Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2023, 39120-39152 [2023-12696]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 115 (Thursday, June 15, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39120-39152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12696]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 170 and 171

[NRC-2021-0024]
RIN 3150-AK58


Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2023

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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

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 comply with 
the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, which requires the 
NRC to recover, to the maximum extent practicable, approximately 100 
percent of its annual budget less certain amounts excluded from this 
fee-recovery requirement.

DATES: This final rule is effective on August 14, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0024 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 Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0024. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407; 
email: [email protected]. 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 ``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 or

[[Page 39121]]

301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. For the convenience 
of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials referenced in 
this document are provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' 
section.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Rossi, Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-7341; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background; Statutory Authority
II. Discussion
III. Public Comment Analysis
IV. Public Comments and NRC Responses
V. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
VI. Regulatory Analysis
VII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
VIII. Plain Writing
IX. National Environmental Policy Act
X. Paperwork Reduction Act Public Protection Notification
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 primarily governed by two laws: (1) 
the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C. 
9701), and (2) the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act 
(NEIMA) (42 U.S.C. 2215). The IOAA authorizes and encourages Federal 
agencies to recover, to the fullest extent possible, costs attributable 
to services provided to identifiable recipients. Under NEIMA, the NRC 
must recover, to the maximum extent practicable, approximately 100 
percent of its annual budget, less the budget authority for excluded 
activities. Under section 102(b)(1)(B) of NEIMA, ``excluded 
activities'' include any fee-relief activity as identified by the 
Commission, generic homeland security activities, waste incidental to 
reprocessing activities, Nuclear Waste Fund activities, advanced 
reactor regulatory infrastructure activities, Inspector General 
services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, research and 
development at universities in areas relevant to the NRC's mission, and 
a nuclear science and engineering grant program. In fiscal year (FY) 
2023, the fee-relief activities identified by the Commission are 
consistent with prior fee rules, which are listed in Table 1--Excluded 
Activities.
    Under NEIMA, the NRC must use its IOAA authority first to collect 
service fees for NRC work that provides specific benefits to 
identifiable recipients (such as licensing work, inspections, and 
special projects). The NRC's regulations in part 170 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Fees for Facilities, Materials, 
Import and Export Licenses, and Other Regulatory Services Under the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as Amended,'' explain how the agency 
collects service fees from specific beneficiaries. Because the NRC's 
fee recovery under the IOAA (10 CFR part 170) will not equal 100 
percent of the agency's total budget authority for the fiscal year 
(less the budget authority for excluded activities), the NRC also 
assesses ``annual fees'' under 10 CFR part 171, ``Annual Fees for 
Reactor Licenses and Fuel Cycle Licenses and Materials Licenses, 
Including Holders of Certificates of Compliance, Registrations, and 
Quality Assurance Program Approvals and Government Agencies Licensed by 
the NRC,'' to recover the remaining amount necessary to comply with 
NEIMA.

II. Discussion

FY 2023 Fee Collection--Overview

    The NRC is issuing this FY 2023 final fee rule based on the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (the enacted budget). The final 
fee rule reflects a total budget authority in the amount of $927.2 
million, which is an increase of $39.5 million from FY 2022. As 
explained previously, certain portions of the NRC's total budget 
authority for the fiscal year are excluded from NEIMA's fee-recovery 
requirement under section 102(b)(1)(B) of NEIMA. Based on the FY 2023 
enacted budget, these exclusions total $137.0 million, which is an 
increase of $6.0 million from FY 2022. These excluded activities 
consist of $97.1 million for fee-relief activities, $23.8 million for 
advanced reactor regulatory infrastructure activities, $13.4 million 
for generic homeland security activities, $1.2 million for waste 
incidental to reprocessing activities, and $1.5 million for Inspector 
General services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Table 
I summarizes the excluded activities for the FY 2023 final fee rule. 
The FY 2022 amounts are provided for comparison purposes.

                      Table I--Excluded Activities
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          FY 2022  final  FY 2023  final
                                               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fee-Relief Activities:
    International activities............            25.5            28.8
    Agreement State oversight...........            11.1            11.9
    Medical isotope production                       3.7             3.5
     infrastructure.....................
    Fee exemption for nonprofit                     11.6            13.5
     educational institutions...........
    Costs not recovered from small                   7.4             8.9
     entities under 10 CFR 171.16(c)....
    Regulatory support to Agreement                 12.1            14.2
     States.............................
    Generic decommissioning/reclamation             15.9            12.5
     activities (not related to the
     operating power reactors and spent
     fuel storage fee classes)..........
    Uranium recovery program and                     3.0             2.7
     unregistered general licensees.....
    Potential Department of Defense                  0.9             0.9
     remediation program Memorandum of
     Understanding activities...........
    Non-military radium sites...........             0.3             0.2
                                         -------------------------------
        Subtotal Fee-Relief Activities..            91.5            97.1
Activities under section                            16.5            16.1
 102(b)(1)(B)(ii) of NEIMA (Generic
 Homeland Security activities, Waste
 Incidental to Reprocessing activities,
 and the Defense Nuclear Facilities
 Safety Board)..........................

[[Page 39122]]

 
Advanced reactor regulatory                         23.0            23.8
 infrastructure activities..............
                                         -------------------------------
    Total Excluded Activities...........           131.0           137.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    After accounting for the exclusions from the fee-recovery 
requirement and net billing adjustments (i.e., for FY 2023 invoices 
that the NRC estimates will not be paid during the fiscal year, less 
payments received in FY 2023 for prior-year invoices), the NRC must 
recover approximately $790.6 million in fees in FY 2023. Of this 
amount, the NRC estimates that $195.0 million will be recovered through 
10 CFR part 170 service fees and approximately $595.6 million will be 
recovered through 10 CFR part 171 annual fees. Table II summarizes the 
fee-recovery amounts for the FY 2023 final fee rule using the FY 2023 
enacted budget and takes into account the budget authority for excluded 
activities and net billing adjustments. For all information presented 
in the following tables in this final rule, individual values may not 
sum to totals due to rounding. Please see the work papers, available as 
indicated in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of this 
document, for actual amounts.
    In FY 2023, the explanatory statement associated with the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 included direction for the NRC to 
use $16.0 million in prior-year unobligated carryover funds for the 
University Nuclear Leadership Program. Consistent with the requirements 
of NEIMA, the NRC does not assess fees in the current fiscal year for 
any carryover funds because fees are calculated based on the budget 
authority enacted for the current fiscal year. Fees were already 
assessed in the fiscal year in which the carryover funds were 
appropriated. The FY 2022 amounts are provided for comparison purposes.

                Table II--Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
                                               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Budget Authority..................          $887.7          $927.2
Less Budget Authority for Excluded                -131.0          -137.0
 Activities:............................
                                         -------------------------------
    Balance.............................           756.7           790.2
Fee Recovery Percent....................           100.0           100.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Total Amount to be Recovered:.......           756.7           790.2
        Less Estimated Amount to be               -198.8          -195.0
         Recovered through 10 CFR part
         170 Fees.......................
        Estimated Amount to be Recovered           557.9           595.2
         through 10 CFR part 171 Fees...
10 CFR part 171 Billing Adjustments:
    Unpaid Current Year Invoices                     2.0             3.7
     (estimated)........................
    Less Payments Received in Current               -6.0            -3.3
     Year for Previous Year Invoices
     (estimated)........................
    Adjusted 10 CFR part 171 Annual Fee            553.9           595.6
     Collections Required...............
Adjusted Amount to be Recovered through            752.7           790.6
 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 Fees..........
------------------------------------------------------------------------

FY 2023 Fee Collection--Professional Hourly Rate

    The NRC uses a professional hourly rate to assess fees under 10 CFR 
part 170 for specific services it provides. The professional hourly 
rate also helps determine flat fees (which are used for the review of 
certain types of license applications). This rate is applicable to all 
activities for which fees are assessed under Sec. Sec.  170.21 and 
170.31.
    The NRC's professional hourly rate is derived by adding budgeted 
resources for (1) mission-direct program salaries and benefits, (2) 
mission-indirect program support, and (3) agency support (corporate 
support and the Inspector General (IG)). The NRC then subtracts certain 
offsetting receipts and divides this total by the 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 only 
budgeted resources excluded from the professional hourly rate are those 
for mission-direct contract resources, which are generally billed to 
licensees separately. The following shows the professional hourly rate 
calculation:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR15JN23.000

    For FY 2023, the NRC is increasing the professional hourly rate 
from $290 to $300. The 3.4 percent increase in the professional hourly 
rate is primarily due to increase in budgeted resources of 
approximately $34.1 million. The increase in budgeted resources is 
primarily due to the 4.6 percent increase in salaries and benefits to 
support

[[Page 39123]]

Federal pay raises for NRC employees. The anticipated decline in the 
number of mission-direct FTE compared to FY 2022 also contributed to 
the increase in the professional hourly rate. The professional hourly 
rate is inversely related to the mission-direct FTE amount; therefore, 
as the number of mission-direct FTE decrease, the professional hourly 
rate may increase. The number of mission-direct FTE declined by 
approximately 24, primarily due to: (1) the closure of the Palisades 
Nuclear Plant (Palisades); and (2) a reduction in resources for 
development of the operating reactors licensing action infrastructure 
for process improvements and special projects.
    The FY 2023 estimate for annual mission-direct FTE productive hours 
is 1,551 hours, which is an increase from 1,510 hours in FY 2022. This 
estimate, also referred to as 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 estimate, 
therefore, excludes hours charged to annual leave, sick leave, 
holidays, training, and general administrative tasks. Table III shows 
the professional hourly rate calculation methodology. The FY 2022 
amounts are provided for comparison purposes.

             Table III--Professional Hourly Rate Calculation
                 [Dollars in millions, except as noted]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
                                               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission-Direct Program Salaries &                 $349.3          $359.2
 Benefits...............................
Mission-Indirect Program Support........           115.1           118.8
Agency Support (Corporate Support and              278.9           299.5
 the IG)................................
                                         -------------------------------
    Subtotal............................           743.3           777.5
Less Offsetting Receipts \1\............             0.0             0.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Total Budgeted Resources Included in           743.3           777.5
     Professional Hourly Rate...........
Mission-Direct FTE......................         1,696.1         1,672.2
Annual Mission-Direct FTE Productive               1,510           1,551
 Hours (Whole numbers)..................
Mission-Direct FTE Converted to Hours          2,561,111       2,593,582
 (Mission-Direct FTE multiplied by
 Annual Mission-Direct FTE Productive
 Hours).................................
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budgeted             290             300
 Resources Included in Professional
 Hourly Rate Divided by Mission-Direct
 FTE Converted to Hours) (Whole Numbers)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The fees collected by the NRC for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
  services and indemnity fees (financial protection required of all
  licensees for public liability claims at 10 CFR part 140) are
  subtracted from the budgeted resources amount when calculating the 10
  CFR part 170 professional hourly rate, per the guidance in the Office
  of Management and Budget 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
  budgeted resources for indemnity activities are allocated under the
  Licensing Actions and Research and Test Reactors products within the
  Operating Reactors business line.

FY 2023 Fee Collection--Flat Application Fee Changes

    The NRC is amending the flat application fees it charges in its 
schedule of fees in Sec.  170.31 to reflect the revised professional 
hourly rate of $300. The NRC charges these fees to applicants for 
materials licenses and other regulatory services, as well as to holders 
of materials licenses. The NRC calculates these flat fees by 
multiplying the average professional staff hours needed to process the 
licensing actions by the professional hourly rate for FY 2023. As part 
of its calculations, the NRC analyzes the actual hours spent performing 
licensing actions and estimates the five-year average of professional 
staff hours that are needed to process licensing actions as part of its 
biennial review of fees. These actions are required by section 205(a) 
of the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (31 U.S.C. 902(a)(8)). The 
NRC performed this review for the FY 2023 fee rule and will perform 
this review again for the FY 2025 fee rule. The biennial review 
adjustments and the higher professional hourly rate of $300 is the 
primary reason for the increase in flat application fees. Additional 
information can be found in the work papers.
    In order to simplify billing, the NRC rounds these flat fees to a 
minimal degree. Specifically, the NRC rounds these flat fees (up or 
down) in such a way that ensures both convenience for its stakeholders 
and minimal effects due to rounding. 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 flat fees are applicable for 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 of the FY 2023 final fee rule will be subject 
to the revised fees in the final rule. Since international activities 
are an excluded activity, fees are not assessed for import and export 
licensing actions under 10 CFR parts 170 and 171.

FY 2023 Fee Collection--Low-Level Waste Surcharge

    The NRC is assessing a generic low-level waste (LLW) surcharge of 
$4.023 million. Disposal of LLW occurs at commercially-operated LLW 
disposal facilities that are licensed by either the NRC or an Agreement 
State. Four existing LLW disposal facilities in the United States 
accept various types of LLW. All are located in Agreement States and, 
therefore, are regulated by an Agreement State, rather than the NRC. 
The NRC allocates this surcharge to its licensees based on data 
available in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Manifest Information 
Management System (MIMS). This database contains information on total 
LLW volumes disposed of by four generator classes: academic, 
industrial, medical, and utility. The ratio of waste volumes disposed 
of by these generator classes to total LLW volumes disposed over a 
period of time is used to estimate the portion of this surcharge that 
will be allocated to the power reactors, fuel facilities, and the 
materials users fee classes. The materials users fee class portion is 
adjusted to account for the

[[Page 39124]]

large percentage of materials licensees that are licensed by the 
Agreement States rather than the NRC.
    The LLW surcharge amounts have changed since publication of the 
proposed fee rule. The DOE updated MIMS with 2023 data; as a result of 
the update, the LLW surcharge for operating power reactors decreased 
from $3.556 million to $3.496 million; and the LLW surcharge increased 
from $0.370 million to $0.418 million for fuel facilities and from 
$0.097 to $0.109 million for materials users.
    Table IV shows the allocation of the LLW surcharge and its 
allocation across the various fee classes.

              Table IV--Allocation of LLW Surcharge FY 2023
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   LLW surcharge
               Fee classes               -------------------------------
                                              Percent            $
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors................            86.9           3.496
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                           0.0           0.000
 Decommissioning........................
Non-Power Production or Utilization                  0.0           0.000
 Facilities.............................
Fuel Facilities.........................            10.4           0.418
Materials Users.........................             2.7           0.109
Transportation..........................             0.0           0.000
Rare Earth Facilities...................             0.0           0.000
Uranium Recovery........................             0.0           0.000
                                         -------------------------------
    Total...............................           100.0           4.023
------------------------------------------------------------------------

FY 2023 Fee Collection--Revised Annual Fees

    In accordance with SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation Method,'' 
the NRC rebaselines its annual fees every year. ``Rebaselining'' 
entails analyzing the budget in detail and then allocating the FY 2023 
budgeted resources to various classes or subclasses of licensees. It 
also includes updating the number of NRC licensees in its fee 
calculation methodology. The NRC is revising its annual fees in 
Sec. Sec.  171.15 and 171.16 to recover approximately 100 percent of 
the NRC's FY 2023 enacted budget (less the budget authority for 
excluded activities and the estimated amount to be recovered through 10 
CFR part 170 fees). Table V shows the rebaselined fees for FY 2023 for 
a sample of licensee categories. The FY 2022 amounts are provided for 
comparison purposes.

