Sec. 3. Nuclear Regulatory Commission user fees and annual charges for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter
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In the annual budget justification submitted by the Commission to Congress, the Commission shall expressly identify anticipated expenditures necessary for completion of the requested activities of the Commission anticipated to occur during the applicable fiscal year. Budget authority granted to the Commission for purposes of the requested activities of the Commission shall be used, to the maximum extent practicable, solely for conducting requested activities of the Commission.
With respect to the annual budget justification submitted to Congress, corporate support costs, to the maximum extent practicable, shall not exceed the following percentages of the total budget authority of the Commission requested in the annual budget justification: 30 percent for each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021. 29 percent for each of fiscal years 2022 and 2023. 28 percent for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter. Each fiscal year, the Commission shall assess and collect fees and charges in accordance with paragraphs
(2)and
(3)in a manner that ensures that, to the maximum extent practicable, the amount collected is equal to an amount that approximates— the total budget authority of the Commission for that fiscal year; less the budget authority of the Commission for the activities described in subparagraph (B). The activities referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) are the following: An activity not attributable to an existing NRC licensee or class of licensee as identified by the Commission in Table III of the final rule of the Commission entitled Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 41171 (June 24, 2016)). Amounts appropriated for a fiscal year to the Commission— from the Nuclear Waste Fund established under section 302(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 ( 42 U.S.C. 10222(c) ); for implementation of section 3116 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 ( 50 U.S.C. 2601 note; Public Law 108–375 ); for the homeland security activities of the Commission (other than for the costs of fingerprinting and background checks required under section 149 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 ( 42 U.S.C. 2169 ) and the costs of conducting security inspections); for the Inspector General services of the Commission provided to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board; for research and development at universities in areas relevant to the mission of the applicable university; for a nuclear science and engineering grant program that will support multiyear projects that do not align with programmatic missions but are critical to maintaining the discipline of nuclear science and engineering; and for any other fee-relief activity described in the final rule of the Commission entitled Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 41171 (June 24, 2016)). Costs for activities related to the development of regulatory infrastructure for advanced nuclear reactor technologies. The exclusion described in subparagraph (B)(iii) shall cease to be effective on January 1, 2031. Not later than December 31, 2029, the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report describing the views of the Commission on the continued appropriateness and necessity of the funding described in subparagraph (B)(iii). In accordance with section 9701 of title 31, United States Code, the Commission shall charge fees to any person who receives a service or thing of value from the Commission to cover the costs to the Commission of providing the service or thing of value. Subject to subparagraph
(B)and except as provided in subparagraph (D), the Commission may charge to any licensee or certificate holder of the Commission an annual fee. The annual fee under subparagraph
(A)charged to an operating reactor licensee, to the maximum extent practicable, shall not exceed the annual fee amount per operating reactor licensee established in the final rule of the Commission entitled Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 41171 (June 24, 2016)), as may be adjusted annually by the Commission to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. The Commission may waive, for a period of 1 year, the cap on annual fees described in clause
(i)if the Commission submits to the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a written determination that the cap on annual fees may compromise the safety and security mission of the Commission. The Commission shall establish by rule a schedule of fees fairly and equitably allocating the aggregate amount of charges described in subparagraph
(A)among licensees and certificate holders. The schedule of fees under clause (i)— to the maximum extent practicable, shall be based on the cost of providing regulatory services; and may be based on the allocation of the resources of the Commission among licensees or certificate holders or classes of licensees or certificate holders. In this subparagraph, the term research reactor means a nuclear reactor that— is licensed by the Commission under section 104 c. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 ( 42 U.S.C. 2134(c) ) for operation at a thermal power level of not more than 10 megawatts; and if licensed under subclause
(I)for operation at a thermal power level of more than 1 megawatt, does not contain— a circulating loop through the core in which the licensee conducts fuel experiments; a liquid fuel loading; or an experimental facility in the core in excess of 16 square inches in cross-section. Subparagraph
(A)shall not apply to the holder of any license for a federally owned research reactor used primarily for educational training and academic research purposes. The Commission shall develop for the requested activities of the Commission— performance metrics; and on each request, milestone schedules. The Executive Director for Operations of the Commission shall inform the Commission of a delay in issuance of the final safety evaluation for a requested activity of the Commission by the completion date required by the performance metrics or milestone schedule under paragraph
(1)by not later than 30 days after the completion date. If the final safety evaluation for the requested activity of the Commission described in paragraph
(2)is not completed by the date that is 180 days after the completion date required by the performance metrics or milestone schedule under paragraph (1), the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a timely report describing the delay, including a detailed explanation accounting for the delay and a plan for timely completion of the final safety evaluation. With respect to invoices for fees and charges described in subsection (b)(2), the Commission shall— ensure appropriate management review and concurrence prior to the issuance of invoices; develop and implement processes to audit invoices to ensure accuracy, transparency, and fairness; and modify regulations to ensure fair and appropriate processes to provide licensees and applicants an opportunity to efficiently dispute or otherwise seek review and correction of errors in invoices for fees and charges. Not later than September 30, 2021, the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report describing the implementation of this section, including any impacts and recommendations for improvement. In this section: The term advanced nuclear reactor means a nuclear fission or fusion reactor, including a prototype plant (as defined in sections 50.2 and 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations), with significant improvements compared to commercial nuclear reactors under construction as of the date of enactment of this Act, including improvements such as— additional inherent safety features; significantly lower levelized cost of electricity; lower waste yields; greater fuel utilization; enhanced reliability; increased proliferation resistance; increased thermal efficiency; or ability to integrate into electric and nonelectric applications. The term applicant means an applicant for a license, certification, permit, or other form of approval from the Commission for a commercial advanced nuclear reactor or a research and test reactor. The term appropriate congressional committees means the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. The term Commission means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The term corporate support costs means expenditures for acquisitions, administrative services, financial management, human resource management, information management, information technology, policy support, outreach, and training, as those categories are described and calculated in Appendix A of the Congressional Budget Justification for Fiscal Year 2017 of the Commission. The term requested activity of the Commission means— the processing of applications for— design certifications or approvals; licenses; permits; license amendments; license renewals; certificates of compliance; and power uprates; and any other activity requested by a licensee or applicant. This section takes effect on October 1, 2019.
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- 81 FR 41171
- Pub. L. 108-375
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Sec. 3
Nuclear Regulatory Commission user fees and annual charges for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter
Fed. Reg.81 FR 41171
Pub. L.Pub. L. 108-375
Cites 6Cited by 0 across 0 sources