[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 16, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32146-32183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-12546]



[[Page 32145]]

Vol. 86

Wednesday,

No. 114

June 16, 2021

Part II





 Nuclear Regulatory Commission





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10 CFR Parts 15, 170, and 171





Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2021; Final 
Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 114 / Wednesday, June 16, 2021 / 
Rules and Regulations

[[Page 32146]]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 15, 170, and 171

[NRC-2018-0292]
RIN 3150-AK24


Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2021

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending the 
licensing, inspection, special project, and annual fees charged to its 
applicants and licensees. These amendments are necessary to implement 
the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), which, 
beginning with fiscal year (FY) 2021, requires the NRC to recover, to 
the maximum extent practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual 
budget less certain amounts excluded from this fee-recovery 
requirement. In addition, the NRC is also making improvements 
associated with fee invoicing to implement provisions of NEIMA.

DATES: This final rule is effective on August 16, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0292 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:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0292. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407; 
email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5c183d2b32721a332e38392e1c322e3f723b332a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="317550465f1f775e43555443715f43521f565e47">[email protected]</span></a>. For technical questions, contact the 
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this final rule.
    <bullet> NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#aedecadc80dccbddc1dbdccdcbeec0dccd80c9c1d8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a0d0c4d28ed2c5d3cfd5d2c3c5e0ced2c38ec7cfd6">[email protected]</span></a>. The ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document. For the convenience of the 
reader, the ADAMS accession numbers and instructions about obtaining 
materials referenced in this document are provided in the 
``Availability of Documents'' section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Rossi, Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-7341; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#14557a607c7b7a6d3a467b67677d547a66773a737b62"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3978574d51565740176b564a4a5079574b5a175e564f">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background; Statutory Authority
II. Discussion
III. Public Comment Analysis
IV. Public Comments and NRC Responses
V. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
VI. Regulatory Analysis
VII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
VIII. Plain Writing
IX. National Environmental Policy Act
X. Paperwork Reduction Act Public Protection Notification
XI. Congressional Review Act
XII. Voluntary Consensus Standards
XIII. Availability of Guidance
XIV. Availability of Documents

I. Background; Statutory Authority

A. Statutory Authority

Revised Fee-Recovery Framework for FY 2021 and Subsequent Fiscal Years
    The NRC is amending the licensing, inspection, special project, and 
annual fees charged to its applicants and licensees. These amendments 
are necessary to implement Public Law 115-439, NEIMA (42 U.S.C. 2215). 
The NEIMA fee-related changes, effective October 1, 2020, include (1) 
repealing the prior fee-recovery framework and replacing it with a 
revised framework and (2) requirements to improve the accuracy of 
invoices for service fees.
    Effective October 1, 2020, NEIMA repealed Section 6101 of the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended (OBRA-90) (42 
U.S.C. 2214), and put in place a revised fee-recovery framework for FY 
2021 and subsequent fiscal years, requiring the NRC to recover, to the 
maximum extent practicable, approximately 100 percent of its total 
budget authority for the fiscal year, less the budget authority for 
excluded activities. For FYs 2005 through 2020, OBRA-90 required the 
NRC to recover through fees approximately 90 percent of its budget 
authority for the fiscal year, less amounts for the activities excluded 
from fee recovery under OBRA-90 or other legislation. The 10 percent of 
the remaining budget authority not recovered through fees was 
historically referred to as fee-relief activities. In this final rule, 
the NRC has established a revised fee-recovery framework, which 
eliminates the 10 percent limit on fee-relief activities. Accordingly, 
the NRC will no longer provide a fee-relief credit (when the amount 
budgeted for fee-relief activities is less than the 10 percent 
threshold, which would have decreased annual fees for licensees) or 
assess a fee-relief surcharge (when the amount budgeted for fee-relief 
activities is greater than the 10 percent threshold, which would have 
increased annual fees for licensees) as part of the calculation of 
annual fees for each licensee fee class.
    In FY 2021, the NRC's fee regulations are primarily governed by two 
laws: (1) The Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1952 (IOAA) (31 
U.S.C. 9701), and (2) NEIMA (42 U.S.C. 2215). The IOAA authorizes and 
encourages Federal agencies to recover--to the fullest extent 
possible--costs attributable to services provided to identifiable 
recipients. Under NEIMA, the NRC must recover, to the maximum extent 
practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget, less the 
budget authority for excluded activities. Under Section 102(b)(1)(B) of 
NEIMA, ``excluded activities'' include any fee-relief activity as 
identified by the Commission, generic homeland security activities, 
waste incidental to reprocessing activities, Nuclear Waste Fund 
activities, advanced reactor regulatory infrastructure activities, 
Inspector General services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety 
Board, research and development at universities in areas relevant to 
the NRC's mission, and a nuclear science and engineering grant program.
    In FY 2021, the fee-relief activities identified by the Commission 
are consistent with prior final fee rules and include Agreement State 
oversight, regulatory support to Agreement States, medical isotope 
production infrastructure, fee exemptions for non-profit educational 
institutions, costs not recovered from small entities under Sec.  
171.16(c) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
generic decommissioning/reclamation activities, the NRC's uranium 
recovery program and unregistered general licenses, potential U.S. 
Department of Defense Program Memorandum of Understanding activities 
(Military Radium-226), and non-military radium sites. In addition, for 
FY 2021, the Commission identified international activities, not 
including the resources for import and export licensing, as fee-relief 
activities to be excluded from the fee-recovery requirement.
    Under NEIMA, the NRC must use its IOAA authority first to collect 
service

[[Page 32147]]

fees for NRC work that provides specific benefits to identifiable 
recipients (such as licensing work, inspections, and special projects). 
The NRC's regulations in 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,'' explain how the 
agency collects service fees from specific beneficiaries. Because the 
NRC's fee recovery under the IOAA (10 CFR part 170) will not equal 100 
percent of the agency's total budget authority for the fiscal year 
(less the budget authority for excluded activities), the NRC also 
assesses ``annual fees'' under 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,'' to recover the remaining amount necessary to comply with 
NEIMA.
    In addition, Section 102(b)(3)(B)(i) of NEIMA establishes a new cap 
for the annual fees charged to operating reactor licensees; under this 
provision, the annual fee for an operating reactor licensee, to the 
maximum extent practicable, shall not exceed the annual fee amount per 
operating reactor licensee established in the FY 2015 final fee rule 
(80 FR 37432; June 30, 2015), adjusted for inflation (see Section II, 
Discussion, ``FY 2021 Fee Collection--Revised Annual Fees,'' of this 
final rule).

B. Accurate Invoicing

    Section 102(d) of NEIMA requires three sets of actions related to 
NRC invoices for service fees assessed under 10 CFR part 170. First, as 
stated in Section 102(d)(1) of NEIMA, the NRC must ``ensure appropriate 
review and approval prior to the issuance of invoices'' for service 
fees. Second, as stated in Section 102(d)(2) of NEIMA, the NRC must 
``develop and implement processes to audit invoices [for 10 CFR part 
170 service fees] to ensure accuracy, transparency, and fairness.'' 
Third, as stated in Section 102(d)(3) of NEIMA, the NRC is required to 
``modify regulations to ensure fair and appropriate processes to 
provide licensees and applicants an opportunity to efficiently dispute 
or otherwise seek review and correction of errors in invoices'' for 
service fees.
    The NRC developed and implemented process improvements to ensure 
accurate invoicing for the first two actions. First, in July 2019, the 
NRC implemented a new agencywide process to standardize the validation 
of fees, which fully satisfies Section 102(d)(1) and partially 
addresses Section 102(d)(2) of NEIMA. The new standardized process 
improved accountability and oversight within the NRC to ensure that fee 
billing data is correct before appearing on a licensee's invoice. 
Standardizing the fee validation process defines roles and 
responsibilities for performing fee billing validation and 
certification; this standardization process also improves 
accountability and internal controls by adding management oversight to 
improve the accuracy of fee billing data. The NRC's new process will 
lead to improved internal and external auditing of service fee invoices 
to ensure accuracy, transparency, and fairness of invoices. The process 
requires offices with fee billable charges to regularly review and 
certify hours and costs to validate the charges before the NRC sends a 
bill for service fees. On an annual basis, external financial statement 
auditors will conduct an audit of a sample of invoices to determine 
whether the NRC is accurately invoicing in accordance with the NRC's 
fee schedules. Therefore, the NRC's invoices will be reviewed and 
audited by both internal and external parties.
    The second NEIMA accurate invoicing action also concerns the 
transparency and fairness of the overall billing process. The NRC is 
firmly committed to the application of fairness and equity in the 
assessment of fees. All 10 CFR part 170 service fees are reassessed and 
published in the Federal Register on a yearly basis. In January 2018, 
the NRC redesigned its invoices to add clarity and transparency for its 
stakeholders; new features included an invoice legend of NRC acronyms 
and the names of individual NRC staff and/or the contractor company, if 
applicable, who had performed the work associated with the charges were 
added. In addition, the NRC's staff hours and contractor costs were 
listed separately on invoices so the recipient could view the subtotals 
for the two different categories of costs. Finally, the NRC implemented 
a new data structure to more effectively account for and track all 
billable work at the project level. The structure included a data 
element called an Enterprise Project Identifier (EPID), which provides 
useful details regarding the type of project or work that is being 
billed. Inspection report numbers were converted to EPIDs to provide 
more information, and descriptions of inspection activities were added 
to the invoice. Using this data structure enabled the NRC's licensees 
and other persons assessed service fees to identify how many hours are 
being expended on each of the various activities within a project. To 
further these efforts, the NRC standardized its Cost Activity Codes 
(CACs) for all agency activities to clearly provide licensees with 
consistent descriptions of the work being performed across licensing 
actions, inspections, and over multiple dockets. Invoices for service 
fees are now presented in a more useful and readable manner and hours 
and costs are no longer commingled. As a result, the NRC's invoices 
provide stakeholders greater transparency regarding fees.
    In addition, in October 2019, the NRC released an electronic 
billing (eBilling) system. This public-facing, web-based application 
provides persons assessed service fees, including licensees, immediate 
delivery of NRC invoices, customizable email notifications, the 
capability to view and analyze invoice details, and access to the U.S. 
Department of the Treasury systems to pay invoices. The eBilling 
application provides persons assessed service fees, including 
licensees, increased billing process transparency and has increased 
applicant and licensee confidence in the assessed fees and charges.
    To address the third action, the NRC is modifying the regulations 
under 10 CFR chapter I to provide a standard process for licensees and 
applicants to efficiently dispute or otherwise seek review and 
correction of errors in invoices for services fees (see Section II, 
Discussion, ``FY 2021--Policy Changes,'' of this final rule).

II. Discussion

FY 2021 Fee Collection--Overview

    The NRC is issuing this FY 2021 final fee rule based on the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the enacted budget). The final 
fee rule reflects a total budget authority in the amount of $844.4 
million, a decrease of $11.2 million from FY 2020. As explained 
previously, certain portions of the NRC's total budget authority for 
the fiscal year are excluded from NEIMA's fee-recovery requirement 
under Section 102(b)(1)(B) of NEIMA. Based on the FY 2021 enacted 
budget, these exclusions total $123.0 million, consisting of $91.2 
million for fee-relief activities, $17.7 million for advanced reactor 
regulatory infrastructure activities, $11.7 million for generic 
homeland security activities, $1.2 million for waste incidental to 
reprocessing activities, and $1.2 million for Inspector General 
services for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Table I 
summarizes the excluded activities for the FY 2021 final rule.

[[Page 32148]]



                      Table I--Excluded Activities
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           FY 2021 final
                                                               rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fee-Relief Activities:
    International activities (not including the                    $24.7
     resources for import and export licensing).........
    Agreement State oversight...........................            10.4
    Medical isotope production infrastructure...........             7.0
    Fee exemption for nonprofit educational institutions             9.3
    Costs not recovered from small entities under 10 CFR             7.8
     171.16(c)..........................................
    Regulatory support to Agreement States..............            12.3
    Generic decommissioning/reclamation activities (not             14.9
     related to the operating power reactors and spent
     fuel storage fee classes)..........................
    Uranium recovery program and unregistered general                3.7
     licensees..........................................
    Potential Department of Defense remediation program              1.0
     Memorandum of Understanding activities.............
    Non-military radium sites...........................             0.2
                                                         ---------------
    Subtotal Fee-Relief Activities......................            91.2
Activities under Section 102(b)(1)(B)(ii) of NEIMA                  14.1
 (Generic Homeland Security activities, Waste Incidental
 to Reprocessing activities, and the Defense Nuclear
 Facilities Safety Board)...............................
Advanced reactor regulatory infrastructure activities...            17.7
                                                         ---------------
    Total Excluded Activities...........................           123.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    After accounting for the exclusions from the fee-recovery 
requirement and net billing adjustments (i.e., for FY 2021 invoices 
that the NRC estimates will not be paid during the fiscal year, less 
payments received in FY 2021 for prior year invoices and current year 
collections made for the termination of one operating power reactor), 
the NRC must recover approximately $708.0 million in fees in FY 2021. 
Of this amount, the NRC estimates that $190.6 million will be recovered 
through 10 CFR part 170 service fees and approximately $517.4 million 
will be recovered through 10 CFR part 171 annual fees. Table II 
summarizes the fee-recovery amounts for the FY 2021 final fee rule 
using the enacted budget and takes into account the budget authority 
for excluded activities and net billing adjustments. For all 
information presented in the following tables, individual values may 
not sum to totals due to rounding. Please see the work papers (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML21119A024) for actual amounts.
    In FY 2021, the explanatory statement associated with the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, also includes direction for the 
NRC to use $35.0 million in prior-year unobligated carryover funds, 
including $16.0 million for the University Nuclear Leadership Program, 
which replaced the Integrated University Program. The NRC does not 
assess fees in the current fiscal year for any carryover funds because, 
consistent with the requirements of NEIMA, fees are calculated based on 
the budget authority enacted for the current fiscal year and fees were 
already assessed in the fiscal year in which the carryover funds were 
appropriated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ For each table, numbers may not add due to rounding.

               Table II--Budget and Fee Recovery Amounts 1
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           FY 2021 final
                                                               rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Budget Authority..................................          $844.4
Less Budget Authority for Excluded Activities:..........          -123.0
    Balance.............................................           721.4
Fee Recovery Percent....................................             100
Total Amount to be Recovered:...........................           721.4
    Less Estimated Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR          -190.6
     Part 170 Fees......................................
    Estimated Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR Part           530.8
     171 Fees...........................................
10 CFR Part 171 Billing Adjustments:
    Unpaid Current Year Invoices (estimated)............             2.1
    Less Current Year Collections from a Terminated                 -2.7
     Reactor--Indian Point Nuclear Generating, Unit 2 in
     FY 2020 and Indian Point Nuclear Generating, Unit 3
     in FY 2021.........................................
    Less Payments Received in Current Year for Previous            -12.8
     Year Invoices (estimated)..........................
Adjusted Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR Parts 170           708.0
 and 171 Fees...........................................
Adjusted 10 CFR Part 171 Annual Fee Collections Required          $517.4
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 32149]]

FY 2021 Fee Collection--Professional Hourly Rate

    The NRC uses a professional hourly rate to assess fees under 10 CFR 
part 170 for specific services it provides. The professional hourly 
rate also helps determine flat fees (which are used for the review of 
certain types of license applications). This rate is applicable to all 
activities for which fees are assessed under Sec. Sec.  170.21 and 
170.31.
    The NRC's professional hourly rate is derived by adding budgeted 
resources for: (1) Mission-direct program salaries and benefits, (2) 
mission-indirect program support, and (3) agency support (corporate 
support and the Inspector General). The NRC then subtracts certain 
offsetting receipts and divides this total by the mission-direct full-
time equivalent (FTE) converted to hours (the mission-direct FTE 
converted to hours is the product of the mission-direct FTE multiplied 
by the estimated annual mission-direct FTE productive hours). The only 
budgeted resources excluded from the professional hourly rate are those 
for mission-direct contract resources, which are generally billed to 
licensees separately. The following shows the professional hourly rate 
calculation:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR16JN21.000

    For FY 2021, the NRC is increasing the professional hourly rate 
from $279 to $288. The 3.2 percent increase in the FY 2021 professional 
hourly rate is primarily due to a 2.1 percent increase in budgetary 
resources of approximately $15.0 million. The increase in budgetary 
resources is, in turn, primarily due to an increase in salaries and 
benefits to support Federal pay raises for NRC employees. The 
anticipated decline in the number of mission-direct FTE compared to FY 
2020 also contributed to the increase in the professional hourly rate. 
The professional hourly rate is inversely related to the mission-direct 
FTE amount; therefore, as the number of mission-direct FTE decrease the 
professional hourly rate can increase. The number of mission-direct FTE 
is expected to decline by 17, primarily due to: (1) The completion of 
probabilistic risk assessment reviews related to lessons learned from 
the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi in Japan; (2) the closure of Duane 
Arnold Energy Center (Duane Arnold); and (3) the reduced workload 
associated with significance determinations, operating experience 
evaluations, and generic communications development.
    The FY 2021 estimate for annual mission-direct FTE productive hours 
is 1,510 hours, which is unchanged from FY 2020. This estimate, also 
referred to as the productive hours assumption, reflects the average 
number of hours that a mission-direct employee spends on mission-direct 
work in a given year. This estimate, therefore, excludes hours charged 
to annual leave, sick leave, holidays, training, and general 
administrative tasks. Table III shows the professional hourly rate 
calculation methodology. The FY 2020 amounts are provided for 
comparison purposes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The fees collected by the NRC for Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) services and indemnity fees (financial protection required of 
all licensees for public liability claims at 10 CFR part 140) are 
subtracted from the budgeted resources amount when calculating the 
10 CFR part 170 professional hourly rate, per the guidance in the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-25, User Charges. 
The budgeted resources for FOIA activities are allocated under the 
product for Information Services within the Corporate Support 
business line. The budgeted resources for indemnity activities are 
allocated under the Licensing Actions and Research and Test Reactors 
products within the Operating Reactors business line.

             Table III--Professional Hourly Rate Calculation
                 [Dollars in millions, except as noted]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2020 final   FY 2021 final
                                               rule            rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission-Direct Program Salaries &                 $314.6          $335.3
 Benefits...............................
Mission-Indirect Program Support........          $110.8          $113.2
Agency Support (Corporate Support and             $291.5          $283.7
 the IG)................................
                                         -------------------------------
    Subtotal............................          $716.9          $732.2
Less Offsetting Receipts 2..............            $0.0            $0.0
Total Budgeted Resources Included in              $716.9          $732.2
 Professional Hourly Rate...............
Mission-Direct FTE (Whole numbers)......           1,701           1,684
Annual Mission-Direct FTE Productive               1,510           1,510
 Hours (Whole numbers)..................
Mission-Direct FTE Converted to Hours          2,568,510       2,542,840
 (Mission-Direct FTE multiplied by
 Annual Mission-Direct FTE Productive
 Hours).................................
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budgeted            $279            $288
 Resources Included in Professional
 Hourly Rate Divided by Mission-Direct
 FTE Converted to Hours) (Whole Numbers)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

FY 2021 Fee Collection--Flat Application Fee Changes

    The NRC is amending the flat application fees it charges in its 
schedule of fees in Sec. Sec.  170.21 and 170.31 to reflect the revised 
professional hourly rate of $288. The NRC charges these fees to 
applicants for materials licenses and other regulatory services, as 
well as to holders of materials licenses. The NRC calculates these flat 
fees by multiplying the average professional staff hours needed to 
process the licensing actions by the professional hourly rate for FY 
2021. As part of its calculations, the NRC analyzes the actual hours 
spent performing licensing actions and estimates the five-year average 
of professional staff hours that are needed to process licensing 
actions as part of its biennial review of fees; these actions are 
required by Section 205(a) of the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 
(31 U.S.C.

[[Page 32150]]

902(a)(8)). The NRC performed this review in FY 2021 and will perform 
this review again in FY 2023. The biennial review adjustments and the 
higher professional hourly rate of $288 are the primary reasons for the 
increase in flat application fees (see the work papers).
    In order to simplify billing, the NRC rounds these flat fees to a 
minimal degree. Specifically, the NRC rounds these flat fees (up or 
down) in such a way that ensures both convenience for its stakeholders 
and that any rounding effects are minimal. Accordingly, fees under 
$1,000 are rounded to the nearest $10, fees between $1,000 and $100,000 
are rounded to the nearest $100, and fees greater than $100,000 are 
rounded to the nearest $1,000.
    The flat fees are applicable for import and export licensing 
actions (see fee categories K.1. through K.5. of Sec.  170.21 and fee 
categories 15.A. through 15.R. of Sec.  170.31), as well as certain 
materials licensing actions (see fee categories 1.C. through 1.D., 2.B. 
through 2.F., 3.A. through 3.S., 4.B. through 5.A., 6.A. through 9.D., 
10.B., 15.A. through 15.L., 15.R., and 16 of Sec.  170.31). 
Applications filed on or after the effective date of the FY 2021 final 
fee rule will be subject to the revised fees in the final rule.

FY 2021 Fee Collection--Low-Level Waste Surcharge

    As in prior years, the NRC is assessing a generic low-level waste 
(LLW) surcharge of $3.4 million. Disposal of LLW occurs at 
commercially-operated LLW disposal facilities that are licensed by 
either the NRC or an Agreement State. Four existing LLW disposal 
facilities in the United States accept various types of LLW. All are 
located in Agreement States and, therefore, are regulated by an 
Agreement State, rather than the NRC. The NRC is allocating this 
surcharge to its licensees based on data available in the U.S. 
Department of Energy's (DOE) Manifest Information Management System. 
This database contains information on total LLW volumes disposed of by 
four generator classes: Academic, industrial, medical, and utility. The 
ratio of waste volumes disposed of by these generator classes to total 
LLW volumes disposed over a period of time is used to estimate the 
portion of this surcharge that will be allocated to the power reactors, 
fuel facilities, and the materials users fee classes. The materials 
users fee class portion is adjusted to account for the large percentage 
of materials licensees that are licensed by the Agreement States rather 
than the NRC.
    Table IV shows the allocation of the LLW surcharge and its 
allocation across the various fee classes.

              Table IV--Allocation of LLW Surcharge FY 2021
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   LLW Surcharge
               Fee classes               -------------------------------
                                              Percent            $
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors................            87.5          $2.941
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                           0.0           0.000
 Decommissioning........................
Non-Power Production or Utilization                  0.0           0.000
 Facilities.............................
Fuel Facilities.........................             9.9           0.333
Materials Users.........................             2.6           0.087
Transportation..........................             0.0           0.000
Rare Earth Facilities...................             0.0           0.000
Uranium Recovery........................             0.0           0.000
                                         -------------------------------
    Total...............................           100.0           3.361
------------------------------------------------------------------------

FY 2021 Fee Collection--Revised Annual Fees

    In accordance with SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation Method'' 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML052580332), the NRC rebaselines its annual fees 
every year. ``Rebaselining'' entails analyzing the budget in detail and 
then allocating the budgeted resources to various classes or subclasses 
of licensees. It also includes updating the number of NRC licensees in 
its fee calculation methodology.
    The NRC is revising its annual fees in Sec. Sec.  171.15 and 171.16 
to recover approximately 100 percent of the NRC's FY 2021 enacted 
budget (less the budget authority for excluded activities and the 
estimated amount to be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees). The 
total estimated 10 CFR part 170 collections for this final rule are 
$190.6 million, which is a decrease of $29.6 million from the FY 2020 
final rule (see the specific fee class sections for a discussion of 
this decrease). The NRC, therefore, must recover $517.4 million through 
annual fees from its licensees, which is an increase of $9.5 million 
from the FY 2020 final rule.
    Table V shows the rebaselined fees for FY 2021 for a sample of 
licensee categories. The FY 2020 amounts are provided for comparison 
purposes.

                    Table V--Rebaselined Annual Fees
                            [Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2020 final   FY 2021 final
       Class/category of licenses         annual fee ($)  annual fee ($)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Power Reactors................      $4,621,000      $4,749,000
+ Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                     188,000         237,000
 Decommissioning........................
    Total, Combined Fee.................       4,809,000       4,986,000
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor                       188,000         237,000
 Decommissioning........................
Non-Power Production or Utilization               81,300          80,000
 Facilities.............................
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility            5,067,000       4,643,000
 (Category 1.A.(1)(a))..................
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility             1,717,000       1,573,000
 (Category 1.A.(1)(b))..................

