ML24100A053
| ML24100A053 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Hermes File:Kairos Power icon.png |
| Issue date: | 04/22/2024 |
| From: | Daniel Barnhurst NRC/NMSS/DREFS/ENRB |
| To: | |
| References | |
| NRC-2023-0138 | |
| Download: ML24100A053 (10) | |
Text
[75901-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50-611 and 50-612; NRC-2023-0138]
Kairos Power, LLC;
Hermes 2;
Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.
SUMMARY
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public
comment a draft environmental assessment ( EA) and draft finding of no significant
impact (FONSI) for proposed issuance of construction permits (CP) to Kairos Power,
LLC (Kairos). The CPs would authorize the construction of two non-power test reactors
termed Hermes 2, adjacent to the Hermes test reactor (Hermes), on a 185-acre site
located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Kairos was issued a CP for Hermes, Construction
Permit No. CPTR-6, on December 14, 2023. The Hermes 2 test reactors would
demonstrate additional key elements of the Kairos Power Fluoride Salt-Cooled, High
Temperature Reactor technology for possible future commercial deployment. The
technology is an advanced nuclear reactor technology that leverages TRI-structural
ISOtropic (TRISO) particle fuel in pebble form combined with a low-pressure fluoride salt
coolant. The NRC has prepared a draft EA and draft FONSI that consider the
environmental impacts associated with issuing the CPs.
DATES: Submit comments by May 28, 2024. Comments received after this date will be
considered if it is practicable to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only
for comments received before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by using any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal
rulemaking website:
- Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://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.Schumann@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the individual listed in the For Further Information Contact
section of this document.
- Email: Comments may be submitted to the NRC electronically using the email
address: Kairos-Hermes2Environmental@nrc.gov.
- Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Program
Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see
Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FUTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peyton Doub, telephone: 301-415-6703,
email: Peyton.Doub@nrc.gov and Mary Richmond, telephone: 301-415-7218, email:
Mary.Richmond@nrc.gov. Both are staff of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
2 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 methods:
- Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://regulations.gov and search for
Docket ID NRC-2023-0138.
- NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public
Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ adams.html. To begin the
search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems with ADAMS, please
contact the NRCs Public Document Room (P DR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at
301-415-4737, or by email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. For the convenience of the
reader, instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are provided
in the Availability of Documents section.
- 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.
- NRCs Public Project Website: The draft EA and draft FONSI can be
accessed online at the Hermes 2Kairos project specific web page at
https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power/new-facility-licensing/hermes2-kairos.html.
A. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through any of the
methods outlined in ADDRESSES section of this document. Please include Docket ID
NRC-2023-0138 in your comment submission.
3 The NRC cautions you not to include identif ying or contact information that you
do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all
comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment
submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for
submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying
or contact information that they do not w ant to be publicly disclosed in their comment
submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions
available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Introduction
On July 14, 2023, Kairos submitted, pursuant to part 50 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization
Facilities, an application for CPs 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 and availability of the application was published in the Federal Register on
August 4, 2023 (88 FR 51876). The Hermes 2 site, adjacent to the Hermes test reactor,
is situated in the Heritage Center Industrial Park of the East Tennessee Technology Park
that was established by the City of Oak Ridge on land formerly owned by the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) for the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP). The
site was occupied by DOE Buildings K-31 and K-33, both of which were part of the
ORGDP.
4 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 Kairos's CP
application 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 Units 1 and 2, respectively. A notice of opportunity to request a hearing and
petition for leave to intervene (88 FR 81439) was published in the Federal Register on
November 22, 2023.
Section 104 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and its implementing
regulations authorize the NRC to issue CPs for testing facilities. To issue a CP, the NRC
is required to consider the environmental impacts of the proposed action under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The NRCs environmental protection
regulations that implement NEPA in 10 CFR part 51 identify actions for which the NRC
prepares an environmental impact statement (EIS ). CPs for test reactors are an action
identified as requiring an EIS.
However, based on a review of the environmental report (ER) submitted as part
of the CP application for Hermes 2 and the results of the EIS recently issued for the
Hermes test reactor, the NRC staff concluded that it would be prudent to first prepare a
draft environmental assessment (EA) to determine whether preparation of an EIS would
be necessary or whether a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) could be issued for
the Hermes 2 CP based on factors unique to the Hermes 2 CP application. These
factors include: (1) the similar design of Hermes 2 and Hermes, (2) the proposed siting
of Hermes 2 within a few hundred feet of Hermes, (3) the industrial nature and heavy
prior disturbance of the site, (4) the recent thorough NEPA review performed by the staff
as published in its final EIS for Hermes, and (5) the staffs final EIS for Hermes covering
the same site as Hermes 2 and documenting all impacts as SMALL.
5 The NRC staff has prepared a draft EA and draft FONSI documenting its
environmental review of the Hermes 2 CP application. Based on the environmental
review, the NRC staff has made a preliminary determination that the proposed action
would not significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Therefore, the NRC
staff has made a preliminary determination that it will not prepare an EIS and that a draft
FONSI appears warranted.
The staff will consider comments received on the draft EA and draft FONSI over
a 30-day public comment period from Federal, State, local, and Tribal officials, and
members of the public. After consideration of these public comments, the NRC staff will
make a final determination as to whether preparation of an EIS is necessary or whether
a FONSI can be issued for the Hermes 2 CP application. However, exemptions from
certain regulations in 10 CFR part 51 would be necessary to issue a final EA and final
FONSI to support issuance of the Hermes 2 CPs. In accordance with 10 CFR 51.6, the
NRC may grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 51 if it determines
that the exemptions are authorized by law and are otherwise in the public interest.
