ML20212K449
| ML20212K449 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/19/1999 |
| From: | Jacobsbaynard NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | NRC |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20138F537 | List:
|
| References | |
| FRN-64FR15876, RULE-PR-170, RULE-PR-171 AG08-1-010, NUDOCS 9910060268 | |
| Download: ML20212K449 (110) | |
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.- vi ' of Fee Schedules; 100% Fee Recovery, FY 1999 g i v m a ' b- [ "ad: A cermedc ;7 (Jacobs by-O AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commissi n. g/)g ACTION: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY
- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its applicants and licensees. The proposed amendments are necessary to implement the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-90), as amended, which mandater, that the NRC recover approximately 100 percent of its budget authority in Fiscal Year (FY) 19S9, less amounts appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF) and the General Fund. The amount to be recovered for FY 1999 is aporoximately 5449.6 million.
4 DATES: The comment period expires (30 days after publication). Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure only that w6.
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i comments received on or before this date will be considered. Because OBRA-90 requires that NRC collect the FY 1999 fees by September 30,1999, requests for extensions of the comment i I
period will not be granted. )
l ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATfN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. Hand deliver l comments to: 11555 Rockviile Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm Federal workdays. (Telephone 301-415-1678). Comments may also be submitted via the j NRC's interactive rulemaking website through the NRC home page (http://www.nrc. gov). From the NRC homepage, select "Rulemaking" from the tool bar. The interactive rulemaking website ;
can then be accessed by selecting "Rulemaking Forum" This site provides the availability to uplo&d comments as files (any format), if your web browser supports that function. For information about the interactive rulemaking site, contact Ms. Carol Gallagher,301-415-5905; e-mail CAG@nrc. gov.
I Copies of comments received and the agency workpapers that support these proposed 1
changes to 10 CFR Parts 170 and 171 may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC 20555-0001. Comments received may also be viewed and downloaded electronically via the interactive rulemaking website established by the NRC for this rulemaking. 1 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glenda Jackson, Office of the Chief Financiai l Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone 301-415-6057.
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N SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
- 1. Background.
II. Proposed Action.
Ill.' : Environmental !mpact: Categorical Exclusion.
IV. - Paperwork Reduction .Act Statement.
V. Regulatory Analysis.
VI. - Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.
Vll. Backfit Analysis.
- l. Background Public Law 101-508, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA 90),
enacted November 5,1990, requires that the NRC recover approximately 100 percent of its budget authority, less the amount appropriated from the Department of Energy (DOE) administeied Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF), for FYs 1991 through 1995 by assessing fees. .
' OBRA 90 was amended in 1998 to extend the NRC's 100 percent fee recovery requirement through FY 1999.
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The NRC assesses two types of fees to recover its budget authority. First, license and inspection fees, established at 10 CFR Part 170 under the authority of the ir. dependent Offices Appropriation Act of 1952 (IOAA),31 U.S.C. 9701, recover the NRC's costs of providing individually identifiable services to specific applicants and licensees. Examples of the services provided by the NRC for which these fees are assessed are the review of applications for the issuance of new licenses, approvals or renewals, and amendments to licenses or approvals.
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l Second, annual fees, established in 10 CFR Part 171 under the authority of OBRA-90, recover generic and other regulatory costs not recovered through 10 CFR Part 170 fees. !
II.- Proposed Action i
The NRC is proposing to amend its licensing, inspection, and annual fees to recover approximately 100 percent of its FY 1999 budget authority, including the budget authority for its Office of the Inspector General, less the appropriations received from the NWF and the General Fund. For FY 1999, the NRC's budget authority is $469.8 million, of which 517.0 million has been appropriated from the NWF. In addition, $3.2 million has been appropriated from the
. General Fund for activities related to regulatory reviews and other assistance provided to the Department of Energy and other Federal agencies. The NRC's FY 1999 Appropriations Act states that this $3.2 apprcpriation shall be excluded from license fee revenues, nothwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 2214. Therefore, NRC is required to collect approximately $449.6 million in FY 1999 through 10 CFR Part 170 licensing and inspection fees and 10 CFR Part 171 annual fees. The total amount to be recovered in fees for FY 1999 is 55.2 million less than the
- amount estimated for recovery for FY 1998.
The reduced budgeted costs to be recovered through fees for FY 1999 reflects several actions taken by the NRC, such as strategic planning, downsizing, efforts to shift costs from Part 171 annual fees to Part 170 fees for services, and a more aggresive policy on seeking reimbursement for performing services that are not a required part of the agency's statutorv mission. For example, for FY 1999,~ the NRC entered into an agreement with the U. S. Agency for International Development to fund through a reimburseable agreement NRC's costs
. associated with providing nuclear safety assistance to the countries of the former Soviet Union.
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As a result, NRC licensees are not required to pay for the costs of this activity in FY 1999.
These costs were previously included in NRC's budget authority and the costs were recovered through annual fees assessed to NRC licensees.
The NRC estimates that approximately $107.7 million will be recovered in FY 1999 from fees assessed under 10 CFR Part 170 and other receipts, compared to $94.6 million in FY 1998. The increase in Part 170 estimated collections is largely attributable to changes in Commission policy included in the FY 1998 final rule, such as billing full cost under Part 170 for i
resident inspectors. The increase in other receipts for FY 1999 includes a $4.1 million J 1
carryover from additional Par 1170 collections in FY 1998 that were unanticipated at the time the final FY 1998 fee rule was published In addition, the NRC estimates a net adjustment of approximately $2.1 million for payments received in FY 1999 for FY 1998 invoices less !
estimated FY 1999 invoices that will not be paid in FY 1999. The remaining $339.8 million would be recovered in FY 1999 through the 10 CFR Part 171 annual fees, which is j approximately $20.4 million less than in FY 1998.
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Table I below summarizes the budget and fee recovery amounts for FY 1999:
TABLEI Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts for FY 1999 l
(Dol ars in Millions) ]
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$469.8 l Total Budget 5
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Less NWF 17.0 Less General Fund (Reviews for DOE 3.2 and othar Federal agencies) __
l Total Fee Base $449.6 Less Part 170 Fees 103.5 ;
1 Less other receipts 12 Part 171 Fee Collections Required 341.9 Part 171 Billino Adiustment' Unpaid FY 1999 invoices 3.4 Less Payments from prior year invoices Eji Subtotal -2,1 i
Total Part 171 Billing $339.8 '
'These adjustments are necessary to ensure that the " billed" amount results in the required collections. Positive amounts indicate amounts billed that will not be collected in FY 1999.
Because the Enal FY 1999 fee rule will be a " major" final action as defined by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, the NRC's fees for FY 1999 would become effective 60 days after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register.
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M C announced in the FY 1998 proposed rule that the final ruie t nger be iled to alllicensees. However, because the NRC is soliciting pubiic comments on twa nnau!
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alllicensees. As a cost-saving measure, the NRC does not plan to routinely mail future final fee rules to all licensees, but will continue, as a matter of courtesy, to send the proposed fee rules to all licensees and the final rule to licensees upon request.
In addition to publication in the Federal Register, the final rule will be available on the internet at http://ruleforu.llnl. gov /, Copies of the final rule will also be mailed upon request. To request a copy, contact the License Fee and Accounts Receivable Branch, Division of Accounting and Finance, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, at 301-415-7554, or e-mail us at Fees @NRC. gov.
The NRC is proposing to make changes to 10 CFR Parts 170 and 171 as discussed in Sections A. and B below:
A. Amendments to 10 CFR Part 170: Fees for Facilities. Materials.1moort and Exoort Licenses. and Other Reaulatorv Services.
The NRC is proposing four major amendments to 10 CFR Part 170, and several in administrative amendments to update information in certain sections and to accompdate the major proposed changes. These amendments further the underlying basis for the regulation --
that fees be assessed to applicants, persons, and licensees for specif'c identifiable services
. rendered. The amendments also comply with the guidance in the Conference Committee Report on OBP.A-90 that fees assessed under the Independent Offices Appropriation Act of 1952 (IOAA) recover the full cost to the NRC of identifiable regulatory services that each applicant or licensee receives.
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The major changes to 10 CFR Part 170 proposed by the NRC are:.
1,4 EXPANDED PART 170 COST RECOVERY The NRC is proposing to expand the scope of Part 170 to include incident investigations, performance assessments and evaluations (except those for which the licensee volunteers at NRC's request and which NRC' accepts), reviews of reports and other submittals, such as responses to Confirmatory Action Letters, and fJll Cost recovery for Project Managers.
Part 170 fees are based on Title V of the IOAA, interpretations of that legislation by the Federal courts, and Commission guidance. These guidelines provide that Part 170 fees may be assessed to persons who are identifiable recipients of "special benefits" confer d by ,
specifically identified activities of the NRC. The term "special benefits"includ ervices !
rendered at the request of a recipient and all services necessary to the issuance of a required permit, license, approval, or amendment, or other services necessary to assist a recipient in complying with statutory obligations under the Commission's regulations.
Part .170 faes are currently assessed for: (1) the review of applications for and the
. issuance of lic;. +ng actions or other approvals; (2) review and approval of topical repods; (3) ;
preapplication consultations; (4) inspections; and (5) the costs of maintaining resident
' inspectors. The remainder of NRC's budget authority is recovered through annual fees assessed under Part 171.
In the NRC's FY 1998 fee rulemaking, some steps were taken to shift costs from Part 171 to Part 170. The NRC's proposals to further expand Part 170 for FY 1999 would shift additional costs from Part 171 to Part 170.
- a. Insoections
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' Under this proposed change Part 170 fees would be assessed for all inspections, 8
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. including licensee-specific performance reviews, assessments, evaluations and incident
-investigations. . Examples of activities that would be billable under Part 170 are performance assessments of fuel facilitiies, Diagnostic Evaluation Team assessments, and incident Investigation Team investigations. Those licensees who volunteer to particinate in a performance review or assessment at NRC's request and which NRC accepts would be exempted from these Part 170 fees. The inspections that are proposed to be included in Part 170 are "special benefits" provided to identifiable recipients, whether or not an inspection report is issued. For example, incident investigations are investigations of significant operational events involving power reactors and other facilities. Causes of the events are determined and corrective actions taken. Incident investigation Teams investigate events of a potentially major significance. Although the investigations may result in some generic lessons, the investigations are primarily a direct service provided to the specific licensee and assist the licensee in
. complying with NRC regulations. The costs of any generic efforts that may result from the
~ investigations, such as the development of new regulatory requirements and guidance, would continue to be recovered through Psrt 171 annual fees, not through Part 170 fees assessed to
. the licensee. These proposed - Part 170 fees would not apply to materials licenses for which no inspection fee is specified in Part 170 because the inspection costs are included in the Part 171 abnual fee for those fee categories.
- b. - Additional Document Reviews The NRC is also proposing to expand the scope of Part 170 to include reviews of documents submitted to the NRC that do not require formal or legal approvals or amendments to the technical specifications or license.- Examples are certain financial assurance reviews, reviews of responses to Confirmatory Action Letters, reviews of uranium recovery licensees'
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land-use survey reports, and reviews of 10 CFR 50.71(e) final safety analysis reports (FSARs). f Part 170 fees are currently not assessed for thes'e reviews because they do not result in an j approval or amendment, and the costs are recovered through Part 171 annual fees. Although ]
no specific approvalis issued, reviews of these submittals are services provided by the NRC to identified recipients that assist them in complying with NRC regulations. l l
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- c. Project Manaaer Time 9 i i
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Additionally, the NRC is proposing that all project managers time, excluding leave and time spent on generic activities, such as rulemaking, be recovered through Part 170 fees assessed to the specific applicant o" licensee to which the project manager is assigned. This change would be applicable to all licensees subject to full cost fees under Part 170 and to which project managers are assigned. Cu rently, only project manager time spent on a specific licensing action or inspection is billed under Part 170, and the costs for the remaining project manager activities are recovered in the Part 171 annual fees. However, there are other project manager activitias that also support and provide a direct benefit to the assigned licensee / site.
Examples of project manager activities which would be included in the Part 170 fee assessment are Examples of project manager generic activities Wat would not be subject to fee recovery under Part 170 are rulemaking and development of regulatory guides, generic licensing guides, standard review plans, and generic letters and bulletins. In those cases where a project manager is assigned to more than one license or site, costs for activities other than licensee-specific licensing or inspection activities would be prorated to each of the licenses or sites to which the project manager is assigned. The concept of full cost recovery for project managers is similar to the concept of full cost recovery for !
resident inspectors, which was added to Part 170 in the FY 1998 final fee rule.
- d. Other The NRC is also soliciting public comment in this proposed rule on including orders and responses thereto and escalated enforcement actions in next year's proposed fee rule. The costs of these activities are currently recovered through Part 171 annual fees.
Orders and Related Activities Currently, Part 170 fees are not assessed for the develcpment of orders issued pursuant to 10 CFR 2,202 or for amendments specifically resulting from such orders. The primary basis for the current policy is that such fees could be perceived as additional fines to the licensee, or in some cases, such as the case of a licensee requesting a hearing. such fees could be viewed as a penalty for the licensee exercising its rights to disagree w:th the NRC. In addition, depending on the licensees' responses, orders may be withdrawn or modified. In 10 v
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i cans of misconduct, an order may be issued to the indindual rather than the licensee. On the I ather hand, the development of orders and the review of responses to orders are activities performed for specifically identifiable recipients.
Escalated Enforcement Actions Although she costs for enforcement actions are currently recovered through Part 170 fees assessed to the affected licensee, the costs for escalated enforcement actions (i.e., the processing and issuance of civil penalties) are not. Part 170 fees are not currently assessed for the escalated enforcement actions because in some cases the fee could be much greater than the civil penalty, which is intended to encourage or force a licensee to comply with the NRC requirements. In addition, some escalated enforcement actions are withdrawn. However, escalated enforcement actions are activities performed by the NRC for specific licensees.
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- 2. AMENDMENT REVIEW FLAT FEES Revise 10 CFR 170.31 to eliminate the amendment fees for small materials licensees that are based on the average time to complete the reviews (' flat" fees) and include the costs in the Part 171 annual fees assessed to the small materials licensees. This proposal would continue the NRC's initiatives to streamline its fee program. In a similar action, the inspection j and renewal fees for these licensees were eliminated in the FY 1995 and FY 1996 fee i
rutemakings, respectively, and the costs included in the annual fees for these categories of r
licensees.
Although approximately 2500 requests for amendments to small materiais licenses are !
I received and processed each year for fee recovery purposes, less than $900,000 in Part 170 l fees is collected annually for these amen @ents. The number of amendments as well as the Part 170 fee collections will decrease as more states become Agreement States.
The current approach for assessing materials license amendment fees is complex and i labor intensive. Approximately 25 percent of the amendment requests are submitted with !
