[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 192 (Tuesday, October 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61346-61347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25782]


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DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD


Sunshine Act Notice

AGENCY: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing and meeting.

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SUMMARY: 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: Session I: 1-5 p.m., November 17, 2011; 
Session II: 7-9 p.m., November 17, 2011.

PLACE: Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 West Marcy Street, 
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501. Parking will be available at no cost.

STATUS: Open. While the Government in the Sunshine Act does not require 
that the scheduled discussion 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 
wishes to further explore safety matters and gather other information 
related to public and worker health and safety for defense nuclear 
facilities at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). During Session 
I, the Board will examine the seismic safety of the Plutonium Facility. 
The Board will receive testimony on National Nuclear Security 
Administration (NNSA) actions to address Plutonium Facility seismic 
vulnerabilities that lead to severe postulated accident scenarios. The 
Board is also interested in the status of actions identified in NNSA's 
response to the Board's Recommendation 2009-2, Los Alamos National 
Laboratory Plutonium Facility Seismic Safety, which was issued on 
October 26, 2009. The Board will also examine the status of emergency 
preparedness at the laboratory and will receive testimony concerning 
how well NNSA and its contractor are prepared to respond to site 
emergencies, including threats from natural phenomena. The Board is 
also interested in lessons learned from the events at the Fukushima 
Daiichi complex, the recent Las Conchas fire, and the 2000 Cerro Grande 
fire and the actions taken to incorporate these lessons learned at the 
site-wide level and in defense nuclear facility operations. During 
Session II, the Board will examine NNSA's efforts to mitigate risks to 
public and worker safety posed by existing aging defense nuclear 
facilities and NNSA's efforts to ensure the integration of safety-in-
design for modern replacement facilities. The Board will receive 
testimony on the operations and safety basis at existing LANL defense 
nuclear facilities, including the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research 
Building, Area G in Technical Area-54, and the Radioactive Liquid Waste 
Treatment Facility. The Board will also receive testimony on the 
integration of safety-in-design for the Chemistry and Metallurgy 
Research Replacement project, the new Transuranic Waste Facility, and 
the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility Upgrade project. The 
public hearing portion of this proceeding is authorized by 42 U.S.C. 
2286b.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Brian Grosner, 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: Public participation in the hearing is 
invited. The Board is setting aside thirty minutes at the end of each 
session of the hearing for presentations and comments from the public. 
Requests to speak may be submitted in writing or by telephone. The 
Board asks that commentators describe the nature and scope of their 
oral presentations. Those who contact the Board prior to close of 
business on November 10, 2011, will be scheduled to speak at the 
session of the hearing most relevant to their presentations. At the 
beginning of Session I, the Board will post a schedule for speakers at 
the entrance to the hearing room. 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

[[Page 61347]]

deemed appropriate. Documents will be accepted at the meeting or may be 
sent to the Board's Washington, DC, office. The Board will hold the 
record open until December 19, 2011, for the receipt of additional 
materials. A transcript of the meeting, along with DVD video recordings 
of both sessions, will be made available by the Board for inspection 
and viewing by the public at the Board's Washington office and at the 
Department of Energy's (DOE) 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 meeting and hearing, to recess, reconvene, 
postpone, or adjourn the meeting and hearing, conduct further reviews, 
and otherwise exercise its power under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 
as amended.

    Dated: September 30, 2011.
Jessie H. Roberson,
Vice Chairman.
[FR Doc. 2011-25782 Filed 9-30-11; 4:15 pm]
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