ML23311A195
| ML23311A195 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Hermes File:Kairos Power icon.png |
| Issue date: | 11/17/2023 |
| From: | Stafford C NRC/SECY |
| To: | |
| References | |
| 11/22/2023 88 FR 81439, NRC-2023-0138 | |
| Download: ML23311A195 (14) | |
Text
[7590-01-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-611 and 50-612; NRC-2023-0138]
Kairos Power, LLC;
Hermes 2
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Construction permit application; opportunity to request a hea ring and petition
for leave to intervene; order imposing procedures.
SUMMARY
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing not ice that an
uncontested hearing will be held on the Kairos Power, LLC (Kair os) construction permit
application that proposes the construction of a test reactor fa cility, identified as Hermes
2, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, at a time and place to be set in t he future by the
Commission or designated by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boa rd. This notice
provides the public an opportunity to request a hearing and pet ition for leave to intervene
(i.e., contested hearing) with respect to that application. The NRC staff is currently
conducting a detailed technical review of the construction perm it application. If the NRC
issues a construction permit, the applicant, Kairos, would be a uthorized to construct its
proposed test reactor facility in accordance with the provision s of the construction
permit. Because the application contains Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards
Information (SUNSI), an order imposes procedures to obtain acce ss to this type of
information for contention preparation.
DATES: A request for a hearing or petitions for leave to intervene m ust be filed by
January 22, 2024. Any potential party as defined in section 2.4 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) who believes access to SUNSI is necessary to respond t o
this notice must request document access by December 4, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0138 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly available
information related to this action by any of the following meth ods:
- 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: Stacy.Schuma nn@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the individual listed in the For Further Information Contact
section of this document.
- NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADA MS Public
Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.ht ml. To begin the
search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems wit h ADAMS, please
contact the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at
301-415-4737, or by email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS ac cession number
for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is p rovided the first time that it
is mentioned in this document.
- NRCs PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly
available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appoint ment 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 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday throu gh Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Orenak, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-415-3229; email: Michael.Orenak@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
2 I. Introduction
On July 14, 2023, Kairos Power LLC (Kairos) submitted, pursuant to
10 CFR part 50, Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilizati on Facilities, an
application (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML23195A121) for a con struction permit
for the Hermes 2 test reactor facility (a testing facility as defined in 10 CFR 50.2), that
would consist of two fluoride salt-cooled test reactor units at the East Tennessee
Technology Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. A notice of receipt an d availability was
published in the Federal Register on August 4, 2023 (88 FR 51876). The NRC staff
determined that Kairos submitted the application in accordance with 10 CFR 2.101(a)(5),
and a notice of the acceptability of docketing of Kaiross appl ication was published in the
Federal Register on September 15, 2023 (88 FR 63632). The docket numbers
established for this application are 50-611 and 50-612 for Unit s 1 and 2, respectively.
The NRC is considering issuance of a construction permit to Kairos that would
authorize construction of the proposed Hermes 2 test reactor fa cility to be located in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee. The Hermes 2 facility would contain two fluor ide-salt cooled, high-
temperature test reactors using solid tri-structural isotropic fuel in pebble form. Each test
reactor would contain an intermediate heat transfer loop and sh are a common power
generation system.
II. Hearing
Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 10 CFR p art 2,
Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, and part 50, notice i s hereby given that an
uncontested (i.e., mandatory) hearing will be held, at a time a nd place to be set in the
future by the Commission or designated by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board
(Board).
The hearing on the application for a construction permit filed by Kairos pursuant
3 to 10 CFR part 50 will be conducted by a Board that will be des ignated by the Chief
Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel or will be conducted by the
Commission. If the hearing is conducted by a Board, notice as t o the membership of the
Board will be published in the Federal Register at a later date. The NRC staff will
complete a detailed technical review of the application and wil l document its findings in a
safety evaluation. The Commission will refer a copy of the appl ication to the Advisory
Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) in accordance with 10 CF R 50.58, Hearings
and Report of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, an d the ACRS will
report on those portions of the application that concern safety. The NRC staff will also
complete an environmental review of the application and will do cument its findings in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( NEPA), as amended,
and the Commissions regulations in 10 CFR part 51, Environmen tal Protection
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Funct ions. The staff will
prepare an environmental assessment that will be used to determ ine whether an
environmental impact statement is necessary or a finding of no significant impact is
warranted to satisfy the NRCs NEPA obligations.