[[Page 32151]]

 
Uranium Enrichment (Category 1.E).......       2,208,000       2,023,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion Facility         510,000         467,000
 (Category 2.A.(1)......................
Basic In Situ Recovery Facilities                 49,200          47,200
 (Category 2.A.(2)(b))..................
Typical Users:
    Radiographers (Category 3O).........          29,900          29,100
    All Other Specific Byproduct                   9,700           9,900
     Material Licensees (Category 3P)...
    Medical Other (Category 7C).........          14,800          16,800
    Device/Product Safety Evaluation--            13,800          17,900
     Broad (Category 9A)................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The work papers that support this final rule show in detail how the 
NRC allocates the budgeted resources for each class of licensees and 
calculates the fees.
    Paragraphs a. through h. of this section describe the budgeted 
resources allocated to each class of licensees and the calculations of 
the rebaselined fees. For more information about detailed fee 
calculations for each class, please consult the accompanying work 
papers for this final rule.
a. Operating Power Reactors
    The NRC will collect $441.7 million in annual fees from the 
operating power reactors fee class in FY 2021, as shown in Table VI. 
The FY 2020 operating power reactors fees are shown for comparison 
purposes.

 Table VI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Operating Power Reactors
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations           FY 2020 final   FY 2021 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................          $623.9          $611.8
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.          -186.7          -161.6
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......           437.2           450.2
Allocated generic transportation........             0.2             0.3
Fee-relief adjustment...................            -1.2             N/A
Allocated LLW surcharge.................             3.1             2.9
Billing adjustment......................             2.4            -9.1
Adjustment: Estimated current year                  -2.7            -2.7
 collections from terminated reactor
 (Indian Point Generating, Unit 2 in FY
 2020 and Indian Point Generating, Unit
 3 in FY 2021)..........................
    Total required annual fee recovery..           439.0           441.7
    Total operating reactors............              95              93
Annual fee per reactor..................          $4.621          $4.749
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2020, the FY 2021 annual fee for the operating 
power reactors fee class is increasing primarily due to the following: 
(1) The decline in 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings; (2) the 
reduction in the total number of operating power reactors due to the 
closure of Duane Arnold and Indian Point Energy Center (Indian Point 
Unit 3); and (3) the absence of the fee-relief credit that was provided 
in FY 2020 as part of the fee-relief adjustment. The increase in the 
annual fee for the operating power reactors fee class is partially 
offset due to the following: (1) The decrease in budgeted resources; 
(2) the 10 CFR part 171 billing adjustment that was included in the 
operating power reactors fee class calculation due to the deferral of 
annual fees and fees for services due to the coronavirus disease 
(COVID-19) pandemic; and (3) the current year collection adjustment due 
to the shutdown of Indian Point Unit 3. These components are discussed 
in the following paragraphs.
    The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings declined primarily due to 
the following: (1) The decrease due to the plant closures; (2) the 
completion of construction activities at Vogtle Electric Generating 
Plant, Unit 3 (Vogtle Unit 3); (3) the completion of the NuScale small 
modular reactor (SMR) design certification review; and (4) the impact 
of continued travel restrictions and limited on-site presence on 
inspection activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decrease in 
the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings is partially offset by increased 
work to support the following: (1) The review of the Oklo Power LLC 
combined license (COL) application for the Aurora micro reactor, which 
was docketed in June 2020; and (2) rescheduled inspection activities 
that were deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    In addition, as a result of the revised fee-recovery framework 
under NEIMA, the FY 2021 annual fee increased due to the absence of the 
fee-relief credit that was provided in FY 2020 as part of the fee-
relief adjustment. Because NEIMA eliminated the approximately 90 
percent requirement for fee recovery and, in turn, the 10 percent limit 
on fee-relief activities, the NRC will no longer provide a fee-relief 
credit or assess a fee-relief surcharge as part of the calculation of 
annual fees for each licensee fee class.
    The increase in the annual fee is partially offset by a decline in 
FTEs associated with changes in workload, including, but not limited 
to, the following: (1) The completion of probabilistic risk assessment 
reviews related to lessons learned from the

[[Page 32152]]

accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi in Japan; (2) the closure of Duane 
Arnold; (3) reduced workload associated with significance 
determinations, operating experience evaluations, and generic 
communications development; (4) the completion of the NuScale SMR 
design certification review; (5) a decrease in licensing actions and 
reduced demand for operator licensing and vendor inspection work 
resulting from the completion of construction of Vogtle Unit 3; and (6) 
decreases in research workload in areas of flooding, high energy arc 
faulting testing, and the near completion of the Level 3 probabilistic 
risk assessment project. The decrease in the budgeted resources is 
offset by an increase for certain contract costs due to a reduction in 
the utilization of prior-year unobligated carryover funding and an 
increase in the fully-costed FTE rate compared to FY 2020.
    In addition, the increase in the annual fee is partially offset by 
the $9,143,303 billing adjustment that was included in the operating 
power reactors calculation due to the deferral of annual fees and fees 
for services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a $2,700,000 current 
year collection adjustment in the operating power reactors fee class 
calculation due to the shutdown of Indian Point Unit 3.
    The fee-recoverable budgeted resources are divided equally among 
the 93 licensed operating power reactors, a decrease of two operating 
power reactors compared to FY 2020 due to the closure of Duane Arnold 
and Indian Point Unit 3, resulting in an annual fee of $4,749,000 per 
reactor. Additionally, each licensed operating power reactor is 
assessed the FY 2021 spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual 
fee of $237,000 (see Table VII and the discussion that follows). The 
combined FY 2021 annual fee for each operating power reactor is 
$4,986,000.
    The NRC included an estimate of the operating power reactors annual 
fee in Appendix C, ``Estimated Operating Power Reactors Annual Fee,'' 
of the FY 2021 Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ), with the 
intent to increase transparency with stakeholders. The NRC developed 
this estimate based on the staff's allocation of the FY 2021 budget 
request to fee classes under 10 CFR part 170, and allocations within 
the operating power reactors fee class under 10 CFR part 171. In 
addition, the estimated annual fee assumed 93 operating power reactors 
in FY 2021 and applied various data assumptions from the FY 2019 final 
fee rule (84 FR 22331; May 17, 2019). Based on these allocations and 
assumptions, the operating power reactor annual fee included in the FY 
2021 CBJ was estimated to be $4.8 million, approximately $0.6 million 
below the FY 2015 operating power reactors annual fee amount adjusted 
for inflation of $5.4 million. Collectively, these actions serve to 
mitigate impacts resulting from licensees leaving the fee class and 
help the NRC continue to develop budgets that account for a fee class 
with a declining number of licensees. Although the FY 2021 CBJ included 
the estimated operating power reactors annual fee, the assumptions made 
between budget formulation and the development of the FY 2021 final 
rule have changed, as shown in Table VI.
    In FY 2016, the NRC amended its licensing, inspection, and annual 
fee regulations to establish a variable annual fee structure for light-
water SMRs (81 FR 32617). Under the variable annual fee structure, an 
SMR's annual fee would be assessed as a function of its bundled 
licensed thermal power rating. Currently, there are no operating SMRs; 
therefore, the NRC will not assess an annual fee in FY 2021 for this 
type of licensee.
b. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning
    The NRC will collect $28.9 million in annual fees from 10 CFR part 
50 power reactor licensees, and from 10 CFR part 72 licensees that do 
not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license, to recover the budgeted resources 
for the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning fee class in FY 
2021, as shown in Table VII. The FY 2020 spent fuel storage/reactor 
decommissioning fees are shown for comparison purposes.

   Table VII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Spent Fuel Storage/
                         Reactor Decommissioning
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations           FY 2020 final   FY 2021 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $37.9           $42.2
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.           -15.9           -13.8
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......            22.1            28.4
Allocated generic transportation costs..             0.8             1.1
Fee-relief adjustment...................            -0.1             N/A
Billing adjustments.....................             0.1            -0.6
    Total required annual fee recovery..            22.9            28.9
    Total spent fuel storage facilities.             122             122
Annual fee per facility.................          $0.188          $0.237
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2020, the FY 2021 annual fee for the spent fuel 
storage/reactor decommissioning fee class is increasing primarily due 
to the increase in the budgeted resources and the decline in the 10 CFR 
part 170 estimated billings. This increase is partially offset by the 
10 CFR part 171 billing adjustment that was included in the spent fuel 
storage/reactor decommissioning fee class calculation due to the 
deferral of annual fees and fees for services due to the COVID-19 
pandemic. These components are discussed in the following paragraphs.
    The budgeted resources for the spent fuel storage/reactor 
decommissioning fee class increased primarily to support the following: 
(1) Decommissioning activities associated with power reactors in 
decommissioning, including the transition of Duane Arnold from 
operation to the power reactor decommissioning program; and (2) waste 
research activities associated with accident tolerant fuel, high 
burnup, and enrichment extension fuels.
    The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings for FY 2021 decreased 
primarily due to the following: (1) A reduction in hours associated 
with the staff's review of applications for renewals and amendments for 
independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) licenses and dry 
cask storage certificates of compliance (CoCs); (2) the near

[[Page 32153]]

completion of the staff's review of the Interim Storage Partners 
consolidated interim storage facility application; (3) the completion 
of certain follow-up inspections and other inspection activities for 
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station; (4) the completion of licensing 
actions, partial site release requests, and a decrease in confirmatory 
survey work at multiple sites; and (5) the near completion of the 
license termination for the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor. This 
decrease in the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings is partially offset 
by increased work to support the following: (1) Inspection activities 
for ISFSI licenses and dry cask storage CoCs; (2) the staff's safety 
and environmental review of the Holtec HI-STORE consolidated interim 
storage facility application; (3) the staff's review of topical 
reports; and (4) decommissioning activities within the power reactor 
decommissioning program, including the review of decommissioning 
license amendment requests, exemption requests, and inspection 
activities at multiple sites.
    The increase in the annual fee is partially offset by an 
approximate $0.6 million 10 CFR part 171 billing adjustment that was 
included in the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning calculation 
due to the deferral of annual fees and fees for services due to the 
COVID-19 pandemic.
    The required annual fee recovery amount is divided equally among 
122 licensees, resulting in a FY 2021 annual fee of $237,000 per 
licensee.
c. Fuel Facilities
    The NRC will collect $17.5 million in annual fees from the fuel 
facilities fee class in FY 2021, as shown in Table VIII. The FY 2020 
fuel facilities fees are shown for comparison purposes.

     Table VIII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Fuel Facilities
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations           FY 2020 final   FY 2021 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................           $23.2           $23.3
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.            -6.8            -7.3
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......            16.5            16.0
Allocated generic transportation........             1.1             1.5
Fee-relief adjustment...................            -0.1             N/A
Allocated LLW surcharge.................             0.4             0.3
Billing adjustments.....................             0.1            -0.4
Total remaining required annual fee                $18.0           $17.5
 recovery...............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2020, the FY 2021 annual fee for the fuel 
facilities fee class is decreasing primarily due to the increase in 10 
CFR part 170 estimated billings and the 10 CFR part 171 billing 
adjustment that was included in the fuel facilities calculation due to 
the deferral of annual fees and fees for services due to the COVID-19 
pandemic. The decrease in the annual fee is offset by an increase in 
the budgeted resources as discussed in the following paragraphs.
    The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings increased as a result of the 
following: (1) The increased workload to support the staff's review of 
a license amendment application associated with high assay low-enriched 
uranium and the associated security plans, and (2) the review of the 
Westinghouse environmental impact statement being developed for the 
license renewal application. As part of the final annual fee 
calculation, an approximate $0.4 million billing adjustment was 
included in the fuel facilities calculation due to the deferral of 
annual fees and fees for services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    The decrease in the annual fee is offset, in part, by an increase 
in the resources for contract costs budgeted for the fuel facilities 
fee class primarily due to a reduction in the utilization of prior-year 
unobligated carryover compared to FY 2020.
    The NRC will continue allocating annual fees to individual fuel 
facility licensees based on the effort/fee determination matrix 
developed in the FY 1999 final fee rule (64 FR 31447; June 10, 1999). 
To briefly recap, the matrix groups licensees within this fee class 
into various fee categories. The matrix lists processes that are 
conducted at licensed sites and assigns effort factors for the safety 
and safeguards activities associated with each process (these effort 
levels are reflected in Table IX). The annual fees are then distributed 
across the fee class based on the regulatory effort assigned by the 
matrix. The effort factors in the matrix represent regulatory effort 
that is not recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees (e.g., rulemaking, 
guidance). Regulatory effort for activities that are subject to 10 CFR 
part 170 fees, such as the number of inspections, is not applicable to 
the effort factor.
    In addition, the NRC has added an annual fee for fee category 
1.A.(2), ``Limited Operations,'' in anticipation that the NRC may 
decide to issue a license amendment in the future that would move a 
licensee to the ``Limited Operations'' fee category from the 1.E, 
``Uranium Enrichment'' fee category because the NRC has received an 
amendment application to a fuel facility license that, if granted, 
would authorize a significantly smaller operating facility.

                              Table IX--Effort Factors for Fuel Facilities, FY 2021
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          Effort factors
                  Facility type (fee category)                       Number of   -------------------------------
                                                                    facilities        Safety        Safeguards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)).........................               2              88              91
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b))..........................               3              70              21
Limited Operations (1.A.(2)(a)).................................               1               3              17
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b))............               0               0               0
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c))..............................               0               0               0

[[Page 32154]]

 
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.).......................................               1              16              23
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1)).......................               1               7               2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In FY 2021, the total remaining amount of annual fees to be 
recovered, $17.5 million, is attributable to safety activities, 
safeguards activities, and the LLW surcharge. For FY 2021, the total 
budgeted resources to be recovered as annual fees for safety activities 
are $9.4 million. To calculate the annual fee, the NRC allocates this 
amount to each fee category based on its percentage of the total 
regulatory effort for safety activities. Similarly, the NRC allocates 
the budgeted resources to be recovered as annual fees for safeguards 
activities, $7.8 million, to each fee category based on its percentage 
of the total regulatory effort for safeguards activities. Finally, the 
fuel facilities fee class portion of the LLW surcharge--$0.3 million--
is allocated to each fee category based on its percentage of the total 
regulatory effort for both safety and safeguards activities. The annual 
fee per licensee is then calculated by dividing the total allocated 
budgeted resources for the fee category by the number of licensees in 
that fee category. The fee for each facility is summarized in Table X.

                Table X--Annual Fees for Fuel Facilities
                            [Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           FY 2020 final   FY 2021 final
      Facility type (fee category)          annual fee      annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)).      $5,067,000      $4,643,000
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b))..       1,717,000       1,573,000
Facilities with limited operations                   N/A       1,037,000
 (1.A.(2)(a))...........................
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration              N/A             N/A
 (1.A.(2)(b))...........................
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c))......             N/A             N/A
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.)...............       2,208,000       2,023,000
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion                  510,000         467,000
 (2.A.(1))..............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

d. Uranium Recovery Facilities
    The NRC will collect $0.2 million in annual fees from the uranium 
recovery facilities fee class in FY 2021, as shown in Table XI. The FY 
2020 uranium recovery facilities fees are shown for comparison 
purposes.

     Table XI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Uranium Recovery
                               Facilities
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations           FY 2020 final   FY 2021 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................            $0.6            $0.5
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.            -0.4            -0.3
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......             0.2             0.2
Allocated generic transportation........             N/A             N/A
Fee-relief adjustment...................             0.0             N/A
Billing adjustments.....................             0.0             0.0
Total required annual fee recovery......             0.2             0.2
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2020, the FY 2021 annual fee for the uranium 
recovery facilities fee class is decreasing primarily due to a decline 
in the budgeted resources because of an expected decrease in casework 
associated with uranium recovery policy issues, environmental review 
coordination activities, and guidance development.
    The NRC regulates DOE's Title I and Title II activities under the 
Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA).\3\ The annual fee 
assessed to DOE includes the resources specifically budgeted for the 
NRC's UMTRCA Title I and II activities, as well as 10 percent of the 
remaining budgeted resources for this fee class. The NRC described the 
overall methodology for determining fees for UMTRCA in the FY 2002 fee 
rule (67 FR 42625; June 24, 2002), and the NRC continues to use this 
methodology. The DOE's UMTRCA annual fee is decreasing compared to FY 
2020 due to an increase in the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings for 
the anticipated workload increases at various DOE UMTRCA sites. The NRC 
assesses the remaining 90 percent of its

[[Page 32155]]

budgeted resources to the remaining licensee in this fee class, as 
described in the work papers. This is reflected in Table XII:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Congress established the two programs, Title I and Title II, 
under UMTRCA to protect the public and the environment from hazards 
associated with uranium milling. The UMTRCA Title I program is for 
remedial action at abandoned mill tailings sites where tailings 
resulted largely from production of uranium for weapons programs. 
The NRC also regulates DOE's UMTRCA Title II program, which is 
directed toward uranium mill sites licensed by the NRC or Agreement 
States in or after 1978.

    Table XII--Costs Recovered Through Annual Fees; Uranium Recovery
                          Facilities Fee Class
                            [Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          FY 2020  final  FY 2021  final
            Summary of costs                 annual fee      annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I
 and Title II) General Licenses:
    UMTRCA Title I and Title II budgeted        $114,577        $111,536
     resources less 10 CFR part 170
     receipts...........................
    10 percent of generic/other uranium            5,573           5,241
     recovery budgeted resources........
    10 percent of uranium recovery fee-             -107             N/A
     relief adjustment..................
                                         -------------------------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE                 $120,000        $117,000
 (rounded)..............................
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium
 Recovery Licenses:
    90 percent of generic/other uranium          $50,153         $47,166
     recovery budgeted resources less
     the amounts specifically budgeted
     for UMTRCA Title I and Title II
     activities.........................
    90 percent of uranium recovery fee-             -959             N/A
     relief adjustment..................
                                         -------------------------------
Total Annual Fee Amount for Other                $49,194         $47,166
 Uranium Recovery Licenses
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Further, for any non-DOE licensees, the NRC will continue using a 
matrix to determine the effort levels associated with conducting 
generic regulatory actions for the different licensees in the uranium 
recovery facilities fee class; this is similar to the NRC's approach 
for fuel facilities, described previously. The matrix methodology for 
uranium recovery licensees first identifies the licensee categories 
included within this fee class (excluding DOE). These categories are: 
Conventional uranium mills and heap leach facilities, uranium in situ 
recovery (ISR) and resin ISR facilities, and mill tailings disposal 
facilities. The matrix identifies the types of operating activities 
that support and benefit these licensees, along with each activity's 
relative weight (see the work papers). Currently, there is only one 
remaining non-DOE licensee, which is a basic in situ recovery facility. 
Table XIII displays the benefit factors for the non-DOE licensee in 
that fee category:

                            Table XIII--Benefit Factors for Uranium Recovery Licenses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Number of    Benefit factor                  Benefit factor
                  Fee category                       licensees     per licensee     Total value    percent total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a))..               0               0               0               0
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b))..               1             190             190           100.0
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities                           0               0               0               0
 (2.A.(2)(c))...................................
Section 11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing                0               0               0               0
 tailings sites (2.A.(4)).......................
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................               1             190             190           100.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The annual fee for the remaining non-DOE licensee is calculated by 
allocating 100 percent of the budgeted resources, as summarized in 
Table XIV.

          Table XIV--Annual Fees for Uranium Recovery Licensees
                    [Other than DOE; actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          FY 2020  final  FY 2021  final
      Facility type  (fee category)          annual fee      annual fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conventional and Heap Leach mills                    N/A             N/A
 (2.A.(2)(a))...........................
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities                $49,200         $47,200
 (2.A.(2)(b))...........................
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities                 N/A             N/A
 (2.A.(2)(c))...........................
Section 11e.(2) disposal incidental to               N/A             N/A
 existing tailings sites (2.A.(4))......
------------------------------------------------------------------------

e. Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities
    The NRC will collect $0.320 million in annual fees from the non-
power production or utilization facilities fee class in FY 2021, as 
shown in Table XV. The non-power production or utilization facilities 
fee class replaces the research and test reactor fee class from 
previous fiscal years. This revised fee class accounts for commercial 
non-power production and utilization facilities expected to be used for 
the production of medical isotopes. The final FY 2020 research and test 
reactors fees are shown for comparison purposes.

[[Page 32156]]



  Table XV--Annual Fee Summary Calculations For Non-Power Production or
                         Utilization Facilities
                            [Actual dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations           FY 2020 final   FY 2021 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................      $3,317,830      $2,896,754
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.      -3,030,000      -2,576,000
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......         287,830         320,754
Allocated generic transportation........          30,713           4,330
Fee-relief adjustment...................          -6,183             N/A
Billing adjustments.....................          12,980          -4,391
    Total required annual fee recovery..         325,341         320,141
    Total non-power production or                      4               4
     utilization facilities licenses....
Total annual fee per license (rounded)..         $81,300         $80,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2020, the budgetary resources for the non-power 
production or utilization facilities fee class is primarily decreasing 
with respect to the medical isotope production facilities due to the 
near completion of the activities associated with the staff's review of 
the operating license application for SHINE Medical Technologies, LLC 
(SHINE). In addition, the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings are 
declining within the fee class as a result of delayed submittals 
associated with medical isotope production facilities by various 
applicants. The 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings associated with the 
four non-power production or utilization facilities licensees subject 
to annual fees increased to support the following: (1) Activities 
associated with the review of the GE Nuclear Test Reactor license 
renewal application; and (2) activities associated with the review of a 
complex license amendment for the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology Neutron Reactor.
    The annual fee-recovery amount is divided equally among the four 
non-power production or utilization facilities licensees subject to 
annual fees and results in an FY 2021 annual fee of $80,000 for each 
licensee.
f. Rare Earth
    The NRC has not allocated any budgeted resources to this fee class; 
therefore, the NRC is not assessing an annual fee for this fee class in 
FY 2021.
g. Materials Users
    The NRC will collect $35.3 million in annual fees from materials 
users licensed under 10 CFR parts 30, 40, and 70, as shown in Table 
XVI. The FY 2020 materials users fees are shown for comparison 
purposes.

     Table XVI--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Materials Users
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations           FY 2020 final   FY 2021 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources for licensees             $33.7           $35.1
 not regulated by Agreement States......
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.            -1.0            -1.0
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......            32.8            34.1
Allocated generic transportation........             1.2             1.5
Fee-relief adjustment...................             0.0             N/A
LLW surcharge...........................             0.0             0.1
Billing adjustments.....................             0.1            -0.4
    Total required annual fee recovery..           $34.1           $35.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The formula for calculating 10 CFR part 171 annual fees for the 
various categories of materials users is described in detail in the 
work papers. Generally, the calculation results in a single annual fee 
that includes 10 CFR part 170 costs, such as amendments, renewals, 
inspections, and other licensing actions specific to individual fee 
categories.
    The total annual fee recovery of $35.3 million for FY 2021 shown in 
Table XVI consists of $27.6 million for general costs and $7.7 million 
for inspection costs. To equitably and fairly allocate the $35.3 
million required to be collected among approximately 2,500 diverse 
materials users licensees, the NRC continues to calculate the annual 
fees for each fee category within this class based on the 10 CFR part 
170 application fees and estimated inspection costs for each fee 
category. Because the application fees and inspection costs are 
indicative of the complexity of the materials license, this approach 
provides a proxy for allocating the generic and other regulatory costs 
to the diverse fee categories. This fee calculation method also 
considers the inspection frequency (priority), which is indicative of 
the safety risk and resulting regulatory costs associated with the 
categories of licenses.
    In comparison to FY 2020, annual fees are decreasing for 42 fee 
categories within the materials users fee class to reflect changes as a 
result of the biennial review of fees, which included an examination of 
the average professional hours for licensing and oversight activities. 
In addition, annual fees are increasing for 11 fee categories within 
the materials users fee class due to the following: (1) An increase in 
the fully-costed FTE rate compared to FY 2020; (2) an increase in the 
budgeted resources for contract costs due to a reduction in the 
utilization of prior-year unobligated carryover funding compared to FY 
2020; (3) the realignment of budgeted resources that supports contract 
funding for general license tracking, the materials event database, and 
rulemaking information technology activities; (4) changes as a result 
of the biennial review of fees, which included an examination of the 
average professional hours for licensing and oversight activities; and 
(5) an

[[Page 32157]]

increase in generic transportation costs for materials users.
    A constant multiplier is established to recover the total general 
costs (including allocated generic transportation costs) of $27.6 
million. To derive the constant multiplier, the general cost amount is 
divided by the sum of all fee categories (application fee plus the 
inspection fee divided by inspection priority) then multiplied by the 
number of licensees. This calculation results in a constant multiplier 
of 1.0 for FY 2021. The average inspection cost is the average 
inspection hours for each fee category multiplied by the professional 
hourly rate of $288. The inspection priority is the interval between 
routine inspections, expressed in years. The inspection multiplier is 
established in order to recover the $7.7 million in inspection costs. 
To derive the inspection multiplier, the inspection costs amount is 
divided by the sum of all fee categories (inspection fee divided by 
inspection priority) then multiplied by the number of licensees. This 
calculation results in an inspection multiplier of 1.43 for FY 2021. 
The unique category costs are any special costs that the NRC has 
budgeted for a specific category of licenses. Please see the work 
papers for more detail about this classification.
    The annual fee being assessed to each licensee also takes into 
account a share of approximately $0.087 million in LLW surcharge costs 
allocated to the materials users fee class (see Table IV, ``Allocation 
of LLW Surcharge, FY 2021,'' in Section II, ``Discussion,'' of this 
document). The annual fee for each fee category is shown in the 
revision to Sec.  171.16(d).
h. Transportation
    The NRC will collect $1.4 million in annual fees to recover generic 
transportation budgeted resources in FY 2021, as shown in Table XVII. 
The FY 2020 fees are shown for comparison purposes.

