ML23178A191
| ML23178A191 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Hermes File:Kairos Power icon.png |
| Issue date: | 08/17/2023 |
| From: | Christopher Regan Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | |
| References | |
| NRC-2021-0193 | |
| Download: ML23178A191 (1) | |
Text
[7590- 01-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 5 0-7513; NRC-2021- 0193]
Kairos Power, LLC;
Hermes Test Reactor
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Environmental impact statement; issuance.
SUMMARY
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), NUREG-2263, Environmental Impact Statement
for the Construction Permit for the Kairos Hermes Test Reactor: Final Report. The NRC
staff is issuing a final EIS as part of the review of the application submitted by Kairos
Power, LLC (Kairos) for a construction permit (CP). The Hermes test reactor is proposed
to be built in the City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
DATES: The final EIS is available as of [INSERT DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE
FEDERAL REGISTER].
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021- 0193 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly
available information related to this document using any of the following methods:
- Federal Rulemaking Webs ite: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC-2021 -0193. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov
to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415- 0624; email: Stacy.Schumann@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 ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/r eading-rm/adams.html. To begin the
search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems with 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 final EIS is available in
ADAMS under Accession No. ML23214A269. The ADAMS accession number for
additional documents referenced in this document (if it is available in ADAMS) is
provided the first time that it is mentioned as follows.
- NRCs PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly
available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment 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 through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
- Project webs ite: The final EIS can be accessed online at the Her mes -
Kairos project specific web page at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non -power/hermes-
kairos.html.
- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tamsen Dozier, Office of
Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2272, e mail:
Tamsen.Dozier@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
By letter to the NRC dated September 29, 2021 (ADAMS Package Accession
Number No. ML21272A375), Kairos Power LLC (Kairos) submitted an application for a
construction permit for the Hermes non-power test reactor, pursuant to part 50 of t itle
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Domestic Licensing of Production and
2 Utilization Facilities, and Section 104c of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
Additionally, by letter dated October 31, 2021 (ADAMS Package Accession No.
ML21306A131), Kairos submitted an Environmental Report (ER) in support of its
Hermes construction permit application. The test reactor is proposed to be built in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee.
By letter dated November 29, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21319A354), the
NRC staff informed Kairos of its determination that the Kairos application for a
construction permit for the Hermes test reactor was acceptable for docketing under
Docket No. 50-7513.
A notice of acceptance for docketing of the application was published in the
Federal Register on December 1, 2021 (86 FR 68290) and a notice of opportunity for
hearing was published on February 9, 2022 (87 FR 7503). A notice of intent to prepare
an EIS and to conduct scoping process was published in the Federal Register on
February 18, 2022 (87 FR 9394). A notice of availability of the draft EIS was published
by the NRC in the Federal Register on September 29, 2022 (87 FR 59124). The public
comment period for the draft EIS closed on December 6, 2022. Public comments are
addressed in Appendix G in the final EIS (ADAMS Accession No. ML23214A269). This
notice is being published in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended and the NRCs regulations in 10 CFR part 51.
In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8(c), Coordination with the National
Environmental Policy Act, the NRC staff used the process and documentation for the
preparation of the EIS to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act (NHPA) in lieu of the procedures set forth on 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
II.Discussion
As discussed in the final EIS, the NRC staffs recommendation related to the
3 environmental aspects of the proposed action is that the CP should be issued once the
NHPA Section 106 process is complete. This recommendation is based on: 1) the ER
submitted by Kairos, as revised; 2) consultation with Federal, State, Tribal and local
agencies; 3) the NRC staffs consideration of comments received during the
environmen tal review; and 4 ) the staffs independent review and asses sment
summarized in the final EIS, including the potential mitigation measures identified in the
ER and in the final EIS.
In addition, in making its recommendation, the NRC staff has concluded that
there are no environmentally preferable or obviously superior sites in the region of
interest.
Dated: August 17, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Christopher M. Regan, Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
4