Form 536 final supporting statement

FINAL OMB SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
NRC FORM 536, “OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINATION DATA”
(3150-0131)
--Extension Request
Description of the Information Collection
The NRC annually requests all commercial power reactor licensees and applicants for an
operating license to voluntarily send to the NRC: (1) their projected number of candidates for
operator licensing initial examinations, (2) the estimated dates of the examinations,
(3) information on whether the examinations will be facility developed or NRC developed, and
(4) the estimated number of individuals that will participate in the Generic Fundamentals
Examination (GFE) for that calendar year. NRC uses an official form, NRC Form 536, for the
voluntary reporting of this operator licensing examination data.
A.

JUSTIFICATION
1.

Need for and Practical Utility of the Collection of Information.
The Code of Federal Regulations, 10 CFR 50.54, requires that all manipulations
of controls of any facility be performed only by a licensed reactor operator,
licensed senior reactor operator or a trainee under the direct supervision of a
licensed reactor operator or a licensed senior reactor operator. The licensing of
reactor operators or senior reactor operators is performed by the NRC in
accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 55. In order to meet the needs
of the nuclear industry for licensed reactor operators and senior reactor
operators, NRC requests all commercial power facilities to submit their projected
(estimated) number of candidates for reactor operator and senior reactor
operator examinations, the proposed date for examinations for the next calendar
year and each of three successive calendar years. NRC Form 536 also requests
the estimated number of individuals that will participate in the GFE.

2.

Agency Use of Information.
This information is used by the NRC to plan budgets and resources in regard to
operator examination development and scheduling to meet the needs of the
nuclear industry.

3.

Reduction of Burden Through Information Technology.
There are no legal obstacles to reducing the burden associated with this
information collection. The NRC encourages respondents to use information
technology when it would be beneficial to them. NRC issued a regulation on
October 10, 2003 (68 FR 58791), consistent with the Government Paperwork
Elimination Act, which allows its licensees, vendors, applicants, and members of
the public the option to make submissions electronically via CD-ROM, e-mail,
special Web-based interface, or other means. These information collections do
not readily lend themselves to the use of information technology because of the

-2varied types of information and the infrequency of submission. Currently there
are very few (less than 1%) electronic submissions for this clearance.
4.

Effort to Identify Duplication and Use Similar Information.
No sources of similar information are available. There is no duplication of
requirements. NRC has in place an ongoing program to examine all information
collections with the goal of eliminating all duplication and/or unnecessary
information collections.

5.

Effort to Reduce Small Business Burden.
This information collection does not affect any small businesses.

6.

Consequences to Federal Program or Policy Activities if the Collection is Not
Conducted or is Conducted Less Frequently.
This information must be collected and reviewed annually in order to accurately
forecast examination needs.

7.

Circumstances which Justify Variation from OMB Guidelines.
This information collection does not vary from OMB guidelines.

8.

Consultations Outside the NRC.
Opportunity for public comment on the information collection requirements for
this clearance package was published in the Federal Register on April 1, 2008
(73 FR 17383). No comments were received.

9.

Payment or Gift to Respondents.
Not applicable.

10.

Confidentiality of Information.
Confidential and proprietary information is protected in accordance with NRC
regulations at 10 CFR 9.17(a) and 10 CFR 2.390(b). No information normally
considered confidential is requested.

11.

Justification for Sensitive Questions.
This information collection does not involve sensitive or private information.

12.

Estimated Annualized Industry Burden and Burden Hour Cost.
Approximately 80 facility organizations are requested to submit information on
NRC Form 536 annually. This number accounts for multiple unit plants and
similar/dissimilar units at a single site.

-3The estimated annual burden per facility is 1 hour. This is based on previous
requirements for similar material submitted by facility personnel. The total annual
industry burden is 80 hours (1 hour/respondent x 80 respondents).
The estimated annual cost to the facilities to respond to the collection is $19,040
(1 hour x 80 respondents x $238/hour 1 ).
13.

Estimate of Other Additional Costs.
There are no additional costs.

14.

Estimated Annualized Cost to the Federal Government.
Approximately 1 hour per respondent is spent by NRC personnel. The
information gathered by NRC Form 536 is reduced to a standardized format and
then used for planning budgets and resources for NRC operator licensing
functions. The estimated annual cost to the Federal government in connection
with NRC Form 536 is $19,040 (80 hours x $238/hour). This cost is fully
recovered through fee assessments to NRC licensees pursuant to 10 CFR Parts
170 and/or 171.

15.

Reasons for Change in Burden or Cost.
The overall burden estimate for NRC Form 536 has remained the same.
However, there has been an increase in the overall cost as a result of an
increase in the NRC’s fee rate from $157 per hour to $238 per hour.

16.

Publication for Statistical Use.
This information is not published for statistical use.

17.

Reasons for Not Displaying the Expiration Date.
The expiration date is displayed.

18.

Exceptions to the Certification Statement.
None.

B.

COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
Statistical methods are not used in this information collection.

1

The calculations in this burden statement reflect NRC’s new fee rate of $238, which is effective August 5, 2008.