III. Summary of Draft Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action and Need
The proposed action is for the NRC to issue CPs to Kairos authorizing
construction of the two proposed Hermes 2 reactors. The NRC issuance of CPs would
constitute authorization for Kairos to proceed with the construction of the Hermes 2
reactors, two fluoride salt-cooled test reactor units, at the East Tennessee Technology
Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The issuance of a CP is a separate licensing action from the issuance of an
operating license (OL). If the NRC issues CPs for Hermes 2 and Kairos were to seek
NRC approval to operate Hermes 2, then Kairos would have to submit a separate
6 application for OLs pursuant to the NRCs regulations, and Kairos would have to obtain
NRC approval before it could operate the Hermes 2 test reactors. The NRC staff would
review any application for an OL for Hermes 2 for new and significant information related
to the environmental impacts of operating and decommissioning Hermes 2 that might
alter the staffs conclusions made in the EA for the CP application.
The need for Hermes 2 is to demonstrate key elements of the Kairos Power
Fluoride Salt-Cooled, High Temperature Reactor technology for possible future
commercial deployment. The technology is an advanced nuclear reactor technology that
leverages TRI-structural ISOtropic particle fuel in pebble form combined with a low-
pressure fluoride salt coolant. Hermes 2 would support Kaiross reactor development
program, which relies on learning and risk reduction by narrowing the design space
through progressive test cycles. Construction and operation of Hermes 2 also would
provide validation and qualification data to support potential future commercial reactors
using the Kairos Power Fluoride Salt-Cooled, High Temperature Reactor technology.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
In the draft EA, the NRC staff assessed the potential direct and indirect
environmental impacts from the proposed acti on associated with the following relevant
resource areas: land use and visual resources; air quality and noise; hydrogeology and
water resources; ecological resources; historic and cultural resources; socioeconomics
and environmental justice; human health; nonradiological waste management; uranium
fuel cycle and radiological waste management; transportation of radioactive material;
and postulated accidents. The NRC staff also co nsidered the cumulative impacts from
past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions when combined with the
proposed action.
7 The NRC staff determined that the environmental impacts of the proposed action
would be SMALL for each potentially affected environmental resource, meaning that the
environmental effects are not detectable or are so minor that they will neither destabilize
nor noticeably alter any important attribute of the resource. In addition, the NRC staff
determined that the projected effects of climate change would not alter any of the impact
determinations described in the EA. Furthermore, the NRC staff found that there would
be no significant negative cumulative impact to any resource area from the proposed
action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
The NRC staff identified a range of reasonable alternatives to the proposed
action and the environmental impacts of the alternatives as appropriate. The NRC staff
determined that there are no alternatives that meet the need for the proposed action and
that are environmentally preferrable to the proposed action.
IV. Draft Finding of No Significant Impact
The proposed action before the NRC is whether to issue CPs (one for each unit)
to Kairos to authorize construction of the two proposed reactors (units) making up the
Hermes 2 project. The NRC has conducted an environmental review of a request for
NRC issuance of CPs for the Hermes 2 project and prepared an EA. This draft FONSI
incorporates by reference the EA summarized in Section II of this notice and referenced
in Section V of this notice. On the basis of the EA, and its determination that the
environmental impacts would be SMALL for eac h potentially affected resource area, the
NRC staff has preliminarily determined that the proposed action would not have a
significant effect on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the NRC staff
has made a preliminary determination that preparation of an EIS is not required for the
proposed action and that a FONSI is appears warranted.
8 This finding and the related environmental documents referenced throughout the
EA are available for public inspection as discussed in the EA and Section I of this notice.
The NRCs staffs determination is tentative. Before making a final determination, the
NRC staff also will consider comments received on the draft EA and draft FONSI over a
30-day public comment period from Federal, State, local, and Tribal officials, and
members of the public. Once NRC makes a final determination, it will publish the final EA
and final FONSI or proceed to prepare an EIS.
V. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to interested
persons through one or more of the following methods, as indicated.
ADAMS Accession Document Description No./Federal Register Notice (FRN)
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No ML24103A002 Significant Impact for the Construction Permits for the Kairos Hermes 2 Test Reactors, Draft Report for Comment, dated April 2024.
Letter to NRC from Kairos, Responses to Requests ML24065A100 (Package) for Confirmatory Information for the Environmental Report, dated March 4, 2024.
Letters to NRC from Kairos, Responses to General ML23300A141 (Package)
Audit Questions, dated October 27, 2023. and ML23300A144 FRN: Kairos Power LLC Hermes 2- Construction 88 FR 81439 Permit Application; Opportunity to Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave to Intervene, dated November 22, 2023.
FRN: Acceptance for docketing of the Kairos 88 FR 63632 Power LLC Hermes 2 Test Reactor Construction Permit, dated September 15, 2023.
FRN: Receipt and Availability. Hermes 2 Receipt of 88 FR 51876 Application, August 4, 2023.
Letter to NRC from Kairos, Submittal of the ML23195A121 (Package)
Construction Permit Application for the Hermes 2 Kairos Power Fluoride Salt-Cooled, High Temperature Non-Power Reactor, dated July 14, 2023.
Kairos Power LLC - Construction Permit for ML23338A258 Hermes Test Reactor, dated December 14, 2023.
9 NUREG-2263, Environmental Impact Statement ML23214A269 for the Construction Permit for the Kairos Hermes Test Reactor, Final Report, dated August 2023.
Dated: April 22, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Daniel Barnhurst, Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 3, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
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