Mission

License and regulate the Nation’s civilian use of radioactive 

materials to protect public health and safety, promote 

the common defense and security, and protect the environment.

Public Protection Notification 

The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a request for information or an information 

collection requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid OMB control number.

NUREG-1542, Vol. 22, has been reproduced from the best available copy.
Table of Contents

A Message from the Chairman. .

Chapter 1 • Management’s Discussion and Analysis. 

Introduction  .

About the NRC. .

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Organization Chart. 

The NRC’s Regulatory Activities. 

The Nuclear Industry. 

FY 2016 Performance Results. .

Future Challenges. .

Data Completeness and Reliability  .

Financial Performance Overview. .

Management Assurances, Systems, Controls, and Legal Compliance. .

Chapter 2: Program Performance. .

Measuring and Reporting  .

Strategic Goal 1: Ensure the Safe Use of Radioactive Materials. .

Nuclear Reactor Safety  .

Operating Reactors  .

New Reactors  .

Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety  .

Fuel Facilities  .

Nuclear Materials Users  .

Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation  .

Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste  .

Strategic Goal 2: Ensure the Secure Use of Radioactive Materials  .

Nuclear Reactor Security  .

Nuclear Materials and Waste Security  .

International Activities  .

Cross-Cutting Strategies  .

Management Objectives  .

Costing to Goals  .

Program Evaluations  .

Data Sources, Data Quality, and Data Security. .

Chapter 3: Financial Statements and Auditors’ Report. .

A Message from the Chief Financial Officer  .

Financial Statements  .

Notes to the Financial Statements  .

Required Supplementary Information  .

Inspector General’s Letter Transmitting Independent Auditors’ Report. .

Independent Auditors’ Report  .

Management’s Response to the Independent Auditors’ Report on the Financial Statements  . 

Chapter 4: Other Information. . 

Inspector General’s Assessment of the Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges

Facing the NRC. . 

Summary of Financial Statement Audit and Management Assurances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Required Improper Payments Reporting Details  . 

Combined Schedule of Spending  . 

Freeze the Footprint  . 

Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustment for Inflation  . 

Acronyms and Abbreviations. . .

Bibliographic Data Sheet. . .

Availability of Reference Materials in NRC Publications. . .

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

i
The Fiscal Year 2016 Performance and Accountability Report provides performance results and audited 

financial statements that enable the President, Congress, and the public to assess the performance of the agency 

in achieving its mission and stewardship of its resources. The report contains a concise overview, Management’s 

Discussion and Analysis, as well as performance and financial sections. Details of performance results and 

program evaluations can be found in the Program Performance section. 

Commissioner Kristine L. Svinicki Chairman Stephen G. Burns Commissioner Jeffrey Baran

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

i i
I am pleased to present the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) Performance 

and Accountability Report (PAR) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. This report presents the 

NRC’s continuing success in achieving our mission to ensure the safe and secure use 

of radioactive materials for beneficial civilian purposes while protecting people and 

the environment. The report also provides key financial and performance information 

to Congress and the American people on how we used our resources during FY 2016. 

The report is available at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/

sr1542/.

As an independent regulatory agency, the NRC conducts oversight of the Nation’s 

99 operating nuclear reactors, 31 research and test reactors, and the six reactors in 

decommissioning. The NRC continued to review all safety aspects of new reactor 

designs, environmental siting, combined license applications, and provided oversight 

for the four nuclear reactors under construction during FY 2016. Further, the agency 

focused on the safe and secure use of nuclear materials in the medical, and industrial 

sectors through effective oversight of fuel facilities, uranium recovery sites, decommissioning sites, spent nuclear fuel 

sites, and nuclear material user licensees.

As a regulator of the nuclear industry, NRC must be trusted in our decision-making process. To achieve this objective, 

the NRC makes decisions openly and provides clear explanations of our conclusions so the public can understand our 

actions. Additionally, the NRC works to consistently apply the concept of reasonable assurance of adequate protection to 

our actions consistent with our statutory authority delineated in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

The NRC achieved its mission and met all of its strategic goals, objectives, and performance indicator targets in FY 2016. 

Examples of key NRC FY 2016 regulatory accomplishments included: (1) resolution of multiple Fukushima lessonslearned activities; (2) completing many significant licensing actions, including issuing the construction permit for a 

first-of-a-kind medical isotope production facility; (3) overseeing the safe startup of Watts Bar Unit 2, the first nuclear 

power plant to begin commercial operations in 20 years; and (4) completing multiple Project Aim activities designed to 

improve NRC effectiveness and efficiency and better position the agency to respond to future challenges.

The NRC is committed to good governance and the prudent management of its resources. I am also pleased to report 

that the NRC effectively managed its internal control environment during FY 2016. Based on the Federal Manager’s 

Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (FMFIA) assessments, I have concluded there is reasonable assurance that the agency is 

in substantial compliance with FMFIA, and the financial and performance data published in this report are complete, 

accurate, reliable, and timely, in accordance with the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000 and Office of Management and 

Budget Circular A-136 requirements. Additionally, I have determined that the agency is in substantial compliance with 

the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA), based on the NRC’s application of the FFMIA risk 

model. I am very impressed by the performance and dedication of NRC employees in achieving the agency’s safety and 

security goals and look forward to continuing to provide the high-quality service the American people have come to 

expect from us.

Stephen G. Burns

Chairman

November 1, 2016

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

iii

A Message from the Chairman
Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

i v

2015 Awards
http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

1

Chapter 1

Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Headquarters

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regions

OR

WA

ID

WY

MT ND

SD

CA

TX LA

NM

HI

AZ

AK

AR

MO

IA

MN

Region I

Region 

Region 

Region 

WI

IL IN OH

MI

ME

NY

MD

Headquarters (1)

Regional Office (4)

Technical Training Center (1)

VT

CT

DE

NH

RI

NJ

MA

PA

KY

TN

VA

NC

SC

AL GA

FL

US VI

PR

WV

MS

OK

KS

CO

UT

NV NE

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

2
Introduction 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 

Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) is 

an account of the agency’s effectiveness in achieving 

its mission during fiscal year (FY) 2016. The report 

describes the agency’s program and financial management 

performance during FY 2016, which covers the period 

from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016. 

The agency has two strategic goals: Safety and Security. 

The agency achieved both its Safety and Security goals and 

met all of its performance indicator targets in FY 2016. 

The agency’s nuclear reactor and materials licensees 

maintained their excellent safety record. The agency 

also improved its operational activities by continuing to 

invest in its skilled workforce of engineers and scientists 

through knowledge transfer programs, recruiting a diverse 

workforce, and providing training opportunities. 

The agency is in a sound financial position, having 

sufficient funds to meet programmatic needs and adequate 

control of these funds in place. The agency received an 

unmodified audit opinion on its financial statements from 

its auditors, with no instances of noncompliance with laws 

and regulations. 

This report consists of four chapters. Chapter 1, 

“Management’s Discussion and Analysis,” provides an 

overview of the NRC and describes its programmatic 

and financial accomplishments during FY 2016. 

Chapter 2, “Program Performance,” describes in 

detail the agency’s success in meeting its goals and 

describes the programmatic activities that are the basis 

for accomplishing those goals. Chapter 3, “Financial 

Statements and Auditors’ Report,” describes the agency’s 

financial position. Chapter 4, “Other Information,” 

includes information on management challenges, a 

summary of the financial statement audit, and other 

information. The NRC places a high priority on keeping 

the public informed of its activities. Visit our Web site at 

www.nrc.gov to access this report online (http://www.nrc.

gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1542/) and 

learn more about who we are and what we do to serve the 

American public. 

About the NRC

The U.S. Congress established the NRC on January 19, 

1975, as an independent Federal agency regulating the 

commercial and institutional uses of nuclear materials. 

The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the 

Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, define 

the NRC’s purpose. These acts provide the foundation 

for the NRC’s mission to regulate the Nation’s civilian 

use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials 

to ensure adequate protection of public health and 

safety, to promote the common defense and security, 

and to protect the environment. The agency regulates 

civilian nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities, 

as well as other uses of nuclear materials. These other 

uses include nuclear medicine programs at hospitals; 

academic activities at educational institutions; research 

work; industrial applications, such as gauges and testing 

equipment; and the transport, storage, and disposal of 

nuclear materials and wastes. 

The NRC is headed by a Commission composed of five 

members, with one member designated by the President 

to serve as Chairman. With the advice and consent of 

the Senate, the President appoints each member to serve 

a 5-year term. (At the end of FY 2016, two of the five 

Commissioner positions were vacant.) The Chairman is 

the chief executive officer and official spokesperson for 

the Commission. The Executive Director for Operations 

carries out program policies and decisions made by the 

Commission. 

The NRC’s Headquarters is located in Rockville, MD. The 

agency has an Operations Center in the headquarters 

building that coordinates communications with its 

licensees, State agencies, and other Federal agencies. This 

center is the focal point for assessing and responding to 

operating events in the industry. The NRC operations 

officers staff the Operations Center 24 hours a day, 7 days 

a week. 

The agency also has four regional offices located in King 

of Prussia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Lisle, IL; and Arlington, 

TX. The regional offices allow the agency to work closely 

with the agency’s licensees to ensure safety. The NRC 

also employs at least two resident inspectors at each of 

the Nation’s nuclear power reactor, new reactor, and fuel 

fabrication sites. 

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

3

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Director, Office of

Small Business and Civil Rights

Pamela Baker

Director, Office of

Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation

William M. Dean

Director, Office of

Nuclear Security and 

Incident Response

Brian E. Holian

Director, Office of

New Reactors

Vonna Ordaz

(Acting) 

Regional Administrator

Region IV

Kriss M. Kennedy

Regional Administrator

Region III

Cynthia D. Pederson

Regional Administrator

Region II

Catherine Haney

Regional Administrator

Region I

Daniel H. Dorman

Chief Information 

Officer

David Nelson

Deputy Executive Director

for Reactor and

Preparedness Programs

Michael R. Johnson

Assistant

for Operations

Robert lewis

Executive Director,

Advisory Committee on

Reactor Safeguards

Andrea Veil

Chief Administrative

Judge (Chairman),

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel

E. Roy Hawkens

Director, Office of

Commission Appellate

Adjudication

Brooke Poole Clark

Director, Office of

Congressional Affairs

Eugene Dacus

Director, Office of

Public Affairs

David Castelveter

Commissioner

Kristine L. Svinicki

Commissioner

Vacant

The 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Protecting People and the Environment

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

4
Chief Human

Capital Officer

Miriam L. Cohen

Director, Office of

Administration

Cynthia A. Carpenter

Director, Office of

Investigations

Kimberly Howell

Director, Office of

Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards

Marc L. Dapas

Director, Office of

Enforcement

Patricia K. Holahan

Director, Office of

Nuclear Regulatory 

Reseach

Michael F. Weber

Deputy Executive Director for Materials, Waste, 

Research, State, Tribal, Compliance, 

Administration and Human Capital Programs

Glenn M. Tracy

Executive Director

for Operations

Victor M. McCree

Chief Financial

Officer

Maureen E. Wylie

Inspector General

Hubert T. Bell

General Counsel

Margaret M. Doane

Director, Office of

International Programs

Nader L. Mamish

Secretary

of the Commission

Annette L. Vietti-Cook

Commissioner

Jeff Baran

Commissioner

Vacant

Chairman

Stephen G. Burns

Commission

The dotted line signifies 

that the Inspector General 

exercises a much higher degree 

of independence with the 

Chairman in carrying out his 

roles and responsibilities in 

comparison to other executives 

reporting to the Chairman.

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

5
Figure 1 – How We Regulate

1

Regulations and Guidanc

■ Rulemaking

■ Guidance Development

■ Generic Communications

■ Standards Development

5

Support for Decis

■ Research Activities

■ Risk Assessment

■ Performance Assessment

■ Advisory Committee Activities

■ Adjudication

4 Operation

Experien

■ Events Assessment

■ Generic Issues

3

Oversig

■ Inspection

■ Assessment of Performance

■ Enforcement

■ Allegations

■ Investigations

■ Incident Response

2

Licensing, Decommissioning, and Certifica

■ Licensing

■ Decommissioning

■ Certification

1. Developing regulations and guidance for applicants and licensees

2. Licensing or certifying applicants to use nuclear materials, operate nuclear facilities, and decommission facilities

3. Inspecting and assessing licensee operations and facilities to ensure licensees comply with NRC requirements, responding to 

incidents, investigating allegations of wrongdoing and taking appropriate followup or enforcement actions when necessary.

4. Evaluating operational experience of licensed facilities and activities.

5. Conducting research, holding hearings, and obtaining independent reviews to support regulatory decisions.

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Protecting People and the Environment

The NRC’s budget, which includes the Office of 

the Inspector General (OIG), for FY 2016 was 

$1,002.1 million, with a full-time equivalent staff ceiling of 

3,595. The NRC is primarily supported by fees collected 

from its licensees. The agency collected $869.1 million 

(approximately 90 percent) of its budget from licensees, 

with the remaining funds provided by the U.S. Treasury. 

The NRC’s Regulatory Activities

The NRC performs five principal regulatory functions: 

developing regulations and guidance for applicants and 

licensees; licensing or certifying applicants to use nuclear 

materials, operate nuclear facilities, construct new nuclear 

facilities, and decommissioning facilities; inspecting and 

assessing licensee operations and facilities to ensure that 

licensees comply with NRC requirements and taking 

appropriate follow-up or enforcement actions when 

necessary; evaluating operational experience of license 

facilities and activities; and conducting research, holding 

hearings, and obtaining independent reviews to support 

regulatory decisions (see Figure 1). 

The standards and regulations established by the agency 

set the rules that users of radioactive materials must 

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

6
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Protecting People and the Environment

follow. Drawing upon the knowledge and experience 

of the agency’s scientists and engineers, these rules are 

the basis for protecting workers and the general public 

from the potential hazards associated with the use of 

radioactive materials. 

With a few exceptions, any organization or individual 

intending to have or use radioactive materials must obtain 

a license. A license identifies the type and amount of 

radioactive material that may be held and used. NRC 

scientists and engineers evaluate the license application to 

ensure that the potential licensee’s use of nuclear materials 

meets the agency’s safety and security requirements. 

The agency inspects all facilities that it licenses on a 

regular basis to ensure that they meet NRC regulations 

and are being operated safely and securely. NRC 

specialists conduct 10 to 25 routine inspections each 

year at each of the 100 (one reactor began operation in 

FY 2016) operating nuclear power plants. In addition, 

the agency oversees approximately 2,700 licenses for 

medical, academic, industrial, and general uses of nuclear 

materials. The agency conducts approximately 1,000 

health and safety inspections of its nuclear materials 

licensees annually. Under the NRC’s Agreement State 

program, 37 States have assumed primary regulatory 

responsibility over the industrial, medical, and other users 

of nuclear materials within their States, accounting for 

approximately 17,300 licensees. The NRC works closely 

with these States to ensure that they maintain public safety 

through acceptable licensing and inspection procedures. 

The Nuclear Industry

The NRC is responsible for regulating all aspects of 

the civilian nuclear industry. The industry can best be 

described by examining the nuclear fuel cycle (see Figure 

2). The nuclear material cycle begins with the mining 

and production of nuclear fuel or the use of nuclear 

materials for medical, industrial, and other applications, 

continues with the use of nuclear fuel to power the 

Nation’s 100 nuclear power plants, and ends with the safe 

transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel and other 

nuclear waste. The NRC’s regulatory programs ensure 

that radioactive materials are used safely and securely at 

every stage in the nuclear material cycle. To address safety 

and security issues, the NRC has developed regulatory 

practices, knowledge, and expertise specific to each 

activity in the nuclear fuel cycle.

Figure 2 – The Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Natural

Uranium

Enriched

Uranium

Depleted

Uranium

Deconversion of 

Depleted Uranium

Uranium-Plutonium 

Mixture

Spent

MOX

Fresh

MOX

Spent

UO2

Fresh

UO2

Fuel

Fabrication

MOX

UO2

Reactor

Storage

Pool

Dry Cask

Disposal

Reprocessing

Facility

Reprocessed

Milling Uranium

Conversion

Enrichment

Uranium Recovery

In Situ Mining

Heap

Leach

Fuel

Fabrication

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

7

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
FUEL FACILITIES 

The production of nuclear fuel begins at uranium mines 

where milled uranium ore is used to produce a uranium 

concentrate called “yellow cake.” At a special facility, the 

yellow cake is converted into uranium hexafluoride gas 

and loaded into cylinders. The cylinders are sent to a 

gaseous diffusion plant, where uranium is enriched for use 

as reactor fuel. The enriched uranium is then converted 

into oxide powder, fabricated into fuel pellets (each about 

the size of a fingertip), loaded into metal fuel rods about 

3.5 meters long, and bundled into reactor fuel assemblies 

at a fuel fabrication facility. Assemblies are then 

transported to nuclear power plants, non-power research 

reactor facilities, and naval propulsion reactors for use 

as fuel (see Figure 3). The NRC licenses eight major fuel 

fabrication and production facilities and three enrichment 

facilities in the United States. Because they handle 

extremely hazardous material, these facilities take special 

precautions to prevent theft, diversion by terrorists, and 

dangerous exposures to workers and the public from this 

nuclear material. 

REACTORS 

To generate electricity, power plants change one form of 

energy into another. Electrical generating plants convert 

heat energy, the kinetic energy of wind or falling water, 

or solar energy, into electricity. Other types of heatconversion plants burn coal, oil, or gas to produce heat 

energy that is then used to produce electricity. Nuclear 

energy cannot be seen. Heat energy is not produced 

by burning of fuel in the usual sense. Rather, energy is 

given off by the nuclear fuel as certain types of atoms 

split in a process called nuclear fission. This energy is in 

the form of fast-moving particles and invisible radiation. 

As the particles and radiation move through the fuel 

and surrounding water, the energy is converted into 

heat, which generates electricity. The radiation energy 

can be hazardous, and facilities take special precautions 

at nuclear power plants to protect people and the 

environment from these hazards (see Figures 4 and 5). 

Because the fission reaction produces potentially 

hazardous radioactive materials, nuclear power plants 

are equipped with safety systems to protect workers, 

the public, and the environment. Radioactive materials 

require careful use because they produce radiation, a 

Figure 3 – Simplified Fuel Fabrication Process

Fabrication of commercial light-water reactor fuel consists of the following three basic steps:

(1) the chemical conversion of uranium hexauoride (UF6) to uranium dioxide (UO2) powder

(2) a ceramic process that converts UO2 powder to small ceramic pellets

(3) a mechanical process that loads the fuel pellets into rods and constructs nished fuel assemblies

Fuel Rod/

Bundle/Assembly/

Quality Check

Powder

Processing/Pellet

Manufacturing

UO2 Powder

Production

UF6

Vaporization

Incoming

UF6 Cylinders

Transport to

Nuclear Reactors

Small ceramic fuel pellets

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

8
Figure 4 – The Boiling-Water Reactor (BWR) Figure 5 – The Pressurized-Water Reactor (PWR)

form of energy that can damage human cells. Depending 

on the amount and duration of the exposure, radiation 

can potentially cause cancer. In a nuclear reactor, 

most hazardous radioactive substances, called fission 

byproducts, are trapped in the fuel pellets, or in the sealed 

metal tubes holding the fuel. However, small amounts 

of these radioactive fission byproducts, principally gases, 

become mixed with the water passing through the reactor. 

Other impurities in the water also become radioactive as 

they pass through the reactor. The facility processes and 

filters the water to remove these radioactive impurities 

and then returns the water to the reactor cooling system. 

MATERIALS USERS

The medical, academic, and industrial fields all use 

nuclear materials. For example, about one-third of all 

patients admitted to U.S. hospitals are diagnosed or 

treated using radioisotopes. Most major hospitals have 

specific departments dedicated to nuclear medicine. In 

all, about 112 million nuclear medicine or radiation 

therapy procedures are performed annually, with the vast 

majority used in diagnoses. Radioactive materials used 

as a diagnostic tool can identify the status of a disease 

and minimize the need for surgery. Radioisotopes give 

doctors the ability to look inside the body and observe 

soft tissues and organs, in a manner similar to the way 

X-rays provide images of bones. Radioisotopes carried in 

the blood also allow doctors to detect clogged arteries or 

check the functioning of the circulatory system. 

The same property that makes radiation hazardous 

can also make it useful in treating certain diseases like 

cancer. When living tissue is exposed to high levels of 

radiation, cells can be destroyed or damaged. Doctors can 

selectively expose cancerous cells (cells that are dividing 

uncontrollably) to radiation to either destroy or damage 

these cells.

Many of today’s industrial processes also use nuclear 

materials. High-tech methods that ensure the quality of 

manufactured products often rely on radiation generated 

by radioisotopes. To determine whether a well drilled 

deep into the ground has the potential for producing 

oil, geologists use nuclear well-logging, a technique that 

employs radiation from a radioisotope inside the well, to 

detect the presence of different materials. Radioisotopes 

are also used to sterilize instruments; find flaws in 

critical steel parts and welds that go into automobiles and 

modern buildings; authenticate valuable works of art; 

and solve crimes by spotting trace elements of poison. 

Radioisotopes can also eliminate dust from film and 

compact discs and reduce static electricity (which may 

create a fire hazard) from can labels. In manufacturing, 

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

9

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
radiation can change the characteristics of materials, 

often giving them features that are highly desirable. 

For example, wood and plastic composites treated 

with gamma radiation resist abrasion and require low 

maintenance. As a result, they are used for some flooring 

in high-traffic areas of department stores, airports, hotels, 

and churches.

WASTE DISPOSAL

During normal operations, a nuclear power plant generates 

both high-level radioactive waste, which consists of used 

fuel (usually called spent fuel), and low-level radioactive 

waste, which includes contaminated equipment, filters, 

maintenance materials, and resins used in purifying water 

for the reactor cooling system. Other users of radioactive 

materials also generate low-level waste.

Nuclear power plants handle each type of radioactive 

waste differently. They must use special procedures in the 

handling of the spent fuel because it contains the highly 

radioactive fission byproducts created while the reactor 

was operating. Typically, the spent fuel from nuclear 

power plants is stored in water-filled pools at each reactor 

site or at a storage facility in Illinois. The water in the 

spent fuel storage pool provides cooling and adequately 

shields and protects workers from the radiation. Several 

nuclear power plants have also begun using dry casks to 

store spent fuel. These heavy metal or concrete casks rest 

on concrete pads adjacent to the reactor facility. The thick 

layers of concrete and steel in these casks shield workers 

and the public from radiation. 

Currently most spent fuel in the United States remains 

stored at individual plants (see Figure 6). Permanent 

disposal of spent fuel from nuclear power plants will 

require a disposal facility that can provide reasonable 

assurance that the waste will remain isolated for 

thousands of years. 

Licensees often store low-level waste onsite until its 

radioactivity has decayed and the waste can be disposed 

of as ordinary trash, or until amounts are large enough for 

shipment to a low-level waste disposal site in containers 

approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The 

NRC has developed a waste classification system for lowlevel radioactive waste based on its potential hazards, 

and has specified disposal and waste form requirements 

for each of the following general classes of waste: Class 

A, Class B, and Class C waste. Generally, Class A waste 

contains lower concentrations of radioactive material 

than Class B and Class C wastes. There are two low-level 

disposal facilities that accept a broad range of low-level 

wastes. They are located in Barnwell, SC, and Richland, WA. 

FY 2016 Performance Results

The NRC’s FY 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan describes the 

agency’s mission, goals, and strategies. The Strategic 

Figure 6 – Licensed and Operating Independent 

Spent Fuel Storage Installations by State

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

1 0
Plan can be found on the NRC Web site at http://www.

nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1614/

v6/. The agency’s two strategic goals are focused on Safety 

and Security. The Safety goal is to Ensure the safe use of 

radioactive materials. The Security goal is to Ensure the 

secure use of radioactive materials. 

With the implementation of the Strategic Plan, the agency 

developed new performance indicators that are more in 

line with the Plan. Because the nature of the agency’s 

Safety and Security strategic objectives is to prevent or 

minimize undesirable outcomes, the desired trends for all 

of its performance indicators are to either maintain these 

outcomes at zero or at very low levels. 

Ensure the safe use of 1 radioactive materials.

strategic goa

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE

Strategic objectives express more specifically the results 

that are needed to achieve a strategic goal. The strategic 

objective for Goal 1 is: 

Prevent and mitigate accidents and ensure radiation safety.

Minimizing the likelihood of accidents and reducing 

the consequences of an accident (should one occur) 

are the key elements for achieving the NRC’s safety 

goal. Such accidents, particularly for large complex 

facilities like nuclear power plants, have the potential 

to release significant amounts of radioactive material 

to the environment and expose facility workers and the 

public to high levels of radiation. Even in the absence 

of accidents, radiological hazards exist during routine 

operations, and the NRC ensures that measures are in 

place to minimize exposure for workers and the public 

and prevent unintended releases of radioactive materials 

to the environment. 

FY 2016 RESULTS

In FY 2016, the NRC achieved its safety goal strategic 

objective. The NRC uses six performance indicators to 

determine whether it has met its Safety goal. The agency 

met all six performance indicator targets in FY 2016. 

Table 1 on pages 13 and 14 shows the outcomes from FY 

2011 – FY 2014.

The cost of achieving the agency’s Safety goal in FY 2016 

was $970.2 million.

SAFETY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: 

FY 2015 - FY 2016

The purpose behind the NRC’s performance indicators 

is to prevent or minimize undesirable outcomes. 

Therefore, the trends indicating the agency’s success in 

accomplishing its mission would be at or near zero.

The following performance indicators were developed 

in conjunction with the development of the agency’s 

FY 2014–2018 Strategic Plan. More information on the 

abnormal occurrence (AO) criteria is found in the Data 

Sources, Data Quality, and Data Security section of this 

chapter.

Safety Objective 1: Prevent and mitigate 

accidents and ensure radiation safety.

Performance Goal 1: Prevent radiation exposures that 

significantly exceed regulatory limits.

Performance Indicator: Number of radiation exposures 

that meet or exceed AO criteria I.A.1 (unintended 

radiation exposure to an adult), I.A.2 (unintended 

radiation exposure to a minor), or I.A.3 (radiation 

exposure that has resulted in unintended permanent 

functional damage to an organ or physiological system).1 

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

Operating Reactors 0 0 0 0

New Reactors 0 0 0 0

Fuel Facilities 0 0 0 0

Decommissioning and 

Low-Level Waste 0 0 0 0

Spent Fuel Storage and 

Transportation 0 0 0 0

Nuclear Materials Users ≤3 1* ≤3 2

*Reported in the FY 2015 Performance and Accountability Report and the FY 2017 

Congressional Budget Justification as 2 due to one event previously labeled as an AO that 

was reclassified as not meeting the AO threshold upon further investigation.

1

All references to the AO criteria in this section refer to the definitions in 

Appendix A of the “Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences: Fiscal 

Year 2015,” NUREG‐0090, Volume 38, published May 2016.

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1 1

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Discussion: This indicator tracks the effectiveness of the 

NRC’s nuclear safety regulatory programs, in part through 

the number of significant radiation exposures to the 

public and occupational workers that exceed AO criteria. 

This indicator tracks exposures from both nuclear reactors 

and other nuclear materials use, such as hospitals and 

industrial users. Only two such significant exposures 

took place during FY 2016 under the Nuclear Materials 

Users business line; this is less than the target of three. 

Incidents of this nature would be included in the NRC’s 

annual report to Congress on AOs, the latest version of 

which is available at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/staff/sr0090/v38/.

Performance Goal 2: Prevent releases of radioactive 

materials that significantly exceed regulatory limits.

Performance Indicator: Number of releases of radioactive 

materials that meet or exceed AO criterion I.B (discharge 

or dispersal of radioactive material from its intended place 

of confinement, which results in releases of radioactive 

material). 

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

Operating Reactors 0 0 0 0

New Reactors 0 0 0 0

Fuel Facilities 0 0 0 0

Decommissioning and 

Low-Level Waste 0 0 0 0

Spent Fuel Storage and 

Transportation 0 0 0 0

Nuclear Materials Users 0 0 0 0

Discussion: This indicator tracks the effectiveness of the 

NRC’s nuclear material regulatory programs. Exceeding 

the applicable regulatory limits is defined as a release 

of radioactive material that causes a total effective 

radiation dose equivalent to individual members of the 

public greater than 0.1 rem in a year, exclusive of dose 

contributions from background radiation. In FY 2016, 

there were no releases of this nature.

Performance Goal 3: Prevent the occurrence of any 

inadvertent criticality events.

Performance Indicator: Number of instances 

of unintended nuclear chain reactions involving 

NRC‐licensed radioactive materials

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

Operating Reactors 0 0 0 0

Fuel Facilities 0 0 0 0

Decommissioning and 

Low-Level Waste 0 0 0 0

Discussion: This indicator tracks the effectiveness of the 

NRC’s criticality safety regulatory programs through the 

number of unintended self‐sustaining nuclear reactions

occurring within a fiscal year. Intended criticality events 

include the startup of a nuclear power reactor. There were 

no inadvertent criticality events during FY 2016. 

Performance Goal 4: Prevent accident precursors and 

reductions of safety margins at commercial nuclear power 

plants (operating or under construction) that are of high 

safety significance.

Performance Indicator: Number of malfunctions, 

deficiencies, events, or conditions at commercial nuclear 

power plants (operating or under construction) that meet 

or exceed AO criteria II.A‐II.D (events at commercial

nuclear power plant licensees).

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

Operating Reactors ≤3 0 ≤3 0

New Reactors ≤3 0 ≤3 0

Discussion: The NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) 

monitors nuclear power plant performance in three areas: 

(1) reactor safety, (2) radiation safety, and (3) security. 

Analysis of individual plant performance is based on both 

licensee‐submitted performance indicators and NRC

inspection findings, which are independent assessments 

of licensee performance that the NRC conducts as the 

regulatory authority. Each issue is evaluated and assigned 

one of four categories in order of increasing significance: 

green, white, yellow, or red. When the rating is higher 

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

1 2
(more severe), the NRC applies a greater level of oversight. 

A red finding or performance indicator is the most severe 

rating and signals a significant reduction in the safety 

margin in the measured area. No red findings were issued 

in FY 2016.

Performance Goal 5: Prevent accident precursors and 

reductions of safety margins at nonreactor facilities or 

during transportation of nuclear materials that are of high 

safety significance.

Performance Indicator: Number of malfunctions, 

deficiencies, events, or conditions at nonreactor facilities 

or during transportation of nuclear materials that meet or 

exceed AO criteria III.A or III.B (events at facilities other 

than nuclear power plants and all transportation events). 

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

Fuel Facilities 0 0 0 0

Decommissioning and 

Low-Level Waste 0 0 0 0

Spent Fuel Storage 

and Transportation 0 0 0 0

Discussion: This indicator tracks the effectiveness 

of NRC’s regulatory safety programs for nonreactor 

facilities or during transportation of nuclear materials 

through the number of instances in which safety margins 

at nonreactor facilities are at unacceptable levels. No 

occurrences of this nature took place during FY 2016. 

Table 1 – FY 2011-2014 Safety Performance Indicators

Goal—Safety: Ensure the safe use of radioactive materials

1 Number of New Conditions Evaluated as Red by the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target ≤ 3 ≤ 3 ≤ 3 ≤ 3 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 4

Actual 1 1 0 0

2 Number of Significant Accident Sequence Precursors (ASPs) of a Nuclear Reactor Accident

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target ≤ 0 ≤ 0 ≤ 0 ≤ 0 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 4

Actual 0 0 0 0

3 Number of Operating Reactors with Integrated Performance that Entered the Multiple/Repetitive 

Degraded Cornerstone Column or the Unacceptable Performance Column of the Reactor Oversight Process 

Action Matrix, or the Inspection Manual Chapter 0350 Process is ≤ 3 with No Performance Leading to the 

Initiation of an Accident Review Group

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target ≤ 3 ≤ 3 ≤ 3 ≤ 3 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 4

Actual 2 1 0 0

4 Number of Significant Adverse Trends in Industry Safety Performance is ≤ 1

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target ≤ 1 ≤ 1 ≤ 1 ≤ 1 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 5 Actual 0 0 0 0

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

1 3

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Table 1 – FY 2011-2014 Safety Performance Indicators

Goal—Safety: Ensure the safe use of radioactive materials

5 Number of Events with Radiation Exposures to the Public or Occupational Workers That Exceed Abnormal 

Occurrence (AO) Criterion I.A.3

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Reactors Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 1

Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0

Materials Target ≤ 2 ≤ 2 ≤ 2 ≤ 2 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 1

Materials Actual 0 0 0 0

Waste Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 1

Waste Actual 0 0 0 0

6 Number of Radiological Releases to the Environment That Exceed Applicable Regulatory Limits

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Reactors Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 2

Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0

Materials Target ≤ 2 ≤ 2 ≤ 2 ≤ 2 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 2

Materials Actual 0 0 0 0

Waste Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 2

Waste Actual 0 0 0 0

SAFETY GOAL STRATEGIES

The agency used the following safety strategies from its 

strategic plan to guide its activities and to achieve its safety 

goal in FY 2016: 

Safety Strategy 1: Enhance the NRC’s regulatory 

programs as appropriate using lessons learned from 

domestic and international operating experience and 

other sources. 

Safety Strategy 2: Enhance the risk-informed and 

performance-based regulatory framework in response to 

advances in science and technology, policy decisions, and 

other factors.

Safety Strategy 3: Ensure the effectiveness and efficiency 

of licensing and certification activities to maintain both 

quality and timeliness of licensing and certification 

reviews.

Safety Strategy 4: Maintain effective and consistent 

oversight of licensee performance to drive continued 

licensee compliance with NRC safety requirements and 

license conditions.

Safety Strategy 5: Ensure the NRC’s readiness to respond 

to incidents and emergencies involving NRC-licensed 

facilities and radioactive materials and other events of 

domestic and international interest.

Safety Strategy 6: Ensure that nuclear facilities are 

constructed in accordance with approved designs and 

that there is an effective transition from oversight of 

construction to oversight of operation.

Safety Strategy 7: Ensure that the environmental and site 

safety regulatory infrastructure is adequate to support the 

issuance of new nuclear licenses.

FUKUSHIMA REGULATORY REVIEW

The NRC’s efforts to implement the lessons learned 

from the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident in March 2011 

continued during FY 2016. Nuclear power plants in the 

United States have made great progress in implementing 

the near-term actions to address natural disasters that may 

challenge the design bases of these plants. The agency 

oversaw implementation of new requirements to address 

(continued)

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

1 4
hazards such as earthquakes and flooding. The NRC has 

also been using the insights from Fukushima to inform 

its licensing and oversight activities. The agency has been 

conducting technical studies and regulatory analyses for 

ensuring the safe operation of existing reactors and to be 

applied to new reactors. A more complete discussion of 

the review and the subsequent actions taken by the NRC 

can be found in Chapter 2 under “Operating Reactors.” 

Additional information can be found on the agency 

Web site http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/opsexperience/japan-info.html

Ensure the secure use of 2 radioactive materials.

strategic goa

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

Strategic objectives more specifically express the results 

that are needed to achieve a strategic goal. The strategic 

objectives for Goal 2 are the following two statements in 

bold text. 

1. Ensure protection of nuclear facilities and 

radioactive materials.

Protecting nuclear facilities and radioactive materials 

are key elements for achieving the NRC’s security goal. 

Nuclear facilities and materials are protected against 

hostile intent by two primary means: (1) control of access 

to facilities and materials; and (2) accountability controls 

for radioactive materials. These controls are intended to 

prevent those with hostile intent from either damaging 

a nuclear facility in such a way that a significant release 

of radioactive materials to the environment occurs, or 

obtaining enough radioactive material for malevolent use. 

2. Ensure protection of classified and Safeguards 

Information 

Protecting classified and Safeguards Information is 

another key contributor to achieving the agency’s security 

goal. This is accomplished primarily by controlling access 

to this information to ensure that potential adversaries 

cannot use it for malevolent purposes, such as sabotage, 

theft, or diversion of radioactive materials. 

The strategic objectives specify the conditions that must be 

met for the agency to ensure the secure use of radioactive 

materials. 

FY 2016 RESULTS

In FY 2016, the NRC achieved its Security goal strategic 

objectives. The NRC also uses three Security goal 

performance indicators to determine whether the agency 

has met its security goal. The agency met all three 

performance indicator targets in FY 2016. Outcomes from 

FY 2011 – FY 2014 are in Table 2 on pages 16 and 17. 

The cost of achieving the agency’s Security goal was 

$45.2 million in FY 2016.

SECURITY PERFORMANCE 

INDICATORS: FY 2015 - FY 2016

Security Objective 1: Ensure protection of nuclear facilities and radioactive materials.

Performance Goal 1: Prevent sabotage, theft, diversion, or 

loss of risk‐significant quantities of radioactive material.

Performance Indicator: Number of instances of sabotage, 

theft, diversion, or loss of risk‐significant quantities of

radioactive material that meet or exceed AO criteria I.C.1 

(unrecovered lost, stolen, or abandoned sources), I.C.2 

(substantiated case of actual theft or diversion), and the 

portion of criterion I.C.3 (substantiated loss of a formula 

quantity) concerning theft or diversion of special nuclear 

material. 

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

All Business Lines 0 0 0 0

Discussion: This indicator measures the agency’s 

effectiveness at preventing sabotage, theft, diversion, 

or loss of risk-significant quantities of radioactive 

material through tracking any loss or theft of radioactive 

nuclear sources that the NRC has determined to be of 

significant risk. The indicator also measures the agency’s 

performance in ensuring the proper accounting for 

radioactive sources of significant risk that could be used 

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

1 5

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
for malicious purposes. It also measures whether NRClicensed facilities maintain adequate protective capabilities 

to prevent theft or diversion of nuclear material or 

sabotage that could result in substantial harm to the public 

health and safety and whether special nuclear material 

(SNM) is accounted for, and that formula-quantity losses 

of this material do not occur. No such incidents took 

place during FY 2016.

Performance Goal 2: Prevent substantial breakdowns of 

physical security, cyber security, or material control and 

accountability.

Performance Indicator: Number of substantial 

breakdowns of physical security, cyber security, or 

material control and accountability that meet or exceed 

AO criterion I.C.4 (substantial breakdown of physical 

security or materials control that will include breakdowns 

of cyber security) and the portion of AO criterion I.C.3 

(substantiated loss of a formula quantity) concerning 

breakdowns of the accountability system for special 

nuclear material.

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

All Business Lines ≤ 1 0 ≤ 1 0

Discussion: This indicator measures the agency’s 

effectiveness in maintaining security by tracking any 

substantial breakdowns in access control, containment, 

or accountability systems that significantly weakened 

the protection against theft, diversion, or sabotage for 

nuclear materials that the agency has determined to be 

of significant risk. In FY 2016, there were no incidents of 

this nature.

Security Objective 2: Ensure protection of classified and Safeguards Information (SGI).

Performance Goal 3: Prevent significant unauthorized 

disclosures of classified or SGI.

Performance Indicator: Number of significant 

unauthorized disclosures of classified or SGI by licensees 

as defined by AO criterion I.C.5 and by NRC employees or 

contractors as defined by analogous NRC internal criteria.

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

All Business Lines 0 0 0 0

Discussion: This indicator includes significant 

unauthorized disclosures of classified or Safeguards 

Information that cause damage to national security or 

public safety. This indicator reflects whether information 

that can harm national security (classified information) 

or cause damage to the public health and safety (SGI) 

has been protected sufficiently to prevent its disclosure 

to terrorist organizations, other nations, or personnel 

without a need to know. No significant unauthorized 

disclosures occurred in FY 2016. 

