• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

 

NRC still reviewing early site permit for Clinch River Nuclear Site

Posted at 2:43 pm May 17, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Clinch-River-Site-Bear-Creek-Road-Entrance-March-27-2016
The small nuclear reactors that could be built along the Clinch River could provide enough electricity to power several cities the size of Oak Ridge. The Bear Creek Road entrance to the Clinch River Site, where the reactors could be built by the Tennessee Valley Authority, is pictured above on Sunday, March 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is still reviewing a permit application for a site in west Oak Ridge where two or more small modular nuclear reactors could be built.

The application for the early site permit for the Clinch River Nuclear Site was submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority on May 12, 2016. The application was supplemented by a revision on January 18, 2019, the NRC said in a notice published in the Federal Register on Friday.

The 935-acre Clinch River Nuclear Site is located in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge along the Clinch River.

Oak Ridge Today reported in April that the NRC had issued a final environmental impact statement, and the staff had recommended, based upon the environmental review, issuing the early site permit.

An early site permit is the NRC’s approval of a site for one or more nuclear power facilities. It does not authorize the actual construction and operation of a new nuclear power plant. That requires a construction permit and an operating license, or a combined license.

Advertisement

The NRC said the application and review process for an early site permit makes it possible to evaluate and resolve safety and environmental issues at a site before an applicant commits a lot of resources to the project. If an early site permit is approved, an applicant can “bank” the site for up to 20 years.

Now that the final environmental impact statement has been published, there will be a mandatory hearing with the NRC after a final safety evaluation report is issued. Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that the NRC expects that report to be published in June. The five-member commission will make a decision after the hearing about whether to issue the early site permit.

A contested hearing could be held by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board panel if a member of the public or an organization successfully files a petition that raises safety or environmental concerns about granting the site a permit, the NRC said.

The NRC said an authorization for the construction or operation of new nuclear units at the Clinch River site is not being sought at this time.

The potential timing of any reactors being built at the site is not clear. Among other things, TVA doesn’t control the reactor certification process.

“There are currently no certified small modular reactor designs available, but TVA will continue working to ensure we are ready to fully evaluate them when they are available,” TVA spokesperson Jim Hopson said in April.

Financial considerations would have to be evaluated, and the TVA board of directors would have the final decision “based on what they believe will be in the best interest of the people of the Tennessee Valley,” Hopson said.

See the Federal Register notice here.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

TVA Clinch River Site
The Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge is pictured above. The road running from bottom to top on the right (east) side of the Clinch River connects to Bear Creek Road in southwest Oak Ridge. Highway 58 is off to the top left of the photo and the Heritage Center is to the north. (Photo courtesy TVA)

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.

Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2019 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Clinch River Nuclear Site, early site permit, Federal Register, NRC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Advertisements

 


Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Some of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require significant time to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Government News

Residents discuss Dollar General in Marlow

A handful of Anderson County residents have expressed mixed opinions in government meetings about a reported proposal to build a Dollar General store next to Oliver Springs Highway in Marlow, but the Anderson County … [Read More...]

Read city manager’s retirement letter

This is a copy of the January 17 retirement letter from Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson to the seven Oak Ridge City Council members. Since August of 2010, I have been proud to serve the City of Oak Ridge as its … [Read More...]

Oak Ridge Public Library

Library restrooms will be renovated

The restrooms at the Oak Ridge Public Library will be renovated starting February 1. The renovations are expected to be completed by June 1. The renovations will result in increased accessibility under Americans … [Read More...]

Breakfast with Legislators resumes Monday

Breakfast with the Legislators begins this year on Monday. The monthly breakfasts are scheduled each year while the Tennessee General Assembly is in session. They are hosted by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, … [Read More...]

Former AC Commissioner Hitchcock dies

Note: This story was updated at 11:30 a.m. Harry "Whitey" Hitchcock, who represented part of Oak Ridge in three terms on Anderson County Commission, died January 10. A former teacher, he was 76. Hitchcock served on … [Read More...]

More Government

Recent Posts

  • UPF construction could cost more, take longer
  • Y-12 celebrates new fire station, emergency operations center
  • One person seriously injured in Wednesday crash
  • Oak Ridge EM prepared for cold weather to prevent failures
  • Covenant Health donating land for Roane State health science center
  • School board approves aviation career path
  • Wildcats name new football coach
  • Free dental, vision, medical services in February
  • Junior Playhouse performs ‘Gingerbread: Hansel & Gretel’ in February
  • Extreme Classroom Makeover applications due Jan. 31

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2023 Oak Ridge Today