[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 160 (Thursday, August 19, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51494-51495]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-19015]


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

NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD


September 20, 2004--Las Vegas, Nevada: The U.S. Nuclear Waste 
Technical Review Board Will Meet With the Department of Energy (DOE) 
and Interested Parties To Discuss the Processes Used To Develop and 
Review the DOE's Total System Performance Assessment of the Proposed 
Yucca Mountain Repository Site

    Pursuant to its authority under section 5051 of Public Law 100-203, 
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the U.S. Nuclear Waste 
Technical Review Board will meet in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Monday, 
September 20, 2004. The primary focus of the meeting will be an 
overview of the purpose, scope, methodology, criteria, and modeling of 
the Department of Energy's (DOE) Total System Performance Assessment 
(TSPA) of the Yucca Mountain site. Other issues pertinent to a proposed 
repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada are scheduled to be discussed, 
including repository design and DOE activities related to seismic 
issues. The meeting

[[Page 51495]]

will be open to the public, and opportunities for public comment will 
be provided. The Board is charged by Congress with reviewing the 
technical and scientific validity of activities undertaken by the DOE 
related to nuclear waste disposal as stipulated in the Nuclear Waste 
Policy Amendments Act of 1987.
    The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. and to continue until 
approximately 5:30 p.m. It will be held at the Atrium Suites Hotel 
(formerly the Crowne Plaza Hotel); 4255 South Paradise Road; Las Vegas, 
NV 89109; (tel.) 702-369-4400; (fax) 702-369-3770.
    The meeting will begin with DOE program and project updates for 
fiscal year 2005. The updates will be followed by discussions of the 
repository design that the DOE intends to carry forward in a Yucca 
Mountain license application and of activities that the DOE is 
undertaking related to seismic issues. After lunch, the focus will be 
on the DOE's TSPA for a Yucca Mountain repository. The DOE will begin 
the session with presentations on the purpose and scope of TSPA; 
regulatory requirements related to TSPA; the approach and methodology 
used to conduct the TSPA; and the development of TSPA models, including 
changes from the last TSPA. Following these presentations, 
representatives from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have been 
invited to comment on the TSPA process and criteria from the NRC's 
perspective. The Electric Power Research Institute also has been asked 
to present the latest version of its TSPA. Changes may be made to this 
tentative meeting agenda. A final agenda detailing meeting times, 
topics, and participants will be available approximately one week 
before the meeting date. Copies of the meeting agenda can be requested 
by telephone or obtained from the Board's Web site at http://www.nwtrb.gov.
    Time will be set aside at the end of the day on Monday for public 
comments. Those wanting to speak are encouraged to sign the ``Public 
Comment Register'' at the check-in table. A time limit may have to be 
set on individual remarks, but written comments of any length may be 
submitted for the record. Interested parties also will have the 
opportunity to submit questions in writing to the Board. As time 
permits, submitted questions relevant to the discussion may be asked by 
Board members.
    Transcripts of the meetings will be available on the Board's Web 
site, by e-mail, on computer disk, and on a library-loan basis in paper 
format from Davonya Barnes of the Board's staff, beginning on October 
18, 2004.
    A block of rooms has been reserved at the Atrium Suites Hotel for 
meeting participants. When making a reservation, please state that you 
are attending the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board meeting. 
Reservations should be made by September 3, 2004, to ensure receiving 
the meeting rate.
    For more information, contact Karyn Severson, NWTRB External 
Affairs; 2300 Clarendon Boulevard; Suite 1300; Arlington, VA 22201-
3367; (tel.) 703-235-4473; (fax) 703-235-4495.

    Dated: August 11, 2004.
Karyn D. Severson,
Director, External Affairs, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 04-19015 Filed 8-18-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-AM-M