Fermi America LLC (dba Fermi America); Project Matador Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus AP1000 Units 1–4, Project Matador Nuclear Units 1–4; Notice of Intent To Conduct[...]

Fermi America LLC (dba Fermi America); Project Matador Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus AP1000 Units 1-4, Project Matador Nuclear Units 1-4; Notice of Intent To Conduct Scoping Process and Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

DATES:

The public may submit comments on the scope of the EIS by April 20, 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. Further information regarding the proposed applications can be found in Section V of this notice, "Virtual Project Information and Engagement."

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:

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2026-0100.

• 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 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 [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. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

• NRC Public Project Website: Information regarding the project and engagement opportunities, is available at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/large-lwr/col/fermi-energy-intel-campus.

B. Submitting Comments

The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking website ( https://www.regulations.gov ). Please include Docket ID NRC-2026-0100 in your comment submission in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make your comment submission available to the public in this docket.

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 https://www.regulations.gov 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).

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 NEPA. This pilot involves the preparation of an applicant-prepared draft EIS, under NRC supervision.

In accordance with NEPA, as amended, and 42 U.S.C. 4336a(f), project sponsors (applicants) may prepare environmental documents under the supervision of a lead agency. The lead agency is required to independently evaluate the environmental document, which for this action will be a draft EIS, and assume responsibility for its content. In compliance with NRC regulations under part 51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), "Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions," the applicant-prepared draft EIS and supporting documents will include all information required by 10 CFR 51.45, "Environmental report."

III. Discussion

Proposed Action

The proposed Federal action is NRC's decision on whether to issue COLs to Fermi America, under the provisions of 10 CFR part 52, for the construction and operation of four AP1000 reactors, PMN Units 1-4, located at the Project Matador campus, in Carson County, Texas. The infrastructure at the Project Matador campus may include up to 30 million square feet of hyperscale computing space and approximately 11 gigawatts (GWs) of total energy generation capacity. PMN Units 1-4 would provide a baseload power source directly integrated into Project Matador's behind-the-meter data infrastructure.

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

The purpose of PMN Units 1-4 would be to provide onsite energy generation for the Project Matador campus. The units would provide 4 GWs of reliable carbon-free baseload power directly used to support the Project Matador campus. The proposed construction and operation of four AP1000 nuclear reactors at the Project Matador campus would enable the deployment of advanced nuclear energy technology to meet the growing demand for hyperscale data center-aligned, non-interruptible, and scalable power in the United States.

The need for the proposed action is driven by increasing national demand for highly reliable and resilient energy to support large-scale digital infrastructure, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data center operations. In addition to addressing critical energy reliability and scalability requirements, the proposed facility is expected to contribute to regional economic development and workforce expansion. The proposed Federal action would support Federal policy objectives related to grid decarbonization, the expansion of AI infrastructure, and the enhancement of national energy security.

As part of its review, the NRC will evaluate the reasonably foreseeable environmental effects associated with the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the proposed AP1000 reactors, in accordance with the NEPA and applicable NRC regulations.

Preliminary Alternatives

The EIS will evaluate a range of reasonable alternatives that are technically and economically feasible and that meet the purpose and need of the proposed action. The NRC staff is currently evaluating potential alternatives for the Fermi America pilot project to determine which alternatives will be carried forward for detailed evaluation.

At a minimum, the No-Action Alternative will be carried forward for full analysis. Reasonable alternatives that are technically and economically feasible and that demonstrate the potential to meet the project's purpose and need will be identified for further evaluation.

Under the No-Action Alternative, the NRC would not approve the COL application submitted by Fermi America for the construction and operation of PMN Units 1-4 located at the Project Matador campus.

Summary of Expected Impacts

The draft EIS will identify, describe and analyze the potential environmental effects of the proposed action and reasonable alternatives. Environmental resources that are determined to be potentially affected will be carried forward for full analysis.

Potential impacts on resources include reasonably foreseeable environmental effects (whether beneficial or adverse; short term or long term) on air quality; geology; water resources, including surface and groundwater; ecological resources, including terrestrial and aquatic; land use; socioeconomics; radiological and nonradiological health and waste; uranium fuel cycle; decommissioning; cultural resources; and transportation. The analysis will consider past, present and reasonably foreseeable actions that have been identified as potentially impacting the project baseline environment.

