[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 54 (Monday, March 20, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 15021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6817]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD


Board Meeting; May 1, 2000--Pahrump, Nevada; Discussion of the 
Current Design for a Potential Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada; 
Update on Geochemistry and other Scientific Studies Undertaken at the 
Yucca Mountain Site.

    Pursuant to its authority under section 5051 of Public Law 100-203, 
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the Nuclear Waste 
Technical Review Board (Board) will meet in Pahrump, Nevada, on Monday, 
May 1, 2000, to review the status of the U.S. Department of Energy's 
(DOE) efforts to develop a design for a potential repository for 
disposing of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at 
Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The DOE also will present updates on 
geochemistry and on other scientific studies, including chlorine-36 
investigations. In addition, the Board will hear from representatives 
of Nye County, Nevada, on recent scientific activities. The DOE is 
evaluating the Yucca Mountain site, about 100 miles northwest of Las 
Vegas, to determine its suitability as the location of a repository for 
the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste.
    The meeting will be held at the Bob Ruud Community Center, 150 
North Highway 160, Pahrump, Nevada 89048. The pay-phone number for the 
community center is (775) 727-9991. The meeting will begin at 8:30 am.
    An overview of recent developments in the repository program will 
begin the meeting. The general overview will be followed by more-
extensive presentations on the subsurface and engineered barrier system 
designs currently being considered by the DOE for a potential Yucca 
Mountain repository. Later in the day, the DOE will update the Board on 
the status of geochemical studies being conducted in connection with 
the characterization or the Yucca Mountain site. Representatives of Nye 
County, Nevada, also have been invited to comment and update the Board 
on their recent scientific activities, including the drilling program 
being conducted at the site under the auspices of the county.
    The meeting will be open to the public. Time for public comment 
will be set aside before the lunch break and at the end of the session. 
Those wanting to speak are encouraged to sign the ``Public Comment 
Register'' at the check-in table. Depending on the number of requests, 
a time limit may be set on oral statements; written comments may be 
submitted for inclusion in the record of the meeting. Interested 
parties also may submit written questions to the Board. As time 
permits, written questions will be answered during the sessions. 
Interested members of the public also are invited to join the Board for 
coffee from 7:30 to 8:15 am before the meeting begins.
    A detailed agenda will be available approximately one week before 
the meeting. Copies of the agenda can be requested by telephone or 
obtained from the Board's Web site at www.nwtrb.gov. Transcripts of the 
meeting will be available on the Board's Web site, via e-mail, on 
computer disk, and on a library-loan basis in paper format from Davonya 
Barnes of the Board staff, beginning on May 29, 2000.
    A block of rooms has been reserved at the Saddle West Hotel/Casino, 
1220 South Highway 160, Pahrump, Nevada 89048. The telephone numbers 
for Saddle West are (800) 433-3987 and (775) 727-1111. When making a 
reservation, please state that you are attending the Nuclear Waste 
Technical Review Board meeting.
    For further information on the meeting, contact Karyn Severson, 
External Affairs, NWTRB, at 2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 1300, 
Arlington, Virginia 22201-3367; (tel) 703-235-4473; (fax) 703-235-4495; 
(e-mail) info @nwtrb.gov.
    The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board was created by Congress in 
the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987. The Board's purpose is 
to evaluate the technical and scientific validity of activities 
undertaken by the Secretary of Energy related to managing the disposal 
of the nation's spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In 
the same legislation, Congress directed the DOE to characterize a site 
at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to determine its suitability as the location 
of a potential repository for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear 
fuel and high-level radioactive waste.

    March 14, 2000.
William D. Barnard,
Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 00-6817 Filed 3-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-AM-M