Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 3745 

1Adjustment of Civil Penalties for Inflation, (73 

FR 54671; Sept. 23, 2008); Adjustment of Civil 

Penalties for Inflation, (69 FR 62393; Oct. 26, 2004); 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties for Inflation; 

Miscellaneous Administrative Changes, (65 FR 

59270; Oct. 4, 2000); Adjustment of Civil Monetary 

Penalties for Inflation, (61 FR 53554; Oct. 11, 1996). 

An adjustment was not performed in 2012 because 

the FCPIAA at the time required agencies to round 

their CMP amounts to the nearest multiple of 

$1,000 or $10,000, depending on the size of the 

CMP amount, and the 2012 adjustments based on 

the statutory formula were small enough that no 

adjustment resulted. 

mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section. 

• Attention: The Public Document 

Room (PDR), where you may examine 

and order copies of public documents is 

currently closed. You may submit your 

request to the PDR via email at 

PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1–800– 

397–4209 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 

p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian 

Irvin, Office of the General Counsel, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–287–9193, email: 2020_Part_2_

Rulemaking@usnrc.onmicrosoft.com. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 5, 2020 (85 FR 70435), the 

NRC published a direct final rule 

amending its regulations in part 2 of 

title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations to reflect current Atomic 

Safety and Licensing Board Panel 

practice, Commission case law, and a 

decision of the Supreme Court of the 

United States and to enhance 

consistency within the NRC’s 

regulations. In the direct final rule, the 

NRC stated that, if no significant 

adverse comments were received, then 

the direct final rule would become 

effective on January 19, 2021. The NRC 

received one, out of scope comment on 

the direct final rule. Therefore, the 

direct final rule will become effective as 

scheduled. 

Dated January 11, 2021. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Cindy K. Bladey, 

Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Rulemaking 

Support Branch, Division of Rulemaking, 

Environmental, and Financial Support, Office 

of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00824 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Parts 2 and 13 

[NRC–2018–0293; 3150–AK25] 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties for 

Inflation for Fiscal Year 2021 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is amending its 

regulations to adjust the maximum Civil 

Monetary Penalties it can assess under 

statutes enforced by the agency. These 

changes are mandated by the Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

of 1990, as amended by the Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015. The NRC is 

amending its regulations to adjust the 

maximum civil monetary penalty for a 

violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended, or any regulation or 

order issued under the Atomic Energy 

Act from $303,471 to $307,058 per 

violation, per day. Additionally, the 

NRC is amending provisions concerning 

program fraud civil penalties by 

adjusting the maximum civil monetary 

penalty under the Program Fraud Civil 

Remedies Act from $11,665 to $11,803 

for each false claim or statement. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

January 15, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2018–0293 when contacting the 

NRC about the availability of 

information for this action. You may 

obtain publicly-available information 

related to this action by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking website: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2018–0293. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Dawn 

Forder; telephone: 301–415–3407; 

email: Dawn.Forder@nrc.gov. For 

technical questions, contact the 

individual listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection at 

https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. To begin the search, select 

‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.’’ For 

problems with ADAMS, please contact 

the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR) 

reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301– 

415–4737, or by email to pdr.resource@

nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number 

for each document referenced (if it is 

available in ADAMS) is provided the 

first time that it is mentioned in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. 

• NRC’s PDR: Attention: The Public 

Document Room (PDR), where you may 

examine and order copies of public 

documents is currently closed. You may 

submit your request to the PDR via 

email at PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 

1–800–397–4209 between 8:00 a.m. and 

4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric 

Michel, Office of the General Counsel, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, telephone: 

301–415–0932; email: Eric.Michel2@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents: 

I. Background 

II. Discussion 

III. Rulemaking Procedure 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis 

V. Regulatory Analysis 

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

VII. Backfitting and Issue Finality 

VIII. Plain Writing 

IX. National Environmental Policy Act 

X. Paperwork Reduction Act 

XI. Congressional Review Act 

I. Background 

Congress passed the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 

1990 (FCPIAA) to allow for regular 

adjustment for inflation of civil 

monetary penalties (CMPs), maintain 

the deterrent effect of such penalties 

and promote compliance with the law, 

and improve the collection of CMPs by 

the Federal government (Pub. L. 101– 

410, 104 Stat. 890; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note). 