     Table XVII--Annual Fee Summary Calculations for Transportation
                          [Dollars in millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Summary fee calculations           FY 2020 final   FY 2021 final
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total budgeted resources................            $7.2            $8.3
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts.            -2.8            -2.3
                                         -------------------------------
    Net 10 CFR part 171 resources.......             4.4             5.9
Less generic transportation resources...            -3.4            -4.5
Fee-relief adjustment...................             0.0             N/A
Billing adjustments.....................             0.0            -0.1
    Total required annual fee recovery..            $1.0            $1.4
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison to FY 2020, the annual fee for the transportation fee 
class is increasing primarily due to the following: (1) The decline in 
10 CFR part 170 estimated billings related to delays in new amendment 
packages; and (2) an increase in the budgeted resources for contract 
costs due to a reduction in the utilization of prior-year unobligated 
carryover funding compared to FY 2020, an increase in the number and 
complexities of transportation package applications as a result of an 
increase in the number of power reactors in decommissioning, and the 
expanded use of accident tolerant fuels. The increase in the annual fee 
is partially offset by an approximate $0.1 million 10 CFR part 171 
billing adjustment that was included in the transportation fee class 
calculation due to the deferral of annual fees and fees for services 
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Consistent with the policy established in the NRC's FY 2006 final 
fee rule (71 FR 30721; May 30, 2006), the NRC recovers generic 
transportation costs unrelated to DOE by including those costs in the 
annual fees for licensee fee classes. The NRC continues to assess a 
separate annual fee under Sec.  171.16, fee category 18.A., for DOE 
transportation activities. The amount of the allocated generic 
resources is calculated by multiplying the percentage of total CoCs 
used by each fee class (and DOE) by the total generic transportation 
resources to be recovered.
    This resource distribution to the licensee fee classes and DOE is 
shown in Table XVIII. Note that for the non-power production or 
utilization facilities fee class, the NRC allocates the distribution to 
only those licensees that are subject to annual fees. Although five 
CoCs benefit the entire non-power production or utilization facilities 
fee class, only 4 out of 31 non-power production or utilization 
facilities licensees are subject to annual fees. Consequently, the 
number of CoCs used to determine the proportion of generic 
transportation resources allocated to annual fees for the non-power 
production or utilization facilities fee class has been adjusted to 0.7 
so these licensees are charged a fair and equitable portion of the 
total fees (see the work papers).

                         Table XVIII--Distribution of Transportation Resources, FY 2021
                                              [Dollars in millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Allocated
                                                                  Number of CoCs   Percentage of      generic
                     Licensee fee class/DOE                       benefiting fee    total CoCs    transportation
                                                                   class or DOE                      resources
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials Users.................................................            23.0            25.9             1.5
Operating Power Reactors........................................             5.0             5.6             0.3
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning......................            16.0            18.0             1.1
Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities..................             0.7             0.7             0.0
Fuel Facilities.................................................            23.0            25.9             1.5
Sub-Total of Generic Transportation Resources...................            67.7            76.3             4.5

[[Page 32158]]

 
DOE.............................................................            21.0            23.7             1.4
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................            88.7           100.0             5.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC assesses an annual fee to DOE based on the 10 CFR part 71 
CoCs it holds. The NRC, therefore, does not allocate these DOE-related 
resources to other licensees' annual fees because these resources 
specifically support DOE.

FY 2021--Policy Changes

    The NRC is making two policy changes for FY 2021:

Process for Disputing Errors in Invoices for Service Fees

    Section 102(d)(3) of NEIMA requires the NRC to ``modify regulations 
to ensure fair and appropriate processes to provide licensees and 
applicants an opportunity to efficiently dispute or otherwise seek 
review and correction of errors in invoices'' for service fees. The NRC 
is implementing requirements for a standard method for licensees and 
applicants to efficiently dispute or seek review and correction of 
errors in invoices. The process being implemented is illustrated in the 
process map, ``NRC Form 529, Processing Dispute of Fees-For-Service 
Charges'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML20311A159). This process follows the 
established method for licensees and applicants to submit requests for 
the review of fees assessed under 10 CFR part 170 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML20104C055). The NRC Form 529 will be available in the agency's 
eBilling system and on the agency's public website, and can be found 
under ADAMS Accession No. ML20339A673. Standard use of an NRC form and 
amendments to the current regulations in Sec.  15.31 will increase 
efficiency by providing the licensees and applicants with clear 
guidelines and expectations for submitting a fee dispute. It also 
eliminates ambiguity regarding the appropriate information needed for 
the NRC to consider and make a determination on a fee dispute.
    In response to NEIMA's requirement that the NRC modify its 
regulations to provide licensees and applicants an opportunity to 
efficiently dispute or otherwise seek review and correction of errors 
in service fee invoices, the NRC is revising its regulations. 
Specifically the NRC is revising Sec.  15.31, ``Disputed debts,'' with 
conforming amendments in Sec. Sec.  15.37, ``Interest, penalties, and 
administrative costs,'' and 15.53, ``Reasons for suspending collection 
action,'' and changing the heading for Sec.  170.51, ``Right to review 
and appeal of prescribed fees,'' to ``Right to dispute assessed fees.'' 
The NRC is also adding a new section, Sec.  171.26, ``Right to dispute 
assessed fees,'' to 10 CFR part 171. These changes outline the 
interactions between the submitter and the NRC. The process will 
enhance understanding of the dispute process by setting out the process 
for submitting a fee dispute, the stages of the decisionmaking process 
while the dispute is under review, and the manner by which the NRC will 
notify a debtor after it makes a final determination on a dispute. 
Additionally, these amendments provide consistent terminology to 
differentiate fee disputes under 10 CFR part 15 from fee exemptions 
under 10 CFR parts 170 and 171.

Assessment of Annual Fees for Future 10 CFR Part 50 Non-Power 
Production or Utilization Facility Licensees and for Small Modular 
Reactor Licensees

    The NRC is amending Sec.  171.15(a) so that the assessment of 
annual fees commences after future non-power production or utilization 
facility (NPUF) licensees have successfully completed startup testing 
and have provided written notification to the NRC. In addition, the NRC 
is renaming the ``research and test reactors'' fee class the ``non-
power production or utilization facilities'' fee class, which would 
include currently operating research and test reactors and future 
NPUFs, such as non-reactor NPUF technologies. Finally, the NRC is 
amending Sec.  171.15(e) so that the assessment of annual fees for a 
SMR licensee commences after the successful completion of power 
ascension testing and the licensee provides written notification to the 
NRC. These policy changes are consistent with the FY 2020 final fee 
rule (85 FR 37250; June 19, 2020) that amended the timing of the 
assessment of annual fees for future 10 CFR part 50 power reactors and 
10 CFR part 52 COL holders.
    Currently, Sec.  171.15(a) requires the NRC to assess annual fees 
to a test or research reactor (excluding test or research reactors 
exempted under Sec.  171.11(b)) when the NRC authorizes the licensee to 
use nuclear materials (i.e., begin operating the reactor in accordance 
with its license). Prior to this final rule, the NRC had not 
established a policy for assessing 10 CFR part 171 annual fees to 
future non-reactor NPUF licensees (e.g., SHINE); at this time, the NRC 
currently assesses only 10 CFR part 170 service fees to prospective 
applicants for preapplication activities, construction permit holders 
(i.e., SHINE and Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC (NWMI)) and applicants 
for operating licenses (i.e., SHINE) for commercial NPUFs, as well as 
certain operating non-power production or utilization facilities not 
exempted under Sec.  170.11. While the NRC's fee regulations do not 
include a fee class for future non-reactor NPUF licensees, the NRC 
historically has included budgeted resources for NWMI and SHINE within 
the research and test reactor fee class. The budgeted resources for 
NWMI and SHINE not recovered in 10 CFR part 170 service fees previously 
were included in fee-relief. These resources for the development of a 
medical isotope production infrastructure are now excluded from the 
fee-recovery requirement under NEIMA as a fee-relief activity 
identified by the Commission.
    In anticipation that the NRC may decide to issue an operating 
license in the future, the NRC is revising its regulations to provide 
for the assessment of annual fees to NPUFs under Sec.  171.15(a) when 
they have notified the NRC of the successful completion of startup 
testing. This final rule uses the term ``non-power production or 
utilization facility'' to have the same meaning as the definition used 
in SECY-19-0062, ``Final Rule:

[[Page 32159]]

Non-power Production or Utilization Facility License Renewal'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML18031A000), dated June 17, 2019.\4\ The definition 
includes production or utilization facilities, licensed under Sec.  
50.21(a) or (c), or Sec.  50.22, as applicable, that are not nuclear 
power reactors or production facilities within the meaning of 
paragraphs (1) and (2) of Sec.  50.2, which defines ``production 
facility.'' This definition includes currently operating and future 
research and test reactors and proposed medical radioisotope facilities 
that would be licensed under 10 CFR part 50. As such, non-reactor NPUF 
licensees, such as SHINE, would be included in the same annual fee 
class as currently operating research and test reactors that pay 10 CFR 
part 171 annual fees. This approach is consistent with the current 
approach of combining limited numbers of similar facilities into a 
single annual fee category, where ``test reactors'' (of which only one 
is currently operational) are assessed the same 10 CFR part 171 annual 
fees as ``research reactors.'' In addition, the NRC expects that NPUF 
facilities will request that a single license under 10 CFR part 50 
authorize the operation of multiple utilization and/or production 
facilities. Based on the number of facilities authorized to operate 
under a single license, the number of staff hours dedicated to 
licensing and oversight activities for these facilities is not expected 
to differ significantly compared to those for the current operating 
fleet of NPUFs. Furthermore, stakeholders have previously supported 
this approach regarding the assessment of 10 CFR part 171 annual fees 
for future NPUFs. Therefore, a single annual fee would be appropriate 
even where an NPUF licensee has multiple facilities operating under a 
single 10 CFR part 50 license.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ The NPUF draft final rule would also revise the definition 
of research reactor in Sec. Sec.  170.3 and 171.5 to conform to 
other definitions in 10 CFR chapter I. The NRC is not proposing to 
change the definition of Research reactor in the specific exemption 
for federally-owned and State-owned research reactors in Sec.  
170.11(a)(9) or Sec.  171.11(b)(2). The current definition in Sec.  
171.11(b)(2) is based on the language of OBRA-90. Further, a 
substantively similar definition of research reactor was included in 
the provisions of NEIMA that relate to the NRC's fee recovery 
structure. Changing the definition of research reactor in Sec.  
171.11(b)(2) would therefore be inconsistent with NEIMA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    SMR licenses can be issued under 10 CFR part 50 or 52. Currently, 
Sec.  171.15 requires the NRC to assess annual fees to a 10 CFR part 50 
SMR licensee upon issuance of an operating license, or to a 10 CFR part 
52 SMR COL holder after the Commission has made the finding under Sec.  
52.103(g) for all licenses held for an SMR site. The annual fee would 
be determined using the cumulative licensed thermal power rating of all 
SMR units and the bundled unit concept. For a given site, the use of 
the bundled unit concept is independent of the number of SMR plants, 
the number of SMR licenses issued, and the sequencing of the SMR 
licenses that have been issued. There are currently no operating SMRs; 
therefore, the NRC has not yet assessed an annual fee for this type of 
licensee.
    The NRC recognizes that, after the issuance of an operating license 
under 10 CFR part 50 for NPUFs and SMRs, or a COL and Sec.  52.103(g) 
finding under 10 CFR part 52 for SMRs, fuel or targets (or both) must 
be loaded and startup testing (for NPUFs) and power ascension testing 
(for SMRs) must be completed before the facility begins full licensed 
operation. As discussed in the statement of considerations for the FY 
2020 final fee rule, 10 CFR part 52 COLs for power reactors contain a 
standard license condition that requires the submittal of written 
notification to the NRC upon successful completion of power ascension 
testing. Therefore, the NRC will incorporate a similar license 
condition into all future 10 CFR part 50 operating licenses for NPUFs 
and SMRs, and 10 CFR part 52 COLs for SMRs to ensure that the licensee 
will promptly notify the NRC of the successful completion of startup 
testing or power ascension testing. The annual fee assessment for 
future NPUFs and SMR licenses under 10 CFR part 50, and SMRs under 10 
CFR part 52, will begin on the date of the licensee's written 
notification of the successful completion of startup testing or power 
ascension testing.
    Accordingly, the NRC is amending Sec.  171.15(a) and (e) so that 
annual fees commence upon written notification to the NRC of successful 
completion of startup testing and power ascension testing, rather than 
upon issuance of the operating license for 10 CFR part 50 NPUFs and 
SMRs, or issuance of the Sec.  52.103(g) finding for 10 CFR part 52 COL 
holders for SMRs, but upon written notification to the NRC of 
successful completion of startup testing and/or power ascension 
testing. The NRC finds this change to 10 CFR part 171 to be reasonable, 
fair, and equitable, and to be supported by the public comments the NRC 
received on PRM-171-1, which was submitted by Dr. Michael D. Meier on 
behalf of the Southern Nuclear Operating Company (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML19081A015), and on the FY 2020 proposed fee rule (85 FR 9328; 
February 18, 2020). The NRC is also making conforming changes by 
revising Sec.  170.3, ``Definitions,'' Sec.  171.3, ``Scope,'' Sec.  
171.5, ``Definitions,'' and Sec.  171.17, ``Proration.''

FY 2021--Administrative Changes

    The NRC is making seven administrative changes:
    1. Change Small Entity Fees.
    As stated in SECY-08-0174, ``Fiscal Year 2009 Proposed Fee Rule and 
Advance Rulemaking for Grid-Appropriate Reactor Fees,'' dated November 
7, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML083120518), the NRC determined that the 
maximum small entity fee should be adjusted biennially using a fixed 
percentage of 39 percent applied to the prior two-year weighted average 
of materials users' fees for all fee categories that have small entity 
licensees. The 39 percent was based on the small entity annual fee for 
FY 2005, which was the first year the NRC was required to recover only 
90 percent of its budget authority. This methodology remains in place; 
however, the NRC does also consider whether or not implementing an 
increase will have a disproportionate impact on the NRC's small entity 
licensees when compared to other licensees. Therefore, the increase for 
the upper and lower tier fees were capped at a 21 percent increase.
    For the FY 2021 proposed fee rule (86 FR 10459; February 22, 2021), 
the NRC conducted a biennial review of small entity fees to determine 
whether the NRC should change those fees. The NRC used the fee 
methodology, developed in FY 2009, which applies a fixed percentage of 
39 percent to the prior two-year weighted average of materials users' 
fees, when performing its biennial review. Based on this methodology 
and as a result of the FY 2021 biennial review, the NRC is increasing 
the upper tier small entity fee from $4,500 to $4,900 and increasing 
the lower tier fee from $900 to $1,000. This constitutes a 9 percent 
and 11 percent increase, respectively. The NRC believes these fees are 
reasonable and provide relief to small entities, while at the same time 
recovering from those licensees some of the NRC's costs for activities 
that benefit them.
    2. Amend Sec.  170.1, ``Purpose,'' to change the reference to the 
Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1952.
    The NRC is amending Sec.  170.1 to replace the ``of'' after 
Independent Offices Appropriation Act with a comma to make the 
reference to the legislation consistent with references in other NRC 
contexts.
    3. Amend Sec.  170.3, ``Definitions,'' to eliminate definitions for 
``Balance of plants,'' ``Nuclear Steam Supply

[[Page 32160]]

System,'' and ``Reference systems concept''.
    The NRC is amending Sec.  170.3 to eliminate definitions for 
``Balance of plants,'' ``Nuclear Steam Supply System,'' and ``Reference 
systems concept.'' These definitions are no longer applicable in 10 CFR 
part 170. These definitions were added in the FY 1977 final fee rule 
(43 FR 7210; March 23, 1978) to resolve issues concerning assessing 
fees for balance of plant reviews, related to a previous fee category 
(category A.4.b in the table at Sec.  170.21 for standardized design-
reference systems concept), that was not subject to full cost recovery. 
In the FY 1991 final fee rule, the NRC amended 10 CFR parts 52 and 170 
to assess licensing fees for the review of standardized reactor 
designs, which would be subject to full cost recovery (56 FR 31472; 
July 10, 1991). This amendment to eliminate these definitions will not 
impact the NRC's assessment of 10 CFR part 170 fees for service.
    4. Remove footnote 6 to the table in Sec.  170.21, and footnote 12 
to the table in Sec.  170.31.
    The NRC is removing footnote 6 to the table in Sec.  170.21 and 
footnote 12 to the table in Sec.  170.31 because (1) Congress has not 
enacted legislation that would exclude import and export activities 
from the fee-recoverable budget in FY 2021; and (2) in accordance with 
NEIMA, for FY 2021, the NRC identified international activities as fee-
relief activities, but it did not include resources for import and 
export licensing. The NRC, therefore, will charge fees for import and 
export licensing actions.
    5. Amend Sec.  171.5, ``Definitions,'' to replace the reference in 
``Budget authority''.
    The NRC is amending the definition of ``budget authority'' to 
replace the reference to Public Law 101-508 (i.e., OBRA-90) with a 
reference to Public Law 115-439 (i.e., NEIMA). Effective October 1, 
2020, NEIMA repealed Section 6101 of OBRA-90 and put in place a revised 
fee-recovery framework, requiring the NRC to recover, to the maximum 
extent practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget, 
less the budget authority for excluded activities.
    6. Amend Sec.  171.11(c), ``Exemptions''.
    The NRC is revising Sec.  171.11(c) to change the ``or'' in the 
section to ``and.'' This change accurately reflects that even when an 
exemption is ``in the public interest,'' the NRC cannot grant the 
exemption unless it is ``authorized by law.'' This change also 
harmonizes Sec.  171.11(c) with Sec.  170.11(b), which uses ``and.'' 
This change does not alter the NRC's fee exemption policy.
    7. Technical Correction.
    The NRC is making a technical correction to the program codes 
referenced in Sec. Sec.  170.31 and 171.16. Under Sec. Sec.  170.31 and 
171.16, the NRC is removing program code 03252 since it is no longer in 
use for fee category 3(I). Under Sec.  171.16, the NRC is replacing the 
program codes referenced for fee category 3(A)(1) with 04010, 04012, 
and 04014 to reflect the correct program codes that should be cited for 
this fee category. Currently, 3(A)(1) references program codes 03211, 
03212 and 03213. The NRC is also removing program 03235 referenced in 
fee category 4(A) since it is used as a secondary program code and no 
fees are charged to this code.

Update on the Fees Transformation Initiative

    In the staff requirements memorandum (SRM), dated October 19, 2016 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16293A902), for SECY-16-0097, ``Fee Setting 
Improvements and Fiscal Year 2017 Proposed Fee Rule'' (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML16194A365), the Commission directed the staff to accelerate its 
process improvements for setting fees. In addition, the Commission 
directed the staff to begin the fees transformation activities listed 
in SECY-16-0097 as ``Process Changes Recommended for Future 
Consideration--FY 2018 and Beyond.'' The NRC has completed 39 of the 40 
fees transformation activities.
    The one fees transformation activity yet to be completed is the 
rulemaking to update the NRC's small business size standards in Sec.  
2.810, ``NRC size standards.'' In FY 2020, the NRC conducted a survey 
of materials licensees to collect relevant data to help determine the 
need for changes to the NRC's small business size standards in Sec.  
2.810. In addition, the NRC considered changes in the small business 
size standards published by the Small Business Administration (SBA). On 
December 7, 2020, the staff submitted SECY-20-0111, ``Rulemaking Plan 
to Amend the Receipts-Based NRC Size Standards,'' to the Commission 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML20268B327) with the staff's recommendations for 
amending the NRC's receipts-based size standards. In the SRM for SECY-
20-0111 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21029A186), the Commission approved the 
staff's recommendation to initiate a rulemaking to amend the NRC's 
small business size standards in Sec. Sec.  2.810 and 171.16(c) to 
comply with the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018 (Runway 
Act) and related SBA regulations and to reflect inflation adjustments. 
The NRC is currently in the process of developing the proposed rule. 
The NRC will continue to include updates on this rulemaking activity 
within the FY 2021 and FY 2022 fee rules to ensure that affected 
licensees are adequately informed. The public can track all NRC 
rulemaking activities, including the rulemaking on the NRC's size 
standards, on the NRC's Rulemaking Tracking and Reporting system at 
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/rulemaking-ruleforum/active/RuleIndex.html, or by Docket ID NRC-2014-0264 at http://www.regulations.gov.
    For more information, see the fees transformation accomplishments 
schedule, located on the NRC's license fees web page at: https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/licensing/fees-transformation-accomplishments.html.

III. Public Comment Analysis

Overview of Public Comments

    The NRC published a proposed rule on February 22, 2021 (86 FR 
10459), and requested public comment on its proposed revisions to 10 
CFR parts 15, 170, and 171. By the close of the comment period, the NRC 
received eight written comment submissions on the FY 2021 proposed 
rule. In general, the commenters were supportive of the specific 
proposed regulatory changes. Some commenters expressed concerns about 
broader fee-policy issues related to transparency, the overall size of 
the NRC's budget, fairness of fees, and budget formulation. Some 
commenters' concerns were outside the scope of the fee rule.
    The commenters are listed in Table XIX.

       Table XIX--FY 2021 Proposed Fee Rule Commenter Submissions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       ADAMS  accession
          Commenter                 Affiliation               No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Straw.................  N/A..................  ML21064A398.
M. Keller....................  Hybrid Power           ML21064A399
                                Technologies LLC.

[[Page 32161]]

 
Matthew Ostdiek..............  Rendezvous             ML21077A246
                                Engineering, P.C.
                                (RE).
Gary Peters..................  Framatome............  ML21082A394
Jennifer Uhle................  Nuclear Energy         ML21084A747
                                Institute (NEI).
Cheryl Gayheart..............  Southern Nuclear       ML21084A747
                                Operating Company
                                (SNC).
Bradley Fewell...............  Exelon Generation      ML21085A680
                                Company (Exelon).
Anonymous....................  N/A..................  ML21090A120
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Information about obtaining the complete text of the comment 
submissions is available in Section XIV, ``Availability of Documents,'' 
of this document.

IV. Public Comments and NRC Responses

    The NRC has carefully considered the public comments received on 
the proposed rule. The comments have been organized by topic. Comments 
from a single commenter have been quoted to ensure accuracy; brackets 
within those comments are used to show changes that have been made to 
the quoted comments. The NRC responses are preceded by a short summary 
of the issues raised by the commenters.

A. Overhead Costs

    Comment: ``The NRC fees are wildly excessive relative to private 
industry. The NRC fee is more than engineering firm senior executives 
would charge a client. There is simply no question that the NRC 
bureaucracy is vast and requires an extremely high overhead cost be 
attached to the direct cost associated with NRC staff carrying out 
review activities. The NRC fee creates a yearly charge that is more 
than the salary of the U.S. president. As long as significantly 
excessive fees are charged, there appears to be no incentive for the 
NRC to reduce the overhead bloat, the proposed fee should be reduced by 
at least 5% every year until the fee is more similar to that of private 
industry doing similar work.'' (M. Keller)
    Response: The NRC is a Federal agency tasked with protecting the 
health and safety of the public and the common defense and security, 
and there is no equivalent role found in private industry. Unlike 
private industry, all fees that the NRC assesses to applicants and 
licensees must conform to statutory requirements under the IOAA and 
NEIMA. In other words, the fees that the NRC charges are based in part 
on requirements that would not be reflected in the fees charged by 
private engineering firms.
    The IOAA prescribes the framework for charging fees for government 
services. Under the IOAA, fees must be fair and based on the costs to 
the Government and value of the service to the recipient. Additionally, 
under NEIMA, the NRC is required to recover through fees, to the 
maximum extent practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual 
budget authority, less the budget authority for excluded activities. 
Under NEIMA the NRC must also use its IOAA authority first to collect 
10 CFR part 170 service fees for NRC work that provides specific 
benefits to identifiable recipients, such as licensing activities, 
inspections, and special projects.
    To comply with these laws, the NRC establishes a professional 
hourly rate for its work. Consistent with the IOAA, the professional 
hourly rate is derived by adding budgeted resources for: (1) Mission-
direct program salaries and benefits; (2) mission-indirect program 
support; and (3) agency support, which includes corporate support and 
the Inspector General. The NRC then subtracts certain offsetting 
receipts and divides this total by the mission-direct FTE converted to 
hours (the mission-direct FTE converted to hours is the product of the 
mission-direct FTE multiplied by the estimated annual mission-direct 
FTE productive hours). The only budgeted resources excluded from the 
professional hourly rate are those for contract activities related to 
mission-direct contract resources, which are generally billed to 
licensees separately. Because the NRC's fee recovery under the IOAA (10 
CFR part 170) will not equal 100 percent of the agency's total budget 
authority for the fiscal year (less the budget authority for excluded 
activities), the NRC also assesses annual fees under 10 CFR part 171 to 
recover the remaining amount necessary to comply with NEIMA.
    No change was made to the final rule in response to this comment.

