[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 10, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 10CFR15.21]

[Page 287-288]
 
                            TITLE 10--ENERGY
 
                CHAPTER I--NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
 
PART 15--DEBT COLLECTION PROCEDURES--Table of Contents
 
             Subpart B--Administrative Collection of Claims
 
Sec. 15.21  Written demands for payment.


    (a) The NRC shall make appropriate written demands upon the debtor 
for payment of money or the return of specific property in terms which 
specify:
    (1) The basis of the indebtedness and the right of the debtor to 
seek review within the NRC;
    (2) The amount claimed;
    (3) A description of any property which is to be returned by a date 
certain;
    (4) The date on which payment is to be made (which is normally the 
date the initial written demand letter statement was mailed or hand 
delivered, unless otherwise specified by contractual agreement, 
established by Federal statute or regulation, or agreed to under a 
payment agreement);
    (5) The applicable standards for assessing interest, penalties, and 
administrative costs under 4 CFR 102.13;
    (6) The applicable policy for reporting the delinquent debt to 
consumer reporting agencies.
    (b) Unless a debtor is a current NRC employee, the NRC shall 
normally send three progressively stronger written demands at not more 
than 30-day intervals, unless circumstances indicate that alternative 
remedies better protect the Government's interest, that the debtor has 
explicitly refused to pay, or that sending a further demand is futile. 
Depending upon the circumstances of the particular case, the second and 
third demands may--
    (1) Offer or seek to confer with the debtor;
    (2) State the amount of the interest and penalties that will be 
added on a daily basis as well as the administrative costs that will be 
added to the debt until the debt is paid; and

[[Page 288]]

    (3) State that the authorized collection procedures include any 
procedure authorized in this part including:
    (i) Contacts with the debtor's employer when the debtor is employed 
by the Federal Government or is a member of the military establishment 
or the Coast Guard;
    (ii) Possible referral of the debt to a private agency for 
collection;
    (iii) Possible reporting of the delinquent debt to consumer 
reporting agencies in accordance with the guidance and standards 
contained in 4 CFR 102.5 and the NRC procedures set forth in Sec. 15.26;
    (iv) The suspension or revocation of a license or other remedy under 
Sec. 15.29;
    (v) Installment payments possibly requiring security; and
    (vi) The right to refer the claim to the GAO or the DOJ for 
litigation.
    (c) The NRC shall normally send only one written demand to a debtor 
who is a current NRC employee. The procedure described in Sec. 15.33 and 
10 CFR part 16 will be followed if full payment is not received either 
30 days from the date the initial written demand was mailed or hand 
delivered. If the NRC cannot obtain full payment by following the 
procedures described in Sec. 15.33 and 10 CFR part 16, the NRC may 
follow other collection procedures described in this subpart.
    (d) The failure to state in a letter of demand a matter described in 
Sec. 15.21 is not a defense for a debtor and does not prevent the NRC 
from proceeding with respect to that matter.

[47 FR 7616, Feb. 22, 1982, as amended at 55 FR 32378, Aug. 9, 1990; 56 
FR 51830, Oct. 16, 1991]