14748 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Parts 170 and 171 

RIN 3150–AI93 

[NRC–2011–0016] 

Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee 

Recovery for Fiscal Year 2011 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC or the Commission) 

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 requires the NRC to 

recover through fees approximately 90 

percent of its budget authority in Fiscal 

Year (FY) 2011, not including amounts 

appropriated from the Nuclear Waste 

Fund (NWF), amounts appropriated for 

Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR), 

and amounts appropriated for generic 

homeland security activities. The NRC 

is currently operating under a 

Continuing Resolution (CR) set to expire 

on March 4, 2011. Based on the FY 2011 

budget submitted to the Congress, the 

NRC’s required fee recovery amount for 

the FY 2011 budget is approximately 

$915.3 million. After accounting for 

billing adjustments, the total amount to 

be billed as fees is approximately $915.7 

million. 

DATES: Submit comments on the 

proposed rule by April 18, 2011. 

Comments received after the above date 

will be considered if it is practical to do 

so, but the NRC is able to ensure 

consideration only for comments 

received on or before this date. Because 

OBRA–90 requires that the NRC collect 

the FY 2011 fees by September 30, 2011, 

requests for extensions of the comment 

period will not be granted. 

ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID 

NRC–2011–0016 in the subject line of 

your comments. For instructions on 

submitting comments and accessing 

documents related to this action, see 

Section I, ‘‘Submitting Comments and 

Accessing Information’’ in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

the document. You may submit 

comments by any one of the following 

methods. 

• Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for documents filed under Docket ID 

NRC–2011–0016. Address questions 

about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, 

telephone: 301–492–3668; e-mail: 

Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 

• Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN: 

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. 

• E-mail comments to: 

Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. If you 

do not receive a reply e-mail confirming 

that we have received your comments, 

contact us directly at 301–415–1677. 

• Hand deliver comments to: 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm 

Federal workdays. (telephone: 301–415– 

1677). 

• Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 301– 

415–1101. 

To obtain additional information on 

the NRC’s FY 2011 budget request, 

commenters and others may review 

NUREG–1100, Volume 26, ‘‘Performance 

Budget: Fiscal Year 2011’’ (SEP 2010), 

which describes the NRC’s budget for 

FY 2011, including the activities to be 

performed in each program. This 

document is available on the NRC’s 

public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/ 

reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/ 

sr1100/v26. The allocation of the budget 

to each fee class and fee-relief category 

is included in the publicly available 

work papers supporting this 

rulemaking. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Renu Suri, Office of the Chief Financial 

Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001; telephone: 301–415–0161, e-mail: 

Renu.Suri@NRC.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Submitting Comments and Accessing 

Information 

II. Background 

III. Proposed Action 

A. Amendments to 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 

B. Amendments to 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 

IV. Plain Language 

V. Voluntary Consensus Standards 

VI. Environmental Impact: Categorical 

Exclusion 

VII. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement 

VIII. Regulatory Analysis 

IX. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

X. Backfit Analysis 

I. Submitting Comments and Accessing 

Information 

Comments submitted in writing or in 

electronic form will be posted on the 

NRC Web site http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Because your 

comments will not be edited, the NRC 

cautions you against including any 

information in your submission that you 

do not want to be publicly disclosed. 

The NRC requests that any party 

soliciting or aggregating comments 

received from other persons for 

submission to the NRC inform those 

persons that the NRC will not edit their 

comments to remove any identifying or 

contact information, and therefore, they 

should not include any information in 

their comments that they do not want 

publicly disclosed. 

You can access publicly available 

documents related to this document 

using the following methods: 

• NRC’s Public Document Room 

(PDR): The public may examine and 

have copied for a fee publicly available 

documents at the NRC’s PDR, Room O1 

F21, One White Flint North, 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): Publicly available documents 

created or received at the NRC are 

available electronically at the NRC’s 

Electronic Reading Room at http:// 

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 

From this page, the public can gain 

entry into ADAMS, which provides text 

and image files of NRC’s public 

documents. If you do not have access to 

ADAMS or if there are problems in 

accessing the documents located in 

ADAMS, contact the NRC’s PDR 

reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301– 

415–4737, or by e-mail to 

PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. 

• Federal Rulemaking Web Site: 

Public comments and supporting 

materials related to this proposed rule 

can be found at http:// 

www.regulations.gov by searching on 

Docket ID NRC–2011–0016. 

II. Background 

The NRC is required each year, under 

OBRA–90 (42 U.S.C. 2214), as amended, 

to recover approximately 90 percent of 

its budget authority, not including 

amounts appropriated from the NWF, 

amounts appropriated for WIR, and 

amounts appropriated for generic 

homeland security activities (non-fee 

items), through fees to NRC licensees 

and applicants. The NRC receives 10 

percent of its budget authority (not 

including non-fee items) from the 

general fund each year to pay for the 


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cost of agency activities that do not 

provide a direct benefit to NRC 

licensees, such as international 

assistance and Agreement State 

activities (as defined under Section 274 

of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 

amended). 

The NRC assesses two types of fees to 

meet the requirements of OBRA–90. 

First, user fees, presented in Title 10 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations (10 

CFR) Part 170 under the authority of the 

Independent Offices Appropriation Act 

of 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C. 9701), recover 

the NRC’s cost of providing special 

benefits to identifiable applicants and 

licensees. For example, the NRC 

assesses these fees to cover the cost of 

inspections, applications for new 

licenses and license renewals, and 

requests for license amendments. 

Second, annual fees, presented in 10 

CFR Part 171 under the authority of 

OBRA–90, recover generic regulatory 

costs not otherwise recovered through 

10 CFR Part 170 fees. 

The NRC is currently operating under 

an CR for FY 2011 (Pub. L. 111–322) 

that is effective through March 4, 2011. 

This means that the FY 2011 funds 

currently available are similar to the 

NRC’s funding in FY 2010. Although the 

NRC has not received a new 

appropriation for FY 2011 at the time 

this proposed fee rule was submitted for 

publication in the Federal Register, the 

NRC must proceed with this rulemaking 

to collect the required fee amounts by 

September 30, 2011. Therefore, the NRC 

is establishing fees in this rulemaking 

based on the FY 2011 NRC budget sent 

to the Congress in February 2010. 

If the Congress enacts a different 

version of the NRC budget than that 

included in the NRC submission, the 

fees in the NRC’s FY 2011 final fee rule 

will be adjusted to reflect the enacted 

budget. Therefore, fees in the FY 2011 

final fee rule may differ from the fees in 

this proposed rule. The NRC will adjust 

the FY 2011 final fees based on the 

enacted version of the budget without 

seeking further public comment. 

Under a full-year CR with funding 

similar to FY 2010, the NRC’s total 

required fee recovery amount could 

decrease by approximately $3.1 million, 

as compared to the FY 2011 NRC budget 

submitted to Congress. Nevertheless, the 

NRC’s exact fee recovery amount would 

depend on the specific provisions in 

such legislation. A given licensee’s Part 

171 annual fees under a full-year CR 

could be similar to or higher than the 

fees included in this proposed fee rule. 

Although, some licensees may be 

affected more than others based on 

which NRC activities are subject to 

budget changes. It is possible that some 

annual fees may increase from this 

proposed rule under a full-year CR, 

because the NRC’s fee-relief surplus 

adjustment in this proposed rule 

(discussed more in Section III.B.1, 

Application of ‘‘Fee Relief/Surcharge’’ of 

this document), could be reduced or 

revert to becoming a surcharge similar 

to the previous year. Fees in the FY 

2011 final fee rule may also change from 

this proposed fee rule for other reasons, 

such as changes in the amount expected 

to be received from Part 170 fees in FY 

2011. 

Based on the FY 2011 budget 

submitted to the Congress, the NRC’s 

required fee recovery amount for the FY 

2011 budget is approximately $915.3 

million, which is increased by 

approximately $0.4 million to account 

for billing adjustments (i.e., expected 

unpaid invoices, payments for prior 

year invoices), resulting in a total of 

approximately $915.7 million to be 

billed as fees in FY 2011. 

In accordance with OBRA–90, $26.1 

million of the agency’s budgeted 

resources for generic homeland security 

activities are excluded from the NRC’s 

fee base in FY 2011. These funds cover 

generic activities such as rulemakings, 

development of guidance documents 

that support entire license fee classes or 

classes of licensees, and major 

information technology systems that 

support tracking of source materials. 

Under its IOAA authority, the NRC will 

continue to charge Part 170 fees for all 

licensee-specific homeland securityrelated services provided, including 

security inspections and security plan 

reviews. 

The amount of the NRC’s required fee 

collections is set by law, and is, 

therefore, outside the scope of this 

rulemaking. In FY 2011, the NRC’s total 

fee recovery amount has increased by 

$3.1 million from FY 2010. The FY 2011 

budget supports activities associated 

with the safe and secure operations of 

civilian nuclear power reactors, research 

and test reactors, various fuel facilities, 

use of nuclear materials, and storage 

and transportation of spent nuclear fuel. 

The FY 2011 budget was allocated to the 

fee classes that the budget activities 

support. The annual fees for power 

reactors and uranium recovery facilities 

decrease while fees for spent fuel 

storage facilities, nonpower reactors, 

fuel facilities, most materials users, and 

Department of Energy’s (DOE) uranium 

recovery and transportation increases. 

Another factor affecting the amount of 

annual fees for each fee class is the 

estimated collection under Part 170, 

discussed in Section III, ‘‘Proposed 

Action,’’ of this document. 

III. Proposed Action 

The NRC is proposing to amend its 

licensing, inspection, and annual fees to 

recover approximately 90 percent of its 

FY 2011 budget authority less the 

appropriations for non-fee items. The 

NRC’s total budget authority for FY 

2011 is $1,053.6 million. The non-fee 

items include $10 million appropriated 

from the NWF, $0.5 million for WIR 

activities, and $26.1 million for generic 

homeland security activities. Based on 

the 90 percent fee-recovery requirement, 

the NRC will have to recover 

approximately $915.3 million in FY 

2011 through Part 170 licensing and 

inspection fees and Part 171 annual 

fees. The amount required by law to be 

recovered through fees for FY 2011 

would be $3.1 million more than the 

amount estimated for recovery in FY 

2010, an increase of less than 1 percent. 

The FY 2011 fee recovery amount is 

increased by $0.4 million to account for 

billing adjustments (i.e., for FY 2011 

invoices that the NRC estimates will not 

be paid during the fiscal year, less 

payments received in FY 2011 for prior 

year invoices). This leaves 

approximately $915.7 million to be 

billed as fees in FY 2011 through Part 

170 licensing and inspection fees and 

Part 171 annual fees. 

Table I summarizes the budget and fee 

recovery amounts for FY 2011. FY 2010 

amounts are provided for comparison 

purposes. (Individual values may not 

sum to totals due to rounding.) 


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TABLE I—BUDGET AND FEE RECOVERY AMOUNTS

[Dollars in millions] 

FY 2010 final rule FY 2011 proposed rule 

Total Budget Authority ............................................................................................................. $1,066.9 $1,053.6 

Less Non-Fee Items ................................................................................................................ ¥53.3 ¥36.6 

Balance ............................................................................................................................. $1,013.6 $1,017.0 

Fee Recovery Rate for FY 2011 ............................................................................................. 90% 90% 

Total Amount to be Recovered for FY 2011 ........................................................................... $912.2 $915.3 

Less Part 171 Billing Adjustments: 

Unpaid Current Year Invoices (estimated) ....................................................................... 2.1 3.0 

Less Payments Received in Current Year for Previous Year Invoices (estimated) ........ ¥3.2 ¥2.6 

Subtotal ............................................................................................................................. ¥1.1 0.4 

Amount to be Recovered Through Parts 170 and 171 Fees .................................................. $911.1 $915.7 

Less Estimated Part 170 Fees ................................................................................................ ¥357.3 ¥369.3 

Part 171 Fee Collections Required .................................................................................. $553.8 $546.4 

The NRC estimates that $369.3 

million would be recovered from Part 

170 fees in FY 2011. This represents an 

increase of approximately 1.5 percent as 

compared to the actual Part 170 

collections of $364 million for FY 2010. 

The NRC derived the FY 2011 estimate 

of Part 170 fee collections based on the 

previous four quarters of billing data for 

each license fee class, with adjustments 

to account for changes in the NRC’s FY 

2011 budget, as appropriate. The 

remaining $546.4 million would be 

recovered through the Part 171 annual 

fees in FY 2011, which is an increase of 

less than 1 percent compared to actual 

Part 171 collections of $545.6 million 

for FY 2010. 

The NRC plans to publish the final fee 

rule no later than June 2011. The FY 

2011 final fee rule will be a ‘‘major rule’’ 

as defined by the Congressional Review 

Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 801–808). 

Therefore, the NRC’s fee schedules for 

FY 2011 will become effective 60 days 

after publication of the final rule in the 

Federal Register. The NRC will send an 

invoice for the amount of the annual fee 

to reactor licensees, 10 CFR Part 72 

licensees, major fuel cycle facilities, and 

other licensees with annual fees of 

$100,000 or more, upon publication of 

the FY 2011 final rule. For these 

licensees, payment is due on the 

effective date of the FY 2011 final rule. 

Because these licensees are billed 

quarterly, the payment due is the 

amount of the total FY 2011 annual fee, 

less payments made in the first three 

quarters of the fiscal year. 

Materials licensees with annual fees 

of less than $100,000 are billed 

annually. Those materials licensees 

whose license anniversary date during 

FY 2011 falls before the effective date of 

the FY 2011 final rule will be billed for 

the annual fee during the anniversary 

month of the license at the FY 2010 

annual fee rate. Those materials 

licensees whose license anniversary 

date falls on or after the effective date 

of the FY 2011 final rule will be billed 

for the annual fee at the FY 2011 annual 

fee rate during the anniversary month of 

the license, and payment will be due on 

the date of the invoice. 

The NRC will send licensees a short 

summary of the proposed rule and 

information on how to access the 

complete proposed rule on the internet. 

The NRC currently does not mail the 

final fee rule to all licensees, but will 

send the final rule or the proposed rule 

to any licensee or other person upon 

specific request. To request a copy, 

contact the Accounts Receivable/ 

Payable Branch, Division of the 

Controller, Office of the Chief Financial 

Officer, at 301–415–7554, or e-mail 

fees.resource@nrc.gov. In addition to 

publication in the Federal Register, 

both the proposed and final rules will 

be available on the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

The NRC, in conjunction with 

internal and external stakeholders, 

reviewed its fee policies for power 

reactors in anticipation of the receipt of 

new applications for licensing small and 

medium sized commercial nuclear 

reactors. The NRC has prepared a paper 

for the Commission’s information in 

support of the Nuclear Energy Institute’s 

position to calculate annual fees for 

each new licensed power reactor as a 

function of its licensed thermal power 

rating (MWt). 

The NRC changed its current policy 

with regard to billing inspection costs. 

Instead of billing a licensee when the 

inspection is completed, the NRC will 

now bill the licensee for any inspection 

cost incurred during the quarter even if 

the inspection is still ongoing. Billing 

for incurred inspections costs began in 

the first quarter of FY 2011, when the 

NRC’s new accounting system was 

implemented. This policy change does 

not require a revision to Part 170. 

The NRC is proposing to amend 10 

CFR Parts 170 and 171 as discussed in 

Sections III.A. and III.B. of this 

document. 

A. Amendments to 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 

In FY 2011, the NRC is proposing to 

increase the hourly rate to recover the 

full cost of activities under Part 170, and 

using this rate to calculate ‘‘flat’’ 

application fees. 

The NRC is proposing the following 

changes: 

1. Hourly Rate 

The NRC’s hourly rate is used in 

assessing full cost fees for specific 

services provided, as well as flat fees for 

certain application reviews. The NRC is 

proposing to change the FY 2011 hourly 

rate to $273. This rate would be 

applicable to all activities for which fees 

are assessed under §§ 170.21 and 

170.31. 

The FY 2011 proposed hourly rate is 

higher than the hourly rate of $259 in 

the FY 2010 final fee rule. The increase 

in hourly rate is due to higher FY 2011 

agency overhead budgeted resources, 

and a small reduction in the number of 

direct full-time equivalents (FTEs). In 

FY 2011 the NRC revised its budget 

structure. This new structure allows the 

agency to accurately identify all its 

direct and overhead costs. Under this 

new FY 2011 structure, more of the 

budgeted resources have been identified 

as overhead costs. The agency is using 

this information to further streamline its 

costs and make efficient use of all its 

resources. The FTEs for direct program 


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activities in the Reactor program 

decrease in FY 2011. The hourly rate 

calculation is described in further detail 

in the following paragraphs. 

The NRC’s hourly rate is derived by 

dividing the sum of recoverable 

budgeted resources for (1) mission 

direct program salaries and benefits; (2) 

mission indirect program support; and 

(3) agency corporate support and the 

Inspector General (IG), by mission direct 

FTE hours. The mission direct FTE 

hours are the product of the mission 

direct FTE times the hours per direct 

FTE. The only budgeted resources 

excluded from the hourly rate are those 

for contract activities related to mission 

direct and fee-relief activities. 

In FY 2011, the NRC is proposing to 

use 1,371 hours per direct FTE, the 

same amount as FY 2010, to calculate 

the hourly fees. The NRC has reviewed 

data from its time and labor system to 

determine if the annual direct hours 

worked per direct FTE estimate requires 

updating for the FY 2011 fee rule. Based 

on this review of the most recent data 

available, the NRC determined that 

1,371 hours is the best estimate of direct 

hours worked annually per direct FTE. 

This estimate excludes all indirect 

activities such as training, general 

administration, and leave. 

Table II shows the results of the 

hourly rate calculation methodology. FY 

2010 amounts are provided for 

comparison purposes. (Individual 

values may not sum to totals due to 

rounding.) 

TABLE II—HOURLY RATE CALCULATION

FY 2010 

final rule 

FY 2011 

proposed rule 

Mission Direct Program Salaries & Benefits ........................................................................................................... $343.8 $337.6 

Mission Indirect Program Support ........................................................................................................................... $135.6 $25.9 

Agency Corporate Support, and the IG ................................................................................................................... $330.4 $473.4 

Subtotal ............................................................................................................................................................. $809.8 $836.9 

Less Offsetting Receipts .......................................................................................................................................... ¥0.0 ¥0.0 

Total Budget Included in Hourly Rate .............................................................................................................. $809.8 $836.9 

Mission Direct FTEs ................................................................................................................................................ 2,276 2,236 

Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budget Included in Hourly Rate divided by Mission Direct FTE Hours) ............. $259 $273 

As shown in Table II, dividing the FY 

2011 $836.9 million budget amount 

included in the hourly rate by total 

mission direct FTE hours (2,236 FTE 

times 1,371 hours) results in an hourly 

rate of $273. The hourly rate is rounded 

to the nearest whole dollar. 

2. ‘‘Flat’’ Application Fee Changes 

The NRC is proposing to adjust the 

current flat application fees in §§ 170.21 

and 170.31 to reflect the revised hourly 

rate of $273. These flat fees are 

calculated by multiplying the average 

professional staff hours needed to 

process the licensing actions by the 

proposed professional hourly rate for FY 

2011. 

Biennially, the NRC evaluates 

historical professional staff hours used 

to process a new license application for 

materials users fee categories subject to 

flat application fees. This is in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

Chief Financial Officer’s Act. The NRC 

conducted this biennial review for the 

FY 2011 fee rule which also included 

license and amendment applications for 

import and export licenses. 

Evaluation of the historical data in FY 

2011 shows that the average number of 

professional staff hours required to 

complete licensing actions in the 

materials program should be increased 

in some fee categories and decreased in 

others to more accurately reflect current 

data for completing these licensing 

actions. The average number of 

professional staff hours needed to 

complete new licensing actions was last 

updated for the FY 2009 final fee rule. 

Thus, the revised proposed average 

professional staff hours in this fee rule 

reflect the changes in the NRC licensing 

review program that have occurred 

since that time. 

The higher hourly rate of $273 is the 

main reason for the increases in the 

application fees. Application fees for 11 

fee categories (3.G., 3.I., 3.P., 3.R.1., 

3.R.2., 4.B., 7.C., 8.A., 9.C., 9.D., and 17., 

under § 170.31) also increase because of 

the results of the biennial review, which 

showed an increase in average time to 

process these types of license 

applications. The decrease in fees for 9 

fee categories (2.C., 3.B., 3.H., 3.L., 3.M., 

3.O., 5.A., 7.A., and 9.A., under 

§ 170.31) is due to a decrease in average 

time to process these types of 

applications. 

The flat application fee for fee 

Category 17., master materials licenses 

of broad scope issue to Government 

agencies, is being eliminated. Instead, 

any application received for fee 

Category 17. will be reviewed on a fullcost basis; i.e., staff hours required to 

review application times the NRC 

hourly rate. The regulatory effort to 

review a new master materials license 

application varies with each license 

application. Therefore, a full cost 

application fee would be equitable since 

the actual cost of review will be charged 

to the applicant. 

Based on the biennial review, the 

following changes have been made to 

the fee categories for import and export 

licenses. The current export fee 

Category 15.H. is deleted because the 

description for the fee was incorrect and 

not used in export licensing. The 

current fee Category 15.I. is renumbered 

as 15.H. A new export fee Category 

15.H. is established to reflect a new fee 

category for government-to-government 

consents for exports of Category 1 

quantities for radioactive material listed 

in Appendix P to 10 CFR Part 110. The 

new 15.H. fee category reflects the 

NRC’s activity related to obtaining 

government-to-government consents as 

specified in § 110.42(e)(3). In addition, 

fee categories 15.M. through and 

including 15.Q. are being eliminated 

since the requirement to obtain a 

specific license for imports of 

radioactive materials listed in Appendix 

P to 10 CFR Part 110 was eliminated as 

part of a 2010 rule change to 10 CFR 

Part 110 (July 28, 2010; 75 FR 44072). 

The amounts of the materials 

licensing flat fees are rounded so that 

the fees would be convenient to the user 

and the effects of rounding would be 

minimal. Fees under $1,000 are rounded 

to the nearest $10, fees that are greater 

than $1,000 but less than $100,000 are 

rounded to the nearest $100, and fees 

that are greater than $100,000 are 

rounded to the nearest $1,000. 

The proposed licensing flat fees are 

applicable for fee categories K.1. 

through K.5. of § 170.21, and fee 

categories 1.C., 1.D., 2.B., 2.C., 3.A. 

through 3.S., 4.B. through 9.D., 10.B., 


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15.A. through 15.L., 15.R., 16, and 17 of 

§ 170.31. Applications filed on or after 

the effective date of the FY 2011 final 

fee rule would be subject to the revised 

fees in the final rule. 

In FY 2011, NRC will be eliminating 

fee Category 3.D. under byproduct 

materials since the agency does not 

expect to receive any license under the 

current definition of this fee category. 

The fee category will be reserved for 

future use. 

3. Administrative Amendments 

In § 170.11, the NRC is inserting a 

semicolon at the end of paragraph 

(a)(1)(iii)(A), inserting a semicolon and 

the word ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

(a)(1)(iii)(B), and removing and 

reserving paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(D) for ease 

of reading. There is no change to the 

NRC’s fee exemption policy. 

In § 170.31, the NRC is eliminating 

footnote 5 and renumbering footnote 6 

to 5. 

In summary, the NRC is proposing to 

make the following changes to 10 CFR 

Part 170: 

1. Establish a revised professional 

hourly rate to use in assessing fees for 

specific services; 

2. Revise the fee categories for import 

and export licenses. Also revise the 

license application fees to reflect the 

proposed FY 2011 hourly rate; and 

3. Make certain administrative 

changes for purposes of improving the 

clarity of the rule. 

B. Amendments to 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 

The NRC proposes to use its fee-relief 

surplus by decreasing all licensees’ 

annual fees. This rulemaking also 

proposed to make changes to the 

number of NRC licensees and to 

establish rebaselined annual fees based 

on the FY 2011 budget submitted to the 

Congress. The proposed amendments 

are described as follows: 

1. Application of Fee-Relief and LowLevel Waste (LLW) Surcharge 

The NRC is proposing to use its feerelief surplus by decreasing all 

licensees’ annual fees, based on their 

percentage share of the budget. The NRC 

applies the 10 percent of its budget that 

is excluded from fee recovery under 

OBRA–90, as amended (fee-relief), to 

offset the total budget allocated for 

activities which do not directly benefit 

current NRC licensees. The budget for 

these fee-relief activities is totaled and 

then reduced by the amount of the 

NRC’s fee-relief. Any difference between 

the fee-relief and the budgeted amount 

of these activities results in a fee-relief 

adjustment (increase or decrease) to all 

licensees’ annual fees, based on their 

percentage share of the budget (i.e., over 

80 percent is allocated to power reactors 

each year). 

In FY 2011, the 10 percent fee-relief 

exceeded the total budget by $6.4 

million. The FY 2011 budget for feerelief activities is lower than FY 2010, 

primarily due to a decrease in budgeted 

resources for nonprofit educational 

exemptions, international activities, 

small entity subsidies, and grants for 

fellowships and scholarships. The NRC 

is decreasing all licensees’ annual fees 

to use the surplus amount of $6.4 

million, based on their percentage share 

of the fee recoverable budget authority. 

This is consistent with the existing fee 

methodology. Any fee-relief surplus is 

allocated as a reduction of license fees 

when the NRC fee-relief amount is more 

than the budget for fee-relief activities. 

A fee-relief shortfall amount is allocated 

as an increase in license fee to licensees 

when the NRC fee-relief amount is less 

than the budgeted resources for feerelief activities. In FY 2011, the power 

reactors class of licensees will be 

allocated approximately 86 percent of 

the fee-relief surplus based on their 

share of the NRC fee recoverable budget 

authority. 

The FY 2011 budgeted resources for 

NRC’s fee-relief activities are $95.3 

million. The NRC’s total fee-relief in FY 

2011 is $101.7 million, leaving a $6.4 

million fee-relief surplus that will 

reduce licensees’ annual fees. These 

values are shown in Table III. The FY 

2010 amounts are provided for 

comparison purposes. (Individual 

values may not sum to totals due to 

rounding.) 

TABLE III—FEE–RELIEF ACTIVITIES

[Dollars in millions] 

Fee-relief activities 

FY 2010 

budgeted 

costs 

FY 2011 

budgeted 

costs 

1. Activities not attributable to an existing NRC licensee or class of licensee: 

a. International activities ................................................................................................................................... $18.2 $15.0 

b. Agreement State oversight ........................................................................................................................... 11.2 14.1 

c. Scholarships and Fellowships ...................................................................................................................... 15.0 11.5 

2. Activities not assessed Part 170 licensing and inspection fees or Part 171 annual fees based on existing 

law or Commission policy: 

a. Fee exemption for nonprofit educational institutions ................................................................................... 17.4 13.3 

b. Costs not recovered from small entities under 10 CFR 171.16(c) .............................................................. 6.1 5.6 

c. Regulatory support to Agreement States ..................................................................................................... 23.1 18.0 

d. Generic decommissioning/reclamation (not related to the power reactor and spent fuel storage fee 

classes) ......................................................................................................................................................... 15.1 16.6 

e. In situ leach rulemaking and unregistered general licensees ..................................................................... 2.4 1.2 

Total fee-relief activities ............................................................................................................................ 108.5 95.3 

Less 10 percent of NRC’s FY 2011 total budget (less non-fee items) ................................................................... ¥101.4 ¥101.7 

Fee-Relief Adjustment to be Allocated to All Licensees’ Annual Fees ........................................................... 7.1 ¥6.4 

Table IV shows how the NRC is 

allocating the $6.4 million fee-relief 

surplus adjustment to each license fee 

class. As explained previously, the NRC 

is allocating this fee-relief adjustment to 

each license fee class based on the 

percent of the budget for that fee class 

compared to the NRC’s total budget. The 

fee-relief surplus adjustment is 


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subtracted from the required annual fee 

recovery from each fee class. 

Separately, the NRC has continued to 

allocate the LLW surcharge based on the 

volume of LLW disposal of three classes 

of licenses: Operating reactors, fuel 

facilities, and materials users. Because 

LLW activities support NRC licensees, 

the costs of these activities are 

recovered through annual fees. In FY 

2011, this allocation percentage was 

updated based on review of recent data 

which reflects the change in the support 

to the various fee classes. The allocation 

percentage of LLW surcharge increased 

for operating reactors and fuel facilities, 

and decreased for materials users 

compared to FY 2010. 

Table IV also shows the allocation of 

the LLW surcharge activity. For FY 

2011, the total budget allocated for LLW 

activity is $3.0 million. (Individual 

values may not sum to totals due to 

rounding.) 

TABLE IV—ALLOCATION OF FEE-RELIEF ADJUSTMENT AND LLW SURCHARGE, FY 2011 

[Dollars in millions] 

LLW surcharge Fee-relief adjustment Total 

Percent $ Percent $ $ 

Operating Power Reactors .................................................. 70.0 2.1 85.9 ¥5.5 ¥3.4 

Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning ................... ........................ ........................ 3.7 ¥0.2 ¥0.2 

Research and Test Reactors ............................................... ........................ ........................ 0.2 0.0 0.0 

Fuel Facilities ....................................................................... 24.0 0.7 6.2 ¥0.4 0.3 

Materials Users .................................................................... 6.0 0.2 2.8 ¥0.2 0.0 

Transportation ...................................................................... ........................ ........................ 0.5 0.0 0.0 

Uranium Recovery ............................................................... ........................ ........................ 0.8 0.0 0.0 

Total .............................................................................. 100.0 3.0 100.0 ¥6.4 ¥3.3 

2. Revised Annual Fees 

The NRC is proposing to revise its 

annual fees in §§ 171.15 and 171.16 for 

FY 2011 to recover approximately 90 

percent of the NRC’s FY 2011 budget 

authority, after subtracting the non-fee 

amounts and the estimated amount to be 

recovered through Part 170 fees. 

The Commission has determined 

(71 FR 30721; May 30, 2006) that the 

agency should proceed with a 

presumption in favor of rebaselining 

when calculating annual fees each year. 

Under this method, the NRC’s budget is 

analyzed in detail, and budgeted 

resources are allocated to fee classes and 

categories of licensees. The Commission 

expects that most years there will be 

budgetary and other changes that 

warrant the use of the rebaselining 

method. 

As compared with FY 2010 annual 

fees, the FY 2011 proposed rebaselined 

fees are higher for four classes of 

licensees (spent fuel storage and 

reactors in decommissioning facilities, 

research and test reactors, fuel facilities 

and transportation), and lower for one 

class of licensees (power reactors). 

Within the uranium recovery fee class, 

the proposed annual fees for most 

licensees decrease, while the proposed 

annual fee for one fee category 

increases. The annual fee increases for 

most fee categories in the materials 

users’ fee class. 

The NRC’s total fee recoverable 

budget, as mandated by law, is 

approximately $3.1 million higher in FY 

2011 as compared with FY 2010. The 

FY 2011 budget was allocated to the fee 

classes that the budgeted activities 

support. The increase is primarily due 

to the higher FY 2011 budget supporting 

the spent fuel storage and transportation 

activities, fuel facility reviews, materials 

user’s activities, uranium recovery 

facilities, and research and test reactor 

reviews. 

The factors affecting all annual fees 

include the distribution of budgeted 

costs to the different classes of licenses 

(based on the specific activities the NRC 

will perform in FY 2011), the estimated 

Part 170 collections for the various 

classes of licenses, and allocation of the 

fee-relief surplus adjustment to all fee 

classes. The percentage of the NRC’s 

budget not subject to fee recovery 

remained at 10 percent from FY 2010 to 

FY 2011. 

Table V shows the rebaselined fees for 

FY 2011 for a representative list of 

categories of licensees. The FY 2010 

amounts are provided for comparison 

purposes. (Individual values may not 

sum to totals due to rounding.) 

TABLE V—REBASELINED ANNUAL FEES

Class/category of licenses FY 2010 

annual fee 

FY 2011 

annual fee 

Operating Power Reactors (Including Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning Annual Fee) ..................... $4,784,000 $4,669,000 

Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning ...................................................................................................... 148,000 241,000 

Research and Test Reactors (Nonpower Reactors) ............................................................................................... 81,700 86,100 

High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility ....................................................................................................................... 5,439,000 6,078,000 

Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility ........................................................................................................................ 2,047,000 2,287,000 

UF6 Conversion Facility ........................................................................................................................................... 1,111,000 1,242 ,000 

Conventional Mills .................................................................................................................................................... 38,300 31,900 

Typical Materials Users: 

Radiographers (Category 3O) .......................................................................................................................... 28,200 25,700 

Well Loggers (Category 5A) ............................................................................................................................. 11,900 9,900 

Gauge Users (Category 3P) ............................................................................................................................. 4,500 4,800 

Broad Scope Medical (Category 7B) ............................................................................................................... 45,100 45,000 


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The work papers that support this 

proposed rule show in detail the 

allocation of NRC’s budgeted resources 

for each class of licenses and how the 

fees are calculated. Beginning in FY 

2011, the NRC is transitioning to a new 

budget structure. Therefore, the reports 

included in these work papers 

summarize the FY 2011 budgeted FTE 

and contract dollars allocated to each 

fee class and fee-relief category at the 

product line level. Since the FY 2010 

and FY 2011 budget structures are 

appreciably different, the reports 

comparing the FY 2011 allocations to 

FY 2010 are at a higher summary level. 

The work papers are available 

electronically at http:// 

www.regulations.gov by searching on 

Docket ID NRC–2011–0016 and at the 

NRC’s Electronic Reading Room on the 

Internet at Web site address http:// 

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 

The work papers may also be examined 

at the NRC PDR located at One White 

Flint North, Room O–1F22, 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852. 

The budgeted costs allocated to each 

class of licenses and the calculations of 

the rebaselined fees are described in 

paragraphs a. through h. of this section. 

Individual values in the Tables 

presented in this section may not sum 

to totals due to rounding. 

a. Fuel Facilities 

The FY 2011 budgeted cost to be 

recovered in the annual fees assessment 

to the fuel facility class of licenses 

[which includes licensees in fee 

categories 1.A.(1)(a), 1.A.(1)(b), 

1.A.(2)(a), 1.A.(2)(b), 1.A.(2)(c), 1.E., and 

2.A.(1), under § 171.16] is 

approximately $30 million. This value 

is based on the full cost of budgeted 

resources associated with all activities 

that support this fee class, which is 

reduced by estimated Part 170 

collections and adjusted for allocated 

generic transportation resources and feerelief adjustment. In FY 2011, the LLW 

surcharge for fuel facilities is added to 

the allocated fee-relief adjustment (see 

Table IV in Section III.B.1., ‘‘Application 

of Fee-Relief and Low-Level Waste 

Surcharge’’ of this document). The 

summary calculations used to derive 

this value are presented in Table VI for 

FY 2011, with FY 2010 values shown 

for comparison. (Individual values may 

not sum to totals due to rounding.) 

TABLE VI—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR FUEL FACILITIES

[Dollars in millions] 

Summary fee calculations FY 2010 

final 

FY 2011 

proposed 

Total budgeted resources ........................................................................................................................................ $48.8 $55.7 

Less estimated Part 170 receipts ............................................................................................................................ ¥21.2 ¥26.6 

Net Part 171 resources .................................................................................................................................... 27.6 29.1 

Allocated generic transportation .............................................................................................................................. +0.5 +0.6 

Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge ..................................................................................................................... +0.7 +0.3 

Billing adjustments ................................................................................................................................................... ¥0.1 ¥0.0 

Total required annual fee recovery .................................................................................................................. 28.8 30.0 

The increase in total budgeted 

resources allocated to this fee class from 

FY 2010 to FY 2011 is primarily due to 

increased support for licensing 

amendments, and rulemaking for 

regulatory framework for reprocessing. 

The total required annual fee recovery 

amount is allocated to the individual 

fuel facility licensees, based on the 

effort/fee determination matrix 

developed for the FY 1999 final fee rule 

(64 FR 31447; June 10, 1999). In the 

matrix included in the publicly 

available NRC work papers, licensees 

are grouped into categories according to 

their licensed activities (i.e., nuclear 

material enrichment, processing 

operations, and material form) and the 

level, scope, depth of coverage, and 

rigor of generic regulatory programmatic 

effort applicable to each category from 

a safety and safeguards perspective. 

