[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28491]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 16, 1994]




 

                Sunshine Act Meetings





DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD

    Pursuant to the provisions of the ``Government in the Sunshine 
Act'' (5 U.S.C. 552b), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the 
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board described below concerning the 
Board's fifth annual report to be submitted to Congress under 42 U.S.C. 
2286e note.

TIME AND DATE: 9:30 a.m., December 6, 1994.

PLACE: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, 625 Indiana Avenue, NW, 
Suite 700, Washington, DC 20004.

STATUS: Open. The Board has determined that an open meeting furthers 
the public interests underlying both the Government in the Sunshine Act 
and the Board's enabling legislation.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: This open meeting will be conducted pursuant 
to 42 U.S.C. 2286b and is intended to obtain information from the 
Department of Energy that will assist the Board in preparing its fifth 
annual report to be submitted to Congress under section 316(a) of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert M. Anderson, General Counsel, 
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, 625 Indiana Avenue, NW, Suite 
700, Washington, DC 20004, (202) 208-6387. This is not a toll free 
number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An independent agency within the Executive 
Branch, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board provides advice and 
recommendations to the President and the Secretary of Energy regarding 
public health and safety issues at Department of Energy (DOE) defense 
nuclear facilities.
    Broadly, the Board reviews operations, practices, and occurrences 
at DOE's defense nuclear facilities and makes recommendations to the 
Secretary of Energy that are necessary to protect public health and 
safety. If, as a result of its reviews, the Board determines that an 
imminent or severe threat to public health or safety exists, the Board 
is required to transmit its recommendations directly to the President, 
as well as to the Secretaries of Energy and Defense.
    The Board's enabling statute, 42 U.S.C. 2286, requires the Board to 
review and evaluate the content and implementation of health and safety 
standards, including DOE'S Orders, rules, and other safety 
requirements, relating to the design, construction, operation, and 
decommissioning of DOE's defense nuclear facilities. The Board must 
then recommend to the Secretary of Energy any specific measures, such 
as changes in the content and implementation of those standards, that 
the Board believes should be adopted to ensure that the public health 
and safety are adequately protected. The Board is also required to 
review the design of new defense nuclear facilities, and to recommend 
changes necessary to protect health and safety.
    The Board may conduct investigations, issue subpoenas, hold public 
hearings, gather information, conduct studies, establish reporting 
requirements for DOE, and take other actions in furtherance of its 
review of health and safety issues at defense nuclear facilities. The 
ancillary functions of the Board and its staff all relate to the 
accomplishment of the Board's primary functions, which is to assist DOE 
in identifying and correcting health and safety problems at defense 
nuclear facilities.
    This public meeting is being held to obtain information from the 
Department of Energy that will assist the Board in preparing its fifth 
annual report to be submitted to Congress under 42 U.S.C. 2286e note. 
The Board's fifth annual report must include:

    ``(1) an assessment of the degree to which the overall 
administration of the Board's activities are believed to meet the 
objectives of Congress in establishing the Board;
    (2) recommendations for continuation, termination, or 
modification of the Board's functions and programs, including 
recommendation for transition to some other independent oversight 
arrangement if it is advisable ; and
    (3) recommendations for appropriate transition requirements in 
the event that modifications are recommended.''

    The Secretary of Energy, her designated representatives and other 
witnesses will be called to assist the Board in answering these 
questions. Among the topics witnesses will be asked to testify on are 
the following:

    1. Whether the Board has assisted the Department of Energy in 
identifying significant nuclear safety problems and helped the 
Department in correcting such problems through the recommendation 
process.
    2. Whether DOE believes the objectives of Congress in 
establishing the Board are being met.
    3. Whether the Board's activities over the past five years, or 
the new mission of the defense nuclear complex, indicate that 
Congress should provide for some other regulatory or oversight 
arrangement.
    4. The transition requirements if some other regulatory or 
oversight arrangement is appropriate.
    5. Descriptions of the basic safety management system that the 
DOE currently has in place for satisfying its responsibilities under 
the Atomic Energy Act ``to protect or to minimize danger to life and 
property.''
    6. The role of oversight and enforcement of safety requirements 
in regulating DOE's defense nuclear facilities. This discussion 
should provide the Board with an understanding of DOE's recently 
revised policy and programs for oversight and enforcement dealing 
with contractor noncompliance with DOE's health and safety Orders, 
rules and regulations. The presentation should include DOE's 
assessment of the impact DOE's past oversight and enforcement 
programs have had upon DOE's efforts to protect the public and 
safety at its defense nuclear facilities and any prospective changes 
that may be contemplated.

    The Board specifically reserves its right to further schedule and 
otherwise regulate the course of the meeting, to recess, reconvene, 
postpone or adjourn the meeting, conduct further reviews, and otherwise 
exercise its power under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

    Dated: November 14, 1994.
Robert M. Andersen,

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 94-28491 Filed 11-14-94; 3:57 pm]

BILLING CODE 6820-KD-M