The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has postponed its three-judge panel’s oral arguments scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Oct. 6 on challenges to Long Mott Energy’s construction permit application due to the ongoing government shutdown.
The company has applied to develop a small modular reactor in Seadrift, Texas.
NRC announced the postponement of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) hearing Thursday on X. A makeup date was not available in the announcement.
The petitioner, San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper (Waterkeeper), was certified for an oral argument on Sept. 16 in a memorandum and order by ASLB’s three-judge panel.
The oral argument would have allowed the ASLB to ask questions to Waterkeeper regarding their petition against Long Mott’s application. The three-judge panel would have heard arguments from Waterkeeper, Long Mott Energy and the NRC staff, according to NRC’s Sept. 17 press release.
Waterkeeper filed a petition against Long Mott Energy’s construction permit application on Aug. 11. The local Texas gulf coast group has challenged the SMR application over safety concerns.
Dow and X-Energy filed the application to NRC on March 31 under Dow’s subsidiary company Long Mott Energy.
X-Energy’s project would replace the current energy and steam generation, which is powered by natural gas, with a Xe-100 nuclear plant at Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site.
The construction permit application is currently being reviewed by the NRC and is anticipated to be completed by November 2026.