Table 2 – FY 2011-2014 Security Performance Indicators

Goal: Security: Ensure secure use of radioactive materials

1 Unrecovered Losses of Risk‐Significant Radioactive Sources

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target 0 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Security Performance Goal 1

Actual 1* 0 0 0 0

*There were no losses and one theft of radioactive nuclear material that the NRC considered to be risk significant during FY 2011. 

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

1 6
SECURITY GOAL STRATEGIES

The agency used the following security strategies from its 

Strategic Plan to guide its activities and achieve its security 

goal in FY 2016:

Security Strategy 1: Ensure the effectiveness and efficiency 

of the regulatory framework using information gained 

from operating experience and external and internal 

assessments and in response to technology advances and 

changes in the threat environment.

Security Strategy 2: Maintain effective and consistent 

oversight of licensee performance to drive continued 

licensee compliance with NRC security requirements and 

license conditions.

Security Strategy 3: Support U.S. national security 

interests and nuclear nonproliferation policy objectives 

within NRC’s statutory mandate through cooperation 

with domestic and international partners.

Security Strategy 4: Ensure material control and 

accounting for special nuclear materials.

Security Strategy 5: Protect critical digital assets.

Security Strategy 6: Ensure timely distribution of security 

information to stakeholders and international partners.

Security Strategy 7: Ensure that programs for the 

handling and control of classified and Safeguards 

Information are effectively implemented at the NRC and 

at licensee facilities.

Table 2 – FY 2011-2014 Security Performance Indicators

Goal: Security: Ensure secure use of radioactive materials

2 Number of Substantiated Cases of Actual Theft or Diversion of Licensed, Risk‐Significant Radioactive 

Sources, or Formula Quantities of Special Nuclear Material or Attacks That Result in Radiological Sabotage

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target 0 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Security Performance Goal 1 Actual 0 0 0 0 0

3 Number of Substantiated Losses of Formula Quantities of Special Nuclear Material or Substantiated 

Inventory Discrepancies of Formula Quantities of Special Nuclear Material That Are Judged To Be Caused by 

Theft or Diversion or by Substantial Breakdown of the Accountability System

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target 0 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Security Performance Goal 1 Actual 0 0 0 0 0

4 Number of Substantial Breakdowns of Physical Security or Material Control (i.e., Access Control, 

Containment, or Accountability Systems) That Significantly Weakened the Protection against Theft, Diversion, 

or Sabotage

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target ≤ 1 ≤ 1 ≤ 1 ≤ 1 ≤ 1 Replaced by Security Performance Goal 2 Actual 0 0 0 0 0

5 Number of Significant Unauthorized Disclosures of Classified and/or Safeguards Information

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target 0 Replaced by Security Performance Goal 3 Actual 0

(continued)

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

1 7

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Future Challenges

The nuclear industry has maintained an excellent safety 

record at nuclear power plants over the past two decades 

as both the nuclear industry and the NRC have gained 

substantial experience in the operation and maintenance 

of nuclear power facilities. However, maintaining this 

excellent safety record requires that the agency take a 

proactive approach to accomplishing its mission. The 

key challenges that the agency faces as the regulator of 

nuclear materials are to ensure the safe and secure use of 

radioactive materials in areas where the NRC regulates. 

MARKET PRESSURES ON OPERATING 

PLANTS AND LICENSE APPLICATIONS 

Market forces result in pressures to reduce operating 

costs. As a result, the NRC needs to be prepared to 

address potential shutdowns of facilities before license 

expiration and to continue to ensure that oversight 

programs identify degrading facility safety and security 

performance. Conversely, the lower capital costs of 

small modular reactors (under 300 megawatts) may offer 

industry a more attractive option to add new capacity. 

Several entities are seeking to submit license applications 

for small modular reactors in the next several years. The 

Department of Energy (DOE) is funding a program “to 

design, certify and help commercialize innovative small 

modular reactors (SMRs) in the United States.” The NRC 

is developing a licensing framework for these as well as 

other advanced reactors. 

SIGNIFICANT OPERATING INCIDENT AT 

A NON-U.S. NUCLEAR FACILITY 

A significant incident at a nuclear facility outside the 

United States could cause the agency to reassess its safety 

and security requirements, which could change the 

agency’s focus on some initiatives related to its objectives 

until the situation stabilizes. 

SIGNIFICANT OPERATING INCIDENT AT 

A DOMESTIC NUCLEAR FACILITY 

A significant incident at a U.S. nuclear facility could cause 

the agency to reassess its safety and security requirements, 

which could change the agency’s focus on some initiatives 

related to its objectives until the situation stabilizes. 

Because the NRC’s stakeholders are highly sensitive to 

many issues regarding the use of radioactive materials, 

even events of relatively minor safety significance could 

potentially require a response that consumes considerable 

agency resources. 

INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR STANDARDS 

DEVELOPMENTS 

International organizations, such as the International 

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will continue to develop 

and issue standards and guidance affecting global 

commitments to nuclear safety and security. To ensure 

that the best results are achieved both domestically and 

internationally, the NRC needs to proactively engage in 

these international initiatives and to provide leadership in 

a cooperative and collegial manner. 

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND 

CONVENTIONS 

As part of the international response to lessons learned 

from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident in Japan, 

the international nuclear regulatory community is 

reviewing the Convention on Nuclear Safety. As one 

of the contracting parties to the Convention, the NRC 

is a member of the working group that is reviewing the 

Convention. Likewise, the NRC participates in the Joint 

Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and 

on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. 

The ratification by the United States of international 

instruments related to the security of nuclear facilities 

or radioactive materials could potentially impose 

binding provisions on the Nation and the corresponding 

governmental agencies, such as the NRC and the DOE. 

GLOBALIZATION OF THE NUCLEAR 

TECHNOLOGY AND THE NUCLEAR 

SUPPLY CHAIN 

Components for nuclear facilities are increasingly 

manufactured overseas, resulting in challenges of 

providing effective oversight to ensure that these 

components are in compliance with NRC requirements. 

In addition, the continuing globalization of nuclear 

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

1 8
technology is driving the need for increasing international 

engagement on the safe and secure use of radioactive 

material. 

SIGNIFICANT TERRORIST INCIDENT 

A sector-specific credible threat or actual significant 

terrorist incident anywhere in the United States would 

result in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 

raising the threat level under the National Terrorism 

Advisory System (NTAS). In turn, the NRC would 

similarly elevate the oversight and response stance for 

NRC-regulated facilities and licensees. Potentially, 

new or revised security requirements or other policy 

decisions might affect the NRC, its partners, and the 

regulated community (see Figure 7). In a similar fashion, 

a significant terrorist incident at a nuclear facility or 

activity anywhere in the world would need to be assessed 

domestically and potentially lead to a modification of 

existing security requirements for NRC-regulated facilities 

and licensees.

Figure 7 – Security Components

LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE BRANCH 

INITIATIVES 

Congressional and Executive Branch initiatives 

concerning cyber security may potentially impact the 

NRC’s regulatory framework for nuclear security. If the 

NRC were to become concerned about an aspect of a bill 

or policy initiative that had been introduced, the staff 

would consult the Commission to develop a strategy for 

making such concerns known. 

LOST, MISPLACED, INTERCEPTED, OR 

DELAYED INFORMATION 

With the increased use of mobile devices and alternative 

storage options, the introduction of new communication 

technologies, and the increased use of telecommunication, 

there is a heightened risk that sensitive information 

held by the NRC or its licensees can be lost, misplaced, 

or intercepted and fall into the hands of unauthorized 

persons. 

PROJECT AIM

Given the effort to improve performance in government, 

coupled with increased demands on the NRC’s resources, 

the agency is challenged to become more effective, 

efficient, and timely in its regulatory activities. The 

NRC’s effectiveness initiatives under Project Aim enable 

the agency’s focus on safety and security and ensure 

that its available resources are optimally directed toward 

accomplishing the agency’s mission. The agency has made 

significant progress implementing Project Aim tasks that 

will make the NRC more agile, effective, and efficient in 

accomplishing its mission for the foreseeable future. 

Data Completeness and 

Reliability

The NRC considers the data contained in this report to 

be complete, reliable, and relevant. The data are complete 

because the agency reports actual performance data for 

every performance goal and indicator in the report. In 

addition, all of the data are reported for each measure. 

The agency also considers the data in this report reliable 

and relevant, because they have been validated and 

verified. More information on the abnormal occurrence 

criteria may be found at http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0090/v38/. “Data 

Collection Procedures for Verification and Validation of 

Performance Measures,” contains the processes the agency 

uses to collect, validate, and verify performance data in 

this report. This report can be found on page 15 of the 

NRC‘s FY 2017 Congressional Budget Justification located 

on the NRC Web site NRC: (NUREG-1100, Volume 32). 

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

1 9

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Financial Performance 

Overview

The NRC prepared its principal financial statements 

in accordance with the accounting standards codified 

in the Statements of Federal Financial Accounting 

Standards (SFFAS) and the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Circular A-136, “Financial Reporting 

Requirements”.

As of September 30, 2016, the financial condition of the 

NRC was sound with respect to having sufficient funds 

to meet program needs and adequate control of these 

funds in place to ensure obligations did not exceed budget 

authority. 

SOURCES OF FUNDS 

Total Budget Authority (In Millions)

For the fiscal years ended 

September 30, 2016 2015

Appropriations

Salaries and Expenses $ 990.0 $ 1,003.2

Office of the Inspector General 12.1 12.1

Total Appropriations 1,002.1 1,015.3

Other Budget Authority

Prior-years Appropriations 17.3 40.4

Prior-years Funding for 

Reimbursable Work 7.9 8.3

Prior-years Funding from DOE* 2.8 4.8

Spending Authority from 

Offsetting Collections 4.8 4.6

Recoveries of Prior-year Unpaid 

Obligations 8.9 5.0

Recoveries of Prior-year Paid 

Obligations 0.2 3.4

Total Other Budget Authority 41.9 66.5

Total NRC Budget Authority $ 1,044.0 $ 1,081.8

*DOE funding for NRC activities associated with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act 

of 1982, as amended.

Appropriations. The NRC received two appropriations: 

(1) for Salaries and Expenses and (2) for the Office 

of the Inspector General (OIG). The FY 2016 total 

appropriations were $1,002.1 million, which included 

$990.0 million for the Salaries and Expenses appropriation 

and $12.1 million for the OIG. 

The NRC’s Salaries and Expenses appropriation 

decreased $13.2 million compared to the prior-year. The 

appropriation for the OIG stayed at the same level. 

The Salaries and Expenses appropriation is available 

until expended. This includes a provision that not more 

than $7.5 million be made available for the Office of the 

Commission as a 2-year (FY 2016/2017) appropriation 

that is available for obligation by the NRC through 

September 30, 2017. After September 30, 2017, the 

remaining funds which have not been obligated for the 

Office of the Commission are available until expended 

as part of the Salaries and Expenses appropriation. The 

OIG appropriation is available to obligate for 2 years 

(FY 2016/2017) by the OIG through September 30, 2017. 

This 2-year funding includes $1.0 million for Inspector 

General (IG) services to be provided to the Defense 

Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB).

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA90), as amended, requires the NRC to collect fees to 

offset approximately 90 percent of its appropriation, 

excluding amounts appropriated for Waste Incidental to 

Reprocessing (WIR), generic homeland security, and IG 

services for the DNFSB. Funds equal to fees collected are 

transferred to the NRC’s two appropriations, and Treasury 

issues a negative warrant for the amount of the fee transfer 

to reduce the NRC’s appropriations.

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

2 0
Figure 8 – Sources of Funds for 

Appropriations

In Million

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Reactor

Fees

Materials

Fees

Nuclear

Waste

Fund

Treasury

General

Fund

$133.0 $88.1

$781.0

$0.0

$130.0 $87.5

$0.0

$797.8 FY 2016 FY 2015

The projected amount to be recovered from fees 

in FY 2016 was $882.9 million, which included 

$883.4 million from FY 2016 reactor and materials 

fees, less $0.5 million from other fees (unpaid currentyear invoices and a prior-year billing credit for the 

Transportation Fee Class; and offset by payments of 

prior-year invoices in FY 2016). The NRC collected and 

transferred $869.1 million to the Treasury (see Figure 8), 

which represents 98.4 percent of the approximately 

$882.9 million projected to be recovered in FY 2016. 

The fees collected during FY 2015 and transferred 

to the Treasury totaled $911.5 million and included 

$885.3 million transferred for FY 2015 (see Figure 8) and 

$26.2 million transferred in early FY 2015 for FY 2014.

Total Budget Authority. The total budget authority 

available for the NRC to obligate in FY 2016 was 

$1,044.0 million and included $1,002.1 million for 

appropriations, $17.3 million of prior-year appropriations, 

$7.9 million from prior-year funding for reimbursable 

work, $2.8 million of prior-year funding for resources 

received from the DOE to fund the NRC activities 

associated with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, 

$4.8 million from FY 2016 spending authority from 

offsetting collections (reimbursable work performed 

for other Federal agencies and commercial customers), 

$8.9 million of recoveries of prior-year unpaid 

obligations, and $0.2 million of recoveries of prior-year 

paid obligations. Funds available to obligate in FY 2016 

decreased from the FY 2015 amount of $1,081.8 million 

by $37.8 million primarily due to decreases of 

$13.2 million in appropriations, and decreases in the 

beginning unobligated balances brought forward of 

$25.5 million.

USES OF FUNDS BY FUNCTION

Funds are used when the NRC incurs obligations 

against budget authority. Obligations are legally binding 

agreements that will result in an outlay of funds.

The NRC incurred obligations of $1,002.3 million in 

FY 2016, which represented a decrease of $51.5 million 

from FY 2015 (see Figure 9). Approximately 60 percent of 

obligations in FY 2016 were used for salaries and benefits. 

The remaining 40 percent were used to obtain technical 

assistance for the NRC’s principal regulatory programs, to 

conduct confirmatory safety research, to cover operating 

expenses (e.g., building rentals, transportation, printing, 

security services, supplies, office automation, and 

training), and to pay for staff travel. 

Figure 9 – Uses of Funds (Obligations)

In Million

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Salaries 

and 

Benefits

Travel Grants Reimbursable 

Work

Contract 

Support

$5.1 $22.6

$604.5

$17.7

$351.8

$5.7 $27.7

$608.2

$19.8

$393.0

FY 2016 FY 2015

The unobligated budget authority at the end of FY 2016 

was $41.6 million which was a $13.6 million increase 

from the FY 2015 amount of $28.0 million. Of the 

$41.6 million unobligated balance at the end of FY 2016, 

$7.0 million was for reimbursable work, $1.4 million was 

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2 1

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
for the NWF, $4.3 million was for special purpose funds, 

and $28.9 million was available to fund critical needs 

of the NRC in FY 2017. The $28.0 million unobligated 

balance at the end of FY 2015 included $7.9 million for 

reimbursable work, $2.8 million for the NWF, $4.2 million 

for special purpose funds, and $13.1 million to fund 

critical needs of the NRC in FY 2016. 

AUDIT RESULTS 

The NRC received an unmodified audit opinion on its 

FY 2016 financial statements and internal controls. The 

auditors found no reportable instances of noncompliance 

with laws and regulations during the FY 2016 audit.

A summary of the financial statement audit results 

is included in Chapter 3, “Financial Statements and 

Auditor’s Report.”

LIMITATIONS ON THE FINANCIAL 

STATEMENTS

The principal financial statements have been prepared 

to report the financial position and results of operations 

of the NRC, pursuant to the requirements of 31 U.S.C. 

3515 (b). While the statements have been prepared from 

the books and records of the NRC in accordance with 

generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for 

Federal entities and the formats prescribed by the OMB, 

the statements are in addition to the financial reports 

used to monitor and control budgetary resources, which 

are prepared from the same books and records. The 

statements should be read with the realization that they 

are for a component of the U.S. Government, a sovereign 

entity.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS 

The NRC’s financial statements summarize the agency’s 

activity and financial position. The financial statements, 

footnotes, and required supplementary information 

are included in Chapter 3, “Financial Statements and 

Auditors’ Report.” The following is an analysis of the 

financial statements.

ANALYSIS OF THE BALANCE SHEET 

Asset Summary (In Millions)

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Fund Balance with Treasury $ 368.2 $ 353.8

Accounts Receivable, Net 86.2 96.0

Property and Equipment, Net 80.8 79.1

Other Assets 14.2 11.3

 Total Assets $ 549.4 $ 540.2

Assets. The NRC’s total assets were $549.4 million 

as of September 30, 2016, representing an increase of 

$9.2 million from the same period of FY 2015. Changes in 

major categories include increases of $14.4 million in the 

Fund Balance with Treasury, $1.7 million in Property and 

Equipment, Net, and $2.9 million in Other Assets; offset 

by a decrease of $9.8 million in Accounts Receivable, Net. 

The Fund Balance with Treasury was $368.2 million as 

of September 30, 2016, which accounts for 67 percent 

of total assets. This account represents appropriated 

funds, license fee collections, and other funds maintained 

at the Treasury to pay current liabilities and to finance 

authorized purchase commitments. The $14.4 million 

increase in the fund balance is primarily the result of a 

decrease of $23.6 million in the beginning balance, and 

a decrease of $13.2 million in appropriations, offset by a 

decrease in net disbursements (outlays) of $51.2 million, 

which primarily consists of decreases in salaries and 

benefits of $10.3 million, $5.7 million for travel and 

transportation, and $35.2 million for contract services 

and equipment. 

Accounts receivable consists of amounts that other Federal 

agencies and the public owe to the NRC for license fees. 

Accounts Receivable, Net, as of September 30, 2016 was 

$86.2 million, which includes an offsetting allowance for 

doubtful accounts of $3.9 million. For FY 2015, the yearend Accounts Receivable, Net, balance was $96.0 million, 

including an offsetting allowance for doubtful accounts 

of $2.2 million. The net decrease in accounts receivable 

from the prior year of $9.8 million is primarily due to a 

decrease of $3.3 million for license fees due from other 

Federal agencies and $6.5 million for license fees due from 

the public. 

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

2 2
Property and Equipment consists primarily of typical 

office furnishings, leasehold improvements, nuclear 

reactor simulators, and computer hardware and software. 

(The NRC has no real property. The land and buildings 

in which the NRC operates are leased from the U.S. 

General Services Administration (GSA).) At the end of 

FY 2016, net property and equipment was $80.8 million, 

an increase of $1.7 million from the FY 2015 amount 

of $79.1 million. The increase is primarily due to an 

increase of $8.3 million in capitalized software under 

development; offset by decreases in the net realizable 

value (original cost less accumulated amortization and 

depreciation) of $2.1 million for completed software in 

operation, $0.4 million for equipment, and $4.1 million 

for completed leasehold improvements and leasehold 

improvements-in-process.

Liabilities Summary (In Millions)

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Accounts Payable $ 30.9 $ 37.0

Federal Employee Benefits 5.6 6.0

Other Liabilities 91.5 84.9

Total Liabilities $ 128.0 $ 127.9

Liabilities. Total liabilities were $128.0 million as 

of September 30, 2016, representing an increase of 

$0.1 million from the FY 2015 balance of $127.9 million. 

Accounts Payable, Federal Employee Benefits, and Other 

Liabilities remained approximately the same as the prior 

year. For FY 2016, Other Liabilities represents 71 percent 

of the Total Liabilities and includes $43.7 million in 

accrued annual leave, $24.8 million in accrued funded 

salaries and benefits, $15.8 million in grants payable, 

$4.9 million in advances received by the NRC for services 

that will be provided, $1.4 million in accrued workers’ 

compensation, and $0.9 million in contract holdbacks, 

capital lease liability, and miscellaneous liabilities.

Total liabilities include liabilities not covered by budgetary 

resources, which represent expenses recognized in 

the financial statements that will be paid from future 

appropriations. The liabilities not covered by budgetary 

resources were $50.7 million for FY 2016, compared to 

$54.1 million for FY 2015, a $3.4 million decrease. For 

FY 2016 the liabilities not covered by budgetary resources 

represented 40 percent of Total Liabilities and included 

$43.7 million in unfunded accrued annual leave that has 

been earned but not yet taken, $1.4 million in accrued 

workers’ compensation included in Other Liabilities, and 

$5.6 million as an actuarial estimate of accrued future 

workers’ compensation expenses included in Federal 

Employee Benefits.

Net Position Summary (In Millions)

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Unexpended Appropriations $ 297.5 $ 283.2

Cumulative Results of Operations 123.9 129.1

Total Net Position $ 421.4 $ 412.3

Net Position. The difference between Total Assets and 

Total Liabilities, Net Position, was $421.4 million as of 

September 30, 2016, an increase of $9.1 million from the 

FY 2015 year-end balance. Net Position is comprised 

of two components: Unexpended Appropriations and 

Cumulative Results of Operations, the cumulative 

excess of financing sources over expenses. Additional 

information is presented in the Analysis of the Statement 

of Changes in Net Position on pages 24 and 25.

ANALYSIS OF THE STATEMENT OF 

NET COST 

The Statement of Net Cost presents the gross cost of 

the NRC’s two major programs (Nuclear Reactor Safety 

and Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety) as identified 

in the NRC Annual Performance Plan, offset by earned 

revenue. The purpose of this statement is to link program 

performance to the cost of programs. The NRC’s net cost 

of operations for the year-ended September 30, 2016 was 

$151.3 million, representing a decrease of $31.3 million 

compared to the FY 2015 net cost of $182.6 million. 

This includes a decrease in gross costs of $68.1 million 

and a decrease in earned revenue of $36.8 million, which 

offset costs.

Net Cost of Operations (In Millions)

For the fiscal years ended 

September 30, 2016 2015

Nuclear Reactor Safety $ 25.3 $ 24.4

Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety 126.0 158.2

Net Cost of Operations $ 151.3 $ 182.6

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Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Gross Costs. The NRC’s total gross costs were 

$1,015.4 million for FY 2016, a decrease of $68.1 million

from the prior-year amount of $1,083.5. The Nuclear 

Reactor Safety program gross costs for FY 2016 were 

$795.2 million compared to FY 2015 gross costs of 

$838.7 million, a decrease of $43.5 million, which 

includes decreases of $34.0 million for contract services 

and $9.5 million in salaries and benefits. The Nuclear 

Materials and Waste Safety program gross costs for 

FY 2016 were $220.2 million compared to FY 2015 gross 

costs of $244.8 million, a decrease of $24.6 million, which 

includes decreases of $20.1 million for contract services 

and $4.5 million in salaries and benefits.

The cost of achieving the agency’s Safety and Security 

goals for the agency’s programs for FY 2016 is the gross 

cost presented in the Statement of Net Cost. The total cost 

for achieving the agency’s Safety goal was $970.2 million 

and the cost of achieving the agency’s Security goal was 

$45.2 million. (see Figure 10).

Figure 10 – Gross Costs by Strategic goals 

for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016

In Million

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Safety Security

$206.9

$13.4

Nuclear Reactor Safety

Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety

$31.9

$763.2

Earned Revenue. Total earned revenue for FY 2016 

was $864.0 million, a decrease of $36.8 million from the 

FY 2015 earned revenue of $900.8 million. Revenue 

for the Nuclear Reactor Safety program in FY 2016 was 

$769.8 million compared to $814.3 million in FY 2015, a 

decrease of $44.5 million. The $44.5 million decrease is 

primarily due to decreases of $50.7 for Operating Reactors 

licensing fees offset by an increase of $5.8 million for 

New Reactor licensing fees. Revenue from the Nuclear 

Materials and Waste Safety program in FY 2016 was 

$94.2 million compared to $86.6 million in FY 2015, an 

increase of $7.6 million. 

Fees collected (earned primarily in FY 2016) and offset 

against the NRC appropriations were $869.1 million 

compared to $911.5 million in FY 2015. The decrease 

of $42.4 million in license fee collections was the result 

of a decrease of $16.2 million in current year license fee 

collections and $26.2 million of prior year license fees 

collected in the first week of FY 2015 and offset against 

the NRC prior year appropriations. The NRC is required 

to collect approximately 90 percent of its appropriation 

through license fee billing. Fees for reactor and materials 

licensing and inspections are collected in accordance with 

10 CFR Part 170, “Fees for Facilities, Materials, Import 

and Export Licenses, and Other Regulatory Services 

under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended,” and 

10 CFR Part 171, “Annual Fees for Reactor Licenses and 

Fuel Cycle Licenses and Materials Licenses, Including 

Holders of Certificates of Compliance, Registrations, and 

Quality Assurance Program Approvals and Government 

Agencies Licensed by the NRC.” 

ANALYSIS OF THE STATEMENT OF 

CHANGES IN NET POSITION 

The Statement of Changes in Net Position (SCNP) reports 

the change in net position for the reporting period. Net 

position is affected by the changes in two components: 

Cumulative Results of Operations and Unexpended 

Appropriations. In FY 2016, the NRC had an increase 

in Net Position of $9.1 million resulting from a decrease 

of $5.2 million in the Cumulative Results of Operations 

and an increase of $14.3 million in the Unexpended 

Appropriations.

The SCNP and the following analysis reflects offsetting 

adjustments made to the beginning balances for FY 2016 

Cumulative Results of Operations and Unexpended 

Appropriations. The FY 2016 beginning balance of 

Cumulative Results of Operations was adjusted upward by 

$3.2 million for prior year license fee transfers recorded to 

the Office of the Commission two-year accounts that were 

originally classified as appropriated capital. The FY 2016 

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

2 4
beginning balance of Unexpended Appropriations was 

adjusted downward by $3.2 million. 

The decrease in Cumulative Results of Operations of 

$5.2 million was primarily comprised of a decrease in 

the adjusted beginning balance of $24.6 million, and a 

decrease in financing sources of $11.9 million; offset by 

a decrease of $31.3 million in the net cost of operations. 

The decrease in financing sources was due to decreases of 

$11.3 million in appropriations used to finance current 

operations and $0.6 million in imputed financing for the 

future cost of employee retirement, health insurance, and 

life insurance benefits. The decrease in the net cost of 

operations was due to a decrease of $68.1 million in the 

gross costs, offset by a decrease of $36.8 million in earned 

revenue.

The change in Unexpended Appropriations results from 

appropriations received, net of license fee collections, 

being more or less than the appropriations used to 

finance the NRC operations. The increase in FY 2016 

Unexpended Appropriations of $14.3 million is due to an 

increase of $29.3 million in appropriations received, net 

of license fees collected, and a decrease of $11.3 million 

in appropriations used to finance the NRC operations; 

offset by a decrease in the adjusted beginning balance of 

$26.3 million. The increase in appropriations received, net 

of license fees collected, is due to appropriations received 

for FY 2016 of $1,002.1 million, reduced by current year 

license fee collections of $869.1 million; compared to 

appropriations received in FY 2015 of $1,015.3 million, 

reduced by FY 2015 license fee collections of 

$885.3 million and FY 2014 license fee collections of 

$26.2 million.

ANALYSIS OF THE STATEMENT OF 

BUDGETARY RESOURCES 

The Statement of Budgetary Resources (SBR) provides 

information on budgetary resources available to the NRC 

and their status at the end of the period.

The Total Budgetary Resources available in FY 2016 

were $1,043.9 million, which was $37.9 million less 

than the $1,081.8 million available for FY 2015. The 

two major components of Total Budgetary Resources 

consists of the beginning unobligated balance brought 

forward, October 1, and the NRC’s current year 

appropriations. The beginning unobligated balance for 

FY 2016 was $28.0 million compared to the beginning 

unobligated balance in FY 2015 of $53.5 million, a 

decrease of $25.5 million. The NRC’s appropriations were 

$1,002.1 million in FY 2016 compared to $1,015.3 million 

in FY 2015, accounting for a $13.2 million decrease in 

funding. The other decreases in funding were recoveries 

from prior-year paid obligations of $3.2 million; offset by 

increases in recoveries of prior-year unpaid obligations 

of $3.8 million and spending authority from offsetting 

collections for reimbursable work of $0.2 million.

The Status of Budgetary Resources accounts for operational 

activities funded with NRC’s budgetary resources during 

the fiscal year. The NRC’s obligations for FY 2016 totaled 

$1,002.3 million, a decrease of $51.5 million from the 

prior-year amount of $1,053.8 million. The decrease 

is primarily due to decreases in contract obligations of 

$19.9 million for the Nuclear Reactor Safety program 

and $8.9 million for the Nuclear Materials and Waste 

Safety program; $11.8 million in additional expenditures 

for the acquisition of equipment and software, leasehold 

improvements to the NRC Headquarters office buildings, 

and rent related expenses; $5.1 million in Travel expenses, 

$3.7 million in Salaries and Benefits, and $2.1 million 

for grants.

The Status of Budgetary Resources also accounts for the 

funds that were not used in operations during the fiscal 

year. Total budgetary resources not obligated at the 

end of the fiscal year were $41.3 million, an increase of 

$13.3 million from the prior-year balance of $28.0 million. 

The primary reason for the increase from the prior-year 

is a $16.6 million increase in unexpired unobligated 

budgetary resources that were apportioned by OMB. At 

the end of FY 2016, unexpired unobligated budgetary 

resources were $39.9 million compared to $23.3 million

at the end of FY 2015. The increase is primarily due 

to a decrease in apportioned budgetary resources of 

$34.4 million, offset by a decrease of $51.7 million

in Category A obligations incurred in FY 2016. 

Other unobligated resources at the end of FY 2016

included $1.4 million in NWF, which is exempt from 

apportionment, and $0.4 million from the Office of the 

Commission and Office of the Inspector General expired 

two-year appropriation accounts. 

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Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Management Assurances, 

Systems, Controls, And Legal 

Compliance

This section provides information on NRC’s compliance 

with the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982

(Integrity Act), OMB Circular A-123, Management’s 

Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal 

Control (A-123), and the Federal Financial Management 

Improvement Act of 1996.

FEDERAL MANAGERS’ FINANCIAL 

INTEGRITY ACT

The Integrity Act mandates that agencies establish 

internal control to provide reasonable assurance that the 

agency complies with applicable laws and regulations; 

safeguards assets against waste, loss, unauthorized use, 

or misappropriation; and properly accounts for and 

records revenues and expenditures. The Integrity Act 

encompasses program, operational, and administrative 

areas, as well as accounting and financial management. 

It also requires the Chairman to provide an assurance 

statement on the adequacy of internal controls and on the 

conformance of financial systems with Government-wide 

standards, shown below.

ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT AND 

PROGRAMMATIC INTERNAL CONTROL 

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) consists of an 

agency-level approach to having appropriate risk 

management processes and systems in place to identify 

risks early, bring them to the attention of agency 

leadership, and develop solutions. A principal component 

of ERM is Programmatic Internal Control, which consists 

of the organization, planning, policy, and procedures that 

help managers achieve intended results and safeguard the 

integrity of their programs. 

On July 15, 2016, OMB issued a revised A-123, complete 

with specific ERM requirements for Federal agencies. As 

a result, the NRC began preliminary work developing an 

ERM framework for the agency. As a regulatory agency, 

the NRC has followed ERM and Committee of Sponsoring 

Organization of the Treadway Commission (COSO) based 

principles. But to fully comply with ERM requirements, 

the agency shall implement a strategy based on the 

following:

Leveraging appropriate agency governance organizations 

and processes currently in place such as the NRC Internal 

Control Governance Framework, and the Quarterly 

Performance Reporting meetings

Improving processes and develop solutions where gaps 

exist

Updating the agency’s Internal Control management 

directive to incorporate ERM

Developing and disseminating ERM and Internal Control 

awareness training to all NRC management and staff

Incorporating ERM into management’s evaluation 

of NRC’s internal control and reasonable assurance 

processes.

Figure 11 – NRC’s FMFIA Governance Framework 

Under the current NRC governance framework (see 

Figure 11), each NRC business line lead prepares an 

annual assurance certification based on information from 

all relevant programmatic internal control activities, 

and activities that have internal control implications, 

as well as other sources of information provided by 

the agency’s Senior Assessment Team (SAT), and 

independent audit reports including the Office of the 

Inspector General Management Challenges and U.S. 

Government Accountability Office High Risk Reports, and 

International Atomic Energy Agency reviews and reports. 

The Executive Committee on Internal Control (the name 

formally changed to Executive Committee on Enterprise 

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

2 6
Risk Management {ECERM} after the issuance of the 

updated A-123):

assessed the agencies programmatic operations, financial 

systems, and internal control over financial reporting

reported to the NRC Chairman that there were no internal 

control deficiencies serious enough to require reporting as 

a weakness or noncompliance

and voted to recommend that the Chairman sign the 

agency’s Integrity Act Statement. 

The ECERM is chaired by the agency’s Executive Director 

for Operations (EDO) and co-chaired by the Chief Financial

Officer (CFO). Members of the ECERM are comprised of 

senior executives from the Office of the Executive Director 

for Operations, with the agency’s General Counsel and 

Inspector General serving as advisory members. The SAT 

is chaired by CFO and is comprised of senior executives 

from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer as well as the 

lead senior officials from the agency’s corporate support 

business lines, i.e., the Chief Human Capital Officer, Chief 

Information Officer, and the Office of Administration, 

which includes the agency’s Division of Acquisitions. 

Figure 12 is a high-level graphical overview of the entities 

and processes the NRC uses to support reasonable 

assurance.

FY 2016 INTEGRITY 

ACT RESULTS

In accordance with Section 2 of 

the Integrity Act and under the 

guidance established in A-123, 

All NRC business line leads 

certified that, as of September 

30, 2016, there was reasonable 

assurance that internal control 

was in place to achieve the 

following objectives: 

Programs achieved their 

intended results, and are 

protected from waste, fraud, 

abuse, and mismanagement; 

Resources were used consistently 

with the agency’s mission;

Information systems were 

authorized and appropriately 

secured; 

Laws and regulations were 

followed;

Reliable and timely information 

was obtained, maintained, 

reported, and used for sound 

decision-making, and

Risks were appropriately 

identified, communicated, and 

mitigated.

Figure 12 – NRC Programmatic Internal Control Program 

 Programmatic Internal Control Program At-A-Glance

**NRC 

Business Line Leads *ICPB ***ECERM Chairman

MD 4.4

Internal Control

OMB Circular 

A-123

Federal Managers’ 

Financial Integrity 

Act of 1982

1.1 Develops, monitors, 

and maintains Internal 

Control Plans (ICPs) 

1.0 Works jointly with 

OEDO to draft Annual 

Reasonable Assurance 

(RA) Guidance for CFO/

EDO issuance

{December}

2.0 Signs and submits RA 

Certifications and 

justification documentation

{October}

3.0 Makes recommendation 

to the Chairman on NRC 

Reasonable Assurance 

based on their RA review of 

all Business Lines

{October}

4.0 Signs the agency’s 

Integrity Act Statement 

{November}

2.1 Implements ICP 

activities and provides 

quarterly updates to ICPB

5.0 Includes signed 

Integrity Act Statement in 

the annual Performance 

and Accountability Report 

(PAR) to OMB, the 

President, and Congress

*Internal Control and Planning Branch (ICPB) of OCFO supports the overall risk assessment and reasonable 

assurance process 

**NRC Business Line Lead is the NRC Office Director of the responsible lead office for the business line

***Executive Committee on Enterprise Risk Management (ECERM) is comprised of the EDO (Chair), CFO (CoChair), Deputy EDOs, Assistant for Operations, and two advisory members, the Inspector General and General 

Counsel

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Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
as amended by the Improper Payments Elimination 

and Reporting Act of 2010 (IPERA) and the Improper 

Payment Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 

2012 (IPERIA). The results of that assessment allowed 

the agency to conduct future risk assessments on a 

triennial basis. In its FY 2014 PAR, the NRC reported 

on the results of the improper payment risk assessment 

completed in that year.

The results of the FY 2014 risk assessment did not identify 

any programs that were susceptible to making significant 

improper payments. While the results of the FY 2014 

risk assessment identified programs as low risk, the NRC 

continues to monitor its payment processes, in addition 

to conducting periodic reviews of key controls for IPIA 

programs identified by management. The NRC will 

continue to conduct a risk assessment every 3 years, in 

accordance with the IPIA, as amended by IPERA and 

Based on management’s certification of reasonable 

assurance, the NRC is able to provide a statement of 

assurance that its internal control met the objectives 

of the Integrity Act. The NRC has reasonable 

assurance that its internal control is effective and 

conforms to Government-wide standards. 

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT 

AND BUDGET CIRCULAR A-123, 

“MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSIBILITY 

FOR ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT 

AND INTERNAL CONTROL” 

Internal Control Over Financial 

Reporting (Appendix A)

In FY 2006, the NRC implemented the requirements 

of the revised OMB Circular A-123, which defined 

and strengthened management’s responsibility for 

internal control in Federal agencies. The revised 

circular included updated internal control standards. 

Appendix A requires Federal agencies to assess 

the effectiveness of internal control over financial 

reporting and to prepare a separate annual statement 

of assurance as of June 30, 2016.

The NRC adopted a rotational testing plan to assess 

the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial 

reporting. Two of the eight key processes (financial 

reporting and information technology) were significant 

enough to include in the testing each year of the test plan 

cycle. The remaining six key processes (budget execution, 

disbursements, payroll, procurement, property, and 

revenue) were to be tested once in a 2-year cycle, three 

each year. Based on the results of the FY 2016 evaluation, 

the NRC can provide reasonable assurance that its internal 

controls over financial reporting were operating effectively 

as of June 30, 2016, and that the evaluation found no 

material weaknesses in the design or operation of the 

internal controls over financial reporting. 

Requirements for Effective Measurement and 

Remediation of Improper Payments (Appendix C)

In FY 2011, the NRC completed an initial risk assessment 

to determine if any programs were susceptible to making 

significant improper payments in accordance with the 

Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) 

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

FISCAL YEAR 2016

FEDERAL MANAGERS’ FINANCIAL INTEGRITY ACT STATEMENT

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) managers are responsible for establishing 

and maintaining effective internal control and financial management systems that meet the 

objectives of the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (Integrity Act). The NRC is 

able to provide an unqualified statement of assurance that the internal controls and financial 

management systems meet the objectives of the Integrity Act with no material weaknesses.

The NRC conducted its assessment of internal control over programmatic operations in 

accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-123, Management’s 

Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control (A-123) guidelines. Based 

on the results of this evaluation, NRC can provide reasonable assurance that its internal control 

over programmatic operations is in substantial compliance with applicable laws and guidance, 

and no material weaknesses were found as of September 30, 2016. 

In addition, the NRC conducted its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over 

financial reporting, which includes safeguarding of assets and compliance with applicable 

laws and regulations, in accordance with the requirements of Appendix A of A-123. Based 

on the results of the evaluation, the NRC can provide reasonable assurance that its internal 

control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2016, was operating effectively, and no material 

weaknesses were found in the design or operation of the internal control over financial 

reporting.

In accordance with guidance established in OMB Circular A-123, Appendix D, the CFO 

reviewed audit reports and other sources of information, and as of September 30, 2016, 

can provide reasonable assurance that NRC’s financial systems substantially comply with 

Federal financial system requirements, applicable Federal accounting standards, and the U.S. 

Treasury standard general ledger at the transaction level, as required by the Federal Financial 

Management Improvement Act of 1996.

Stephen G. Burns

Chairman

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

November 9, 2016

Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

2 8
IPERIA and OMB guidance. The next NRC IPIA risk 

assessment will take place in FY 2017. In addition, the 

NRC will conduct additional risk assessments, as needed, 

if there are material changes in the way programs operate 

or if the NRC establishes new programs.

Additional information is presented in the Required 

Improper Payments Reporting Details section in 

Chapter 4 Other Information.

FEDERAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 

IMPROVEMENT ACT 

The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 

1996 (FFMIA) requires each agency to implement and 

maintain systems that comply substantially with (1) 

Federal financial system requirements, (2) applicable 

Federal accounting standards, and (3) the standard 

general ledger at the transaction level. FFMIA requires 

the Chairman to determine whether the agency’s financial 

management system complies with FFMIA and to develop 

remediation plans for systems that do not comply.

