FINAL SUPPORTING STATEMENT
FOR
NRC FORM 536, “OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINATION DATA”
(3150-0131)
---
EXTENSION
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,
and
(3) information on whether the examinations will be facility
developed or NRC developed. NRC uses an official form, NRC Form
536, for the voluntary reporting of this operator licensing
examination data.
The information requested includes the facility identifying information, proposed examination preparation schedule, estimated number of licensee prepared examinations and NRC staff prepared examinations, and initial number of operator license examinations by category and proposed dates.
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 nuclear 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.
2. Agency Use of Information
This information is used by the NRC to schedule and plan budgets and resources in regard to operator examination development and administration to meet the needs of the nuclear industry.
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), or by e-mail. It is estimated that approximately 75 percent of the 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.
5. Effort to Reduce Small Business Burden
The information collection affects only licensees of nuclear power plants and applicants for licenses to operate nuclear power plants. These licensees do not fall within the scope of the definition of “small entities” as given in the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the Small Business Size Standards in regulations issued by the Small Business Administration at 13 CFR Part 121.
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 June 22, 2023 (88 FR 40873). Additionally, NRC staff contacted six stakeholders via email. The stakeholders were operating reactor owner/operator licensee’s and industry representatives from American Electric Power, Constellation Energy, Dominion Generation, Duke Energy, Energy Harbor and Tennessee Valley Authority.
No responses or comments were received as a result of the FRN or the staff’s direct solicitation of comments.
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 information collection does not involve sensitive or private information.
12. Estimated Annualized Industry Burden and Burden Hour Cost
Approximately 68 facilities will voluntarily submit their projected (estimated) number of candidates for reactor operator and senior reactor operator examinations during this clearance period. It is estimated that each respondent will submit one NRC Form 536 annually for a potential total of 68 responses (1 x 68 = 68). The estimated annual burden per facility is 0.75 hour (45 minutes) per request. This is based on previous submittals of NRC Form 536 by licensees. The total annual industry burden is estimated to be 51 hours (0.75 hour x 68 potential respondents).
The estimated annual cost to the facilities to respond to the collection is $14,790 (0.75 hour x 68 potential respondents x $290/hour).
There are no recordkeeping requirements associated with this collection of information.
The $290 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 2022 (87 FR 37214, June 22, 2022).
13. Estimate of Other Additional Costs
There are no additional costs.
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.
Approximately 0.75 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 $14,790 (0.75 hour x 68 potential respondents x $290/hour).
15. Reasons for Change in Burden or Cost
The increase in burden is due to an increase in the estimated number of respondents from 60 to 68. The increase in respondents is due to the projection of the construction of new commercial reactor facilities, the restarting of decommissioned reactor plants, and projections for decommissioning of current commercial reactor facilities. The cost burden per response increased due to the increase in fee rate from $278 to $290.
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.
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| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 0000-00-00 |