[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 228 (Wednesday, December 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68290-68291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26119]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-7513; NRC-2021-0193]


Kairos Power, LLC

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Construction permit application; acceptance for docketing.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff accepts and 
dockets an application for a construction permit for the Hermes test 
reactor to be built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

DATES: This action becomes effective on November 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket No. 50-7513 or Docket ID NRC-2021-
0193 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information 
regarding this document. You may obtain publicly available information 
related to this document using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0193. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 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 1-800-397-209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to [email protected]. 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 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.
     NRC's Public Website: The construction permit application 
is available under the NRC's Hermes Construction Permit Application 
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power/kairos-hermes.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Beasley, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2062; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    On September 29, 2021, Kairos Power LLC (Kairos) filed, pursuant to 
Part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,'' the 
first part of an application (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML21272A375) 
for a construction permit for the Hermes test reactor (a ``testing 
facility'' as defined in 10 CFR 50.2), which would be located in Oak

[[Page 68291]]

Ridge, Tennessee. Hermes would be a fluoride-salt cooled, high-
temperature reactor that uses solid tri-structural isotropic fuel in 
pebble form. A notice of receipt and availability of this portion of 
the application was published in the Federal Register on October 29, 
2021 (86 FR 60077).
    The first part of the Kairos construction permit application 
consisted of the following information:
     The general information required by 10 CFR 50.33.
     The Preliminary Safety Analysis Report required by 10 CFR 
50.34(a).
     Exemption requests to support issuance of a construction 
permit.
     A request to invoice the filing fee required by 10 CFR 
50.30(e) and 10 CFR 170.21.
    On October 31, 2021, Kairos filed the second part of its 
application (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML21306A131) for a 
construction permit, which consisted of the Environmental Report 
required by 10 CFR 50.30(f). Submission of the Environmental Report 
completed the application for a construction permit.
    The NRC staff determined that Kairos submitted a two-part 
application in accordance with 10 CFR 2.101(a)(5) and 10 CFR part 50, 
and that the application is acceptable for docketing under Docket No. 
50-7513. The NRC staff provided Kairos notice of the acceptance and 
docketing determinations by letter dated November 29, 2021 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML21319A354).
    The NRC staff will perform a detailed technical review of the 
construction permit application and document its safety findings in a 
safety evaluation report. Also, in accordance with 10 CFR part 51, 
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and 
Related Regulatory Functions,'' the NRC staff will prepare an 
environmental impact statement for the proposed action.
    Docketing of the application does not preclude the NRC from 
requesting additional information from the applicant as the review 
proceeds, nor does it predict whether the Commission will grant or deny 
the application. The construction permit application will be referred 
to the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards for review and report 
consistent with 10 CFR 50.58, ``Hearings and report of the Advisory 
Committee on Reactor Safeguards.'' If, after holding an evidentiary 
hearing, the Commission finds that the construction permit application 
meets the applicable standards of the Atomic Energy Act and the 
Commission's regulations, and that any required notifications to other 
agencies and bodies have been made, the Commission will issue a 
construction permit, in the form and containing conditions and 
limitations that the Commission finds appropriate and necessary.
    The Commission will announce, in a future Federal Register notice, 
the opportunity to petition for leave to intervene in a proceeding on 
the construction permit application.

    Dated: November 24, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Benjamin G. Beasley,
Senior Project Manager, Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch, Division of 
Advanced Reactors and Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-26119 Filed 11-30-21; 8:45 am]
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