FY 2016 FFMIA RESULTS 

The Office of Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) successfully 

completed a system upgrade for its core general ledger 

system the Financial Accounting and Integrated 

Management Information System (FAIMIS).  The upgrade 

provides the platform for the required functionality 

to incorporate the U.S. Treasury Government-wide 

Treasury Accounting Symbol (GTAS) reporting mandate 

for FY 2015.  The agency successfully migrated to the 

E-Gov Travel Service 2 (ETS2) in May 2015.   The Human 

Resource Management System (HRMS), formerly known 

as Time and Labor Modernization (TLM), has completed 

the upgrade planning and has begun the migration to 

the new release to address legislative requirements and 

strengthen controls.  Finally, the Budget Formulation 

System (BFS) has launched a pilot program for interactive 

reporting to enhance and centralize the agency’s resource 

planning and forecasting business process.     

The CFO reviewed audit reports and other sources 

of information, and as of September 30, 2016, can 

provide reasonable assurance that NRC’s financial 

systems substantially comply with applicable Federal 

accounting standards as required by the Federal Financial 

Management Improvement Act of 1996. 

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 

STRATEGIES 

For a third consecutive fiscal year, the NRC has completed 

significant financial system modernization projects 

in FY 2016.  The agency’s core general ledger system, 

FAIMIS, has become the first agency system to migrate 

to a FedRAMP cloud environment.  In FY 2017, the NRC 

plans to upgrade FAIMIS to obtain required functionality 

for the FY 2018 U.S. Treasury mandated Internet 

Payment Platform (IPP) implementation.  Furthermore, 

the FAIMIS upgrade allows the agency to comply with 

OMB DATA Act mandate. The agency completed its 

integration of travel credit card activity between FAIMIS 

and the ETS2 eliminating a long-standing manual NRC 

business process. The BFS has implemented its integrated 

reporting dashboard and plans to migrate the system to 

the most recent vendor version in 2017. Finally, HRMS 

will complete its migration to the most recent vendor 

version at the start of 2nd Quarter of 2017.  

PROMPT PAYMENT

The Prompt Payment Act of 1982, as amended, requires 

Federal agencies to make timely payments to vendors 

for supplies and services, to pay interest penalties when 

payments are made after the due date, and to take cash 

discounts when they are economically justified. In 

FY 2016, the NRC paid 98 percent of the 7,292 invoices 

subject to the Prompt Payment Act on time.

DEBT COLLECTION

The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 enhances 

the ability of the Federal Government to service and 

collect debts. The agency’s goal is to maintain the level of 

delinquent debt owed to the NRC at year end to less than 

1 percent of its annual billings. The NRC met this goal. 

At the end of FY 2016, delinquent debt was $10.3 million 

or 1 percent of annual billings. The NRC was able to refer 

100 percent of all eligible debt over 180 days delinquent 

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Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
to the Treasury for collection and 74.5% over 120 days 

old in accordance with the Digital Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2014. In addition, the NRC met the 

collections requirements of Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 

Act of 1990 which requires the agency to recover through 

fees approximately 90 percent of its budget authority in 

the current fiscal year. 

BIENNIAL REVIEW OF USER FEES 

The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 requires agencies 

to conduct a biennial review of fees, royalties, rents, and 

other charges imposed by agencies, and to make revisions 

to cover program and administrative costs incurred.  

On June 24, 2016, the NRC issued a final rule in the 

Federal Register amending the licensing, inspection, 

and annual fees charged to its applicants and licensees

and can be found at https://www.federalregister.gov/

documents/2016/06/24/2016-14490/revision-of-feeschedules-fee-recovery-for-fiscal-year-2016

The amendments are necessary to implement the 

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA–90), 

as amended, which requires the NRC to recover 

through fees approximately 90 percent of its budget 

authority, not including amounts appropriated for 

Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR), Inspector 

General Services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities 

Safety Board (DNFSB) and generic homeland security 

activities.  Based on the Consolidated Appropriations 

Act, 2016, the NRC’s required fee recovery amount for 

the FY 2016 budget is $882.9 million.  After accounting 

for billing adjustments, the total amount to be billed 

as fees to licensees is $883.4 million.  The NRC Fee 

Recovery Schedules for FY 2016 were revised in a 

Federal Register Notice on September 6, 2016.  The 

revision can be found at https://www.federalregister.gov/

documents/2016/09/06/2016-21270/revision-of-feeschedules-fee-recovery-for-fiscal-year-2016-correction

INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978

The NRC has established and continues to maintain 

an excellent record in resolving and implementing 

Office of the Inspector General (OIG) open audit 

recommendations. The status of these recommendations 

can be found at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/insp-gen.

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

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Chapter 1 n Management’s Discussion and Analysis
http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

3 1

Chapter 2

Program Performance
Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Measuring And Reporting

This chapter presents detailed information on the 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) activities 

and performance in achieving its mission, strategic goals, 

and strategic objectives during fiscal year (FY) 2016. 

The agency’s FY 2014–2018 Strategic Plan presents 

the agency’s mission, vision, strategic goals, objectives, 

and strategies. The NRC has implemented improved 

performance indicators that took effect at the beginning of 

FY 2015 to reflect the updated Strategic Plan.

The NRC’s mission is to license and regulate the Nation’s 

civilian use of radioactive materials to protect public 

health and safety, promote the common defense and 

security, and protect the environment. The NRC’s vision 

is to carry out the mission as a trusted, independent, 

transparent, and effective nuclear regulator. The NRC’s 

strategic goals are to ensure the safe and secure use of 

radioactive materials. 

The NRC carries out its safety and security activities 

through two major programs: Nuclear Reactor Safety, 

consisting of the Operating Reactors and New Reactors 

business lines; and Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety, 

consisting of the Fuel Facilities, Nuclear Materials Users, 

Decommissioning and Low‐Level Waste, Spent Fuel

Storage and Transportation, and High-Level Waste 

business lines. The agency accomplishes its mission to 

ensure safety and security through regulatory activities 

that include licensing, oversight, and rulemaking. The 

NRC oversees licensees through inspection, assessment, 

investigation, and enforcement actions. Investigations 

and enforcement actions are a subset of oversight in 

cases of suspected or proven instances of noncompliance 

with safety or security regulations. The NRC’s event 

response activities prepare for and respond to emergencies 

involving radioactive materials.

In addition, the NRC’s safety research program supports 

the agency’s regulatory activities. The program evaluates 

and resolves safety issues for nuclear power plants and 

for the other facilities and materials users that the agency 

regulates. The research program assesses and confirms 

existing and potential safety issues; supplies independent 

expertise, information, and technical judgments to 

support timely and realistic regulatory decisions; reduces 

uncertainties in risk assessments; and develops tools, 

information, and codes and standards. The NRC also 

engages in cooperative research with other government 

agencies, the nuclear industry, universities, and 

international partners.

The following narrative describes the agency’s progress 

during FY 2016 in achieving its safety and security goals 

through its business lines; the crosscutting strategies 

of regulatory effectiveness and openness; and its 

management objectives related to information technology, 

information management, and human capital. The 

narrative section presents information on the program 

evaluations used to assess performance and to develop the 

agency’s annual performance plan and includes discussion 

of data sources, data quality and completeness, and 

reliability of performance data. 

Ensure the safe use of 1 radioactive materials.

strategic goa

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE

Strategic objectives express more specifically the results 

that are needed to achieve a strategic goal. The strategic 

objective for Goal 1 is to:

Prevent and mitigate accidents and ensure radiation 

safety.

Minimizing the likelihood of accidents and reducing 

the consequences of an accident (should one occur) 

are the key elements for achieving the NRC’s Safety 

goal. Such accidents, particularly for large, complex 

facilities like nuclear power plants, have the potential to 

release significant amounts of radioactive material to the 

environment and expose facility workers and the public to 

high levels of radiation. Even in the absence of accidents, 

radiological hazards exist during routine operations. The 

NRC ensures that measures are in place to minimize the 

likelihood of accidents and prevent unintended releases of 

radioactive materials to the environment.
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

3 4

In FY 2016, the NRC demonstrated that it achieved 

the Safety strategic objective by meeting the targets for 

the performance indicators listed below, which became 

effective in 2015. Because the agency is required to report 

on performance information for the previous five fiscal 

years, Table 3 on pages 36 and 37 shows the agency’s 

prior annual safety performance indicators and results for 

FY 2011–2014.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: 

FY 2015-FY 2016

The purpose of the NRC’s performance indicators is 

to ensure the agency’s performance in preventing or 

minimizing undesirable outcomes. Therefore, successful 

indicators would have a value at or near zero. 

Because the NRC’s statutory mission is to be an 

independent regulator of the civilian use of radioactive 

materials, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

has allowed the NRC to be exempt from the Government 

Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010

requirement for establishing agency or cross-agency 

priority goals. Thus, no such goals are included in this 

narrative.

The following performance indicators were developed 

in conjunction with the development of the agency’s 

FY 2014–2018 Strategic Plan. Section 208 of the Energy 

Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended (Public Law 

93-438), defines an “abnormal occurrence” (AO) as an 

unscheduled incident or event that the NRC determines 

to be significant from the standpoint of public health or 

safety. More information on the AO criteria appears in the 

Data Sources, Data Quality, and Data Security section of 

this chapter.

Safety Objective 1: Prevent and mitigate accidents and 

ensure radiation safety.

Performance Goal 1: Prevent radiation exposures that 

significantly exceed regulatory limits.

Performance Indicator: Number of radiation exposures 

that meet or exceed AO criteria I.A.1 (unintended 

radiation exposure to an adult), I.A.2 (unintended 

radiation exposure to a minor), or I.A.3 (radiation 

exposure that has resulted in unintended permanent 

functional damage to an organ or physiological system).1 

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Operating Reactors Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

New Reactors Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Fuel Facilities Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Decommissioning 

and Low-Level Waste Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Spent Fuel Storage 

and Transportation Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Nuclear Materials 

Users Target: ≤3 Actual: 1* Target: ≤3 Actual: 2

*Reported in the FY 2015 Performance and Accountability Report and the FY 2017 

Congressional Budget Justification as 2 due to one event previously labeled as an AO that 

was reclassified as not meeting the AO threshold upon further investigation.

Discussion: This indicator tracks the effectiveness of the 

NRC’s nuclear safety regulatory programs, in part through 

the number of significant radiation exposures to the 

public and occupational workers that exceed AO criteria. 

This indicator tracks exposures from both nuclear reactors 

and other nuclear materials use, such as hospitals and 

industrial users. Only two such significant exposures 

took place during FY 2016 under the Nuclear Materials 

Users business line; this is less than the target of three. 

Incidents of this nature would be included in the NRC’s 

annual report to Congress on AOs, the latest version of 

which is available at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/staff/sr0090/v38/.

Performance Goal 2: Prevent releases of radioactive 

materials that significantly exceed regulatory limits.

Performance Indicator: Number of releases of radioactive 

materials that meet or exceed AO criterion I.B (discharge 

or dispersal of radioactive material from its intended place 

of confinement, which results in releases of radioactive 

material). 

1

All references to the AO criteria in this section refer to the definitions in 

Appendix A of the “Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences: Fiscal 

Year 2015,” NUREG‐0090, Volume 38, published May 2016.
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Operating Reactors Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

New Reactors Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Fuel Facilities Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Decommissioning 

and Low-Level Waste Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Spent Fuel Storage 

and Transportation Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Nuclear Materials 

Users Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Discussion: This indicator tracks the effectiveness of the 

NRC’s nuclear material regulatory programs. Exceeding 

the applicable regulatory limits is defined as a release 

of radioactive material that causes a total effective 

radiation dose equivalent to individual members of the 

public greater than 0.1 rem in a year, exclusive of dose 

contributions from background radiation. In FY 2016, 

there were no releases of this nature.

Performance Goal 3: Prevent the occurrence of any 

inadvertent criticality events.

Performance Indicator: Number of instances 

of unintended nuclear chain reactions involving 

NRC‐licensed radioactive materials

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Operating Reactors Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

New Reactors Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Fuel Facilities Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Decommissioning 

and Low-Level Waste Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Discussion: This indicator tracks the effectiveness of the 

NRC’s criticality safety regulatory programs through the 

number of unintended self‐sustaining nuclear reactions

occurring within a fiscal year. Intended criticality events 

include the startup of a nuclear power reactor. There were 

no inadvertent criticality events during FY 2016. 

Performance Goal 4: Prevent accident precursors and 

reductions of safety margins at commercial nuclear power 

plants (operating or under construction) that are of high 

safety significance.

Performance Indicator: Number of malfunctions, 

deficiencies, events, or conditions at commercial nuclear 

power plants (operating or under construction) that meet 

or exceed AO criteria II.A‐II.D (events at commercial

nuclear power plant licensees). 

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Operating Reactors Target: ≤3 Actual: 0 Target: ≤3 Actual: 0

New Reactors Target: ≤3 Actual: 0 Target: ≤3 Actual: 0

Discussion: The NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) 

monitors nuclear power plant performance in three areas: 

(1) reactor safety, (2) radiation safety, and (3) security. 

Analysis of individual plant performance is based on both 

licensee‐submitted performance indicators and NRC

inspection findings, which are independent assessments 

of licensee performance that the NRC conducts as the 

regulatory authority. Each issue is evaluated and assigned 

one of four categories in order of increasing significance: 

green, white, yellow, or red. When the rating is higher 

(more severe), the NRC applies a greater level of oversight. 

A red finding or performance indicator is the most severe 

rating and signals a significant reduction in the safety 

margin in the measured area. No red findings were issued 

in FY 2016.

Performance Goal 5: Prevent accident precursors and 

reductions of safety margins at nonreactor facilities or 

during transportation of nuclear materials that are of high 

safety significance.

Performance Indicator: Number of malfunctions, 

deficiencies, events, or conditions at nonreactor facilities 

or during transportation of nuclear materials that meet or 

exceed AO criteria III.A or III.B (events at facilities other 

than nuclear power plants and all transportation events). 
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

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Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Fuel Facilities Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Decommissioning 

and Low-Level Waste Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Spent Fuel Storage 

and Transportation Target: 0 Actual: 0 Target: 0 Actual: 0

Discussion: This indicator tracks the effectiveness 

of NRC’s regulatory safety programs for nonreactor 

facilities or during transportation of nuclear materials 

through the number of instances in which safety margins 

at nonreactor facilities are at unacceptable levels. No 

occurrences of this nature took place during FY 2016. 

Table 3 – FY 2011-2014 Performance Indicators Results

Goal – Safety: Ensure safe use of radioactive materials

In FY 2015, the NRC revised performance indicators to align with the agency’s FY 2014 - 2018 Strategic Plan. The 

performance indicators used prior to FY 2015 tracked most of the same outcomes as the current indicators. There is no 

new data for any of these indicators. 

1 Number of New Conditions Evaluated as Red by the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process*

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target ≤ 3 ≤ 3 ≤ 3 ≤ 3 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 4 Actual 1 1 0 0

*This measure is the number of new red inspection findings and the number of new red performance indicators during the fiscal year. Programmatic issues at 

multiunit sites that result in red findings for each individual unit are considered separate conditions for purposes of reporting for this measure. A red performance 

indicator and a red inspection finding that are caused by an issue with the same underlying causes also are considered separate conditions for purposes of reporting 

for this measure. Red inspection findings are included in the fiscal year in which the final significance determination was made. Red performance indicators are 

included in the fiscal year in which the ROP external Web page was updated to show the red indicator. 

2 Number of Significant Accident Sequence Precursors (ASPs) * of a Nuclear Reactor Accident

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target ≤ 0 ≤ 0 ≤ 0 ≤ 0 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 4 Actual 0 0 0 0

*Significant ASP events have a conditional core damage probability (CCDP) or ΔCDP of greater than 1×10−3. Such events have a 1/1000 (1×10−3) or greater 

probability of leading to a reactor accident involving core damage. An identical condition affecting more than one plant is counted as a single ASP event if a single 

accident initiator would have resulted in a single reactor accident.

3 Number of Operating Reactors with Integrated Performance that Entered the Multiple/Repetitive Degraded 

Cornerstone Column or the Unacceptable Performance Column of the Reactor Oversight Process Action Matrix, or the 

Inspection Manual Chapter 0350 Process is ≤ 3 with No Performance Leading to the Initiation of an Accident Review 

Group*

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target ≤ 3 ≤ 3 ≤ 3 ≤ 3 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 4 Actual 2 1 0 0

*This measure is the number of plants that have entered the process in Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0350, “Oversight of Reactor Facilities in a Shutdown 

Condition due to Significant Performance and/or Operational Concerns,” dated December 15, 2006; the multiple/repetitive degraded cornerstone column; or the 

unacceptable performance column during the fiscal year (but were not in these columns or processes the previous fiscal year). Data for this measure are obtained 

from the NRC’s external Web Action Matrix Summary page, which provides a matrix of the five columns with the plants listed within their applicable column and 

notes the plants in the IMC 0350 process. For reporting purposes, plants that are the subject of an approved deviation from the Action Matrix are included in the 

column or process in which they appear on the Web page. The target value is set based on the expected addition of several indicators and a change in the long‐term 

trending methodology (which will no longer be influenced by the earlier data and will be more sensitive to changes in current performance).

4 Number of Significant Adverse Trends in Industry Safety Performance is ≤ 1*

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target ≤ 1 ≤ 1 ≤ 1 ≤ 1 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 5 Actual 0 0 0 0

*Considering all indicators qualified for use in reporting
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Table 3 – FY 2010-2014 Performance Indicators Results (continued)

Goal – Safety: Ensure safe use of radioactive materials

5 Number of Events with Radiation Exposures to the Public or Occupational Workers That Exceed Abnormal Occurrence 

(AO) Criterion I.A.3*

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Reactors Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 1

Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0

Materials Target ≤ 2 ≤ 2 ≤ 2 ≤ 2 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 1 Materials Actual 0 0 0 0

Waste Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Safety Performance Goal 1 Waste Actual 0 0 0 0

*Releases for which a 30‐day report under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 20.2203(a)(3) is required.

6 Number of Radiological Releases to the Environment That Exceed Applicable Regulatory Limits*

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Reactors Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Safety Performance 

Reactors Actual 0 0 0 0 Goal 2

Materials Target ≤ 2 ≤ 2 ≤ 2 ≤ 2 Replaced by Safety Performance 

Materials Actual 0 0 0 0 Goal 2

Waste Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Safety Performance 

Waste Actual 0 0 0 0 Goal 2

*With no event exceeding AO criterion I.B

Nuclear Reactor Safety

Figure 13 – U.S. Operating Commercial Nuclear 

Power Reactors

The NRC regulates activities to ensure the safety and 

security of 100 operating power reactors during FY 2016 

(see Figure 13), 31 operating test and research reactors, 

and four reactors under construction. The following 

sections describe the NRC’s safety and security activities 

during FY 2016 that supported the strategic goals, 

strategic objectives, and performance‐indicator targets for

the Operating Reactors and New Reactors business lines 

to ensure the safe use of radioactive materials.

Operating Reactors

NRC‐licensed nuclear reactors account for about

20 percent of electricity generated in the United States, 

providing roughly 770 billion kilowatt‐hours of electricity.

The agency monitors the safe and secure operation of 

the 100 operating power reactors. The NRC achieves 

its strategic goals through its licensing, oversight, 

rulemaking, research, international activities, event 

response, and generic homeland security functions.
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

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LICENSING

The agency’s nuclear reactor licensing activity ensures 

that civilian nuclear power reactors and test and research 

reactors are operated in a manner that adequately protects 

public health and safety and the environment while 

safeguarding radioactive material used in nuclear reactors. 

Licenses establish specific technical and operating 

standards for individual facilities. 

The NRC completed licensing and conducted regulatory 

oversight of the safe startup of the Tennessee Valley 

Authority’s (TVA’s) Watts Bar, Unit 2, nuclear power 

plant. The operating license for the plant was issued 

in October 2015, initial fuel load was completed in 

December 2015, and the plant achieved its initial 

criticality in May 2016. TVA completed its testing of 

Watts Bar, Unit 2 and achieved commercial operations 

in October 2016. To date, the NRC has performed over 

20,000 hours of inspection activities to verify TVA’s safe 

operation of the plant.

During FY 2016, the agency made significant progress 

in reducing the backlog of licensing actions that were 

more than 12 months old. The NRC met all but one of 

its licensing metrics. The unmet licensing metric was 

related to the completion time for “other licensing tasks” 

(complex actions such as backfits, requests for licensing or 

technical assistance from the Regions to headquarters, and 

licensing actions that affect multiple plants).

In FY 2016, the NRC issued Construction Permit 

CPMIF-001 to SHINE Medical Technologies, Inc. 

(SHINE) under 10 CFR Part 50, “Domestic Licensing 

of Production and Utilization Facilities.” This 

construction permit authorizes SHINE to construct a 

facility in Janesville, Wisconsin, for the production of 

molybdenum-99 and other radioisotopes. Additionally, 

the NRC docketed the second part of a two-part 

construction permit application submitted by Northwest 

Medical Isotopes for a medical radioisotope production 

facility to be located in Columbia, Missouri. The 

NRC also issued a license amendment to Oregon 

State University (OSU), authorizing the irradiation 

of prototypical low-enriched uranium targets in the 

OSU TRIGA® reactor to demonstrate the production of 

molybdenum-99 in a research reactor. 

Calvert Cliffs 1 and 2

POWER UPRATES

Since the 1970s, the Nation’s utilities have sought power 

uprates as a way to generate more electricity from existing 

nuclear plants. By August 2016, the NRC had approved 

157 power uprates, resulting in a gain of 7,346 megawatts 

electric at existing plants, equivalent to the addition of 

seven large new power reactors added to the power grid 

(see Figure 14). The NRC evaluates nuclear reactor power 

uprate applications to determine whether licensees can 

safely increase the power output of their plants. During 

FY 2016, a power uprate was approved for Catawba 1, 

adding 20 megawatts electric. 

Figure 14 – Power Updates: Past, Current, and 

Future
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

LICENSE RENEWAL

The NRC grants nuclear power reactor operating licenses 

for 40 years, which can be renewed for additional periods 

of 20 years. To date, the NRC has issued renewed 

licenses for 81 power reactor units currently licensed to 

operate (two additional units permanently shut down 

after receiving their renewed licenses) and currently has 

eight license renewal applications for 12 reactor units 

under review. The NRC issued five renewed licenses 

in FY 2016: Byron Units 1 and 2, Braidwood Units 1 

and 2, and Davis Besse. The review process for renewal 

applications is designed to assess whether a reactor can 

continue to be operated safely during the extended period. 

To renew a license, the utility must demonstrate that aging 

will not adversely affect passive, long‐lived structures

or components important to safety during the extended 

period of operation. Inspectors travel to the nuclear 

reactor facility to verify the information in the license 

renewal application and confirm that aging management 

programs have been, or are ready to be, implemented. 

Following the safety review, the NRC prepares and 

makes available to the public a safety evaluation report. 

Additionally, the agency assesses the potential effects of 

the extended period of operation on the environment. 

Following the environmental review, the NRC prepares 

and makes available to the public an environmental 

impact statement.

POST-FUKUSHIMA ACTIVITIES

The NRC continues to make progress on implementation 

of the post-Fukushima lessons learned activities (see 

Figure 15). To date, 72 of the 100 power reactor units 

are in compliance with the mitigating strategies order, 

and 93 out of 100 units are in compliance with the spent 

fuel pool level instrumentation order. The majority of 

the safety enhancements will be in place by the end of 

2016, and the NRC has already started conducting postcompliance verification inspections. The requirements are 

expected to be fully incorporated into NRC’s regulations 

through the Mitigation of Beyond Design Basis Events 

(MBDBE) rulemaking.

Additional information can be found on the agency 

Web site http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/opsexperience/japan-info.html

Figure 15 – NRC Post-Fukushima Safety 

Enhancements

OVERSIGHT

The NRC provides continuous oversight of nuclear 

reactors through the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) 

to verify that nuclear plants are operated safely and in 

accordance with the agency’s rules and regulations. The 

NRC performs a rigorous program of inspections at 

each plant, performs supplemental inspections, and 

takes additional actions to ensure that the plants address 

significant safety issues, consistent with the ROP. The 

NRC has at least two full‐time resident inspectors at each

operating nuclear power plant site performing inspections 

and oversight activities. Inspectors from NRC regional 

offices and headquarters also conduct inspections at each 

nuclear power plant site, in accordance with the ROP. The 

NRC has full authority to take action to protect public 

health and safety, up to and including shutting the plant 

down or modifying, suspending, or revoking its license. 

The NRC also conducts public meetings with licensees 

to discuss the results of the agency’s assessments of their 

safety performance. 

The NRC completed baseline inspections for all operating 

reactors in FY 2016. In addition, the agency conducted 

seven special inspections and 20 supplemental inspections 

where inspection findings showed that additional 

oversight was needed. 
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

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NRC Resident Inspector

INVESTIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT

Compliance with NRC requirements plays an important 

role in ensuring that the licensee is operating safely 

and securely. NRC policies deter noncompliance and 

encourage prompt identification of issues and timely, 

comprehensive corrective actions. Willful violations 

are of particular concern. Licensees, contractors, and 

their employees who do not achieve the high standard 

of compliance expected by the NRC are subject to 

enforcement sanctions. Each enforcement action depends 

on the circumstances of the case. The NRC will not 

permit licensees to continue to conduct licensed activities 

if they cannot achieve and maintain adequate levels of 

safety. 

OPERATING REACTORS RULEMAKING

The NRC establishes regulations through rulemaking. As 

described below, the NRC issued a number of draft or 

proposed rulemaking documents for public comment in 

FY 2016. 

As a part of the actions taken by the NRC in response to 

the accident at Fukushima, the Commission published the 

MBDBE proposed rule for public comment in November 

2015. The final MBDBE rule is expected to be provided to 

the Commission for approval in December 2016. 

In March 2016, the NRC published a proposed rule 

to incorporate by reference three regulatory guides 

that approve new, revised, and reaffirmed Code Cases 

published by the American Society of Mechanical 

Engineers. In addition, during this year, the agency issued 

draft NUREG‐1530, “Reassessment of NRC’s Dollar per

Person-Rem Conversion Factor Policy, Revision 1,” for 

public comment. This updated guidance will support the 

NRC staff ’s development of quantitative assessments of 

the costs and benefits of rulemaking, among other things. 

In November 2015, the NRC published an advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking related to Regulatory 

Improvements for Decommissioning Power Reactors. In 

addition, the NRC resolved five petitions for rulemaking. 

The final Cyber Security Event Notification rulemaking 

was published in November 2015.

OPERATING REACTORS RESEARCH

The NRC research program supports the agency mission 

by providing independent technical advice, expertise, 

tools, and information for identifying and resolving safety 

issues, making regulatory decisions, and promulgating 

regulations and guidance for nuclear power plants and 

other facilities and materials regulated by the agency. 

In support of the licensing and oversight of operating 

reactors, the research program develops technical bases 

and information to support timely and realistic regulatory 

decisions and provides confirmatory research to verify 

licensee submittals independently. The research program 

also reduces uncertainties in risk assessments and 

coordinates the development of consensus and voluntary 

standards for agency use. In FY 2016, the NRC conducted 

substantive research work in the following technical areas:

•	 Natural hazards research, including seismic hazard 

issues, flooding, and tsunami events

•	 Severe accident and consequence analysis

•	 Materials degradation 

•	 Nondestructive examination

•	 Digital instrumentation and control

•	 Electrical engineering

•	 Thermal-hydraulic analysis

•	 Fire safety 

•	 Probabilistic risk assessment 

•	 Radiation protection 

•	 Neutronics and fuels analysis
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

The NRC issued a comprehensive technical letter 

report (TLR), “Review of Aging Management Programs 

(AMP): Compendium of Insights from License Renewal 

Applications and from AMP Effectiveness Audits 

Conducted to Inform Subsequent License Renewal 

Guidance Documents.” This report served as a primary 

foundation for the subsequent license renewal guidance 

documents such as NUREG-2191, “Generic Aging 

Lessons Learned for Subsequent License Renewal (GALLSLR) Report” and NUREG-2192, “Standard Review Plan 

for Review of Subsequent License Renewal Applications 

for Nuclear Power Plants (Draft Report for Comment).”

The agency closed Generic Issue 193, “Boiling Water 

Reactor Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) 

Pump Suction Concerns.”  Generic Issue 193 assessed 

the possible failure of ECCS pumps resulting from the 

large influx of non-condensable gases into boiling water 

reactor (BWR) suppression pools during certain accident 

conditions.  The gases could potentially be entrained 

into the ECCS suction piping and air-bind the pumps, 

rendering them inoperable.  The NRC performed 

extensive research on this issue, including modelling the 

accident conditions and validating the model through 

testing.  The agency documented its analysis and results 

in NUREG-2196, “BWR ECCS Pump Suction Concerns 

following a LOCA.”  Based on the analysis, an NRC panel 

determined that this issue was not a significant safety 

concern and that no regulatory actions were needed to 

address the issue.

NRC issued NUREG-2178, “Refining and Characterizing 

Heat Release Rates from Electrical Enclosures during 

Fire (RACHELLE-FIRE)” and NUREG/CR-7197, “Heat 

Release Rates of Electrical Enclosure Fires (HELENFIRE).”  These reports made major advancements in 

providing realism to fire probabilistic risk assessments. 

The project was performed under a memorandum of 

understanding with Electric Power Research Institute 

and the National Institute for Standards and Technology 

(NIST) to quantify the heat release rates and burning 

behavior of electrical enclosures commonly found in 

nuclear power plants.

EVENT RESPONSE

The NRC’s emergency preparedness and incident response 

activities ensure that adequate measures can and will be 

taken to mitigate events and to ensure that the agency 

responds effectively to events at licensee sites. During 

FY 2016, the NRC participated in 20 operating reactor 

exercises.  These exercises were primarily designed 

to demonstrate the response community’s ability to 

adequately assess and respond to a simulated emergency 

at a reactor site.  These activities provided an opportunity 

to practice, learn, and assess the response program and 

to confirm and maintain the capabilities of NRC incident 

response personnel. 

In addition to these operating reactor exercises, in 

coordination with Federal partners, the NRC planned, 

coordinated, and conducted the biennial, externallyevaluated, full-scale exercise Eagle Horizon 2016 

(EH2016). EH2016 was a continuity of operations 

(COOP) exercise that tested the readiness and ability 

of the NRC staff to physically relocate to an alternate 

location and implement operational aspects of the 

agency’s COOP program. The NRC completed all exercise 

objectives and received high marks for its participation 

from external evaluators, which included representatives 

from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the 

Department of Energy. 

New Reactors

The NRC reviews applications for new reactor standard 

design certifications (DCs), early site permits (ESPs), 

limited work authorizations (LWAs), combined licenses 

(COLs), construction permits, and operating licenses. 

The current and anticipated applications for new reactors 

involve both large light water reactor (LLWR) and 

small modular reactor (SMR) designs and facilities in 

a variety of locations throughout the United States. As 

of September 2016, the agency was reviewing two DC 

applications, one DC renewal application, and four 

COL applications for seven reactor units. By the end of 

September NRC staff issued a total of 52 Standard Review 

Plan (SRP) sections, exceeding its metric for the year. 

The SRP revisions ensure that DC, COL, and ESP reviews 

incorporate recent industry experience and the revisions 
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

4 2

will improve the efficiency and reliability of future staff 

reviews. In addition, the NRC continues to prepare to 

review potential advanced reactor applications effectively 

and efficiently and to consider anticipated regulatory 

changes that may be appropriate for these designs. The 

NRC also oversees construction activities for commercial 

nuclear power plants that include inspection, licensee 

performance assessment, investigation of allegations, and 

enforcement activities. This also includes activities under 

the NRC’s Vendor Inspection Center of Expertise for 

quality assurance and vendors for both new and operating 

reactors.

LICENSING

NEW REACTOR DESIGN CERTIFICATIONS

The NRC reviews applications for standard DCs using 

10 Part CFR 52, “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals 

for Nuclear Power Plants.” By issuing a DC, the NRC 

approves a nuclear power plant design independent of an 

application to construct or operate a plant. A DC is valid 

for 15 years from the date of issuance and can be renewed 

for an additional 10 to 15 years. The NRC continued to 

make progress on the Advanced Power Reactor (APR) 

1400 DC application submitted by Korea Electric Power 

Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co, 

Ltd. In February 2016, the agency met its Phase 1 public 

milestone for the APR1400 review by completing the 

Preliminary Safety Evaluation Reports (SERs) for all of 

the chapters of the application. Phase 2 of the review is 

currently underway. The NRC also continued to make 

progress on the US Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor 

(US-APWR) DC application review and on the Advanced 

Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) DC renewal application.

In FY 2016, the agency continued to prepare to receive 

the first SMR application by publishing over 100 NuScale 

Design Specific Review Standard sections in the Federal 

Register, and issuing a letter to NuScale providing the 

NRC’s expectations regarding availability of on-site and 

off-site power. 

EARLY SITE PERMITS

As part of the licensing process, the NRC can issue an 

ESP to approve a site for a domestic nuclear power plant 

independent of an application for a COL. ESPs are valid 

for 10 to 20 years and can be renewed for an additional 10 

to 20 years.

In FY 2016, the agency issued the final SER and published 

the final Environmental Impact Statement for the Public 

Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) ESP application. 

The agency completed a Memorandum of Agreement 

addressing several historic structures and a supplemental 

Biological Assessment. The PSEG ESP was then issued in 

May 2016. 

In May 2016, TVA submitted an ESP application for two 

or more SMRs at the Clinch River site in Tennessee. In 

August 2016, TVA proposed to provide supplemental 

information to NRC in support of its application. The 

NRC responded to TVA by letter and informed TVA that 

its application will remain in tendered, but not docketed, 

status until TVA submits supplemental information by 

December 2016.

COMBINED LICENSES (COLS)

A COL authorizes construction and operation of a 

nuclear power plant, through the 10 CFR Part 52 licensing 

process. The application for a COL is one option to 

request a license; the other is through the conventional 

process used since the 1960s, 10 CFR Part 50, “Domestic 

Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,” 

which provides a construction permit followed by an 

operating license. The COL application must include 

the inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria 

(ITAAC) that must be met prior to plant operation to 

ensure that the plant has been properly constructed and 

will operate safely.

In FY 2016, the agency issued Final Safety Evaluation 

Report (FSER) and completed the mandatory hearing for 

the South Texas Plant combined license application. The 

NRC then issued combined licenses to Nuclear Innovation 

North America, LLC, for South Texas Project Units 3 and 

4 in February 2016. 

In May 2016, the NRC issued the FSER for the Levy Units 

1 and 2 COL application. The mandatory hearing for the 

Levy County COL application was held on July 28, 2016. 
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

In August 2016, the NRC issued the FSER for the Lee 

Units 1 and 2 COL application. The NRC also engaged in 

significant prehearing work for the mandatory hearing on 

the Lee COL application.

The NRC issued the safety evaluation report, dated 

March 29, 2016, that found the Vogtle Units 3 and 4 

simulator facilities suitable for use to administer operator 

license examinations.

SMALL MODULAR REACTORS

The agency completed development of the NuScale 

Design Specific Review Standard (DSRS). The completed 

DSRS reflects the staff ’s consideration of nearly 700 

public comments received on the draft DSRS, which was 

published in June 2015. The NRC intends to publish 

the DSRS in the near term. This document will support 

the technical review of the NuScale design certification 

application, which the NRC anticipates receiving by 

the end of 2016. The DSRS, comprised of 73 sections, 

provides guidance to NRC staff in performing safety 

reviews of unique features of the NuScale design. 

ADVANCED NON-LIGHT WATER REACTORS

In April 2016, the NRC issued for informal public 

comment the Advanced Reactor Design Criteria for 

non-light water reactor designs.  This was an important 

milestone within the joint initiative with the Department 

of Energy (DOE) to develop guidance for advanced 

reactors. The NRC is considering the public comments as 

it develops a draft regulatory guide.

In May 2016, the NRC issued a draft “Vision and Strategy 

for Safely Achieving Effective and Efficient Non-Light 

Water Reactor Mission Readiness.” In July 2016, the NRC 

published a Federal Register notice requesting public 

comments on this document. The public comment period 

closed in September 2016. 

In June 2016, the NRC and DOE conducted their second 

joint workshop on advanced reactors. The purpose of the 

workshop was to explore options for increased efficiency, 

from both a technical and regulatory perspective, for 

safely developing and deploying advanced non-light water 

reactors. At these events, DOE and NRC staff discussed 

advanced non-light water nuclear reactor concepts and 

licensing issues with participants including reactor design 

vendors, suppliers, electric utilities, academics, national 

labs, non-government organizations, and other federal 

agencies. The third joint workshop is scheduled for 

April 2017. 

NEW REACTORS OVERSIGHT

CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION

The NRC continues to inspect construction activities for 

the four AP1000 units at the Vogtle and Summer sites, 

primarily through the Region II office in Atlanta, GA.  In 

FY 2016, AP1000 construction activities were focused on 

the structural modules and concrete pours.  

In FY 2016, the agency completed verification of 54 

Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria 

(ITAAC) Closure Notifications. The NRC continues to 

refine the processes for ITAAC closure, including public 

meetings with stakeholders to discuss issues such as 

interpretation of the scope of complex ITAAC and reviews 

of early submittals of Uncompleted ITAAC Notifications, 

pursuant to NRC regulations (10 CFR Part 52.99(c)(3)). 
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

4 4

VENDOR INSPECTION

Under the Vendor Inspection Program, the NRC 

conducted 34 vendor and quality assurance 

implementation inspections in FY 2016. A majority of 

the inspections were related to ITAAC for the AP1000 

standard plant design or were specific to commercial 

grade dedication. All inspections focused on the design, 

qualification, and testing of safety-related structures, 

systems, components, and services. Findings were 

reported in areas of design control and commercial grade 

dedication.

INVESTIGATIONS AND ENFORCEMENT

Consistent with the description for investigations and 

enforcement of operating reactors, the NRC will not 

permit applicants for or holders of new licenses, nor their 

contractors and vendors, to continue to conduct licensed 

activities if they cannot achieve and maintain adequate 

levels of safety and quality assurance. In FY 2016, the 

NRC processed three escalated enforcement actions, all 

of which were supported through investigations. Final 

enforcement action for one of the cases was placed on 

hold pending review by the U.S. Department of Justice.

For another case, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Order 

in April 2016 to a vendor to formalize commitments 

made by the vendor as a result of an alternative dispute 

mediation session. 

NEW REACTORS RESEARCH

Much of the technical work and research described 

earlier for operating reactors also applies to new 

reactors. Over the past several years, the NRC 

has focused its new reactor regulatory research 

efforts on potential new light-water reactor 

facilities to prepare for and evaluate standard 

design certifications. The NRC research program 

addressed key areas that support the agency’s safety 

mission. In FY 2016, substantive research work 

was performed in the following technical areas:

•	 Probabilistic risk assessment 

•	 Natural hazards research, including seismic hazard 

issues, flooding, and tsunami events

•	 Severe accident and consequence analysis

•	 Digital instrumentation and control

•	 Radiation protection 

•	 Thermal-hydraulic analysis

Research related to Small Modular Reactor (SMR) 

concepts has focused on identifying phenomenological 

differences from large reactors and developing and 

validating tools for analyses to support potential licensing 

reviews. The research activities completed in FY 2016 

include:

•	 Improved thermal-hydraulic modeling and support for 

containment and severe accident confirmatory analyses 

related to the APR 1400. 

•	 Improved simulations of dense gases used in 

computer models used for confirmations of estimated 

concentrations of toxic gases in certain postulated 

accidents. 

•	 Updates to human factors guidance. 

•	 Improvements to probability risk assessment models 

on new reactors to support agency post-construction 

inspection oversight efforts. 

•	 Regulatory guidance related to closure of ITAAC. 

•	 Hazard analysis of digital safety systems for SMRs. 

