FINAL SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
10 CFR PART 50
LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
SECTION 6
50.9(b) - Completeness of Information; 50.12 - Exemptions
3150-0011
ABSTRACT
The regulations in 10 CFR Part 50 provide the requirements for the licensing of production and utilization facilities, including nuclear power plants and research and test reactors. Information provided to the Commission by an applicant for a license or by a licensee or information required by statute or by the Commission's regulations, orders, or license conditions to be maintained by the applicant or the licensee shall be complete and accurate in all material respects. Each applicant or licensee shall notify the Commission of information identified by the applicant or licensee as having for the regulated activity a significant implication for public health and safety or common defense and security. A licensee or applicant may apply to the Commission for an exemption from Part 50 requirements when (1) the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security and (2) when special circumstances are present. This supporting statement describes the burden associated with completeness and accuracy of information and exemption requests.
These regulations affect 10 CFR Part 50, “Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities” licensees for operating nuclear power plants, licensed non-power production and utilization facilities (NPUF), other new technologies (ONTs), such as light (LWRs) and non-light-water reactors (non-LWRs), and power plants that are currently being decommissioned. Also, license and permit holders, and applicants under 10 CFR Part 52, “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.” These entities total 195 respondents for the current clearance cycle. Licensees may voluntarily submit a request for an exemption to the Commission and maintain a record of that request.
JUSTIFICATION
Need for the Collection of Information
The information is submitted voluntarily and is needed in order to determine licensee compliance with the regulations set forth in 50.9 and 50.12. Details of these regulations can be found at the end of this supporting statement in “Description of Requirements.”
Agency Use 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 NRC uses the records and reports required in this part to ascertain that licensees’ licensing the design, construction, operation, and decommissioning of commercial nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities programs are adequate to protect public health and minimize danger to life and property and that licensees’ personnel are aware of and follow up on the information and steps needed to perform licensed activities in a safe manner. The NRC review and the findings derived from the submissions form the basis for the NRC licensing decisions related to licensing of production and utilization facilities, including nuclear power plants and research and test reactors.
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 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
Not Applicable.
Consequences to Federal Program or Policy Activities if the Collection is Not Conducted or is Conducted Less Frequently
Requests for exemption are submitted on a voluntary basis by applicants and licensees. Because the requests are voluntary, there is no set periodicity for these reports, and they cannot be conducted less frequently. If the information collection were not conducted (if the exemption requests were not submitted) the NRC will not be in a position to assess whether licensees are operating within the specific safety requirements applicable to the licensing and operating activities for existing nuclear power reactors and research and test reactors.
Contrary to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5(d), Paragraph 50.9(b) requires that licensees submit a notification to the NRC in less than 30 days from the date of identifying information having significant implications for the public health and safety or the common defense and security and which is not covered by other reporting requirements. The requirement to provide notification within 2 working days following the identification of the information is necessary to ensure that the NRC is made aware of significant safety information that may require prompt action to protect the public health and safety.
Circumstances which Justify Variation From OMB Guidelines
There are no variations from 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 June 13, 2024 (89 FR 50381). Additionally, NRC staff contacted eight stakeholders via email. The stakeholders included operating reactor licensees, licensed and under construction non-power production and utilization facilities, as well as power reactors being decommissioned and industry representatives from Constellation Energy, Holtec International, Southern Nuclear Operating Co., Inc, SHINE Technologies, Abilene Christian University, Oregon State University, Texas A & M University, and Energy Solutions.
No responses or comments were received from the FRN publication or the staff’s direct solicitation of comments related to this section.
Payment or Gift to Respondents
Not applicable.
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.
Justification for Sensitive Questions
This regulation does not request sensitive information.
Estimated Industry Burden and Burden Hour Cost
The total estimated cost for information collection requirements in this section is 10,805 hours at a cost of $3,241,500 (10,805 x 300/hr).
Total Burden and Responses |
||
|
Hours |
Responses |
Reporting |
9,720 |
27 |
Recordkeeping |
1,085 |
32 |
TOTAL |
10,805 |
59 |
Detailed burden estimates are included in the supplemental burden spreadsheet titled, “Table 1 - Summary of Supporting Statements.” The $300 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 2020 (85 FR 37250, June 19, 2020).
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 $130 (1,085 recordkeeping hours x $300 x .0004).
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. The annualized estimated cost to the government is $675,000 (2,250 staff hours x $300) as shown on the attached Summary Table.
Reasons for Changes in Burden or Cost
The burden and number of responses have not changed as described in the tables below:
Burden change
|
2021 estimates |
Current submission |
Change |
Reporting |
9,720 |
9,720 |
0 |
Recordkeeping |
1,080 |
1,085 |
+5 |
Total |
10,800 |
10,805 |
+5 |
Change in Responses
|
2021 estimates |
Current submission |
Change |
Reporting |
27 |
27 |
0 |
Recordkeeping |
27 |
32 |
+5 |
Total |
54 |
59 |
+5 |
Although the number of operating reactor licensees required to report and maintain records during this clearance period has been increased; staff does not anticipate a change in the number of submissions under 10 CFR 50.12; nor are any submission expected under section 50.9(b), trends have been constant over the prior cycles and there is no anticipation of increase or decrease in this area. However, staff has added Section 50.9(b) recordkeeping, that was previously inadvertently omitted, increasing the recordkeepers by 5, the burden increased 1 hour for a total of 5 hours overall. The fee rate increased from $279 to $300 in this clearance cycle.
Publication for Statistical Use
The information being collected is not expected to be published for statistical use.
Reason for Not Displaying the 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.
Exceptions to the Certification Statement
None.
COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
Not applicable.
Appendix A – Description Requirements
License Requirements
10 CFR 50.9. This section specifies Information provided to the Commission by an applicant for a license or by a licensee or information required by statute or by the Commission's regulations, orders, or license conditions to be maintained by the applicant or the licensee shall be complete and accurate in all material respects.
Section 50.9(b). Requires each applicant or licensee shall notify the Commission of information identified by the applicant or licensee as having for the regulated activity a significant implication for public health and safety or common defense and security. An applicant or licensee violates this paragraph only if the applicant or licensee fails to notify the Commission of information that the applicant or licensee has identified as having a significant implication for public health and safety or common defense and security. Notification shall be provided to the Administrator of the appropriate Regional Office within two working days of identifying the information. This requirement is not applicable to information which is already required to be provided to the Commission by other reporting or updating requirements.
10 CFR 50.12. This section of 10 CFR 50 specifies that the Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 when (1) the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security and (2) when special circumstances are present.
Special circumstances exist when:
Application of the regulation in the particular circumstances conflicts with other Commission rules or requirements, or
Application of the regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule, or
Compliance with the regulation would result in hardship or other costs that are significantly in excess of those contemplated when the regulation was adopted, or that are significantly in excess of those incurred by others similarly situated, or
The exemption would benefit public health and safety and compensates for any decrease in safety, or
The exemption would provide only temporary relief from the applicable regulation and the applicant or licensee has made good faith efforts to comply with the regulation, or
There are other material circumstances present that were not considered when the regulation was adopted and for which would be in the public’s interest to grant the exemption. If this condition is relied on exclusively to satisfy the criteria of “special circumstances,” the exemption may not be granted without consultation with the Commission.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Lisa Fishman |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2024-10-26 |