ML22235A664
| ML22235A664 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Hermes File:Kairos Power icon.png |
| Issue date: | 09/26/2022 |
| From: | Kenneth Erwin NRC/NMSS/DREFS |
| To: | |
| T Dozier | |
| References | |
| NRC-2021-0193 | |
| Download: ML22235A664 (6) | |
Text
[7590- 01-P]
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.
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 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: KairosHermes-CPEIS@nrc.gov.
- 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: Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. 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: Tamsen.Dozier@nrc.gov, or Peyton Doub, telephone: 301-415-6703,
email: Peyton.Doub@nrc.gov. 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.
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- 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 NRCs Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209,
301-415-4737, or by e mail to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The draft EIS is available in
ADAMS under Accession No. ML22259A126.
- NRCs PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents,
by appointment, at the NRCs 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 PDR.Resource@nrc.gov 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 Webs ite: Information related to the Hermes - Kairos project can be
accessed on the NRCs 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 commen t submission. The NRC will post all
comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment
3 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 P art 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 NRCs
regulations in 10 CFR Part 51. In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c),
4 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 staffs 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 staffs preliminary recommendation,
unless safety issues mandate otherwise, is that the operating license be issued as
requested.
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 pm until 9:00 pm 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 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> prior to the start of the meeting for those attending the meeting in
person. No formal comments will be accepted during the informal discussions.
5 Persons interested in attending this public meeting should monitor the NRCs
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 NRCs Public Meeting Schedule website. The NRC
encourages those wishing to voice comments during the meeting to register in advance
by sending an email to KairosHermes -CPEIS@nrc.gov 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.
/RA/
Kenneth T. Erwin, Chief, Environmental Review New Reactors B ranch, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
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