Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2023

NRC Fee Recovery final rule $300.pdf

10 CFR Part 54, Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants

Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2023

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

storage casks’’ to include Amendment
No. 3 to Certificate of Compliance No.
1042.
DATES: The effective date of July 17,
2023, for the direct final rule published
May 2, 2023 (88 FR 27397), is
confirmed.
Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2023–0050 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information for this action. You may
obtain publicly available information
related to this action by any of the
following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2023–0050. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn
Forder; telephone: 301–415–3407;
email: Dawn.Forder@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain 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
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The
Amendment No. 3 of certificate of
compliance No. 1042 and associated
changes to the technical specifications,
and safety evaluation report can also be
viewed in ADAMS under Package
Accession No. ML23137A409.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents,
by appointment, at the NRC’s PDR,
Room P1 B35, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please
send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov
or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–
4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
eastern time, Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Caylee Kenny, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:
301–415–7150, email: Caylee.Kenny@
nrc.gov.

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ADDRESSES:

On May 2,
2023 (88 FR 27397), the NRC published
a direct final rule amending its
regulations in part 72 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations to revise

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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the TN Americas LLC, NUHOMS® EOS
Dry Spent Fuel Storage System listing
within the ‘‘List of approved spent fuel
storage casks’’ to include Amendment
No. 3 to Certificate of Compliance No.
1042.
Amendment No. 3 revises the
certificate of compliance to: add three
new heat load zone configurations
(HLZCs) for the EOS–89BTH Dry
Shielded Canister (DSC) with increased
heat load up to 1.7 kW per fuel
assembly, which reduces the minimum
cooling time to 1 year; add a variablelead thickness EOS–TC125 for transfer
with the EOS–89BTH DSC; add
ATRIUM 11 fuel as an allowable content
in the EOS–89BTH DSC and rerun the
limiting GNF2 and ABB–10–C cases to
reduce the statistical uncertainties and
increase the enrichment limits; update
the criticality evaluation to allow shortloading the EOS–89BTH DSC with less
than 89 fuel assemblies to increase the
enrichment limits; revise the technical
specifications (TS) to allow for phased
array automated ultrasonic testing and
to utilize a single pass high amperage
gas tungsten arc weld or multipass gas
tungsten arc weld on the outer top cover
plate; revise the TS to reduce EOS–
37PTH HLZC 1 and 2 time limit for
transfer to eight hours; incorporate a
method to determine new loading
patterns based on the maximum
allowable heat load per DSC and per
location specified in the TS and move
all HLZCs and time limits for transfer
for the EOS–89BTH DSC transferred in
the EOS–TC125 from the technical
specifications to Updated Final Safety
Analysis Report (UFSAR) Chapter 2;
waive the fabrication pressure test
requirement for the single bottom
forging EOS–DSCs; and make minor
changes to TS and UFSAR for
consistency among DSC types and
terminology clarification. Amendment
No. 3 also revises the certificate of
compliance with three scope changes
including: UFSAR revisions associated
with transfer cask lifting heights and
consideration of severe weather; UFSAR
revisions associated with maintaining
water in the annulus; and design
changes to the Matrix Loading Crane.
In the direct final rule, the NRC stated
that if no significant adverse comments
were received, the direct final rule
would become effective on July 17,
2023. The NRC did not receive any
comments on the direct final rule.
Therefore, this direct final rule will
become effective as scheduled.
Dated: June 9, 2023.

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For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Krupskaya T. Castellon,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Analysis and
Rulemaking Support Branch, Division of
Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial
Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023–12709 Filed 6–14–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 170 and 171
[NRC–2021–0024]
RIN 3150–AK58

Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee
Recovery for Fiscal Year 2023
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:

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 comply
with the Nuclear Energy Innovation and
Modernization Act, which requires the
NRC to recover, to the maximum extent
practicable, approximately 100 percent
of its annual budget less certain
amounts excluded from this feerecovery requirement.
DATES: This final rule is effective on
August 14, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2021–0024 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information for this action. You may
obtain publicly available information
related to this action by any of the
following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2021–0024. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn
Forder; telephone: 301–415–3407;
email: Dawn.Forder@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain 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 or
SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
301–415–4737, or by email to
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. For the
convenience of the reader, instructions
about obtaining materials referenced in
this document are provided in the
‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents,
by appointment, at the NRC’s PDR,
Room P1 B35, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please
send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov
or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–
4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
eastern time, Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
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: Anthony.Rossi@nrc.gov.
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
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)

the Nuclear Energy Innovation and
Modernization Act (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 feerelief 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 fiscal
year (FY) 2023, the fee-relief activities
identified by the Commission are
consistent with prior fee rules, which
are listed in Table 1—Excluded
Activities.
Under NEIMA, 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 work, inspections, and
special projects). The NRC’s regulations
in part 170 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ‘‘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

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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.
II. Discussion
FY 2023 Fee Collection—Overview
The NRC is issuing this FY 2023 final
fee rule based on the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2023 (the enacted
budget). The final fee rule reflects a total
budget authority in the amount of
$927.2 million, which is an increase of
$39.5 million from FY 2022. 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 2023 enacted budget,
these exclusions total $137.0 million,
which is an increase of $6.0 million
from FY 2022. These excluded activities
consist of $97.1 million for fee-relief
activities, $23.8 million for advanced
reactor regulatory infrastructure
activities, $13.4 million for generic
homeland security activities, $1.2
million for waste incidental to
reprocessing activities, and $1.5 million
for Inspector General services for the
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Table I summarizes the excluded
activities for the FY 2023 final fee rule.
The FY 2022 amounts are provided for
comparison purposes.

TABLE I—EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES
[Dollars in millions]

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FY 2022
final rule
Fee-Relief Activities:
International activities .......................................................................................................................................
Agreement State oversight ...............................................................................................................................
Medical isotope production infrastructure ........................................................................................................
Fee exemption for nonprofit educational institutions .......................................................................................
Costs not recovered from small entities under 10 CFR 171.16(c) ..................................................................
Regulatory support to Agreement States .........................................................................................................
Generic decommissioning/reclamation activities (not related to the operating power reactors and spent
fuel storage fee classes) ...............................................................................................................................
Uranium recovery program and unregistered general licensees .....................................................................
Potential Department of Defense remediation program Memorandum of Understanding activities ...............
Non-military radium sites ..................................................................................................................................
Subtotal Fee-Relief Activities ....................................................................................................................
Activities under section 102(b)(1)(B)(ii) of NEIMA (Generic Homeland Security activities, Waste Incidental to
Reprocessing activities, and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board) .......................................................

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FY 2023
final rule

25.5
11.1
3.7
11.6
7.4
12.1

28.8
11.9
3.5
13.5
8.9
14.2

15.9
3.0
0.9
0.3

12.5
2.7
0.9
0.2

91.5

97.1

16.5

16.1

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE I—EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES—Continued
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2022
final rule

FY 2023
final rule

Advanced reactor regulatory infrastructure activities ..............................................................................................

23.0

23.8

Total Excluded Activities ..................................................................................................................................

131.0

137.0

After accounting for the exclusions
from the fee-recovery requirement and
net billing adjustments (i.e., for FY 2023
invoices that the NRC estimates will not
be paid during the fiscal year, less
payments received in FY 2023 for prioryear invoices), the NRC must recover
approximately $790.6 million in fees in
FY 2023. Of this amount, the NRC
estimates that $195.0 million will be
recovered through 10 CFR part 170
service fees and approximately $595.6
million will be recovered through 10
CFR part 171 annual fees. Table II
summarizes the fee-recovery amounts

for the FY 2023 final fee rule using the
FY 2023 enacted budget and takes into
account the budget authority for
excluded activities and net billing
adjustments. For all information
presented in the following tables in this
final rule, individual values may not
sum to totals due to rounding. Please
see the work papers, available as
indicated in the ‘‘Availability of
Documents’’ section of this document,
for actual amounts.
In FY 2023, the explanatory statement
associated with the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2023 included

direction for the NRC to use $16.0
million in prior-year unobligated
carryover funds for the University
Nuclear Leadership Program. Consistent
with the requirements of NEIMA, the
NRC does not assess fees in the current
fiscal year for any carryover funds
because fees are calculated based on the
budget authority enacted for the current
fiscal year. Fees were already assessed
in the fiscal year in which the carryover
funds were appropriated. The FY 2022
amounts are provided for comparison
purposes.

TABLE II—BUDGET AND FEE RECOVERY AMOUNTS
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2023
final rule

Total Budget Authority .............................................................................................................................................
Less Budget Authority for Excluded Activities: ........................................................................................................

$887.7
¥131.0

$927.2
¥137.0

Balance .............................................................................................................................................................
Fee Recovery Percent .............................................................................................................................................

756.7
100.0

790.2
100.0

Total Amount to be Recovered: .......................................................................................................................
Less Estimated Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR part 170 Fees .............................................
Estimated Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR part 171 Fees ......................................................
10 CFR part 171 Billing Adjustments:
Unpaid Current Year Invoices (estimated) .......................................................................................................
Less Payments Received in Current Year for Previous Year Invoices (estimated) ........................................
Adjusted 10 CFR part 171 Annual Fee Collections Required .........................................................................
Adjusted Amount to be Recovered through 10 CFR parts 170 and 171 Fees ......................................................

756.7
¥198.8
557.9

790.2
¥195.0
595.2

2.0
¥6.0
553.9
752.7

3.7
¥3.3
595.6
790.6

FY 2023 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 §§ 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 (IG)). 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 missiondirect 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:

For FY 2023, the NRC is increasing
the professional hourly rate from $290
to $300. The 3.4 percent increase in the

professional hourly rate is primarily due
to increase in budgeted resources of
approximately $34.1 million. The

increase in budgeted resources is
primarily due to the 4.6 percent increase
in salaries and benefits to support

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FY 2022
final rule

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
Federal pay raises for NRC employees.
The anticipated decline in the number
of mission-direct FTE compared to FY
2022 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 may increase.
The number of mission-direct FTE
declined by approximately 24, primarily

due to: (1) the closure of the Palisades
Nuclear Plant (Palisades); and (2) a
reduction in resources for development
of the operating reactors licensing action
infrastructure for process improvements
and special projects.
The FY 2023 estimate for annual
mission-direct FTE productive hours is
1,551 hours, which is an increase from
1,510 hours in FY 2022. This estimate,
also referred to as the ‘‘Productive
Hours Assumption,’’ reflects the average

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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 2022 amounts are provided for
comparison purposes.

TABLE III—PROFESSIONAL HOURLY RATE CALCULATION
[Dollars in millions, except as noted]
FY 2022
final rule

FY 2023
final rule

Mission-Direct Program Salaries & Benefits ...........................................................................................................
Mission-Indirect Program Support ...........................................................................................................................
Agency Support (Corporate Support and the IG) ...................................................................................................

$349.3
115.1
278.9

$359.2
118.8
299.5

Subtotal .............................................................................................................................................................
Less Offsetting Receipts 1 .......................................................................................................................................

743.3
0.0

777.5
0.0

Total Budgeted Resources Included in Professional Hourly Rate ...................................................................
Mission-Direct FTE ..................................................................................................................................................
Annual Mission-Direct FTE Productive Hours (Whole numbers) ............................................................................
Mission-Direct FTE Converted to Hours (Mission-Direct FTE multiplied by Annual Mission-Direct FTE Productive Hours) ............................................................................................................................................................
Professional Hourly Rate (Total Budgeted Resources Included in Professional Hourly Rate Divided by MissionDirect FTE Converted to Hours) (Whole Numbers) ............................................................................................

743.3
1,696.1
1,510

777.5
1,672.2
1,551

2,561,111

2,593,582

290

300

1 The

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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 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.

FY 2023 Fee Collection—Flat
Application Fee Changes
The NRC is amending the flat
application fees it charges in its
schedule of fees in § 170.31 to reflect the
revised professional hourly rate of $300.
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
2023. 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. 902(a)(8)). The NRC performed
this review for the FY 2023 fee rule and
will perform this review again for the
FY 2025 fee rule. The biennial review
adjustments and the higher professional
hourly rate of $300 is the primary
reason for the increase in flat

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application fees. Additional information
can be found in 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 minimal effects due
to rounding. 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 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
§ 170.31). Applications filed on or after
the effective date of the FY 2023 final
fee rule will be subject to the revised
fees in the final rule. Since international
activities are an excluded activity, fees
are not assessed for import and export
licensing actions under 10 CFR parts
170 and 171.

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FY 2023 Fee Collection—Low-Level
Waste Surcharge
The NRC is assessing a generic lowlevel waste (LLW) surcharge of $4.023
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 allocates this surcharge to its
licensees based on data available in the
U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE)
Manifest Information Management
System (MIMS). 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

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

large percentage of materials licensees
that are licensed by the Agreement
States rather than the NRC.
The LLW surcharge amounts have
changed since publication of the
proposed fee rule. The DOE updated

MIMS with 2023 data; as a result of the
update, the LLW surcharge for operating
power reactors decreased from $3.556
million to $3.496 million; and the LLW
surcharge increased from $0.370 million
to $0.418 million for fuel facilities and

from $0.097 to $0.109 million for
materials users.
Table IV shows the allocation of the
LLW surcharge and its allocation across
the various fee classes.

TABLE IV—ALLOCATION OF LLW SURCHARGE FY 2023
[Dollars in millions]
LLW surcharge
Fee classes
Percent

Operating Power Reactors ......................................................................................................................................
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning ......................................................................................................
Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities ........................................................................................................
Fuel Facilities ...........................................................................................................................................................
Materials Users ........................................................................................................................................................
Transportation ..........................................................................................................................................................
Rare Earth Facilities ................................................................................................................................................
Uranium Recovery ...................................................................................................................................................

86.9
0.0
0.0
10.4
2.7
0.0
0.0
0.0

3.496
0.000
0.000
0.418
0.109
0.000
0.000
0.000

Total ..................................................................................................................................................................

