354.4—Assessment of fees.

(a) (1) We assess user fees from licensees using a methodology that includes charges for REP Program services provided by both our personnel and our contractors. Beginning in FY 1995, we established a four-year cycle from FY 1995-1998 with predetermined user fee assessments that were collected each year of the cycle. The following six-year cycle will run from FY 1999 through FY 2004. The fee for each site consists of two distinct components:

(i) A site-specific, biennial exercise-related component to recover the portion of the REP program budget associated only with plume pathway emergency planning zone (EPZ) biennial exercise-related activities. We determine this component by reviewing average biennial exercise-related activities/hours that we use in exercises conducted since the inception of our REP user fee program in 1991. We completed an analysis of REP Program activities/hours used during the FY 1991-1995 cycle at the end of that four-year cycle. We will make adjustments to the site-specific user fees for the next proposed FY 1999-2004 six-year cycle.

(ii) A flat fee component that is the same for each site and recovers the remaining portion of the REP Program budgeted funding that does not include biennial exercise-related activities.

(2) We will assess fees only for REP Program services provided by our personnel and by our contractors, and we will not assess fees for those services that other Federal agencies involved in the FRPCC or the RAC's provide.

(b) Determination of site-specific, biennial exercise-related component for our personnel. We will determine an average biennial exercise-related cost for our personnel for each commercial nuclear power plant site in the REP Program. We base this annualized cost (dividing the average biennial exercise-related cost by two) on the average number of hours spent by our personnel in REP exercise-related activities for each site. We will determine the average number of hours using an analysis of site-specific exercise activity spent since the beginning of our user fee program (1991). We determine the actual user fee assessment for this component by multiplying the average number of REP exercise-related hours that we determine and annualize for each site by the average hourly rate in effect for the fiscal year for a REP Program employee. We will revise the hourly rate annually to reflect actual budget and cost of living factors, but the number of annualized, site-specific exercise hours will remain constant for user fee calculations and assessments throughout the six-year cycle. We will continue to track and monitor exercise activity during the six-year cycle, FY 1999-2004. We will make appropriate adjustments to this component to calculate user fee assessments for later six-year cycles.

(c) Determination of site-specific, biennial exercise-related component for FEMA contract personnel. We have determined an average biennial exercise-related cost for REP contractors for each commercial nuclear power plant site in the REP Program. We base this annualized cost (dividing the average biennial exercise-related cost by two) on the average costs of contract personnel in REP site-specific exercise-related activities since the beginning of our user fee program (1991). We will continue to track and monitor activity during the initial six-year cycle, FY 1999-2004, and we will make appropriate adjustments to this component for calculation of user fee assessments during subsequent six-year cycles.

(d) Determination of flat fee component. For each year of the six-year cycle, we recover the remainder of REP Program budgeted funds as a flat fee component. Specifically, we determine the flat fee component by subtracting the total of our personnel and contractor site-specific, biennial exercise-related components, as outlined in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, from the total REP budget for that fiscal year. We then divide the resulting amount equally among the total number of licensed commercial nuclear power plant sites (defined under 354.2) to arrive at each site's flat fee component for that fiscal year.

(e) Discontinuation of charges. When we receive a copy from the NRC of their approved exemption to 10 CFR 50.54(q) requirements stating that offsite radiological emergency planning and preparedness are no longer required at a particular commercial nuclear power plant site, we will discontinue REP Program services at that site. We will no longer assess a user fee for that site from the beginning of the next fiscal year.