22162] .......................................................................................................................................................................................
C. Licenses issued under §§ 32.72 and/or 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 § 171.11(a)(1). [Program Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513]
D. [Reserved] ................................................................................................................................................................................
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) [Program Code(s): 03510, 03520] ..........................................................
F. Licenses for possession and use of less than or equal to 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 greater 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 in which the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes [Program Code(s): 03521] ...................
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, 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, 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, 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 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 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 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 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: 6–19. [Program
Code(s): 04610, 04612, 04614, 04616, 04618, 04620, 04622] ...............................................................................................
(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. [Program Code(s): 04611, 04613, 04615, 04617, 04619, 04621, 04623] ......................................................................................
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 [Program Code(s): 03620] ..............................................................
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. [Program Code(s): 03219, 03225, 03226] .......
O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct 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, 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] .........................
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6,500
3,300
5,500
6,400
8,000
9,400
30,500
11,600
12,900
5 N/A
10,800
11,800
95,700
11,800
16,300
4,600
3,300
16,300
25,900
32,700
14,800
22,100
27,000
9,300
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
30707
SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY NRC—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
Annual
fees 1 2 3
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
Category of materials licenses
Q. Registration of devices generally licensed under 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 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 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 radionuclides [Program Code(s): 03210] ...................................................
4. Waste disposal and processing:
A. Licenses specifically authorizing the 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,
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 [Program Code(s): 03234] ................................
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 [Program Code(s): 03232] .................................................................................................
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 [Program Code(s): 03110, 03111, 03112] .............
B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material for field flooding tracer studies. [Program Code(s): 03113] ...........
6. Nuclear laundries:
A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of 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 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] .......................................................................................
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.9
[Program Code(s): 02110] ........................................................................................................................................................
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. 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 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 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 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 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 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 air packages ..................................................................................................
2. Other Casks .............................................................................................................................................................................
B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under part 71 of this chapter
1. Users and Fabricators ..............................................................................................................................................................
2. Users ........................................................................................................................................................................................
C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals, route surveys, and transportation security devices (including immobilization
devices) .....................................................................................................................................................................................
11. Standardized spent fuel facilities ...................................................................................................................................................
12. Special Projects [Program Code(s): 25110] ..................................................................................................................................
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance ..................................................................................................................
B. General licenses for storage of spent fuel under 10 CFR 72.210 ..........................................................................................
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13 N/A
7,600
8,000
32,100
5 N/A
20,800
13,900
16,000
5 N/A
38,500
23,800
33,800
14,700
7,600
7,600
12,600
7,400
1,500
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
12 N/A
30708
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY NRC—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
Annual
fees 1 2 3
Category of materials licenses
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation:
A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear 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 master materials licenses (MMLs) [Program Code(s): 03900, 11900, 21135, 21215, 21325, 22200] ........................................................
B. Site-specific decommissioning activities associated with unlicensed sites, including MMLs, whether or not the sites have
been previously licensed ..........................................................................................................................................................
15. Import and Export licenses ............................................................................................................................................................
16. Reciprocity .....................................................................................................................................................................................
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to Government agencies [Program Code(s): 03614] .....................................
18. Department of Energy:
A. Certificates of Compliance .......................................................................................................................................................
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) activities ..........................................................................................
7 N/A
7 N/A
8 N/A
8 N/A
340,000
10 1,514,000
616,000
1 Annual
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with RULES4
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
§ 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 § 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.
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 § 171.15(c).
12 See § 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 (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 (3) of this section
for a given fiscal year, a negative feerelief adjustment (or annual fee
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reduction) will be allocated to annual
fees. The activities comprising the FY
2017 fee-relief adjustment are as
follows:
*
*
*
*
*
8. In § 171.19, revise paragraph (d) to
read as follows:
■
§ 171.19
Payment.
*
*
*
*
*
(d) Annual fees of less than $100,000
must be paid as billed by the NRC.
Materials license annual fees that are
less than $100,000 are billed on the
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anniversary date of the license. The
materials licensees that are billed on the
anniversary date of the license are those
covered by fee categories 1.C., 1.D., 1.F.,
and 2.A.(2) through 9.D.
*
*
*
*
*
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day
of June 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Maureen E. Wylie,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017–13520 Filed 6–29–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 125 (Friday, June 30, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 30682-30708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13520]
[[Page 30681]]
Vol. 82
Friday,
No. 125
June 30, 2017
Part V
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2017; Final
Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 125 / Friday, June 30, 2017 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 30682]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
[NRC-2016-0081]
RIN 3150-AJ73
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2017
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending the
licensing, inspection, special project, and annual fees charged to its
applicants and licensees. These amendments are necessary to implement
the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 as amended (OBRA-90),
which requires the NRC to recover approximately 90 percent of its
annual budget through fees.
DATES: This final rule is effective on August 29, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0081 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-2016-0081. 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.
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 this
document. For the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession
numbers and instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this
document are provided 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: Michele Kaplan, Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-5256, email: Michele.Kaplan@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background; Statutory Authority
II. Discussion
III. Opportunities for Public Participation
IV. Public Comment Analysis
V. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
VI. Regulatory Analysis
VII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
VIII. Plain Writing
IX. National Environmental Policy Act
X. Paperwork Reduction Act
XI. Congressional Review Act
XII. Voluntary Consensus Standards
XIII. Availability of Guidance
XIV. Availability of Documents
I. Background; Statutory Authority
The NRC's fee regulations are governed primarily by two laws: (1)
The Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C.
9701), and (2) OBRA-90. The OBRA-90 statute requires the NRC to recover
approximately 90 percent of its budget authority through fees; this
fee-recovery requirement may exclude amounts appropriated for Waste
Incidental to Reprocessing, generic homeland security activities, $5
million for advanced reactor regulatory infrastructure, and Inspector
General (IG) services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
The OBRA-90 statute first requires the NRC to use its IOAA authority to
collect user fees for NRC work that provides specific benefits to
identifiable applicants and licensees (such as licensing work,
inspections, special projects). The regulations at part 170 of title 10
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) authorize these fees. But,
because the NRC's fee recovery under the IOAA (10 CFR part 170) does
not equal 90 percent of the NRC's budget authority, the NRC also
assesses generic ``annual fees'' under 10 CFR part 171 to recover the
remaining fees necessary to achieve OBRA-90's 90-percent fee recovery.
These annual fees recover generic regulatory costs that are not
otherwise collected through 10 CFR part 170.
II. Discussion
FY 2017 Fee Collection--Overview
The NRC is issuing the FY 2017 final fee rule based on the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Pub. L. 115-31), in the amount
of $917.1 million, a decrease of $85.0 million from FY 2016. As
explained previously, certain portions of the NRC's total budget are
excluded from the NRC's fee-recovery amount--specifically, these
exclusions include: $1.3 million for waste-incidental-to-reprocessing
activities, $1.0 million for IG services for the Defense Nuclear
Facilities Safety Board, and $15.8 million and for generic homeland
security activities. Also, for the first time, the enacted budget
includes $5 million for advanced reactor infrastructure, which is
required to be excluded from the fee base. Additionally, OBRA-90
requires the NRC to recover only approximately 90 percent of the
remaining budget authority, leaving the remaining 10 percent to be
funded by a congressional appropriation.
After accounting for the OBRA-90 exclusions, this 10-percent
appropriation, and net billing adjustments (the sum of unpaid current
year invoices (estimated) minus payments for prior year invoices) the
NRC must bill approximately $805.9 million in FY 2017 to licensees. Of
this amount, the NRC estimates that $297.3 million will be recovered
through 10 CFR part 170 user fees, which leaves approximately $508.6
million to be recovered through 10 CFR part 171 annual fees. Table I
summarizes the fee-recovery amounts for the FY 2017 final fee rule
using the enacted budget and taking into account excluded activities,
the 10-percent appropriation, and net billing adjustments (individual
values may not sum to totals due to rounding). The FY 2017
appropriation includes access to $23.0 million in carryover funds. The
use of carry over funds allows the NRC to accomplish the work needed
without additional costs to licensees because fees are calculated based
on the new appropriation and not carryover funds.
[[Page 30683]]
Table I--Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts
[Dollars in millions]
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FY 2016 final FY 2017 final Percentage
rule rule change
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Total Budget Authority.......................................... $1,002.1 $917.1 -8.5
Less Excluded Fee Items......................................... -21.1 -23.1 9.5
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Balance..................................................... $981.0 $894.0 -8.9
Fee Recovery Percent............................................ 90 90 0.0
Total Amount to be Recovered:................................... $882.9 $804.6 -8.9
10 CFR part 171 Billing Adjustments:
Unpaid Current Year Invoices (estimated) 6.3 6.2 -1.6
Less Prior Year Billing Credit for Transportation Fee Class -0.2 0.0 100.0
Less Payments Received in Current Year for Previous Year -5.6 -4.9 -12.5
Invoices (estimated)
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Subtotal................................................ 0.5 1.3 160.0
Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 Fees.... $883.4 $805.9 -8.8
Less Estimated 10 CFR part 170 Fees......................... -332.7 -297.3 -10.7
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10 CFR Part 171 Fee Collections Required................ $550.7 $508.6 -7.6
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FY 2017 Fee Collection--Hourly Rate
The NRC uses an hourly rate to assess fees for specific services
provided by the NRC under 10 CFR part 170. The hourly rate also helps
determine flat fees (which are used for the review of certain types of
license applications). This rate would be applicable to all activities
for which fees are assessed under Sec. Sec. 170.21 and 170.31.
The NRC's hourly rate is derived by adding the budgeted resources
for: (1) Mission-direct program salaries and benefits; \1\ (2) mission-
indirect program support; \2\ and (3) agency support,\3\ which includes
corporate support and the IG, and then dividing this sum by total
mission-direct full-time equivalent (FTE) converted to hours. The
mission-direct FTE converted to hours is the product of the mission-
direct FTE multiplied by the estimated annual mission-direct FTE
productive hours. The following shows the hourly rate calculation:
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\1\ Mission-direct program salaries and benefits resources are
allocated to perform core work activities committed to fulfilling
the agency's mission of protecting the public health and safety,
promoting the common defense and security, and protecting the
environment. The majority of the resources assigned under the direct
business lines (Operating Reactors, New Reactors, Fuel Facilities,
Nuclear Materials Users, Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste, and
Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation) are core work activities
considered mission-direct.
\2\ Mission-indirect program support resources are those that
support the core mission-direct activities. They include, for
example, supervisory and nonsupervisory support and mission travel
and training. Supervisory and nonsupervisory support and mission
travel and training resources assigned under direct business line
structure are considered mission-indirect due to their supporting
role of the core mission activities.
