10 CFR 170.51 - Right to review and appeal of prescribed fees.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to require that the initial distribution of source material to exempt persons or to general licensees be explicitly authorized by a specific license, which includes new reporting requirements. The rule is intended to provide the NRC with timely information on the types and quantities of source material distributed for use either under exemption or by general licensees. In addition, the rule modifies the existing possession and use requirements of the general license for small quantities of source material to better align the requirements with current health and safety standards. Finally, the rule revises, clarifies, or deletes certain source material exemptions from licensing to make the exemptions more risk informed. This rule affects manufacturers and distributors of certain products and materials containing source material and certain persons using source material under general license and under exemptions from licensing.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its applicants and licensees. The proposed amendments are necessary to implement the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-90), as amended, which requires the NRC to recover through fees approximately 90 percent of its budget authority in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, not including amounts appropriated for Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR) and amounts appropriated for generic homeland security activities. The NRC is currently operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) which is set to expire on March 27, 2013. Based on the FY 2013 budget submitted to the Congress, the NRC is proposing fees in this rulemaking based on the FY 2013 budget which is estimated to be $1,053.2 million. After accounting for billing adjustments, the total amount to be billed as fees is approximately $924.8 million. These fees are subject to change pending congressional action which may include sequestration, full-year CR or issuance of an FY 2013 appropriation which differs from the FY 2013 budget submitted to Congress which could result in higher or lower fees than those proposed in this rulemaking.