Part 50 section 1 final supporting statement

FINAL OMB SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR 10 CFR PART 50
“DOMESTIC LICENSING OF PRODUCTION
AND UTILIZATION FACILITIES”
(OMB CLEARANCE NO. 3150-0011)
EXTENSION
ABSTRACT
The regulations in 10 CFR Part 50, “Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,”
are promulgated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant to the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), to provide for the licensing and regulation of
production and utilization facilities. They contain reporting, recordkeeping, third-party
notification, and application requirements that are key components in the NRC’s licensing and
regulatory processes. Guidance on acceptable means of complying with 10 CFR 50 is provided
through a number of NRC publications including Regulatory Guides, the NUREG-series,
Inspection Manual Chapters, and Interim Staff Guidance documents.
The information collection requirements in 10 CFR Part 50 apply to several types of facilities
discussed in the rule, including nuclear power plants and non-power production and utilization
facilities; moreover, 10 CFR Part 50 covers the lifecycle of facilities from initial licensing to
decommissioning. The number of respondents to the information collections in the rule varies
due to a number of factors including the number of licensing requests initiated and/or completed
and the number of regulatory reports required by operating events and/or conditions. The NRC
estimates the average number of potential respondents during this clearance period will be:
89 - Operating Power Reactors
29 - Power Reactor Licensees
51 - Power Reactor Sites
29 - Power Reactors Being Decommissioned
31 - Licensed Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities
15 - Combined Operating License Holders/applicants
Reporting requirements are directed toward licensees or applicants. However, reporting
requirements may not be reactor specific, but they may be of a type that applies to a site which
is occupied by one or more reactors that have different licenses. Other requirements may be
utility specific and, thus, refer to several reactors at more than one site. These considerations
may cause apparent conflicts in the use of the terms: licensees, reactor sites, facilities, or
plants in our individual estimates of burden. To avoid confusion, the term “respondents” will be
used throughout this supporting statement to report burden.
It is important to note that 10 CFR 50 is related to 10 CFR 52, “Early Site Permits (ESPs);
Standard Design Certifications (SDCs); Standard Design Approvals (SDAs); and Combined
Operating Licenses (COLs) for Nuclear Power Plants” (3150 - 0151). 10 CFR 52 provides a
means for an applicant for a nuclear power facility to obtain a combined construction permit and
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operating license, independent of the two-step process contained in 10 CFR 50. Up to 1
application each for these SDCS and SDAs are projected during the clearance period. In order
to not duplicate regulations, 10 CFR 52 references the applicable provisions of 10 CFR 50. The
burden associated with 10 CFR 50 provisions contained in 10 CFR 52 is included in this
submittal and is excluded from the 10 CFR 52 submittal.
Recordkeeping Requirements
The recordkeeping requirements mandated by 10 CFR Part 50 are of two broad types. The first
type is the simple filing of copies of reports, letters, and other written documentation that already
exist because of a reporting requirement found elsewhere in the regulations or in the license
and technical specifications. The second type of recordkeeping is the generation, updating and
filing of records for information is needed to demonstrate compliance with the regulations or for
event assessment.
The large volume of records which are kept for 10 CFR Part 50 is required primarily by the
technical specifications, the quality assurance program, reports of changes specified in
10 CFR 50.59(b), environmental qualification of equipment, decommissioning, monitoring the
effectiveness of maintenance at nuclear power plants, training and qualification of plant
personnel, for highly enriched uranium, and for primary reactor containment leakage testing.
Additional Requirements
This submittal incorporates all finalized information collection requirements contained in
10 CFR 50 that have been approved by OMB since the last extension request for
10 CFR Part 50. These rulemakings are itemized below and the information collections are
described in detail in the applicable supporting statements.
Information collections contained in Final Rules
•
•
•
•
A.

