NRC Amends Licensing, Inspection, and Annual Fees for FY 2021

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 21-021 June 4, 2021
CONTACT: David McIntyre, 301-415-8200

NRC Amends Licensing, Inspection, and Annual Fees for FY 2021

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending its regulations for the licensing, inspection, special projects, and annual fees it will charge applicants and licensees for FY 2021.

The FY 2021 final fee rule, published today in the Federal Register, includes fees required by the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act to recover, to the maximum extent practicable, approximately 100 percent of the agency’s total budget authority in FY 2021, less the budget authority for certain excluded activities. NEIMA also established a new cap for the annual fees charged to operating reactor licensees and required three sets of actions related to NRC invoices for service fees. A proposed rule was published for public comment on Feb. 22.

The final fee rule reflects a total budget authority of $844.4 million, a decrease of $11.2 million from FY 2020. After accounting for exclusions from the fee-recovery requirement and net billing adjustments, the NRC must recover approximately $708 million in fees in FY 2021. Of this amount, approximately $190.6 million will be recovered under Part 170 fees for service and $517.4 million will be recovered through Part 171 annual fees.

Compared to FY 2020, annual fees are decreasing for fuel facilities, non-power production or utilization facilities, 42 materials users fee categories, uranium recovery activities, and for the U.S. Department of Energy Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Program. Annual fees are increasing for spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning activities, operating power reactors, DOE transportation activities, and 11 materials users fee categories. While the operating power reactors’ annual fee is increasing in FY 2021, it does not exceed the cap established by NEIMA. Generally, annual fees are impacted by changes to the budget, fees for services, the number of licensees, the results of the biennial review of fees, and other factors.

The FY 2021 final fee rule also includes a change in the hourly rate, affecting licensees and applicants. The NRC has increased the hourly rate from $279 to $288 for FY 2021 and has adjusted license application fees accordingly.

The NRC estimates that the FY 2021 annual fees will be paid by the 93 licensees of operating commercial power reactors, four non-power production or utilization facilities, 122 spent nuclear fuel storage and decommissioning reactor facilities, eight fuel cycle facilities, one uranium recovery facility, and approximately 2,500 nuclear materials licensees.

21-023.pdf