[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 30, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-29481]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: November 30, 1994]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 2
RIN 3150-AF24
NRC Size Standards; Proposed Revision
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend
the NRC's size standards used to qualify an NRC licensee as a ``small
entity'' under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The amendments would:
establish a separate standard to be used to determine whether a
licensee who is a manufacturer would qualify as a small entity; and
adjust the receipts-based standard to account for the effects of
inflation since 1985.
DATES: Comment period expires December 30, 1994. Comments received
after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the
Commission is able to assure consideration only for comments received
on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Attn: Docketing and Service Branch.
Deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland,
between 7:45 am and 4:15 pm Federal workdays.
Copies of any comments received may be examined at the NRC Public
Document Room at 2120 L Street, NW. (lower level), Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah N. Wigginton, Acting Chief,
Rules Review and Directives Branch, Division of Freedom of Information
and Publications Services, Office of Administration, telephone (301)
415-7158.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1983, the NRC surveyed its materials
licensees to create an economic profile sufficient to consider
regulatory alternatives tailored to the size of the licensee. After
analyzing the data and consulting with the Small Business
Administration (SBA), the NRC developed a proposed size standard that
would be appropriate to use in determining which of its licensees would
qualify as small entities for the purposes of compliance with the
Regulatory Flexibility Act. The NRC published its proposed size
standard for notice and comment in the Federal Register of May 21, 1985
(50 FR 20913). After considering the comments received, the NRC adopted
its final size standards as noted in the Federal Register of December
9, 1985 (50 FR 50241). In the Federal Register of November 6, 1991 (56
FR 56671), the NRC restated the size standards to include the
Regulatory Flexibility Act's definition of small governmental
jurisdiction. To further improve clarity, the NRC changed the
presentation of the size standards to conform to the listing of
definitions of small entities in the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
The size standards developed by the NRC were used in the NRC's
final rule implementing Public Law 101-508 to provide for a reduced
annual fee for those NRC licensees who qualified as small entities
under these standards (56 FR 31472; July 10, 1991 and subsequent
years). In response to these rules, the NRC has received a number of
comments concerning its size standards and the failure of the NRC to
promulgate a size standard that differentiates between manufacturing
entities and service providers. These commenters indicated that
applying a gross receipts standard to a manufacturing concern resulted
in an adverse impact on a manufacturer. The gross receipts of a service
provider reflect the value added by the service provider, which is
essentially the value of the service itself. However, the gross
receipts of a manufacturer that are equal to those of a service
provider reflect a smaller percentage of the value added by the
manufacturer. A manufacturer's gross receipts include the costs of the
raw materials or components that, when added to the cost of
manufacture, quickly send a manufacturer's gross receipts into fairly
sizeable sums. The SBA size standards for manufacturers are prescribed
in terms of a maximum number of employees rather than in terms of gross
receipts.
The NRC recently completed a survey to update the economic profile
of its materials licensees. The purpose of this survey was to evaluate
the continued efficacy of NRC's current size standards and to obtain
the information that is necessary to determine the necessity and effect
of a separate standard for manufacturers within the context of the
nuclear industry.
Of the licensees who responded to the survey request, approximately
20 percent (1131 of 5704) indicated that manufacturing was a primary
line of their business. This indicates that a number of licensees would
benefit from the establishment of a separate standard for businesses
engaged in manufacturing.
Therefore, the NRC is proposing to adopt a size standard for
business concerns that are manufacturing entities. The NRC proposes to
use a standard of 500 or fewer employees. This standard is the most
commonly used SBA employee standard and would be the standard
applicable to the types of industries that would hold an NRC license.
Under this standard, approximately 48 percent of the licensees who
indicated that they were manufacturers would qualify as small entities.
On September 2, 1993 (58 FR 46573), SBA published a proposed rule
in the Federal Register that would have streamlined its size standards
by reducing the number of its fixed size standard levels from 30 to 9.
As part of this proposed rule, the SBA proposed to adjust most of its
receipts-based size standard levels to mitigate the effects of
inflation from 1984 to the present. In a final rule published in the
Federal Register of April 7, 1994 (59 FR 16513), the SBA adopted only
that portion of its proposed rule that increased its receipts-based
size standards as a result of inflation.
The NRC is proposing to adjust its receipts-based size standard to
accommodate inflation and to conform to the SBA final rule. The NRC
proposes to raise its receipts-based small business size standard from
$3.5 million to $5 million. After analyzing the data received in
response to the survey and the revised SBA size standards, the NRC also
is proposing to eliminate the separate $1 million size standard for
private practice physicians and apply the revised receipts-based size
standard of $5 million to this class of licensees. This would mirror
the revised SBA standard of $5 million for medical practitioners. The
survey of materials licensees indicates that 26 percent qualify as
small entities under current NRC standards. If the NRC adopts the
proposed revisions to its size standards presented in this document, 35
percent of these licensees would qualify as small entities, an increase
of 9 percent. When NRC adopted its size standards in 1985, the NRC
staff estimated that approximately 35 percent of the materials
licensees would qualify as small entities.
The Small Business Credit and Business Opportunity Enhancement Act
of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-366) amended the Small Business Act concerning the
establishment of agency specific small business size standards. The
proposed NRC size standards have been developed so as to meet the
criteria specified in Pub. L. 102-366. The NRC has submitted these
proposed size standards for the review and approval of the
Administrator, SBA.
This proposed rule also would codify NRC's size standards in Part 2
of the Commission's regulations. Previously, NRC's size standards had
been published in the notices section of the Federal Register.
