ML25128A309
| ML25128A309 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/24/2025 |
| From: | Neville M NRC/OCFO/DB |
| To: | Melenbrink B US Executive Office of the President, Office of Mgmt & Budget (OMB) |
| References | |
| Download: ML25128A309 (1) | |
Text
Betsy Melenbrink The Office of Management and Budget 725 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20503
Dear Betsy Melenbrink:
On June 24, 2025, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published the fiscal year (FY) 2025 final fee rule in the Federal Register (90 FR 26730), which is enclosed. The FY 2025 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 comply with the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA). In addition, the NRC implemented a Reduced Hourly Rate for advanced nuclear reactor applicants and pre-applicants for certain activities as authorized in the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act of 2024 (ADVANCE Act).
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 2025, the fee-relief activities identified by the Commission are consistent with prior fee rules. All excluded activities are listed in Table 1 Excluded Activities, of the FY 2025 final fee rule.
The NRC is issuing this FY 2025 final fee rule based on the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (enacted budget). The FY 2025 final fee rule reflects a total budget authority in the amount of $944.1 million, which remains stable from FY2024. As explained previously, certain portions of the NRCs total budget authority are excluded from NEIMAs fee recovery requirement under section 102(b)(1)(B) of NEIMA. Based on the enacted budget, these exclusions total $137.1 million, which remains stable from FY 2024. These excluded activities consist of $96.8 million for fee-relief activities, $23.8 million for advanced June 24, 2025
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reactor regulatory infrastructure activities, $14.0 million for generic homeland security activities,
$1.5 million for Inspector General services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board; and
$1.0 million for waste incidental to reprocessing activities. By law, the NRC is required to collect all fees by September 30, 2025.
After accounting for the exclusions from the fee recovery requirement and net billing adjustments (i.e., for FY 2025 invoices that the NRC estimates will not be paid during the FY, less payments received in FY 2025 for prior-year invoices), the NRC estimates that it must recover approximately $808.8 million in fees in FY 2025. Of this amount, the NRC estimates that $205.4 million will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 service fees and approximately
$603.4 million will be recovered through 10 CFR part 171 annual fees.
On July 9, 2024, the President signed into law the ADVANCE Act which, among other things, amended fee-related provisions in NEIMA. Specifically, the ADVANCE Act includes three fee-related provisions and provides an effective date of October 1, 2025, for each of these provisions: 1) Section 101, International Nuclear Export and Innovation Activities, establishes a new excluded activity for [c]osts for international nuclear export and innovation activities described in section 101(a) of the ADVANCE Act; 2) Section 201, Fees for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Application Review, requires a Reduced Hourly Rate for advanced nuclear reactor applicants and advanced nuclear reactor pre-applicants for certain activities and creates new excluded activities associated with the Reduced Hourly Rate; and 3) Section 204, Enabling Preparations for the Demonstration of Advanced Nuclear Reactors on Department of Energy Sites or Critical National Security Infrastructure Sites, establishes two more excluded activities for costs for application reviews and pre-application activities for an early site permit to demonstrate an advanced nuclear reactor on a Department of Energy or critical national security infrastructure site.
To implement Section 201 of the ADVANCE Act, the NRC established two professional hourly rates: 1) the professional hourly rate, effective for FY 2025; and 2) the Reduced Hourly Rate for advanced nuclear reactor applicants and pre-applicants for certain activities, effective beginning October 1, 2025. The professional hourly rate would be the typical full-cost professional hourly rate calculated using the NRCs established process, as described in the most recent FY 2024 final fee rule and supporting work papers (89 FR 51789; June 20, 2024). The amendments to 10 CFR Part 170 revise the professional hourly rate, reduced 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 $317 in FY2024, to $318 in FY2025; and the Reduced Hourly Rate to $148.
Compared to FY 2024, the annual fees decrease for operating power reactors, fuel facilities, non-power production or utilization facilities, the non-U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) uranium recovery licensee, the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act and transportation activities for DOE and for five materials users fee categories. The annual fees increase for the 51 materials users fee categories. The annual fees would remain stable for spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning and one material users fee category.
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Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions regarding the FY 2025 final fee rule.
Sincerely, Marcellino M. Neville, Budget Director Division of Budget Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice cc: Erin M. Alejandre, OMB Signed by Neville, Marcellino on 06/24/25
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SUBJECT:
FISCAL YEAR 2025 FINAL FEE RULE LETTER TO THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, DATED: JUNE 24, 2025 DISTRIBUTION:
RidsOcfoMailCenterResource OCFO/RF ADAMS Accession Number: ML25128A309 OFFICE OCFO/DOB OCFO/DOB OCFO/DOB NAME CGalster WBlaney JAreas DATE 05/09/2025 05/12/2025 05/15/2025 OFFICE OCFO/DOB OCFO/DOB NAME LYee MNeville DATE 05/16/2025 06/24/2025 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY