ML22146A058
| ML22146A058 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/22/2022 |
| From: | Jason Shay NRC/OCFO/DB |
| To: | Arboleda K US Executive Office of the President, Office of Mgmt & Budget (OMB) |
| Jo Jacobs 301-415-8388 | |
| References | |
| Download: ML22146A058 (3) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 June 22, 2022 Kristine Arboleda The Office of Management and Budget 725 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20503
SUBJECT:
FISCAL YEAR 2022 FINAL FEE RULE LETTER TO THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Dear Kristine Arboleda:
On June 22, 2022, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published the fiscal year (FY) 2022 final fee rule in the Federal Register (87 FR 37197), which is enclosed. The FY 2022 final fee rule amends the fee requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 170, Fees for Facilities, Materials, Import and Export Licenses, and Other Regulatory Services Under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as Amended and, 10 CFR Part 171, Annual Fees for Reactor Licenses and Fuel Cycle Licenses and Materials Licenses, Including Holders of Certificates of Compliance, Registrations, and Quality Assurance Program Approvals and Government Agencies Licensed by the NRC. These amendments are necessary to implement the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA).
Under NEIMA, the NRC must recover, to the maximum extent practicable, approximately 100 percent of its total budget authority for the fiscal year, less the budget authority for excluded activities through fees. Under Section 102(b)(1)(B) of NEIMA, excluded activities include any fee-relief activity as identified by the Commission, generic homeland security activities, waste incidental to reprocessing activities, Nuclear Waste Fund activities, advanced reactor regulatory infrastructure activities, Inspector General services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, research and development at universities in areas relevant to the NRCs mission, and a nuclear science and engineering grant program. In FY 2022, the fee-relief activities identified by the Commission are consistent with prior final fee rules and include Agreement State oversight, regulatory support to Agreement States, medical isotope production infrastructure, fee exemptions for non-profit educational institutions, costs not recovered from small entities under 10 CFR 171.16(c), generic decommissioning/reclamation activities, the NRCs uranium recovery program and unregistered general licenses, potential U.S. Department of Defense Program Memorandum of Understanding activities (Military Radium-226), and non-military radium sites.
In addition, the resources for import and export licensing activities are identified as a fee-relief activity to be excluded from the fee recovery requirement.
The FY 2022 final fee rule is based on the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (the enacted budget). The amount used for total budget authority in this final fee rule is $887.7 million, an increase of $43.3 million when compared to FY 2021. As explained previously, certain portions of the NRCs total budget authority for the fiscal year are excluded from NEIMAs fee-recovery requirement under Section 102(b)(1)(B) of NEIMA. Based on the FY 2022 enacted budget, these exclusions total $131.0 million, an increase of $8.0 million when compared to FY 2021.
These excluded activities consist of $91.5 million for fee-relief activities, $23.0 million for advanced reactor regulatory infrastructure activities, $14.3 million for generic homeland security activities, $1.0 million for waste incidental to reprocessing activities, and $1.2 million for
Inspector General services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. By law, the NRC is required to collect all fees by September 30, 2022.
After accounting for the exclusions from the fee-recovery requirement and net billing adjustments (i.e., for FY 2022 invoices that the NRC estimates will not be paid during the fiscal year, less payments received in FY 2022 for prior year invoices), the NRC must recover approximately $752.7 million in fees in FY 2022. Of this amount, the NRC estimates that
$198.8 million will be recovered through 10 CFR Part 170 service fees and approximately
$553.9 million will be recovered through 10 CFR Part 171 annual fees.
The amendments to 10 CFR Part 170 revise the professional hourly rate and flat license application fees charged to licensees and applicants. The hourly rate used to assess 10 CFR Part 170 fees increases from $288 in FY 2021, to $290 in FY 2022.
Compared to FY 2021, the NRC FY 2022 final fee rule decreases 10 CFR Part 171 annual fees for fuel facilities, spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning activities, and the non-U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) uranium recovery licensee. The NRC is increasing annual fees for operating power reactors, non-power production or utilization facilities, for the DOE Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Program, for DOE transportation activities, and for 47 materials users fee categories. While the operating power reactors annual fee is increasing in FY 2022, it does not exceed the cap established by NEIMA. Generally, 10 CFR Part 171 annual fees are impacted by changes to the budget, fees for services, the number of licensees, and other factors. Additionally, the FY 2022 final fee rule includes five administrative changes. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions regarding the final fee rule.
Sincerely, Jason E. Shay, Budget Director Division of Budget Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice cc: Christine McDonald, OMB Erin Cheese, OMB
SUBJECT:
FISCAL YEAR 2022 FINAL FEE RULE LETTER TO THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, DATED: JUNE 22, 2022 DISTRIBUTION:
Public OCFO/RF ADAMS Accession Number: ML22146A058 OFFICE OCFO/DOB/LFPT OCFO/DOB/LFPT OCFO/DOB/LFPT NAME JJacobs WBlaney ACRossi DATE 05/26/2022 05/31/2022 05/31/2022 OFFICE OCFO/DOB OCFO/DOB NAME RAllwein JEShay DATE 05/31/2022 06/22/2022 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY