NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

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

No. 00-046 April 25, 2000

NRC SEEKS COMMENT ON PROPOSED

LICENSING, INSPECTION AND ANNUAL FEES

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking comment on the proposed fees it charges to

licensees for fiscal year 2000.

The agency is statutorily required to collect nearly all of its operating budget through two types

of fees. One type is for NRC services such as licensing and inspection activities. The other is an

annual fee paid by all licensees, which recovers generic regulatory expenses and other costs not

recovered through fees for service. These fees are contained in Commission regulations 10 CFR Part

170 (licensing and inspection services) and 10 CFR Part 171 (annual fees).

For fiscal year (FY) 2000, the Commission must recover $447.0 million in fees. This does not

include $19.15 million appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund for high-level waste activities.

Neither does it include $3.85 million appropriated for NRC’s activities related to selected reviews for

the Department of Energy and other federal agencies. Funding for these activities is excluded from

license fee revenues by law. The total amount to be recovered in fees is about $2.6 million less than

that recovered the previous fiscal year.

However, the proposed FY 2000 annual fees are about 1.4 percent higher than the previous year

for a number of reasons. An overcollection of $4.1 million from FY 1998 was available to reduce the

amount to be recovered through annual fees for FY 1999. There is no overcollection from FY 1999 to

reduce the FY 2000 annual fees. In addition, the number of licensees paying annual fees has decreased.

There are about 530 fewer materials licensees paying annual fees because they were transferred from

NRC to Ohio which, as an Agreement State, assumed regulatory oversight of the materials licensees

operating in the state.

Also, there is a $3 increase over FY 1999 in hourly rates proposed for NRC inspection and

other professional staff services. This results primarily from the pay raises given to all federal

employees. The proposed hourly rates are $144 for reactor program activities and $143 for the nuclear

materials program activities.

In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act that requires agencies to minimize impacts of

rule changes on small businesses, the NRC reviewed its fees established in 1991 and 1992 for such
businesses. Changes in economic circumstances, the NRC fee structure, and fee-setting practices in

Agreement States call for a proposed increase.

The NRC is proposing to increase the maximum annual fees for small entities -- those

businesses that qualify for paying reduced annual fees -- from the current $1,800 to $2,300, and the

maximum annual fee for such businesses with relatively low gross receipts or supporting populations,

from the current $400 to $500.

The proposed FY 2000 annual fees for some licensees are as follows:

Categories of Licensees FY 2000 Annual Fee FY 1999 Annual Fee

Power Reactors (including spent fuel $2,815,000 $2,776,000

storage/reactor decommissioning

annual fee for FY 1999)

High-enriched Uranium Fuel Facility 3,327,000 3,281,000

Low-enriched Uranium Fuel Facility 1,116,000 1,100,000

Radiographers 14,900 14,700

Broad Scope Medical 28,100 27,800

Distribution of Radiopharmaceuticals 3,800 3,800

Written comments on the proposed amendments to 10 CFR Parts 170 and 171 of the

Commission’s regulations should be received within 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

They should be addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, D.C., 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications staff. Comments also may be

submitted via the NRC’s electronic rulemaking Web site at http://www.nrc.gov

by selecting “rulemaking” from the tool bar and then “rulemaking forum.”

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