100.0

4.023

FY 2023 Fee Collection—Revised
Annual Fees
In accordance with SECY–05–0164,
‘‘Annual Fee Calculation Method,’’ the
NRC rebaselines its annual fees every
year. ‘‘Rebaselining’’ entails analyzing
the budget in detail and then allocating

the FY 2023 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 §§ 171.15 and
171.16 to recover approximately 100
percent of the NRC’s FY 2023 enacted

budget (less the budget authority for
excluded activities and the estimated
amount to be recovered through 10 CFR
part 170 fees). Table V shows the
rebaselined fees for FY 2023 for a
sample of licensee categories. The FY
2022 amounts are provided for
comparison purposes.

TABLE V—REBASELINED ANNUAL FEES
[Actual dollars]
FY 2022 final
annual fee

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Class/category of licenses

FY 2023 final
annual fee

5,165,000
227,000

5,492,000
261,000

Total, Combined Fee ........................................................................................................................................
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning ......................................................................................................
Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities ........................................................................................................
High Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility (Category 1.A.(1)(a)) ....................................................................................
Low Enriched Uranium Fuel Facility (Category 1.A.(1)(b)) .....................................................................................
Uranium Enrichment (Category 1.E) .......................................................................................................................
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion Facility (Category 2.A.(1) ...............................................................................
Basic In Situ Recovery Facilities (Category 2.A.(2)(b)) ..........................................................................................
Typical Users:
Radiographers (Category 3O) ..........................................................................................................................
All Other Specific Byproduct Material Licensees (Category 3P) .....................................................................
Medical Other (Category 7C) ...........................................................................................................................
Device/Product Safety Evaluation—Broad (Category 9A) ......................................................................................

5,392,000
227,000
90,100
4,334,000
1,469,000
1,888,000
436,000
42,000

5,753,000
261,000
96,300
5,156,000
1,747,000
2,247,000
1,095,000
52,200

29,600
9,900
17,000
18,100

37,900
12,300
18,000
24,100

The work papers that support this
final rule show in detail how the NRC
allocates the budgeted resources and
calculates the fees for each class of
licensees.
Paragraphs a. through h. of this
section describe the budgeted resources

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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.

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a. Operating Power Reactors
The NRC will collect $510.7 million
in annual fees from the operating power
reactors fee class in FY 2023, as shown
in Table VI. The FY 2022 operating
power reactors fees are shown for
comparison purposes.

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39125

TABLE VI—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR OPERATING POWER REACTORS
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2022
final rule

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Summary fee calculations

FY 2023
final rule

Total budgeted resources ........................................................................................................................................
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts ..............................................................................................................

$645.4
¥165.8

$665.3
¥158.9

Net 10 CFR part 171 resources .......................................................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation ..............................................................................................................................
Allocated LLW surcharge ........................................................................................................................................
Billing adjustment .....................................................................................................................................................

479.6
0.4
3.8
¥3.4

506.4
0.5
3.5
0.3

Total required annual fee recovery ..................................................................................................................
Total operating reactors ...................................................................................................................................
Annual fee per operating reactor .............................................................................................................................

480.3
93
5.165

510.7
93
5.492

In comparison to FY 2022, the FY
2023 annual fee for the operating power
reactors fee class is increasing primarily
due to the following: (1) an increase in
budgeted resources; (2) a decrease in 10
CFR part 170 estimated billings; and (3)
an increase in the 10 CFR part 171
billing adjustment. These components
are discussed in the following
paragraphs.
The budgeted resources for the
operating power reactors fee class
increased primarily as a result of an
increase in the fully-costed FTE rate
compared to FY 2022 due to an increase
in salaries and benefits. The increase in
the fully-costed FTE rate is offset by a
reduction in FTEs associated with
workload changes, including but not
limited to the following: (1) the closure
of Palisades; (2) delays to planned new
reactor design and licensing
applications; (3) a reduction in
resources for the development of
operating reactors licensing action
infrastructure for process improvements
and special projects. In addition, there
was a reduction in contract support
resources for baseline inspections in the
reactor safety program, which are now
being performed in-house.
The annual fee is increasing due to a
reduction in the 10 CFR part 170
estimated billings resulting from: (1) a
decrease in hours associated with the
closure of Palisades and (2) delays to
planned new reactor design and
licensing applications, topical reports,
and white papers.
The annual fee increase is also
affected by these contributing factors:
(1) an increase in the10 CFR part 171
billing adjustment (moving from a credit
to a surcharge) due to the timing of
invoices issued in FY 2022, and (2) an
increase in the generic transportation

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surcharge due to an increase in the
overall budgeted resources for
certificates of compliance (CoCs) for the
operating power reactors fee class.
The fee-recoverable budgeted
resources are divided equally among the
93 licensed operating power reactors,
including the anticipated assessment of
annual fees for Vogtle Electric
Generating Plant, Unit 3, and results in
an annual fee of $5,492,000 per reactor.
Additionally, each licensed operating
power reactor will be assessed the FY
2023 spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning annual fee of
$261,000 (see Table VII and the
discussion that follows). The combined
FY 2023 annual fee for each operating
power reactor is $5,753,000.
Section 102(b)(3)(B)(i) of NEIMA
established a 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.
The NRC included an estimate of the
operating power reactors fee class
annual fee in Appendix C, ‘‘Estimated
Operating Power Reactors Annual Fee,’’
of the FY 2023 Congressional Budget
Justification (CBJ) (NUREG–1100,
Volume 38) to increase transparency for
stakeholders. The NRC developed this
estimate based on the staff’s allocation
of the FY 2023 CBJ to fee classes under
10 CFR part 170, and allocations within
the operating power reactors fee class
under 10 CFR part 171. The fee estimate
included in the FY 2023 CBJ assumed
94 operating power reactors in FY 2023
and applied various data assumptions
from the FY 2021 final fee rule. Based

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on these allocations and assumptions,
the operating power reactors annual fee
included in the FY 2023 CBJ was
estimated to be $5.2 million,
approximately $0.5 million below the
FY 2015 operating power reactors
annual fee amount adjusted for inflation
of $5.7 million. The assumptions made
between budget formulation and the
development of this final rule have
changed, including the change in the
number of operating power reactors
from 94 to 93. Nonetheless, the FY 2023
annual fee of $5,492,000 remains below
the FY 2015 operating power reactors
annual fee amount, as adjusted for
inflation.
In FY 2016, the NRC amended its
licensing, inspection, and annual fee
regulations to establish a variable
annual fee structure for light-water
small modular reactors (SMRs) (81 FR
32617; May 24, 2016). Under the
variable annual fee structure, an SMR
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 2023 for
this type of licensee.
b. Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor
Decommissioning
The NRC will collect $32.1 million in
annual fees from 10 CFR part 50 and 10
CFR part 52 power reactor licensees,
and from 10 CFR part 72 licensees that
do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license or
a 10 CFR part 52 combined license, to
recover the budgeted resources for the
spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning fee class in FY 2023,
as shown in Table VII. The FY 2022
spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning fees are shown for
comparison purposes.

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TABLE VII—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR SPENT FUEL STORAGE/REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2022
final rule

Summary fee calculations

FY 2023
final rule

$40.4
¥13.8

$42.9
¥12.4

Net 10 CFR part 171 resources .......................................................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation costs ....................................................................................................................
Billing adjustments ...................................................................................................................................................

26.6
1.3
¥0.2

30.5
1.6
0.0

Total required annual fee recovery ..................................................................................................................
Total spent fuel storage facilities ......................................................................................................................
Annual fee per facility ..............................................................................................................................................

27.7
122
0.227

32.1
123
0.261

In comparison to FY 2022, the FY
2023 annual fee for the spent fuel
storage/reactor decommissioning fee
class is increasing primarily due to the
following: (1) an increase in the
budgeted resources and (2) a decrease in
the 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings.
These components are discussed in the
following paragraphs.
The budgeted resources for the spent
fuel storage/reactor decommissioning
fee class increased primarily due to the
following: (1) an increase in the fullycosted FTE rate compared to FY 2022
due to an increase in salaries and
benefits; (2) an increase in licensing and
oversight activities for one additional
power reactor in decommissioning; and
(3) an increased number of power
reactors transitioning to accelerated
decommissioning schedule status. This
increase in the budgeted resources is
offset by a decline in contract support
due to the completion of research
activities related to accident tolerant

fuel (ATF), the assessment of gross
ruptures in high burnup fuel, and
standardized computer analysis for
licensing evaluation code verification
and validation.
The 10 CFR part 170 estimated
billings for the spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning fee class decreased
primarily due to the following: (1) a
reduction in hours and contract support
associated with the staff’s review of
applications for renewals, amendments,
exemptions, and inspections for
independent spent fuel storage
installation (ISFSI) licenses and dry
cask storage CoCs; (2) the completion of
the safety and environmental review of
the Holtec HI–STORE consolidated
interim storage facility application; (3)
the completion of the staff’s review of
the Interim Storage Partners
consolidated interim storage facility
application and issuance of the license;
(4) the completion of decommissioning
transition activities for the Duane

Arnold Energy Center and the site
entering a period of dormancy; (5) the
termination of the licenses for La Crosse
Boiling Water Reactor and Humboldt
Bay Nuclear Power Plant; and (6) the
decrease in decommissioning licensing
and inspection activities at multiple
sites.
The annual fee increase is also
affected by an increase in the generic
transportation surcharge due to an
increase in the generic transportation
budgeted resources.
The required annual fee recovery
amount is divided equally among 123
licensees, resulting in a FY 2023 annual
fee of $261,000 per licensee.
c. Fuel Facilities
The NRC will collect $19.7 million in
annual fees from the fuel facilities fee
class in FY 2023, as shown in Table
VIII. The FY 2023 fuel facilities fees are
shown for comparison purposes.

TABLE VIII—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR FUEL FACILITIES
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2022
final rule

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Summary fee calculations

FY 2023
final rule

$22.4
¥8.0

$26.6
¥9.2

Net 10 CFR part 171 resources .......................................................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation ..............................................................................................................................
Allocated LLW surcharge ........................................................................................................................................
Billing adjustments ...................................................................................................................................................

14.4
1.7
0.4
¥0.1

17.4
1.9
0.4
0.0

Total remaining required annual fee recovery .................................................................................................

16.4

19.7

In comparison to FY 2022, the FY
2023 annual fee for the fuel facilities fee
class is increasing primarily due to the
increase in budgeted resources. This
increase is offset by an increase in 10
CFR part 170 estimated billings as
discussed in the following paragraphs.

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The budgeted resources for the fuel
facilities fee class increased primarily as
a result of an increase in the fully-costed
FTE rate compared to FY 2022 due to
an increase in salaries and benefits. In
addition, the budgeted resources
increased to support the following: (1)
licensing actions related to enrichment

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and manufacturing of high-assay lowenrichment uranium fuel, advanced
reactor fuel, and ATF; (2) the staff’s
review of a new fuel facility application;
(3) cyber security activities; (4) restart
activities for the Honeywell

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
International, Inc. Uranium Conversion
Facility and the Centrus American
Centrifuge Plant; (5) an anticipated
increase in material control and
accounting inspections at Category II
facilities; and (6) fuel facilities
rulemaking activities.
The 10 CFR part 170 estimated
billings increased as a result of the
following: (1) the staff’s review of the
Nuclear Fuel Services U-metal
amendment and an inspection that was
delayed due to the COVID–19
pandemic; (2) the staff’s review of the
TRISO–X, LLC, fuel fabrication facility
application; and (3) the staff’s review of
the Global Nuclear Fuel Americas, LLC,
amendment for an increase in
enrichment and inspection activities.
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 31448;
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 the FY 2023 final rule, the
safeguards factor in the effort factors
matrix for the uranium hexaflouride

(UF6) conversion and deconversion fee
category for UF6/liquid process have
been increased from 0 (no effort) to 5
(moderate effort), and the conversion
powder process has reduced from 10
(high effort) to 1 (low effort). Currently,
there is one uranium conversion facility
that had been in a ready-idle status for
several years with no processing
operations during this time; however,
this facility is now in the process of
returning to full operations.
In the proposed rule, the NRC
proposed an effort factor of 0 for
safeguards and 5 for safety for the liquid
UF6 process for the one uranium
conversion facility. At the time when
the effort factors were developed for the
proposed rule, Security Order EA–02–
025 was temporarily relaxed while the
facility was in a ready-idle status.
Subsequently, in October 2022, the NRC
withdrew the temporary relaxation of
Security Order EA–02–025 at the site.
As a result of reinstating Security Order
EA–02–025 at the site, the NRC
reevaluated the proposed effort factor
for safeguards and determined that it
should be changed from 0 to 5 to reflect
a moderate level of effort for the liquid
UF6 process. The effort factor of 5 for
safety in the proposed rule continues to
be appropriate, resulting in a combined
effort factor for the liquid UF6 process
of 10.
In the proposed rule, the NRC also
proposed changes to the safety effort
factor for the conversion powder
process, a separate process under the
matrix that is assigned its own effort
factors. Specifically, the proposed rule
proposed an effort factor of 10 for safety
for the conversion powder process at the
one uranium conversion facility that is
in the process of returning to full

operations. The proposed level of effort
was based on the facility returning to
full operations, which would involve
increased amounts of uranium powder
for processing at the site and an
increased effort to support the restart to
full operations. The NRC reevaluated
the proposed effort factor based on
additional information available from
the pre-operational inspections
conducted at the site and evaluations of
regulated activities during the restart
phase. Utilizing actual data instead of
estimates, the reevaluation concluded
that the overall NRC level of effort
would be moderate during the initial
restart phase, would be minimal for the
remainder of the restart phase, and
would be minimal once operations
resumed. Therefore, the NRC level of
effort for the year results in a revised
effort factor of 1 for safety for the
conversion powder process.
In summary, for FY 2023, the liquid
UF6 effort factors are revised to Safety5 and Safeguards-5, and conversion
powder effort factors are revised to
Safety-1 and Safeguards-0. These
changes, along with adding the effort
factors for the other processes in the
matrix that remain unchanged, results
in a total effort factor of 19 for the UF6
Conversion and Deconversion fee
category. The revised total effort factor
results in a decrease in the annual fees
for the UF6 Conversion and
Deconversion fee category by 16.4
percent compared to the proposed rule.
The decrease in annual fees for the UF6
Conversion and Deconversion fee
category results in a corresponding
average increase of approximately 1.2
percent in all other fee categories in the
fee class. Additional information can be
found in the work papers.