III. Opportunity to Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave to Intervene
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, an y person (petitioner)
whose interest may be affected by this action may file a reques t for a hearing and
petition for leave to intervene (petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed
in accordance with the Commissions Agency Rules of Practice a nd Procedure in
10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult 10 CFR 2.309. If a petition is filed, the
presiding officer will rule on the petition and, if appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be
issued.
Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of publication
4 of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions in th e Electronic
Submissions (E-Filing) section of this document. Petitions and motions for
leave to file new or amended contentions that are filed after t he deadline will not
be entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer that the filing
demonstrates good cause by satisfying the three factors in
10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii).
A State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian T ribe, or
designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commiss ion to
participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h)(1) no later than 6 0 days from the
date of publication of this notice. Alternatively, a State, loc al governmental
body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof may participate as a
non-party under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
For information about filing a petition and about participation by a person not a
party under 10 CFR 2.315(c), see ADAMS Accession No. ML20340A05 3
(https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionN umber=ML20340A
053) and on the NRC website at
https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.h tml#participate.
IV. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including documents filed
by an interested State, local governmental body, Federally reco gnized Indian Tribe, or
designated agency thereof that requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be
filed in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process req uires participants to
submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some cases, to mail
copies on electronic storage media, unless an exemption permitt ing an alternative filing
method, as further discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is
5 located in the Guidance for El ectronic Submissions to the NRC (ADAMS Accession
No. ML13031A056) and on the NRCs public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-
submittals.html.
To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at leas t 10 days prior to
the filing deadline, the participant should contact the Office of the Secretary by email at
Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov, or by telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital
identification (ID) certificate, which allows the participant ( or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing system for any
proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise the Sec retary that the participant
will be submitting a petition or other adjudicatory document (e ven in instances in which
the participant, or its counsel or representative, already hold s an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will e stablish an electronic docket
for the proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is avai lable on the NRCs
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/ge tting-started.html. After a
digital ID certificate is obtained and a docket created, the pa rticipant must submit
adjudicatory documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is
available on the NRCs public website at https://www.nrc.gov/si te-help/electronic-sub-ref-
mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the docum ent is submitted through
the NRCs E-Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing m ust be submitted to the
E-Filing system no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date. Up on receipt of a
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends the submitter an
email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing system a lso distributes an email
that provides access to the document to the NRCs Office of the General Counsel and
any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that th ey wish to participate in
6 the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document o n those participants
separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants (or th eir counsel or
representative) must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory
documents are filed to obtain access to the documents via the E -Filing system.
A person filing electronically u sing the NRCs adjudicatory E-Filing system may
seek assistance by contacting the NRCs Electronic Filing Help Desk through the
Contact Us link located on the NRCs public website at https: //www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-
submittals.html, by email to MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a toll-free call at
1-866-672-7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is availabl e between 9 a.m. and
6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Participants who believe that they have good cause for not subm itting documents
electronically must file an exemption request, in accordance wi th 10 CFR 2.302(g), with
their initial paper filing stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in pap er format. Such filings
must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(b)-(d). Parti cipants filing
adjudicatory documents in this manner are responsible for servi ng their documents on all
other participants. Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must
still meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.30 2(g)(1), unless the
participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the NRCs
electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https ://adams.nrc.gov/ehd,
unless excluded pursuant to an order of the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate as previously described, click c ancel when the link requests
certificates and you will be automatically directed to the NRC s electronic hearing
dockets where you will be able to access any publicly available documents in a particular
7 hearing docket. Participants are requested not to include perso nal privacy information
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal ph one numbers in their
filings unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submissi on of such information.
With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of
the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use applic ation, participants should
not include copyrighted materials in their submission.
Order Imposing Procedures for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards
Information for Contention Preparation
A. This Order contains instructions regarding how potential par ties to this
proceeding may request access to documents containing Sensitive Unclassified Non-
Safeguards Information (SUNSI).
