[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 188 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59124-59126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21125]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-7513; NRC-2021-0193]
Kairos Power, LLC; Hermes Test Reactor
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Draft environmental impact statement; request for comment and
public comment meeting.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for
public comment draft NUREG-2263, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the Construction Permit for the Kairos Hermes Test Reactor. Kairos
Power, LLC (Kairos) is requesting a license to construct a test reactor
in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The NRC is seeking public comment on this
action and has scheduled a public meeting that will
[[Page 59125]]
take place both in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and as an online webinar.
DATES: Submit comments by December 6, 2022. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date. On November 16, 2022, the NRC is planning to hold a public
meeting and an online webinar, to present an overview of its
preliminary analysis and to receive comments from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00
p.m. Eastern Time (ET), See Section IV, ``Request for Comment and
Public Meeting,'' of this notice for additional information.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website:
Email comments to: [email protected].
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 individual listed in the For Further Information
Contact section of this document.
Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop:
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tamsen Dozier, telephone: 301-415-
2272, email: [email protected], or Peyton Doub, telephone: 301-415-
6703, email: [email protected]. Both are staff members of the Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards at the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to 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 by any
of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0193.
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 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or
by email to [email protected]. The draft EIS is available in ADAMS
under Accession No. ML22259A126.
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.
Project Website: Information related to the Hermes--Kairos
project can be accessed on the NRC's website at: https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power/hermes-kairos.html.
Public Library: A copy of the draft EIS will be available
at the Oak Ridge Public Library, 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge,
Tennessee 37830.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2021-0193 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
Comments submitted through the NRC project email address will be
processed into ADAMS, and all comments will be compiled and addressed
in the final EIS.
II. Background
By letter dated November 29, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21319A354)
the NRC staff informed Kairos of its determination that the Kairos
application for a construction permit for the Hermes test reactor was
acceptable for docketing under Docket No. 50-7513. A notice of
acceptance for docketing of the application was published in the
Federal Register on December 1, 2021 (86 FR 68290) and a notice of
opportunity for hearing was published on February 9, 2022 (87 FR 7503).
A notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement and to
conduct scoping process was published in the Federal Register on
February 18, 2022 (87 FR 9394).
III. Discussion
As set forth in Section 51.20(b)(1) of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), issuance of a construction permit (CP)
under 10 CFR part 50 for a testing facility is an action that requires
an EIS. This notice is being published in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the NRC's
regulations in 10 CFR part 51. In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR
800.8(c), ``Coordination with the National Environmental Policy Act,''
the NRC staff has been coordinating compliance with Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) with steps taken to meet the
requirements of NEPA. Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC staff used
the process and documentation for the preparation of the draft EIS on
the proposed action to comply with Section 106 of the NHPA in lieu of
the procedures set forth in 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
The draft EIS includes the NRC staff's preliminary analysis of the
environmental impacts of the proposed action of deciding whether to
issue a construction permit to Kairos. After weighing the
environmental, economic, technical, and other benefits against
environmental and other costs, the NRC staff's preliminary
recommendation, unless safety issues mandate otherwise, is that the
operating license be issued as requested.
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IV. Request for Comment and Public Meeting
The NRC staff is requesting public comment on the draft EIS for the
Construction Permit for the Kairos Hermes Test Reactor. On November 16,
2022, the NRC is planning to hold a public meeting and an online
webinar, to present an overview of its preliminary analysis and to
receive comments from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. ET, at the Hilton
DoubleTree at 215 S Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. A court
reporter will transcribe all comments received during the public
meeting and the transcript will be made publicly available. To be
considered, comments must be provided either at the transcribed public
meeting or in writing, as discussed in the ADDRESSES section of this
document.
Additionally, the NRC staff will host an informal discussion at the
Hilton DoubleTree for 1 hour prior to the start of the meeting for
those attending the meeting in person. No formal comments will be
accepted during the informal discussions.
Persons interested in attending this public meeting should monitor
the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule website at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg for additional information, agendas for the meeting, and access
information. Meeting details will also be available by November 1, 2022
at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power/hermes-kairos.html. Those
wishing to speak and voice comments at the public meeting should follow
the instructions listed on the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule website.
The NRC encourages those wishing to voice comments during the meeting
to register in advance by sending an email to [email protected] and indicate if attending in-person or remotely. Please
contact Tamsen Dozier no later than November 1, 2022, if accommodations
or special equipment is needed to attend or to provide comments, so
that the NRC staff can determine whether the request can be
accommodated.
Dated: September 26, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kenneth T. Erwin,
Chief, Environmental Review New Reactors Branch, Division of
Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-21125 Filed 9-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P