Fermi America LLC (dba Fermi America); Project Matador Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus AP1000 Units 1-4; Project Matador Nuclear Units 1-4; Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The draft EIS is in response to a Combined License (COL) application submitted by Fermi America for the proposed construction and operation of four AP1000 advanced passive pressurized-water reactors--designated as Project Matador Nuclear Units 1-4 (PMN Units 1-4). PMN Units 1-4 would be located at the Project Matador Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus (Project Matador campus). The draft EIS evaluates the environmental impacts of the proposed action of issuing a COL that would allow the construction of PMN Units 1-4, as well as the environmental impacts of the no-action alternative (i.e., denying the COL application).

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 195 (Friday, October 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 195 (Friday, October 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64702-64703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-20742]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 05200051, 05200052, 05200053, and 05200054; NRC-2026-0100]


Fermi America LLC (dba Fermi America); Project Matador Advanced 
Energy and Intelligence Campus AP1000 Units 1-4; Project Matador 
Nuclear Units 1-4; Draft Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The draft 
EIS is in response to a Combined License (COL) application submitted by 
Fermi America for the proposed construction and operation of four 
AP1000 advanced passive pressurized-water reactors--designated as 
Project Matador Nuclear Units 1-4 (PMN Units 1-4). PMN Units 1-4 would 
be located at the Project Matador Advanced Energy and Intelligence 
Campus (Project Matador campus). The draft EIS evaluates the 
environmental impacts of the proposed action of issuing a COL that 
would allow the construction of PMN Units 1-4, as well as the 
environmental impacts of the no-action alternative (i.e., denying the 
COL application).

DATES: Submit comments on the draft EIS by November 23, 2026. Comments 
received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do 
so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments 
received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website:
    <bullet> Federal rulemaking website: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and search for Docket ID NRC-2026-0100. 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#2361514a474446570d60565151424d634d51400d444c55"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8ac8f8e3eeedeffea4c9fff8f8ebe4cae4f8e9a4ede5fc">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
    <bullet> Email: Comments may be submitted to the NRC electronically 
using the email address <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e4a28196898da58981968d8785a18a928d968b8a89818a908588a48a9687ca838b92"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="632506110e0a220e06110a0002260d150a110c0d0e060d17020f230d11004d040c15">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.
    <bullet> Mail comments to: Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, Mail Stop: TWFN-5-A85, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Guidance and Publication Branch.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lance Rakovan, Office of Advanced 
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-2589; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6d210c030e08433f0c06021b0c032d031f0e430a021b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="591538373a3c770b3832362f383719372b3a773e362f">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2026-0100 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:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and search for Docket ID NRC-2026-0100.
    <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#abfbeff985f9ced8c4ded9c8ceebc5d9c885ccc4dd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d5859187fb87b0a6baa0a7b6b095bba7b6fbb2baa3">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. The draft EIS is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML26261A417.
    <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#c8988c9ae69aadbba7bdbaabad88a6baabe6afa7be"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e5b5a1b7cbb780968a90978680a58b9786cb828a93">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> 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.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2026-0100 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at 
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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 want 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. Background

    On June 17, 2025, Fermi America submitted the initial portion of 
its COL application for four AP1000 reactors, PMN Units 1-4 (ADAMS 
Package Accession No. ML25169A395). The proposed reactors would be 
located at the Project Matador campus in Carson County, Texas, adjacent 
to the U.S. Department of Energy's Pantex Plant. The initial submittal 
included general, financial, and environmental information. The NRC 
acknowledged receipt of the initial submittal in a letter dated July 7, 
2025 (ADAMS Accession No. ML25182A087). Fermi America's submission 
initiated the proposed Federal action of determining whether to issue 
the requested COL. On August 20, 2025, Fermi America provided a second 
submittal of the COL application (ADAMS Accession No. ML25232A199), 
which included non-site-specific technical chapters of the Final Safety 
Analysis Report. In an acceptance letter dated September 5, 2025, 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML25240A918), the NRC acknowledged, among other 
things, Fermi America's commitment to participate in the pilot program 
for environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA). This pilot involves the preparation of an 
applicant-prepared draft EIS, under NRC supervision. A notice of intent 
to prepare an EIS and to conduct a scoping process was published on 
March 20, 2026 (91 FR 13641).
    This notice is being published in accordance with the NEPA, and the 
NRC's regulations implementing NEPA under part 51 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Environmental Protection 
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions.'' 
In addition, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC is using the process 
and documentation for the preparation of the draft EIS to comply with 
section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as

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amended, in lieu of the procedures set forth in 36 CFR 800.3 through 
800.6.

III. Discussion

    The NRC is issuing the draft EIS for public comment. The draft EIS 
includes the evaluation of the environmental impacts of the proposed 
action of issuing a COL that would allow the construction of PMN Units 
1-4, as well as the environmental impacts of the no-action alternative. 
In the draft EIS, after weighing the environmental, economic, 
technical, and other benefits against environmental and other costs, 
and considering reasonable alternatives, the preliminary recommendation 
is that the NRC issue the requested COL to Fermi America contingent 
upon successful completion of the safety review and unless safety 
issues mandate otherwise. The NRC staff based its preliminary 
recommendation on the NRC staff's independent environmental review, the 
NRC staff's assessment of the applicant-prepared EIS, the NRC staff's 
consultation with Federal, State, and local agencies and Indian Tribes, 
and the NRC staff's consideration of public comments received during 
the scoping process.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.

    Dated: October 5, 2026.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michelle Hayes,
Chief, Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch 2, Division of Advanced 
Reactor Licensing, Office of Advanced Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2026-20742 Filed 10-8-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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