Assessment of Access Authorization Fees

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to change the way the agency assesses access authorization fees. The NRC is replacing its set fee schedules for special nuclear material access authorization and national security information or restricted data access authorization with a formula for calculating fees based on current Office of Personnel Management (OPM) billing rates for personnel background investigations. The new formula is designed to recover the full cost of processing a request for access authorization from the licensee. The use of a fee assessment formula tied to current OPM billing rates will eliminate the need for the NRC to update its access authorization fee schedules through regular rulemakings.