TABLE IX—EFFORT FACTORS FOR FUEL FACILITIES, FY 2023
Facility type
(fee category)

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High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)) ....................................................................................
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)) .....................................................................................
Limited Operations (1.A.(2)(a)) ....................................................................................................
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b)) ..............................................................
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c)) .................................................................................................
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.) ..........................................................................................................
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1)) ...............................................................................

In FY 2023, the total remaining
amount of the annual fees to be
recovered, $19.7 million, is attributable
to safety activities, safeguards activities,
and the LLW surcharge. For FY 2023,
the total budgeted resources to be
recovered as annual fees for safety
activities are approximately $10.7

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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,
$8.6 million, to each fee category based

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Effort factors

Number of
facilities

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Safety
2
3
1
0
0
1
1

Safeguards
88
70
3
0
0
16
12

91
21
11
0
0
23
7

on its percentage of the total regulatory
effort for safeguards activities. Finally,
the fuel facilities fee class portion of the
LLW surcharge—$0.4 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

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then calculated by dividing the total
allocated budgeted resources for the fee
category by the number of licensees in

that fee category. The annual fee for
each facility is summarized in Table X.

TABLE X—ANNUAL FEES FOR FUEL FACILITIES
[Actual dollars]
Facility type
(fee category)

FY 2022 final
annual fee

High-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(a)) ................................................................................................................
Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel (1.A.(1)(b)) .................................................................................................................
Facilities with limited operations (1.A.(2)(a)) ...........................................................................................................
Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Demonstration (1.A.(2)(b)) ..........................................................................................
Hot Cell (and others) (1.A.(2)(c)) .............................................................................................................................
Uranium Enrichment (1.E.) ......................................................................................................................................
UF6 Conversion and Deconversion (2.A.(1)) ..........................................................................................................

d. Uranium Recovery Facilities

FY 2023 final
annual fee

$4,334,000
1,469,000
968,000
N/A
N/A
1,888,000
436,000

$5,156,000
1,747,000
807,000
N/A
N/A
2,247,000
1,095,000

facilities fee class in FY 2023, as shown
in Table XI. The FY 2022 uranium
recovery facilities fees are shown for
comparison purposes.

The NRC will collect $0.2 million in
annual fees from the uranium recovery

TABLE XI—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR URANIUM RECOVERY FACILITIES
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2022
final rule

Summary fee calculations

FY 2023
final rule

$0.9
¥0.6

$0.5
¥0.3

Net 10 CFR part 171 resources .......................................................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation ..............................................................................................................................
Billing adjustments ...................................................................................................................................................

0.3
N/A
0.0

0.2
N/A
0.0

Total required annual fee recovery ..................................................................................................................

$0.3

$0.2

In comparison to FY 2022, the FY
2023 annual fee for the non-DOE
licensee in the uranium recovery
facilities fee class is increasing as a
result of the decrease in 10 CFR part 170
estimated billings due to the following:
(1) the completion of the NRC staff’s
National Environmental Review Act and
National Historic Preservation Act
review of Crow Butte Resources, Inc.’s
2014 license renewal; and (2) the
completion of the staff’s review of
Powertech (USA) Inc.’s license
amendment for the indirect change of
control.

The NRC regulates DOE’s Title I and
Title II activities under the Uranium
Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act
(UMTRCA).2 The annual fee assessed to
DOE includes the resources specifically
budgeted for the NRC’s UMTRCA Title
I and Title 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
2022 primarily due to a decrease in

budgeted resources needed to conduct
generic work that staff will be
performing to resolve issues associated
with the transfer of NRC and Agreement
State uranium mill tailings sites to DOE
for long-term surveillance and
maintenance. In addition, 10 CFR part
170 estimated billings are declining due
to the anticipated workload decreases at
various DOE UMTRCA sites. The NRC
assesses the remaining 90 percent of its
budgeted resources to the remaining
licensee in this fee class, as described in
the work papers, which is reflected in
Table XII.

TABLE XII—COSTS RECOVERED THROUGH ANNUAL FEES; URANIUM RECOVERY FACILITIES FEE CLASS
[Actual dollars]
FY 2022 final
annual fee

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Summary of costs
DOE Annual Fee Amount (UMTRCA Title I and Title II) General Licenses:
UMTRCA Title I and Title II budgeted resources less 10 CFR part 170 receipts ...........................................
10 percent of generic/other uranium recovery budgeted resources ................................................................
2 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

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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

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$206,441
4,665

FY 2023 final
annual fee

$142,181
5,798

is directed toward uranium mill sites licensed by
the NRC or Agreement States in or after 1978.

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TABLE XII—COSTS RECOVERED THROUGH ANNUAL FEES; URANIUM RECOVERY FACILITIES FEE CLASS—Continued
[Actual dollars]
FY 2022 final
annual fee

Summary of costs

FY 2023 final
annual fee

10 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment .....................................................................................

N/A

Total Annual Fee Amount for DOE (rounded) ..........................................................................................
Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licenses:
90 percent of generic/other uranium recovery budgeted resources less the amounts specifically budgeted
for UMTRCA Title I and Title II activities ......................................................................................................
90 percent of uranium recovery fee-relief adjustment .....................................................................................

211,000

148,000

41,986
N/A

52,185
N/A

Total Annual Fee Amount for Other Uranium Recovery Licensees .........................................................

41,986

52,185

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. Please see the
work papers for more detail. Currently,
there is only one remaining non-DOE
licensee, which is a basic ISR 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
licensees

Fee category

Benefit factor
per licensee

Total value

Benefit factor
percent total

Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a)) .............................................
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b)) ....................................................
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c)) ............................................
Section 11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites (2.A.(4)) .............

0
1
0
0

........................
190
........................
........................

0
100
0
0

Total ..........................................................................................................

190

100

The FY 2023 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]
Facility type
(fee category)

FY 2022 final
annual fee

Conventional and Heap Leach mills (2.A.(2)(a)) .....................................................................................................
Basic In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(b)) ...........................................................................................................
Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities (2.A.(2)(c)) ....................................................................................................
Section 11e.(2) disposal incidental to existing tailings sites (2.A.(4)) .....................................................................

e. Non-Power Production or Utilization
Facilities
The NRC will collect $0.289 million
in annual fees from the non-power

production or utilization facilities fee
class in FY 2023, as shown in Table XV.
The FY 2022 non-power production or

N/A
$42,000
N/A
N/A

FY 2023 final
annual fee
N/A
$52,200
N/A
N/A

utilization facilities fees are shown for
comparison purposes.

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TABLE XV—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR NON-POWER PRODUCTION OR UTILIZATION FACILITIES
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2022
final rule

Summary fee calculations
Total budgeted resources ........................................................................................................................................
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts ..............................................................................................................

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$6.072
¥5.804

FY 2023
final rule
$5.115
¥4.869

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

TABLE XV—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR NON-POWER PRODUCTION OR UTILIZATION FACILITIES—
Continued
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2022
final rule

Summary fee calculations

FY 2023
final rule

Net 10 CFR part 171 resources .......................................................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation ..............................................................................................................................
Billing adjustments ...................................................................................................................................................

0.268
0.035
¥0.032

0.246
0.040
0.003

Total required annual fee recovery ..................................................................................................................
Total non-power production or utilization facilities licenses .............................................................................
Total annual fee per license (rounded) .....................................................................................................

0.270
3
0.0901

0.289
3
0.0963

In comparison to FY 2022, the FY
2023 annual fee for the non-power
production or utilization facilities fee
class is increasing, as discussed in the
following paragraphs.
In FY 2023, while the budgeted
resources decreased primarily due to the
completion of the staff’s review of the
SHINE Medical technologies, LLC’s
(SHINE) operating license application,
this decrease in the budgeted resources
is offset by an increase in the fullycosted FTE rate compared to FY 2022
due to an increase in salaries and
benefits.
The 10 CFR part 170 estimated
billings associated with operating nonpower production or utilization
facilities licensees subject to annual fees
are declining slightly due to less hours
needed for activities associated with the
special team inspection and the staff’s
review of a complex license amendment
associated with the restart of the NIST

Neutron Reactor. The 10 CFR part 170
estimated billings with respect to the
medical isotope production facilities
and advanced research and test reactors
are remaining steady when compared
with FY 2022. While the staff completed
its review of the operating license
application for SHINE, the decrease in
estimated billings related to review of
the SHINE application are offset by the
staff’s review of the Kairos Power’s,
LLC, application for a permit to
construct the Hermes test reactor; and
pre-application meetings due to the
anticipated submission of several
license applications.
Furthermore, the annual fee is
increasing as a result of an increase in
the 10 CFR part 171 billing adjustment
(moving from a credit to a surcharge)
due to the timing of invoices issued in
FY 2022.
The annual fee-recovery amount is
divided equally among the three non-

power production or utilization
facilities licensees subject to annual fees
and results in an FY 2023 annual fee of
$96,300 for each licensee.
f. Rare Earth
In FY 2023, the NRC has allocated
approximately $0.3 million in budgeted
resources to this fee class; however,
because all the budgeted resources will
be recovered through service fees
assessed under 10 CFR part 170, the
NRC will not assess and collect annual
fees in FY 2023 for this fee class.
g. Materials Users
The NRC will collect $39.7 million in
annual fees from materials users
licensed under 10 CFR parts 30, 40, and
70 in FY 2023, as shown in Table XVI.
The FY 2022 materials users fees are
shown for comparison purposes.

TABLE XVI—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR MATERIALS USERS
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2022
final rule

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Summary fee calculations

FY 2023
final rule

Total budgeted resources for licensees not regulated by Agreement States .........................................................
Less estimated 10 CFR part 170 receipts ..............................................................................................................

$34.1
¥0.9

$38.7
¥1.2

Net 10 CFR part 171 resources .......................................................................................................................
Allocated generic transportation ..............................................................................................................................
LLW surcharge ........................................................................................................................................................
Billing adjustments ...................................................................................................................................................

33.2
1.7
0.1
¥0.2

37.5
2.0
0.1
0.0

Total required annual fee recovery ..................................................................................................................

34.8

39.7

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 $39.7
million for FY 2023 shown in Table XVI
consists of $30.3 million for general

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costs, $9.3 million for inspection costs,
and $0.1 million for LLW costs. To
equitably and fairly allocate the $39.7
million required to be collected among
approximately 2,400 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

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the complexity of the materials license,
this approach is the methodology 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 2022, the FY
2023 annual fees are increasing for 55

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
fee categories within the materials users
fee class primarily as a result of an
increase in the budgeted resources for:
(1) application of a new decisionmaking tool to calculate resources for
direct inspection work and support
activities; (2) associated materials users
rulemaking activities; and (3) an
increase in the fully-costed FTE rate
compared to FY 2022 due to an increase
in salaries and benefits. In addition,
annual fees are increasing for the
materials users fee class generally due to
the following: (1) the biennial review of
licensing and inspection activities,
which affects the distribution of fees
across categories based on the relative
level of staff effort; (2) an increase in
generic transportation costs for
materials users; and (3) a slight decrease
in the number of materials users
licensees from FY 2022.
A constant multiplier is established to
recover the total general costs (including

allocated generic transportation costs) of
$30.3 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 1.10 for FY 2023. The
average inspection cost is the average
inspection hours for each fee category
multiplied by the professional hourly
rate of $300. The inspection priority is
the interval between routine
inspections, expressed in years. The
inspection multiplier is established in
order to recover the $9.3 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

39131

multiplier of 1.74 for FY 2023. 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 $0.1 million in LLW
surcharge costs allocated to the
materials users fee class (see Table IV,
‘‘Allocation of LLW Surcharge, FY
2023,’’ in Section III, ‘‘Discussion,’’ of
this document). The annual fee for each
fee category is shown in the revision to
§ 171.16(d).
h. Transportation
The NRC will collect $1.7 million in
annual fees to recover generic
transportation budgeted resources in FY
2023, as shown in Table XVII. The FY
2022 fees are shown for comparison
purposes.

TABLE XVII—ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR TRANSPORTATION
[Dollars in millions]
FY 2022
final rule

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Summary fee calculations

FY 2023
final rule

$10.2
¥3.4

$11.1
¥3.4

Net 10 CFR part 171 resources .......................................................................................................................
Less generic transportation resources ....................................................................................................................
Billing adjustments ...................................................................................................................................................

6.8
¥5.3
0.0

7.7
¥6.0
0.0

Total required annual fee recovery ..................................................................................................................

1.5

1.7

In comparison to FY 2022, the FY
2023 annual fee for the transportation
fee class is increasing primarily due to
an increase in the budgeted resources
that is partially offset by generic
transportation resources allocated to
other fee classes.
In FY 2023, the budgeted resources
increased primarily due to: (1) an
increase in the fully-costed FTE rate
compared to FY 2022 due to an increase
in salaries and benefits; (2) maintenance
for the storage and transportation
information management system; and
(3) environmental and licensing reviews
of transportation packages for ATF,
other advanced reactors fuels, and
micro-reactors. This increase is offset by
a decrease in budgeted resources
associated with rulemaking activities.
The increase in the annual fee is offset
by an increase in generic transportation
resources allocated to respective other
fee classes due to a rise in the number
of CoCs.

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Furthermore, the net result of changes
in 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings
result in no change compared to FY
2022. Compared to FY 2022, an increase
in 10 CFR part 170 estimated billings
related to the review of new and
amended transportation packages are
offset by a decrease in 10 CFR part 170
estimated billings due to delays or the
completion of transportation
amendment packages.
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 § 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

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total generic transportation resources to
be recovered.
This resource distribution to the
license 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
three out of 30 operating 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 0.5 so these
licensees are charged a fair and
equitable portion of the total fees. For
additional detail see the work papers.

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE XVIII—DISTRIBUTION OF TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES, FY 2023
[Dollars in millions]
Number of CoCs
benefiting fee
class or DOE

Licensee fee class/DOE

Allocated
generic
transportation
resources

Materials Users ....................................................................................................................
Operating Power Reactors ..................................................................................................
Spent Fuel Storage/Reactor Decommissioning ..................................................................
Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities ....................................................................
Fuel Facilities .......................................................................................................................
Sub-Total of Generic Transportation Resources .................................................................
DOE .....................................................................................................................................

