[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 4, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 64400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30882]


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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD


Pahrump, Nevada: Yucca Mountain Testing and Exploration Program, 
Environmental Impact Statement, Interim Storage Studies, Transportation 
Infrastructure, Options for Reducing Hydrogeologic Uncertainties in the 
Proposed Repository Waste Emplacement Area, and Performance Assessment 
Issues; Board Meeting

    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 winter meeting on Tuesday and 
Wednesday, January 28-29, 1997, in Pahrump, Nevada. The meeting will be 
held at the Bob Ruud Community Center, 150 N. Highway 160, Pahrump, 
Nevada 89048; Tel (702) 727-9991. Sleeping accommodations are available 
in the Saddle West Hotel, 1220 S. Highway 160, Pahrump, Nevada 89048; 
Tel (702) 727-1111; Fax (702) 727-5315. To receive the preferred rate, 
reservations must be made by December 27, 1996. The meeting is open to 
the public and will begin at 8:30 a.m. both days.
    On the first morning, the Board will hear presentations by 
representatives of the Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractors 
on the exploration and testing program at Yucca Mountain, Nevada; plans 
for preparing the environmental impact statement for repository 
development; and generic studies on the development of an interim spent 
fuel storage facility. The Board is particularly interested in hearing 
about how long it would take to construct such a facility and to 
develop a transportation infrastructure to move significant quantities 
of waste. The Board plans to invite Nye County representatives to 
briefly summarize the results of their scientific investigations at the 
Yucca Mountain site.
    The afternoon session will examine the issues associated with DOE 
plans to reduce, by late 1998, the current uncertainties about the 
movement of moisture through the proposed repository waste emplacement 
area. The focus will be on options for gathering additional data, 
including what data would be sought, and how the data would be 
obtained.
    On the second day of the meeting, the morning session will address 
the transportation of waste to a potential repository at the Yucca 
Mountain site, including an update on the DOE's recent privatization 
initiative and on more local issues such as route selection and 
emergency preparedness. The Board plans to invite representatives from 
Nevada state and local governments, industry associations, and public 
interest groups to make presentations. A roundtable discussion will 
cover key topics raised during the presentations.
    The afternoon session will be devoted to a discussion of 
performance assessment. The Board has asked for presentation on the 
DOE's newly drafted siting guidelines, 10 CFR 960, including the basis 
for the proposed revisions. The Board also would like to know about DOE 
plans to make the logic and reasoning that underlie performance 
assessment ``transparent'' to both scientific and lay communities.
    Time has been set aside for public comment and questions on both 
days. To ensure that everyone wishing to speak is provided time to do 
so, the Board encourages those who have comments to sign the Public 
Comment Register, which will be located at the registration table. A 
time limit may have to be set on the length of individual remarks; 
however, written comments of any length may be submitted for the 
record.
    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 the 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 
the disposal of that waste.
    Transcripts of this meeting will be available via e-mail, on 
computer disk, or on a library-loan basis in paper format from Davonya 
Barnes, Board staff, beginning February 26, 1997. For further 
information, contact Frank Randall, External Affairs, 1100 Wilson 
Boulevard, Suite 910, Arlington, Virginia 22209; (Tel) 703-235-4473; 
(Fax) 703-235-4495.

    Dated: November 22, 1996.
William Barnard,
Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 96-30882 Filed 12-3-96; 8:45 am]
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