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), 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 July 21, 2023 (88 FR 47194). As part of the consultation process, the NRC staff directly contacted, via email, four potential respondents. The stakeholders were licensee representatives from Stan A. Huber Consultants, Inc, Space Science Services, Inc., RAM Services, Inc., and Westex Company. No comments were received in responses to these consultations or the Federal Register.
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 number of submissions collected on an annual basis, the NRC estimates that it will receive 1,689 NRC Forms 241 annually from 179 Agreement State licensees (179 initial submittals) and 1,510 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 89.5 hours for initial submissions (179 x 30 minutes); and 377.5 hours for changes (1,510 x 15 minutes). The estimated cost to licensees is $135,430 (467 hours x $290/hour). See Table 1 for a breakdown of the number of forms submitted, burden hours, and costs.
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 37197, June 22, 2033).
Annual Reporting Burden
|
Number of Responses |
Burden Hours per Response |
Total Burden Hours |
Cost at $290/Hr |
Initial Submittals |
179 |
0.50 |
89.5 |
$25,955 |
Changes |
1,510 |
0.25 |
377.5 |
$109,475 |
Clarifications |
0 |
0.25 |
0 |
0 |
Total |
1,689 |
|
467 |
$135,430 |
Total Number of Respondents: 179
Total Number of Responses: 1,510
Total Reporting Burden: 467 hours ($135,430)
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 179 initial reciprocity requests, for a cost of $155,730 (537 hours x $290/hr); 1 hour/response for each of the 1,510 changes, for a cost of $437,900 (1,510 hours x $290/hr); and 15 minutes/response for each of the 0 clarifications, for a cost of $0 (0 hours x $290/hr). Therefore, the total estimated annual cost to the Federal government is based on 2,047 hours for a cost of $593,630 (2,047 hours/year x $290/hr). See Table 2 for a breakdown of costs to the Federal Government.
Federal Government Costs
|
Number of Forms Received |
Hours per Form |
Total Hours |
Cost at $290/Hr |
Initial Submittals |
179 |
3.00 |
537 |
$155,730 |
Changes |
1,510 |
1.00 |
1,510 |
$437,900 |
Clarifications |
0 |
0.25 |
0 |
0 |
Total |
1,689 |
|
2,047 |
$593,630 |
Reasons for Changes in Burden or Cost
The current estimate of annual submissions is 1,689 forms. The previous estimate was 1,645 forms (based on a review of the estimated actual number of forms received from 2017 to 2019), an overall increase of 44 forms. The number of initial submissions decreased from 223 to 179 (a decrease of 44 forms, 22 hours of burden); the number of changes to the initial forms submitted increased from 1,422 to 1510 (an increase of 88 forms, 22 hours of burden).
Previous Current
Initial Submissions 223 179
Changes to Initial Submissions 1422 1510
Estimated total number of received forms 1645 1689
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 changes to the initial form filed annually and the decrease in initial forms, the overall burden estimate has remained the same (467 hours).
The overall change in cost (from $129,867 to $135,430) is due to the hourly rate increasing from $278/hour to $290/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.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Wagner, Katie |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2023-10-27 |