ML19071A021
| ML19071A021 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/31/2019 |
| From: | Patrick Koch Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | |
| Meyd, Donald | |
| References | |
| NUREG/BR-0117 | |
| Download: ML19071A021 (40) | |
Text
ANNUAL TRAININGPAGE THE NEVER-CONSIDERED FEES PAGE SIGNIFICANT ENFORCEMENT
ACTIONSPAGE GENERIC COMMUNICATIONS
ISSUEDPAGE SELECTED FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES PAGE ONGOING RULEMAKINGSPAGE TO OUR READERS PAGE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY AND SAFEGUARDSNUREG/BR-0117 NO. 17-04
, a licens ee contacted t he NRC to inquire about r ecently received b ill. The NRC staff informed t hat the NRC charges licensees fo r reviewing their d ecommissioning p lan documents. During t he discussion, the N RC s taff told t he lic ense e that t he NRC evaluates ea ch s tep o f the decommissioning p roject, s uch as t he s itecharacterization plan and r eport, decommissioning plan, f inal s urvey pl an and report, a nd c onfirmatory s urveys, a ll o f which a r e assessed a n h ourly fee. These are lice nse fees u nder T itle 10 o f the (10 CF R) P art 1 70, "Fees for F acilities, M aterials, Im port a nd E xport L icenses, a nd ther R egulatory Services u nder the A tomic Ene rg y Act o f 1954, a s A mended."
The NRC t hat l icense fees a re considered a miscellaneous ex pense, a nd t he fees could be s ubstantial depending o n the complexity o f t he d ecommissioning pr oject. However, t he licensee indicated t hat i ts decommissioning cost es timate did n ot i nclude the N RC's lic ensing f ees. The N RC s ta ff then t old t he licensee that t he decommissioning estimate a nd f inancia l assurance s hould r eflect a ll activities described in t he decommissioning pl an, s uc h as l icensing f ees, a ll t he pl anning a nd e ngineering d uring t he
pha ses, decontamination and dismantling, t he f inal s urvey, and w ast e management.
Th e licensee should also consider the cost o f maintenance, personnel q u alification, s urveillance, and p hysical p rotection of the facility, es pecially i f any p hase of decommissioning is de f erred fo r an ex tended p eriod. It i s i mportant t o n ote w hen a l icensee changes fr om o perational t o d ecommissioning status, no l onger assesse t he a nnual f ee i n 10 CFR P art 171, "Annual F ees f or Reactor L icenses a nd F uel Cy cle Licenses and M aterials L icenses, including H olders o f Certificates o f Compliance, Registrations, and Quality Assurance Program A pprovals and Government A gencies L icensed b y t he NRC."
I nstead, a ssesse the hourly fee under 10 CFR P art 170. The licensee t ran sitions fr om o perational t o decommissioning status o ne o f t he i nitiating e vents i n 10 CFR 30.36(d), 10 CFR 40.42(d), 10 CFR 70.38(d), o r 10 CFR 72.54(d). As d iscussed a bove, t he N RC l icensing fee costs a re categorized a s a miscellaneous expense.
With t his type of transition i n fees , t he licensee needs t o c ontact the NRC and r eview s ituation a nd a ssociated decommissioning costs. This i s es pecially r elevant fo r t he licensees that h ave never b een b illed at t he 10 CF R 1 70 h ourly r ate and a re required t o c over the NRC staff's h ourly c osts fo r t heir decommissioning activities.
The NRC s taff can a ssist t he licensee in u nderstanding t he effec tive transition fr om the operational t o d ecommissioning pha se s o f the facility's life c ycle. To ma ximize the effective and effi cient use of both t he licensee's a nd t he NRC's resources a nd h elp mi nimize the decommissioning l icensing costs, t he NR C st aff s uggests the following: Con tamination
-K eep t o a m inimum. The regulations i n 10 CFR 20.1406,"Minimization o f C ontamination,"
e stablish r equirements f or m inimizing contamination during o perations.
All l icensees are strongly en couraged t o r emediate any c ontamination i mmediately a fter i t occurs.
contamination t oacceptable releas e levels during t he operational phase of the facilitym aysignif icantly r educe t he r egulatory bur den during d ecommissioning.
Communications
-Ea rly and frequent d iscussions.
The N RC s t aff and t he licensee should begin making d ecisions during t he pl anning a nd s coping pha ses t o support t he pr eparation of the cost es timate. This a pproach s hould i mprove communication t o a ssist w ith t he review o f the decommissioning p rocess. Timing-Pa y clos e attention.
The licensee should b e awar e of all decommissioning p lan submittal r equirements. When critical i nformation, s uc h as anotification d ate t he licens ee could b e considered o ut of compliance, c ausing the NRC toissue a correctiv e action o r e ven a N otice of Violation.
o m aintain t hedecommissioning s chedule, t he licensee should r eview the extension o r d elay o ptions.NRC Re gulatory I ssue S ummary 2 015 1 9, Revision 1 , "Decommissioning Timeliness Ru leImplementat ion a nd A ssociated R egulatory Relief," d ated S eptember 27, 2 016, p rovidesmore information. Request fo r A dditional In formation (RAI)-Pr ovide responses
. As aresult o f decommissioning p rocess r eviews, t he NRC issues R AIs, and t he license eperforms a dditional analyses t o a ddress t hose RAIs.
Thes e additional activities m ay d elay t o t he review p rocess. Further, t hese RAIs c an r esult i n i ncreased c osts t o t helicensee.
ACTIONS TO L ICENSEES
3
NUREG/BR-011 7 N o.-