•	 Evaluation of seismic structural regulations and 

regulatory guidance for SMRs. 

•	 Tsunami hazard assessment study for the Atlantic coast 

of the United States. 

In FY 2016, the NRC also completed thermal-hydraulic 

computer model development and confirmatory analysis 

associated with the APR1400 Design Certification 

Application in support of large break and small break loss 

of coolant accidents. The results of these analyses will be 

used in reviewing the Design Certification application. 

NEW REACTORS RULEMAKING

In June 2016, the Commission approved the NRC staff ’s 

plan and schedule in SECY-16-0069 for a rulemaking 

pertaining to emergency preparedness for SMRs and other 

new technologies, such as non-light water reactors and 

medical isotope production facilities. The Commission 

also approved the staff ’s recommendation for the 

Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to review the 

regulatory basis, proposed rule, and final rule, as well as 
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4 5

Chapter 2 n Program Performance

continued interactions with other stakeholders such as 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The NRC is 

currently developing the draft regulatory basis.

Nuclear Materials and Waste 

Safety

The following narrative describes major activities and 

accomplishments under the Nuclear Materials and Waste 

Safety business lines that contributed to achieving the 

strategic goal for ensuring the safe use of radioactive 

materials. 

Fuel Facilities

The NRC licenses and inspects all commercial nuclear fuel 

facilities that process and fabricate uranium concentrates 

into the reactor fuel that powers the Nation’s nuclear 

reactors (see Figure 16). Licensing activities include 

detailed health, safety, safeguards, and environmental 

evaluations. Oversight involves reviews of licensee 

programs, procedures, operations, and facilities to ensure 

safe and secure operations. Safety and security are also 

promoted through rulemaking and event response 

activities.

Figure 16 – Locations of Fuel Cycle Facilities

LICENSING AND OVERSIGHT

During FY 2016, the NRC performed a special inspection 

at BWXT Nuclear Operation Group to review the failure 

of nuclear criticality controls due to inadequate control of 

the moderator in a process. 

The NRC also performed a special inspection at 

Westinghouse Electric Company, Columbia Fuel 

Fabrication Facility to review the causes of a uranium 

buildup reported to the NRC in July 2016. The objectives 

of the inspection were to ensure that the causes of the 

uranium buildup were adequately identified and evaluated 

and that appropriate corrective actions were implemented 

to improve compliance with regulatory requirements and 

the performance of the Nuclear Criticality Safety program.

The NRC continued to make progress implementing the 

closure of Generic Letter (GL) 2015-01, “Treatment of 

Natural Phenomena Hazards in Fuel Cycle Facilities.” 

NRC staff completed site visits at Nuclear Fuel Services, 

BWXT Nuclear Operation Group, and Global Nuclear 

Fuel to review onsite documentation relating to the 

response to the GL. The agency also completed inspection 

activities at Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication 

Facility to verify independently the implementation of the 

responses to the GL. 

RULEMAKING

In June 2016, the U.S. Government approved the 

authorization to negotiate and conclude an Amendment 

to the Small Quantities Protocol to the Agreement 

between the United States of America and the 

International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application 

of Safeguards in Connection with the Treaty for the 

Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (U.S.-

Territories Safeguards Agreement). In July 2016, the 

Commission approved the NRC staff ’s rulemaking plan to 

initiate actions to change domestic regulations in order to 

implement U.S.-Territories Safeguards Agreement. 

EVENT RESPONSE

The NRC’s emergency preparedness and incident response 

activities ensure that adequate measures can and will be 

taken to mitigate fuel facilities events and to ensure that 
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

4 6

the agency can respond effectively to these events. During 

FY 2016, the NRC participated in two exercises involving 

fuel facilities. These exercises are primarily designed to 

demonstrate the response personnel’s ability to adequately 

assess and respond to a simulated emergency at a fuel 

facility. These activities provide an opportunity to 

practice, learn, and assess the response program and to 

confirm and maintain the capabilities of NRC incident 

response personnel. 

Nuclear Materials Users

The focus of the Nuclear Materials Users business line 

is licensing and oversight of nuclear materials used in 

medical diagnosis and treatment, academic education and 

research, and industrial applications, including gauges 

and manufacturing. The NRC carries out these activities 

in partnership with Agreement States. Under the NRC’s 

Agreement State program, 37 States have assumed regulatory 

responsibility for approximately 17,500 licenses for the 

industrial, medical, and other users of nuclear materials in 

their States. 

Radiological Camera

LICENSING AND OVERSIGHT

The NRC licenses and inspects the commercial use of 

nuclear material for industrial, medical, and academic 

purposes. Commercial uses of nuclear materials include 

medical diagnosis and therapy, medical and biological 

research, academic training and research, industrial 

gauging and nondestructive testing, production of 

radiopharmaceuticals, and fabrication of commercial 

products (such as smoke detectors) and other radioactive 

sealed sources and devices. The agency currently regulates 

about 2,750 specific licensees for the use of radioactive 

materials. The agency reviews Agreement State programs 

as well as certain NRC licensing and inspection programs 

through the Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation 

Program.

Detailed health and safety reviews of license applications, 

as well as inspections of licensee procedures, operations, 

and facilities, provide reasonable assurance of safe 

operations and the production of safe products. The NRC 

routinely inspects nuclear material licensees to ensure 

that they are using nuclear materials safely, maintaining 

accountability of those materials, and protecting public 

health and safety. The agency also analyzes operational 

experience from the NRC and Agreement State licensees 

and regularly evaluates the safety significance of events 

reported by licensees and Agreement States. 

The NRC conducted 950 nuclear materials licensing 

inspections during FY 2016. This resulted in the issuance 

of notices of violations to 38 licenses. The agency also 

performed reactive inspections to seven medical events 

and two potential occupational overexposures. 

The NRC will not permit licensees to conduct licensed 

activities if they cannot achieve and maintain adequate 

levels of safety. 

RULEMAKING

In 2016, the NRC staff continued work on a substantive 

revision to the NRC’s regulations related to medical 

licensees, 10 CFR Part 35. This final rule would amend 

the reporting and notification requirements for a medical 

event for permanent implant brachytherapy. This rule also 

would amend the training and experience requirements in 

multiple sections, establish requirements for measuring 

molybdenum contamination and the reporting of failed 

technetium and rubidium generators, and allow licensees 

to name associate radiation safety officers on a medical 

license. 
http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

EVENT RESPONSE

The NRC’s emergency preparedness and incident response 

activities ensure that adequate measures can and will 

be taken to mitigate emergencies involving radioactive 

sources and radioactive material and to ensure that the 

agency can respond effectively to these events. During 

FY 2016, the NRC participated in a series of interagency 

tabletop exercises designed to explore the response to a 

radiological materials-based event. These exercises were 

primarily designed to allow experts from the Federal, 

State, and local response community to examine how a 

response to such an event would evolve. These activities 

provided an opportunity to practice, learn, and assess the 

response program. 

STATE AND TRIBAL PROGRAMS

The NRC completed nine Integrated Materials 

Performance Evaluation Program reviews and 

corresponding Management Review Boards for the States 

of California, Maryland, Nebraska, Tennessee, Arizona, 

and Rhode Island. 

During FY 2016, the NRC issued a proposed revision to 

the Agreement State Program Policy Statement for public 

comment. This revision was intended to enhance the 

definition of terms in the policy statement and to clarify 

the expectations regarding the compatibility of Agreement 

State Programs with NRC policy and regulations (see 

Figure 17). The NRC held public meetings to discuss the 

proposed revision. The final Agreement State Program 

Policy Statement document is expected to be issued in 

FY 2017. 

The NRC staff completed a draft final Tribal Policy 

Statement. The policy would establish principles for 

the NRC to follow to help ensure effective governmentto-government interactions with American Indian 

and Alaska Native Tribes, and to encourage and 

facilitate Tribal involvement in the areas over which the 

Commission has jurisdiction. 

Figure 17 – Agreement States

Spent Fuel Storage and 

Transportation

The NRC conducts detailed technical reviews to ensure 

that storage and transportation of spent nuclear fuel and 

other risk-significant radioactive materials are safe and 

secure and comply with agency regulations. The NRC 

closely coordinates transportation-related activities with 

those of the U.S. Department of Transportation and, as 

appropriate, DOE. The NRC inspects vendors, fabricators, 

and licensees that build and use storage systems and 

transportation packages. The NRC also inspects 

independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI) both 

at and away from reactor sites. 

Radioactive Waste Storage
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

4 8

LICENSING AND OVERSIGHT

In FY 2016, the NRC received a license application 

to construct and generate an away from the reactor 

storage facility for spent nuclear fuel from Waste Control 

Specialists (WCS), near Andrews, Texas. During the 

NRC’s acceptance review, the agency determined that 

WCS would need to supplement the application before 

it could be accepted for full safety and environmental 

review. The NRC also issued the renewed material 

license for Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant ISFSI 

(SNM‐2506), authorizing operation for an additional

40 years beyond the original license expiration date. 

Based on lessons learned from renewal application 

reviews and extensive stakeholder involvement, the NRC 

expanded guidance on renewal application content, 

scoping, aging management review, time-limited aging 

analyses, and aging management programs. NRC 

published NUREG-1927, Revision 1, “Standard Review 

Plan for Renewal of Specific Licenses and Certificates 

of Compliance for Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel,” 

Final Report. 

RULEMAKING

The NRC published its final decision to deny the 

remaining two issues of the C-10 Research and Education 

Foundation, Inc., petition for rulemaking, PRM-72-

6 (81 FR 41258). The agency denied the two issues 

because the proposed changes to the NRC requirements 

are unnecessary to ensure safe and secure storage and 

transportation of spent fuel. NRC completed analyses 

related to work directed by the Commission and 

described in COMSECY-10-0007, “Project Plan for the 

Regulatory Program Review to Support Extended Storage 

and Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel.” The analyses 

determined additional work, including rulemaking, was 

not necessary, so this request was denied.

Decommissioning and LowLevel Waste

Decommissioning involves the removal of radioactive 

contamination from buildings, equipment, ground water, 

and soil and achieves levels that permit the release of the 

property while protecting the public. The NRC terminates 

the licenses for decommissioned facilities after the 

licensees demonstrate that the residual onsite radioactivity 

is within regulatory limits to protect the health and 

safety of the public and the environment. Completing 

decommissioning, environmental, and performance 

assessment activities provides assurance that residual 

radioactivity does not pose an unacceptable risk to the 

public (see Figure 18). 

Figure 18 – Decommissioning Overview Timeline

During FY 2016, the NRC terminated the materials 

licenses for the Mallinckrodt site in St. Louis, Missouri, 

and the Stepan Company site in Maywood, New Jersey, 

which were two longstanding decommissioning projects. 

The NRC also terminated the operating license for the 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs research reactor in 

Omaha, Nebraska.

Fansteel, the sole funding agent of FMRI, a subsidiary 

created to perform decommissioning operations at the 

Muskogee, Oklahoma site, filed a voluntary petition for 

reorganization under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code 
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

in early September 2016. Prior to the bankruptcy filing, 

the NRC, Department of Justice (DOJ), and Oklahoma 

Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) were 

all parties to a series of Forbearance Agreements that 

established an acceptable funding level for FMRI as 

well as technical requirements for decommissioning. 

Currently, Fansteel is funding FMRI at a level that will, at 

a minimum, maintain the safety and security of the site. 

The NRC is working with DOJ and ODEQ to ensure that 

the NRC’s interests are represented in the bankruptcy case 

and that FMRI will continue to safely decommission the 

Muskogee site. 

Low-level waste (LLW) includes items that are 

contaminated with radioactive material or have become 

radioactive through exposure to neutron radiation. 

Although the NRC regulates LLW disposal, currently all 

commercial LLW disposal sites in the United States are in 

Agreement States. The NRC’s LLW regulatory program 

includes the following activities: 

•	 Coordinating with, and providing technical assistance 

to, Agreement States on LLW issues.

•	 Representing the NRC in international waste 

management activities.

•	 Consulting with Federal and State officials and other 

entities to promote an understanding of LLW issues 

and resolve concerns in a timely manner. 

Under the Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR) 

program, per Section 3116 of the Ronald W. Reagan 

National Defense Authorization Act of 2005, DOE consults 

with the NRC on waste determinations in a covered State 

(Idaho and South Carolina). If the DOE Secretary’s final 

determination is that the waste is WIR, then the NRC 

monitors DOE disposal actions in coordination with the 

covered State by assessing the DOE disposal actions to 

determine compliance with the performance objectives in 

Subpart C of 10 CFR Part 61, “Licensing Requirements for 

Land Disposal of Radioactive Waste.”

Certain types of uranium recovery (UR), the 

extraction of uranium ore, are also regulated under the 

Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste Business Line. 

The NRC ensures that UR facilities are licensed, operated, 

decommissioned, and monitored to protect the public and 

environment. This consists of oversight, inspection, and 

licensing of operating facilities; licensing of new sites or 

expansion of existing sites through license amendments; 

and the management of legacy sites in decommissioning 

or long term care. 

HIGH LEVEL WASTE

In May 2016, NRC issued the ‘‘Supplement to the U.S. 

Department of Energy’s Environmental Impact Statement 

for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent 

Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca 

Mountain, Nye County, Nevada,’’ NUREG–2184. This 

supplements the DOE’s 2002 Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) and its 2008 Supplemental EIS for the 

proposed repository at Yucca Mountain. The scope of the 

supplement is outlined in the NRC staff ’s 2008 Adoption 

Determination Report for DOE’s EISs, and evaluates 

the potential environmental impacts from the proposed 

repository on groundwater and from surface discharges 

of groundwater downstream from the repository site 

boundary. The draft supplement was issued for public 

comment in August 2015, and the final version addresses 

the more than 1200 comments received. The NRC staff 

finds that all of the impacts on the resources evaluated in 

this supplement would be small. 

In August 2016, the NRC made nearly 3.7 million 

documents from the adjudicatory hearing on the Yucca 

Mountain application publicly available in its online 

documents database. The documents were formerly part 

of the Licensing Support Network (LSN) created to allow 

various parties and the public access to documents needed 

for the hearing on DOE’s request for a construction 

authorization for the repository. The LSN was shut down 

when the hearing was suspended in September 2011. The 

new LSN Library in ADAMS includes enhanced search 

capabilities as well as an online user’s guide. 
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

5 0

Ensure the secure use of 2 radioactive materials.

strategic goa

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE

The strategic objectives specify the conditions that 

must be met for the agency to ensure the secure use of 

radioactive materials. The strategic objectives for Goal 2 

are the following two statements in bold text.

1. Ensure protection of nuclear facilities and radioactive 

materials.

Protecting nuclear facilities and radioactive materials 

are key elements for achieving the NRC’s Security goal. 

Nuclear facilities and materials are protected against 

hostile intent by two primary means: (1) control of access 

to facilities and materials, and (2) accountability controls 

for radioactive materials. These controls are intended to 

prevent those with hostile intent from either damaging a 

nuclear facility in such a way that a significant release of 

radioactive materials to the environment occurs or from 

obtaining enough radioactive material for malevolent use.

2. Ensure protection of classified and Safeguards 

Information

Protecting classified and Safeguards information is 

another key contributor to achieving the agency’s Security 

goal. This is accomplished primarily by controlling access 

to this information to ensure that potential adversaries 

cannot use it for malevolent purposes, such as sabotage, 

theft, or diversion of radioactive materials. 

Classified information at the NRC and at the facilities 

it regulates is primarily of two types. Classified by an 

Executive Order, national security information could 

cause damage to the national security if compromised. 

Restricted Data is information classified by the Atomic 

Energy Act, the compromise of which could assist in 

the design, manufacture, or use of nuclear weapons. 

Safeguards Information (SGI) is a special category 

of sensitive unclassified information concerning the 

physical protection of operating power reactors, spent 

fuel shipments, strategic special nuclear material, or other 

radioactive material. 

In FY 2016, the NRC demonstrated that it achieved the 

two security strategic objectives by meeting the three 

performance indicators listed below, which became 

effective in 2015. Because the agency is required to report 

on performance information for the previous five fiscal 

years, Table 4 shows the agency’s annual prior Security 

performance indicators and results for FYs 2011–2014. 

Prior performance Indicators 1–4 address the first security 

objective. Prior Indicator 5 addresses the second security 

objective. 

Security Objective 1: Ensure protection of nuclear facilities 

and radioactive materials.

Performance Goal 1: Prevent sabotage, theft, diversion, or 

loss of risk‐significant quantities of radioactive material.

Performance Indicator:Number of instances of sabotage, 

theft, diversion, or loss of risk‐significant quantities of

radioactive material that meet or exceed AO criteria I.C.1 

(unrecovered lost, stolen, or abandoned sources), I.C.2 

(substantiated case of actual theft or diversion), and the 

portion of criterion I.C.3 (substantiated loss of a formula 

quantity) concerning theft or diversion of special nuclear 

material. 

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

All Business Lines T0 0 0 0

Discussion: This indicator measures the agency’s 

effectiveness at preventing sabotage, theft, diversion, 

or loss of risk-significant quantities of radioactive 

material through tracking any loss or theft of radioactive 

nuclear sources that the NRC has determined to be of 

significant risk. The indicator also measures the agency’s 

performance in ensuring the proper accounting for 

radioactive sources of significant risk that could be used 

for malicious purposes. It also measures whether NRC-
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5 1

Chapter 2 n Program Performance

licensed facilities maintain adequate protective capabilities 

to prevent theft or diversion of nuclear material or 

sabotage that could result in substantial harm to the public 

health and safety and whether special nuclear material is 

accounted for, and it ensures that formula-quantity losses 

of this material do not occur. No such incidents took 

place during FY 2016.

Performance Goal 2: Prevent substantial breakdowns of 

physical security, cyber security, or material control and 

accountability.

Performance Indicator: Number of substantial 

breakdowns of physical security, cyber security, or 

material control and accountability that meet or exceed 

AO criterion I.C.4 (substantial breakdown of physical 

security or materials control that will include breakdowns 

of cyber security) and the portion of AO criterion I.C.3 

(substantiated loss of a formula quantity) concerning 

breakdowns of the accountability system for special 

nuclear material.

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

All Business Lines <1 0 0 0

Discussion: This indicator measures the agency’s 

effectiveness in maintaining security by tracking any 

substantial breakdowns in access control, containment, 

or accountability systems that significantly weakened 

the protection against theft, diversion, or sabotage for 

nuclear materials that the agency has determined to be 

of significant risk. In FY 2016, there were no incidents of 

this nature.

Security Objective 2: Ensure protection of classified and 

Safeguards information.

Performance Goal 3: Prevent significant unauthorized 

disclosures of classified or SGI.

Performance Indicator: Number of significant 

unauthorized disclosures of classified or Safeguards 

Information by licensees as defined by AO criterion I.C.5 

and by NRC employees or contractors as defined by 

analogous NRC internal criteria.

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

All Business Lines 0 0 0 0

Discussion: This indicator includes significant 

unauthorized disclosures of classified or Safeguards 

information that cause damage to national security or 

public safety. This indicator reflects whether information 

that can harm national security (classified information) 

or cause damage to the public health and safety (SGI) 

has been protected sufficiently to prevent its disclosure 

to terrorist organizations, other nations, or personnel 

without a need to know. No significant unauthorized 

disclosures occurred in FY 2016. 
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

5 2

Table 4 – FY 2011-2014 Performance Indicators Results

Goal – Security: Ensure secure use of radioactive materials

In FY 2015, the NRC revised performance indicators to align with the agency’s FY 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan. The 

performance indicators used prior to FY 2015 tracked most of the same outcomes as the current indicators. There is no 

new data for any of these indicators. 

1 Unrecovered Losses of Risk Significant* Radioactive Sources

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Security Performance Goal 1 Actual 1* 0 0 0

*“Risk-significant” is defined as any unrecovered, lost, or abandoned sources that exceed the values listed in Appendix P, “Category 1 and 2 Radioactive Material,” to

10 CFR Part 110, “Export and Import of Nuclear Equipment and Material.” Excluded from reporting under this criterion are those events involving sources that 

are lost or abandoned under the following conditions: (1) sources abandoned in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR Part 39.77(c), (2) recovered sources 

with sufficient indication that doses in excess of the reporting thresholds specified in AO Criteria I.A.1 and I.A.2 did not occur during the time that the source 

was missing, (3) unrecoverable sources lost under such conditions that doses in excess of the reporting thresholds specified in AO Criteria I.A.1 and I.A.2 were not 

known to have occurred, (4) other sources that are lost or abandoned and declared unrecoverable , (5) a source for which the agency has made a determination 

that its risk significance is low based on its location (e.g., water depth) or its physical characteristics (e.g., half life and housing) and its surroundings, (6) cases 

in which all reasonable efforts have been made to recover the source, and (7) the determination was made that the source is not recoverable and will not be 

considered a realistic safety or security risk under this measure. (This includes licenses under the Agreement States.)

**There were no losses and one theft of radioactive nuclear material that the NRC considered to be risk significant during FY 2011. 

2 Number of Substantiated* Cases of Actual Theft or Diversion of Licensed, Risk Significant Radioactive Sources, or 

Formula Quantities** of Special Nuclear Material or Attacks That Result in Radiological Sabotage***

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Security Performance Goal 1 Actual 0 0 0 0

*“Substantiated” means a situation in which an indication of loss, theft, or unlawful diversion, such as an allegation of diversion, report of lost or stolen material, 

statistical processing difference, or other indication of loss of material control or accountability cannot be refuted following an investigation and requires further 

action on the part of the agency or other proper authorities. 

**A formula quantity of special nuclear material is defined in 10 CFR Part 70.4, “Definitions.”

***“Radiological sabotage” is defined in 10 CFR Part 73.2, “Definitions.” 

3 Number of Substantiated Losses of Formula Quantities of Special Nuclear Material or Substantiated Inventory 

Discrepancies of Formula Quantities of Special Nuclear Material That Are Judged To Be Caused by Theft or Diversion or 

by Substantial Breakdown* of the Accountability System 

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Security Performance Goal 1 Actual 0 0 0 0

*A “substantial breakdown” is defined as a red finding in the security cornerstone of the ROP or any plant or facility that is determined either to have overall 

unacceptable performance or be in a shutdown condition (inimical to the effective functioning of the Nation’s critical infrastructure) as a result of significant 

performance problems or operational events.

4 Number of Substantial Breakdowns* of Physical Security or Material Control (i.e., Access Control, Containment, or 

Accountability Systems) That Significantly Weakened the Protection against Theft, Diversion, or Sabotage

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target ≤ 1 ≤ 1 ≤ 1 ≤ 1 Replaced by Security Performance Goal 2 Actual 0 0 0 0

*A “substantial breakdown” is defined as a red finding in the security cornerstone of the ROP or any plant or facility that is determined either to have overall 

unacceptable performance or be in a shutdown condition (inimical to the effective functioning of the Nation’s critical infrastructure) as a result of significant 

performance problems or operational events.
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Table 4 – FY 2011-2014 Performance Indicators Results (continued)

Goal – Security: Ensure secure use of radioactive materials

5 Number of Significant Unauthorized Disclosures * of Classified and/or Safeguards Information

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Target 0 0 0 0 Replaced by Security Performance Goal 3 Actual 0 0 0 0

*“Significant unauthorized disclosure” is defined as a disclosure that harms national security or public health or safety.

Nuclear Reactor Security

The NRC continues to perform its licensing and oversight 

functions to ensure protection of public health and safety, 

promote the common defense and security, and protect 

the environment. NRC security programs contribute to 

fulfilling this mission.

The following narrative describes major activities and 

accomplishments under the Nuclear Reactor Safety 

business lines that contributed to achieving the strategic 

goal for ensuring the secure use of radioactive materials. 

The NRC conducts a robust security inspection program 

within the security cornerstone of the agency’s ROP. The 

security cornerstone focuses on five key attributes of 

licensee performance: 

1. Access authorization.

2. Access control.

3. Physical protection systems.

4. Material control and accounting.

5. Response to contingency events.

The agency uses the results obtained from all oversight 

activities, including baseline security inspections and 

performance indicators, to determine whether licensees 

comply with NRC requirements and can provide high 

assurance of protection against the design‐basis threat for

radiological sabotage.

The NRC carries out force-on-force inspections at 

commercial operating nuclear power plants at least 

once every three years as part of its comprehensive 

security program. The agency uses these inspections to 

evaluate the effectiveness of security programs to prevent 

radiological sabotage. Force‐on-force inspections assess

the ability of nuclear facilities to defend against the 

applicable design‐basis threat, which characterizes the

adversary against which licensees must design appropriate 

defenses, such as physical protection systems and response 

strategies. A force-on-force inspection includes tabletop 

drills and simulated combat between a mock commandotype adversary force and the site security force. During 

the attack, the adversary force attempts to reach and 

simulate damaging key safety systems and components at 

a nuclear power plant.

In June 2016, the staff provided SECY-16-0073, “Options 

and Recommendations for Force‐on‐Force Inspectio

Program in Response to SRM-SECY-14-0088,” to the 

Commission. This paper analyzed the findings of the 

Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures Working Group 

and provided options regarding the security baseline 

inspection program (including force‐on‐force) to th

Commission for its consideration.
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

5 4

Figure 19 – Life-Cycle Approach to Source 

Security

INTEGRATED AND COORDINATED SECURITY 

ACTIVITIES

The Integrated Response Program (IRP) is a partnership 

between the Federal Government (i.e., the NRC, Federal 

Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS)) and the commercial nuclear 

power industry. It seeks to leverage existing tactical 

law enforcement capabilities to respond effectively to 

significant threats at nuclear power plants. One element 

of the IRP is the Contingency Response Tool (CRT), 

which is a computer-aided planning tool to assist tactical 

law enforcement with planning missions and navigating 

inside nuclear power plants. In FY 2016, the NRC 

streamlined its CRT development support activities as the 

result of agencywide efficiency improvements . 

CYBER SECURITY

The NRC has established cyber security requirements 

for nuclear power plants and developed an oversight 

program for cybersecurity that includes an inspection 

program, inspector training, and a process for 

evaluating the significance of inspection findings. This 

was accomplished collaboratively with stakeholders, 

including representatives from the DHS, the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, NIST, and industry. 

During FY 2016, the agency inspected licensees to 

ensure consistent and effective implementation of cyber 

security plans. 

Nuclear Materials and Waste 

Security

The following narrative describes major activities and 

accomplishments under the Nuclear Materials and Waste 

Safety business lines that contributed to achieving the 

strategic goal for ensuring the secure use of radioactive 

materials. 

FUEL FACILITIES

The NRC continues to license and oversee security 

controls at operating fuel cycle facilities. This program 

includes force-on-force inspections at the fuel facilities 

that process Category I special nuclear material. The 

Commission directed the NRC staff to develop an 

expedited fuel cycle cyber security rulemaking in the Staff 

Requirements Memorandum to SECY-14-0147, “Cyber 

Security for Fuel Cycle Facilities.” The agency published 

the regulatory basis for the proposed rulemaking in 

April 2016. Subsequently, the NRC issued the draft 

proposed rule language and draft regulatory guide for 

public comment and held a public meeting in August 2016 

to provide stakeholders an opportunity to comment on 

these draft documents. 

NUCLEAR MATERIALS USERS

The NRC verified that all Agreement States implemented 

Part 37-compatible requirements or equivalent license 

conditions for licensees possessing aggregated Category 1 

and Category 2 quantities of material by the March 2016 

deadline for compliance.

In addition, the NRC completed a comprehensive 

program review of the requirements in 10 CFR Part 37. 

A paper containing the program review results was 

provided to the Commission.

During FY 2016, the NRC completed source security 

actions such as the 2016 National Source Tracking System 
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5 5

Chapter 2 n Program Performance

(NSTS) Annual Inventory Reconciliation (see Figure 19). 

NSTS inventories were sent to roughly 1,400 NRC and 

Agreement State licensees to confirm information about 

approximately 77,000 Category 1 and Category 2 sources.

International Activities

The NRC participates in a wide range of international 

activities based on statutory requirements, U.S. 

Government obligations and commitments, international 

treaties and agreements, Executive Orders, Presidential 

Decision Directives, and Commission policy and 

guidance. International activities are integrated to the 

mission of the agency. Each business line within the 

Nuclear Reactor Safety and Nuclear Materials and Waste 

Safety programs is involved in international activities 

and, for ease of reference, an agency view of these 

activities is presented in this section. 

In addition to licensing exports and imports of nuclear 

facilities, equipment, and materials and providing 

technical support for U.S. nuclear nonproliferation 

activities, the NRC also engages in bilateral and 

multilateral cooperation and assistance programs to 

exchange information, perform collaborative research 

and support improvements to regulatory infrastructures 

and programs worldwide. Whether working directly 

with regulators in other countries through cooperative 

research or information exchange arrangements or 

working with multiple regulatory counterparts through 

the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 

the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 

Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and other 

multilateral organizations, the NRC helps to ensure that 

proper attention is devoted to encouraging effective 

regulatory oversight programs and initiatives worldwide. 

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND 

AGREEMENTS

Several treaties and conventions ratified by the U.S. 

Government address nuclear safety and security matters 

that require the NRC to implement rules and hold 

U.S. licensees accountable to various international 

norms. These treaties and conventions address various 

issues including: nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear 

safety, international safeguards, physical protection, 

emergency notification and assistance, spent fuel and 

waste management, and liability for nuclear accidents. 

In addition to overseeing implementation of these 

international norms within the United States, these 

treaties and conventions also obligate the NRC to 

participate in international meetings to gain and share 

insights on the issues that other countries may be 

encountering.

EXPORT AND IMPORT LICENSING

Through its export and import authority, the NRC 

upholds the U.S. Government goals of limiting the 

proliferation of materials that could be used in weapons 

and supports the safe and secure use of civilian nuclear 

and radioactive materials worldwide. The NRC continues 

to work to strengthen the export and import regulations 

of nuclear equipment and materials and to improve 

communication between domestic and international 

stakeholders. The NRC adheres to the relevant export/

import guidance associated with Code of Conduct on the 

Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources and ensures 

that U.S. licensees adhere to U.S. regulatory requirements 

including pre-shipment notifications. 

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND 

ASSISTANCE

There are a wide range of ongoing regulatory programs 

that enhance the safety and security of peaceful nuclear 

activities worldwide. With countries that have mature 

nuclear power or radioactive materials programs, the 

NRC focuses on sharing information and best practices. 

With countries that have new programs, the NRC 

focuses on helping them develop and improve their 

regulatory infrastructures and programs. The NRC has 45 

information sharing agreements with different countries, 

Taiwan, and the European Atomic Energy Community 

benefiting both foreign and domestic programs. The 

NRC engages with over 85 countries that have mature 

nuclear power or radioactive materials programs; this 

engagement focuses on sharing operational information 

and best practices. NRC-supported assistance is provided, 
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

5 6

both bilaterally and multilaterally, to approximately 150 

countries through training, workshops, peer reviews of 

regulatory documents, working group meetings, and 

exchanges of technical information and specialists. The 

NRC also participates in cooperative research programs 

with 30 countries and Taiwan through more than 100 

multilateral agreements in order to share U.S. research and 

to learn from the research of other countries.

The NRC has a robust relationship with both the NEA 

in France and with the IAEA in Austria. The NEA’s 

membership comprises countries with mature nuclear 

power programs and regulatory organizations, which 

facilitates beneficial dialogue on significant technical 

topics. The NEA’s research activities enable multiple 

countries to benefit from research conducted in a single 

location, which promotes cooperation and efficient use 

of limited resources. Due to the more comprehensive 

international membership of the IAEA, and its much 

broader focus on safety, security, and safeguards for all 

uses of nuclear materials and technologies, the NRC is 

engaged in a more varied number of IAEA activities. 

SIGNIFICANT INTERNATIONAL 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN FY 2016

In FY 2016, significant NRC international 

accomplishments involved the following activities:

•	 Participating in high level U.S. Government nuclear 

security initiatives in collaboration with U.S. Executive 

Branch agencies and regulatory counterparts from 

other countries through activities such as the 2016 

Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., and the 

2016 International Regulators’ Conference on Nuclear 

Security in Spain.

•	 Leading and supporting U.S. Government delegations 

in international meetings addressing the following: 

the Convention on Nuclear Safety; the Joint 

Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management 

and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management; 

and the Convention on the Physical Protection of 

Nuclear Material. The agency also served on multiple 

IAEA regulatory peer review missions and guidance 

committees.

•	 Providing assistance supporting completion of verified 

national radioactive sources registries, through NRC’s 

Radioactive Sources Regulatory Partnership, with 

counterparts in six countries and continuing the NRC’s 

International Regulatory Development Partnership, for 

over 20 countries considering civilian nuclear power 

programs.

•	 Maintaining active bilateral information exchange 

programs including participating with U.S. Executive 

Branch agencies and others in the first ever U.S.-

Republic of Korea High Level Bilateral Commission 

meeting on civilian nuclear safety.

•	 Providing technical support to U.S. Executive Branch 

agencies and participating in bilateral negotiations 

for the Agreements for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation 

between the U.S. Government and Saudi Arabia, 

Republic of Korea (ROK), Norway and Mexico. The 

Agreement for Civil Nuclear Cooperation between 

the Governments of the United States of America 

and China (i.e., U.S.-China 123 Agreement) entered 

into force on October 29, 2015. The U.S.-ROK 123 

Agreement entered into force on November 25, 2015. 

Cross-Cutting Strategies

The NRC has two crosscutting strategies: Regulatory 

Effectiveness and Openness, which support the fulfillment 

of the NRC’s Safety and Security Objectives. 

REGULATORY EFFECTIVENESS

The effort to improve performance in government, 

coupled with increased demands on the NRC’s resources, 

requires the agency to become more effective, efficient, 

and timely in its regulatory activities. The NRC’s 

effectiveness initiatives enable the agency’s focus on safety 

and security and ensure that its available resources are 

optimally directed toward accomplishing the agency’s 

mission. 

In late January 2015, the NRC staff sent to the 

Commission its Project Aim report detailing staff 

recommendations designed to improve the agency’s 

agility, effectiveness, and efficiency while ensuring 
http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

5 7

Chapter 2 n Program Performance

its ability to protect the public health and safety. The 

Project Aim report recommended a number of strategies 

under the themes of people, planning, and process to 

prepare the NRC for the future. The agency has made 

significant progress implementing Project Aim tasks that 

will make the NRC more agile, effective, and efficient in 

accomplishing its mission for the foreseeable future. 

The agency has completed a total of 13 of the 19 Project 

Aim tasks including: establishing the Center of Expertise 

(COE) for Allegations and creating two additional 

COEs for Technical Specifications and External Hazards 

Evaluation; implementing standardized processes and 

creating more effective and efficient tools for contracts 

oversight; creating a centralized, one-stop, location to 

request services across the agency; institutionalizing the 

common prioritization process to evaluate emerging 

work; implementing the strategic workforce plan; 

standardizing or centralizing of specific regional support 

staff functions and initiating a follow-on effort to 

further streamline, standardize, and centralize support 

staff functions throughout the agency; and providing 

recommendations for consolidation of the Regional 

Materials Program and the merger of the Office of New 

Reactors and Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. The 

agency continues to implement strategies to effectively 

govern resources through position management, hiring 

externally only to meet critical skills not currently in the 

agency, and offering early outs and buyouts. The agency 

also has identified longer-term efficiencies, is addressing 

Corporate Support services, and has found efficiencies 

in the NRC’s personnel security program. The projected 

completion date for all tasks is November 2018.

NUCLEAR REACTOR SAFETY

The agency continued to enhance its regulatory processes 

using lessons learned from the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi 

accident and applying risk insights in making decisions 

on licensing and inspection efforts to focus on the most 

critical issues. Additionally, through improved workload 

management and updated data management tools, the 

NRC has realized greater efficiencies in its regulatory 

processes while maintaining the effectiveness of its 

regulatory activities. 

Specific to enhancing effectiveness of the NRC’s 

inspection activities, the agency closed an Office of the 

Inspector General audit on NRC support provided to 

resident inspectors (OIG-14-A-12). The audit had two 

recommendations: (1) identify a formal mechanism for 

obtaining resident inspectors’ perspectives regarding 

support issues and (2) take measures to ensure that 

the roles and responsibilities for existing support 

systems for resident inspectors’ needs and concerns 

are communicated and understood by the appropriate 

management and staff, and are effectively executed. In 

response to the recommendations, the agency took the 

following actions: (1) developed a formal mechanism 

(through the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Digital 

City website) to provide resident inspectors the ability to 

offer input and seek support when necessary to enhance 

their operational effectiveness; and (2) revised IMC 2515, 

“Light-Water Reactor Inspection Program – Operations 

Phase,” Section 2515-11, “Inspector Policy,” to include a 

specific subsection describing regional management roles 

and responsibilities in ensuring that existing feedback 

mechanisms or venues include opportunities for resident 

inspectors to communicate support needs or concerns.

NUCLEAR MATERIALS SAFETY AND 

SECURITY

The agency also continued to enhance its regulatory 

program for nuclear materials. Among the efforts were:

• Revisions of the 21-volume NUREG-1556, 

“Consolidated Guidance About Material Licenses.” 

This included addition of guidance related to licensee 

safety culture, update of information regarding new 

or revised radioactive source security requirements, 

and clarification of requirements that applicants and 

licensees must meet in order to hold a license for 

possession and use of radioactive material.

• Improvement of the Web-Based Licensing (WBL) 

system in order to help streamline the licensing process 

and replace multiple legacy systems. This included 

development and delivery of extensive user training 

to expand the population of staff using the system, 

enhancements of the system to improve functionality 

for planning and tracking of materials inspections, 
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Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

5 8

and an effort to implement standard license and 

correspondence formats and to issue such documents 

directly through the WBL system. 

• Verification that all Agreement States implemented 

Part 37-compatible requirements or license conditions 

for licensees possessing aggregated Category 1 and 

Category 2 quantities of material by the March 2016 

deadline. 

• Completion of an effectiveness review of the nuclear 

material security regulations found in 10 CFR Part 37. 

OPENNESS

The openness objective explicitly recognizes that the 

public and stakeholders must be informed about, and 

have a reasonable opportunity to participate in, the NRC’s 

regulatory processes. The NRC is firmly committed 

to transparency, participation, and collaboration as 

key principles governing the agency’s relationship 

with the public and other stakeholders. The agency 

has demonstrated its commitment to these openness 

principles through its longstanding efforts to keep 

stakeholders informed and involved in the NRC’s 

regulatory process. 

PUBLIC MEETINGS

The agency holds over 1,000 public meetings every year to 

engage and inform the public about the NRC’s regulatory 

activities. The purpose of the majority of these meetings 

is for the NRC to meet with licensees, applicants, or 

other groups. These meetings are conducted in an open 

manner to increase the transparency of the NRC’s actions, 

and time is set aside for members of the public to ask 

questions of the NRC. For other public meetings, the 

NRC is seeking to interact directly with members of the 

public to inform and educate them on regulatory topics, 

or, in certain cases, to take public comments. 

In the spirit of continual improvement, the agency 

assembled a task group beginning in June 2014 

to complete a comprehensive review of its public 

meeting policies, processes, and guidance to identify 

potential improvements. The task group produced 

a set of recommendations in January 2015. The 

agency is currently in the process of implementing the 

Commission’s direction on these recommendations. In 

August 2016, the NRC published for public comment in 

the Federal Register a draft revision to the Commission’s 

Policy Statement on enhancing public participation in 

NRC meetings. The revisions are intended to improve 

the consistency of NRC public meetings and to help 

individuals better prepare for a meeting by illustrating the 

level of public participation to be offered for each type of 

meeting. 

In July 2016, the Commission held an all-day meeting 

where the NRC invited a number of external stakeholders 

to share their perspectives on the NRC’s regulatory 

programs. The meeting participants included State and 

tribal representatives, nongovernmental organizations, 

industry, organized labor, vendors, academia, and the 

medical community, as well as a former NRC 

Commissioner and a former NRC Chairman. 

