NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

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

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

 

No. 06-021 February 10, 2006

NRC PROPOSES TO AMEND LICENSING, INSPECTION AND ANNUAL FEES RULE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its regulations for the licensing,

inspection and annual fees it charges applicants and licensees for fiscal year (FY) 2006.

The agency is required by Congress to recover for the U.S. Treasury nearly all of its annual

appropriated budget through two types of fees. One is for specific NRC services, such as licensing and

inspection activities, that apply to a specific license; this fee is calculated using an hourly rate reflecting

time spent by staff performing the service. The other is an annual fee paid by licensees, which recovers

generic regulatory expenses and other costs not recovered through fees for specific services. These fees

are contained in NRC regulations 10 CFR Part 170 (fees for licensing and inspection services) and

10 CFR Part 171 (annual fees). These fees are paid to the U.S. Treasury and go into the general fund.

By law, the NRC must recover through fees 90 percent of its budget for FY 2006 (Oct. 1, 2005

- Sept. 30, 2006), less the amount appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund for high-level waste

activities and appropriated from general funds for waste-incidental-to-reprocessing activities. The total

amount to be recovered in FY 2006 is approximately $624 million, about $83 million more than in FY

2005.

Under the proposed rule, the hourly rates for assessing Part 170 fees would increase from $205

to $217 for the Nuclear Reactor Safety Program, and from $197 to $215 for the Nuclear Materials and

Waste Safety Program. The NRC will also begin charging federal agencies Part 170 fees in accordance

with its new authority under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, though certain federally owned research

and test reactors will remain exempt from these fees.

The proposed FY 2006 annual fees include the following:

 

Class/category of licenses FY 2006 Annual fee

Operating Power Reactors (including Spent Fuel 

 Storage/Reactor Decommissioning) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,655,000

Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $168,000

Test and Research Reactors (Nonpower Reactors) ................................ $76,300

High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,579,000

Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,643,000

UF6 Conversion Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,076,000
Rare Earth Mills ........................................................... $97,900

Typical Materials Users:

 Radiographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,300

 Well Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,700

 Gauge Users (Category 3P) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,900

The proposed rule was published today in the Federal Register. Written comments on the

proposed fee changes should be received by March 13. They should be addressed to the Secretary, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and

Adjudications Staff. Comments may also be submitted by e-mail to SECY@nrc.gov , faxed to

(301) 415-1011, or submitted online via the NRC’s rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov . 

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