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. 05-032 February 22, 2005

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) 2005.

The agency is required by Congress to recover for the 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. 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 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 90 percent of its budget for FY 2005 (Oct. 1, 2004 - Sept. 30,

2005) from fees, less the amount ($68.5 million) appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund for highlevel waste activities. The total amount to be recovered in FY 2005 is $540.7 million, about $4.6

million less than last year, when the mandate was to recover 92 percent of the agency’s budget. After

accounting for carryover and billing adjustments, the net amount to be recovered is approximately $538

million.

Under the proposed rule, the hourly rates used to assess Part 170 fees would change to allow the

funds recovered to reflect more accurately the resources NRC expends providing licensee-specific

services. The proposal also reflects higher salaries and benefits resulting from the Government-wide

pay raise. The new hourly rates ($205 for the Nuclear Reactor Safety Program and $198 for the Nuclear

Materials and Waste Safety Program) would not alter the total amount of fees recovered from

licensees, though it would change the apportionment of fees charged to Part 170 and Part 171. Fees not

recovered under Part 170 would still be recovered under Part 171 to collect the 90 percent of the budget

for FY 2005.

Annual fees for FY 2005 have been determined under the “re-baselining” method because of

the magnitude of budget changes for certain classes of licensees. Re-baselining fees would result in

decreased annual fees compared to FY 2004 for five classes of licenses (power reactors, test and

research reactors, spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning, rare earth mills, and transportation), and

increased annual fees for two classes (fuel facilities and uranium recovery). Most materials users

would have increased annual fees. 
-2-

The proposed FY 2005 annual fees include the following:

 

Class/category of licenses FY 2005 Annual fee

Operating Power Reactors (including Spent Fuel 

 Storage/Reactor Decommissioning annual fee) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,067,000

Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $164,000

Test and Research Reactors (Nonpower Reactors) ................................ $54,400

High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,383,000

Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,612,000

UF6 Conversion Facility ..................................................... $691,000

Rare Earth Mills ........................................................... $71,000

Transportation: 

 Users/Fabricators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $80,200

 Users Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,300

Typical Materials Users:

 Radiographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12,800

 Well Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,100

 Gauge Users (Category 3P) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500

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

proposed fee changes should be received by March 24. 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 e-mailed to SECY@nrc.gov , faxed to (301) 415-1011, or

submitted online via the NRC’s rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov . 

###