ML20006E307

Forwards Proposed Legislation Authorizing Appropriations for FY91.OMB Has No Objection to Submission of Proposal to Congress & Enactment of Proposal in Accordance W/President Program

ML20006E307
Person / Time
Issue date:	02/06/1990
From:	Carr K NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
To:	Foley T HOUSE OF REP.
References
NUDOCS 9002220572
Download: ML20006E307 (13)

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February 6, 1990 i

CHAIRMAN n

The Honorable. Thomas S. Foley Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Washington, D. C.

20515.

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with the provisions of Section 261 of-the Atomic-Energy Act of 1954. as amended (42 U.S.C. 2017); Section 305 of the-Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended (42 U.S.C.

5875);-and Section 1105 (a)(25) of Title 31, UnitedLStates Code',

we submitted on Februa ry 23, 1989, proposed legislation which would authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1990 and 1991.

The proposed legislation requested authorization for " Salaries-and Expenses" of $472,100,000 for fiscal year 1990 and.$485,840,000 for fiscal' year 1991 and authorization for " Office of the Inspector General" of $2,900,000 for fiscal year 1990 and S2,950,000 for fiscal year 1991.

It also proposed raising Nuclear Regulatory Commission user fees to approximately 100 percent of-the..NRC's Salaries and Expenses budget.

The proposed legislation.

is currently pending in~ Congress (H.R. 1549).

The President is requesting a fiscal year 1991 budget.of'

$475,000,000 for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission--$471,320,000-for " Salaries and Expenses" and $3,680,000 for " Office of the Inspector General."

This -is a decrease of $13,790,000- below the

$488,790,000. contained in the proposed legislation to authorize appropriations that was provided to you last year.

Consistent with the President's request, we are submitting proposed amended.

legislation which would authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1991.

Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-272), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission collected user fees that totalled approximately 33 percent ~of the agency's budget.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-239) amended Public Law 99-272 to require NRC to collect user fees for a maximum amount estimated to be equal to 45 percent of the itgency's budget in FY 1990.

Absent legislation, beginning in FY 1991,_the agency would again collect user fees that total approximately 33 percent of its budget. In accordance with the President's request, Section 6 of the proposed legislation would increase user fees to a level corresponding to approximately 100 percent of the NRC budget for FY 1991 and all years thereafter.

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The Office of Management:and_. Budget advises that there is-no objection to the > submission of this proposal to: Congress-and.that',

3 enactment'of-this: proposal would'begir, ac::ord~with the program of' the: President, i

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Sincerely, a

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Kenneth M. Carr-

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Enclosure:

Proposed L'egislation Authorizing.

. Appropriations.:for FY,1991 I

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Identical Letters with Enclosures sent to:.

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The. HonorableTJ.~ Danforth Quayle President of the United States Senate Washington, DC; 20510 The Honorable Morris K. Udall, Chairman Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs United States House sof Representatives 1

Washington, DC 20515 cc: Rep. James V. Hansen The Honorable Philip. R. Sharp, Chairman Subcommittee on Energy and Power Committee on Energy and Commerce United States House of~ Representatives Washington, DC 20515 cc: ' Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead The Honorable John B. Breaux, Chairman Subcommittee on Nuclear Regulation Committee on Environment and Public Works United. States Senate Washington, DC 20510 cc: Senator Alan K. Simpson Y

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i PROPOSED AMENDED. BILL FOR AUTHORIZATION OF-APPROPRIATIONS i

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FISCAL YEAR 1991

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To authorize appropriations for the Nuclear Regulatory Comiss' ion for fiscal

. year 1991 and for other purposes.

t Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that this Act may. be cited as _ the " Nuclear Regulatory Commission Authorizatior. Act for fiscal year 1991."

Section.1. AUTHORIZATION OF_ APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1991.

(a) SALARIES AND EXPENSES. --There are hereby authorized to be appropriated '

j to the Nuclear Regulatory Comi-ssiorrin accordance with the provisions of-Section 261 of the Atomic Energy,Act of 1954, as amended, (42 U.S.C. ~ 2017) and -

Section 305 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended (42 U.S.C.

5875)$471,320,000 for fiscal year 1991 to remain available until expended, of which $19,650,000 shall be authorized from the Nuclear Waste Fund.

(b) 0FFICE OF.THE INSPECTOR GENERAL. --There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Nuclear Regulatory Comission's Office of the Inspector 1

General'in accordance with the provisions of Section 1105(a)(25) of Title 31, United States Code,'$3,680,000 for fiscal year 1991 to remain available until expenled.

Section 2.

ALLOCATION OF AMOUNTS AlffHORIZED.

(a) IN GENERAL. --The sums authorized to be appropriated urder section 1(a) for fiscal year 1991 shall be allocated as follows:

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(1)notmorethan$185,835,000 may be used for " Reactor Safety and Safeguards Regulation";

(2)notmorethan$111,431,000 may be used for " Nuclear Safety

-Research";

(3)notmorethan$45,759,000 may be used for " Nuclear Material and i

Low-Level Waste Safety and Safeguards Regulation";

(4)notmorethan$19,650,000 from the Nuclear Waste Fund, may be used for "High-Level Nuclear Waste Regulation";

(5)notmorethan$36,063,000 may be used for "Special and Independent Reviews, Investigations, and-Enforcement"; and (6) not more than $72,582,000 may be used for " Nuclear Safety Management and Support".

I (b) LIMITATIONS. --The Nuclear Regulatory Comission may not use more than l

1 per cen'tum of the amounts authorized to be appropriated under section 2(a)(2) i 1

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g, ito exercise its authority under Section 31(a) of' the Atort.c Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2051(a)) to enter into grants and cooperative agreements pursuant to such' paragraph.

Grants made by the Commission shall be made in accordance with Chapter 63_of title 31, United States Code and otherl applicable law.-

(c) REALLOCATION. --Except as specified below, any amounts authorized for a fiscal year to the Nuclear Regulatory Comission-pursuant to any paragraph of section 2(a) for purposes of the program referred to in such paragraph may be -

reallocated by the Comission for use in a program referred to in any other paragraph of such section, or for use in any other activity within a program, except that the amount availabl-e from appropriations for such fiscal year for

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use in any program or specified a_ctivity may not, as. a result of reallocations

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made under this section, be increasedor reduced by more than $500,000 unless the Comittee on Energy and Comerce and the Comittee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on-Environment and Public Works of the Senate are notified in advance ~ by the Commission. Such notification will contain a full and complete statement of.the reallocation to be made and the facts and circumstances relied upon in support _ of such reallocation.

Funds authorized to be appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund may be used only for the Comission's high-level nuclear waste activities and may not be reprogramed for other Comission activities.

Section 3. RETENTION OF FUNDS.

Money received by the Nuclear Regulatory Lasnission.for the cooperative nuclear safety research program, services rendered to foreign governments and:

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' international organizations, and the material and information access authoriza-

. tion programs, including criminal history checks under section 149 of the-Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, may be retained and used, subject to appropriations, for salaries and expenses associated with those activities, notwithstanding the provisions of-section 3302 of Title 31' United States Code, and shall remain available until expended.

l Section 4. TRANSFER OF CERTAIN FUNDS.

From-amounts appropriated to the Nuclear Regulatory Comission pursuant to Section 1(a) of this Act, except for appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund, the Comission may transfer sums to its Office of the Inspector General, provided that the total transfer during any fiscal year may not exceed 5-per cent of the amount authorized under Section 1(b) of this Act for that fiscal L

year.

Section 5. LIMITATION.

t Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no authority to make p

payments.under this Act shall be effective except to such extent or in such l

amounts aOare provided in advance in appropriation Acts.

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Section 6.-

USER FEES AND ANNUAL CHARGES.

u (a): AMENDMENT TO ATOMIC ENERGY ACT--Chapter 19 of the Atomic Energy Act of.1954 (42 U.S.C. 2015 et seq.) is amended by adding-at the:end the following-new section:

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SEC. 292. USER FEES.AND ANNUAL CHARGES.

"(a) ANNUAL ASSESSMENT.--

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(1) AMOUNT.--The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as the Comission)-shall annually assess and collect such fees and charges as are described in subsections (b). and-(c) in an' u

amount that approximates 100 percent = of the budget authority for NRC '

oSalaries and Expenses in the fiscal year in which such assessment is i

made, less any amount appropriated to the Connission from the Nuclear Waste Fund in such fiscal year.

"(2)~ FIRST ASSESSMENT.--The first such assessment shall be made not j later than September 30. 1991, and shall be based on the NRC's Salaries and Expenses budget authority for fiscal year ~ 1991.

"(b) FEES :FOR SERVICE OR THING 0F VALUE.--Pursuant to section 9701 of -

title 31, United ~ States Code, any person who -receives a service or thing of value from the Comission'shall pay fees to cover the Comission's costs t

in providing any such service or thing of value.

"(c) ANNUAL CHARGES.--

"(1) PERSONS SUBJECT TO CHARGE.--Any person who holds a license i

issued under section 103 and 104 b that authorizes such person to operate a utilization facility with a rated. thermal capacity in excess of 50,000,000 watts shall pay, in addition to the fees set forth in subs'ection (b), an annual charge.

"(2) AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF CHARGES.--The aggregate amount of the annual charge collected from'all persons described in paragraph (1) shall

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equal an amount that approximates 100 percent of the budget authority for NRC Salaries and Expenses in the fiscal year in which such charge is collected, less any amount appropriated to the Commission from the Nuclear Waste Fund and the amount of fees collected under subsection (b) in such fiscal year.

"(3) AMOUNT PER LICENSEE.--The Comission sh' all establish, by rule, a schedule of charges fairly and equitabl allocating the aggregate amount of charges described in paragraph 2) among the licensees described in paragraph (1). The charges shall have a reasonable relationship to the cost of providing regulatory services and may be based on the allocation of the Comission's resources among licensees or classes of licensees described in paragraph (1).

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' (d)~ DEFINITION.--As used in this section, ' Nuclear Waste Fund' means the fund established pursuant _ to section 302(c) of. the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982=(42 U.S.C. 10222(c))."

-(b)_ REPEAL.--Title VII of. the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of

'1985-(Public Law 99-272), as amended, is amended by striking subtitle G.

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repeal; shall become effective upon promulgation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's final rule implementing section 292 of-the' Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

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(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.--The table, of contents of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954

.i is amended by adding after the term relating to section 291 the following new item:

"Sec. 292. User fees and annual charges."

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.i U.S.L. NUCLEAR REGULATORY ~ COMMISSION ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED AMENDED FY 1991 AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS LEGISLATION 4

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Section 1(a) --The Nuclear Regulatory Comission is responsible for assuring that the possession, use, and disposal of radioactive materials and the construction and operation of reactors and other nuclear facilities are conducted in a manner consistent with public health and safety and the common L

defense and security, with proper. regard for environmental quality, and in conformance with antitrust statutes.

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The Nuclear Waste Policy Act, as amended, provides for the establishment of a

' Nuclear Waste Fund to ensure that the costs of carrying out activities relating to the disposal 'of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel'will be o

borne by the persons responsible for generating such waste and spen.t fuel and-s provides that the amounts paid by generators and owners of these materials into the fund. is reviewed annually to determine if any adjustment is needed to ensure full cost recovery.

The Nuclear Regulatory Comission is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, as amended, to license a repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel and is assigned specific review responsibilities in the steps leading to submission of the-license application. Thus, the Act establishes NRC's responsibility throughout.

the repository siting' process, culminating in'the requirement for NRC licensing as a prerequisite to construction and operation of the repository. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act, as amended, also specifies that expenditures from the Nuclear.

Waste. Fund shall only be used for purposes of spent fuel and high-level

. radioactive waste disposal. activities, including identification, development, licensing, construction, operation, decomissioning, and post-decomissioning

. maintenance and monitoring of any repository constructed under the Act and administrative costs of the radioactive waste disposal program.

The Comission's program is composed of nuclear facilities and material licensing inspection and enforcement, and related regulatory functions, nuclear safety research, rulemaking, and technical and administrative support activities.

The budget request for the Commission is stated in terms of obligational authority requested to carry out the responsibilities of the Cor.nission.

Section 1(b) --The Inspector General Act Amendments of 1988 amended the Inspector General Act of 1978 by establishing the Office of the Inspector General within the Nuclear Regulatory Comission effective on April 17, 1989, and.by requiring the establishment of a separate appropriation account to fund the Office of. the Inspector General.

The budget request for the Office of the Inspector General is stated in terms of obligational authority requested to carry out the responsibilities of the Office of the Inspector General.

Section 2(at) -- For fiscal year 1991, the requested authorization for

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appropria'tions. under Section 1(a) is $471,320,000, allocated as follows:

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. Reactor Safsty and Safeguards Regulation

.$185,835,000

. Nuclear Safety Research

$111,431,000 Nuclear Material-and Low-level Waste Safety and

$45,759,000 Safeguards Regulation High-Level Nuclear. Waste Regulation

$19,650,000

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Special and Independent Reviews, Investigations,

$36,063,000 f

and Enforcement 3-Nuclear Safety Management and Support

$72,582,000 f

Section 2(b) --This section provides authorization for moneys received by the Commission to be utilized for grants and cooperative agreements.

Eligible recipients, such as colleges and universities, state and local governments, and not-for-profit institutions, may be included in the Comission's assistance

.l program.

Section 2(c) --This.section provides the Commission with the authority to L

reprogram funds among the program activities specified in section 2(a) with h

certain specified constraints.

Funds authorized to be appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund will be used only for NRC's high-level nuclear waste activities and will not be reprogrammed for other NRC activities.

