[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]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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