                    Table V--Rebaselined Annual Fees
                            [Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
       Class/category of licenses           annual fee      annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors................       5,165,000       5,492,000
+ Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                     227,000         261,000
 Decommissioning........................
                                         -------------------------------
    Total, Combined Fee.................       5,392,000       5,753,000
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                       227,000         261,000
 Decommissioning........................
Non-Power Production or Utilization               90,100          96,300
 Facilities.............................
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility            4,334,000       5,156,000
 (Category 1.A.(1)(a))..................
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility             1,469,000       1,747,000
 (Category 1.A.(1)(b))..................
Uranium Enrichment (Category 1.E).......       1,888,000       2,247,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion Facility         436,000       1,095,000
 (Category 2.A.(1)......................
Basic In Situ Recovery Facilities                 42,000          52,200
 (Category 2.A.(2)(b))..................
Typical Users:
    Radiographers (Category 3O).........          29,600          37,900
    All Other Specific Byproduct                   9,900          12,300
     Material Licensees (Category 3P)...
    Medical Other (Category 7C).........          17,000          18,000
Device/Product Safety Evaluation--Broad           18,100          24,100
 (Category 9A)..........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The work papers that support this final rule show in detail how the 
NRC allocates the budgeted resources and calculates the fees for each 
class of licensees.
    Paragraphs a. through h. of this section describe the budgeted 
resources allocated to each class of licensees and the calculations of 
the rebaselined fees. For more information about detailed fee 
calculations for each class, please consult the accompanying work 
papers for this final rule.

a. Operating Power Reactors

    The NRC will collect $510.7 million in annual fees from the 
operating power reactors fee class in FY 2023, as shown in Table VI. 
The FY 2022 operating power reactors fees are shown for comparison 
purposes.

[[Page 39125]]



 Table VI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Operating Power Reactors
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
        Summary fee calculations               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................          $645.4          $665.3
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.          -165.8          -158.9
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......           479.6           506.4
Allocated generic transportation........             0.4             0.5
Allocated LLW surcharge.................             3.8             3.5
Billing adjustment......................            -3.4             0.3
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..           480.3           510.7
    Total operating reactors............              93              93
Annual fee per operating reactor........           5.165           5.492
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 annual fee for the operating 
power reactors fee class is increasing primarily due to the following: 
(1) an increase in budgeted resources; (2) a decrease in 10 CFR part 
170 estimated billings; and (3) an increase in the 10 CFR part 171 
billing adjustment. These components are discussed in the following 
paragraphs.
    The budgeted resources for the operating power reactors fee class 
increased primarily as a result of an increase in the fully-costed FTE 
rate compared to FY 2022 due to an increase in salaries and benefits. 
The increase in the fully-costed FTE rate is offset by a reduction in 
FTEs associated with workload changes, including but not limited to the 
following: (1) the closure of Palisades; (2) delays to planned new 
reactor design and licensing applications; (3) a reduction in resources 
for the development of operating reactors licensing action 
infrastructure for process improvements and special projects. In 
addition, there was a reduction in contract support resources for 
baseline inspections in the reactor safety program, which are now being 
performed in-house.
    The annual fee is increasing due to a reduction in the 10 CFR part 
170 estimated billings resulting from: (1) a decrease in hours 
associated with the closure of Palisades and (2) delays to planned new 
reactor design and licensing applications, topical reports, and white 
papers.
    The annual fee increase is also affected by these contributing 
factors: (1) an increase in the10 CFR part 171 billing adjustment 
(moving from a credit to a surcharge) due to the timing of invoices 
issued in FY 2022, and (2) an increase in the generic transportation 
surcharge due to an increase in the overall budgeted resources for 
certificates of compliance (CoCs) for the operating power reactors fee 
class.
    The fee-recoverable budgeted resources are divided equally among 
the 93 licensed operating power reactors, including the anticipated 
assessment of annual fees for Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Unit 3, 
and results in an annual fee of $5,492,000 per reactor. Additionally, 
each licensed operating power reactor will be assessed the FY 2023 
spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee of $261,000 (see 
Table VII and the discussion that follows). The combined FY 2023 annual 
fee for each operating power reactor is $5,753,000.
    Section 102(b)(3)(B)(i) of NEIMA established a cap for the annual 
fees charged to operating reactor licensees; under this provision, the 
annual fee for an operating reactor licensee, to the maximum extent 
practicable, shall not exceed the annual fee amount per operating 
reactor licensee established in the FY 2015 final fee rule (80 FR 
37432; June 30, 2015), adjusted for inflation. The NRC included an 
estimate of the operating power reactors fee class annual fee in 
Appendix C, ``Estimated Operating Power Reactors Annual Fee,'' of the 
FY 2023 Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ) (NUREG-1100, Volume 
38) to increase transparency for stakeholders. The NRC developed this 
estimate based on the staff's allocation of the FY 2023 CBJ to fee 
classes under 10 CFR part 170, and allocations within the operating 
power reactors fee class under 10 CFR part 171. The fee estimate 
included in the FY 2023 CBJ assumed 94 operating power reactors in FY 
2023 and applied various data assumptions from the FY 2021 final fee 
rule. Based on these allocations and assumptions, the operating power 
reactors annual fee included in the FY 2023 CBJ was estimated to be 
$5.2 million, approximately $0.5 million below the FY 2015 operating 
power reactors annual fee amount adjusted for inflation of $5.7 
million. The assumptions made between budget formulation and the 
development of this final rule have changed, including the change in 
the number of operating power reactors from 94 to 93. Nonetheless, the 
FY 2023 annual fee of $5,492,000 remains below the FY 2015 operating 
power reactors annual fee amount, as adjusted for inflation.
    In FY 2016, the NRC amended its licensing, inspection, and annual 
fee regulations to establish a variable annual fee structure for light-
water small modular reactors (SMRs) (81 FR 32617; May 24, 2016). Under 
the variable annual fee structure, an SMR annual fee would be assessed 
as a function of its bundled licensed thermal power rating. Currently, 
there are no operating SMRs; therefore, the NRC will not assess an 
annual fee in FY 2023 for this type of licensee.

b. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning

    The NRC will collect $32.1 million in annual fees from 10 CFR part 
50 and 10 CFR part 52 power reactor licensees, and from 10 CFR part 72 
licensees that do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license or a 10 CFR part 52 
combined license, to recover the budgeted resources for the spent fuel 
storage/reactor decommissioning fee class in FY 2023, as shown in Table 
VII. The FY 2022 spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning fees are 
shown for comparison purposes.

[[Page 39126]]



   Table VII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Spent Fuel Storage/
                         Reactor Decommissioning
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
        Summary fee calculations               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $40.4           $42.9
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.           -13.8           -12.4
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......            26.6            30.5
Allocated generic transportation costs..             1.3             1.6
Billing adjustments.....................            -0.2             0.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..            27.7            32.1
    Total spent fuel storage facilities.             122             123
Annual fee per facility.................           0.227           0.261
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 annual fee for the spent fuel 
storage/reactor decommissioning fee class is increasing primarily due 
to the following: (1) an increase in the budgeted resources and (2) a 
decrease in the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings. These components 
are discussed in the following paragraphs.
    The budgeted resources for the spent fuel storage/reactor 
decommissioning fee class increased primarily due to the following: (1) 
an increase in the fully-costed FTE rate compared to FY 2022 due to an 
increase in salaries and benefits; (2) an increase in licensing and 
oversight activities for one additional power reactor in 
decommissioning; and (3) an increased number of power reactors 
transitioning to accelerated decommissioning schedule status. This 
increase in the budgeted resources is offset by a decline in contract 
support due to the completion of research activities related to 
accident tolerant fuel (ATF), the assessment of gross ruptures in high 
burnup fuel, and standardized computer analysis for licensing 
evaluation code verification and validation.
    The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings for the spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning fee class decreased primarily due to the 
following: (1) a reduction in hours and contract support associated 
with the staff's review of applications for renewals, amendments, 
exemptions, and inspections for independent spent fuel storage 
installation (ISFSI) licenses and dry cask storage CoCs; (2) the 
completion of the safety and environmental review of the Holtec HI-
STORE consolidated interim storage facility application; (3) the 
completion of the staff's review of the Interim Storage Partners 
consolidated interim storage facility application and issuance of the 
license; (4) the completion of decommissioning transition activities 
for the Duane Arnold Energy Center and the site entering a period of 
dormancy; (5) the termination of the licenses for La Crosse Boiling 
Water Reactor and Humboldt Bay Nuclear Power Plant; and (6) the 
decrease in decommissioning licensing and inspection activities at 
multiple sites.
    The annual fee increase is also affected by an increase in the 
generic transportation surcharge due to an increase in the generic 
transportation budgeted resources.
    The required annual fee recovery amount is divided equally among 
123 licensees, resulting in a FY 2023 annual fee of $261,000 per 
licensee.

c. Fuel Facilities

    The NRC will collect $19.7 million in annual fees from the fuel 
facilities fee class in FY 2023, as shown in Table VIII. The FY 2023 
fuel facilities fees are shown for comparison purposes.

     Table VIII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Fuel Facilities
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
        Summary fee calculations               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $22.4           $26.6
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.            -8.0            -9.2
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......            14.4            17.4
Allocated generic transportation........             1.7             1.9
Allocated LLW surcharge.................             0.4             0.4
Billing adjustments.....................            -0.1             0.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Total remaining required annual fee             16.4            19.7
     recovery...........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 annual fee for the fuel 
facilities fee class is increasing primarily due to the increase in 
budgeted resources. This increase is offset by an increase in 10 CFR 
part 170 estimated billings as discussed in the following paragraphs.
    The budgeted resources for the fuel facilities fee class increased 
primarily as a result of an increase in the fully-costed FTE rate 
compared to FY 2022 due to an increase in salaries and benefits. In 
addition, the budgeted resources increased to support the following: 
(1) licensing actions related to enrichment and manufacturing of high-
assay low-enrichment uranium fuel, advanced reactor fuel, and ATF; (2) 
the staff's review of a new fuel facility application; (3) cyber 
security activities; (4) restart activities for the Honeywell

[[Page 39127]]

International, Inc. Uranium Conversion Facility and the Centrus 
American Centrifuge Plant; (5) an anticipated increase in material 
control and accounting inspections at Category II facilities; and (6) 
fuel facilities rulemaking activities.
    The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings increased as a result of the 
following: (1) the staff's review of the Nuclear Fuel Services U-metal 
amendment and an inspection that was delayed due to the COVID-19 
pandemic; (2) the staff's review of the TRISO-X, LLC, fuel fabrication 
facility application; and (3) the staff's review of the Global Nuclear 
Fuel Americas, LLC, amendment for an increase in enrichment and 
inspection activities.
    The NRC will continue allocating annual fees to individual fuel 
facility licensees based on the effort/fee determination matrix 
developed in the FY 1999 final fee rule (64 FR 31448; June 10, 1999). 
To briefly recap, the matrix groups licensees within this fee class 
into various fee categories. The matrix lists processes that are 
conducted at licensed sites and assigns effort factors for the safety 
and safeguards activities associated with each process (these effort 
levels are reflected in Table IX). The annual fees are then distributed 
across the fee class based on the regulatory effort assigned by the 
matrix. The effort factors in the matrix represent regulatory effort 
that is not recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees (e.g., rulemaking, 
guidance). Regulatory effort for activities that are subject to 10 CFR 
part 170 fees, such as the number of inspections, is not applicable to 
the effort factor.
    In the FY 2023 final rule, the safeguards factor in the effort 
factors matrix for the uranium hexaflouride (UF6) conversion 
and deconversion fee category for UF6/liquid process have 
been increased from 0 (no effort) to 5 (moderate effort), and the 
conversion powder process has reduced from 10 (high effort) to 1 (low 
effort). Currently, there is one uranium conversion facility that had 
been in a ready-idle status for several years with no processing 
operations during this time; however, this facility is now in the 
process of returning to full operations.
    In the proposed rule, the NRC proposed an effort factor of 0 for 
safeguards and 5 for safety for the liquid UF6 process for 
the one uranium conversion facility. At the time when the effort 
factors were developed for the proposed rule, Security Order EA-02-025 
was temporarily relaxed while the facility was in a ready-idle status. 
Subsequently, in October 2022, the NRC withdrew the temporary 
relaxation of Security Order EA-02-025 at the site. As a result of 
reinstating Security Order EA-02-025 at the site, the NRC reevaluated 
the proposed effort factor for safeguards and determined that it should 
be changed from 0 to 5 to reflect a moderate level of effort for the 
liquid UF6 process. The effort factor of 5 for safety in the 
proposed rule continues to be appropriate, resulting in a combined 
effort factor for the liquid UF6 process of 10.
    In the proposed rule, the NRC also proposed changes to the safety 
effort factor for the conversion powder process, a separate process 
under the matrix that is assigned its own effort factors. Specifically, 
the proposed rule proposed an effort factor of 10 for safety for the 
conversion powder process at the one uranium conversion facility that 
is in the process of returning to full operations. The proposed level 
of effort was based on the facility returning to full operations, which 
would involve increased amounts of uranium powder for processing at the 
site and an increased effort to support the restart to full operations. 
The NRC reevaluated the proposed effort factor based on additional 
information available from the pre-operational inspections conducted at 
the site and evaluations of regulated activities during the restart 
phase. Utilizing actual data instead of estimates, the reevaluation 
concluded that the overall NRC level of effort would be moderate during 
the initial restart phase, would be minimal for the remainder of the 
restart phase, and would be minimal once operations resumed. Therefore, 
the NRC level of effort for the year results in a revised effort factor 
of 1 for safety for the conversion powder process.
    In summary, for FY 2023, the liquid UF6 effort factors 
are revised to Safety-5 and Safeguards-5, and conversion powder effort 
factors are revised to Safety-1 and Safeguards-0. These changes, along 
with adding the effort factors for the other processes in the matrix 
that remain unchanged, results in a total effort factor of 19 for the 
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion fee category. The revised 
total effort factor results in a decrease in the annual fees for the 
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion fee category by 16.4 percent 
compared to the proposed rule. The decrease in annual fees for the 
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion fee category results in a 
corresponding average increase of approximately 1.2 percent in all 
other fee categories in the fee class. Additional information can be 
found in the work papers.

                              Table IX--Effort Factors for Fuel Facilities, FY 2023
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          Effort factors
                  Facility type (fee category)                       Number of   -------------------------------
                                                                    facilities        Safety        Safeguards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)).........................               2              88              91
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b))..........................               3              70              21
Limited Operations (1.A.(2)(a)).................................               1               3              11
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b))............               0               0               0
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c))..............................               0               0               0
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.).......................................               1              16              23
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1)).......................               1              12               7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In FY 2023, the total remaining amount of the annual fees to be 
recovered, $19.7 million, is attributable to safety activities, 
safeguards activities, and the LLW surcharge. For FY 2023, the total 
budgeted resources to be recovered as annual fees for safety activities 
are approximately $10.7 million. To calculate the annual fee, the NRC 
allocates this amount to each fee category based on its percentage of 
the total regulatory effort for safety activities. Similarly, the NRC 
allocates the budgeted resources to be recovered as annual fees for 
safeguards activities, $8.6 million, to each fee category based on its 
percentage of the total regulatory effort for safeguards activities. 
Finally, the fuel facilities fee class portion of the LLW surcharge--
$0.4 million--is allocated to each fee category based on its percentage 
of the total regulatory effort for both safety and safeguards 
activities. The annual fee per licensee is

[[Page 39128]]

then calculated by dividing the total allocated budgeted resources for 
the fee category by the number of licensees in that fee category. The 
annual fee for each facility is summarized in Table X.

                Table X--Annual Fees for Fuel Facilities
                            [Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
      Facility type (fee category)          annual fee      annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)).      $4,334,000      $5,156,000
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b))..       1,469,000       1,747,000
Facilities with limited operations               968,000         807,000
 (1.A.(2)(a))...........................
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration              N/A             N/A
 (1.A.(2)(b))...........................
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c))......             N/A             N/A
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)...............       1,888,000       2,247,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion                  436,000       1,095,000
 (2.A.(1))..............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

d. Uranium Recovery Facilities

    The NRC will collect $0.2 million in annual fees from the uranium 
recovery facilities fee class in FY 2023, as shown in Table XI. The FY 
2022 uranium recovery facilities fees are shown for comparison 
purposes.




