ML25079A321
| ML25079A321 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/23/2025 |
| From: | Sarah Lopas NRC/NMSS/DREFS/ETRB1 |
| To: | |
| References | |
| Download: ML25079A321 (1) | |
Text
ML25079A321 Summary of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Tribal Information Virtual Meeting Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 Construction Permit Application September 24, 2024 12:00 p.m. ET Government-to-Government Meeting Attendees:
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) o Chris Regan, Director of the Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support o Michelle Rome, Branch Chief for Environmental Technical Reviews o Dan Barnhurst, Branch Chief for Environmental Project Management o Nadiyah Morgan, NRC Tribal Liaison Team Leader o Ryan Alexander, NRC Region IV State Liaison Officer o Sarah Lopas, Tribal Liaison for the TerraPower project o Pat Vokoun, Environmental Project Manager for the TerraPower project o Beau Goldstein, Archaeologist for the TerraPower project o Mallecia Sutton, Safety Project Manager for the TerraPower project U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) o Amy Shanahan, Cultural Resources Specialist o Gretchen Applegate, NEPA Specialist Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; NRC contractor):
o Cyler Conrad, Archaeologist One Tribal Representative The NRCs slide presentation is available at ML25079A320 in the NRCs Agencywide Document Access and Management System. The NRC presentation addressed:
The NRCs mission and how that connects to the TerraPower Kemmerer Unit 1 project.
The NRCs Tribal Policy Statement The roles of the NRC and the Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) in the Kemmerer Unit 1 project - NRC is leading the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review and National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 consultation because issuance of a construction permit is an NRC action; OCED is a cooperating agency on the environmental review because it is providing Federal financial assistance to TerraPower for the project.
The NRC is doing a safety review and an environmental (NEPA) review of TerraPowers application for a construction permit for the Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1.
OCEDs Cultural Resources Specialist, Amy Shanahan, address other phases of the project that are OCED actions/undertakings: Phase 1: Test and Fill Facility; Access Road Testing; and Phase 2: Kemmerer Unit 1 Preconstruction Activities.
Basic information about the Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 and site (can be found in slides), and the area of potential effects as the site and its immediate environs, and the proposed transmission and water supply lines.
The resource areas covered in the NRCs NEPA review The NRCs NEPA review schedule - Currently the NRC estimates issuing a draft EIS in July 2025 and a final EIS in May 2026.
2 How the NRC conducts Section 106 consultation and compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act alongside the NEPA process, and that there are multiple points for Tribal consultation throughout the process.
All 30 consulting Tribes were invited to attend the meeting; one Tribal representative attended the meeting. The following topics were discussed:
Clarification that Treaty Rights, while not specifically outlined in the six principles of the NRCs Tribal Policy Statement, are considered in the NRCs review of historical and cultural resources and Section 106 consultation process.
Discussion of the two-step licensing process that TerraPower is pursuing - first a construction permit application, and then an operating license application.
The Tribal representative noted the potential for human remains in the project area and the importance of the applicant in having an inadvertent discovery process that is provided to all contractors working on the site and ensuring that contractors are knowledgeable of the process. OCED stated that for existing (non-nuclear-related) pre-construction currently happening on the TerraPower site there is a cultural resources monitoring plan, and within that plan there is an inadvertent or unanticipated discovery procedure, and that information has been incorporated into the environmental and safety training that all site workers must take. Additionally, parts of the site are fenced off, so work crews are limited in where they work and walk.
The Tribal representative asked about Tribal feedback on the TerraPower project to date, and the NRC staff asked how the NRC can more effectively to engage Tribes. The NRC staff noted that 30 Tribes were contacted, with varying levels of response. The Tribal representative noted that email works, however, they requested that NRC staff please follow-up with a phone call if the NRC is waiting on a response.
The NRC and OCED received feedback about using less acronyms and/or defining them more clearly, and that additionally, it could be helpful for the NRC to conduct a workshop about the Kemmerer Unit 1 facility and how it would interact with the environment, including details about spent fuel generated by the facility, e.g., would spent fuel stay on site or be moved? The Tribal representative noted that spent fuel is a concern in general considering industry interest in developing more advanced reactors.
The NRC staff provided the above meeting summary and the following reference links by email to all invited Tribal representatives:
- NRCs Kemmerer Unit 1 Website: https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/advanced/who-were-working-with/applicant-projects/terrapower.html
- Information slides presented at the July 2024 environmental scoping meeting: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2422/ML24222A421.pdf
- TerraPowers Environmental Report for the Proposed Kemmerer Unit 1:
https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2408/ML24088A072.pdf
- NRCs Tribal Protocol Manual: https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/state-tribal/tpm.htm