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This rulemaking would amend the NRC's regulations for fee schedules. The NRC conducts this rulemaking annually to recover approximately 100 percent of the NRC’s FY 2022 budget authority, less excluded activities to implement NEIMA. This rulemaking would affect the fee schedules for licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to the NRC’s applicants and licensees.

Overall Description of Deadline: The Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA) requires the NRC to assess and collect service fees and annual fees in a manner that ensures that, to the maximum extent practicable, the amount assessed and collected approximates the NRC's total budget authority for that fiscal year less the NRC's budget authority for excluded activities. NEIMA requires that the fees for FY 2022 be collected by September 30, 2022.

Statement of Need:

The NRC, as required by statue conducts an annual rulemaking in order to assess and collect service fees and annual fees in a manner that ensures that, to the maximum extent practicable, the amount assessed and collected approximates the NRC’s total budget authority for that fiscal year less the NRC’s budget authority for excluded activities. NEIMA requires the NRC to establish through rulemaking a schedule of annual fees that fairly and equitably allocates the aggregate amount of annual fees among licensees and certificate holders. NEIMA states that this schedule may be based on the allocation of the NRC’s resources among licensees, certificate holders, or classes of licensees or certificate holders and requires that the schedule of annual fees, to the maximum extent practicable, shall be reasonably related to the cost of providing regulatory services.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

Effective October 1, 2020, NEIMA puts in place a revised framework for fee recovery by eliminating OBRA-90’s approximately 90 percent fee-recovery requirement and requiring the NRC to assess and collect service fees and annual fees in a manner that ensures that, to the maximum extent practicable, the amount assessed and collected
approximates the NRC’s total budget authority for that fiscal year less the NRC’s budget authority for excluded activities.

Alternatives:

Because this action is mandated by statute and the fees must be assessed through rulemaking, the NRC did not consider alternatives to this action.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

The cost to the NRC's licensees is approximately 100 percent of the NRC FY 2022 budget authority less the amounts appropriated for excluded activities.

Risks:

None.