ML25036A153

FY26/27 Guidance on Common Prioritization of Rulemaking Factor Selection Criteria

ML25036A153
Person / Time
Issue date:	02/06/2025
From:	Caylee Kenny NRC/NMSS/DREFS/MRPB
To:
References
Download: ML25036A153 (4)

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INTERNAL METHOD 1 ML25036A153 FY26/27 Guidance on Common Prioritization of Rulemaking Factor Selection Criteria This document provides guidance to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff in determining the appropriate factors to be used for each rulemaking activity in the Common Prioritization of Rulemaking (CPR) process. The CPR process requires selecting values for the following three factors for each rulemaking:

Factor A: Regulatory priority Factor B: Governmental priority Factor C: External priority The following discussion provides guidance on how to select the appropriate factors and associated values so that each rulemaking activity, regardless of which office(s) the rulemaking would affect, is scored consistently. Table 1 provides the values assigned to each factor.

Factor A - Regulatory Priority Factor A is a weighting factor that considers the regulatory priority of the scope of the rulemaking. In this context, regulatory priority refers to the specific regulatory scope of the rulemaking and its perceived importance to being included in the regulatory framework. This factor should reflect elements of the NRC mission statement, the NRC vision, the NRCs Principles of Good Regulation, and the NRC strategic goals.

While there may be other considerations that could contribute toward Factor A, several suggested considerations include whether the scope of the rulemaking would involve:

Design, licensing, construction, inspection, operation, or oversight of nuclear facilities and radioactive materials Safety and security issues, threats, vulnerabilities, and risks Protection of the environment Risk-informed regulatory considerations Emergency preparedness and incident response capabilities Incorporating by reference or conforming to a third-party standard Closure or reduction of a significant regulatory gap NRC licensing initiative/future regulatory benefit Handling and control of non-public information Assessing, billing, and collecting fees from applicants and licensees Updates to NRCs administrative or legal processes Major contributor toward the Principles of Good Regulation When determining which, if any, of those considerations applies, consider how the scope of the rulemaking would improve those regulated activities. The value selected must remain within the range shown in Table 1. Further, when determining the contribution (high, medium, low, or none) of the rulemaking toward accomplishing the objectives, consider the following guidelines:

1. High (select a value between 7-10)

INTERNAL METHOD 2 ML25036A153

a. Significant contributor toward one or more considerations; OR

b. Moderate contributor toward two or more considerations

2. Medium (select a value between 3-6)

a. Moderate contributor toward one consideration

3. Low (select a value between 1-2)

a. Less substantial or indirect contributor toward one consideration

4. None (select a value of 0)

a. No contribution toward any consideration Factor B - Governmental Priority Factor B is a weighting factor for a rule considered a priority by the government to accomplish.

In this case, government refers to Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments, including, but not limited to, the President, Congress, the Commission, other Federal agencies, the Agreement States, and federally-recognized Tribes. The value assigned to the factor is based on two considerations. First, this factor considers how various aforementioned levels of government could influence its priority. This could include any specific interests that these governments have, e.g., letters or meetings on the topic. Second, it can be used to account for a rulemaking initiated by another Federal agency or related to other Federal requirements and thus requiring a greater agency focus (priority). However, the maximum value for this factor is half of that of Factor A (representing the rulemakings regulatory priority) and is thus scaled appropriately because the NRCs regulatory needs should always be prioritized higher than any other governmental priorities.

While there may be other considerations that could contribute toward Factor B, several suggested considerations are:

Commission direction/priority (not including an SRM directing the staff to pursue this rulemaking since every rulemaking requires Commission direction)

Congressional or White House interest Conformance with other Federal or International regulations Other Federal agency interest and concerns Agreement State and/or Tribal interest and concerns State and local government interest and concerns Use the following guidance in selecting the appropriate value for Factor B when determining the relative governmental priority (high, medium, low, or none) of the rulemaking. The value selected must remain within the range shown in Table 1.

1. High (select a value between 4-5)

a. Significant contributor toward one or more considerations; OR

b. The Commission has provided specific direction (non-rulemaking SRM) and a high priority/schedule on the rulemaking

2. Medium (select a value between 2-3)

a. Moderate contributor toward one or more considerations; OR

b. The Commission has provided specific direction (non-rulemaking SRM) with a medium or no priority/schedule on the rulemaking

3. Low (select a value of 1)

INTERNAL METHOD 3 ML25036A153

a. Less substantial or indirect contributor toward one or more considerations; AND

b. The Commission has provided no specific direction (non-rulemaking SRM) or has not established a priority/schedule on the rulemaking

4. None (select a value of 0)

a. No contribution toward any consideration Factor C - External Priority Factor C is a weighting factor for a rule considered to be of significant interest to industry, non-governmental organizations, or other members of the public. This factor could consider regulatory incentives such as eliminating the need for license amendments or reducing regulatory burden. This factor could also reflect significant interest (positive or negative) in the rulemaking by members of the public, such as a rulemaking resulting from a petition for rulemaking that attracted heavy media coverage or a rulemaking that received significant participation by members of the public (e.g., public meetings to discuss the regulatory basis, public comments on the proposed rule). The value of this factor is variable, similar to that of Factor B, but must remain within the range shown in Table 1.

Furthermore, rulemakings that originate from areas of public interest (e.g., those that resolve petitions for rulemaking) may be contributors to considerations already addressed under other factors and may already score high or medium based on those considerations. Conversely, the NRC would be unlikely to undertake rulemaking based primarily on public interest on a subject that does not contribute to the considerations under the other factors.

While there may be other considerations that could contribute toward Factor C, several suggested considerations are:

Regulatory burden reduction/regulatory efficiency Consideration of a petition for rulemaking Significant public participation/interest/media coverage (e.g., public meeting attendance/feedback, comments on draft documents)

Interest from regulated entities (i.e., licensees)

Interest from Non-Governmental Organizations Interest from international or domestic standards committees (e.g., ASME, IAEA)

Use the following guidance in selecting the appropriate value for Factor C when determining the relative stakeholder confidence priority (high, medium, low, or none) of the rulemaking. Keep in mind that the value must remain within the range shown in Table 1.

1. High (select a value between 4-5)

a. Significant contributor toward one or more considerations

2. Medium (select a value between 2-3)

a. Moderate contributor toward one or more considerations

3. Low (select a value of 1)

a. Less substantial or indirect contributor toward one or more considerations

4. None (select a value of 0)

a. No contribution toward any consideration

INTERNAL METHOD 4 ML25036A153 Mandatory and Routine Rulemakings The NRC includes a separate category for rulemakings that are required by statute (e.g.,

NEIMA requiring the Part 53 rule), Executive Branch directive or Order, or that the NRC conducts on an annual or otherwise routine basis (e.g., revise fee schedules, make inflation adjustments for civil penalties, and administrative corrections rules, Certificate of Compliance, and ASME code case and code editions). These rulemakings would be exempt from the scoring process and included in the budget without consideration of a priority score.

Prioritization Scoring and Grouping Table 1 shows the possible score range for Factors A, B, and C.

Table 1: Score range for each factor Goal/Objective Score Range Factor A - Regulatory Priority 0-10 Factor B - Governmental Priority 0-5 Factor C - External Priority 0-5 The total prioritization score is calculated by summing the values for Factors A through C for each rulemaking. Rulemakings will then be grouped into categories of high, medium, and low based on their total scores as follows:

Total Prioritization Score = Factor A + Factor B + Factor C High priority: Score 14-20 Medium priority: Score 7-13 Low priority: Score 0-6 Mandatory/Routine: Score N/A