31 July 2002
Source: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/fr-cont.html
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[Federal Register: July 31, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 147)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 49623-49627]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31jy02-24]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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[[Page 49623]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 170
RIN No. 3150-AH03
Cost Recovery for Contested Hearings Involving U.S. National
Security Initiatives
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend
its regulations to allow the agency to recover its costs associated
with contested hearings involving U. S. Government national security-
related proceedings through licensing or other regulatory service fees
assessed to the affected applicant or licensee. This proposed amendment
would be a special exception to the Commission's longstanding policy of
not charging this type of fee for contested hearings and instead
recovering the costs through the annual fees assessed to licensees
within the affected class.
DATES: The comment period expires August 30, 2002. Comments received
after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the
NRC is able to ensure only that comments received on or before this
date will be considered.
ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff. Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm Federal
workdays. (Telephone 301-415-1678). Comments may be faxed to (301) 415-
1101.
Comments may also be submitted via the NRC's interactive rulemaking
Website (http://ruleforum.llnl.gov). This site provides the ability to
upload comments as files (any format), if your Web browser supports
that function. For information about the interactive rulemaking site,
contact Ms. Carol Gallagher, 301-415-5905; e-mail CAG@nrc.gov.
With the exception of restricted information, documents created or
received at the NRC after November 1, 1999, are also available
electronically at the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the
Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site,
the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of
NRC's public documents. For more information, contact the NRC Public
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737,
or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Carlson, telephone 301-415-
8165, or Glenda Jackson, telephone 301-415-6057, Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Proposed Action
III. Plain Language
IV. Voluntary Consensus Standards
V. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion
VI. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
VII. Regulatory Analysis
VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
IX. Backfit Analysis
I. Background
The NRC has a longstanding policy of charging the affected
applicant part 170 fees to recover the agency's costs for any
uncontested hearings that the NRC holds on applications to construct a
power reactor or enrichment facility. These hearings are mandated by
statute. However, the NRC's costs for all contested hearings \1\ have
been recovered through part 171 annual fees assessed to the members of
the particular class of licensee to which the applicant belongs.
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\1\ A contested proceeding is defined in 10 CFR 2.4 as (1) a
proceeding in which there is a controversy between the staff of the
Commission and the applicant for a license concerning the issuance
of the license or any of the terms or conditions thereof or (2) a
proceeding in which a petition for leave to intervene in opposition
to an application for a license has been granted or is pending
before the Commission.
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The NRC published the final rule establishing the part 170 and part
171 fees for FY 2002 on June 24, 2002 (67 FR 42612). The NRC had
received a comment on the proposed rule from a nuclear industry group
concerning the assessment of annual fees to the fuel facility class of
licensees for recovery of the costs involving a contested hearing
related to the application for a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication
facility. The industry group commented that assessing the MOX contested
hearing costs to the fuel facility fee class was unfair, and that it
was a violation of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-
90), as amended, to charge licensees for an agency activity or program
from which the licensees receive no benefit. The commenter asserted
that fuel facility licensees should not be responsible for bearing the
costs of contested hearings associated with MOX fabrication because
this process has no relation to the NRC's regulatory services from
which fuel facility licensees obtain a benefit.\2\ The commenter added
that the beneficiaries of the MOX program are the Federal government
and the Nation's citizenry because it will aid in the reduction of
weapons-grade plutonium. The commenter contended that commercial fuel
facility licensees should not have to subsidize the Federal
government's efforts to ensure national security, and that such costs
should be appropriated through the General Fund and removed from the
NRC fee base.
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\2\ The MOX program is a Federal government initiative to ensure
national security through the disposition of plutonium from
dismantled nuclear weapons.
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The NRC responded that it must recover its hearing costs through
either part 170 fees for services or through part 171 annual fees in
order to recover most of its budgeted costs (less the amounts
appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund) through fees as required by
OBRA-90, as amended. The Commission's longstanding policy of recovering
contested hearing costs through part 171 annual fees assessed to the
affected class of licensee has been confirmed repeatedly in the course
of many past fee rulemakings, in court pleadings, and in an NRC report
to Congress on fees.