This methodology can be applied to 

determine fees for new licensees, 

current licensees, licensees in unique 

license situations, and certificate 

holders. 

This methodology is adaptable to 

changes in the number of licensees or 

certificate holders, licensed or certified 

material and/or activities, and total 

programmatic resources to be recovered 

through annual fees. When a license or 

certificate is modified, it may result in 

a change of category for a particular fuel 

facility licensee, as a result of the 

methodology used in the fuel facility 

effort/fee matrix. Consequently, this 

change may also have an effect on the 

fees assessed to other fuel facility 

licensees and certificate holders. For 

example, if a fuel facility licensee 

amends its license/certificate (e.g., 

decommissioning or license 

termination) that results in it not being 

subject to Part 171 costs applicable to 

the fee class, then the budgeted costs for 

the safety and/or safeguards 

components will be spread among the 

remaining fuel facility licensees/ 

certificate holders. 

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 

use a license/certificate, the license/ 

certificate is still used as the source for 

determining authorized nuclear material 

possession and use/activity. Second, the 

category and license/certificate 

information are used to determine 

where the licensee/certificate holder fits 

into the matrix. The matrix depicts the 

categorization of licensees/certificate 

holders by authorized material types 

and use/activities. 

Each year, the NRC’s fuel facility 

project managers and regulatory 

analysts determine the level of effort 

associated with regulating each of these 

facilities. This is done by assigning, for 

each fuel facility, separate effort factors 

for the safety and safeguards activities 

associated with each type of regulatory 

activity. The matrix includes ten types 

of regulatory activities, including 

enrichment and scrap/waste-related 

activities (see the work papers for the 

complete list). Effort factors are assigned 

as follows: one (low regulatory effort), 

five (moderate regulatory effort), and ten 

(high regulatory effort). These effort 

factors are then totaled for each fee 

category, so that each fee category has 

a total effort factor for safety activities 

and a total effort factor for safeguards 

activities. 

The effort factors for the various fuel 

facility fee categories are summarized in 

Table VII. The value of the effort factors 


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shown, as well as the percent of the 

total effort factor for all fuel facilities, 

reflects the total regulatory effort for 

each fee category (not per facility). The 

following factors have changed 

compared to FY 2010. The total effort 

factors for the Limited Operations fee 

category has increased from FY 2010, 

while the Uranium Enrichment fee 

category factors decreased from FY 2010 

primarily due to a shift of one licensee 

from the Uranium Enrichment fee 

category to Limited Operations fee 

category. 

TABLE VII—EFFORT FACTORS FOR FUEL FACILITIES, FY 2011 

Facility type (fee category) Number of 

facilities 

Effort factors 

(percent of total) 

Safety Safeguards 

High Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)) .................................................................................... 2 89 (35.5) 97 (46.4) 

Low Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)) ..................................................................................... 3 70 (27.9) 35 (16.7) 

Limited Operations (1.A.(2)(a)) .................................................................................................... 2 15 (6.0) 8 (3.8) 

Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b)) .............................................................. 1 3 (1.2) 15 (7.2) 

Hot Cell (1.A.(2)(c)) ..................................................................................................................... 1 6 (2.4) 3 (1.4) 

Uranium Enrichment (1.E) ........................................................................................................... 2 56 (22.3) 44 (21.1) 

UF6 Conversion (2.A.(1)) ............................................................................................................. 1 12 (4.8) 7 (3.3) 

For FY 2011, the total budgeted 

resources for safety activities, before the 

fee-relief adjustment is made, are 

$16,216,139. This amount is allocated to 

each fee category based on its percent of 

the total regulatory effort for safety 

activities. For example, if the total effort 

factor for safety activities for all fuel 

facilities is 100, and the total effort 

factor for safety activities for a given fee 

category is 10, that fee category will be 

allocated 10 percent of the total 

budgeted resources for safety activities. 

Similarly, the budgeted resources 

amount of $13,502,682 for safeguards 

activities is allocated to each fee 

category based on its percent of the total 

regulatory effort for safeguards 

activities. The fuel facility fee class’ 

portion of the fee-relief adjustment 

($343,353) is allocated to each fee 

category based on its percent of the total 

regulatory effort for both safety and 

safeguards activities. The annual fee per 

licensee is then calculated by dividing 

the total allocated budgeted resources 

for the fee category by the number of 

licensees in that fee category. The fee 

(rounded) for each facility is 

summarized in Table VIII. 

TABLE VIII—ANNUAL FEES FOR FUEL FACILITIES

Facility type (fee category) 

FY 2011 

proposed annual 

fee 

High Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)) ........................................................................................................................................ $6,078,000 

Low Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)) ......................................................................................................................................... 2,287,000 

Limited Operations Facility (1.A.(2)(a)) ........................................................................................................................................... 752,000 

Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b)) .................................................................................................................. 1,176,000 

Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c)) ..................................................................................................................................................... 588,000 

Uranium Enrichment (1.E.) .............................................................................................................................................................. 3,268,000 

UF6 Conversion (2.A.(1)) ................................................................................................................................................................. 1,242,000 

If the NRC authorizes operation of a 

new uranium enrichment facility in FY 

2011, the applicable fee to any type of 

new uranium enrichment facility is the 

annual fee in § 171.16, fee Category 1.E., 

Uranium Enrichment, unless the NRC 

establishes a new fee category for the 

facility in a subsequent rulemaking. The 

applicable annual fee for a facility that 

is authorized to operate during the FY 

will be prorated in accordance with the 

provisions of § 171.17. 

b. Uranium Recovery Facilities 

The total FY 2011 budgeted cost to be 

recovered through annual fees assessed 

to the uranium recovery class [which 

includes licensees in fee categories 

2.A.(2)(a), 2.A.(2)(b), 2.A.(2)(c), 

2.A.(2)(d), 2.A.(2)(e), 2.A.(3), 2.A.(4), 

2.A.(5) and 18.B., under § 171.16], is 

approximately $1.0 million. The 

derivation of this value is shown in 

Table IX, with FY 2010 values shown 

for comparison purposes. 

TABLE IX—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR URANIUM RECOVERY FACILITIES

[Dollars in millions] 

Summary fee calculations FY 2010 

final 

FY 2011 

proposed 

Total budgeted resources ........................................................................................................................................ $6.69 $7.14 

Less estimated Part 170 receipts ............................................................................................................................ ¥5.83 ¥6.09 

Net Part 171 resources .................................................................................................................................... 0.86 1.05 

Allocated generic transportation .............................................................................................................................. N/A N/A 

Fee-relief adjustment ............................................................................................................................................... +0.05 ¥0.05 

Billing adjustments ................................................................................................................................................... ¥0.01 0.00 


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TABLE IX—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR URANIUM RECOVERY FACILITIES—Continued 

[Dollars in millions] 

Summary fee calculations FY 2010 

final 

FY 2011 

proposed 

Total required annual fee recovery .................................................................................................................. 0.91 1.00 

The increase in total budgeted 

resources allocated to this fee class from 

FY 2010 to FY 2011 is primarily due to 

increase in DOE Title I licensing 

activities partially offset by increase in 

Part 170 estimates. Since FY 2002, the 

NRC has computed the annual fee for 

the uranium recovery fee class by 

allocating the total annual fee amount 

for this fee class between the DOE and 

the other licensees in this fee class. The 

NRC regulates DOE’s Title I and Title II 

activities under the Uranium Mill 

Tailings Radiation Control Act 

(UMTRCA). The Congress established 

the two programs, Title I and Title II 

under UMTRCA, to protect the public 

and the environment from uranium 

milling. The UMTRCA Title I program 

is for remedial action at abandoned mill 

tailings sites where tailings resulted 

largely from production of uranium for 

the weapons program. The NRC also 

regulates DOE’s UMTRCA Title II 

program which is directed toward 

uranium mill sites licensed by the NRC 

or Agreement States in or after 1978. 

The annual fee assessed to DOE 

includes recovery of the costs 

specifically budgeted for NRC’s Title I 

activities, plus 10 percent of the 

remaining annual fee amount, including 

the fee-relief and generic/other costs, for 

the uranium recovery class. The 

remaining 90 percent of the fee-relief 

and generic/other costs are assessed to 

the other NRC licensees in this fee class 

that are subject to annual fees. The 

distribution of 10 percent of the generic 

budgeted costs to DOE and 90 percent 

to other facilities is a change from the 

previous year that is based on current 

NRC activities. Last year, the 

distribution was 35 percent and 65 

percent to DOE and other facilities, 

respectively. 

The costs to be recovered through 

annual fees assessed to the uranium 

recovery class are shown in Table X. 

TABLE X—COSTS RECOVERED THROUGH ANNUAL FEES

Uranium recovery fee class 

DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I and Title II) general licenses: 

UMTRCA Title I budgeted costs less Part 170 receipts .............................................................................................................. $745,331 

10 percent of generic/other uranium recovery budgeted costs ................................................................................................... 30,984 

10 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment ................................................................................................................. ¥4,984 

Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE (rounded) ...................................................................................................................... 771,000 

Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses: 

90 percent of generic/other uranium recovery budgeted costs less the amounts specifically budgeted for Title I activities ..... 278,854 

90 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment .......................................................................................................... ¥44,857 

Total Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses ....................................................................................... 233,996 

The DOE fee increases in FY 2011 

compared to FY 2010 due to higher 

budgeted resources for UMTRCA Title I 

activities. The annual fee for other 

uranium recovery licensees decreases in 

FY 2011. 

Although the distribution of the 

generic budgeted costs to other uranium 

facilities increased from FY 2010, the 

total annual fee amount to be recovered 

decreases in FY 2011 compared to FY 

2010, primarily due to increased 

activities for DOE Title I facilities. 

The NRC will continue to use a matrix 

(which is included in the supporting 

work papers) to determine the level of 

effort associated with conducting the 

generic regulatory actions for the 

different (non-DOE) licensees in this fee 

class. The weights derived in this matrix 

are used to allocate the approximately 

$234,000 annual fee amount to these 

licensees. The use of this uranium 

recovery annual fee matrix was 

established in the FY 1995 final fee rule 

(60 FR 32217; June 20, 1995). The FY 

2011 matrix is described as follows. 

First, the methodology identifies the 

categories of licenses included in this 

fee class (besides DOE). In FY 2011, 

these categories are conventional 

uranium mills and heap leach facilities, 

uranium solution mining and resin In 

Situ Recovery (ISR) facilities, mill 

tailings disposal facilities (11e.(2) 

disposal facilities), and uranium water 

treatment facilities. 

Second, the matrix identifies the 

types of operating activities that support 

and benefit these licensees. The 

activities related to generic 

decommissioning/reclamation are not 

included in the matrix, because they are 

included in the fee-relief activities. 

Therefore, they are not a factor in 

determining annual fees. The activities 

included in the FY 2011 matrix are 

operations, waste operations, and 

groundwater protection. The relative 

weight of each type of activity is then 

determined, based on the regulatory 

resources associated with each activity. 

The operations, waste operations, and 

groundwater protection activities have 

weights of 0, 5, and 10, respectively, in 

the FY 2011 matrix. 

Each year, the NRC determines the 

level of benefit to each licensee for 

generic uranium recovery program 

activities for each type of generic 

activity in the matrix. This is done by 

assigning, for each fee category, separate 

benefit factors for each type of 

regulatory activity in the matrix. Benefit 

factors are assigned on a scale of 0 to 10 

as follows: Zero (no regulatory benefit), 

five (moderate regulatory benefit), and 

ten (high regulatory benefit). These 

benefit factors are first multiplied by the 

relative weight assigned to each activity 

(described previously). Total benefit 

factors by fee category, and per licensee 

in each fee category, are then calculated. 

These benefit factors thus reflect the 

relative regulatory benefit associated 

with each licensee and fee category. The 

NRC expects to license an ISR Resin 


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Facility in FY 2011. Therefore, the 

benefit factors for fee Category 2.A.(2)(d) 

have been included in the FY 2011 

matrix, and an annual fee has been 

established. 

The benefit factors per licensee and 

per fee category, for each of the nonDOE fee categories included in the 

uranium recovery fee class, are as 

follows: 

TABLE XI—BENEFIT FACTORS FOR URANIUM RECOVERY LICENSES

Fee category Number of 

licensees 

Benefit factor 

per licensee Total value Benefit factor percent total 

Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.(A).2.a.) ............................................. 1 200 200 14 

Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.(A).2.b.) .................................................... 4 190 760 52 

Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.(A).2.c.) ............................................. 1 215 215 15 

In Situ Recovery Resin Facilities (2.(A).2.d.) .................................................. 1 180 180 12 

11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites (2.(A).4.) ......................... 1 65 65 4 

Uranium water treatment (2.(A).5.) .................................................................. 1 45 45 3 

1,465 

Applying these factors to the 

approximately $234,000 in budgeted 

costs to be recovered from non-DOE 

uranium recovery licensees results in 

the total annual fees for each fee 

category. The annual fee per licensee is 

calculated by dividing the total 

allocated budgeted resources for the fee 

category by the number of licensees in 

that fee category, as summarized in 

Table XII: 

TABLE XII—ANNUAL FEES FOR URANIUM RECOVERY LICENSEES (OTHER THAN DOE) 

Facility type (fee category) 

FY 2011 

proposed 

annual fee 

Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a)) ................................................................................................................................. 31,900 

Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b)) ....................................................................................................................................... 30,300 

Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c)) ................................................................................................................................ 34,300 

In Situ Recovery Resin facilities (2.A.(2)(d)) ....................................................................................................................................... 28,800 

11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites (2.A.(4)) .............................................................................................................. 10,400 

Uranium water treatment (2.A.(5)) ....................................................................................................................................................... 7,200 

c. Operating Power Reactors 

The $460.5 million in budgeted costs 

to be recovered through FY 2011 annual 

fees assessed to the power reactor class 

was calculated as shown in Table XIII. 

The FY 2010 values are shown for 

comparison. (Individual values may not 

sum to totals due to rounding.) 

TABLE XIII—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR OPERATING POWER REACTORS

[Dollars in millions] 

Summary fee calculations FY 2010 

final 

FY 2011 

proposed 

Total budgeted resources ................................................................................................................................................ $787.3 $783.1 

Less estimated Part 170 receipts .................................................................................................................................... ¥312.5 ¥320.5 

Net Part 171 resources ................................................................................................................................................... 474.8 462.6 

Allocated generic transportation ...................................................................................................................................... +0.8 +0.9 

Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge ............................................................................................................................. +7.5 ¥3.4 

Billing adjustments ........................................................................................................................................................... ¥1.0 0.4 

Total required annual fee recovery .......................................................................................................................... 482.1 460.5 

The annual fee for power reactors 

decreases in FY 2011 compared to FY 

2010 due to a decrease in budgeted 

resources, increase in the Part 170 

collections estimate, and the fee-relief 

surplus adjustment. The budgeted costs 

to be recovered through annual fees to 

power reactors are divided equally 

among the 104 power reactors licensed 

to operate. This results in an FY 2011 

annual fee of $4,428,000 per reactor. 

Additionally, each power reactor 

licensed to operate would be assessed 

the FY 2011 spent fuel storage/reactor 

decommissioning annual fee of 

$241,000. This results in a total FY 2011 

annual fee of $4,669,000 for each power 

reactor licensed to operate. 

The annual fees for power reactors are 

presented in § 171.15. 

d. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactors in 

Decommissioning 

For FY 2011, budgeted costs of 

approximately $29.7 million for spent 

fuel storage/reactor decommissioning 

are to be recovered through annual fees 

assessed to 10 CFR Part 50 power 

reactors, and to Part 72 licensees who 

do not hold a Part 50 license. Those 

reactor licensees that have ceased 

operations and have no fuel onsite are 

not subject to these annual fees. Table 


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XIV shows the calculation of this annual 

fee amount. The FY 2010 values are 

shown for comparison. (Individual 

values may not sum to totals due to 

rounding.) 

TABLE XIV—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR THE SPENT FUEL STORAGE/REACTOR IN DECOMMISSIONING FEE

CLASS

[Dollars in millions] 

Summary Fee Calculations FY 2010 

final 

FY 2011 

proposed 

Total budgeted resources ........................................................................................................................................ $24.1 $33.4 

Less estimated Part 170 receipts ............................................................................................................................ ¥6.4 ¥4.0 

Net Part 171 resources .................................................................................................................................... 17.7 29.4 

Allocated generic transportation .............................................................................................................................. +0.4 +0.5 

Fee-relief adjustment ............................................................................................................................................... +0.2 ¥0.2 

Billing adjustments ................................................................................................................................................... 0.0 0.0 

Total required annual fee recovery .................................................................................................................. 18.2 29.7 

The value of total budgeted resources 

for this fee class is higher in FY 2011 

than in FY 2010, due to increased 

budgeted resources for spent fuel 

storage licensing and certification 

activities and lower Part 170 collections 

estimate, partially offset by the fee-relief 

surplus adjustment. The required 

annual fee recovery amount is divided 

equally among 123 licensees, resulting 

in an FY 2011 annual fee of $241,000 

per licensee. 

e. Research and Test Reactors 

(Nonpower Reactors) 

Approximately $340,000 in budgeted 

costs is to be recovered through annual 

fees assessed to the research and test 

reactor class of licenses for FY 2011. 

Table XV summarizes the annual fee 

calculation for research and test reactors 

for FY 2011. The FY 2010 values are 

shown for comparison. (Individual 

values may not sum to totals due to 

rounding.) 