     Table XI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Uranium Recovery
                               Facilities
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
        Summary fee calculations               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................            $0.9            $0.5
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.            -0.6            -0.3
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......             0.3             0.2
Allocated generic transportation........             N/A             N/A
Billing adjustments.....................             0.0             0.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..            $0.3            $0.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 annual fee for the non-DOE 
licensee in the uranium recovery facilities fee class is increasing as 
a result of the decrease in 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings due to 
the following: (1) the completion of the NRC staff's National 
Environmental Review Act and National Historic Preservation Act review 
of Crow Butte Resources, Inc.'s 2014 license renewal; and (2) the 
completion of the staff's review of Powertech (USA) Inc.'s license 
amendment for the indirect change of control.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Congress established the two programs, Title I and Title II, 
under UMTRCA to protect the public and the environment from hazards 
associated with 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 weapons programs. 
The NRC also regulates DOE's UMTRCA Title II program, which is 
directed toward uranium mill sites licensed by the NRC or Agreement 
States in or after 1978.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC regulates DOE's Title I and Title II activities under the 
Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA).\2\ The annual fee 
assessed to DOE includes the resources specifically budgeted for the 
NRC's UMTRCA Title I and Title II activities, as well as 10 percent of 
the remaining budgeted resources for this fee class. The NRC described 
the overall methodology for determining fees for UMTRCA in the FY 2002 
fee rule (67 FR 42625; June 24, 2002), and the NRC continues to use 
this methodology. The DOE's UMTRCA annual fee is decreasing compared to 
FY 2022 primarily due to a decrease in budgeted resources needed to 
conduct generic work that staff will be performing to resolve issues 
associated with the transfer of NRC and Agreement State uranium mill 
tailings sites to DOE for long-term surveillance and maintenance. In 
addition, 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings are declining due to the 
anticipated workload decreases at various DOE UMTRCA sites. The NRC 
assesses the remaining 90 percent of its budgeted resources to the 
remaining licensee in this fee class, as described in the work papers, 
which is reflected in Table XII.

    Table XII--Costs Recovered Through Annual Fees; Uranium Recovery
                          Facilities Fee Class
                            [Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
            Summary of costs                annual fee      annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I
 and Title II) General Licenses:
    UMTRCA Title I and Title II budgeted        $206,441        $142,181
     resources less 10 CFR part 170
     receipts...........................
    10 percent of generic/other uranium            4,665           5,798
     recovery budgeted resources........

[[Page 39129]]

 
    10 percent of uranium recovery fee-              N/A             N/A
     relief adjustment..................
                                         -------------------------------
        Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE          211,000         148,000
         (rounded)......................
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium
 Recovery Licenses:
    90 percent of generic/other uranium           41,986          52,185
     recovery budgeted resources less
     the amounts specifically budgeted
     for UMTRCA Title I and Title II
     activities.........................
    90 percent of uranium recovery fee-              N/A             N/A
     relief adjustment..................
                                         -------------------------------
        Total Annual Fee Amount for               41,986          52,185
         Other Uranium Recovery
         Licensees......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Further, for any non-DOE licensees, the NRC will continue using a 
matrix to determine the effort levels associated with conducting 
generic regulatory actions for the different licensees in the uranium 
recovery facilities 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, and mill tailings disposal 
facilities. The matrix identifies the types of operating activities 
that support and benefit these licensees, along with each activity's 
relative weight. Please see the work papers for more detail. Currently, 
there is only one remaining non-DOE licensee, which is a basic ISR 
facility. Table XIII displays the benefit factors for the non-DOE 
licensee in that fee category.

                            Table XIII--Benefit Factors for Uranium Recovery Licenses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Number of    Benefit factor                  Benefit factor
                  Fee category                       licensees     per licensee     Total value    percent total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a))..               0  ..............  ..............               0
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b))..               1             190             190             100
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities                           0  ..............  ..............               0
 (2.A.(2)(c))...................................
Section 11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing                0  ..............  ..............               0
 tailings sites (2.A.(4)).......................
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................               1             190             190             100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FY 2023 annual fee for the remaining non-DOE licensee is 
calculated by allocating 100 percent of the budgeted resources, as 
summarized in Table XIV.

          Table XIV--Annual Fees for Uranium Recovery Licensees
                            [Other than DOE]
                            [Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
      Facility type (fee category)          annual fee      annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills                    N/A             N/A
 (2.A.(2)(a))...........................
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities                $42,000         $52,200
 (2.A.(2)(b))...........................
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities                 N/A             N/A
 (2.A.(2)(c))...........................
Section 11e.(2) disposal incidental to               N/A             N/A
 existing tailings sites (2.A.(4))......
------------------------------------------------------------------------

e. Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities
    The NRC will collect $0.289 million in annual fees from the non-
power production or utilization facilities fee class in FY 2023, as 
shown in Table XV. The FY 2022 non-power production or utilization 
facilities fees are shown for comparison purposes.

  Table XV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Non-Power Production or
                         Utilization Facilities
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
        Summary fee calculations               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................          $6.072          $5.115
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.          -5.804          -4.869
                                         -------------------------------

[[Page 39130]]

 
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......           0.268           0.246
Allocated generic transportation........           0.035           0.040
Billing adjustments.....................          -0.032           0.003
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..           0.270           0.289
    Total non-power production or                      3               3
     utilization facilities licenses....
        Total annual fee per license              0.0901          0.0963
         (rounded)......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 annual fee for the non-power 
production or utilization facilities fee class is increasing, as 
discussed in the following paragraphs.
    In FY 2023, while the budgeted resources decreased primarily due to 
the completion of the staff's review of the SHINE Medical technologies, 
LLC's (SHINE) operating license application, this decrease in the 
budgeted resources is offset by an increase in the fully-costed FTE 
rate compared to FY 2022 due to an increase in salaries and benefits.
    The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings associated with operating 
non-power production or utilization facilities licensees subject to 
annual fees are declining slightly due to less hours needed for 
activities associated with the special team inspection and the staff's 
review of a complex license amendment associated with the restart of 
the NIST Neutron Reactor. The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings with 
respect to the medical isotope production facilities and advanced 
research and test reactors are remaining steady when compared with FY 
2022. While the staff completed its review of the operating license 
application for SHINE, the decrease in estimated billings related to 
review of the SHINE application are offset by the staff's review of the 
Kairos Power's, LLC, application for a permit to construct the Hermes 
test reactor; and pre-application meetings due to the anticipated 
submission of several license applications.
    Furthermore, the annual fee is increasing as a result of an 
increase in the 10 CFR part 171 billing adjustment (moving from a 
credit to a surcharge) due to the timing of invoices issued in FY 2022.
    The annual fee-recovery amount is divided equally among the three 
non-power production or utilization facilities licensees subject to 
annual fees and results in an FY 2023 annual fee of $96,300 for each 
licensee.
f. Rare Earth
    In FY 2023, the NRC has allocated approximately $0.3 million in 
budgeted resources to this fee class; however, because all the budgeted 
resources will be recovered through service fees assessed under 10 CFR 
part 170, the NRC will not assess and collect annual fees in FY 2023 
for this fee class.
g. Materials Users
    The NRC will collect $39.7 million in annual fees from materials 
users licensed under 10 CFR parts 30, 40, and 70 in FY 2023, as shown 
in Table XVI. The FY 2022 materials users fees are shown for comparison 
purposes.

     Table XVI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Materials Users
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
        Summary fee calculations               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources for licensees             $34.1           $38.7
 not regulated by Agreement States......
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.            -0.9            -1.2
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......            33.2            37.5
Allocated generic transportation........             1.7             2.0
LLW surcharge...........................             0.1             0.1
Billing adjustments.....................            -0.2             0.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..            34.8            39.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The formula for calculating 10 CFR part 171 annual fees for the 
various categories of materials users is described in detail in the 
work papers. Generally, the calculation results in a single annual fee 
that includes 10 CFR part 170 costs, such as amendments, renewals, 
inspections, and other licensing actions specific to individual fee 
categories.
    The total annual fee recovery of $39.7 million for FY 2023 shown in 
Table XVI consists of $30.3 million for general costs, $9.3 million for 
inspection costs, and $0.1 million for LLW costs. To equitably and 
fairly allocate the $39.7 million required to be collected among 
approximately 2,400 diverse materials users licensees, the NRC 
continues to calculate 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 materials 
license, this approach is the methodology for allocating the generic 
and other regulatory costs to the diverse fee categories. This fee 
calculation method also considers the inspection frequency (priority), 
which is indicative of the safety risk and resulting regulatory costs 
associated with the categories of licenses.
    In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 annual fees are increasing 
for 55

[[Page 39131]]

fee categories within the materials users fee class primarily as a 
result of an increase in the budgeted resources for: (1) application of 
a new decision-making tool to calculate resources for direct inspection 
work and support activities; (2) associated materials users rulemaking 
activities; and (3) an increase in the fully-costed FTE rate compared 
to FY 2022 due to an increase in salaries and benefits. In addition, 
annual fees are increasing for the materials users fee class generally 
due to the following: (1) the biennial review of licensing and 
inspection activities, which affects the distribution of fees across 
categories based on the relative level of staff effort; (2) an increase 
in generic transportation costs for materials users; and (3) a slight 
decrease in the number of materials users licensees from FY 2022.
    A constant multiplier is established to recover the total general 
costs (including allocated generic transportation costs) of $30.3 
million. To derive the constant multiplier, the general cost amount is 
divided by the sum of all fee categories (application fee plus the 
inspection fee divided by inspection priority) then multiplied by the 
number of licensees. This calculation results in a constant multiplier 
of 1.10 for FY 2023. The average inspection cost is the average 
inspection hours for each fee category multiplied by the professional 
hourly rate of $300. The inspection priority is the interval between 
routine inspections, expressed in years. The inspection multiplier is 
established in order to recover the $9.3 million in inspection costs. 
To derive the inspection multiplier, the inspection costs amount is 
divided by the sum of all fee categories (inspection fee divided by 
inspection priority) then multiplied by the number of licensees. This 
calculation results in an inspection multiplier of 1.74 for FY 2023. 
The unique category costs are any special costs that the NRC has 
budgeted for a specific category of licenses. Please see the work 
papers for more detail about this classification.
    The annual fee being assessed to each licensee also takes into 
account a share of approximately $0.1 million in LLW surcharge costs 
allocated to the materials users fee class (see Table IV, ``Allocation 
of LLW Surcharge, FY 2023,'' in Section III, ``Discussion,'' of this 
document). The annual fee for each fee category is shown in the 
revision to Sec.  171.16(d).
h. Transportation
    The NRC will collect $1.7 million in annual fees to recover generic 
transportation budgeted resources in FY 2023, as shown in Table XVII. 
The FY 2022 fees are shown for comparison purposes.

     Table XVII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Transportation
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2022 final   FY 2023 final
        Summary fee calculations               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $10.2           $11.1
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.            -3.4            -3.4
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......             6.8             7.7
Less generic transportation resources...            -5.3            -6.0
Billing adjustments.....................             0.0             0.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Total required annual fee recovery..             1.5             1.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2022, the FY 2023 annual fee for the 
transportation fee class is increasing primarily due to an increase in 
the budgeted resources that is partially offset by generic 
transportation resources allocated to other fee classes.
    In FY 2023, the budgeted resources increased primarily due to: (1) 
an increase in the fully-costed FTE rate compared to FY 2022 due to an 
increase in salaries and benefits; (2) maintenance for the storage and 
transportation information management system; and (3) environmental and 
licensing reviews of transportation packages for ATF, other advanced 
reactors fuels, and micro-reactors. This increase is offset by a 
decrease in budgeted resources associated with rulemaking activities. 
The increase in the annual fee is offset by an increase in generic 
transportation resources allocated to respective other fee classes due 
to a rise in the number of CoCs.
    Furthermore, the net result of changes in 10 CFR part 170 estimated 
billings result in no change compared to FY 2022. Compared to FY 2022, 
an increase in 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings related to the review 
of new and amended transportation packages are offset by a decrease in 
10 CFR part 170 estimated billings due to delays or the completion of 
transportation amendment packages.
    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 by including those costs in the 
annual fees for licensee fee classes. The NRC continues to assess a 
separate annual fee under Sec.  171.16, fee category 18.A., for DOE 
transportation activities. The amount of the allocated generic 
resources is calculated by multiplying the percentage of total CoCs 
used by each fee class (and DOE) by the total generic transportation 
resources to be recovered.
    This resource distribution to the license fee classes and DOE is 
shown in Table XVIII. Note that for the non-power production or 
utilization facilities fee class, the NRC allocates the distribution to 
only those licensees that are subject to annual fees. Although five 
CoCs benefit the entire non-power production or utilization facilities 
fee class, only three out of 30 operating non-power production or 
utilization facilities licensees are subject to annual fees. 
Consequently, the number of CoCs used to determine the proportion of 
generic transportation resources allocated to annual fees for the non-
power production or utilization facilities fee class has been adjusted 
to 0.5 so these licensees are charged a fair and equitable portion of 
the total fees. For additional detail see the work papers.

[[Page 39132]]



                         Table XVIII--Distribution of Transportation Resources, FY 2023
                                              [Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Allocated
                                                               Number of CoCs     Percentage of       generic
                   Licensee fee class/DOE                      benefiting fee      total CoCs     transportation
                                                                class or DOE                         resources
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials Users.............................................              24.0              25.7            $2.0
Operating Power Reactors....................................               6.0               6.4             0.5
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning..................              19.0              20.3             1.6
Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities..............               0.5               0.5             0.0
Fuel Facilities.............................................              23.0              24.6             1.9
Sub-Total of Generic Transportation Resources...............              72.5              77.5             6.0
DOE.........................................................              21.0              22.5             1.7
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
    Total...................................................              93.5             100.0             7.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 2023--Policy Changes