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- incorrect fee payments, in the case of underpayments, the licensee must be notified and the license amendment held in abeyance until the correct fee is received. In the case of overpayments, refunds must be authorized and processed through the Department of the Treasury. Because of various Department of the Treasury r:drements,information such as tax identification numbers must be obtained and recorded in order for a refund check to be issued. These administrative burdens would be eliminated by including the amendment costs in ;
the Part 171 annual fee assessed to these licensees.
In addition to streamlining the NRC process, this proposed change would eliminate the steps licensees currently take to submit the payments for their amendment requests. It would also eliminate any delays in approving those amendments due to incorrect payments and would i provide an efficient means of recovering these costsJ The NRC believes that the efficiencies to be gained outweigh any inequities that may result because not all materials licenses are amended eaph fiscal year.
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- 3. HOURLY RATES I
Revise the two professional hourly rates established in @170.20. These proposed rates would be based on the FY 1999 direct FTE's and the FY 15 99 budget, excluding direct program support costs and the appropriations from the NWF and the General Fund. These rates are ;
used to determine the Part 170 fees. The proposed hourly rate for the reactor program is $141 per hour ($250,403 per direct FTE). This rate would be applicable to all activities for which fees 1 are based on full cost under @170.21 of the fee regulations. ' The proposed hourly rate for the nuclear materials and nuclear waste program is $140 per hour ($248,728 per direct FTE). This rate would be applicable to all activities for which fees are based on full cost under @170.31 of
- the fee regulations. ' In the FY 1998 final fee rule, these rates were $124 and 5121, i 1
respectively. The FY 1998 rates represented a decrease from FY 1997 of $7 per hour for the ]
reactor program from FY 1997, and $4 per hout for the materials program ,
in calculating the proposed FY 1999 hourly rates, the staff discovered that an error in budget coding occurred for FY 1998, contributing to the hourly rate decreases for that year.
'Although the proposed FY 1999 hourly rates reflect an increase of $17 - $19 per hour 12 L.. -
m compared to FY 1998, the error was in the reduced FY 1998 hourly rate, not in the increased FY 1999 hourly rate. Specifically,134 FTE and approximately $10M in contract support for regional management and support were coded as direct resources for FY 1998 rather than as overhead; The correction of that error in FY 1999 results in substantial increases in the hourly rates compared to FY 1998, from $124 to $141 for the reactor program and from $121 to $140
. per hour for the materials program. This is the result of the increased overhead costs to be allocated to the two programs, with fewer direct FTE to divide the costs among. In addition, the
- proportion of direct resources has shifted, resulting in the materials program having a larger
. share and therefore absorbing more of the overhead and management and support costs.
Because of the error in FY 1998, the FY 1999 hourly rates are more appropriately compared to the FY 1997 hourly rates of $131 and $125 for the reactors and materials programs, respectively. Applying only the salary and benefit increases of 4.4 percent from FY 1997 to FY 1998, and 3.68 percent from FY 1998 to FY 1999, would result in FY 1998 hourly rates of $137 for the reactor program and 5131 for the materials program, and 1999 hourly rates of $142 for the reactor program and $136 for the materials program. This does not consider the shift that has occurred in the proportion of direct resources, resulting in the materials program having a larger share and therefore absorbing more of the overhead and
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' management and support costs, J
The method used to determine the two professional hourly rates is as follows:
- 1. Direct program FTE levels are identified for both the reactor program and the nuclear material and waste program.
~ 2. . Direct contract support, which is the use of contract or other services in support
~ of the line organization's direct program, is excluded from the calculation of the hourly rate because the costs for direct contract support are charged directly through the various categories of fees.
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- 3. All other direct program costs (i.e., Salaries and Benefits, Travel) represent "in.
house" costs and are to be allocated by dividing them uniformly by the total number of direct i
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r FTEs for the program. In addition, salaries and benefits plus contracts for non-program direct Management and Support and the Inspector General are allocated to each program based on that program's sc'cdcs and bcncf;ts direct costs. This method results in the following costs which are included 5 the hourly rates.
Table 11 FY 1999 Budget Authority to be included in Hourly Rates (Dollars in millions)
Reactor Materials Proaram Proaram Direct Program Salaries & Benefits S 99.2 526.4 Overhead Salaries & Benefits, 554.1 S15.0 Program Travel and Other Support Allocated Agency Management and Support $104.2 $2fL1 Subtotal 5257.5 569.5 Less offsetting receipts .1 Total Budget included in Hourly Rate $257.4 569.5 Program Direct FTEs 1,028.0 279.7 Rate per Direct FTE - $250,403 $248,728 Professional Hourly Rate (Rate per direct $141 $140 FTE divided by 1,776 hours0.00898 days <br />0.216 hours <br />0.00128 weeks <br />2.95268e-4 months <br />)
As shown in Table 11 above, dividing the $257.4 million (rounded) budget for the reactor program by the reactor program direct FTEs (1.028.0) results in a rate for the reactor program
- of $250,403 per FTE for FY 1999. The Direct FTE Hourly Rate for the reactor program would be $141 per hour (rounded to the nearest whole dollar). This rate is calculated by dividing the cost per direct FTE ($250,403) by the number of productive hours in one year (1,776 hours0.00898 days <br />0.216 hours <br />0.00128 weeks <br />2.95268e-4 months <br />) as indicated in the revised OMB Circular A-76," Performance of Commercial Activities." Dividing 14
l the $69.5 million (rounded) budget for the nuclear materials and nuclear waste program by the program direct FTEs (279.7) results in a rate of $248,728 per FTE for FY 1999. The Direct FTE Hourly Rate for the materials program would be 5140 per hour (rounded to the nearest whole dollar). This rate is calculated by dividing the cost per direct FTE ($248,728) by the number of productive hours in one year (1,776 hours0.00898 days <br />0.216 hours <br />0.00128 weeks <br />2.95268e-4 months <br />).
/3 in FY 1000, the propcacd hourly rates have been detcrmined based on the principlc that the surcharge costs arc more approprietcly included only in the Part 17Mnnual fcc. Any professional hours expended on or after the effective date of the final rule would be assessed at the FY 1999 hourly rates.
- 4. FEE ADJUSTMENTS Adjust the current Part 170 fees in @@170.21 and 170.31 to reflect both the changes in the revised hourly rates and the results of the review required by the Chief Financial Officers 1 i
(CFO) Act. To comply with the requirements of the CFO Act, the NRC has evaluated historical professional staff hours used to process a new license application for those materials licensees whose fees are based on the average cost method (flat fees). This review also included new license and amendment applications for import and export licenses.
Evaluation of the historical data shows that the fees based on the average number of j professional staff hours needed to complete materials licensing actions should be increased in some categories and decreased in others to reflect the costs incurred in completing the licensing actions. The data for the average number of professional staff hours needed to complete licensing action were last updated in FY 1997 (62 FR 29194; May 29,1997). Thus, the revised average professional staff hours reflect the changes in the NRC licensing review program that have occurred since FY 1997. The proposed licensing fees are based on the revised average professional staff hours needed to process the licensing actions multiplied by the proposed nuclear materials professional hourly rate for FY 1999 of $140 per hour.
The proposed licensing fees reflect an increase in average time for new license l
applications for 20 of the 33 materials fee categories included in the biennial review, a decrease 15
in average time for 8 fee categories, and the same average time for the remaining 5 fee categories. The average time for export / import new license applications and amendments did not change for 6 fee categories in 10 CFR 170.21 and 170.31, and decreased for 4 fee categories.
The amounts of the materials licensing " flat" fees were rounded so that the amounts would be de minimis and the resulting flat fee would be convenient to the user. Fees under
$1,000 are rounded to the nearest $10. Fees that are greater than $1,000 but less than
$100,000 are rounded to the nearest $100. Fees that are greater than $100,000 are rounded to the nearest $1,000.
The proposed licensing " flat" fees are applicable to fee categories 1.C and 1 D; 2.B and ;
2.C; 3.A through 3.P; 4.8 through 9.D,10.8,15.A through 15.E and 16. Applications filed on or after the effective date of the final rule would be subject to the revised fees in this proposed rule
- 5. ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENTS l
- a. Revise @170.2, Scope, and @170.3, Definitions, to specifically include Certificates of Compliance (Certificates) issued pursuant to Part 76. The NRC issued two Certificates pursuant to Part 76 to the United States Enrichment Corporation for ,peration of the two gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plants located at Paducah, Kentucky, and Piketon, Ohio.
This proposal would add Part 76 to the definition of Materials License in @170.3 (Uranium enrichment facilities are already defined in @170.3). These proposed changes are administrative changes to clarify the applicability of Part 170 fees to these Certificates.
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- b. Revise the definition of " inspection", to specifically include performance assessments, evaluations, and incident investigations. This change would acco o ate NRC's j proposal to include these activities in Part 170.
LANGUAGE ON PROJECT MANAGERS TO BE ADDED (GLENDA)
- c. Revise @170.5, Communications, to indicate that all communications concerning Part 170 should be addressed to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer rather than the l 16 i
Executive Director for Operations. Effective with the January 5,1997, NRC reorganization, the Executive Director for Operations no longer serves as the Chief Financial Officer. The Chief Financial Officer has delegated authority to exercise all authority vested in the Commission under 10 CFR Pads 170 and 171.
- d. Revise @170.8 to reflect revised language on the applicability of the information collection requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act to this proposed rule.
- e. Delete the current exemption in 5170.11(a)(11) for amendments to portable gauge licenses issued in accordance with NUREG-1556, Volume 1, to change the name of the Radiation Safety Officer. This proposed rule would eliminate the requirement for amendment fees for these licenses and include the costs in the Part 171 annual fees. Therefore, the exemption would no longer be needed.
- f. Add 170.11(a)(12) to provide an exemption from Part 170 fees for those licensee-specific performance assessments or evaluations for which the licensee volunteers at NRC's request. This change would acco]o$ ate NRC's prcposal to include performance asses and evaluations in Part 170, except those for which the licensee volunteers at NRC's request and which are accepted by the NRC..
- g. Revise @170.12, Payment of Fees, to reflect the NRC's proposals to expand Part 1 170 to include performance assessments, evaluations, and incident investigations, and full cost recovery for project managers. This Section would also be revised to delete references to amendment fees that are not based on full cost to reflect the NRC's proposal to eliminate these fees from Part 170 and include the costs in the Part 171 annual fee for these materials licensees. Section 170.12(h), Method of Payment, would also be revised to specify the 1 information the NRC needs in order to issue refunds. This change is necessitated by new requirements of the Department of the Treasury, which are effective April 1,1999.
i in summary, the NRC is proposing to:
Assew Part 170 fees, for licenses subject to Part 170 full cost fees, to recover costs for I (1) 17
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all plant or licensee-specific inspections, including performance reviews, assessments, evaluations, and incident investigations, and all of the project managers time excluding time spent on generic activities and leave time; (2)' ~ Eliminate " flat" amendment fees for materials licenses and recover the amendment costs through Part 171 annual fees assessed to materials licensees; (3) Revise the two 10 CFR Part 170 hourly rates.
(4): Revise the licensing fees assessed under 10 CFR Part 170 in order to comply with the CFO Act's requirement that fees be revised to reflect the cost to the agency, and to reflect the revised hourly rates.
l B. Amendments to 10 CFR Part 171: Annual Fees for Reactor CDOrating Licenses.
and Fuel Cvele Licenses and Materials Licenses. Includina Holders of Certificates of Comoliance. Reaistrations. and Quality Assurance Proaram Acorovals and Government Aa_encies Licensed bv NRC.
I The NRC proposes major amendments to 10 CFR Part 171, and several adrninistrative amendments to update information in certain sections and to accomodate the major proposed changes These major chinges would result in annual fees being assessed to j
licensees previously exempted from annual fees, increased annual fees for some licensees, and decreased annual fees for other licensees. To address concerns about potential significant fee increases for certain licensees, the NRC is presenting two annual fee options for public l comment, as described in 2. below. The Commission will determine which option to incorporate l
in its final rule after evaluating public comments.
- The proposed changes are consistent with our statutory mandate; that is, charging a class of licensees for NRC costs attributable to that class of licensees. The changes are consistent'with the Congressional guidance in the Conference Committee Report on OBRA-90,
_which states that the
- conferees contemplate that the NRC will continue to allocate generic 18 a Y
F costs that are attributable to a given class of licensees to such class" and the " conferees intend that the NRC assess the annual charge under the principle that licensees who require the greatest expenditures of the agency's resources should pay the greatest annual fee" (136 Cong. Rec. at H12692-93); Costs not attributable o a class of licensees would be allocated following the conferees' guidance v.hkh sic cs that "the Commission should assess the charges for these costs as broadly as practicable in order to minimize the burden for these costs on any licensee or class of licensees so as to establish as fair and equitable a system as is feasible."-(136 Cong. Rec. at H12692-3). The Conference Report guidance also provides that: "These expenses may be recovered from such licensees as the Commission, in its discretion, determines can fairly, equitably and practicably contribute to their payment." As in .
1 the past, these costs would be allocated to the entire population of NRC licensees that pay annual fees, based on the amount of the budget directly attributable to a class of licensees.
1 This results.in, for instance, a higher percentage of these costs being allocated to operating j i
j power reactor licensees as opposed to other classes of licensees.
. The major changes to Part 171 proposed by the NRC are:
- 1. REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING / SPENT FUEL STORAGE l
^ Revise 10 CFR Part 171.15 to ef)stablish a spent fuel storage #
decommissioning annual fee to be assessed to all Part 50 power reactor licensees, regardless j of their operating status, and to those Part 72 licensees who do not hold a Part 50 license. The l full amount of the FY 1999 annual fee would be billed to those Part 50 licensees who are in a i decommissioning or possession only status upon publication of the FY 1999 final rule, and l payment would be due on the effective date of the FY 1999 rule. For operating power reactors ;
and those Part 72 licensees who do not hold a Part 50 license, the new fee would be added to the fourth quarter FY 1999 annual fee bill, and any adjustments for prior payments during FY 1999 would be made in accordance with Section 171.19(b). The current annual fees in 10 CFR 171.16 for Part 72 licenses for inoepenaent spent fuel storage would be eliminated.
This proposed change would affect two existing NRC annual fee policies: 1) currently, 19
-I
costs for generic and other activities related to dry storage of spent fuel that are not recovered through Part 170 licensing and inspection fees are recovered through Part 171 annual fees assessed to all Part 72 licensees; and 2) currently, Part 171 annual fees are not assessed to reactor licensees in decommissioning or possession-only status. Power reactor licensees who are in a decommissioning or possession only status would, for the first time, be subject to Part X) l 71 annual fees for their Part 50 license; however, these licensees currently pay an annual fee for any Part 72 license they hold.
