[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-5223]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 8, 1994]


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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

 

Board Meeting; Site Assessment for Critical Facilities, Seismic 
Faulting, Update on the ESF and Repository Design, Saturated Zone 
Hydrology, and Ground-Water Travel Time--April 11-12, 1994, Reno, NV

    Pursuant to its authority under section 5051 of Public Law 100-203, 
the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the Nuclear Waste 
Technical Review Board will hold its spring meeting April 11-12, 1994, 
in Reno, Nevada. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held 
at the Peppermill Hotel, 2707 S. Virginia St., Reno, Nevada 89502; 
telephone (702) 826-2121, fax (702) 826-5205. Major topics at the two-
day meeting will include site assessment for critical facilities, 
seismic faulting discoveries/mapping at Yucca Mountain, saturated zone 
hydrology at Yucca Mountain, ground-water travel time, and an update on 
the status of activities regarding the exploratory studies facility and 
the repository design.
    On April 11, presentations will focus on site assessment and 
licensing of critical and other controversial facilities in the United 
States and several other countries. The main purpose of the day's 
sessions will be to define any lessons learned that may be useful to 
the Department of Energy (DOE) in the planning of, and to the Board in 
the evaluation of, the Yucca Mountain program. Presentations will cover 
a variety of facilities, including the proposed Martinsville (Illinois) 
low-level radioactive waste site, the successful siting of a hazardous 
waste facility in Alberta (Canada), the proposed Gorleben high-level 
radioactive waste site in Germany, the Waste Isolation Pilot Project in 
New Mexico, the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California, and 
the proposed Auburn Dam in California. At the end of the day, 
presenters, the Board, and DOE managers will participate in a round-
table discussion of the issues raised during the day and their 
applicability to the Yucca Mountain project.
    On January 12, the morning sessions will include presentations on 
recent investigations of the Ghost Dance fault and the Sundance fault: 
What information has come to light? What is its significance with 
respect to Yucca Mountain geology and the proposed repository? What are 
future plans to investigate these features at the surface and in the 
underground? In addition, the Board will hear a brief update on 
progress at the exploratory studies facility. Most of the day will be 
devoted to a review of saturated zone hydrology at Yucca Mountain 
including the role of the saturated zone in waste isolation. Among 
other presentations, the DOE will discuss regulatory criteria for 
ground-water travel time. A round-table discussion of the issues raised 
in presentations on saturated zone hydrology and ground-water travel 
time will end the day's schedule.
    The Board has invited representatives of the DOE and its 
contractors, the U.S. Geological Survey, Sandia National Laboratories, 
and the state of Nevada, along with representatives from a variety of 
projects and programs worldwide to make presentations and participate 
in the round-table discussions.
    The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board was created by Congress in 
the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987 to evaluate the 
technical and scientific validity of activities undertaken by the DOE 
in its program to manage the disposal of the nation's spent nuclear 
fuel and defense high-level waste. In that same legislation, Congress 
directed the DOE to characterize a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for 
its suitability as a potential location for a permanent repository for 
disposal of that waste.
    Transcripts of the meeting will be available on computer disk or on 
a library-loan basis in paper format from Victoria Reich, Board 
librarian, beginning May 24, 1994. For further information, contact 
Frank Randall, External Affairs, 1100 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 910, 
Arlington, Virginia 22209; (703) 235-4473; (FAX) 703-235-4495.

    Dated: March 2, 1994.
William Barnard,
Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 94-5223 Filed 3-7-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-AM-M