Environmental Impact: Categorical Exclusion
The NRC has determined that this proposed rule is the type of
action described in categorical exclusion 10 CFR 51.22(c)(1).
Therefore, neither an environmental impact statement nor an
environmental assessment has been prepared for this proposed
regulation.
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
This proposed rule does not contain a new or amended information
collection requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing requirements were approved by the
Office of Management and Budget, approval number 3150-0136.
Regulatory Analysis
A regulatory analysis has not been prepared for this proposed rule
because the proposed rule is administrative in that it would amend the
criteria the NRC uses for determining which of its licensees would
qualify as small entities for the purposes of compliance with the
Regulatory Flexibility Act. The amended size standards would conform to
SBA's revised standards and result in an increase in the number of NRC
licensees that would qualify as small entities.
Regulatory Flexibility Certification
As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C.
605(b), the Commission certifies that this rule, if adopted, will not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The proposed rule is administrative in that it would amend
the criteria the NRC uses in determining which of its licensees would
qualify as small entities for the purposes of compliance with the
Regulatory Flexibility Act. The amended size standards would conform to
SBA's revised standards and result in an increase in the number of NRC
licensees that would qualify as small entities.
Backfit Analysis
The NRC has determined that the backfit rule, 10 CFR 50.109, does
not apply to this proposed rule and, therefore, that a backfit analysis
is not required for this proposed rule because these amendments do not
impose any provisions which would impose backfits as defined in 10 CFR
50.109(a)(1).
List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 2
Administrative practice and procedure, Antitrust, Byproduct
material, Classified information, Environmental protection, Nuclear
materials, Nuclear power plants and reactors, Penalties, Sex
discrimination, Source material, Special nuclear material, Waste
treatment and disposal.
For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Energy Reorganization
Act of 1974, as amended, and 5 U.S.C. 553, the NRC is proposing to
adopt the following amendments to 10 CFR Part 2.
PART 2--RULES OF PRACTICE FOR DOMESTIC LICENSING PROCEEDINGS AND
ISSUANCE OF ORDERS
1. The authority citation for Part 2 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Secs. 161, 181, 68 Stat. 948, 953, as amended (42
U.S.C. 2201, 2231); sec. 191, as amended, Pub. L. 87-615, 76 Stat.
409 (42 U.S.C. 2241); sec. 201, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended (42 U.S.C.
5841); 5 U.S.C. 552.
Section 2.101 also issued under secs. 53, 62, 63, 81, 103, 104,
105, 68 Stat. 930, 932, 933, 935, 936, 937, 938, as amended (42
U.S.C. 2073, 2092, 2093, 2111, 2133, 2134, 2135); sec. 114(f), Pub.
L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2213, as amended (42 U.S.C. 10134(f)); sec. 102,
Pub. L. 91-190, 83 Stat. 853, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4332); sec. 301,
88 Stat. 1248 (42 U.S.C. 5871). Sections 2.102, 2.103, 2.104, 2.105,
2.721 also issued under secs. 102, 103, 104, 105, 183, 189, 68 Stat.
936, 937, 938, 954, 955, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2132, 2133, 2134,
2135, 2233, 2239). Section 2.105 also issued under Pub. L. 97-415,
96 Stat. 2073 (42 U.S.C. 2239). Sections 2.200-2.206 also issued
under secs. 161b, i, o, 182, 186, 234, 68 Stat. 948-951, 955, 83
Stat. 444, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2236, 2282); sec. 206, 88 Stat 1246
(42 U.S.C. 5846). Sections 2.600-2.606 also issued under sec. 102,
Pub. L. 91-190, 83 Stat. 853, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4332). Sections
2.700a, 2.719 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 554. Sections 2.754, 2.760,
2.770, 2.780 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 557. Section 2.764 and Table
1A of Appendix C also issued under secs. 135, 141, Pub. L. 97-425,
96 Stat. 2232, 2241 (42 U.S.C. 10155, 10161). Section 2.790 also
issued under sec. 103, 68 Stat. 936, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2133) and
5 U.S.C. 552. Sections 2.800 and 2.808 also issued under 5 U.S.C.
553. Section 2.809 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 553 and sec. 29, Pub.
L. 85-256, 71 Stat. 579, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2039). Subpart K also
issued under sec. 189, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2239); sec. 134, Pub.
L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2230 (42 U.S.C. 10154). Subpart L also issued
under sec. 189, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2239). Appendix A also
issued under sec. 6, Pub. L. 91-560, 84 Stat. 1473 (42 U.S.C. 2135).
Appendix B also issued under sec. 10, Pub. L. 99-240, 99 Stat. 1842
(42 U.S.C. 2021b et seq.).
2. Section 2.810 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 2.810 NRC Size Standards.
The NRC shall use the size standards contained in this section to
determine whether a licensee qualifies as a small entity in its
regulatory programs.
(a) A small business is a for-profit concern and is a--
(1) Concern that provides a service or a concern not primarily
engaged in manufacturing with average gross receipts of $5 million or
less over its last 3 completed fiscal years; or
(2) A manufacturing concern with an average number of 500 or fewer
employees based upon employment during each pay period for the
preceding 12 calendar months.
(b) A small organization is a not-for-profit organization which is
independently owned and operated and has annual receipts of $5 million
or less.
(c) Small governmental jurisdictions are governments of cities,
counties, towns, townships, villages, school districts, or special
districts with a population of less than 50,000.
(d) A small educational institution is one that is--
(1) Supported by a qualifying small governmental jurisdiction; or
(2) One that is not state or publicly supported and has 500
employees or less.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 21st day of November, 1994.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James M. Taylor,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 94-29481 Filed 11-29-94; 8:45 am]
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