[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18678-18680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05399]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-610; NRC-2022-0167]


Abilene Christian University; Molten Salt Research Reactor; 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
whether to issue a construction permit (CP) to Abilene Christian 
University (ACU) to authorize the construction of a proposed non-power 
molten salt research reactor (MSRR). The MSRR would be an up to 1 
megawatt-thermal, graphite moderated, fluoride salt flowing fluid (fuel 
dissolved in the salt) research reactor that would be located in the 
existing Gayle and Max Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center 
(SERC) building on the ACU campus in Abilene, Texas. The NRC has 
prepared this environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no 
significant impact (FONSI) that considers the impacts associated with 
issuing the CP.

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on 
March 14, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0167 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-2022-0167. 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.
     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, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader, 
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are 
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
     NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Vokoun, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-4067; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    By application dated August 12, 2022, as supplemented by letters 
dated October 14, 2022, September 27, 2023, and November 14, 2023, ACU 
submitted, pursuant to section 104c of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 
as amended, and part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization 
Facilities,'' a CP application for the MSRR. A notice of receipt and 
availability of the CP application was published in the Federal 
Register (FR) on October 14, 2022 (87 FR 62463). A notice of the 
acceptability for docketing of the CP application was published in the 
FR on November 28, 2022 (87 FR 73051) as was a January 31, 2023, notice 
of opportunity to request a hearing and petition for leave to intervene 
(88 FR 6319). The NRC has prepared an EA as part of its review of the 
CP application in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR part 51, 
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and 
Related Regulatory Functions.'' Based on the results of the EA, the NRC 
has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) 
and is issuing a FONSI.

[[Page 18679]]

II. Environmental Assessment

    The NRC issuance of a CP would constitute an authorization for ACU 
to proceed with the construction of the MSRR in the existing SERC 
building on the ACU campus in Abilene, Texas. The need for the MSRR is 
to conduct research on molten salt reactor technology. This would help 
to further the research of ACU's Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing 
Laboratory whose mission is to seek solutions to the world's need for 
energy, water, and medical isotopes by advancing the technology of 
molten salt reactors while educating future leaders in nuclear science 
and engineering. The MSRR would not produce electricity and would be 
the first university-based molten salt research reactor.
    In the EA, the NRC staff assessed the potential direct and indirect 
environmental impacts from the proposed action associated with the 
following relevant resource areas: land use and visual resources; air 
quality and noise; hydrogeology and water resources; ecological 
resources; historic and cultural resources; socioeconomics and 
environmental justice; human health; nonradiological waste management; 
uranium fuel cycle and radiological waste management; transportation of 
radioactive material; postulated accidents; and climate change. The NRC 
staff also considered the cumulative impacts from past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable future actions when combined with the proposed 
action. The NRC staff identified alternatives to the proposed action 
and the environmental impacts of the alternatives as appropriate. The 
NRC staff determined that the environmental impacts of the proposed 
action would be SMALL for each potentially affected environmental 
resource, meaning that the environmental effects are not detectable or 
are so minor that they will neither destabilize nor noticeably alter 
any important attribute of the resource. The NRC staff also determined 
that there are no alternatives that meet the need for the proposed 
action and that are environmentally preferrable to the proposed action.
    The issuance of a CP is a separate licensing action from the 
issuance of an operating license (OL). If the NRC issues a CP for the 
MSRR and ACU were to seek NRC approval to operate the MSRR, then ACU 
would have to submit a separate application for an OL pursuant to the 
NRC's regulations, and ACU would have to obtain NRC approval before it 
could operate the MSRR. The NRC staff would review any application for 
an OL for the MSRR for new and significant information related to the 
environmental impacts of operating and decommissioning the MSRR that 
might alter the staff's conclusions made in the EA for the CP 
application.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    As required by 10 CFR 51.21, ``Criteria for and identification of 
licensing and regulatory actions requiring environmental assessments,'' 
the NRC prepared the EA. On the basis of the EA, the NRC concluded that 
the proposed action will not have a significant impact on the quality 
of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined, pursuant 
to 10 CFR 51.31, ``Determinations based on environmental assessment,'' 
not to prepare an EIS for the proposed action.

