[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 24, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67417-67418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33569]


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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD


Notice of Meeting

    Board Meeting: January 20 (beginning at 1 p.m.) & 21, 1998--
Amargosa Valley, Nevada: Department of Energy (DOE) program update, 
public input to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, the DOE 
thermal testing program, saturated zone hydrology, and the saturated 
zone expert elicitation project.
    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 20-21, 1998, in Amargosa Valley, Nevada. The 
meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at the Longstreet 
Inn and Casino, HCR 70, Box 559, Amargosa Valley, Nevada 89020; Tel 
(702) 372-1777; Fax (702) 372-1280.
    The meeting will include an update on the DOE's nuclear waste 
management program and activities at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and 
sessions on the DOE's thermal testing program, saturated zone flow and 
transport modeling, and the saturated zone expert elicitation project. 
A session also will be held concerning the board's activities under the 
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). A detailed agenda will 
be available approximately two weeks prior to the meeting by fax or e-
mail, or at the Board's website, www.nwtrb.gov.
    In 1993, the Congress passed the Government Performance and Results 
Act, intending to improve confidence in government by holding agencies 
accountable for activities that affect taxpayers lives. The law 
requires every federal agency to develop a strategic plan, including 
the critical component of a statement addressing how the agency plans 
to conduct itself while carrying out its mission. During the GPRA 
session at the winter meeting in Amargosa Valley, Nevada, the Board 
would like to solicit comments from the public concerning the Board's 
value statement, which follows.
    The Board takes very seriously its role as a major source of 
technical and scientific peer review of the nation's program to 
package, transport, and dispose of high-level radioactive waste and 
spent nuclear fuel. To that end, the Board will:
     Ensure Board practices and procedures are conducted with 
integrity and objectivity that are beyond reproach.
     Produce timely, complete, comprehensive, and thoughtful 
scientific and techical analyses.
     Communicate the Board's findings and recommendations at 
least twice a year clearly, and in a timely manner that is most 
beneficial to the Congress, the Department of Energy, and the public.
     Ensure the Board's findings and recommendations are based 
on current and accurate information.
     Ensure the Board conducts itself in an open and accessible 
manner.
    The Board will ask those present to answer three questions:
    1. Does the Board conduct its meetings in an open, objective, and 
fair manner? For example, are members of the public treated with 
respect and consideration when participating in the meetings?
    2. Given the technical and often detailed nature of the Board's 
work, does the Board explain its major points and positions in reports 
and letters so that they are understandable? For example, is there a 
general understanding of the reasons for the Board's recommendation to 
construct an east-west crossing of the potential repository block at 
Yucca Mountain?
    3. Most important, to what extent is the Board a credible source of 
scientific and technical advice to the Department of Energy and the 
Congress? In general, what is the basis for your opinion?
    In responding to these questions, those present will be asked to 
keep in mind that the scope of the Board's work is defined specifically 
in federal law. That law, P.L. 100-203, December 22, 1987, mandates 
that the Board is to evaluate the scientific and technical work of the 
Department of Energy in its commercial nuclear waste disposal program, 
including waste packaging and transportation activities.
    Time has been set aside for oral comments from the public on these 
issues. Depending on the number of speakers, time limits may have to be 
imposed. Preprinted comment sheets will be available at the meeting for 
use in submitting written comments.
    Also, additional time has been set aside on both days for the 
public to

[[Page 67418]]

comment on the technical issues raised during the meeting. Those 
wishing to speak are encouraged to sign the Public Comment Register at 
the check-in 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.
    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 18, 1998. For further 
information, contact Frank Randall, External Affairs, 2300 Clarendon 
Boulevard, Suite 1300, Arlington, Virginia 22201-3367; (Tel) 703-235-
4473; (Fax) 703-235-4495; (E-mail) [email protected].
    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 commercial 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.

    Dated: December 19, 1997.
William Barnard,
Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 97-33569 Filed 12-23-97; 8:45 am]
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