DOE's new NEPA exclusion drew formal objections, incl. from Utah groups; no DOE response was found on its NEPA page as of late September 2026

recordconfirmed

2026-03-04 · safe-029 · U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, HEAL Utah, Uranium Watch

DOE announced categorical exclusion B5.26 on 2 February 2026 (91 FR 4550), already included in its procedures (the notice says it is 'effective on February 2, 2026'), and invited comments until 4 March 2026 (csite-020). On 4 March the Nuclear Information and Resource Service filed comments for itself and 25 groups, including HEAL Utah and Uranium Watch of Moab, arguing among other things that the exclusion expressly allows multiple reactors in one facility, that stacking exclusions and judging segmentation or 'extraordinary circumstances' would be shielded from public input, and that public involvement improves reviews. Uranium Watch wrote that coverage of the Valar reactor gave no information on worker and resident protection, emergency response planning, spent-fuel storage, who to contact, oversight or the need for NRC licensing if power is sold to non-federal entities. DOE's categorical-exclusion page, read in late September 2026, still says DOE 'will consider' comments received by 4 March and links no response. DOE applied B5.26 to Ward 250 on 22 April 2026; that determination says no extraordinary circumstance applies, a category it defines to include scientific controversy about environmental effects. The exclusion's text, as printed in the determination, says 'a project may include multiple reactors within a nuclear facility'.

In plain termsDOE put the exclusion into effect first and took comments afterwards. Twenty-six groups, including two from Utah, objected in writing that it limits public input and can cover several reactors at one facility. Seven weeks after the comment period closed, DOE used it for Valar's reactor, finding no 'extraordinary circumstance', a category that includes scientific controversy. As of late September 2026, DOE's page shows no answer to those comments.

Comments regarding DOE categorical exclusion for advanced nuclear reactors, Docket DOE-HQ-2025-0405 (NIRS and 25 co-signing groups incl. HEAL Utah and Uranium Watch) (Nuclear Information and Resource Service et al., 2026-03-04) analysis “the exclusion expressly would allow DOE to apply it to multiple reactors”
Categorical Exclusion for Advanced Nuclear Reactors (DOE NEPA page) (U.S. Department of Energy, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance) primary government “DOE will consider comments on this categorical exclusion received on or before March 4, 2026.”
NEPA Determination DOE-ID-26-005: Valar Ward250 Research Reactor (categorical exclusion B5.26) (U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (Idaho), 2026-04-22) primary government
NEPA Determination DOE-ID-26-005: Valar Ward250 Research Reactor (categorical exclusion B5.26) (U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (Idaho), 2026-04-22) primary government “a project may include multiple reactors within a nuclear facility”
Categorical Exclusion for Advanced Nuclear Reactors, 91 FR 4550 (FR Doc. 2026-02071), DOE's posted copy (U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register notice), 2026-02-02) primary government “For the purposes of this category, a project may include multiple reactors”

verified 2026-10-02: Re-read NIRS comments (25 co-signers counted, incl. HEAL Utah and Uranium Watch), DOE's CX page and the CX in late September 2026. Holds. Fixed: 'effective 2 February' now sourced (DOE page plus NIRS); the CX finds no 'extraordinary circumstance', which it defines to include scientific controversy, rather than finding 'no scientific controversy' as such. Revised before publication (2026-09-30): reworded the headline; reworded the detail; reworded the plain-language text; removed the citation of Nuclear Information and Resource Service et al. (it was cited for what DOE said, which DOE's own notice now shows; the filing stays cited as the objectors' own comments); now cites U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register notice) instead.

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