\3\ Agency support (corporate support and the IG) resources are
located in executive, administrative, and other support offices such
as the Office of the Commission, the Office of the Secretary, the
Office of the Executive Director for Operations, the Offices of
Congressional and Public Affairs, the Office of the Inspector
General, the Office of Administration, the Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the
Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer and the Office of Small
Business and Civil Rights. These budgeted costs administer the
corporate or shared efforts that more broadly support the activities
of the agency. These activities also include information technology
services, human capital services, financial management, and
administrative support.
\4\ Does not include contract dollars billed to licensees
separately.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR30JN17.292
For FY 2017, the NRC is decreasing the hourly rate from $265 to
$263. The 0.8 percent decrease in the FY 2017 hourly rate is due
primarily to the decline in total budgetary resources and an increase
in productive hours worked, offset by a decline in mission-direct FTE
from FY 2016 to FY 2017. The FY 2017 estimated annual direct hours per
staff is 1,500 hours, up from 1,440 hours in FY 2016. The productive-
hours assumption reflects the average number of hours that a mission-
direct employee spends on mission-direct work in a given year. This
excludes hours charged to annual leave, sick leave, holidays, training
and general administration tasks. Table II shows the hourly rate
calculation methodology. The FY 2016 amounts are provided for
comparison.
Table II--Hourly Rate Calculation
[Dollars in millions]
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FY 2016 final FY 2017 final Percentage
rule rule change
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Mission-Direct Program Salaries & Benefits...................... $369.6 $340.6 -7.9
Mission-Indirect Program Support................................ 140.6 137.3 -2.3
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[[Page 30684]]
Agency Support (Corporate Support and the IG)................... 314.0 309.6 -1.4
Subtotal.................................................... 824.2 787.5 -4.5
Less Offsetting Receipts \5\.................................... -0.1 -0.1 -31.2
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Total Budgeted Resources Included in Hourly Rate............ 824.1 787.4 -4.5
Mission-Direct FTE (Whole numbers).............................. 2,157 1,996 -7.5
Mission-Direct FTE productive hours............................. 1,440 1,500 4.2
Mission-Direct FTE Converted to Hours (Mission-Direct FTE 3.1 3.0 -3.6
multiplied by Mission-Direct FTE productive hours worked
annually) (In Millions)........................................
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budget Included in Hourly Rate 265 263 -0.8
Divided by FTE Converted to Hours) (Whole Numbers).............
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FY 2017 Fee Collection--Flat Application Fee Changes
The NRC is amending the flat application fees that it charges to
applicants for import and export licenses, applicants for materials
licenses and other regulatory services, and holders of materials in its
schedule of fees in Sec. Sec. 170.21 and 170.31, to reflect the
revised hourly rate of $263. The NRC calculates these flat fees by
multiplying the average professional staff hours needed to process the
licensing actions by the proposed professional hourly rate for FY 2017.
The NRC analyzes the actual hours spent performing licensing actions
and then estimates the average professional staff hours that are needed
to process licensing actions as part of its biennial review of fees,
which is required by Section 902 of the Chief Financial Officers Act of
1990 (31 U.S.C. 902(8)). The NRC performed this review in FY 2017 and
will perform this review again in FY 2019. For the most part,
application fees decreased due to a lower hourly rate along with
efficiencies achieved in the licensing and inspection programs. Please
see the final fee rule work papers (ADAMS Accession No. ML17164A283)
for more detail.
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\5\ The fees collected by the NRC for Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) services and indemnity (financial protection required of
licensees for public liability claims at 10 CFR part 140) are
subtracted from the budgeted resources amount when calculating the
10 CFR part 170 hourly rates, per the guidance in Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-25, User Charges. The
budgeted resources for FOIA activities are allocated under the
product for Information Services within the Corporate Support
business line. The indemnity activities are allocated under the
Licensing Actions and the Research & Test Reactors products within
the Operating Reactors business line.
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The NRC rounds these flat fees in such a way that ensures both
convenience for its stakeholders and that any rounding effects are
minimal. Accordingly, fees under $1,000 are rounded to the nearest $10,
fees between $1,000 and $100,000 are rounded to the nearest $100, and
fees greater than $100,000 are rounded to the nearest $1,000.
The licensing flat fees are applicable for import and export
licensing actions (see fee categories K.1. through K.5. of Sec.
170.21), as well as certain materials licensing actions (see fee
categories 1.C. through 1.D., 2.B. through 2.F., 3.A. through 3.S.,
4.B. through 5.A., 6.A. 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 shown in the DATES section of this document will be
subject to the revised fees in this final rule.
FY 2017 Fee Collection--Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste (LLW) Surcharge
As previously noted, OBRA-90 requires the NRC to recover only
approximately 90-percent of its budget authority. The remaining 10
percent that is not recovered through fees is applied by the NRC to
offset certain budgeted activities--see Table III for a full listing.
These activities are referred to as ``fee-relief'' activities. Any
difference between the 10-percent non-fee-recoverable amount and the
budgeted amount of these fee-relief activities results in a fee
adjustment (either an increase or decrease) to all licensees' annual
fees, based on their percentage share of the NRC's budget.
In FY 2017, the NRC's budgeted fee-relief activities exceeded the
10-percent threshold--therefore, the NRC assessed a fee-relief
adjustment (i.e., surcharge) to increase all licensees' annual fees
based on their percentage share of the budget. The surcharge is due
primarily to a decrease in the 10-percent fee relief threshold, along
with increases in infrastructure for medical isotope production and
regulatory support to agreement state activities. Table III summarizes
the fee-relief activities for FY 2017. The FY 2016 amounts are provided
for comparison.
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\6\ This amount includes international assistance activities,
conventions and treaties, and specific cooperation activities.
Table III--Fee-Relief Activities
[Dollars in millions]
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FY 2016 FY 2017 Percentage
Fee-relief activities budgeted costs budgeted costs change
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1. Activities not attributable to an existing NRC licensee or
class of licensee:
a. International activities \6\............................. $12.6 $13.8 9.7
b. Agreement State oversight................................ 12.6 12.9 2.1
c. Scholarships and Fellowships............................. 18.2 17.9 -1.6
d. Medical Isotope Production Infrastructure................ 1.0 4.2 320.0
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:
[[Page 30685]]
a. Fee exemption for nonprofit educational institutions..... 10.1 9.7 -3.9
b. Costs not recovered from small entities under 10 CFR 8.5 7.4 -12.9
71.16(c)...................................................
c. Regulatory support to Agreement States................... 16.5 18.5 11.8
d. Generic decommissioning/reclamation (not related to the 15.2 14.6 -3.9
power reactor and spent fuel storage fee classes)..........
e. In Situ leach rulemaking and unregistered general 1.6 1.4 -12.5
licensees..................................................
f. Potential Department of Defense remediation program MOU 1.7 1.1 -34.0
activities.................................................
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Total fee-relief activities..................................... 98.0 101.5 3.5
Less 10 percent of the NRC's total FY budget (less non-fee -98.1 -89.4 -8.9
items).....................................................
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Fee-Relief Adjustment to be Allocated to All Licensees' -0.1 12.1 17,357.7
Annual Fees............................................
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Table IV shows how the NRC allocates the $12.1 million fee-relief
adjustment (surcharge) to each license fee class.
In addition to the fee-relief adjustment, the NRC also assesses a
generic LLW surcharge of $3.2 million. Disposal of LLW occurs at
commercially operated LLW disposal facilities that are licensed by
either the NRC or an Agreement State. There are four existing LLW
disposal facilities in the United States that accept various types of
low-level waste. All are in Agreement States and, therefore, regulated
by the State authority. The NRC allocates this surcharge to its
licensees based on data available in the DOE Manifest Information
Management System. This database contains information on total LLW
volumes and NRC usage information from four generator classes:
Academic, industry, medical, and utility. The ratio of utility waste
volumes to total LLW volumes over a period of time is used to estimate
the portion of this surcharge that should be allocated to the power
reactors, fuel facilities, and materials fee classes. The materials
portion is adjusted to account for the fact that a large percentage of
materials licensees are licensed by the Agreement States rather than
the NRC.
Table IV shows the surcharge, and its allocation across the various
fee classes.
Table IV--Allocation of Fee-Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2017
[Dollars in millions]
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LLW surcharge Fee-relief adjustment Total
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Percent $ Percent $ $
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Operating Power Reactors........ 24.0 0.8 85.4 10.3 11.1
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor 0.0 0.0 3.9 0.5 0.5
Decommissioning................
Research and Test Reactors...... 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0
Fuel Facilities................. 62.0 2.0 4.5 0.6 2.5
Materials Users................. 14.0 0.4 3.6 0.4 0.8
Transportation.................. 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.1 0.1
Rare Earth Facilities........... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Uranium Recovery................ 0.0 0.0 1.8 0.2 0.2
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Total....................... 100.0 3.2 100.0 12.1 15.2
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FY 2017 Fee Collection--Revised Annual Fees
In accordance with SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation Method,''
dated September 15, 2005 (ADAMS Accession No. ML052580332), the NRC re-
baselines its annual fees every year. Re-baselining entails analyzing
the budget in detail and then allocating the budgeted costs to various
classes or subclasses of licensees. It also includes updating the
number of NRC licensees in its fee calculation methodology.
The NRC revised its annual fees in Sec. Sec. 171.15 and 171.16 to
recover approximately 90 percent of the NRC's FY 2017 budget authority
(less non-fee amounts and the estimated amount to be recovered through
10 CFR part 170 fees). The total estimated 10 CFR part 170 collections
for this final rule are $297.3 million, a decrease of $35.4 million
from the FY 2016 final rule. The NRC, therefore, must recover $508.6
million through annual fees from its licensees, which is a decrease of
$42.1 million from the FY 2016 final rule.
Table V shows the re-baselined fees for FY 2017 for a
representative list of categories of licensees. The FY 2016 amounts are
provided for comparison.
Table V--Re-Baselined Annual Fees
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FY 2016 final FY 2017 final Percentage
Class/category of licenses annual fee annual fee change
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Operating Power Reactors........................................ $4,659,000 $4,308,000 -7.5
[[Page 30686]]
+ Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning.................... 197,000 188,000 -4.6
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Total, Combined Fee......................................... 4,856,000 4,496,000 -7.4
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning...................... 197,000 188,000 -4.6
Research and Test Reactors/Non-power Reactors................... 81,500 81,400 -0.1
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility............................. 7,867,000 7,700,000 -2.1
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility.............................. 2,736,000 2,790,000 2.0
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion Facility........................ 1,625,000 1,590,000 -2.2
Conventional Mills.............................................. 38,900 38,900 0.0
Typical Materials Users:
Radiographers (Category 3O)................................. 26,000 27,000 3.8
Well Loggers (Category 5A).................................. 14,500 16,000 10.3
All Other Specific Byproduct Material Licenses (Category 3P) 7,900 9,300 17.7
Broad Scope Medical (Category 7B)........................... 37,400 33,800 -9.6
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The work papers that support this final rule show in detail how the NRC
allocated the budgeted resources for each class of licenses and how the
fees are calculated.
