Adjustment of Civil Penalties for Inflation for Fiscal Year 2025

<RULE> NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION <CFR>10 CFR Parts 2 and 13</CFR> <DEPDOC>[NRC-2023-0070]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 3150-AK96</RIN> <SUBJECT>Adjustment of Civil Penalties for Inflation for Fiscal Year 2025</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Nuclear Regulatory Commission. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to adjust the maximum civil monetary penalties it can assess under statutes enforced by the agency. These changes are mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. The NRC is amending its regulations to adjust the maximum civil monetary penalty for a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or any regulation or order issued under the Atomic Energy Act from $362,814 to $372,240 per violation, per day. Additionally, the NRC is amending provisions concerning program fraud civil penalties by adjusting the maximum civil monetary penalty under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act from $13,946 to $14,308 for each false claim or statement. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This final rule is effective on January 15, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0070 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly available information related to this action by any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Federal Rulemaking Website:</E> Go to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0070. Address questions about NRC dockets to Helen Chang; telephone: 301-415-3228; email: <E T="03">Helen.Chang@nrc.gov.</E> For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section of this document. • <E T="03">NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS):</E> You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at <E T="03">https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.</E> To begin the search, select “Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to <E T="03">PDR.Resource@nrc.gov</E> . The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> section. • <E T="03">NRC's PDR:</E> The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to <E T="03">PDR.Resource@nrc.gov</E> or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Krupskaya Castellon, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-287-9221, email: <E T="03">Krupskaya.Castellon@nrc.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Discussion</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Rulemaking Procedure</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Section-by-Section Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Regulatory Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VII. Backfitting and Issue Finality</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VIII. Plain Writing</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IX. National Environmental Policy Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">X. Paperwork Reduction Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">XI. Congressional Review Act</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (FCPIAA) to allow for regular adjustment for inflation of civil monetary penalties (CMPs), maintain the deterrent effect of such penalties and promote compliance with the law, and improve the collection of CMPs by the Federal government (Pub. L. 101-410, 104 Stat. 890; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note). Pursuant to this authority, and as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-34, 110 Stat. 1321-373), the NRC increased via rulemaking the CMP amounts for violations of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA) (codified at § 2.205 of title 10 of the <E T="03">Code of Federal Regulations</E> (10 CFR), “Civil penalties”) and Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act (codified at § 13.3, “Civil penalties and assessments”) on four occasions between 1996 and 2008. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  Adjustment of Civil Penalties for Inflation (73 FR 54671; Sept. 23, 2008); Adjustment of Civil Penalties for Inflation (69 FR 62393; Oct. 26, 2004); Adjustment of Civil Penalties for Inflation; Miscellaneous Administrative Changes (65 FR 59270; Oct. 4, 2000); Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties for Inflation (61 FR 53554; Oct. 11, 1996). An adjustment was not performed in 2012 because the FCPIAA at the time required agencies to round their CMP amounts to the nearest multiple of $1,000 or $10,000, depending on the size of the CMP amount, and the 2012 percentages based on the statutory formula were small enough that no adjustment resulted. </FTNT> On November 2, 2015, Congress amended the FCPIAA through the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Improvements Act) (Sec. 701, Pub. L. 114-74, 129 Stat. 599). The 2015 Improvements Act required that the head of each agency perform an initial “catch-up” adjustment via rulemaking, adjusting the CMPs enforced by that agency according to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) between the month of October 2015 and the month of October of the calendar year when the CMP amount was last established by Congress. The NRC published this catch-up rulemaking on July 1, 2016 (81 FR 43019). The 2015 Improvements Act also requires that the head of each agency continue to adjust CMP amounts, rounded to the nearest dollar, on an annual basis. Specifically, each CMP is to be adjusted based on the percentage change between the CPI for the month of October, and the CPI for the month of October for the previous year. The NRC most recently adjusted its civil penalties for inflation according to this statutory formula on January 12, 2024 (89 FR 2112). This year's adjustment is based on the increase in the CPI from October 2023 to October 2024. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Discussion</HD> Section 234 of the AEA limits civil penalties for violations of the AEA to $100,000 per day, per violation (42 U.S.C. 2282). However, as discussed in Section I, “Background,” of this document, the NRC has increased this amount several times since 1996 per the FCPIAA, as amended. Using the formula in the 2015 Improvements Act, the $362,814 amount last established in January 2024 will increase by 2.598 percent, resulting in a new CMP amount of $372,240. This is based on the increase in the CPI from October 2023 (307.671) to October 2024 (315.664). Therefore, the NRC is amending § 2.205 to reflect a new maximum CMP under the AEA in the amount of $372,240 per day, per violation. This represents an increase of $9,426. Monetary penalties under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act were established in 1986 at $5,000 per claim (Pub. L. 99-509, 100 Stat. 1938; 31 U.S.C. 3802). The NRC also has adjusted this amount (currently set at $13,946) multiple times pursuant to the FCPIAA, as amended, since 1996. Using the formula in the 2015 Improvements Act, the $13,946 amount last established in January 2024 will increase by 2.596 percent, resulting in a new CMP amount of $14,308. Therefore, the NRC is amending § 13.3 to reflect a new maximum CMP amount of $14,308 per claim or statement. This represents an increase of $362. As permitted by the 2015 Improvements Act, the NRC may apply these increased CMP amounts to any penalties assessed by the agency after the effective date of this final rule (January 15, 2024), regardless of whether the associated violation occurred before or after this date (Pub. L. 114-74, 129 Stat. 600; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note). The NRC assesses civil penalty amounts for violations of the AEA based on the class of licensee and severity of the violation, in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, which is available under ADAMS Accession No. ML24205A249. <HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Rulemaking Procedure</HD> The 2015 Improvements Act expressly exempts this final rule from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act by directing agencies to adjust CMPs for inflation “notwithstanding section 553 of title 5, United States Code” (Pub. L. 114-74, 129 Stat. 599; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note). As such, this final rule is being issued without prior public notice or opportunity for public comment, with an effective date of January 15, 2024. <HD SOURCE="HD1">IV. Section-by-Section Analysis</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">§ 2.205 Civil Penalties</HD> This final rule revises paragraph (j) by replacing “$362,814” with “$372,240.” <HD SOURCE="HD2">§ 13.3 Basis for Civil Penalties and Assessments</HD> This final rule revises paragraphs (a)(1)(iv) and (b)(1)(ii) by replacing “$13,946” with “$14,308.” <HD SOURCE="HD1">V. Regulatory Analysis</HD> This final rule adjusts for inflation the maximum CMPs the NRC may assess under the AEA and under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986. The formula for determining the amount of the adjustment is mandated by Congress in the FCPIAA, as amended by the 2015 Improvements Act (codified at 28 U.S.C. 2461 note). Congr ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 17k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━