B. Within 10 days after publication of this notice of hearing o r opportunity for
hearing, any potential party who believes access to SUNSI is ne cessary to respond to
this notice may request access to SUNSI. A potential party is any person who intends
to participate as a party by demonstrating standing and filing an admissible contention
under 10 CFR 2.309. Requests for access to SUNSI submitted late r than 10 days after
publication of this notice will not be considered absent a show ing of good cause for the
late filing, addressing why the request could not have been fil ed earlier.
C. The requestor shall submit a letter requesting permission to access
SUNSI to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory C ommission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudicat ions Staff, and
provide a copy to the Deputy General Counsel for Licensing, Hea rings, and
Enforcement, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regula tory Commission,
8 Washington, DC 20555-0001. The expedited delivery or courier ma il address for both
offices is: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852. The email addresses for the Office of the Secre tary and the Office of
the General Counsel are Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov and
RidsOgcMailCenter.Resource@nrc.gov, respectively. 1 The request must include the
following information:
(1) A description of the licensing action with a citation to th is Federal Register
notice;
(2) The name and address of the potential party and a descripti on of the
potential partys particularized interest that could be harmed by the action identified in
C.(1); and
(3) The identity of the individual or entity requesting access to SUNSI and the
requestors basis for the need for the information in order to meaningfully participate in
this adjudicatory proceeding. In particular, the request must e xplain why publicly
available versions of the information requested would not be su fficient to provide the
basis and specificity for a proffered contention.
D. Based on an evaluation of the information submitted under pa ragraph C,
the NRC staff will determine within 10 days of receipt of the r equest whether:
(1) There is a reasonable basis to believe the petitioner is li kely to establish
standing to participate in this NRC proceeding; and
(2) The requestor has established a legitimate need for access to SUNSI.
1 While a request for hearing or petition to intervene in this proceeding must comply with the filing requirements of the NRCs E-Filing Rule, the initial request to access SUNSI under these procedures should be submitted as described in this paragraph.
9 E. If the NRC staff determines that the requestor satisfies bot h D.(1) and
D.(2), the NRC staff will notify the requestor in writing that access to SUNSI has been
granted. The written notification will contain instructions on how the requestor may
obtain copies of the requested documents, and any other conditi ons that may apply to
access to those documents. These conditions may include, but ar e not limited to, the
signing of a Non-Disclosure Agreement or Affidavit, or Protecti ve Order2 setting forth
terms and conditions to prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of SUNSI by
each individual who will be granted access to SUNSI.
F. Filing of Contentions. Any contentions in these proceedings that are
based upon the information received as a result of the request made for SUNSI must be
filed by the requestor no later than 25 days after receipt of ( or access to) that
information. However, if more than 25 days remain between the p etitioners receipt of (or
access to) the information and the deadline for filing all othe r contentions (as established
in the notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing), the petit ioner may file its SUNSI
contentions by that later deadline.
G. Review of Denials of Access.
(1) If the request for access to SUNSI is denied by the NRC sta ff after a
determination on standing and requisite need, the NRC staff sha ll immediately notify the
requestor in writing, briefly stating the reason or reasons for the denial.
(2) The requestor may challenge the NRC staffs adverse determi nation by
filing a challenge within 5 days of receipt of that determinati on with: (a) the presiding
officer designated in this proceeding; (b) if no presiding offi cer has been appointed, the
Chief Administrative Judge, or if this individual is unavailabl e, another administrative
2 Any motion for Protective Order or draft Non-Disclosure Affidavit or Agreement for SUNSI must be filed with the presiding officer or the Chief Administrative Judge if the presiding officer has not yet been designated, within 30 days of the deadline for the receipt of the written access request.
10 judge, or an Administrative Law Judge with jurisdiction pursuan t to 10 CFR 2.318(a); or
(c) if another officer has been designated to rule on informati on access issues, with that
officer.
(3) Further appeals of decisions under this paragraph must be m ade
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.311.
H. Review of Grants of Access. A party other than the requestor may
challenge an NRC staff determination granting access to SUNSI w hose release would
harm that partys interest independent of the proceeding. Such a challenge must be filed
within 5 days of the notification by the NRC staff of its grant of access and must be filed
with: (a) the presiding officer designated in this proceeding; (b) if no presiding officer has
been appointed, the Chief Administrative Judge, or if this indi vidual is unavailable,
another administrative judge, or an Administrative Law Judge wi th jurisdiction pursuant
to 10 CFR 2.318(a); or (c) if another officer has been designat ed to rule on information
access issues, with that officer.