Paragraphs a. through h. of this section describe budgetary
resources allocated to each class of licensees and the calculations of
the re-baselined fees. For more information about detailed fee
calculations for each class, please consult the accompanying work
papers.
a. Fuel Facilities
The NRC will collect $33.9 million in annual fees from the fuel
facility class.
Table VI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Fuel Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
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Percentage
Summary fee calculations FY 2016 final FY 2017 final change
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Total budgeted resources........................................ $40.5 $33.9 -16.3
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts......................... -11.7 -9.6 -17.9
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Net 10 CFR part 171 resources............................... 28.8 24.3 -15.6
Allocated generic transportation................................ 1.1 1.6 45.5
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge............................. 1.7 2.5 47.1
Billing adjustments............................................. 0.0 0.0 0.0
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Total remaining required annual fee recovery................ 31.6 28.4 -10.1
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In FY 2017, the fuel facilities budgetary resources decreased due
to continued construction delays at multiple sites (including the Shaw
Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication and the International Isotope facilities)
and efficiencies achieved within the licensing and inspection programs,
offset by declining estimated 10 CFR part 170 billings for license
renewals and amendments, and a reduction of one licensee in the fee
class--Centrus Energy Corporation Lead Cascade Gas Centrifuge
Enrichment Demonstration facility. Due to the proration rules in our
regulation, this licensee will remain for the FY 2017 final fee rule
calculation, and be removed from the fee rule for FY 2018.
The NRC allocates annual fees to individual fuel facility licensees
based on the effort/fee determination matrix developed in the FY 1999
final fee rule (64 FR 31447; June 10, 1999). To briefly recap, that
matrix groups licensees into various categories. The NRC's fuel
facility project managers determine the effort levels associated with
regulating each category. This is done by assigning separate effort
factors for the safety and safeguards activities associated with each
category (for more information about this matrix, see the work papers).
These effort levels are reflected in Table VII.
Table VII--Effort Factors for Fuel Facilities, FY 2017
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Effort factors (percent of
Number of total)
Facility type (fee category) facilities -------------------------------
Safety Safeguards
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High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))......................... 2 88 (44.0) 96 (55.2)
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)).......................... 3 70 (35.0) 30 (17.2)
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 (8.6)
Hot Cell (1.A.(2)(c))........................................... 1 6 (3.0) 3 (1.7)
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)....................................... 1 21 (10.5) 23 (13.2)
[[Page 30687]]
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1))....................... 1 12 (6.0) 7 (4.0)
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For FY 2017, the total budgeted resources for safety activities are
$13.8 million. To calculate the annual fee, the NRC allocates this
amount to each fee category based on its percent of the total
regulatory effort for safety activities. Similarly, the NRC allocates
the budgeted resources for safeguards activities, $12.1 million, to
each fee category based on its percent of the total regulatory effort
for safeguards activities. Finally, the fuel facility fee class'
portion of the fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge--$2.5 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 for each facility is summarized in Table
VIII.
Table VIII--Annual Fees for Fuel Facilities
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FY 2016 final FY 2017 final Percentage
Facility type (fee category) annual fee annual fee change
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High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a))......................... $7,867,000 $7,700,000 -2.1
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)).......................... 2,736,000 2,790,000 2.0
Limited Operations (1.A(2)(a)).................................. 0.0 0.0 0.0
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b))............ 1,539,000 1,507,000 -2.1
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c)).............................. 770,000 753,000 -2.2
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)....................................... 3,762,000 3,340,000 -11.2
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1))....................... 1,625,000 1,590,000 -2.2
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b. Uranium Recovery Facilities
Table IX--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Uranium Recovery Facilities
[Dollars in millions]
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Percentage
Summary fee calculations FY 2016 final FY 2017 final change
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Total budgeted resources........................................ $12.3 $14.3 16.3
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts......................... -11.4 -13.5 18.4
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Net 10 CFR part 171 resources............................... 0.9 0.8 -11.1
Allocated generic transportation................................ N/A N/A N/A
Fee-relief adjustment........................................... 0.0 0.2 100.0
Billing adjustments............................................. 0.0 0.0 0.0
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Total required annual fee recovery.......................... 0.9 1.0 7.7
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In comparison to FY 2016, the FY 2017 budgetary resources for
uranium recovery licensees increased due to increased work expected for
additional safety and environmental reviews associated with new
licensing actions and increased hearing activities. In addition, the
NRC regulates DOE's Title I and Title II activities under the Uranium
Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA).\7\ For the UMTRCA
program, budgetary resources increased for the expected review of five
groundwater correction plans and two long term surveillance plans.
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\7\ 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.
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Estimated 10 CFR part 170 fees increased due to the Ludeman
expansion, Kennecott safety evaluation report, and the Marsland
environmental assessment. For the UMTRCA program, 10 CFR part 170 fees
decreased due to delays in the submission of the Monument Valley
groundwater correction action plan, the Lakeview long-term surveillance
plan, and the completion of the review of the Durango site evaporation
pond decommissioning plan.
The NRC will collect approximately $1.0 million in annual fees from
the uranium recovery facilities fee class for both DOE and non-DOE
licensees, an increase of about eight percent from FY 2016. In
comparison with FY 2016, non-DOE licensees annual fees will remain flat
for most licensees and decrease for some. The NRC computes the 10 CFR
part 171 annual fee for the uranium recovery fee class by dividing the
total annual fee recovery amount between DOE and the other licensees in
this fee class. The final annual fee assessed to DOE includes the costs
specifically budgeted for the NRC's UMTRCA Title
[[Page 30688]]
I and II activities, as well as 10 percent of the remaining budgeted
cost for this fee class. The DOE's UMTRCA annual fee increased because
of an increase in budgetary resources combined with a decrease in 10
CFR part 170 billings. The NRC assesses the remaining 90 percent of its
budgeted costs to the rest of the licensees in this fee class, as
described in the work papers. This is reflected in Table X.
Table X--Costs Recovered Through Annual Fees; Uranium Recovery Fee Class
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2016 final FY 2017 final Percentage
Summary of costs annual fee annual fee change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I and Title II) General
Licenses:
UMTRCA Title I and Title II budgeted costs less 10 CFR part $503,708 $574,595 14.1
170 receipts...............................................
10 percent of generic/other uranium recovery budgeted costs. 41,157 19,079 -53.6
10 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment........ -94 21,940 23,440.4
-----------------------------------------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE (rounded)............... 545,000 616,000 13.0
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses:
90 percent of generic/other uranium recovery budgeted costs 370,415 171,714 -53.6
less the amounts specifically budgeted for Title I and
Title II activities........................................
90 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment........ -844 197,464 23,496.2
-----------------------------------------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery 369,571 369,178 0.0
Licenses...............................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further, for the non-DOE licensees, the NRC uses a matrix to
determine the effort levels associated with conducting the generic
regulatory actions for the different (non-DOE) licensees in this fee
class; this is similar to the NRC's approach for fuel facilities,
described previously.
The matrix methodology for uranium recovery licensees first
identifies the licensee categories included within this fee class
(excluding DOE). These categories are: Conventional uranium mills and
heap leach facilities; uranium In Situ Recovery (ISR) and resin ISR
facilities; mill tailings disposal facilities; and uranium water
treatment facilities. The matrix identifies the types of operating
activities that support and benefit these licensees, along with each
activity's relative weight (for more information, see the work papers).
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.
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 1 150 150 10.5
(2.A.(2)(a))...........................
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities 5 190 950 66.7
(2.A.(2)(b))...........................
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities 1 215 215 15.1
(2.A.(2)(c))...........................
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing 1 85 85 6.0
tailings sites (2.A.(4))...............
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5))....... 1 25 25 1.7
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................... 9 665 1,425 100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applying these factors to the approximate $369,178 in budgeted
costs to be recovered from non-DOE uranium recovery licensees results
in the total annual fees for each fee category. The annual fee per
licensee is calculated by dividing the total allocated budgeted
resources for the fee category by the number of licensees in that fee
category, as summarized in Table XII.
Table XII--Annual Fees for Uranium Recovery Licensees
[Other than DOE]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2016 final FY 2017 final Percentage
Facility type (fee category) annual fee annual fee change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a)).................. $38,900 $38,900 0.0
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b)).................. 49,300 49,200 -0.2
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c))............... 55,800 55,700 -0.2
11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites (2.A.(4)) 22,000 22,000 0.0
Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5))............................... 6,500 6,500 0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
c. Operating Power Reactors
The NRC will collect $426.5 million in annual fees from the power
reactor fee class in FY 2017, as shown in Table XIII. The FY 2016
values and percentage change are shown for comparison.
[[Page 30689]]
Table XIII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Power Reactors
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage
Summary fee calculations FY 2016 final FY 2017 final change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources........................................ $750.4 $670.3 -10.7
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts......................... -287.8 -256.3 -10.9
-----------------------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources............................... 462.6 414.0 -10.5
Allocated generic transportation................................ 1.8 0.3 -83.3
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge............................. 1.0 11.1 1,110.0
Billing adjustment.............................................. 0.6 1.1 83.3
-----------------------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.......................... 465.9 426.5 -8.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comparison to FY 2016, the operating power reactors budgetary
resources decreased in FY 2017 primarily due to fewer resources needed
to reduce the licensing actions backlog and a reduction for generic
work such as the Fukushima-related rulemaking, ``Station Blackout
Mitigation Strategies.'' In addition, budgetary resources for new
reactors decreased because of the completed combined operating licenses
for Duke Lee, South Texas Project, and Levy and an application
withdrawal from Bell Bend.
Compared with FY 2016, 10 CFR part 170 fees decreased due to
completion of actions to address the licensing actions backlog, and the
transition of Fort Calhoun to decommissioning status in November 2016.
The budgeted costs are divided equally among the 99 currently
operating power reactors, resulting in a final 10 CFR part 171 annual
fee of $4,308,000 per reactor. Additionally, each licensed power
reactor is assessed the FY 2017 spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning 10 CFR part 171 annual fee of $188,000 (see the
discussion that follows). The combined FY 2017 annual fee for power
reactors is, therefore, $4,496,000 which is a decrease from the
combined FY 2016 10 CFR part 171 annual fee of $4,856,000.