24.0
6.0
19.0
0.5
23.0
72.5
21.0

25.7
6.4
20.3
0.5
24.6
77.5
22.5

$2.0
0.5
1.6
0.0
1.9
6.0
1.7

Total ..............................................................................................................................

93.5

100.0

7.8

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.

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Percentage of
total CoCs

FY 2023—Policy Changes
The NRC made one policy change for
FY 2023.
Expand § 171.15 to be technologyinclusive and create an additional
minimum fee and variable rate.
The NRC is amending § 171.15,
‘‘Annual fees: Non-power production or
utilization licenses, reactor licenses, and
independent spent fuel storage
licenses,’’ to (1) expand the applicability
of the small modular reactor (SMR)
variable fee structure to include nonlight water reactor (non-LWR) SMRs,
and (2) establish an additional
minimum fee and variable rate
applicable to SMRs with a licensed
thermal power rating of less than or
equal to 250 megawatts-thermal (MWt).
The NRC is making these changes to be
technology inclusive and establish a fair
and equitable approach for assessing
annual fees to these SMRs. In addition,
there is the potential for a reduced
regulatory effort (and cost) for the
smallest proposed SMRs since these
types of facilities are considerably
smaller in size than the current fleet of
operating power reactors, and the level
of oversight could be comparable to
facilities in the non-power production
or utilization facilities fee class. This
revision retains the bundled unit
concept for SMRs and the approach for
calculating fees for reactors, or bundled
units, with licensed thermal power
ratings greater than 250 MWt. For the
purpose of calculating NRC fees, an
SMR is defined in §§ 170.3 and 171.5,
‘‘Definitions,’’ as a power reactor with a
licensed thermal power rating of 1,000
MWt or less. The rating is based on an
electrical power generating capacity of

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300 megawatts-electric or less per
module. This definition currently
applies only to light-water reactors
(LWRs). The final rule provides for a
non-LWR SMR’s annual fee to be
calculated the same as for a LWR SMR,
as a function of its licensed thermal
power rating. In addition to the
amendments to § 171.15, the NRC is also
making conforming changes to the
relevant definitions in §§ 170.3 and
171.5.
In 2016, the NRC published the final
rule, ‘‘Variable Annual Fee Structure for
Small Modular Reactors’’ (SMR rule) (81
FR 32617; May 24, 2016). The SMR rule
provisions in § 171.15 were the direct
result of a multi-year agencywide effort
with extensive stakeholder engagement.
The goal of the effort was to address
NRC staff and industry concerns that
there may be inequities if SMR licensees
were charged the same annual fee as the
current fleet of operating power
reactors, which have much larger
thermal power levels and electrical
generating capacity. The SMR rule was
limited to LWR SMRs but left open the
possibility of future inclusion of nonLWR SMRs. The NRC stated in the final
rule that, ‘‘[T]he light-water SMR
designs that have been discussed with
the NRC in pre-application discussions
to date are similar to the current U.S.
operating fleet of reactors in terms of
physical configuration, operational
characteristics, and applicability to the
NRC’s existing regulatory framework.
The NRC may consider the inclusion of
non-light water SMRs in a future
rulemaking once the agency has
increased understanding of these factors
with respect to non-light water designs’’
(81 FR 32617; May 24, 2016).
After issuing the SMR rule, the NRC
continued to engage with industry,
other Federal agencies, the international
community, and other interested
stakeholders to develop a knowledge
base and understanding of the
characteristics and proposed designs of

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non-LWR SMRs. The NRC conducted
public meetings with stakeholders to
share information and discuss topics
related to the development and
licensing of non-LWRs and participated
in preapplication activities with several
applicants. During these public
meetings, the NRC staff discussed
possible approaches to assessing annual
fees for non-LWR SMRs. Stakeholders
recommended that the NRC consider
lower fees for non-LWR SMRs and
requested the NRC proceed with
rulemaking expeditiously. In developing
an approach to assess annual fees to
future non-LWR SMRs, the NRC
considered stakeholder input from these
public meetings and analyzed a position
paper from the Nuclear Energy Institute
(NEI), ‘‘NEI Input on NRC Annual Fee
Assessment for Non-Light Water
Reactors.’’
The NRC is in the process of
conducting pre-application reviews for
several LWR and non-LWR commercial
SMR designs, but no applications for
SMRs have been submitted for operating
licenses under 10 CFR part 50,
‘‘Domestic Licensing of Production and
Utilization Facilities,’’ or combined
licenses under 10 CFR part 52,
‘‘Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals
for Nuclear Power Plants.’’ Under the
current regulatory framework, it will be
several years before a new SMR is ready,
if approved, to begin commercial
operation and be subject to annual fees
pursuant to 10 CFR part 171. However,
industry representatives and
stakeholders have requested prompt
NRC action to establish an annual fee
policy for non-LWR SMRs, including
micro-reactors, in order to inform
business decisions and to provide
regulatory predictability.
Commercial power reactors that are
less than or equal to 20 MWt are
considerably smaller in size than the
current fleet of operating power
reactors; the NRC anticipates that the
level of oversight could be comparable

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
to facilities in the non-power
production or utilization facilities fee
class. In addition, non-LWR SMRs that
are less than 20 MWt may not require
resident inspectors, similar to the nonpower production or utilization
facilities fee class oversight program.
As a result of this multi-year effort,
the NRC is amending § 171.15 to be
technology inclusive by expanding
applicability to non-LWR SMRs.
Additionally, the NRC is changing the
minimum fees and the variable annual
fee scale for SMRs that have a licensed
thermal power rating of less than or
equal to 250 MWt in order to fairly and
equitably assess annual fees for those
SMRs.
The new minimum fee will be equal
to the lowest annual fee that is assessed
to the non-power production or
utilization facility fee class and will be
the only annual fee assessed for an
SMR, or for bundled units, with a
combined licensed thermal power rating
per site that is less than or equal to 20
MWt. This change also creates a new
variable annual fee for an SMR or for
bundled units with a combined licensed
thermal power rating per site greater
than 20 MWt but less than or equal to
250 MWt that will be added to the
minimum fee (the non-power
production or utilization facilities fee
class annual fee). This approach
provides for a gradual increase in the
annual fee as the licensed thermal
power rating increases. The minimum
fee currently included in § 171.15,
which is equal to the average of the
spent fuel storage/reactor
decommissioning and non-power
production or utilization facilities fee
classes annual fees, is retained as a
component of the annual fee with an
added variable fee assessed for an SMR,
or for bundled units, with a combined
licensed thermal power rating per site
greater than 250 MWt but less than or
equal to 2,000 MWt.
Three different variable fees will be
assessed: (1) a new variable fee assessed
for power reactors with a licensed
thermal power rating greater than 20
MWt but less than or equal to 250 MWt;
(2) the existing variable fee assessed for
power reactors with a licensed thermal
power rating greater than 250 MWt but
less than or equal to 2,000 MWt; and (3)
for bundled units added above 4,500
MWt, the maximum fee (equal to the
annual fee for the operating power
reactor fee class) plus a variable fee will
be assessed for the incremental licensed
thermal power rating greater than 4,500
MWt up to 6,500 MWt (another 2,000
MWt range), which constitutes an
additional bundled unit. This pattern
for assessed fees will continue as

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licensed thermal power rating capacity
is added. The new variable fee provides
for a gradual increase in fees for power
reactors above 20 MWt but less than
equal to 250 MWt rather than an abrupt
increase to the higher minimum fee
once an increment above 20 MWt is
reached.
Without these changes to § 171.15, a
non-LWR SMR, regardless of size,
would be required to pay the same
annual fee as the operating power
reactors fee class under the NRC’s
current annual fee structure. NEIMA
requires that 10 CFR part 171 annual
fees be assessed in a fair and equitable
manner and, to the maximum extent
practicable, be reasonably related to the
cost of providing regulatory services.
NEIMA also provides that annual fees
may be based on the allocation of
resources of the Commission among
licensees or certificate holders or classes
of licensees or certificate holders. The
differences between SMRs and the
existing operating power reactor fleet
will result in significant differences in
the anticipated regulatory cost, thus
applying the current fee structure to
non-LWR SMRs could be inconsistent
with NEIMA requirements that the
NRC’s fees be fairly and equitably
allocated among its licensees.
The NRC finds this policy change to
be reasonable, fair, and equitable.
Pursuant to § 171.15, annual fees for
power reactors licensed under 10 CFR
part 50, or a combined license under 10
CFR part 52, including an SMR licensee,
will not commence until the licensee
has notified the NRC in writing of the
successful completion of power
ascension testing. The NRC does not
expect to license a non-LWR SMR
facility for operation that would be
assessed annual fees under 10 CFR part
171 for several years. However, the NRC
made this policy change, well before
operation, to promote regulatory
consistency and transparency, as well as
to provide potential non-LWR SMR
applicants, the industry, and the public
with notice and opportunity to
comment on the methodology that will
be used to calculate 10 CFR part 171
annual fees for future licensed facilities.
Furthermore, the NRC’s view is that this
policy change addresses potential
inconsistencies in the current 10 CFR
part 171 annual fee structure for future
non-LWR SMRs. This policy change
will assist industry in planning and
budgeting for future annual fees and
will continue to provide a clear method
for allocating NRC generic expenses to
its operating power reactor licensees.
Because the annual regulatory cost
associated with LWR and non-LWR
SMRs is inherently uncertain before

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39133

such a licensed facility is operational,
the NRC intends to reevaluate the
variable annual fee structure at the
appropriate time to ensure consistency
with NEIMA. This re-evaluation will
occur once SMR facilities become
operational and sufficient regulatory
cost data becomes available. Operational
experience data should provide insights
that will identify the correlation
between design features and the level of
NRC oversight typically needed for
these new types of power plants as well
as inform whether further annual fee
adjustments for SMRs may be needed.
As cost data and operating experience
for LWR and non-LWR SMRs are
accumulated, the NRC will propose
adjustments to fees as needed to make
sure that the fees assessed to LWR and
non-LWR SMRs (and to all operating
power reactors) are commensurate with
the regulatory support services provided
by the NRC, consistent with NEIMA.
FY 2023—Administrative Changes
The NRC is making three
administrative changes in FY 2023:
1. Amend Table 1 in § 170.31 and
Table 2 in § 171.16 to add Program Code
21131 to fee category 1(A)(2)(c).
On February 1, 2022, staff in the
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards added Program Code 21131,
‘‘Medical Isotopes Production Facility
Licensed Under 10 part 70,’’ to fee
category 1(A)(2)(c). This program code
was created in preparation for future
license applications that the NRC
anticipates will be submitted for
medical isotopes production facilities
under 10 CFR part 70, ‘‘Domestic
Licensing of Special Nuclear Material.’’
The NRC is amending Table 1 in
§ 170.31, ‘‘Schedule of fees for materials
licenses and other regulatory services,
including inspections, and import and
export licenses,’’ and Table 2 in
§ 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,’’ to add Program Code 21131
to fee category 1(A)(2)(c), as the program
code is used as the basis for assessing
10 CFR part 170 service fees at full cost
and a future annual fee under 10 CFR
part 171.
2. Amend § 170.12(f), ‘‘Method of
payment,’’ by clarifying the types of
payments and payment method.
The NRC is amending § 170.12(f),
‘‘Method of payment,’’ to add new
payment method options (Amazon Pay
and PayPal) now available via
www.Pay.gov. The NRC is also removing
the requirement for payment of invoices

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of $5,000 or more be made via the
Automated Clearing House (ACH)
through the NRC’s Lockbox Bank. The
NRC encourages applicants and
licensees to use the electronic payment
options for fee submittal.
3. Change Small Entity Fees.
In developing this final rule, the NRC
has 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 to perform this
biennial review (74 FR 27641; June 10,
2009). Based on this methodology and
as a result of the biennial review, the

NRC is increasing the upper tier small
entity fee from $4,900 to $5,200, which
constitutes an increase of approximately
6 percent. The lower tier small entity fee
is not increasing and will remain at
$1,000. 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.
III. Public Comment Analysis
Overview of Public Comments
The NRC published a proposed rule
on March 3, 2023 (88 FR 13357) and

requested public comment on its
proposed revisions to 10 CFR parts 170
and 171. By the close of the comment
period, the NRC received seven written
comment submissions on the FY 2023
proposed rule. In general, commenters
were supportive of the specific
proposed regulatory changes, although
most commenters expressed concerns
about broader fee policy issues related
to the overall size of the NRC’s budget,
fairness of fees, transparency, and
budget formulation.
The commenters are listed in Table
XIX.

TABLE XIX—FY 2023 PROPOSED FEE RULE COMMENTER SUBMISSIONS
Affiliation

Timothy J. Tate ..........................................................................
Brian Hunt ..................................................................................
Dr. Jennifer L. Uhle ...................................................................
Richard J. Freudenberger .........................................................
David M. Gullott .........................................................................
Paul A. Kerl ...............................................................................
Timothy A. Knowles ...................................................................

Framatome ...............................................................................
Honeywell International—Metropolis Works (MTW) ................
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) .................................................
BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) .............................................
Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (CEG) .........................
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) ..........................................
Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) ...........................................

Information about obtaining the
complete text of the comment
submissions is available in the
‘‘Availability of Documents,’’ section 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 into six topics. Comments
from multiple commenters raising
similar specific concerns were
combined to capture the common
essential issues raised by the
commenters. 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.
A. Fuel Facilities Fee Class Budget and
Increase in the Annual Fees

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ADAMS
accession No.