In this case, however, the Commission has stated in the FY 2002
final fee rule that there is merit in the commenter's concern about the
assessment of annual fees targeted to the fuel facility class for
[[Page 49624]]
the MOX contested hearing costs, because the NRC licensing action that
is the subject of the hearing involves a U.S. Government national
security initiative to dispose of plutonium stockpiles. Accordingly,
the FY 2002 final fee rule provided that FY 2002 budgeted costs for the
MOX contested hearing be recovered through part 171 annual fees
assessed to all classes of licensees. The final rule also stated that
it was the Commission's intent to issue a proposed rule for public
comment that would, beginning in FY 2003, recover the costs for
contested hearings on licensing actions involving U.S. Government
national security initiatives through part 170 fees assessed to the
affected applicant or licensee.
Accordingly, the NRC is seeking public comment on its proposal to
recover the agency's costs for contested hearings on licensing actions
directly involving U.S. Government national security initiatives, as
determined by the NRC, through part 170 fees assessed to the affected
applicant or licensee. This proposed change would be a special
exception to the Commission's policy of not recovering contested
hearing costs through part 170 fees assessed to the affected applicant
or licensee. The proposed change would only apply to contested hearings
on licensing actions directly associated with U.S. Government national
security initiatives, such as Presidentially directed national security
programs. The affected applicant or licensee would be responsible for
the payment of the part 170 fees assessed for these types of contested
hearings under the proposed approach. However, because part 170 fees
would only be assessed for contested hearings on licensing actions
directly involving U.S. Government national security initiatives, the
Commission expects that generally the costs would ultimately be borne
by the Federal government, rather than the applicant.
In addition to the contested hearing on the MOX fuel fabrication
facility application, any potential contested hearing on the TVA
license amendments to produce tritium at the Watts Bar and Sequoyah
reactors for the Nation's nuclear weapons program would be another
example of a contested hearing on a licensing action directly involving
a U.S. Government national security initiative for which part 170 fees
would be assessed under this proposed rule. Examples of contested
hearings on licensing actions that do not involve a U.S. Government
national security initiative include the contested hearing on the
application for a uranium recovery license filed by Hydro Resources
Inc., and the contested hearing on the independent spent fuel storage
installation application filed by Private Fuel Storage L.L.C.
Furthermore, the proposed rule would leave intact the existing policy
of not assessing part 170 fees for contested hearings associated with
applications or licenses that are used to provide routine services to
U.S. Government agencies.
It should be noted that the Independent Offices Appropriation Act
(IOAA) prohibits the NRC from assessing part 170 fees to Federal
agencies, except in limited circumstances, such as licensing and
inspection of TVA power reactors. Therefore, the proposed change would
not apply to most contested hearings on licensing actions involving
U.S. Government national security initiatives where a Federal agency is
the applicant or licensee.
In the future, the Commission plans to consider a similar approach
for recovering NRC's costs for other activities involving U.S.
Government national security-related programs, such as allegations and
10 CFR 2.206 petitions, through part 170 fees assessed to the applicant
or licensee.
II. Proposed Action
The NRC is proposing to amend 10 CFR part 170 to establish a
provision for assessing part 170 fees to the affected applicant or
licensee to recover the NRC's full costs of contested hearings on
licensing actions directly involving U.S. Government national security
initiatives, as determined by the NRC. To implement this special
exception to the Commission's longstanding policy of not assessing part
170 fees for contested hearing costs, the NRC is proposing to add a fee
exemption to Sec. 170.11 for contested hearings, and to specifically
exclude contested hearings on licensing actions directly related to
U.S. Government national security initiatives, as determined by the
NRC, from the fee exemption. The NRC is proposing to revise the
definition of Special Projects to include contested hearings on
licensing actions related to U.S. Government national security
initiatives, and to make corresponding changes to the section related
to the payment of special project fees and to fee category J. of
Sec. 170.21 and fee category 12. of Sec. 170.31. Only those contested
hearings on licensing actions directly associated with a U.S.
Government national security initiative, such as those specifically
related to Presidentially directed national security programs, would be
subject to cost recovery under part 170. The NRC would continue to
recover its costs for those contested hearings that are exempted from
part 170 fees through part 171 annual fees assessed to the particular
class of licensees.
The final rule will not be a ``major'' final action as defined by
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.
