§ 2215. Nuclear Regulatory Commission user fees and annual charges for fiscal year 2021 and each fiscal year thereafter

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(a)Annual budget justification

(1)In general 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.

(2)Restriction 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.

(3)Limitation on corporate support costs 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:

(A)30 percent for each of fiscal years 2021 and 2022.

(B)30 percent for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter.

(4)International nuclear export and innovation activities The Commission shall identify in the annual budget justification international nuclear export and innovation activities described in section 2155b(a) of this title.

(b)Fees and charges

(1)Annual assessment

(A)In general 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 assessed and collected is equal to an amount that approximates—

(i)the total budget authority of the Commission for that fiscal year; less

(ii)the budget authority of the Commission for the activities described in subparagraph (B).

(B)Excluded activities described The activities referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) are the following:

(i)Any fee relief activity, as identified by the Commission.

(ii)Amounts appropriated for a fiscal year to the Commission—

(I)from the Nuclear Waste Fund established under section 10222(c) of this title;

(II)for implementation of section 3116 1 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (50 U.S.C. 2601 note; Public Law 108–375);

(III)for the homeland security activities of the Commission (other than for the costs of fingerprinting and background checks required under section 2169 of this title and the costs of conducting security inspections);

(IV)for the Inspector General services of the Commission provided to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board;

(V)for research and development at universities in areas relevant to the mission of the Commission; and

(VI)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.

(iii)Costs for activities related to the development of regulatory infrastructure for advanced nuclear reactor technologies, including activities required under section 103.1

(iv)Costs for international nuclear export and innovation activities described in section 2155b(a) of this title.

(v)The total costs of mission-indirect program support and agency support that, under paragraph (2)(B), may not be included in the hourly rate charged for fees assessed and collected from advanced nuclear reactor applicants.

(vi)The total costs of mission-indirect program support and agency support that, under paragraph (2)(C), may not be included in the hourly rate charged for fees assessed and collected from advanced nuclear reactor pre-applicants.

(vii)Costs for—

(I)activities to review and approve or disapprove an application for an early site permit (as defined in section 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation)) to demonstrate an advanced nuclear reactor on a Department of Energy site or critical national security infrastructure (as defined in section 327(d) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115–232; 132 Stat. 1722)) site; and

(II)pre-application activities relating to an early site permit (as defined in section 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation)) to demonstrate an advanced nuclear reactor on a Department of Energy site or critical national security infrastructure (as defined in section 327(d) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115–232; 132 Stat. 1722)) site.

(C)Exception The exclusion described in subparagraph (B)(iii) shall cease to be effective on January 1, 2031.

(D)Report 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).

(2)Fees for service or thing of value

(A)In general In accordance with section 9701 of title 31, the Commission shall assess and collect fees from 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.

(B)Advanced nuclear reactor applicants The hourly rate charged for fees assessed and collected from an advanced nuclear reactor applicant under this paragraph relating to the review of a submitted application described in section 3(1) may not exceed the hourly rate for mission-direct program salaries and benefits.

(C)Advanced nuclear reactor pre-applicants The hourly rate charged for fees assessed and collected from an advanced nuclear reactor pre-applicant under this paragraph relating to the review of submitted materials as described in the licensing project plan of an advanced nuclear reactor pre-applicant may not exceed the hourly rate for mission-direct program salaries and benefits.

(3)Annual charges

(A)In general 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 charge in addition to the fees assessed and collected under paragraph (2).

(B)Cap on annual charges of certain licensees

(i)Operating reactors The annual charge 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 2015” (80 Fed. Reg. 37432 (June 30, 2015)), 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.

(ii)Waiver The Commission may waive, for a period of 1 year, the cap on annual charges 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 charges may compromise the safety and security mission of the Commission.

(C)Amount per licensee

(i)In general The Commission shall establish by rule a schedule of annual charges fairly and equitably allocating the aggregate amount of charges described in subparagraph

(A)among licensees and certificate holders.

(ii)Requirement The schedule of annual charges under clause (i)—

(I)to the maximum extent practicable, shall be reasonably related to the cost of providing regulatory services; and

(II)may be based on the allocation of the resources of the Commission among licensees or certificate holders or classes of licensees or certificate holders.

(D)Exemption

(i)Definition of research reactor In this subparagraph, the term “research reactor” means a nuclear reactor that—

(I)is licensed by the Commission under section 2134(c) of this title for operation at a thermal power level of not more than 10 megawatts; and

(II)if licensed under subclause

(I)for operation at a thermal power level of more than 1 megawatt, does not contain—

(aa)a circulating loop through the core in which the licensee conducts fuel experiments;

(bb)a liquid fuel loading; or

(cc)an experimental facility in the core in excess of 16 square inches in cross-section.

(ii)Exemption 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.

(c)Performance and reporting

(1)In general Not later than 180 days after January 14, 2019, the Commission shall develop for the requested activities of the Commission—

(A)performance metrics; and

(B)milestone schedules.

(2)Delays in issuance of final safety evaluation 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.

(3)Delays in issuance of final safety evaluation exceeding 90 days If the final safety evaluation for the requested activity of the Commission described in paragraph

(2)is not completed by the date that is 90 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.

(4)Periodic updates to metrics and schedules

(A)Review and assessment Not less frequently than once every 3 years, the Commission shall review and assess, based on the licensing and regulatory activities of the Commission, the performance metrics and milestone schedules established under paragraph (1).

(B)Revisions After each review and assessment under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall revise and improve, as appropriate, the performance metrics and milestone schedules described in that subparagraph to provide the most efficient metrics and schedules reasonably achievable.

(d)Accurate invoicing With respect to invoices for fees described in subsection (b)(2), the Commission shall—

(1)ensure appropriate review and approval prior to the issuance of invoices;

(2)develop and implement processes to audit invoices to ensure accuracy, transparency, and fairness; and

(3)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 those fees.

(e)Report 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.

(f)Effective date Except as provided in subsection (c), this section takes effect on October 1, 2020.

(g)Cessation of effectiveness Paragraphs (1)(B)(vi) and (2)(C) of subsection

(b)shall cease to be effective on September 30, 2030.

(Pub. L. 115–439, title I, § 102, Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5568; Pub. L. 118–67, div. B, title I, § 101(c)(1), title II, §§ 201(b)–(d), 204(a), title V, §§ 503(b), 504, July 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 1450, 1456, 1460, 1476, 1477.)

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