Commenter

Comment: Several commenters
expressed concerns about the average
18.5% annual fee increase for all
operating fuel cycle facilities, except for
the approximate 203% increase
proposed for the uranium conversion
plant, which is expected to restart
operations later this year. The
commenters stated that the fuel facilities
business line budget and annual fees
decreased each of the prior four fiscal
years (FY 2019–FY 2022) to more
accurately reflect the reduced number of

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operating facilities and the
corresponding reduction in workload.
The commenters expressed concern that
despite the number of operating
facilities remaining steady, the proposed
annual fee increase is not based on
quantitative workload data or effort
factors and does not reflect the
relatively low risk profile of the existing
and predicted fuel cycle facility fleet.
The commenters expressed concern that
the basis for the increase in the annual
fee is not adequate or clear. The
commenters also expressed concern
regarding the increase in the budget for
licensing and oversight activities and
the disparity between lower 10 CFR part
170 (service fees) relative to 10 CFR part
171 (annual fees). (Framatome, BWXT,
NEI, and NFS)
Response: The NRC is aware and
remains mindful of the impact of its
budget on the fees for the fuel facilities
fee class. When formulating the budget,
the NRC takes into consideration
various factors, including workload
forecasting, historical data and trends in
the business line, information from
licensees and potential applicants, and
uncertainty of projections. The NRC
assesses the current environment and
performs workload forecasting, which
includes looking for significant drivers
that could impact future workload.
These include, but are not limited to,
technical and regulatory developments
that have the potential to generate
additional work or reduce work (i.e.,

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pre-application activities and
applications for new fuel facilities,
potential major amendments and license
termination requests, rulemaking
activities, guidance development, and
oversight of the fuel facilities program).
In addition, the NRC evaluates
historical data and trends to measure
how execution in previous years lines
up with the budget assumptions at the
time. The NRC uses that data to inform
the future budget and identify areas
where the assumptions previously used
may have changed. Historical data
allows the NRC to identify trending in
quantity and/or complexity of the
planned submittals, and to incorporate
efficiencies gained and lessons learned
from previous data.
The NRC also relies on
communication from stakeholders to
identify accurate dates for planned
submittals (i.e., major amendment
requests, renewals, and new fuel facility
applications), including letters of intent
provided by licensees and applicants,
and collecting information from project
managers. For large licensing projects,
the NRC tries to balance the appropriate
resource needs against the relative
certainty that an application will be
submitted on schedule.
While the NRC understands the
commenters’ concerns regarding the
impact of budget on the existing fuel
facilities licensees, NEIMA requires the
NRC to recover, to the maximum extent
practicable, approximately 100 percent

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of its annual budget authority, less the
budget authority for excluded activities,
and to do so through a combination of
both user fees and annual fees. This
requirement means that fact-of-life
changes in the 10 CFR part 170
estimated collections for budgeted
workloads (due to circumstances like
delayed or cancelled licensing
submittals) may increase the amount to
be recovered through 10 CFR part 171
annual fees.
As expressed by the commenters,
from FY 2019 through FY 2022 the
annual fee for fuel facilities fee class
had decreased each year and, after a
significant decrease in the budgeted
resources for the fee class from FY 2019
to FY 2020, budgeted resources had
remained relatively flat from FY 2020 to
FY 2022. The decrease in the fuel
facilities budgeted resources over this
period appropriately aligned resources
with the projected workload for the fuel
facilities fee class at the time. In FY
2023, the fuel facilities fee class budget
did increase from FY 2022 by $4.2
million, which includes an increase of
5.3 FTE and approximately $0.5 million
in contract support, for licensing,
oversight, and rulemaking activities.
The FY 2023 fuel facilities fee class
budgeted resources of $26.6 million,
which includes 52.5 FTE and
approximately $2.2 million in contract
support, is $3.4 million or
approximately 11.3 percent less than the
FY 2019 fuel facilities budgeted
resources of $30.0 million, which
included 66.7 FTE and approximately
$2.0 million in contract support.
The FY 2023 CBJ, published in April
2022, explains that the increase in
budgeted resources for the fuel facilities
business line supports activities such as
licensing actions related to the
enrichment and manufacturing of highassay low-enriched uranium fuel,
advanced reactor fuel, and ATF,
cybersecurity rulemaking for fuel cycle
facilities, and an increase in the fullycosted FTE rate due to an increase in
salaries and benefits to support Federal
pay raises for NRC employees.
Additionally, changing workload
drivers, including shift in licensing
action schedules, and the
implementation of information security
standards have impacted the FY 2023
budget for the fuel facilities business
line.
Although the NRC is aware of the
impact of its budgeted resources on the
fees for fuel facilities licensees subject
to 10 CFR part 171 annual fees, the fee
class budget is not linearly proportional
to the number of licensees in the fuel
facilities fee class. Resources are
required to develop and maintain the

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infrastructure independent of the
number of operational fuel facilities.
The fuel facilities business line must
maintain certain minimum
requirements in order to meet the NRC’s
regulatory and statutory oversight role.
This includes maintaining expertise in a
number of technical areas, including
integrated safety analysis, radiation
protection, criticality safety, chemical
safety, fire safety, emergency
management, environmental protection,
decommissioning, management
measures, material control and
accounting, physical protection, and
information security. Budgeted
resources in technical areas are
recovered through 10 CFR part 170 user
fees as well as 10 CFR part 171 annual
fees. Additionally, the infrastructure
costs include indirect services and the
business line portion of corporate
support. Indirect services include
rulemaking, maintaining guidance for
licensees, maintaining procedures for
NRC staff, training, and travel.
Corporate support includes, but is not
limited to, the cost for information
management and technology, security,
facilities management, rent, utilities,
human resources, financial
management, and acquisitions.
Consistent with NEIMA, when
developing the annual fee rule, the NRC
accounted for changes that occurred in
the two-year interval between the
development of the FY 2023 budget
request, which began in FY 2021, and
the enactment of the FY 2023
appropriation in December 2022. As
part of developing 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 2023 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
2023 final rule. In the FY 2023 proposed
fee rule, the 10 CFR part 170 estimated
service fees for the fuel facilities fee
class increased from $8.0 million in FY
2022 to $9.0 million as shown in the FY
2023 proposed fee rule, which is an
increase of $1.0 million or 12.5 percent
compared to FY 2022. As described in
the FY 2023 proposed fee rule, the 10
CFR part 170 estimated billings
increased as a result of the following: (1)
the staff’s review of the Westinghouse

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39135

Electric Company, LLC’s license
renewal application for the Columbia
Fuel Fabrication Facility, which was
completed in September 2022; (2) the
staff’s review of the Nuclear Fuel
Services U-metal amendment and an
inspection that was delayed due to the
COVID–19 pandemic; (3) Louisiana
Energy Services’ transition of the
Authority to Operate from DOE to the
NRC; and (4) upgrades to NIST–800–53.
The increase in 10 CFR part 170
estimated billings was offset by a delay
in the submission of X–Energy’s
environmental review for the TRISO–X
facility.
The NRC continues to actively
evaluate resource requirements to
address changes that occur between
budget formulation and execution. The
NRC will continue to assess resource
requirements, evaluate programmatic
efficiencies, and make changes as
appropriate.
No changes were made to this final
rule as a result of these comments.
Comment: Several commenters
expressed concerns that they have
finalized their calendar year budgets
and funding an 18.5 percent increase in
the FY 2023 annual fees is not currently
budgeted and can only be fulfilled by
making difficult resource decisions
while maintaining operational safety
and security. (Framatome, BWXT, and
NEI)
Response: NEIMA requires the NRC to
recover, to the maximum extent
practicable, approximately 100 percent
of its annual budget authority, less the
budget authority for excluded activities,
through fees by the end of the fiscal
year. The NRC must set its fees in
accordance with its appropriated budget
authority. Furthermore, the annual
appropriation cycle places additional
constraints upon the NRC. Even though
the NRC does not know the amount of
fees it will need to collect until after it
receives an annual appropriation from
Congress, the NRC starts the process of
developing the fee rule in the preceding
summer to allow for timely final billing
prior to the end of the fiscal year,
consistent with the requirements of
NEIMA. This practice ensures that NRC
fees assessed bear a reasonable
relationship to the cost of NRC services.
Furthermore, the NRC must comply
with additional statutory requirements,
including the Administrative
Procedures Act (APA). Section 553 of
the APA requires the NRC to give the
public an opportunity to comment on a
published proposed rule. Moreover,
because OMB has found the fee rule to
be a major rule under the Congressional
Review Act, the effective date of the
final rule cannot be less than 60 days

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from the date of publication and must
allow for timely final billing prior to the
end of the fiscal year. The NRC,
therefore, cannot republish the FY 2023
proposed fee rule to provide advance
notification of all changes within the
final rule and meet its statutory
requirements.
The NRC recognizes that the issuance
of the fee rule may not coincide with
budget cycles of industry; however, the
NRC must promulgate a notice-andcomment rule based on the most
accurate data available regarding the
cost of NRC services in the context of
the NRC’s budget for a given fiscal year.
No changes were made to this final
rule as a result of these comments.

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B. Fuel Facilities Matrix
Comment: ‘‘Since 2018, the
Metropolis facility [MTW] has been
secured in an idle state due to market
conditions. The NRC was notified of the
decision to restart the plant on February
15, 2021. The start date of the
production of UF6 was estimated to
occur by the end of March of 2023. The
current schedule indicates the earliest
date to produce UF6 will be in April
2023. MTW will only produce UF6 for
2 quarters in FY 2023. A review of the
effort factors based on the start-up of the
plant was completed. The effort factor
for the Conversion Powder was
increased from 0 to 10 with the Liquid
UF6 effort factor going from 0 to 5.
MTW agrees that the effort factor for the
liquid state UF6 is correct based on
previous years of plant operation. MTW
does not agree with the Conversion
Powder effort factor going from 0 to 10.
Additionally, the Conversion Powder
effort factor for the Fuel Fabricators is
only listed as 5. This has a much higher
safety significance than the MTW
Source Material (Natural U3O8). During
the previous 5 years of operation, prior
to the ready idle period, the effort factor
for Conversion Powder at MTW was
assigned a value of 1. To reflect the
same level of effort that was used during
previous years of plant operation, MTW
asks that the effort factor for the
Conversion Powder be revised from 10
to 1, and the FY 2023 part 171 annual
fee be recalculated using the lower effort
factor.’’ (Honeywell)
Response: Prior to issuing the final
rule, the NRC conducted additional
verification and validation of the data
inputs and calculations on the fuel
facilities effort factors matrix. As a
result of this review, the NRC
determined that the effort factors for
Honeywell should be revised because of
the reinstatement of Security Order EA–
02–025 and a reevaluation of the level

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of effort associated with conversion
powder during restart and operations.
In the proposed rule, the NRC
proposed an effort factor of 0 for
safeguards and 5 for safety for liquid
UF6 for Honeywell. When the effort
factors were developed for the proposed
rule, Security Order EA–02–025 was
temporarily relaxed while Honeywell
was in ready-idle status. Subsequently,
in October 2022, the NRC reinstated
Security Order EA–02–025 at the site.
As a result of reinstating Security Order
EA–02–025 at the site, the NRC
reevaluated the proposed effort factor
for safeguards and determined that it
should be changed from 0 to 5 to reflect
a moderate level of effort. The effort
factor for safety for liquid UF6 for
Honeywell remains 5.
In the proposed rule, the NRC also
proposed changes to the safety effort
factor for the conversion powder
process, a separate process under the
matrix that is assigned its own effort
factors. Specifically, the proposed rule
proposed an effort factor of 10 for safety
for conversion powder at Honeywell.
The proposed level of effort was based
on Honeywell returning to full
operations, which would involve
increased amounts of uranium powder
for processing at the site and increased
effort to support the restart. The NRC
reevaluated the proposed effort factor
based on the additional information
available from pre-operational
inspections conducted at the site and
evaluations of regulated activities
during the restart phase. Utilizing actual
data instead of estimates, the reevaluation concluded that the overall
NRC level of effort during the initial
restart phase would be moderate, would
be minimal for the remainder of the
restart phase, and would be minimal
once operations were resumed.
Therefore, the NRC level of effort
revised the effort factor to 1 for safety
for conversion powder.
In summary, for FY 2023, the liquid
UF6 effort factors are revised to safety–
5 and safeguards–5, and conversion
powder effort factors are revised to
safety–1 and safeguards–0. These
changes, along with adding the effort
factors for the other processes in the
matrix that remain unchanged, results
in a total effort factor of 19 for the UF6
Conversion and Deconversion fee
category. The revised total effort factor
results in a decrease in the annual fees
for the UF6 Conversion and
Deconversion fee category by 16.4
percent compared to the proposed rule.
The decrease in annual fees for the UF6
Conversion and Deconversion fee
category results in a corresponding
average increase of approximately 1.2

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percent in all other fee categories in the
fee class. The NRC provides a
significant amount of information in the
work papers that details the inputs and
calculations used to develop the fees for
each fee category. Specific information
fee calculations for fuel facilities can be
found in Table VIII—Annual Fee
Summary Calculation for Fuel Facilities.
C. Operating Power Reactors Fee Class
Budget and Declining 10 CFR Part 170
Estimated Billings
Comment: Several commenters
expressed concerns that the NRC’s
operating power reactors fee class
budget is too large and that there is a
growing disparity between 10 CFR part
170 and 10 CFR part 171. The
commenters expressed the view that
over the past five years, the 10 CFR part
170 service fee collections have
decreased by 39 percent, while the
budget for operating reactors has
decreased by less than 1 percent. As a
result, a greater percentage of the budget
is required to be recovered through
annual fees and, as such, this points to
a need to revalue the NRC’s budget and
fee collection model. (NEI and CEG)
Response: The NRC is aware and
remains mindful of the impact of its
budget on the fees for operating power
reactors licensees. The operating power
reactors fee class supports the activities
of the operating reactors and new
reactors business lines, including both
direct-billable licensing actions and
those general activities that indirectly
support the agency’s mission in these
areas. The NRC’s FY 2023 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
the changes in the budget request for the
NRC compared to the prior year.
When formulating the budget, the
NRC takes into consideration various
factors, including workload forecasting,
historical data and trends in the
business line, information from
licensees and potential applicants, and
uncertainty of projections. The NRC
assesses the current environment and
performs workload forecasting, which
includes looking for significant drivers
that could impact the future workload.
These include, but are not limited to,
technical and regulatory developments
that have the potential to generate
additional work or reduce work (i.e.,
rulemaking, a guidance change that
could drive new submittals, or known
plant closures that will reduce the
overall size of the program). In addition,
the NRC reviews historical data and
trends to measure how execution in
previous years lines up with the budget