The NRC announced in the FY 1998 fee rulemaWng (_ FR anc _ FR )
that it planned to reexamine the current annual fee exemption policy for licensees in decommissioning or holding possession only licenses and the annual fee policy for reactors' storage of spent fuel, and include any changes to the current fee pol >' es in the FY 1999 fee rulemaking. One purpose of the review was to assure consistent fee treatment for both wet storage (i.e., spent fuel pool) and dry storage (i.e., independent spent fuel storage installations, or ISFSis) of spent fuel. The Commission previously determined that both storage options are considered safe and acceptable forms of storage for spent fuel. Under current fee regulations, Part 50 licensees in decommissioning who store spent fuel in the spent fuel pool are not assessed an annual fee, but licensees who store spent fuel in an ISFSI under Part 72 are assessed an annual fee.
As indicated previopsty, currently Part 171 annual fees are not assessed to reactor lice.' sees who have not ed the NRC that they no longer want an NRC license and have permanently ceased operations. This policy is based on the premise that the primary benefit the NRC provides a licensee is the authority to use licensed facilities or material. Although NRC's generic decommissioning activities support both licenses authorizing operations and those limited to decommissioning or possession only, only licensees with an operating license beat these costs. This becomes a larger problem for operating licensees because as the ;
number of operating licensees declines, the financial burden on the remaining active licensees increasesc However, the-prependerance of the activitics that arc covered by the annual fcc !
essessed to operating reactore-erc not appheebic to decommissionin;tteeeters- Thus, the i
proposed rule change is aimed at ensuring that all power reactor licensees who benefit from j NRC's generic activities bear a fair portion of these costs relating to decommissiong of reactors.
t l l t I ;
i I
With regard to spent fuel storage, holders of licenses issued under Part 72 for independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSis) are currently assessed annual fees for
- each Part 72 license they. hold Part 72 covers both general and specific licenses. The Part 72 general licenses are granted to licensees who hold a Pa150 license; the Part 72 specific
. licenses must be applied for and their issuance is not contingent upon the licensee holding a
~ Part 50 license.: Because the Part 72 generallicenses are issued by regulation to all Part 50 licensees, these licenses are subject to annual fees only when they have been used; i.e, once spent fuel has been loaded into the generally-licensed ISFSI. If a licensee holds more than one
' Part 72 license, for example, a Part 72 general license and a Part 72 specific license for two
- different designs, they are assessed an annual fee for each license.
Costs for generic activities associated with storage of spent fuel in the spent fuel pool (wet storage) are currently included in the annual fee assessed to operating power reactors because the Part 50 licenses cover such storage. Thus, if a Part 50 licensee is in 1
decommissioning and stores spent fuel in the spent fuel pool, it is not assessed an annual fee. j On the other hand, if a Part 50 licensee is in decommissioning and stores spent fuelin on i lSFSI,it is assessed an annual fee for each Part 72 ISFSI license used.
i The current policy has raised three concerns: (1) the fee structure could create a j disincentive for licensees to pursue dry storage; (2) the fairness of assessing multiple annual ;
fees if a licensee holds multiple ISFSI licenses for different designs; and (3) not all affected licensees are being assessed the costs of NRC's generic decommissioning activities.. l l
NRC's proposal to recover all generic costs related to both methods of spent fuel ,
storage and to reactor decommissioning through a spent fuel storage / decommissioning annual fee would address these concerns. Section 171.15 of Part 171 would be revised to include the spent fuel storage / reactor decommissioning annual fee to be assessed to Part 50 power reactor
' licensees and those Part 72 specific licensees who do not hold a Part 50 license. The annual
' fees in 171.16 for fee categories 18 and 138 would be eliminated. This change would not affect the manner in which licensing and inspection costs are recovered; i.e., Part 170 fees would still be assessed to Part 72 licensees and to Part 50 licensees in decommissioning or ,
possession only status for licensing and inspection services. The NRC would continue to 21 u
F include the costs for generic decommissioning / reclamation costs for nonpower reactors, fuel facilities, materials, and uranium recovery licensees in the surcharge assessed to operating licensees, including operating power reactors.
- 2. MNUAL FEES .
Establish new baseline annual fees for FY 1999. The annual fees in @$171.15 and 171,16 would be revised for FY 1999 to recover approximately 100 percent of the FY 1999 budget authority, less fees collected under 10 CFR Part 170 and funds appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund and the General Fund. The total amount to be recovered through fees for FY 1999 is approximately $449.6 million, which is $5.2 million less than in FY 1998. The 1
estimated amount to be recovered through Part 170 fees and other recegts for FY 1999 is illion would be 6&g $107. illion, compared to 594.6 million for FY #998. The remaining S W recovered in FY 1999 through Part 171 annual fees, compared to $360.2 for FY 1998.
In the FY 1995 final fee rule, the NRC stated that it would stabilize annual fees as follows. For FY 1996 through FY 1999, the NRC would adjust the annual fees only by the I
percentage change (plus or minus) in NRC's total budget authority unless there was a substantial change in the total NRC budget authority or the magnitude of the budget allocated to a specific class of licensees. If either case occurred, the annual fee base would be )
recalculated (60 FR 32225; June 20,1995). The NRC also indicated that the percentage change would be adjusted based on changes in 10 CFR Part 170 fees and other adjustments j as well as on the number of licensees paying the fees. This method of determining annual fees is the " percent change" method. The FY 1996 FY 1997 and FY 1998 annual fees were based i on the percent change method. !
In the FY 1996 final rule, the NRC stabilized the annual fees by establishing the annual fees for alllicensees at a level of 6.5 percent below the FY 1995 annual fees. For FY 1997, the NRC followed the same method as used in FY 1996. Because the amount to be recovered )
through fees for FY 1997 was ioentical to the amount to be recovered in FY 1996, establishing f
new baseline fees was not warranted for FY 1997. Based on a change in the distribution 22
between Parts 170 and 171 fees, a reduction in the amount of the budget recovered for 10 CFR Part 170 fees, a reduction in other offsetting adjustments, and a reduction in the number of licensees paying annual fees, the FY 1997 annual fees for all licensees increased 8.4 percent compared to the FY 1996 an.1ual fees. In addition, beginning in FY 1997, the NRC made ar, adjustment to recognize that all fees billed in a fiscal year are not collected in that year.
Because there had not been a substantial change in the NRC budget or in the magnitude of a specific budget allocation to a class of licensees, the NRC continued to stabilize the annual fees for FY 1998 by establishing the FY 1998 annual fees based on the percent change method; annual fees were adjusted downward by 0.1 percent based on the percent change to the NRC budget authority from FY 1997 and taking into consideration the estimated collections from Part 170 fees and the reduced number of licensees paying fees.
Rebaselinina The NRC believes that it is appropriate to establish new baseline fees for FY 1999 based on the program changes that have taken place since the baseline fees were established in FY 1995, including those resuiting from the agency's strategic planning efforts, downsizing, reorganization of agency resources, and the proposed addition of a new annual fee class (spent fuel storage / reactor decommissioning) as previously described. In addition, there have been several fee policy changes since FY 1995. Fee policy changes include the elimination of renewal fees in FY 1996 for most materials licensees, the proposed elimination of amendment f fees for these licensees in FY 1999, and the inclusion of these costs in the materials licensees' annual fees.
Recaselinir,a Ootions The NRC is specifically seeking public comment on two optional rebaselining methods for establishing the FY 1999 annual fees: Option A, rebaselining without a cao, and Option B, rebaselining with a cap so that no licensee't annual fee increases more than 50 percent from I
FY 1998. Option A, rebaselining without a cap, would result in a reduction in annual fees from FY 1998 of approximately 6.8 percent for each operating power reactor, which includes the proposed spent fuel storage / decommissioning annual fee to be assessed to these licensees, 23
and reductions of approximately 7 to 49 percent for certain materials licensees. However, annual fees would increase dramatically for certain other licensees. For example, rebaselining without a cap would result in an increase of approximately 238 percent for solution mining licensees,12/ percent for transportation cask users, and up +a 56 percent for certain other materials licensees. Factors contributing to the annual fees increases are changes in budgeted costs, the increased hourly rates, decreases in the numbers of licensees and, for the smaller materials licenses, the results of the biennial review required by the CFO Act as described in above. The average time to conduct inspections and review new license applications 16 for the smaller materials license fee categories 76used to allocate the materials budget for rebaselining the annual fees because t%
t reflec'gge sY complexity of the license. Thus, increases in the average professional time for inspections and reviews of new license applications results in increased annual fees for the affected fee categories, if all else remains the same. In addition, rebaselinir'g reflects the renewal and amendment costs that would be included in the annual fee lor these materials licensees, which were not included in FY 1995.
Option B, rebaselining with a cap, would also result in annual fee decreases for FY 1999 for operating power reactor licensees and certain materials licensees, and increases for other licensees, but the increases would be capped at 50 percent. However, the decreases under Option B would be slightly less than under Option A because the 50 percent cap on annual fee increases would result in approximately $800,000 being added to the annual fee )
surcharge assessed to other licensees who pay annual fees. Because approximately 80 percent of the FY 1999 surcharge would be assessed to operating power reactors, the net result of Option B (rebaselining with a cap) would be a 6.76 percent reduction in annual fees for FY 1999 for operating power reactors compared to a 6 95 percent reduction under Option A (rebaselining without a cap), a difference of approx ly $6,000 for each power reactor. The decreases under both options include the new spent fuel storage and reactor decommissioning annual fee to be assessed to operating power reactor licensees. Other licensees whose j rebaselinsd annual fees do not increase by 50 percent or more would also pay slightly more l under Option 8 (rebaselining with a cap) than they would under Option A (rebaselining without a cap).
l Table ill below shows the FY 1999 proposed annual fees under both rebaselining I 24 1-
st ;_.
-- options for representative categories of iicensees.
TABLE Ill Class of Licensees Prooosed FY 1999 Annual Fee Option A Option B
' - (without a cao) (with a cao)
Power Reactors Spent Fuel storage / reactor decommissioning
. Nonpower Reactors High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility UF. Conversion Facility Uranium Mills
'Tvcical Materials Licenses L
Radiographers .
' Well L.oggers .
' Gauge Users Broad Scope Medical o The bddgeted costs allocated to each class of licensees and the calculation of the
__below. The workpapers which support this rebaselined fees are described in proposed rule provide detailed info r mation on the FY 1999 budgeted costs allocated to each
'c! ass of licensees. The workpapers pbay be examined et the NRC Public Do
- 2120 L Street NW (Lower Level), Washington, DC 20555-0001.
. In addition to comments on the rebaselining method for determining FY 1999 annual 25 l
i
% . t C fees, public comments are also being sought on whether the NRC should, in future years, continue t'o use the percent enange method and rebaseline fees every several years as
. established in the FY 1995 fee rule, or return to a policy of rebaselining annual fees every year, or every few years as circumstances require.
- 3. REVISED FUEL CYCLE AND URANIUM RECOVERY MATRIXES 0k h /#(gg .
Js revisejW 7 in the determination of annual fees for fuel facility and uranium atrixes recovery lic s. As part of the rebaselining efforts, the NRC is proposing to use a revised matrix depicting the categorization of fuel facility and uranium recovery licenses by authorized material and use/ activity and the relative programmatic effort associated with each category.
- a. Fuel Facility Matrix The a!!ccotion of Fan 171 fccs has not been rebasc!!ned sin;;c the FY 05 Pcc Ru!c. For the+Y-1900 Fcc Rule, the Nucicar Regu! story Commission executed a reba*clining initi-tive
. with a des"n objectiv; of a!!ccating fccs bauxHm a risk based approach and The NRC is proposed to use a revised fue! facility matrix based on the commensurate level of regulatory effort ic licens cr certify the related to the various fuel facility categories from both safety and safeguards perspectives. The initiative entailcd utilizing the mcthodology devc!cped for th; FY 05 Icc Rulc dth-e revised matrix wNeh results in the annual fees more accurately reflecting the cost of providing generic and other regulatory services to each fuel facility type.
The allocation of the NRC's S . million in budgeted costs to the individual fuel facilities is based on the revistd matrix. feferenccd car!ier.- The objective of revising the matrix is to mor; accuratc!y rc'!cct Agency genc !c costs attributabic to fuc! cyclc f;cillty licen;;;;. The revisions to the matrix were necessitated by the addition of the enrichment plants to the fee 26
I
~
t base, changes in process operations at certain licensees and dc'ction of a reduction of three licensees ( B&W Parks Township, B&W Research and General Atomic) (fem the fcc ba c as )
l the result of the termination of licensed activities. In the revised matrix, licensees are grouped into five categories according to their licensed activities ( i.e., nuclear material enrichment, processing operations and material form) and according to Ne level, scope, depth of coverage and rigor of generic regulatory programmatic effort applicable to each category from safety and safeguards perspectives. This methodology can be applied to determine fees for new l
licensees, current licensees, licensees in unique license situations and certificate holders. l 1
The methodology is amenable to changes in the number of licensees or certificate holders, licensed-certified material / activities and total programmatic resources to be recovered through annual fees. When a license or certificate is modified, given that NRC recovers approximately 100 percent of its generic regulatory program costs through fee recovery, this fuel facility fee methodology may Nsult in a change in fee category and may have an effect on the fees assessed to other licensees and certificate holders. For example, if a fuel facility licensee amended its license / certificate in such a way that it resulted in them not being subject 1
to Part 171 fees applicable to fuel facilities, the budget for the safety and/or safeguards component would be spread among those remaining licensees / certificate holders, resulting in a higher fee for those remaining in the fee category.
i The methodology is applied as follows. First, a fee category is assigned based on certain criteria and the nuclear mterial and activity authorized by license or certificate.
I Although a licensee / certificate holder may elect not to fully utilize a license / certificate, the license / certificate is still used as the source for determining authorized nuclear material
' 27 l
L
possession and use/ activity. Next, the category and license / certificate information are used to determine where the licensee / certificate holder fits into the matrix. The matrix depicts the l categorization of licensees / certificate holders by authorized material types and use/ activities l
and the relative programmatic effort associated with each category. The programmatic effort (expressed as a value in the matrix) reflects the safety and safeguards risk significance associated with the nuclear material and use/ activity, and the commensurate generic regulatory ,
program (i.e., scope, depth and rigor).
Utilizing this methodclcgy, the mainx to support the FY 00 Fcc fig!cwes revised to rc0cci the impact of the ad@en of the enrichment fac!Etics to the fcc basc, changes in authorized process actMtics at ecdain licenscca and tha dc'ction of436W-Parks Townsh4, S&W ficscarch and Ocncral Atomic as the resuit of the termination cflicensed activitics. Taking the above changes into account, the The relative weighted factors for the vanous subclasses are as follows:
No. of Relative Weiaht Per Facility Facilities Jafety Safeauards High Enriched Uranium Fuel 2 Enrichment 2 Low Enriched Uranium Fuel 4 1
UF6 Conversion Limited Operations Facility 1 1
Others The above weighted factors for the safety and safeguards portion are applied to the $ million base fee. To this bcse fee, the LLW and other surcharges are added.
