The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday issued its proposed fees charged to license applicants and licensees for fiscal 2017.
Most annual fees would drop from the fiscal 2016 fee schedule, but the NRC proposes to slightly increase the hourly rate for NRC staff work, from $265 to $267, or 0.8 percent. The proposed rule was published Monday in the Federal Register, and the regulator is accepting comments through March 1. The NRC recovers about 90 percent of its budget through fees — bringing in an anticipated $833.4 million for the budget year ending Sept. 30.
As proposed, annual fees for operating reactors would decrease by 7.3 percent; by 16.1 percent for most fuel cycle facilities; by 1.5 percent for spent fuel storage and decommissioning reactor licensees; by 8.8 percent for uranium recovery licensees; by 2.4 percent for research and test reactors; by 4.2 percent for Department of Energy transportation activities; and by 15 percent for DOE uranium recovery activities.
The proposed fee rule reflects reductions from NRC’s Project Aim, which is the agency’s effort to remove redundant work and services. The final rule will be based on the NRC’s actual appropriation, and if Congress opts to fund the rest of the year through a continuing resolution, fees will look similar to 2016, according to an agency press release Monday. The current CR is scheduled to expire on April 28.