Therefore, the NRC anticipates that the final rule would become
effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. It is the
agency's intent to publish the final rule no later than the first
quarter of FY 2003.
As a matter of courtesy, the NRC is mailing this proposed rule to
all licensees. The NRC will not routinely mail the final rule to all
licensees; however the final rule will be mailed to any licensee or
other person upon specific request. To request a copy, contact the
License Fee and Accounts Receivable Branch, Division of Accounting and
Finance, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, at 301-415-7554, or e-
mail us at fees@nrc.gov. In addition to publication in the Federal
Register, the final rule will be available on the Internet at http://
ruleforum.llnl.gov for at least 90 days after the effective date of the
final rule.
III. Plain Language
The Presidential Memorandum dated June 1, 1998, entitled, ``Plain
Language in Government Writing,'' directed that the Government's
writing be in plain language (63 FR 31883; June 10, 1998). The NRC
requests comments on this proposed rule specifically with respect to
the clarity and effectiveness of the language used. Comments on the
language used should be sent to the NRC as indicated under the
ADDRESSES heading.
IV. Voluntary Consensus Standards
The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, Pub.
L. 104-113, requires that Federal agencies use technical standards that
are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies unless
using such a standard is inconsistent with applicable law or is
otherwise impractical. In this proposed rule, the NRC is amending part
170 to recover costs from applicants or licensees in contested hearings
involving Commission-specified U.S. Government national security-
related initiatives. This action does not constitute the establishment
of a standard that contains generally applicable requirements.
[[Page 49625]]
V. Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion
The NRC has determined that this proposed rule is the type of
action described in categorical exclusion 10 CFR 51.22(c)(1).
Therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental
impact statement has been prepared for the proposed regulation.
VI. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
This proposed rule does not contain information collection
requirements and, therefore, is not subject to the requirements of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
VII. Regulatory Analysis
This proposed rule was developed pursuant to Title V of the
Independent Offices Appropriation Act of 1952 (IOAA) (31 U.S.C. 9701)
and the Commission's fee guidelines. When developing these guidelines
the Commission took into account guidance provided by the U.S. Supreme
Court on March 4, 1974, in National Cable Television Association, Inc.
v. United States, 415 U.S. 36 (1974) and Federal Power Commission v.
New England Power Company, 415 U.S. 345 (1974). In these decisions, the
Court held that the IOAA authorizes an agency to charge fees for
special benefits rendered to identifiable persons measured by the
``value to the recipient'' of the agency service. The meaning of the
IOAA was further clarified on December 16, 1976, by four decisions of
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia: National Cable
Television Association v. Federal Communications Commission, 554 F.2d
1094 (D.C. Cir. 1976); National Association of Broadcasters v. Federal
Communications Commission, 554 F.2d 1118 (D.C. Cir. 1976); Electronic
Industries Association v. Federal Communications Commission, 554 F.2d
1109 (D.C. Cir. 1976); and Capital Cities Communication, Inc. v.
Federal Communications Commission, 554 F.2d 1135 (D.C. Cir. 1976). The
Commission's fee guidelines were developed based on these legal
decisions.
The Commission's fee guidelines were upheld on August 24, 1979, by
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Mississippi Power
and Light Co. v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 601 F.2d 223 (5th
Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1102 (1980).
VIII. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
605(b)), the Commission certifies that this proposed rule will not, if
promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a substantial number
of small entities. This proposed rule would impose a fee on a very
limited number of applicants or licensees to recover the costs of
contested hearings involving Commission-specified U.S. Government
national security-related initiatives, and it is unlikely that these
few organizations would fall within the scope of the definition of
``small entities'' set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the
size standards established by the NRC (10 CFR 2.810).
IX. Backfit Analysis
The NRC has determined that its backfit rules do not apply to this
proposed rule and therefore, that a backfit analysis is not required
for this proposed rule, because these proposed amendments do not impose
any provisions that would impose backfits as defined in 10 CFR Chapter
1.
List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 170
Byproduct material, Import and export licenses, Intergovernmental
relations, Non-payment penalties, Nuclear materials, Nuclear power
plants and reactors, Source material, Special nuclear material.