Mitigation of Beyond Design Basis Events (MBDBE) Final Rule, approved August 2019.
Approval of American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code Cases, approved March 2020.
Incorporation by Reference of American Society of Mechanical Engineers Codes and Code
Cases, approved May 2020.
Appendix H to 10 CFR Part 50, Reactor Vessel Surveillance Program, approved December
2020
JUSTIFICATION
1.

Need for and Practical Utility of the Collection of Information
Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, NRC has the responsibility
and authority for licensing and regulating nuclear power plants, non-power reactors
(research and test facilities), fuel reprocessing plants and other utilization and
production facilities. This review responsibility also encompasses applications for
approval of design certifications. Information provided by the applicant as part of the
application is crucial to the licensing process as it provides the NRC with the
information it needs to make a decision with regard to the proposed plant’s impact on

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the health and safety of the public. Once a facility is licensed, the NRC continues to
regulate its licensed activities. Licensees must comply with the reporting and
recordkeeping requirements in 10 CFR Part 50 so that the NRC will have the
information it needs to ensure that licensed activities are being conducted without
endangering the health and safety of the public. Detailed information required by the
NRC to be included in each application for a construction permit, operating license,
combined operating license, or required to monitor and ensure safe operation is
addressed in the following Supporting Statements specific to the 10 CFR Part 50
Sections (see Supplementary Documents).
2.` Agency Use of Information
The NRC conducts a detailed review of all applications for licenses to construct and
operate utilization and production facilities, in addition to applications for approval of
design certifications. The purpose of the detailed review is to ensure that the
proposed facilities can be built and operated safely at the proposed locations, and
that all structures, systems, and components important to safety will be designed to
withstand the effects of postulated accident conditions without undue risk to the health
and safety of the public. A detailed review of operating reports and records continues
during the lifetime of the licensed plant until it is decommissioned, and its license
terminated. Applicants and licensees are required by the Act to provide such
technical information and data that the NRC may determine necessary to ensure the
public health and safety.
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 overall
approximately 55% of the 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
Not Applicable

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6.

Consequences to Federal Program or Policy Activities if the Collection is Not
Conducted or is Conducted Less Frequently
See each section (Supplementary Documents) for information specific to the
consequences to the Federal program if the collection is not conducted or is
conducted less frequently.

7.

Circumstances which Justify Variation from OMB Guidelines
See each section (Supplementary Documents) for information specific to any variance
from OMB’s 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 February 19, 2021,
(86 FR 10360). Additionally, NRC staff contacted five stakeholders via email. The
stakeholders were new, operating and research and test reactor owner licensee
representatives and interested stakeholders from Duke Energy Progress, LLC, Kairos
Power, Southern Nuclear Operating Co., Washington State University and X-Energy.
The NRC received one out-of-scope comment as a result of the FRN. No additional
responses or comments were received as a result of the FRN or the staff’s direct
solicitation of comment.

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).
11. Justification for Sensitive Questions
The provisions of 10 CFR 50 regulations generally do not require sensitive
information. However, personally identifiable information (e.g., telephone numbers)
provided in Emergency Plans is protected in accordance with NRC regulations at
10 CFR 9.17(a) and 10 CFR 2.790(b).

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12. Estimate of Industry Burden and Burden Hour Cost*
Below is a summary burden table by section.
Annual
Section Reporting
Burden
2
3
4
5
6
7
Total

457,342
4,045
70,036
231,328
10,800
423,951
1,197,502

Annual 3rd
Annual
Party
Total
Recordkeeping
Disclosure Burden
Burden
Burden
225,633
10,877
28,690
1,770,363
1,200
413,701
2,450,464

Total Cost at
$279/hr

682,975
$190,550,025
14,922
$4,163,238
98,726
$27,544,442
200 2,001,891
$558,527,589
12,000
$3,348,000
837,652
$233,704,908
200 3,648,166 $1,017,838,202

The $279 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 (85 FR 37250,
June 19, 2020).
13. Estimate of Other Additional Costs
The quantity of records to be maintained is roughly proportional to the recordkeeping
burden and therefore can be used to calculate approximate records storage costs.
Based on the number of pages maintained for a typical clearance, the records storage
cost has been determined to be equal to .0004 times the recordkeeping burden cost.
Therefore, the storage cost for this clearance is estimated to be $273,471 (2,450,464
recordkeeping hours x $279 x .0004).
14. Estimated Annualized Cost to the Federal Government
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.

