ML20272A211 10 CFR Part 63- 30-day Supporting Statement

FINAL SUPPORTING STATEMENT
FOR
10 CFR PART 63
DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN A
GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA
(3150-0199)
EXTENSION

Description of Information Collection
Part 63 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) requires the State of Nevada,
affected units of local government, or affected Indian Tribes or their representatives to submit
information describing the purpose and services needed associated with a (1) request for
consultation with the NRC staff regarding the status of site characterization and related NRC
activities regarding the potential repository site (§63.62) or (2) facilitation of its participation in a
license review for the potential repository (§63.63). The information submitted is used by the
Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards as a basis for decisions about the
commitment of the NRC staff resources to the consultation and participation efforts. Part 63 does
not require the State, local governments, and affected Indian Tribes to submit any request. This is
strictly voluntary on their part, and only if they desire to do so would the information in question be
required of them.
Additionally, any person representing the State, local government, or affected Indian Tribe in
submitting a request must also submit a statement of the basis of his or her authority to act in such
representative capacity (§63.65). Such a statement is necessary to assure NRC that
representatives for the State, local governments, and affected Indian Tribes have the authority to
represent the State, local governments, or Indian Tribes in dealings with the NRC.
A.

Justification
1. Need for the Collection of Information
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) and 10 CFR Part 63 contain detailed
provisions for the participation of the State, affected units of local government, and
affected Indian Tribes in the process of site characterization and licensing activities of a
high-level radioactive waste geologic repository. The NRC must follow many formal
procedures and detailed schedules in meeting its responsibilities under the NWPA and
10 CFR Part 63 (See 10 CFR Part 2). 10 CFR Part 63 does not require the State, local
governments, and affected Indian Tribes to submit any proposals. This is strictly
voluntary on their part, and only if they desire to do so would the information in question
be required of them. The Director of the Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and
Safeguards must have complete information on State, local government, and Indian
Tribal plans for participation in order to accommodate State, local government, and
Tribal desires for participation while at the same time following mandated procedures

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and schedules. In addition, where State, local government, and affected Tribal
proposals for participation involve requests for funding the justification for such requests
must be documented in order to assure appropriate uses of NRC funds.
Section 63.62 states that the Director shall make NRC staff available to consult with
representatives of the State, affected units of local government, and affected Indian
Tribes regarding the status of site characterization and related NRC regulatory
activities. Section 63.62 also states that requests for consultation shall be made in
writing to the Director. The State, local governments, and affected Tribes would be
required to submit information about what services they need, and for what purpose
the services are needed, only if they wish to obtain NRC consultation services.
Making NRC staff available for consultation with representatives of the State, local
governments, and affected Indian Tribes represents potentially a major commitment of
NRC resources. The Director must have a firm basis for approving this commitment of
resources. A written request for consultation is the minimum requirement which could
provide a firm basis for the commitment of NRC resources.
Section 63.63(b) states that the State, local government, or affected Indian Tribe may
submit to the Director a proposal to facilitate its participation in the review of the license
application.
The proposal shall contain a description and schedule of how the State, local
government, or affected Indian Tribe wishes to participate in the review, or what services
or activities the State, affected unit of local government, or affected Indian Tribe wishes
NRC to carry out, and how the services or activities proposed to be carried out by NRC
would contribute to such participation.
Section 63.65 states that any person who acts under this subpart (Subpart C) as a
representative for the State (or for the Governor or legislature thereof), local
government, or for an affected Indian Tribe shall include in his or her request or other
submission, or at the request of the Commission, a statement of the basis of his or her
authority to act in such representative capacity.
Such a statement is necessary to assure NRC that representatives for the State, local
governments, and affected Indian Tribes have the authority to represent the State, local
governments, or Indian Tribes in dealings with the NRC.
2. Agency Use and Practical Utility of Information
The information requested will be reported to the Director of the Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, who has programmatic responsibility for NRC's highlevel radioactive waste program. It will be used by him or her to provide opportunities for
the State, local government, and affected Indian Tribes to participate in the site
characterization and licensing activities of the high-level radioactive waste geologic
repository. It will also help the Director determine, for example, whether activities
proposed by the State, local government, or affected Indian Tribe would enhance
communications, would contribute to the license review in a timely and productive
manner and would be authorized by law.
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3. Reduction of Burden Through Information Technology
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 50% of the
potential responses are filed electronically.
4. Effort to Identify Duplication and Use Similar Information
No sources of similar information are available. There is no duplication of requirements.
5. Effort to Reduce Small Business Burden
No small businesses are affected by the information collection requirements, but some
affected Indian Tribes might be considered small entities. The NRC staff's established
program to provide information exchange with States, affected units of local government,
and affected Indian Tribes could provide them with assistance in preparation of the
requested information.
6. Consequences to Federal Program or Policy Activities if the Collection is Not
Conducted or is Conducted Less Frequent Collection
If the collection is not conducted, the Director will not have information that will enable
him or her to provide opportunities for the State, local government, and affected Indian
Tribes to participate in the site characterization and licensing activities of a high-level
radioactive waste geologic repository. The information collection requirements only
apply to a single submittal.
7. Circumstances Which Justify Variation From OMB Guidelines
There are no variations from OMB guidelines.
8. Consultations Outside NRC
Opportunity for public comment on the information collection requirements for this
clearance package has been published in the Federal Register on June 16, 2020
(85 FR 36427). NRC also contacted representatives of the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe;
The State of Nevada’s Nuclear Waste Project Office; Clark County, Nevada; and Nye
County, Nevada. NRC did not receive any comments.
9. Payments or Gifts to Respondents
Not applicable.