2016 Regulatory Information Conference

The NRC held the annual Regulatory Information 

Conference (RIC) in March 2016. This conference brings 

together diverse groups of stakeholders to learn, share, 

and discuss information on significant and timely nuclear 

regulatory activities and emergent issues. The RIC is 

a communication vehicle that fosters informal, open 

dialogue between the public and the NRC, and supports 

the NRC’s strategic objective to ensure openness. 
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

The NRC also conducted significant outreach during 

FY 2016 in the development of the next NRC Strategic 

Plan (covering FY 2018-2022). The NRC held a public 

meeting and webinar on the NRC’s Strategic Plan in July 

2016 and a government-to-government meeting in August 

2016 to solicit input to inform development of the plan. 

The NRC’s Strategic Plan identifies the agency’s strategic 

goals and performance expectations, identifies long-term 

strategies to guide the agency’s activity, and provides a 

basis for the agency’s budget and performance plans.

The agency sponsored the first annual Radiation 

Protection Computer Code Analysis and Maintenance 

Program (RAMP) User Meeting in October 2015. The 

purpose of these annual meetings is to conduct training 

and exchange technical information on radiation 

protection, dose assessment, and emergency response 

computer codes. Over 70 participants from Federal and 

State agencies and four countries attended the event.

During FY 2016, the NRC conducted outreach efforts 

associated with the cleanup of military sites with radium 

contamination (e.g., Organizations of Agreement States 

(OAS) Conference calls on the MOU; presentation at the 

Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors for 

2016; and presentation at the Organization of Agreement 

States Annual Meeting). 

Management Objectives

This section focuses on the activities related to the key 

management objectives of human capital and information 

management and IT. Other management objectives 

include acquisitions, space and facilities management, and 

financial management and financial stewardship.

Management Objective 12: People: Attract, develop, and 

retain a high-performing, diverse, and engaged workforce

with the skills needed to adapt to workload changes and 

effectively carry out the NRC’s mission now and in the 

future.

2

A performance indicator reported in the Congressional Budget Justification 

related to the Safety Culture and Climate Survey was removed because it was 

discontinued and replaced with an internal indicator starting in FY 16.

Performance Goal: Sustain average scores and ratings 

in the OPM indices on the Federal Employee Viewpoint 

Survey (FEVS).3

Performance Indicator: Average scores in the OPM 

indices on the FEVS

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

Corporate Support

Top 5 

ranking 

among 

Federal 

agencies

4

Top 5 

ranking 

among 

Federal 

agencies

7

Performance Goal: Meet a specified percentage of key 

human capital indicators.

Performance Indicator: Percent of key human capital 

indicators met.4

Timeframe: Annual

Business Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

Corporate Support 75% 75% 75% 75%

Management Objective 2: Information Management 

and IT: Make it easier for NRC staff members to perform 

their mission and obtain the information they need from 

authoritative sources anytime, anywhere, on any device, 

while managing the risk of compromise of sensitive 

information.

Performance Goal: Achieve target for aggregate score on 

agency-specific questions addressing information and IT 

on the annual FEVS survey.

3

Examples are Global Satisfaction and Employee Engagement Indices; as well as 

support for diversity.

4

Examples include retention of professional hires within 3 years, FEVS 

participation, percent of veterans and employees with targeted disabilities 

hired, percent of attrition, iLearn user satisfaction, and percent of participants 

completing development programs.
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Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

6 0

Performance Indicator: Score on agency-specific 

questions addressing information and information 

technology on the annual FEVS

Timeframe: Annual

Business 

Line FY 2015 FY 2016

Target Actual Target Actual

Corporate 

Support

5% increase 

from 

FY 2014 

FEVS results

 1% increase 

from 

FY 2014 

FEVS results

85% 

(FY 2015

FEVS result)

90.2%

HUMAN CAPITAL

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

The NRC continued to provide effective human capital 

programs and services in an effort to maintain its role 

as a strategic business partner with its stakeholders. As 

a result of projected decreases in workload, the agency 

is reducing in size and resources. The Office of the 

Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) collaborated 

with offices in the implementation of hiring/full-time 

equivalent (FTE) controls to achieve the FTE target for 

FY 2017 and beyond. As a result, the agency continued 

to focus its efforts to limit external hiring and to focus 

on implementing the results of the re-baselining effort 

and strategic workforce planning. The NRC successfully 

led an agencywide Early Out/Buy Out that resulted in 

86 applications being approved. In addition, the agency 

prepared a staffing plan for 2017 and a Future State 

Workforce Profile. Staffing plans will provide numbers 

and skills of agency staff as well as areas of overages and 

gaps across the agency. The Future State Workforce 

Profile is designed to be forward looking, and will 

provide insights into projected workload changes and 

corresponding workforce needs. 

The agency submitted its request to the Office of 

Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to renew certification 

of NRC’s Senior Executive Service (SES) performance 

appraisal system. OCHCO, along with a working 

group of executives, reviewed FY 2016 SES plans 

to recommend enhancements and prepare for SES 

certification submission to OPM and OMB. The 

agency’s Executive Review Board members concurred on 

a draft revised version of Management Directive 10.137, 

“Senior Executive Service Performance Management 

System,” which was included in the certification package 

as a working draft. 

The NRC submitted NRC’s certification request in June 

2016. In September 2016, OPM approved a 1-year 

provisional certification of the NRC’s SES performance 

appraisal system. 

The working group for the Project Clearance Review has 

completed various activities related to developing new 

methodology and procedures for re-designating position 

sensitivity levels as the agency is transitioning to a new 

environment where security clearances will no longer 

be a mandatory minimum for all agency employees. To 

date, the working group has: drafted and submitted a 

Communication Plan for EDO approval; engaged with 

NTEU; developed a branding logo; secured an NRC 

web page where the communication plan and future 

information will be published; determined the agency 

will utilize OPM’s position designation tool as the new 

methodology for position designation determinations; 

decided to conduct a non-binding small scale test with 

select OCHCO and ADM branches prior to the pilot 

phase; drafted position designation instructions for 

supervisors; and drafted an implementation plan.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT 

One aspect of the agency-wide action plan to continue 

to improve the NRC work environment focuses on 

improving leadership. Toward that end, as of June 2016, 

the NRC conducted an Aspiring Leaders Certificate 

Program with 226 staff enrolled and 40 graduates. 

Additionally, the agency established a Leaders at All Levels 

certificate program during the third quarter of FY 2016. 
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

To enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of training 

and development, the NRC is revamping the way it 

trains and develops agency staff. In FY 2016, the NRC 

successfully launched H-122, Fundamental Health 

Physics in the Collaborative Learning Environment 

(CLE), demonstrating the capability of the CLE to support 

blended learning and Agreement State training. 

The NRC successfully piloted and launched an in-house 

training course, S-504 – Advanced Cyber Security for 

Inspectors, utilizing existing resources to avoid the 

necessity to enter into an inter-agency agreement for 

training — training essential to support emerging and 

rapidly changing aspects of the agency’s mission. This 

also supports movement of this training to the agency’s 

CLE. Additionally, the agency is currently piloting 

remote/distance learning technologies in its presentation 

of the extensive Westinghouse Pressurized Water Reactor 

Technology series being taught in the fourth quarter of 

FY 2016. This similarly supports the agency’s pursuit of a 

CLE solution. In the area of Organizational Development, 

the NRC successfully coordinated with Towers Watson 

on the roll-out of the 2015 Safety Culture Climate Survey 

results and training of Culture Champions and Analysts to 

support action planning based on the survey results. 

The agency also successfully led the KNOWvember 

campaign conducting 6 agency-wide Knowledge 

Management (KM) seminars and an additional 11 events 

on targeted technical subject areas. This year’s campaign 

leveraged a number of existing technologies to conduct 

these seminars, making them accessible to anyone, 

anywhere. Additionally, multiple sessions were offered by 

a former EDO detailing career lessons and seminal events 

that reinforced a successful model for capturing transient 

mentoring knowledge.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

In accordance with the Federal Information Technology 

Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), the NRC is changing 

its IT acquisition framework to increase internal controls 

over IT expenditures and further optimize the value of 

IT investments. The NRC received a 71 percent FITARA 

compliance score from OMB, the third highest among 

CFO Act agencies. The NRC is also in the process of 

procuring new enterprise-wide IT services that are more 

cost effective and flexible to support the agency mission. 

The agency’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

program has continued to improve in response times and 

requestor interactions while at the same time experiencing 

a 50 percent increase in incoming FOIA requests over the 

same period last fiscal year. These improvements have 

garnered positive feedback for the agency.

OTHER MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES

ACQUISITIONS

The agency recognized the need for clear and consistent 

guidance for staff engaged in the NRC’s acquisition 

and financial management processes and related efforts 

following the recent centralization of acquisition and 

the altered role of Contracting Officer’s Representatives 

(CORs). To accomplish this, the NRC developed and 

began implementation of an initiative to standardize 

acquisition and financial management activities across 

the agency, particularly as they relate to CORs. This 

effort included reviewing best practices, particularly 

among comparably-sized agencies to ensure these best 

practices were considered and incorporated into the 

recommendations. One significant accomplishment 

included updating the NRC Enterprise Acquisition 

Toolset to provide the CORs and other users with a 

simple, streamlined interface to make it easier to access 

tools and guidance related to the acquisition process. 

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

In response to declining staffing and the need to develop 

further efficiencies in rent and utility costs, the NRC 

established the key factors and criteria needed, and 

developed a plan to provide opportunities for right 

sizing space, including looking at space utilization, lease 

costs, lease expiration and terms, dismissal of the space 

to support release, and marketability of leased space to 
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

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other Federal tenants. In addition, in order to ensure the 

efficiency and effectiveness of the operation of the agency 

in the Rockville, Maryland, area, a 15-year succeeding 

lease was signed for the Two White Flint North (TWFN) 

building between the Lessor and the General Services 

Administration, and the agency subsequently signed 

another 15-year occupancy agreement for the TWFN 

building.

The NRC developed a number of initiatives in order 

to improve the security of the facilities and the staff. 

These included developing an Insider Threat Program in 

accordance with Executive Orders, training for all staff 

on actions to take in the event of an active shooter, and 

making other security enhancements.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 

During FY 2016, the agency established the formation 

of the “Programmatic Senior Assessment Team (PSAT),” 

which will serve as a governance body to direct the 

assessment of internal control over program operations as 

required by Management Directive 4.4, “Internal Control.” 

For efficiency, the PSAT will begin meeting as part of 

the Quarterly Performance Review (QPR) process in Q1 

FY 2017. 

The NRC published four new Management Directives 

to update policy and guidance on strategic planning, 

budget formulation, budget execution, and performance 

management. This represented an improved description 

of the agency’s integrated process to plan, budget, and 

assess its performance.

The agency implemented a new Accounts Receivable 

Dashboard reporting tool, which provides transparency 

and easy access to important fee billing and collection 

data, and developed data integrity reports that identify 

issues with information used to accurately bill licensees. 

It also developed and implemented a more efficient and 

streamlined refund process, which reduces processing 

time by 90 percent. 

The NRC adapted the funds control in the agency 

accounting system (FAIMIS) to accommodate new 

Congressional control point requirements and completed 

fee billing batch processing enhancements to streamline 

monthly and quarterly billing cycles. The agency also 

met all new Federal reporting requirement milestones 

for SF-133, Government Treasury Account Symbol, and 

intra-governmental reporting to the U.S. Treasury and 

OMB and implemented new reporting in OMB-MAX for 

obligation activity by Treasury Standard General Ledger, 

Program Activity, and Budget Object Class. In addition, 

the NRC has developed a plan and is on course to 

implement the requirements of the Digital Accountability 

and Transparency Act (DATA Act) for its financial 

reporting in May 2017. 

The agency issued the FY 2016 Final Fee Rule. In 

December 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface 

Transportation (FAST) Act was passed. Title 41 of FAST 

created a new governance structure, set of procedures, 

and funding mechanisms with a goal to improve the 

timeliness, predictability, and transparency of the Federal 

permitting and environmental review process for major 

infrastructure projects (i.e., “covered projects”) across 

a broad range of sectors and project types. The NRC is 

specifically identified in the statute as one of the Federal 

Agencies that must participate in the newly-established 

Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. 

Costing To Goals

The NRC continues work to improve its cost management 

capabilities to better align its costs with desired outcomes. 

This year’s PAR presents the full cost of achieving the 

Safety and Security goals for the NRC’s major programs, 

Nuclear Reactor Safety and Nuclear Materials and Waste 

Safety. The total cost of achieving the agency’s strategic 

goals was $1,015.4 million. The cost of achieving the 

agency’s Safety goal was $970.2 million and the cost of 

achieving the agency’s Security goal was $45.2 million 

(see Figure 20). 
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Figure 20 – NRC Safety and Security Costs 

(in millions)

Security – $45.2

4%

96%

Safety – $970.2

Program Evaluations

The NRC conducted several program evaluations of its 

regulatory operations during FY 2016. The evaluations 

were conducted for both the nuclear reactor and the 

nuclear materials programs.

REACTOR OVERSIGHT PROCESS (ROP) 

ANNUAL SELF-ASSESSMENT 

Objective: The ROP is the foundational program that 

enables the NRC to successfully complete its reactor 

oversight mission. The ROP uses risk information, when 

available, informed by expert judgment, to evaluate 

inspection findings. Since its introduction in 2000, 

sufficient experience has accumulated to allow refinement 

of the thresholds requiring escalation of NRC attention 

in response to licensee performance. The NRC has 

formulated a rational means for assessing the current 

thresholds. Among other activities, the agency examines 

occasions of escalation, whether escalation was effective, 

and whether escalation would have occurred for various 

levels of events in enhancing licensee performance.

Scope: The ROP self-assessment approach was redesigned 

to better assess the effectiveness of a mature program, 

focusing on the efficacy of recent changes to the program, 

performing in-depth reviews of specific areas of interest, 

and verifying agency adherence to program governance. 

The new self-assessment approach ensures that the ROP is 

being implemented reliably (consistently and as designed) 

across all regional and headquarters offices. Additionally, 

the new approach ensures that the staff appropriately 

invests resources on addressing value-added insights that 

improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the ROP. 

Outcome: The ROP self-assessment for calendar year 

(CY) 2015 was completed in April 2016 (SECY-16-0047). 

After the one-year suspension of self-assessments in CY 

2014 to focus on revising the self-assessment process 

and implementing other ROP improvements, the staff 

completed the CY 2015 self-assessment using elements 

of the revised process. Because CY 2015 was a transition 

year, the planned self-assessment program was not fully 

implemented. The results of the CY 2015 self-assessment 

indicate that the ROP met its program goals and achieved 

its intended outcomes. The staff found that the ROP also 

met the agency’s strategic goals of ensuring safety and 

security through objective, risk-informed, understandable, 

and predictable oversight, as described in the FY 2014–

2018 Strategic Plan. The staff implemented several ROP 

improvements in CY 2015, will continue to solicit input 

from the NRC’s internal and external stakeholders to 

further improve the ROP, and will seek Commission 

approval of changes, as appropriate. 

CONSTRUCTION REACTOR OVERSIGHT 

PROCESS (cROP)

Objective: The objectives of the annual cROP selfassessment are as follows:

1. To determine whether the ongoing program is effective 

in supporting the achievement of the performance 

goals and the agency’s strategic goals

2. To provide timely, objective information to inform 

program planning and to develop recommended 

improvements to the cROP

3. Provide the results of the cROP self- assessment 

program, including any conclusions and resultant 

improvement actions
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

6 4

Scope: The self-assessment includes the following:

1. Evaluations of the construction inspection program, 

the construction significance determination process, 

and the construction assessment and enforcement 

programs

2. Discussions and assessments of cROP 

communications, performance metrics, and resource 

expenditures

3. Updates on the ITAAC and construction experience 

programs

Outcome: The CY 2015 self-assessment, issued 

in April 2016, concluded that the cROP met its 

program goals and the agency’s strategic goals of 

ensuring safety and security through objective, 

risk-informed, understandable, predictable, open, 

and effective oversight. For the second year in a 

row, all 11 performance metrics met the specified 

criteria, and no changes were recommended to the 

program.

VENDOR INSPECTION PROGRAM (VIP)

Objective: The annual VIP self-assessment determines if 

the VIP is meeting the following objectives: 

1. Verify that applicants and licensees are providing 

effective oversight of supply chain

2. Effectively communicate with stakeholders

3. Perform timely and adequate allegation follow-up

4. Ensure that agency staff has necessary knowledge and 

skills

Scope: The self-assessment evaluates performance 

metrics under each objective to demonstrate that 

overarching goals are being supported.

Outcome: The FY 2015 self-assessment, issued 

in December 2015, demonstrated the VIP met its 

program goals. Ten of 11 performance metrics met 

the predetermined criteria, and the agency identified 

corrective actions for the one that did not. The outof-standard metric identified in 2014 was met in 2015, 

demonstrating that the corrective actions implemented 

last year were successful. 

ANNUAL UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF 

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND 

INCIDENT RESPONSE PROGRAM 

ACTIVITIES

Objective: To update the Commission on the NRC’s 

emergency preparedness (EP) and incident response 

(IR) program activities for FY 2016 and to provide an 

assessment of the NRC’s EP and IR programs with a focus 

on current and projected activities.

Scope: The assessment covered maintaining readiness of 

the NRC response organization and operations centers, 

enhancing preparedness and response guidance, and 

ensuring clear expectations and compatibility with 

stakeholders and broader all-hazards approaches. 

Outcome: The FY 2015 report, issued in November 2015, 

indicates that the NRC’s EP and IR program and activities 

continue to align well with the agency’s strategic security 

and safety goals. The FY 2016 report is expected to show 

the same results. 

INTEGRATED MATERIALS 

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROGRAM 

(IMPEP)

Objective: In cooperation with the Agreement States, the 

NRC administers the IMPEP program, which consists of 

detailed team evaluations of NRC and Agreement State 

licensing and oversight programs on a nominal 4-year 

cycle with intermediate periodic meetings. This process 

provides the basis for determining whether each NRC 

region and Agreement State program remains adequate 

to protect public health and safety and, for the Agreement 

States, whether the programs are compatible with the 

NRC program and regulations. 

Scope: All IMPEPs use the following common indicators 

in the assessment and place primary emphasis on 

performance:

1. Technical Staffing and Training

2. Status of Materials Inspection Program

3. Technical Quality of Inspections

4. Technical Quality of Licensing Actions

5. Technical Quality of Incident and Allegation Activities
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

When programmatic weaknesses exist in an Agreement 

State program, NRC primarily uses two processes, 

Heightened Oversight and Monitoring, to ensure that 

an Agreement State program needing improvement is 

progressing toward re-establishing a fully satisfactory 

program.  Currently, five States are on Monitoring (GA, 

MA, NH, NY, RI) and none on Heightened Oversight. For 

Monitoring, a State’s managers and staff must participate 

in quarterly calls with NRC staff to discuss program 

status.  The decision to put an Agreement State program 

on either Monitoring or Heightened Oversight is made at 

the direction of the Management Review Board (MRB).

Outcome: In FY 2016, no NRC Regions or other 

programs were due for this evaluation. NRC Region I 

was assessed in FY 2015; NRC Region III is the next 

region due for this assessment in early FY 2017. All NRC 

programs currently have a finding of “adequate to protect 

public health and safety.” There were nine Agreement 

States evaluated through the IMPEP process in FY 2016. 

Of the 37 Agreement State programs, 33 are “adequate 

to protect public health and safety” while four (KY, MA, 

NC, and RI) have a finding of “adequate to protect public 

health and safety but needs improvement.” Regarding 

compatibility, 33 of the 37 Agreement State programs have 

a program finding of “compatible with NRC’s program.” 

Four (CO, NH, NY, and UT) have a program finding of 

“not compatible with NRC’s program” due to differences 

in legislation or regulations when compared to the NRC’s. 

Data Sources, Data Quality, 

And Data Security

The NRC’s data collection and analysis methods are 

driven largely by the regulatory mandate that Congress 

entrusted to the agency. 

As part of the NRC’s regulatory requirement under 

10 CFR Part 20.2206, “Reports of Individual Monitoring,” 

several NRC-regulated industries are required to submit 

occupational radiation exposure reports to the Radiation 

Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS) 

database. The agency analyzes these reports to ensure that 

licensees comply with the annual occupational dose limit 

of 50 millisieverts (5 rem). The agency uses the data in the 

following ways: 

1. As a metric in the agency’s ROP to evaluate the 

effectiveness of licensee programs used to keep 

occupational radiation doses as low as reasonably 

achievable and for inspection planning.

2. To assist in the evaluation of the radiological risk 

associated with certain categories of NRC-licensed 

activities and for comparative analysis of radiation 

protection performance.

3. To provide occupational radiation exposure history 

reports to individuals exposed to radiation or 

radioactive material at NRC-licensed facilities.

4. To provide facts for responding to Congressional and 

administration inquiries and to questions from the 

public regarding occupational radiation exposures at 

NRC‐licensed facilities

The agency publishes NUREG-0713, “Occupational 

Radiation Exposure at Commercial Nuclear Power 

Reactors and Other Facilities,” annually. NUREG-0713, 

Volume 36, for CY 2014 was issued in April 2016. It 

is available on the agency’s Web site: http://www.nrc.

gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0713/

v36/#pub-info. Section 208 of the Energy Reorganization 

Act of 1974, as amended, requires the NRC to inform 

Congress of incidents or events that the Commission 

determines to be significant from the standpoint of 

public health and safety. The agency developed the AO 

criteria to comply with the legislative intent of the Energy 

Reorganization Act of 1974 to determine which events 

should be considered significant. Based on these criteria, 

the agency prepares an annual, “Report to Congress 

on Abnormal Occurrences,” (NUREG-0090). One 

important characteristic of this report is that the data 

presented normally originate from external sources, such 

as Agreement States and NRC licensees. NUREG-0090, 

Volume 38, for FY 2015, issued in May 2016, is available 

on the agency’s Web site: http://www.nrc.gov/docs/

ML1614/ML16145A026.pdf.
Chapter 2 n Program Performance

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

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The NRC finds these data sources credible for the 

following reasons:

1. Agency regulations require Agreement States, licensees, 

and other external sources to report the necessary 

information.

2. The NRC maintains an aggressive inspection program 

that, among other activities, includes auditing licensee 

programs and evaluating Agreement State programs 

to ensure that they are reporting the necessary 

information as required by the agency’s regulations.

3. The NRC has established procedures for inspecting 

and evaluating licensees. The agency employs multiple 

database systems to support this process, including 

the licensee event report Search System, the Accident 

Sequence Precursor database, the Nuclear Materials 

Events Database, and the REIRS. In addition, 

nonsensitive reports submitted by Agreement States 

and NRC licensees are available to the public through 

ADAMS, accessible through the agency’s Web site 

http://www.NRC.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

The NRC verifies the reliability and technical accuracy of 

event information reported to the agency and periodically 

inspects licensees and reviews Agreement State programs.

In addition, NRC headquarters, the regional offices, and 

Agreement States hold periodic conference calls to discuss 

event information. Events identified as meeting the AO 

criteria are validated and verified before being reported to 

Congress. 

Additionally, the NRC is an active participant in data.gov, 

a Federal Web site designed to increase public access to 

high value, machine-readable datasets generated by the 

Executive Branch. The NRC published its first dataset in 

October 2009, and, in response to the Open Government 

directive, published three additional datasets in January 

2010. As of the end of FY 2016, 39 datasets have been 

published. 

The NRC launched its Master Data Management (MDM) 

Program in January 2015. The goal of the MDM Program 

is to ensure that mission critical systems and staff have 

timely access to data collected, stored, and processed across 

the enterprise. The MDM Program will ensure that agency 

wide data is accurate; reduce and/or eliminate the storage 

of duplicate information; provide controls to improve data 

quality; and provide a foundation for information sharing 

and exchange. MDM will also be an umbrella where more 

direct public digital services and their improvements, will 

be consolidated and integrated. The NRC will continue to 

encourage public feedback on its high-value information 

and, consistent with agency policy and guidance provided 

by data.gov, will continue to add new datasets to its highvalue dataset publication plan.

INFORMATION SECURITY

The NRC’s information security program performs the 

following functions:

1. Protect NRC and licensee information and information 

systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, 

disruption, modification, or destruction. 

2. Protect electronic control functions from unauthorized 

access or manipulation.

3. Ensure that adequate controls for protecting securityrelated information are used in the conduct of NRC 

business. 

The NRC information security program includes 

measures to accomplish the following: 

1. Ensure that information security requirements, 

standards, and guidance are clear, concise, appropriate, 

and able to mitigate the potential adverse effects if 

sensitive information is compromised.

2. Ensure that security controls for information owned 

by or under the control of the NRC are consistent with 

established information security controls, operating 

as intended, and having the desired impact, as well as 

that similar controls for licensees regulated by the NRC 

comply with NRC information security regulations.

3. Ensure that suspected or actual information security 

violations are evaluated and that appropriate sanctions 

are considered.
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Chapter 2 n Program Performance

4. Ensure that the NRC has made sufficient preparations 

for information security‐related emergencies and

incidents.

5. Ensure that internal information security program 

components complement each other and are 

periodically evaluated and improved.

PERFORMANCE DATA COMPLETENESS 

AND RELIABILITY

The NRC assesses the completeness and reliability of its 

performance data. Comparisons of actual performance 

with the projected levels are possible only if the data 

used to measure performance are complete and reliable. 

Consequently, the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000

requires the NRC Chairman to assess the completeness 

and reliability of the performance data used in this report. 

The process for ensuring that the data are complete and 

reliable is based upon reporting by the applicable business 

line leaders at the agency’s Quarterly Performance Review 

meetings. The report, “Data Collection Procedures for 

Verification and Validation of Performance Indicators,” 

contains the processes the agency uses to collect, validate, 

and verify performance data. This report is on page 15 of 

the NRC’s FY 2017 Congressional Budget Justification and 

is located on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/

docs/ML1603/ML16036A086.pdf. 

DATA COMPLETENESS

The NRC considers data to be complete if the agency 

reports actual performance data for every performance 

goal and indicator in the annual plan. Actual 

performance data include all data that are available when 

the agency sends its report to the President and Congress. 

The agency has reported actual data for every strategic 

and performance goal indicator. In addition, all of the 

data are reported for each indicator. As a result, the data 

presented in this report meet the requirements for data 

completeness.

DATA RELIABILITY

The NRC considers data to be reliable when agency 

managers and decisionmakers use the data in carrying out 

their responsibilities. The data presented in this report 

meet this requirement for data reliability because NRC 

managers and senior leaders regularly use the reported 

data in the course of their duties.
Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

6 8
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Chapter 3

Financial Statements and 

Auditors’ Report
Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

7 0
I am pleased to present the financial statements for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

(NRC) Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Performance and Accountability Report. An independent auditor 

has rendered an unmodified opinion on the NRC financial statements for the thirteenth 

consecutive year. The auditor has also rendered an unmodified opinion on our internal control 

over financial reporting, and noted no reportable instances of noncompliance with pertinent 

provisions of laws and regulations. 

During FY 2016, the agency continued implementation of its Project Aim initiative to improve 

efficiency, effectiveness, and agility for responding to a range of possible futures while fulfilling 

the NRC’s mission. NRC staff reviewed agency work to determine what should continue, be 

re-sized, or be shed and identified approximately $50 million of reductions over 18-months while still accomplishing 

our safety and security mission. NRC will implement more long term efficiencies in FY 2018 and beyond. More 

information on these cost saving efforts may be found in SECY-16-0009, “Recommendations Resulting From the 

Integrated Prioritization and Re-Baselining of Agency Activities” (http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1602/ML16028A189.

html) and SECY-16-0035, “Additional Re-Baselining Products” (http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1607/ML16077A184.html). 

Also, the NRC looked at how to transform our calculation and transparency of fees for service and annual license fees. 

This effort evaluated recommendations from NRC staff and outside stakeholders and resulted in over 50 improvement 

options. The NRC has already begun to implement these changes and is described fully in SECY-16-0097, “Fee Setting 

Improvements and Fiscal Year 2017 Proposed Fee Rule” (http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1621/ML16210A472.html).

In FY 2016, the NRC completed significant financial system improvements. For example, the NRC migrated the agency’s 

core general ledger system, the Financial Accounting and Integrated Management Information System (FAIMIS) to a 

FedRAMP cloud environment which will provide security cost savings in the future. The NRC will update FAIMIS in 

FY 2017 to utilize Department of Treasury’s Invoice Processing Platform and to implement all Digital Accountability and 

Transparency Act of 2014 mandates. 

The agency also continued to streamline and improve its Programmatic Internal Control Framework to align with 

Government Accountability Office’s updated Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, improve 

processes, increase management accountability, and provide a more interdependent approach. The NRC remains 

committed to its mission of ensuring the safety and security of the Nation’s civilian use of radioactive materials in the 

most effective and efficient manner. I am gratified that we have continued using sound business practices to accomplish 

our regulatory mission and am confident that we will continue such improvements in the future.

Maureen E. Wylie

Chief Financial Officer

November 1, 2016

A Message From The Chief Financial Officer

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Chapter 3  Financial Statements and Auditors’ Report
Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

7 2

Balance Sheet (in thousands)

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Assets

Intragovernmental

Fund balance with Treasury (Note 2) $ 368,237 $ 353,838

Accounts receivable (Note 3) 7,754 11,095

Advances and prepayments 14,169 11,269

Total intragovernmental 390,160 376,202

Accounts receivable, net (Note 3) 78,383 84,944

Property and equipment, net (Note 4) 80,793 79,056

Other 26 19

Total Assets $ 549,362 $ 540,221

Liabilities

Intragovernmental

Accounts payable $ 7,729 $ 13,645

Other (Note 5) 5,972 5,215

Total intragovernmental 13,701 18,860

Accounts payable 23,204 23,366

Federal employee benefits (Note 6) 5,608 6,040

Other (Note 5) 85,486 79,700

Total Liabilities 127,999 127,966

Net Position

Unexpended appropriations 297,438 283,151

Cumulative results of operations (Note 8) 123,925 129,104

Total Net Position 421,363 412,255

Total Liabilities and Net Position $ 549,362 $ 540,221

The accompanying notes to the financial statements are an integral part of these statements.

Financial Statements
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Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Statement of Net Cost (in thousands)

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Nuclear Reactor Safety

Gross costs $ 795,190 $ 838,682

Less: Earned revenue (769,847) (814,280)

Total Net Cost of Nuclear Reactor Safety (Note 9) 25,343 24,402

Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety

Gross costs 220,165 244,777

Less: Earned revenue (94,167) (86,554)

Total Net Cost of Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety (Note 9) 125,998 158,223

Net Cost of Operations $ 151,341 $ 182,625

The accompanying notes to the financial statements are an integral part of these statements.
Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

7 4

Statement of Changes in Net Position (in thousands)

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Cumulative Results of Operations

Beginning Balance $ 129,104 $ 156,818

Adjustments (Note 8) 3,180 -

Beginning Balance, as adjusted $ 132,284 $ 156,818

Budgetary Financing Sources

Appropriations used (Note 11) 115,575 126,879

Nonexchange revenue (Note 11) 274 373

Other Financing Sources

Imputed financing from costs absorbed by others (Note 11) 27,407 28,032

Other (274) (373)

Total Financing Sources 142,982 154,911

Net Cost of Operations (151,341) (182,625)

Net Change (8,359) (27,714)

Cumulative Results of Operations $ 123,925 $ 129,104

Unexpended Appropriations

Beginning Balance $ 283,151 $ 306,226

Adjustments (Note 8) (3,180) -

Beginning Balance, as adjusted $ 279,971 $ 306,226

Budgetary Financing Sources

Appropriations received 133,042 103,804

Appropriations used (Note 11) (115,575) (126,879)

Other adjustments -

Total Budgetary Financing Sources 17,467 (23,075)

Total Unexpended Appropriations 297,438 283,151

Net Position $ 421,363 $ 412,255

The accompanying notes to the financial statements are an integral part of these statements.
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Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Statement of Budgetary Resources (in thousands)

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Budgetary Resources

Unobligated balance brought forward, October 1 $ 28,000 $ 53,464

Recoveries of prior-year unpaid obligations 8,858 5,047

Recoveries of prior-year paid obligations 156 3,372

Unobligated balance from prior-year budget authority, net 37,014 61,883

Appropriations 1,002,136 1,015,301

Spending authority from offsetting collections 4,794 4,629

Total Budgetary Resources $ 1,043,944 $ 1,081,813

Status of Budgetary Resources

New obligations and upward adjustments (total) (Note 12) $ 1,002,317 $ 1,053,813

Unobligated balance, end of year

Apportioned, unexpired accounts 39,880 23,259

Exempt from apportionment, unexpired accounts 1,382 2,837

Unapportioned, unexpired accounts 1,90

Unexpired unobligated balance, end of year 41,262 28,000

Expired unobligated balance, end of year 365 -

Unobligated balance, end of year (total) 41,627 28,000

Total Status of Budgetary Resources $ 1,043,944 $ 1,081,813

Change in Obligated Balance

Unpaid obligations

Unpaid obligations brought forward, October 1 $ 327,652 $ 325,876

New obligations and upward adjustments (total) (Note 12) 1,002,317 1,053,813

Outlays (gross) (992,146) (1,046,990)

Recoveries of prior-year unpaid obligations (8,858) (5,047)

Unpaid obligations, end of year 328,965 327,652

Uncollected payments

Uncollected payments, Federal sources, brought forward, October 1 $ (1,814) $ (1,949)

Change in uncollected payments, Federal sources (541) 135

Uncollected payments, Federal sources, end of year $ (2,355) $ (1,814)

Memorandum entries:

Obligated balances, start of year $ 325,838 $ 323,927

Obligated balances, end of year $ 326,610 $ 325,838

Budget Authority and Outlays, Net

Budget Authority, gross $ 1,006,930 $ 1,019,930

Actual offsetting collections (4,409) (8,136)

Change in uncollected payments, Federal sources (541) 135

Recoveries of prior year paid obligations 156 3,372

Budget Authority, Net $ 1,002,136 $ 1,015,301

Outlays, gross $ 992,146 $ 1,046,990

Actual offsetting collections (4,409) (8,136)

Outlays, net 987,737 1,038,854

Distributed offsetting receipts (869,094) (911,501)

Agency Outlays, Net $ 118,643 $ 127,353

The accompanying notes to the financial statements are an integral part of these statements.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL 

STATEMENTS

 (All tables are presented in thousands)

Note 1. Summary of Significant 

Accounting Policies

A. REPORTING ENTITY

The NRC is an independent regulatory agency of the U.S. 

Federal Government that the Congress created to regulate 

the Nation’s civilian use of byproduct, source, and special 

nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of the 

public health and safety, to promote the common defense 

and security, and to protect the environment. Its purposes 

are defined by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as 

amended, along with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 

amended, which provide the foundation for regulating the 

Nation’s civilian use of nuclear materials.

The NRC operates through the execution of its 

congressionally approved appropriations for Salaries 

and Expenses (which includes funds derived from the 

Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF)) and the Office of the 

Inspector General (OIG). In addition, the U.S. Agency 

for International Development (USAID) has provided 

a transfer of funds to develop nuclear safety, regulatory 

authorities, and independent oversight of nuclear reactors 

in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Armenia.

B. BASIS OF PRESENTATION

These financial statements for FY 2016 and FY 2015 

(prior- year) are presented on a comparative basis. They 

report the financial position and results of operations of 

the NRC as required by the Chief Financial Officers Act 

of 1990 and the Government Management Reform Act of 

1994. These financial statements were prepared from 

the books and records of the NRC in conformance with 

generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for 

Federal entities of the United States and the form and 

content for entity financial statements specified by the 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Circular 

A-136, “Financial Reporting Requirements.” GAAP 

for Federal entities are the standards prescribed by the 

Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, which is 

the official body for setting the accounting standards of 

the U.S. Government.

These statements are, therefore, different from the 

financial reports, also prepared by the NRC pursuant to 

OMB directives, which are used to monitor and control 

the NRC’s use of budgetary resources.

The NRC has not presented a Statement of Custodial 

Activity because the amounts involved are immaterial and 

incidental to the agency’s operations and mission.

Presentation of the budget accounts on the Combining 

Statements of Budgetary Resources aggregates the 

2-year Office of the Commission funds with the no-year 

Salaries and Expenses appropriation. The statement also 

aggregates the no-year and 2-year Office of the Inspector 

General funds. 

C. BUDGETS AND BUDGETARY ACCOUNTING

Budgetary accounting measures appropriation and 

consumption of budget spending authority or other 

budgetary resources and facilitates compliance with 

legal constraints and controls over the use of Federal 

funds. Under budgetary reporting principles, budgetary 

resources are consumed at the time of purchase. Assets 

and liabilities, which do not consume current budgetary 

resources, are not reported, and only those liabilities 

for which valid obligations have been established are 

considered to consume budgetary resources.

Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations 

Act, 2016 that funded the NRC’s budget request of 

$990 million for FY 2016, not more than $7.5 million of 

the budget may be made available for the Office of the 

Commission as a 2-year appropriation that is available 

for obligation by the NRC through September 30, 2017. 

Additionally, Congress enacted a 2-year appropriation of 

$12.1 million for the OIG, which is available for obligation 

by the NRC through September 30, 2017.

In FY 2015, Congress passed the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2015 that funded the NRC’s budget 

request of $1.00 billion for FY 2015, not more than 

$7.5 million of the budget may be made available for 

the Office of the Commission as a 2-year appropriation 

that is available for obligation by the NRC through 

September 30, 2016. Additionally, Congress enacted 

a 2-year appropriation of $12.1 million for the OIG, 

which is available for obligation by the NRC through 

September 30, 2016. 

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

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D. BASIS OF ACCOUNTING

These financial statements reflect both accrual and 

budgetary accounting transactions. Under the accrual 

method, revenues are recognized when earned and 

expenses are recognized when a liability is incurred, 

without regard to receipt or payment of cash. Budgetary 

accounting is also used to record the obligation of funds 

prior to the accrual-based transaction. The Statement of 

Budgetary Resources (SBR) presents budgetary resources 

available to the NRC and changes in obligations during 

the year.

E. REVENUES AND OTHER FINANCING 

SOURCES

The NRC is required to offset its appropriations by 

revenue received during the FY from the assessment of 

fees. The NRC assesses two types of fees to recover its 

appropriation:

1. Fees assessed to recover the NRC’s costs of providing 

individually identifiable services to specific applicants 

and licensees under Title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (10 CFR) Part 170, “Fees for Facilities, 

Materials, Import and Export Licenses, and Other 

Regulatory Services under the Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as Amended,” for licensing, inspection, and other 

services under the authority of the Independent Offices 

Appropriation Act of 1952.

2. Annual fees assessed for nuclear facilities and materials 

licensees under 10 CFR Part 171, “Annual Fees for 

Reactor Licenses and Fuel Cycle Licenses and Materials 

Licenses.”

Licensing revenues are recognized on a straight-line basis 

over the licensing period. The annual licensing period 

for reactor and materials fees begins October 1 and ends 

September 30. Annual fees for reactors are invoiced in 

four quarterly installments, before the end of each quarter. 

The NRC invoices licensees for materials annual fees in 

the month the license was originally issued. Inspection 

fees are recorded as revenues when the services are 

performed.

For accounting purposes, appropriations are recognized 

as a financing source (appropriations used) at the time 

goods and services are received. Periodically during the 

FY, appropriations recognized are reduced by the amount 

of assessed fees collected during the FY to the extent of 

new budget authority for the year. Collections that exceed 

90 percent of the NRC’s appropriation, excluding amounts 

appropriated for Waste Incidental to Reprocessing, 

generic homeland security, and Inspector General services 

for the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board, are held to 

offset subsequent years’ appropriations. Appropriations 

expended for property and equipment are recognized as 

expenses when the asset is consumed in operations as 

reflected by the depreciation and amortization expense.