If challenges to the NRC staff determinations are filed, these procedures give
way to the normal process for litigating disputes concerning ac cess to information. The
availability of interlocutory review by the Commission of order s ruling on such NRC staff
determinations (whether granting or denying access) is governed by 10 CFR 2.311.3
I. The Commission expects that the NRC staff and presiding offi cers (and
any other reviewing officers) will consider and resolve request s for access to SUNSI,
and motions for protective orders, in a timely fashion in order to minimize any
unnecessary delays in identifying those petitioners who have st anding and who have
3 Requestors should note that the filing requirements of the NRCs E-Filing Rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended at 77 FR 46562; August 3, 2012, 78 FR 34247, June 7, 2013) apply to appeals of NRC staff determinations (because they must be served on a presiding officer or the Commission, as applicable), but not to the initial SUNSI request submitted to the NRC staff under these procedures.
11 propounded contentions meeting the specificity and basis requir ements in
10 CFR part 2. The attachment to this Order summarizes the gene ral target schedule for
processing and resolving requests under these procedures.
Dated: November 17, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Carrie M. Safford, Secretary of the Commission.
12 ATTACHMENT 1--General Target Schedule for Processing and Resolv ing Requests for Access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information in this Pr oceeding
Day Event/Activity 0 Publication of Federal Register notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing, including order with instructions for access requests.
10 Deadline for submitting requests for access to Sensitive Unc lassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI) with information: supporting the standing of a potential party identified by name and address; describing th e need for the information in order for the potential party to participate mea ningfully in an adjudicatory proceeding.
60 Deadline for submitting petition for intervention containing : (i) demonstration of standing; and (ii) all contentions whose formulation does no t require access to SUNSI (+25 Answers to petition for intervention; +7 petitioner/requestor reply).
20 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff informs the r equestor of the staffs determination whether the request for access provides a reasonable basis to believe standing can be established and shows need for SUNSI.
(NRC staff also informs any party to the proceeding whose interest independent of the proceeding would be harmed by the release of the information.) If NRC staff makes the finding of need for SUNSI and likelihood of standing, NRC staff begins document processing (preparation of redactions or review of redacted documents).
25 If NRC staff finds no need or no likelihood of standing, t he deadline for petitioner/requestor to file a motion seeking a ruling to rever se the NRC staffs denial of access; NRC staff files copy of access determ ination with the presiding officer (or Chief Administrative Judge or other desig nated officer, as appropriate). If NRC staff finds need for SUNSI, the deadline for any party to the proceeding whose interest independent of the proceeding would be harmed by the release of the information to file a motion seeki ng a ruling to reverse the NRC staffs grant of access.
30 Deadline for NRC staff reply to motions to reverse NRC staff determination(s).
40 (Receipt +30) If NRC staff finds standing and need for SUNSI, deadline for NRC staff to complete information processing and file motion for Protective Order and draft Non-Disclosure Agreement or Affidavit. Deadline for applicant/licensee to file Non-Disclosure Agreement or Affidavi t for SUNSI.
A If access granted: issuance of presiding officer or other desig nated officer decision on motion for protective order for access to sensitive information Day Event/Activity (including schedule for providing access and submission of con tentions) or decision reversing a final adverse determination by the NRC sta ff.
A + 3 Deadline for filing executed Non-Disclosure Agreements or Affidavits. Access provided to SUNSI consistent with decision issuing the protecti ve order.
A + 28 Deadline for submission of contentions whose development depends upon access to SUNSI. However, if more than 25 days remain between t he petitioners receipt of (or access to) the information and the deadline for filing all other contentions (as established in the notice of hearing or notice of opportunity for hearing), the petitioner may file its SUNSI con tentions by that later deadline.
A + 53 (Contention receipt +25) Answers to contentions whose de velopment depends upon access to SUNSI.
A + 60 (Answer receipt +7) Petitioner/Intervenor reply to answe rs.
>A + 60 Decision on contention admission.