Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/12/19/2018-27168/update-to-fees-for-search-and-review-of-agency-records-by-nrc-personnel
Timestamp: 2019-01-21 23:50:51
Document Index: 582478206

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 9', '§\u20099', '§\u20099', '§\u20099', '§\u20099', '§\u20099', 'art 9', '§\u20099']

Federal Register :: Update to Fees for Search and Review of Agency Records by NRC Personnel
A Proposed Rule by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on 12/19/2018
Submit comments by January 18, 2019. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.
NRC-2017-0144
3150-AK06
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2018-27168 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2018-27168
Start Preamble Start Printed Page 65110
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0144. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
Stephanie Blaney, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6975; email: Stephanie.Blaney@nrc.gov.
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0144 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this action by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0144.
Please include Docket ID NRC-2017-0144 in your comment submission.
Because the NRC considers this action to be non-controversial, the NRC is publishing this proposed rule concurrently with a direct final rule in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register. The direct final rule will become effective on March 4, 2019. However, if the NRC receives significant adverse comments on this proposed rule by January 18, 2019, then the NRC will publish a document that withdraws the direct final rule. If the direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC will address the comments received in response to these proposed revisions in a subsequent final rule. Absent significant modifications to the proposed revisions requiring republication, the NRC will not initiate a second comment period on this action in the event the direct final rule is withdrawn.
(1) The comment opposes the rule and provides a reason sufficient to require a substantive response in a notice-and-Start Printed Page 65111comment process. For example, a substantive response is required when:
The FOIA provides that any person has a right to request and obtain access to federal agency records, except to the extent that any portions of those records are exempt from public disclosure. The FOIA also authorizes agencies to issue regulations specifying a schedule of fees for the processing of those requests (5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)). These fees are limited to reasonable standard charges for document search, duplication, and review, which may be charged depending on the purpose for which the records are sought and the class of requestor. The NRC's implementing FOIA regulations are found in part 9 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR).
The NRC charges fees for the search and review of agency records in accordance with § 9.37, “Fees for search and review of agency records by NRC personnel,” (although as specified in § 9.39, “Search and duplication provided without charge,” the NRC will search for records in some instances without charge, and requests for waivers or reduction of fees can be sought as specified in § 9.41, “Requests for waiver or reduction of fees”). Consistent with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines on fee schedules (52 FR 10012; March 27, 1987), the NRC recoups the direct costs of search and review by charging the hourly rates of the employees performing the task, plus 16 percent for fringe benefits. These OMB guidelines also provide that, where a homogenous or single class of personnel is used, agencies may establish reasonable average rates for the range of salary grades typically involved.
The NRC first established fees for search and review of agency records in 1987 (52 FR 49350; December 31, 1987), and last updated these fees in 2010 (75 FR 41368; July 16, 2010). Recently, as part of the agency's biennial review of fees performed under the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (31 U.S.C. 902(a)(8)), the NRC determined that the search and review rates for agency clerical staff and for professional/managerial staff needed to be increased in order to ensure the NRC continues to recover the direct costs of these activities.
Thus, based on the results of this biennial review, § 9.37(a) will be changed from a GG-7/step 6 salary rate to a GG-9/step 7 salary rate; and § 9.37(b) will be changed from a GG-13/step 6 salary rate to a GG-14/step 7 salary rate.
The NRC may post materials related to this document, including public comments, on the Federal Rulemaking website at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2017-0144. The Federal Rulemaking website allows you to receive alerts when changes or additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the docket folder (NRC-2017-0144); (2) click the “Sign up for Email Alerts” link; and (3) enter your email address and select how frequently you would like to receive emails (daily, weekly, or monthly).
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; the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553, the NRC is proposing the following amendments to 10 CFR part 9:
2. In § 9.37, revise paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows:
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of December 2018.
[FR Doc. 2018-27168 Filed 12-18-18; 8:45 am]