28
Uranium Recoverv Matrix Ofthe ($ million in base budget plus million in surcharge )
attributable to the uranium recovery class of licensees, approximately million will be assessed to the Department of Energy (OOE) to recover the costs associated with DOE facilities under the Uranium Mitt Tailings Radiaiton Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA). Tne remaining will be recovered through annual fees assessed to conventional mills, i solution r"ining uranium mills, and mill tailings disposal facilities. Because the proposed FY 1999 annual fees would result in certain uranium recovery licensees going from an annual billing process based on the anniversary date of their license to quarterly billing, those licensees would be billed upon publication of the final FY 1999 rule for the balance of the full FY 1999 annual fee. Payment of the balance of the FY 1999 annual fee would be due on the effective date of the FY 1999 rule.
The NRC is proposing to revise the matrix established in FY 1995 for establishing the annual fees for the conventional mills, solution mining uranium mills, and mill tailings disposal facilities. The revised matrix ref:ects NRC's significantly increased efforts related to groundwater concerns for in-situ licenses, and somewhat increased efforts related to groundvater concerns for conventional mills. The revised matrix also reflects an j i
increase in egulatory efforts related to waste operations for in-situ licenses. The matrix has also been updated to reflect the changes in the number of licensees within each fee category.
The number.of conventional mills has decreased from 4 in FY 1995 to 3 in FY 1999 and the number of licensees ?n the solution mining fee category has increased by 1.
1 i
29 j i
f~ . . - .
t The methodology for establishing Part 171 annual fees for uranium recovery licensees has not changed: (1) the methodology identifies three categories of licenses: conventional uranium milis, solion mining uranium mills. and mi!l tailings disposal facilities, each of which benefits froin the generic uranium recovery program; (2) the matrix relates th7 category and the level of benefit, by program element and subelement; (3) the two major program elements of the generic uranium recovery program are activities related to facility operations and those related in facility closure; (4) each of the major program elements was further divided into three f!
subelements; (5) the three major subelements of generic activities related to uranium facility rekici {
operations are activitie Jrestfd to the operation of the mill, activities related to the handling and 1 P
disposal of waste, and activities related to(revention of groundwater contamination. The three
&' I major subelements of generic activitp related to uranium facility closure are activities related to decommission of facilities and cleanup of land reclamation and closure of the tailings Cmdem:nbak impoundment, and cleanup of cg niched groundwater. Weighted factors were assigned to each program element and subelement.
l I
The applicability of the generic program in eac,h subelement to each uranium recovery I
category was qualitatively estimated as either signifant, some, minor, or none. ,
The resulting relative weighted factor per facility for the various subclasses and the l
l proposed FY 1999 annual fee for each are as follows:
1 Number of Relative Weight Facilities Per Facility
{.
30
Class I facilities Class 11 facilities 11e(2) disposal 11e(2) disposalincidental to existing tailings sites Rare Earth Facilities ,
For rare earth facilities, the generic and other regulatory costs of $ have been spread uniformly among licensees who have a specific license for receipt and processing of source material. This results in an annual fee of $ for each rare earth facility.
Materials Users To equitably and fairly allocate the $ million directly attributable to the approximately diverse material users and registrants plus the materials share of the surcharge ( ), the NRC has continued the methodology used in FY 1995 to establish
~
baseline annual fees for this class. The annual fee is based on the Part 170 application fees and an estimated cost for inspections. Because the application fees and inspection costs are indicative of the complexity of the license, this approach continues to provide a proxy for allocating the generic and other regulatory costs to the diverse categories of licensees based on how much jt costs NRC to regulate each category. The fee cabulation also continues to consider the inspection frequency (priority), which is indicative of the safety risk and resulting regulatory costs associated with the categories of licensees. The annual fee for these categories of licensees is developed as follows:
31
Annual fee = (Application Fee + Average Inspection Cost / Inspection Priority _ x constant
+ ((Unique Category Costs).
The constant is the multiple necessary to recovery _ million in FY 1999 is
- the unique costs are any special costs that the NRC has budgeted for a specific category of licensees. For FY 1999, unique cost of approximately were identified for the medical
- development program which is attributable to medical licensees.
Because the final FY 1999 fee rule will be a " major" final action as defined by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, the NRC's fees for FY 1999 would become effective 60 days after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. The NRC will send an invoice for the amount of the annual fee upon publication of the FY 1999 final rule
'to reacters and major fuel cycle facihties. For these licensees, payment would be due on the effective date of the FY 1999 rule. Those._ materials licensees whose license anniversary date
- dring FY 1999 falls before the effective date of the final FY 1999 final rule would be billed during the anniversary month of the license and continue to pay annual fees at the FY 1998 rate in FY 1999.- Those materials licensees whose license anniversary date falls on or after the effective date of the final FY 1999 final rule would be billed at the FY 1999 revised rates during the anniversary month of the' license and payment would be due on the date of the invoice.
_ ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENTS
- a. Section 171.13'would be amended to acconpdate the proposal to establish an' annual fee for power reactors in a decommissioning or possession only status.
32
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p
- b. Section 171.15 would be revised to as follows:
(1) The heading for Section 171.15 would be revised to read:
Section 171.15 Annual Fee: Reactor Licenses and Independent Spent Fuel Storage Licenses (2) Paragraph (b) of Section 171.15 would be revised in its entirety to establish the FY 1999 annual fees for operating power reactors, power reactors in decommissioning or possession only status, and Part 72 licensees who do not hold Part 50 licenses. Fiscal year references would be changed from FY 1998 to FY 1999. Th'e activities comprising the base FY 1999 annual fees and the FY 1999 additional charge (surcharge) are listed in paragraphs (b) and (c) for convenience purposes.
Each operating power reactor would pay an annual fee of S in FY 1999, which includes an annual fee of _ for spent fuel storage / reactor decommissioning..
Each power reactor in decommissioning or possession only status and each Part 72 licensee who does not hold a Part 50 license would pay the spent fuel storage / reactor decommissioning 1
annual fee of $ in FY 1999.
I i
(3) Paragraph (e) of Section 171.15 would be revised to show the amount of the I
FY 1999 annual fee for nonpower (test and research) reactors. The NRC will continue to grant exemptions from the annual fee to Federally-owned and State-owned research and test 33 o ;
c l
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reactors that meet the exemption criteria specified in 171.11(a)(2).
(4) Paragraph (f) of Section 171.15 would be revised to change fiscal year date 1
references,
- c. Section 171.16 would be revised as follows: i
, ?
(1) Section 171.16(c) covers the fees assessed for those licensees that can qualify as small entities under NRC size standards. A materials licensee may pay a reduced annual fee if the licensee qualifies as a small_ entity under the NRC's size standards and certifies that it is a small entity using NRC Form 526. This section would be revised to clarify 1
that failure to file a small entity certification in a timely manner could form the basis for the denial of any refund that would otherwise be due. The NRC will continue to assess two fees for licensees that qualify as small entities under the NRC's size standards. In general, licensees with gross annual receipts of $350,000 to $5 mi' lion pay a maximum annual fee of $1,800. A l l
second or lower-tier small entity fee of $400 is in place for small entities with gross annual l receipts of less than $350,000 and smal_I governmental juris' dictions with a population of less than 20,000. No change in_ the amount of.the'small entity fees is being proposed because the l small entity fees are not based on budgeted costs but are established at a level to reduce the impact of fees on small entities. The small entity fees are shown in the proposed rule for 4 convenience.
. (2) Section 171,16(d) would be revised to establish the FY 1999 annual fees for materials licensees, including Government agencies, licensed by the NRC. The amount or 34
' range of the' proposed FY 1999 annual fees for materia ls licenses is summarized as follows: )
i Materials Licenses ;
Annual Fee Ranaes !
1 Cateaorv'of License Annual Fees I
Part 70 - High j enriched fuel facility l
l Part 70 - Low .
1 i
'anriched fuel facility Part 40 ; UF.
conversion facility ,
i Part 40 - Uranium $ to S recovery facilities ;
i I
I 1
Part 30 - Byproduct 5to$'
1 Material Licenses l Part 71 - Transportation 5 to S of Radioactive Material 35 l
)
i I
Part 72 - Independent $
Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel i Excludes the annual fee for a few military " master" meterials licenses of broad-scope issued to Government agencies, which is S (3) Footnote 1 of 10 CFR 171.16(d) would be amended to provide a waiver of the annual fees for materials licensees, and holders of certificates, registrations, and approvals, who either filed for termination of their licenses or approvals or filed for possession only/ storage only licenses before October 1,1998, and permanently ceased licensed activities entirely by September 30,1998. All other licensees and approval holders who held a license or approval on October 1,1998, are subject to the FY 1999 annual fees.
Holders of new licenses issued during FY 1999 would be subject to a prorated annual fee in accordance with the current proration provision of 5171.17 For example, those new
< materials licenses issued during the period October 1 through March 31 of the FY will be assessed one-half the annual fee in effect on the anniversary date of the license. New materials licenses issued on or after April 1,1999, will not be assessed an annual fee for FY 1999. Thereafter, the full annual fee is due and payable each subsequent fiscal year on the i
anniversary date of the license. Beginning June 11,1996, (the effective date of the FY 1996 final rule), affected materials licensees are subject to the annual fee in effect on the anniversary ]
date of the license. The anniversary date of the materials license for annual fee purposes is the first day of the month in which the original license was issued.
36
- d. Section 171.19 Payment, would be revised as follows:
(1) Paragraph (b) would be revised to update the fiscal year references, to include a billing process for those licensees whose annual fee for the previous fiscal year was based on the anniversary date of the license, and whose revised annual fee for the current fiscal year would be based on quarterly billing, and to give credit for partial payments made by certain licensees in FY 1999 toward their FY 1999 annual fees. The NRC anticipates that the first, second, and third quarterly payments for FY 1999 will have been made by operating power reactor licensees and some large materials licensees before the final rule becomes effective.
Therefore, the NRC would credit payments received for those quarterly annual fee assessments toward the total annual fee to be assessed. The NRC would adjust the fourth {
('
quarterly invoice to recover the full amount of the revised annual fee or to make refunds, as necessary. Payment of the annual fee is due on the date of the invoice and interest accrues from the invoice date. However, interest will be waived if payment is received within 30 days from the invoice date.
(2) Paragraph (c) would be revised to update fiscal year references.
As in FY 1998, the NRC would continue to bill annual fees for most materials licenses on the anniversary date of the license (licensees whose annual fees are $100,000 or more will continue to be assessed quarterly). The annual fee assessed will be the fee in effect on the i
license anniversary date, unless the annual fee for the prior year was less than $100,000 and the revised annual fee for the current fiscal year is $100,000 or more. In this case, the revised amount will be billed to the licensees upon publication of the final rule in the Federal Register, 37
s 1
adjusted for any annual fee payments already made for that fiscal year based on the anniversary month billing process. For FY 1999, the anniversary date billing process applies to those materials licenses in the following fee categories: 1.C. and 1.D; 2 3.A.
I I
through 3.P,; 4.A. through 9.D., and 10.B. For annual fee purposes, the anniversary date of the
- materials license is considered to be the first day of the month in which the original materials license was issued. - For example, if the original materials license was issued on June 17 then, 1
for annual fee purposes, the anniversary date of the materials license is June 1 and the l
licensee would continue to be billed in June of each year for the annual fee in effect on June 1. l Materials licensees with anniversary dates in FY 1999 before the effective date of the FY 1999 final rule will t e billed during the anniversary month of the license and continue to pay annual fees at the FY 1998 rate in FY 1999. Those materials licensees with license anniversary dates falling on or after the effective date of the FY 1999 final rule would be billed, at the FY 1999 revised rates, during the anniversary mor.th of their license and payment would be due on the date of the invoice.
)
I Ouring the p;;t aight ycors many licen;;cs h;ve indic;ted th . lthough they h;ld a ,
l v;iid NRO licenss authoricing the possc;; ion and use of sp;;i;! nucic r, scurec, or byproduet l 1
m;teria', they w;r; cith;r not using th; m;tcri;' to ;;nduct operations or h;d disp;;cd of th; l l
meteria end n;lcag;r n;;d:d th; license. In rc;p;nse, th; NRO has con;!; tent ly st:tcd that i
ennu;! f;;s arc ;;;;;;;d b;;cd on wh;ther :licen;;; holds v;!!d NRO li;;ns; th;t l
. authoric;; p;s;;;;!;n end us; cf radic:ctiv; m;teria!. "!h;ther er not ; li;;n;;; i; ;;tu;lly
- nducting oper;tions uslng the meterialis a metter of.ll;cn;;; discretion. The NRC ;;nnot t
';;ntre wh;ther = ll;;n;;; ;!;;ts to p;;;;;; end use r;dicactive m;tcria! ;n;; it rc;;iv;; ;
i;cens: from the NRO. Therefore,The NRC reemphasizes that the annual fee will be assessed 38-
.t t
based on whether a licensee holds a valid NRC license that authorizes possession and use of radioactive material. To remove ony uncc-tainty, the NRC issued minct ciarifying amendments to 10 CPR 171.10, focincics 1 cnd 7 on July 20,1003 (50 FR 3S700).
1 IV. EnvironmentalImpact: Cate gorical Exclusion ;
The NRC has determined that this proposed rule is the type of action described in categorical exclusion 10 CFR 51.22(c)(1). Therefore, neither an environmental impact statement nor an environmentalimpact assessment has been prepared for the proposed regulation. By its very nature,- this regulatory action does not affect the environment, and therefore, no environmental justice issues are raised.
V. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement This proposed rule contains no information colk.ction requirements and, therefore, is not subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
l VI. Regulatory Analysis j
With respect to 10 CFR Part 170, this proposed rule was developed pursuant to Title V of the Independent Offices Appropriation Act of 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C. 9701) and the Commission's fee guidelines. When developing these guidelines the Commission took into ;
account guidance provided by the U.S. Supreme Court on March 4,1974, in its decision of National Cable Television Association Inc. v. United States,415 U.S. 36 (1974) and Eedent!
39
Power Commission v. New Enoland Power Comoanv 415 US 345 (1974). In these decisions, the Court held that the IOAA authorizes an agency to charge fees for special benefits rendered i
to identifiable persons measured by the "value to the recipient" of the agency service. The meaning of the IOAA was further clarified on December 16,1976, by four decisions of the U.S.
