Part 20 - OMB Draft Supporting Statement - Proposed Rule -ML18039A025

DRAFT SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR INFORMATION COLLECTIONS CONTAINED IN
THE REGULATORY IMPROVEMENTS FOR PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION FACILITIES
TRANSITIONING TO DECOMMISSIONING PROPOSED RULE
10 CFR PART 20
STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST RADIATION

DESCRIPTION OF INFORMATION COLLECTION
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations that
govern production and utilization facility licensee activities during decommissioning. The NRC’s
goals in amending these regulations are to provide for an efficient decommissioning process;
reduce the need for exemptions from existing regulations and license amendment requests;
address other decommissioning issues deemed relevant by the NRC; and support the principles
of good regulation, including openness, clarity, and reliability. The proposed rule covers a wide
range of topics, including the following that would result in incremental changes in
recordkeeping and reporting requirements relative to existing rules:
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Emergency preparedness,
Physical security,
Cyber security,
Fitness for duty,
Training requirements for a fuel handler program,
Decommissioning funding assurance,
Offsite and onsite financial protection requirements and indemnity agreements, and
Current regulatory approaches to decommissioning.

This supporting statement describes how the proposed rule will impact the information
collections in 10 CFR Part 20 (3150-0014). The supporting statements describing changes to
10 CFR Part 26 (3150-0146), 10 CFR Part 50 (3150-0011), 10 CFR Part 52 (3150-0151).
10 CFR Part 72 (3150-0132), and 10 CFR Part 73 (3150-0002) have been submitted under the
respective clearances.
Affected Entities
The proposed revision to Part 20 would apply to investigation requirements for low-level
radioactive waste (LLW) transportation during both operation and decommissioning at all
nuclear facilities under 10 CFR Part 20. Only power reactor licensees transitioning to
decommissioning have requested exemptions from the investigation requirement. The NRC
staff estimates that three nuclear power reactors will permanently shut down during the 3-year
period covered by this supporting statement.
Information Collections
The proposed rule would result in decreased reporting burden associated with exemption
requests under Section 20.2301. A more detailed description of the proposed rule change is

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provided at the end of this supporting statement in “Description of Information Collection
Requirements.”
A.

JUSTIFICATION
1.

Need for the Collection of Information
Information collection under Section 20.2301 is necessary in order to allow
licensees to request an exemption from the regulatory requirements in Part 20.

2.

Agency Use and Practical Utility of Information
Applicants or licensees requesting approval to construct or operate utilization or
production facilities are required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended
(the Act), to provide information and data that the NRC may determine necessary to
ensure the health and safety of the public. The information collected from power
reactors under Section 20.2301 is used by the NRC to assess a licensee’s request
for exemption from selected requirements in Part 20. The NRC determines if the
exemption is authorized by law and would not result in undue hazard to life or
property.

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.
The proposed rule would not impact the proportion of documents submitted to the
NRC 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.

6.

Consequences to Federal Program or Policy Activities if the Collection Is Not
Conducted or Is Conducted Less Frequently
Section 20.2301 exemption requests are submitted and evaluated when licensees
are seeking relief from the requirements of Part 20. Each exemption request needs
to be submitted only once. The schedule for collecting the information is the
minimum frequency necessary to assure that licensees are complying with the law
and are not creating undue hazard to life or property. If the information were not

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collected, then licensees could be required to comply with unnecessary
requirements.
7.

Circumstances which Justify Variations from OMB Guidelines
The proposed revision to Part 20 would not conflict with OMB Guidelines.

8.

Consultations Outside the NRC
Opportunity for public comment on the information collection requirements for this
clearance package has been published in the Federal Register.

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). However, no information
normally considered confidential or proprietary is requested.
11. Justification for Sensitive Questions
This proposed rule does not request sensitive information.
12. Estimated Burden and Burden Hour Cost
Detailed burden estimates are included in the supplemental burden Excel
spreadsheet titled, “Part 20 Burden Tables for the Regulatory Improvements for
Production and Utilization Facilities Transitioning to Decommissioning Proposed
Rule.”
The proposed rule would result in an estimated reduction of one annual respondent.
The overall estimated annual burden reduction is 77.5 hours at an estimated annual
cost reduction of $22,320.00 (77.5 hours x $288/hour). This includes 77.5 hours for
reporting and 0 hours for recordkeeping.
Title
Annual Reporting
TOTAL

Total Burden Summary
Responses
Hours
1
-77.5
1
-77.5

Cost
-$22,320.00
-$22,320.00

Note: The respondents affected by the proposed rule’s 10 CFR part 20 information collections are not
new respondents; they are affected by other information collections identified in the existing
10 CFR part 20 clearance.

The $288 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

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the Revision Of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery For Fiscal Year 2021 (86 FR 32146;
June 16, 2021).
13. Estimate of Other Additional Costs
There are no additional costs.
14. Estimated Annualized Cost to the Federal Government
The annualized cost reduction for the NRC is estimated to be $11,174.40 (38.8
hours x $288/hour).
Annualized NRC Cost Reduction

NRC Action
Reviewing
transportation
related
exemption
requests

Rule Text
Provision

No.
Actions/
Year

Reduced
Burden
Hours/Action

Total
Reduced
Hours

20.2301

1

38.8

38.8

Total Cost
Reduction

$11,174.40

This cost reduction is the result of the NRC not having to process and review
exemption requests associated with extending the receipt of notification period for
LLW shipments. The current cost to the Federal government is $2,525,787. The
new Federal government cost including the proposed rule requirements would be
$2,514,612.60.
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 Changes in Burden or Cost
The estimated incremental burden reduction from the proposed rule is 77.5 hours.
By extending the receipt notification window, the proposed rule would reduce the
number of exemption requests submitted by licensees.
16. Publication for Statistical Use
The information being collected is not expected to be published for statistical use.
17. Reason for Not Displaying the Expiration Date
The reporting requirement for this information collection is associated with
regulations and is 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.

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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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DESCRIPTION OF INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS CONTAINED IN THE
REGULATORY IMPROVEMENTS FOR PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION FACILITIES
TRANSITIONING TO DECOMMISSIONING PROPOSED RULE
10 CFR PART 20
The Part 20 information collection requirement that would be impacted by the proposed rule is
discussed below.
Low Level Waste Transportation
Section 20.2301 specifies that the Commission may, upon application by a licensee or upon its
own initiative, grant an exemption from the requirements of Part 20 if the Commission
determines an exemption is authorized by law and would not result in undue hazard to life or
property. Section III.E of Appendix G to Part 20 contains requirements for investigating rail
shipments of LLW if the shipper has not received notification of receipt within 20 days after
transfer. Currently, decommissioning licensees frequently request an exemption from this
requirement to extend the notification window to 45 days. The proposed rule would revise
Section III.E.1 of Appendix G to Part 20 by extending the notification period from 20 days to 45
days, resulting in a reduction in the expected number of exemption requests submitted by
licensees to the NRC. This provision would result in a reduction to the exemption request
related reporting burden for licensees transitioning to decommissioning. (Change in
Respondents)