Valar Atomics in Carbon & Emery: What the Public Record Shows

What is happening

• Valar runs a test reactor, Ward 250, at the state lab near Orangeville. The U.S. Department of Energy authorized it; the Nuclear Regulatory Commission did not license it.^1,2
• On Sept 17 the state approved leasing Valar 480 acres, up to 640, five miles north of Wellington, for a nuclear campus. Nothing is built or permitted yet.^3,4
• A posted notice puts Valar on a mining claim, RW 453, two miles south of that land.⁵

The lawsuit, and Orangeville

• In late 2024, the states of Utah and Texas and a nuclear startup sued the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency that licenses reactors. As Valar describes it, they argue small reactors should not need its license, and states should oversee them instead. Valar joined in 2025. The court paused the case that year for settlement talks; where it stands now is unconfirmed.⁶
• Orangeville is not part of the lawsuit. In July the city was writing a nuclear zone so land next to the lab, 112 acres the county agreed to sell to Valar, could join the city.^7,8

What the records show

• Fuel: Valar's only public safety paper lists 4.95% uranium. DOE cleared fuel up to 19.9% for shipment to the reactor.^9,10
• Safety papers: the approved safety analysis, operating limits and startup approval are not public.¹¹
• Emergencies: Valar asked DOE for an on-site emergency plan only. City minutes put Orangeville's ambulance availability at 13% in June 2026.^1,12
• No environmental assessment: DOE used a 'categorical exclusion', with no public comment period.¹¹
• The quarter-mile line: Valar's accident math assumes the public stays 400 meters away. That circle is 124 acres; the lab site is 20.6.¹

Where to act on Valar

Tue Oct 6 (Planning Commission) and Wed Oct 7 (County Commission), 4:30 PM, 751 E 100 N, Price.

• Ask the county to write nuclear into its new rules for 'highly contested industries' and start them now, before Valar applies.^13,14,15
• Ask for a county permit and a public hearing on Valar's Wellington campus. Records requests are ready to send on the website.¹⁶

Fair to say

• DOE authorized Ward 250, and it reached criticality on June 18, 2026. None of this shows the reactor is unsafe; it shows what the public cannot check.²

Scan to open the websitealarm.valarwatch.workers.devMaps, the source for every line of this sheet, and ready-to-send records requests.

North and east of Wellington. Red: the state land approved for Valar's lease (Section 16). Orange: the area where the RW 453 claim notice places the claim (Section 28). Blue: the 'Jurassic Spark' tech park before the planners on Oct 6 (no record links it to Valar). Not a survey.^3,5,17,18