Couit of Appeals for the District of Columbia: National Cable Television Association v. Federal i
Communications Commission. 554 F.2d 1094 (D.C. Cir.1976); National Association of Broadcasters v. Federal Communications Commission. 554 F.2d 1118 (D.C. Cir.1976);
Electronic Industries Association v. Federal Communications Commission,554 F.2d 1109 (D.C.
Cir.1976) and Caoital Cities Communication. Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission,554 F.2d 1135 (D.C. Cir.1976). These decisions of the Courts enabled the Commission to develop fee guidelines that are still used for cost recovery and fee development purposes.
The Commission's fee guidelines were upheld on August 24,1979, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Mississiooi Power and Light Co. v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,601 F.2d 223 (5th Cir.1979), cfJ1 denied,444 U.S.1102 (1980). The Court held
' that--
(1) The NRC had the authority to recover the full cost of providing services to identifiable beneficiaries; (2) The NRC could properly assess a fee for the costs of providing routine inspections necessary to ensure a licensee's compliance with the Atomic Energy Act and with applicable regulations; 40 m
~; , n .
(3) The NRC could charge for costs incurred in conducting environmenta! reviews required by NEPA; (4) The NRC properly included the costs of uncontested hearings and of administrative and technical support services in the fee schedule; (5) The NFC could assess a fee for renewing a license to operate a low-level radioactive I
waste burial site; and i
\
(6) The NRC's fees were not arbitrary or capricious.
I With respect to 10 CFR Part 171, on November 5,1990, the Congress passed Public j Law 101-508, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-90) which required that ;
for FYs 1991 through 1995, approximately 100 percent of the NRC budget authority be recovered through the assessment of fees. OBRA-90 was amended in 1998 to extend the 100 percent fee recovery requirement for NRC through FY 1999. To accomplish this statutory requirement, the NRC, in accordance with @171.13, is publishing the proposed amount of the FY 1999 annual fees for operating reactor licensees, fuel cycle licensees, materials licensees, and holders of Certificates of Compliance, registrations of sealed source and devices and QA program approvals, and Government agencies OBRA-90 and the Conference Committee Report specifically state that-(1) The annual fees be based on the Commission's FY 1999 budget of $469.8 million less the amounts collected from Part 170 fees and the funds directly appropriated from the 41
p NWF to cover the NRC's high level waste program; and the general fund rclsted ic commercia!
vitnf, cation of wasic at the Ocpadmcnt of Encrgy Hanford, Washington site, and the pilot program pertaining to cxicmalicguistlcn of'.he-Ocpadment of Encrgy; (2) The annual fees shall, to the maximum extent practicable, have a reasonable relationship to the cost of regulatory services provided by the Commission; and (3) The annual fees be assessed to those licensees the Commission, in its discretion, determines can fairly, equitably, and practicably contribute to their payment.
i
~ In addition, the NRC's FY 1999 appropriations language provides that $3.2 million appropriated from the General Fund for activities related to regulatory reviews and other assistance provided to the Department of Energy and other Federal agencies be excluded from fee recovery.
10 CFR Part 171, which estabbshed annual fees for operating power reactors effective October 20,1986 (51 FR 33224; September 18,1986), was challenged and upheld in its
- entirety in Florida Power and Liaht Comoany v. United States,846 F.2d 765 (D.C. Cir.1988),
I spert dsnied,490 U.S.1045 (1989).
I The NRC's FY 1991 annual fee rule was largely upheld by the D.C. Circuit Court of j
- l. Appeals in Allied Sianal v. NRC,988 F.2d 146 (D.C. Cir.1993).
Vll. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis j
42
The NRC is required by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to recover approximately 100 percent of its budget authority through the assessment of user fees. OBRA-90 further requires that the NRC establish a schedule of charges that fairly and equitably allocates the aggregate amount of these charges among licensees.
This proposed rule establishes the schedules of fees that are necessary to implement the Congressional mandate for FY 1999. The proposed rule would result in both increases and decreases in the annual fees charged to licensees, and holders of certificates, registrations, and approvals. The Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, prepared in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 604, is included as Appendix A to this proposed rule. The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA) was signed into law on March 29,1996. The SBREFA 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. Therefore, in compliance with the law, Attachment 1 to the Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (Appendix A to this document) is the small entity compliance guide for FY 1999.
Vill. Backfit Analysis The NRC has determined that the backfit rule,10 CFR 50.109, does not apply to this proposed rule and that a backfit analysis is not required for this proposed rule. The backfit analysis is not required because these proposed amendments do not require the modification of or additions to systems, structures, components, or the design of a facility or the design approval or manufacturing license for a facility or the procedures or organization required to design, construct or operate a facility.
43 v
List of Subjects f
~
10 CFR Part 170 -- Byproduct material,-Import and export licenses, Intergovernmental relations l Non payment penalties, Nuclear materials, Nuclear power plants and reactors,
. Source material, Special nuclear material 10 CFR Part 171 -- Annual charges, Byproduct material, Holders of certificates,
-registrations, approvals, Intergovernmental relations, Non-payment penalties, Nuclear materials, Nuclear power plants and reactors Source material, Special nuclear material.
For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and 5 U.S.C. 553, the NRC is proposing to adopt the following amendments to 10 CFR Parts 170 and 171.
PART 170 -- FEES FOR FACILITIES, MATERIALS, IMPORT AND EXPORT LICENSES, AND
~ OTHER REGULATORY SERVICES UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT OF 1954, AS
' AMENDED;
.1, . The authority citation'for Part 170 continues to read as follows:
- Authority : 31 U S.CL9701,96 Stat'.1051; sec. 301, Pub. L.92-314, 86 Stat. 222 (42
. U.S.C. 2201w); sec. 201, Pub. L. 93-4381,88 Stat.1242, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5841); sec.
i 44 n;
r-205, Pub. L 101-576,104 Stat. 2842, (31 U.S.C. 901).
- 2.- Section 170.2, Scope, paragraph (r) is added to read:
(r) ' An applicant for or a holder of'a certificate of compliance issued pursuant to 10
, CFR Part 76.
- 3. ' In Section' 170.3, the definitions " Inspections" is revised to read as follows::
i'
" Inspection" means:
i l
li (1) Routine inspections designed to evaluate the licensee's activities within the context of the licensee having primary responsibility for protection of the public and environment, (2) Non-routine inspections in response or reaction to an incident, allegation, SJ followup to inspection deficiencies or inspections to determine implemer/ tion of safety issues.
A non-routine ~ or reactive inspection has the same purpose as the routine inspection.
-(3) Reviews and assessments of licensee performance.
(4) Evaluations, such as those performed by Diagnostic Evaluation Tams.
(5) Incident investigations.
" Materials License" means a license, certificate, approval, registration, or other form of permission issued by the NRC pursuant to the regulations in 10 CFR parts 30,32 through 36, 39,40,_61:,70,71,72 and 76.
t 45 I
l l l
i i
- f. )
e, i
4, Section 170.5 is revised to read as follows:
9170.5 Communications;
. All communications concerning the regulations in this part should be addressed to the ;
i Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Communications may be delivered in person at the Commission's offices at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.-
-4 ,
- 5. Sectior 170.8. is revised to read as follows:
6170'8 Information collection reaujtements OMB accroval.
~ This proposed rule contains no inf nation collection requirements and, therefore, is not
- subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 350'i et seq.).
- 6. In Section 170.11, paragraph (a)(11)is removed and reserved and paragraph (a)(12) is added to read as follows:
$170.11 Exemotions
~
(a)(11) (Reserved).
. (a)(12) . A performance assessment or evaluation for which the licensee
-46
_.e-+m.
volunteers at NRC's request and which is selected by the NRC.
- 7. Section 170.12 is revised to read as follows:
@170.12 Pavment of fees.
-(a) Application fees. Fcca for applications for meteriais licenses not subject to fu!! cost recovery must accompany the app'ication when it is fi!cd. Each application for which a fee is prescribed shall be accompanied by a remittance in the full amount of the fee. The NRC will not issue a new license or an amendment increasing the scope of an existing license to a higher fee category or adding a new category prior to receipt of the prescribed fee. All application fees will be charged irrespective of the Commission's disposition of the application or a withdrawal of the application.
(b) Licensing fees. (1) Licensing fees will be assessed to recover full costs for the review of applications for new licenses, amendments to and renewal of existing licenses or approvals, and other documents submitted to the NRC for review (such as financial assurance submittals that do not require a license amendment, responses to Confirmatory Action Letters, uranium recovery licensee's land-use survey reports, and 10 CFR 50.71 final safety analysis reports), preapplication consultations and reviews, and to recover the full cost for project managers assigned to a specific plant or facility, excluding leave time and time spent on generic activities (such as rulemaking). Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff l time and appropriate contractural support services expended. The full cost fees for
/
- professional staff time will be determined at the professional hourly rates in effect e the time 47 t
i j
L
the service was provided. The full cost fees F.re payable upon notification by the Commission.
The NRC intends to bill each applicant or licensee at quarterly intervals for all accumulated costs for each application or document the applicant or licensee has on file for NRC review, until the review is completed, except for costs that were deferred before August 9, 1991. The. deferred costs will be billed as described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of this section.
l Each bill will identify the applications and documents submitted for review and the costs related to each. !
(2)~ The NRC intends to bill each applicant or licensee for costs related to project manager time and preapplication consultations and reviews on a quarterly basis . Each bill will identify the costs related to project manager time and preapplication consultations and reviews.
l (c) Inspection fees. (1) inspection fees will be assessed to recover full cost for each resident inspector assigned to a specific plant or facility The fees assessed will be based on
. the number of hours that each inspector assigned te the plant or facility is in an offical duty status (i.e.', all time in a non-leave status wili ce biVed) and the hours will be billed at the .
appropriate hourly rate established in 10 CFR 170.20.
(2) Inspection' fees will be assessed to recover the full cost for each specific inspection, including plant- or licensee-specific performance reviews and assessments, evaluations, and incident investigations. For inspections that result in the issuance of an inspection report, fees will be assessed for costs incurred up to approximately 30 days after the ;
}
.48 Y
I inspection report is issued, The costs for these inspections include preparation time, time on site, documentation time, and follow-up activities and any associated contract al service costs,
! but exclude the time involved in the processing and issuance of a notice of violation or civil penalty. Resident inspector time related to a specific inspection will be assessed in accordance with paragraph (c)(1) of this section, and will not be reflected in the costs billed for the specific inspection.
(3) Fees for resident inspectors' time and for specific inspections subject to full cost recovery will be billed on a quarterly basis and are payable upon notification by the
!. Commission.
. (d) Specia/ Project Fees. Fees for applications for special projects such as topical i
reports, financial assurance submittats which do not require a license amendment, responses to Confirmatory Action Letters, uranium recovery licensees' land-use survey reports, and 10 CFR 50.71 final safety analysis reports, are based on the full cost of the review and are payable i
upon notification by the Commission. The NRC intends to bill each applicant at quarterly intervals until the review is completed. Each bill w;Il identify the documents submitted for review i
appHcadens and the costs related to each.
l
- 8. Section 170.20 is revised to read as follows:
6170 20 Averaoe_c_Qst oer orofessional staff hour.
49 e
i.-
Fees for permits, lice'nses, amendments, renewals, special projects Part 55 requalification and replacement examinations and tests, other required reviews, approvals and inspections under 9@170.21 and 170.31 that arc based upon the fu!l costs for the revicve ct lnspect:cn will be calculated using the following applicable professional staff-hour rates:
Reactor Program $141 per hour
(@170.21 Activities) i Nuclear Materials and $140 per hour i
Nuclear Waste Program !
j
(@170.31 Activities) l
- 9. In @i70.21, the introductory text, Category K, and footnotes 1 and 2 to the table are revised to read as follows:
l J
6170.21 Schedule of fees for oroduction and utilization facilities. review of standard referenced ;
desian aoorovals. soecial oroiects insoections and imoort and exoort licenses.
Applicants for construction permits, manufacturing licenses, operating licenses, import and export licenses, approvals of facility standard reference designs, requalification and I
replacement examinations for reactor operators, and special projects and holders of construction permits, licenses, and other approvals shall pay fees for the following categories of services.
50
~_.
a SCHEDULE OF FACILITY FEES (See footnotes at end of table)
Facility Categories and Type of Fees Feesti zi K. Import and export licenses.
I Licenses for the import and export only of production and utilization facilities or the export only of components for production and utilization facilities issued pursuant to 10 CFR Part 110.
l l
- 1. Application for import or export of reactors and other facilities and exports .
l of components which must be reviewed by the Commissioners and the
)
Executive Branch, for example, a' ions under 10 CFR 110.40(b).
4 Application-new license . . .. . . .
59,100 ,
Amendment .
59,100 a
- 2. Application for export of reactor and other components requiring Executive Branch revlew only, far example. thote actions under 10 CFR 110.41(a)(1)-(8).
51 L
T<
l.
i .,
p.
Application-new license - . ,. . 55,600 Amendment . . . . . . . . . .. . . $5.600 L
3.- . Application for export of compons...a requiring foreign government assurances only.
! Application-newlicense . .... . .. . .. ,. .. $1.700 .
Amendment . . . . . . .. . .. 51,700
., 4. Application for export of facihty components and equipment not requiring i-L Commissioner review, Executive Branch review, or foreign government f assurances.
l l-Application-new license ., . .. ... .. $1,100 Amendment . . . . . .. .... . . . . . . . $1,100
- 5. Minor amendment of any export or imoort license to extend the expiration date, change domestic information, or make other revisions which do not l
require in-depth analysis or_re' view.
Amendment . . . . . , -, .. .... . . ... . , . . $210
' Fees will not be charged for orders issued by the Commission pursuant to $2.202 of this chapter or for amendsents resulting specifically from the requirements of these types of 52
it Commission orders. Fees will be charged for approvals k sued under a specific exemption provision of the Commission's regulations under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (e.g., @ 50.12,73.5) and any other sections now or hereafter in effect regardless of whether the approvalis in the form of a license amendment, letter of approval, safety evaluation report, or other form. Fees for licenses in this schedule that are initially issued for less than full power are i
based on review through the issuance of a full power license (generally full power is considered )
l 100 percent of the facility's full rated power). Thus, if a licensee received a low power license 4
or a temporary license for less than full power and subsequently receives full power authority (by way of license amendment or otherwise), the total costs for the license will be determined through that penod when authonty is granted for full power operation. If a situation arises in l
which the Commission determines that full operating power for a particular facility should be less than 100 percent of full rated power, the total costs for the license will be at that i determined lower operating power level and not at the 100 percent capacity.