F. FUND BALANCE WITH TREASURY

The NRC’s cash receipts and disbursements are processed 

by the Treasury. The Fund Balance with Treasury is 

primarily appropriated funds and license fee collections 

that are available to pay current liabilities and to finance 

authorized purchase commitments. Fund Balance with 

Treasury represents the NRC’s right to draw on the 

Treasury for allowable expenditures.

G. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

Accounts receivable consist of amounts that other Federal 

agencies and the public owe to the NRC. Amounts due 

from the public are presented net of an allowance for 

uncollectible accounts. The allowance is determined 

based on the age of the receivable and allowance rates 

established from historical experience. Receivables from 

Federal agencies are expected to be collected; therefore, 

there is no allowance for uncollectible accounts for 

Federal agencies.

H. NON-ENTITY ASSETS

Non-entity assets consist of miscellaneous penalties and 

interest due from the public, which, when collected, must 

be transferred to the Treasury.

I. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment consist primarily of typical office 

furnishings, leasehold improvements, nuclear reactor 

simulators, and computer hardware and software. The 

costs of internal use software include the full cost of 

salaries and benefits for agency personnel involved in 

software development. The NRC has no real property. 

The land and buildings in which the NRC operates are 

leased through the General Services Administration 

(GSA), for rent that approximates the commercial rental 

rates for similar properties.

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Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports
Property with a cost of $50 thousand or more per unit and 

a useful life of 2 years or more is capitalized at cost and 

depreciated using the straight-line method over the useful 

life of the asset. Other property items are expensed when 

purchased. Normal repairs and maintenance are charged 

to expense as incurred.

J. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

The NRC uses an estimation methodology to calculate the 

accounts payable balance, which represents costs for billed 

and unbilled goods and services received prior to year-end 

that are unpaid. The NRC calculates the accounts payable 

amount using an average based on the historical trend 

of validated accruals. The estimation methodology is 

validated quarterly.

K. LIABILITIES NOT COVERED BY 

BUDGETARY RESOURCES

Liabilities not Covered by Budgetary Resources represents 

the amount of future funding needed to pay the accrued 

unfunded expenses as of the end of the FY. These 

liabilities are not funded from current or prior-year 

appropriation and assessments, but are funded from 

future appropriations and assessments.

Liabilities represent the amount of monies or other 

resources that are likely to be paid by the NRC as the 

result of a transaction or event that has already occurred. 

Liabilities cannot be paid by the NRC without an 

appropriation. Liabilities for which an appropriation has 

not been enacted are classified as “Liabilities Not Covered 

by Budgetary Resources.”

Intragovernmental

The NRC records a liability to the DOL for Federal 

Employees Compensation Act (FECA) benefits paid by 

DOL on behalf of the NRC.

Federal Employee Benefits

Federal employee benefits represent the actuarial liability 

for estimated future FECA disability benefits. The future 

workers’ compensation estimate is generated by DOL 

from an application of actuarial procedures developed 

to estimate the liability for FECA, which includes the 

expected liability for death, disability, medical, and 

miscellaneous costs for approved compensation cases. 

The liability is calculated using historical benefit payment 

patterns related to a specific incurred period to predict the 

ultimate payments related to that period.

Other

This category includes the amount of accrued annual leave 

earned by the NRC employees, but not yet taken; and 

contingent liabilities which have the probable likelihood 

of an adverse outcome.

L. CONTINGENCIES

Contingent liabilities are those for which the existence 

or amount of the liability cannot be determined with 

certainty pending the outcome of future events. The 

uncertainty should ultimately be resolved when one or 

more future events occur or fail to occur. Accounting 

treatment of the contingency depends on if the likely 

outcome is considered probable, reasonably possible, 

or remote.

A contingency is considered probable when the future 

confirming event or events are more likely than not 

to occur, with the exception of pending or threatened 

litigation and unasserted claims. This type of contingency 

is recorded in the financial statements as a contingent 

liability (included in Other Liabilities) and as an expense, 

and should be recorded when a past event or exchange 

transaction has occurred, a future outflow or other 

sacrifice of resources is probable and the future outflow or 

sacrifice of resources is measurable.

A contingency is considered reasonably possible when the 

chance of the future confirming event or events occurring 

is more than remote but less than probable. This type 

of contingency is disclosed in the notes to the financial 

statements (Note 17) if any of the conditions for liability 

recognition are not met and there is at least a reasonable 

possibility that a loss or an additional loss may have been 

incurred.

A contingency is considered remote when the chance of 

the future event or events occurring is slight. This type 

of contingency is not recognized as a liability and as an 

expense in the financial statements, nor disclosed in 

the notes when the chance of the future event or events 

occurring is remote.

M. ANNUAL, SICK, AND OTHER LEAVE

Annual leave is accrued as it is earned and the accrual is 

reduced as leave is taken. Each year, the balance in the 

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

7 8
accrued annual leave liability account is adjusted to reflect 

current pay rates. To the extent that current or prior-year 

funding is not available to cover annual leave earned but 

not taken, funding will be obtained from future financing 

sources. Sick leave and other types of nonvested leave are 

expensed as taken.

N. RETIREMENT PLANS

The NRC employees belong to either the Federal 

Employees Retirement System (FERS) or the Civil Service 

Retirement System (CSRS).

The NRC does not report on its financial statements 

FERS and CSRS assets, accumulated plan benefits, or 

unfunded liabilities, if any, applicable to its employees. 

Reporting such amounts is the responsibility of the U.S. 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The portion 

of the current and estimated future outlays for FERS 

and CSRS not paid by the NRC is included in NRC’s 

financial statements as an imputed financing source in 

the Statement of Changes in Net Position and as program 

costs on the Statement of Net Cost.

The NRC employees make mandatory contributions 

through payroll deductions to their retirement plan 

as required by law. For employees belonging to FERS 

and receiving an appointment prior to January 1, 2013, 

the NRC withheld 0.8 percent of base pay earnings 

and provided 13.7 percent in 2016 and 13.2 percent 

in 2015 for the employer contribution. Per Public 

Law 112-96, Section 5001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief

and Job Creation Act of 2012, employees hired after 

January 1, 2013, as Federal Employees Retirement System 

- Revised Annuity Employees (FERS-RAE) must pay 

3.1 percent of their salary to retirement contributions 

with 11.9 percent in 2016 and 11.1 percent in 2015 for 

employer matching contribution. The sum is transferred 

to the Federal Employees Retirement Fund. For 

employees covered by CSRS, the NRC withholds 7 percent 

of base pay earnings. The NRC matched this withholding 

with a 7 percent contribution in FY 2016 and FY 2015.

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and 

investment plan for employees belonging to either FERS 

or CSRS. The maximum percentage of base pay that an 

employee participating in FERS or CSRS may contribute 

is unlimited, but is subject to the maximum contribution 

of $18.0 thousand in 2016 and 2015. For employees 

participating in FERS, the NRC automatically contributes 

1 percent of base pay to the employee’s account and 

matches contributions up to an additional 4 percent. 

For employees participating in CSRS, there is no NRC 

matching of the contribution. The sum of the employees’ 

and the NRC’s contributions is transferred to the Federal 

Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

O. LEASES

The NRC has two types of leases: Capital leases and 

Operating leases (Note 7):

Capital Leases

Capital leases are leases that transfer substantially all the 

benefits and risks of ownership to the lessee. Capital 

leases are reported in the Balance Sheet as an asset under 

Property and Equipment and a liability (Other Liabilities). 

If at its inception, a lease meets one or more of the 

following four criteria, the lease should be classified as a 

capital lease by the lessee:

1. The lease transfers the ownership of the property to the 

lessee by the end of the lease term.

2. The lease contains an option to purchase the leased 

property at a bargain price.

3. The lease term is equal or greater than 75 percent of the 

estimated economic life of the leased property.

4. The present value of rental or other minimum lease 

payments, excluding that portion of the payments 

representing executor cost, equals or exceeds 90 percent 

of the fair value of the leased property.

The NRC’s capital leases are for personal property 

consisting of reproduction equipment that is installed at 

the NRC Headquarters.

Operating Leases

The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board 

(FASAB) defines an operating lease as a lease in which 

the Federal entity does not assume the risks of ownership 

of the property, plant, and equipment (PP&E). It is an 

agreement conveying the right to use property for a 

limited time in exchange for periodic rental payments.

Operating leases at the NRC consist of real property leases 

with GSA. The leases are for the NRC’s Headquarters, 

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Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports
regional offices, and TTC. The GSA charges the NRC 

lease rates that approximate commercial rates for 

comparable space.

P. PRICING POLICY

The NRC provides nuclear reactor and materials 

licensing and inspection services to the public and other 

Government entities. In accordance with OMB Circular 

No. A-25, “User Charges,” and the Independent Offices 

Appropriation Act of 1952, the NRC assesses fees under 

10 CFR Part 170 for licensing and inspection activities to 

recover the full cost of providing individually identifiable 

services.

The NRC’s policy is to recover the full cost of goods and 

services provided to other Government entities where the 

services performed are not part of its statutory mission 

and the NRC has not received appropriations for those 

services. Fees for reimbursable work are assessed at the 

10 CFR Part 170 rate with minor exceptions for programs 

that are nominal activities of the NRC.

Q. NET POSITION

The NRC’s net position consists of unexpended 

appropriations and cumulative results of operations. 

Unexpended appropriations represent appropriated 

spending authority that is unobligated and has not been 

withdrawn by the Treasury, and unliquidated obligations 

and expenditures not yet disbursed. Cumulative results of 

operations represent the excess of financing sources over 

expenses since inception.

R. USE OF MANAGEMENT ESTIMATES

The preparation of the accompanying financial statements 

in accordance with GAAP requires management to make 

certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported 

amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. 

Actual results could differ from those estimates.

S. TRANSFERS

The NRC is a party to nonexpenditure transfers of 

funds, as a receiving entity, with the USAID. These 

transfers are for the international development of nuclear 

safety and regulatory authorities in Russia, Ukraine, 

Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Armenia for the startup, 

operation, shutdown, and decommissioning of Sovietdesigned nuclear power plants; the safe and secure use 

of radioactive materials; and the accounting for and 

protection of nuclear materials. Transfers are legal 

delegations by one agency of its authority to obligate 

budget authority and outlay funds to another agency.

T. STATEMENT OF NET COST

The programs as presented on the Statement of Net Cost 

are based on the annual performance budget and are 

described as follows:

The Nuclear Reactor Safety program encompasses all the 

NRC efforts to ensure that civilian nuclear power reactor 

facilities and research and test reactors are licensed and 

operated in a manner that adequately protects the public 

health and safety, and the environment, and protects 

against radiological sabotage and theft or diversion of 

special nuclear materials. The Nuclear Reactor Safety 

program contains the following activities: operating 

reactors and new reactors.

The Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety program 

encompasses all the NRC efforts to protect the public 

health and safety and the environment and ensures the 

secure use and management of radioactive materials. The 

Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety program contains the 

following activities: fuel facilities, nuclear materials users, 

decommissioning and low-level waste, spent fuel storage 

and transportation, and high-level waste repository.

For intragovernmental gross costs and revenue, the buyers 

and sellers are Federal entities. For earned revenues from 

the public, the buyers of the goods or services are nonFederal entities.

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

8 0
Note 2 – Fund Balance with Treasury

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Fund Balances

Appropriated funds $ 366,751 $ 350,368

Nuclear Waste Fund 1,486 3,470

Other fund types  

Total $ 368,237 $ 353,838

Status of Fund Balance with Treasury

Unobligated balance

Available - Appropriated funds $ 41,262 $ 26,096

Unavailable

Unapportioned, unexpired accounts - 1,9

Expired accounts 365 -

Obligated balance not yet disbursed 326,610 325,838

Total $ 368,237 $ 353,838

The Fund Balance with Treasury consists of the unobligated and obligated budgetary account balances, to including 

NWF activity. The NWF unobligated balance is $1.4 million and $2.8 million as of September 30, 2016, and 2015, 

respectively.

Other fund types in the Fund Balance with Treasury represents license fee collections used to offset the NRC currentyear budget authority, miscellaneous collections, and adjustments which will offset revenue in the following FY.

Note 3 – Accounts Receivable

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Intragovernmental

Fee receivables and reimbursements $ 7,754 $ 11,095

Receivables with the Public

Materials and facilities fees-billed $ 9,101 $ 7,049

Materials and facilities fees-unbilled 73,077 79,913

Other 118 161

Total Receivables with the Public 82,296 87,123

Less: Allowance for uncollectible accounts (3,913) (2,179)

Total Receivables with the Public, Net $ 78,383 $ 84,944

Total Accounts Receivable $ 90,050 $ 98,218

Less: Allowance for uncollectible accounts (3,913) (2,179)

Total Accounts Receivable, Net $ 86,137 $ 96,039

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Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports
Note 4 – Property and Equipment, Net

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Fixed Assets Class Service Years Acquisition 

Value

Accumulated 

Depreciation 

and 

Amortization

Net Book 

Value

Net Book 

Value

Equipment 5-8 $ 8,477 $ (7,791) $ 686 $ 1,080

Leased equipment 5-8 1,318 (619) 699 672

IT software 5 58,906 (52,700) 6,206 8,338

IT software under development - 12,901 - 12,901 4,596

Leasehold improvements 20 119,250 (64,316) 54,934 56,885

Leasehold improvements in progress - 5,367 - 5,367 7,485

Total $ 206,219 $ (125,426) $ 80,793 $ 79,056

In FY 2009, the NRC signed an Interagency Agreement with the GSA to fund the buildout of the NRC office space 

for the Three White Flint North (3WFN) office building. The NRC capitalized the cost of the buildout as a leasehold 

improvement, for an original total cost of $51.7 million. However, to comply with the OMB’s Freeze the Footprint 

initiative, the U.S. Congress determined that the NRC should only occupy 6 of the 14 floors of the 3WFN office building. 

Subsequently, the GSA leased 8 of the 14 floors to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA occupied 

4 floors during the 4th quarter of FY 2014, and 4 additional floors as well as the cafeteria space during the 3rd quarter of 

FY 2015. Accordingly, the NRC recognized a loss of $12.4 million in FY 2015 for the remaining net realizable value of 

the buildout cost for the 4 floors of the 3WFN office space and cafeteria occupied by the FDA.

In accordance with Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) No. 44, Accounting for Impairment 

of General Property, Plant, and Equipment Remaining in Use, the NRC repairs or replaces capital assets as required and 

does not recognize any other impairment losses.

Note 5 – Other Liabilities

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Intragovernmental

Liability to the U.S. Treasury General Fund for miscellaneous receipts $ 36 $ 35

Liability for advances from other agencies 20 15

Accrued workers’ compensation 1,361 1,522

Accrued unemployment compensation 29 18

Employee benefit contributions 4,526 3,625

Total Intragovernmental Other Liabilities $ 5,972 $ 5,215

Other Liabilities

Accrued annual leave $ 43,740 $ 46,491

Accrued salaries and benefits 19,585 14,058

Contract holdbacks, advances, capital lease liability, and other 6,383 7,008

Contingent Liabilities -

Grants Payable 15,778 12,143

Total Other Liabilities $ 85,486 $ 79,700

Total Intragovernmental and Other Liabilities $ 91,458 $ 84,915

Other liabilities are current except for capital lease liability (Note 7).

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

8 2
Note 6 – Liabilities Not Covered by Budgetary Resources 

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Intragovernmental

FECA paid by DOL $ 1,361 $ 1,522

Accrued unemployment compensation 29 18

Federal Employee Benefits

Future FECA 5,608 6,040

Other

Accrued annual leave 43,740 46,491

Contingent Liabilities 

Total Liabilities Not Covered by Budgetary Resources 50,738 54,071

Total Liabilities Covered by Budgetary Resources 77,261 73,895

Total Liabilities $ 127,999 $ 127,966

Liabilities not Covered by Budgetary Resources represents the amount of future funding needed to pay the accrued 

unfunded expenses as of September 30, 2016, and 2015. These liabilities are not funded from current or prior-year 

appropriations and assessments, but rather should be funded from future appropriations and assessments. Accordingly, 

future funding requirements have been recognized for the expenses that will be paid from future appropriations.

The projected annual benefit payments for FECA are discounted to present value. For FY 2016, projected annual 

payments were discounted to present value based on the OMB’s interest rate assumptions, which were interpolated to 

reflect the average duration in years for income payments and medical payments. The interest rate assumptions used for 

FY 2016 discounting were 3.134 percent in year 1 and year 2 for wage benefits, and 2.496 percent in year 1 and year 2 for 

medical benefits.

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Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports
Note 7 – Leases

As of September 30, 2016 2015 

Assets under capital leases:

Copiers and booklet maker $ 1,318 $ 1,462

Accumulated depreciation (619) (790)

Net assets under capital leases $ 699 $ 672

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Future Lease Payments Due: Fiscal Year Capital Operating

2016 $ - $ - $ - $ 39,9

2017 293 39,058 39,351 39,262

2018 298 35,504 35,802 35,711

2019 75 24,288 24,363 22,815

2020 and thereafter - 290,641 290,641 135,464 

Total Lease Liability 666 389,491 390,157 273,180

Subtract: Imputed Interest (14) - (14) (19)

Total Future Lease Payments $ 652 $ 389,491 $390,143 $ 273,161

The Capital Lease Liability of $690 thousand for reproduction equipment is included in Other Liabilities (Note 5). For 

Future Lease Payments, the NRC calculates the Capital Lease Liability and subtracts the imputed interest to arrive at the 

Total Future Lease Payments. The reproduction equipment is depreciated over 5 years using the straight-line method 

with no salvage value.

The land and buildings in which the NRC operates are leased through the GSA. The NRC Headquarters complex 

consists of three office buildings and a warehouse located in Rockville, MD, with one of the headquarters office buildings 

jointly leased with the FDA. The NRC has four regional offices located in King of Prussia, PA, Atlanta, GA, Lisle, IL, and 

Arlington, TX. In addition, the NRC operates and maintains a Technical Training Center (TTC) located in Chattanooga, 

TN.

In 3WFN, the NRC occupies 138,035 useable square feet consisting of 42.8% of the building and the NRC is no longer 

the primary tenant. FDA occupies the other floors. Future plans to reduce the NRC footprint call for the NRC to release 

one floor of the 3WFN office building per year in years 2018 thru 2021. The NRC will not recognize savings for these 

floors until another federal agency leases the space.

The NRC leases for land and buildings do not have renewal options or contingent rental restrictions. The joint lease for 

the 3WFN office building with the FDA and the leases for the four regional office buildings have escalation clauses. The 

leases for the two remaining headquarters office buildings, the warehouse, and the TTC do not have escalation clauses.

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

8 4
Note 8 – Cumulative Results of Operations 

As of September 30, 2016 2015

Liabilities not covered by budgetary resources (Note 6) $ (50,738) $ (54,071)

Investment in property and equipment, net (Note 4) 80,793 79,056 

Contributions from foreign cooperative research agreements 5,581 4,833 

Nuclear Waste Fund 1,486 3,470

Office of the Commission (financed by Fees) 1,198 -

Accounts receivable - fees 85,557 95,814

Other 48 2

Cumulative Results of Operations $ 123,925 $ 129,104

The FY 2016 beginning balance of Cumulative Results of Operations was adjusted upward by $3.2 million for prior 

year license fee transfers recorded to the Office of the Commission 2-year accounts that were originally classified 

as appropriated capital. The FY 2016 beginning balance of Unexpended Appropriations was adjusted downward by 

$3.2 million.

Note 9 – Statement of Net Cost

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Nuclear Reactor Safety

Intragovernmental gross costs $ 227,113 $ 243,406

Less: Intragovernmental earned revenue (53,919) (57,412)

Intragovernmental net costs 173,194 185,994

Gross costs with the public 568,077 595,276

Less: Earned revenues from the public (715,928) (756,868)

Net costs with the public (147,851) (161,592)

Total Net Cost of Nuclear Reactor Safety $ 25,343 $ 24,402

Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety

Intragovernmental gross costs $ 56,548 $ 64,238

Less: Intragovernmental earned revenue (6,505) (7,122)

Intragovernmental net costs 50,043 57,116

Gross costs with the public 163,617 180,539

Less: Earned revenues from the public (87,662) (79,432)

Net costs with the public 75,955 101,107

Total Net Cost of Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety $ 125,998 $ 158,223

“Nuclear Reactor Safety” and “Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety” represent the NRC’s two major programs as identified 

in the NRC Annual Performance Plan.

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8 5

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports
Note 10 – Exchange Revenues

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Fees for licensing, inspection, and other services $ 858,851 $ 896,184

Revenue from reimbursable work 5,163 4,650

Total Exchange Revenues $ 864,014 $ 900,834

Note 11 – Financing Sources Other Than Exchange Revenue

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Appropriations Used

Collections are used to reduce the fiscal year’s appropriations recognized:

Funds consumed $ 987,845 $ 1,041,101

Less: Collection of fees assessed (869,089) (911,501)

Less: Nuclear Waste Funding Expense (1,983) (2,721)

Less: Office of the Commission (financed by Fees) (1,198) -

Total Appropriations Used $ 115,575 $ 126,879

Funds consumed include $25.9 million and $50.7 million through September 30, 2016, and 2015, respectively, of 

available funds from prior years.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Non-Exchange Revenu

Civil penalties $ 109 $ 195

Miscellaneous receipts 165 178 

Non-Exchange Revenue 274 37

Contra-Revenue (274) (373)

Total Non-Exchange Revenue, Net of Funds Returned to the

U.S. Treasury General Fund $ - $

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Imputed Financing

Civil Service Retirement System $ 5,526 $ 6,976

Federal Employees Retirement System 2,295 3,282

Federal Employee Health Benefit 19,500 17,686

Federal Employee Group Life Insurance 86 87

Judgments/Awards -

Total Imputed Financing $ 27,407 $ 28,031

Note 12 – Total Obligations Incurred

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015 

Direct Obligations

Category A $ 994,840 $ 1,046,459

Exempt from Apportionment 1,772 2,295

Total Direct Obligations 996,612 1,048,754

Reimbursable Obligations 5,705 5,059

Total Obligations Incurred $ 1,002,317 $ 1,053,813

Obligations exempt from apportionment represent funds derived from the NWF. Category A Obligations consist of the 

NRC appropriations only.

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

8 6
Note 13 – Undelivered Orders at the End of the Period

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Undelivered Orders - Unpaid

Salaries and Expenses $ 255,560 $ 257,171

Inspector General 1,019 1,517

Nuclear Waste Fund 105 633

Total Undelivered Orders - Unpaid $ 256,684 $ 259,321

Undelivered Orders - Paid

Salaries and Expenses $ 13,756 $ 10,885

Inspector General 413 384

Nuclear Waste Fund -

Total Undelivered Orders - Paid 14,169 11,269

Total Undelivered Orders $ 270,853 $ 270,590

Note 14 – Nuclear Waste Fund

For FY 2016 and FY 2015, the NRC’s budget did not include funds from the NWF. The funding provided to the NRC 

prior to FY 2014 and carried forward to subsequent years was for the purpose of performing activities associated with the 

U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) application for a high- level waste repository at Yucca Mountain, NV.

The SFFAS No. 43 “Funds from Dedicated Collections: Amending SFFAS 27, Identifying and Reporting Earmarked 

Funds,” lists three defining criteria for funds from dedicated collections. Generally, funds from dedicated collections 

must have at least one source of funds external to the Federal Government, and the statute provides explicit authority 

to retain current, unused revenues for future use. Also, the law includes a requirement to account for and report on the 

receipt and use of the financing sources as distinguished from general revenues.

In 1982, Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-425) establishing the NWF to be 

administered by DOE (42 U.S.C. 10222). For the NRC, the NWF transfer is a source of financing from other than 

non-Federal sources. The NRC collects no revenue on behalf of the NWF and has no administrative control over it. 

Furthermore, the Treasury has no separate fund symbol for the NWF under the NRC’s agency location code. The receipt 

and expenditure of NWF money is reported to Treasury under the NRC’s primary Salaries and Expenses fund (X0200).

Based on these facts, the NWF is not a fund from dedicated collections from the NRC’s perspective. In order to provide 

additional information to the users of these financial statements, enhanced disclosure of the fund is presented below.

The NWF amounts received, expended, obligated, and unobligated balances as of September 30, 2016, and 2015, are 

shown in the following table:

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Appropriations Received $ - $

Expended Appropriations $ 1,983 $ 2,722

Obligations Incurred $ 1,772 $ 2,295

Unobligated Balances (includes recoveries of prior-year obligations) $ 1,382 $ 2,836

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

8 7

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports
Note 15 – Explanation of Differences Between the Statement of Budgetary Resources 

and the Budget of the U.S. Government

SFFAS No. 7, “Accounting for Revenue and Other Financing Sources” and OMB Circular A-136 require the NRC to 

reconcile the budgetary resources reported on the SBR to the actual budgetary resources presented in the President’s 

Budget and explain any material differences.

The reconciliation was based on FY 2015 results because the Budget of the United States (also known as the President’s 

Budget), with actual numbers for FY 2016, was not published at the time that these financial statements were issued.

The NRC currently has two material differences between the budgetary resources reported on the SBR for FY 2015 and 

the President’s Budget for FY 2015 as summarized in the chart below.

Explanation of Differences (In millions)

Distributed 

Offsetting 

Receipts

Combined Statement of Budgetary Resources - FY 2015 Actual $ (911)

Difference #1:

The Budget of the U.S. Government “Special and Trust Fund Receipts” schedule is missing Line 2101 for the Salaries and 

Expenses Appropriation. This line represents FY 2015 license fees collected during FY 2015 and applied to the FY 2015 

Salaries and Expenses appropriations.

$ (875)

Difference #2:

The Budget of the U.S. Government “Special and Trust Fund Receipts” schedule should include an additional Line 2101 for the 

FY 2014 license fees collected in FY 2015 between October 1 and October 3, 2014, and applied to the FY 2014 Salaries 

and Expenses appropriation. The General Counsels for the NRC and the OMB determined that FY 2014 fees received during 

this period should be applied to the NRC FY 2014 appropriation in order to avoid an overstatement of the amount transferred 

to reduce the NRC FY 2015 appropriation. The transfer of fees collected and the reduction of the FY 2014 appropriation was 

recorded under Legal Authority 1: PL 113- 76, 128 STAT 181.

$ (26)

The actual amount reported in the Budget of the U.S. Government “Special and Trust Fund Receipts” schedule on Line 2101 is 

$10 million. The amount represents license fees collected during FY 2015 and applied to the FY 2015 Office of the Inspector 

General appropriation.

$ (10)

The differences, noted in the chart above, reflect license fees collected that should have been applied to appropriations 

in the Special and Trust Fund Receipts schedule for FY 2015 Actual amounts in the FY 2017 President’s budget. The 

line items for the two amounts were inadvertently omitted in the Special and Trust Fund Receipts schedule because of 

an oversight due to OMB system programming changes. In the FY 2018 President’s Budget, the two differences will be 

included as adjustments to the FY 2016 Actual amounts to adjust the balance at the start of the year.

The FY 2016 actual budgetary resources numbers will be available in the FY 2018 President’s Budget which is expected to 

be published in February 2017, and will be available on the OMB Web site http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb and through 

the U.S. Government Printing Office.

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

8 8
Note 16 – Reconciliation of Net Cost of Operations to Budgetary Resources

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

Budgetary Resources Obligated

Obligations incurred (Note 12) $ 1,002,317 $ 1,053,813

Less: Spending authority from offsetting collections and recoveries (13,808) (13,046)

Less: Distributed offsetting receipts, current year (869,094) (885,338)

Less: Distributed offsetting receipts, prior year - (26,16

Net Obligations 119,415 129,267

Other Resources

Imputed financing from costs absorbed by others 27,407 28,033

Non-Exchange Revenue 274 373

Funds returned to U.S. Treasury General Fund (274) (373)

Net Other Resources Used to Finance Activities 27,407 28,033

Total Resources Used to Finance Activities 146,822 157,300

Resources Used to Finance Items Not Part of the Net Cost of Operations (17,170) (3,209)

Total Resources Used to Finance the Net Cost of Operations 129,652 154,091

Components of the Net Cost of Operations that will not require or generate 

resources in the current period 21,689 28,534

Net Cost of Operations $ 151,341 $ 182,625

Distributed offsetting receipts of $869.1 million were collected and transferred to offset the FY 2016 NRC appropriations 

through September 30, 2016. Upon transfer, the U.S. Treasury issued a negative warrant for the amount of the transfer to 

reduce the NRC appropriations.

Note 17 – Contingencies

The NRC is subject to potential liabilities in various administrative proceedings, legal actions, environmental suits, and 

claims brought against it. In the opinion of the NRC’s management and legal counsel, the ultimate resolution of these 

proceedings, actions, suits, and claims will not materially affect the financial position or net costs of the NRC.

Reasonably Possible Likelihood of an Adverse Outcome:

As of September 30, 2016, and 2015, the NRC is one of three government agencies that are involved in a case in which 

the likelihood of loss is reasonably possible. NRC’s portion of the loss could be up to $21.3 million and any loss would be 

paid out of the judgement fund.

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

8 9

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports
Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

9 0

Combining Statement of Budgetary Resources (in thousands)

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016 Salaries and 

Expenses

Office of 

Inspector General

Nuclear 

Facility Fees Total

Budgetary Resources

Unobligated balances, brought forward, October 1 $ 25,722 $ 2,278 $ - $ 28,000

Recoveries of prior-year unpaid obligations 8,138 720 - 8,858

Recoveries of prior-year paid obligations 156 - - 156

Unobligated balance from prior-year budget authority, net 34,016 2,998 - 37,014

Appropriations 990,000 12,136 - 1,002,136

Spending authority from offsetting collections 4,794 - - 4,794

Total Budgetary Resources $ 1,028,810 $ 15,134 $ - $ 1,043,944

Status of Budgetary Resources

New obligations and upward adjustments (total) (Note 12) $ 990,184 $ 12,133 $ - $ 1,002,317

Unobligated balance, end of year

Apportioned, unexpired accounts 37,181 2,699 - 39,880

Exempt from apportionment, unexpired accounts 1,382 - - 1,382

Unapportioned, unexpired accounts - - - Unexpired unobligated balance, end of year 38,563 2,69  - 41,2

Expired unobligated balance, end of year 63 302 - 365

Unobligated balance, end of year 38,626 3,001 - 41,627

Total Status of Budgetary Resources $ 1,028,810 $ 15,134 $ - $ 1,043,944

Change in Obligated Balance

Unpaid obligations

Unpaid obligations, brought forward, October 1 $ 325,804 $ 1,848 $ - $ 327,652

New obligations and upward adjustments (Note 12) 990,184 12,133 - 1,002,317

Outlays, gross (980,271) (11,875) - (992,146)

Recoveries of prior-year unpaid obligations (8,138) (720) - (8,858)

Unpaid obligations, end of year $ 327,579 $ 1,386 $ - $ 328,965

Uncollected payments

Uncollected customer payments from Federal sources, 

brought forward, October 1 $ (1,814) $ - $ - $ (1,814)

Change in uncollected customer payments, from 

Federal sources (541) - - (541)

Uncollected payments, Federal sources, end of year $ (2,355) $ - $ - $ (2,355)

Memorandum entries:

Obligated balances, start of year $ 323,990 $ 1,848 $ - $ 325,838

Obligated balances, end of year $ 325,224 $ 1,386 $ - $ 326,610

Budget Authority and Outlays, Net

Budget Authority, gross $ 994,794 $ 12,136 $ - $ 1,006,930

Actual offsetting collections (4,409) - - (4,409)

Change in uncollected customer payments, from Federal 

sources (541) - - (541)

Recoveries of prior year paid obligations 156 - - 156

Budget Authority, Net $ 990,000 $ 12,136 $ - $ 1,002,136

Outlays, gross $ 980,271 $ 11,875 $ - $ 992,146

Actual offsetting collections (4,409) - - (4,409)

Outlays, net 975,862 11,875 - 987,737

Distributed offsetting receipts - - (869,094) (869,094)

Agency Outlays, Net $ 975,862 $ 11,875 $ (869,094) $ 118,643

Required Supplementary Information
http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

9 1

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Combining Statement of Budgetary Resources (in thousands)

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2015 Salaries and 

Expenses

Office of 

Inspector General

Nuclear 

Facility Fees Total

Budgetary Resources

Unobligated balances, brought forward, October 1 $ 50,843 $ 2,618 $ 3 $ 53,464

Recoveries of prior-year unpaid obligations 5,036 11 - 5,047

Recoveries of prior-year paid obligations 3,362 10 - 3,372

Unobligated balance from prior-year budget authority, net 59,241 2,639 3 61,883

Appropriations 1,003,233 12,071 (3) 1,015,301

Spending authority from offsetting collections 4,629 - - 4,629

Total Budgetary Resources $ 1,067,103 $ 14,710 $ - $ 1,081,813

Status of Budgetary Resources

New obligations and upward adjustments (total) (Note 12) $ 1,041,381 $ 12,432 $ - $ 1,053,813

Unobligated balance, end of year

Apportioned, unexpired accounts 20,985 2,274 - 23,259

Exempt from apportionment, unexpired accounts 2,837 - - 2,837

Unapportioned, unexpired accounts 1,900 4 - 1,904

Unexpired unobligated balance, end of year 25,722 2,278 - 28,000

Expired unobligated balance, end of year - - - Unobligated balance, end of year 25,722 2,278 - 28,0

Total Status of Budgetary Resources $ 1,067,103 $ 14,710 $ - $ 1,081,813

Change in Obligated Balance

Unpaid obligations

Unpaid obligations, brought forward, October 1 $ 324,913 $ 963 $ - $ 325,876

New obligations and upward adjustments (Note 12) 1,041,381 12,432 - 1,053,813

Outlays, gross (1,035,454) (11,536) - (1,046,990)

Recoveries of prior-year unpaid obligations (5,036) (11) - (5,047)

Unpaid obligations, end of year $ 325,804 $ 1,848 $ - $ 327,652

Uncollected payments

Uncollected customer payments from Federal sources, 

brought forward, October 1 $ (1,949) $ - $ - $ (1,949)

Change in uncollected customer payments, from 

Federal sources 135 - - 135

Uncollected customer payments, from Federal sources $ (1,814) $ - $ - $ (1,814)

Memorandum entries:

Obligated balances, start of year $ 322,964 $ 963 $ - $ 323,927

Obligated balances, end of year $ 323,990 $ 1,848 $ - $ 325,838

Budget Authority and Outlays, Net

Budget Authority, gross $ 1,007,862 $ 12,071 $ (3) $ 1,019,930

Actual offsetting collections (8,126) (10) - (8,136)

Change in uncollected customer payments, from Federal sources 135 - 135

Recoveries of prior year paid obligations 3,362 10 - 3,372

Budget Authority, Net $ 1,003,233 $ 12,071 $ (3) $ 1,015,301

Outlays, gross $ 1,035,454 $ 11,536 $ - $ 1,046,990

Actual offsetting collections (8,126) (10) - (8,136)

Outlays, net 1,027,328 11,526 - 1,038,854

Distributed offsetting receipts - - (911,501) (911,501)

Agency Outlays, Net $ 1,027,328 $ 11,526 $ (911,501) $ 127,353
Deferred Maintenance and 

Repairs 

DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS 

FOR GENERAL PROPERTY, PLANT, AND 

EQUIPMENT (G-PP&E)

Deferred maintenance and repairs information is a 

requirement under SFFAS No. 42, Deferred Maintenance 

and Repairs (DM&R).

SFFAS No. 42 defines DM&R as “maintenance and repairs 

that were not performed when they should have been or 

were scheduled to be and which are put off or delayed 

for a future period.” Maintenance and repairs (M&R) 

are defined as activities directed toward keeping fixed 

assets in an acceptable condition. Activities include 

preventive maintenance; replacement of parts, systems, 

or components; and other activities needed to preserve 

or maintain the asset. M&R, as distinguished from 

capital improvements, exclude activities directed towards 

expanding the capacity of an asset or otherwise upgrading 

it to serve needs different from, or significantly greater 

than, its current use.

DM&R should include funded and unfunded M&R 

activities that have been delayed to a future period. 

DM&R on inactive and/or excess G-PP&E should be 

included to the extent that it is required to maintain 

inactive or excess G-PP&E in acceptable condition.

The NRC has performed an evaluation of DM&R activities 

for leased facilities, the multiple components of the agency 

IT infrastructure, and individual capital asset purchases 

with a cost equal to or greater than $50,000. The NRC did 

not include noncapitalized PP&E with a cost of less than 

$50,000, which are deemed immaterial.

DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS 

FOR THE NRC FACILITIES, OTHER 

STRUCTURES, AND CAPITAL EQUIPMENT

For the NRC leased facilities and capital equipment 

purchases, the NRC typically does not have any deferred 

maintenance or repairs. The NRC had no DM&R for 

Facilities, Other Structures, and Capital Equipment as of 

September 30, 2016 and 2015.

DEFINING AND IMPLEMENTING M&R 

POLICIES IN PRACTICE

For the Headquarters facilities, the NRC uses the GSA 

guidelines for maintenance activities along with industry 

best practices to determine the preventative maintenance 

activities to perform and the schedule for those activities. 

For the building structures and systems, the maintenance 

contractor performs all required periodic maintenance 

to keep the systems and buildings in a good state of 

repair. The contractor is held to a 98 percent scheduled 

completion rate with all the preventative maintenance 

completed within a reasonable time. When equipment 

reaches the end of its useful life, it is generally replaced 

with like kind or upgraded equipment. For any type of 

an emergent failure to facilities, the NRC would request 

additional funding, as needed, for repairs or replacement 

to structures and equipment.

For the regional offices, the building management (lessor) 

is responsible for performing all required periodic 

maintenance to keep the systems and buildings in a good 

state of repair. Generally, fixed assets are contained 

within the regional leases, including equipment purchased 

to support the operations of our leased space, such as 

diesel generators and chillers for the Incident Response 

Center (IRC), and the Local Area Network (LAN) and 

power cooling. Equipment requiring repair results in a 

service repair call. For those instances where equipment 

is purchased to support the NRC regional operations, 

maintenance contracts are put in place to provide periodic 

service and maintenance on the equipment. When 

equipment reaches the end of its useful life, it is generally 

replaced with like kind or with upgraded equipment. For 

any type of an emergent failure, the NRC would request 

additional funding, as needed, for repairs or replacement 

of equipment.

The TTC facility and associated systems are leased and 

maintained by the lessor. This includes any emergent 

repairs that may occur, as well as any scheduled 

maintenance. Assets within the TTC are predominantly 

maintained by facilities personnel or in some cases, such 

as simulator systems, contractor personnel perform all 

required emergent and periodic maintenance to keep 

the simulator systems in a good state of repair. When 

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

9 2
equipment reaches the end of its useful life, it is replaced 

with like kind or upgraded equipment.

RANKING AND PRIORITIZATION OF M&R 

ACTIVITIES

Personnel safety is a top priority at the NRC leased 

facilities. Maintenance activity, such as fire alarms and 

emergency exits, are given top priority. If a preventative 

maintenance activity must be deferred, which is typically 

only for 2 to 4 weeks, the impact to personnel safety and 

building functionality are considered during the review. 

Other maintenance and repair activities are executed 

as required so that there is no disruption to the NRC 

operations and the TTC training schedules.

FACTORS CONSIDERED IN DETERMINING 

ACCEPTABLE CONDITION

The NRC has a Facilities Management Branch at the 

headquarters facilities to perform the daily inspections 

and maintenance of the buildings and major systems. The 

NRC internally reviews planned maintenance activity 

records and historical logs of maintenance and repairs 

to monitor condition information on equipment. Based 

on the information gathered, the NRC will determine 

if planning for replacement or upgrade is needed. 

Additionally, the GSA conducts onsite inspections every 

3 to 5 years at the headquarters facilities to assess the 

overall condition of the buildings and to determine when 

major systems and components need to be scheduled for 

replacement. For the TTC and regional offices, the NRC 

has a Facilities Management staff person onsite to work 

with the GSA to manage the buildings with support from 

the lessors. As a result, the GSA performs more frequent 

onsite inspections of the facilities. The NRC works in 

close coordination with GSA to ensure maintenance and 

repair activities are performed on a timely basis to all 

NRC-occupied facilities.

DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS 

FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) 

INFRASTRUCTURE AND SYSTEMS 

DM&R for IT Infrastructure and Systems is $3.3 million 

as of September 30, 2016. The DM&R includes upgrading 

the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) for 

$1.2 million and the Video Teleconference (VTC) and 

Voicemail systems for $2.1 million. The HRMS upgrade is 

to move from version 9.0, which is currently unsupported, 

to version 9.2. The VTC and Voicemail system upgrade 

is to move from a server platform that is no longer 

supported. The NRC had no DM&R for IT Infrastructure 

and Systems as of September 30, 2015.

The NRC IT infrastructure is a network of multiple 

equipment, software, and service components, taken 

as a whole, which provides the critical communication 

network that allows the NRC to accomplish its mission. 

The NRC IT infrastructure encompasses the following:

• End-User Systems and Support and End-User hardware 

includes desktop, laptop, handheld devices, peripherals 

(local printers, shared printers), software (personal 

computer operating systems, office automation suites, 

messaging, and groupware), and hardware and software 

for help desks. Also included are network operations 

command centers, wire closets, and cable management. 

For regional offices, this includes regional end-user 

support similar to that provided by the Customer 

Support Center at Headquarters, including contract 

support and FTE.

• Telecommunications Services includes data networks 

and telecommunications (including wireless, 

multimedia, and local and long distance telephone); 

hardware and software operations; licenses; 

maintenance; and backup, continuity of operations, and 

disaster recovery. For regional offices, this includes 

local telecommunications, including contract support 

and FTE.

• Production Operations includes mainframes and 

servers (including Web hosting, but not Web content 

development and management); hardware and 

software operations; licenses; maintenance; and 

backup, continuity of operations, and disaster recovery. 

Also included are Homeland Security Presidential 

Directive-12 resources, which requires all Federal 

Executive Departments and Agencies to implement 

a government wide standard for secure and reliable 

forms of identification for access to Federal facilities 

and information systems.

http://www.nrc.gov / Protecting People and the Environment

9 3

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports
The NRC relies on the asset Project and Program 

Managers to execute the maintenance budget and to 

establish and modify the M&R schedule as needed. 

Ranking factors that may impact the M&R schedule 

include personnel safety, age of the asset, scheduled 

replacement date, budget constraints, and unforeseen or 

unexpected events.

Additionally, for IT systems, whether computer-off-theshelf or internally developed software, the NRC relies on 

the Project and Program Managers to establish an M&R 

budget and schedule. Minor repairs, enhancements, and 

upgrades are completed internally through the regular 

M&R operations process. For major upgrades and 

replacement systems, the Project Manager must submit 

a request to perform the work to the appropriate IT 

governance boards for their approval.

DEFINING AND IMPLEMENTING M&R 

POLICIES IN PRACTICE

All of the NRC IT infrastructure M&R activities are 

performed under various contracts. For example, the 

main IT infrastructure and support services contract 

(ITISS) includes leasing of servers, computers, printers, 

and software; and provides provisions for periodic 

monitoring, maintenance, and repairs. Replacement of 

miscellaneous equipment components and software are 

scheduled for replacement as needed when the equipment 

reaches the end of its useful life and before the equipment 

and software become obsolete. Desktops and laptops are 

upgraded on a 3-year rolling schedule so that they do not 

become obsolete.

RANKING AND PRIORITIZATION OF M&R 

ACTIVITIES

The NRC Program Managers determine the requirements 

for ranking, scheduling, and performing IT infrastructure 

M&R activities and include them in the contractor 

statement of work. For the critical ITISS contract, the 

main ranking factor is the age of the asset (e.g. desktop, 

laptop, printer, BlackBerry, etc.), followed by cost/budget 

constraints. However, when applicable, personnel safety is 

considered and is the highest priority.

FACTORS CONSIDERED IN DETERMINING 

ACCEPTABLE CONDITION

In determining acceptable condition, the NRC mainly 

considers the asset’s age, remaining useful life, and 

compatibility with current and required software.

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

9 4
UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

OFFICE OF THE

INSPECTOR GENERAL

November 15, 2016

MEMORANDUM TO: Chairman Burns

FROM: Hubert T. Bell /RA/

Inspector General

SUBJECT: RESULTS OF THE AUDIT OF THE UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION'S FINANCIAL

STATEMENTS FOR FISCAL YEARS 2016 AND 2015

(OIG-17-A-04)

The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, as amended (CFO Act), requires the Inspector 

General (IG) or an independent external auditor, as determined by the IG, to annually 

audit the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) financial statements in 

accordance with applicable standards. In compliance with this requirement, the Office of 

the Inspector General (OIG) retained CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP (CLA), to conduct this 

annual audit. Transmitted with this memorandum is CLA’s report which contains the 

following:

 Opinion on the Principal Statements.

 Opinion on Internal Control.

 Compliance with Laws and Regulations.

NRC’s Performance and Accountability Report includes comparative financial 

statements for Fiscal Years (FY) 2016 and 2015.

Objective of a Financial Statement Audit

The objective of a financial statement audit is to determine whether the audited entity’s 

financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on 

a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial 

statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and 

significant estimates made by management as well as evaluating the overall financial 

statement presentation.

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Chapter 3  Financial Statements and Auditors’ Report

Inspector General’s Letter Transmitting Independent Auditors’ Report
CLA’s audit and examination were made in accordance with

 auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America; 

 standards applicable to the financial audits, contained in Government Auditing 

Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States; 

 attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public 

Accountants; and 

 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Bulletin No. 15-02, Audit 

Requirements for Federal Financial Statements. 

The audit included, among other things, obtaining an understanding of NRC and its 

operations, including internal control over financial reporting; evaluating the design and 

operating effectiveness of internal control and assessing risk; and testing relevant 

internal controls over financial reporting. Because of inherent limitations in any internal 

control, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected. Also, 

projections of any evaluation of the internal control to future periods are subject to the 

risk that the internal control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, 

or that the degree of compliance with the policies, or procedures may deteriorate.

FY 2016 Audit Results

The results are as follows:

Financial Statements

 Unmodified opinion.

Internal Controls

 Unmodified opinion.

Compliance with Laws and Regulations

 No lack of compliance noted.

Office of the Inspector General Oversight of CLA Performance

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Chapter 3  Financial Statements and Auditors’ Report
To fulfill our responsibilities under the CFO Act and related legislation for ensuring the 

quality of the audit work performed, we monitored CLA’s audit of NRC’s FY 2016 and 

FY 2015 financial statements by

 Reviewing CLA’s audit approach and planning.

 Evaluating the qualifications and independence of CLA’s auditors.

 Monitoring audit progress at key points.

 Examining the working papers related to planning and performing the 

audit and assessing NRC’s internal controls.

 Reviewing CLA’s audit report to ensure compliance with Government 

Auditing Standards and OMB Bulletin No. 15-02.

 Coordinating the issuance of the audit report.

 Performing other procedures deemed necessary.

CLA is responsible for the attached auditors’ report, dated November 8, 2016, and the 

conclusions expressed therein. OIG is responsible for technical and administrative 

oversight regarding the firm’s performance under the terms of the contract. Our 

oversight, as differentiated from an audit in conformance with Government Auditing 

Standards, was not intended to enable us to express, and accordingly we do not 

express an opinion on

 NRC’s financial statements. 

 Effectiveness of NRC’s internal control over financial reporting. 

 NRC’s compliance with laws and regulations.

However, our monitoring review, as described above, disclosed no instances where 

CLA did not comply, in all material respects, with applicable auditing standards.

Meeting with the Chief Financial Officer

At the exit conference on November 8, 2016, representatives of the Office of the Chief

Financial Officer, OIG, and CLA discussed the results of the audit.

Comments of the Chief Financial Officer

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Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports
In her response, the Chief Financial Officer agreed with the report. The full text of her 

response follows this report.

We appreciate NRC staff’s cooperation and continued interest in improving financial 

management within NRC.

Attachment: As stated

cc: Commissioner Svinicki

Commissioner Baran

M. Wylie, OCFO

R. Lewis, OEDO

H. Rasouli, OEDO

J. Jolicoeur, OEDO

J. Bowen, OEDO

S. Hudson, OCFO

EDO_ACS Distribution

RidsOCFOMailCenter Resource

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

9 8
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

www.cliftonlarsonallen.com

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT

Inspector General

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Chairman

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Report on the Financial Statements 

We have audited the accompanying financial statements of the United States Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC), which comprise the balance sheets as of September 30, 2016 and 2015, and the 

related statements of net cost, changes in net position, and combined statements of budgetary 

resources for the years then ended, and the related notes to the financial statements (financial 

statements). 

Management’s Responsibility for the Financial Statements

NRC management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial 

statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of 

America (U.S.); this includes the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant 

to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material 

misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditors’ Responsibilities

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We 

conducted our audits of the financial statements in accordance with auditing standards generally 

accepted in the U.S., the standards applicable to the financial audits contained in Government 

Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, and Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) Bulletin No. 15-02, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial 

Statements (OMB Bulletin 15-02). Those standards and OMB Bulletin 15-02 require that we plan and

perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free 

from material misstatement.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures 

in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditors’ judgment, including the 

assessment of risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or 

error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s 

preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that 

are appropriate in the circumstances. An audit of financial statements also involves evaluating the 

appropriateness of the accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting

Independent Auditors’ Report

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Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT, CONTINUED

estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial 

statements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to 

provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the 

financial position of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission as of September 30, 2016 and 

2015, and its net costs, changes in net position, and combined statements of budgetary resources for 

the years then ended, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S.

Other Matters

Required Supplementary Information

Accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. require that NRC’s Management Discussion and 

Analysis (MD&A) and other Required Supplementary Information (RSI), including the Combining 

Statement of Budgetary Resources, and Deferred Maintenance and Repairs, be presented to 

supplement the financial statements. Such information, although not a part of the financial 

statements, is required by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, which considers it to be 

an essential part of financial reporting for placing the financial statements in an appropriate 

operational, economic, or historical context. We have applied certain limited procedures to the MD&A 

and other RSI in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the U.S., which consisted 

of inquiries of management about the methods of preparing the information and comparing the 

information for consistency with management's responses to our inquiries, the financial statements, 

and other knowledge we obtained during our audits of the financial statements. We do not express an 

opinion or provide any assurance on the RSI because the limited procedures do not provide us with 

sufficient evidence to express an opinion or provide any assurance.

Other Information

The fiscal year 2016 NRC Performance and Accountability Report contains other information 

including the cover, table of contents, Message from the Chairman, Chapter 2 (Program 

Performance), Message from the Chief Financial Officer, the Inspector General’s letter transmitting 

the Independent Auditors’ Report, management’s response to the audit report, and Chapter 4 (Other

Information). In addition, management has included references to information on websites or other 

data outside of the Performance and Accountability Report. This other information is presented for 

purposes of additional analysis and is not a required part of the financial statements or RSI. This 

other information has not been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audits of the 

financial statements, and accordingly, we do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on it.

Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We have audited NRC’s internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2016, based on 

criteria established under 31 U.S.C. 3512 (c) and (d) commonly known as the Federal Managers’ 

Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (FMFIA) and OMB Circular A-123, Management’s Responsibility for 

Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control (OMB Circular A-123). 

Management’s Responsibility for Internal Control

NRC management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting,

evaluating the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting based on the criteria described 

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT, CONTINUED

above, and for its statement of assurance on the effectiveness of internal control over financial 

reporting.

Auditors’ Responsibilities

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on NRC’s internal control over financial reporting based on 

our audit. We conducted our audit of internal control over financial reporting in accordance with 

attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and 

contained in Government Auditing Standards.

An audit of internal control over financial reporting includes obtaining an understanding of internal 

control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and evaluating the 

design, and testing the operating effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting based on 

the assessed risk. Our audit of internal control also considered the entity’s process for evaluating and 

reporting on internal control over financial reporting based on the criteria described above. Our audit 

also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances.

We did not evaluate all internal controls relevant to operating objectives as broadly established under 

FMFIA, such as those controls relevant to preparing performance information and ensuring efficient 

operations. We limited our internal control testing to testing controls over financial reporting. Our 

internal control testing was for the purpose of expressing an opinion on whether effective internal 

control over financial reporting was maintained, in all material respects. Consequently, our audit may 

not identify all deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting that are less severe than a 

material weakness.

Definition and Inherent Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

An entity’s internal control over financial reporting is a process effected by those charged by 

governance, management, and other personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance that (1) 

transactions are properly recorded, processed, and summarized to permit the preparation of financial 

statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S.; (2) assets are 

safeguarded against loss from unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition; and (3) transactions are 

executed in accordance with laws governing the use of budget authority and other applicable laws, 

regulations, contracts, and grant agreements that could have a direct and material effect on the 

financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent, or detect 

and correct, misstatements due to fraud or error. We also caution that projecting our audit results to 

future periods is subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in 

conditions or that the degree of compliance with controls may deteriorate. 

Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

In our opinion, NRC maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial 

reporting as of September 30, 2016, based on criteria established under FMFIA and OMB Circular A123.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT, CONTINUED

Report on Compliance Based on an Audit of Financial Statements Performed in Accordance 

With Government Auditing Standards

Compliance With Laws, Regulations, Contracts, and Grant Agreements

As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether NRC’s financial statements are free from 

material misstatement, we performed tests of NRC’s compliance with certain provisions of laws, 

regulations, contracts, and grant agreements consistent with our professional responsibilities 

discussed below. The results of our tests for the year ended September 30, 2016, disclosed no 

instances of noncompliance that are required to be reported in accordance with Government Auditing 

Standards.

We also performed tests of compliance with certain provisions of the Federal Financial Management 

Improvement Act (FFMIA). However, providing an opinion on compliance with FFMIA was not an 

objective of our audit, and accordingly, we do not express such an opinion. The results of our tests of 

FFMIA disclosed no instances in which NRC’s financial management systems did not substantially 

comply with (1) Federal financial management systems requirements; (2) applicable Federal 

accounting standards; or (3) the United States Standard General Ledger (USSGL) at the transaction 

level.

Management’s Responsibility for Compliance

Management is responsible for ensuring NRC’s financial management systems are in substantial 

compliance with FFMIA requirements, and ensuring compliance with other applicable laws, 

regulations, contracts, and grant agreements.

Auditors’ Responsibilities

We are responsible for testing compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and 

grant agreements that have a direct effect on the determination of material financial statement

amounts and disclosures. 

We did not test compliance with all laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements applicable to 

NRC. We limited our tests of compliance to certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and 

grant agreements noncompliance with which could have a direct effect on the determination of 

material financial statement amounts and disclosures. However, providing an opinion on compliance 

with those provisions was not an objective of our audits, and accordingly, we do not express such an 

opinion. We caution that noncompliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements may 

occur and not be detected by these tests and that such testing may not be sufficient for other 

purposes. Also, our work on FFMIA would not necessarily disclose all instances of noncompliance 

with FFMIA requirements.

Purpose of the Report on Compliance

The purpose of the Report on Compliance is solely to describe the scope of our testing of compliance 

with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements and the result of that testing, and not to 

provide an opinion on NRC’s compliance. This report is an integral part of an audit performed in 

accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering NRC’s compliance. Accordingly, this 

report is not suitable for any other purpose.

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT, CONTINUED

Management’s Response to the Independent Auditors’ Report

Management’s response to our report is presented in the Performance and Accountability Report. 

We did not audit NRC’s response and, accordingly, we express no opinion on it.

CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

Arlington, Virginia

November 8, 2016

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UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 

MEMORANDUM TO: Brett M. Baker 

 Assistant Inspector General for Audits 

 Office of the Inspector General 

FROM: Maureen E. Wylie /RA/ 

 Chief Financial Officer 

SUBJECT: AUDIT OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2016 AND 2015 FINANCIAL 

STATEMENTS 

 We appreciate the collaborative relationship between the Office of the Inspector 

General, the auditors, and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer in supporting our continuing 

effort to improve financial reporting. We have reviewed the Independent Auditor’s Report of the 

Agency’s Fiscal Year 2016 and 2015 financial statements and are in agreement with it. 

cc: V. McCree, EDO 

R Lewis, AO/OEDO 

H. Rasouli, DAO/OEDO 

J. Jolicoeur, OEDO 

J. Bowen, OEDO 

 

November 7, 2016 

Management’s Response to the Independent Auditors’ Report 

on the Financial Statements

Chapter 3 n Financial Statements and Auditors’ Reports

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Inspector General’s Assessment of the Most Serious 

Management and Performance Challenges Facing the NRC  . 

Summary of Financial Statement Audit and 

Management Assurances  . 

Required Improper Payments Reporting Details  . 

Combined Schedule of Spending  . 

Freeze the Footprint  . 

Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustment for Inflation  . 

Acronyms and Abbreviations  . 

Bibliographic Data Sheet  . 

Availability of Reference Materials in NRC Publications  . 

Chapter 4

Other Information
Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

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Inspector General’s Assessment of 

the Most Serious Management and 

Performance Challenges Facing the NRC
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UNITED STATES 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 

 October 3, 2016

OFFICE OF THE 

INSPECTOR GENERAL 

MEMORANDUM TO: Chairman Burns 

FROM: Hubert T. Bell \RA\

Inspector General 

SUBJECT: INSPECTOR GENERAL’S ASSESSMENT OF THE MOST 

SERIOUS MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE 

CHALLENGES FACING THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION (OIG-17-A-01) 

In accordance with the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, I am providing what I 

consider to be the most serious management and performance challenges facing the 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. Congress left 

the determination and threshold of what constitutes a most serious management and 

performance challenge to the discretion of the Inspectors General. I have defined 

serious management and performance challenges as mission critical areas or 

programs that have the potential for a perennial weakness or vulnerability that, without 

substantial management attention, would seriously impact agency operations or 

strategic goals. 

INTRODUCTION 

NRC is an independent Federal agency established to license and regulate the 

Nation’s civilian use of radioactive materials to ensure adequate protection of public 

health and safety, promote the common defense and security, and protect the 

environment. 

NRC performs critical functions to ensure the safe and secure use of radioactive 

materials in the United States and to protect both the public and radiation workers from 

radiation hazards that could result from the use of radioactive materials. NRC provides 

licensing and oversight activities for approximately 100 commercial nuclear power 

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IG’s Assessment of the Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges Facing the NRC 

reactors; research, test, and training reactors; and radioactive materials used in 

medicine, academia, and industry. 

NRC’s principal regulatory functions are to establish regulatory requirements and 

conduct confirmatory research to support requirements; issue licenses to facility 

operators and owners, possessors, and users of nuclear materials; oversee these 

licensees to ensure they are in compliance with NRC requirements and operate safely 

and securely; and respond to emergencies involving regulated activities. NRC also 

participates in international work that is integral to the agency’s mandate to protect 

public health and safety and promote the common defense and security. To carry out 

its mission, NRC’s FY 2017 budget is approximately $982.4 million, including 3,525 

full-time equivalent positions. 

Based on NRC’s mission and objectives, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) 

annually identifies what it considers to be the most serious management and 

performance challenges facing NRC. Our goal is to focus attention on these issues to 

enhance the effectiveness of NRC programs and operations. 

MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES 

The FY 2017 management and performance challenges are directly related to NRC’s 

mission areas (commercial nuclear reactors and nuclear materials) and address 

security, information technology, financial programs, and administrative functions. Our 

work in these areas indicates that while program improvements are needed, NRC is 

continually making progress to address OIG recommendations and improve the 

efficiency and effectiveness of its programs. The FY 2017 management and 

performance challenges are as follows: 

1. Regulation of nuclear reactor safety programs. 

2. Regulation of nuclear materials and radioactive waste programs. 

3. Management of security over internal infrastructure (personnel, physical, and cyber 

security) and nuclear security. 

4. Management of information technology and information management. 

5. Management of financial programs. 

6. Management of administrative functions. 

These challenges represent what OIG considers to be inherent and continuing program 

challenges relative to maintaining effective and efficient oversight and internal 

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management controls. As a result, it is likely they will continue to be challenges from 

year to year. Challenges do not necessarily equate to problems. 

Attached is a brief synopsis of each management and performance challenge along 

with summaries of OIG audits and planned work that has informed the decision-making 

process. A complete list of reports can be found at: http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/doc-collections/insp-gen/2016/. 

 

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IG’s Assessment of the Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges Facing the NRC 

 

NRC is responsible for maintaining an established regulatory framework for the safe 

and secure use of civilian nuclear reactors, including commercial nuclear power plants 

as well as research, test, and training reactors. There are currently 100 nuclear power 

reactors licensed to operate in the United States, which generate about 20 percent of 

the nation's electrical use, as well as 4 units under construction (Vogtle 3 and 4, 

Summer 2 and 3). There are also 31 licensed research and test reactors. NRC’s 

regulatory oversight responsibilities in the reactor arena include developing policy and 

rulemaking, licensing and inspecting reactors, licensing reactor operators, and 

enforcing regulations. The agency implemented its nuclear reactor safety program in 

FY 2016 with approximately 76 percent ($760 million) of its total budget authority and 

76 percent (2,780 full-time equivalent employees) of its total staff. Thus, it is of 

paramount importance that the agency implement these programs as effectively and 

efficiently as possible. 

Key reactor safety oversight challenges for NRC include the following: 

 

x Ensuring an adequate and efficient reactor and operator licensing process, 

accounting for safety impacts of major changes to plant configuration, and 

sufficiently evaluating older plants for license extensions. 

x Providing an adequate number of trained inspectors for sufficient oversight, and 

ensuring inspection procedures are adequate and are being followed. 

x Ensuring adequate construction oversight of new power reactors, adequately 

reviewing and approving design changes that are occurring concurrent with the 

construction, and verifying whether plants are built in accordance with the 

intended design. 

x Ensuring appropriate and reasonable application of the agency’s Reactor 

Oversight Process and Construction Reactor Oversight Process, including 

through use of the Significance Determination Process or Enforcement Policy 

for determining regulatory violation severity, and application of the safety culture 

policy and Alternative Dispute Resolution. 

1. Regulation of nuclear reactor safety programs. 

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x Incorporating operational experience from the domestic and international 

nuclear industries into NRC’s regulatory program, including lessons learned 

from Fukushima and other events. 

The following audit report synopses are examples of work OIG has completed or is 

underway pertaining to nuclear reactor safety programs. 

 

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Audit of NRC’s Operator Licensing Program for the AP1000 Power Reactor 

OIG-16-A-08, February 8, 2016 

Four Advanced Passive 1000 (AP1000) Pressurized Water Reactors are under construction in 

the United States. This is a new reactor design for which operators have never been licensed. 

An operator’s license authorizes the license holder to manipulate the controls of the facility, 

which directly affect the reactivity or power level of the reactor. By the year 2020, 

approximately 70 licensed operators will be needed for the AP1000. 

OIG’s review found that the efficiency and effectiveness in NRC’s licensing of AP1000 reactor 

operators can be improved. Specifically, key questions concerning the new reactor operator 

licensing requirements governing the time interval between administration of the written 

examination and operating test are unresolved. Additionally, requirements for qualifying new 

simulators for use during the AP1000 operating test are unclear. In the meantime, one AP1000 

licensee has administered the written exam to its operator candidates without having a 

simulator approved for use in the operating test. 

These program weaknesses have occurred because NRC management and staff responsible 

for licensing operators held differing interpretations of regulations and guidance pertaining to 

the AP1000 operator licensing process, and key decisions related to examination timing and 

simulator requirements were undocumented. 

Agency management generally agreed with the report’s findings and recommendations and is 

taking action to address the recommendations. 

The full report is available at: http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1603/ML16039A297.pdf 

 

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Audit of NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process: Reactor Safety Baseline Inspection 

Procedures, OIG-16-A-12, April 6, 2016 

NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process is a risk-informed, performance-based, tiered approach to 

assessing nuclear power plant safety. Baseline inspections are the minimum level of 

inspection required to ensure plant safety and security, and are common to all operating 

nuclear plants. They focus on activities and systems that are “risk significant.” 

The audit found that NRC needs to ensure mandatory and discretionary language used in 

inspection procedures is clear and consistent for inspectors and managers responsible for 

performing and overseeing baseline inspections. Completion of inspection procedures is a key 

input into NRC’s assessment of whether nuclear reactor licensees operate safely. OIG did not 

identify specific instances where unclear language led to inadequate assessments; however, 

there is risk associated with how NRC is assured inspectors perform activities deemed 

mandatory in inspection procedures. For example, there is a risk that inspectors will perform 

unneeded discretionary activities at the expense of mandatory activities because the distinction 

between mandatory and discretionary activities are unclear. NRC also risks inconsistent 

inspections across regions. The audit report made recommendations to make baseline 

inspection procedures clearer for inspectors and managers performing and overseeing 

baseline inspections. 

Agency management generally agreed with the report’s finding and recommendations and is 

taking action to address the recommendations. 

The full report is available at: http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1609/ML16097A515.pdf

 

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Audit of NRC’s Oversight of 10 CFR 50.59, “Changes, tests and experiments” 

OIG 16-A-19, August 24, 2016 

NRC oversees nuclear power plant licensees’ compliance with requirements stipulated in Title 

10, Energy, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 50.59, “Changes, tests, and experiments” 

(10 CFR 50.59). 10 CFR 50.59 establishes the conditions under which licensees may make 

changes to their facilities or procedures, and conduct tests or experiments, without prior NRC 

approval for a license amendment. When implementing the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59 

process, licensees use the 10 CFR 50.59 process which involves applicability review, 

screening, evaluation, documentation, and reporting. 

In 2015 NRC staff estimated the number of licensee 10 CFR 50.59 implementation actions for 

each operating reactor unit to be approximately 475 screenings annually, from which result 

about 5 evaluations. This amounts to a combined total of about 49,000 screenings and 

evaluations annually. 

The audit found programmatic weakness within NRC’s 10 CFR 50.59 process pertaining to 

coordinated communication among inspectors, and headquarters and regional staff regarding 

10 CFR 50.59 process related information. This weakness occurred because NRC does not 

employ a well-structured approach for 10 CFR 50.59 process management and NRC’s 10 CFR 

50.59 training was limited to the agency’s immediate focus on addressing San Onofre Nuclear 

Generating Station lessons learned through targeted training. 

Adoption of a more structured approach for managing the 10 CFR 50.59 oversight processes 

as well as requiring recurring formal training on the 10 CFR 50.59 process would enhance 

NRC’s regulatory consistency and effectiveness. This is particularly important given the 

multiple NRC headquarters and regional organizations that play different, yet complementary, 

roles in the agency’s oversight of licensees’ compliance with 10 CFR 50.59. Additionally, NRC 

would be better positioned to provide nuclear power plant licensees throughout its four regions 

with consistent and predictable regulatory positions on 10 CFR 50.59 compliance and 

enforcement matters. 

The audit report made recommendations to strengthen coordinated communication of 10 CFR 

50.59 guidance and process-related information among involved staff and enhance the 

agency’s post-qualification 10 CFR 50.59 training to include recurring formal training. 

 Agency management generally agreed with the audit reports finding and recommendations 

and is taking action to address the recommendations. 

The full report is available at: http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1623/ML16237A039.pdf

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Audit of NRC’s Significance Determination Process 

OIG-16-A-21, September 26, 2016. 

The Significance Determination Process (SDP) is a process used by NRC to determine the safety 

significance of inspection findings identified within the Reactor Oversight Process cornerstones of 

safety, security, emergency preparedness, and health physics. Before the SDP is conducted, 

inspectors located at reactor sites and NRC regional offices perform inspections and identify 

potential performance deficiencies. Performance deficiencies are licensee failures to meet a 

regulatory requirement or self-imposed standard that a licensee should have met. NRC staff uses 

screening questions to assess performance deficiencies as either minor or more-than-minor. The 

SDP is then conducted for more-than-minor performance deficiencies or findings that are 

categorized from least safety significant to most safety significant, as Green, White, Yellow, or Red. 

Generally, findings of greater significance require more NRC oversight, which can result in 

additional inspection hours. Findings of greater than Green significance are subject to independent 

NRC audits during periodic ROP self-assessments. 

The audit found programmatic weaknesses in NRC’s SDP resource tracking, issue screening, and 

documentation of independent audits. With regard to resource tracking, NRC does not have 

complete information regarding time needed to complete various steps within the process. 

Although NRC plans to implement new SDP timeliness metrics and process enhancements, the 

agency has not regularly evaluated resources needed for SDP workflow and has not established or 

communicated clear expectations to staff and managers. Consequently, NRC could miss 

opportunities to identify and remedy SDP workflow problems. Regarding issue screening, the audit 

found that inspectors sometimes have difficulty determining whether issues should be categorized 

as minor or more-than-minor because issue screening instructions are unclear. As a result, staff 

might devote unnecessary resources to documenting minor issues, and risk inconsistent 

performance deficiency screening. Lastly, NRC lacks controls to ensure that independent audits of 

greater than Green findings are performed and documented. As a result, NRC risks 

misrepresenting agency performance in periodic self-assessments, and could miss opportunities to 

implement programmatic changes identified through independent audits. 

The audit report made recommendations to strengthen NRC’s management of the SDP by 

assessing workflow under the new timeliness metrics and process enhancements, communicating 

clear and consistent workflow expectations, clarifying issue screening instructions, and ensuring 

independent audits are performed and documented. 

Agency management generally agreed with the audit report’s findings and recommendations, but 

issued formal comments with additional detail that staff deemed necessary to reflect the status of 

planned and ongoing SDP enhancement activities. OIG incorporated these comments into the final 

report. 

The full report is available at: http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1627/ML16270A359.pdf

 

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NRC is responsible for maintaining an established regulatory framework for the safe 

and secure use of nuclear materials; medical, industrial, and academic applications, 

uranium recovery activities; and for the storage and disposal of high-level and low-level 

radioactive waste. NRC is authorized to grant licenses for the possession and use of 

radioactive materials and establish regulations to govern the possession and use of 

those materials. NRC’s oversight of material licensees is done through its regional 

offices; specifically, Region I, Region III, and Region IV. Region I handles the 

oversight for materials licensees in the Region II area. Under Project Aim, NRC is 

evaluating the regional materials program to determine whether further consolidation 

would be more efficient. Staff recently completed its evaluation and provided a 

recommendation regarding consolidation of the materials program to the Commission 

as noted in SECY-16-0083. 

Upon a State’s request, NRC may enter into an agreement to relinquish its authority to 

the State to regulate certain radioactive materials and limited quantities of special 

nuclear material. The State must demonstrate that its regulatory program is adequate 

to protect public health and safety and compatible with NRC’s program. The States 

that enter into an agreement assuming this regulatory authority from NRC are called 

Agreement States. Currently, there are 37 Agreement States and 2 States that have 

submitted letters of intent to become Agreement States. 

NRC regulates high-level radioactive waste generated from commercial nuclear power 

reactors. High-level radioactive waste is either spent (used) reactor fuel when it is 

accepted for disposal or waste material remaining after spent fuel is reprocessed. 

Because of its highly radioactive fission products, high-level radioactive waste must be 

handled and stored with care. Since radioactive waste becomes harmless only 

through decay (which can take hundreds of thousands of years for high-level waste), 

the material must be stored, and ultimately disposed of in a way that provides 

adequate protection of the public for a very long time. Due to the uncertainty 

surrounding Yucca Mountain, the proposed permanent repository for high-level 

radioactive waste, NRC has been reviewing the issues associated with storing highlevel radioactive waste at reactor sites for the foreseeable future. 

 2. Regulation of nuclear materials and radioactive waste programs. 

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Low-level radioactive waste is typically produced at nuclear power reactors, hospitals, 

research facilities, and clinics from the use of nuclear materials for industrial and 

medical purposes. NRC or Agreement States regulate the management, storage, and 

disposal of radioactive waste produced as a result of licensed activities. Low-level 

radioactive waste includes contaminated protective clothing, equipment and tools, 

medical supplies, and laboratory animal tissues. Currently, all of the country’s lowlevel radioactive waste disposal facilities are located in, and licensed by, Agreement 

States. 

Key nuclear materials and radioactive waste oversight challenges for NRC include the 

following: 

x Ensuring that licensing activities are conducted consistent with NRC 

requirements. 

x Providing effective oversight of licensees’ radioactive materials programs to 

preclude loss or theft. 

 

x Ensuring that Agreement State programs are adequate to protect public health 

and safety and the environment, and are compatible with NRC’s program. 

x Providing effective oversight for the safe and secure interim storage of 

increasing quantities of high-level radioactive waste until a permanent repository 

for high-level radioactive waste is operational. 

x Ensuring programs for the safe storage and disposal of low-level radioactive 

waste produced as a result of licensed activities are being implemented in 

accordance with NRC regulations. 

The following audit report synopses are examples of work OIG has completed or is 

underway in the nuclear materials and radioactive waste programs. 

 

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Audit of NRC’s Oversight of Medical Uses of Nuclear Material 

OIG-16-A-02, October 8, 2015 

NRC provides adequate oversight of the medical uses of radioactive isotopes to protect public 

health and safety; however, opportunities for improvement exist with regard to clarifying NRC’s 

medical event policy, periodically assessing medical event reporting, and providing better 

feedback to the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI). 

Medical event reporting requirements are inconsistently understood by licensees and NRC 

staff. This inconsistent understanding is due to a general lack of clarity surrounding NRC’s 

requirements and purpose for reporting medical events. Furthermore, NRC provides 

insufficient medical event data to medical licensees. As a result, NRC is not effectively 

achieving all the possible benefits of medical event reporting. 

NRC has not conducted a periodic self-assessment of its medical events reporting 

requirements to determine if they are effectively meeting their intended purpose. As a result, 

NRC is not in a position to make any informed conclusions regarding the effectiveness of its 

approach to collecting information on medical events. 

NRC does not routinely provide sufficiently detailed feedback to ACMUI despite relying on it as 

a key advisory body. This lack of sufficiently detailed feedback is a result of NRC not having 

current, formalized policies and procedures that clearly articulate the expectations for providing 

feedback to ACMUI. As a result, the benefits of having the ACMUI provide expert advice may 

not be fully realized and the potential for miscommunication and misunderstanding remains. 

Agency management generally agreed with the report findings and recommendations. All 

recommendations based on the report’s findings have been closed. 

The full report is available at: http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1528/ML15281A331.pdf

 

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Audit of NRC’s Oversight of Low-level Radioactive Waste Disposal and Waste Blending 

(Ongoing audit) 

Low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) is typically produced at nuclear power reactors, hospitals, 

research facilities, and clinics from the use of nuclear materials for industrial and medical 

purposes. LLRW disposal occurs at commercially operated disposal facilities that must be 

licensed by either NRC or an Agreement State. LLRW is classified at the time of disposal in 

terms of the concentration of specific radioactive isotopes in the waste. Most LLRW (about 95 

percent) has the lowest concentration and is Class A. Class B and Class C wastes may have 

higher concentrations. Currently, there are four LLRW disposal facilities, all of which are 

licensed and regulated by Agreement States. 

Blending of LLRW means mixing wastes of different concentrations to create products with 

more uniform radionuclide concentrations. Blending higher activity and lower activity waste 

can average the concentration of radioactivity, making it suitable for disposal at more locations 

and at a lower cost. Disposal of LLRW is an expensive endeavor for licensees, and waste 

blending could be a cost-cutting solution. NRC’s oversight of licensees is important to ensure 

that concentration averaging requirements for licensees result in the safe and effective disposal 

of both blended and non-blended LLRW. 

The audit objective is to determine if the disposal and waste blending processes at disposal 

facilities are done safely and effectively. 

 

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NRC must remain vigilant with regard to the security of its infrastructure and that of 

nuclear facilities and nuclear materials. NRC must continue to use robust, proactive 

measures to protect its infrastructure – the buildings, personnel, and information – from 

both internal and external threats. Moreover, as the nature of the threat continues to 

evolve, NRC faces challenges with oversight of protecting operating and 

decommissioned nuclear facilities and nuclear materials, the sharing of sensitive 

information, as well as emergency preparedness and incident response. 

Key security oversight challenges for NRC include the following: 

x Increasing numbers, types, and sophistication of cyber threats underscore the 

need to reinforce the security over NRC’s information systems. For example, 

advanced persistent threats where an adversary that possesses sophisticated 

levels of expertise and significant resources can attack using multiple means 

such as cyber, physical, or deception to achieve its objectives, pose increasing 

risks. 

x Directing agency-wide information resource planning to ensure that agency 

information technology, information management, and information technology 

security resources are selected and managed to provide maximum value to the 

agency. 

x Executing the insider threat prevention and detection program for detecting, 

deterring, and mitigating insider threats to address protection of classified and 

safeguards information from exploitation, compromise, or unauthorized 

disclosure. 

x Continuing to pursue the need for new regulations focused on unique 

requirements of decommissioned nuclear power plants, which present different 

security considerations than operating plants. 

x Ensuring effective oversight of physical and personnel security at nuclear power 

plants. 

3. Management of security over internal infrastructure (personnel, 

physical, and cyber security) and nuclear security. 

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x Executing the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014, to 

strengthen the security of computer networks. 

The following audit report synopses are examples of work that OIG has completed in 

the agency’s security programs. 

 

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Audit of NRC’s Networks Security Operations Center 

OIG-16-A-07, January 11, 2016 

NRC’s Network Security Operations Center (SOC) is responsible for securing the agency’s 

network infrastructure and monitoring the network for suspicious activity. The SOC 

accomplishes this through the use of automated security tools, analysis of network activity 

data, and participation in incident response efforts. The SOC is primarily staffed by contractors 

working under the Information Technology Infrastructure Support Services (ITISS) contract. 

Robust SOC capabilities are particularly crucial given the sensitivity of the unclassified 

information processed on NRC’s network, and the increasing volume of attacks carried out 

against Federal Government computer systems. 

NRC staff described several areas in which the SOC does not meet agency needs, including 

proactive analysis and timely, detailed reports. This occurs because although the contract 

performance criteria are aligned with National Institute of Standards and Technology and NRC 

internal guidance, the contract does not clearly define SOC performance goals and metrics that 

can be used to determine whether agency needs are being met. 

Additionally, SOC staff and NRC stakeholders expressed differing expectations of SOC roles 

and responsibilities. This occurs due to a lack of adequate definitions in agency policies and 

undifferentiated functional descriptions between different entities responsible for securing 

NRC’s network. 

 Agency management generally agreed with the report’s findings and recommendations and is 

taking action to address the recommendations. 

The full report is available at http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1601/ML16011A319.pdf

 

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Audit of NRC’s Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Card Access System 

OIG-16-A-10, March 7, 2016 

NRC’s PIV card access system meets its operational requirements and there is some 

coordination among offices. However, opportunities exist to (1) strengthen processes to 

ensure a greater percentage of PIV card retrieval upon termination, and (2) establish a uniform 

and effective way for the designated representative to notify security officials of changes to 

contractor and employee access rights for restricted areas. 

PIV cards for terminated contractors and employees are not always retrieved. Despite having 

a process in place to prepare an employee to terminate from the agency, PIV card retrieval 

does not always occur, and retrieval procedures have not been established to ensure 

collection. The OIG identified that of 1,452 terminated PIV cards over a 22-month period 

(January 2014 through November 2015), approximately 33 percent were not physically 

collected or retrieved from the terminated contractor or employee. As a result, there is a risk of 

unauthorized physical access to NRC and other Federal facilities. 