Pursuant to this authority, and as 

amended by the Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104– 

34, 110 Stat. 1321–373), the NRC 

increased via rulemaking the CMP 

amounts for violations of the Atomic 

Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA) 

(codified at § 2.205 of title 10 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)) 

and Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act 

(codified at § 13.3) on four occasions 

between 1996 and 2008.1

On November 2, 2015, Congress 

amended the FCPIAA through the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015 (2015 Improvements Act) (Sec. 

701, Pub. L. 114–74, 129 Stat. 599). The 

2015 Improvements Act required that 

the head of each agency perform an 

initial ‘‘catch-up’’ adjustment via 

rulemaking, adjusting the CMPs 

enforced by that agency according to the 

percentage change in the Consumer 

Price Index (CPI) between the month of 

October 2015 and the month of October 

of the calendar year when the CMP 

amount was last established by 

Congress. The NRC performed this 

catch-up rulemaking on July 1, 2016 (81 

FR 43019). 

The 2015 Improvements Act also 

requires that the head of each agency 

3746 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

continue to adjust CMP amounts, 

rounded to the nearest dollar, on an 

annual basis. Specifically, each CMP is 

to be adjusted based on the percentage 

change between the CPI for the previous 

month of October, and the CPI for the 

month of October in the year preceding 

that. The NRC most recently adjusted its 

civil penalties for inflation according to 

this statutory formula on January 15, 

2020 (85 FR 2281), and corrected on 

February 20, 2020 (85 FR 9661). This 

year’s adjustment is based on the 

increase in the CPI from October 2019 

and October 2020. 

II. Discussion 

Section 234 of the AEA limits civil 

penalties for violations of the AEA to 

$100,000 per day, per violation (42 

U.S.C. 2282). However, as discussed in 

Section I, ‘‘Background,’’ of this 

document, the NRC has increased this 

amount several times since 1996 per the 

FCPIAA, as amended. Using the formula 

in the 2015 Improvements Act, the 

$303,471 amount last established in 

January 2020 will increase by 1.182 

percent, resulting in a new CMP amount 

of $307,058. This is based on the 

increase in the CPI from October 2019 

(257.346) to October 2020 (260.388). 

Therefore, the NRC is amending § 2.205 

to reflect a new maximum CMP under 

the AEA in the amount of $307,058 per 

day, per violation. This represents an 

increase of $3,587. 

Monetary penalties under the Program 

Fraud Civil Remedies Act were 

established in 1986 at $5,000 per claim 

(Pub. L. 99–509, 100 Stat. 1938; 31 

U.S.C. 3802). The NRC also has adjusted 

this amount (currently set at $11,665) 

multiple times pursuant to the FCPIAA, 

as amended, since 1996. Using the 

formula in the 2015 Improvements Act, 

the $11,665 amount last established in 

January 2020 will also increase by 1.182 

percent, resulting in a new CMP amount 

of $11,803. Therefore, the NRC is 

amending § 13.3 to reflect a new 

maximum CMP amount of $11,803 per 

claim or statement. This represents an 

increase of $138. 

As permitted by the 2015 

Improvements Act, the NRC may apply 

these increased CMP amounts to any 

penalties assessed by the agency after 

the effective date of this final rule 

(January 15, 2021), regardless of 

whether the associated violation 

occurred before or after this date (Pub. 

L. 114–74, 129 Stat. 600; 28 U.S.C. 2461 

note). The NRC assesses civil penalty 

amounts for violations of the AEA based 

on the class of licensee and severity of 

the violation, in accordance with the 

NRC Enforcement Policy, which is 

available under ADAMS Accession No. 

ML19352E921. 

III. Rulemaking Procedure 

The 2015 Improvements Act expressly 

exempts this final rule from the notice 

and comment requirements of the 

Administrative Procedure Act, by 

directing agencies to adjust CMPs for 

inflation ‘‘notwithstanding section 553 

of title 5, United States Code’’ (Pub. L. 

114–74, 129 Stat. 599; 28 U.S.C. 2461 

note). As such, this final rule is being 

issued without prior public notice or 

opportunity for public comment, with 

an effective date of January 15, 2021. 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis 

§ 2.205 Civil penalties. 

This final rule revises paragraph (j) by 

replacing ‘‘$303,471’’ with ‘‘$307,058.’’ 

§ 13.3 Basis for civil penalties and 

assessments. 

This final rule revises paragraphs 

(a)(1)(iv) and (b)(1)(ii) by replacing 

‘‘$11,665’’ with ‘‘$11,803.’’ 

V. Regulatory Analysis 

This final rule adjusts for inflation the 

maximum CMPs the NRC may assess 

under the AEA and under the Program 

Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986. The 

formula for determining the amount of 

the adjustment is mandated by Congress 

in the FCPIAA, as amended by the 2015 

Improvements Act (codified at 28 U.S.C. 

2461 note). Congress passed this 

legislation on the basis of its findings 

that the power to impose monetary civil 

penalties is important to deterring 

violations of Federal law and furthering 

the policy goals of Federal laws and 

regulations. Congress has also found 

that inflation diminishes the impact of 

these penalties and their effect. The 

principal purposes of this legislation are 

to provide for adjustment of civil 

monetary penalties for inflation, 

maintain the deterrent effect of civil 

monetary penalties, and promote 

compliance with the law. Therefore, 

these are the anticipated impacts of this 

rulemaking. Direct monetary impacts 

fall only upon licensees or other persons 

subjected to NRC enforcement for 

violations of the AEA and regulations 

and orders issued under the AEA 

(§ 2.205), or those licensees or persons 

subjected to liability pursuant to the 

provisions of the Program Fraud Civil 

Remedies Act of 1986 (31 U.S.C. 3801– 

3812) and the NRC’s implementing 

regulations (10 CFR part 13). 

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act does 

not apply to regulations for which a 

Federal agency is not required by law, 

including the rulemaking provisions of 

the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 

U.S.C. 553(b), to publish a general 

notice of proposed rulemaking (5 U.S.C. 

604). As discussed in this notice under 

Section III., ‘‘Rulemaking Procedure,’’ 

the NRC has determined that this final 

rule is exempt from the requirements of 

5 U.S.C. 553(b) and notice and comment 

need not be provided. Accordingly, the 

NRC also determines that the 

requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act do not apply to this final 

rule. 

VII. Backfit and Issue Finality 

The NRC has not prepared a backfit 

analysis for this final rule. This final 

rule does not involve any provision that 

would impose a backfit, nor is it 

inconsistent with any issue finality 

provision, as those terms are defined in 

10 CFR chapter I. As mandated by 

Congress, this final rule increases CMP 

amounts for violations of alreadyexisting NRC regulations and 

requirements. This final rule does not 

modify any licensee systems, structures, 

components, designs, approvals, or 

procedures required for the construction 

or operation of any facility. 

VIII. Plain Writing 

The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. 

L. 111–274) requires Federal agencies to 

write documents in a clear, concise, and 

well-organized manner. The NRC has 

written this document to be consistent 

with the Plain Writing Act as well as the 

Presidential Memorandum, ‘‘Plain 

Language in Government Writing,’’ 

published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 31883). 

IX. National Environmental Policy Act 

The NRC has determined that this 

final rule is the type of action described 

as a categorical exclusion in 10 CFR 

51.22(c)(1). Therefore, neither an 

environmental impact statement nor an 

environmental assessment has been 

prepared for this final rule. 

X. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This final rule does not contain a 

collection of information as defined in 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and, therefore, 

is not subject to the requirements of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

XI. Congressional Review Act 

This final rule is a rule as defined in 

the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 

801–808). However, the Office of 

Management and Budget has not found 

it to be a major rule as defined in the 

Congressional Review Act. 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 3747 

List of Subjects 

10 CFR Part 2 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Antitrust, Byproduct 

material, Classified information, 

Confidential business information; 

Freedom of information, Environmental 

protection, Hazardous waste, Nuclear 

energy, Nuclear materials, Nuclear 

power plants and reactors, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Sex discrimination, 

Source material, Special nuclear 

material, Waste treatment and disposal. 

10 CFR Part 13 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Claims, Fraud, Organization 

and function (Government agencies), 

Penalties. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble and under the authority of the 

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; 

the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, 

as amended; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note; and 5 

U.S.C. 552 and 553, the NRC is adopting 

the following amendments to 10 CFR 

parts 2 and 13: 

PART 2—AGENCY RULES OF 

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 2 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 

secs. 29, 53, 62, 63, 81, 102, 103, 104, 105, 

161, 181, 182, 183, 184, 186, 189, 191, 234 

(42 U.S.C. 2039, 2073, 2092, 2093, 2111, 

2132, 2133, 2134, 2135, 2201, 2231, 2232, 

2233, 2234, 2236, 2239, 2241, 2282); Energy 

Reorganization Act of 1974, secs. 201, 206 

(42 U.S.C. 5841, 5846); Nuclear Waste Policy 

Act of 1982, secs. 114(f), 134, 135, 141 (42 

U.S.C. 10134(f), 10154, 10155, 10161); 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 552, 

553, 554, 557, 558); National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332); 44 U.S.C. 

3504 note. 

Section 2.205(j) also issued under 28 

U.S.C. 2461 note. 

§ 2.205 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 2.205 amend paragraph (j) by 

removing the amount ‘‘$303,471’’ and 

adding in its place the amount 

‘‘$307,058’’. 

PART 13—PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL 

REMEDIES 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 13 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 31 U.S.C. 3801 through 3812; 44 

U.S.C. 3504 note. 

Section 13.3 also issued under 28 U.S.C. 

2461 note. 

Section 13.13 also issued under 31 U.S.C. 

3730. 

§ 13.3 [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 13.3, amend paragraphs 

(a)(1)(iv) and (b)(1)(ii) by removing the 

amount ‘‘$11,665’’ and adding in its 

place the amount ‘‘$11,803’’. 

Dated December 28, 2020. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Catherine Haney, 

Acting Executive Director for Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00127 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 431 

[EERE–2017–BT–TP–0047] 

RIN 1904–AE18 

Energy Conservation Program: Test 

Procedures for Small Electric Motors 

and Electric Motors; Correction 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (‘‘DOE’’) recently published a 

final rule amending the test procedures 

for small electric motors and electric 

motors. This correction republishes an 

amendment from that final rule that 

could not be incorporated into the Code 

of Federal Regulations (‘‘CFR’’) due to 

an inaccurate amendatory instruction. 

Neither the error nor the correction in 

this document affect the substance of 

the rulemaking or any conclusions 

reached in support of the final rule. 

DATES: Effective Date: February 3, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mr. Jeremy Dommu, U.S. Department 

of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Office, EE–5B, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585–0121. Telephone: (202) 586– 

4563. Email: 

ApplianceStandardsQuestions@

ee.doe.gov. Mr. Michael Kido, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–8145. Email: 

Michael.Kido@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 4, 2021, DOE published a final 

rule amending the test procedures for 

small electric motors and electric 

motors. 86 FR 4. This document corrects 

the regulatory text instruction for 

appendix B to subpart B of part 431. In 

FR Doc. 2020–27662 appearing on page 

4, in the Federal Register of Monday, 

January 4, 2021, the following 

correction is made: 

Appendix B to Subpart B of Part 431— 

Uniform Test Method for Measuring 

Nominal Full Load Efficiency of 

Electric Motors [Corrected] 

On page 22, in the first column, 

amendatory instruction 6.e., 

‘‘Redesignating Sections 4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 

4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, and 4.8 as Sections 3, 

3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8 

respectively;’’ is corrected to read 

‘‘Redesignating Sections 4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 

4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, and 4.8 as Sections 3, 

3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8 

respectively;’’. 

Signing Authority 

This document of the Department of 

Energy was signed on January 8, 2021, 

by Daniel R Simmons, Assistant 

Secretary for Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, pursuant to 

delegated authority from the Secretary 

of Energy. That document with the 

original signature and date is 

maintained by DOE. For administrative 

purposes only, and in compliance with 

requirements of the Office of the Federal 

Register, the undersigned DOE Federal 

Register Liaison Officer has been 

authorized to sign and submit the 

document in electronic format for 

publication, as an official document of 

the Department of Energy. This 

administrative process in no way alters 

the legal effect of this document upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on January 8, 

2021. 

Treena V. Garrett, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00510 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Parts 609 and 611 

RIN 1910–AA54 

Policies and Procedures for Loan 

Guarantees for Projects That Employ 

Innovative Technologies and for Direct 

Loans Under the Advanced 

Technology Vehicles Manufacturing 

Program 

AGENCY: Loan Programs Office, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office 

(LPO) establishes amended policies and 

procedures for the issuance of DOE loan 

guarantees pursuant to the Title XVII