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NRC NEWS
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION |
| Office of Public Affairs |
Telephone: 301/415-82
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| Washington, DC 20555-001 |
E-mail: opa@nrc.gov |
No. 96-141 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Tuesday, October 15, 1996)
NRC INCREASES PENALTY LIMITS AGAINST LICENSEES
NRC has increased the dollar limits it can impose on licensees and vendors for
violating agency requirements. The increase was mandated by Congress.
The maximum amounts the agency may levy for the most severe violations are
increased to $110,000 from $100,000 for each violation, each day. The NRC normally
applies penalties of this magnitude only against power reactor licensees. Lower penalties
are usually applied for less severe violations and against smaller businesses, such as
radioactive materials users and research reactor licensees. NRC has raised these fines by 10
percent as well, consistent with Congressional intent.
The new penalty limits were published in the October 11th edition of the Federal
Register. The revision applies to violations that occur after November 11th.
The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 mandates that federal agencies
adjust their monetary fines for inflation by October 23, and then at least once every four
years. The legislation limits the amount of the first increase to 10 percent of the maximum
penalty amount for each level of violation.
Because Congress has required this action by law, and NRC has no discretion on its
substance, there will be no public comment period offered on the final rule.
NRC's enforcement policy, NUREG-1600, has been revised to reflect the new
penalty limits. The policy is available on NRC's home page on the World Wide Web at
http://www.nrc.gov/OE
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