NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov 

 Web Site: www.nrc.gov

No. 03-040 March 27, 2003

NRC AMENDS LICENSING, INSPECTION AND ANNUAL FEES RULE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending its regulations for the licensing, inspection

and annual fees it charges applicants and licensees for fiscal year (FY) 2003.

The agency is required to collect nearly all of its annual appropriated budget through two types

of fees. One is for NRC services, such as licensing and inspection activities, that apply to a specific

license. The other is an annual fee paid by all licensees, which recovers generic regulatory expenses

and other costs not recovered through fees for specific services. These fees are contained in

Commission regulations 10 CFR Part 170 (fees for licensing and inspection services) and 10 CFR Part

171 (annual fees). 

By law, the NRC must recover $526.3 million, or 94 percent of its budget for FY 2003 (October

1, 2002 - September 30, 2003), less the $24.7 million appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund for

high-level waste activities. The amount to be recovered in FY 2003 includes $29.3 million

appropriated for NRC’s activities related to homeland security. Homeland security costs were not

included in the agency’s fee base for FY 2002, and were appropriated from the Treasury’s General

Fund. The total amount to be recovered is about $47 million more than last year. 

The proposed hourly rates are $156 for the reactor program activities and $158 for the nuclear

material program activities. There is a $6 increase over FY 2002 in the hourly labor rate proposed for

NRC services performed in the nuclear materials program. A major reason for this increase are the

higher salary and benefits resulting from the Government-wide pay raise. While salary and benefits also

increase for the reactor program, the increase is offset by a reduction in the average overhead cost per

direct staff. 

The proposed annual fees have been determined under the “re-baselining” method. The

Commission decided to re-baseline annual fees this year based on the changes in the magnitude of the

budget to be recovered through fees. Re-baselined annual fees would result in increased annual fees

compared to FY 2002 for four classes of licensees (power reactors, spent fuel storage/reactor

decommissioning, fuel facilities, and rare earth facilities), decreased annual fees for two classes (nonpower reactors and uranium recovery). Finally, in two classes, material users and transportation, some

categories (sub-classes) of licensees would have increased annual fees while others would have

decreased annual fees. 
The proposed FY 2003 annual fees include the following:

Categories of Licensees Proposed FY 2003 Annual Fee

Operating Power Reactors $3,278,000 

(including spent fuel storage/

reactor decommissioning annual fee) 

High-enriched Uranium Fuel Facility $5,836,600 

Low-enriched Uranium Fuel Facility $1,957,000 

Uranium Recovery (Conventional Mills) $64,800

Radiographers $12,300

Broad Scope Medical $24,900

Distribution of Radiopharmaceuticals $4,800

Gauge Users $2,500

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,

which is expected shortly. 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 faxed to 301-415-1101, or submitted via the NRC’s electronic rulemaking Web

site, at http://www.nrc.gov . Select “rulemaking” from the tool bar and then “rulemaking forum.”

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