GAO-02-910R 

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548 

B-290816 

July 11, 2002 

The Honorable James M. Jeffords 

Chairman 

The Honorable Bob Smith 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

United States Senate 

The Honorable W.J. “Billy” Tauzin 

Chairman 

The Honorable John D. Dingell 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

House of Representatives 

Subject: Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery 

for FY 2002

Pursuant to section 801(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, this is our report on a 

major rule promulgated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), entitled 

“Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2002” (RIN: 3150-AG95). We 

received the rule on June 27, 2002. It was published in the Federal Register as a final 

rule on June 24, 2002. 67 Fed. Reg. 42612. 

The final rule amends the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to NRC’s 

applicants and licensees. The final rule is necessary to implement the Omnibus 

Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended, which requires that the NRC recover 

approximately 96 percent of its budget authority in fiscal year 2002, less the amounts 

appropriated from the Nuclear Waste and the General Fund. 

Enclosed is our assessment of the NRC’s compliance with the procedural steps 

required by section 801(a)(1)(B)(i) through (iv) of title 5 with respect to the rule. 

Our review indicates that the NRC complied with the applicable requirements. 

If you have any questions about this report, please contact James W. Vickers, 

Assistant General Counsel, at (202) 512-8210. The official responsible for GAO 

evaluation work relating to the subject matter of the rule is Robert Robinson, 
Page 2 GAO-02-910R 

Managing Director, Natural Resources and Environment. Mr. Robinson can be 

reached at (202) 512-3841. 

 signed 

Kathleen E. Wannisky 

Managing Associate General Counsel 

Enclosure 

cc: Dennis K. Rathburn 

Director, Office of Congressional 

 Affairs 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
GAO-02-910R 

ENCLOSURE 

ANALYSIS UNDER 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(1)(B)(i)-(iv) OF A MAJOR RULE 

ISSUED BY THE 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

ENTITLED 

"REVISION OF FEE SCHEDULES; 

FEE RECOVERY FOR FY 2002" 

(RIN: 3150-AG95) 

(i) Cost-benefit analysis

The NRC was not required to, nor did it prepare, a cost-benefit analysis of the final 

rule. However, the preamble to the final rule contains an explanation of how the 

amount of the fees were computed to permit the NRC to recover the necessary costs 

required by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. For fiscal year 2002, the fee 

recovery amount is approximately $479.5 million. 

(ii) Agency actions relevant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 603-605, 

607, and 609

Because it determined that the final rule would have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, the NRC prepared an Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis in connection with the proposed rule. 

The entire Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is contained in Appendix A of the 

final rule. The analysis describes the reason for the rule and the legal basis for it; 

describes and estimates the number of small entities affected by the rule; discusses 

the recordkeeping, reporting, and other compliance requirements; and the steps 

taken to minimize the burden on small entities, including a maximum fee level. 

(iii) Agency actions relevant to sections 202-205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 

Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. §§ 1532-1535

The final rule, promulgated by an independent regulatory agency, is not subject to 

title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. 

(iv) Other relevant information or requirements under acts and executive orders

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq. 

The final rule was issued using the notice and comment procedures contained in 

5 U.S.C. 553. On March 27, 2002, the NRC published a Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking in the Federal Register. 67 Fed. Reg. 14818. NRC received 14 comments 

in response to the proposed rule and responds to those comments in the preamble to 

the final rule. 
Page 2 GAO-02-910R 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3520 

The NRC states that the final rule does not contain any information collections that 

are subject to review under the Paperwork Reduction Act. 

Statutory authorization for the rule 

The final rule was promulgated under the authority of the Omnibus Budget 

Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-508), as amend by the FY 2001 Energy and 

Water Development Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 106-377) and the Atomic Energy Act 

of 1954, as amended. 

Executive Order No. 12866 

The final rule, promulgated by an independent regulatory agency, is not subject to 

the review requirements of the order.