On May 24, 2016 (81 FR 32617), the NRC published a final rule that
amended its licensing, inspection, and annual fee regulations to
establish a variable annual fee structure for light-water small modular
reactors (SMRs). Under the variable annual fee structure, effective
June 23, 2016, an SMR's annual fee would be calculated as a function of
its licensed thermal power rating. Currently, there are no operating
SMRs; therefore, the NRC will not assess an annual fee in FY 2017 for
this type of licensee.
d. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactors in Decommissioning
To collect the budgeted resources for spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning, the NRC will collect $23.0 million in annual fees from
10 CFR part 50 power reactors and from 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do
not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license.
Table XIV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for the Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor in Decommissioning Fee Class
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage
Summary fee calculations FY 2016 final FY 2017 final change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources........................................ $30.5 $29.5 -3.3
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts......................... -7.5 -7.9 5.3
-----------------------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources............................... 23.0 21.6 -6.1
Allocated generic transportation costs.......................... 1.0 0.8 -20.0
Fee-relief adjustment........................................... 0.0 0.5 100.0
Billing adjustments............................................. 0.0 0.1 100.0
-----------------------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.......................... 24.0 23.0 -4.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comparison to FY 2016, the decrease in annual fee is mainly the
result of a decrease in budgetary resources for storage licensing and
rulemaking activities and an increase in 10 CFR part 170 estimated
billings due to the application for a consolidated interim storage
facility for Holtec/Eddy Lea Energy and the technical review of an
application submitted by Waste Control Specialists.
The required annual fee recovery amount is divided equally among
122 licensees, resulting in an FY 2017 annual fee of $188,000 per
licensee.
e. Research and Test Reactors/Non-Power Reactors
The NRC will collect $0.326 million in annual fees from the
research and test reactor licensee class.
[[Page 30690]]
Table XV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Research and Test Reactors/Non-Power Reactors
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage
Summary fee calculations FY 2016 final FY 2017 final change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources........................................ $3.799 $1.982 -47.8
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts......................... -3.510 -1.724 -50.9
-----------------------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources............................... 0.289 0.258 -10.7
Allocated generic transportation................................ 0.034 0.034 0.0
Fee-relief adjustment........................................... 0.000 0.031 100.0
Billing adjustments............................................. 0.003 0.003 0.0
-----------------------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.......................... 0.326 0.326 -0.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In FY 2017, the research and test/non-power reactors budgetary
resources decreased due to a decrease in the NRC's workload for
licensing medical isotope utilization and production facilities.
Accordingly, the estimated 10 CFR part 170 billings decreased for the
medical isotope production review. For research and test reactors, in
comparison to FY 2016, the 10 CFR part 171 annual fee remained flat.
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 2017 annual fee of $81,400 for each licensee.
f. Rare Earth
The application for a rare-earth facility has been placed on hold
until late FY 2017. Therefore, the NRC has not allocated any budgetary
resources to this fee class and will not assess an annual fee in FY
2017 for this fee class.
g. Materials Users
The NRC will collect $35.4 million in annual fees from materials
users licensed under 10 CFR parts 30, 40, and 70.
Table XVI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Materials Users
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage
Summary fee calculations FY 2016 final FY 2017 final change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources for licensees not regulated by $33.2 $33.7 1.5
Agreement States...............................................
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts......................... -1.1 -0.9 -18.2
-----------------------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 resources............................... 32.1 32.8 2.2
Allocated generic transportation................................ 2.4 1.6 -33.3
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge............................. 0.5 0.9 80
Billing adjustments............................................. 0.0 0.1 100.0
-----------------------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.......................... 35.0 35.4 1.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To equitably and fairly allocate the $35.4 million in FY 2017
budgeted costs among approximately 2,700 diverse materials users
licensees, the NRC calculates the annual fees for each fee category
within this class based 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 provides 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 method also considers the inspection frequency (priority),
which is indicative of the safety risk and resulting regulatory cost
associated with each category of license.
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 2017, the constant multiplier necessary to recover
approximately $25.9 million in general costs (including allocated
generic transportation costs) is 1.46 (see work papers for more
detail). The average inspection cost is the average inspection hours
for each fee category multiplied by the hourly rate of $263. The
inspection priority is the interval between routine inspections,
expressed in years. The inspection multiplier is the multiple necessary
to recover approximately $8.4 million in inspection costs, and is 1.65
for FY 2017. The unique category costs are any special costs that the
NRC has budgeted for a specific category of licenses. For FY 2017,
approximately $275,000 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 assessed to each licensee also includes a share of
the fee-relief surcharge assessment of approximately $430,421 allocated
to the materials users fee class (see Table IV, ``Allocation of Fee-
Relief Adjustment and LLW Surcharge, FY 2017,'' in Section III,
``Discussion,'' of this document), and for certain categories of these
licensees, a share of the approximately $442,000 LLW surcharge costs
allocated to the fee class. The annual fee for each fee category is
shown in Sec. 171.16(d).
h. Transportation
The NRC will collect $5.8 million in annual fees to recover generic
transportation budgeted resources. The FY 2016 values are shown for
comparison.
[[Page 30691]]
Table XVII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Transportation
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage
Summary fee calculations FY 2016 final FY 2017 final change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Budgeted Resources........................................ $11.3 $8.9 -21.2
Less Estimated 10 CFR part 170 Receipts......................... -3.5 -3.1 -11.4
-----------------------------------------------
Net 10 CFR part 171 Resources............................... 7.8 5.8 -25.6
Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge............................. 0.0 0.0 0.0
Billing adjustments............................................. 0.0 0.0 0.0
-----------------------------------------------
Total required annual fee recovery.......................... 7.8 5.8 -25.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In comparison to FY 2016, the total budgetary resources for generic
transportation activities decreased due to a reduction in rulemaking
activities involving revisions to transportation safety requirements
and compatibility with International Atomic Energy Agency
Transportation Standards, hence reducing all fee class generic
transportation annual fees. The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings are
expected to decrease due in part to a reduction in activities for Areva
Federal Services and NAC International.
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 assesses 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 Certificates of Compliance (CoCs) used by each
fee class (and DOE) by the total generic transportation resources to be
recovered. The DOE annual fee increase is mainly due to the elimination
of a prior year credit totaling approximately $220,000 from FY 2016, as
well as a rise in CoCs by 4, or 22 percent.
This resource distribution to the licensee fee classes and DOE is
shown in Table XVIII. Specifically, for the research and test reactors
fee class, the NRC allocates the distribution to only the licensees
that are subject to annual fees. Four CoCs benefit the entire research
and test reactor class, but only 4 out 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 reactors annual fees is adjusted to 0.6 so that the licensees
subject to annual fees are charged a fair and equitable portion of the
total. For more information see the work papers.
Table XVIII--Distribution of Generic Transportation Resources, FY 2017
[Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of CoCs Allocated generic
License fee class/DOE benefiting fee Percentage of transportation
class or DOE total CoCs resources
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE.................................................... 22.0 24.6 1.4
Operating Power Reactors............................... 5.0 5.6 0.3
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning............. 13.0 14.5 0.9
Research and Test Reactors............................. 0.5 0.6 0.0
Fuel Facilities........................................ 24.0 26.8 1.6
Materials Users........................................ 25.0 27.9 1.6
--------------------------------------------------------
Total.............................................. 89.5 100.0 5.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NRC assesses an annual fee to DOE based on the 10 CFR part 71
CoCs it holds. The NRC, therefore, does not allocate these DOE-related
resources to other licensees' annual fees because these resources
specifically support DOE.
FY 2017--Administrative Changes
The NRC makes three administrative changes:
1. Increase Mission-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 mission-direct hours per direct
FTE in a year. ``Mission-direct hours'' are hours charged to mission-
direct activities in the Nuclear Reactor Safety Program and Nuclear
Materials and Waste Safety Program. The FY 2016 final fee rule used
1,440 hours per direct FTE in the hourly rate calculations. During the
FY 2017 budget formulation process, the NRC staff reviewed and analyzed
time and labor data from FY 2016 to determine whether it should revise
the direct hours per FTE. In FY 2016, the total mission-direct hours
charged by direct employees increased due to increased accuracy in
coding time to direct work in the time and labor system, as well as
decreased time coded for training. The increase in mission-direct hours
was apparent in all mission business lines. To reflect this increase in
productivity as demonstrated by the time and labor data, the NRC staff
determined that the number of mission-direct hours per FTE should
increase to 1,500 hours for FY 2017.
2. Change Small Entity Fees
In accordance with NRC policy, in 2017 the NRC staff conducted a
biennial review of small entity fees to determine whether the NRC
should change those fees. The NRC staff used the fee methodology,
developed in FY 2009, which applies a fixed percentage of 39 percent to
the prior 2-year weighted
[[Page 30692]]
average of materials users' fees when performing its biennial review.
As a result of this review, the upper tier small entity fee would
increase from $3,400 to $4,500 and the lower-tier fee would increase
from $700 to $900. This would constitute a 43-percent and 50-percent
increase, respectively. The NRC staff determined that implementing this
increase would have a disproportionate impact upon the NRC's small
licensees compared to other licensees, so the NRC staff lowered the
increase to 21 percent for the upper-tier and lower-tier fees. The NRC
staff chose 21 percent based on the average percentage increase for the
prior three biennial reviews of small entity fees. As a result of
applying the 21-percent increase to the FY 2015 small entity fees, the
NRC staff is now amending the upper-tier small entity fee to $4,100 and
amending the lower-tier small entity fee to $850 for FY 2017. The NRC
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.
3. Amends 10 CFR 171.19(d), To Include Fee Category 3G
The NRC modifies the description under 10 CFR 171.19, ``Payment,''
to include fee category 3G in the description as the annual fee is
below $100,000. These licensees in fee category 3G should now be billed
annual fees on their anniversary month due to the annual fee being less
than $100,000. This change resulted from a decrease in budgeted
resources allocated to this fee class for the final rule caused by a
decrease in the final appropriation.
Fees Transformation
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
recommendations were similar to stakeholder comments the staff received
during outreach on the NRC's fees and fee development process. In
addition, an interoffice steering committee of NRC staff evaluated the
current fee process to identify potential; solutions for concerns
raised by NRC stakeholders. Based on comments received from the public
and input from steering committee members, the staff developed over 40
process and policy improvements to be implemented over the next 4 years
that addressed concerns with the current fee process. On August 15,
2016, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) submitted a paper for Notation
Vote (SECY-16-0097 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16194A365)) to the
Commission. This memorandum identified 14 process improvements in six
categories that the staff would implement in FY 2017 and requested
Commission approval to further analyze four improvements as policy
issues. The Commission disapproved the policy issues with the exception
of a voluntary pilot initiative to explore whether a flat fee structure
could be established for routine licensing matters in the area of
uranium recovery policy issues. The Commission also directed staff to
accelerate the process improvements for future consideration including
transition to an electronic billing system.
