The U.S. Department of Energy has released the draft environmental impact statement for a test reactor it would like to build at Idaho National Laboratory. The statement on the Versatile Test Reactor was released Monday and is available online through the Office of Nuclear Energyâs website, energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energy. Public comment will conclude 45 days after the federal Environmental Protection Agency publishes notice in the Federal Register, which is expected to happen on Dec. 31. DOE will then hold two virtual public hearings, dates to be announced. The Versatile Test Reactor would be the first new test reactor built in the U.S. in decades and would test how fuels, materials and sensors hold up when battered with radiation in the form of fast neutrons, which the reactor could generate at higher speeds and concentrations than existing test infrastructure. While both INL and Tennesseeâs Oak Ridge National Laboratory are being considered for it and the environmental impact statement weighs both options, DOE has said INL would be its preferred site. The program was established in 2018 as part of the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act.