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assumptions at the time. The NRC uses
that data to inform the future budget
and identify areas where the
assumptions previously used may have
changed. The NRC also relies on
communications from stakeholders to
identify plant submittals, including
letters of intent, collecting information
from project managers, considering
responses to the periodic regulatory
issue summaries, and the level of preapplication activities. In budgeting for
large licensing projects, the NRC tries to
balance the anticipated resource needs
against the relative certainty that an
application will be submitted on
schedule.
In FY 2023, the operating power
reactors fee class is $665.3 million,
which includes approximately 1,245
FTE and $86.6 million in contract
support. This represents an increase
from FY 2022 of $19.9 million, which
includes a decrease of approximately 41
FTE primarily in licensing and oversight
activities. Compared to FY 2017, the FY
2023 operating power reactors fee class
budget decreased by $5.0 million, or
approximately 0.7 percent less than the
FY 2017 operating power reactors
budgeted resources of $670.3 million,
which included approximately 1,532
FTE and $66.0 million in contract
support. The $19.9 million increase in
the operating power reactors fee class
budget is primarily due to increases in
the fully-costed FTE rate from an
increase in salaries and benefits. 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
closure of Palisades; (2) delays to
planned new reactor design and
licensing applications; and (3) a
reduction in resources for the
development of operating reactors
licensing action infrastructure for
process improvements and special
projects.
Since FY 2017, service fees directly
billed to operating power reactors under
10 CFR part 170 have decreased from
$256.3 million in FY 2017 to $158.9
million as shown in the FY 2023 final
fee rule, which represents a decline of
$97.4 million, or approximately 38
percent. During the same period, the
operating power reactors fleet has
declined from 99 to 93.
Further, while the NRC understands
the commenters’ concerns regarding the
budget for the existing operating power
reactor licensees, NEIMA requires the
NRC to recover, to the maximum extent
practicable, approximately 100 percent
of its annual budget authority, less the
budget authority for excluded activities.
This requirement means that fact-of-life

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changes in the 10 CFR part 170
estimated collections for budgeted
workloads (due to circumstances like
delayed or cancelled licensing
applications) may increase the amount
to be recovered through 10 CFR part 171
annual fees. NEIMA also caps the perlicensee annual fee for operating
reactors, to the maximum extent
practicable, at the FY 2015 annual fee
amount as adjusted for inflation.
Although the NRC is mindful of the
impact of its budgeted resources on the
fees for operating power reactors
licensees subject to 10 CFR part 171
annual fees, the fee class budget is not
linearly proportional to the number of
licensees in the operating power
reactors fee class. Resources are
required to develop and maintain the
infrastructure independent of the
number of operational power reactors.
The operating and new reactors
business lines must maintain certain
minimum requirements in order to meet
the NRC’s regulatory and statutory
oversight role. This includes
maintaining expertise by developing
and implementing licensing, oversight,
incident response programs, and
rulemaking for reactors. Budgeted
resources in technical areas are
recovered through 10 CFR part 170 user
fees as well as 10 CFR part 171 annual
fees. Additionally, the infrastructure
costs include indirect services and the
business line portion of corporate
support. Indirect services include
rulemaking, maintaining guidance for
licensees, maintaining procedures for
NRC staff, training, and travel.
Corporate support includes, but is not
limited to, the cost for information
management and technology, security,
facilities management, rent, utilities,
human resources, financial
management, and acquisitions.
Consistent with NEIMA, when
developing the annual fee rule, the NRC
took into account changes that occurred
in the two-year interval between the
development of the FY 2023 budget
request, which began in FY 2021, and
the enactment of the FY 2023
appropriation in December 2022. 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 2023
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

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quarters of the current year billing data
(which is also updated to reflect
workload changes) for the FY 2023 final
rule. In the FY 2023 proposed fee rule,
the 10 CFR part 170 estimated service
fees for the operating power fee class
decreased from $165.8 million in FY
2022 to $160.2 million as shown in the
FY 2023 proposed fee rule, which is a
decrease of $5.6 million or 3.4 percent
compared to FY 2022. As described in
the FY 2023 proposed fee rule, the 10
CFR part 170 estimated billings
decreased as a result of the following:
(1) a decrease in hours associated with
the closure of Palisades and (2) delays
to planned new reactor design and
licensing applications, topical reports,
and white papers.
With the cap on annual fees for the
operating power reactors fee class, the
NRC continues to evaluate resource
requirements and adjustments to
address changes that occur between
budget formulation and execution. The
NRC will continue to assess resource
requirements, evaluate programmatic
efficiencies, and make changes as
appropriate.
No changes were made to this final
rule as a result of these comments.
D. Non-Power Production or Utilization
Facilities Fee Class
Comment: ‘‘The FY2023 proposed fee
rule outlines a 9.8% increase in annual
fees for non-power production or
utilization facilities (NPUFs).
Historically, and justifiably, the annual
fee for NPUFs has remained relatively
stable, with fluctuations of around 1%.
However, that stable trend was
drastically reversed in FY22 when
NPUF’s received a 12.6% increase in
annual fees (which was the largest
increase among all fee classes for that
fiscal year). NRC justified this increase
primarily by the fact that the number of
NPUF licensees subject to fees went
from 4 to 3. We assumed the hike of
FY2022 would allow for a stabilization
in FY2023. Yet, for FY2023, the NRC is
proposing another 9.8% annual fee
increase, for which the basis is not clear.
The NRC’s statement in the FRN
describes the NPUF increase due to the
following: ‘Furthermore, the proposed
annual fee is increasing as a result of an
increase in the 10 CFR part 171 billing
adjustment (moving from a credit to a
surcharge) due to the timing of invoices
issued in FY 2022.’ ‘Timing of invoices’
as the sole justification for a 9.8%
increase seems inadequate. In addition,
we urge the NRC to consider the unique
role of these facilities, and how fee
increases have a direct impact upon
resources available for research and
development. This role is outlined

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under the Atomic Energy Act, section
104(c), and 10 CFR 50.41(b), which
directs the Commission to regulate and
license class 104(c) licensees in a
manner that ‘will permit the conduct of
widespread and diverse research and
development.’ ’’ (NEI)
Response: While the timing of
invoices was the main contributor to the
increase in the FY 2023 fee for the
NPUF fee class, it was not the sole
justification provided for the increase.
As discussed in the FY 2023 proposed
fee rule, the NPUF budgetary resources
decreased primarily due to the expected
completion of the staff’s review of the
SHINE operating license application.
The decrease in the budgeted resources
was offset by an increase in the fullycosted FTE rate compared to FY 2022
due to an increase in salaries and
benefits. Each fee class was impacted by
the increase in the fully-costed FTE rate
due to the increase in salaries and
benefits. In addition, the 10 CFR part
170 estimated billings associated with
operating NPUF licensees subject to
annual fees are declining slightly due to
less hours needed for activities
associated with the special team
inspection and the staff’s review of a
complex license amendment associated
with the restart of the NIST Neutron
Reactor. The 10 CFR part 170 estimated
billings with respect to the medical
isotope production facilities and
advanced research and test reactors are
remaining steady when compared with
FY 2022 due to the following: (1) the
staff’s construction and operational
readiness inspection activities for
SHINE; (2) the staff’s review of the
Kairos Power’s, LLC application for a
permit to construct a test reactor; and (3)
pre-application meetings due to the
anticipated submission of several
license applications. Finally, as the
commenter noted, an additional reason
for the proposed annual fee is increasing
is the 10 CFR part 171 billing
adjustment (moving from a credit to a
surcharge) due to the timing of invoices
issued in FY 2022.
In a March 21, 2023, FY 2023
proposed fee rule public meeting, the
NRC discussed the NPUF fee class over
a five-year period and reasons for the
change in the proposed annual fee.
Further, the NRC discussed the billing
adjustment, which was the main
contributing factor for the increase in
the NPUF proposed annual fee. Billing
adjustments are a combination of
invoices issued in a prior fiscal year and
paid in the current fiscal year offset by
estimated invoices that are issued in the
current year and paid in a future year.
This amount can fluctuate from year to
year based on many different variables

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including timing of when the final
annual fee invoices are issued due to the
effective date of the fee rule and deferral
of debt including payment plans. The
ADAMS accession number for the slides
is provided in the ‘‘Availability of
Documents’’ section of this document.
Finally, the commenter asserts that
the NRC should consider how fee
increases have a direct impact upon
resources available for research and
development as described under the
Atomic Energy Act, section 104(c), and
10 CFR 50.41(b). The NRC is mindful of
the impact of its budgeted resources on
the fees for facilities involved in
research and development, and only
requests from Congress those resources
necessary to complete its mission. In FY
2023, the budgetary resources for the
NPUF fee class were necessary to
address emerging work needs and
maintaining adequate oversight of the
existing fleet of facilities. NEIMA
requires the NRC to recover, to the
maximum extent practicable,
approximately 100 percent of the total
budget authority appropriated for the
fiscal year, less the budget authority for
excluded activities.
No change was made to this final rule
in response to this comment.
E. Use of Fee-Based Carryover To
Reduce Fees
Comment: Several commenters
suggested that the NRC should use its
available discretionary authority to
apply fee-based carryover funds for the
purpose of reducing licensee fees. The
commenters suggested that the NRC
apply carryover funds in the FY 2023
fee rule for the purpose of reducing fees
and that carryover should be applied
from one year to the next to alleviate
costs. (NEI and CEG)
Response: Under NEIMA, the NRC
must recover, to the maximum extent
practicable, approximately 100 percent
of the total budget authority
appropriated for the fiscal year, less the
budget authority for excluded activities.
The NRC’s discretionary use of
carryover does not reduce the amount of
current-year budget authority
appropriated to the NRC.
No changes were made to this final
rule as a result of these comments.
F. Transparency
Comment: ‘‘Most licensees must
estimate and budget their NRC fees well
in advance of the proposed fee rule and
typically use recent NRC fee history in
making their estimates. The lack of
directed carryover to offset current fiscal
year funding is a significant departure
from this recent fee history and is the
cause of budget challenges for licensees.

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We strongly encourage the NRC to reexamine the remaining available
carryover and use whatever discretion
exists to reallocate this carryover to
offset current year funding needs,
consistent with past NRC budgets.
Further, we also strongly encourage the
NRC to use any means available to
notify licensees of any substantial
changes made during the crafting of the
final rule, e.g., the use of carryover and
the number of operating power reactors
assumed. This would allow licensees
additional time needed to realign their
own budgets.’’ (NEI)
Response: The NRC strives to ensure
that the proposed fee rule is as accurate
as possible and explains its assumptions
about the budgetary resources and the
number of operating power reactors to
provide the best information available
regarding the fiscal year’s proposed fees.
The NRC discussed these assumptions
during the March 21, 2023, public
meeting on the FY 2023 proposed fee
rule.
Under NEIMA, the NRC must recover,
to the maximum extent practicable,
approximately 100 percent of the total
budget authority appropriated for the
fiscal year, less the budget authority for
excluded activities. The NRC’s
discretionary use of carryover does not
reduce the amount of current-year
budget authority appropriated to the
NRC.
Furthermore, the NRC must comply
with additional statutory requirements,
including the APA. Section 553 of the
APA requires the NRC to give the public
an opportunity to comment on a
published proposed rule. Moreover,
because OMB has found the fee rule to
be a major rule under the Congressional
Review Act, the effective date of the
final rule cannot be less than 60 days
from the date of publication and must
allow for timely final billing prior to the
end of the fiscal year. The NRC,
therefore, cannot republish the FY 2023
proposed fee rule to provide advance
notification of all changes within the
final rule and meet its statutory
requirements.
No changes were made to this final
rule in response to these comments.
V. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
As required by the Regulatory
Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended
(RFA),3 the NRC has prepared a
regulatory flexibility analysis related to
this final rule. The regulatory flexibility
analysis is available as indicated in the
4 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).

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section of
this document.
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 2023 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 and issue finality provisions,
§§ 50.109, ‘‘Backfitting’’; 52.39,
‘‘Finality of early site permit
determinations’’; 52.63, ‘‘Finality of
standard design certifications’’; 52.83,
‘‘Finality of referenced NRC approvals;
partial initial decision on site
suitability’’; 52.98, ‘‘Finality of
combined licenses; information
requests’’; 52.145, ‘‘Finality of standard
design approvals; information requests’’;
52.171, ‘‘Finality of manufacturing
licenses; information requests’’; and
70.76, ‘‘Backfitting,’’ do 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.

X. Paperwork Reduction Act

XIII. Availability of Guidance

This final rule does not contain any
new or amended collections of
information subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501,
et seq.). Existing collections of
information were approved by OMB,
approval number 3150–0190.
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.

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 2023 fee
rule. The compliance guide was
developed when the NRC completed the
small entity biennial review. This
compliance guide is available as
indicated in the ‘‘Availability of
Documents’’ section of this document.

XI. Congressional Review Act

XIV. Availability of Documents

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

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

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

Public Protection Notification

ADAMS acccession No./FR citation/web link

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SECY–05–0164, ‘‘Annual Fee Calculation Method,’’ dated September 15, 2005 .........................
‘‘Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2015,’’ dated June 30, 2015 ............
NUREG–1100, Volume 38, ‘‘Congressional Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2023’’ (April 2022)
‘‘Variable Annual Fee Structure for Small Modular Reactors,’’ dated May 24, 2016 .....................
Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2002,’’ dated June 24, 2002 ...........................
‘‘Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2006,’’ dated May 30, 2006 ..........................
‘‘Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2009,’’ dated June 10, 2009 .........................
‘‘NEI Input on NRC Annual Fee Assessment for Non-Light Water Reactors,’’ dated November
23, 2020.
FY 2023 Proposed Fee Rule Public Meeting Slides ......................................................................
FY 2023 Regulatory Flexibility Analysis ..........................................................................................
FY 2023 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Small Entity Compliance Guide ..........................

Jkt 259001

XII. Voluntary Consensus Standards

The NRC has determined that this
final rule is the type of action described
in § 51.22(c)(1). Therefore, neither an
environmental impact statement nor
environmental assessment has been
prepared for this final rule.

VIII. Plain Writing

FY 2023 Final Rule Work Papers ...................................................................................................
OMB Circular A–25, ‘‘User Charges’’ ..............................................................................................