TABLE XV—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS

[Dollars in millions] 

Summary fee calculations FY 2010 

final 

FY 2011 

proposed 

Total budgeted resources ........................................................................................................................................ $1.31 $1.87 

Less estimated Part 170 receipts ............................................................................................................................ ¥1.01 ¥1.54 

Net Part 171 resources .................................................................................................................................... 0.30 0.33 

Allocated generic transportation .............................................................................................................................. +0.01 +0.02 

Fee-relief adjustment ............................................................................................................................................... +0.01 ¥0.01 

Billing adjustments ................................................................................................................................................... 0.00 0.00 

Total required annual fee recovery .................................................................................................................. 0.33 0.34 

The increase in annual fees from FY 

2010 to FY 2011 is primarily due to 

increase in budgeted costs for review of 

licensing amendments partially offset by 

the fee-relief surplus adjustment. The 

required annual fee recovery amount is 

divided equally among the four research 

and test reactors subject to annual fees 

and results in an FY 2011 annual fee of 

$86,100 for each licensee. 

f. Rare Earth Facilities 

The agency does not anticipate 

receiving an application for a rare earth 

facility this fiscal year, so no budgeted 

resources are allocated to this fee class, 

and no annual fee will be published in 

FY 2011. 

g. Materials Users 

Table XVI shows the calculation of 

the FY 2011 annual fee amount for 

materials users licensees. The FY 2010 

values are shown for comparison. Note 

the following fee categories under 

§ 171.16 are included in this fee class: 

1.C., 1.D., 2.B., 2.C., 3.A. through 3.S., 

4.A. through 4.C., 5.A., 5.B., 6.A., 7.A. 

through 7.C., 8.A., 9.A. through 9.D., 16, 

and 17. (Individual values may not sum 

to totals due to rounding.) 

TABLE XVI—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR MATERIALS USERS

[Dollars in millions] 

Summary fee calculations FY 2010 

final 

FY 2011 

proposed 

Total budgeted resources ........................................................................................................................................ $28.8 $30.0 

Less estimated Part 170 receipts ............................................................................................................................ ¥1.8 ¥1.6 

Net Part 171 resources .................................................................................................................................... 27.0 28.4 


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TABLE XVI—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR MATERIALS USERS—Continued 

[Dollars in millions] 

Summary fee calculations FY 2010 

final 

FY 2011 

proposed 

Allocated generic transportation .............................................................................................................................. +0.8 +1.0 

Fee-relief adjustment/LLW surcharge ..................................................................................................................... +0.9 ¥0.0 

Billing adjustments ................................................................................................................................................... ¥0.0 ¥0.0 

Total required annual fee recovery .................................................................................................................. 28.7 29.4 

The total required annual fees to be 

recovered from materials licensees 

increase in FY 2011, mainly because of 

increases in the budgeted resources 

allocated to this fee class for licensing 

and oversight activities, and lower 

estimated Part 170 fee revenue 

compared to FY 2010. Annual fees for 

most fee categories within the materials 

users’ fee class increase while some 

decrease due to decrease in inspection 

costs in certain fee categories. 

To equitably and fairly allocate the 

$29.4 million in FY 2011 budgeted costs 

to be recovered in annual fees assessed 

to the approximately 3,000 diverse 

materials users licensees, the NRC will 

continue to base the annual fees for each 

fee category within this class on the Part 

170 application fees and estimated 

inspection costs for each fee category. 

Because the application fees and 

inspection costs are indicative of the 

complexity of the license, this approach 

continues to provide a proxy for 

allocating the generic and other 

regulatory costs to the diverse categories 

of licenses based on the NRC’s cost to 

regulate each category. This fee 

calculation also continues to consider 

the inspection frequency (priority), 

which is indicative of the safety risk and 

resulting regulatory costs associated 

with the categories of licenses. 

The annual fee for these categories of 

materials users licenses is developed as 

follows: 

Annual fee = Constant × [Application 

Fee + (Average Inspection Cost 

divided by Inspection Priority)] + 

Inspection Multiplier × (Average 

Inspection Cost divided by 

Inspection Priority) + Unique 

Category Costs. 

The constant is the multiple necessary 

to recover approximately $21 million in 

general costs (including allocated 

generic transportation costs) and is 1.53 

for FY 2011. The average inspection cost 

is the average inspection hours for each 

fee category multiplied by the hourly 

rate of $273. The inspection priority is 

the interval between routine 

inspections, expressed in years. The 

inspection multiplier is the multiple 

necessary to recover approximately $8.2 

million in inspection costs, and is 2.3 

for FY 2011. The unique category costs 

are any special costs that the NRC has 

budgeted for a specific category of 

licenses. For FY 2011, approximately 

$113,500 in budgeted costs for the 

implementation of revised 10 CFR Part 

35, Medical Use of Byproduct Material 

(unique costs), has been allocated to 

holders of NRC human-use licenses. 

The annual fee to be assessed to each 

licensee also includes a share of the feerelief surplus adjustment of 

approximately $177,000 allocated to the 

materials users fee class (see Section 

III.B.1., ‘‘Application of Fee-Relief and 

Low-Level Waste Surcharge,’’ of this 

document), and for certain categories of 

these licensees, a share of the 

approximately $189,000 in LLW 

surcharge costs allocated to the fee 

class. The annual fee for each fee 

category is shown in § 171.16(d). 

In FY 2011, the NRC will be 

eliminating fee Category 3.D. under 

byproduct materials since the agency 

does not expect to receive any license 

under the current definition of this fee 

category. The fee category will be 

reserved for future use. 

h. Transportation 

Table XVII shows the calculation of 

the FY 2011 generic transportation 

budgeted resources to be recovered 

through annual fees. The FY 2010 

values are shown for comparison. 

(Individual values may not sum to totals 

due to rounding.) 

TABLE XVII—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR TRANSPORTATION

[Dollars in millions] 

Summary fee calculations FY 2010 

final 

FY 2011 

proposed 

Total budgeted resources ........................................................................................................................................ $6.6 $7.5 

Less estimated Part 170 receipts ............................................................................................................................ ¥3.3 ¥3.4 

Net Part 171 resources .................................................................................................................................... 3.3 4.1 

The increase in Part 171 resources in 

FY 2011 compared to last year is 

primarily due to an increase in budgeted 

resources for transportation regulatory 

programs. 

The NRC must approve any package 

used for shipping nuclear material 

before shipment. If the package meets 

NRC requirements, the NRC issues a 

Radioactive Material Package Certificate 

of Compliance (CoC) to the organization 

requesting approval of a package. 

Organizations are authorized to ship 

radioactive material in a package 

approved for use under the general 

licensing provisions of 10 CFR Part 71. 

The resources associated with generic 

transportation activities are distributed 

to the license fee classes based on the 

number of CoCs benefitting (used by) 

that fee class, as a proxy for the generic 

transportation resources expended for 

each fee class. 

Generic transportation resources 

associated with fee-exempt entities are 

not included in this total. These costs 

are included in the appropriate fee-relief 

category (e.g., the fee-relief category for 

nonprofit educational institutions). 

Consistent with the policy established 

in the NRC’s FY 2006 final fee rule (71 

FR 30721; May 30, 2006), the NRC will 


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recover generic transportation costs 

unrelated to DOE as part of existing 

annual fees for license fee classes. The 

NRC will continue to assess a separate 

annual fee under § 171.16, fee Category 

18.A., for DOE transportation activities. 

The amount of the allocated generic 

resources is calculated by multiplying 

the percentage of total CoCs used by 

each fee class (and DOE) by the total 

generic transportation resources to be 

recovered. 

The distribution of these resources to 

the license fee classes and DOE is 

shown in Table XVIII. The distribution 

is adjusted to account for the licensees 

in each fee class that are fee-exempt. For 

example, if 3 CoCs benefit the entire 

research and test reactor class, but only 

4 of 32 research and test reactors are 

subject to annual fees, the number of 

CoCs used to determine the proportion 

of generic transportation resources 

allocated to research and test reactor 

annual fees equals ((4/32)*3), or 0.4 

CoCs. 

TABLE XVIII—DISTRIBUTION OF GENERIC TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES, FY 2011 

[Dollars in millions] 

License fee class/DOE 

Number CoCs 

benefiting fee 

class or DOE 

Percentage 

of total 

CoCs 

Allocated 

generic 

transportation 

resources 

Total ........................................................................................................................................................ 85.5 100.0 $4.11 

DOE ......................................................................................................................................................... 22.0 25.7 1.06 

Operating Power Reactors ...................................................................................................................... 19.0 22.2 0.91 

Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning ...................................................................................... 10.0 11.7 0.48 

Research and Test Reactors .................................................................................................................. 0.5 0.6 0.02 

Fuel Facilities .......................................................................................................................................... 13.0 15.2 0.62 

Materials Users ....................................................................................................................................... 21.0 24.6 1.01 

The NRC is proposing to continue to 

assess an annual fee to DOE based on 

the Part 71 CoCs it holds and not 

allocate these DOE-related resources to 

other licensees’ annual fees, because 

these resources specifically support 

DOE. Note that DOE’s annual fee 

includes a reduction for the fee-relief 

surplus adjustment (see Section III.B.1, 

‘‘Application of Fee-Relief and LowLevel Waste Surcharge,’’ of this 

document), resulting in a total annual 

fee of $1,028,000 for FY 2011. The 

increase in the DOE fee is primarily 

related to higher budgeted resources for 

the NRC’s transportation activities. 

3. Administrative Amendments 

Eliminate fee Category 3.D. in 

§ 171.16 since the agency currently does 

not have any licensee under this 

category. Based on the definition of this 

fee category no future licensees are 

expected since there are no nonprofit 

educational institutions that are 

distributors of radiopharmaceuticals. 

Revise § 171.16 to reflect changes 

made to fee categories for import and 

export licenses in § 170.31. The current 

export fee Category 15.H. is deleted 

because the description for the fee was 

incorrect and not used in export 

licensing. A new export fee Category 

15.H. is established to reflect a new fee 

category for government-to-government 

consents for exports of Category 1 

quantities for radioactive material listed 

in Appendix P to 10 CFR Part 110. In 

addition, fee categories 15.M. through 

and including 15.Q. are being 

eliminated. The requirement to obtain a 

specific license for imports of 

radioactive materials listed in Appendix 

P to 10 CFR Part 110 was eliminated as 

part of a 2010 rule change to 10 CFR 

Part 110 (July 28, 2010; 75 FR 44072). 

In summary, the NRC is proposing 

to— 

1. Use the NRC’s fee-relief surplus by 

reducing all licensees’ annual fees, 

based on their percentage share of the 

NRC budget; and 

2. Establish rebaselined annual fees 

for FY 2011. 

3. Update some fee categories for 

materials users and import and export 

licenses. 

IV. Plain Language 

The Presidential Memorandum dated 

June 1, 1998, entitled ‘‘Plain Language in 

Government Writing,’’ directed that the 

Government’s writing be in plain 

language. This memorandum was 

published on June 10, 1998 (63 FR 

31883). The NRC requests specific 

comments on the clarity and 

effectiveness of the language in the 

proposed rule. Comments should be 

sent to the address listed under the 

ADDRESSES section of this document. 

V. Voluntary Consensus Standards 

The National Technology Transfer 

and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 

U.S.C. 3701) requires that Federal 

agencies use technical standards that are 

developed or adopted by voluntary 

consensus standards bodies, unless 

using these standards is inconsistent 

with applicable law or is otherwise 

impractical. The NRC is proposing to 

amend the licensing, inspection, and 

annual fees charged to its licensees and 

applicants as necessary to recover 

approximately 90 percent of its budget 

authority in FY 2011, as required by the 

OBRA–90, as amended. This action does 

not constitute the establishment of a 

standard that contains generally 

applicable requirements. 

VI. Environmental Impact: Categorical 

Exclusion 

The NRC has determined that this 

proposed rule is the type of action 

described in categorical exclusion 10 

CFR 51.22(c)(1). Therefore, neither an 

environmental assessment nor an 

environmental impact statement has 

been prepared for the proposed rule. By 

its very nature, this regulatory action 

does not affect the environment and, 

therefore, no environmental justice 

issues are raised. 

VII. Paperwork Reduction Act 

Statement 

This proposed rule does not contain 

information collection requirements 

and, therefore, is not subject to the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.). 

Public Protection Notification 

The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, 

and a person is not required to respond 

to, a request for information or an 


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information collection requirement, 

unless the requesting document 

displays a currently valid Office of 

Management and Budget control 

number. 

VIII. Regulatory Analysis 

With respect to 10 CFR Part 170, this 

proposed rule was developed under 

Title V of the IOAA (31 U.S.C. 9701) 

and the Commission’s fee guidelines. 

When developing these guidelines, the 

Commission took into account guidance 

provided by the U.S. Supreme Court on 

March 4, 1974, in National Cable 

Television Association, Inc. v. United 

States, 415 U.S. 36 (1974) and Federal 

Power Commission v. New England 

Power Company, 415 U.S. 345 (1974). In 

these decisions, the Court held that the 

IOAA authorizes an agency to charge 

fees for special benefits rendered to 

identifiable persons measured by the 

‘‘value to the recipient’’ of the agency 

service. The meaning of the IOAA was 

further clarified on December 16, 1976, 

by four decisions of the U.S. Court of 

Appeals for the District of Columbia: 

National Cable Television Association 

v. Federal Communications 

Commission, 554 F.2d 1094 (DC Cir. 

1976); National Association of 

Broadcasters v. Federal 

Communications Commission, 554 F.2d 

1118 (DC Cir. 1976); Electronic 

Industries Association v. Federal 

Communications Commission, 554 F.2d 

1109 (D.C. Cir. 1976); and Capital Cities 

Communication, Inc. v. Federal 

Communications Commission, 554 F.2d 

1135 (DC Cir. 1976). The Commission’s 

fee guidelines were developed based on 

these legal decisions. 

The Commission’s fee guidelines were 

upheld on August 24, 1979, by the U.S. 

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 

Mississippi Power and Light Co. v. U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 601 

F.2d 223 (5th Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 

444 U.S. 1102 (1980). This court held 

that— 

(1) The NRC had the authority to 

recover the full cost of providing 

services to identifiable beneficiaries; 

(2) The NRC could properly assess a 

fee for the costs of providing routine 

inspections necessary to ensure a 

licensee’s compliance with the Atomic 

Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and 

with applicable regulations; 

(3) The NRC could charge for costs 

incurred in conducting environmental 

reviews required by the National 

Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 

4321); 

(4) The NRC properly included the 

costs of uncontested hearings and of 

administrative and technical support 

services in the fee schedule; 

(5) The NRC could assess a fee for 

renewing a license to operate a lowlevel radioactive waste burial site; and 

(6) The NRC’s fees were not arbitrary 

or capricious. 

With respect to 10 CFR Part 171, on 

November 5, 1990, the Congress passed 

OBRA–90, which required that, for FYs 

1991 through 1995, approximately 100 

percent of the NRC budget authority, 

less appropriations from the NWF, be 

recovered through the assessment of 

fees. The OBRA–90 was subsequently 

amended to extend the 100 percent fee 

recovery requirement through FY 2000. 

The FY 2001 Energy and Water 

Development Appropriation Act 

(EWDAA) amended OBRA–90 to 

decrease the NRC’s fee recovery amount 

by 2 percent per year beginning in FY 

2001, until the fee recovery amount was 

90 percent in FY 2005. The FY 2006 

EWDAA extended this 90 percent fee 

recovery requirement for FY 2006. 

Section 637 of the Energy Policy Act of 

2005 made the 90 percent fee recovery 

requirement permanent in FY 2007. As 

a result, the NRC is required to recover 

approximately 90 percent of its FY 2011 

budget authority, less the amounts 

appropriated from the NWF, WIR, and 

generic homeland security activities 

through fees. To comply with this 

statutory requirement and in accordance 

with § 171.13, the NRC is publishing the 

amount of the FY 2011 annual fees for 

reactor licensees, fuel cycle licensees, 

materials licensees, and holders of 

CoCs, registrations of sealed source and 

devices, and Government agencies. The 

OBRA–90, consistent with the 

accompanying Conference Committee 

Report, and the amendments to OBRA– 

90, provides that— 

(1) The annual fees will be based on 

approximately 90 percent of the 

Commission’s FY 2011 budget of 

$1,053.6 million not including the 

following items: Funds appropriated 

from the NWF to cover the NRC’s highlevel waste program, amounts 

appropriated for WIR and generic 

homeland security activities, and the 

amount of funds collected from Part 170 

fees; 

(2) The annual fees shall, to the 

maximum extent practicable, have a 

reasonable relationship to the cost of 

regulatory services provided by the 

Commission; and 

(3) The annual fees be assessed to 

those licensees the Commission, in its 

discretion, determines can fairly, 

equitably, and practicably contribute to 

their payment. 

Part 171, which established annual 

fees for operating power reactors, 

effective October 20, 1986 (51 FR 33224; 

September 18, 1986), was challenged 

and upheld in its entirety in Florida 

Power and Light Company v. United 

States, 846 F.2d 765 (DC Cir. 1988), cert. 

denied, 490 U.S. 1045 (1989). Further, 

the NRC’s FY 1991 annual fee rule 

methodology was upheld by the DC 

Circuit Court of Appeals in Allied 

Signal v. NRC, 988 F.2d 146 (DC Cir. 

1993). 

IX. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

The NRC is required by the OBRA–90, 

as amended, to recover approximately 

90 percent of its FY 2011 budget 

authority through the assessment of user 

fees. This Act further requires that the 

NRC establish a schedule of charges that 

fairly and equitably allocates the 

aggregate amount of these charges 

among licensees. 

This proposed rule would establish 

the schedules of fees that are necessary 

to implement the Congressional 

mandate for FY 2011. This proposed 

rule would result in increases in the 

annual fees charged to certain licensees 

and holders of certificates, registrations, 

and approvals, and in decreases in 

annual fees charged to others. Licensees 

affected by the annual fee increases and 

decreases include those that qualify as 

a small entity under NRC’s size 

standards in 10 CFR 2.810. The 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, 

prepared in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 

604, is included as Appendix A to this 

proposed rule. 

The Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) 

requires all Federal agencies to prepare 

a written compliance guide for each rule 

for which the agency is required by 5 

U.S.C. 604 to prepare a regulatory 

flexibility analysis. Therefore, in 

compliance with the law, Attachment 1 

of Appendix A to the Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis is the small entity 

compliance guide for FY 2011. 

X. Backfit Analysis 

The NRC has determined that the 

backfit rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does not 

apply to this proposed rule and that a 

backfit analysis is not required for this 

proposed rule. The backfit analysis is 

not required because these amendments 

do not require the modification of, or 

additions to, systems, structures, 

components, or the design of a facility, 

or the design approval or manufacturing 

license for a facility, or the procedures 

or organization required to design, 

construct, or operate a facility. 

List of Subjects 

10 CFR Part 170 

Byproduct material, Import and 

export licenses, Intergovernmental 


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relations, Non-payment penalties, 

Nuclear materials, Nuclear power plants 

and reactors, Source material, Special 

nuclear material. 