8 Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff time and appropriate contractual support services expended. For applications currently on file and for which fees are determined based on the full cost expended for the review, the professional staff hours !
l expended for the review of the application up to the effective date of the final rule will be l
determined at the professional rates in effect at the time the service was provided. For those
! applications currem.y on file for which review costs have reached an applicable fee ceiling established by the June 20,1984, and July 2,1990, rules but are still pendin'g completion of the f
review, the cost incurred after any applicable ceiling was reached through January 29,1989, will not be billed to the applicant. Any professional staff-hours expended above those ceilings on or after January 30,1989, will be assessed at the applicable rates established by $170.20, 53 I
i
as appropriate, except for topical reports whose costs exceed $50,000. Costs which exceed
$50,000 for any topical report, amendment, revision or supplement to a topical report completed or under review from January 30,1989, through August 8,1991, v. il not be billed to the applicant. Any professional hours expended on or after August 9,1991, will be assessed at the applicable rate established in @170.20. In no event will the total review costs be less than twice the hourly rate shown in $170.20.
- 10. Section 170.31 is revised to read as follows:
@170.31 Schedule of fees for matenals kcenses and_pther reautatory services. includina l insoections. ancLimoort and exoort bcenses.
Applicants for materials licenses, import and export licenses, and other regulatory services and holders of materials licenses, or import and export licenses shall pay fees for the following categor:es of services, This schedule includes fees for health and safety and safeguards inspections where applicable.
SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES (See footnotes at end of table)
CategoIy_olmalerialsjicenses and type of fees' Eee2 '
- 1. Special nuclear material: j 54 4
A. Licenses for possession and use of 200 grams or more of plutonium in unsealed form or 350 grams or more of contained U-235 in unsealed form or 200 grams or more of U-233 in unsealed form. This includes applications to terminate licenses as well as licenses authorizing possession only:
Licensing and Inspection . . . Full Cost I
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel at an independent l
spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI):
Licensing and inspection Full Cost C. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear materialin sealed sources contained in devices used in industrial measuring systems, including x ray fluorescence analyzers:'
Application .
. .. . 5640 l D. All other special nuclear material licenses, except licenses authorizing special nuclear material in unsealed form in combination that would constitute a critical quantity, as defined in $150.11 of this chapter, for which the licensee shall pay the same fees as those 55 i
9e f i t G
l" for Category 1 A:' -
Application . . . . . . . . . . . .. ... .. . . . ... ... .$1300 1
, E. Licenses or certificates for construction and operation of a uranium enrichment facility.
. Licensing and inspection . . . .,..... .. . ... . . Full Cost
. - Source matenal:
A.(1) Licenses for possession and use of source materialin p
- recovery operations such as milling, in situ leaching,
- heap-leaching refining uranium mill concentrates to uranium hexafluoride, ore buying stations, ion exchange facilities and in processing of ores containing. source material for extraction -
of meta'Is 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:
L Licensing and inspection . . .. ...... ....... . Full Cost -
i t
r e . .
1 hi y
L'.. _ ,
7 (2) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct material, as defined in Section 11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act from other persons for possession and disposal except those licenses subject to tees in Category 2.A.(1).
Licensing and inspection . . . . Full Cost (3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct material, as defined in Section 11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for possession and disposalincidental to the disposal of the uranium waste taihngs generated by the hi:ensee's milhng operations, except those licenses subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(1).
Licensing and inspection . . . Full Cost B. Licenses which authorize the possession, use and/or installation of source material for shielding ~ .
1 Application . . . 5150 C. All other source material licenses:
Application 55,500 l 57
p u;
- 3. syoroduct mat'erial:
A.' Licenses of broad sccpe for possession and use of byproduct materialissued pursuant to Parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for
~
processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct j-material for commercial cistribution:
Application . . . ... .. . . . ... .. . .. 56,600
, B. Other licenses for possession and use of byproduct materialissued pursuant to Part 30 of this chapter for processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution: i Application . .... . . .... .... . . . ........ 52,400
- C. Licenses issued pursuant to @ 32,72,32.73, and/or 32.74 of this ,
t _ chapter authorizing the processing or manufacturing and
^
distribution or redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals, generators, j
~
reagent kits and/or sources and devices containing' byproduct material. This cctegory does not apply to licenses issued to b nonprofit educationalinstitutions whose processing or
' manufacturing is exempt under 10 CFR 170.11(a)(4). These 58 1 I
l
!im.
licenses are covered by fee Category 3D.
Application ... . ... .. . ... . 510,200 V
- D. - Licenses and approvals issued pursuant to 9 32.72,32.73, and/ or 32.74 of this chapter authorizing distribution or redistribution of.
s radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits and/or sources or j devices not involving processing of byproduct material. This category includes licenses issued pursuant to S@32.72,32.73, i
and/or 32.74 . I this chapter to nonprofit educational institutions l whose processing or manufacturing!s exempt under 10 CFR 170.11(a)(4).
)
Application .. . .. . .. .. . .. 52,400 l
E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct materialin sealed
-1 sources for irradiation of materials in which the source is not i
removed from its shield Iself-shielded units):
I Application .. . . . . . . . . . . , . . . ..... .
. . . . . . . . . $1,700 l
-F. Licenses for possession and use of less than 10,000 curies of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of materials in which the source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This 59 L:
5 category also includes underwater irradiators for irradiation of materials where the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes i
j Application . . . . .. . . . ,. , . 53.300 i l
i G. _ Licenses for possession and use of 10,000 curies or more of l 1
byproduct materialin sealed sources for irradiation of materials in which the source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This v-i category also includes underwater irradiators for irradiation of materials where the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes. ]
i Application . . . . . $3,400 H. ' Licenses issued pursuant to Subpart A of Part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material that require device review to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of Part 30 of this chapter, except specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of Part 30 of this chapter:
I
. Application . . . . .... . , . , .. , . . . .. . .. . 52.000 i
- 1. ' Licenses issued pursuant to Subpart A of Part 32 of this chapter to ;
distribute items containing byproduct material or quantities of 60 F
I~ -
l l
l 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:
Application , ,
53,200 J. Licenses issued pursuant to Subpart B of Part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material that require sealed source and/or device review to persons generally licensed under Part 31 of this chapter. except specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons generally licensed under Part 31 of this chapter:
Application $1,000 K. Licenses issued pursuant to Subpart B of Part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material or quantities of l
byproduct material that do not require sealed source and/or device l
review to persons generally licensed under Part 31 of this chapter, l
except specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distnbution to persons generally licensed under Part 31 of this chapter:
l 61 ma
7 < q I
Application . . . .. . $600
.L Lice.nses of broad scope for possession and use ci ovrvoouct materiaiissued pursuant to Parts 30 and 33 of tnis chap:er for research and developmei>i that do not authonze cornmercial i
- distribution: !
' Application . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , . . . . ,. . . $5.500 1
I
.M. 'Other licenses for possessien and use of byproduct materialissued
- pursuant to Part 30 of this chapter for research and development l l
that'do not authorize commercial distribution:
l l
Application . .. . .. . . .... ..... .. $2,300 l
- N.- Licenses that authorize services for other licensees, except
(1) Licenses that authorize ~only calibration and/or leak testing - l 1
i
' services are subject to the' fees specified in fee Category 3P; and c(2) Licenses that authorize waste disposal services are subject to the fees specified in' fee Categories 4A,48, and 4C:
1
' Application. . ,. . . . . . . ... . ... . ... . .., $2,300 1
l 1
p ,
g7 l
g.
5%
m O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct materialissued pursuant to Part 34 of this chapter for industrial radiography operations:
r i
i Application $5,800 l
l P. All other specific byproduct material licenses, except those in Categories 4A through 9D:
Application 51,300
, i
- 4. Waste disposal and processing-l I
l A. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct l l
material, source material, or special nuclear material from other )
l i
persons for the purpose of contingency stcrage or commercialland disposal by the licensee; or licenses authorizing contingency storage of low-level radioactive waste at the site of nuclear power l
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:
I Licensing and inspection Full Cost 63 i i
m.-
i-I j.<
ii
- B.' ' Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct l
materias, 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 .. ., .. . .. . . ... .. $1,700 C. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct material. source material, or special nuclear material from other persons. The licensee will dispose of the material by transfer to another person authonzed to receive or dispose of the material:
Application , .. . ... . . . . .. .. $2,500 l _ 5. Welllogging:
A'. ' Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material, source l{ material, and/or special nuclear material for well logging, well surveys, and tracer studies other than field flooding tracer studies:
I Application . . ......... . . . . . . . ...... ... ... . 56,000 64 ;
E
E B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material for field flooding tracer studies:
Licensing . ., ,. . . . . . .. Full Cost
- 6. Nuclear laundries:
A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of items contaminated with byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material:
Application . , .
511,200
- 7. Medicallicenses:
A. Licerises issued pursuant to Parts 30,35,40, and 70 of this chapter fur human use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices:
Application . . . .... .. . .. ... . .. . ... . . $6,100 B. Licenses of broad scope . issued to ;n;d;;;' lnstitutione or tus or more phys l;;;n: pursuant to Parts 30,33,35,40, and 70 of this chapter authorizing research and development, including human use 65
of byproduct material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear materialin sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices:
Application ,
$4,400 C. Other licenses issued pursuant to Parts 30,35,40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, and/or I
special nuclear matenal, except licenses for byproduct material, l
source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices:
Application $2,400 1
1 I
- 8. Civil defense:
I A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material for civil defense activities: j 1
Applicatioli . . , ,. .. . , $320 ;
l I
- 9. Device, product, or sented source safety evaluation:
A. Safety evaluation of devices or products containing byproduct 66
[I W
- i ;. .. .
1 I-I-
l ..
material, source material, or special nuclear material, except reactor fuel devices, for commercial distribution: l j
55,200 Application-each device . .. . ,, . .. ..
)
i B. . Safety , evaluation of devices or products containing byproduct material, source material. or special nuclear material rnanufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a single applicant, except reactor fuel devices:
I 53,700 Application - each device . ,,, .
C. Safety esaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material, ;
source material, or special nuclear material, except reactor fuel, for commercial distribution:
i
$1,580 Application - each source . .
I
.D. Safety evaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material, source material, or. special nuclear material, manufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a singia applicant, except reactor fuel: ,
$530 l Application - each source . .... .. . , ,
67
g L
I-
- 10. Transportation of radioactive material:
A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and shipping containers:
Licensing and inspections . . . Full Cost B. Evaluation of 10 CFR Part 71 quality assurance programs:
Application $390 Inspections Full Cost
- 11. Review of standardized spent fuel facilities:
Licensing and inspection .
Full Cost
- 12. Special projects: 5 Approvals and preapplication /
Licensing activities . . .. . Full Cost i
j Inspections . . . . Full Cost
- 13. 'A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance:
68
5 :. 3 q -
Licensing .... , .. .. . Full Cost y
B. Inspections related to spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance' . . . . ..... .., ,
, . . .. ._ Full Cost JC. Inspections related to storage of spent fuel under @72.210 of this
. Full Cost s
chapter . .
p ' 14.
- Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material licenses and other approvals authorizing decommissioning,- decontamination, reclamation, or
.- s'te i~ restoration activities pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 30,40,70, and 72 of this chapter:
l
~ Licensing and inspection : . . .. . ,, . . Full Cost l
L l15) Import and Export licenses:
l: Licenses issued.pursuan't to 10 CFR Part 110 of this chapter for the import and export only of special nuclear material, source material, tritium
. and other byproduct material. heavy water, or nuclear grade graphite.
" A. 7 Application for export or import of.high enriched uranium and other
\
materials, including radioactive waste, which must be reviewed by the Commissioners and the Executive Branch, for example, those
$ is 69
a . *. W -
1 actions under 10 CFR 110.40(b). This categorl includes application for export or import of radioactive wastes in multiple forms from multiple generators or brokers in the exporting country and/or going to multiple treatment, storage or disposal facikties in one or more receiving countries.
i Application - new license 59,100 Amendment $9.100 B, Apphcation for oxport or import of special nuclear material. source I
material. tritium and other byproduct material. heavy water, or nuclear grade graphite. including radioactive waste, requiring Executive Branch review but not Commissioner review. This category includes apphcation for the export or import of radioactive waste involving a single form of waste from a single class of generator in the exporting country to a single treatment, storage and/or disposal facility in the receiving country. l Application-new license ,
$5,600 Amendment . . . 55.600 C. Application for export of routine reloads of low enriched uranium reactor fuel and exports of source material requiring only foreign government assurances under the Atomic Energy Act.
70
7
. o -
l Application-new license . $1.700 Amendment . .
$1,700 D. ' Application for export or import of other materials, including radioactive waste, not requiring Commissioner review, Executive Branch review, or foreign government assurances under the Atomic Energy Act. This category includes application for export or import of radioactive waste where the NRC has previously authorized the export or import of the same form of waste to or from the same or similar parties, requiring only confirmation from the receiving facility and licensing authonties that the shipments may proceed according to previously agreed understandings and procedures.
Application-new ticense .
$1,100 Amenoment $1,100 E. Minor amendment of any export or import license to extend the f . expiration date, change domestic information, or make other revisions which do not require in-depth analysis, review, or consultations with other agencies or foreign governments.
Amendment . $210 71 u
p .;
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I f l 16.. Reciprocity:
? Agreement State licensees who conduct activities under the reciprocity provisions of '10 CFR 150.20. f
- Application (initial filing of Form 241) . . . . . . . $1,100 Revisions . . . . . . . . . . .. . ... . . . .5200 flyoes of fees .. Separate charges' as shown in the schedule, will be assessed for preapplication consultations and reviews and applications for new licenses
- and approvais, issuance of new licenses and approvals,.certain arnendments.
i and renewals to' existing licenses and approvals, safety evaluations of sealed ;
i sources and devices, and certain inspections. The following guidelines apply to these charges:
d
)(a); Acolication fees.' Applications for new rnaterials licenses and export i and import licenses, approva':, applications to reinstate expired. te rninated or
- inactive licenses and approvab except those subject to fees assessed at full costs, end-applications filed by Agreement State licensees to register under the
- general license provisions 'of 10 CFR 150.'20, and applications for smendments f to materials licenses that wouic place the license in a higher fee category or add
~
i a new fee category rnust be accompanied by the prescribed application fee for
,g' l each category, except that:
,+
- 72
-h, ,
E q - amendment to a license or approval classified in more than one fee category must be accompanie'd 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.~ "cr those ll censes and approvais subject !c full costs (fcc Octcgsrics 1 A,1B,18,2A,4A, SS,10A,11,12,13A, and 14), amendment fees arc due upon acti'ication by the Commission in accordance vi!!h 5170.12(c). ;
(4) App lications to terminat !! censes authortsng small matcrisis i
programs, vihen-nedsmenEng cr decontefntnetenfocedure istequired, are not subject to fccs.
(e) Insoection fees. inspections re . na ' rom investigations conducted i
by the Office cf Investigations and nonroutine inspections that result from third-party allegations are not subject to fees The fees assessed at full cost .si'l bc dctermined based on the professional staff time required to conduct the l lnspcctica multip!!cd by inc retc catablished under $170 20 plus any cpplicab'c centractual support services costs-tnet2ffed-inspection fees are due upon
~ notification by the Commission in accordance with @170.12(g).
l i
L 2 Fees will not be charged for orders issued by the Commission pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202 or for amendments resulting specifically from the requirements of these types of Commission orders. However, fees will be charged for approvals issued under a specific exemption provision of the Commission's regulations
'74 u
F?
a *.
. w
.under Tith 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (e.g.,10 CFR 30.11,40.14, 70.14,73.5, cnd any other sections now or hereafter in effect) regardless of whether the apr royalis in the form of a license amendment, letter of approval, safety evalua' on 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 Categories 9A through 9D.
8 Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff time multiplied by the appropriate professional hourly rate established in Section 170.20 in effect at the time the service is provided, and appropriate contractual support services expended --For4hese applications current'y on file and-for ishich fccs are dett: mined based-on the fu!l cost expcnded for the+cvices, the professional ; tam hours cxpended for the rcvicw of the applicatica up to the c"cctive daic of the final ruic .s!ll bc detcrmined at-the professional ro.cs in ef'cct at the time the semee-es s provided. For applications currently on file for which review costs have reached an applicable fee ceiling established by the June 20,1984, and July 2,.1990,~ rules, but are still pending completion of the review, the cost
' incurred after any applicable ceiling was reached through January 29,1989, will not be billed to the applicant. Any professional staff-hours expended above
. those ceilings on or after January 30,1989, will be assessed at the applicable rates established by $170.20, as appropriate, except for topical reports whose costs exceed $50,000< Costs which exceed 550,000 for each topical report,
. amendment, revision, or supplement to a topical report completed or under review from January 30,1989, through August 8,1991, will not be billed to the 75
y -
applicant. Any professional hours expended on or after August 9,1991, will be assessed at the applicable rate established in @170.20. The rninimum total r;v!;;; co;;is te;l c the hour ly r;;c shoven in $170 20.
' ' Licensees paying fees under Categories 1 A,1B, and 1E are not subject to fees under Categories 1C and 1D for sealed sources authorized in the same license except in those instances in which an application deals only with the sealed sources authorized by the license.
5 Fees will not be assessed for requests / reports submitted to the NRC:
(a) in response to a Generic Letter or NRC Bulletin that does not result in an amendment to the license, does not result in the review of an alternate method or reanalysis to meet the requirements of the Generic Letter, or does not involve P.n unreviewed safety issue; I
(b) in response to an NRC request (at the Associate Office Director
! level or above) to resolve an identified safety, safeguards, or environmental issue, or to assist NRC in developing a rule, regulatory guide, policy statement, L
generic letter, or bulletin; or 1
- (c)' As a means of exchanging information between industry organizations and the NRC for the purpose of supporting generic regulatory improvements or efforts.
76
r a
~
f .; o;a.. m *' ,.
- 11. The title of 10 CFR 171 is revised to read as follows:
PART 171 - ANNUAL FEES FOR REACTOR OPERATlNC LICENSES AND i;
FUct CYCLE LICENSES AND MATERIALS LICENSES, INCLUDING
' HOLDERS OF CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE, REGISTRATIONS, AND QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM APPROVALS AND GOVERNMENT AG'ENCIES LICENSED BY TNE NRC.
- 12. The authority citation for Part 171 continues to read as follows:
Authonty: Sec. 7601, Pub L.99-272,100 Stat.146, as amended by sec. 5601, Pub L.100'-203,101 Stat.1330. as amended by Sec. 3201, Pub. L.101-239,103 Stat. 2106 as amend'ed by sec. 6101, Pub. Lf 101-508,104 Stat.1388, (42 U.S.C. 2213); sec. 301, Pub. L.92-314,86 Stat. 222 (42 U.S.C. 2201(w));
sec. 201,88 Stat.1242, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5841); sec. 2903, Pub. L.102-486,106 Stat. 3125, (42 U.S.C. 2214 note).
- 13. Section 171.13 is revised to read as follows:
6171.13 Notice.
Section 171,13 Notice.
The annual fees applicable to any NRC licensee subject to this part A-77
and calculated in accordance with 171,15 and 171.16, will be published as a notice in the Federal Register as soon as is practicable but no later than the third quarter of the fiscal year. The annual fees will become due and payable to the NRC in accordance with @171.19, except as provided in @@171.17. Quarterly payments of the annual fee of $100,000 or more will continue during the fiscal year and be based on the app licable annual fees as shown in @@17115 and 171.16 until a notice concerning the revised amount of the fees for the fiscal year is published by the FRC. If the NRC is unable to publish a final fee rule that I becomes effective during the current fiscal year, then fees would be assessed '
based on the rates in effect for the previous fiscal year I
- 14. In @171.15, paragraphs (a). (b), (c) introductory text, (c)(1) (c)(2),
(e), and (f) are revised to read as follows:
6171.15 Annual Fees: Reactor coetaeg licenses and scent fuel norace/ reactor decommissionina (a) Each person licensed to operate a power, test, or research reactor, each person holding a Pr. : O power reactor license that is in decommissioning or possession only status, and each person holding a Part 72 license who does not hold a Part 50 license shall pay the annual fee for each unit for each license i
)
held at any time during the Federal FY in which the fee is due, except for those test and research reactors exempted in @171.11(a)(1) and (a)(2).
t 78 i
i (b) The FY 1999 annual fee for each operating power reactor which must be co"ccted by Ocptember 30,1000, would be the amount shown in Option A or Option B below:
Option A (Rebaselining without a cap): $2,769,000 Option B (Rebaselining with a 50 percent cap): $2,775,000 The FY 1999 annual fee is comprised of a base operating power reactor annual l
(
fee, a base spent fuel storage / reactor decommissioning annual fee, and associated additional charges (surcharges). The activities comprising the spent spent storage / reactor decommissioning base annua! fee are shown in paragraph (c)(1) and (2) of this section. The activ: ties comprising the surcharge are shown in paragraph (d) of this section. The activities comprising the base annual fee for operating power reactors are as follows:
(1) Power reactor safety and safeguards regulation except licensing and inspection activities recovered under Part 170 of this chapter and generic reactor decommissioning activities.
(2) Research activities directly related to the regulation of power reactors except those activities specifically related to reactor decommissioning.
(3) Generic activities required largely for NRC to regulate power 79
.,
- u* -
reactors, e g., updating part 50 of this chapter, or operating the incident Response Center, except those specifically related to reactor decommissioning..
(c) The FY 1999 annual fee for each power reactor holding a Part 50
- license that is in a decommissioning or possession only status and each independent spent fuel storage Part 72 licensee who does not hold a Part 50 license would be the amount shown in Option A or Option B below:
Option A (Rebaseltning without a cap): $199,000 Option B (Rebaselining with a 50 percent cap). $199,000 This fee is comprised of a base spent fuel storage / reactor decommissioning annual fee (this fee is also included in the operating power reactor annual fee show in paragraph (b) of this section), and an additional charge (surcharge). The activities compnsing the surcharge are shown in paragraph (d) of this section. The activities comprising the FY 1999 spent fuel storage / reactor decommissioning base annual fee are:
(1) Generic and other research activities directly related to reactor decommissioning and spent fuel storage, and (2) Other safety, environmental, and safeguards activities related to reactor decommissioning and spent fuel storage, except costs for licensing and 80
a *. Am. ' -
inspection activities that are recovered under part 170 of this chapter.
(d) The activities comprising the FY 1999 surcharge are as follows:
(1) Low level waste disposal generic activities; (2) Activities not attributable to an existinC NRC licensee or class of licensees; e g.; fcacws submtttedty other govemmcnt agcncics (c g., DOE) that do not result in a heense or etc not associated-wtth-a !!conse; international cooperative safety program and international safeguards activities: support for the Agreement State program, and site decommissioning management plan (SDMP) activities, and (3) Activities not currently subject to 10 CFR 9 art 170 licensing and inspection fees based on existing law or Commission pokey, e g., reviews and i
inspections conducted of nonprofit educationalinstitutions and licensing actions for Federal agencies, and costs that would not be collected from small entities based on Commission policy in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
The total FY 1999 surcharge allocated to operating power reactor class of licensees is $44 million, not including the amount a!!ocated to the new fee class, spent fuel storage / reactor decommissioning. The FY 1999 operating power reactor surcharge to be assessed to each operating power reactor is $423,000.
This amount is calculated by dividing the total operating power reactor surcharge 81
n i
($44 million) by the number of operating power reactors (104).
l The FY 1999 surcharge allocated to spent fuel storage / reactor decommissioning {
class of licensees is $3.2 million. The FY 1999 spent fuel storage /re. actor decommissioning surcharge to be added to each operating power reactor, each power reactor in decommissioning or possession only status, and to each independent spent fuel storage Part 72 licensee who does not hold a Part 50 license is $25.600. This amount is calculated by dividing the total surcharge costs allocated to this class (by the total number of power reactor licensees and Part 72 licensees who do not hold a Part 50 heense (125).
(e) The FY 1999 annual fees for licensees authorized to operate a
- nonpower (test and research) reactor licensed under Part 50 of this chapter, except for those reactors exempted from fees under @171.11(a) would be the amount shown under Option A or Option B below:
Option A Option B (Rebaselining (Rebaselining without a cap) with a 50 percent cap)
Research reactor $85.900 $85,600 Test reactor 585,900 $85,600
(') For cach ftscal ycar annua! fcc3 for operating 4eeeto-r3 s'J bc 82 a
i I
L calculated and as;c; sed in accordance with $171.13.
- 15. In Q171.16, the introductory icxt of paragraph (c) and paragraphs (c)(1), (c)(4), (d). ;nd (c) _ are i
revised to read as follows:
6171:16 AnnualFees: Materiats Licensees. Holders of Certificates of Comoliance. Holders of Sealed Source and Device Reaistrations Holders of
~ Quality Assurance Proaram Acorovals arid Government Aaencies Licensed by the'NRCI
,(a) Person (s) who conduct +etmbes are authorized to conduct activities under-
'(1) 10 CFR part 30 for byproduct material.
-(2) 10 CFR part 40 for source material, (3) - 10 CFR part 70 for special nuclear material, (4) 10 CFR part 71 for packaging and transportation of radioactive material, and (5)LL10 CFR part 76 for uranium enrichment i
shall pay an annual fee for each license, certificatc, approva! cr registration the person (s) holds at any time during the first six months of the Federal fiscal year
-(October 1.through March 31). Annual fees will be prorated for new licenses issued and for licenses for which termination is requested and activities 83 I
permanently ceased during the period October 1 through March 31 of the fiscal year as provided in 9171.17 of this section. For those licenses that authorize more than one activity m a single license (e g., human use and irradiator activities), annual fees will be assessed for each fee category applicable to the license. If a person holds you hold more than one license, cert 5cate, tegtstration or approveh the total annual fee you will be assessed will be the cumulative total of the annual fees apphcable to the licenses, certificats, registrations or approveb hekity that pcreen you hold.
\
(b)' The annual fee is compnsed of a base annual fee and an additional charge (surchrage). The activities composing the FY 1999 surcharge are shown in paragraph (e) of this section The activities comprising the base annual fee is l
the s"m of the NRC budgeted costs for: g l
-(1) Generic and other research activities directly related to the ulation of materials licenses as defined in this part, and (2) Other safety, environmental, and safeguards activities for materials licenses, except costs for licensing and inspections activities directly associated with plant-spcc!Sc licensing and inspections that are recovered under par.t 170 of this chapter, (c) A licensee who is required to pay an annual fee under this section may quahfy as a small entity. If a licensee quakfies as a small entity and provides the Commission with the proper certific,, tion with the annual fee payment, the licensee may pay reduced annual fees for FY 1999 as shown 84
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/(
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".9 ,1y. f'^
l l'
O c.. d 85 /
4:
7y ,
r below. Failure to file a small entity <fst n in a timely manner could result in 1
the denial of any refund that might otherwise be due.
l Small Businesses Not Engaaed Maximum Annual Fee j in Manufacturina and Small Per Licensed Cateoory Not-For Profit Organigati,gns
]
(Gross Annual Receiots)
$350,000 to 55 million . . . 51.800 Less than 5350.000 $400 L(anufactunng entities that haytan average of 500 emolovees or less 35 to 500 employees 51.800 Less than 35 employees . 5400 Small Governmental Junsdictions (including oublicly sucoorted educational institutions)
(Pooulation) 20,000 to 50,000 51.800 Less than 20,000 . $400 Educational Institutions that 4 are not State or Publigly Succorted. and have 500 Emolovegs or Less.
35 to 500 employees .
$1.800 Less than 35 employees . .. . 5400 (1) A licensee qualifies as a small entity if it meets the size standards established by the NRC (See 10 CFR 2.810).
a:
86
'(4) For FY 1999, the maximum annual fee a small entity is required to pay is $1,800 for each category applicable to the license (s).
(d) The FY 1999 annual fees, including the surcnarge shown in paragraph (e) of this section, for materials licensees and hciders of cert;ficcice-registrat;cns or approveh subject to fees under this section would be the amounts shown under Option A. or Option B. below:
SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY NRC (See footnotes at end of table)
Cateaorv of materials licenses Aunualfens' ' '
l i
i i
i
87 Option A Option B (Rebaselining (Rebasel.ning without a car ; with a 50 percent cap)
- 1. Special nuclear material:
.A.(1) Licenses for possession and use of U-235 or plutonium for fuel fabncation activities.
(a)- Strategic Special Nuclear Matenat Babcock & Wilcox SNM-42.. , 53,281,000 $3,289,000 Nuclear Fuel Services SNM-124.. ,
53,281,000 53,289,000 Low Ennched Uranium in 51,100,000 (b)
Dispersible Form Used for Fabrication of Power Reactor cuel:
Combustion Engineering (Hematite) SNM 33..
88 Ge Siemens ner Nuclear Power al Ele ctri 51,103.000 gg c SNM-
'# ~ Co 1227..
v
.N mp
(('
an We 5
. J- y stin
,/
gh s y I /
,/ OU V '
SN se 1
N / M- Ele 10 ctri
/
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SN M- l
89 1107 .. . .
