ML26048A519
| ML26048A519 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 99902130 |
| Issue date: | 02/24/2026 |
| From: | Vechioli L NRC/NRR/DANU/UAL2 |
| To: | Alissa Neuhausen Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| EPID L-2024-LRM-0111 | |
| Download: ML26048A519 (0) | |
Text
MEMORANDUM TO:
Alissa Neuhausen, Branch Chief Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch 2 Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-power Production and Utilization Facilities Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation FROM:
Lucieann Vechioli, Project Manager Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch 2 Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-power Production and Utilization Facilities Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
OF JANUARY 27, 2026, PUBLIC MEETING WITH ENERGY NORTHWEST NEW NUCLEAR, LLC, ACCEPTABILITY OF HISTORICAL INFORMATION-VOLCANIC WHITE PAPER DISCUSSION (EPID NO. L-2024-LRM-0111)
Meeting Information:
Applicant: Energy Northwest New Nuclear, LLC (ENNN)
Docket/Project No.: 99902130 Public Meeting Notice Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)
Accession No.: ML26026A098 ENNN Presentation Slides ADAMS Accession No.: ML26021A217 Energy Northwest New Nuclear, LLC - Acceptability of Historical Information-Volcanic white paper, ADAMS Accession No.: ML26015A527 Meeting Attendees: See the enclosure for a list of meeting attendees.
CONTACT:
Michelle Vega Rodriguez, NRR/DANU 301-415-1170 February 24, 2026 Signed by Vechioli, Lucieann on 02/24/26
A. Neuhausen Meeting Summary:
On January 27, 2026, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff conducted the meeting in accordance with NRC Management Directive 3.5, Attendance at NRC Staff-Sponsored Meetings, ML21180A271, to discuss the white paper, Energy Northwest New Nuclear, LLC - Acceptability of Historical Information-Volcanic, ML26015A527, that was submitted to the NRC for feedback on January 15, 2026.
The meeting began with Energy Northwest New Nuclear, LLC (ENNN) providing an overview of their plan to use historical volcanic hazard analyses from Columbia Generating Stations licensing basis for the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility (Cascade) Construction Permit Application (CPA).
ENNN plans to build up to 12 Xe-100 Small Modular Reactor (SMRs) on Washington Nuclear Project (WNP)-1/4 site, approximately 1 mile from Columbia Generating Station (Columbia), for a total capacity of 960 MWe.
ENNN seeks to leverage the Advance Act Section 505(c) provisions, which allow the use of existing facility licensing bases for new nuclear projects where practicable. ENNNs proposal is to use Columbias volcanic hazard evaluation for the Cascade CPA.
As part of its justification for using the Columbia volcanic hazard design basis, ENNN stated that only volcanic ashfall is considered relevant for Cascade, like Columbia, due to distance and geography; hazards such as lava and debris flows were excluded from the analysis due to distance from volcanic sources to the site.
1.
ENNN implemented a six-question screening process, also used in other ENNN white papers, to assess the applicability of historical analysis to Cascade and to facilitate the analysis of the white paper content. ENNN indicated that the historical analyses align with intent of Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.26 and Department of Energy (DOE) standards.
During the meeting the NRC staff asked questions on the modeling software used, scope of USGS studies, applicability of DOE standards, and availability of supporting documents.
The NRC staff and ENNN will collaborate to ensure all referenced historical studies are accessible for future CPA review. In addition, ENNN will provide additional clarification or documentation on modeling approaches if required. The NRC staff will provide written feedback to ENNN on the white paper.
No regulatory decisions were made as a result of this meeting.
Docket/Project No.: 99902130
Enclosure:
List of Meeting Attendees cc: Cascade Advanced Energy Facility GovDelivery
A. Neuhausen
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
OF JANUARY 27, 2026, PUBLIC MEETING WITH ENERGY NORTHWEST NEW NUCLEAR, LLC, ACCEPTABILITY OF HISTORICAL INFORMATION-VOLCANIC WHITE PAPER DISCUSSION (EPID NO. L-2024-LRM-0111) DATED: FEBRUARY 24, 2026 DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC RidsNrrDanuUal1 Resource RidsNrrDanuUal2 Resource RidsNrrDanu Resource ANeuhausen MVegaRodriguez DMcGovern TTate CCook LVechioliFeliciano KMcElwee JThompson ADAMS Accession Number: ML26048A519 NRR-106 OFFICE NRR/DANU/UAL2/PM NRR/DANU/UAL2/PM NRR/DANU/UAL2/BC NAME Michelle Vega Rodriguez Lucieann Vechioli Alissa Neuhausen DATE 02/18/2026 02/19/2026 02/23/2026 OFFICE NRR/DANU/UAL2/PM NAME Lucieann Vechioli DATE 02/24/2026 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Enclosure List of Meeting Attendees January 27, 2026, Public Meeting with Energy Northwest New Nuclear, LLC, Acceptability of Historical Information-Volcanic White Paper discussion Name Organization Denise McGovern U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Michelle Vega Rodriguez NRC Lucieann Vechioli Feliciano NRC Christopher Cook NRC Jenise Thompson NRC Madelyn Nagel NRC Travis Tate NRC Kristin McElwee NRC Alissa Neuhausen NRC Nathan D. Clark Energy Northwest New Nuclear, LLC. (ENNN)
Donald W. Gregoire ENNN Lisa L. Williams ENNN Theresa Howell ENNN Stephan C. Moen ENNN Miranda G. Vesely ENNN Ashlynn Tate ENNN Crystal D. Slavens ENNN Jeanette Ardiente ENNN Denise M. Brandon (Bent)
ENNN Geoffrey Ottenberg ENNN Maury A. Pressburger Sargent & Lundy David E. Nielson Sargent & Lundy Greg R. Boswell Sargent & Lundy Brian Lipinski William Sale Partnership Global Inc. (WSP)
Lisa Matis Tetra Tech Mitchell Hastings RIZZO International, Inc.
Jared W Member of the public Lauren Gibson X-Energy Michael I. Dudek X-Energy Milton Gorden X-Energy