Notice2026-16044
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC; Belews Creek; Notice of Hearing
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 6, 2026
Issuing agencies
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Abstract
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing public notice for an uncontested hearing on NRC staff's review of the early site permit (ESP) application, from Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, (Duke Energy) for the Belews Creek Site located in Sauratown Township, Stokes County, and Belews Creek Township, Forsyth County, North Carolina.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 150 (Thursday, August 6, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 150 (Thursday, August 6, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50896-50897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-16044]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52-055; NRC-2025-2161]
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC; Belews Creek; Notice of Hearing
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Early site permit application; notice of uncontested hearing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing
public notice for an uncontested hearing on NRC staff's review of the
early site permit (ESP) application, from Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC,
(Duke Energy) for the Belews Creek Site located in Sauratown Township,
Stokes County, and Belews Creek Township, Forsyth County, North
Carolina.
DATES: The hearing is scheduled for September 17, 2026, from 5 p.m. to
9 p.m. eastern time (ET) at the Ronald W Reagan Building
(Administration Building) 1014 Main Street, Hwy 89, Danbury, NC 27016.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2025-2161 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:
<bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and search for Docket ID NRC-2025-2161. Address
questions about Docket IDs in <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#efad9d868b888a9bc1ac9a9d9d8e81af819d8cc1888099"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7b3909121f1c1e0f55380e09091a153b150918551c140d">[email protected]</span></a>. For technical
questions, contact the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
<bullet> NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html">https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html</a>. To begin the search, select ``Begin ADAMS Public Search.''
For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room
(PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email
to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#18485c4a364a7d6b776d6a7b7d58766a7b367f776e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2e7e6a7c007c4b5d415b5c4d4b6e405c4d00494158">[email protected]</span></a>. The Belews Creek ESP application is available
in ADAMS under Package Accession No. ML25364A004. A copy of the
application is also available for public inspection at <a href="https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/advanced/who-were-working-with/applicant-projects/dukeenergy">https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/advanced/who-were-working-with/applicant-projects/dukeenergy</a>.
<bullet> 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
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#025246502c5067716d77706167426c70612c656d74"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="603024324e3205130f15120305200e12034e070f16">[email protected]</span></a> 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: Emmanuel Sayoc, telephone: 301-415-
4084; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#46032b2b272833232a6815273f29250628342568212930"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="95d0f8f8f4fbe0f0f9bbc6f4ecfaf6d5fbe7f6bbf2fae3">[email protected]</span></a>; or Kodaran Anand, telephone: 301-
287-0767; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1e55717a7f6c7f70305f707f707a5e706c7d30797168"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="773c1813160516195936191619133719051459101801">[email protected]</span></a>. Both are staff of Office of
Advanced Reactors at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
By letter dated December 30, 2025 (ADAMS Package Accession No.
ML25364A004), Duke Energy submitted to the NRC, the ESP application, in
accordance with the requirements contained in part 52 of title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Licenses, Certifications,
and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' Subpart A, ``Early Site
Permits.'' Duke Energy is seeking this ESP to approve the Belews Creek
site for the potential deployment of multiple advanced nuclear
reactors. Because a specific reactor technology has not yet been
selected, the ESP application uses the Plant Parameter Envelope (PPE)
approach. The PPE approach combines information from reactor vendors
whose technologies are under consideration to define a bounding
surrogate facility. It identifies the maximum or minimum values for key
plant parameters across the candidate technologies, and these bounding
values are used as inputs to the analyses supporting the ESP
application, which is currently under NRC review.
Pursuant to Section 189a. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, and the Commission Policy Statement on Mandatory Hearings for
Reactor Licensing (published in the Federal Register on June 8, 2026,
at 91 FR 34661), notice is hereby given that the uncontested (i.e.,
mandatory) hearing will be held on September 17, 2026, starting at 5
p.m. (ET) in the Ronald W Reagan Building (Administration Building)
1014 Main Street, Hwy 89, Danbury, NC 27016. Members of the public are
invited to attend this hearing. There will be an opportunity for
members of the public to ask questions and provide feedback on the ESP
application. This is not an opportunity to request a contested hearing,
where petitioners can file intervention requests that contain the
contentions they wish to litigate pursuant to 10 CFR 2.309. The
opportunity to request a contested hearing and petition for leave to
intervene was noticed on February 9, 2026 (91 FR 5787) and no
intervention petitions were received.
An open house will be held before the hearing begins, from 4:30
p.m. to 5 p.m., to give the public an opportunity to speak with the NRC
staff. The hearing will then convene at 5 p.m. and begin with a
presentation by the NRC staff that will explain the review process and
provide a brief overview of the application, followed by a comment
period of up to 3 hours. During the comment period, the public will be
provided an opportunity to speak on the
[[Page 50897]]
record. Each member of the public will be allowed to speak for no more
than 5 minutes at a time to ensure that all stakeholders who wish to
provide oral comments or ask questions will have the opportunity to do
so.
The hearing record for comments will remain open until October 1,
2026. Written comments must be submitted via the following email
address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e7a5828b829094a49582828ca2b4b7caaf8286958e8980a7899584c9808891"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2d6f4841485a5e6e5f484846687e7d0065484c5f44434a6d435f4e034a425b">[email protected]</span></a>. In order to be included in the
hearing record, written comments must be received by October 1, 2026.
The NRC staff will not consider comments or questions received via
other means or after the deadline of October 1, 2026. The NRC staff
will treat any comments or questions received consistent with the
Commission Policy Statement on Mandatory Hearings for Reactor
Licensing.
(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)
Dated: August 4, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michelle Hayes,
Chief, Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch 2, Division of Advanced
Reactor Licensing, Office of Advance Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2026-16044 Filed 8-5-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 6, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.