10 CFR Part 171 

Annual charges, Byproduct material, 

Holders of certificates, Registrations, 

Approvals, Intergovernmental relations, 

Non-payment penalties, Nuclear 

materials, Nuclear power plants and 

reactors, Source material, Special 

nuclear material. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble and under the authority of the 

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; 

the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, 

as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552, the NRC 

is proposing to adopt the following 

amendments to 10 CFR Parts 170 and 

171. 

PART 170—FEES FOR FACILITIES, 

MATERIALS, IMPORT AND EXPORT 

LICENSES, AND OTHER 

REGULATORY SERVICES UNDER THE 

ATOMIC ENERGY ACT OF 1954, AS 

AMENDED 

1. The authority citation for part 170 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Section 9701, Pub. L. 97–258, 

96 Stat. 1051 (31 U.S.C. 9701); sec. 301, Pub. 

L. 92–314, 86 Stat. 227 (42 U.S.C. 2201w); 

sec. 201, Pub. L. 93–438, 88 Stat. 1242, as 

amended (42 U.S.C. 5841); sec. 205a, Pub. L. 

101–576, 104 Stat. 2842, as amended (31 

U.S.C. 901, 902); sec. 1704, 112 Stat. 2750 (44 

U.S.C. 3504 note), sec. 623, Pub. L. 109–58, 

119 Stat. 783 (42 U.S.C. 2201(w)); sec. 651(e), 

Pub. L. 109–58, 119 Stat. 806–810 (42 U.S.C. 

2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111). 

2. In § 170.11, paragraphs (a)(1)(iii)(A) 

and (a)(1)(iii)(B) are revised and 

paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(D) is removed and 

reserved. 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 170.11 Exemptions. 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iii) * * * 

(A) The report should be submitted 

for the specific purpose of supporting 

ongoing NRC generic regulatory 

improvements or efforts (e.g., rules, 

regulations, regulatory guides, and 

policy statements), and the agency, at 

the time the document is submitted, 

plans to use it for that purpose. The 

exemption applies even if ultimately the 

NRC does not use the document as 

planned; 

(B) The NRC must be the primary 

beneficiary of the NRC’s review and 

approval of these documents. This 

exemption does not apply to a topical 

report submitted for the purpose of 

obtaining NRC approval for future use of 

the report by the industry to address 

licensing or safety issues, even though 

the NRC may realize some benefits from 

its review and approval of the 

document; and 

* * * * * 

3. Section 170.20 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 170.20 Average cost per professional 

staff-hour. 

Fees for permits, licenses, 

amendments, renewals, special projects, 

10 CFR part 55 re-qualification and 

replacement examinations and tests, 

other required reviews, approvals, and 

inspections under §§ 170.21 and 170.31 

will be calculated using the professional 

staff-hour rate of $273 per hour. 

4. In § 170.21, in the table, fee 

Category K is revised to read as follows: 

§ 170.21 Schedule of fees for production 

and utilization facilities, review of standard 

referenced design approvals, special 

projects, inspections, and import and 

export licenses. 

* * * * * 

SCHEDULE OF FACILITY FEES

[See footnotes at end of table] 

Facility categories and type of fees Fees 1 2

*******

K. Import and export licenses: 

Licenses for the import and export only of production and utilization facilities or the export only of components for production 

and utilization facilities issued under 10 CFR Part 110. 

1. Application for import or export of production and utilization facilities 4 (including reactors and other facilities) and exports of components requiring Commission and Executive Branch review, for example, actions under 10 CFR 

110.40(b).

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ...................................................................... $17,700 

2. Application for export of reactor and other components requiring Executive Branch review only, for example, those 

actions under 10 CFR 110.41(a).

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ...................................................................... 9,600 

3. Application for export of components requiring the assistance of the Executive Branch to obtain foreign government 

assurances.

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ...................................................................... 4,400 

4. Application for export of facility components and equipment not requiring Commission or Executive Branch review, or 

obtaining foreign government assurances.

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ...................................................................... 2,700 

5. Minor amendment of any active export or import license, for example, to extend the expiration date, change domestic 

information, or make other revisions which do not involve any substantive changes to license terms or conditions or 

to the type of facility or component authorized for export and therefore, do not require in-depth analysis or review or 

consultation with the Executive Branch, U.S. host state, or foreign government authorities.

Minor amendment to license ........................................................................................................................................... 1,400 

1Fees will not be charged for orders related to civil penalties or other civil sanctions issued by the Commission under § 2.202 of this chapter or 

for amendments resulting specifically from the requirements of these orders. For orders unrelated to civil penalties or other civil sanctions, fees 

will be charged for any resulting licensee-specific activities not otherwise exempted from fees under this chapter. Fees will be charged for approvals issued under a specific exemption provision of the Commission’s regulations under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (e.g., 10 

CFR 50.12, 10 CFR 73.5) and any other sections in effect now or in the future, regardless of whether the approval is in the form of a license 

amendment, letter of approval, safety evaluation report, or other form. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 14763 

2Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff time and appropriate contractual support services expended. For applications 

currently on file and for which fees are determined based on the full cost expended for the review, the professional staff hours expended for the 

review of the application up to the effective date of the final rule will be determined at the professional rates in effect when the service was provided. For those applications currently on file for which review costs have reached an applicable fee ceiling established by the June 20, 1984, 

and July 2, 1990, rules, but are still pending completion of the review, the cost incurred after any applicable ceiling was reached through January 

29, 1989, will not be billed to the applicant. Any professional staff-hours expended above those ceilings on or after January 30, 1989, will be assessed at the applicable rates established by § 170.20, as appropriate, except for topical reports whose costs exceed $50,000. Costs which exceed $50,000 for any topical report, amendment, revision, or supplement to a topical report completed or under review from January 30, 1989, 

through August 8, 1991, will not be billed to the applicant. Any professional hours expended on or after August 9, 1991, will be assessed at the 

applicable rate established in § 170.20. 

* * * * * * * * * 

4 Imports only of major components for end-use at NRC-licensed reactors are now authorized under NRC general import license. 

5 In § 170.31, the table is revised to read as follows: 

§ 170.31 Schedule of fees for materials 

licenses and other regulatory services, 

including inspections and import and 

export licenses. 

* * * * * 

SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES

[See footnotes at end of table] 

Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1 Fee 2 3

1. Special nuclear material: 

A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of U–235 or plutonium for fuel fabrication activities.

(a) Strategic Special Nuclear Material (High Enriched Uranium) [Program Code(s): 21130] .................................... Full Cost. 

(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form Used for Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel [Program Code(s): 

21210].

Full Cost. 

(2) All other special nuclear materials licenses not included in Category 1.A.(1) which are licensed for fuel cycle activities.

(a) Facilities with limited operations [Program Code(s): 21310, 21320] .................................................................... Full Cost. 

(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration facilities .............................................................................................. Full Cost. 

(c) Others, including hot cell facilities ......................................................................................................................... Full Cost. 

B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel and reactor-related Greater than Class C (GTCC) waste at an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) [Program Code(s): 23200].Full Cost. 

C. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in devices used in industrial 

measuring systems, including x-ray fluorescence analyzers 4.

$1,300. 

Application [Program Code(s): 22140] ...............................................................................................................................

D. All other special nuclear material licenses, except licenses authorizing special nuclear material in unsealed form in 

combination that would constitute a critical quantity, as defined in § 150.11 of this chapter, for which the licensee shall 

pay the same fees as those under Category 1.A.4.

Application [Program Code(s): 22110, 22111, 22120, 22131, 22136, 22150, 22151, 22161, 22163, 22170, 23100, 

23300, 23310].

$2,500. 

E. Licenses or certificates for construction and operation of a uranium enrichment facility [Program Code(s): 21200] ......... Full Cost. 

2. Source material: 

A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of source material for refining uranium mill concentrates to uranium hexafluoride 

[Program Code(s): 11400].

Full Cost. 

(2) Licenses for possession and use of source material in recovery operations such as milling, in-situ recovery, heapleaching, ore buying stations, ion-exchange facilities, and in processing of ores containing source material for extraction of metals other than uranium or thorium, including licenses authorizing the possession of byproduct waste 

material (tailings) from source material recovery operations, as well as licenses authorizing the possession and 

maintenance of a facility in a standby mode.

(a) Conventional and Heap Leach facilities [Program Code(s): 11100] ..................................................................... Full Cost. 

(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities [Program Code(s): 11500] ................................................................................. Full Cost. 

(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities [Program Code(s): 11510] .......................................................................... Full Cost. 

(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities [Program Code(s): 11550] ................................................................................ Full Cost. 

(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities [Program Code(s): 11555] .......................................................................................... Full Cost. 

(f) Other facilities [Program Code(s): 11700] .............................................................................................................. Full Cost. 

(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, 

from other persons for possession and disposal, except those licenses subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2) or 

Category 2.A.(4) [Program Code(s): 11600, 12000].

Full Cost. 

(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, 

from other persons for possession and disposal incidental to the disposal of the uranium waste tailings generated 

by the licensee’s milling operations, except those licenses subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2) [Program 

Code(s): 12010].

Full Cost. 

(5) Licenses that authorize the possession of source material related to removal of contaminants (source material) 

from drinking water [Program Code(s): 11820].

Full Cost. 

B. Licenses which authorize the possession, use, and/or installation of source material for shielding.

Application [Program Code(s): 11210] ............................................................................................................................... $600. 

C. All other source material licenses ........................................................................................................................................ $5,400. 

Application [Program Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11230, 11300, 11800, 11810].

3. Byproduct material: 

A. Licenses of broad scope for the possession and use of byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution.


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
14764 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued 

[See footnotes at end of table] 

Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1 Fee 2 3

Application [Program Code(s): 03211, 03212, 03213] ...................................................................................................... $12,800. 

B. Other licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 30 of this chapter for processing or 

manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution.

Application [Program Code(s): 03214, 03215, 22135, 22162] .......................................................................................... $4,400. 

C. Licenses issued under §§ 32.72 and/or 32.74 of this chapter that authorize the processing or manufacturing and distribution or redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits, and/or sources and devices containing byproduct material. This category does not apply to licenses issued to nonprofit educational institutions whose processing 

or manufacturing is exempt under § 170.11(a)(4).

Application [Program Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513] ...................................................................................................... $6,500. 

D. [Reserved] ............................................................................................................................................................................. N/A6. 

E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of materials in which the 

source is not removed from its shield (self-shielded units).

Application [Program Code(s): 03510, 03520] ................................................................................................................... $3,100. 

F. Licenses for possession and use of less than 10,000 curies of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of 

materials in which the source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This category also includes underwater irradiators for 

irradiation of materials where the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes.

Application [Program Code(s): 03511] ............................................................................................................................... $6,400. 

G. Licenses for possession and use of 10,000 curies or more of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of 

materials in which the source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This category also includes underwater irradiators for 

irradiation of materials where the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes.

Application [Program Code(s): 03521] ............................................................................................................................... $60,900. 

H. Licenses issued under Subpart A of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material that require device review to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30 of this chapter. The category does 

not include specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30 of this chapter.

Application [Program Code(s): 03254, 03255] ................................................................................................................... $4,300. 

I. Licenses issued under Subpart A of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material or quantities of byproduct material that do not require device evaluation to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of 

part 30 of this chapter. This category does not include specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have 

been authorized for distribution to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30 of this chapter.

Application [Program Code(s): 03250, 03251, 03252, 03253, 03256] .............................................................................. $11,400. 

J. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material that require 

sealed source and/or device review to persons generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter. This category does not 

include specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter.

Application [Program Code(s): 03240, 03241, 03243] ...................................................................................................... $2,000. 

K. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material or quantities of byproduct material that do not require sealed source and/or device review to persons generally licensed under 

part 31 of this chapter. This category does not include specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have 

been authorized for distribution to persons generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter.

Application [Program Code(s): 03242, 03244] ................................................................................................................... $1,100. 

L. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for 

research and development that do not authorize commercial distribution.

Application [Program Code(s): 01100, 01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612, 03613] ...................................................... $5,400. 

M. Other licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 30 of this chapter for research and development that do not authorize commercial distribution.

Application [Program Code(s): 03620] ............................................................................................................................... $3,500. 

N. Licenses that authorize services for other licensees, except: 

(1) Licenses that authorize only calibration and/or leak testing services are subject to the fees specified in fee Category 3.P.; and 

(2) Licenses that authorize waste disposal services are subject to the fees specified in fee Categories 4.A., 4.B., and 

4.C.

Application [Program Code(s): 03219, 03225, 03226] ............................................................................................... $6,400. 

O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 34 of this chapter for industrial radiography 

operations.

Application [Program Code(s): 03310, 03320] ................................................................................................................... $4,000. 

P. All other specific byproduct material licenses, except those in Categories 4.A. through 9.D.

Application [Program Code(s): 02400, 02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123, 03124, 03220, 03221, 03222, 03800, 

03810, 22130].

$1,500. 

Q. Registration of a device(s) generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter.

Registration ........................................................................................................................................................................ $400. 

R. Possession of items or products containing radium-226 identified in 10 CFR 31.12 which exceed the number of items 

or limits specified in that section.5

1. Possession of quantities exceeding the number of items or limits in 10 CFR 31.12(a)(4), or (5) but less than or 

equal to 10 times the number of items or limits specified.

Application [Program Code(s): 02700] ........................................................................................................................ $2,500. 

2. Possession of quantities exceeding 10 times the number of items or limits specified in 10 CFR 31.12(a)(4), or (5).

Application [Program Code(s): 02710] ........................................................................................................................ $1,500. 

S. Licenses for production of accelerator-produced radionuclides.

Application [Program Code(s): 03210] ............................................................................................................................... $6,500. 

4. Waste disposal and processing: 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 14765 

SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued 

[See footnotes at end of table] 

Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1 Fee 2 3

A. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material 

from other persons for the purpose of contingency storage or commercial land disposal by the licensee; or licenses authorizing contingency storage of low-level radioactive waste at the site of nuclear power reactors; or licenses for receipt 

of waste from other persons for incineration or other treatment, packaging of resulting waste and residues, and transfer 

of packages to another person authorized to receive or dispose of 

Full Cost. 

Application [Program Code(s): 03231, 03233, 03235, 03236, 06100, 06101].

B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material 

from other persons for the purpose of packaging or repackaging the material. The licensee will dispose of the material 

by transfer to another person authorized to receive or dispose of the material.

Application [Program Code(s): 03234] ............................................................................................................................... $8,400. 

C. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material from other persons. The licensee will dispose of the material by transfer to another person authorized to 

receive or dispose of the material.

Application [Program Code(s): 03232] ............................................................................................................................... $4,900. 

5. Well logging: 

A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special nuclear material for well logging, well surveys, and tracer studies other than field flooding tracer studies.

Application [Program Code(s): 03110, 03111, 03112] ...................................................................................................... $3,300. 

B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material for field flooding tracer studies.

Licensing [Program Code(s): 03113] ................................................................................................................................. Full Cost. 

6. Nuclear laundries: 

A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of items contaminated with byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material.

Application [Program Code(s): 03218] ............................................................................................................................... $21,800. 

7. Medical licenses: 

A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, 

or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in gamma stereotactic radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices, 

or similar beam therapy devices.

Application [Program Code(s): 02300, 02310] ................................................................................................................... $8,800. 

B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medical institutions or two or more physicians under parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 of 

this chapter authorizing research and development, including human use of byproduct material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices. This 

category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.

Application [Program Code(s): 02110] ............................................................................................................................... $8,500. 

C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special nuclear material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices.

Application [Program Code(s): 02120, 02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220, 02230, 02231, 02240, 22160] ................. $2,700. 

8. Civil defense: 

A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material for civil defense 

activities.

Application [Program Code(s): 03710] ............................................................................................................................... $2,500. 

9. Device, product, or sealed source safety evaluation: 

A. Safety evaluation of devices or products containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material, 

except reactor fuel devices, for commercial distribution.

Application—each device ................................................................................................................................................... $7,600. 

B. Safety evaluation of devices or products containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material 

manufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a single applicant, except reactor fuel 

devices.

Application—each device ................................................................................................................................................... $8,800. 

C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material, except 

reactor fuel, for commercial distribution.

Application—each source ................................................................................................................................................... $10,300. 

D. Safety evaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material, manufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a single applicant, except reactor fuel.

Application—each source ................................................................................................................................................... $1,040. 

10. Transportation of radioactive material: 

A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and shipping containers.

1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium air packages ........................................................................................ Full Cost. 

2. Other Casks ................................................................................................................................................................... Full Cost. 

B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under part 71 of this chapter.

1. Users and Fabricators.

Application ................................................................................................................................................................... $3,900. 

Inspections .................................................................................................................................................................. Full Cost. 

2. Users.

Application ................................................................................................................................................................... $3,900. 

Inspections .................................................................................................................................................................. Full Cost. 

C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals, route surveys, and transportation security devices (including immobilization devices).Full Cost. 

11. Review of standardized spent fuel facilities. Full Cost. 

12. Special projects: Full Cost. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
14766 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued 

[See footnotes at end of table] 

Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1 Fee 2 3

Including approvals, preapplication/licensing activities, and inspections.

13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance. Full Cost. 

B. Inspections related to storage of spent fuel under § 72.210 of this chapter ........................................................................ Full Cost. 

14. A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material licenses and other approvals authorizing decommissioning, decontamination, reclamation, or site restoration activities under parts 30, 40, 70, 72, and 76 of this chapter. Full Cost. 

B. Site-specific decommissioning activities associated with unlicensed sites, regardless of whether or not the sites have 

been previously licensed.

Full Cost. 

15. Import and Export licenses: 

Licenses issued under part 110 of this chapter for the import and export only of special nuclear material, source material, tritium and other byproduct material, and the export only of heavy water, or nuclear grade graphite (fee categories 15.A. 

through 15.E.) 

A. Application for export or import of nuclear materials, including radioactive waste requiring Commission and Executive 

Branch review, for example, those actions under 10 CFR 110.40(b).

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ......................................................................... $17,700. 

B. Application for export or import of nuclear material, including radioactive waste, requiring Executive Branch review, but 

not Commission review. This category includes applications for the export and import of radioactive waste and requires 

NRC to consult with domestic host state authorities (i.e., Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission, the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, etc.).

Application B—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ..................................................................... $9,600. 

C. Application for export of nuclear material, for example, routine reloads of low enriched uranium reactor fuel and/or natural uranium source material requiring the assistance of the Executive Branch to obtain foreign government assurances.

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ......................................................................... $4,400. 

D. Application for export or import of nuclear material, including radioactive waste, not requiring Commission or Executive 

Branch review, or obtaining foreign government assurances. This category includes applications for export or import of 

radioactive waste where the NRC has previously authorized the export or import of the same form of waste to or from 

the same or similar parties located in the same country, requiring only confirmation from the receiving facility and licensing authorities that the shipments may proceed according to previously agreed understandings and procedures.

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ......................................................................... $2,700. 

E. Minor amendment of any active export or import license, for example, to extend the expiration date, change domestic 

information, or make other revisions which do not involve any substantive changes to license terms and conditions or 

to the type/quantity/chemical composition of the material authorized for export and, therefore, do not require in-depth 

analysis, review, or consultations with other Executive Branch, U.S. host state, or foreign government authorities.

Minor amendment .............................................................................................................................................................. $1,400. 

Licenses issued under part 110 of this chapter for the import and export only of Category 1 and Category 2 quantities of 

radioactive material listed in Appendix P to part 110 of this chapter (fee categories 15.F. through 15.R.).

Category 1 (Appendix P, 10 CFR Part 110) Exports: 

F. Application for export of Category 1 materials involving an exceptional circumstances review under 10 CFR 

110.42(e)(4).

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ......................................................................... $15,000. 

G. Application for export of Category 1 materials requiring Executive Branch review, Commission review, and/or government-to-government consent.

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ......................................................................... $8,700. 

H. Application for export of Category 1 materials requiring government-to-government consent.

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ......................................................................... $5,500. 

I. Requests for additional government-to-government consent requests in support of an export license application or active export license.

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ......................................................................... $270. 

Category 2 (Appendix P, 10 CFR part 110) Exports: 

J. Application for export of Category 2 materials involving an exceptional circumstances review under 10 CFR 

110.42(e)(4).

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ......................................................................... $15,000. 

K. Applications for export of Category 2 materials requiring Executive Branch review and/or Commission review.

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ......................................................................... $8,700. 

L. Application for the export of Category 2 materials.

Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request ......................................................................... $5,500. 

M. [Reserved] ............................................................................................................................................................................ N/A6. 

N. [Reserved] ............................................................................................................................................................................. N/A6. 

O. [Reserved] ............................................................................................................................................................................ N/A6. 

P. [Reserved] ............................................................................................................................................................................. N/A6. 

Q. [Reserved] ............................................................................................................................................................................ N/A6. 

Minor Amendments (Category 1 and 2, Appendix P, 10 CFR part 110, Export and Imports): 

R. Minor amendment of any active export or import license, for example, to extend the expiration date, change domestic 

information, or make other revisions which do not involve any substantive changes to license terms and conditions or 

to the type/quantity/chemical composition of the material authorized for export and, therefore, do not require in-depth 

analysis, review, or consultations with other Executive Branch, U.S. host state, or foreign authorities.

Minor amendment .............................................................................................................................................................. $1,400. 

16. Reciprocity: 

Agreement State licensees who conduct activities under the reciprocity provisions of 10 CFR 150.20. 

Application ................................................................................................................................................................................. $2,300. 

17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to Government agencies. 

Application [Program Code(s): 03614] ...................................................................................................................................... Full Cost. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 14767 

SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued 

[See footnotes at end of table] 

Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1 Fee 2 3

18. Department of Energy. 

A. Certificates of Compliance. Evaluation of casks, packages, and shipping containers (including spent fuel, high-level 

waste, and other casks, and plutonium air packages).

Full Cost. 

B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) activities. ...................................................................................... Full Cost. 

1Types of fees—Separate charges, as shown in the schedule, will be assessed for preapplication consultations and reviews; applications for 

new licenses, approvals, or license terminations; possession-only licenses; issuances of new licenses and approvals; certain amendments and 

renewals to existing licenses and approvals; safety evaluations of sealed sources and devices; generally licensed device registrations; and certain inspections. The following guidelines apply to these charges: 

(a) Application and registration fees. Applications for new materials licenses and export and import licenses; applications to reinstate expired, 

terminated, or inactive licenses, except those subject to fees assessed at full costs; applications filed by Agreement State licensees to register 

under the general license provisions of 10 CFR 150.20; and applications for amendments to materials licenses that would place the license in a 

higher fee category or add a new fee category must be accompanied by the prescribed application fee for each category. 

(1) Applications for licenses covering more than one fee category of special nuclear material or source material must be accompanied by the 

prescribed application fee for the highest fee category. 

(2) Applications for new licenses that cover both byproduct material and special nuclear material in sealed sources for use in gauging devices 

will pay the appropriate application fee for fee Category 1.C. only. 

(b) Licensing fees. Fees for reviews of applications for new licenses, renewals, and amendments to existing licenses, preapplication consultations and other documents submitted to the NRC for review, and project manager time for fee categories subject to full cost fees are due upon 

notification by the Commission in accordance with § 170.12(b). 

(c) Amendment fees. Applications for amendments to export and import licenses must be accompanied by the prescribed amendment fee for 

each license affected. An application for an amendment to an export or import license or approval classified in more than one fee category must 

be accompanied by the prescribed amendment fee for the category affected by the amendment, unless the amendment is applicable to two or 

more fee categories, in which case the amendment fee for the highest fee category would apply. 

(d) Inspection fees. Inspections resulting from investigations conducted by the Office of Investigations and nonroutine inspections that result 

from third-party allegations are not subject to fees. Inspection fees are due upon notification by the Commission in accordance with 170.12(c). 

(e) Generally licensed device registrations under 10 CFR 31.5. Submittals of registration information must be accompanied by the prescribed 

fee. 2Fees will not be charged for orders related to civil penalties or other civil sanctions issued by the Commission under 10 CFR 2.202 or for 

amendments resulting specifically from the requirements of these orders. For orders unrelated to civil penalties or other civil sanctions, fees will 

be charged for any resulting licensee-specific activities not otherwise exempted from fees under this chapter. Fees will be charged for approvals 

issued under a specific exemption provision of the Commission’s regulations under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 

30.11, 40.14, 70.14, 73.5, and any other sections in effect now or in the future), regardless of whether the approval is in the form of a license 

amendment, letter of approval, safety evaluation report, or other form. In addition to the fee shown, an applicant may be assessed an additional 

fee for sealed source and device evaluations as shown in Categories 9.A. through 9.D. 3Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff time multiplied by the appropriate professional hourly rate established in 

§ 170.20 in effect when the service is provided, and the appropriate contractual support services expended. For applications currently on file for 

which review costs have reached an applicable fee ceiling established by the June 20, 1984, and July 2, 1990, rules, but are still pending completion of the review, the cost incurred after any applicable ceiling was reached through January 29, 1989, will not be billed to the applicant. Any 

professional staff-hours expended above those ceilings on or after January 30, 1989, will be assessed at the applicable rates established by 

§ 170.20, as appropriate, except for topical reports for which costs exceed $50,000. Costs which exceed $50,000 for each topical report, amendment, revision, or supplement to a topical report completed or under review from January 30, 1989, through August 8, 1991, will not be billed to 

the applicant. Any professional hours expended on or after August 9, 1991, will be assessed at the applicable rate established in § 170.20. 4 Licensees paying fees under Categories 1.A., 1.B., and 1.E. are not subject to fees under Categories 1.C. and 1.D. for sealed sources authorized in the same license, except for an application that deals only with the sealed sources authorized by the license. 5Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in this 

category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources are possessed for storage only.) 6There are no existing NRC licenses in the fee category. 

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 

6. The authority citation for part 171 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Section 7601, Pub. L. 99–272, 

100 Stat. 146, as amended by sec. 5601, Pub. 

L. 100–203, 101 Stat. 1330, as amended by 

sec. 3201, Pub. L. 101–239, 103 Stat. 2132, 

as amended by sec. 6101, Pub. L. 101–508, 

104 Stat. 1388, as amended by sec. 2903a, 

Pub. L. 102–486, 106 Stat. 3125 (42 U.S.C. 

2213, 2214), and as amended by Title IV, 

Pub. L. 109–103, 119 Stat. 2283 (42 U.S.C. 

2214); sec. 301, Pub. L. 92–314, 86 Stat. 227 

(42 U.S.C. 2201w); sec. 201, Pub. L. 93–438, 

88 Stat. 1242, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5841); 

sec. 1704, 112 Stat. 2750 (44 U.S.C. 3504 

note), sec. 651(e), Pub. L.109–58, 119 Stat. 

806–810 (42 U.S.C. 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111). 

7. In § 171.15, paragraph (b)(1), 

paragraph (b)(2) introductory text, 

paragraph (c)(1), paragraph (c)(2) 

introductory text, paragraph (d)(1) 

introductory text, and paragraphs (d)(2), 

(d)(3), and (e), are revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 171.15 Annual fees: Reactor licenses 

and independent spent fuel storage 

licenses. 

* * * * * 

(b)(1) The FY 2011 annual fee for each 

operating power reactor which must be 

collected by September 30, 2011, is 

$4,669,000. 

(2) The FY 2011 annual fee is 

comprised of a base annual fee for 

power reactors licensed to operate, a 

base spent fuel storage/reactor 

decommissioning annual fee, and 

associated additional charges (fee-relief 

adjustment). The activities comprising 

the spent storage/reactor 

decommissioning base annual fee are 

shown in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of 

this section. The activities comprising 

the FY 2011 fee-relief adjustment are 

shown in paragraph (d)(1) of this 

section. The activities comprising the 

FY 2011 base annual fee for operating 

power reactors are as follows: 

* * * * * 

(c)(1) The FY 2011 annual fee for each 

power reactor holding a 10 CFR part 50 

license that is in a decommissioning or 

possession-only status and has spent 

fuel onsite, and for each independent 

spent fuel storage 10 CFR part 72 

licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR 

part 50 license, is $234,000. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
14768 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

(2) The FY 2011 annual fee is 

comprised of a base spent fuel storage/ 

reactor decommissioning annual fee 

(which is also included in the operating 

power reactor annual fee shown in 

paragraph (b) of this section) and an 

additional charge (fee-relief adjustment). 

The activities comprising the FY 2011 

fee-relief adjustment are shown in 

paragraph (d)(1) of this section. The 

activities comprising the FY 2011 spent 

fuel storage/reactor decommissioning 

rebaselined annual fee are: 

* * * * * 

(d)(1) The fee-relief adjustment 

allocated to annual fees includes a 

surcharge for the activities listed in 

paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section, plus 

the amount remaining after total 

budgeted resources for the activities 

included in paragraphs (d)(1)(ii) and 

(iii) of this section are reduced by the 

appropriations the NRC receives for 

these types of activities. If the NRC’s 

appropriations for these types of 

activities are greater than the budgeted 

resources for the activities included in 

paragraphs (d)(1)(ii) and (iii) of this 

section for a given FY, annual fees will 

be reduced. The activities comprising 

the FY 2011 fee-relief adjustment are as 

follows: 

* * * * * 

(2) The total FY 2011 fee-relief 

adjustment allocated to the operating 

power reactor class of licenses is ¥$3.4 

million, not including the amount 

allocated to the spent fuel storage/ 

reactor decommissioning class. The FY 

2011 operating power reactor fee-relief 

adjustment to be assessed to each 

operating power reactor is 

approximately ¥$32,248. This amount 

is calculated by dividing the total 

operating power reactor fee-relief 

adjustment (¥$3.4 million) by the 

number of operating power reactors 

(104). 

(3) The FY 2011 fee-relief adjustment 

allocated to the spent fuel storage/ 

reactor decommissioning class of 

licenses is ¥$236,572. The FY 2011 

spent fuel storage/reactor 

decommissioning fee-relief adjustment 

to be assessed to each operating power 

reactor, each power reactor in 

decommissioning or possession-only 

status that has spent fuel onsite, and to 

each independent spent fuel storage 10 

CFR part 72 licensee who does not hold 

a 10 CFR part 50 license, is 

approximately ¥$1,923. This amount is 

calculated by dividing the total fee-relief 

adjustment costs allocated to this class 

by the total number of power reactor 

licenses, except those that permanently 

ceased operations and have no fuel 

onsite, and 10 CFR part 72 licensees 

who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 

license. 

(e) The FY 2011 annual fees for 

licensees authorized to operate a 

research and test (nonpower) reactor 

licensed under part 50 of this chapter, 

unless the reactor is exempted from fees 

under § 171.11(a), are as follows: 

Research reactor—$86,100. 

Test reactor—$86,100. 

8. In § 171.16, paragraph (b) 

introductory text, paragraphs (c) and (d), 

and paragraph (e) introductory text are 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 171.16 Annual fees: Materials licensees, 

holders of certificates of compliance, 

holders of sealed source and device 

registrations, holders of quality assurance 

program approvals, and government 

agencies licensed by the NRC. 

* * * * * 

(c) A licensee who is required to pay 

an annual fee under this section may 

qualify as a small entity. If a licensee 

qualifies as a small entity and provides 

the Commission with the proper 

certification along with its annual fee 

payment, the licensee may pay reduced 

annual fees as shown in the following 

table. Failure to file a small entity 

certification in a timely manner could 

result in the receipt of a delinquent 

invoice requesting the outstanding 

balance due and/or denial of any refund 

that might otherwise be due. The small 

entity fees are as follows: 

Maximum annual fee per 

licensed category 

Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing (Average gross receipts over last 3 completed fiscal years): 

$450,000 to $6.5 million ..................................................................................................................................... $2,300 

Less than $450,000 ............................................................................................................................................ 500 

Small Not-For-Profit Organizations (Annual Gross Receipts): 

$450,000 to $6.5 million ..................................................................................................................................... 2,300 

Less than $450,000 ............................................................................................................................................ 500 

Manufacturing entities that have an average of 500 employees or fewer: 

35 to 500 employees .......................................................................................................................................... 2,300 

Fewer than 35 employees .................................................................................................................................. 500 

Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly supported educational institutions) (Population): 

20,000 to 50,000 ................................................................................................................................................ 2,300 

Fewer than 20,000 ............................................................................................................................................. 500 

Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly Supported, and have 500 Employees or Fewer: 

35 to 500 employees .......................................................................................................................................... 2,300 

Fewer than 35 employees .................................................................................................................................. 500 

(d) The FY 2011 annual fees are 

comprised of a base annual fee and an 

allocation for fee-relief adjustment. The 

activities comprising the FY 2011 feerelief adjustment are shown for 

convenience in paragraph (e) of this 

section. The FY 2011 annual fees for 

materials licensees and holders of 

certificates, registrations, or approvals 

subject to fees under this section are 

shown in the following table: 

SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY NRC 

[See footnotes at end of table] 

Category of materials licenses Annual fees 1, 2, 3

1. Special nuclear material: 

A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of U–235 or plutonium for fuel fabrication activities. 

(a) Strategic Special Nuclear Material (High Enriched Uranium) [Program Code(s): 21130] ........................................ $6,078,000 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 14769 

SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY NRC—Continued 

[See footnotes at end of table] 

Category of materials licenses Annual fees 1, 2, 3

(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form Used for Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel [Program Code(s): 

21210] .......................................................................................................................................................................... 2,287,000 

(2) All other special nuclear materials licenses not included in Category 1.A.(1) which are licensed for fuel cycle activities. 

(a) Facilities with limited operations [Program Code(s): 21310, 21320] ........................................................................ 752,000 

(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration facilities .................................................................................................. 1,176,000 

(c) Others, including hot cell facilities ............................................................................................................................. 588,000 

B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel and reactor-related Greater than Class C (GTCC) waste at an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) [Program Code(s): 23200] ....................................................................... N/A11

C. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in devices used in industrial measuring systems, including x-ray fluorescence analyzers [Program Code(s): 22140] ........................................... 3,600 

D. All other special nuclear material licenses, except licenses authorizing special nuclear material in unsealed form in 

combination that would constitute a critical quantity, as defined in § 150.11 of this chapter, for which the licensee 

shall pay the same fees as those for Category 1.A.(2) [Program Code(s): 22110, 22111, 22120, 22131, 22136, 

22150, 22151, 22161, 22163, 22170, 23100, 23300, 23310] ............................................................................................ 6,900 

E. Licenses or certificates for the operation of a uranium enrichment facility [Program Code(s): 21200] ........................... 3,268,000 

2. Source material: 

A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of source material for refining uranium mill concentrates to uranium hexafluoride 

[Program Code(s): 11400] .................................................................................................................................................. 1,242,000 

(2) Licenses for possession and use of source material in recovery operations such as milling, in-situ recovery, heapleaching, ore buying stations, ion-exchange facilities and in-processing of ores containing source material for extraction of metals other than uranium or thorium, including licenses authorizing the possession of byproduct waste material (tailings) from source material recovery operations, as well as licenses authorizing the possession and maintenance of a facility in a standby mode. 