    The NRC made one policy change for FY 2023.
    Expand Sec.  171.15 to be technology-inclusive and create an 
additional minimum fee and variable rate.
    The NRC is amending Sec.  171.15, ``Annual fees: Non-power 
production or utilization licenses, reactor licenses, and independent 
spent fuel storage licenses,'' to (1) expand the applicability of the 
small modular reactor (SMR) variable fee structure to include non-light 
water reactor (non-LWR) SMRs, and (2) establish an additional minimum 
fee and variable rate applicable to SMRs with a licensed thermal power 
rating of less than or equal to 250 megawatts-thermal (MWt). The NRC is 
making these changes to be technology inclusive and establish a fair 
and equitable approach for assessing annual fees to these SMRs. In 
addition, there is the potential for a reduced regulatory effort (and 
cost) for the smallest proposed SMRs since these types of facilities 
are considerably smaller in size than the current fleet of operating 
power reactors, and the level of oversight could be comparable to 
facilities in the non-power production or utilization facilities fee 
class. This revision retains the bundled unit concept for SMRs and the 
approach for calculating fees for reactors, or bundled units, with 
licensed thermal power ratings greater than 250 MWt. For the purpose of 
calculating NRC fees, an SMR is defined in Sec. Sec.  170.3 and 171.5, 
``Definitions,'' as a power reactor with a licensed thermal power 
rating of 1,000 MWt or less. The rating is based on an electrical power 
generating capacity of 300 megawatts-electric or less per module. This 
definition currently applies only to light-water reactors (LWRs). The 
final rule provides for a non-LWR SMR's annual fee to be calculated the 
same as for a LWR SMR, as a function of its licensed thermal power 
rating. In addition to the amendments to Sec.  171.15, the NRC is also 
making conforming changes to the relevant definitions in Sec. Sec.  
170.3 and 171.5.
    In 2016, the NRC published the final rule, ``Variable Annual Fee 
Structure for Small Modular Reactors'' (SMR rule) (81 FR 32617; May 24, 
2016). The SMR rule provisions in Sec.  171.15 were the direct result 
of a multi-year agencywide effort with extensive stakeholder 
engagement. The goal of the effort was to address NRC staff and 
industry concerns that there may be inequities if SMR licensees were 
charged the same annual fee as the current fleet of operating power 
reactors, which have much larger thermal power levels and electrical 
generating capacity. The SMR rule was limited to LWR SMRs but left open 
the possibility of future inclusion of non-LWR SMRs. The NRC stated in 
the final rule that, ``[T]he light-water SMR designs that have been 
discussed with the NRC in pre-application discussions to date are 
similar to the current U.S. operating fleet of reactors in terms of 
physical configuration, operational characteristics, and applicability 
to the NRC's existing regulatory framework. The NRC may consider the 
inclusion of non-light water SMRs in a future rulemaking once the 
agency has increased understanding of these factors with respect to 
non-light water designs'' (81 FR 32617; May 24, 2016).
    After issuing the SMR rule, the NRC continued to engage with 
industry, other Federal agencies, the international community, and 
other interested stakeholders to develop a knowledge base and 
understanding of the characteristics and proposed designs of non-LWR 
SMRs. The NRC conducted public meetings with stakeholders to share 
information and discuss topics related to the development and licensing 
of non-LWRs and participated in preapplication activities with several 
applicants. During these public meetings, the NRC staff discussed 
possible approaches to assessing annual fees for non-LWR SMRs. 
Stakeholders recommended that the NRC consider lower fees for non-LWR 
SMRs and requested the NRC proceed with rulemaking expeditiously. In 
developing an approach to assess annual fees to future non-LWR SMRs, 
the NRC considered stakeholder input from these public meetings and 
analyzed a position paper from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), 
``NEI Input on NRC Annual Fee Assessment for Non-Light Water 
Reactors.''
    The NRC is in the process of conducting pre-application reviews for 
several LWR and non-LWR commercial SMR designs, but no applications for 
SMRs have been submitted for operating licenses under 10 CFR part 50, 
``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,'' or 
combined licenses under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and 
Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.'' Under the current regulatory 
framework, it will be several years before a new SMR is ready, if 
approved, to begin commercial operation and be subject to annual fees 
pursuant to 10 CFR part 171. However, industry representatives and 
stakeholders have requested prompt NRC action to establish an annual 
fee policy for non-LWR SMRs, including micro-reactors, in order to 
inform business decisions and to provide regulatory predictability.
    Commercial power reactors that are less than or equal to 20 MWt are 
considerably smaller in size than the current fleet of operating power 
reactors; the NRC anticipates that the level of oversight could be 
comparable

[[Page 39133]]

to facilities in the non-power production or utilization facilities fee 
class. In addition, non-LWR SMRs that are less than 20 MWt may not 
require resident inspectors, similar to the non-power production or 
utilization facilities fee class oversight program.
    As a result of this multi-year effort, the NRC is amending Sec.  
171.15 to be technology inclusive by expanding applicability to non-LWR 
SMRs. Additionally, the NRC is changing the minimum fees and the 
variable annual fee scale for SMRs that have a licensed thermal power 
rating of less than or equal to 250 MWt in order to fairly and 
equitably assess annual fees for those SMRs.
    The new minimum fee will be equal to the lowest annual fee that is 
assessed to the non-power production or utilization facility fee class 
and will be the only annual fee assessed for an SMR, or for bundled 
units, with a combined licensed thermal power rating per site that is 
less than or equal to 20 MWt. This change also creates a new variable 
annual fee for an SMR or for bundled units with a combined licensed 
thermal power rating per site greater than 20 MWt but less than or 
equal to 250 MWt that will be added to the minimum fee (the non-power 
production or utilization facilities fee class annual fee). This 
approach provides for a gradual increase in the annual fee as the 
licensed thermal power rating increases. The minimum fee currently 
included in Sec.  171.15, which is equal to the average of the spent 
fuel storage/reactor decommissioning and non-power production or 
utilization facilities fee classes annual fees, is retained as a 
component of the annual fee with an added variable fee assessed for an 
SMR, or for bundled units, with a combined licensed thermal power 
rating per site greater than 250 MWt but less than or equal to 2,000 
MWt.
    Three different variable fees will be assessed: (1) a new variable 
fee assessed for power reactors with a licensed thermal power rating 
greater than 20 MWt but less than or equal to 250 MWt; (2) the existing 
variable fee assessed for power reactors with a licensed thermal power 
rating greater than 250 MWt but less than or equal to 2,000 MWt; and 
(3) for bundled units added above 4,500 MWt, the maximum fee (equal to 
the annual fee for the operating power reactor fee class) plus a 
variable fee will be assessed for the incremental licensed thermal 
power rating greater than 4,500 MWt up to 6,500 MWt (another 2,000 MWt 
range), which constitutes an additional bundled unit. This pattern for 
assessed fees will continue as licensed thermal power rating capacity 
is added. The new variable fee provides for a gradual increase in fees 
for power reactors above 20 MWt but less than equal to 250 MWt rather 
than an abrupt increase to the higher minimum fee once an increment 
above 20 MWt is reached.
    Without these changes to Sec.  171.15, a non-LWR SMR, regardless of 
size, would be required to pay the same annual fee as the operating 
power reactors fee class under the NRC's current annual fee structure. 
NEIMA requires that 10 CFR part 171 annual fees be assessed in a fair 
and equitable manner and, to the maximum extent practicable, be 
reasonably related to the cost of providing regulatory services. NEIMA 
also provides that annual fees may be based on the allocation of 
resources of the Commission among licensees or certificate holders or 
classes of licensees or certificate holders. The differences between 
SMRs and the existing operating power reactor fleet will result in 
significant differences in the anticipated regulatory cost, thus 
applying the current fee structure to non-LWR SMRs could be 
inconsistent with NEIMA requirements that the NRC's fees be fairly and 
equitably allocated among its licensees.
    The NRC finds this policy change to be reasonable, fair, and 
equitable. Pursuant to Sec.  171.15, annual fees for power reactors 
licensed under 10 CFR part 50, or a combined license under 10 CFR part 
52, including an SMR licensee, will not commence until the licensee has 
notified the NRC in writing of the successful completion of power 
ascension testing. The NRC does not expect to license a non-LWR SMR 
facility for operation that would be assessed annual fees under 10 CFR 
part 171 for several years. However, the NRC made this policy change, 
well before operation, to promote regulatory consistency and 
transparency, as well as to provide potential non-LWR SMR applicants, 
the industry, and the public with notice and opportunity to comment on 
the methodology that will be used to calculate 10 CFR part 171 annual 
fees for future licensed facilities. Furthermore, the NRC's view is 
that this policy change addresses potential inconsistencies in the 
current 10 CFR part 171 annual fee structure for future non-LWR SMRs. 
This policy change will assist industry in planning and budgeting for 
future annual fees and will continue to provide a clear method for 
allocating NRC generic expenses to its operating power reactor 
licensees.
    Because the annual regulatory cost associated with LWR and non-LWR 
SMRs is inherently uncertain before such a licensed facility is 
operational, the NRC intends to reevaluate the variable annual fee 
structure at the appropriate time to ensure consistency with NEIMA. 
This re-evaluation will occur once SMR facilities become operational 
and sufficient regulatory cost data becomes available. Operational 
experience data should provide insights that will identify the 
correlation between design features and the level of NRC oversight 
typically needed for these new types of power plants as well as inform 
whether further annual fee adjustments for SMRs may be needed. As cost 
data and operating experience for LWR and non-LWR SMRs are accumulated, 
the NRC will propose adjustments to fees as needed to make sure that 
the fees assessed to LWR and non-LWR SMRs (and to all operating power 
reactors) are commensurate with the regulatory support services 
provided by the NRC, consistent with NEIMA.

FY 2023--Administrative Changes

    The NRC is making three administrative changes in FY 2023:
    1. Amend Table 1 in Sec.  170.31 and Table 2 in Sec.  171.16 to add 
Program Code 21131 to fee category 1(A)(2)(c).
    On February 1, 2022, staff in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards added Program Code 21131, ``Medical Isotopes Production 
Facility Licensed Under 10 part 70,'' to fee category 1(A)(2)(c). This 
program code was created in preparation for future license applications 
that the NRC anticipates will be submitted for medical isotopes 
production facilities under 10 CFR part 70, ``Domestic Licensing of 
Special Nuclear Material.'' The NRC is amending Table 1 in Sec.  
170.31, ``Schedule of fees for materials licenses and other regulatory 
services, including inspections, and import and export licenses,'' and 
Table 2 in 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,'' to add Program Code 21131 to 
fee category 1(A)(2)(c), as the program code is used as the basis for 
assessing 10 CFR part 170 service fees at full cost and a future annual 
fee under 10 CFR part 171.
    2. Amend Sec.  170.12(f), ``Method of payment,'' by clarifying the 
types of payments and payment method.
    The NRC is amending Sec.  170.12(f), ``Method of payment,'' to add 
new payment method options (Amazon Pay and PayPal) now available via 
www.Pay.gov. The NRC is also removing the requirement for payment of 
invoices

[[Page 39134]]

of $5,000 or more be made via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) 
through the NRC's Lockbox Bank. The NRC encourages applicants and 
licensees to use the electronic payment options for fee submittal.
    3. Change Small Entity Fees.
    In developing this final rule, the NRC has conducted a biennial 
review of small entity fees to determine whether the NRC should change 
those fees. The NRC used the fee methodology developed in FY 2009 to 
perform this biennial review (74 FR 27641; June 10, 2009). Based on 
this methodology and as a result of the biennial review, the NRC is 
increasing the upper tier small entity fee from $4,900 to $5,200, which 
constitutes an increase of approximately 6 percent. The lower tier 
small entity fee is not increasing and will remain at $1,000. The NRC 
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.

III. Public Comment Analysis

Overview of Public Comments

    The NRC published a proposed rule on March 3, 2023 (88 FR 13357) 
and requested public comment on its proposed revisions to 10 CFR parts 
170 and 171. By the close of the comment period, the NRC received seven 
written comment submissions on the FY 2023 proposed rule. In general, 
commenters were supportive of the specific proposed regulatory changes, 
although most commenters expressed concerns about broader fee policy 
issues related to the overall size of the NRC's budget, fairness of 
fees, transparency, and budget formulation.
    The commenters are listed in Table XIX.

       Table XIX--FY 2023 Proposed Fee Rule Commenter Submissions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Commenter               Affiliation      ADAMS  accession No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Tate...............  Framatome........  ML23093A114
Brian Hunt....................  Honeywell          ML23093A123
                                 International--M
                                 etropolis Works
                                 (MTW).
Dr. Jennifer L. Uhle..........  Nuclear Energy     ML23093A188
                                 Institute (NEI).
Richard J. Freudenberger......  BWX Technologies,  ML23093A189
                                 Inc. (BWXT).
David M. Gullott..............  Constellation      ML23093A187
                                 Energy
                                 Generation, LLC
                                 (CEG).
Paul A. Kerl..................  U.S. Department    ML23100A189
                                 of Energy (DOE).
Timothy A. Knowles............  Nuclear Fuel       ML23109A190
                                 Services, Inc.
                                 (NFS).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Information about obtaining the complete text of the comment 
submissions is available in the ``Availability of Documents,'' section 
of this document.

IV. Public Comments and NRC Responses

    The NRC has carefully considered the public comments received on 
the proposed rule. The comments have been organized into six topics. 
Comments from multiple commenters raising similar specific concerns 
were combined to capture the common essential issues raised by the 
commenters. Comments from a single commenter have been quoted to ensure 
accuracy; brackets within those comments are used to show changes that 
have been made to the quoted comments.

A. Fuel Facilities Fee Class Budget and Increase in the Annual Fees

    Comment: Several commenters expressed concerns about the average 
18.5% annual fee increase for all operating fuel cycle facilities, 
except for the approximate 203% increase proposed for the uranium 
conversion plant, which is expected to restart operations later this 
year. The commenters stated that the fuel facilities business line 
budget and annual fees decreased each of the prior four fiscal years 
(FY 2019-FY 2022) to more accurately reflect the reduced number of 
operating facilities and the corresponding reduction in workload. The 
commenters expressed concern that despite the number of operating 
facilities remaining steady, the proposed annual fee increase is not 
based on quantitative workload data or effort factors and does not 
reflect the relatively low risk profile of the existing and predicted 
fuel cycle facility fleet. The commenters expressed concern that the 
basis for the increase in the annual fee is not adequate or clear. The 
commenters also expressed concern regarding the increase in the budget 
for licensing and oversight activities and the disparity between lower 
10 CFR part 170 (service fees) relative to 10 CFR part 171 (annual 
fees). (Framatome, BWXT, NEI, and NFS)
    Response: The NRC is aware and remains mindful of the impact of its 
budget on the fees for the fuel facilities fee class. When formulating 
the budget, the NRC takes into consideration various factors, including 
workload forecasting, historical data and trends in the business line, 
information from licensees and potential applicants, and uncertainty of 
projections. The NRC assesses the current environment and performs 
workload forecasting, which includes looking for significant drivers 
that could impact future workload. These include, but are not limited 
to, technical and regulatory developments that have the potential to 
generate additional work or reduce work (i.e., pre-application 
activities and applications for new fuel facilities, potential major 
amendments and license termination requests, rulemaking activities, 
guidance development, and oversight of the fuel facilities program).
    In addition, the NRC evaluates historical data and trends to 
measure how execution in previous years lines up with the budget 
assumptions at the time. The NRC uses that data to inform the future 
budget and identify areas where the assumptions previously used may 
have changed. Historical data allows the NRC to identify trending in 
quantity and/or complexity of the planned submittals, and to 
incorporate efficiencies gained and lessons learned from previous data.
    The NRC also relies on communication from stakeholders to identify 
accurate dates for planned submittals (i.e., major amendment requests, 
renewals, and new fuel facility applications), including letters of 
intent provided by licensees and applicants, and collecting information 
from project managers. For large licensing projects, the NRC tries to 
balance the appropriate resource needs against the relative certainty 
that an application will be submitted on schedule.
    While the NRC understands the commenters' concerns regarding the 
impact of budget on the existing fuel facilities licensees, NEIMA 
requires the NRC to recover, to the maximum extent practicable, 
approximately 100 percent

[[Page 39135]]

of its annual budget authority, less the budget authority for excluded 
activities, and to do so through a combination of both user fees and 
annual fees. This requirement means that fact-of-life changes in the 10 
CFR part 170 estimated collections for budgeted workloads (due to 
circumstances like delayed or cancelled licensing submittals) may 
increase the amount to be recovered through 10 CFR part 171 annual 
fees.
    As expressed by the commenters, from FY 2019 through FY 2022 the 
annual fee for fuel facilities fee class had decreased each year and, 
after a significant decrease in the budgeted resources for the fee 
class from FY 2019 to FY 2020, budgeted resources had remained 
relatively flat from FY 2020 to FY 2022. The decrease in the fuel 
facilities budgeted resources over this period appropriately aligned 
resources with the projected workload for the fuel facilities fee class 
at the time. In FY 2023, the fuel facilities fee class budget did 
increase from FY 2022 by $4.2 million, which includes an increase of 
5.3 FTE and approximately $0.5 million in contract support, for 
licensing, oversight, and rulemaking activities. The FY 2023 fuel 
facilities fee class budgeted resources of $26.6 million, which 
includes 52.5 FTE and approximately $2.2 million in contract support, 
is $3.4 million or approximately 11.3 percent less than the FY 2019 
fuel facilities budgeted resources of $30.0 million, which included 
66.7 FTE and approximately $2.0 million in contract support.
    The FY 2023 CBJ, published in April 2022, explains that the 
increase in budgeted resources for the fuel facilities business line 
supports activities such as licensing actions related to the enrichment 
and manufacturing of high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel, advanced 
reactor fuel, and ATF, cybersecurity rulemaking for fuel cycle 
facilities, and an increase in the fully-costed FTE rate due to an 
increase in salaries and benefits to support Federal pay raises for NRC 
employees. Additionally, changing workload drivers, including shift in 
licensing action schedules, and the implementation of information 
security standards have impacted the FY 2023 budget for the fuel 
facilities business line.
    Although the NRC is aware of the impact of its budgeted resources 
on the fees for fuel facilities licensees subject to 10 CFR part 171 
annual fees, the fee class budget is not linearly proportional to the 
number of licensees in the fuel facilities fee class. Resources are 
required to develop and maintain the infrastructure independent of the 
number of operational fuel facilities. The fuel facilities business 
line must maintain certain minimum requirements in order to meet the 
NRC's regulatory and statutory oversight role. This includes 
maintaining expertise in a number of technical areas, including 
integrated safety analysis, radiation protection, criticality safety, 
chemical safety, fire safety, emergency management, environmental 
protection, decommissioning, management measures, material control and 
accounting, physical protection, and information security. Budgeted 
resources in technical areas are recovered through 10 CFR part 170 user 
fees as well as 10 CFR part 171 annual fees. Additionally, the 
infrastructure costs include indirect services and the business line 
portion of corporate support. Indirect services include rulemaking, 
maintaining guidance for licensees, maintaining procedures for NRC 
staff, training, and travel. Corporate support includes, but is not 
limited to, the cost for information management and technology, 
security, facilities management, rent, utilities, human resources, 
financial management, and acquisitions.
    Consistent with NEIMA, when developing the annual fee rule, the NRC 
accounted for changes that occurred in the two-year interval between 
the development of the FY 2023 budget request, which began in FY 2021, 
and the enactment of the FY 2023 appropriation in December 2022. As 
part of developing the annual fee rule, the NRC estimates the amount of 
10 CFR part 170 service fees by each fee class by analyzing billing 
data and the actual cost of work under NRC contracts that was charged 
to licensees and applicants for the previous four quarters. The 
estimate, therefore, reflects any recent changes in the NRC's 
regulatory activities. The FY 2023 proposed rule utilized four quarters 
of the prior year invoice data, while the NRC is using a combination of 
two quarters of the prior year and two quarters of the current year 
billing data (which is also updated to reflect workload changes) for 
the FY 2023 final rule. In the FY 2023 proposed fee rule, the 10 CFR 
part 170 estimated service fees for the fuel facilities fee class 
increased from $8.0 million in FY 2022 to $9.0 million as shown in the 
FY 2023 proposed fee rule, which is an increase of $1.0 million or 12.5 
percent compared to FY 2022. As described in the FY 2023 proposed fee 
rule, the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings increased as a result of 
the following: (1) the staff's review of the Westinghouse Electric 
Company, LLC's license renewal application for the Columbia Fuel 
Fabrication Facility, which was completed in September 2022; (2) the 
staff's review of the Nuclear Fuel Services U-metal amendment and an 
inspection that was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) Louisiana 
Energy Services' transition of the Authority to Operate from DOE to the 
NRC; and (4) upgrades to NIST-800-53. The increase in 10 CFR part 170 
estimated billings was offset by a delay in the submission of X-
Energy's environmental review for the TRISO-X facility.
    The NRC continues to actively evaluate resource requirements to 
address changes that occur between budget formulation and execution. 
The NRC will continue to assess resource requirements, evaluate 
programmatic efficiencies, and make changes as appropriate.
    No changes were made to this final rule as a result of these 
comments.
    Comment: Several commenters expressed concerns that they have 
finalized their calendar year budgets and funding an 18.5 percent 
increase in the FY 2023 annual fees is not currently budgeted and can 
only be fulfilled by making difficult resource decisions while 
maintaining operational safety and security. (Framatome, BWXT, and NEI)
    Response: NEIMA requires the NRC to recover, to the maximum extent 
practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget authority, 
less the budget authority for excluded activities, through fees by the 
end of the fiscal year. The NRC must set its fees in accordance with 
its appropriated budget authority. Furthermore, 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 an annual appropriation from Congress, the NRC 
starts the process of developing the fee rule in the preceding summer 
to allow for timely final billing prior to the end of the fiscal year, 
consistent with the requirements of NEIMA. This practice ensures that 
NRC fees assessed bear a reasonable relationship to the cost of NRC 
services.
    Furthermore, the NRC must comply with additional statutory 
requirements, including the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). 
Section 553 of the APA requires the NRC to give the public an 
opportunity to comment on a published proposed rule. Moreover, because 
OMB has found the fee rule to be a major rule under the Congressional 
Review Act, the effective date of the final rule cannot be less than 60 
days

[[Page 39136]]

from the date of publication and must allow for timely final billing 
prior to the end of the fiscal year. The NRC, therefore, cannot 
republish the FY 2023 proposed fee rule to provide advance notification 
of all changes within the final rule and meet its statutory 
requirements.
    The NRC recognizes that the issuance of the fee 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.
    No changes were made to this final rule as a result of these 
comments.

B. Fuel Facilities Matrix

    Comment: ``Since 2018, the Metropolis facility [MTW] has been 
secured in an idle state due to market conditions. The NRC was notified 
of the decision to restart the plant on February 15, 2021. The start 
date of the production of UF6 was estimated to occur by the end of 
March of 2023. The current schedule indicates the earliest date to 
produce UF6 will be in April 2023. MTW will only produce UF6 for 2 
quarters in FY 2023. A review of the effort factors based on the start-
up of the plant was completed. The effort factor for the Conversion 
Powder was increased from 0 to 10 with the Liquid UF6 effort factor 
going from 0 to 5. MTW agrees that the effort factor for the liquid 
state UF6 is correct based on previous years of plant operation. MTW 
does not agree with the Conversion Powder effort factor going from 0 to 
10. Additionally, the Conversion Powder effort factor for the Fuel 
Fabricators is only listed as 5. This has a much higher safety 
significance than the MTW Source Material (Natural U3O8). During the 
previous 5 years of operation, prior to the ready idle period, the 
effort factor for Conversion Powder at MTW was assigned a value of 1. 
To reflect the same level of effort that was used during previous years 
of plant operation, MTW asks that the effort factor for the Conversion 
Powder be revised from 10 to 1, and the FY 2023 part 171 annual fee be 
recalculated using the lower effort factor.'' (Honeywell)
    Response: Prior to issuing the final rule, the NRC conducted 
additional verification and validation of the data inputs and 
calculations on the fuel facilities effort factors matrix. As a result 
of this review, the NRC determined that the effort factors for 
Honeywell should be revised because of the reinstatement of Security 
Order EA-02-025 and a reevaluation of the level of effort associated 
with conversion powder during restart and operations.
    In the proposed rule, the NRC proposed an effort factor of 0 for 
safeguards and 5 for safety for liquid UF6 for Honeywell. 
When the effort factors were developed for the proposed rule, Security 
Order EA-02-025 was temporarily relaxed while Honeywell was in ready-
idle status. Subsequently, in October 2022, the NRC reinstated Security 
Order EA-02-025 at the site. As a result of reinstating Security Order 
EA-02-025 at the site, the NRC reevaluated the proposed effort factor 
for safeguards and determined that it should be changed from 0 to 5 to 
reflect a moderate level of effort. The effort factor for safety for 
liquid UF6 for Honeywell remains 5.
    In the proposed rule, the NRC also proposed changes to the safety 
effort factor for the conversion powder process, a separate process 
under the matrix that is assigned its own effort factors. Specifically, 
the proposed rule proposed an effort factor of 10 for safety for 
conversion powder at Honeywell. The proposed level of effort was based 
on Honeywell returning to full operations, which would involve 
increased amounts of uranium powder for processing at the site and 
increased effort to support the restart. The NRC reevaluated the 
proposed effort factor based on the additional information available 
from pre-operational inspections conducted at the site and evaluations 
of regulated activities during the restart phase. Utilizing actual data 
instead of estimates, the re-evaluation concluded that the overall NRC 
level of effort during the initial restart phase would be moderate, 
would be minimal for the remainder of the restart phase, and would be 
minimal once operations were resumed. Therefore, the NRC level of 
effort revised the effort factor to 1 for safety for conversion powder.
    In summary, for FY 2023, the liquid UF6 effort factors 
are revised to safety-5 and safeguards-5, and conversion powder effort 
factors are revised to safety-1 and safeguards-0. These changes, along 
with adding the effort factors for the other processes in the matrix 
that remain unchanged, results in a total effort factor of 19 for the 
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion fee category. The revised 
total effort factor results in a decrease in the annual fees for the 
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion fee category by 16.4 percent 
compared to the proposed rule. The decrease in annual fees for the 
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion fee category results in a 
corresponding average increase of approximately 1.2 percent in all 
other fee categories in the fee class. The NRC provides a significant 
amount of information in the work papers that details the inputs and 
calculations used to develop the fees for each fee category. Specific 
information fee calculations for fuel facilities can be found in Table 
VIII--Annual Fee Summary Calculation for Fuel Facilities.

C. Operating Power Reactors Fee Class Budget and Declining 10 CFR Part 
170 Estimated Billings

    Comment: Several commenters expressed concerns that the NRC's 
operating power reactors fee class budget is too large and that there 
is a growing disparity between 10 CFR part 170 and 10 CFR part 171. The 
commenters expressed the view that over the past five years, the 10 CFR 
part 170 service fee collections have decreased by 39 percent, while 
the budget for operating reactors has decreased by less than 1 percent. 
As a result, a greater percentage of the budget is required to be 
recovered through annual fees and, as such, this points to a need to 
revalue the NRC's budget and fee collection model. (NEI and CEG)
    Response: The NRC is aware and remains mindful of the impact of its 
budget on the fees for operating power reactors licensees. The 
operating power reactors fee class supports the activities of the 
operating reactors and new reactors business lines, including both 
direct-billable licensing actions and those general activities that 
indirectly support the agency's mission in these areas. The NRC's FY 
2023 CBJ provided the agency's explanation and justification for the 
resources being requested to allow the agency to complete its mission, 
and the reason for the changes in the budget request for the NRC 
compared to the prior year.
    When formulating the budget, the NRC takes into consideration 
various factors, including workload forecasting, historical data and 
trends in the business line, information from licensees and potential 
applicants, and uncertainty of projections. The NRC assesses the 
current environment and performs workload forecasting, which includes 
looking for significant drivers that could impact the future workload. 
These include, but are not limited to, technical and regulatory 
developments that have the potential to generate additional work or 
reduce work (i.e., rulemaking, a guidance change that could drive new 
submittals, or known plant closures that will reduce the overall size 
of the program). In addition, the NRC reviews historical data and 
trends to measure how execution in previous years lines up with the 
budget

[[Page 39137]]

assumptions at the time. The NRC uses that data to inform the future 
budget and identify areas where the assumptions previously used may 
have changed. The NRC also relies on communications from stakeholders 
to identify plant submittals, including letters of intent, collecting 
information from project managers, considering responses to the 
periodic regulatory issue summaries, and the level of pre-application 
activities. In budgeting for large licensing projects, the NRC tries to 
balance the anticipated resource needs against the relative certainty 
that an application will be submitted on schedule.
    In FY 2023, the operating power reactors fee class is $665.3 
million, which includes approximately 1,245 FTE and $86.6 million in 
contract support. This represents an increase from FY 2022 of $19.9 
million, which includes a decrease of approximately 41 FTE primarily in 
licensing and oversight activities. Compared to FY 2017, the FY 2023 
operating power reactors fee class budget decreased by $5.0 million, or 
approximately 0.7 percent less than the FY 2017 operating power 
reactors budgeted resources of $670.3 million, which included 
approximately 1,532 FTE and $66.0 million in contract support. The 
$19.9 million increase in the operating power reactors fee class budget 
is primarily due to increases in the fully-costed FTE rate from an 
increase in salaries and benefits. The increase in the annual fee is 
partially offset by a decline in FTEs associated with changes in 
workload, including but not limited to the following: (1) the closure 
of Palisades; (2) delays to planned new reactor design and licensing 
applications; and (3) a reduction in resources for the development of 
operating reactors licensing action infrastructure for process 
improvements and special projects.
    Since FY 2017, service fees directly billed to operating power 
reactors under 10 CFR part 170 have decreased from $256.3 million in FY 
2017 to $158.9 million as shown in the FY 2023 final fee rule, which 
represents a decline of $97.4 million, or approximately 38 percent. 
During the same period, the operating power reactors fleet has declined 
from 99 to 93.
    Further, while the NRC understands the commenters' concerns 
regarding the budget for the existing operating power reactor 
licensees, NEIMA requires the NRC to recover, to the maximum extent 
practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget authority, 
less the budget authority for excluded activities. This requirement 
means that fact-of-life changes in the 10 CFR part 170 estimated 
collections for budgeted workloads (due to circumstances like delayed 
or cancelled licensing applications) may increase the amount to be 
recovered through 10 CFR part 171 annual fees. NEIMA also caps the per-
licensee annual fee for operating reactors, to the maximum extent 
practicable, at the FY 2015 annual fee amount as adjusted for 
inflation.
    Although the NRC is mindful of the impact of its budgeted resources 
on the fees for operating power reactors licensees subject to 10 CFR 
part 171 annual fees, the fee class budget is not linearly proportional 
to the number of licensees in the operating power reactors fee class. 
Resources are required to develop and maintain the infrastructure 
independent of the number of operational power reactors. The operating 
and new reactors business lines must maintain certain minimum 
requirements in order to meet the NRC's regulatory and statutory 
oversight role. This includes maintaining expertise by developing and 
implementing licensing, oversight, incident response programs, and 
rulemaking for reactors. Budgeted resources in technical areas are 
recovered through 10 CFR part 170 user fees as well as 10 CFR part 171 
annual fees. Additionally, the infrastructure costs include indirect 
services and the business line portion of corporate support. Indirect 
services include rulemaking, maintaining guidance for licensees, 
maintaining procedures for NRC staff, training, and travel. Corporate 
support includes, but is not limited to, the cost for information 
management and technology, security, facilities management, rent, 
utilities, human resources, financial management, and acquisitions.
    Consistent with NEIMA, when developing the annual fee rule, the NRC 
took into account changes that occurred in the two-year interval 
between the development of the FY 2023 budget request, which began in 
FY 2021, and the enactment of the FY 2023 appropriation in December 
2022. As part of the development of the annual fee rule, the NRC 
estimates the amount of 10 CFR part 170 service fees by each fee class 
by analyzing billing data and the actual cost of work under NRC 
contracts that was charged to licensees and applicants for the previous 
four quarters. The estimate, therefore, reflects any recent changes in 
the NRC's regulatory activities. The FY 2023 proposed rule utilized 
four quarters of the prior year invoice data, while the NRC is using a 
combination of two quarters of the prior year and two quarters of the 
current year billing data (which is also updated to reflect workload 
changes) for the FY 2023 final rule. In the FY 2023 proposed fee rule, 
the 10 CFR part 170 estimated service fees for the operating power fee 
class decreased from $165.8 million in FY 2022 to $160.2 million as 
shown in the FY 2023 proposed fee rule, which is a decrease of $5.6 
million or 3.4 percent compared to FY 2022. As described in the FY 2023 
proposed fee rule, the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings decreased as 
a result of the following: (1) a decrease in hours associated with the 
closure of Palisades and (2) delays to planned new reactor design and 
licensing applications, topical reports, and white papers.
    With the cap on annual fees for the operating power reactors fee 
class, the NRC continues to evaluate resource requirements and 
adjustments to address changes that occur between budget formulation 
and execution. The NRC will continue to assess resource requirements, 
evaluate programmatic efficiencies, and make changes as appropriate.
    No changes were made to this final rule as a result of these 
comments.

D. Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities Fee Class

    Comment: ``The FY2023 proposed fee rule outlines a 9.8% increase in 
annual fees for non-power production or utilization facilities (NPUFs). 
Historically, and justifiably, the annual fee for NPUFs has remained 
relatively stable, with fluctuations of around 1%. However, that stable 
trend was drastically reversed in FY22 when NPUF's received a 12.6% 
increase in annual fees (which was the largest increase among all fee 
classes for that fiscal year). NRC justified this increase primarily by 
the fact that the number of NPUF licensees subject to fees went from 4 
to 3. We assumed the hike of FY2022 would allow for a stabilization in 
FY2023. Yet, for FY2023, the NRC is proposing another 9.8% annual fee 
increase, for which the basis is not clear. The NRC's statement in the 
FRN describes the NPUF increase due to the following: `Furthermore, the 
proposed annual fee is increasing as a result of an increase in the 10 
CFR part 171 billing adjustment (moving from a credit to a surcharge) 
due to the timing of invoices issued in FY 2022.' `Timing of invoices' 
as the sole justification for a 9.8% increase seems inadequate. In 
addition, we urge the NRC to consider the unique role of these 
facilities, and how fee increases have a direct impact upon resources 
available for research and development. This role is outlined

[[Page 39138]]

under the Atomic Energy Act, section 104(c), and 10 CFR 50.41(b), which 
directs the Commission to regulate and license class 104(c) licensees 
in a manner that `will permit the conduct of widespread and diverse 
research and development.' '' (NEI)
    Response: While the timing of invoices was the main contributor to 
the increase in the FY 2023 fee for the NPUF fee class, it was not the 
sole justification provided for the increase. As discussed in the FY 
2023 proposed fee rule, the NPUF budgetary resources decreased 
primarily due to the expected completion of the staff's review of the 
SHINE operating license application. The decrease in the budgeted 
resources was offset by an increase in the fully-costed FTE rate 
compared to FY 2022 due to an increase in salaries and benefits. Each 
fee class was impacted by the increase in the fully-costed FTE rate due 
to the increase in salaries and benefits. In addition, the 10 CFR part 
170 estimated billings associated with operating NPUF licensees subject 
to annual fees are declining slightly due to less hours needed for 
activities associated with the special team inspection and the staff's 
review of a complex license amendment associated with the restart of 
the NIST Neutron Reactor. The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings with 
respect to the medical isotope production facilities and advanced 
research and test reactors are remaining steady when compared with FY 
2022 due to the following: (1) the staff's construction and operational 
readiness inspection activities for SHINE; (2) the staff's review of 
the Kairos Power's, LLC application for a permit to construct a test 
reactor; and (3) pre-application meetings due to the anticipated 
submission of several license applications. Finally, as the commenter 
noted, an additional reason for the proposed annual fee is increasing 
is the 10 CFR part 171 billing adjustment (moving from a credit to a 
surcharge) due to the timing of invoices issued in FY 2022.
    In a March 21, 2023, FY 2023 proposed fee rule public meeting, the 
NRC discussed the NPUF fee class over a five-year period and reasons 
for the change in the proposed annual fee. Further, the NRC discussed 
the billing adjustment, which was the main contributing factor for the 
increase in the NPUF proposed annual fee. Billing adjustments are a 
combination of invoices issued in a prior fiscal year and paid in the 
current fiscal year offset by estimated invoices that are issued in the 
current year and paid in a future year. This amount can fluctuate from 
year to year based on many different variables including timing of when 
the final annual fee invoices are issued due to the effective date of 
the fee rule and deferral of debt including payment plans. The ADAMS 
accession number for the slides is provided in the ``Availability of 
Documents'' section of this document.
    Finally, the commenter asserts that the NRC should consider how fee 
increases have a direct impact upon resources available for research 
and development as described under the Atomic Energy Act, section 
104(c), and 10 CFR 50.41(b). The NRC is mindful of the impact of its 
budgeted resources on the fees for facilities involved in research and 
development, and only requests from Congress those resources necessary 
to complete its mission. In FY 2023, the budgetary resources for the 
NPUF fee class were necessary to address emerging work needs and 
maintaining adequate oversight of the existing fleet of facilities. 
NEIMA requires the NRC to recover, to the maximum extent practicable, 
approximately 100 percent of the total budget authority appropriated 
for the fiscal year, less the budget authority for excluded activities.
    No change was made to this final rule in response to this comment.

E. Use of Fee-Based Carryover To Reduce Fees

    Comment: Several commenters suggested that the NRC should use its 
available discretionary authority to apply fee-based carryover funds 
for the purpose of reducing licensee fees. The commenters suggested 
that the NRC apply carryover funds in the FY 2023 fee rule for the 
purpose of reducing fees and that carryover should be applied from one 
year to the next to alleviate costs. (NEI and CEG)
    Response: Under NEIMA, the NRC must recover, to the maximum extent 
practicable, approximately 100 percent of the total budget authority 
appropriated for the fiscal year, less the budget authority for 
excluded activities. The NRC's discretionary use of carryover does not 
reduce the amount of current-year budget authority appropriated to the 
NRC.
    No changes were made to this final rule as a result of these 
comments.

F. Transparency

    Comment: ``Most licensees must estimate and budget their NRC fees 
well in advance of the proposed fee rule and typically use recent NRC 
fee history in making their estimates. The lack of directed carryover 
to offset current fiscal year funding is a significant departure from 
this recent fee history and is the cause of budget challenges for 
licensees. We strongly encourage the NRC to re-examine the remaining 
available carryover and use whatever discretion exists to reallocate 
this carryover to offset current year funding needs, consistent with 
past NRC budgets. Further, we also strongly encourage the NRC to use 
any means available to notify licensees of any substantial changes made 
during the crafting of the final rule, e.g., the use of carryover and 
the number of operating power reactors assumed. This would allow 
licensees additional time needed to realign their own budgets.'' (NEI)
    Response: The NRC strives to ensure that the proposed fee rule is 
as accurate as possible and explains its assumptions about the 
budgetary resources and the number of operating power reactors to 
provide the best information available regarding the fiscal year's 
proposed fees. The NRC discussed these assumptions during the March 21, 
2023, public meeting on the FY 2023 proposed fee rule.
    Under NEIMA, the NRC must recover, to the maximum extent 
practicable, approximately 100 percent of the total budget authority 
appropriated for the fiscal year, less the budget authority for 
excluded activities. The NRC's discretionary use of carryover does not 
reduce the amount of current-year budget authority appropriated to the 
NRC.
    Furthermore, the NRC must comply with additional statutory 
requirements, including the APA. Section 553 of the APA requires the 
NRC to give the public an opportunity to comment on a published 
proposed rule. Moreover, because OMB has found the fee rule to be a 
major rule under the Congressional Review Act, the effective date of 
the final rule cannot be less than 60 days from the date of publication 
and must allow for timely final billing prior to the end of the fiscal 
year. The NRC, therefore, cannot republish the FY 2023 proposed fee 
rule to provide advance notification of all changes within the final 
rule and meet its statutory requirements.
    No changes were made to this final rule in response to these 
comments.

V. Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended 
(RFA),\3\ the NRC has prepared a regulatory flexibility analysis 
related to this final rule. The regulatory flexibility analysis is 
available as indicated in the

[[Page 39139]]

``Availability of Documents'' section of this document.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ 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, 
Public Law 104-121, Title II, 110 Stat. 847 (1996).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VI. Regulatory Analysis

    Under NEIMA, the NRC is required to recover, to the maximum extent 
practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget for FY 2023 
less the budget authority for excluded activities. 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 
continues to comply with the statutory requirements for cost recovery.
    In this final rule, the NRC continues this longstanding approach. 
Therefore, the NRC did not identify any alternatives to the current fee 
structure guidelines and did not prepare a regulatory analysis for this 
final rule.

VII. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    The NRC has determined that the backfit and issue finality 
provisions, Sec. Sec.  50.109, ``Backfitting''; 52.39, ``Finality of 
early site permit determinations''; 52.63, ``Finality of standard 
design certifications''; 52.83, ``Finality of referenced NRC approvals; 
partial initial decision on site suitability''; 52.98, ``Finality of 
combined licenses; information requests''; 52.145, ``Finality of 
standard design approvals; information requests''; 52.171, ``Finality 
of manufacturing licenses; information requests''; and 70.76, 
``Backfitting,'' do not apply to this final rule and that a backfit 
analysis is not required because these amendments do not require the 
modification of, or addition to, (1) systems, structures, components, 
or the design of a facility; (2) the design approval or manufacturing 
license for a facility; or (3) 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 wrote 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 31885).

IX. National Environmental Policy Act

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

X. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule does not contain any new or amended collections of 
information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501, et seq.). Existing collections of information were approved by 
OMB, approval number 3150-0190.

Public Protection Notification

    The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless the document requesting 
or requiring the collection 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 is 
amending the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its 
licensees and applicants, as necessary, to recover, to the maximum 
extent practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget for 
FY 2023 less the budget authority for excluded activities, as required 
by NEIMA. 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 2023 fee 
rule. The compliance guide was developed when the NRC completed the 
small entity biennial review. This compliance guide is available as 
indicated in the ``Availability of Documents'' section 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 acccession No./FR
                 Documents                        citation/web link
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2023 Final Rule Work Papers.............  ML23136A575.
OMB Circular A-25, ``User Charges''........  https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Circular-025.pdf.
SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation       ML052580332.
 Method,'' dated September 15, 2005.
``Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery    80 FR 37432.
 for Fiscal Year 2015,'' dated June 30,
 2015.
NUREG-1100, Volume 38, ``Congressional       ML22089A188.
 Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2023''
 (April 2022).
``Variable Annual Fee Structure for Small    81 FR 32617.
 Modular Reactors,'' dated May 24, 2016.
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for  67 FR 42611.
 FY 2002,'' dated June 24, 2002.
``Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery    71 FR 30721.
 for FY 2006,'' dated May 30, 2006.
``Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery    74 FR 27641.
 for FY 2009,'' dated June 10, 2009.
``NEI Input on NRC Annual Fee Assessment     ML20328A173.
 for Non-Light Water Reactors,'' dated
 November 23, 2020.
FY 2023 Proposed Fee Rule Public Meeting     ML23076A132.
 Slides.
FY 2023 Regulatory Flexibility Analysis....  ML23123A138.
FY 2023 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission   ML22347A247.
 Small Entity Compliance Guide.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 39140]]

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 amending 
10 CFR parts 170 and 171 as follows:

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. 2215; 31 U.S.C. 901, 902, 9701; 44 
U.S.C. 3504 note.


0
2. In Sec.  170.3, revise the definition for ``Small modular reactor 
(SMR)'' to read as follows.


Sec.  170.3  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Small modular reactor (SMR) for the purposes of calculating fees, 
means the class of power reactors having a licensed thermal power 
rating less than or equal to 1,000 MWt per module. This rating is based 
on the thermal power equivalent of an SMR with an electrical power 
generating capacity of 300 MWe or less per module.
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  170.12, revise paragraph (f) to read as follows.


Sec.  170.12  Payment of fees.

* * * * *
    (f) Method of payment. All fee payments under 10 CFR part 170 are 
to be made payable to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The 
payments are to be made in U.S. funds by electronic funds transfer, 
such as ACH (Automated Clearing House) using Electronic Data 
Interchange (E.D.I.), check, draft, money order, credit card, Amazon 
Pay, or PayPal (submit electronic payment at www.Pay.gov or manual 
payment using the NRC Form 629, ``Authorization for Payment by Credit 
Card''). Specific written instructions for making electronic payments 
and credit card payments may be obtained by contacting the Office of 
the Chief Financial Officer at 301-415-7554. In accordance with 
Department of the Treasury requirements, refunds will only be made upon 
receipt of information on the payee's financial institution and bank 
accounts.
* * * * *


Sec.  170.20  [Amended]

0
4. In Sec.  170.20, remove the dollar amount ``$290'' and add in its 
place the dollar amount ``$300''.

0
5. In Sec.  170.31, revise table 1 to read as follows:


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

* * * * *

          Table 1 to Sec.   170.31--Schedule of Materials Fees
                     [See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Category of materials licenses and type
               of fees \1\                          Fees \2\ \3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material: \11\
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and
     use of U-235 or plutonium for fuel
     fabrication activities.
        (a) Strategic Special Nuclear      Full Cost.
         Material (High Enriched Uranium)
         \6\ [Program Code(s): 21213].
        (b) Low Enriched Uranium in        Full Cost.
         Dispersible Form Used for
         Fabrication of Power Reactor
         Fuel \6\ [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.\6\......................
        (a) Facilities with limited        Full Cost.
         operations \6\ [Program Code(s):
         21240, 21310, 21320].
        (b) Gas centrifuge enrichment      Full Cost.
         demonstration facilities \6\
         [Program Code(s): 21205].
        (c) Others, including hot cell     Full Cost.
         facilities \6\ [Program Code(s):
         21130, 21131, 21133].
    B. Licenses for receipt and storage    Full Cost.
     of spent fuel and reactor-related
     Greater than Class C (GTCC) waste at
     an independent spent fuel storage
     installation (ISFSI) \6\ [Program
     Code(s): 23200].
    C. Licenses for possession and use of  $1,400.
     special 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.\4\
     Application [Program Code(s): 22140].
    D. All other special nuclear material  $2,800.
     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 \6\
     [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\ \6\
     [Program Code(s): 22155].
2. Source material: \11\
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and     Full Cost.
     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 \6\ [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.\6\
            (a) Conventional and Heap      Full Cost.
             Leach facilities \6\
             [Program Code(s): 11100].

[[Page 39141]]

 
            (b) Basic In Situ Recovery     Full Cost.
             facilities \6\ [Program
             Code(s): 11500].
            (c) Expanded In Situ Recovery  Full Cost.
             facilities \6\ [Program
             Code(s): 11510].
            (d) In Situ Recovery Resin     Full Cost.
             facilities \6\ [Program
             Code(s): 11550].
            (e) Resin Toll Milling         Full Cost.
             facilities \6\ [Program
             Code(s): 11555].
            (f) Other facilities \6\       Full Cost.
             [Program Code(s): 11700].
        (3) Licenses that authorize the    Full Cost.
         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) \6\
         [Program Code(s): 11600, 12000].
        (4) Licenses that authorize the    Full Cost.
         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) \6\
         [Program Code(s): 12010].
    B. Licenses which authorize the        $1,300.
     possession, use, and/or installation
     of source material for shielding.
     \7\ \8\ Application [Program
     Code(s): 11210].
    C. Licenses to distribute items        $6,400.
     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       $3,000.
     material to persons generally
     licensed under part 40 of this
     chapter. Application [Program
     Code(s): 11230, 11231].
    E. Licenses for possession and use of  $2,800.
     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           $2,800.
     licenses. Application [Program
     Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11300,
     11800, 11810, 11820].
3. Byproduct material: \11\
    A. Licenses of broad scope for the     $14,000.
     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. Number of locations of
     use: 1-5. Application [Program
     Code(s): 03211, 03212, 03213].
        (1). Licenses of broad scope for   $18,600.
         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. Number of
         locations of use: 6-20.
         Application [Program Code(s):
         04010, 04012, 04014].
        (2). Licenses of broad scope for   $23,300.
         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. Number of
         locations of use: more than 20.
         Application [Program Code(s):
         04011, 04013, 04015].
    B. Other licenses for possession and   $3,900.
     use of byproduct material issued
     under part 30 of this chapter for
     processing or manufacturing of items
     containing byproduct material for
     commercial distribution. Number of
     locations of use: 1-5. Application
     [Program Code(s): 03214, 03215,
     22135, 22162].
        (1). Other licenses for            $5,200.
         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.
         Number of locations of use: 6-
         20. Application [Program
         Code(s): 04110, 04112, 04114,
         04116].
        (2). Other licenses for            $6,400.
         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.
         Number of locations of use: more
         than 20. Application [Program
         Code(s): 04111, 04113, 04115,
         04117].
    C. Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.    $5,600.
     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).
     Number of locations of use: 1-5.
     Application [Program Code(s): 02500,
     02511, 02513].
        (1). Licenses issued under Sec.    $7,500.
         Sec.   32.72 and/or 32.74 of
         this chapter that authorize the
         processing or manufacturing and
         distribution or redistribution
         of radiopharmaceuticals,
         generators, reagent kits, and/or
         sources and devices containing
         byproduct material. This
         category does not apply to
         licenses issued to nonprofit
         educational institutions whose
         processing or manufacturing is
         exempt under Sec.
         170.11(a)(4). Number of
         locations of use: 6-20.
         Application [Program Code(s):
         04210, 04212, 04214].
        (2). Licenses issued under Sec.    $9,300.
         Sec.   32.72 and/or 32.74 of
         this chapter that authorize the
         processing or manufacturing and
         distribution or redistribution
         of radiopharmaceuticals,
         generators, reagent kits, and/or
         sources and devices containing
         byproduct material. This
         category does not apply to
         licenses issued to nonprofit
         educational institutions whose
         processing or manufacturing is
         exempt under Sec.
         170.11(a)(4). Number of
         locations of use: more than 20.
         Application [Program Code(s):
         04211, 04213, 04215].
    D. [Reserved]........................  N/A.
    E. Licenses for possession and use of  $3,400.
     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  $7,000.
     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].
    G. Licenses for possession and use of  $66,900.
     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  $7,200.
     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].

[[Page 39142]]

 
    I. Licenses issued under subpart A of  $11,000.
     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,
     03253, 03256].
    J. Licenses issued under subpart B of  $2,200.
     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  $1,200.
     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         $5,900.
     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. Application
     [Program Code(s): 01100, 01110,
     01120, 03610, 03611, 03612, 03613].
        (1) Licenses of broad scope for    $7,900.
         possession and use of byproduct
         material issued under parts 30
         and 33 of this chapter for
         research and development that do
         not authorize commercial
         distribution. Number of
         locations of use: 6-20.
         Application [Program Code(s):
         04610, 04612, 04614, 04616,
         04618, 04620, 04622].
        (2) Licenses of broad scope for    $9,800.
         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: more than 20.
         Application [Program Code(s):
         04611, 04613, 04615, 04617,
         04619, 04621, 04623].
    M. Other licenses for possession and   $8,900.
     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  $9,600.
         disposal services are subject to
         the fees specified in fee
         Categories 4.A., 4.B., and
         4.C.\13\ Application [Program
         Code(s): 03219, 03225, 03226]
    O. Licenses for possession and use of  $10,900.
     byproduct material issued under part
     34 of this chapter for industrial
     radiography operations. Number of
     locations of use: 1-5. Application
     [Program Code(s): 03310, 03320].
        (1). Licenses for possession and   $14,500.
         use of byproduct material issued
         under part 34 of this chapter
         for industrial radiography
         operations. Number of locations
         of use: 6-20. Application
         [Program Code(s): 04310, 04312].
        (2). Licenses for possession and   $18,200.
         use of byproduct material issued
         under part 34 of this chapter
         for industrial radiography
         operations. Number of locations
         of use: more than 20.
         Application [Program Code(s):
         04311, 04313].
    P. All other specific byproduct        $7,400.
     material licenses, except those in
     Categories 4.A. through 9.D.\9\
     Number of locations of use: 1-5.
     Application [Program Code(s): 02400,
     02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123,
     03124, 03130, 03140, 03220, 03221,
     03222, 03800, 03810, 22130].
        (1). All other specific byproduct  $9,900.
         material licenses, except those
         in Categories 4.A. through 9.D.
         \9\ Number of locations of use:
         6-20. Application [Program
         Code(s): 04410, 04412, 04414,
         04416, 04418, 04420, 04422,
         04424, 04426, 04428, 04430,
         04432, 04434, 04436, 04438].
        (2). All other specific byproduct  $12,300.
         material licenses, except those
         in Categories 4.A. through
         9.D.\9\ Number of locations of
         use: more than 20. Application
         [Program Code(s): 04411, 04413,
         04415, 04417, 04419, 04421,
         04423, 04425, 04427, 04429,
         04431, 04433, 04435, 04437,
         04439].
    Q. Registration of a device(s)         $500.
     generally licensed under part 31 of
     this chapter. Registration.
    R. Possession of items or products
     containing radium-226 identified in
     Sec.   31.12 of this chapter which
     exceed the number of items or limits
     specified in that section.\5\
        1. Possession of quantities        $2,800.
         exceeding the number of items or
         limits in Sec.   31.12(a)(4) or
         (5) of this chapter but less
         than or equal to 10 times the
         number of items or limits
         specified. Application [Program
         Code(s): 02700].
        2. Possession of quantities        $2,700.
         exceeding 10 times the number of
         items or limits specified in
         Sec.   31.12(a)(4) or (5) of
         this chapter. Application
         [Program Code(s): 02710].
    S. Licenses for production of          $15,300.
     accelerator-produced radionuclides.
     Application [Program Code(s): 03210].
4. Waste disposal and processing: \11\
    A. Licenses specifically authorizing   Full Cost.
     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   $7,500.
     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   $5,400.
     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: \11\
    A. Licenses for possession and use of  $4,900.
     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].

[[Page 39143]]

 
    B. Licenses for possession and use of  Full Cost.
     byproduct material for field
     flooding tracer studies. Licensing
     [Program Code(s): 03113].
6. Nuclear laundries: \11\
    A. Licenses for commercial collection  $23,900.
     and laundry of items contaminated
     with byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear
     material. Application [Program
     Code(s): 03218].
7. Medical licenses: \11\
    A. Licenses issued under parts 30,     $12,000.
     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. Number
     of locations of use: 1-5.
     Application [Program Code(s): 02300,
     02310].
        (1). Licenses issued under parts   $15,900.
         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. Number of locations of
         use: 6-20. Application [Program
         Code(s): 04510, 04512].
        (2). Licenses issued under parts   $19,900.
         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. Number of locations of
         use: more than 20. Application
         [Program Code(s): 04511, 04513].
    B. Licenses of broad scope issued to   $9,400.
     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.
     Number of locations of use: 1-5.
     Application [Program Code(s): 02110].
        (1). Licenses of broad scope       $12,400.
         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. Number of locations of
         use: 6-20. Application [Program
         Code(s): 04710].
        (2). Licenses of broad scope       $15,500.
         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. Number of locations of
         use: more than 20. Application
         [Program Code(s): 04711].
    C. Other licenses issued under parts   $10,200.
     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.\10\ Number
     of locations of use: 1-5.
     Application [Program Code(s): 02120,
     02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220,
     02230, 02231, 02240, 22160].
        (1). Other licenses issued under   $13,600.
         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.\10\ Number of locations
         of use: 6-20. Application
         [Program Code(s): 04810, 04812,
         04814, 04816, 04818, 04820,
         04822, 04824, 04826, 04828].
        (2). Other licenses issued under   $17,000.
         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.\10\ Number of locations
         of use: more than 20.
         Application [Program Code(s):
         04811, 04813, 04815, 04817,
         04819, 04821, 04823, 04825,
         04827, 04829].
8. Civil defense: \11\
    A. Licenses for possession and use of  $2,800.
     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     $21,900.
     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     $9,700.
     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         $5,700.
     sources containing byproduct
     material, source material, or
     special nuclear material, except
     reactor fuel, for commercial
     distribution. Application--each
     source.
    D. Safety evaluation of sealed         $1,100.
     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,   Full Cost.
         and 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..................  $4,200.
            Inspections..................  Full Cost.
        2. Users.........................
            Application..................  $4,200.
            Inspections..................  Full Cost.

[[Page 39144]]

 
    C. Evaluation of security plans,       Full Cost.
     route approvals, route surveys, and
     transportation security devices
     (including immobilization devices).
11. Review of standardized spent fuel      Full Cost.
 facilities.
12. Special projects: Including            Full Cost.
 approvals, pre-application/licensing
 activities, and inspections. Application
 [Program Code: 25110].
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask             Full Cost.
 Certificate of Compliance.
    B. Inspections related to storage of   Full Cost.
     spent fuel under Sec.   72.210 of
     this chapter.
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation: \11\
    A. Byproduct, source, or special       Full Cost.
     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). The transition to this fee
     category occurs when a licensee has
     permanently ceased principal
     activities. [Program Code(s): 03900,
     11900, 21135, 21215, 21325, 22200].
    B. Site-specific decommissioning       Full Cost.
     activities associated with
     unlicensed sites, including MMLs,
     regardless of whether or not the
     sites have been previously licensed.
15. Import and Export licenses: \12\
    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       N/A.
         import of nuclear materials,
         including radioactive waste
         requiring Commission and
         Executive Branch review, for
         example, those actions under
         Sec.   110.40(b) of this
         chapter. Application--new
         license, or amendment; or
         license exemption request.
        B. Application for export or       N/A.
         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 the 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       N/A.
         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       N/A.
         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.
        E. Minor amendment of any active   N/A.
         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       N/A.
         appendix P Category 1 materials
         requiring Commission review
         (e.g., exceptional circumstance
         review under Sec.   110.42(e)(4)
         of this chapter) and to obtain
         one government-to-government
         consent for this process. For
         additional consent see fee
         category 15.I. Application--new
         license, or amendment; or
         license exemption request.
        G. Application for export of       N/A.
         appendix P Category 1 materials
         requiring Executive Branch
         review and to obtain one
         government-to-government consent
         for this process. For additional
         consents see fee category 15.I.
         Application--new license, or
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
        H. Application for export of       N/A.
         appendix P Category 1 materials
         and to obtain one government-to-
         government consent for this
         process. For additional consents
         see fee category 15.I.
         Application--new license, or
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
        I. Requests for each additional    N/A.
         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       N/A.
         appendix P Category 2 materials
         requiring Commission review
         (e.g., exceptional circumstance
         review under Sec.   110.42(e)(4)
         of this chapter). Application--
         new license, or amendment; or
         license exemption request.
        K. Applications for export of      N/A.
         appendix P Category 2 materials
         requiring Executive Branch
         review. Application--new
         license, or amendment; or
         license exemption request.
        L. Application for the export of   N/A.
         Category 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   N/A.
         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.

[[Page 39145]]

 
16. Reciprocity: Agreement State           $3,000.
 licensees who conduct activities under
 the reciprocity provisions of Sec.
 150.20 of this chapter. Application.
17. Master materials licenses of broad     Full Cost.
 scope issued to Government agencies.
 Application [Program Code(s): 03614].
18. Department of Energy:
    A. Certificates of Compliance.         Full Cost.
     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     Full Cost.
     Control 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:
(1) 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.
(i) 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.
(ii) 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.
(2) 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).
(3) 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.
(4) 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).
(5) Generally licensed device registrations under 10 CFR 31.5.
  Submittals of registration information must be accompanied by the
  prescribed fee.
\2\ Fees will be charged for approvals issued under a specific exemption
  provision of the Commission's regulations under title 10 of the Code
  of Federal Regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 30.11, 40.14, 70.14, 73.5, and
  any other sections in effect now or in the future), regardless of
  whether the approval is in the form of a license amendment, letter of
  approval, safety evaluation report, or other form. In addition to the
  fee shown, an applicant may be assessed an additional fee for sealed
  source and device evaluations as shown in fee categories 9.A. through
  9.D.
\3\ Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff
  time multiplied by the appropriate professional hourly rate
  established in Sec.   170.20 in effect when the service is provided,
  and the appropriate contractual support services expended.
\4\ Licensees paying fees under categories 1.A., 1.B., and 1.E. are not
  subject to fees under categories 1.C., 1.D. and 1.F. for sealed
  sources authorized in the same license, except for an application that
  deals only with the sealed sources authorized by the license.
\5\ Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational
  purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in
  this category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources
  are possessed for storage only.)
\6\ Licensees subject to fees under fee categories 1.A., 1.B., 1.E., or
  2.A. must pay the largest applicable fee and are not subject to
  additional fees listed in this table.
\7\ Licensees paying fees under 3.C., 3.C.1, or 3.C.2 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., 3.P.1, or 3.P.2 for calibration or leak testing services
  authorized on the same license.
\10\ Licensees paying fees under 7.B., 7.B.1, or 7.B.2 are not subject
  to paying fees under 7.C., 7.C.1, or 7.C.2. for broad scope 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.
\11\ A materials license (or part of a materials license) that
  transitions to fee category 14.A is assessed full-cost fees under 10
  CFR part 170, but is not assessed an annual fee under 10 CFR part 171.
  If only part of a materials license is transitioned to fee category
  14.A, the licensee may be charged annual fees (and any applicable 10
  CFR part 170 fees) for other activities authorized under the license
  that are not in decommissioning status.
\12\ Because the resources for import and export licensing activities
  are identified as a fee-relief activity to be excluded from the fee-
  recoverable budget, import and export licensing actions will not incur
  fees.
\13\ Licensees paying fees under 4.A., 4.B. or 4.C. are not subject to
  paying fees under 3.N. licenses that authorize services for other
  licensees 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
6. 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. 2215; 44 U.S.C. 3504 
note.


0
7. In Sec.  171.5, revise the definitions for ``Bundled unit'', 
``Minimum fee'', ``Small modular reactor (SMR)'', ``Variable fee'', and 
``Variable rate'' to read as follows:


Sec.  171.5  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Bundled unit means multiple SMRs on a single site that are 
considered a single unit for the purpose of assessing an annual fee. A 
bundled unit is assessed an annual fee based on the cumulative licensed 
thermal power rating of all licensed SMRs on the same site. The maximum 
capacity of a bundled unit is a cumulative licensed thermal power 
rating of 4,500 MWt. A single SMR can be part of two bundled units if 
it completes the capacity of one

[[Page 39146]]

unit and begins the capacity of an additional unit. For a given site, 
the use of the bundled unit concept is independent of the number of SMR 
plants, the number of SMR licenses issued, or the sequencing of the SMR 
licenses that have been issued. Bundled units with capacities greater 
than 2,000 MWt and less than or equal to 4,500 MWt are assessed a 
maximum fee that is equivalent to the annual fee paid by the current 
reactor fleet. Above 4,500 MWt establishes an additional bundled unit.
* * * * *
    Minimum fee means the lowest annual fee assessed for an SMR or a 
bundled unit in a thermal power rating fee assessment tier.
* * * * *
    Small modular reactor (SMR) for the purposes of calculating fees 
means the class of power reactors having a licensed thermal power 
rating less than or equal to 1,000 MWt per module. This rating is based 
on the thermal power equivalent of an SMR with an electrical power 
generating capacity of 300 MWe or less per module.
* * * * *
    Variable fee means an annual fee component that is added to the 
minimum fee. The variable fee is designed to gradually increase as 
licensed thermal power capacity is added within the bundled unit fee 
assessment tier. The variable fee is calculated as the product of the 
incremental increase in the thermal power rating multiplied by the 
variable rate.
    Variable rate means the factor used to calculate the variable fee 
component of the annual fee. To determine the total annual fee, the 
incremental increase in the licensed thermal power rating within the 
fee assessment tier is multiplied by the variable rate resulting in a 
variable fee that is added to the minimum fee. There is a different 
factor for each SMR or bundled unit fee assessment tier. Each factor 
represents the difference between the lower licensed thermal power 
rating within each tier and the actual thermal power rating for the 
unit or site.


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


Sec.  171.15  Annual fees: Non-power production or utilization 
licenses, reactor licenses, and independent spent fuel storage 
licenses.

* * * * *
    (b)(1) The FY 2023 annual fee for each operating power reactor that 
must be collected by September 30, 2023, is $5,492,000.
    (2) The FY 2023 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. The 
activities comprising the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning 
base annual fee are shown in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of this 
section. The activities comprising the FY 2023 base annual fee for 
operating power reactors are as follows:
* * * * *
    (c)(1) The FY 2023 annual fee for each power reactor holding a 10 
CFR part 50 license or combined license issued under 10 CFR part 52 
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 or a 10 CFR part 52 
combined license, is $261,000.
    (2) The FY 2023 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). The activities comprising the FY 2023 spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning rebaselined annual fee are:
* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (2) The annual fees for a small modular reactor(s) located on a 
single site to be collected by September 30 of each year, are as 
follows:

                                           Table 1 to Paragraph (d)(2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bundled unit thermal power rating          Minimum fee              Variable fee             Maximum fee
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Bundled Unit(s)--cumulative
 MWt:
    0 MWt <= 20 MWt.................  TBD \a\.................  N/A....................  N/A.
    >20 MWt <= 250 MWt..............  TBD \a\.................  TBD \d\................  N/A.
    >250 MWt <= 2,000 MWt...........  TBD \b\.................  TBD \e\................  N/A.
    >2,000 MWt <= 4,500 MWt.........  N/A.....................  N/A....................  TBD.\c\
Additional Bundled Unit(s)--
 cumulative MWt (above the first
 bundled unit of 4,500 MWt):
    0 MWt <= 2,000 MWt..............  N/A.....................  TBD \f\................  N/A.
    >2,000 MWt <= 4,500 MWt.........  N/A.....................  N/A....................  TBD.\c\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ Annual fee paid by the non-power production or utilization facilities fee class.
\b\ Average of the annual fees for the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning and the non-power production
  or utilization facilities fee classes.
\c\ Annual fee paid by the operating power reactors fee class.
\d\ [((b)-(a))/230] x the difference between 20 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the actual cumulative
  licensed thermal power rating up to 250 MWt.
\e\ [((c)-(b))/1,750] x the difference between 250 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the actual cumulative
  licensed thermal power rating up to 2,000 MWt.
\f\ [((c)-(b))/2,000] x the difference between 4,500 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the total actual
  cumulative licensed thermal power rating up to 2,000 MWt.

* * * * *
    (e) The FY 2023 annual fee for licensees authorized to operate one 
or more non-power production or utilization facilities under a single 
10 CFR part 50 license, unless the reactor is exempted from fees under 
Sec.  171.11(b), is $96,300.

0
9. In Sec.  171.16, revise paragraphs (b) introductory text, (c), and 
(d) 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.

* * * * *
    (b) The FY 2023 annual fee is comprised of a base annual fee and

[[Page 39147]]

associated additional charges. The base FY 2023 annual fee is the sum 
of budgeted costs for the following activities:
* * * * *
    (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 table 1 
to this paragraph (c). Failure to file a small entity certification in 
a timely manner could result in the receipt of a delinquent invoice 
requesting the outstanding balance due and/or denial of any refund that 
might otherwise be due. The small entity fees are as follows:

                        Table 1 to Paragraph (c)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Maximum
                                                            annual fee
             NRC small entity classification               per licensed
                                                             category
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing (Average
 gross receipts over the last 5 completed fiscal years):
    $555,000 to $8 million..............................          $5,200
    Less than $555,000..................................           1,000
Small Not-For-Profit Organizations (Annual Gross
 Receipts):
    $555,000 to $8 million..............................           5,200
    Less than $555,000..................................           1,000
Manufacturing Entities that Have An Average of 500
 Employees or Fewer:
    35 to 500 employees.................................           5,200
    Fewer than 35 employees.............................           1,000
Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly
 supported educational institutions) (Population):
    20,000 to 49,999....................................           5,200
    Fewer than 20,000...................................           1,000
Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly
 Supported, and have 500 Employees or Fewer:
    35 to 500 employees.................................           5,200
    Fewer than 35 employees.............................           1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (d) The FY 2023 annual fees for materials licensees and holders of 
certificates, registrations, or approvals subject to fees under this 
section are shown in table 2 to this paragraph (d):

Table 2 to Paragraph (d)--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          $5,156,000
         Enriched Uranium) \15\ [Program Code(s):
         21213]......................................
        (b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form           1,747,000
         Used for Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel
         \15\ [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 \15\              807,000
         [Program Code(s): 21310, 21320].............
        (b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration                  N/A
         facility \15\ [Program Code(s): 21205]......
        (c) Others, including hot cell facility \15\                 N/A
         [Program Code(s): 21130, 21131, 21133]......
    B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel                N/A
     and reactor-related Greater than Class C (GTCC)
     waste at an independent spent fuel storage
     installation (ISFSI) \11\ \15\ [Program Code(s):
     23200]..........................................
    C. Licenses for possession and use of special                  2,900
     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. [Program Code(s): 22140]
    D. All other special nuclear material licenses,                8,200
     except licenses authorizing special nuclear
     material in sealed or unsealed form in
     combination that would constitute a critical
     mass, as defined in Sec.   70.4 of this chapter,
     for which the licensee shall pay the same fees
     as those under Category 1.A. [Program Code(s):
     22110, 22111, 22120, 22131, 22136, 22150, 22151,
     22161, 22170, 23100, 23300, 23310]..............
    E. Licenses or certificates for the operation of           2,247,000
     a uranium enrichment facility \15\ [Program
     Code(s): 21200].................................
    F. Licenses for possession and use of special                  5,100
     nuclear materials 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: 22155]....................................
2. Source material:
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of source           1,095,000
     material for refining uranium mill concentrates
     to uranium hexafluoride or for deconverting
     uranium hexafluoride in the production of
     uranium oxides for disposal.\15\ [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                              N/A
         facilities.\15\ [Program Code(s): 11100]....

[[Page 39148]]

 
        (b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities.\15\                52,200
         [Program Code(s): 11500]....................
        (c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities.\15\                N/A
         [Program Code(s): 11510]....................
        (d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities.\15\               \5\ N/A
         [Program Code(s): 11550]....................
        (e) Resin Toll Milling facilities.\15\                   \5\ N/A
         [Program Code(s): 11555]....................
        (f) Other facilities.\6\ [Program Code(s):               \5\ N/A
         11700]......................................
    (3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of                   \5\ N/A
     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).\15\ [Program
     Code(s): 11600, 12000]..........................
    (4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of                       N/A
     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) \15\ [Program Code(s): 12010]..
    B. Licenses which authorize the possession, use,               3,100
     and/or installation of source material for
     shielding.\16, 17\ Application [Program Code(s):
     11210]..........................................
    C. Licenses to distribute items containing source             11,800
     material to persons exempt from the licensing
     requirements of part 40 of this chapter.
     [Program Code: 11240]...........................
    D. Licenses to distribute source material to                   6,000
     persons generally licensed under part 40 of this
     chapter. [Program Code(s): 11230 and 11231].....
    E. Licenses for possession and use of source                   7,500
     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               10,200
     Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11300, 11800,
     11810, 11820]...................................
3. Byproduct material:
    A. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use             32,400
     of byproduct material issued under parts 30 and
     33 of this chapter for processing or
     manufacturing of items containing byproduct
     material for commercial distribution. Number of
     locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s): 03211,
     03212, 03213]...................................
        (1). Licenses of broad scope for the                      43,000
         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. Number of locations of use: 6-
         20. [Program Code(s): 04010, 04012, 04014]..
        (2). Licenses of broad scope for the                      53,800
         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. Number of locations of use:
         more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04011,
         04013, 04015]...............................
    B. Other licenses for possession and use of                   11,200
     byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
     chapter for processing or manufacturing of items
     containing byproduct material for commercial
     distribution. Number of locations of use: 1-5.
     [Program Code(s): 03214, 03215, 22135, 22162]...
        (1). Other licenses for possession and use of             14,800
         byproduct material issued under part 30 of
         this chapter for processing or manufacturing
         of items containing byproduct material for
         commercial distribution. Number of locations
         of use: 6-20. [Program Code(s): 04110,
         04112, 04114, 04116]........................
        (2). Other licenses for possession and use of             18,300
         byproduct material issued under part 30 of
         this chapter for processing or manufacturing
         of items containing byproduct material for
         commercial distribution. Number of locations
         of use: more than 20. [Program Code(s):
         04111, 04113, 04115, 04117].................
    C. Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.   32.72 and/              11,000
     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) of this chapter. Number of
     locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s): 02500,
     02511, 02513]...................................
        (1). Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.   32.72             14,600
         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). Number of locations of use: 6-
         20. [Program Code(s): 04210, 04212, 04214]..
        (2). Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.   32.72             20,000
         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). Number of locations of use:
         more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04211,
         04213, 04215]...............................
    D. [Reserved]....................................            \5\ N/A
    E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct               10,500
     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               10,400
     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                 87,100
     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]..............

[[Page 39149]]

 
    H. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of              10,800
     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              15,800
     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, 03253,
     03256]..........................................
    J. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of               4,200
     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               3,100
     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             15,100
     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                20,100
         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: 6-20. [Program Code(s): 04610,
         04612, 04614, 04616, 04618, 04620, 04622]...
        (2) Licenses of broad scope for possession                24,900
         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: more than 20. [Program Code(s):
         04611, 04613, 04615, 04617, 04619, 04621,
         04623]......................................
    M. Other licenses for possession and use of                   15,500
     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              17,000
         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.\21\
         [Program Code(s): 03219, 03225, 03226]......
    O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct               37,900
     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 Number of locations of use: 1-5.
     [Program Code(s): 03310, 03320].................
        (1). Licenses for possession and use of                   50,700
         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.
         Number of locations of use: 6-20. [Program
         Code(s): 04310, 04312]......................
        (2). Licenses for possession and use of                   63,300
         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.
         Number of locations of use: more than 20.
         [Program Code(s): 04311, 04313].............
    P. All other specific byproduct material                      12,300
     licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
     through 9.D.\18\ Number of locations of use: 1-
     5. [Program Code(s): 02400, 02410, 03120, 03121,
     03122, 03123, 03124, 03140, 03130, 03220, 03221,
     03222, 03800, 03810, 22130].....................
        (1). All other specific byproduct material                16,400
         licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
         through 9.D.\18\ Number of locations of use:
         6-20. [Program Code(s): 04410, 04412, 04414,
         04416, 04418, 04420, 04422, 04424, 04426,
         04428, 04430, 04432, 04434, 04436, 04438]...
        (2). All other specific byproduct material                20,400
         licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
         through 9.D.\18\ Number of locations of use:
         more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04411,
         04413, 04415, 04417, 04419, 04421, 04423,
         04425, 04427, 04429, 04431, 04433, 04435,
         04437, 04439]...............................
    Q. Registration of devices generally licensed               \13\ N/A
     under part 31 of this chapter...................
    R. Possession of items or products containing
     radium-226 identified in Sec.   31.12 of this
     chapter which exceed the number of items or
     limits specified in that section: \14\
        (1). Possession of quantities exceeding the                7,200
         number of items or limits in Sec.
         31.12(a)(4), or (5) of this chapter 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                 7,600
         times the number of items or limits
         specified in Sec.   31.12(a)(4) or (5) of
         this chapter [Program Code(s): 02710].......
    S. Licenses for production of accelerator-                    29,800
     produced radionuclides [Program Code(s): 03210].
4. Waste disposal and processing:
    A. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt              23,000
     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]...................................

[[Page 39150]]

 
    B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt              17,500
     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              10,300
     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               13,900
     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             32,700
     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             32,300
     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.\9\ Number of locations of use:
     1-5. [Program Code(s): 02300, 02310]............
        (1). Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40,              42,900
         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.\9\ Number of locations of use: 6-
         20. [Program Code(s): 04510, 04512].........
        (2). Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40,              53,700
         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.\9\ Number of locations of use: more
         than 20. [Program Code(s): 04511, 04513]....
    B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medical                  46,500
     institutions or two or more physicians under
     parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter
     authorizing research and development, including
     human use of byproduct material, except licenses
     for byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material in sealed sources
     contained in teletherapy devices. This category
     also includes the possession and use of source
     material for shielding when authorized on the
     same license.\9\ Number of locations of use: 1-
     5. [Program Code(s): 02110].....................
        (1). Licenses of broad scope issued to                    61,700
         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\ Number of
         locations of use: 6-20. [Program Code(s):
         04710]......................................
        (2). Licenses of broad scope issued to                    77,100
         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\ Number of
         locations of use: more than 20. [Program
         Code(s): 04711].............................
    C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40,              18,000
     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\ \19\ Number of locations of use: 1-
     5. [Program Code(s): 02120, 02121, 02200, 02201,
     02210, 02220, 02230, 02231, 02240, 22160].......
        (1). Other licenses issued under parts 30,                24,000
         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\ \19\
         Number of locations of use: 6-20. [Program
         Code(s): 04810, 04812, 04814, 04816, 04818,
         04820, 04822, 04824, 04826, 04828]..........
        (2). Other licenses issued under parts 30,                30,700
         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\ \19\
         Number of locations of use: more than 20.
         [Program Code(s): 04811, 04813, 04815,
         04817, 04819, 04821, 04823, 04825, 04827,
         04829]......................................
8. Civil defense:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct                7,200
     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             24,100
     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             10,700
     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...

[[Page 39151]]

 
    C. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation              6,300
     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              1,200
     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                     \6\ N/A
         plutonium air packages......................
        2. Other Casks...............................            \6\ N/A
    B. Quality assurance program approvals issued
     under part 71 of this chapter.
        1. Users and Fabricators.....................            \6\ N/A
        2. Users.....................................            \6\ N/A
    C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals,            \6\ N/A
     route surveys, and transportation security
     devices (including immobilization devices)......
11. Standardized spent fuel facilities...............            \6\ N/A
12. Special Projects [Program Code(s): 25110]........            \6\ N/A
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of                    \6\ N/A
 Compliance..........................................
    B. General licenses for storage of spent fuel               \12\ N/A
     under Sec.   72.210 of this chapter.............
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation:
    A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material       \7\ \20\ 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). The transition
     to this fee category occurs when a licensee has
     permanently ceased principal activities.
     [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              390,000
 to Government agencies.\15\ [Program Code(s): 03614]
18. Department of Energy:
    A. Certificates of Compliance....................     \10\ 1,750,000
    B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act               148,000
     (UMTRCA) activities [Program Code(s): 03237,
     03238]..........................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 of the current FY, 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.A, 7.A.1, 7.A.2, 7.B., 7.B.1, 7.B.2,
  7.C, 7.C.1, or 7.C.2.
\10\ This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to the DOE 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 subject to fees under categories 1.A., 1.B., 1.E., 2.A.,
  and licensees paying fees under fee category 17 must pay the largest
  applicable fee and are not subject to additional fees listed in this
  table.
\16\ Licensees paying fees under 3.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
  for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\17\ Licensees paying fees under 7.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
  for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\18\ Licensees paying fees under 3.N. are not subject to paying fees
  under 3.P., 3.P.1, or 3.P.2 for calibration or leak testing services
  authorized on the same license.
\19\ Licensees paying fees under 7.B., 7.B.1, or 7.B.2 are not subject
  to paying fees under 7.C., 7.C.1, or 7.C.2 for broad scope license
  licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for
  human use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special
  nuclear material, except licenses for byproduct material, source
  material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in
  teletherapy devices authorized on the same license.

[[Page 39152]]

 
\20\ No annual fee is charged for a materials license (or part of a
  materials license) that has transitioned to this fee category because
  the decommissioning costs will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170
  fees, but annual fees may be charged for other activities authorized
  under the license that are not in decommissioning status.
\21\ Licensees paying fees under 4.A., 4.B. or 4.C. are not subject to
  paying fees under 3.N. licenses that authorize services for other
  licensees authorized on the same license.


     Dated: June 2, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Howard K. Osborne,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-12696 Filed 6-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P