FINAL OMB SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
NRC FORM 241
REPORT OF PROPOSED ACTIVITIES IN NON-AGREEMENT STATES, AREAS OF EXCLUSIVE FEDERAL JURISDICTION, OR OFFSHORE WATERS (3150-0013)
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EXTENSION
Description of the Information Collection
Section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, authorizes the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to enter into an agreement with the Governor of any State, providing a discontinuance of certain regulatory authority of the NRC. A State that has signed such an agreement with the NRC is referred to as an “Agreement State,” and it is allowed to regulate the use of radioactive material within that State. In addition, under NRC's regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 150, "Exemptions and Continued Regulatory Authority in Agreement States and in Offshore Waters Under Section 274,” the NRC refrains from exercising certain licensing authority in Agreement States and exempts licensees in those States from certain NRC licensing requirements.
Under the reciprocity provisions of 10 CFR Part 150, any Agreement State licensee who engages in activities (such as the use of radioactive byproduct material) in an area regulated by the NRC including non-Agreement States, areas of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, or offshore waters is required to file, with the NRC regional administrator for the region in which the Agreement State that issues the specific license is located, an NRC Form 241, a copy of the Agreement State specific license, and the appropriate fee as prescribed in Section 170.31 at least 3 days before engaging in each such activity. This form includes information on locations and dates of activities. The 3-day time schedule permits the NRC regional office time to schedule inspections of these activities.
JUSTIFICATION
Need for and Practical Utility of the Collection of Information
10 CFR 150.20 establishes a general license through which NRC authorizes any Agreement State licensee with a specific license to conduct the same activity in non-Agreement States, areas of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, or offshore waters for a period not to exceed 180 days in any calendar year (with the exception of work conducted in off-shore waters which is authorized for an unlimited period of time in the calendar year). Any Agreement State licensee operating under the general license is required to file with the NRC regional office an NRC Form 241, a copy of the Agreement State specific license, and the appropriate fee as prescribed in Section 170.31 at least 3 days before performing work. However, the regional administrator of the NRC regional office may authorize an Agreement State licensee to commence activity based on a telephone, fax, or letter notification by the licensee, provided that the licensee files an NRC Form 241 within 3 days of the notification.
Receipt of the information on NRC Form 241 is necessary to make the NRC aware of Agreement State licensee’s work in non-Agreement States, areas of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, or offshore waters. The NRC can then determine whether the work is conducted in accordance with NRC requirements for protection of the public health and safety.
Agency Use of the Information
The report informs the NRC of the locations and dates of activities conducted in non-Agreement States, areas of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, or offshore waters by Agreement State licensees under the general license. This notification permits the NRC regional office to schedule inspections of the activities to determine whether the activities are conducted in accordance with NRC requirements for protection of the public health and safety.
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.
The NRC has issued Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC which provides direction for the electronic transmission and submittal of documents to the NRC. Electronic transmission and submittal of documents can be accomplished via the following avenues: the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE) process, which is available from the NRC's “Electronic Submittals” Web page, by Optical Storage Media (OSM) (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD), by facsimile or by e-mail. It is estimated that approximately 80% of the potential responses are filed electronically.
Effort to Identify Duplication and Use Similar Information
No sources of similar information are available. There is no duplication of requirements.
Effort to Reduce Small Business Burden
Some of the Agreement State licensees who use byproduct material in
non-Agreement States, areas of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, or offshore waters are small businesses. However, because the health and safety consequences of improper handling or use of byproduct material are the same for large and small entities, it is not possible to reduce the burden on small businesses by reducing the frequency of reporting or minimizing recordkeeping procedures.
Consequences to Federal Program or Policy Activities if the Collection Is Not Conducted or Is Conducted Less Frequently
If the information on NRC Form 241 is not collected, the NRC will not be aware of work performed by Agreement State licensees in non-Agreement States, areas of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, or offshore waters. The forms are submitted only as the specified uses occur. NRC Form 241 must be submitted prior to each such activity, but the NRC regional office may waive the requirement for filing additional forms during the remainder of the calendar year following the receipt of the initial NRC Form 241 from the Agreement State licensee.
Circumstances Which Justify Variation from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines
This information collection is consistent with OMB Guidelines.