(a) Conventional and Heap Leach facilities [Program Code(s): 11100] ......................................................................... 31,900 

(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities [Program Code(s): 11500] ..................................................................................... 30,300 

(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities [Program Code(s): 11510] .............................................................................. 34,300 

(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities [Program Code(s): 11550] ..................................................................................... 28,800 

(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities [Program Code(s): 11555] .............................................................................................. N/A5

(f) Other facilities 4 [Program Code(s): 11700] ................................................................................................................ N/A5

(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, 

from other persons for possession and disposal, except those licenses subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2) or Category 2.A.(4) [Program Code(s): 11600, 12000] ................................................................................................................ N/A5

(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act, 

from other persons for possession and disposal incidental to the disposal of the uranium waste tailings generated by 

the licensee’s milling operations, except those licenses subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2) [Program Code(s): 

12010] ................................................................................................................................................................................. 10,400 

(5) Licenses that authorize the possession of source material related to removal of contaminants (source material) from 

drinking water [Program Code(s): 11820] .......................................................................................................................... 7,200 

B. Licenses that authorize only the possession, use, and/or installation of source material for shielding [Program 

Code(s): 11210] .................................................................................................................................................................. 1,700 

C. All other source material licenses [Program Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11230, 11300, 11800, 11810] ................. 11,900

3. Byproduct material: 

A. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter 

for processing or manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution [Program Code(s): 

03211, 03212, 03213] ......................................................................................................................................................... 42,600 

B. Other licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 30 of this chapter for processing or 

manufacturing of items containing byproduct material for commercial distribution [Program Code(s): 03214, 03215, 

22135, 22162] ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11,900 

C. Licenses issued under §§ 32.72 and/or 32.74 of this chapter authorizing the processing or manufacturing and distribution or redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits, and/or sources and devices containing byproduct material. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding authorized 

under part 40 of this chapter when included on the same license. This category does not apply to licenses issued to 

nonprofit educational institutions whose processing or manufacturing is exempt under § 171.11(a)(1). [Program 

Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513] .......................................................................................................................................... 16,200 

D. [Reserved] .......................................................................................................................................................................... N/A5

E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of materials in which the 

source is not removed from its shield (self-shielded units) [Program Code(s): 03510, 03520] ........................................ 8,700 

F. Licenses for possession and use of less than 10,000 curies of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of 

materials in which the source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This category also includes underwater irradiators 

for irradiation of materials in which the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes [Program Code(s): 03511] ........ 15,200

G. Licenses for possession and use of 10,000 curies or more of byproduct material in sealed sources for irradiation of 

materials in which the source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This category also includes underwater irradiators 

for irradiation of materials in which the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes [Program Code(s): 03521] ........ 137,500 

H. Licenses issued under Subpart A of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material that require device review to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30 of this chapter, except specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30 of this chapter [Program Code(s): 03254, 03255] ......................................................... 8,100 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
14770 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY NRC—Continued 

[See footnotes at end of table] 

Category of materials licenses Annual fees 1, 2, 3

I. Licenses issued under Subpart A of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material or quantities of byproduct material that do not require device evaluation to persons exempt from the licensing requirements 

of part 30 of this chapter, except for specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for 

distribution to persons exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30 of this chapter [Program Code(s): 03250, 

03251, 03252, 03253, 03256] ............................................................................................................................................. 19,600 

J. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material that require sealed source and/or device review to persons generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter, except specific 

licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for distribution to persons generally licensed 

under part 31 of this chapter [Program Code(s): 03240, 03241, 03243] ........................................................................... 4,700 

K. Licenses issued under Subpart B of part 32 of this chapter to distribute items containing byproduct material or quantities of byproduct material that do not require sealed source and/or device review to persons generally licensed 

under part 31 of this chapter, except specific licenses authorizing redistribution of items that have been authorized for 

distribution to persons generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter [Program Code(s): 03242, 03244] .................... 3,100 

L. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter 

for research and development that do not authorize commercial distribution [Program Code(s): 01100, 01110, 01120, 

03610, 03611, 03612, 03613] ............................................................................................................................................. 14,100 

M. Other licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 30 of this chapter for research and 

development that do not authorize commercial distribution [Program Code(s): 03620] .................................................... 8,100 

N. Licenses that authorize services for other licensees, except: (1) Licenses that authorize only calibration and/or leak 

testing services are subject to the fees specified in fee Category 3.P.; and (2) Licenses that authorize waste disposal 

services are subject to the fees specified in fee categories 4.A., 4.B., and 4.C. [Program Code(s): 03219, 03225, 

03226] ................................................................................................................................................................................. 14,300 

O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material issued under part 34 of this chapter for industrial radiography 

operations. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding authorized under part 

40 of this chapter when authorized on the same license [Program Code(s): 03310, 03320] ........................................... 25,700 

P. All other specific byproduct material licenses, except those in Categories 4.A. through 9.D. [Program Code(s): 

02400, 02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123, 03124, 03220, 03221, 03222, 03800, 03810, 22130] ............................... 4,800 

Q. Registration of devices generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter ......................................................................... N/A13

R. Possession of items or products containing radium-226 identified in 10 CFR 31.12 which exceed the number of 

items or limits specified in that section: 14

1. Possession of quantities exceeding the number of items or limits in 10 CFR 31.12(a)(4), or (5) but less than or 

equal to 10 times the number of items or limits specified [Program Code(s): 02700] ............................................... 8,900 

2. Possession of quantities exceeding 10 times the number of items or limits specified in 10 CFR 31.12(a)(4), or 

(5) [Program Code(s): 02710] ..................................................................................................................................... 4,800 

S. Licenses for production of accelerator-produced radionuclides [Program Code(s): 03210] ............................................. 15,300 

4. Waste disposal and processing: 

A. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material 

from other persons for the purpose of contingency storage or commercial land disposal by the licensee; or licenses 

authorizing contingency storage of low-level radioactive waste at the site of nuclear power reactors; or licenses for receipt of waste from other persons for incineration or other treatment, packaging of resulting waste and residues, and 

transfer of packages to another person authorized to receive or dispose of waste material [Program Code(s): 03231, 

03233, 03235, 03236, 06100, 06101] ................................................................................................................................ N/A5

B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material 

from other persons for the purpose of packaging or repackaging the material. The licensee will dispose of the material by transfer to another person authorized to receive or dispose of the material [Program Code(s): 03234] ............... 31,300 

C. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material from other persons. The licensee will dispose of the material by transfer to another person authorized 

to receive or dispose of the material [Program Code(s): 03232] ....................................................................................... 14,400 

5. Well logging: 

A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special nuclear material for well logging, well surveys, and tracer studies other than field flooding tracer studies [Program Code(s): 03110, 03111, 03112] 9,900 

B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material for field flooding tracer studies [Program Code(s): 03113] ...... N/A5

6. Nuclear laundries: 

A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of items contaminated with byproduct material, source material, or 

special nuclear material [Program Code(s): 03218] ........................................................................................................... 44,900 

7. Medical licenses: 

A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source material, 

or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in gamma stereotactic radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices, or similar beam therapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of source material for 

shielding when authorized on the same license [Program Code(s): 02300, 02310] ......................................................... 17,600 

B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medical institutions or two or more physicians under parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 

of this chapter authorizing research and development, including human use of byproduct material, except licenses for 

byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices. 

This category also includes the possession and use of source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.9 [Program Code(s): 02110] ..................................................................................................................................... 45,000 

C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct material, source 

material, and/or special nuclear material, except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear 

material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices. This category also includes the possession and use of 

source material for shielding when authorized on the same license.9 [Program Code(s): 02120, 02121, 02200, 02201, 

02210, 02220, 02230, 02231, 02240, 22160] .................................................................................................................... 8,400 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 14771 

SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED BY NRC—Continued 

[See footnotes at end of table] 

Category of materials licenses Annual fees 1, 2, 3

8. Civil defense: 

A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material for civil defense 

activities [Program Code(s): 03710] ................................................................................................................................... 8,900 

9. Device, product, or sealed source safety evaluation: 

A. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of devices or products containing byproduct material, source material, 

or special nuclear material, except reactor fuel devices, for commercial distribution ....................................................... 11,500 

B. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of devices or products containing byproduct material, source material, 

or special nuclear material manufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a single applicant, except reactor fuel devices .................................................................................................................................... 13,300 

C. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material, source material, or 

special nuclear material, except reactor fuel, for commercial distribution ......................................................................... 15,600 

D. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material, source material, or 

special nuclear material, manufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a single applicant, except reactor fuel ..................................................................................................................................................... 1,600 

10. Transportation of radioactive material: 

A. Certificates of Compliance or other package approvals issued for design of casks, packages, and shipping containers.

1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium air packages ..................................................................................... N/A6

2. Other Casks ................................................................................................................................................................ N/A6

B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under part 71 of this chapter.

1. Users and Fabricators ................................................................................................................................................. N/A6

2. Users ........................................................................................................................................................................... N/A6

C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals, route surveys, and transportation security devices (including immobilization devices) ................................................................................................................................................................ N/A6

11. Standardized spent fuel facilities ............................................................................................................................................. N/A6

12. Special Projects ....................................................................................................................................................................... N/A6

13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance ............................................................................................................ N/A6

B. General licenses for storage of spent fuel under 10 CFR 72.210 .................................................................................... N/A12

14. Decommissioning/Reclamation: 

A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material licenses and other approvals authorizing decommissioning, decontamination, reclamation, or site restoration activities under parts 30, 40, 70, 72, and 76 of this chapter ........................ N/A7

B. Site-specific decommissioning activities associated with unlicensed sites, whether or not the sites have been previously licensed ................................................................................................................................................................... N/A7

15. Import and Export licenses ...................................................................................................................................................... N/A8

16. Reciprocity ............................................................................................................................................................................... N/A8

17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to Government agencies [Program Code(s): 03710] ............................... 476,000 

18. Department of Energy: 

A. Certificates of Compliance ................................................................................................................................................. 1,028,000 10

B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) activities .................................................................................... 771,000 

1Annual fees will be assessed based on whether a licensee held a valid license with the NRC authorizing possession and use of radioactive 

material during the current FY. The annual fee is waived for those materials licenses and holders of certificates, registrations, and approvals who 

either filed for termination of their licenses or approvals or filed for possession only/storage licenses before October 1, 2010, and permanently 

ceased licensed activities entirely before this date. Annual fees for licensees who filed for termination of a license, downgrade of a license, or for 

a possession-only license during the FY and for new licenses issued during the FY will be prorated in accordance with the provisions of 

§ 171.17. If a person holds more than one license, certificate, registration, or approval, the annual fee(s) will be assessed for each license, certificate, registration, or approval held by that person. For licenses that authorize more than one activity on a single license (e.g., human use and 

irradiator activities), annual fees will be assessed for each category applicable to the license. Licensees paying annual fees under Category 

1.A.(1) are not subject to the annual fees for Categories 1.C. and 1.D. for sealed sources authorized in the license. 2Payment of the prescribed annual fee does not automatically renew the license, certificate, registration, or approval for which the fee is paid. 

Renewal applications must be filed in accordance with the requirements of parts 30, 40, 70, 71, 72, or 76 of this chapter. 3Each FY, fees for these materials licenses will be calculated and assessed in accordance with § 171.13 and will be published in the Federal 

Register for notice and comment. 4Other facilities include licenses for extraction of metals, heavy metals, and rare earths. 

5There are no existing NRC licenses in these fee categories. If NRC issues a license for these categories, the Commission will consider establishing an annual fee for this type of license. 6Standardized spent fuel facilities, 10 CFR parts 71 and 72 Certificates of Compliance and related Quality Assurance program approvals, and 

special reviews, such as topical reports, are not assessed an annual fee because the generic costs of regulating these activities are primarily attributable to users of the designs, certificates, and topical reports. 7 Licensees in this category are not assessed an annual fee because they are charged an annual fee in other categories while they are licensed to operate. 8 No annual fee is charged because it is not practical to administer due to the relatively short life or temporary nature of the license. 9Separate annual fees will not be assessed for pacemaker licenses issued to medical institutions that also hold nuclear medicine licenses 

under Categories 7.B. or 7.C. 10This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to the Department of Energy that are not funded from the Nuclear Waste Fund. 11See § 171.15(c). 12See § 171.15(c). 13 No annual fee is charged for this category because the cost of the general license registration program applicable to licenses in this category will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees. 14Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in this 

category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources are possessed for storage only.) 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2
14772 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

(e) The fee-relief adjustment allocated 

to annual fees includes the budgeted 

resources for the activities listed in 

paragraph (e)(1) of this section, plus the 

total budgeted resources for the 

activities included in paragraphs (e)(2) 

and (e)(3) of this section, as reduced by 

the appropriations NRC receives for 

these types of activities. If the NRC’s 

appropriations for these types of 

activities are greater than the budgeted 

resources for the activities included in 

paragraphs (e)(2) and (e)(3) of this 

section for a given FY, a negative feerelief adjustment (or annual fee 

reduction) will be allocated to annual 

fees. The activities comprising the FY 

2011 fee-relief adjustment are as 

follows: 

* * * * * 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day 

of March 2011. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

J.E. Dyer, 

Chief Financial Officer. 

Note: This Appendix Will Not Appear in 

the Code of Federal Regulations. 

Appendix A to Proposed Rule, Revision 

of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for 

Fiscal Year 2011—Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis for the Final 

Amendments to 10 CFR Part 170 

(License Fees) and 10 CFR Part 171 

(Annual Fees) 

I. Background 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as 

amended at 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., requires that 

agencies consider the impact of their 

rulemakings on small entities and, consistent 

with applicable statutes, consider 

alternatives to minimize these impacts on the 

businesses, organizations, and government 

jurisdictions to which they apply. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC 

or the Commission) has established standards 

for determining which NRC licensees qualify 

as small entities (Title 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.810). These 

standards were based on the Small Business 

Administration’s most common receiptsbased size standards and provides for 

business concerns that are manufacturing 

entities. The NRC uses the size standards to 

reduce the impact of annual fees on small 

entities by establishing a licensee’s eligibility 

to qualify for a maximum small entity fee. 

The small entity fee categories in § 171.16(c) 

of this proposed rule are based on the NRC’s 

size standards. 

The NRC is required each year, under the 

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 

(OBRA–90), as amended, to recover 

approximately 90 percent of its budget 

authority (less amounts appropriated from 

the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF) and for other 

activities specifically removed from the fee 

base), through fees to NRC licensees and 

applicants. The OBRA–90 requires that the 

schedule of charges established by 

rulemaking should fairly and equitably 

allocate the total amount to be recovered 

from the NRC’s licensees and be assessed 

under the principle that licensees who 

require the greatest expenditure of agency 

resources pay the greatest annual charges. 

Since FY 1991, the NRC has complied with 

OBRA–90 by issuing a final rule that amends 

its fee regulations. These final rules have 

established the methodology used by the 

NRC in identifying and determining the fees 

to be assessed and collected in any given FY. 

The Commission is proposing to rebaseline 

its 10 CFR Part 171 annual fees in FY 2011. 

As compared with FY 2010 annual fees, the 

FY 2011 proposed rebaselined fees are higher 

for four classes of licensees (spent fuel 

storage and reactors in decommissioning 

facilities, research and test reactors, fuel 

facilities, and transportation), and lower for 

one class of licensees (power reactors). 

Within the uranium recovery fee class, the 

proposed annual fees for most licensees 

decrease, while the proposed annual fee for 

one fee category increases. The annual fee 

increases for most fee categories in the 

materials users’ fee class. 

The Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) provides 

Congress with the opportunity to review 

agency rules before they go into effect. Under 

this legislation, the NRC annual fee rule is 

considered a ‘‘major’’ rule and must be 

reviewed by Congress and the Comptroller 

General before the rule becomes effective. 

The SBREFA also requires that an agency 

prepare a written compliance guide to assist 

small entities in complying with each rule for 

which a Regulatory Flexibilty Analysis (RFA) 

is prepared. As required by law, this analysis 

and the small entity compliance guide 

(Attachment 1) have been prepared for the 

FY 2011 fee rule. 

II. Impact on Small Entities 

The fee rule results in substantial fees 

charged to those individuals, organizations, 

and companies licensed by the NRC, 

including those licensed under the NRC 

materials program. Comments received on 

previous proposed fee rules and the small 

entity certifications in response to previous 

final fee rules indicate that licensees 

qualifying as small entities under the NRC’s 

size standards are primarily materials 

licensees. Therefore, this analysis will focus 

on the economic impact of fees on materials 

licensees. In FY 2010, about 29 percent of 

these licensees (approximately 921 licensees) 

qualified as small entities. 

Commenters on previous fee rulemakings 

consistently indicated that the following 

would occur if the proposed annual fees were 

not modified: 

1. Large firms would gain an unfair 

competitive advantage over small entities. 

Commenters noted that small and very small 

companies (‘‘Mom and Pop’’ operations) 

would find it more difficult to absorb the 

annual fee than a large corporation or a highvolume type of operation. In competitive 

markets, such as soil testing, annual fees 

would put small licensees at an extreme 

competitive disadvantage with their much 

larger competitors because the proposed fees 

would be identical for both small and large 

firms. 

2. Some firms would be forced to cancel 

their licenses. A licensee with receipts of less 

than $500,000 per year stated that the 

proposed rule would, in effect, force it to 

relinquish its soil density gauge and license, 

thereby reducing its ability to do its work 

effectively. Other licensees, especially wellloggers, noted that the increased fees would 

force small businesses to abandon the 

materials license altogether. Commenters 

estimated that the proposed rule would cause 

roughly 10 percent of the well-logging 

licensees to terminate their licenses 

immediately and approximately 25 percent to 

terminate before the next annual assessment. 

3. Some companies would go out of 

business. 

4. Some companies would have budget 

problems. Many medical licensees noted 

that, along with reduced reimbursements, the 

proposed increase of the existing fees and the 

introduction of additional fees would 

significantly affect their budgets. Others 

noted that, in view of the cuts by Medicare 

and other third party carriers, the fees would 

produce a hardship difficult for some 

facilities to meet. 

Over 3,000 licenses, approvals, and 

registration terminations have been requested 

since the NRC first established annual fees 

for materials licenses. Although some 

terminations were requested because the 

license was no longer needed or could be 

combined with registrations, indications are 

that the economic impact of the fees caused 

other terminations. 

To alleviate the significant impact of the 

annual fees on a substantial number of small 

entities, the NRC considered the following 

alternatives in accordance with the RFA in 

developing each of its fee rules since FY 

1991. 

1. Base fees on some measure of the 

amount of radioactivity possessed by the 

licensee (e.g., number of sources). 

2. Base fees on frequency of use of licensed 

radioactive material (e.g., volume of 

patients). 

3. Base fees on the NRC size standards for 

small entities. 

The NRC has reexamined its previous 

evaluations of these alternatives and 

continues to believe that a maximum fee for 

small entities is the most appropriate and 

effective option for reducing the impact of 

fees on small entities. 

III. Maximum Fee 

The SBREFA and its implementing 

guidance do not provide specific guidelines 

on what constitutes a significant economic 

impact on a small entity. In developing the 

maximum small entity annual fee in FY 

1991, the NRC examined 10 CFR Part 170 

licensing and inspection fees and Agreement 

State fees for fee categories which were 

expected to have a substantial number of 

small entities. Six Agreement States 

(Washington, Texas, Illinois, Nebraska, New 

York, and Utah) were used as benchmarks in 

the establishment of the maximum small 

entity annual fee in FY 1991. 