B. Operating Power Reactors Decline in the Budget and 10 CFR Part 170 
Estimated Billings

    Comment: ``Over the past five years, Part 170 service fee 
collections have decreased by over 20%. This reduction is even more 
dramatic for the operating plant fee class from which over 85% of 
service fees are collected, where Part 170 service fee collections have 
decreased by 45%. While there has been a reduction in the NRC operating 
plant budget during this time, the reduction has not kept pace with the 
reduction in operating plant service fee collections. As a result, a 
greater percentage of the budget is required to be recovered through 
annual fees. The percentage of the operating plant budget that is 
derived from annual fees (currently at 73%) continues to increase; up 
from 62% in FY 2016. As noted in the fee rule notices and associated 
work papers, the reductions in service fee collections in recent years 
have been attributable, in part, to plant closures. These closures were 
announced well in advance and should have enabled adjustments to be 
made to properly align the NRC budget to reflect smaller projected 
workloads. With a number of announced nuclear plant closures in FY 2022 
and subsequent years, the downward trend in Part 170 service fee 
collections will continue. It is not realistic to expect a decreasing 
number of operating plants to support a budget that, on a per plant 
basis, is appreciably increasing. The anticipated reduction in Part 170 
service fee collections places a strong obligation on the NRC to ensure 
that staffing levels and budgets are properly aligned to reflect 
smaller projected workloads. The NRC should take all necessary steps to 
continue and expedite its efficiency efforts. Given the maturity of the 
U.S. nuclear fleet, in combination with its high level of operational 
performance and a demonstrated level of safety, timely reductions in 
unnecessary regulatory burden are appropriate. We are encouraged by 
efforts underway to transform NRC into a modern risk-informed 
regulator. It is imperative that these efforts continue.'' (NEI)
    Response: The relationship between 10 CFR part 170 (service fees) 
relative to 10 CFR part 171 (annual fees) is workload-driven. The 
activities covered by 10 CFR part 171 annual fees are necessary for the 
NRC to accomplish its safety and security mission as described and 
justified in the CBJ. The amount of

[[Page 32162]]

service fees collected under 10 CFR part 170, on the other hand, 
depends on several factors, including the professional hourly rate, 
licensee and applicant decisions to pursue licensing actions, and the 
number of hours necessary to resolve any licensing actions.
    Since FY 2016, the fee class budget for operating power reactors 
has decreased from $750.4 million in FY 2016 to $611.8 million in FY 
2021. This represents a reduction of $138.6 million, or approximately 
18 percent, as a result of the decreasing number of nuclear power 
reactor licensees, application delays and withdrawals, fewer license 
amendment requests being submitted, efficiencies gained with the merger 
of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and the Office of New 
Reactors, and long-term project completions. Over this same period, the 
10 CFR part 170 estimated billings for the operating power reactors fee 
class have declined from $287.8 million in FY 2016 to $157.0 million in 
FY 2021, which represents a decline of $130.8 million, or approximately 
45 percent. As compared to FY 2016, the operating power reactors fee 
class annual fee has declined from $465.9 million in FY 2016 to $446.8 
million in FY 2021, which represents a decrease of $19.1 million, or 
approximately 4 percent. These changes in the budgetary resources and 
the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings, as well as other adjustments 
(including billing adjustments, generic transportation, and the LLW 
surcharge) and the elimination of the fee-relief surcharge or credit in 
FY 2021, alter the amount of fee-recoverable budgeted resources that 
are required to be collected through 10 CFR part 171 annual fees from 
the operating power reactors fee class.
    With respect to expediting efficiency efforts, the NRC continues to 
review its budget and pursue additional efficiency improvements related 
to budget formulation such as pursuing the use of analytical tools 
(e.g., dashboards), to help the NRC analyze and report data quicker and 
more consistently and to support a more efficient and risk-informed 
budget formulation process. When formulating the budget, the NRC takes 
into consideration: (1) Projected operating power plant closures; (2) 
workload forecasting, including workload drivers, analysis of 
historical data and trends, and communication with stakeholders; (3) 
the estimated level of effort for regulatory activities and yearly 
recurring activities; and (4) other external factors that may impact 
how the NRC meets its statutory responsibilities as the industry 
changes. However, the NRC budget is not linearly proportional to the 
size of the operating power reactor fleet, as there is a cost for the 
infrastructure that must be maintained independent of the number of 
operating power reactors in the fleet.
    The NRC is required by NEIMA to recover, to the maximum extent 
practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget authority, 
less the budget authority for excluded activities. NEIMA also caps the 
per-licensee annual fee for operating reactors, to the maximum extent 
practicable, at the FY 2015 annual fee amount as adjusted for 
inflation. The NRC continues to evaluate resource requirements and 
adjustments that can be made to refine the operating power reactors 
budget.
    Finally, the NRC remains committed to providing enhanced 
transparency throughout the development of the annual fee rule and 
supporting work papers.
    No changes were made to this final rule as a result of these 
comments.
    Comment: ``The FY 2021 Proposed Fee Rule continues to shift the 
burden created by overestimating Part 170 fee collections reflected in 
the NRC's appropriated budget to the recovery of Part 171 annual fees. 
While Exelon appreciates the challenge of precisely estimating the 
amount of Part 170 fees that will be recovered two years in advance due 
to the budget cycle, we note that this is precisely the problem that 
NEIMA intended to address. The Conference Report for NEIMA describes 
exactly this challenge in explaining the basis for the law: ``Several 
problems arise from [the OBRA-90] structure. If the NRC overestimates 
the amount of revenue it expect [sic] to collect under Part 170, it 
must recover the resulting revenue shortfall through Part 171 fees in 
order to meet the OBRA-90 mandate for 90 percent fee recovery.'' The 
Congress noted that this situation ``highlight[s] the need for the NRC 
to budget more accurately and recover fees for work that is actually 
conducted.'' It is clear, therefore, that Congress designed NEIMA with 
the existing challenges of the budget cycle in mind. Notwithstanding 
Congress's clear intent in this regard, the FY 2021 Proposed Fee Rule 
would continue to shift the impacts of Part 170 overbudgeting to Part 
171 annual fees, which does not appear to take advantage of the 
significantly greater flexibilities in NEIMA with respect to the 
portions of its appropriated budget that the NRC must collect through 
fees.'' In addition to this comment submission, this response addresses 
similar comments made during the March 18, 2021, public meeting to 
discuss the FY 2021 proposed fee rule. (Exelon)
    Response: The NRC disagrees with the commenter's suggestion that 
the allocation of service fees versus annual fees in the FY 2021 
proposed fee rule might be inconsistent with congressional intent 
underlying NEIMA. Under NEIMA, the NRC is still required to recover 
through fees the total appropriated budget (with the exception of 
discrete categories of budget authority), and to do so through a 
combination of both service fees and annual fees. Specifically, NEIMA 
requires the NRC to recover, to the maximum extent practicable, 
approximately 100 percent of its total budget authority for the fiscal 
year, less the budget authority for excluded activities.
    The NRC is fully in compliance with NEIMA. The NRC identified fee-
relief activities in the FY 2021 CBJ (which were consistent with the 
fee-relief activities identified in the FY 2020 fee rule, with the 
exception of international activities, not including the resources for 
import and export licensing) and the FY 2021 final fee rule maintains 
those same fee-relief activities. The Congressional report referenced 
by the commenter as support for the proposition that NEIMA was intended 
to provide the NRC ``significantly greater flexibilities'' regarding 
fee collection is not a conference report, but rather a report issued 
by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (Senate Report 
115-86). At the time when the bill was reported by the Senate Committee 
on Environment and Public Works, the bill would have limited fee-relief 
activities to those identified in the FY 2015 final fee rule. This is 
inconsistent with the commenter's suggestion that this Congressional 
report reflects an intent for NEIMA to provide the NRC with greater 
flexibility in determining what portions of the appropriated budget are 
recovered through fees. The Congressional report in fact contains 
statements reflecting an intention that the NRC, under NEIMA, would 
collect fees based on the agency's workload, but the amount not 
recovered through fees would generally be unaffected. For example, the 
report states that ``[c]onsistent with current practice, the taxpayer 
continues to pay only for the items explicitly outlined in the law as 
appropriated items and the rest of the NRC's budget is to be recovered 
through fees[;] [a]s such, the cost to the taxpayer is generally 
unaffected but the fee recovery will be determined by the agency's 
workload rather than a mandated percentage.''

[[Page 32163]]

    The FY 2021 CBJ provided the agency's explanation and justification 
for the resources being requested to allow the agency to complete its 
mission, and the reason for changes in the budget request for the NRC 
as compared to the prior year, at the business line and product line 
levels. Appendix C of the FY 2021 CBJ was included with the intent to 
increase transparency with stakeholders. The NRC developed this 
estimate based on the NRC staff's allocation of the FY 2021 budget 
request to fee classes under 10 CFR part 170 and allocations within the 
operating power reactors fee class under 10 CFR part 171, as well as 
certain data assumptions and historical information available during 
the FY 2021 budget formulation process.
    Consistent with NEIMA, when developing the annual fee rule, the NRC 
had to take into account changes that occurred in the two-year interval 
between the development of the FY 2021 budget request, which began in 
FY 2019, and the enactment of the FY 2021 appropriation in December 
2020. As part of the development of the annual fee rule, the NRC 
estimates the amount of 10 CFR part 170 service fees by each fee class 
by analyzing billing data and the actual cost of work under NRC 
contracts that was charged to licensees and applicants for the previous 
four quarters. The estimate, therefore, reflects any recent changes in 
the NRC's regulatory activities.
    The FY 2021 proposed rule utilized four quarters of the prior year 
invoice data, while the NRC is using a combination of two quarters of 
the prior year and two quarters of the current year billing data (which 
is also updated to reflect workload changes) for the FY 2021 final 
rule. In the FY 2021 proposed fee rule, the 10 CFR part 170 estimated 
billings were $157.0 million compared to the $188.3 million that was 
included in the FY 2021 CBJ. The decline in 10 CFR part 170 estimated 
billings was primarily due to: (1) The plant closures of Indian Point 
Unit 3 in April 2021 and Duane Arnold in October 2020; (2) the 
completion of construction activities at Vogtle Unit 3; (3) the 
completion of the NuScale SMR design certification review; and (4) the 
impact of continued travel restrictions and limited on-site presence on 
inspection activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    The NRC continues to actively evaluate resource requirements to 
address changes that occur between budget formulation and execution, 
and to pursue improvements that enhance the accuracy of projections 
used in budget formulation. For example, the NRC considers projected 
operating power plant closures and other external factors when 
estimating workload changes in a manner that allows the agency to meet 
its statutory responsibilities as the industry changes. The NRC also 
seeks information from licensees and other entities relevant to 
projected workload through public meetings and other forms of public 
outreach, to better inform the NRC's budget formulation workload 
assumptions. Ultimately, however, the NRC budget is not linearly 
proportional to the size of the operating fleet, as there is a cost for 
the agency infrastructure that must be maintained independent of the 
number of operating power reactors in the fleet.
    No changes were made to this final rule as a result of these 
comments.

C. Fee-Relief Adjustment and NEIMA

    Comment: ``In the FY 2021 Proposed Fee Rule, the NRC did not make a 
``fee-relief adjustment'' that it has made in past years on the basis 
that ``[b]ecause NEIMA eliminated the approximately 90 percent 
requirement for fee recovery and, in turn, the 10 percent limit on fee-
relief activities, the NRC will no longer provide a fee-relief credit 
or assess a fee-relief surcharge as part of the calculation of annual 
fees for each licensee fee class.'' However, nowhere in NEIMA itself 
nor in the legislative history did Congress direct the NRC to eliminate 
fee-relief adjustments. NEIMA specifically requires the deduction of 
``any fee relief activity, as identified by the Commission,'' which 
seems on its face to provide significant flexibility to the Commission 
to make necessary adjustments since ``any fee relief activity'' is not 
defined in the statute or the legislative history. The Proposed Fee 
Rule expressly acknowledges that the exclusion of fee relief activities 
is required by NEIMA as part of ``Excluded Activities'' to be excluded 
from fee recovery. But as explained in the Proposed Fee Rule, ``[i]n FY 
2021, the fee-relief activities identified by the Commission are 
consistent with prior final fee rules'' with the exception of some 
international activities. In other words, while NEIMA made it possible 
for the NRC to define ``fee relief activities'' in a way that could 
have accounted for Part 170 over-budgeting, the Proposed Rule 
essentially maintains the same constraints that existed under OBRA-90. 
This interpretation was not mandated by Congress, nor does it appear to 
align with the NRC's overall vision to become a ``modern, risk-informed 
regulator'' that values innovative approaches to problem solving.'' 
(Exelon)
    Response: The NRC disagrees with the commenter's suggestion that 
NEIMA allows for the NRC to provide fee-relief adjustments that would 
give licensees a possible credit or surcharge like under the OBRA-90 
framework. NEIMA requires the NRC to recover, to the maximum extent 
practicable, approximately 100 percent of its total budget authority 
for the fiscal year, less the budget authority for excluded activities, 
one of which is fee-relief activities as identified by the Commission. 
Under NEIMA the NRC must also use its IOAA authority first to collect 
10 CFR part 170 service fees for NRC work that provides specific 
benefits to identifiable recipients, such as licensing activities, 
inspections, and special projects.
    Eliminating the fee-relief adjustment increases the predictability 
for licensees in forecasting their annual fees. The NRC discussed the 
elimination of the 10 percent fee-relief credit or surcharge in FY 2021 
during the FY 2020 proposed fee rule public meeting on March 5, 2020 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML20077G458), where the agency explained how the 
elimination of the credit or surcharge would make a licensee's annual 
fees more predictable.
    For example, if the FY 2021 fee rule had, hypothetically, remained 
governed by OBRA-90 and the 10 percent allowance for fee relief 
specified in OBRA-90 applied, there would have been a surcharge of $9.9 
million to all licensees in the FY 2021 fee rule. The NRC's FY 2021 
appropriation totaled $844.4 million, so a 10 percent allowance would 
have resulted in $81.3 million for fee-relief activities. However, the 
FY 2021 proposed fee rule and supporting work papers illustrate that 
the NRC's budget for fee-relief activities during FY 2021 totaled $91.2 
million for activities not attributable to an existing licensee or 
class of licensees and activities not assessed fees based on existing 
law or Commission policy. This would have resulted in an overage of 
$9.9 million if the OBRA-90 framework applied.
    In addition, the commenter suggests that the NRC should put in fee-
relief activities (instead of 10 CFR part 171 annual fees) the budgeted 
resources that were anticipated to be used for 10 CFR part 170 work 
(e.g., licensing and oversight regulatory activities), but will 
ultimately not be used for 10 CFR part 170 work this fiscal year (i.e., 
the differences in the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings shown in 
Appendix C of the FY 2021 CBJ compared to the FY 2021 final fee rule). 
These resources were anticipated to be used for 10 CFR part 170 work 
for the operating power

[[Page 32164]]

reactors fee class as shown in Appendix C of the CBJ, which was 
developed based on the NRC staff's allocation of the FY 2021 budget 
request to fee classes under 10 CFR part 170 and allocations within the 
operating power reactors fee class under 10 CFR part 171, as well as 
certain data assumptions and historical information that was available 
during the FY 2021 budget formulation process. Consistent with NEIMA, 
when developing the annual fee rule, the NRC had to take into account 
changes that occurred in the two-year interval between the development 
of the FY 2021 budget request, which began in FY 2019, and the 
enactment of the FY 2021 appropriation in December 2020. In developing 
the FY 2021 fee rule, the NRC estimated the amount of 10 CFR part 170 
service fees by each fee class by analyzing billing data and the actual 
cost of work under NRC contracts that was charged to licensees and 
applicants for the previous four quarters. Because the NRC's fee 
recovery under the IOAA (10 CFR part 170) will not equal 100 percent of 
the agency's total budget authority for the fiscal year (less the 
budget authority for excluded activities), the NRC must assess annual 
fees under 10 CFR part 171 to recover the remaining amount necessary to 
comply with NEIMA. NEIMA requires the NRC to establish a schedule of 
annual fees that fairly and equitably allocates budgeted resources. 
While these resources were anticipated to be used for 10 CFR part 170 
work for the operating power reactors fee class, the resources have 
been shifted to being used for work that is recovered through 10 CFR 
part 171 because it will benefit the operating power reactors fee 
class. Thus, the NRC has appropriately included the resources in 10 CFR 
part 171 fees for this fee class.
    Fee-relief activities identified by the Commission fall into two 
categories: (1) Activities not attributable to an existing licensee or 
class of licensees, and (2) activities not assessed 10 CFR part 170 or 
171 fees based on existing law or Commission policy. The categories of 
fee-relief activities are identified in the FY 2021 proposed fee rule 
in Table I Excluded Activities and were also discussed during the FY 
2021 proposed fee rule public meeting on March 18, 2021. The fee relief 
activities identified by the Commission reflect a fair and equitable 
allocation of resources.
    No changes were made to this final rule as a result of these 
comments.

D. Corporate Support Cap and the Fee Rule Work Papers

    Comment: One commenter stated that ``One of NEIMA's requirements is 
the limitation of Corporate Support costs as a percentage of total 
budget authority, to the maximum extent practicable. Exelon suggests 
that the fee rule explain whether the Corporate Support costs are under 
the NEIMA limit. NRC should also demonstrate, either in the fee rule or 
the work papers, how the Corporate Support cost as a percentage of 
total budget authority is determined. For FY 2021, NEIMA limits 
Corporate Support costs (to the maximum extent practicable) to 30 
percent of the NRC's total budget authority. During the March 18, 2021 
NRC public meeting on the Proposed Fee Rule, the staff explained that 
Corporate Support costs for FY2021 totaled 31% of the agency's overall 
budget. However, the work papers for the determination of the 
professional hourly rate includes approximately $284M for Corporate 
Support (with IG), which amounts to approximately 34% of the overall 
budget authority of $844M. The NRC should clearly explain in the fee 
rule how it arrived at the 31% allocation that it described during the 
public meeting.'' (Exelon)
    Response: Section 102(a)(3) of NEIMA requires that, to the maximum 
extent practicable, the corporate support costs requested in the annual 
budget justification provided to Congress not exceed a specified 
percentage of the total budget authority requested for the NRC in its 
annual budget justification (Section 102(a)(3)(A) includes the 
percentage applicable to the annual budget justification for FY 2021). 
As stated in the Executive Summary to the FY 2021 CBJ, the corporate 
support request was approximately 31 percent of the agency's total 
requested budget authority and reflects the agency's efforts to comply 
with Section 102(a)(3)(A) of NEIMA to the maximum extent practicable. 
The FY 2021 CBJ noted that further reductions to corporate support in 
FY 2021 were not feasible and would jeopardize the corporate activities 
necessary to accomplish the agency's mission. Pages 83-86 of the FY 
2021 CBJ provide more specific information on the corporate support 
costs by product line that comprised the 31 percent referenced during 
the March 18, 2021, public meeting. The corporate support business line 
resources total approximately $271.4 million in FY 2021, as shown on 
page 83 of the FY 2021 CBJ. Corporate support does not include 
Inspector General budgetary resources. The percent corporate support is 
calculated by dividing $271.4 million by $863.4 million, which is 31 
percent of the agency's total requested budget authority.
    Section 102(a)(3) of NEIMA as it pertains to the corporate support 
cap applicable to the annual budget justification does not apply to the 
annual fee rule. In the FY 2021 proposed fee rule and supporting work 
papers, the NRC's professional hourly rate calculation was derived by 
adding, in part, resources for agency support, which include both 
corporate support and the Inspector General. The agency support 
(corporate support and the Inspector General) resources in the FY 2021 
proposed fee rule total $283.7 million, or approximately 34 percent 
when dividing by $844.4 million. In addition, the NRC's overall budget 
authority was reduced by $19.0 million (and Congress, in turn, directed 
the NRC to use carryover funding, as further discussed in the ``FY 2021 
Fee Collection--Overview'' section of this document). Also, the FY 2021 
fee rule is based on the enacted budget, not the budget request. The 
agency will continue efforts to implement efficiencies and invest 
resources in initiatives that will result in future savings in 
corporate support activities.
    No changes were made to this final rule as a result of these 
comments.

E. 10 CFR Part 171 Operating Power Reactors Fee Class Invoicing

    Comment: ``As noted in the Proposed Fee Rule, NRC has improved the 
accuracy and clarity of Part 170 service fee invoicing, e.g., via 
internal auditing and development of Enterprise Project Identifiers 
(EPID). Exelon acknowledges and salutes the NRC's success in this area. 
However, as accuracy and clarity in hourly fees collected under Part 
170 has increased, the actual amount of fees collected under Part 170 
has decreased. Exelon understands that the numerous line item numbers 
shown in the work papers' Power Reactors Fee Class details are 
themselves the summations of multiple other supporting calculations 
apparently too detailed to provide. Numerous as these line items are, 
their general nature makes understanding difficult for an outside 
reviewer. Exelon suggests that some ``pointer'' designation be 
developed, similar to the EPID/CAC system used for Part 170 fees [ ] 
and included in the quarterly Part 171 reactor fee invoicing. This way, 
the details of which line items will be funded via reactor fee 
invoicing within a given calendar year quarter may be better tracked 
back to the work papers, allowing constructive dialogue between NRC and 
reactor licensees regarding the applicability of a particular line item 
to that licensee.'' (Exelon)
    Response: With respect to 10 CFR part 171, it would be impractical 
for the NRC

[[Page 32165]]

to provide a ``pointer,'' such as the budget string, since annual fees 
are a recovery of remaining costs associated with the particular 
business line budget reconciled to a fee class.
    The fee rule and its supporting work papers are published so the 
public and licensees can understand how fees are determined for a fee 
class and a fee category. Consistent with the requirements of NEIMA, 
annual fees are calculated by business lines, product lines, and 
products based on the budget authority enacted for the current fiscal 
year. The NRC provides those business lines, product lines, and 
products in the fee rule work papers. The CBJ provides the agency 
explanation and justification for the resources being requested for the 
budget year, including increases and decreases, and the reason for 
changes in the budget request for the agency as compared to the prior 
year, at the business line and product line levels; it also includes 
the prior year actual amounts at the business line and product line 
levels.
    Under NEIMA, the NRC must recover, to the maximum extent 
practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget, less the 
budget authority for excluded activities. Under NEIMA, the NRC must use 
its IOAA authority first to collect 10 CFR part 170 service fees for 
NRC work that provides specific benefits to identifiable recipients, 
such as licensing activities, inspections, and special projects. In so 
doing, the NRC establishes a professional hourly rate for its work. The 
10 CFR part 170 direct work performed is included on the quarterly 
invoice, which includes the CAC/EPID combination, charges, and the 
name(s) of the person(s) conducting the activities associated with the 
respective licensee fee class. With respect to 10 CFR part 170 service 
fees, the NRC staff time spent on licensing and inspection activities 
is subject to change, depending on the novelty and complexity of the 
application (e.g., new licenses, renewals, amendments, special 
projects) under review or the facility being inspected.
    Because the NRC's fee recovery under the IOAA (10 CFR part 170) 
will not equal 100 percent of the agency's total budget authority for 
the fiscal year (less the budget authority for excluded activities), 
the NRC also assesses annual fees under 10 CFR part 171 to recover the 
remaining amount necessary to comply with NEIMA. Thus, providing a 
``pointer'' for annual fees such as the budget string, as suggested by 
the commenter, would be impractical.
    At the same time, to increase transparency, the NRC first 
incorporated a reconciliation of the FY 2020 CBJ resources by business 
line to the associated fee class in the FY 2020 fee rule work papers so 
that stakeholders can trace the CBJ business line budgets to the 
resources recovered within each fee class budget by product line. The 
FY 2021 fee rule work papers include the reconciliation of the FY 2021 
CBJ to the respective fee class. The NRC continues to strive to enhance 
transparency of how fees are determined.
    No changes were made to the final rule as a result of this comment.

F. Public Participation in Budget Formulation

    Comment: ``Exelon supports the comments of the Nuclear Energy 
Institute on the FY 2021 Proposed Fee Rule. Given that there is no 
formal way for stakeholders to provide input into the formulation of 
the NRC's annual budget, Exelon encourages the NRC to consider these 
comments as part of its next budget and fee formulation process. Exelon 
respects the objective judgment that NRC exercises as an independent 
safety regulator. However, Exelon encourages the NRC to seek ways to 
improve its interactions with the regulated industry during budget 
development, within the limits required to maintain NRC independence.'' 
(Exelon)
    Response: The NRC seeks information from licensees and other 
entities relevant to projected workload, through public meetings and 
other forms of public outreach, to better inform the NRC's budget 
formulation workload assumptions. This public outreach provides an 
opportunity for the regulated industry to provide information to inform 
the NRC budget. However, as noted in the comment, the NRC is an 
independent regulator, and to preserve its independence the NRC does 
not involve non-government organizations and members of the public in 
budget formulation. In addition, OMB establishes the Executive Branch 
budget process through OMB Circular No. A-11, ``Preparation, 
Submission, and Execution of the Budget.'' Section 22.1 of OMB Circular 
No. A-11 requires that pre-decisional budget deliberations remain 
confidential until the release of the President's budget request (and, 
in turn, the CBJ).
    No changes were made to this final rule as a result of these 
comments.

G. Small Entity

    Comment: One commenter had comments regarding the NRC's small 
entity size standards and that the NRC should consider establishing 
lower licensing fees by creating one or more additional ranges between 
the $520,000 and $7,000,000 gross annual receipts range. The commenter 
stated that a fee rate schedule with more steps for small businesses 
would help reduce the license fee burden on the smaller entities and 
help small business concerns. (RE)
    Response: To reduce the significance of the annual fees on a 
substantial number of small entities, the NRC established the maximum 
small entity fee in FY 1991. In FY 1992, the NRC introduced a second 
lower tier to the small entity fee. Because the NRC's methodology for 
small entity size standards has been approved by the SBA, the NRC did 
not modify its current methodology for this rulemaking.
    In FY 2020, the NRC conducted a survey of materials licensees to 
collect relevant data to help determine the need for changes to the 
NRC's small business size standards in Sec.  2.810. In addition, the 
NRC considered changes in the small business size standards published 
by the SBA.
    On December 7, 2020, the staff submitted SECY-20-0111, ``Rulemaking 
Plan to Amend the Receipts-Based NRC Size Standards,'' to the 
Commission (ADAMS Accession No. ML20268B327) with the staff's 
recommendations for amending the NRC's receipts-based size standards. 
While the NRC staff recommended making inflation-related increases and 
adjusting the methodology for consistency with SBA regulations, the 
survey results did not suggest that the NRC should change its small 
entity size standards. In the SRM for SECY-20-0111 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML21029A186), the Commission approved the staff's recommendation to 
initiate a rulemaking to amend the NRC's small business size standards 
in Sec.  2.810 and to comply with the Runway Act and related SBA 
regulations and to reflect inflation adjustments, which will be part of 
a separate rulemaking activity. Also, as part of that rulemaking 
activity, analogous to the proposed inflation adjustment in Sec.  
2.810, the NRC will be proposing to increase the upper tier and lower 
tier receipts-based small entity size standards in Sec.  171.16(c).
    The NRC is currently in the process of developing the proposed rule 
for the small entity rulemaking activity. The NRC will continue to 
include updates on this rulemaking activity in the Federal Register 
notifications associated with the FY 2021 and FY 2022 fee rules to 
ensure that affected licensees are adequately informed. The public can 
track all NRC rulemaking activities, including the rulemaking on the 
NRC's size standards, on the NRC's Rulemaking Tracking and Reporting

[[Page 32166]]

system at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/rulemaking-ruleforum/active/RuleIndex.html, or by Docket ID NRC-2014-0264 at 
http://www.regulations.gov.
    No change was made to this final rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: One commenter had questions regarding the categories of 
licensees that can qualify as small entities, and the categories of 
licensees whose average users' fees are used to determine the maximum 
small entity fee. (Anonymous)
    Response: In implementing the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 
as amended, the NRC ultimately determined that it was appropriate for 
the agency to establish its own size standards that were consistent 
with the NRC's regulatory activities. The NRC classifies its small 
business licensees by their use of nuclear materials since the NRC's 
materials categories cover a mix of industries. The NRC's materials 
licensees can use the size standards criteria to quality as a small 
entity for a reduced annual fee. The NRC's industry specific size 
standards were approved by the SBA.
    License types that allow a licensee to be eligible to qualify as a 
small entity and pay a reduced annual fee are listed under Sec.  
171.16. These include materials licenses (i.e., 10 CFR parts 30, 40, 
70, 71, and 76 licenses) and 10 CFR part 72 licenses. The prior two-
year weighted average of service fees for the qualifying fee categories 
that have small entity licensees is used in the biennial adjustment of 
the maximum small entity fee. Average service fees for types of 
licenses (e.g., 10 CFR part 50 licenses) that do not allow a licensee 
to be eligible to qualify as a small entity are not used in the 
determination of small entity fees.
    No change was made to this final rule in response to this comment.

H. Definition of Research Reactor Under Sec.  170.11, Sec.  171.11, and 
NEIMA

    Comment: ``NEIMA's exemption of a research reactor is a reactor 
licensed under section 104c of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. It does 
not mention that it needs to be ``Federal-owned and State-Owned 
research reactors used primarily for educational proposes.'' So any 
Research Reactor licensed under 104c of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 
and meets the requirement of operations list should be except [sic] 
from fees. 10 CFR 170.11 and 10 CFR 171.11 need to be changed to 
reflect NEIMA definition of exempt. Having research and test reactors 
exempt from both annual and performance fees would encourage private 
investment as NEIMA was trying to do.'' (Anonymous)
    Response: The NRC disagrees with this commenter's position that, in 
order to be consistent with NEIMA, the NRC should change the definition 
of ``research reactor'' in Sec. Sec.  170.11 and 171.11 to exempt from 
fees all research reactors licensed under Section 104c. of the Atomic 
Energy Act (AEA). First, NEIMA (in Section 102(b)(3)(D)(ii)) makes the 
annual fee exemption applicable for ``federally owned research reactor 
used primarily for educational training and academic research 
purposes.'' In addition, the primary purpose of this rule is to update 
the NRC's fee schedules to recover, to the maximum extent practicable, 
approximately 100 percent of the NRC's total budget authority for the 
current fiscal year, less the budget authority for excluded activities, 
and to make other necessary corrections or appropriate changes to 
specific aspects of the NRC's fee regulations in order to ensure 
compliance with NEIMA.
    The NRC has not proposed changing the definition of ``research 
reactor,'' or the types of research reactors that are exempt (i.e., 
Federally-owned and State-owned research reactors used primarily for 
educational training and academic research purposes) in the specific 
exemptions in Sec.  170.11(a)(9) or Sec.  171.11(b)(2). The current 
``research reactor'' definition in Sec. Sec.  170.11(a)(9) and 
171.11(b)(2), and the types of research reactors that are exempt from 
annual fees, stemmed from language in OBRA-90. NEIMA included 
substantively similar fee exemption language for research reactors. 
Changing the definition of ``research reactor'' in Sec.  170.11(a)(9) 
or Sec.  171.11(b)(2), or the types of research reactors that are 
exempt from fees pursuant to Sec. Sec.  170.11(a)(9) and 171.11(b)(2), 
to include all research reactors licensed under Section 104c. of the 
AEA would not be consistent with the exemption provision in NEIMA or 
its predecessor in OBRA-90.
    Section 106 of NEIMA, ``Encouraging private investment in research 
and test reactors,'' pertains to the financial criteria used to 
determine whether a utilization facility is licensed as a commercial 
facility under Section 103 of the AEA, ``Commercial Licenses,'' or as a 
research and development facility under paragraph c of Section 104, 
``Medical Therapy and Research and Development,'' of the AEA. This 
subject of this provision of NEIMA does not relate to fees and is 
outside the scope of this final rule.
    No change was made to this final rule in response to this comment.

I. Accurate Invoicing

    Comment: ``What are the policies for fairness? We've disputed 
invoices in the [past] because the NRC had already completed a task, we 
had been shut down for years and there was no need for the NRC to 
restudy, investigate or review the issue. Yet, we were told that the 
charges were valid because the employee did indeed work the hours they 
said on the project. Is it fair for us to have to pay for the same work 
twice? We don't think so and the public would not think so. We can't 
tell from our recent billings what activity within a project. For 
example, an inspector or auditor comes out and visits. Then they go 
back and write their report and ask RAI, etc. We only get total hours 
worked on the project, not how much time it took them to write the 
report, how much time did [they] work on specific items they are 
reporting on. That would be useful information to us the licensee.'' 
(Anonymous)
    Response: The NRC is firmly committed to the application of 
fairness and equity in the assessment of fees. NEIMA requires the NRC 
to establish a schedule of fees that fairly and equitably allocates 
these fees among the NRC's licensees and certificate holders. As part 
of this process, each year the NRC reassesses and publishes a proposed 
rule and final rule of the revisions of the fee schedules for each 
license fee class. As stated in the proposed rule, under NEIMA, the NRC 
must recover, to the maximum extent practicable, approximately 100 
percent of its annual budget, less the budget authority for excluded 
activities. The NRC must use its IOAA authority first to collect 
service fees for NRC work that provides specific benefits to 
identifiable recipients (such as licensing activities, inspections, and 
special projects). Because the NRC's fee recovery under the IOAA for 10 
CFR part 170 fees for service will not equal 100 percent of the 
agency's total budget authority for the fiscal year (less the budget 
authority for excluded activities), the NRC also assesses annual fees 
under 10 CFR part 171 to recover the remaining amount necessary to 
comply with NEIMA. In the FY 2021 proposed fee rule, each license fee 
class includes the specific information to detail how the annual fees 
are derived, such as the budgetary resources, and 10 CFR part 170 
estimated billings for direct activities, specific adjustments, the 
explanations for the changes, and the comparison to the prior fiscal 
year in order to derive the 10 CFR part 171 annual fees.
    Additionally, Section 102(d) of NEIMA required three sets of 
actions

[[Page 32167]]

related to NRC invoices for service fees assessed under 10 CFR part 
170. First, as stated in Section 102(d)(1) of NEIMA, the NRC must 
``ensure appropriate review and approval prior to the issuance of 
invoices'' for service fees. Second, as stated in Section 102(d)(2) of 
NEIMA, the NRC must ``develop and implement processes to audit invoices 
[for 10 CFR part 170 service fees] to ensure accuracy, transparency, 
and fairness.'' Third, as stated in Section 102(d)(3) of NEIMA, the NRC 
is required to ``modify regulations to ensure fair and appropriate 
processes to provide licensees and applicants an opportunity to 
efficiently dispute or otherwise seek review and correction of errors 
in invoices'' for service fees.
    For the first two sets of actions, the NRC developed and 
implemented process improvements to ensure accurate invoicing, which 
include, but is not limited to the following: (1) Implementing a 
process to standardize the validation of fees to ensure that fee 
billing data is correct before appearing on a licensee's invoice; (2) 
redesigning the invoices to add clarity and transparency for its 
stakeholders such as including the names of individual NRC staff and/or 
contractor companies, if applicable, who had performed the work 
associated with the charges; and (3) implementing a new data structure 
to more effectively account for and track all billable work at the 
project level with an EPID data element, which provides useful details 
regarding the type of project or work that is being billed. Using this 
data structure allows NRC licensees and other persons assessed service 
fees to identify how many hours are being expended on each of the 
various activities within a project.
    For the third set of actions, as discussed in the proposed rule, 
the NRC has developed and is implementing requirements for a standard 
method for licensees and applicants to efficiently dispute or seek 
review and correction of errors in invoices, which is illustrated in 
the process map, ``NRC Form 529, Processing Dispute of Fees-For-Service 
Charges'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML20311A159). Additionally, the NRC is 
modifying its regulations related to accurate invoicing to clearly 
outline the interactions between the submitter and the NRC and enhance 
clarity regarding the dispute process by setting out: (1) The process 
for submitting a fee dispute, (2) the stages of the decisionmaking 
process while the dispute is under review, and (3) the manner by which 
the NRC will notify a debtor after it makes a final determination on a 
dispute.
    Finally, regarding the commenter's specific comments on the 
regulatory activities that the NRC has previously conducted and billed 
to the commenter (e.g., inspection activities, reports, and requests 
for additional information on projects), this is outside scope of this 
final rule. If the commenter has specific questions regarding NRC 
invoices and fees that have been assessed, the commenter can contact 
the Office of the Chief Financial Officer via the eBilling system 
support portal, by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#682e0d0d2a01040401060f2106191d011a010d1b463a0d1b071d1a0b0d28061a0b460f071e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a3e5c6c6e1cacfcfcacdc4eacdd2d6cad1cac6d08df1c6d0ccd6d1c0c6e3cdd1c08dc4ccd5">[email protected]</span></a>, or by 
mail to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer at U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attn: Chief Financial 
Officer.
    No change was made to this final rule in response to this comment.
    Comment: ``NRC Form 529 on page 2 has a list [of] 7 pre-conditions 
that you must certify that you have done. One of them is I Certify that 
the NRC Form 527 ``Request for Information Related to Fees-for-
Service'' was submitted and a response was received by my organization. 
Who fills out the response? Do they know the details of the work the 
person in dispute was performing? We've used NRC Form 527 in the past. 
NRC Response did not answer the questions we had in the additional 
disputed details. They just confirmed the information we already knew. 
[They] confirmed that the employee did work on the project, but did not 
detail what work they were doing.[ ] We've disputed bills in the past, 
the process only confirmed that the employee spent the hours working on 
the project so the charges are correct. The CFO refused to take into 
account the benefit to the licensee and/or fairness of the charge to 
the licensee. 45 days from initial demand letter (invoice) is not 
enough time in some cases to determine if the invoice was correct, 
provided the licensee with a benefit, or was fair for the licensee to 
be charged. It should be 90 days from when the error became apparent 
for the licensee to dispute the charge. For example, [i]f you don't 
like the dispute resolution, what is the process for future review or 
appeals outside of the NRC CFO office? '' (Anonymous)
    Response: The NRC continues to strive to enhance the invoicing 
process to ensure invoice accuracy and the availability of appropriate 
processes for licensees to efficiently request a review or submit a 
dispute for invoice errors. A licensee who requests additional 
information related to NRC staff/contract costs associated with their 
NRC invoice is responsible for completing all items on page 1 of the 
NRC Form 527, except for the dedicated response section used by NRC 
staff only (detailed instructions are provided on page 2 in addition to 
a process map on page 3 of the form). After the licensee completely 
fills out their required portions of the NRC Form 527, it should be 
submitted to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer using one of the 
three listed options on the form. Once the form is received, the Office 
of the Chief Financial Officer will forward it to the appropriate EPID 
contact who will provide the response. The NRC EPID contact will always 
be the responsible point of contact who is fully knowledgeable of the 
work performed and, therefore, the appropriate individual to provide a 
response.
    The NRC Form 529 contains a listing of seven pre-conditions that 
all licensees must meet before submitting the form. These pre-
conditions ensure licensees have properly adhered to NRC's standard 
dispute process which requires: (1) An initial submission of the NRC 
Form 527 to request a formal review of the charges in question, and (2) 
submission of the NRC Form 529 to officially request a dispute of the 
charges after receiving the response provided on the NRC Form 527. 
Currently, most of the NRC's licensees subject to 10 CFR part 170 fees 
are registered in eBilling, which is a public-facing, web-based 
application that provides immediate delivery of NRC invoices in 
addition to the capability to view and analyze invoice details. 
Therefore, it is strongly recommended that licensees not registered in 
eBilling consider utilizing this electronic invoice platform, if they 
have the capability to do so. However, consideration was given to the 
current initial demand letter (invoice) 30-day policy, and the NRC is 
amending Sec.  15.31 to allow licensees an additional 15 days to submit 
a review request from the initial demand letter (invoice). The NRC 
believes that 45 days from receiving an initial demand letter provides 
enough time for all licensees to determine if an invoice is accurate. 
Furthermore, upon submission of the NRC Form 529, the licensee must 
certify they are submitting an official dispute request to the Office 
of the Chief Financial Officer and agree that the final determination 
of the status of the disputed debt decision rests solely with the NRC. 
The NRC's response to a licensee's request submitted on the NRC Form 
529 officially completes the agency's invoice dispute process.
    Finally, regarding the commenter's specific comments on the 
regulatory activities that the NRC has previously conducted and billed 
to the commenter (e.g., inspection activities, reports, and requests 
for additional information on

[[Page 32168]]

projects), this is outside of the scope of this final rule. If the 
commenter has specific questions regarding NRC invoices and fees that 
have been assessed, the commenter can contact the Office of the Chief 
Financial Officer via the eBilling system support portal, by email to 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cb8daeae89a2a7a7a2a5ac82a5babea2b9a2aeb8e599aeb8a4beb9a8ae8ba5b9a8e5aca4bd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0e486b6b4c67626267606947607f7b677c676b7d205c6b7d617b7c6d6b4e607c6d20696178">[email protected]</span></a>, or by mail to the Office of the 
Chief Financial Officer at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attn: Chief Financial Officer.
    No change was made to this final rule in response to this comment.

J. Comments on Matters Not Related to This Rulemaking

    Several commenters raised issues outside the scope of the FY 2021 
fee rule. Commenters raised concerns with the agency's budgeting 
process and requested public participation on the agency's budget 
formulation process. A few commenters requested expediting efficiency 
efforts and engaging industry regarding additional efficiencies, 
improvements and efficiencies in the review process for topical reports 
to reduce the professional hourly rate for special project fees. These 
matters are outside the scope of this final rule. The primary purpose 
of the rule is to update the NRC's fee schedules to recover 
approximately 100 percent of the NRC's total budget authority for the 
current fiscal year, less the budget authority for excluded activities, 
and to make other necessary corrections or appropriate changes to 
specific aspects of the NRC's fee regulations in order to ensure 
compliance with NEIMA.
    The NRC understands the importance of examining and improving the 
efficiency of its operations and the prioritization of its regulatory 
activities. Accordingly, the NRC has undertaken, and continues to 
undertake, a number of significant initiatives aimed at improving the 
efficiency of NRC operations and enhancing the agency's approach to 
regulating. Though comments raising these issues are not within the 
scope of this final rule, the NRC will consider this input in its 
future program operations.

V. Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended 
(RFA),\5\ the NRC has prepared a regulatory flexibility analysis 
related to this final rule. The regulatory flexibility analysis is 
available as indicated in Section XIV, ``Availability of Documents,'' 
of this document.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, has been amended by 
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 
Public Law 104-121, Title II, 110 Stat. 847 (1996).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VI. Regulatory Analysis

    Under NEIMA, the NRC is required to recover, to the maximum extent 
practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget for FY 2021 
less the budget authority for excluded activities. The NRC established 
fee methodology guidelines for 10 CFR part 170 in 1978, and established 
additional fee methodology guidelines for 10 CFR part 171 in 1986. In 
subsequent rulemakings, the NRC has adjusted its fees without changing 
the underlying principles of its fee policy to ensure that the NRC 
continues to comply with the statutory requirements for cost recovery.
    In this final rule, the NRC continues this longstanding approach. 
Therefore, the NRC did not identify any alternatives to the current fee 
structure guidelines and did not prepare a regulatory analysis for this 
final rule.

VII. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    The NRC has determined that the backfit rule, Sec.  50.109, does 
not apply to this final rule and that a backfit analysis is not 
required because these amendments do not require the modification of, 
or addition to, (1) systems, structures, components, or the design of a 
facility; (2) the design approval or manufacturing license for a 
facility; or (3) the procedures or organization required to design, 
construct, or operate a 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 wrote 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 31885).

IX. National Environmental Policy Act

    The NRC has determined that this final rule is the type of action 
described in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(1). Therefore, neither an environmental 
impact statement nor 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 Act. In 
accordance with 5 CFR 1320.4(a)(2), NRC Forms 527 and 529 are also not 
subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Public Protection Notification

    The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless the document requesting 
or requiring the collection displays a currently valid OMB control 
number.

XI. Congressional Review Act

    This final rule is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review 
Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 801-808). The Office of Management and Budget has 
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.

XII. Voluntary Consensus Standards

    The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, 
Public Law 104-113, requires that Federal agencies use technical 
standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus 
standards bodies unless the use of such a standard is inconsistent with 
applicable law or otherwise impractical. In this final rule, the NRC is 
amending the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its 
licensees and applicants, as necessary, to recover, to the maximum 
extent practicable, approximately 100 percent of its annual budget for 
FY 2021 less the budget authority for excluded activities, as required 
by NEIMA. This action does not constitute the establishment of a 
standard that contains generally applicable requirements.

XIII. Availability of Guidance

    The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act requires all 
Federal agencies to prepare a written compliance guide for each rule 
for which the agency is required by 5 U.S.C. 604 to prepare a 
regulatory flexibility analysis. The NRC, in compliance with the law, 
prepared the ``Small Entity Compliance Guide'' for the FY 2021 final 
fee rule. The compliance guide was developed when the NRC completed the 
small entity biennial review for FY 2021. This compliance guide is 
available as indicated in Section XIV, ``Availability of Documents,'' 
of this document.

XIV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

[[Page 32169]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Documents                  ADAMS Accession No./web link
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECY-05-0164, ``Annual Fee Calculation    ML052580332.
 Method,'' dated September 15, 2005.
SECY-16-0097, ``Fee Setting Improvements  ML16194A365.
 and Fiscal Year 2017 Proposed Fee
 Rule,'' dated August 15, 2016.
Staff Requirements Memorandum for SECY-   ML16293A902.
 16-0097, dated October 19, 2016.
NUREG-1100, Volume 36, ``Congressional    ML20024D764.
 Budget Justification: Fiscal Year
 2021'' (February 2020).
Process map, ``NRC Form 527, Request for  ML20104C055.
 Information Related to Fees-for-
 Service''.
Process map, ``NRC Form 529, Processing   ML20311A159.
 Dispute of Fees-For-Service Charges''.
NRC Form 529, ``Dispute of Fees-For-      ML20339A673.
 Service Charges in Accordance with
 Title 10 of the Code of Federal
 Regulations (10 CFR) Processing Dispute
 of Fees-For-Service Charges Sec.
 170.51''.
FY 2021 Final Rule Work Papers..........  ML21119A024.
FY 2021 Final Fee Rule..................  ML21109A319.
FY 2021 Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.  ML21105A747.
FY 2021 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory           ML21105A750.
 Commission Small Entity Compliance
 Guide.
SECY-19-0062, ``Final Rule: Non-Power     ML18031A000.
 Production or Utilization Facility
 License Renewal,'' dated June 17, 2019.
SECY-20-0111, ``Rulemaking Plan to Amend  ML20268B327.
 the Receipts-Based NRC Size
 Standards,'' dated December 7, 2020.
SRM-SECY-20-0111, ``Rulemaking Plan to    ML21029A189.
 Amend the Receipts-Based NRC Size
 Standards'' (NRC-2014-0264).
NRC Form 526, ``Certification of Small    https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
 Entity Status for the Purposes of         doc-collections/forms/
 Annual Fees Imposed under 10 CFR Part     nrc526.pdf.
 171''.
OMB Circular A-25, ``User Charges''.....  https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/assets/OMB/circulars/a025/a025.html.
Fees Transformation Accomplishments.....  https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/licensing/fees-transformation-accomplishments.html.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

List of Subjects

10 CFR Part 15

    Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Debt collection.

10 CFR Part 170

    Byproduct material, Import and export licenses, Intergovernmental 
relations, Non-payment penalties, Nuclear energy, Nuclear materials, 
Nuclear power plants and reactors, Source material, Special nuclear 
material.

10 CFR Part 171

    Annual charges, Approvals, Byproduct material, Holders of 
certificates, Intergovernmental relations, Nonpayment penalties, 
Nuclear materials, Nuclear power plants and reactors, Registrations, 
Source material, Special nuclear material.

    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; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553, the NRC is adopting 
the following amendments to 10 CFR parts 15, 170, and 171:

PART 15--DEBT COLLECTION PROCEDURES

0
1. The authority citation for part 15 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 161, 186 (42 U.S.C. 
2201, 2236); Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 
5841); 5 U.S.C. 5514; 26 U.S.C. 6402; 31 U.S.C. 3701, 3713, 3716, 
3719, 3720A; 42 U.S.C. 664; 44 U.S.C. 3504 note; 31 CFR parts 900 
through 904; 31 CFR part 285; E.O. 12146, 44 FR 42657, 3 CFR, 1979 
Comp., p. 409; E.O. 12988, 61 FR 4729, 3 CFR, 1996 Comp., p. 157.


0
2. Revise Sec.  15.31 to read as follows:


Sec.  15.31  Disputed debts.

