[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60724-60725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19006]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-7513; NRC-2021-0193]
Kairos Power LLC; Notice of Hearing
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Construction permit application; notice of hearing.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission)
will convene an evidentiary session to receive testimony and exhibits
in the uncontested proceeding regarding the application from Kairos
Power LLC (Kairos) for a construction permit (CP) to construct a non-
power test reactor termed Hermes in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This
mandatory hearing will consider safety and environmental matters
relating to the requested CP.
DATES: The hearing will be held on October 19, 2023, beginning at 9:00
a.m. Eastern Time (ET). For the schedule for submitting pre-filed
documents and deadlines affecting Interested Government Participants,
see Section VI of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this
document.
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 Website: Go to https://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: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individuals 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: 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
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wesley W. Held, Office of the
Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, telephone: 301-287-3591; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Commission hereby gives notice that, pursuant to Section 189a
of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954, as amended (the Act), it will
convene an evidentiary session to receive testimony and exhibits in the
proceeding regarding the Kairos application for a CP under part 50 of
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), to construct a
non-power test reactor termed Hermes in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Kairos's application was submitted in two parts by letters dated
September 29, 2021, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS) Accession No. ML21272A375) and October 31, 2021, (ML21306A131).
The NRC staff's Environmental Impact Statement and Safety
Evaluation Report may be viewed at ADAMS Accession Nos. ML23214A269 and
ML23158A268, respectively. This mandatory hearing will concern safety
and environmental matters relating to the requested construction permit
application, as more fully described below.
II. Evidentiary Uncontested Hearing
The Commission will conduct this hearing beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET
on October 19, 2023, at the Commission's headquarters in Rockville,
Maryland. The hearing will continue on subsequent days, if necessary.
III. Presiding Officer
The Commission is the presiding officer for this proceeding.
IV. Matters To Be Considered
The matter at issue in this proceeding is whether the review of the
Kairos CP application by the Commission's staff has been adequate to
support the findings found in 10 CFR 50.35, 50.40, 50.50, and 10 CFR
51.105. Those findings are as follows:
Issues Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as Amended
With respect to the CP: (1) whether the applicant has described the
proposed design of the facility, including, but not limited to, the
principal architectural and engineering criteria for the design, and
has identified the major features or components incorporated therein
for the protection of the health and safety of the public; (2) whether
such further technical or design information as may be required to
complete the safety analysis, and which can reasonably be left for
later consideration, will be supplied in the final safety analysis
report; (3) whether safety features or components, if any, which
require research and development have been described by the applicant
and the applicant has identified, and there will be conducted, a
research and development program reasonably designed to resolve any
safety questions associated with such features or components; (4)
whether on the basis of the foregoing, there is reasonable assurance
that--(i) such safety questions
[[Page 60725]]
will be satisfactorily resolved at or before the latest date stated in
the application for completion of construction of the proposed
facility, and (ii) taking into consideration the site criteria
contained in 10 CFR part 100, the proposed facility can be constructed
and operated at the proposed location without undue risk to the health
and safety of the public; (5) whether there is reasonable assurance (i)
that the construction of the facility will not endanger the health and
safety of the public, and (ii) that construction activities can be
conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations; (6) whether
the applicant is technically and financially qualified to engage in the
proposed activities in accordance with the Commission's regulations in
chapter I of title 10 of the CFR; (7) whether the issuance of a permit
for the construction of the facility to the applicant will not, in the
opinion of the Commission, be inimical to the common defense and
security or to the health and safety of the public; and (8) whether the
application meets the standards and requirements of the AEA and the
Commission's regulations, and that notifications, if any, to other
agencies or bodies have been duly made.
Issues Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969
With respect to the CP: (1) determine whether the requirements of
Sections 102(2)(A), (C), and (E) of NEPA and the applicable regulations
in 10 CFR part 51 have been met; (2) independently consider the final
balance among conflicting factors contained in the record of the
proceeding with a view to determining the appropriate action to be
taken; (3) determine, after weighing the environmental, economic,
technical, and other benefits against environmental and other costs,
and considering reasonable alternatives, whether the construction
permit should be issued, denied, or appropriately conditioned to
protect environmental values; and (4) determine whether the NEPA review
conducted by the NRC staff has been adequate.
V. Schedule for Submittal of Pre-Filed Documents
No later than September 28, 2023, unless the Commission directs
otherwise, the NRC staff and the applicant shall submit a list of its
anticipated witnesses for the hearing.
No later than September 28, 2023, unless the Commission directs
otherwise, the applicant shall submit its pre-filed written testimony.
The NRC staff submitted its pre-filed testimony on August 23, 2023.
The Commission may issue written questions to the applicant or the
NRC staff before the hearing. If such questions are issued, an order
containing such questions will be issued no later than September 15,
2023. Responses to such questions are due September 28, 2023, unless
the Commission directs otherwise.
VI. Interested Government Participants
No later than September 13, 2023, any interested State, local
government body, or Federally recognized Indian Tribe may file with the
Commission a statement of any issues or questions that the State, local
government body, or Indian Tribe wishes the Commission to give
particular attention as part of the uncontested hearing process. Such
statement may be accompanied by any supporting documentation that the
State, local government body, or Indian Tribe sees fit to provide. Any
statements and supporting documentation (if any) received by the
Commission using the agency's E-filing system \1\ by the deadline
indicated above will be made part of the record of the proceeding. The
Commission will use such statements and documents as appropriate to
inform its pre-hearing questions to the NRC staff and applicant, its
inquiries at the oral hearing, and its decision following the hearing.
The Commission may also request, no later than September 15, 2023, that
one or more particular States, local government bodies, or Indian
Tribes send one representative each to the evidentiary hearing to
answer Commission questions and/or make a statement for the purpose of
assisting the Commission's exploration of one or more of the issues
raised by the State, local government body, or Indian Tribe, in the
pre-hearing filings described above. The decision whether to request
the presence of a representative of a State, local government body, or
Indian Tribe at the evidentiary hearing to make a statement and/or
answer Commission questions is solely at the Commission's discretion.
The Commission's request will specify the issue or issues that each
representative should be prepared to address.
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\1\ The process for accessing and using the agency's E-filing
system is described in the February 9, 2022, notice of hearing (87
FR 7503) that was issued by the Commission for this proceeding.
Participants who are unable to use the electronic information
exchange (EIE), or who will have difficulty complying with EIE
requirements in the time frame provided for submission of written
statements, may provide their statements by electronic mail to
[email protected].
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Many of the procedures and rights applicable to the inherently
adversarial nature of NRC's contested hearing process are not available
in this uncontested hearing. Participation in the NRC's contested
hearing process is governed by 10 CFR 2.309 (for persons or entities,
including a State, local government, or Indian Tribe seeking to file
contentions of their own) and 10 CFR 2.315(c) (for an interested State,
local government, or Federally-recognized Indian Tribe seeking to
participate with respect to contentions filed by others). Participation
in this uncontested hearing does not affect the right of a State, a
local government, or an Indian Tribe to participate in a separate
contested hearing process.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of August, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brooke P. Clark,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-19006 Filed 9-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P