ML25289A311
| ML25289A311 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 05000615 |
| Issue date: | 11/07/2025 |
| From: | Daniel Barnhurst NRC/NMSS/DREFS/ETRB1 |
| To: | Barnes B Shawnee Tribe |
| Shared Package | |
| ML25272A149 | List: |
| References | |
| EPID L-2025-LNE-0000 | |
| Download: ML25289A311 (0) | |
Text
Ben Barnes, Chief Shawnee Tribe P.O. Box 189 Miami, OK 74354
SUBJECT:
CONTINUATION OF SECTION 106 CONSULTATION AND NOTIFICATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE DRAFT SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR A CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR THE CLINCH RIVER NUCLEAR SITE IN ROANE COUNTY, TENNESSEE (EPID NUMBER:
L-2025-LNE-0000) (DOCKET NUMBER: 50-615)
Dear Chief Ben Barnes:
The purpose of this letter is to notify you of the availability of the draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for a construction permit (CP) for the Clinch River Nuclear Site (CRN) and request your review, comment, and concurrence pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (NHPA). In a \
letter dated July 16, 2025, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML25198A023), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) notified your office that it is conducting an environmental review of an application submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for a CP to construct a GE Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor at the CRN Site, in Roane County, Tennessee.
The NRC is the lead Federal agency for the environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and for Section 106 consultation under the NHPA, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Nashville District, serving as a cooperating agency on the environmental review and Section 106 consultation. The USACEs participation is to ensure that the information in the SEIS can support a future U.S. Department of the Army (DA) permit application from TVA. Additionally, this cooperation serves ensure that potential impacts to waters of the U.S. and navigable waters are identified and addressed early in the NRCs review. The proposed USACE federal action would be the issuance of a DA permit, pending TVAs application.
To keep consulting parties informed of this undertaking, the NRC and USACE conducted a Tribal Information Meeting on August 7, 2025. A summary of the meeting and presentation slides were emailed to consulting Tribes on August 14, 2025. As discussed at the meeting, the NRC and USACE agreed to share TVAs Section 106 consultation correspondence related to identification efforts undertaken in 2021 and 2023, as well as the associated survey reports.
This information was transmitted to the consulting parties on September 24, 2025, with consent from TVA.
In accordance with Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (36 CFR) Part 800, Protection of Historic Properties, Section 800.8(c), Use of the NEPA process for section 106 purposes, the NRC is using the NEPA process to comply with Section 106 of the NHPA in lieu of the procedures set forth in 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6. As part of this review, the NRC and USACE staff have completed a supplement to the 2019 environmental impact statement (EIS) to NUREG-2226, Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the Clinch River Nuclear Site: Final Report, (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML19087A266).
November 7, 2025
B. Barnes Additionally, in 2024, the NRC issued an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact for an exemption request from TVA to conduct certain excavation support activities at the CRN Site prior to the issuance of a construction permit (ADAMS Accession No. ML24312A321).
For the CP review, the NRC and USACE staff have completed the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for a Construction Permit at the Clinch River Nuclear Site (ADAMS Accession No. ML25261A214). The draft SEIS is also available from the NRCs CRN website: https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/advanced/who-were-working-with/applicant-projects/clinch-river.
Section 3.7 of the SEIS contains a description of historic and cultural resources and historic properties identified in the direct and indirect area of potential effects (APE), discusses impacts to these resources from activities associated with the impacts from construction and preconstruction activities, and provides the NRC and USACEs (i.e., the review team) preliminary determination. In this section the review team identifies new and significant historic and cultural resources information which has changed since the ESP EIS analysis. This includes newly conducted archaeological and architectural surveys and testing projects which resulted in modified eligibility determinations for historic properties at the CRN Site. The APE also shifted between the ESP EIS and the SEIS, most notably with the removal of the Melton Hill Hydroelectric Dam as an offsite area evaluated as part of the undertaking. TVA, as a Federal agency, also executed a Valleywide NHPA Section 106 programmatic agreement in 2019, in addition to their 2016 CRN site-specific programmatic agreement.
One eligible archaeological site, 40RE108, is located within the direct APE and TVA plans to conduct work within the site boundary, avoiding two previously identified culturally sensitive areas (Area 1 and 2). TVA has planned avoidance and protection measures in place to ensure that both sensitive areas are not impacted by ground disturbing activities.
Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.5(b), the review teams preliminary determination under Section 106 of the NHPA is that the proposed undertaking would result in no adverse effect to historic properties from NRC-authorized construction activities because impacts to historic properties are primarily associated with non-NRC authorized preconstruction activities (e.g., site-preparation, clearing, grading) and would be subject to TVAs 2016 CRN site-specific and 2019 Valleywide programmatic agreements prior to any construction.