Once the NRC completes its review of the applicant-prepared draft EIS, it will publish the draft EIS in a future Federal Register notice for governmental agency and public review and comment. Persons submitting comments during this scoping process will receive a copy of the draft EIS. Others who would like to receive a copy when it is issued should notify the NRC per the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

NEPA Lead and Cooperating Agency Roles

The NRC is the lead Federal agency for the NEPA of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq. ), process for the proposed action. The NRC may invite other Federal agencies, or State, Tribal, or local agencies of similar qualifications to become cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS for the proposed action. For purposes of NEPA, a cooperating agency means any Federal agency (and a State, Tribal, or local agency with agreement of the lead agency) that has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved in a proposal or a reasonable alternative.

Anticipated Permits, Authorizations, and Consultations

Federal permits, authorizations, or consultations may be required for the proposed actions, including consultation or review under the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ; National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), 54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.; Executive Order 13175 (Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments); consistency review under the Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.; and possibly reviews under other laws and regulations determined to be applicable to the proposed action. To the extent possible, the draft EIS will concurrently integrate analyses required by other Federal environmental review requirements. The draft EIS will list all Federal permits, licenses, and other authorizations that must be obtained in implementing the proposed action.

Specific to NHPA, the regulations in 36 CFR 800.8, "Coordination with the National Environmental Policy Act," allow agencies to use the NEPA process to fulfill the requirements of Section 106 of the NHPA, as amended (54 U.S.C. 300101, et seq. ). Therefore, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC intends to use its NEPA process and documentation required for the preparation of the EIS on the proposed action to comply with Section 106 of the NHPA in lieu of the procedures set forth at 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.6.

IV. Request for Comment

This notice informs the public of the NRC's intention to conduct environmental scoping and prepare an EIS related to the Fermi America COL application and provides the public with an opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping process. The NRC considers stakeholder engagement and transparency in its activities to be cornerstones for effective regulation.

The NRC intends to gather the information necessary to prepare an EIS related to the Fermi America COL applications. This notice is being published in accordance with NEPA and the NRC's regulations at 10 CFR part 51.

As part of its environmental review, the NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the EIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will publish a draft EIS for public comment. Participation in this scoping process by members of the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the draft EIS will be used to accomplish the following:

a. Define the proposed action that is to be the subject of the EIS;

b. Determine the scope of the EIS and identify the significant issues to be analyzed in depth;

c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are peripheral or are not significant or that have been covered by prior environmental review;

d. Identify any other environmental assessments and EISs that have been, are being, or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of, the scope of the proposed action;

e. Identify other environmental review and consultation requirements related to the proposed action;

f. Identify parties consulting with the NRC under the NHPA, as set forth in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(1)(i);

g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the EIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies; and

h. Describe how the EIS will be prepared, including applicant and contractor participation.

In accordance with 10 CFR 51.28, "Scoping-participants," the NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping:

a. The applicant, Fermi America;

b. Any Federal agency that has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved or that is authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards;

c. Affected State and local government agencies, including those authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards;

d. Any affected Native American Indian Tribe;

e. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to participate in the scoping process; and

f. Any person who has petitioned or intends to petition for leave to intervene under 10 CFR 2.309.

Comments may be broad in nature or focused on specific areas of concern but should be directly relevant to the proposed Federal action, the NEPA process, or expected resource impacts. The scoping process allows the public and interested parties to shape the EIS impact analysis, focusing on the areas of greatest importance and identifying areas requiring less attention. Comments on the proposed action will be accepted and considered at any time during the EIS process and may be directed to the NRC as described under the ADDRESSES section. However, commenters should be aware that their comments should be timely for them to be fully considered ( e.g., scoping comments received well after the close of the scoping period would be considered but would be received too late to be useful for scoping purposes).

V. Virtual Project Information and Engagement

The NRC is announcing that it will maintain project information and engagement opportunities for the Fermi America COL application located at the NRC project website ( https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/large-lwr/col/fermi-energy-intel-campus ). Project information and engagement will include: (1) information including an overview by the NRC of the environmental review process, the proposed scope of Fermi America's COL application, and the proposed environmental review schedule; and (2) information regarding the opportunity for interested government agencies, organizations, and individuals to submit comments or suggestions on environmental issues or the proposed scope of the EIS.

Participation in the scoping process for the PMN Units 1-4 EIS does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the EIS relates. Matters related to participation in any hearing are outside the scope of matters to be discussed as part of the EIS process.

[FR Doc. 2026-05487 Filed 3-19-26; 8:45 am]

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