    (a) Submitting a dispute of debt. For any type of charges assessed 
by the NRC, a debtor may submit a dispute of debt within 45 days from 
the date of the initial demand letter. The debtor shall explain why the 
debt is incorrect in fact or in law and may support the explanation by 
affidavit, cancelled checks, or other relevant evidence. The dispute 
must be submitted to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer via the 
eBilling system, by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#45032020072c29292c2b220c2b34302c372c20366b1720362a30372620052b37266b222a33"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c98facac8ba0a5a5a0a7ae80a7b8bca0bba0acbae79bacbaa6bcbbaaac89a7bbaae7aea6bf">[email protected]</span></a>, or 
by mail to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer at: U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attn: Chief Financial 
Officer. For debt disputes related to charges for 10 CFR part 170 fees, 
the debtor must complete and submit an NRC Form 529 with the required 
information.
    (b) Notification of receipt. Following receipt of the dispute, the 
NRC will acknowledge receipt to the contact person identified by the 
debtor.
    (c) Dispute review. The NRC will consider the facts involved in the 
dispute and, if it considers it necessary, arrange for a conference 
during which the debtor may present evidence and any arguments in 
support of the debtor's position. If the debtor's dispute potentially 
raises an error, the NRC may extend the interest waiver period as 
described in Sec.  15.37(j) pending a final determination of the 
existence or amount of the debt.
    (d) Dispute resolution. If the NRC finds that the dispute has not 
identified an error, the NRC will notify the dispute contact. If the 
NRC finds that the dispute has identified an error, the NRC will:
    (1) Notify the dispute contact;
    (2) Make corrections to the charges or information on the demand 
letter; and
    (3) Issue a revised demand letter.

0
3. In Sec.  15.37, revise paragraph (j) to read as follows:


Sec.  15.37  Interest, penalties, and administrative costs.

* * * * *
    (j) The NRC may waive interest during the period a debt disputed 
under


Sec.  15.31  is under consideration by the NRC. However, this 
additional waiver is not automatic and must be requested before the 
expiration of the initial 30-day waiver period. The NRC may grant the 
additional waiver only when it finds the debtor's dispute potentially 
raises an error.

* * * * *

0
4. In Sec.  15.53, revise paragraphs (c) and (e) to read as follows:


Sec.  15.53  Reasons for suspending collection action.

* * * * *

[[Page 32170]]

    (c) The debtor has requested a review of the debt or has disputed 
the debt.
* * * * *
    (e)(1) The NRC shall suspend collection activity during the time 
required for consideration of the debtor's request for review or 
dispute of the debt, if the statute under which the request is sought 
prohibits the NRC from collecting the debt during that time.
    (2) If the statute under which the request is sought does not 
prohibit collection activity pending consideration of the request, the 
NRC may use discretion, on a case-by-case basis, to suspend collection. 
Further, the NRC ordinarily should suspend collection action upon a 
request for review or dispute of the debt, if the NRC is prohibited by 
statute or regulation from issuing a refund of amounts collected prior 
to NRC consideration of the debtor's request. However, the NRC should 
not suspend collection when the NRC determines that the request for 
review or dispute of the debt is frivolous or was made primarily to 
delay collection.
* * * * *

PART 170--FEES FOR FACILITIES, MATERIALS, IMPORT AND EXPORT 
LICENSES, AND OTHER REGULATORY SERVICES UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT 
OF 1954, AS AMENDED

0
5. The authority citation for part 170 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 11, 161(w) (42 
U.S.C. 2014, 2201(w)); Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, sec. 201 
(42 U.S.C. 5841); 42 U.S.C. 2215; 31 U.S.C. 901, 902, 9701; 44 
U.S.C. 3504 note.


0
6. Revise Sec.  170.1 to read as follows:


Sec.  170.1  Purpose.

    The regulations in this part set out fees charged for licensing 
services, inspection services, and special projects rendered by the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission as authorized under title V of the 
Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1952 (31 U.S.C. 9701(a)).

0
7. In Sec.  170.3:
0
a. Remove the definition for ``Balance of plant'';
0
b. Add a definition for ``Non-power production or utilization 
facility'' in alphabetical order; and
0
c. Remove the definitions for ``Nuclear Steam Supply System'' and 
``Reference systems concept''.
    The addition reads as follows:


Sec.  170.3  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Non-power production or utilization facility means a production or 
utilization facility licensed under 10 CFR 50.21(a) or (c), or 10 CFR 
50.22, as applicable, that is not a nuclear power reactor or production 
facility as defined under paragraphs (1) and (2) of the definition of 
``production facility'' in 10 CFR 50.2.
* * * * *


Sec.  170.20  [Amended]

0
8. In Sec.  170.20, remove the dollar amount ``$279'' and add in its 
place the dollar amount ``$288''.

0
9. In Sec.  170.21, in the table:
0
a. Revise the table heading and the entry for ``K. Import and export 
licenses''; and
0
b. Remove footnote 6.
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  170.21  Schedule of fees for production and utilization 
facilities, review of standard referenced design approvals, special 
projects, inspections and import and export licenses.

* * * * *

           Table 1 to Sec.   170.21--Schedule of Facility Fees
                     [See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Facility categories and type of fees               Fees 1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * * * * * * *
K. Import and export licenses:
    Licenses for the import and export only of
     production or utilization facilities or the export
     only of components for production or utilization
     facilities issued under 10 CFR part 110............
        1. Application for import or export of
         production or utilization facilities \4\
         (including reactors and other facilities) and
         exports of components requiring Commission and
         Executive Branch review, for example, actions
         under 10 CFR 110.40(b).........................
            Application--new license, or amendment; or           $20,200
             license exemption request..................
        2. Application for export of reactor and other
         components requiring Executive Branch review,
         for example, those actions under 10 CFR
         110.41(a)......................................
            Application--new license, or amendment; or            10,100
             license exemption request..................
        3. Application for export of components
         requiring the assistance of the Executive
         Branch to obtain foreign government assurances.
            Application--new license, or amendment; or             7,200
             license exemption request..................
        4. Application for export of facility components
         and equipment not requiring Commission or
         Executive Branch review, or obtaining foreign
         government assurances..........................
            Application--new license, or amendment; or             4,900
             license exemption request..................
        5. Minor amendment of any active export or
         import license, for example, to extend the
         expiration date, change domestic information,
         or make other revisions which do not involve
         any substantive changes to license terms or
         conditions or to the type of facility or
         component authorized for export and, therefore,
         do not require in-depth analysis or review or
         consultation with the Executive Branch, U.S.
         host state, or foreign government authorities..
            Minor amendment to license..................           4,300
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fees will be charged for approvals issued under a specific exemption
  provision of the Commission's regulations under title 10 of the Code
  of Federal Regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 50.12, 10 CFR 73.5) and any other
  sections in effect now or in the future, regardless of whether the
  approval is in the form of a license amendment, letter of approval,
  safety evaluation report, or other form.
\2\ Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff
  time and appropriate contractual support services expended. For
  applications currently on file and for which fees are determined based
  on the full cost expended for the review, the professional staff hours
  expended for the review of the application up to the effective date of
  the final rule will be determined at the professional rates in effect
  when the service was provided.


[[Page 32171]]

* * * * *

0
10. In Sec.  170.31, revise the table to read as follows:


Sec.  170.31  Schedule of fees for materials licenses and other 
regulatory services, including inspections, and import and export 
licenses.

* * * * *

          Table 1 to Sec.   170.31--Schedule of Materials Fees
                     [See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Category of materials licenses and type of
                   fees \1\                             Fees 2 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material: \11\
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of
     U-235 or plutonium for fuel fabrication
     activities.
        (a) Strategic Special Nuclear          Full Cost.
         Material (High Enriched Uranium) \6\
         [Program Code(s): 21213].
        (b) Low Enriched Uranium in            Full Cost.
         Dispersible Form Used for
         Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel
         \6\ [Program Code(s): 21210].
    (2) All other special nuclear materials
     licenses not included in Category 1.A.
     (1) which are licensed for fuel cycle
     activities \6\.
        (a) Facilities with limited            Full Cost.
         operations \6\ [Program Code(s):
         21240, 21310, 21320].
        (b) Gas centrifuge enrichment          Full Cost.
         demonstration facilities.\6\
         [Program Code(s): 21205].
        (c) Others, including hot cell         Full Cost.
         facilities.\6\ [Program Code(s):
         21130, 21133].
    B. Licenses for receipt and storage of     Full Cost.
     spent fuel and reactor-related Greater
     than Class C (GTCC) waste at an
     independent spent fuel storage
     installation (ISFSI) \6\ [Program
     Code(s): 23200].
    C. Licenses for possession and use of
     special nuclear material of less than a
     critical mass as defined in Sec.   70.4
     of this chapter in sealed sources
     contained in devices used in industrial
     measuring systems, including x-ray
     fluorescence analyzers.\4\.
        Application [Program Code(s): 22140].  $1,300.
    D. All other special nuclear material
     licenses, except licenses authorizing
     special nuclear material in sealed or
     unsealed form in combination that would
     constitute a critical mass, as defined
     in Sec.   70.4 of this chapter, for
     which the licensee shall pay the same
     fees as those under Category 1.A.\4\.
        Application [Program Code(s): 22110,   $2,700.
         22111, 22120, 22131, 22136, 22150,
         22151, 22161, 22170, 23100, 23300,
         23310].
    E. Licenses or certificates for            Full Cost.
     construction and operation of a uranium
     enrichment facility \6\ [Program
     Code(s): 21200].
    F. Licenses for possession and use of      Full Cost.
     special nuclear material greater than
     critical mass as defined in Sec.   70.4
     of this chapter, for development and
     testing of commercial products, and
     other non-fuel-cycle activities.4 6
     [Program Code(s): 22155].
2. Source material: \11\
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of  Full Cost.
     source material for refining uranium
     mill concentrates to uranium
     hexafluoride or for deconverting uranium
     hexafluoride in the production of
     uranium oxides for disposal.\6\ [Program
     Code(s): 11400].
    (2) Licenses for possession and use of
     source material in recovery operations
     such as milling, in-situ recovery, heap-
     leaching, ore buying stations, ion-
     exchange facilities, and in processing
     of ores containing source material for
     extraction of metals other than uranium
     or thorium, including licenses
     authorizing the possession of byproduct
     waste material (tailings) from source
     material recovery operations, as well as
     licenses authorizing the possession and
     maintenance of a facility in a standby
     mode \6\.
        (a) Conventional and Heap Leach        Full Cost.
         facilities \6\ [Program Code(s):
         11100].
        (b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities  Full Cost.
         \6\ [Program Code(s): 11500].
        (c) Expanded In Situ Recovery          Full Cost.
         facilities \6\ [Program Code(s):
         11510].
        (d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities  Full Cost.
         \6\ [Program Code(s): 11550].
        (e) Resin Toll Milling facilities \6\  Full Cost.
         [Program Code(s): 11555].
        (f) Other facilities \6\ [Program      Full Cost.
         Code(s): 11700].
    (3) Licenses that authorize the receipt    Full Cost.
     of byproduct material, as defined in
     Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy
     Act, from other persons for possession
     and disposal, except those licenses
     subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2)
     or Category 2.A.(4) \6\ [Program
     Code(s): 11600, 12000].
    (4) Licenses that authorize the receipt    Full Cost.
     of byproduct material, as defined in
     Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy
     Act, from other persons for possession
     and disposal incidental to the disposal
     of the uranium waste tailings generated
     by the licensee's milling operations,
     except those licenses subject to the
     fees in Category 2.A.(2) \6\ [Program
     Code(s): 12010].
    B. Licenses which authorize the
     possession, use, and/or installation of
     source material for shielding.7 8.
        Application [Program Code(s): 11210].  $1,300.
    C. Licenses to distribute items
     containing source material to persons
     exempt from the licensing requirements
     of part 40 of this chapter.
        Application [Program Code(s): 11240].  $6,200.
    D. Licenses to distribute source material
     to persons generally licensed under part
     40 of this chapter..
        Application [Program Code(s): 11230,   $2,900.
         11231].
    E. Licenses for possession and use of
     source material for processing or
     manufacturing of products or materials
     containing source material for
     commercial distribution.
        Application [Program Code(s): 11710].  $2,700.
    F. All other source material licenses....
        Application [Program Code(s): 11200,   $2,700.
         11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810,
         11820].
3. Byproduct material: \11\
    A. Licenses of broad scope for the
     possession and use of byproduct material
     issued under parts 30 and 33 of this
     chapter for processing or manufacturing
     of items containing byproduct material
     for commercial distribution. Number of
     locations of use: 1-5.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03211,   $13,500.
         03212, 03213].

[[Page 32172]]

 
        (1). Licenses of broad scope for the
         possession and use of byproduct
         material issued under parts 30 and
         33 of this chapter for processing or
         manufacturing of items containing
         byproduct material for commercial
         distribution. Number of locations of
         use: 6-20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $17,900.
             04010, 04012, 04014].
        (2). Licenses of broad scope for the
         possession and use of byproduct
         material issued under parts 30 and
         33 of this chapter for processing or
         manufacturing of items containing
         byproduct material for commercial
         distribution. Number of locations of
         use: More than 20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $22,400.
             04011, 04013, 04015].
    B. Other licenses for possession and use
     of byproduct material issued under part
     30 of this chapter for processing or
     manufacturing of items containing
     byproduct material for commercial
     distribution. Number of locations of
     use: 1-5.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03214,   $3,700.
         03215, 22135, 22162].
        (1). Other licenses for possession
         and use of byproduct material issued
         under part 30 of this chapter for
         processing or manufacturing of items
         containing byproduct material for
         commercial distribution. Number of
         locations of use: 6-20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $5,000.
             04110, 04112, 04114, 04116].
        (2). Other licenses for possession
         and use of byproduct material issued
         under part 30 of this chapter for
         processing or manufacturing of items
         containing byproduct material for
         commercial distribution. Number of
         locations of use: More than 20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $6,200.
             04111, 04113, 04115, 04117].
    C. Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.
     32.72 and/or 32.74 of this chapter that
     authorize the processing or
     manufacturing and distribution or
     redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals,
     generators, reagent kits, and/or sources
     and devices containing byproduct
     material. This category does not apply
     to licenses issued to nonprofit
     educational institutions whose
     processing or manufacturing is exempt
     under Sec.   170.11(a)(4). Number of
     locations of use: 1-5.
        Application [Program Code(s): 02500,   $5,400.
         02511, 02513].
        (1). Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.
           32.72 and/or 32.74 of this chapter
         that authorize the processing or
         manufacturing and distribution or
         redistribution of
         radiopharmaceuticals, generators,
         reagent kits, and/or sources and
         devices containing byproduct
         material. This category does not
         apply to licenses issued to
         nonprofit educational institutions
         whose processing or manufacturing is
         exempt under Sec.   170.11(a)(4).
         Number of locations of use: 6-20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $7,200.
             04210, 04212, 04214].
        (2). Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.
           32.72 and/or 32.74 of this chapter
         that authorize the processing or
         manufacturing and distribution or
         redistribution of
         radiopharmaceuticals, generators,
         reagent kits, and/or sources and
         devices containing byproduct
         material. This category does not
         apply to licenses issued to
         nonprofit educational institutions
         whose processing or manufacturing is
         exempt under Sec.   170.11(a)(4).
         Number of locations of use: More
         than 20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $8,900.
             04211, 04213, 04215].
    D. [Reserved]............................  N/A.
    E. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material in sealed sources for
     irradiation of materials in which the
     source is not removed from its shield
     (self-shielded units).
        Application [Program Code(s): 03510,   $3,300.
         03520].
    F. Licenses for possession and use of
     less than or equal to 10,000 curies of
     byproduct material in sealed sources for
     irradiation of materials in which the
     source is exposed for irradiation
     purposes. This category also includes
     underwater irradiators for irradiation
     of materials where the source is not
     exposed for irradiation purposes.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03511].  $6,700.
    G. Licenses for possession and use of
     greater than 10,000 curies of byproduct
     material in sealed sources for
     irradiation of materials in which the
     source is exposed for irradiation
     purposes. This category also includes
     underwater irradiators for irradiation
     of materials where the source is not
     exposed for irradiation purposes.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03521].  $64,300.
    H. Licenses issued under subpart A of
     part 32 of this chapter to distribute
     items containing byproduct material that
     require device review to persons exempt
     from the licensing requirements of part
     30 of this chapter. The category does
     not include specific licenses
     authorizing redistribution of items that
     have been authorized for distribution to
     persons exempt from the licensing
     requirements of part 30 of this chapter.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03254,   $6,900.
         03255, 03257].
    I. Licenses issued under subpart A of
     part 32 of this chapter to distribute
     items containing byproduct material or
     quantities of byproduct material that do
     not require device evaluation to persons
     exempt from the licensing requirements
     of part 30 of this chapter. This
     category does not include specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of
     items that have been authorized for
     distribution to persons exempt from the
     licensing requirements of part 30 of
     this chapter..
        Application [Program Code(s): 03250,   $15,300.
         03251, 03253, 03256].
    J. Licenses issued under subpart B of
     part 32 of this chapter to distribute
     items containing byproduct material that
     require sealed source and/or device
     review to persons generally licensed
     under part 31 of this chapter. This
     category does not include specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of
     items that have been authorized for
     distribution to persons generally
     licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03240,   $2,100.
         03241, 03243].
    K. Licenses issued under subpart B of
     part 32 of this chapter to distribute
     items containing byproduct material or
     quantities of byproduct material that do
     not require sealed source and/or device
     review to persons generally licensed
     under part 31 of this chapter. This
     category does not include specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of
     items that have been authorized for
     distribution to persons generally
     licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03242,   $1,200.
         03244].
    L. Licenses of broad scope for possession
     and use of byproduct material issued
     under parts 30 and 33 of this chapter
     for research and development that do not
     authorize commercial distribution.
     Number of locations of use: 1-5.
        Application [Program Code(s): 01100,   $5,700.
         01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612,
         03613].

[[Page 32173]]

 
        (1) Licenses of broad scope for
         possession and use of byproduct
         material issued under parts 30 and
         33 of this chapter for research and
         development that do not authorize
         commercial distribution. Number of
         locations of use: 6-20..
            Application [Program Code(s):      $7,500.
             04610, 04612, 04614, 04616,
             04618, 04620, 04622].
        (2) Licenses of broad scope for
         possession and use of byproduct
         material issued under parts 30 and
         33 of this chapter for research and
         development that do not authorize
         commercial distribution. Number of
         locations of use: More than 20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $9,400.
             04611, 04613, 04615, 04617,
             04619, 04621, 04623].
    M. Other licenses for possession and use
     of byproduct material issued under part
     30 of this chapter for research and
     development that do not authorize
     commercial distribution.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03620].  $8,600.
    N. Licenses that authorize services for
     other licensees, except: (1) Licenses
     that authorize only calibration and/or
     leak testing services are subject to the
     fees specified in fee Category 3.P.; and
     (2) Licenses that authorize waste
     disposal services are subject to the
     fees specified in fee Categories 4.A.,
     4.B., and 4.C.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03219,   $9,200.
         03225, 03226].
    O. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material issued under part 34
     of this chapter for industrial
     radiography operations. Number of
     locations of use: 1-5.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03310,   $9,200.
         03320].
        (1). Licenses for possession and use
         of byproduct material issued under
         part 34 of this chapter for
         industrial radiography operations.
         Number of locations of use: 6-20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $12,200.
             04310, 04312].
        (2). Licenses for possession and use
         of byproduct material issued under
         part 34 of this chapter for
         industrial radiography operations.
         Number of locations of use: More
         than 20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $15,300.
             04311, 04313].
    P. All other specific byproduct material
     licenses, except those in Categories
     4.A. through 9.D.\9\ Number of locations
     of use: 1-5.
        Application [Program Code(s): 02400,   $6,600.
         02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123,
         03124, 03130, 03140, 03220, 03221,
         03222, 03800, 03810, 22130].
        (1). All other specific byproduct
         material licenses, except those in
         Categories 4.A. through 9.D.\9\
         Number of locations of use: 6-20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $8,800.
             04410, 04412, 04414, 04416,
             04418, 04420, 04422, 04424,
             04426, 04428, 04430, 04432,
             04434, 04436, 04438].
        (2). All other specific byproduct
         material licenses, except those in
         Categories 4.A. through 9.D.\9\
         Number of locations of use: More
         than 20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $10,900.
             04411, 04413, 04415, 04417,
             04419, 04421, 04423, 04425,
             04427, 04429, 04431, 04433,
             04435, 04437, 04439].
    Q. Registration of a device(s) generally   $800.
     licensed under part 31 of this chapter.
     Registration.
    R. Possession of items or products
     containing radium-226 identified in Sec.
       31.12 of this chapter which exceed the
     number of items or limits specified in
     that section \5\.
        1. Possession of quantities exceeding
         the number of items or limits in
         Sec.   31.12(a)(4) or (5) of this
         chapter but less than or equal to 10
         times the number of items or limits
         specified.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $2,600.
             02700].
        2. Possession of quantities exceeding
         10 times the number of items or
         limits specified in Sec.
         31.12(a)(4) or (5) of this chapter.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $2,600.
             02710].
    S. Licenses for production of accelerator-
     produced radionuclides.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03210].  $14,700.
4. Waste disposal and processing: \11\
    A. Licenses specifically authorizing the
     receipt of waste byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material from other persons for the
     purpose of contingency storage or
     commercial land disposal by the
     licensee; or licenses authorizing
     contingency storage of low-level
     radioactive waste at the site of nuclear
     power reactors; or licenses for receipt
     of waste from other persons for
     incineration or other treatment,
     packaging of resulting waste and
     residues, and transfer of packages to
     another person authorized to receive or
     dispose of waste material.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03231,   Full Cost.
         03233, 03236, 06100, 06101].
    B. Licenses specifically authorizing the
     receipt of waste byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material from other persons for the
     purpose of packaging or repackaging the
     material. The licensee will dispose of
     the material by transfer to another
     person authorized to receive or dispose
     of the material.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03234].  $7,200.
    C. Licenses specifically authorizing the
     receipt of prepackaged waste byproduct
     material, source material, or special
     nuclear material from other persons. The
     licensee will dispose of the material by
     transfer to another person authorized to
     receive or dispose of the material.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03232].  $5,200.
5. Well logging: \11\
    A. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material, source material, and/
     or special nuclear material for well
     logging, well surveys, and tracer
     studies other than field flooding tracer
     studies.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03110,   $4,800.
         03111, 03112].
    B. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material for field flooding
     tracer studies.
        Licensing [Program Code(s): 03113]...  Full Cost.
6. Nuclear laundries: \11\
    A. Licenses for commercial collection and
     laundry of items contaminated with
     byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03218].  $22,900.