*Items

12, 13 and 14 are covered in the section-specific statements (see
Supplementary Document 2, Sections 2 through 7).
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The estimated annualized cost to the Federal government by section is in the table
below. The overall annual cost to the Federal government is $67,075,506.

Section
2
3
4
5
6
7
Total

Annual Cost to
Federal Government
at $279/hr
$28,444,887
$425,754
$11,521,305
$20,399,085
$627,750
$5,656,725
$67,075,506

15. Reasons for Changes in Burden or Cost
The burden and number of responses have changed as described in the tables
below:
Burden change
Previous total
Reporting
Recordkeeping
Third Party
Disclosure
Total

Current
Change
submission
1,148,086
1,197,502
49,416
2,562,696
2,450,464
-112,232
100

200

100

3,710,882

3,648,166

-62,716

Change in Responses
Previous total
Reporting
Recordkeeping
Third Party
Disclosure
Total

Current
submission

Change

43,467
149

42,078
164

-1,389
15

1

2

1

43,617

42,244

-1,373

The reasons for the estimated burden changes (reflecting an overall burden decrease
of 62,716 hours, from 3,710,882 hours to 3,648,166 hours) are primarily related to the
decrease in operating reactors. In the last renewal, the NRC staff-based estimates on
94 operating reactors. The current submission estimates 89 operating reactors, due
to an increase in owner/operators not renewing their operating license. The sectionspecific supporting statements (Supplementary Documents, Sections 2 through 7)
has the detail on the burden changes for that section. The 62,716 hour change in
burden was calculated by summing the burden from the individual sections and
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comparing the total to the burden from currently in ROCIS (the burden from the
previous clearance plus the burden from the four previously mentioned final rules).
The overall decrease in burden due to the decrease in operating reactors is not linear
as not all requirements are reactor specific but may apply to an entire multi-unit site or
a utility.
The increase in reporting burden is primarily due to the anticipated submission of a
design certification and the burden associated with the earthquake engineering
criteria for this submission, described in section 7. The decrease in recordkeeping
burden is primarily due to a review of data associated with 50.69, described in section
5. A sample of recent reports for 25 licensees showed that licensees were performing
far fewer evaluations than previously estimated (approximately 3 per plant/ year
rather than 95 per plant/year), which led staff to reduce the associated recordkeeping
burden for this requirement.
This submission contains the full scope of the 10 CFR Part 50 information collections
that were last approved by OMB in 2018. In the interim there have been a number of
updates to the 10 CFR Part 50 burden that reflect changes to selected sections of the
rule. The last change to the burden in a section of the 10 CFR Part 50 information
collections due to a modification to the rule was approved in December 2020.
16. Publication for Statistical Use
The collected information is not published for statistical purposes.
17. Reason for Not Displaying the Expiration Date
The recordkeeping and reporting requirement 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
None.
B.

COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
Not applicable.

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Supplementary Documents:
1. Table 1 - Burden spreadsheet
2. Supporting Statement Section 2 – “Applications for Licenses, Certifications, and
Regulatory Approvals”
3. Supporting Statement Section 3 – “Decommissioning”
4. Supporting Statement Section 4 – “Inspections, Records, Reports, Notifications”
5. Supporting Statement Section 5 – “Issuance, Limitations, and Conditions of Licenses
and Construction Permits”
6. Supporting Statement Section 6 - “License Requirements”
7. Supporting Statement Section 7 – “Standards for Licenses, Certifications, and
Regulatory Approvals”

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