Section 3. --This section provides authorization for moneys received by the Commission for the cooperative nuclear safety research program, for services rendered to foreign governments and-international organizations, for costs of certain licensee security investigations, and for costs of fingerprint examinations and criminal history checks to be used as salaries and expenses, p

subject to appropriations, and for such moneys to remain available' until

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expended notwithstanding the provisions of section 3302 of Title 31 of the United States Code.

Under the cooperative nuclear safety research program, funds are received-from-

~ domestic entities. foreign governments, and international organizations for their participation in NRC's reactor safety research experiments. The NRC would also be authorized to receive directly compensation from foreign govern-ments and international organizations for providing safety assistance and other services related to promoting the public health and safety. Funds are u

L also received in the fann of fees from licensees for the cost of security investigations and related processing associated with access to formula i:

quantities..of special nuclear material. These funds will be used to pay the L

related NltC processing costs and the agency performing the security investiga-tions.

Funds'will be received in the form of fees from licensees for the cost of fingerprint examinations and criminal history checks of each individual granted access to safeguards information or unescorted access to a nuclear L

power plant. These funds will be used to pay for processing and performing the fingerprint examinations and criminal history checks.

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.NRC will also use the money currently ~ collected under 10 CFR Part 25 to pay.

i the NRC processing costs and the Office of Personnel Management for conducting -

background investigations used as a basis for NRC security clearances for p

f designated licensee representatives and other personnel requiring access to classified information.

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' Section 4. --This section provides for limited transfer authority from NRC's Salaries and Expenses appropriation, except for. appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund, to its Office of the Inspector General appropriation. This will c

permit the NRC to augment the Ins basis, if it becomes necessary.-w_pector General appropriation on a limited ithDut seeking additional appropriations for that fiscal year..

Section 5. --This section provides language required by)the Congre Budget and Impoundment. Control Act of 1974 (P.L.93-344, section 401(a).

Section 6. --Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliatic.i Act of ITES (Public Law 99-272), the NRC collected user fees that totelled approximately 33 percent of the agency's budget.

The Omnibus Budget ':econciliation Act of 1989 (PublicLaw 101-239) amended Public Law 99-272 to require NRC to collect user-t fees for a maximum amount estimated to be equal to 45 percent of the agency's budget in FY 1990. Absent legislation, beginning in FY 1991, the agency would again collect user fees that total approximately 33 percent of its budget.

Section 6(a) adds a new section 292 to the' Atomic Energy Act of 1954 that authorizes the Comission to collect user fees and annual charges.

Subsection (a) of the new section 292 requires the Comission to annually collect fees and annual charges in an amount approximating 100 percent of the Commission's budget authority for Salaries and Expenses for that fiscal year, less any amount appropriated to the'Comission from the Nuclear Waste Fund.

The NRC.shall not recover fees for the budget authority for its.0ffice'of the Inspector General.

- Subsection (b) of the new section 292 provides that the Comission shall continue to collect fees under the Independent Offices Appropriation Act of 1952(31U.S.C.9701). These fees are intended to recover the Comission's cost of providing any service or thing of value to a person seeking services from the Comission.

Subsection (c) of the new section 292 requires the Comission to collect, in addition to the Independent Offices Appropriations Act fees under subsection (b), an annual charge only on nuclear power plant licensees with a rated thermal capacity of more than 50 megawatts. This subsection provides that the aggregate; amount of annual charges shall, when addec' to the Independent Offices Appropriation Act fees collected under subsection (b), equal approximately 100 percent of the Comission's budget authority for Salaries and Expenses. for each fiscal year, less any amount appropriated to the Comission from the Nuclear Waste Fund.

This subsection directs the Comission to cstablish a schedule of annual charges that fairly and equita.bly allocates the aggregate amount of 3

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charges among. licensees and reasonably reflects the cost of providing regulatory services to such licensees or classes of licensees. The-schedule -

may assess different annual charges for ~different licensees or classes.of.

licensees based on the allocation of the Commission's resources among _ licensees or classes of licensees so that the licensees who require the greatest

. expenditures of!the Commission's resources will pay the greatest annual fee.

Subsection (d) of the new section 292 defines.the Nuclear Waste Fund' established by section.302(c)_ of the Nuclear. Waste Policy Act of 1982.

Section 6(b) -- repeals subtitia G of _Iitle VII (section 7601) of the ConsolidatedOmnibusBudget-Reco6ciliationActof1985(PublicLaw99-272),as amended, which contains the authority for the Commission to collect user fees approximating 33 percent of its budget for_ FY 1991 and the years thereafter.

The repeal will become effective when the Commission issues-the. final. rule implementing this section.

Section 6(c) -- adds the heading of the new section 292 to the table of' contents of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

It is estimated that the difference between NRC charges to be collected under the current law and charges to be collected under the proposed. legislation is

$294,920,000 in FY 1991.

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