For the reasons set forth 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. 553, the NRC is proposing to
adopt the following amendments to 10 CFR part 170.
PART 170--FEES FOR FACILITIES, MATERIALS, IMPORT AND EXPORT
LICENSES, AND OTHER REGULATORY SERVICES UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT
OF 1954, AS AMENDED
1. The authority citation for part 170 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: sec. 9701, Pub. L. 97-258, 96 Stat. 1051 (31 U.S.C.
9701); sec. 301, Pub. L. 92-314, 86 Stat. 227 (42 U.S.C. 2201w);
sec. 201, Pub. L. 93-438, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended (42 U.S.C.
5841); sec. 205a, Pub. L. 101-576, 104 Stat. 2842, as amended (31
U.S.C. 901, 902).
2. Section 170.3 is amended by revising the definition of Special
Projects to read as follows:
Sec. 170.3 Definitions.
* * * * *
Special projects means those requests submitted to the Commission
for review for which fees are not otherwise specified in this chapter
and contested hearings on licensing actions directly related to U.S.
Government national security initiatives, as determined by the NRC.
Examples of special projects include, but are not limited to, contested
hearings on licensing actions directly related to Presidentially
directed national security programs, topical report reviews, early site
reviews, waste solidification facilities, route approvals for shipment
of radioactive materials, services provided to certify licensee,
vendor, or other private industry personnel as instructors for part 55
reactor operators, reviews of financial assurance submittals that do
not require a license amendment, reviews of responses to Confirmatory
Action Letters, reviews of uranium recovery licensees' land-use survey
reports, and reviews of 10 CFR 50.71 final safety analysis reports.
* * * * *
3. In Sec. 170.11, paragraph (a)(2) is added to read as follows:
Sec. 170.11 Exemptions.
(a) * * *
(2) A contested hearing conducted by the NRC on a specific
application or the authorizations and conditions of a specific NRC
license, certificate, or other authorization. This exemption does not
apply to a contested hearing on a licensing action that the NRC
determines directly involves a U.S. Government national security-
related initiative, including those specifically associated with
Presidentially directed national security programs.
* * * * *
4. In Sec. 170.12, paragraph (d) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 170.12 Payment of fees.
* * * * *
(d) Special Project Fees. (1) Fees for special projects are based
on the full cost of the review or contested hearing. Special projects
include activities such as --
(i) Topical reports;
(ii) Financial assurance submittals that do not require a license
amendment;
(iii) Responses to Confirmatory Action Letters;
(iv) Uranium recovery licensees' land-use survey reports;
(v) 10 CFR 50.71 final safety analysis reports; and
(vi) Contested hearings on licensing actions directly involving
U.S. Government national security initiatives, as determined by the
NRC.
[[Page 49626]]
(2) The NRC intends to bill each applicant or licensee at quarterly
intervals until the review or contested hearing is completed. Each bill
will identify the documents submitted for review or the specific
contested hearing and the costs related to each. The fees are payable
upon notification by the Commission.
* * * * *
5. In Sec. 170.21, the introductory text is presented for the
convenience of the user and Category J is revised to 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.
Applicants for construction permits, manufacturing licenses,
operating licenses, import and export licenses, approvals of facility
standard reference designs, re-qualification and replacement
examinations for reactor operators, and special projects and holders of
construction permits, licenses, and other approvals shall pay fees for
the following categories of services.
Schedule of Facility Fees
[See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Facility categories and type of fees Fees\1\,\2\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * *
* * *
J. Special projects:
Approvals and preapplication/licensing Full Cost.
activities.
Inspections\3\.............................. Full Cost.
Contested hearings on licensing actions Full Cost.
directly related to U.S. Government
national security initiatives.
* * * *
* * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fees will not be charged for orders issued by the Commission under
Sec. 2.202 of this chapter or for amendments resulting specifically
from the requirements of these types of Commission orders. 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, 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. Fees for licenses in this schedule that are
initially issued for less than full power are based on review through
the issuance of a full power license (generally full power is
considered 100 percent of the facility's full rated power). Thus, if a
licensee received a low power license or a temporary license for less
than full power and subsequently receives full power authority (by way
of license amendment or otherwise), the total costs for the license
will be determined through that period when authority is granted for
full power operation. If a situation arises in which the Commission
determines that full operating power for a particular facility should
be less than 100 percent of full rated power, the total costs for the
license will be at that determined lower operating power level and not
at the 100 percent capacity.