Currently, 10 of the 14 process improvements for FY 2017 have been
completed and the NRC is well-positioned to complete the remaining 4
process improvements by the end of the fiscal year. In addition, 3 of
the 9 improvements for FY 2018 have been accelerated and completed. The
voluntary pilot project for uranium recovery flat fees and activities
to support electronic invoicing are underway. For more information on
our fees transformation initiative, please see our License Fees Web
site at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/licensing/fees.html.
III. Opportunities for Public Participation
The NRC published the FY 2017 proposed fee rule in the Federal
Register on January 3, 2017 (82 FR 8696), for a 30-day public comment
period. The rule proposed to amend the licensing, inspection, special
project, and annual fees charged to the NRC's applicants and licensees.
The public comment period for the proposed rule closed on March 1,
2017.
The NRC also held a public meeting on February 16, 2017, 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 2016 proposed fee rule. During the public meeting, the NRC
received no comments on the FY 2017 proposed fee rule. The public
meeting transcript is available as indicated in Section XIV,
Availability of Documents, of this document.
IV. Public Comment Analysis
Overview of Public Comments
The NRC received four 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. In general, the commenters
were supportive of the specific proposed regulatory changes, although
most commenters expressed concerns about broader fee-policy issues
related to transparency and fairness.
The commenters are listed in Table XIX, and are classified as
follows: One member of the uranium industry (Wyoming Mining Association
(WMA)); one nuclear power plant operator (Exelon); one private citizen;
and one industry trade group (Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)).
Table XIX--FY 2017 Proposed Fee Rule Commenter Submissions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commenter Affiliation ADAMS accession No. Abbreviation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Travis Deti....................... Wyoming Mining ML17108A265 WMA.
Association.
J. Bradley Fewell................. Exelon Generation ML17108A267 Exelon.
Company, LLC.
Joseph E. Pollock................. Nuclear Energy ML17108A266 NEI.
Institute.
Kevin Ramsey...................... Private Citizen...... ML17108A264 KR.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 30693]]
Information about obtaining the complete text of the comment
submissions is available in Section XIV, ``Availability of Documents,''
of this document.
Public Comments and NRC Responses
The NRC has carefully considered the public comments received. The
comments have been organized by topic followed by the NRC response.
A. Uranium Recovery
Comment: The increases for each category of uranium recovery
license over the 2016 annual fees exceed 8 percent. This increase
exceeds the current rate of inflation and increases in costs from
vendors, suppliers, and contractors with which the uranium recovery
industry does business. It exceeds annual salary increases for uranium
recovery workers as well. Uranium prices have been in overall decline
for the past five (5) years. The uranium recovery industry fails to see
how increases of this magnitude can be justified. (WMA)
Response: As discussed in the proposed FY 2017 fee rule, the
proposed amendments to the annual fees are necessary to comply with
OBRA-90, which requires the NRC to recover approximately 90 percent of
its annual budget through fees. Because the NRC (by law) must recover
approximately 90 percent of its annual budget authority, the NRC cannot
take the rate of inflation or other economic indicators into account
when deriving the annual fees.
Further, for the FY 2017 final fee rule, the annual fee for non-DOE
uranium recovery licensees will remain flat for most licensees. This
change from the projected 8 percent increase in the proposed rule is
due to a decrease in budgetary resources and an increase in non-DOE 10
CFR part 170 estimated billings. For additional information, refer to
the uranium recovery section of this final rule.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: It is not clear how the NRC will address the change in
workload for this license class when the NRC will lose nearly all of
the uranium recovery licenses with the entry of Wyoming as an Agreement
State. Per the Fee Work Papers, there are approximately 29 FTE for 9
uranium recovery licensees. Basic In-Situ recovery facilities have seen
annual fees increase 80% since FY 2012, and this small licensee class
cannot continue to absorb additional losses to the fee base without
corresponding NRC resource reductions. (NEI, Exelon)
Response: Specific to Wyoming's request to become an Agreement
State, the NRC staff has established a transition team to evaluate the
potential impacts and appropriately transition work in the event the
NRC approves Wyoming's application. As part of our Wyoming transition
initiative, the NRC will review its resource requirements for future
budgets and explore alternative methods of developing the fee schedule
to support a continued fair and equitable assessment of fees from a
smaller set of licensees after Wyoming becomes an Agreement State.
In addition, as part of the fees transformation initiative, the NRC
is beginning a voluntary pilot to explore whether a flat fee structure
could be established for routine licensing matters in the area of
uranium recovery. As part of this pilot the NRC will engage with
stakeholders to solicit feedback on the proposed strategy before a
final decision is made.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: The WMA questions why work on specific projects should
increase fees for all licensees. Costs related to specific projects
should be recovered through hourly charges. (WMA)
Response: Costs related to specific projects are recovered through
hourly charges and do not increase fees for all licensees. The part of
the FY 2017 fee rule discussion being questioned by the commenter is
only a general description of the business environment affecting the 10
CFR part 170 user fees (i.e., hourly charges). As described in the FY
2017 fee rule, the annual fees are determined after deducting the
amount to be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 user fees.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: The proposed fee rule contains a 9% annual fee increase
for uranium recovery facilities due to, in part, an increase in the
budgeted resources to ``support contested hearing activities.'' The NRC
should consider modifying the existing policy for treatment of
contested hearings, particularly for fee categories comprised of a
small number of licensees where imposition of these additional costs
are punitive and disadvantage licensees' ability to compete in global
markets. The industry supports treating costs associated with contested
hearings, for all licensee classes, as non-fee activities. (NEI,
Exelon)
Response: Hearing costs are not recovered through 10 CFR part 170
user fees due to longstanding fairness and equity concerns with billing
the applicant for the costs of a public hearing. Therefore, the work on
these contested hearings must be recouped through annual fees. Hearings
are budgeted as our best estimate based on historical expenditures;
however, the actual resources expended will vary depending on the
number of contentions and the complexity of each contention. Each
hearing is different.
Further, for the FY 2017 final fee rule, the annual fee for non-DOE
uranium recovery licensees will remain flat for most licensees. This
change from the projected 8 percent increase in the proposed rule is
due to a decrease in budgetary resources and an increase in non-DOE 10
CFR part 170 estimated billings. For additional information, refer to
the uranium recovery section of this final rule.
As part of our Wyoming transition initiative, the NRC will explore
alternative methods of developing the fee schedule to support a
continued fair and equitable assessment of fees to recover the
budgetary resources associated with contested hearings. The alternative
methods may include seeking an appropriation off the fee base,
developing an alternate fee class structure, or classifying the
resources as fee relief. The NRC will evaluate these changes and the
associated impacts across the various fee classes and categories in a
future fee rule.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: Page 8702 of the Federal Register document states that
uranium recovery licensee fees increased, in part, due to the increased
workload for congressional hearings and inquiries. It is inappropriate
to seek compensation from any licensee for this activity. The level of
NRC resources to support this activity is not transparent. We expect to
see the recovery amount for this business line to go down as a result
of the removal of this activity. (NEI, Exelon)
Response: OBRA-90 requires the NRC to collect fees for a broad
amount of activities necessary to operate the agency including guidance
and regulatory infrastructure as well as government compliance
activities. Because congressional hearings and inquiries are not a
major factor when setting annual fees for the uranium recovery fee
class, this language will be deleted from the final rule. This change
will not impact the recovery amount or fees assessed.
B. Transparency
Comment: Although the NRC has added some additional information to
the work papers supporting the
[[Page 30694]]
proposed fee rule, the papers still lack enough detail to precisely
determine the specific costs that are being recovered through annual
fees. For example, the work papers indicate that several items dominate
the contracting portion encompassed by the operating reactor annual
fee. However, the work papers provide no information regarding the
specific projects driving these contracting numbers, such as the issues
being researched, the type of information technology support needed,
and the licensing actions anticipated. We encourage the NRC to continue
adding detail to the work papers to allow licensees to discern exactly
what work their annual fees are funding. (Exelon)
Response: 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.
However, distinguishing these activities would prove unduly burdensome
for the NRC to perform this type of analysis for every business line,
product line, and product in its budget.
The NRC would not be able to provide specific information on
contracts since it is proprietary in nature. However, as part of the
fees transformation initiative, project managers are providing enhanced
licensee outreach to increase awareness of general contract activities
and costs.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: While the NRC provided a clear explanation of the
difference between international cooperation and assistance activities
and how fees are accounted for each, there continues to be a lack of
transparency with the benefit provided to the regulated community. The
proposed fee rule Table III, ``Fee-Relief Activities'', clearly
identifies $13.9 million for international assistance activities.
However, to ascertain the international cooperation budgeted activities
requires going through each product line to add the budgeted costs.
Clear transparency of the cooperation activities budget and a better
description of the specific activities and how they benefit the
regulated community is needed. This request does not question the
overall value of the benefits of assistance and cooperation activities
to the safety and security of the world and United States. The split
between assistance and cooperation is difficult to ascertain without
laborious work. (NEI, Exelon)
Response: The NRC agrees with the comment. In the final rule, the
NRC has improved transparency for international cooperation by
compiling all such costs in a table in the work papers, which should
allow the split between assistance and cooperation activities to be
more easily determined by the reader. As stated in the proposed rule,
the amount of international activities that the NRC allocated to
international fee relief is $13.9 million, which includes international
nuclear safety and radioactive source security assistance activities,
as well as support for international conventions and treaties, and
technical cooperation activities whose benefits range across several
classes of licensees and therefore cannot be identified by fee class.
The amount not included under international fee relief activities
represents international resources that the NRC assigned to each
mission-direct fee class in the work papers. Specifically, these
resources represent international cooperation activities that benefit a
specific fee class (rather than international assistance activities or
technical cooperation activities whose benefits range across several
classes of licensees). These fee-recoverable cooperation activities
provide direct input to the NRC's regulations and the NRC's oversight
of its licensees and, therefore, benefit a group of NRC licensees. For
example, international cooperative activities involve sharing
information, knowledge, and technical expertise with the NRC's
international regulatory counterparts. These international cooperative
activities enhance the NRC's regulatory programs by providing direct
input into the NRC's regulation and oversight of its licensees.
International cooperation activities also provide other benefits to NRC
licensees, such as collaborative research that is relevant to the NRC's
regulatory programs. The NRC continuously assesses and, where relevant,
incorporates international operating experience and research insights
into the NRC's domestic regulatory program. As an example of the
relevance of international cooperation work to the NRC's nuclear safety
mission, power reactor licensees benefit from international efforts to
exchange information on operational events, regulatory experience, and
expertise on construction, startup, and the operation of nuclear power
plants.
Changes were made to the final rule work papers in response to this
comment.