IV. Availability of Documents

    The following table identifies the EA and FONSI and related 
documents. The documents are available for public inspection online 
through ADAMS at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html at the 
listed accession numbers.

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            Document description                 Adams accession No.
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Environmental Assessment for the             ML23300A053.
 Construction Permit Application for the
 Abilene Christian University Molten Salt
 Research Reactor, dated January 31, 2024.
Letter to NRC from ACU, Construction Permit  ML23319A094 (Package).
 Application Preliminary Safety Analysis
 Report Revision 1, dated November 14, 2023.
Email to NRC from ACU, Response Regarding    ML23271A020.
 Environmental Review Requests for
 Confirmatory Information--Closure
 Confirmation, dated September 27, 2023.
Clarification on Project #19599, Abilene     ML23256A287.
 Christian University Molten Salt Research
 Reactor Construction Permit Application,
 dated September 7, 2023.
Email Correspondence with Caitlin Brashear   ML23241A831.
 (Texas State Historic Preservation
 Officer) as of August 29, dated August 11,
 2023.
Meeting Notes for June 28, 2023 ACU Call     ML23241A784.
 with Texas Historical Commission, dated
 August 16, 2023.
Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana Consultation   ML23241A793.
 Response, dated August 14, 2023.
Texas Historical Commission Closure of       ML23241A819.
 Consultation, dated August 11, 2023.
Texas Historical Commission Consultation     ML23241A826.
 Response and Request for Information,
 dated June 12, 2023.
ACHP Consultation Response, Request for      ML23241A849.
 Information, dated June 12, 2023.
Delaware Nation Consultation Response,       ML23241A814
 dated June 12, 2023.
Kickapoo Tribe Consultation Response, dated  ML23241A817.
 May 23, 2023.
Caddo Nation of Oklahoma Consultation        ML23241A786.
 Response, dated May 16, 2023.
Letter to Bobby Gonzalez, Chairman, Caddo    ML23122A281.
 Nation of Oklahoma, Re ACU Molten Salt
 Research Reactor Construction Permit
 Application, dated May 5, 2023.
Letter to Brad Killscrow, Chief, Delaware    ML23122A282.
 Tribe of Indians, Re ACU Molten Salt
 Research Reactor Construction Permit
 Application, dated May 5, 2023.
Letter to Debbie Dotson, President,          ML23122A283.
 Delaware Nation of Oklahoma, Re ACU Molten
 Salt Research Reactor Construction Permit
 Application, dated May 5, 2023.
Letter to Durell Cooper, Chairman, Apache    ML23122A284.
 Tribe of Oklahoma, Re ACU Molten Salt
 Research Reactor Construction Permit
 Application, dated May 5, 2023.
Letter to E. Michael Silvas, Governor,       ML23122A285.
 Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, Re ACU Molten Salt
 Research Reactor Construction Permit
 Application, dated May 5, 2023.
Letter to Juan Garza, Chairman, Kickapoo     ML23122A286.
 Tribe of Texas, Re ACU Molten Salt
 Research Reactor Construction Permit
 Application, dated May 5, 2023.
Letter to Reggie Wassana, Governor,          ML23122A287.
 Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma,
 Re ACU Molten Salt Research Reactor
 Construction Permit Application, dated May
 5, 2023.
Letter to Russell Martin, President,         ML23122A288.
 Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Re
 ACU Molten Salt Research Reactor
 Construction Permit Application, dated May
 5, 2023.
Letter to Terri Parton, President, Wichita   ML23122A289.
 and Affiliated Tribes of Oklahoma, Re ACU
 Molten Salt Research Reactor Construction
 Permit Application, dated May 5, 2023.

[[Page 18680]]

 
Letter to Ricky Sylestine, Chairman,         ML23009B617.
 Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, Re ACU
 Molten Salt Research Reactor Construction
 Permit Application, dated May 5, 2023.
Letter to NRC from ACU, Response to NRC      ML22293B816 (Package).
 Request for Supplemental Information,
 dated October 14 and October 20, 2022.
Letter to NRC from ACU, Submittal of         ML22227A201 (Package).
 Construction Permit Application for the
 Molten Salt Research Reactor, dated August
 12, 2022.
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    Dated: March 11, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel Barnhurst,
Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 3, Division of 
Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-05399 Filed 3-13-24; 8:45 am]
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