ML20212K538
| ML20212K538 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/23/1999 |
| From: | Shelton B NRC |
| To: | Gerard Jackson NRC OFFICE OF THE CONTROLLER |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20138F537 | List:
|
| References | |
| FRN-64FR15876, RULE-PR-170, RULE-PR-171 AG08-1-014, NUDOCS 9910060301 | |
| Download: ML20212K538 (6) | |
Text
gi ) ( ,j NUCLEAR RECULA bRfCSMMISSION o CASHIN ;TC N, D.C. 20556-0001 hhhh[
%+o0 f[]f March 23, 1999 MEMORANDUM TO: Glenda Jackson License Fee and Accounts Receivable Branch Division of Accounting and Finance -
icer Office of the Chi FROM: e a Jo ief Recor anagement Branch Information Management Division Office of the Chiefinformation Officer
SUBJECT:
PROPOSED RULE, REVISION OF FEE SCHEDULES; 100% FEE RECOVERY, FY 1999 The Office of the Chief Information Officer has reviewed the subject proposed rule and concurs in it. Should you have any questions, please contact Herbert Parcover at 415-7226 or e-mail HMP.
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Parts 170 and 171 RIN: 3150-AG08 Revision of Fee Schedules; 100% Fee Recovery, FY 1999 AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
SU'MMARY: 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 mandates that the NRC recover approximately 100 percent of its budget authority in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999, less amounts appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF) and the General Fund. The amount to be recovered for FY 1999 is approximately $449.6 million.
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 comments received on or before this date will be considered. Because OBRA-90 requires that
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8 Although costs of inspections forming the basis for enforcement actions, except those arising from an allegation, are currently recovered through Part 170 fees assessed to the affected licensee, the costs for escalated enforcement actions (i.e., the development and issuance of Notices of Violations and imposition of civil penalties) are not. Part 170 fees are not currently assessed for the escalated enforcement actions because they often serve generic
. purposes. In addition, some escalated enforcement actions are withdrawn. There also is concern that 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 r en ve g g e escalated enforcement actions are activities performed by the NRClef samedic licensees.
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- 2. Amendment Fees Based on Averaae Costs.
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 amendment processing costs in the Part 571 annual fees assessed to the small materials l
' licensees. This proposal would continue the NRC's initiatives to streamline its fee program. In a similar action, the inspection and renewal fees for these licensees were eliminated in the FY
.1995 and FY 1996 fee rulemakings, respectively, and the costs included in the annual fees for these categories of licensees.
Although approximately 2500 requests for amendments to small materials licenses are received and processed each year for fee recovery purposes, less than $900,000 in Part 170
' fees is collected annually for these amendments. The number of amendments, as well as the 13
In addition to comments on the rebaselining method for determining FY 1999 annual fees, public comments are also being sought on whether the NRC should, in future years, continue to use the percent change method and rebaseline fees every several years as established in the FY 1995 fee rule statement of considerations, or return to a policy of l rebaselining annual fees every year.
- 3. Revised Fuel Cvele and Uranium Recoverv Matrixes.
Use revised matrixes in the determination of annual fees for fuel facility and uranium recovery licensees. 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 Makin The NRC is proposing to use a revised fuel facility matrix based on the commensurate level of regulatory effort relaisd to tht various fuel facility categories from both safety and safeguards perspectives. The revised matrix results in the annual fees more accurately -
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reflecting e cost oi providing generic and other regulatory services to each fuel facility type. -
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The FY 1999 budgeted costs of approximately $16.3 million class to be recovered in annual fees assessed to the fuel facility class is allocated to the individual fuel facility licensees based on the revised matrix. The revisions to the matrix take into account changes in process 37
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g M b ^~ N e fwA A Ag g operations at certain fuel fa lities, and explicitly recognize the addition of the uranium enrichment plants to'the base and a reduction of three licensees ( B&W Parks Township, B&W Research and eneral Atomic) as the result of the termination of licensed activities. In the revised matri , licensees are grouped into five categories according to their licensed activities (i.e., nuclear material enrichment, processing operations and material form) and according to the 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 licensees, current licensees, licensees in unique license situations, and certificate holders.
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 result 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 l l
licensee amended its license / certificate in such a way that it resulted in them not being subject 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.
The methodology is applied as follows. First, a fee category is assigned based on the !
nuclear material and activity authorized by license or certificate. Although a licensee / certificate holder may elect not to fully utilize a license / certificate, the license / certificate is still used as the 38
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NAME GJacfson.DDandois JTurdici MSpringer TBRothschi1d CJPaperiello I lDATE 3 /,13/99 / /99 / /99 :504/99 / /98 0FFICE NRR l OIP l OE l EDO DCF0 l CFO NAME SCollins JLee JLieberman WTravers PRabideau JLFunches l DATE / /99 / /99 / /99 / /99 / /99 / /99 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY 8
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