16:27 Jun 14, 2023

be a major rule as defined in the
Congressional Review Act.
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 2023 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.

Documents

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ML23136A575.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2017/11/Circular-025.pdf.
ML052580332.
80 FR 37432.
ML22089A188.
81 FR 32617.
67 FR 42611.
71 FR 30721.
74 FR 27641.
ML20328A173.
ML23076A132.
ML23123A138.
ML22347A247.

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39140

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
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.

List of Subjects
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.

2. In § 170.3, revise the definition for
‘‘Small modular reactor (SMR)’’ to read
as follows.

■

§ 170.3

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 amending 10 CFR parts 170
and 171 as follows:
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:

■

Definitions.

*
*
*
*
Small modular reactor (SMR) for the
purposes of calculating fees, means the
class of power reactors having a
licensed thermal power rating less than
or equal to 1,000 MWt per module. This
rating is based on the thermal power
equivalent of an SMR with an electrical
power generating capacity of 300 MWe
or less per module.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 3. In § 170.12, revise paragraph (f) to
read as follows.
§ 170.12

Payment of fees.

*
*
*
*
(f) Method of payment. All fee
payments under 10 CFR part 170 are to
be made payable to the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission. The payments
are to be made in U.S. funds by
electronic funds transfer, such as ACH
(Automated Clearing House) using
Electronic Data Interchange (E.D.I.),
check, draft, money order, credit card,

Amazon Pay, or PayPal (submit
electronic payment at www.Pay.gov or
manual payment using the NRC Form
629, ‘‘Authorization for Payment by
Credit Card’’). Specific written
instructions for making electronic
payments and credit card payments may
be obtained by contacting the Office of
the Chief Financial Officer at 301–415–
7554. In accordance with Department of
the Treasury requirements, refunds will
only be made upon receipt of
information on the payee’s financial
institution and bank accounts.
*
*
*
*
*
§ 170.20

[Amended]

4. In § 170.20, remove the dollar
amount ‘‘$290’’ and add in its place the
dollar amount ‘‘$300’’.

■

5. In § 170.31, revise table 1 to read as
follows:

■

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

TABLE 1 TO § 170.31—SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES
[See footnotes at end of table]

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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 Material (High Enriched Uranium) 6 [Program Code(s): 21213] ...........................................
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in 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 operations 6 [Program Code(s): 21240, 21310, 21320] ................................................................
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration facilities 6 [Program Code(s): 21205] ...........................................................
(c) Others, including hot cell facilities 6 [Program Code(s): 21130, 21131, 21133] .............................................................
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of 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 § 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].
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 § 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, 22111, 22120, 22131, 22136,
22150, 22151, 22161, 22170, 23100, 23300, 23310].
E. Licenses or certificates for construction and operation of a uranium enrichment facility 6 [Program Code(s): 21200] .........
F. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear material greater than critical mass as defined in § 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 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, heapleaching, 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 facilities 6 [Program Code(s): 11100] .....................................................................

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Full Cost.
Full Cost.

Full
Full
Full
Full

Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.

$1,400.
$2,800.

Full Cost.
Full Cost.

Full Cost.

39141

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 1 TO § 170.31—SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]

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Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1

Fees 2 3

(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities 6 [Program Code(s): 11500] .................................................................................
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities 6 [Program Code(s): 11510] ..........................................................................
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities 6 [Program Code(s): 11550] .................................................................................
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities 6 [Program Code(s): 11555] ...........................................................................................
(f) Other facilities 6 [Program Code(s): 11700] ..............................................................................................................
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt 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 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].
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].
D. Licenses to distribute source material to persons generally licensed under part 40 of this chapter. Application [Program
Code(s): 11230, 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].
F. All other source material licenses. Application [Program Code(s): 11200, 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, 03212, 03213].
(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): 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): 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, 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): 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): 04111, 04113, 04115, 04117].
C. Licenses issued under §§ 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 § 170.11(a)(4). Number of locations of use: 1–5. Application [Program Code(s): 02500, 02511,
02513].
(1). Licenses issued under §§ 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 § 170.11(a)(4). Number of locations of use: 6–20. Application [Program
Code(s): 04210, 04212, 04214].
(2). Licenses issued under §§ 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 § 170.11(a)(4). Number of locations of use: more than 20. Application [Program Code(s): 04211, 04213, 04215].
D. [Reserved] ...............................................................................................................................................................................
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, 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].
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].
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, 03255, 03257].

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Full
Full
Full
Full
Full
Full

Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.
Cost.

Full Cost.

$1,300.
$6,400.
$3,000.
$2,800.
$2,800.
$14,000.

$18,600.
$23,300.

$3,900.
$5,200.

$6,400.

$5,600.

$7,500.

$9,300.

N/A.
$3,400.
$7,000.

$66,900.
$7,200.

39142

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 1 TO § 170.31—SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]

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Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1

Fees 2 3

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, 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, 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,
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, 01110, 01120, 03610, 03611, 03612, 03613].
(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): 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): 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].
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.13 Application [Program Code(s): 03219, 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, 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): 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): 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, 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): 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): 04411, 04413, 04415, 04417, 04419, 04421, 04423, 04425,
04427, 04429, 04431, 04433, 04435, 04437, 04439].
Q. Registration of a device(s) generally licensed under part 31 of this chapter. Registration ...................................................
R. Possession of items or products containing radium-226 identified in § 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 § 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): 02700].
2. Possession of quantities exceeding 10 times the number of items or limits specified in § 31.12(a)(4) or (5) of this
chapter. Application [Program Code(s): 02710].
S. Licenses for production of accelerator-produced radionuclides. Application [Program Code(s): 03210] ...............................
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,
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].
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. 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, 03111,
03112].

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$11,000.

$2,200.

$1,200.

$5,900.
$7,900.
$9,800.
$8,900.

$9,600.
$10,900.
$14,500.
$18,200.
$7,400.
$9,900.
$12,300.
$500.
$2,800.
$2,700.
$15,300.
Full Cost.

$7,500.
$5,400.

$4,900.

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

39143

TABLE 1 TO § 170.31—SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]

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Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1

Fees 2 3

B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material for field flooding tracer studies. Licensing [Program Code(s):
03113].
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].
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, 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): 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):
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].
(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): 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): 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, 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): 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): 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].
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.
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.
C. Safety evaluation of sealed sources containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material, except
reactor fuel, for commercial distribution. Application—each source.
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.
10. Transportation of radioactive material:
A. Evaluation of casks, packages, and shipping containers.
1. Spent Fuel, High-Level Waste, and plutonium air packages ...........................................................................................
2. Other Casks ......................................................................................................................................................................
B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under part 71 of this chapter.
1. Users and Fabricators.
Application .....................................................................................................................................................................
Inspections .....................................................................................................................................................................
2. Users.
Application .....................................................................................................................................................................
Inspections .....................................................................................................................................................................

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Full Cost.

$23,900.

$12,000.

$15,900.

$19,900.

$9,400.

$12,400.

$15,500.

$10,200.

$13,600.

$17,000.

$2,800.

$21,900.
$9,700.
$5,700.
$1,100.

Full Cost.
Full Cost.

$4,200.
Full Cost.
$4,200.
Full Cost.

39144

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 1 TO § 170.31—SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]

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Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1

Fees 2 3

C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals, route surveys, and transportation security devices (including immobilization devices).
11. Review of standardized spent fuel facilities ..................................................................................................................................
12. Special projects: Including approvals, pre-application/licensing activities, and inspections. Application [Program Code:
25110].
13. A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance ..................................................................................................................
B. Inspections related to storage of spent fuel under § 72.210 of this chapter ..........................................................................
14. Decommissioning/Reclamation: 11
A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear 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 activities associated with unlicensed sites, including MMLs, regardless of whether or not
the sites have been previously licensed.
15. Import and Export licenses: 12
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 § 110.40(b) of this chapter. Application—new license, or
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 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 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 amendment; or license exemption request.
E. 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 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 § 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 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 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 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 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 § 110.42(e)(4) of this chapter). Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request.
K. Applications for export of appendix P Category 2 materials requiring Executive Branch review. Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption request.
L. Application for the export of Category 2 materials. Application—new license, or amendment; or license exemption
request.
M. [Reserved] ........................................................................................................................................................................
N. [Reserved] ........................................................................................................................................................................
O. [Reserved] ........................................................................................................................................................................
P. [Reserved] ........................................................................................................................................................................
Q. [Reserved] ........................................................................................................................................................................
Minor Amendments (Category 1 and 2, Appendix P, 10 CFR Part 110, Export):
R. Minor amendment of any active export 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.

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Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.

Full Cost.

N/A.
N/A.

N/A.
N/A.
N/A.

N/A.

N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

39145

TABLE 1 TO § 170.31—SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS FEES—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
Category of materials licenses and type of fees 1

Fees 2 3

16. Reciprocity: Agreement State licensees who conduct activities under the reciprocity provisions of § 150.20 of this chapter.
Application.
17. Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to Government agencies. Application [Program Code(s): 03614] .................
18. Department of Energy:
A. Certificates of Compliance. Evaluation of casks, packages, and shipping containers (including spent fuel, high-level
waste, and other casks, and plutonium air packages).
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) activities ..........................................................................................

$3,000.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.
Full Cost.

1 Types

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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 § 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 § 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
§ 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.
12 Because the resources for import and export licensing activities are identified as a fee-relief activity to be excluded from the fee-recoverable
budget, import and export licensing actions will not incur fees.
13 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.

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

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.

6. The authority citation for part 171
continues to read as follows:

§ 171.5

■

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7. In § 171.5, revise the definitions for
‘‘Bundled unit’’, ‘‘Minimum fee’’,
‘‘Small modular reactor (SMR)’’,
‘‘Variable fee’’, and ‘‘Variable rate’’ to
read as follows:

■

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Bundled unit means multiple SMRs
on a single site that are considered a
single unit for the purpose of assessing
an annual fee. A bundled unit is
assessed an annual fee based on the
cumulative licensed thermal power
rating of all licensed SMRs on the same
site. The maximum capacity of a
bundled unit is a cumulative licensed
thermal power rating of 4,500 MWt. A
single SMR can be part of two bundled
units if it completes the capacity of one

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

unit and begins the capacity of an
additional unit. 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. Bundled
units with capacities greater than 2,000
MWt and less than or equal to 4,500
MWt are assessed a maximum fee that
is equivalent to the annual fee paid by
the current reactor fleet. Above 4,500
MWt establishes an additional bundled
unit.
*
*
*
*
*
Minimum fee means the lowest
annual fee assessed for an SMR or a
bundled unit in a thermal power rating
fee assessment tier.
*
*
*
*
*
Small modular reactor (SMR) for the
purposes of calculating fees means the
class of power reactors having a
licensed thermal power rating less than
or equal to 1,000 MWt per module. This
rating is based on the thermal power
equivalent of an SMR with an electrical
power generating capacity of 300 MWe
or less per module.
*
*
*
*
*
Variable fee means an annual fee
component that is added to the
minimum fee. The variable fee is
designed to gradually increase as
licensed thermal power capacity is
added within the bundled unit fee

assessment tier. The variable fee is
calculated as the product of the
incremental increase in the thermal
power rating multiplied by the variable
rate.
Variable rate means the factor used to
calculate the variable fee component of
the annual fee. To determine the total
annual fee, the incremental increase in
the licensed thermal power rating
within the fee assessment tier is
multiplied by the variable rate resulting
in a variable fee that is added to the
minimum fee. There is a different factor
for each SMR or bundled unit fee
assessment tier. Each factor represents
the difference between the lower
licensed thermal power rating within
each tier and the actual thermal power
rating for the unit or site.
■ 8. In § 171.15, revise paragraphs (b)(1),
(b)(2) introductory text, (c)(1), (c)(2)
introductory text, (d)(2) and (e) to read
as follows:
§ 171.15 Annual fees: Non-power
production or utilization licenses, reactor
licenses, and independent spent fuel
storage licenses.

*
*
*
*
(b)(1) The FY 2023 annual fee for each
operating power reactor that must be
collected by September 30, 2023, is
$5,492,000.
(2) The FY 2023 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 2023 base
annual fee for operating power reactors
are as follows:
*
*
*
*
*
(c)(1) The FY 2023 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 $261,000.
(2) The FY 2023 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 2023 spent
fuel storage/reactor decommissioning
rebaselined annual fee are:
*
*
*
*
*
(d) * * *
(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
First Bundled Unit(s)—cumulative MWt:
0 MWt ≤ 20 MWt .......................................................................................................................
>20 MWt ≤ 250 MWt .................................................................................................................
>250 MWt ≤ 2,000 MWt ............................................................................................................
>2,000 MWt ≤ 4,500 MWt .........................................................................................................
Additional Bundled Unit(s)—cumulative MWt (above the first bundled unit of 4,500 MWt):
0 MWt ≤ 2,000 MWt ..................................................................................................................
>2,000 MWt ≤ 4,500 MWt .........................................................................................................
a Annual

Minimum fee

Variable fee

Maximum fee

TBD a ............
TBD a ............
TBD b ............
N/A ...............

N/A ...............
TBD d ............
TBD e ............
N/A ...............

N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
TBD.c

N/A ...............
N/A ...............

TBD f ............
N/A ...............

N/A.
TBD.c

fee paid by the non-power production or utilization facilities fee class.
of the annual fees for the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning and the non-power production or utilization facilities fee class-

b Average

es.
c Annual

fee paid by the operating power reactors fee class.
× the difference between 20 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the actual cumulative licensed thermal power rating up to

d [((b)¥(a))/230]

250 MWt.
e [((c)¥(b))/1,750] × the difference between 250 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the actual cumulative licensed thermal power rating up to
2,000 MWt.
f [((c)¥(b))/2,000] × the difference between 4,500 MWt for the first bundled unit(s) and the total actual cumulative licensed thermal power rating
up to 2,000 MWt.

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1

*
*
*
*
(e) The FY 2023 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 § 171.11(b),
is $96,300.

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9. In § 171.16, revise paragraphs (b)
introductory text, (c), and (d) to read as
follows:

■

PO 00000

§ 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.