In addition, NRC receives inconsistent notification of (1) changes in staff/contractor access 

rights for restricted areas, and (2) a change to the designated representative for a restricted 

area. Consequently, the potential exists for unauthorized physical access into a restricted area 

by a contractor or employee who should no longer have access. 

Agency management generally agreed with the report’s findings and immediately sought to 

implement recommendations to retrieve a greater percentage of PIV cards upon termination 

and also to ensure that access to restricted areas is tightened. 

The full report is available at http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1606/ML16067A349.pdf

 

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Technology advances rapidly. The challenge is supporting a future-ready workforce 

equipped with modern tools, technologies, skills, and knowledge necessary to meet 

both current and future mission needs. NRC must also meet the regulatory and 

statutory federal mandates for information technology/Information Management (IT/IM). 

The responsibility of the NRC’s IT/IM program is to maintain and enhance services and 

infrastructure to enable the mission. This goal reflects the NRC’s commitment to 

openness and is essential for effective agency operations. 

Key information technology and information management challenges for NRC include 

the following: 

x Ensuring that data is securely accessible from anywhere, at any time, on any 

device to support the agency’s mobile workforce. 

x Leveraging innovative technologies to coordinate and share information on the 

safety/security interface with both domestic and international partners. 

x Managing risk-based information security strategies to protect against 

sophisticated cyber-attacks. 

The following audit report synopses are examples of work that OIG has completed in 

the IT/IM programs. 

 

4. Management of information technology and information 

management. 

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Evaluation of NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) 

Functional and Operational Capabilities 

OIG-16-A-06, November 30, 2015 

The Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) is NRC’s repository 

for official agency records. It has been in place since November 1999 and must meet NRC’s 

document management needs while also complying with Federal mandates for electronic 

recordkeeping and public access requirements. The Office of Information Services manages 

ADAMS and staff at headquarters and regional offices use ADAMS for their daily missionrelated activities. The public uses NRC’s public site to access Web-Based ADAMS. 

OIG contracted AEGIS.net, Inc., to evaluate if ADAMS meets its required operational 

capabilities as the agency’s repository for official agency records and provides adequate 

functionalities such as searching, usability, document storage and retrieval, availability, 

performance, contingency planning, and security. 

The evaluation team examined ADAMS’ functionality and operational capabilities in each of 

three areas: Federal and NRC Guidance, User Requirements, and Information Technology 

(IT) System Requirements. Based on this work, the evaluation team found that ADAMS 

satisfies applicable records management requirements to serve as the agency’s repository for 

official agency records. However, opportunities exist to improve ADAMS’ records 

management, search and retrieval functionality, and management oversight over ADAMS 

operation. 

Agency management generally agreed with the Evaluation’s findings and recommendations 

and is taking action to address the recommendations. 

The full report is available at http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1533/ML15334A112.pdf

 

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Audit of NRC’s Implementation of Federal Classified Information Laws and Policies 

OIG-16-A-17, June 8, 2016 

The Reducing Over-Classification Act of 2010 mandated that the Inspectors General of all 

Federal agencies with original classification authority perform at least two evaluations over 

proper use of classified information. The Act found that over-classification of information 

negatively affects dissemination of information within the government, increases information 

security costs, and improperly limits stakeholder and public access to information. 

NRC OIG issued the first mandatory audit report in 2013. The report’s recommendations have 

been implemented by NRC. This report represents the results of OIG’s second mandatory 

review. 

NRC’s implementation of Federal classified information laws and policies protects classified 

information. Document reviews of NRC classification actions reported from April 2013 through 

January 2016 revealed no systematic misclassification. However, there are opportunities for 

improvement of records management of classified information at NRC. 

Currently, the lack of records management of classified information within NRC has prevented 

timely disposition and declassification. NRC has not reviewed classified records for disposition 

and declassification as required and is not prepared for mandatory reviews. 

Federal guidance requires agencies to implement a schedule for proper disposition. Effective 

records management supports timely review of classified information for exemption from 

automatic declassification and for disposition. However, NRC lacks a cohesive approach to 

records management of classified information which fosters inadequate understanding of and 

preparation for records management of classified information. 

Agency management generally agreed with the report’s findings and recommendations and is 

taking action to address the recommendations. 

 

The full report is available at http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1616/ML16160A373.pdf

 

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NRC is required by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to collect fees 

totaling approximately 90 percent of its annual budget authority. The agency’s budget 

authority for FYs 2015 and 2016 was $1,015.3 million and $990 million, respectively. 

NRC estimated that $885.3 million for FY 2015 and $872.8 million for FY 2016 should 

be recovered from invoiced fees. NRC is required to establish a schedule of charges 

that fairly and equitably assesses the fees to license holders and license applicants. In 

recent years, multiple external stakeholders have questioned NRC’s budget and fee 

structure. Moreover, in recent years, NRC has been reducing its budget and full-time 

equivalents. To maintain transparency, NRC must continue to implement solid internal 

controls over financial management and reporting. 

Key financial management and reporting challenges include the following: 

x Developing and implementing the agency’s budget in accordance with Federal 

laws, regulations, and guidelines. 

x Maintaining a fee structure in accordance with laws and regulations and that is 

fair to agency licensees. 

x Improving controls over license fee billing. 

x Maintaining effective controls over financial reporting, contracts, and grants. 

The following audit report synopses are examples of completed or planned OIG work 

pertaining to financial programs. 

5. Management of financial programs. 

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Audit of NRC’s Decommissioning Funds Program 

OIG-16-A-16, June 8, 2016 

NRC regulates the decommissioning of nuclear power plants, material sites, fuel cycle facilities, 

research and test reactors, and uranium recovery facilities, with the ultimate goal of license 

termination. NRC maintains strict rules governing nuclear power plant and material site 

decommissioning. These requirements were developed to protect workers and the public 

during the entire decommissioning process and after the license is terminated. 

The agency has adequate processes in place for coordinating with licensees to address 

possible decommissioning fund shortfalls. However, OIG identified multiple opportunities for 

improvement in the agency's decommissioning funds review process. Specifically, NRC needs 

to (1) develop guidance on processing power reactor exemptions to reactor licenses, (2) reevaluate the minimum decommissioning funding estimate formula, (3) strengthen user controls 

and guidance on conducting decommissioning financial assurance reviews, and (4) 

consistently document decommissioning financial assurance reviews for material licensees and 

inventory reviews of financial instruments. 

The report makes recommendations to improve internal controls related to decommissioning 

funds reviews. When implemented, these recommendations will strengthen the agency's 

decommissioning funds review process. 

Agency management generally agreed with the report’s findings and recommendations and is 

taking action to address the recommendations. 

The full report is available at: http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1616/ML16160A208.pdf

 

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Audit of NRC’s Process for Managing Intra-Government Payment and Collection System 

Payments 

(To be initiated in FY 2017) 

Federal agencies frequently provide services to other agencies. These services require an 

exchange of money when the agencies enter into an agreement and services are performed. 

Federal agencies use the Department of Treasury’s Intra-Government Payment and Collection 

(IPAC) system to transfer funds from one agency to another with standardized descriptive data. 

While the Department of Treasury administers the IPAC system, NRC has to ensure that 

transactions in the system are accurate and paid in a timely manner. NRC processes 

approximately $80 million a year through the IPAC system. The agency’s Office of the Chief 

Financial Officer receives the IPAC payment or reimbursement request and then forwards the 

IPAC action to the corresponding NRC Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for review 

and approval. 

In recent years, there have been concerns about IPAC payment requests being sent to 

incorrect NRC CORs, payments not being submitted in a timely manner, and insufficient data 

being provided to review IPAC transactions. 

The audit objective is to assess whether NRC has established and implemented an effective 

process to ensure that IPAC payments are processed in a timely and accurate manner. 

 

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Audit of NRC’s Exercise of Its Buyout Authority 

(To be initiated in FY 2017) 

NRC received authority from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the Office of 

Management and Budget to offer a limited number of early outs and/or buyouts to eligible 

employees in covered positions. Over 2,000 employees were eligible to apply for up to a 

maximum of 212 early out and/or buyout opportunities and were encouraged to make their 

requests from May 6 through June 3, 2016. In mid-June, NRC notified employees whether 

their requests were approved or denied. Ninety-nine employees submitted applications and 

the process determined that only ninety-three of those employees were eligible for an early 

out/buyout slot. However, only a total of 86 employees were approved. Of this total, 85 

employees requested the buyout and 21 of them took advantage of the early out option. 

 

The agency requested the early out/buyout authority to help reduce the size of and reshape the 

workforce consistent with their Project Aim and right-sizing efforts. Early out/buyout is part of 

NRC’s plan to accelerate attrition and move NRC forward with reducing the size of the 

organization. 

The audit objective is to assess NRC’s early out/buyout policies and procedures to determine if 

workforce planning documentation, personnel staffing plans, or similar documents, were 

developed, communicated, and applied as permitted by applicable guidance and regulation in 

a way that did not adversely impact the agency’s mission. 

 

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NRC should continue exploring ways to gain administrative efficiencies while 

maintaining the appropriate corporate support to carry out agency operations. During 

FY 2016, NRC workforce totaled approximately 3,600 staff positions. To support the 

agency’s technical staff, NRC provides corporate support services such as contract 

support and multiple human resource programs. While NRC has implemented multiple 

programs to support agency staff, NRC continues to operate in a Federal Government 

environment of stagnant or reduced agency budgets, and increasing pressure to 

reduce corporate support costs. Because of this, the agency needs to have an 

appropriate balance between administrative functions and technical needs. In addition, 

NRC must be able to effectively recruit, train, and transfer knowledge to new hires, if 

applicable. This includes maintaining up-to-date guidance to effectively transfer 

knowledge and train current staff. NRC initiated Project Aim with the purpose of, 

among other things, identifying inefficiencies in work processes, and right-sizing the 

agency to retain skill sets needed to accomplish the agency’s mission. 

Key NRC corporate support function challenges include the following: 

x Reducing related costs while continuing to provide essential administrative 

functions that help the agency carry out its mission. 

x Maintaining agency headquarters operations while complying with Federal 

space utilization guidelines and carbon footprint reduction targets. 

x Recruiting, training, and effectively transferring knowledge to NRC new hires, if 

applicable. 

x Providing current staff with the training and tools to maintain and/or improve the 

skills needed to effectively perform their jobs. 

x Keeping NRC policies and procedures current. 

The following audit report synopses are examples of work that OIG will conduct that 

pertain to NRC’s administrative functions. 

 

6. Management of administrative functions. 

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Audit of NRC’s PMDA and DRMA Functions 

(To be completed in FY 2017) 

The Program Management, Policy Development and Analysis (PMDA) function at NRC 

headquarters offices and the Division of Resource Management and Administration (DRMA) 

function at NRC regional offices manage service delivery in such support areas as 

administration, human capital, budget, contract management, and information 

management/technology. These organizations exist across the agency and evolved over time 

to address individual office support needs depending on the specific mission of each office. 

They perform functions that are specific to their organization as well as functions that were 

transferred from other offices. The FY 2016 budget has more than 200 staff positions for 

PMDA/DRMA functions. 

The audit objective is to determine if the activities performed by NRC’s PMDA/DRMA programs 

produce the intended results from operational processes in a manner that efficiently and 

effectively uses resources. 

 

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Audit of NRC’s Contract Administration Process 

(To be completed in FY 2017) 

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Nuclear Regulatory Commission Acquisition 

Regulation (NRCAR) and Management Directive (MD) 11.1 discuss the importance of contract 

administration once a contract is awarded and are the criteria NRC uses for contract 

administration. According to the FAR, only Contracting Officers (COs), acting within the scope 

of their authority, are able to enter into and administer contracts. However, COs may, when 

appropriate, delegate responsibility for specific contract administration or technical supervision 

tasks to a Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). CORs may not re-delegate any 

authority delegated to them by the CO. 

CORs are responsible for the daily administration and technical direction of a contract during 

the period of performance. These responsibilities can include: verifying deliverables against 

contract terms, reviewing and reconciling invoices, monitoring contract funding, overseeing 

contractor performance, addressing security requirements for onsite contractors, on/offboarding of contractor staff, and verifying support for Intra-Governmental Payment and 

Collection. COs and CORs are required to take biennial training to maintain certification as 

contracting professionals. 

The audit objective is to assess the effectiveness NRC’s compliance with applicable contract 

administration requirements. 

 

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Audit.Suggestions@nrc.gov

Audit.Comments@nrc.gov

https://forms.nrc.gov/insp-gen/complaint.html

IG’s Assessment of the Most Serious Management and Performance Challenges Facing the NRC 

Please Contact: 

Email: Online Form

Telephone: 1-800-233-3497 

TDD 1-800-270-2787 

Address: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

 Office of the Inspector General 

 Hotline Program 

 Mail Stop O5-E13 

 11555 Rockville Pike 

 Rockville, MD 20852 

If you wish to provide comments on this report, please email OIG using this link. 

In addition, if you have suggestions for future OIG audits, please provide them using 

this link. 

 TO REPORT FRAUD, WASTE, OR ABUSE 

 COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS 

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Summary of Financial Statement Audit 

and Management Assurances
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Chapter 4  Summary of Financial Statement Audit

and Management Assurances

Summary of Management Assurances for FY 2016

Effectiveness of Internal Control over Financial Reporting (FMFIA § 2)

 Statement of Assurance Unmodified

Material Weaknesses Beginning 

Balance New Resolved Consolidated Reassessed Ending Balance

None 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Material Weaknesses 0 0 0 0 0 0

Effectiveness of Internal Control over Operations (FMFIA § 2)

 Statement of Assurance Unmodified

Material Weaknesses Beginning 

Balance New Resolved Consolidated Reassessed Ending Balance

None 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Material Weaknesses 0 0 0 0 0 0

Conformance with Financial Management System Requirements (FMFIA § 4)

Statement of Assurance Federal systems conform to financial management system requirements

Nonconformances Beginning 

Balance New Resolved Consolidated Reassessed Ending Balance

None 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Nonconformances 0 0 0 0 0 0

Summary of Financial Statement Audit for FY 2016

Audit Opinion Unmodified

Restatement No

Material Weaknesses Beginning 

Balance New Resolved Consolidated Ending Balance

None 0 0 0 0 0

Total Material Weaknesses 0 0 0 0 0

Compliance with Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA)

Agency Auditor

1. Federal Financial Management Systems 

Requirements No Lack of Compliance Noted No Lack of Compliance Noted

2. Applicable Federal Accounting Standards No Lack of Compliance Noted No Lack of Compliance Noted

3. USSGL at the Transaction Level No Lack of Compliance Noted No Lack of Compliance Noted
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Required Improper Payments 

Reporting Details
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Chapter 4  R equired Improper Payments R eporting detail

Improper Payments 

Information Act of 2002 

Reporting Details

RISK ASSESSMENT

The NRC is required to complete assessments to 

determine if any programs were susceptible to making 

significant improper payments in accordance with the 

IPIA as amended by the IPERA and the IPERIA. The 

NRC was not required to complete a risk assessment in 

FY 2016 because the results of prior assessments allow the 

agency to conduct risk assessments on a triennial basis. In 

the NRC’s FY 2014 PAR, the NRC reported on the results 

of the improper payment risk assessment completed 

that year. The FY 2014 results are also included in the 

following paragraphs.

The NRC performed a risk assessment as of 

September 30, 2014, to determine which programs would 

require improper payment testing using a statistically 

valid sample. Prior to the passing of IPERIA, which 

further amended IPIA, agencies were not required to 

review intra-governmental transactions or payments 

to employees. IPERIA now requires agencies to review 

payments to employees as well as Government charge card 

transactions. Intra-governmental transactions remain 

the lone exception to IPERIA requirements. Therefore, 

management identified commercial payments, grants 

payments, employee payments, payroll, and Government 

charge cards as potential areas to test pending results 

of an IPIA risk assessment. In FY 2014, the NRC 

reviewed FY 2013 disbursements of selected programs 

to determine the appropriate threshold to conduct a 

risk assessment and possible testing. For FY 2013, total 

commercial payments were $230,153,040.29; total grants 

payments were $22,035,829.01; total employee payments 

were $24,089,080.17; and total payroll payments were 

$470,363,997.02. The NRC did not conduct a risk 

assessment over its purchase card (total disbursements 

of $3,337,043.45) and travel card (total disbursements of 

$6,386,480.57) since disbursement totals for each were 

below $10 million. Conducting a risk assessment over 

those two programs would not produce an error rate 

that would meet the minimum threshold set by OMB 

($10 million and 1.5% of total program payments).

As part of our qualitative and quantitative risk assessment, 

the NRC used its best judgement to select samples from 

each program under review, based on the universe of 

payments, which were reconciled to the general ledger. 

This sample was not meant to be statistically valid, as 

testing was performed to support the risk assessment 

process versus conducting full IPIA testing for high-risk 

programs. The testing was further refined through the 

identification of select attributes for each program to 

determine if the right recipient received the right payment 

amount for the right goods or services at the right time.

The results of the FY 2014 risk assessment did not 

identify any programs that were susceptible to making 

significant improper payments. While the results of the 

FY 2014 risk assessment identified programs as low risk, 

the NRC continued to monitor its payment processes, in 

addition to conducting periodic reviews of key controls 

for IPIA programs identified by management. The NRC 

will continue to conduct risk assessments on a triennial 

basis, in accordance with the IPIA, as amended by IPERA 

and IPERIA as well as OMB guidance. The next IPIA 

risk assessment will take place in FY 2017. However, the 

NRC will conduct risk assessments, as needed, if there are 

material changes in the way programs operate or if the 

agency establishes new programs.

SAMPLING AND ESTIMATION

The results of the FY 2014 risk assessment did not identify 

any programs that were susceptible to making significant 

improper payments. Therefore, no sampling or estimation 

methodologies were required. The next IPIA risk 

assessment will take place in FY 2017.

IMPROPER PAYMENT REPORTING

NRC has not identified any programs that are susceptible 

to making significant improper payments. Therefore, 

there are no improper payments that exceed the statutory 

thresholds to report or to develop reduction goals.
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Chapter 4  R equired Improper Payments R eporting detail

IMPROPER PAYMENT ROOT CAUSE 

CATEGORIES

Since the NRC has not identified any improper payments 

that exceed the statutory thresholds to report, the NRC 

has not conducted any root cause analysis.

IMPROPER PAYMENT CORRECTIVE 

ACTIONS

The NRC has not developed improper payment corrective 

actions because no programs have been identified that are 

susceptible to making significant improper payments. 

INTERNAL CONTROL OVER PAYMENTS

The NRC has sufficient controls in place for payments. No 

improper payments have been identified that exceed the 

statutory thresholds to report. 

ACCOUNTABILITY

No specific accountability plans have been developed 

because the NRC has not identified any programs that are 

susceptible to making significant improper payments. 

AGENCY INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND 

OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE

The NRC has sufficient internal controls, human capital, 

and information systems in place for payments. The NRC 

has not identified any programs that are susceptible to 

making significant improper payments. 

BARRIERS

The NRC is not aware of any barriers that limit the 

agency’s ability to properly control payments.

RECAPTURE OF IMPROPER PAYMENTS 

REPORTING

The NRC conducted a risk assessment in FY 2014 and no 

improper payments were discovered. Therefore, it was 

determined that recovery or recapture audits are not cost 

effective. Risk assessments are conducted every 3 years 

by the NRC as required by IPERIA. The FY 2014 risk 

assessment information and conclusions were reported to 

the OMB in October 2015.

Overpayment Payment Recaptures 

without Recapture Audit Programs

($ in millions)

Results for 

fiscal year 2016

Overpayments Recaptured 

outside of Payment Recapture 

Audits

Program or Activity Amount 

Identified

Amount 

Recaptured

Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission – 31000001 $0.04 million $0.04 million

Total $0.04 million $0.04 million

AGENCY REDUCTION OF IMPROPER 

PAYMENTS WITH THE DO NOT PAY 

INITIATIVE

The NRC uses the Treasury’s Do Not Pay (DNP) 

automated tools to monitor and reduce improper 

payments. This process has not resulted in capturing any 

improper payments. The improper payments are being 

captured through the NRC’s internal controls. The NRC 

uses the Federal Awardees Performance and Integrity 

Information System and other data systems such as the 

System for Acquisition Management (SAM) and financial 

reports to establish whether a contractor has the integrity 

and business ethics to receive a Federal contract and is 

otherwise responsible, which is consistent with applicable 

statutes and regulations.

To date, the NRC grants are awarded only to educational 

institutions and other entities. The NRC does not 

award grants to individuals. The NRC uses SAM and 

other data systems to ensure that only responsible and 

otherwise eligible applicants receive NRC grants. The 

same monitoring practices are used for both grantees 

and commercial vendors. The NRC takes appropriate 

action internally to debar and suspend grant recipients, 

as appropriate, as well as reviews for debarments/

suspensions as part of the pre-award risk review for 

eligibility. The NRC continues to follow the lead of the 

Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) on who 

receives awards and continues to implement any changes 

directed by OFPP policy. The NRC will also continue to 

use DNP to review and monitor improper payments.
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Chapter 4  R equired Improper Payments R eporting detail

Results of the Do Not Pay Initiative in Preventing Improper Payments

Results for 

fiscal year 2016

Number (#) 

of payments 

reviewed 

for possible 

improper 

payments

Dollars ($) 

of payments 

reviewed 

for possible 

improper 

payments

Number 

(#) of 

payments 

stopped

Dollars 

($) of 

payments 

stopped

Number (#) 

of potential 

improper 

payments 

reviewed 

and 

determined 

accurate

Dollars($) 

of potential 

improper 

payments 

reviewed and 

determined 

accurate

Reviews with the IPERIA 

specified databases 52,324 $233 million 0 $0 million 0 $0 million

Reviews with databases 

not listed in IPERIA 0 $0 million 0 $0 million 0 $0 million
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Combined Schedule of Spending
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Chapter 4  Combined Schedule of Spendin

Combined Schedule of Spending

The Combined Schedule of Spending (SOS) is a summary 

and comparison of how the NRC spent money during 

FY 2016 and FY 2015. The Combined SOS presents all 

budgetary resources and obligations incurred for the 

NRC. The data used to populate the Combined SOS 

comes from the NRC’s core accounting system and is the 

same data that the NRC uses to populate the SBR. 

In the Combined SOS and the SBR, obligations incurred 

include personnel compensation and benefits, contracts, 

agreements between Federal agencies, travel, training, 

grants, and bankcard purchases below the micro-purchase 

threshold. The “Total Amounts Agreed To Be Spent” 

line of each section of the Combined SOS agrees with the 

“Obligations Incurred” line in the SBR.

The NRC also reports obligation information through 

the Web site USASpending.gov. The information 

reported by the NRC in USASpending.gov includes only 

contract obligations, which is a subset of the NRC’s total 

obligations.

WHAT MONEY IS AVAILABLE TO SPEND? 

This section presents total budgetary resources that 

are reported in the SBR. 

Total Resources refers to budgetary resources 

approved for spending by law.

Amounts Not Agreed To Be Spent represents 

amounts that the NRC was allowed to spend but did 

not take action on by the end of the FY.

Amounts Not Available To Be Spent represents 

amounts that the NRC was not approved to spend 

during the current FY.

Total Amounts Agreed To Be Spent represents 

spending actions by the NRC, including payroll and 

benefits, travel, training, contracts, orders, grants, 

and other legally binding agreements to pay for 

goods or services. 

HOW WAS THE MONEY SPENT? 

This section presents the value of goods and services 

that the NRC obligated for each of the NRC’s two major 

programs: Nuclear Reactor Safety and Nuclear Materials 

and Waste Safety. 

For the purposes of this section, the breakdown of “How 

was the Money Spent?” is based upon the OMB budget 

object class definitions in the OMB Circular A-11. 

Payroll represents compensation, including benefits 

directly related to duties performed for the Government 

by Federal civilian employees.

Contracts represents purchases of contractual services and 

supplies.

Grants represents contributions to States, local 

governments, foreign governments, corporations, 

associations (domestic and international), and individuals 

in compliance with programs allowed by law for 

distributing funds in this manner.

Travel represents the NRC’s payment for transportation, 

sustenance, and miscellaneous expenses for employees/

persons on official business. 

Rent, Communications, and Utilities represents purchases 

of contractual services for the NRC’s offices.

Structures and Equipment represents purchases of capital 

equipment and leasehold improvements. 

WHO DID THE MONEY GO TO?

This section identifies the recipient of the money, by 

Federal and non-Federal entities. Amounts in this section 

reflect “amounts agreed to be spent.” 
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Chapter 4  Combined Schedule of Spendin

Combined Schedule of Spending (in thousands)

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 2015

WHAT MONEY IS AVAILABLE TO SPEND?

Total Resources $ 1,043,944 $ 1,081,813 

Less Amount Available but Not Agreed To Be Spent (41,262) (26,096)

Less Amount Not Available To Be Spent (365) (1,904)

Total Amounts Agreed To Be Spent $ 1,002,317 $ 1,053,813

HOW WAS THE MONEY SPENT?

Spending within NRC Major Programs

Nuclear Reactor Safety

Payroll $ 472,748 $ 470,846

Contracts 231,802 251,724

Grants 13,809 15,333

Travel 17,670 21,430

Rent, Communications, and Utilities 39,843 43,087

Structures and Equipment 7,940 13,338

Total money spent for Nuclear Reactor Safety $ 783,812 $ 815,758

Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety

Payroll $ 131,789 $ 137,400

Contracts 64,620 73,466

Grants 3,850 4,475

Travel 4,926 6,254

Rent, Communications, and Utilities 11,107 12,574

Structures and Equipment 2,213 3,886

Total money spent for Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety $ 218,505 $ 238,055

Total Amounts Agreed To Be Spent $ 1,002,317 $ 1,053,813 

WHO DID THE MONEY GO TO?

For Profit $ 227,933 $ 238,366

Individuals 500,117 511,032

Federal 258,915 280,623

State & Local Government 15,205 18,828

Other 147 4,964

Total Amounts Agreed To Be Spent $ 1,002,317 $ 1,053,813 

In accordance with OMB Circular A-136, Section 11.5.1, the Combined SOS is not a required part of the Financial Statements and, therefore, it is not audited
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Freeze the Footprint
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Chapter 4  Freeze the Footprin

Combined Freeze the Footprint Baseline Comparison

FY 2012 Baseline FY 2016 Change (FY 2012 

Baseline – 2016)

Square Footage 

(SF in millions) 1.170 1.134 (0.036)

Reporting of O&M Cost – Owned and Direct Lease Buildings

FY 2012 

Reported Cost 2015 Change (FY 2012 Baseline – 2016)

Operation and 

Maintenance (O&M)

Costs 

($ in millions)

N/A* N/A* N/A*

*The NRC does not directly lease or own any space, but has occupancy agreements with GSA.

The NRC’s portfolio is currently 97 percent of the agency’s FY 2012 Freeze the Footprint baseline of 1,170,242 usable 

office space (USF). This year’s Reduce the Footprint Plan targets a reduction of the portfolio to 1,039,946 USF 

(89 percent of the Freeze the Footprint baseline) by the end of the FY 2017 – FY 2021 planning period. The plan refines 

the projections from last year’s final plan as follows:

FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021

Office Target 

(Net USF Reduction) 3,000 33,561 39,561 7,000 11,000

The NRC’s office space at its Rockville, MD, headquarters and regional office location space, which is provided 

by occupancy agreements with GSA, will be backfilled by other Federal agencies. Implementing the reductions at 

headquarters and the regions will be challenging due to budget limitations and the lengths and non-cancelable terms 

of the leases GSA has in place. The limited amount of physical swing space available to support the renovation/

reconfiguration activities at headquarters will also be a challenge.
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Civil Monetary Penalty 

Adjustment for Inflation
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Chapter 4  Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustment for Inflatio

Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustment for Inflation

On November 2, 2015, the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 was amended by the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment and Improvements Act of 2015 (Sec. 701, Pub. L. 114-74, 129 Stat.599). The 2015 

Improvements Act requires that the head of each agency through an interim final rulemaking make an initial “catch-up” 

adjustment of the civil monetary penalties assessed under statutes enforced by the agency by July 1, 2016, to be effective 

no later than August 1, 2016. The NRC issued its adjustment in July 2016.

Penalty (Name of Penalty) Authority

Date of 

Previous 

Adjustment

Date of Current 

Adjustment*

Current Penalty 

Level ($ 

Amount)

Base civil penalties – power reactors, gaseous 

diffusion plants, and high-level waste repository

Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended November 2004 August 2016 $280,000

Base civil penalty – fuel fabricators authorized to 

possess Category I or II quantities of SNM and 

uranium conversion facilities

Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended November 2004 August 2016 $140,000

Base civil penalty – all other fuel fabricators, including 

facilities under construction, authorized to process 

Category III quantities of SNM, industrial processors, 

independent spent fuel and monitored retrievable 

storage installations, mills, gas centrifuge and laser 

uranium enrichment facilities

Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended November 2004 August 2016 $70,000

Base civil penalty – test reactors, contractors, waste 

disposal licensees, industrial radiographers, and other 

large material users

Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended November 2004 August 2016 $28,000

Base civil penalty – research reactors, academic, 

medical, or other small material users

Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended November 2004 August 2016 $14,000

Base civil penalty - loss, abandonment, or improper 

transfer or disposal of a sealed source or device, 

regardless of the use or type of licensee:

Sources or devices with a total activity greater than 

3.7 × 10 4 MBq (1 Curie), excluding hydrogen-3 

(tritium)

Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended November 2004 November 2008 $54,000

Base civil penalty - loss, abandonment, or improper 

transfer or disposal of a sealed source or device, 

regardless of the use or type of licensee:

Other sources or devices containing the materials and 

quantities listed in 10 CFR 31.5(c)(13)(i)

Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended November 2004 November 2008 $17,000

Base civil penalty - loss, abandonment, or improper 

transfer or disposal of a sealed source or device, 

regardless of the use or type of licensee:

Sources and devices not otherwise described above

Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended November 2004 November 2008 $7,000

Individuals who release Safeguards Information Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended November 2004 November 2008 $7,000

* Federal Register, Vol. 81, No. 127, Friday, July 1, 2016, 43019
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Acronyms and Abbreviations
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Chapter 4  Acronyms and Abbreviation

ACRONYM

10 CFR Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 

ABWR advanced boiling-water reactor

ADAMS Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System

AMP Aging Management Programs

AO Abnormal Occurrence

ASP Accident Sequence Precursor

BFS Budget Formulation System

BWR Boiling-Water Reactor

CFO Chief Financial Officer

CCDP conditional core damage probability

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

CLE Collaborative Learning Environment

COL combined license 

COOP continuity of operations

COSO Committee of Sponsoring Organization of the 

Treadway Commission

cROP Construction Reactor Oversight Process

CRT Contingency Response Tool

CSRS Civil Service Retirement System 

DC design certification

DHS U.S. Department of Homeland Security

DNFSB Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

DOE U.S. Department of Energy 

DOL U.S. Department of Labor 

DOT U.S. Department of Transportation

DSRS design specific review standards

ECCS Emergency Care Cooling Systems

ECERM Executive Committee on Enterprise Risk 

Management

EDO Executive Director for Operations

ERM Enterprise Risk Management

ESP early site permit

ETS2 E-Gov Travel Service 2

FAIMIS Financial Accounting and Integrated 

Management Information System

FAST Fixing America’s Surface Transportation

FDA U.S. Food and Drug Administration

FECA Federal Employees Compensation Act 

of 1993

ACRONYM

FERS Federal Employees Retirement System

FEVS Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey

FFMIA Federal Financial Management Improvement 

Act of 1996 

FMFIA Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act 

of 1982 

FITARA Federal Information Technology Acquisition 

Reform Act

FOIA Freedom of Information Act of 1966

FSER final safety evaluation report

FTE full-time equivalent

FY fiscal year 

GAAP Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

GAO Government Accountability Office

GSA U.S. General Services Administration

GTAS Government-wide Treasury Accounting 

Symbol

HRA human reliability analysis

HRMS Human Resource Management System

IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency 

IG Inspector General

IMC Inspection Manual Chapter

IMPEP Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation 

Program

IPP Internet Payment Platform

Integrity Act Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act 

of 1982

IPERA Improper Payments Elimination and 

Reporting Act of 2012

IPERIA Improper Payment Elimination and Recovery 

Improvement Act of 2012

IPIA Improper Payments Information Act of 2002

IRC Incident Response Center

IRP Integrated Response Program

ISFSI independent spent fuel storage installation

IT information technology 

ITAAC inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance 

criteria 

IT/IM Information Technology and Information 

Management

KM knowledge management

LANL Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Chapter 4  Acronyms and Abbreviation

ACRONYM

LLRW low-level radioactive waste

LLW low-level waste

LLWR large light-water reactors

LWA limited work authorization

LWR light-water reactor

MBDBE Mitigation Beyond Design Basis Events

MDM Master Data Management

NEA Nuclear Energy Agency

NIST National Institute of Standards and 

Technology

NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

NSTS National Source Tracking System

NTAS National Terrorism Advisory System

NUREG Nuclear Regulatory Commission document 

identifier

NWF Nuclear Waste Fund

OBRA-90 The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 

1990

OCFO Office of the Chief Financial Officer

OCHCO Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer

OIG Office of the Inspector General 

OMB Office of Management and Budget

OPM U.S. Office of Personnel Management

PAR Performance and Accountability Report

PSAT Programmatic Senior Assessment Team

ACRONYM

REIRS Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting 

System

REM roentgen equivalent man

RIC Regulatory Information Conference

ROP Reactor Oversight Process

SAT Senior Assessment Team

SBR Statement of Budgetary Resources

SCNP Statement of Changes in Net Position

SES Senior Executive Service

SFFAS Statement of Federal Financial Accounting 

Standards

SGI Safeguards Information

SMR small modular reactor

SNM special nuclear material

SOS Schedule of Spending

SRP Standard Review Plan

TLM Time and Labor Modernization

TVA Tennessee Valley Authority

UF6 uranium hexafluoride

UO2 uranium dioxide

UR uranium recovery

USAID U.S. Agency for International Development

USF Usable Office Space

VIP Vendor Inspection Program

WCS Waste Control Specialist

WIR Waste Incidental to Reprocessing
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Bibliographic Data Sheet
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Chapter 4  Bibliographic Data Shee

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA SHEET

(See instructions on the reverse)

NRC FORM 335

(12-2010)

NRCMD 3.7

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 1. REPORT NUMBER

(Assigned by NRC, Add Vol., Supp., Rev.,

 and Addendum Numbers, if any.)

3. DATE REPORT PUBLISHED

MONTH YEAR

4. FIN OR GRANT NUMBER

2. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

5. AUTHOR(S) 6. TYPE OF REPORT

7. PERIOD COVERED (Inclusive Dates)

8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION - NAME AND ADDRESS (If NRC, provide Division, Office or Region, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and mailing address; if 

 contractor, provide name and mailing address.)

9. SPONSORING ORGANIZATION - NAME AND ADDRESS (If NRC, type "Same as above", if contractor, provide NRC Division, Office or Region, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory 

 Commission, and mailing address.)

10. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

11. ABSTRACT (200 words or less)

12. KEY WORDS/DESCRIPTORS (List words or phrases that will assist researchers in locating the report.)

14. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

13. AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

unlimited

(This Page)

unclassified

(This Report)

unclassified

15. NUMBER OF PAGES

16. PRICE

NRC FORM 335 (12-2010)

NUREG-1542, Vol. 22

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

Fiscal Year 2016 

Performance and Accountability Report

November 2016

N/A

David Holley, James Coyle, et.al Annual

Fiscal Year 2016

Division of Planning and Budget 

Office of the Chief Financial Officer 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

Washington, DC 20555-0001

Same as above

The Fiscal Year 2016 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) presents the agency's program performance and financial 

management information in compliance with the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010. The PAR gives 

the President, Congress, and the American public the opportunity to assess the agency's performance in achieving its mission and the 

stewardship of its resources. 

Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) 

Fiscal Year (FY) 

2016

Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010
Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

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Availability of Reference Materials 

in NRC Publications
Performance and Accountability Report / Fiscal Year 2016

168
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bookstore.gpo.gov

Chapter 4  Availability of Reference Materials in NRC Publication

AVAILABILITY OF REFERENCE MATERIALS

IN NRC PUBLICATIONS

NRC Reference Material

As of November 1999, you may electronically access 

NUREG-series publications and other NRC records at 

NRC’s Library at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. Publicly 

released records include, to name a few, NUREG-series

publications; Federal Register notices; applicant, 

licensee, and vendor documents and correspondence; 

NRC correspondence and internal memoranda; bulletins 

and information notices; inspection and investigative 

reports; licensee event reports; and Commission papers 

and their attachments.

NRC publications in the NUREG series, NRC regulations, 

and Title 10, “Energy,” in the Code of Federal Regulations

may also be purchased from one of these two sources.

1. The Superintendent of Documents

U.S. Government Publishing Office

Mail Stop IDCC

Washington, DC 20402-0001

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov

Telephone: (202) 512-1800

Fax: (202) 512-2104

2. The National Technical Information Service

5301 Shawnee Rd., Alexandria, VA 22312-0002

www.ntis.gov

1-800-553-6847 or, locally, (703) 605-6000

A single copy of each NRC draft report for comment is

available free, to the extent of supply, upon written

request as follows:

Address: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Administration

Publications Branch

Washington, DC 20555-0001

E-mail: distribution.resource@nrc.gov

Facsimile: (301) 415-2289

Some publications in the NUREG series that are posted 

at NRC’s Web site address www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/

doc-collections/nuregs are updated periodically and may 

differ from the last printed version. Although references to 

material found on a Web site bear the date the material 

was accessed, the material available on the date cited 

may subsequently be removed from the site.

Non-NRC Reference Material

Documents available from public and special technical 

libraries include all open literature items, such as books, 

journal articles, transactions, Federal Register notices, 

Federal and State legislation, and congressional reports. 

Such documents as theses, dissertations, foreign reports 

and translations, and non-NRC conference proceedings 

may be purchased from their sponsoring organization.

Copies of industry codes and standards used in a

substantive manner in the NRC regulatory process are 

maintained at—

The NRC Technical Library

Two White Flint North

11545 Rockville Pike

Rockville, MD 20852-2738

These standards are available in the library for reference 

use by the public. Codes and standards are usually 

copyrighted and may be purchased from the originating 

organization or, if they are American National Standards, 

from—

American National Standards Institute

11 West 42nd Street

New York, NY 10036-8002

www.ansi.org

(212) 642-4900

Legally binding regulatory requirements are stated only in 

laws; NRC regulations; licenses, including technical specifications; or orders, not in NUREG-series publications. The 

views expressed in contractorprepared publications in this 

series are not necessarily those of the NRC.

The NUREG series comprises (1) technical and administrative reports and books prepared by the staff (NUREG–

XXXX) or agency contractors (NUREG/CR–XXXX), (2) 

proceedings of conferences (NUREG/CP–XXXX), (3) reports 

resulting from international agreements (NUREG/IA–XXXX), 

(4) brochures (NUREG/BR–XXXX), and (5) compilations of 

legal decisions and orders of the Commission and Atomic 

and Safety Licensing Boards and of Directors’ decisions 

under Section 2.206 of NRC’s regulations (NUREG–0750).

DISCLAIMER: This report was prepared as an account 

of work sponsored by an agency of the U.S. Government. 

Neither the U.S. Government nor any agency thereof, nor 

any employee, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, 

or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for any third 

party’s use, or the results of such use, of any information, 

apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this publication, 

or represents that its use by such third party would not 

infringe privately owned rights.
NUREG-1542, Vol. 22

November 2016

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20555-0001

http://www.nrc.gov