[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7020-7021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1304]


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DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD


Sunshine Act Meeting

    Pursuant to the provisions of the ``Government in the Sunshine 
Act'' (5 U.S.C. 552b), notice is hereby given of the Defense Nuclear 
Facilities Safety Board's (Board) public hearing and meeting described 
below. The Board will conduct a public hearing and meeting pursuant to 
42 U.S.C. 2286b and invites any interested persons or groups to present 
any comments, technical information, or data concerning safety issues 
related to the matters to be considered.

Time and Date of Meeting: 6 p.m., March 22, 2006.

Place: Duane W. Smith Auditorium, 1400 Diamond Drive, Los Alamos, New 
Mexico 87544. Additionally, as a part of the Board's E-Government 
initiative, the hearing and meeting will be videotaped. A link to the 
videotape will be available on the Board's Web site (http://www.dnfsb.gov) following the hearing and meeting.

Status: Open. While the Government in the Sunshine Act does not require 
that the scheduled hearing be conducted in a meeting, the Board has 
determined that an open meeting in this specific case furthers the 
public interests underlying both the Sunshine Act and the Board's 
enabling legislation.

Matters To Be Considered: In this public hearing and meeting, the Board 
will examine the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) 
plans and actions to follow through with improvements in safety 
management that were identified prior to and during the suspension and 
resumption of operations at Department of Energy

[[Page 7021]]

(DOE) defense nuclear facilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory 
(LANL). The Board anticipates testimony from the incumbent management 
and operation (M&O) contractor for LANL, the University of California, 
as well as from the contractor group, Los Alamos National Security, LLC 
(LANS), which was recently selected to assume the M&O contractor 
function in June 2006. Under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 
the Board is required, among other things, to review and evaluate the 
content and implementation of standards relating to the design, 
construction, operation, and decommissioning of DOE defense nuclear 
facilities, including all applicable DOE orders, regulations, and 
requirements pertaining to such facilities. The Board is also required 
to investigate any event or practice at DOE defense nuclear facilities 
which the Board determines has adversely affected, or may adversely 
affect, the health and safety of the workers and the public. In this 
March 22nd hearing and meeting, the Board will examine how NNSA and 
LANS will ensure adequate protection of the public health and safety, 
including that of the workers, and safety performance at LANL defense 
nuclear facilities. The Board will further explore health and safety-
related corrective actions by NNSA and the incumbent and newly selected 
M&O contractors as those actions are implemented during and after the 
new M&O contract transition period. The Board will collect information 
needed to understand and address any health or safety concerns that may 
require Board action with respect to operations at LANL defense nuclear 
facilities. This will include, but is not limited to, presentations 
from NNSA and M&O contractor senior management officials and NNSA Los 
Alamos Site Office personnel. The public hearing portion of this 
proceeding is authorized by 42 U.S.C. 2286b.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth M. Pusateri, General Manager, 
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, 625 Indiana Avenue, NW, Suite 
700, Washington, DC 20004-2901, (800) 788-4016. This is a toll-free 
number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Requests to speak at the hearing and meeting 
may be submitted in writing or by telephone. The Board asks that 
commentators describe the nature and scope of their oral presentation. 
Those who contact the Board prior to close of business on March 21, 
2006, will be scheduled for time slots, beginning at approximately 8:30 
p.m on the evening of the hearing and meeting. The Board will post a 
schedule for those speakers who have contacted the Board before the 
hearing. The posting will be made at the entrance to the Duane W. Smith 
Auditorium at the start of the 6 p.m. hearing and meeting.
    Anyone who wishes to comment or provide technical information or 
data may do so in writing, either in lieu of, or in addition to, making 
an oral presentation. The Board Members may question presenters to the 
extent deemed appropriate. Documents will be accepted at the hearing 
and meeting or may be sent to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety 
Board's Washington, DC, office. The Board will hold the record open 
until April 22, 2006, for the receipt of additional materials. A 
transcript of the hearing and meeting will be made available by the 
Board for inspection by the public at the Defense Nuclear Facilities 
Safety Board's Washington office and at DOE's public reading room at 
the DOE Federal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 
20585. The Board specifically reserves its right to further schedule 
and otherwise regulate the course of the hearing and meeting, to 
recess, reconvene, postpone, or adjourn the hearing and meeting, 
conduct further reviews, and otherwise exercise its powers under the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

    Dated: February 8, 2006.
A.J. Eggenberger,
Chairman.
[FR Doc. 06-1304 Filed 2-8-06; 12:25 pm]
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