[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 227 (Monday, November 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73051-73052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25890]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-610; NRC-2022-0167]


Abilene Christian University

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Construction permit application; acceptance for docketing.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff accepts and 
dockets an application for a construction permit from Abilene Christian 
University (ACU) for a molten salt research reactor to be built in 
Abilene, Texas.

DATES: This action became effective on November 18, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0167 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 website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0167. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
     NRC's 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 NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
     NRC's Public Website: The construction permit application 
is available under the NRC's ACU Construction Permit Application public 
website at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power/msrr-acu.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard F. Rivera, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7190; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    On August 12, 2022, Abilene Christian University (ACU) filed, 
pursuant to Section 104c. of the Atomic Energy Act and part 50 of title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of 
Production and Utilization Facilities,'' an application (ADAMS Package 
Accession No. ML22227A201) for a construction permit for the molten 
salt research reactor (MSRR) (a ``non-power reactor'' as defined in 10 
CFR 50.2), which would be located in Abilene, Texas. The MSRR would be 
a high-temperature

[[Page 73052]]

reactor that uses molten fluoride-based fuel salt. A notice of receipt 
and availability of this portion of the application was published in 
the Federal Register on October 14, 2022 (87 FR 62463).
    The MSRR construction permit application consisted of the following 
information:
     The general information required by 10 CFR 50.33,
     The Preliminary Safety Analysis Report required by 10 CFR 
50.34(a), and
     Environmental Information as required by 10 CFR 51.41.
    On September 27, 2022, the NRC staff notified ACU that it needed 
additional information and was pausing the docketing review to allow 
ACU the opportunity to supplement its construction permit application 
(ADAMS Package Accession No. ML22270A170). On October 14, 2022, ACU 
supplemented its construction permit application with additional 
information regarding the proposed MSRR's instrumentation and control 
system design (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML22293B816).
    The NRC staff determined that the application, as supplemented, is 
acceptable for docketing under Docket No. 50-610. The NRC staff 
provided ACU notice of the determination that its application was 
acceptable for docketing by letter dated November 18, 2022 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML22313A097).
    The NRC staff will perform a detailed technical review of the 
construction permit application and document its safety findings in a 
safety evaluation report. Also, in accordance with 10 CFR part 51, 
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and 
Related Regulatory Functions,'' the NRC staff will conduct an 
environmental review of the proposed action.
    Docketing of the application does not preclude the NRC from 
requesting additional information from the applicant as the review 
proceeds, nor does it predict whether the Commission will grant or deny 
the application. If the Commission finds that the construction permit 
application meets the applicable standards of the Atomic Energy Act and 
the Commission's regulations, and that any required notifications to 
other agencies and bodies have been made, the Commission will issue a 
construction permit, in the form and containing conditions and 
limitations that the Commission finds appropriate and necessary.
    The Commission will announce, in a future Federal Register notice, 
the opportunity to petition for leave to intervene on the construction 
permit application.

    Dated: November 22, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Richard F. Rivera,
Project Manager, Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch 1, Division of 
Advanced Reactors and Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2022-25890 Filed 11-25-22; 8:45 am]
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