Consultations Outside the NRC
Opportunity for public comment on the information collection requirements for this clearance package was published In the Federal Register on May 1, 2020 (85 FR 25480). No responses or comments were received through the Federal Register. Four companies that had previously submitted the NRC Form 241 were contacted by email as part of the public consultation process. Feedback on this information was requested. No responses or comments were received in responses to these consultations.
Payment or Gift to Respondents Not applicable.
Confidentiality of the Information
Confidential and proprietary information is protected in accordance with NRC regulations at 10 CFR 9.17(a) and 10 CFR 2.390(b). However, no information normally considered confidential or proprietary is requested.
Justification for Sensitive Questions
This information collection does not involve sensitive questions.
Estimated Burden and Burden Hour Cost
Based on the average number of submissions for the past 3 years collected on an annual basis, the NRC estimates that it will receive 1,645 NRC Forms 241 annually from 223 Agreement State licensees (223 initial submittals) and 1,422 changes from Agreement State licensees who engage in activities (use of radioactive byproduct material) in non-Agreement States. This estimate represents maintaining the current pace submissions.
The NRC estimates that initial submissions require 30 minutes to complete, changes require 15 minutes to complete.
The total burden for the NRC Form 241 is 467 hours. This includes 111.5 hours for initial submissions (223 x 30 minutes); and 355.5 hours for changes (1,422 x 15 minutes). The estimated cost to licensees is $129,826 (467 hours x $278/hour). See Table 1 for a breakdown of the number of forms submitted, burden hours, and costs.
The $278 hourly rate used in the burden estimates is based on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s fee for hourly rates as noted in 10 CFR 170.20 “Average cost per professional staff-hour.” For more information on the basis of this rate, see the Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2019 (84 FR 22331, May 17, 2019).
Estimate of Other Additional Costs
There are no additional costs.
Estimated Annualized Cost to the Federal Government
It is estimated that the annual cost to the government for review and acknowledgment for forms, deficiency requests, and further dissemination of each NRC Form 241 is based on 3 hours annually for each of the 223 initial reciprocity requests, for a cost of $185,982 (669 hours x $278/hr); 1 hour/response for each of the 1,422 changes, for a cost of $395,316 (1,422 hours x $278/hr); and 15 minutes/response for each of the 0 clarifications, for a cost of $0 (0 hours x $278/hr). Therefore, the total estimated annual cost to the Federal government is based on 2,091 hours for a cost of $581,298 (2,091 hours/year x $278/hr). See Table 2 for a breakdown of costs to the Federal Government.
Reasons for Changes in Burden or Cost
From 2017 to 2019, an average of 1,645 forms was estimated to be filed annually. The previous estimate was 1,720 forms (based on a review of the estimated actual number of forms received from 2015 to 2016), an overall decrease of 75 forms. The number of initial submissions increased from 200 to 223 (an increase of 23 forms, 11.5 hours of burden); the number of changes to the initial forms submitted decreased from 1,520 to 1,422 (a decrease of 98 forms, 24.5 hours of burden).
Previous Current
Initial Submissions 200 223
Changes to Initial Submissions 1520 1422
Estimated total number of received forms 1720 1645
The NRC expects the same pace of submissions to continue during this clearance period.
As a result of the increase in the estimated number of initial forms filed annually and the decrease in changes to the initial form, the overall burden estimate has decreased from 480 to 467 hours (a net decrease of 13 hours).
In addition, the hourly rate increased from $265/hour to $278/hour.
Publication for Statistical Use
This information will not be published for statistical use.
Reason for Not Displaying the Expiration Date
The expiration date is displayed on NRC Form 241.
Exceptions to the Certification Statement There are no exceptions.
COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
Not applicable.
Annual Reporting Burden
|
Number of Responses |
Burden Hours per Response |
Total Burden Hours |
Cost at $278/Hr |
Initial Submittals |
223 |
0.50 |
111.5 |
$30,997 |
Changes |
1,422 |
0.25 |
355.5 |
$98,829 |
Total |
1,645 |
|
467 |
$129,826 |
Total Number of Respondents: 223
Total Number of Responses: 1,645
Total Reporting Burden: 467 hours ($129,867)
Federal Government Costs
|
Number of Forms Received |
Hours per Form |
Total Hours |
Cost at $278/Hr |
Initial Submittals |
223 |
3.00 |
669 |
$185,982 |
Changes |
1,422 |
1.00 |
1,422 |
$395,316 |
Total |
1,645 |
|
2,091 |
$581,298 |
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Wagner, Katie |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-13 |