31,100,000 $1,103,000
$1,100.000 $1,103,000
)
I S1,100,000 $1,103,000 (2) All other special nuclear matenais licenses not included in Category 1.A (1) which are licensed for fuel cycle activities. -
I (a) Facil; ties with limited operations:
B&W Fuel Company SNM-1168.. $432,000 $433,000 (b) All Others:
General Electric SNM-9b0.. $314,000 $315,000 l'
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel at an independent spent fuel storage installation See 10 CFR (ISFSI). . part 171.15(c)
I -
1 I
90 C. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in devices used in industrial measuring systems, including x ray fluorescence analyzers.. 51,200 $1,200 D. All other special nuclear material licenses. except licenses authonzing special nuclear matenal in unsealed form in combination that would constitute a cntical quantity, as defined in 15011 of this chapter, for which __
_ - ~ _ ,
the licensee snali pay the same fees as l
those for Category 1.A (2).. 4 53.300 S3,400 E. Licenses or certificates for the operation of a uranium enrichment facility.
1 1
52,043,000 $2,048,000 ,
l 2. Source material:
s
- s. p
/ l l A.(1) Licenses for possession and use of source material for refining uranium miil concentrates to uraniumhexafluoiide..
5472,000 S473,000 l
l I
f
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91 j$
(2) Licenses for possession and use of / h[
\a f' source material in recovery operations n .
i ,rA such as milling,in-situ leaching, t, i/
heap-leaching, ore buying stations, ion k
'/
exchange facilities and in processing of ,/
ores containing source material for ,
extraction of metals other than uranium' or thonum including licenses authorizing the possession of byproduct waste I matenal (tailings) from source material recovery operations, as well as licenses authonz:ng the possession and $141.000 i maintenance of a facility in a standby mode. 5118.000 Class I facilities' 530,400 $92,100 Class 11 facilities *, 552,100 Other facilities * $30,500
Option A Option B (Rebaselining (Rebaselining without a cap) with a 50 percent cap)
- 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:
Babcock & Wilcox S N M-42. . 53,281,000 53,289,000 Nuclear Fuel Services SNM-124.. 53.281,000 $3.289.000 (b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form Used for Fabncation of Power Reactor Fuel:
Comoustion Engineenng (Hematite) SNM-33. 51,100,000 $1,103.000 Gereral Electric Company SNM-1097 31,100,000 $1,103,000 Siemens Nuclear Power SNM-1227. 51,100,000 $1,103,000 Westinghouse Electric Company SNM 1107. $1,100,000 51,103.000 (2) All other special nuclear materials licenses not included in Category 1.A.(1) which are hcensed for fuel cycle activities.- j (a) Facilities with limited operations:
B&W Fuel Company SNM 1168. 5432,000 S433,000 (b) All Others:
General Electric SNM-960.. .5314,000 $315.000 B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel at an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI).. ..See 10 CFR par 1171 15(c) l C. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear material in sealed sources ,
i 1
1
4 contained in devices used in industrial measuring systems. including x-ray fluorescence analyzers. $1.200 $1,200 D. All other special nuclear material licenses, except licenses authorizm, special nuclear material in unsealed form in combination that would constitute a critical quantity, as defined in @150.11 of this chapter, for which the licensee shall pay the same fees as those for Category 1.A.(2).. ... 53,300 $3,400 E. Licenses or certificates for the cperation of a uranium enrichment facility.. 52,043,000 $2,048.000
- 2. Source material:
A (1) Licenses for possession and use of source matenal for refining uranium mill concentrates to uranium hexaf!uonde. S472,000 5473.000 (2) Licenses for possession and use of source matenal in recovery operations such as milling, in-situ leaching, heap-leaching ore buying stations. ion exchange facilities and in processing of ores containing source matenal for extraction of metals other than uranium or thorium. including licenses authorizing the possession of byproduct waste matenal (tailings) from source matenal recovery operations, as well as licenses authonzing the possession and maintenance of a facility in a standby mode. ,
Class I facilities' 5141,000 592,100 Class 11 facilities *. .. S118,000 $52,100 Other facilities' S30.400 550.500 (3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for possession and disposal, except those licenses subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2) or
m a V u- -
92 (3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for possession and disposal, except those licenses subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2) or Category 2.A (4).. S87,000 567.700 (4) Licenses that authonze the receipt of byproduct material. as defined in Section lie (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).. $14,000 511,900 B. Licenses which authorize only the possession, use and/or installation of source material for shielding.. 5600 5620 t
All other source materiallicensed . 51",700 511.700 C.
t
-1 d
i 93
- 3. Byproduct material:
A. Licenses of broad scope for pcssession and use of byproduct material' issued )
pursuant to Parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution.. $26,000 $24.800 i'
B. Other licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued pursuant to Part 30 of inis chapter for processing or i manufactunng of items containing byproduct matenal for commercial distribution.. . . . .. $6,300 $6,300 C. Licenses issued pursuant to 532.72, 32.73, and/or 32.74 of this chapter authorizing the processing or manufacturing and distribution or redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits and/or sources and devices containing byproduct material This category also includes the
(/
94 possession and use of source material for shielding authorized purruant to Part 40 of this chapter when included on the same license. This category does not apply to licenses issued to nonprofit educational institutions whose processing or manufacturing is exempt under 10 CFR
.171.11(a)(1). These licenses are covered by fee Category 3D . 515,300 515.300 D. Licenses and approvals issued pursuant to @@32.72. 32.73, and/or 32.74 of this ;
}
chapter authorizing distribution or redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals, generators. reagent kits and/or sources or devices not involving processing of byproduct material. This category includes licenses issued pursuant to
$@32.72,32.73 and 32.74 of this chapter to nonprofit educational institutions whose processing or manufacturing is exempt under 10 CFR 171.11(a)(1). This category also includes the pcssession
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95 and use of source material for shielding authorized pursuant to Part 40 of this chapter when included on the same license.. . $3,800 S3,800
)
E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material in sea!ed sources for irradiation cf matenals in which the source is not removed from its shield (self-shielded units).. 53,400 53.400 F. Licenses for oossession and use of less than 10,000 curies of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of materials in which the source is exposed for irradiation purposes This category also includes underwater irradiators for irradiation of matenals in which the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes.. . . . $5,700 55,700 1
G. Licenses for possession and use of 10,000 curies or more of byproduct materialin sealed sources for
a o u* .
\
96 irradiation of materials in which the )
l source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This category also includes '
I i
underwater irradiators for irradiation of I materials in which the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes.. 514,800 $14,800 H. Licenses issued pursuant to Subpart A of Part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing typroduct matenal that require device review to persons i
exempt from the licensing requirements of Part 30 of this chapter, except specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distnbution to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of Part 30 of this chapter.. 53,200 53,200
- l. Licenses issued pursuant to Subpart A of Part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material )
\
or quantities of byproduct matenal that l
\
do not require device evaluation to
97 persons exempt from the licensing requirements of Part 30 of this chapter, except for specific licenses authorizing redistnbution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of Part 30 of this chapter.. 54.600 54,600 J. Licenses issued pursuant to Subpart B of Part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct matenal that require sealed source and/or device review to persons generally licensed under Part 31 of this chapter, except specific licenses authorizing redistnbution of terms that have been authorized for distttion to persons generally licensec vader Pad 31 of this chapter.. .. 52.100 $2,100
(
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I K. Licenses issued pursuant to Subpart B of Part 31 of this chapter to distnbute items l I
containing byproduct matenal or )
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98 quantities of byproduct material that do not require sealed source and/or davice review to persons generally licensed under Part 31 of this chapter, except specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distnbution to persons generally licensed under Part 31 of this chapter $1,700 $1.700 L. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of byproduct materialissued }
pursuant to Parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for research and development that do not authorize commercial
$11.200 $11,200 distribution .
M Other licenses for posseesion and use of byproduct material issued pursuant to Part 30 of this chapter for research and development that do not auihorize
$5.000 $5,000 commercial distribution.
i
L e
I 99 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 3P; and (2) Licenses that authonze waste l
disposal services are suoject to the fees soecified in fee Categories 4A,
- 48. ano 4C. 55,200 55.200 O. Licenses for possession and use of i
byproduct material issued pursuant to Part 34 of this chapter for industrial radiography operations. This category I
also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding authorized pursuant to Part 40 of this chapter when authorized on the same license.. . $14,700 $14,700 f P. All other specific byproduct material licenses, except those in Categones 4A through 9D.. , , 52,600 $2,500
e-100
- 4. Waste disposal and processing:
A. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material from other persons for the purpose of contingency storage or commercial land disposal by the licensee: or licenses authorizing contingency storage of low-level radioactive waste at the site of nuclear power reactors: or licenses for receipt of waste from other persons for incineration or other treatment, packaging of resulting waste and residues, and transfer of packages to another person authorized to receive or dispose of waste material..
N/A' B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material from other persons for the purpose of packaging or repackaging
t 101 the material. The licensee will dispose of the material by transfer to another person authorized to receive or dispose of the material.. S11.300 $11.400 C. Licenses specifically autnorizing the receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material from other persons.
The licensee wi!! drsoose of the matenal by transfer to another person authonzed to receive or c.spose of the material . 58,400 58,400 l
1 5, Well logging:
1 A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special nuclear material for well logging, well surveys, and tracer studies i
other than field flooding tracer studies.. 59,900 $10,000 j i
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B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material for field flooding tracer studies.. , , , ,
N/A7
102
- 6. Nuclear laundnes:
A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of items contaminated with
. byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material.. . S18,900 S19,000
- 7. Medical licenses:
A. Licenses issued pursuant to Parts 30.
- 35. 40. and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material. source matenal, 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. , $15,300 $15,300 B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medicalinstitutions or two or more physicians pursuant to Parts 30. 33. 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter authonzing research and development, including
F
. o. . . -
103 human use of byproduct matenal except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in tele;herapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license ' S27.800 $27.800 C. Other hcenses .ssued pursuant to Parts
- 30. 35,40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material.
source matenal, and/or special nuclear material except hcenses for byproduct material. source matenal, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding
$5,800 55,800 when authorized on the same license.'
- 8. Civil defense:
l
i 104 A. Licenses for possession and use of i
byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material for civil defense activities.. . . . $1,200 $1.200
- 9. Device, product, or seated source safety evaluation: ,
A. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of devices or products containing byproduct matenal, source material. or special nuclear matenal.
except rea: tor fuel devices, for commercial distribution.. 56.000 56,100 B. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of devices or produc%
containing byproduct material source l
material, or special nuclear material manufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a single applicant, except reactor fuel 54.300 $4,300 devices..
l
F 105 C. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of sealed sources containing
' byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material. except reactor fuel, for commercial distribution.. 51.800 $1.800 D. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material. source matenal.
or special nuclear matenal.
manufacturea in accordance with the unique specrfications of, and for use by, a single apphcant. except reactor fuel.. $600 5620 )
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- 10. Transportation of radioactive material. i e
A. Certificates of Comphance or other package approvals issued for design of casks packages, and shipping containers.
Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium air packages.. N/A'
g-Other Casks.. N/A' B. Approvals issued of 10 CFR Part 71 quat,ty assurance programs.
Users and Fabricators.. .
S66,700 $64,600 Users.. . . .
$2,200 $1,500
- 11. Standardized spent fuel facilities.. N/A'
- 12. Special Projects.. N/A6
- 13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Comphance. N/A' B. Generallicenses for storage of spent fuel under 10 CFR 72.210.. N/A(See 10 ,
CFR Part ]
l 171.15(c)
- 14. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material )
licenses and other approvals authorizing decommissioning, decontamination, reclamation.
l l
or site restoration activities pursuant to *,0 CFR 1
106 l l
a I
. .a. _ . _
Parts 30,40,70, and 72.. .. . . . . . N/A7
.3,
- 15. . import and Export licenses.. ,. N/A'
' 16.- N/A8 Reciprocity.. ... . .. . . . . , . . . . . .
17, Master' materials licenses of broadscope issued to $358,000 5359.000 Government agencies . . ..
- 18. . Department of Energy: S872.000 5873.000
' A.
Certificates of Compliance.. .
.5869,000 $870,000 B. Uranium Mi!! Taiting Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) activities..
' Annual fees wM 5e assessed based on whether a licensee held a valid license with the NRC authorizing possession'and use of radioactive material during the fiscal year. However, 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 prior to October 1,1997c and permanently ceased licensed activities
. entirely'by September 30,1997, Annual fees for licensees who filed for termination of a license, downgrade of a license, or for a POL during the fiscal year and for new licenses issued q
.during the fiscal year will be prorated in accordance with the provisions of $171.17. If a person holds more than one license, certificate, registration, or approval, the annual fee (s) will be Lassessed 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.
Licensees paying annual fees under Category 1.A.(1). are not subject to the annual fees of i
107 L1 #
p l
Category 1.C and 1.D for sealed sources authorized in the license.
I 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, or 72 of this chapter.
- Each fiscal year, fees for these materials licenses will be calculated and assessed in accordance with @171.13 and will be published in the Federal Registe fu notice and comment.
A Class 11 license includes solution mining licenses (in-situ and heap leach) issued for the extraction of uranium from uranium ores including research and development licenses. An i
"other" license includes licenses for extraction of metals. heavy metals, and rare earths.
' Two licenses have been issued by NRC for land d:sposal of special nuclear material. Once NRC issues a LLW disposa! license for byproduct and source material, the Commission will consider establishing an annual fee for this type of license.
- Standardized spent fuel facilities.10 CFR Parts 71 and 72 Certificates of Compliance, and i special reviews, such as topical reports. are not assessed an annual fee because the generic costs of regulating these activities are pnmanly attributable to the users of the designs, certificates, and topical reports.
l
' 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 l or temporary nature of the license.
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' Separate annual fees will not be assessed for pacemaker licenses issued to medical institutions who also hold nuclear medicine licenses under Categories 7B or 7C.
l 108 L. -
" This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to DOE that are not under the Nuclear Waste Fund.
(e) The acavities comprising ine FY 1999 surcharge are as follows: ,
J (1) LLW disposal generic activities; (2) Activities not attributab!e to an existing NRC licensee or classes of licensees; e.g..
international cooperative safety program and international safeguards activities: support for the Agreement State program; site decommissioning management plan (SDMP) activities; and (3) Activities not currently assessed licensing and inspection fees under 10 CFR Part 170 based on existing law or Commission pokcy. e g . reviews and inspections conducted of nonprofit educational institutions and reviews for Federal agencies: activities related to decommissioning and reclamation and ccsts that .vould not be collected from small entities based on Coramission pokcy in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibihty Act.
- 16. Section 17119 is revised to read as follows:
6171.19 Payment.
'a) Method of payment. Annual fee payments, made payable to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, are to be made in U.S. funds by check, draft, money order, credit card, or electronic funds transfer such as ACH (Automated Clearing House) using EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). Federal agencies may also make payment by the On-line Payment and Collection System (OPAC's). Where specific payment instructions are provided I
on the invoices to applicants and licensees, payrrent should be made accordingly, e.g. invoices l of $5,000 or more should be paid via ACH through NRC's Lockbox Bank at the address l indicated on the invoice. Credit card payments should be made up to the limit established by ,
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109 i