Comment: While detailed calculations of the annual fee are
provided, there is a lack of detail related to the basis behind 10 CFR
part 170 fees. In the interest of transparency, NRC should provide the
data or assumptions used to make these estimates. For example,
historical information could be provided for average inspection hours
for a licensee class, estimated number of staff hours for license
reviews, and hours spent on pre-application activities for small
modular and advanced reactors. This information would provide
stakeholders with the ability to analyze the efficiency and
effectiveness of NRC's review. (NEI, 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.
Unrelated to the calculation of 10 CFR part 170 estimates, the NRC
is currently developing estimates for services to be posted on our Web
site as part of our Fee Transformation initiative.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
C. Workload/Non-Mission-Direct Resources
Comment: The hourly rate remains very high especially in comparison
to the hourly rates of consultants working for the uranium recovery
industry. (WMA)
Response: To the extent the commenter believes that the NRC's
hourly rate should be comparable to the hourly rate for uranium-
recovery consultants, the NRC disagrees with this comment. All 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
[[Page 30695]]
NRC must recover its 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 IOAA, 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
support--which includes corporate 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.
Comment: Of a 2080 hour working year, for 2017 only 1,500 of those
hours are deemed to be spent on mission-direct work which is considered
to be an improvement over Fiscal Year 2016 when only 1,440 hours were
deemed spent on mission-direct work. The remaining hours (the 580 hours
in Fiscal Year 2016 spent on non-mission-direct work) are . . . charged
to annual leave, sick leave, holidays, training and general
administration tasks.
The WMA considers the proportion of hours (28%) spent on non-
mission-direct work to be excessive and that a much smaller portion of
time should be devoted to non-mission-direct work. (WMA)
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 addition, Title V
of the United States Code establishes holidays, annual leave and sick
leave amounts government wide for all employees.
In the final fee rule for FY 2005 (70 FR 30526, May 26, 2005), the
NRC revised its estimate of the number of mission-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 determines a realistic estimate of direct hours
per FTE based on the most recent data. The estimate does not include
time for administration, training, and other activities a mission-
direct program FTE may perform that, while relevant to consider for
certain costing purposes, would more accurately be considered overhead
rather than mission-direct time for purposes of calculating a rate per
hour of direct activities. When the NRC calculates the fees required to
recover the budget enacted by Congress, this estimate of mission-direct
hours per FTE is used to calculate the hourly rate.
The estimate of 1,500 hours per FTE used in the fee rule
calculation for FY 2017 was based on an analysis of actual time and
labor data from FY 2016. Use of an updated, realistic estimate of
mission-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.
D. Decreasing Number of Licensees in Fee Class
Comment: The FY 2017 proposed fee rule continues to provide fee
relief for fuel cycle facilities. However, Page 8701 states that the
fuel facilities fee class [annual fee] will be adjusted in the final
rule with the expected departure of a current licensee. The loss of
this licensee has been known for over one year and represents
approximately 5% of the total annual fees collected from fuel
facilities. It is our expectation that NRC has appropriately planned
for this license termination and will decrease the licensing and
oversight resources needed and the overall budget in the fuel
facilities business line, rather than force operating facilities to
absorb these annual fees. Therefore, this closure should not result in
an increased fee burden to the remaining licensees. (NEI, Exelon)
Response: The NRC removes licensees from the fuel facilities fee
class after the licensee permanently ceases principal activities. The
commenter is correct that the NRC was aware that the referenced
licensee had informed the NRC that they were planning to cease
principal activities. However, the licensee did not cease principal
activities until late in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, after
the proposed fee rule had been issued. At that point, the licensee was
officially placed in decommissioning status and will be assessed a
prorated annual fee according to our regulations. Notwithstanding, the
policy of the agency remains that the portion of the annual fee not
assessed to the licensee leaving the fee class will be distributed to
the remaining fuel facilities licensees. However, the NRC will continue
to analyze changes to workload, budget resources and the composition of
fee classes to support a fair and equitable fee setting process.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
E. FY 2017 Congressional Appropriation
Comment: The proposed FY 2017 fee rule, based on right sizing
agency activities and additional re-baselining reductions, represents a
move in the right direction by lowering excessive annual fees, some
significantly, for a majority of licensees. Adopting a fee structure
based on FY 2016 spending levels would be a move backwards and would
ignore the progress the agency has made to appropriately prioritize its
work and staff size. Therefore, if the NRC receives a continuing
resolution for the remainder of the year, the FY 2017 proposed rule
should be considered a ceiling for NRC spending. (NEI, Exelon)
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 budgetary
resources as this practice ensures that NRC fees assessed bear a
reasonable relationship to the cost of NRC services. This rule is based
upon the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Pub. L. 115-31), dated
May 5, 2017.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
F. Invoicing
Comment: There have been some recent improvements regarding
invoicing; however, problems remain. In addition, there is no
predictability for budgeting purposes regarding the magnitude of these
invoices in regards to the review of a given submittal. The uranium
recovery industry needs, for budgeting purposes, to be able to estimate
the total value of future review invoices for a given submittal.
Members of the uranium recovery industry have no idea of the magnitude
of the quarterly review invoices until they arrive and must be paid.
This creates a difficult situation in the form of large, unanticipated
expenses for uranium recovery operators. If the agency as part of its
completeness review were to provide an approximate and non-binding
estimate of cost to compete the review of a given submittal it would be
very helpful to uranium recovery operators. (WMA)
Response: The NRC currently provides, by request, preliminary
estimates of costs incurred on a biweekly basis to licensees. The
estimates include all (10 CFR part 170)
[[Page 30696]]
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 names associated with
contract costs, which offer licensees additional detail. These
estimates may assist licensees in budget planning and their preparation
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. In addition, the uranium recovery staff have
offered to meet with licensees and applicants on a quarterly basis to
forecast upcoming workload so that licensees and applicants have an
idea of the work that will be included on future invoices. Lastly, the
NRC staff has posted on its public Web site estimates of the cost of
major uranium recovery licensing actions. For more information, please
see our Licenses Fees Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/licensing/fees.html.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: Exelon applauds the fee development process improvements
that the NRC has thus far implemented. To that end, we encourage the
NRC to continue striving for additional efficiency gains, such as
electronic invoicing. The NRC should explore immediate, incremental
steps towards electronic invoicing short of an entire system upgrade
(which the NRC is not planning to implement until FY 2020). This could
include, for example, automatically emailing copies of the paper
invoices as soon as those invoices are mailed to the licensee. Even
that small step would benefit licensees by providing more timely
invoices. (Exelon)
Response: The NRC focused on the improvement initiatives currently
underway that include improving billing data, accuracy, and electronic
invoicing. The NRC issues more than 5,000 invoices per year. Emailing
invoices to licensees with the current information technology systems
and configuration would be an intensive manual process requiring
substantial resources.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: WMA continues to be concerned about the agency's invoicing
process.
In its comments dated May 4, 2016 on the Request for Information--
Fees Development and Communications--(Federal Register Volume 81,
Number. 55/Tuesday, March 22, 2016/Notices) the WMA commented
extensively on invoicing and concluded:
The WMA believes that a substantial problem with the agency's
invoicing is the lack of predictability in the invoice amounts. This
could be mitigated to some extent by flat fee invoicing for some items
however for others, it would require that the agency prepare a
nonbinding estimate of cost to complete the review. (WMA)
Response: As previously noted, 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. Also, the NRC will explore how to display more detailed
invoice information. It should be noted that contractor information in
most cases is considered proprietary but we will work with our
contractors to determine what information can be released.
Additionally, as directed in SRM-SECY-16-0097, ``Fee Setting
Improvements and Fiscal Year 2017 Proposed Fee Rule,'' dated October
19, 2016, (ADAMS Accession No. ML16293A902) the NRC staff is exploring
whether a flat fee structure could be established for routine licensing
matters in the area of uranium recovery. In addition, staff is also
evaluating the level of detail to be provided in invoices.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
Comment: The administrative change from the FY 2015 final fee rule
to revise the assessment of administrative time for project managers by
adding a 6% Project Manager/Resident Inspector allocation continues to
be an excessive burden on licensees that double, and in some instances
triple charge, for project manager work. This change intended to
allocate overhead costs to each licensee based on direct time to each
docket to ensure that a licensee's overhead costs are proportional to
the regulatory services rendered by the NRC. While we understand that
this is a temporary charge, it continues to be a hidden extra fee for
the licensee for non-direct work activities when these activities are
already being fully billed as cost recovery items that project managers
charge for work on a specific task. For example, some licensees have
received invoices for project manager time on the same activity being
triple charged under (1) Project management general work cost activity
codes (CACs); (2) technical CAC; and (3) the 6% Project Manager/
Resident Inspector allocation. The 6% allocation on all NRC staff hours
effectively increases the proposed hourly rate from $267 to $283. We
advise consistency with regards to project manager 10 CFR part 170
invoicing and awareness training for project managers of the 6%
allocation to avoid multiple billings for the same work. (NEI, Exelon)
Response: To the extent the commenter believes that the NRC is
double- and triple- billing licensees, the NRC disagrees with this
comment. The NRC staff charges to direct billable CACs only when that
work benefits a single, identifiable licensee. The project manager
(PM)/resident inspector allocation recovers the costs for all PMs and
senior resident inspectors (SRIs) that are not directly attributable to
a single licensee, but rather benefit the entire class of licensees
(e.g., indirect activities such as PM technical support to the regional
offices, PM training and attendance at conferences, PM participation in
working groups). When a PM or SRI supports work under this allocation,
the PM is not directly billing a licensee. This activity is pooled and
distributed to all licensees as 6 percent of the direct labor charges
provided by agency staff. Because these activities ultimately benefit
all licensees, the agency has instituted average cost recovery to
recover from all licensees for these activities.
As part of the fees transformation direction from the Commission,
SRM-SECY-16-0097: Fee Setting Improvements and Fiscal Year 2017
Proposed Fee Rule (ML16293A902) the Commission directed staff to review
the 2015 fee rule revised methodology of charging overhead time for
project managers and resident inspectors and modify it for more
clarity. As part of this initiative, the NRC will consider alternate
strategies for recovery of the resources allocated to administrative
time for project managers and resident inspectors and develop a new
approach to be implemented by October 2018.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
G. Predictability
Comment: Industry appreciates the move in the right direction to
publish the proposed FY 2017 fee rule earlier in the year. However,
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 and the final fee rule in the second quarter or early in
the third quarter of the fiscal year. Accelerating the rulemaking
schedule would not appear to be problematic for the NRC because the
Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ) is publicly-released
[[Page 30697]]
coinciding with transmittal of the President's Budget Request to
Congress (i.e., in February before the fiscal year begins), and the CBJ
currently provides a fee recovery estimate. Early publication would
allow licensees to plan, adjust budgets and manage cash flow. (NEI,
Exelon)
Response: OBRA-90 requires that the NRC collect approximately 90
percent of its budget authority through fees by the end of the fiscal
year. The NRC must set its fees in accordance with its final budget
authority. Further, the annual appropriation cycle places additional
constraints upon the NRC. Even though 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 starts the rulemaking process in
the preceding summer. The NRC believes that reliance on the most up-to-
date financial data available in determining fees, using the CBJ
(adjusted for fact-of-life-changes) supports compliance with the
requirements of OBRA-90. 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 the NRC's budget for a given
fiscal year. For FY 2017, the NRC published the proposed fee rule in
January; two months earlier than in FY 2016.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
H. Miscellaneous
Comment: The Schedule of Materials Fees has several errors and
omissions in the Program Codes listed for Special Nuclear Material.