The review teams preliminary determination under NEPA is that the combined impacts from construction and preconstruction activities on historic and cultural resources and historic properties located within the direct and indirect APE would be MODERATE. Preconstruction activities constitute the primary contribution to this impact determination. However, as ground disturbing activities would occur within the archaeological site boundary of 40RE108 and immediately adjacent to Sensitive Areas 1 and 2, as well as immediately adjacent to other fenced, eligible, historic properties at the CRN Site, the review team determined that there are MODERATE impacts under NEPA for historic and cultural resources as part of non-NRC authorized preconstruction activities. For NRC authorized construction activities, the NEPA impact determination is SMALL.
B. Barnes This preliminary determination is based on: (1) the analysis and findings of review teams independent environmental review documented in the draft SEIS; (2) ongoing consultation with Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies; (3) revision of the APE; and (4) updated archaeological, architectural, and environmental documentation submitted by TVA.
Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC invites your office to submit any comments or concerns on the draft SEIS during the 45-day comment period, which ends on December 22, 2025.
Comments can be submitted by the following methods:
- 1. Emailing ClinchRiverEnvironmental@nrc.gov;
- 2. Going to https://regulations.gov and searching for Docket ID NRC-2024-0146; or
- 3. Mailing comments to the Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
Alternatively, comments can be sent directly to Jennifer Davis or Madelyn Nagel (contact information below).
Accordingly, the NRC and USACE will hold an informational meeting with Federally recognized Tribes on November 19, 2025, from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm ET, to provide an overview of the draft SEIS. This meeting will not be open to the public and is intended to afford Tribal representatives an opportunity to discuss and ask questions with NRC and USACE staff about the draft SEIS.
This meeting will not be recorded or transcribed. Information including an agenda for this meeting will be provided in a separate communication.
After consideration of public comments received on the draft SEIS, as well as information received through consultation, the NRC and USACE staff will prepare a final SEIS. The final SEIS is scheduled to be published in April 2026.
If you have any questions concerning the NRCs Section 106 consultation or the environmental review, please contact Jennifer Davis, Staff Archaeologist, by phone at 301-415-3835 or via email at Jennifer.Davis@nrc.gov, or the Environmental Project Manager, Madelyn Nagel, by phone at 301-415-0371 or via email at Madelyn.Nagel@nrc.gov.
Sincerely, Daniel Barnhurst, Chief Environmental Project Management Branch 3 Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. 50-615 cc: GovDelivery Tonya Tipton, THPO tonya@shawnee-tribe.com Erin Paden, THPS epaden@shawnee-tribe.com Signed by Barnhurst, Daniel on 11/07/25
B. Barnes
SUBJECT:
CONTINUATION OF SECTION 106 CONSULTATION AND NOTIFICATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE DRAFT SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR A CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR THE CLINCH RIVER NUCLEAR SITE IN ROANE COUNTY, TENNESSEE (EPID NUMBER:
L-2025-LNE-0000) (DOCKET NUMBER: 50-615)
DATED:
DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC MNagel, NMSS DBarnhurst, NMSS JZimmerman, NMSS KMorgan-Butler, NMSS AFetter, NRR JGlisan, NRR IBanks, NRR MHayes, NRR MCarpentier, OGC ALeatherman, OGC SBurnell, HQ/OPA DGasperson, RII/OPA JPelchat, RII/RSLO KHenry, RII/RSLO KLeigh, PNNL (Kimberly.Leigh@pnnl.gov)
RPrasad, PNNL (Rajiv.Prasad@pnnl.gov)
CConrad, PNNL (cyler.n.conrad@pnnl.gov)
JFrost, USACE (joshua.w.frost@usace.army.mil)
CBeverly, USACE (cara.c.beverly@usace.army.mil)
TDotson, USACE (Timothy.S.Dodson@usace.army.mil)
BMcDermott, TVA (bmcdermott@tva.gov)
RShiele, TVA (rjschiele@tva.gov)
DDaigle, TVA (dldaigle@tva.gov)
ADAMS Package Accession No: ML25272A149 Letter Accession No: ML25289A311
- via Email OFFICE PM:REFS/ETR1 LA:REFS/EPM2 PM:REFS/EPM3 BC:REFS/EPM3 OGC NAME JDavis AWalker-Smith MNagel DBarnhurst MCarpentier DATE 10/02/2025 10/03/2025 10/03/2025 10/09/2025 10/14/2025 OFFICE BC:REFS/EPM3 NAME DBarnhurst DATE 11/7/2025 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY November 7, 2025