[[Page 32174]]

 
7. Medical licenses: \11\
    A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35,
     40, and 70 of this chapter for human use
     of byproduct material, source material,
     or special nuclear material in sealed
     sources contained in gamma stereotactic
     radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices,
     or similar beam therapy devices. Number
     of locations of use: 1-5.
        Application [Program Code(s): 02300,   $11,500.
         02310].
        (1). Licenses issued under parts 30,
         35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for
         human use of byproduct material,
         source material, or special nuclear
         material in sealed sources contained
         in gamma stereotactic radiosurgery
         units, teletherapy devices, or
         similar beam therapy devices. Number
         of locations of use: 6-20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $15,300.
             04510, 04512].
        (2). Licenses issued under parts 30,
         35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for
         human use of byproduct material,
         source material, or special nuclear
         material in sealed sources contained
         in gamma stereotactic radiosurgery
         units, teletherapy devices, or
         similar beam therapy devices. Number
         of locations of use: More than 20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $19,100.
             04511, 04513].
    B. Licenses of broad scope issued to
     medical institutions or two or more
     physicians under parts 30, 33, 35, 40,
     and 70 of this chapter authorizing
     research and development, including
     human use of byproduct material, except
     licenses for byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material in
     sealed sources contained in teletherapy
     devices. This category also includes the
     possession and use of source material
     for shielding when authorized on the
     same license. Number of locations of
     use: 1-5.
        Application [Program Code(s): 02110].  $9,000.
        (1). Licenses of broad scope issued
         to medical institutions or two or
         more physicians under parts 30, 33,
         35, 40, and 70 of this chapter
         authorizing research and
         development, including human use of
         byproduct material, except licenses
         for byproduct material, source
         material, or special nuclear
         material in sealed sources contained
         in teletherapy devices. This
         category also includes the
         possession and use of source
         material for shielding when
         authorized on the same license.
         Number of locations of use: 6-20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $11,900.
             04710].
        (2). Licenses of broad scope issued
         to medical institutions or two or
         more physicians under parts 30, 33,
         35, 40, and 70 of this chapter
         authorizing research and
         development, including human use of
         byproduct material, except licenses
         for byproduct material, source
         material, or special nuclear
         material in sealed sources contained
         in teletherapy devices. This
         category also includes the
         possession and use of source
         material for shielding when
         authorized on the same license.
         Number of locations of use: More
         than 20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $14,900.
             04711].
    C. Other licenses issued under parts 30,
     35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human
     use of byproduct material, source
     material, and/or special nuclear
     material, except licenses for byproduct
     material, source material, or special
     nuclear material in sealed sources
     contained in teletherapy devices.\10\
     Number of locations of use: 1-5.
        Application [Program Code(s): 02120,   $10,900.
         02121, 02200, 02201, 02210, 02220,
         02230, 02231, 02240, 22160].
        (1). Other licenses issued under
         parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this
         chapter for human use of byproduct
         material, source material, and/or
         special nuclear material, except
         licenses for byproduct material,
         source material, or special nuclear
         material in sealed sources contained
         in teletherapy devices.\10\ Number
         of locations of use: 6-20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $9,000.
             04810, 04812, 04814, 04816,
             04818, 04820, 04822, 04824,
             04826, 04828].
        (2). Other licenses issued under
         parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this
         chapter for human use of byproduct
         material, source material, and/or
         special nuclear material, except
         licenses for byproduct material,
         source material, or special nuclear
         material in sealed sources contained
         in teletherapy devices.\10\ Number
         of locations of use: More than 20.
            Application [Program Code(s):      $11,300.
             04811,04813, 04815, 04817,
             04819, 04821,04823, 04825,
             04827, 04829].
8. Civil defense: \11\
    A. Licenses for possession and use of
     byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material for civil
     defense activities.
        Application [Program Code(s): 03710].  $2,600.
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety
 evaluation:
    A. Safety evaluation of devices or
     products containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material, except reactor fuel devices,
     for commercial distribution.
        Application--each device.............  $17,900.
    B. Safety evaluation of devices or
     products containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear
     material manufactured in accordance with
     the unique specifications of, and for
     use by, a single applicant, except
     reactor fuel devices.
        Application--each device.............  $9,300.
    C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
     containing byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material,
     except reactor fuel, for commercial
     distribution.
        Application--each source.............  $5,500.
    D. Safety evaluation of sealed sources
     containing byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material,
     manufactured in accordance with the
     unique specifications of, and for use
     by, a single applicant, except reactor
     fuel.
        Application--each source.............  $1,100.
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
    A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and
     shipping containers.
        1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and   Full Cost.
         plutonium air packages.
        2. Other Casks.......................  Full Cost.
    B. Quality assurance program approvals
     issued under part 71 of this chapter.
        1. Users and Fabricators. Application  $4,300.
            Inspections......................  Full Cost.
        2. Users. Application................  $4,300.
            Inspections......................  Full Cost.

[[Page 32175]]

 
    C. Evaluation of security plans, route     Full Cost.
     approvals, route surveys, and
     transportation security devices
     (including immobilization devices).
11. Review of standardized spent fuel          Full Cost.
 facilities.
12. Special projects: Including approvals,
 pre-application/licensing activities, and
 inspections.
    Application [Program Code: 25110]........  Full Cost.
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of  Full Cost.
 Compliance.
    B. Inspections related to storage of       Full Cost.
     spent fuel under Sec.   72.210 of this
     chapter.
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation: \11\
    A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear   Full Cost.
     material licenses and other approvals
     authorizing decommissioning,
     decontamination, reclamation, or site
     restoration activities under parts 30,
     40, 70, 72, and 76 of this chapter,
     including master materials licenses
     (MMLs). The transition to this fee
     category occurs when a licensee has
     permanently ceased principal activities.
     [Program Code(s): 03900, 11900, 21135,
     21215, 21325, 22200].
    B. Site-specific decommissioning           Full Cost.
     activities associated with unlicensed
     sites, including MMLs, regardless of
     whether or not the sites have been
     previously licensed.
15. Import and Export licenses:
    Licenses issued under part 110 of this
     chapter for the import and export only
     of special nuclear material, source
     material, tritium and other byproduct
     material, and the export only of heavy
     water, or nuclear grade graphite (fee
     categories 15.A. through 15.E.).
    A. Application for export or import of
     nuclear materials, including radioactive
     waste requiring Commission and Executive
     Branch review, for example, those
     actions under Sec.   110.40(b) of this
     chapter.
        Application--new license, or           $20,200.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
    B. Application for export or import of
     nuclear material, including radioactive
     waste, requiring Executive Branch
     review, but not Commission review. This
     category includes applications for the
     export and import of radioactive waste
     and requires the NRC to consult with
     domestic host state authorities (i.e.,
     Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact
     Commission, the U.S. Environmental
     Protection Agency, etc.).
        Application--new license, or           $10,100.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
    C. Application for export of nuclear
     material, for example, routine reloads
     of low enriched uranium reactor fuel and/
     or natural uranium source material
     requiring the assistance of the
     Executive Branch to obtain foreign
     government assurances.
        Application--new license, or           $7,200.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
    D. Application for export or import of
     nuclear material not requiring
     Commission or Executive Branch review,
     or obtaining foreign government
     assurances.
        Application--new license, or           $4,900.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
    E. Minor amendment of any active export    $4,900.
     or import license, for example, to
     extend the expiration date, change
     domestic information, or make other
     revisions which do not involve any
     substantive changes to license terms and
     conditions or to the type/quantity/
     chemical composition of the material
     authorized for export and, therefore, do
     not require in-depth analysis, review,
     or consultations with other Executive
     Branch, U.S. host state, or foreign
     government authorities. Minor amendment.
    Licenses issued under part 110 of this
     chapter for the import and export only
     of Category 1 and Category 2 quantities
     of radioactive material listed in
     appendix P to part 110 of this chapter
     (fee categories 15.F. through 15.R.).
Category 1 (Appendix P, 10 CFR Part 110)
 Exports:
    F. Application for export of appendix P
     Category 1 materials requiring
     Commission review (e.g. exceptional
     circumstance review under Sec.
     110.42(e)(4) of this chapter) and to
     obtain one government-to-government
     consent for this process. For additional
     consent see fee category 15.I.
        Application--new license, or           $17,300.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
    G. Application for export of appendix P
     Category 1 materials requiring Executive
     Branch review and to obtain one
     government-to-government consent for
     this process. For additional consents
     see fee category 15.I.
        Application--new license, or           $8,600.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
    H. Application for export of appendix P
     Category 1 materials and to obtain one
     government-to-government consent for
     this process. For additional consents
     see fee category 15.I.
        Application--new license, or           $4,900.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
    I. Requests for each additional
     government-to-government consent in
     support of an export license application
     or active export license.
        Application--new license, or           $1,400.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
Category 2 (Appendix P, 10 CFR Part 110)
 Exports:
    J. Application for export of appendix P
     Category 2 materials requiring
     Commission review (e.g. exceptional
     circumstance review under Sec.
     110.42(e)(4) of this chapter).
        Application--new license, or           $17,300.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
    K. Applications for export of appendix P
     Category 2 materials requiring Executive
     Branch review.
        Application--new license, or           $8,600.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
    L. Application for the export of Category
     2 materials.
        Application--new license, or           $4,300.
         amendment; or license exemption
         request.
    M. [Reserved]............................  N/A.
    N. [Reserved]............................  N/A.
    O. [Reserved]............................  N/A.
    P. [Reserved]............................  N/A.
    Q. [Reserved]............................  N/A.
Minor Amendments (Category 1 and 2, Appendix
 P, 10 CFR Part 110, Export):
    R. Minor amendment of any active export    $1,400.
     license, for example, to extend the
     expiration date, change domestic
     information, or make other revisions
     which do not involve any substantive
     changes to license terms and conditions
     or to the type/quantity/chemical
     composition of the material authorized
     for export and, therefore, do not
     require in-depth analysis, review, or
     consultations with other Executive
     Branch, U.S. host state, or foreign
     authorities. Minor amendment.

[[Page 32176]]

 
16. Reciprocity:
    Agreement State licensees who conduct
     activities under the reciprocity
     provisions of Sec.   150.20 of this
     chapter.
        Application..........................  $2,700.
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope
 issued to Government agencies.
    Application [Program Code(s): 03614].....  Full Cost.
18. Department of Energy:
    A. Certificates of Compliance. Evaluation  Full Cost.
     of casks, packages, and shipping
     containers (including spent fuel, high-
     level waste, and other casks, and
     plutonium air packages).
    B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation         Full Cost.
     Control Act (UMTRCA) activities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Types of fees--Separate charges, as shown in the schedule, will be
  assessed for pre-application consultations and reviews; applications
  for new licenses, approvals, or license terminations; possession-only
  licenses; issuances of new licenses and approvals; certain amendments
  and renewals to existing licenses and approvals; safety evaluations of
  sealed sources and devices; generally licensed device registrations;
  and certain inspections. The following guidelines apply to these
  charges:
(1) Application and registration fees. Applications for new materials
  licenses and export and import licenses; applications to reinstate
  expired, terminated, or inactive licenses, except those subject to
  fees assessed at full costs; applications filed by Agreement State
  licensees to register under the general license provisions of 10 CFR
  150.20; and applications for amendments to materials licenses that
  would place the license in a higher fee category or add a new fee
  category must be accompanied by the prescribed application fee for
  each category.
(i) Applications for licenses covering more than one fee category of
  special nuclear material or source material must be accompanied by the
  prescribed application fee for the highest fee category.
(ii) Applications for new licenses that cover both byproduct material
  and special nuclear material in sealed sources for use in gauging
  devices will pay the appropriate application fee for fee category 1.C.
  only.
(2) Licensing fees. Fees for reviews of applications for new licenses,
  renewals, and amendments to existing licenses, pre-application
  consultations and other documents submitted to the NRC for review, and
  project manager time for fee categories subject to full cost fees are
  due upon notification by the Commission in accordance with Sec.
  170.12(b).
(3) Amendment fees. Applications for amendments to export and import
  licenses must be accompanied by the prescribed amendment fee for each
  license affected. An application for an amendment to an export or
  import license or approval classified in more than one fee category
  must be accompanied by the prescribed amendment fee for the category
  affected by the amendment, unless the amendment is applicable to two
  or more fee categories, in which case the amendment fee for the
  highest fee category would apply.
(4) Inspection fees. Inspections resulting from investigations conducted
  by the Office of Investigations and nonroutine inspections that result
  from third-party allegations are not subject to fees. Inspection fees
  are due upon notification by the Commission in accordance with Sec.
  170.12(c).
(5) Generally licensed device registrations under 10 CFR 31.5.
  Submittals of registration information must be accompanied by the
  prescribed fee.
\2\ Fees will be charged for approvals issued under a specific exemption
  provision of the Commission's regulations under title 10 of the Code
  of Federal Regulations (e.g., 10 CFR 30.11, 40.14, 70.14, 73.5, and
  any other sections in effect now or in the future), regardless of
  whether the approval is in the form of a license amendment, letter of
  approval, safety evaluation report, or other form. In addition to the
  fee shown, an applicant may be assessed an additional fee for sealed
  source and device evaluations as shown in fee categories 9.A. through
  9.D.
\3\ Full cost fees will be determined based on the professional staff
  time multiplied by the appropriate professional hourly rate
  established in Sec.   170.20 in effect when the service is provided,
  and the appropriate contractual support services expended.
\4\ Licensees paying fees under categories 1.A., 1.B., and 1.E. are not
  subject to fees under categories 1.C., 1.D. and 1.F. for sealed
  sources authorized in the same license, except for an application that
  deals only with the sealed sources authorized by the license.
\5\ Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational
  purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in
  this category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources
  are possessed for storage only.)
\6\ Licensees subject to fees under fee categories 1.A., 1.B., 1.E., or
  2.A. must pay the largest applicable fee and are not subject to
  additional fees listed in this table.
\7\ Licensees paying fees under 3.C., 3.C.1, or 3.C.2 are not subject to
  fees under 2.B. for possession and shielding authorized on the same
  license.
\8\ Licensees paying fees under 7.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
  for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\9\Licensees paying fees under 3.N. are not subject to paying fees under
  3.P., 3.P.1, or 3.P.2 for calibration or leak testing services
  authorized on the same license.
\10\ Licensees paying fees under 7.B., 7.B.1, or 7.B.2 are not subject
  to paying fees under 7.C., 7.C.1, or 7.C.2. for broad scope licenses
  issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of
  byproduct material, source material, and/or special nuclear material,
  except licenses for byproduct material, source material, or special
  nuclear material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices
  authorized on the same license.
\11\ A materials license (or part of a materials license) that
  transitions to fee category 14.A is assessed full-cost fees under 10
  CFR part 170, but is not assessed an annual fee under 10 CFR part 171.
  If only part of a materials license is transitioned to fee category
  14.A, the licensee may be charged annual fees (and any applicable 10
  CFR part 170 fees) for other activities authorized under the license
  that are not in decommissioning status.


0
11. Revise Sec.  170.51 to read as follows:


Sec.  170.51  Right to dispute assessed fees.

    All debtors' disputes of fees assessed must be submitted in 
accordance with 10 CFR 15.31.

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

0
12. The authority citation for part 171 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority:  Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 11, 161(w), 223, 
234 (42 U.S.C. 2014, 2201(w), 2273, 2282); Energy Reorganization Act 
of 1974, sec. 201 (42 U.S.C. 5841); 42 U.S.C. 2215; 44 U.S.C. 3504 
note.


0
13. Revise Sec.  171.3 to read as follows:


Sec.  171.3  Scope.

    The regulations in this part apply to any person holding an 
operating license for a non-power production or utilization facility 
issued under 10 CFR part 50 that has provided notification to the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that the licensee has successfully 
completed startup testing, and to any

[[Page 32177]]

person holding an operating license for a power reactor or small 
modular reactor licensed under 10 CFR part 50 or a combined license 
issued under 10 CFR part 52 that has provided notification to the NRC 
that the licensee has successfully completed power ascension testing. 
The regulations in this part also apply to any person holding a 
materials license as defined in this part, a certificate of compliance, 
a sealed source or device registration, a quality assurance program 
approval, and to a Government agency as defined in this part. 
Notwithstanding the other provisions in this section, the regulations 
in this part do not apply to uranium recovery and fuel facility 
licensees until after the Commission verifies through inspection that 
the facility has been constructed in accordance with the requirements 
of the license.

0
14. In Sec.  171.5, revise the definition of ``Budget authority'' and 
add a definition for ``Non-power production or utilization facility'' 
in alphabetical order to read as follows:


Sec.  171.5  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Budget authority means the authority, in the form of an 
appropriation, provided by law and becoming available during the year, 
to enter into obligations that will result in immediate or future 
outlays involving Federal Government funds. The appropriation is an 
authorization by an Act of Congress that permits the NRC to incur 
obligations and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified 
purposes. Fees assessed pursuant to Public Law 115-439 are based on the 
NRC's budget authority.
* * * * *
    Non-power production or utilization facility means a production or 
utilization facility licensed under 10 CFR 50.21(a) or (c), or 10 CFR 
50.22, as applicable, that is not a nuclear power reactor or production 
facility as defined under paragraphs (1) and (2) of the definition of 
``production facility'' in 10 CFR 50.2.
* * * * *

0
15. In Sec.  171.11, revise paragraph (c) to read as follows:


Sec.  171.11  Exemptions.

* * * * *
    (c) The Commission may, upon application by an interested person or 
on its own initiative, grant an exemption from the requirements of this 
part that it determines is authorized by law and otherwise in the 
public interest.
* * * * *

0
16. In Sec.  171.15:
0
a. Revise the section heading and paragraphs (a), (b)(1), (b)(2) 
introductory text, (c)(1), and (c)(2) introductory text;
0
b. Remove paragraph (d);
0
c. Redesignate paragraphs (e) and (f) as paragraphs (d) and (e); and
0
d. Revise newly redesignated paragraphs (d) and (e).
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  171.15  Annual fees: Non-power production or utilization 
licenses, reactor licenses, and independent spent fuel storage 
licenses.

    (a) Each person holding an operating license for one or more non-
power production or utilization facilities under 10 CFR part 50 that 
has provided notification to the NRC of the successful completion of 
startup testing; each person holding an operating license for a power 
reactor licensed under 10 CFR part 50 or a combined license under 10 
CFR part 52 that has provided notification to the NRC of the successful 
completion of power ascension testing; each person holding a 10 CFR 
part 50 or 52 power reactor license that is in decommissioning or 
possession only status, except those that have no spent fuel onsite; 
and each person holding a 10 CFR part 72 license who does not hold a 10 
CFR part 50 or 52 license and provides notification in accordance with 
10 CFR 72.80(g), shall pay the annual fee for each license held during 
the Federal fiscal year in which the fee is due. This paragraph (a) 
does not apply to test or research reactors exempted under Sec.  
171.11(b).
    (b)(1) The FY 2021 annual fee for each operating power reactor that 
must be collected by September 30, 2021, is $4,749,000.
    (2) The FY 2021 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee for 
power reactors licensed to operate, a base spent fuel storage/reactor 
decommissioning annual fee, and associated additional charges. The 
activities comprising the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning 
base annual fee are shown in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of this 
section. The activities comprising the FY 2021 base annual fee for 
operating power reactors are as follows:
* * * * *
    (c)(1) The FY 2021 annual fee for each power reactor holding a 10 
CFR part 50 license or combined license issued under 10 CFR part 52 
that is in a decommissioning or possession-only status and has spent 
fuel onsite, and for each independent spent fuel storage 10 CFR part 72 
licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license or a 10 CFR part 52 
combined license, is $237,000.
    (2) The FY 2021 annual fee is comprised of a base spent fuel 
storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee (which is also included in 
the operating power reactor annual fee shown in paragraph (b) of this 
section). The activities comprising the FY 2021 spent fuel storage/
reactor decommissioning rebaselined annual fee are:
* * * * *
    (d)(1) Each person holding an operating license for an SMR issued 
under 10 CFR part 50 or a combined license issued under 10 CFR part 52 
that has provided notification to the NRC of the successful completion 
startup testing, shall pay the annual fee for all licenses held for an 
SMR site. The annual fee will be determined using the cumulative 
licensed thermal power rating of all SMR units and the bundled unit 
concept, during the fiscal year in which the fee is due. For a given 
site, the use of the bundled unit concept is independent of the number 
of SMR plants, the number of SMR licenses issued, or the sequencing of 
the SMR licenses that have been issued.
    (2) The annual fees for a small modular reactor(s) located on a 
single site to be collected by September 30 of each year, are as 
follows:

                                           Table 1 to Paragraph (d)(2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Bundled unit thermal power rating         Minimum fee              Variable fee               Maximum fee
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Bundled Unit:
    0 MWt <=250 MWt...............  TBD.....................  N/A.....................  N/A.
    >250 MWt <=2,000 MWt..........  TBD.....................  TBD.....................  N/A.
    >2,000 MWt <=4,500 MWt........  N/A.....................  N/A.....................  TBD.
Additional Bundled Units:
    0 MWt <=2,000 MWt.............  N/A.....................  TBD.....................  N/A.
    >2,000 MWt <=4,500 MWt........  N/A.....................  N/A.....................  TBD.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 32178]]

    (3) The annual fee for an SMR collected under this paragraph (d) is 
in lieu of any fee otherwise required under paragraph (b) of this 
section. The annual fee under this paragraph (d) covers the same 
activities listed for the power reactor base annual fee and the spent 
fuel storage/reactor decommissioning reactor fee.
    (e) The FY 2021 annual fee for licensees authorized to operate one 
or more non-power production or utilization facilities under a single 
10 CFR part 50 license, unless the reactor is exempted from fees under 
Sec.  171.11(b), is $80,000.

0
17. In Sec.  171.16:
0
a. Revise paragraphs (c) and (d); and
0
b. Remove paragraph (e).
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  171.16  Annual fees: Materials licensees, holders of certificates 
of compliance, holders of sealed source and device registrations, 
holders of quality assurance program approvals, and government agencies 
licensed by the NRC.

* * * * *
    (c) A licensee who is required to pay an annual fee under this 
section, in addition to 10 CFR part 72 licenses, may qualify as a small 
entity. If a licensee qualifies as a small entity and provides the 
Commission with the proper certification along with its annual fee 
payment, the licensee may pay reduced annual fees as shown in Table 1 
to this paragraph (c). Failure to file a small entity certification in 
a timely manner could result in the receipt of a delinquent invoice 
requesting the outstanding balance due and/or denial of any refund that 
might otherwise be due. The small entity fees are as follows:

                        Table 1 to Paragraph (c)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Maximum annual
                                                              fee per
             NRC small entity classification                 licensed
                                                             category
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing (Average
 gross receipts over last 3 completed fiscal years):
    $485,000 to $7 million..............................          $4,900
    Less than $485,000..................................           1,000
Small Not-For-Profit Organizations (Annual Gross
 Receipts):
    $485,000 to $7 million..............................           4,900
    Less than $485,000..................................           1,000
Manufacturing Entities that Have An Average of 500
 Employees or Fewer:
    35 to 500 employees.................................           4,900
    Fewer than 35 employees.............................           1,000
Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly
 supported educational institutions) (Population):
    20,000 to 49,999....................................           4,900
    Fewer than 20,000...................................           1,000
Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly
 Supported, and have 500 Employees or Fewer:
    35 to 500 employees.................................           4,900
    Fewer than 35 employees.............................           1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (d) The FY 2021 annual fees for materials licensees and holders of 
certificates, registrations, or approvals subject to fees under this 
section are shown table 2 to this paragraph (d):

Table 2 to Paragraph (d)--Schedule of Materials Annual Fees and Fees for
                   Government Agencies Licensed by NRC
                     [See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Annual fees 1
             Category of materials licenses                     2 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Special nuclear material:
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of U-235 or
     plutonium for fuel fabrication activities.
        (a) Strategic Special Nuclear Material (High          $4,643,000
         Enriched Uranium) \15\ [Program Code(s): 21213]
        (b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form          $1,573,000
         Used for Fabrication of Power Reactor Fuel \15\
         [Program Code(s): 21210].......................
    (2) All other special nuclear materials licenses not
     included in Category 1.A.(1) which are licensed for
     fuel cycle activities..............................
        (a) Facilities with limited operations \15\           $1,037,000
         [Program Code(s): 21310, 21320]................
        (b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration                  N/A
         facility \15\ [Program Code(s): 21205].........
        (c) Others, including hot cell facility \15\                 N/A
         [Program Code(s): 21130, 21133]................
    B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel                N/A
     and reactor-related Greater than Class C (GTCC)
     waste at an independent spent fuel storage
     installation (ISFSI) 11 15 [Program Code(s): 23200]
    C. Licenses for possession and use of special                 $2,400
     nuclear material of less than a critical mass, as
     defined in Sec.   70.4 of this chapter, in sealed
     sources contained in devices used in industrial
     measuring systems, including x-ray fluorescence
     analyzers. [Program Code(s): 22140]................
    D. All other special nuclear material licenses,               $5,700
     except licenses authorizing special nuclear
     material in sealed or unsealed form in combination
     that would constitute a critical mass, as defined
     in Sec.   70.4 of this chapter, for which the
     licensee shall pay the same fees as those under
     Category 1.A. [Program Code(s): 22110, 22111,
     22120, 22131, 22136, 22150, 22151, 22161, 22170,
     23100, 23300, 23310]...............................
    E. Licenses or certificates for the operation of a        $2,023,000
     uranium enrichment facility \15\ [Program Code(s):
     21200].............................................
    F. Licenses for possession and use of special                 $4,300
     nuclear materials greater than critical mass, as
     defined in Sec.   70.4 of this chapter, for
     development and testing of commercial products, and
     other non-fuel cycle activities.\4\ [Program Code:
     22155].............................................
2. Source material:

[[Page 32179]]