--Category 1A(1)(a) should reference Program Code 21213, not 21130.
--Category 1A(2)(a) should include Program Code 21240.
--Category 1A(2)(b) should reference Program Code 21205.
--Category 1A(2)(c) should reference Program Codes 21130 and 31133.
(KR)
Response: The NRC agrees with this comment. The Schedule of
Materials Fees is corrected in this final rule to reflect the correct
program codes with the following exception:
For Category 1A(2)(c), program code 31133 is not in our system. We
assume the commenter meant program code 21133. The NRC added program
code 21133 to Category 1A(2)(c).
Comment: We continue to be concerned that an excessive portion of
the budget is funding corporate support and non-mission-direct
activities. NRC has cumulatively reduced budgeted amounts for mission
direct and mission indirect expenditures by 6.5%. That represents a
move in the right direction from re-baselining agency activities.
However, the budget for agency support increased by 3%. The proposed
fee rule Table II, ``Hourly Rate Calculation,'' identifies $340.5
million for mission direct program activities and $136.7 million for
mission indirect program support, which represents 60% of the total
adjusted amount to be recovered through fees ($801.4 million). Yet, the
portion of the budget allocated to corporate support is $324.2 million
and represents 40% of budgeted resources. Agency support, which is a
key factor in both the hourly rate and annual fee calculations, appears
to be disproportionately large with respect to the resources allocated
for mission direct and mission indirect activities. These overhead
costs not only remain excessive compared to its peer agencies, but have
also increased from FY 2016. In order to maintain credibility, NRC must
focus their resources on mission critical activities that have a direct
correlation with maintaining public health and safety and must reduce
overhead costs. (NEI, Exelon)
Response: The NRC agrees that the proportion of corporate support
and mission support resources, compared to program resources, is one
factor to consider in assembling a budget that accomplishes NRC's
mission in an effective and efficient manner.
The NRC notes that, in calculating the percentage of mission-direct
program activities, the commenter does not take into account all
mission-direct resources contained in the total budget authority
presented in the FY 2017 proposed fee rule. The $340.5 million
referenced by the commenter includes only mission-direct salaries and
benefits--it does not include the mission-direct amount for contract
support, which is an additional $125.3 million. Although not included
within the hourly rate, mission-direct contract support is a
significant component of the direct costs within the agency's total
budget authority. Total mission-direct program activities in the
proposed rule--including salaries, benefits, and contract support--
equaled $465.8 million. Further, the $136.7 million that the NRC
budgeted for mission-indirect program support in the proposed rule
brings the NRC's total budgeted mission costs to $602.5 million, or 65
percent of the total budget authority less excluded fee items. The
remaining 35 percent for Agency Support in the proposed rule included
resources for the NRC's Office of the Inspector General, which is not
included when calculating corporate support.
No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.
I. Comments on Matters Not Related to This Rulemaking
Some comments suggested that the NRC implement a number of
recommendations to streamline the regulatory process, review the
changing technical guidance to licensees, and consider risk when
executing regulatory oversight activities.
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 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.
V. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended
(RFA),\8\ the NRC has prepared a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (RFA)
relating to this final rule. The RFA is available as indicated in
Section XIV, Availability of Documents, of this document.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, has been amended by
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996
(SBREFA), Public Law 104-121, Title II, 110 Stat. 847 (1996).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
VI. Regulatory Analysis
Under OBRA-90, the NRC is required to recover approximately 90
percent of its budget authority in FY 2017. The NRC established fee
methodology guidelines for 10 CFR part 170 in 1978, and established
additional fee methodology guidelines for 10 CFR part 171 in 1986. In
subsequent rulemakings, the NRC has adjusted its fees without changing
the underlying principles of its fee policy to ensure that the NRC
[[Page 30698]]
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.
VII. 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.
VIII. 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). The NRC requests comment on this final rule with respect to the
clarity and effectiveness of the language used.
IX. National Environmental Policy Act
The NRC has determined that this rule will amend NRC's
administrative requirements in 10 CFR part 170 and 10 CFR part 171.
Therefore, this action is categorically excluded from needing
environmental review as described in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(1). Consequently,
neither an environmental impact statement nor an environmental
assessment has been prepared for this final rule.
X. Paperwork Reduction Act
This final rule does not contain new or amended information
collection requirements that are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
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.
XI. Congressional Review Act
This final rule is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review
Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 801-808). The Office of Management and Budget has
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.
XII. 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
proposes to amend 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 2017, as required by OBRA-90, as
amended. This action does not constitute the establishment of a
standard that contains generally applicable requirements.
XIII. 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 agency 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 2017 final
fee rule. The compliance guide was developed when the NRC completed the
small entity biennial review for FY 2017. This document is available as
indicated in Section XIV, Availability of Documents, of this document.
XIV. 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECY-16-0009, ``Recommendations ML16104A158.
Resulting from the Integrated
Prioritization and Re-baselining of
Agency Activities,'' dated February 9,
2016.
SECY-16-0097, ``Fee Setting Improvements ML16194A365.
and Fiscal Year 2017 Proposed Fee
Rule,'' dated August 15, 2016.
SRM-SECY-16-0097: Fee Setting ML16293A902.
Improvements and Fiscal Year 2017
Proposed Fee Rule.
FY 2017 Final Rule Work Papers.......... ML17164A283.
FY 2017 Regulatory Flexibility Analysis. ML16340A151.
FY 2017 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory ML16340A149.
Commission Small Entity Compliance
Guide.
NUREG-1100, Volume 32, ``Congressional https://www.nrc.gov/docs/
Budget Justification: Fiscal Year ML1603/ML16036A086.pdf.
2017'' (February 2016).
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.
FY 2017 Proposed Fee Rule Comment ML17108A263.
Submissions.
FY 2017 Proposed Fee Rule............... ML16337A270.
FY 2017 Proposed Rule Work Papers....... ML16358A648.
Meeting Summary Notes for the Public ML17062A797.
Meeting on the FY 2017 Proposed Fee
Rule held on February 16, 2017.
SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation ML052580332.
Method,'' dated September 15, 2005.
OMB's Circular A-25, ``User Charges''... https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/circulars_a025/.
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 https://www.congress.gov/bill/
(Pub. L. 115-31). 115th-congress/house-bill/
244.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 30699]]
List of Subjects
10 CFR Part 170
Byproduct material, Import and export licenses, Intergovernmental
relations, Non-payment penalties, Nuclear energy, Nuclear materials,
Nuclear power plants and reactors, Source material, Special nuclear
material.
10 CFR Part 171
Annual charges, Approvals, Byproduct material, Holders of
certificates, Intergovernmental relations, Nonpayment penalties,
Nuclear materials, Nuclear power plants and reactors, Registrations,
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. 552 and 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: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 11, 161(w) (42
U.S.C. 2014, 2201(w)); Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, sec. 201
(42 U.S.C. 5841); 42 U.S.C. 2214; 31 U.S.C. 901, 902, 9701; 44
U.S.C. 3504 note.
0
2. 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 $263 per hour.
0
3. In Sec. 170.21, in the table, revise 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]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fees \1\
Facility categories and type of fees \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 $18,400
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 9,200
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 4,500
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 4,500
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.
Minor amendment to license..................... 2,600
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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
4. 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.
* * * * *
[[Page 30700]]
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): 21213].
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Full Cost.
Dispersible 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): 21240, 21310,
21320].
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment Full Cost.
demonstration facilities [Program
Code(s): 21205].
(c) Others, including hot cell Full Cost.
facilities [Program Code(s): 21130,
21133].
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 $1,200.
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].
D. All other special nuclear material $2,400.
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, 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. Licenses for possession and use of Full Cost.
special nuclear material greater than
critical mass, as defined in Sec. 70.4
of this chapter, for development and
testing of commercial products, and other
non-fuel-cycle activities.\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 $1,200.
possession, use, and/or installation of
source material for shielding.6 7 8
Application [Program Code(s): 11210].
C. Licenses to distribute items containing $2,100.
source material to persons exempt from
the licensing requirements of part 40 of
this chapter. Application [Program
Code(s): 11240].
D. Licenses to distribute source material $2,600.
to persons generally licensed under part
40 of this chapter. Application [Program
Codes(s): 11230, 11231].
E. Licenses for possession and use of $2,500.
source material for processing or
manufacturing of products or materials
containing source material for commercial
distribution. Application [Program
Code(s): 11710].
F. All other source material licenses. $2,500.
Application [Program Code(s): 11200,
11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810].
3. Byproduct material:
A. Licenses of broad scope for the $12,300.
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, 03212, 03213].
B. Other licenses for possession and use $3,400.
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, 03215, 22135, 22162].
C. Licenses issued under Sec. Sec. $4,900.
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, 02511, 02513].
D. [Reserved]............................. N/A.
E. Licenses for possession and use of $3,000.
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, 03520].
F. Licenses for possession and use of less $6,200.
than or equal to 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].
[[Page 30701]]
G. Licenses for possession and use of $58,700.
greater 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): 03521].
H. Licenses issued under subpart A of part $6,300.
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, 03255, 03257].
I. Licenses issued under subpart A of part $9,400.
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,
03251, 03252, 03253, 03256].
J. Licenses issued under subpart B of part $1,900.
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,
03241, 03243].
K. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part $1,100.
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,
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: 6-19.
(2) Licenses of broad scope for $5,200.
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,
01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612,
03613, 04610, 04611, 04612, 04613,
04614, 04615, 04616, 04617, 04618,
04619, 04620, 04621, 04622, 04623]
M. Other licenses for possession and use $6,700.
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].
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 $6,900.
disposal services are subject to the
fees specified in fee Categories
4.A., 4.B., and 4.C. Application
[Program Code(s): 03219, 03225,
03226].
O. Licenses for possession and use of $3,000.
byproduct material issued under part 34
of this chapter for industrial
radiography operations. Application
[Program Code(s): 03310, 03320].
P. All other specific byproduct material $3,300.
licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
through 9.D.\9\ Application [Program
Code(s): 02400, 02410, 03120, 03121,
03122, 03123, 03124, 03130, 03140, 03220,
03221, 03222, 03800, 03810, 22130].
