ML22243A153

Letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Notification of the Availability of the Deis for the Construction Permit for Kairos Hermes Test Reactor in Oak Ridge, Tn

ML22243A153
Person / Time
Site:	Hermes File:Kairos Power icon.png
Issue date:	09/26/2022
From:	Kenneth Erwin NRC/NMSS/DREFS/ENRB
To:	Jennings M US Dept of Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, TN Ecological Services Field Office
Doub/Barnhurst NMSS/REFS/ENRB
Shared Package
ML22243A146	List: ML22243A147 ML22243A149 ML22243A150 ML22243A151 ML22243A152 ML22243A153
References
Download: ML22243A153 (3)

Text

September 26, 2022 Mary Jennings, Field Supervisor U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tennessee Ecological Services Field Office 466 Neal Street Cookeville, TN 38506

SUBJECT:

NOTIFICATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR THE KAIROS HERMES TEST REACTOR IN OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE (DOCKET NUMBER: 50-7513)

Dear Mary Jennings:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is reviewing an application submitted by Kairos Power, LLC (Kairos) for a construction permit (CP) pursuant to title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 50, that would allow construction of a non-power test reactor termed Hermes on a 185-acre site located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. As part of the review of this CP application, the NRC has completed the draft environmental impact statement (EIS). The draft EIS, NUREG-2263, Environmental Impact Statement for the Construction Permit for the Kairos Hermes Test Reactor is publicly available from the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) as ML22259A126. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

In a letter dated March 4, 2022 (ML22031A241), the NRC staff initiated informal consultation in accordance with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended. The NRC staff thanks you for your comments provided via email on April 15, 2022 (ML22119A261), which discussed the endangered Indiana bat, threatened Northern long-eared bat, the Federally endangered gray bat and the Heritage Center adjacent to the Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement. In addition, the letter asked that the NRC staff prepare a Biological Evaluation for the proposed project and include it in the draft EIS.

Chapter 3.4 of the draft EIS contains a discussion of ecological resources, including those named in the letter, presents the results of the Biological Evaluation, and discusses impacts from construction and operation. It also addresses cumulative impacts to ecological resources.

The NRC staff plans to hold a public meeting to discuss the analyses and results in the draft EIS on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at the Hilton DoubleTree, 215 S. Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The meeting will convene at 7:00p.m. and will continue until 9:00p.m. EST, as necessary. Those unable to attend in person may view and participate in the meeting virtually and should monitor the NRCs Public Meeting Schedule website at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg for access information. Meeting details will also be available by November 1, 2022, at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power/kairos-hermes.html. The meetings will be transcribed and will include: (1) a presentation of the contents of the draft EIS;

M. Jennings 2 and (2) the opportunity for interested government agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide comments on the draft EIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host an open house one hour before the start of the meeting during which members of the public may meet with NRC staff. You and your staff are invited to attend.

To fulfill consultation requirements as required by the ESA, and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934, as amended, please provide any information, comments, or concerns you may have on the draft EIS during the 45-day comment period, which ends on December 6, 2022. Comments can be submitted: (1) by email to KairosHermes-CPEIS@nrc.gov; or (2) in person during the public meetings. After consideration of public comments received, as well as information received through consultation, the NRC will prepare a final environmental impact statement, which is scheduled to be published in September 2023.

If you have any questions concerning the NRC staffs environmental review of this CP application, please contact Peyton Doub, staff ecologist via phone at (301) 415-6703 or via email at Peyton.Doub@nrc.gov or Tamsen Dozier via phone at (301) 415-2272 or via email at Tamsen.Dozier@nrc.gov.

Sincerely, Signed by Erwin, Kenneth on 09/26/22 Kenneth Erwin, Chief Environmental Review New Reactors Branch Division of Rulemaking, Environment, and Financial Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No: 50-7513

ML22243A153 OFFICE PM:REFS LA:REFS NAME PDoub AWalker-Smith DATE 09/13/2022 09/13/2022 OFFICE OGC (NLO) BC:REFS NAME MWright KErwin DATE 09/22/2022 09/26/2022