The NRC maximum small entity fee was 

established as an annual fee only. In addition 

to the annual fee, NRC small entity licensees 

were required to pay amendment, renewal 


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and inspection fees. In setting the small 

entity annual fee, NRC ensured that the total 

amount small entities paid would not exceed 

the maximum paid in the six benchmark 

Agreement States. 

Of the six benchmark States, the NRC used 

Washington’s maximum Agreement State fee 

of $3,800 as the ceiling for total fees. Thus, 

the NRC’s small entity fee was developed to 

ensure that the total fees paid by NRC small 

entities would not exceed $3,800. Given the 

NRC’s FY 1991 fee structure for inspections, 

amendments, and renewals, a small entity 

annual fee established at $1,800 allowed the 

total fee (small entity annual fee plus yearly 

average for inspections, amendments, and 

renewal fees) for all categories to fall under 

the $3,800 ceiling. 

In FY 1992, the NRC introduced a second, 

lower tier to the small entity fee in response 

to concerns that the $1,800 fee, when added 

to the license and inspection fees, still 

imposed a significant impact on small 

entities with relatively low gross annual 

receipts. For purposes of the annual fee, each 

small entity size standard was divided into 

an upper and lower tier. Small entity 

licensees in the upper tier continued to pay 

an annual fee of $1,800, while those in the 

lower tier paid an annual fee of $400. 

Based on the changes that had occurred 

since FY 1991, the NRC reanalyzed its 

maximum small entity annual fees in FY 

2000 and determined that the small entity 

fees should be increased by 25 percent to 

reflect the increase in the average fees paid 

by other materials licensees since FY 1991, 

as well as changes in the fee structure for 

materials licensees. The structure of fees NRC 

charged its materials licensees changed 

during the period between 1991 and 1999. 

Costs for materials license inspections, 

renewals, and amendments, which were 

previously recovered through Part 170 fees 

for services, are now included in the Part 171 

annual fees assessed to materials licensees. 

Because of the 25 percent increase, in FY 

2000 the maximum small entity annual fee 

increased from $1,800 to $2,300. However, 

despite the increase, total fees for many small 

entities were reduced because they no longer 

paid Part 170 fees. Costs not recovered from 

small entities were allocated to other 

materials licensees and to power reactors. 

While reducing the impact on many small 

entities, the NRC determined that the 

maximum annual fee of $2,300 for small 

entities could continue to have a significant 

impact on materials licensees with relatively 

low annual gross receipts. Therefore, the 

NRC continued to provide the lower-tier 

small entity annual fee for small entities with 

relatively low gross annual receipts, 

manufacturing concerns, and for educational 

institutions not State or publicly supported 

with fewer than 35 employees. The NRC also 

increased the lower-tier small entity fee by 25 

percent, the same percentage increase to the 

maximum small entity annual fee, resulting 

in the lower-tier small entity fee increasing 

from $400 to $500 in FY 2000. 

The NRC stated in the RFA for the FY 2001 

final fee rule that it would reexamine the 

small entity fees every 2 years, in the same 

years in which it conducts the biennial 

review of fees as required by the Chief 

Financial Officers Act. Accordingly, the NRC 

examined the small entity fees again in FY 

2003 and FY 2005, determining that a change 

was not warranted to those fees established 

in FY 2001. 

As part of the small entity review in FY 

2007, the NRC also considered whether it 

should establish reduced fees for small 

entities under Part 170. The NRC received 

one comment requesting that small entity 

fees be considered for certain export licenses, 

particularly in light of the recent increases to 

Part 170 fees for these licenses. Because the 

NRC’s Part 170 fees are not assessed to a 

licensee or applicant on a regular basis (i.e., 

they are only assessed when a licensee or 

applicant requests a specific service from the 

NRC), the NRC does not believe that the 

impact of its Part 170 fees warrants a fee 

reduction for small entities, in addition to the 

Part 171 small entity fee reduction. Regarding 

export licenses, the NRC notes that interested 

parties can submit a single application for a 

broad scope, multi-year license that permits 

exports to multiple countries. Because the 

NRC charges fees per application, this 

process minimizes the fees for export 

applicants. Because a single NRC fee can 

cover numerous exports, and because there 

are a limited number of entities who apply 

for these licenses, the NRC does not 

anticipate that the Part 170 export fees will 

have a significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. Therefore, the NRC 

retained the $2,300 small entity annual fee 

and the $500 lower-tier small entity annual 

fee for FY 2007 and FY 2008. 

The NRC conducted an in-depth biennial 

review of the FY 2009 small entity fees. The 

review noted significant changes between FY 

2000 and FY 2008 in both the external and 

internal environment which impacted fees 

for NRC’s materials users licensees. Since FY 

2000, small entity licensees in the upper tier 

had increased approximately 53 percent. In 

addition, due to changes in the law, NRC is 

now required to recover only 90 percent of 

its budget authority compared to 100 percent 

recovery required in FY 2000. This 10 

percent fee-relief has influenced the 

materials users’ annual fees. A decrease in 

the NRC’s budget allocation to the materials 

users also influenced annual fees in FY 2007 

and FY 2008. 

Based on the review, the NRC changed the 

methodology for reviewing small entity fees. 

The NRC determined the maximum small 

entity fee should be adjusted each biennial 

year using a fixed percentage of 39 percent 

applied to the prior 2-year weighted average 

of materials users fees for all fee categories 

which have small entity licensees. The 39 

percent was based on the small entity annual 

fee for FY 2005, which was the first year the 

NRC was required to recover only 90 percent 

of its budget authority. The FY 2005 small 

entity annual fee of $2,300 was 39 percent of 

the 2-year weighted average for all fee 

categories in FY 2005 and FY 2006 that had 

an upper-tier small entity licensee. The new 

methodology allows small entity licensees to 

be able to predict changes in their fee in the 

biennial year based on the materials users’ 

fees for the previous 2 years. Using a 2-year 

weighted average smoothes the fluctuations 

caused by programmatic and budget variables 

and reflects the importance of the fee 

categories with the majority of small entities. 

The agency also determined the lower-tier 

annual fee should remain at 22 percent of the 

maximum small entity annual fee. In FY 

2009, the NRC decreased the maximum small 

entity fee from $2,300 to $1,900 and 

decreased the lower-tier annual fee from 

$500 to $400. 

In FY 2011, the NRC reexamined the small 

entity fee, including the new methodology 

developed in FY 2009. Per the methodology 

used in FY 2009, the agency computed the 

small entity fee by using a fixed percentage 

of 39 percent applied to the prior 2-year 

weighted average of materials users’ fees. 

This resulted in an upper-tier small entity fee 

amount that was 7 percent higher than the 

current fee of $1,900, a reflection of the 

increase in annual fees for the materials users 

licensees for the past 2 years. Implementing 

this increase would have a disproportionate 

impact upon small NRC licensees. Therefore 

in FY 2011, NRC has decided to limit the 

increase for upper tier fees to $2,300, a 21 

percent increase, and the lower tier fee to 

$500, a 25 percent increase. This increase in 

the small entity fee partially reflects the 

changes to the annual fee for the materials 

users for the previous 2 years. 

IV. Summary 

The NRC has determined that the 10 CFR 

Part 171 annual fees significantly impact a 

substantial number of small entities. A 

maximum fee for small entities strikes a 

balance between the requirement to recover 

90 percent of the NRC budget and the 

requirement to consider means of reducing 

the impact of the fee on small entities. Based 

on its RFA, the NRC concludes that a 

maximum annual fee of $2,300 for small 

entities and a lower-tier small entity annual 

fee of $500 for small businesses and not-forprofit organizations with gross annual 

receipts of less than $450,000, small 

governmental jurisdictions with a population 

of fewer than 20,000, small manufacturing 

entities that have fewer than 35 employees, 

and educational institutions that are not State 

or publicly supported and have fewer than 35 

employees, reduces the impact on small 

entities. At the same time, these reduced 

annual fees are consistent with the objectives 

of OBRA–90. Thus, the fees for small entities 

maintain a balance between the objectives of 

OBRA–90 and the RFA. 

Attachment 1 to Appendix A—U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Small 

Entity Compliance Guide; Fiscal Year 

2011 

Contents 

I. Introduction 

II. NRC Definition of Small Entity 

III. NRC Small Entity Fees 

IV. Instructions for Completing NRC Form 

526 

I. Introduction 

The Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) requires 

all Federal agencies to prepare a written 

compliance guide for each rule for which the 

agency is required by U.S.C. 604 to prepare 

a regulatory flexibility analysis. Therefore, in 


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1An educational institution referred to in the size 

standards is an entity whose primary function is 

education, whose programs are accredited by a 

nationally recognized accrediting agency or 

association, who is legally authorized to provide a 

program of organized instruction or study, who 

provides an educational program for which it 

awards academic degrees, and whose educational 

programs are available to the public. 

compliance with the law, Attachment 1 to 

the Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is the 

small entity compliance guide for FY 2011. 

Licensees may use this guide to determine 

whether they qualify as a small entity under 

NRC regulations and are eligible to pay 

reduced FY 2011 annual fees assessed under 

Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 

(10 CFR) Part 171. The U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission (NRC) has 

established two tiers of annual fees for those 

materials licensees who qualify as small 

entities under the NRC’s size standards. 

Licensees who meet the NRC’s size 

standards for a small entity (listed in 10 CFR 

2.810) must submit a completed NRC Form 

526 ‘‘Certification of Small Entity Status for 

the Purposes of Annual Fees Imposed under 

10 CFR Part 171’’ to qualify for the reduced 

annual fee. This form can be accessed on the 

NRC’s Web site at http://www.nrc.gov. The 

form can then be accessed by selecting 

‘‘Business with NRC,’’ then ‘‘NRC Forms,’’ 

selecting NRC Form 526. For licensees who 

cannot access the NRC’s Web site, NRC Form 

526 may be obtained through the local point 

of contact listed in the NRC’s ‘‘Materials 

Annual Fee Billing Handbook,’’ NUREG/BR– 

0238, which is enclosed with each annual fee 

billing. Alternatively, the form may be 

obtained by calling the fee staff at 301–415– 

7554, or by e-mailing the fee staff at 

fees.resource@nrc.gov. 

The completed form, the appropriate small 

entity fee, and the payment copy of the 

invoice should be mailed to the U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Accounts 

Receivable/Payable Branch, at the address 

indicated on the invoice. Failure to file the 

NRC small entity certification Form 526 in a 

timely manner may result in the denial of 

any refund that might otherwise be due. 

II. NRC Definition of Small Entity 

For purposes of compliance with its 

regulations (10 CFR 2.810), the NRC has 

defined a small entity as follows: 

(1) Small business—a for-profit concern 

that (a) provides a service, or a concern that 

is not engaged in manufacturing, with 

average gross receipts of $6.5 million or less 

over its last 3 completed fiscal years; or (b) 

a manufacturing concern with an average 

number of 500 or fewer employees based on 

employment during each pay period for the 

preceding 12 calendar months; 

(2) Small organizations—a not-for-profit 

organization which is independently owned 

and operated and has annual gross receipts 

of $6.5 million or less; 

(3) Small governmental jurisdiction—a 

government of a city, county, town, 

township, village, school district, or special 

district, with a population of less than 

50,000; and 

(4) Small educational institution—an 

educational institution that is (a) supported 

by a qualifying small governmental 

jurisdiction, or (b) one that is not State or 

publicly supported and has 500 or fewer 

employees.1

To further assist licensees in determining 

if they qualify as a small entity, the following 

guidelines are provided, which are based on 

the Small Business Administration’s 

regulations (13 CFR Part 121). 

(1) A small business concern is an 

independently owned and operated entity 

which is not considered dominant in its field 

of operations. 

(2) The number of employees means the 

total number of employees in the parent 

company, any subsidiaries and/or affiliates, 

including both foreign and domestic 

locations (i.e., not solely the number of 

employees working for the licensee or 

conducting NRC-licensed activities for the 

company). 

(3) Gross annual receipts include all 

revenue received or accrued from any source, 

including receipts of the parent company, 

any subsidiaries and/or affiliates, and 

account for both foreign and domestic 

locations. Receipts include all revenues from 

sales of products and services, interest, rent, 

fees, and commissions from whatever sources 

derived (i.e., not solely receipts from NRClicensed activities). 

(4) A licensee who is a subsidiary of a large 

entity, including a foreign entity, does not 

qualify as a small entity. 

III. NRC Small Entity Fees 

In 10 CFR 171.16(c), the NRC has 

established two tiers of fees for licensees that 

qualify as a small entity under the NRC’s size 

standards. The fees are as follows: 

Maximum annual 

fee per 

licensed category 

Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing (Average gross receipts over last 3 completed fiscal years): 

$450,000 to $6.5 million ......................................................................................................................................................... $2,300 

Less than $450,000 ................................................................................................................................................................ 500 

Small Not-For-Profit Organizations (Annual Gross Receipts): 

$450,000 to $6.5 million ......................................................................................................................................................... 2,300 

Less than $450,000 ................................................................................................................................................................ 500 

Manufacturing entities that have an average of 500 employees or fewer: 

35 to 500 employees .............................................................................................................................................................. 2,300 

Fewer than 35 employees ...................................................................................................................................................... 500 

Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly supported educational institutions) (Population): 

20,000 to 50,000 .................................................................................................................................................................... 2,300 

Fewer than 20,000 ................................................................................................................................................................. 500 

Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly Supported, and have 500 Employees or Fewer 

35 to 500 employees ................................................................................................................................................................. 2,300 

Fewer than 35 employees ...................................................................................................................................................... 500 

Fewer than 20,000 ................................................................................................................................................................. 500 

IV. Instructions for Completing NRC Small 

Entity Form 526 

1. Complete all items on NRC Form 526 as 

follows: (Note: Incomplete or improperly 

completed forms will be returned as 

unacceptable.) 

(a) Enter the license number and invoice 

number exactly as they appear on the annual 

fee invoice. 

(b) Enter the North American Industry 

Classification System. 

(c) Enter the licensee’s name and address 

exactly as they appear on the invoice. 

Annotate name and/or address changes for 

billing purposes on the payment copy of the 

invoice—include contact’s name, telephone 

number, e-mail address, and company Web 

site address. Correcting the name and/or 

address on NRC Form 526 or on the invoice 

does not constitute a request to amend the 

license. 

(d) Check the appropriate size standard 

under which the licensee qualifies as a small 

entity. Check one box only. Note the 

following: 

(i) A licensee who is a subsidiary of a large 

entity, including foreign entities, does not 

qualify as a small entity. The calculation of 

a firm’s size includes the employees or 

receipts of all affiliates. Affiliation with 

another concern is based on the power to 

control, whether exercised or not. Such 

factors as common ownership, common 

management, and identity of interest (often 

found in members of the same family), 


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among others, are indications of affiliation. 

The affiliated business concerns need not be 

in the same line of business. 

(ii) Gross annual receipts, as used in the 

size standards, include all revenue received 

or accrued by your company from all sources, 

regardless of the form of the revenue and not 

solely receipts from licensed activities. 

(iii) NRC’s size standards on a small entity 

are based on the Small Business 

Administration’s regulations (13 CFR Part 

121). 

(iv) The size standards apply to the 

licensee, not to the individual authorized 

users who may be listed in the license. 

2. If the invoice states the ‘‘Amount Billed 

Represents 50% Proration,’’ the amount due 

is not the prorated amount shown on the 

invoice but rather one-half of the maximum 

small entity annual fee shown on NRC Form 

526 for the size standard under which the 

licensee qualifies (either $1,150 or $250) for 

each category billed. 

3. If the invoice amount is less than the 

reduced small entity annual fee shown on 

this form, pay the amount on the invoice; 

there is no further reduction. In this case, do 

not file NRC Form 526. However, if the 

invoice amount is greater than the reduced 

small entity annual fee, file NRC Form 526 

and pay the amount applicable to the size 

standard you checked on the form. 

4. The completed NRC Form 526 must be 

submitted with the required annual fee 

payment and the ‘‘Payment Copy’’ of the 

invoice to the address shown on the invoice. 

5. Section 171.16(c) states licensees shall 

submit a proper certification with its annual 

fee payment each year. Failure to submit 

NRC Form 526 at the time the annual fee is 

paid will require the licensee to pay the full 

amount of the invoice. 

The NRC sends invoices to its licensees for 

the full annual fee, even though some 

licensees qualify for reduced fees as small 

entities. Licensees who qualify as small 

entities and file NRC Form 526, which 

certifies eligibility for small entity fees, may 

pay the reduced fee, which is either $2,300 

or $500 for a full year, depending on the size 

of the entity, for each fee category shown on 

the invoice. Licensees granted a license 

during the first 6 months of the fiscal year, 

and licensees who file for termination or for 

a ‘‘possession-only’’ license and permanently 

cease licensed activities during the first 6 

months of the fiscal year, pay only 50 percent 

of the annual fee for that year. Such invoices 

state that the ‘‘amount billed represents 50% 

proration.’’ 

Licensees must file a new small entity form 

(NRC Form 526) with the NRC each fiscal 

year to qualify for reduced fees in that year. 

Because a licensee’s ‘‘size,’’ or the size 

standards, may change from year to year, the 

invoice reflects the full fee, and licensees 

must complete and return NRC Form 526 for 

the fee to be reduced to the small entity fee 

amount. Licensees will not receive a new 

invoice for the reduced amount. The 

completed NRC Form 526, the payment of 

the appropriate small entity fee, and the 

‘‘Payment Copy’’ of the invoice should be 

mailed to the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Accounts Receivable/Payable 

Branch, at the address indicated on the 

invoice. 

If you have questions regarding the NRC’s 

annual fees, please contact the license fee 

staff at 301–415–7554, e-mail the fee staff at 

fees.resource@nrc.gov, or write to the U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention: 

Office of the Chief Financial Officer. 

False certification of small entity status 

could result in civil sanctions being imposed 

by the NRC under the Program Fraud Civil 

Remedies Act of 1986, 31 U.S.C. 3801 et seq. 

NRC’s implementing regulations are found at 

10 CFR Part 13. 

[FR Doc. 2011–5968 Filed 3–16–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS2