ML070330227

Press Release-07-019: NRC Proposes to Amend Licensing, Inspection and Annual Fees Rule

ML070330227
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Issue date:	02/02/2007
From:	Office of Public Affairs
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Press Release-07-019
Download: ML070330227 (2)

See also: see also:Press Release-07-019

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 07-019February 2, 2007NRC PROPOSES TO AMEND LICENSING, INSPECTION AND ANNUAL FEES RULEThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations for the licensing, inspection and annual fees it charges applicants and licensees for fiscal year (FY) 2007.The agency is required by Congress to recover for the U.S. Treasury most of its annualappropriated budget through two types of fees. One is for specific NRC services, such as licensing andinspection activities, that apply to a specific license; this fee is calculated using an hourly rate reflectingtime spent by staff performing the service. The other

is an annual fee paid by

licensees, which recoversgeneric regulatory expenses and other costs not recovered through fees for specific services. These feesare contained in NRC regulations 10 CFR Part 170 (fees for licensing and inspection services) and 10CFR Part 171 (annual fees). These fees are paid to the U.S. Treasury and go into the general fund.By law, the NRC must recover through fees 90 percent of its budget for FY 2007 (Oct. 1, 2006- Sept. 30, 2007), less the amounts appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund for high-level wasteactivities and from general funds fo

r waste-incidental-to-reprocessing and generic homeland security

activities. The total amount to be recovered in FY 2007 is approximately $664 million, about $40million more than in FY 2006.The FY 2007 proposed fee rule, published today in the

Federal Register , includes fees basedupon the Energy and Water Development Appropria

tions Act of 2007, which was approved by theHouse of Representatives. A final appropriations bill has not been enacted. If a different version of the

NRC budget is enacted, the fees in the NRC's fina

l rule will differ from the fees included in theproposed rule. The NRC is proceeding with the pr

oposed rule even without a final appropriationbecause the fees must be collected by Sept. 30, 2007.The NRC is proposing to establish one hourly ra

te of $256 in Part 170 for activities in both theNuclear Reactor Safety Program and the Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety Program. This represents

an increase from FY 2006 hourly rates of $217 for the reactor program and $214 for the materialsprogram. The increase reflects a revised estimate

of staff hours spent on specific activities, such aslicensing actions, inspections and regulatory development.

The proposed FY 2007 annual fees include the following: Class/category of licenses FY 2007 Annual feeOperating Power Reactors (including Spent Fuel

Storage/Reactor Decommissioning annual fee).................................

$4,088,000Spent Fuel Storage/

Reactor Decommissioning

.....................................

$150,000Test and Research Reactors (Non-power Reactors)..................................

$92,300High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility

..........................................

$4,451,000Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility

...........................................

$1,345,000

UF 6 Conversion Facility

.......................................................

$881,000Rare Earth Mills

..............................................................

$89,300Typical Materials Users:

Radiographers..............................................................

$14,100 Well Loggers...............................................................

$4,300 Gauge Users (Category 3P)....................................................

$2,700Written comments on the proposed fee changes should be submitted by March 5. They shouldbe addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001,ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. Comments may also be submitted by e-mail to

SECY@nrc.gov , faxed to (301) 415-1011, or submitted online via the NRC's rulemaking Web site athttp://ruleforum.llnl.gov .###News releases are available through a free list serve subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html . The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.