Q. Registration of a device(s) generally $500.
licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
Registration.
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 $2,400.
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. Possession of quantities exceeding $2,400.
10 times the number of items or
limits specified in 10 CFR
31.12(a)(4) or (5). Application
[Program Code(s): 02710].
S. Licenses for production of accelerator- $13,400.
produced radionuclides. Application
[Program Code(s): 03210].
4. Waste disposal and processing:
A. Licenses specifically authorizing the Full Cost.
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. Application
[Program Code(s): 03231, 03233, 03236,
06100, 06101].
B. Licenses specifically authorizing the $6,500.
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].
C. Licenses specifically authorizing the $4,700.
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].
5. Well logging:
A. Licenses for possession and use of $4,300.
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,
03111, 03112].
B. Licenses for possession and use of Full Cost.
byproduct material for field flooding
tracer studies. Licensing [Program
Code(s): 03113].
6. Nuclear laundries:
[[Page 30702]]
A. Licenses for commercial collection and $21,000.
laundry of items contaminated with
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material. Application
[Program Code(s): 03218].
7. Medical licenses:
A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, $10,500.
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,
02310].
B. Licenses of broad scope issued to $8,200.
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].
C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, $5,200.
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,
02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220, 02230,
02231, 02240, 22160].
8. Civil defense:
A. Licenses for possession and use of $2,400.
byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material for civil
defense activities. Application [Program
Code(s): 03710].
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety
evaluation:
A. Safety evaluation of devices or $5,100.
products containing byproduct material,
source material, or special nuclear
material, except reactor fuel devices,
for commercial distribution. Application--
each device.
B. Safety evaluation of devices or $8,500.
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.
C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources $5,000.
containing byproduct material, source
material, or special nuclear material,
except reactor fuel, for commercial
distribution. Application--each source.
D. Safety evaluation of sealed sources $1,000.
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.
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- Full Cost.
application/licensing activities, and
inspections. Application [Program Code:
25110]
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): 03900, 11900, 21135, 21215, 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 $18,400.
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; or license
exemption request.
B. Application for export or import of $9,200.
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;
or license exemption request.
C. Application for export of nuclear $4,500.
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;
or license exemption request.
D. Application for export or import of $4,500.
nuclear material not requiring Commission
or Executive Branch review, or obtaining
foreign government assurances.
Application--new license, or amendment;
or license exemption request.
[[Page 30703]]
E. Minor amendment of any active export or $2,600.
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.
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 $14,500.
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; or license exemption request.
G. Application for export of appendix P $7,900.
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;
or license exemption request.
H. Application for export of appendix P $3,900.
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; or license exemption request.
I. Requests for each additional government- $300.
to-government consent in support of an
export license application or active
export license. Application--new license,
or amendment; or license exemption
request.
Category 2 (Appendix P, 10 CFR Part 110)
Exports:
J. Application for export of appendix P $14,500.
Category 2 materials requiring Commission
review (e.g. exceptional circumstance
review under 10 CFR 110.42(e)(4)).
Application--new license, or amendment;
or license exemption request.
K. Applications for export of appendix P $7,900.
Category 2 materials requiring Executive
Branch review. Application--new license,
or amendment; or license exemption
request.
L. Application for the export of Category $3,200.
2 materials. Application--new license, or
amendment; 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 $1,300.
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.
16. Reciprocity: Agreement State licensees who $1,800.
conduct activities under the reciprocity
provisions of 10 CFR 150.20. Application.
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope Full Cost.
issued to Government agencies: Application
[Program Code(s): 03614].
18. Department of Energy.
A. Certificates of Compliance. Evaluation Full Cost.
of casks, packages, 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 costs; 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.
[[Page 30704]]
\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.
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
5. The authority citation for part 171 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 11, 161(w), 223,
234 (42 U.S.C. 2014, 2201(w), 2273, 2282); Energy Reorganization Act
of 1974, sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841); 42 U.S.C. 2214; 44 U.S.C. 3504
note.
0
6. In Sec. 171.15, revise paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2) introductory text,
(c)(1), (c)(2) introductory text, (d)(1) introductory text, (d)(2) and
(3), and (f) to read as follows:
Sec. 171.15 Annual fees: Reactor licenses and independent spent fuel
storage licenses.
* * * * *
(b)(1) The FY 2017 annual fee for each operating power reactor
which must be collected by September 30, 2017, is $4,496,000.
(2) The FY 2017 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 2017 fee-relief
adjustment are shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this section. The
activities comprising the FY 2017 base annual fee for operating power
reactors are as follows:
* * * * *
(c)(1) The FY 2017 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 $188,000.
(2) The FY 2017 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
2017 fee-relief adjustment are shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this
section. The activities comprising the FY 2017 spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning re-baselined 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 (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 (iii) of this section for a given
fiscal year, annual fees will be reduced. The activities comprising the
FY 2017 fee-relief adjustment are as follows:
* * * * *
(2) The total FY 2017 fee-relief adjustment allocated to the
operating power reactor class of licenses is an $11,074,000 fee-relief
surcharge, not including the amount allocated to the spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning class. The FY 2017 operating power
reactor fee-relief adjustment to be assessed to each operating power
reactor is approximately a $111,863 fee-relief surcharge. This amount
is calculated by dividing the total operating power reactor fee-relief
surplus adjustment, $11,074,000, by the number of operating power
reactors (99).
(3) The FY 2017 fee-relief adjustment allocated to the spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning class of licenses is a $467,500 fee-
relief assessment. The FY 2017 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 $3,832 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.
* * * * *
(f) The FY 2017 annual fees for licensees authorized to operate a
research or test (non-power) reactor licensed under 10 CFR part 50,
unless the reactor is exempted from fees under Sec. 171.11(a), are as
follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research reactor........................................ $81,400
Test reactor............................................ 81,400
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0
7. In Sec. 171.16, revise paragraphs (c) and (d) and (e) introductory
text 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.
* * * * *
(c) A licensee who is required to pay an annual fee under this
section, in addition to 10 CFR part 72 licenses, may qualify as a small
entity. If a licensee qualifies as a small entity and provides the
Commission with the proper certification along with its annual fee
payment, the licensee may pay reduced annual fees as shown in the
following table. Failure to file a small entity certification in a
timely manner could result in the receipt of a delinquent invoice
requesting the outstanding
[[Page 30705]]
balance due and/or denial of any refund that might otherwise be due.
The small entity fees are as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum annual
fee per
licensed
category
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing (Average
gross receipts over last 3 completed fiscal years):
$485,000 to $7 million.............................. $4,100
Less than $485,000.................................. 850
Small Not-For-Profit Organizations (Annual Gross
Receipts):
$485,000 to $7 million.............................. 4,100
Less than $485,000.................................. 850
Manufacturing Entities that Have An Average of 500
Employees or Fewer:
35 to 500 employees................................. 4,100
Fewer than 35 employees................................. 850
Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly
supported educational institutions) (Population):
20,000 to 49,999.................................... 4,100
Fewer than 20,000................................... 850
Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly
Supported, and have 500 Employees or Fewer
35 to 500 employees................................. 4,100
Fewer than 35 employees............................. 850
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(d) The FY 2017 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee and
an allocation for fee-relief adjustment. The activities comprising the
FY 2017 fee-relief adjustment are shown for convenience in paragraph
(e) of this section. The FY 2017 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 1
Category of materials licenses 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 $7,700,000
Enriched Uranium) [Program Code(s): 21213].....
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form 2,790,000
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 [Program $0
Code(s): 21240, 21310, 21320]..................
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration 1,507,000
facilities [Program Code(s): 21205]............
(c) Others, including hot cell facilities 753,000
[Program Code(s): 21130, 21133]................
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 3,000
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, 8,600
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 3,340,000
uranium enrichment facility [Program Code(s):
21200].............................................
F. Licenses for possession and use of special 6,400
nuclear material greater than critical mass, as
defined in Sec. 70.4 of this chapter, for
development and testing of commercial products, and
other non-fuel-cycle activities.\15\ [Program Code:
22155].............................................
2. Source material:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of source 1,590,000
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 38,900
[Program Code(s): 11100].......................
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities [Program 49,200
Code(s): 11500]................................
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities 55,700
[Program Code(s): 11510].......................
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities [Program \5\ N/A
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 22,000
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]...........................
[[Page 30706]]
(5) Licenses that authorize the possession of source 6,500
material related to removal of contaminants (source
material) from drinking water [Program Code(s):
11820].............................................
B. Licenses that authorize possession, use, and/or 3,300
installation of source material for shielding.16 17
18 [Program Code: 11210]...........................
C. Licenses to distribute items containing source 5,500
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 6,400
generally licensed under part 40 of this chapter
[Program Code(s): 11230 and 11231].................
E. Licenses for possession and use of source 8,000
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 9,400
Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810].
3. Byproduct material:
A. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of 30,500
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 11,600
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 12,900
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 10,800
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 or 11,800
equal to 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 greater than 95,700
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):
03521].............................................
H. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of 11,800
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, 03257].....
I. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of 16,300
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 4,600
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 3,300
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 16,300
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 use 25,900
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: 6-19. [Program Code(s): 04610,
04612, 04614, 04616, 04618, 04620, 04622]..........
(2) Licenses of broad scope for possession and use 32,700
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. [Program Code(s):
04611, 04613, 04615, 04617, 04619, 04621, 04623]...
M. Other licenses for possession and use of 14,800
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 22,100
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 27,000
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, 9,300
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]........................
[[Page 30707]]
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 number of 7,600
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 the 8,000
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 32,100
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, 03236, 06100, 06101]........................
B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of 20,800
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 13,900
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 16,000
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 38,500
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 23,800
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]....................
B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medical 33,800
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 14,700
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 7,600
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 7,600
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 12,600
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 7,400
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 1,500
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 air \6\ N/A
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......................................
[[Page 30708]]
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): 03900,
11900, 21135, 21215, 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 340,000
Government agencies [Program Code(s): 03614]...........
18. Department of Energy:
A. Certificates of Compliance....................... \10\ 1,514,000
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act 616,000
(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.
\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 (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 (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 2017 fee-relief adjustment are as
follows:
* * * * *
0
8. In Sec. 171.19, revise paragraph (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 171.19 Payment.
* * * * *
(d) Annual fees of less than $100,000 must be paid as billed by the
NRC. Materials license annual fees that are less than $100,000 are
billed on the anniversary date of the license. The materials licensees
that are billed on the anniversary date of the license are those
covered by fee categories 1.C., 1.D., 1.F., and 2.A.(2) through 9.D.
* * * * *
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of June 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Maureen E. Wylie,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-13520 Filed 6-29-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
