[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74303-74305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20812]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-611 and 50-612; NRC-2023-0138]


Kairos Power LLC; Notice of Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Construction permit application; Notice of uncontested hearing.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
will commence an uncontested hearing, in which the Commission will 
receive written evidence in the form of testimony and exhibits 
regarding the application from Kairos Power LLC (Kairos) for a 
construction permit (CP) to construct a non-power test reactor termed 
Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

DATES: The Commission may issue written questions to the parties (the 
NRC staff and the applicant) no later than September 26, 2024. For the 
full schedule for submitting documents in this hearing, see Sections V 
and VI of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0138 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-2023-0138. 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 1-800-397-4209, 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: 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, Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wesley W. Held, Office of the 
Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, telephone: 301-287-3591; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 74304]]

I. Background

    The Commission hereby gives notice that, pursuant to Section 189a 
of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954, as amended, it will commence an 
uncontested hearing, in which the Commission will receive written 
evidence in the form of testimony and exhibits regarding the 
application from Kairos for a CP to construct a non-power test reactor 
facility termed Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
    Kairos's application was submitted by letter on July 14, 2023, 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. 
ML23195A122.
    The NRC staff's Environmental Assessment (including its Finding of 
No Significant Impact) and Safety Evaluation Report may be viewed at 
ADAMS Accession Nos. ML24240A034 and ML24200A115, respectively. This 
mandatory hearing will concern safety and environmental matters 
relating to the requested construction permit application, as more 
fully described below.

II. Evidentiary Uncontested Hearing

    The Commission will conduct this hearing using written materials 
only. The schedule and process for submitting written materials to the 
Commission is detailed in Sections V and VI below. The parties to this 
proceeding are Kairos and the NRC staff.

III. Presiding Officer

    The Commission is the presiding officer for this proceeding.

IV. Matters To Be Considered

    The matter at issue in this proceeding is whether the review of the 
Kairos Hermes 2 construction permit application by the Commission's 
staff has been adequate to support the findings found in title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.35, 50.40, 50.50, and 10 
CFR 51.105. Those findings are as follows:

Issues Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as Amended

    With respect to the construction permit: (1) whether the applicant 
has described the proposed design of the facility, including, but not 
limited to, the principal architectural and engineering criteria for 
the design, and has identified the major features or components 
incorporated therein for the protection of the health and safety of the 
public; (2) whether such further technical or design information as may 
be required to complete the safety analysis, and which can reasonably 
be left for later consideration, will be supplied in the final safety 
analysis report; (3) whether safety features or components, if any, 
which require research and development have been described by the 
applicant and the applicant has identified, and there will be 
conducted, a research and development program reasonably designed to 
resolve any safety questions associated with such features or 
components; (4) whether on the basis of the foregoing, there is 
reasonable assurance that (i) such safety questions will be 
satisfactorily resolved at or before the latest date stated in the 
application for completion of construction of the proposed facility, 
and (ii) taking into consideration the site criteria contained in 10 
CFR part 100, the proposed facility can be constructed and operated at 
the proposed location without undue risk to the health and safety of 
the public; (5) whether there is reasonable assurance (i) that the 
construction of the facility will not endanger the health and safety of 
the public, and (ii) that construction activities can be conducted in 
compliance with the Commission's regulations; (6) whether the applicant 
is technically and financially qualified to engage in the proposed 
activities in accordance with the Commission's regulations in Chapter l 
of 10 CFR; (7) whether the issuance of a permit for the construction of 
the facility to the applicant will not, in the opinion of the 
Commission, be inimical to the common defense and security or to the 
health and safety of the public; and (8) whether the application meets 
the standards and requirements of the AEA and the Commission's 
regulations, and that notifications, if any, to other agencies or 
bodies have been duly made.

Issues Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969

    With respect to the construction permit: (1) determine whether the 
requirements of Sections 102(2)(A), (C), and (E) of NEPA and the 
applicable regulations in 10 CFR part 51 have been met; (2) 
independently consider the final balance among conflicting factors 
contained in the record of the proceeding with a view to determining 
the appropriate action to be taken; (3) determine, after weighing the 
environmental, economic, technical, and other benefits against 
environmental and other costs, and considering reasonable alternatives, 
whether the construction permit should be issued, denied, or 
appropriately conditioned to protect environmental values; and (4) 
determine whether the NEPA review conducted by the NRC staff has been 
adequate.

V. Schedule for Submittal of Written Evidence

    All documents to be filed by the parties as described below should 
be filed in accordance with the requirements of our E-filing rules at 
10 CFR 2.304(g) and will be considered exhibits in this proceeding once 
filed.
    No later than October 10, 2024, the NRC staff should E-file the 
following documents to add them to the docket for this hearing: (1) 
SECY-24-0075, which will serve as the NRC staff's primary written 
testimony in this hearing, (2) the construction permit application,\1\ 
(3) the draft construction permit, (4) the safety evaluation, (5) the 
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact, and (6) 
any report submitted by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards in 
compliance with section 182(b) of the AEA and 10 CFR 50.58(a) regarding 
the Hermes 2 construction permit and any NRC staff response thereto. If 
any of these documents are non-public, then the NRC staff should also 
file a public version, if practicable.
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    \1\ If, due to its size, the application is too large to file 
through the E-filing system, the NRC staff may file a document that 
lists the ADAMS accession number for the package of each part of the 
application.
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    No later than September 26, 2024, the Commission may issue written 
questions to one or both of the parties (the NRC staff and the 
applicant). If such questions are issued, party testimony responding to 
such questions, and associated exhibits (if any), are due October 10, 
2024, unless the Commission directs otherwise. The applicant may also 
file additional written testimony by October 10, 2024.

VI. Interested Government Participants

    No later than September 20, 2024, any interested State, local 
government body, or Federally recognized Indian Tribe may file with the 
Commission a statement of any issues or questions that the State, local 
government body, or Indian Tribe wishes the Commission to give 
particular attention to as part of the uncontested hearing process. 
Such statement may be accompanied by any supporting documentation that 
the State, local government body, or Indian Tribe sees fit to provide. 
Any statements and supporting documentation (if any) received by the 
Commission using the agency's E-filing system \2\ by the

[[Page 74305]]

deadline indicated above will be made part of the record of the 
proceeding. The Commission will use such statements and documents as 
appropriate to inform its questions to the NRC staff and applicant and 
its hearing decision.
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    \2\ The process for accessing and using the agency's E-filing 
system is described in the November 22, 2023, notice of hearing (88 
FR 81,439) that was issued by the Commission for this proceeding. 
Participants who are unable to use the electronic information 
exchange (EIE), or who will have difficulty complying with EIE 
requirements in the time frame provided for submission of written 
statements, may provide their statements by electronic mail to 
[email protected].
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    Many of the procedures and rights applicable to the inherently 
adversarial nature of NRC's contested hearing process are not available 
in this uncontested hearing. Participation in the NRC's contested 
hearing process is governed by 10 CFR 2.309 (for persons or entities, 
including a State, local government, or Indian Tribe seeking to file 
contentions of their own) and 10 CFR 2.315(c) (for an interested State, 
local government, or Federally recognized Indian Tribe seeking to 
participate with respect to contentions filed by others). Participation 
in this uncontested hearing does not affect the right of a State, a 
local government, or an Indian Tribe to participate in a separate 
contested hearing process.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of September, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Carrie Safford,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2024-20812 Filed 9-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P