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10. Confidentiality of the Information
Confidential and proprietary information is protected in accordance with NRC regulations
at 10 CFR §2.390(b) and 10 CFR §9.17(a). However, no information normally
considered confidential or proprietary is requested.
11. Justification for Sensitive Questions
None.
12. Estimated Burden and Burden Hour Costs

Section

Number of
Respondents

Frequency
of Response

Annual
Responses

Hours per
Response

Annual
Burden

Public Cost
($278/Hr)

63.62
(Requests for consultation
with NRC staff)

12

once only

12

40

480

$133,440

63.63
(Requests for NRC
facilitation of participation
in a license review)

12

once only

12

80

960

$266,880

63.65
(Basis of authority to
represent the State, local
governments, or, affected
Indian Tribes)

12

once only

12

1

12

$3,336

1,452

$403,656

Totals

12

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).
13. Estimate of Other Additional Costs
There are no additional costs.
14. Estimated Annualized Cost to the Federal Government
Section 63.62 involves NRC staff review of requests for consultation regarding the status
of site characterization and certain regulatory activities. This should require no more than
40 hours of staff time per response. At $278 per hour for staff time, this would be $11,120
per respondent. The total for 12 responses is $133,440.
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Section 63.63 involves NRC staff review of proposals for participation in license reviews.
This should require no more than 80 hours of staff time per response. At $278 per hour,
this would be $22,240 per respondent. The total for 12 responses is $266,880.
Section 63.65 involves NRC staff review of the statement of representation. This should
require no more than one hour of staff time per response. At $278 per hour, this would be
$278 per response. The total for 12 responses would be $3,336.
Total cost to the government is $403,656 (1,452 hours x $278). Costs are not anticipated
to be recurrent and thus cannot reasonably be annualized. These costs are fully
recovered by NRC through appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund which was
established by the Department of Energy pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of
1982.
The staff has developed estimates of annualized costs to the Federal Government related
to the conduct of this collection of information. These estimates are based on staff
experience and subject matter expertise and include the burden needed to review,
analyze, and process the collected information and any relevant operational expenses.
15. Reasons for Change in Burden or Cost
There are no changes in the burden. There is no historical data regarding this burden
estimate. The estimate is based on the limited complexity of the information requested
and the number of admitted parties and the long period of time that the licensing
proceeding has been suspended. The cost per hour increased slightly from $265 to
$278 causing an increase in the cost.
16. Publication for Statistical Use
None
17. Reason for Not Displaying Expiration Date
The recordkeeping and reporting requirements for this information collection are
associated with regulations and are not submitted on instruments such as forms or
surveys. For this reason, there are no data instruments on which to display an OMB
expiration date. Further, amending the regulatory text of the CFR to display
information that, in an annual publication, could become obsolete would be unduly
burdensome and too difficult to keep current.
18. Exceptions to the Certification Statement
There are no exceptions.
B.

Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods
Statistical methods are not used in this collection of information.

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