 
    A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of source            $467,000
     material for refining uranium mill concentrates to
     uranium hexafluoride or for deconverting uranium
     hexafluoride in the production of uranium oxides
     for disposal.\15\ [Program Code: 11400]............
    (2) Licenses for possession and use of source
     material in recovery operations such as milling, in-
     situ recovery, heap-leaching, ore buying stations,
     ion-exchange facilities and in-processing of ores
     containing source material for extraction of metals
     other than uranium or thorium, including licenses
     authorizing the possession of byproduct waste
     material (tailings) from source material recovery
     operations, as well as licenses authorizing the
     possession and maintenance of a facility in a
     standby mode.......................................
        (a) Conventional and Heap Leach facilities.\15\              N/A
         [Program Code(s): 11100].......................
        (b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities.\15\               $47,200
         [Program Code(s): 11500].......................
        (c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities \15\                N/A
         [Program Code(s): 11510].......................
        (d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities.\15\               \5\ N/A
         [Program Code(s): 11550].......................
        (e) Resin Toll Milling facilities.\15\ [Program          \5\ N/A
         Code(s): 11555]................................
        (f) Other facilities \6\ [Program Code(s):               \5\ N/A
         11700].........................................
    (3) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct         \5\ N/A
     material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the
     Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for
     possession and disposal, except those licenses
     subject to the fees in Category 2.A.(2) or Category
     2.A.(4).\15\ [Program Code(s): 11600, 12000].......
    (4) Licenses that authorize the receipt of byproduct             N/A
     material, as defined in Section 11e.(2) of the
     Atomic Energy Act, from other persons for
     possession and disposal incidental to the disposal
     of the uranium waste tailings generated by the
     licensee's milling operations, except those
     licenses subject to the fees in Category
     2.A.(2).\15\ [Program Code(s): 12010]..............
    B. Licenses which authorize the possession, use, and/         $2,700
     or installation of source material for shielding.16
     17 Application [Program Code(s): 11210]............
    C. Licenses to distribute items containing source             $8,900
     material to persons exempt from the licensing
     requirements of part 40 of this chapter. [Program
     Code: 11240].......................................
    D. Licenses to distribute source material to persons          $5,100
     generally licensed under part 40 of this chapter.
     [Program Code(s): 11230 and 11231].................
    E. Licenses for possession and use of source                  $6,300
     material for processing or manufacturing of
     products or materials containing source material
     for commercial distribution. [Program Code: 11710].
    F. All other source material licenses. [Program               $8,500
     Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810,
     11820].............................................
3. Byproduct material:
    A. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of         $27,400
     byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of
     this chapter for processing or manufacturing of
     items containing byproduct material for commercial
     distribution. Number of locations of use: 1-5.
     [Program Code(s): 03211, 03212, 03213].............
        (1). Licenses of broad scope for the possession          $36,400
         and use of byproduct material issued under
         parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for processing
         or manufacturing of items containing byproduct
         material for commercial distribution. Number of
         locations of use: 6-20. [Program Code(s):
         04010, 04012, 04014]...........................
        (2). Licenses of broad scope for the possession          $45,500
         and use of byproduct material issued under
         parts 30 and 33 of this chapter for processing
         or manufacturing of items containing byproduct
         material for commercial distribution. Number of
         locations of use: More than 20. [Program
         Code(s): 04011, 04013, 04015]..................
    B. Other licenses for possession and use of                   $9,600
     byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
     chapter for processing or manufacturing of items
     containing byproduct material for commercial
     distribution. Number of locations of use: 1-5.
     [Program Code(s): 03214, 03215, 22135, 22162]......
        (1). Other licenses for possession and use of            $12,700
         byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
         chapter for processing or manufacturing of
         items containing byproduct material for
         commercial distribution. Number of locations of
         use: 6-20. [Program Code(s): 04110, 04112,
         04114, 04116]..................................
        (2). Other licenses for possession and use of            $15,800
         byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
         chapter for processing or manufacturing of
         items containing byproduct material for
         commercial distribution. Number of locations of
         use: More than 20. [Program Code(s): 04111,
         04113, 04115, 04117]...........................
    C. Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.   32.72 and/or            $9,000
     32.74 of this chapter that authorize the processing
     or manufacturing and distribution or redistribution
     of radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits,
     and/or sources and devices containing byproduct
     material. This category does not apply to licenses
     issued to nonprofit educational institutions whose
     processing or manufacturing is exempt under Sec.
     170.11(a)(4) of this chapter. Number of locations
     of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513]
        (1). Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.   32.72            $12,000
         and/or 32.74 of this chapter that authorize the
         processing or manufacturing and distribution or
         redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals,
         generators, reagent kits, and/or sources and
         devices containing byproduct material. This
         category does not apply to licenses issued to
         nonprofit educational institutions whose
         processing or manufacturing is exempt under
         Sec.   170.11(a)(4). Number of locations of
         use: 6-20. [Program Code(s): 04210, 04212,
         04214].........................................
        (2). Licenses issued under Sec.  Sec.   32.72            $16,200
         and/or 32.74 of this chapter that authorize the
         processing or manufacturing and distribution or
         redistribution of radiopharmaceuticals,
         generators, reagent kits, and/or sources and
         devices containing byproduct material. This
         category does not apply to licenses issued to
         nonprofit educational institutions whose
         processing or manufacturing is exempt under
         Sec.   170.11(a)(4). Number of locations of
         use: more than 20. [Program Code(s): 04211,
         04213, 04215]..................................
    D. [Reserved].......................................         \5\ N/A
    E. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct               $9,900
     material in sealed sources for irradiation of
     materials in which the source is not removed from
     its shield (self-shielded units) [Program Code(s):
     03510, 03520]......................................

[[Page 32180]]

 
    F. Licenses for possession and use of less than or            $8,900
     equal to 10,000 curies of byproduct material in
     sealed sources for irradiation of materials in
     which the source is exposed for irradiation
     purposes. This category also includes underwater
     irradiators for irradiation of materials in which
     the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes
     [Program Code(s): 03511]...........................
    G. Licenses for possession and use of greater than           $72,100
     10,000 curies of byproduct material in sealed
     sources for irradiation of materials in which the
     source is exposed for irradiation purposes. This
     category also includes underwater irradiators for
     irradiation of materials in which the source is not
     exposed for irradiation purposes [Program Code(s):
     03521].............................................
    H. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of              $8,700
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material that require device review to
     persons exempt from the licensing requirements of
     part 30 of this chapter, except specific licenses
     authorizing redistribution of items that have been
     authorized for distribution to persons exempt from
     the licensing requirements of part 30 of this
     chapter [Program Code(s): 03254, 03255, 03257].....
    I. Licenses issued under subpart A of part 32 of             $17,400
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material or quantities of byproduct
     material that do not require device evaluation to
     persons exempt from the licensing requirements of
     part 30 of this chapter, except for specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of items that
     have been authorized for distribution to persons
     exempt from the licensing requirements of part 30
     of this chapter [Program Code(s): 03250, 03251,
     03253, 03256]......................................
    J. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of              $3,600
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material that require sealed source and/
     or device review to persons generally licensed
     under part 31 of this chapter, except specific
     licenses authorizing redistribution of items that
     have been authorized for distribution to persons
     generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter
     [Program Code(s): 03240, 03241, 03243].............
    K. Licenses issued under subpart B of part 32 of              $2,700
     this chapter to distribute items containing
     byproduct material or quantities of byproduct
     material that do not require sealed source and/or
     device review to persons generally licensed under
     part 31 of this chapter, except specific licenses
     authorizing redistribution of items that have been
     authorized for distribution to persons generally
     licensed under part 31 of this chapter [Program
     Code(s): 03242, 03244].............................
    L. Licenses of broad scope for possession and use of         $12,500
     byproduct material issued under parts 30 and 33 of
     this chapter for research and development that do
     not authorize commercial distribution. Number of
     locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s): 01100,
     01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612, 03613]..........
        (1) Licenses of broad scope for possession and           $16,600
         use of product material issued under parts 30
         and 33 of this chapter for research and
         development that do not authorize commercial
         distribution. Number of locations of use: 6-20.
         [Program Code(s): 04610, 04612, 04614, 04616,
         04618, 04620, 04622]...........................
        (2) Licenses of broad scope for possession and           $20,700
         use of byproduct material issued under parts 30
         and 33 of this chapter for research and
         development that do not authorize commercial
         distribution. Number of locations of use: More
         than 20. [Program Code(s): 04611, 04613, 04615,
         04617, 04619, 04621, 04623]....................
    M. Other licenses for possession and use of                  $13,400
     byproduct material issued under part 30 of this
     chapter for research and development that do not
     authorize commercial distribution [Program Code(s):
     03620].............................................
    N. Licenses that authorize services for other                $15,200
     licensees, except: (1) Licenses that authorize only
     calibration and/or leak testing services are
     subject to the fees specified in fee Category 3.P.;
     and (2) Licenses that authorize waste disposal
     services are subject to the fees specified in fee
     categories 4.A., 4.B., and 4.C.\21\ [Program
     Code(s): 03219, 03225, 03226]......................
    O. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct              $29,100
     material issued under part 34 of this chapter for
     industrial radiography operations. This category
     also includes the possession and use of source
     material for shielding authorized under part 40 of
     this chapter when authorized on the same license
     Number of locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s):
     03310, 03320]......................................
        (1). Licenses for possession and use of                  $38,700
         byproduct material issued under part 34 of this
         chapter for industrial radiography operations.
         This category also includes the possession and
         use of source material for shielding authorized
         under part 40 of this chapter when authorized
         on the same license. Number of locations of
         use: 6-20. [Program Code(s): 04310, 04312].....
        (2). Licenses for possession and use of                  $48,600
         byproduct material issued under part 34 of this
         chapter for industrial radiography operations.
         This category also includes the possession and
         use of source material for shielding authorized
         under part 40 of this chapter when authorized
         on the same license. Number of locations of
         use: More than 20. [Program Code(s): 04311,
         04313].........................................
    P. All other specific byproduct material licenses,            $9,900
     except those in Categories 4.A. through 9.D.\18\
     Number of locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s):
     02400, 02410, 03120, 03121, 03122, 03123, 03124,
     03140, 03130, 03220, 03221, 03222, 03800, 03810,
     22130].............................................
        (1). All other specific byproduct material               $13,100
         licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
         through 9.D.\18\ Number of locations of use: 6-
         20. [Program Code(s): 04410, 04412, 04414,
         04416, 04418, 04420, 04422, 04424, 04426,
         04428, 04430, 04432, 04434, 04436, 04438]......
        (2). All other specific byproduct material               $16,300
         licenses, except those in Categories 4.A.
         through 9.D.\18\ Number of locations of use:
         More than 20. [Program Code(s): 04411, 04413,
         04415, 04417, 04419, 04421, 04423, 04425,
         04427, 04429, 04431, 04433, 04435, 04437,
         04439].........................................
    Q. Registration of devices generally licensed under         \13\ N/A
     part 31 of this chapter............................
    R. Possession of items or products containing radium-
     226 identified in Sec.   31.12 of this chapter
     which exceed the number of items or limits
     specified in that section: \14\
        (1). Possession of quantities exceeding the               $6,000
         number of items or limits in Sec.
         31.12(a)(4), or (5) of this chapter but less
         than or equal to 10 times the number of items
         or limits specified [Program Code(s): 02700]...
        (2). Possession of quantities exceeding 10 times          $6,400
         the number of items or limits specified in Sec.
           31.12(a)(4) or (5) of this chapter [Program
         Code(s): 02710]................................
    S. Licenses for production of accelerator-produced           $23,800
     radionuclides [Program Code(s): 03210].............
4. Waste disposal and processing:

[[Page 32181]]

 
    A. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of          $22,500
     waste byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material from other persons for the
     purpose of contingency storage or commercial land
     disposal by the licensee; or licenses authorizing
     contingency storage of low-level radioactive waste
     at the site of nuclear power reactors; or licenses
     for receipt of waste from other persons for
     incineration or other treatment, packaging of
     resulting waste and residues, and transfer of
     packages to another person authorized to receive or
     dispose of waste material. [Program Code(s): 03231,
     03233, 03236, 06100, 06101]........................
    B. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of          $15,800
     waste byproduct material, source material, or
     special nuclear material from other persons for the
     purpose of packaging or repackaging the material.
     The licensee will dispose of the material by
     transfer to another person authorized to receive or
     dispose of the material. [Program Code(s): 03234]..
    C. Licenses specifically authorizing the receipt of           $8,700
     prepackaged waste byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material from other
     persons. The licensee will dispose of the material
     by transfer to another person authorized to receive
     or dispose of the material. [Program Code(s):
     03232].............................................
5. Well logging:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct              $12,500
     material, source material, and/or special nuclear
     material for well logging, well surveys, and tracer
     studies other than field flooding tracer studies.
     [Program Code(s): 03110, 03111, 03112].............
    B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct              \5\ N/A
     material for field flooding tracer studies.
     [Program Code(s): 03113]...........................
6. Nuclear laundries:
    A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of         $28,100
     items contaminated with byproduct material, source
     material, or special nuclear material. [Program
     Code(s): 03218]....................................
7. Medical licenses:
    A. Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of         $27,100
     this chapter for human use of byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material in
     sealed sources contained in gamma stereotactic
     radiosurgery units, teletherapy devices, or similar
     beam therapy devices. This category also includes
     the possession and use of source material for
     shielding when authorized on the same license.\9\
     Number of locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s):
     02300, 02310]......................................
        (1). Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and         $36,100
         70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct
         material, source material, or special nuclear
         material in sealed sources contained in gamma
         stereotactic radiosurgery units, teletherapy
         devices, or similar beam therapy devices. This
         category also includes the possession and use
         of source material for shielding when
         authorized on the same license.\9\ Number of
         locations of use: 6-20. [Program Code(s):
         04510, 04512]..................................
        (2). Licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and         $45,200
         70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct
         material, source material, or special nuclear
         material in sealed sources contained in gamma
         stereotactic radiosurgery units, teletherapy
         devices, or similar beam therapy devices. This
         category also includes the possession and use
         of source material for shielding when
         authorized on the same license.\9\ Number of
         locations of use: More than 20. [Program
         Code(s): 04511, 04513].........................
    B. Licenses of broad scope issued to medical                 $37,000
     institutions or two or more physicians under parts
     30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter authorizing
     research and development, including human use of
     byproduct material, except licenses for byproduct
     material, source material, or special nuclear
     material in sealed sources contained in teletherapy
     devices. This category also includes the possession
     and use of source material for shielding when
     authorized on the same license.\9\ Number of
     locations of use: 1-5. [Program Code(s): 02110]....
        (1). Licenses of broad scope issued to medical           $49,300
         institutions or two or more physicians under
         parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter
         authorizing research and development, including
         human use of byproduct material, except
         licenses for byproduct material, source
         material, or special nuclear material in sealed
         sources contained in teletherapy devices. This
         category also includes the possession and use
         of source material for shielding when
         authorized on the same license.\9\ Number of
         locations of use: 6-20. [Program Code(s):
         04710].........................................
        (2). Licenses of broad scope issued to medical           $61,500
         institutions or two or more physicians under
         parts 30, 33, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter
         authorizing research and development, including
         human use of byproduct material, except
         licenses for byproduct material, source
         material, or special nuclear material in sealed
         sources contained in teletherapy devices. This
         category also includes the possession and use
         of source material for shielding when
         authorized on the same license.\9\ Number of
         locations of use: More than 20. [Program
         Code(s): 04711]................................
    C. Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and         $16,800
     70 of this chapter for human use of byproduct
     material, source material, and/or special nuclear
     material, except licenses for byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material in
     sealed sources contained in teletherapy devices.
     This category also includes the possession and use
     of source material for shielding when authorized on
     the same license.9 19 Number of locations of use:
     1[dash]5. [Program Code(s): 02120, 02121, 02200,
     02201, 02210, 02220, 02230, 02231, 02240, 22160]...
        (1). Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35,           $16,900
         40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of
         byproduct material, source material, and/or
         special nuclear material, except licenses for
         byproduct material, source material, or special
         nuclear material in sealed sources contained in
         teletherapy devices. This category also
         includes the possession and use of source
         material for shielding when authorized on the
         same license.9 19 Number of locations of use: 6-
         20. [Program Code(s): 04810, 04812, 04814,
         04816, 04818, 04820, 04822, 04824, 04826,
         04828].........................................
        (2). Other licenses issued under parts 30, 35,           $20,900
         40, and 70 of this chapter for human use of
         byproduct material, source material, and/or
         special nuclear material, except licenses for
         byproduct material, source material, or special
         nuclear material in sealed sources contained in
         teletherapy devices. This category also
         includes the possession and use of source
         material for shielding when authorized on the
         same license.9 19 Number of locations of use:
         More than 20. [Program Code(s): 04811, 04813,
         04815, 04817, 04819, 04821, 04823, 04825,
         04827, 04829]..................................
8. Civil defense:
    A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct               $6,000
     material, source material, or special nuclear
     material for civil defense activities. [Program
     Code(s): 03710]....................................
9. Device, product, or sealed source safety evaluation:

[[Page 32182]]

 
    A. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of         $17,900
     devices or products containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material,
     except reactor fuel devices, for commercial
     distribution.......................................
    B. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of          $9,300
     devices or products containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material
     manufactured in accordance with the unique
     specifications of, and for use by, a single
     applicant, except reactor fuel devices.............
    C. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of          $5,500
     sealed sources containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material,
     except reactor fuel, for commercial distribution...
    D. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of          $1,100
     sealed sources containing byproduct material,
     source material, or special nuclear material,
     manufactured in accordance with the unique
     specifications of, and for use by, a single
     applicant, except reactor fuel.....................
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
    A. Certificates of Compliance or other package
     approvals issued for design of casks, packages, and
     shipping containers................................
        1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium               \6\
         air packages...................................
        2. Other Casks..................................             \6\
    B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under
     part 71 of this chapter............................
        1. Users and Fabricators........................         \6\ N/A
        2. Users........................................         \6\ N/A
    C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals,            \6\ N/A
     route surveys, and transportation security devices
     (including immobilization devices).................
11. Standardized spent fuel facilities..................         \6\ N/A
12. Special Projects [Program Code(s): 25110]...........         \6\ N/A
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance         \6\ N/A
    B. General licenses for storage of spent fuel under         \12\ N/A
     Sec.   72.210 of this chapter......................
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation:
    A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear material           7 20 N/A
     licenses and other approvals authorizing
     decommissioning, decontamination, reclamation, or
     site restoration activities under parts 30, 40, 70,
     72, and 76 of this chapter, including master
     materials licenses (MMLs). The transition to this
     fee category occurs when a licensee has permanently
     ceased principal activities. [Program Code(s):
     03900, 11900, 21135, 21215, 21325, 22200]..........
    B. Site-specific decommissioning activities                  \7\ N/A
     associated with unlicensed sites, including MMLs,
     whether or not the sites have been previously
     licensed...........................................
15. Import and Export licenses..........................         \8\ N/A
16. Reciprocity.........................................         \8\ N/A
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to          $340,000
 Government agencies.\15\ [Program Code(s): 03614]......
18. Department of Energy:
    A. Certificates of Compliance.......................            \10\
                                                              $1,354,000
    B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act              $117,000
     (UMTRCA) activities [Program Code(s): 03237, 03238]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Annual fees will be assessed based on whether a licensee held a
  valid license with the NRC authorizing possession and use of
  radioactive material during the current FY. The annual fee is waived
  for those materials licenses and holders of certificates,
  registrations, and approvals who either filed for termination of their
  licenses or approvals or filed for possession only/storage licenses
  before October 1 of the current FY, and permanently ceased licensed
  activities entirely before this date. Annual fees for licensees who
  filed for termination of a license, downgrade of a license, or for a
  possession-only license during the FY and for new licenses issued
  during the FY will be prorated in accordance with the provisions of
  Sec.   171.17. If a person holds more than one license, certificate,
  registration, or approval, the annual fee(s) will be assessed for each
  license, certificate, registration, or approval held by that person.
  For licenses that authorize more than one activity on a single license
  (e.g., human use and irradiator activities), annual fees will be
  assessed for each category applicable to the license.
\2\ Payment of the prescribed annual fee does not automatically renew
  the license, certificate, registration, or approval for which the fee
  is paid. Renewal applications must be filed in accordance with the
  requirements of part 30, 40, 70, 71, 72, or 76 of this chapter.
\3\ Each FY, fees for these materials licenses will be calculated and
  assessed in accordance with Sec.   171.13 and will be published in the
  Federal Register for notice and comment.
\4\ Other facilities include licenses for extraction of metals, heavy
  metals, and rare earths.
\5\ There are no existing NRC licenses in these fee categories. If NRC
  issues a license for these categories, the Commission will consider
  establishing an annual fee for this type of license.
\6\ Standardized spent fuel facilities, 10 CFR parts 71 and 72
  Certificates of Compliance and related Quality Assurance program
  approvals, and special reviews, such as topical reports, are not
  assessed an annual fee because the generic costs of regulating these
  activities are primarily attributable to users of the designs,
  certificates, and topical reports.
\7\ Licensees in this category are not assessed an annual fee because
  they are charged an annual fee in other categories while they are
  licensed to operate.
\8\ No annual fee is charged because it is not practical to administer
  due to the relatively short life or temporary nature of the license.
\9\ Separate annual fees will not be assessed for pacemaker licenses
  issued to medical institutions that also hold nuclear medicine
  licenses under fee categories 7.A, 7.A.1, 7.A.2, 7.B., 7.B.1, 7.B.2,
  7.C, 7.C.1, or 7.C.2.
\10\ This includes Certificates of Compliance issued to the U.S.
  Department of Energy that are not funded from the Nuclear Waste Fund.
\11\ See Sec.   171.15(c).
\12\ See Sec.   171.15(c).
\13\ No annual fee is charged for this category because the cost of the
  general license registration program applicable to licenses in this
  category will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170 fees.
\14\ Persons who possess radium sources that are used for operational
  purposes in another fee category are not also subject to the fees in
  this category. (This exception does not apply if the radium sources
  are possessed for storage only.)
\15\ Licensees subject to fees under categories 1.A., 1.B., 1.E., 2.A.,
  and licensees paying fees under fee category 17 must pay the largest
  applicable fee and are not subject to additional fees listed in this
  table.
\16\ Licensees paying fees under 3.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
  for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\17\ Licensees paying fees under 7.C. are not subject to fees under 2.B.
  for possession and shielding authorized on the same license.
\18\ Licensees paying fees under 3.N. are not subject to paying fees
  under 3.P., 3.P.1, or 3.P.2 for calibration or leak testing services
  authorized on the same license.

[[Page 32183]]

 
\19\ Licensees paying fees under 7.B., 7.B.1, or 7.B.2 are not subject
  to paying fees under 7.C., 7.C.1, or 7.C.2 for broad scope license
  licenses issued under parts 30, 35, 40, and 70 of this chapter for
  human use of byproduct material, source material, and/or special
  nuclear material, except licenses for byproduct material, source
  material, or special nuclear material in sealed sources contained in
  teletherapy devices authorized on the same license.
\20\ No annual fee is charged for a materials license (or part of a
  materials license) that has transitioned to this fee category because
  the decommissioning costs will be recovered through 10 CFR part 170
  fees, but annual fees may be charged for other activities authorized
  under the license that are not in decommissioning status.
\21\ Licensees paying fees under 4.A., 4.B. or 4.C. are not subject to
  paying fees under 3.N. licenses that authorize services for other
  licensees authorized on the same license.


0
18. In Sec.  171.17, revise paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  171.17  Proration.

    (a) * * *
    (1) New licenses. (i) The annual fees for new licenses for power 
reactors and small modular reactors that are subject to fees under this 
part, for which the licensee has notified the NRC on or after October 1 
of a fiscal year (FY) that the licensee has successfully completed 
power ascension testing, are prorated on the basis of the number of 
days remaining in the FY. Thereafter, the full annual fee is due and 
payable each subsequent FY.
    (ii) The annual fees for new licenses for non-power production or 
utilization facilities, 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do not hold 10 CFR 
part 50 or 52 licenses, and materials licenses with annual fees of 
$100,000 or greater for a single fee category for the current FY, that 
are subject to fees under this part and are granted a license to 
operate on or after October 1 of a FY, are prorated on the basis of the 
number of days remaining in the FY. Thereafter, the full annual fee is 
due and payable each subsequent FY.
    (2) Terminations. The base operating power reactor annual fee for 
operating reactor licensees or the annual fee for small modular reactor 
licensees, who have requested amendment to withdraw operating authority 
permanently during the FY will be prorated based on the number of days 
during the FY the license was in effect before docketing of the 
certifications for permanent cessation of operations and permanent 
removal of fuel from the reactor vessel or when a final legally 
effective order to permanently cease operations has come into effect. 
The spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee for reactor 
licensees who permanently cease operations and have permanently removed 
fuel from the site during the FY will be prorated on the basis of the 
number of days remaining in the FY after docketing of both the 
certifications of permanent cessation of operations and permanent 
removal of fuel from the site. The spent fuel storage/reactor 
decommissioning annual fee will be prorated for those 10 CFR part 72 
licensees who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 or 52 license who request 
termination of the 10 CFR part 72 license and permanently cease 
activities authorized by the license during the FY based on the number 
of days the license was in effect before receipt of the termination 
request. The annual fee for materials licenses with annual fees of 
$100,000 or greater for a single fee category for the current FY will 
be prorated based on the number of days remaining in the FY when a 
termination request or a request for a possession-only license is 
received by the NRC, provided the licensee permanently ceased licensed 
activities during the specified period. The annual fee for non-power 
production or utilization facilities will be prorated based on the 
number of days remaining in the FY when the authorization to operate 
the facility has been permanently removed from the license during the 
FY.
* * * * *

0
19. Add Sec.  171.26 to read as follows:


Sec.  171.26  Right to dispute assessed fees.

    All debtors' disputes of fees assessed must be submitted in 
accordance with 10 CFR 15.31.

    Dated: June 9, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cherish K. Johnson,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-12546 Filed 6-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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