[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 241 (Friday, December 16, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77146-77148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27164]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70-7027; NRC-2022-0201]
Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare
Environmental Impact Statement; TRISO-X Special Nuclear Material
License
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement and conduct
a scoping process; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received a
license application by letters dated April 5, 2022, and September 23,
2022, from TRISO-X, LLC (TRISO-X) a wholly owned subsidiary of X-energy
LLC. By its application, TRISO-X is requesting a license to possess and
use special nuclear material for the manufacture of high-assay low-
enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel at a fuel fabrication facility (FFF) to
be located in Oak Ridge, Roane County, Tennessee. The proposed action
is the issuance of a license for the possession and use of special
nuclear material. The NRC staff will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) to document the potential environmental impacts from
the proposed action. As part of the EIS development process, the NRC is
seeking comments on the scope of its environmental review.
DATES: Submit comments on the scope of the EIS by February 14, 2023.
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.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov).
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0201. 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.
[[Page 77147]]
Email comments to: Comments may be submitted to the NRC
electronically using the email address: [email protected].
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.
Scoping Meeting: A local in-person meeting will be held on
January 25, 2023, to obtain comments. The details of the meeting will
be noticed on the NRC's website at least 10 days prior.
For additional direction on obtaining information, see ``Obtaining
Information and Submitting Comments'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Caverly, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington DC, 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7674, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0201 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may
obtain publicly available information related to this action by the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0201.
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 ADAMS accession number for each
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first
time that it is mentioned in this document.
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. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
Project web page: Information related to the TRISO-X
license application can be accessed on the NRC's TRISO-X web page at
https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/fc/triso-x.
Public Library: A copy of the Environmental Report for the
application is available for review at the Oak Ridge Public Library,
1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2022-0201 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 submissions into ADAMS.
II. Discussion
By letters dated April 5, 2022 (ADAMS Package Accession No.
ML22101A200), September 23, 2022 (ADAMS Package Accession No.
ML22266A269), and as supplemented on October 13, 2022 (ADAMS Package
Accession No. ML22286A144) and November 4, 2022 (ADAMS Package
Accession No. ML22308A251), TRISO-X submitted an application to the NRC
requesting a license to possess and use special nuclear material for
the manufacture of HALEU fuel at its fuel fabrication facility (FFF) to
be located in Oak Ridge, Roane County, Tennessee. TRISO-X seeks to
manufacture HALEU to support advanced reactors. If issued, the
applicant would receive a special nuclear material license for a term
of 40 years, issued pursuant to part 70 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear
Material.''
The TRISO-X FFF would be located in the Horizon Center Industrial
Park on property abutting portions of Renovare Boulevard, within the
western limits of the City of Oak Ridge and in the northeastern portion
of Roane County, Tennessee. The site is situated in an area dedicated
and zoned for industrial development, on an approximately 110-acre
greenfield site.
The NRC staff completed an acceptance review of TRISO-X's license
application and determined it contains sufficient information for NRC
to conduct a detailed technical review. An acceptance letter was issued
to TRISO-X on November 18, 2022. The environmental report can be found
on the NRC's project-specific web page at https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/fc/triso-x.
III. Review Process
This notice is to: (1) inform the public that the NRC staff will
prepare an EIS as part of its review of TRISO-X's license application
in accordance with 10 CFR part 51 ``Environmental Protection
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,''
and (2) provide the public with an opportunity to participate in the
environmental scoping process as defined in 10 CFR 51.29. In addition,
as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the National
Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act in meeting the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
The NRC staff also will document its compliance with other applicable
federal statutes.
The EIS will address the potential impacts from the proposed
action. The anticipated scope of the EIS will consider both
radiological and non-radiological (including chemical) impacts
associated with the proposed project and its alternatives. The EIS will
also consider unavoidable adverse environmental impacts, the
relationship between short-term uses of resources and long-term
productivity, and irreversible and irretrievable commitments of
resources. The following resource areas tentatively have been
identified for analysis in the EIS: land use, transportation, geology
and soils, water resources, ecological resources, air quality and
climate change, noise, historical and cultural resources, visual and
scenic resources, socioeconomics, public and occupational health, waste
management, environmental justice, and cumulative
[[Page 77148]]
impacts. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, nor is it a
predetermination of potential environmental impacts.
The NRC staff will also conduct a safety review to determine TRISO-
X's compliance with NRC's regulations, including 10 CFR part 20,
``Standards for Protection Against Radiation'' and 10 CFR part 70. The
NRC staff's findings for the safety review will be published in a
safety evaluation report.
IV. Request for Comment
As part of its environmental review, the NRC will first conduct a
scoping process and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a
draft EIS for public comment. Participation in this scoping process by
members of the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal government
agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the draft EIS will be
used to accomplish the following:
a. Define the proposed action that is to be the subject of the EIS;
b. Determine the scope of the EIS and identify the significant
issues to be analyzed in depth;
c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are
peripheral or are not significant or that have been covered by prior
environmental review;
d. Identify any environmental assessments and other ElSs that are
being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of, the
scope of the EIS under consideration;
e. Identify other environmental review and consultation
requirements related to the proposed action;
f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation
of the environmental analyses and the NRC's tentative planning and
decision-making schedule;
g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate
assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the EIS to the
NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
h. Describe how the EIS will be prepared, including any contractor
assistance to be used.
The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:
a. The applicant, TRISO-X, LLC.;
b. Any Federal agency that has jurisdiction by law or special
expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved or that is
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards;
c. Affected State and local government agencies, including those
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards;
d. Any affected Indian Tribe;
e. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to
participate in the scoping process; and
f. Any person who has petitioned or intends to petition for leave
to intervene under 10 CFR 2.309.
Additionally, the NRC will hold a public scoping meeting on January
25, 2023, to receive scoping comments in person in accordance with 10
CFR 51.26. The time and location for the meeting will be noticed on the
NRC public website at least 10 days prior at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg.
After the close of the scoping period, the NRC staff will prepare a
concise summary of its scoping process, the comments received, as well
as the NRC's responses to comments. The Scoping Summary Report will be
made available to the public either as a separate document or as an
appendix to the draft EIS.
The NRC staff will also have a public comment period for the draft
EIS. Availability of the draft EIS and the dates of the public comment
period will be announced in a future Federal Register notice. The final
EIS will include NRC's responses to public comments received on the
draft EIS.
Dated: December 9, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John M. Moses,
Deputy Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental Review and
Financial Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-27164 Filed 12-15-22; 8:45 am]
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