\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
at the time the service was provided. For those applications currently
on file for which review costs have reached an applicable fee ceiling
established by the June 20, 1984, and July 2, 1990, rules but are
still pending completion of the review, the cost incurred after any
applicable ceiling was reached through January 29, 1989, will not be
billed to the applicant. Any professional staff-hours expended above
those ceilings on or after January 30, 1989, will be assessed at the
applicable rates established by Sec. 170.20, as appropriate, except
for topical reports whose costs exceed $50,000. Costs which exceed
$50,000 for any topical report, amendment, revision or supplement to a
topical report completed or under review from January 30, 1989,
through August 8, 1991, will not be billed to the applicant. Any
professional hours expended on or after August 9, 1991, will be
assessed at the applicable rate established in Sec. 170.20.
\3\ Inspections covered by this schedule are both routine and non-
routine safety and safeguards inspections performed by NRC for the
purpose of review or follow-up of a licensed program. Inspections are
performed through the full term of the license to ensure that the
authorized activities are being conducted in accordance with the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, other legislation, Commission
regulations or orders, and the terms and conditions of the license.
Non-routine inspections that result from third-party allegations will
not be subject to fees.
6. In Sec. 170.31, the introductory text is presented for the
convenience of the user and Category 12 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 170.31 Schedule of fees for materials licenses and other
regulatory services, including inspections, and import and export
licenses.
Applicants for materials licenses, import and export licenses, and
other regulatory services, and holders of materials licenses or import
and export licenses shall pay fees for the following categories of
services. The following schedule includes fees for health and safety
and safeguards inspections where applicable:
Schedule of Materials Fees
[See footnotes at end of table]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category of materials licenses and type of
fees\1\ Fee \2,3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * *
* * *
12. Special projects:
Approvals and preapplication/licensing Full Cost.
activities..
Inspections................................. Full Cost.
Contested hearings on licensing actions Full Cost.
directly related to U.S. Government
national security initiatives.
* * * *
* * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Types of fees--Separate charges, as shown in the schedule, will be
assessed for pre-application consultations and reviews and
applications for new licenses and approvals, issuance 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:
[[Page 49627]]
(a) 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.
(1) 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.
(2) 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 1C only.
(b) Licensing fees. Fees for reviews of applications for new licenses
and for renewals and amendments to existing licenses, for pre-
application consultations and for reviews of other documents submitted
to NRC for review, and for project manager time for fee categories
subject to full cost fees (fee Categories 1A, 1B, 1E, 2A, 4A, 5B, 10A,
11, 12, 13A, and 14) are due upon notification by the Commission in
accordance with Sec. 170.12(b).
(c) 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 a 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.
(d) Inspection fees. Inspections resulting from investigations conducted
by the Office of Investigations and non-routine 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).
(e) Generally licensed device registrations under 10 CFR 31.5.
Submittals of registration information must be accompanied by the
prescribed fee.
\2\ Fees will not be charged for orders issued by the Commission under
10 CFR 2.202 or for amendments resulting specifically from the
requirements of these types of Commission orders. However, 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 Categories 9A through 9D.
\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 at the time the service is
provided, and the appropriate contractual support services expended.
For applications currently on file for which review costs have reached
an applicable fee ceiling established by the June 20, 1984, and July
2, 1990, rules, but are still pending completion of the review, the
cost incurred after any applicable ceiling was reached through January
29, 1989, will not be billed to the applicant. Any professional staff-
hours expended above those ceilings on or after January 30, 1989, will
be assessed at the applicable rates established by Sec. 170.20, as
appropriate, except for topical reports whose costs exceed $50,000.
Costs which exceed $50,000 for each topical report, amendment,
revision, or supplement to a topical report completed or under review
from January 30, 1989, through August 8, 1991, will not be billed to
the applicant. Any professional hours expended on or after August 9,
1991, will be assessed at the applicable rate established in Sec.
170.20.
* * * * *
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of July, 2002.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jesse L. Funches,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 02-19198 Filed 7-30-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P