*
*
*
*
(b) The FY 2023 annual fee is
comprised of a base annual fee and

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations
associated additional charges. The base
FY 2023 annual fee is the sum of
budgeted costs for the following
activities:
*
*
*
*
*
(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

39147

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 licensed
category

NRC small entity classification

Small Businesses Not Engaged in Manufacturing (Average gross receipts over the last 5 completed fiscal years):
$555,000 to $8 million ..................................................................................................................................................................
Less than $555,000 ......................................................................................................................................................................
Small Not-For-Profit Organizations (Annual Gross Receipts):
$555,000 to $8 million ..................................................................................................................................................................
Less than $555,000 ......................................................................................................................................................................
Manufacturing Entities that Have An Average of 500 Employees or Fewer:
35 to 500 employees ....................................................................................................................................................................
Fewer than 35 employees ............................................................................................................................................................
Small Governmental Jurisdictions (Including publicly supported educational institutions) (Population):
20,000 to 49,999 ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Fewer than 20,000 .......................................................................................................................................................................
Educational Institutions that are not State or Publicly Supported, and have 500 Employees or Fewer:
35 to 500 employees ....................................................................................................................................................................
Fewer than 35 employees ............................................................................................................................................................

(d) The FY 2023 annual fees for
materials licensees and holders of
certificates, registrations, or approvals

$5,200
1,000
5,200
1,000
5,200
1,000
5,200
1,000
5,200
1,000

subject to fees under this section are
shown in 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 2 3

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1

Category of materials licenses
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 Enriched Uranium) 15 [Program Code(s): 21213] ....................................
(b) Low Enriched Uranium in Dispersible Form 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 [Program Code(s): 21310, 21320] .....................................................................
(b) Gas centrifuge enrichment demonstration facility 15 [Program Code(s): 21205] ......................................................
(c) Others, including hot cell facility 15 [Program Code(s): 21130, 21131, 21133] .........................................................
B. Licenses for receipt and storage of spent fuel 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 nuclear material of less than a critical mass, as defined in § 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, except licenses authorizing special nuclear material in sealed or unsealed
form in combination that would constitute a critical mass, as defined in § 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 uranium enrichment facility 15 [Program Code(s): 21200] ........................
F. Licenses for possession and use of special nuclear materials greater than critical mass, as defined in § 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:
A. (1) Licenses for possession and use of source 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, heapleaching, 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 [Program Code(s): 11100] .....................................................................

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$5,156,000
1,747,000
807,000
N/A
N/A
N/A
2,900

8,200
2,247,000
5,100
1,095,000

N/A

39148

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (d)—SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED
BY NRC—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
Annual fees 1 2 3

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1

Category of materials licenses
(b) Basic In Situ Recovery facilities.15 [Program Code(s): 11500] .................................................................................
(c) Expanded In Situ Recovery facilities.15 [Program Code(s): 11510] ..........................................................................
(d) In Situ Recovery Resin facilities.15 [Program Code(s): 11550] ................................................................................
(e) Resin Toll Milling facilities.15 [Program Code(s): 11555] ..........................................................................................
(f) Other facilities.6 [Program Code(s): 11700] ...............................................................................................................
(3) Licenses that authorize the receipt 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).15 [Program Code(s): 11600, 12000] ............................................................................................................
(4) Licenses that authorize the receipt 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) 15 [Program Code(s):
12010] .................................................................................................................................................................................
B. Licenses which authorize the possession, use, and/or installation of source material for shielding.16, 17 Application
[Program Code(s): 11210] ..................................................................................................................................................
C. Licenses to distribute items containing source 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 generally licensed under part 40 of this chapter. [Program Code(s):
11230 and 11231] ...............................................................................................................................................................
E. Licenses for possession and use of source 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 Code(s): 11200, 11220, 11221, 11300, 11800, 11810, 11820] ................
3. Byproduct material:
A. Licenses of broad scope for 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. [Program Code(s): 03211, 03212, 03213] .............................................................................................
(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. [Program Code(s): 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. [Program Code(s): 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.
[Program Code(s): 03214, 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. [Program Code(s): 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. [Program Code(s): 04111, 04113, 04115, 04117] ..................................................................
C. Licenses issued under §§ 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 § 170.11(a)(4) of this chapter. Number of locations of use: 1–5. [Program
Code(s): 02500, 02511, 02513] ..........................................................................................................................................
(1). Licenses issued under §§ 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 § 170.11(a)(4). Number of locations of use: 6–20.
[Program Code(s): 04210, 04212, 04214] ...................................................................................................................
(2). Licenses issued under §§ 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 § 170.11(a)(4). Number of locations of use: more than
20. [Program Code(s): 04211, 04213, 04215] ............................................................................................................
D. [Reserved] ..........................................................................................................................................................................
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). [Program Code(s): 03510, 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 in which the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes. [Program Code(s):
03511] .................................................................................................................................................................................
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 in which the source is not exposed for irradiation purposes. [Program Code(s):
03521] .................................................................................................................................................................................

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52,200
N/A
5 N/A
5 N/A
5 N/A

5 N/A

N/A
3,100
11,800
6,000
7,500
10,200

32,400

43,000

53,800

11,200

14,800

18,300

11,000

14,600

20,000
5 N/A
10,500

10,400

87,100

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

39149

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (d)—SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED
BY NRC—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
Annual fees 1 2 3

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1

Category of materials licenses
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, 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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 part 31 of this chapter .........................................................................
R. Possession of items or products containing radium-226 identified in § 31.12 of this chapter which exceed the number
of items or limits specified in that section: 14
(1). Possession of quantities exceeding the number of items or limits in § 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 the number of items or limits specified in § 31.12(a)(4) or (5) of
this chapter [Program Code(s): 02710] .......................................................................................................................
S. Licenses for production of accelerator-produced radionuclides [Program Code(s): 03210] .............................................
4. Waste disposal and processing:
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. [Program Code(s): 03231,
03233, 03236, 06100, 06101] .............................................................................................................................................

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10,800

15,800

4,200

3,100

15,100
20,100

24,900
15,500

17,000

37,900

50,700

63,300
12,300

16,400
20,400
13 N/A

7,200
7,600
29,800

23,000

39150

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (d)—SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED
BY NRC—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
Annual fees 1 2 3

Category of materials licenses

6.
7.

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1

8.
9.

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. [Program Code(s): 03234] ..............
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. [Program Code(s): 03232] ......................................................................................
Well logging:
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. [Program Code(s): 03110, 03111,
03112] .................................................................................................................................................................................
B. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material for field flooding tracer studies. [Program Code(s): 03113] .....
Nuclear laundries:
A. Licenses for commercial collection and laundry of items contaminated with byproduct material, source material, or
special nuclear material. [Program Code(s): 03218] ..........................................................................................................
Medical licenses:
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. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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: 1–5. [Program
Code(s): 02120, 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. 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, 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] ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Civil defense:
A. Licenses for possession and use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material for civil defense
activities. [Program Code(s): 03710] ..................................................................................................................................
Device, product, or sealed source safety evaluation:
A. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of 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 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 ....................................................................................................................................

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17,500
10,300

13,900
5 N/A
32,700

32,300

42,900

53,700

46,500

61,700

77,100

18,000

24,000

30,700
7,200
24,100
10,700

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

39151

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (d)—SCHEDULE OF MATERIALS ANNUAL FEES AND FEES FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LICENSED
BY NRC—Continued
[See footnotes at end of table]
Annual fees 1 2 3

Category of materials licenses

10.

11.
12.
13.
14.

15.
16.
17.
18.

C. Registrations issued for the safety evaluation of 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 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 .....................................................................................................................................................
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 air packages .....................................................................................
2. Other Casks ................................................................................................................................................................
B. Quality assurance program approvals issued under part 71 of this chapter.
1. Users and Fabricators .................................................................................................................................................
2. Users ...........................................................................................................................................................................
C. Evaluation of security plans, route approvals, route surveys, and transportation security devices (including immobilization devices) ................................................................................................................................................................
Standardized spent fuel facilities .............................................................................................................................................
Special Projects [Program Code(s): 25110] ............................................................................................................................
A. Spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance ............................................................................................................
B. General licenses for storage of spent fuel under § 72.210 of this chapter .......................................................................
Decommissioning/Reclamation:
A. Byproduct, source, or special nuclear 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 activities associated with unlicensed sites, including MMLs, whether or not the sites
have been previously licensed ...........................................................................................................................................
Import and Export licenses ......................................................................................................................................................
Reciprocity ...............................................................................................................................................................................
Master materials licenses of broad scope issued to Government agencies.15 [Program Code(s): 03614] ...........................
Department of Energy:
A. Certificates of Compliance .................................................................................................................................................
B. Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) activities [Program Code(s): 03237, 03238] ............................

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1 Annual

6,300
1,200

6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
6 N/A
12 N/A

7 20 N/A
7 N/A
8 N/A
8 N/A
390,000
10 1,750,000

148,000

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 § 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 parts 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 § 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 DOE that are not funded from the Nuclear Waste Fund.
11 See § 171.15(c).
12 See § 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.
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.

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39152

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 115 / Thursday, June 15, 2023 / Rules and Regulations

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.

Dated: June 2, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Howard K. Osborne,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023–12696 Filed 6–14–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No.: FAA–2019–0218; Amdt. No.
25–148]
RIN 2120–AL15

High Elevation Airport Operations
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:

This final rule amends certain
airworthiness regulations applicable to
cabin pressurization systems and
oxygen dispensing equipment on
transport category airplanes, to facilitate
certification of those airplanes, systems,
and equipment for operation at high
elevation airports. This rule eliminates
the need for certain equivalent level of
safety findings and exemptions.
DATES: Effective July 17, 2023.
ADDRESSES: For information on where to
obtain copies of rulemaking documents
and other information related to this
final rule, see ‘‘How To Obtain
Additional Information’’ in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Hettman, Aircraft Systems
Section, AIR–623, Technical Innovation
Policy Branch, Policy and Innovation
Division, Aircraft Certification Service,
Federal Aviation Administration, 2200
S 216th Street, Des Moines, Washington,
98198; telephone and facsimile 206–
231–3171; email robert.hettman@
faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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SUMMARY:

Authority for This Rulemaking
The FAA’s authority to issue rules on
aviation safety is found in Title 49 of the
United States Code. Subtitle I, section
106 describes the authority of the FAA
Administrator. Subtitle VII, Aviation
Programs, describes in more detail the
scope of the agency’s authority.

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This rulemaking is promulgated
under the authority described in
Subtitle VII, part A, subpart III, section
44701, ‘‘General Requirements.’’ Under
that section, the FAA is charged with
promoting safe flight of civil aircraft in
air commerce by prescribing regulations
and minimum standards for the design
and performance of aircraft that the
Administrator finds necessary for safety
in air commerce. This regulation is
within the scope of that authority. It
prescribes new safety standards for the
design and operation of transport
category airplanes.
I. Overview of Final Rule
This final rule amends two sections of
title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14
CFR), part 25.
First, the rule amends § 25.841,
‘‘Pressurized cabins,’’ for airplanes
equipped with cabin pressurization
systems intended for operations at
airports with elevations at or above
8,000 feet. The FAA considers airports
with elevations greater than 8,000 feet
as ‘‘high elevation airports.’’ Section
25.841(a) still requires that cabin
pressure altitudes do not exceed 8,000
feet under normal operating conditions,
while the revisions allow cabin pressure
altitudes to exceed 8,000 feet during
takeoff and landing at high elevation
airports. In addition, changes to
§ 25.841(b)(6) allow applicants to
increase the threshold for activation of
cabin pressure altitude warnings to
altitudes above 10,000 feet, to prevent
nuisance warnings to the flightcrew
during takeoff and landing at high
elevation airports.
Second, this rule amends § 25.1447,
‘‘Equipment standards for oxygen
dispensing units,’’ for airplanes
equipped with passenger oxygen
systems intended for operations into or
out of airports with elevations above
13,000 feet. The revisions to
§ 25.1447(c)(5) allow applicants to raise
the automatic presentation altitude for
oxygen masks located throughout the
passenger cabin to altitudes above
15,000 feet while operating out of or
into airports with elevations exceeding
13,000 feet.
This final rule affects manufacturers,
modifiers, and operators of transport
category airplanes. The amendments to
§§ 25.841 and 25.1447 eliminate the
burden on applicants and the FAA that
results from the processing of projectspecific equivalent level of safety

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(ELOS) findings and grants of
exemption that are currently necessary
for the FAA to approve the designs of
cabin pressurization systems and
oxygen dispensing units on airplanes
intended to be used for operations into
or out of high elevation airports.
II. Background
A. Summary of the Problem
Current FAA regulations require that
the cabin pressure altitude on transport
category airplanes remain at or below
8,000 feet in normal operating
conditions, and that supplemental
oxygen be automatically presented to
passengers before the cabin pressure
altitude reaches 15,000 feet. While these
standards provide an acceptable level of
safety for normal operating conditions,
they can hinder or conflict with
operations at high elevation airports.
To enable such operations, applicants
develop specialized design
modifications that often cannot comply
with cabin pressurization and
supplemental oxygen requirements in
FAA regulations. In order to approve
such modifications and enable
operation into high elevation airports,
the FAA typically must make and
document an ELOS finding. The FAA
must typically also grant an exemption
from the automatic oxygen mask
presentation requirements for
operations into or out of airports with
elevations at or above 13,000 feet.
Transport airplane operators currently
utilize seven airports in the United
States that have an elevation between
8,000 and 10,000 feet. While no airports
in the U.S. supporting transport airplane
operations are at an elevation higher
than 10,000 feet, the FAA is aware of at
least five airports in other parts of the
world that support transport airplane
operations and are at elevations that
exceed 13,000 feet. Therefore, it is for
operations at these airports that
applicants seek either an ELOS or an
exemption in order to obtain
certification of cabin pressurization and
oxygen systems.
B. Discussion of Current Regulatory
Requirements
Current regulatory requirements for
cabin pressurization systems of
transport category airplanes are
contained in § 25.841(a) and (b). Section
25.841(a) requires cabin pressurization
systems to maintain the interior cabin
pressure so that the maximum cabin

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File Type	application/pdf
File Title	2023-12696.pdf
Author	KEB1
File Modified	2024-11-21
File Created	2024-11-21