The NRC granted Holtec International an exemption on August 28, 2026, letting the company start installing permanent excavation support and cutoff wall systems at its Palisades Energy Center site in Covert, Michigan. That work can now begin before the full Limited Work Authorization (LWA) comes through.
It clears the way for early groundwork on Pioneer Units 1 and 2, the reactors Holtec wants to build alongside the Palisades plant it's already recommissioning.
What's Going In The Ground
The approved systems include diaphragm walls, soldier pile soil mix walls, and perimeter cutoff walls, with tiebacks or struts where needed. Their job:
Stabilize excavations
Protect nearby structures and utilities
Manage groundwater pressure
Support safe construction overall
That work also clears the site conditions needed for the Nuclear Island, Turbine Island, and Balance of Plant structures down the line. Once construction wraps, the walls stay retired in place, backfilled to grade rather than pulled out.
The Paperwork Is Catching Up
Holtec filed the request on December 31, 2025, as part of its phased Construction Permit Application. The NRC backed it with an Environmental Assessment and a Finding of No Significant Impact on August 25, ruling under 10 CFR 50.12 that the work poses no undue risk to public health or safety.
Holtec still has to log geologic data as crews dig and notify the NRC before the excavation opens for inspection.
One thing this exemption doesn't do: guarantee the LWA or construction permit gets approved. The dirt work can start. Whether the rest of the project follows is still an open question sitting on someone's desk in Washington.
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