[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 52 (Monday, March 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 16713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06024]


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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD


Board Meeting; April 16, 2013; Richland, WA

    The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board will meet to discuss 
DOE work on the vitrified HLW waste form for disposal in a repository.
    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 hold an open public meeting in Richland, 
Washington, on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, to review information on U.S. 
Department of Energy (DOE) activities related to vitrifying high-level 
radioactive waste (HLW) stored at the Hanford facility in preparation 
for eventual disposal in a deep geologic repository. State, local, and 
regional public organizations have been invited to provide their 
perspectives on the most important technical issues associated with 
disposal of wastes from the Hanford site. Also discussed will be the 
Administration's recent response to recommendations of the Blue Ribbon 
Commission on America's Nuclear Future and DOE's work related to the 
potential direct disposal in a deep geologic repository of existing SNF 
storage containers used at commercial nuclear utility sites.
    The Board is a completely independent agency in the Executive 
Branch of the Federal Government. The Board was created in the 1987 
Amendments to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) to conduct an ongoing 
and objective evaluation of the technical and scientific validity of 
DOE activities related to implementing the NWPA, including 
transporting, packaging, and disposing of SNF and HLW. The 1987 Act 
directs the Board to report its findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations to Congress and the Secretary of Energy. The Board's 
statutorily established technical purview does not include the safety 
or operations of DOE-owned facilities or the management or disposal of 
low-level radioactive waste. The Board's technical and scientific 
review of DOE activities at the Hanford facility is focused primarily 
on the vitrified waste form, which eventually will require disposal in 
a deep geologic repository.
    The Board meeting will be held at the Marriott Courtyard, 480 
Columbia Point Drive, Richland, WA 99352; Tel 509-942-9400, Fax 509-
942-9401. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Marriott Courtyard 
for meeting attendees. Reservations can be made online at http://cwp.marriott.com/psccy/technicalreviewboard. Reservations must be made 
by March 22, 2013 to ensure receiving the meeting rate. The reservation 
Group Name is ``U.S. Nuclear Waste;'' the Group Code is NWRG.
    The meeting will begin at 8:00 a.m. with a call to order by the 
Board Chairman, followed by a welcome from DOE's Office of River 
Protection. A presentation that includes a broad overview of the 
responsibilities and objectives of DOE's Office of Environmental 
Management will precede a discussion of vitrification of HLW as a 
complex-wide waste management practice. A series of presentations and a 
panel discussion of technical experience with vitrification will 
follow. The last discussion before the lunch break will wrap up the 
technical presentations on vitrification, focusing on DOE's research 
and development programs related to waste forms.
    A panel composed of representatives of affected state, local, and 
regional organizations will kick off the discussions on Tuesday 
afternoon. The panel members will present their views on the most 
important technical issues associated with the eventual disposal of HLW 
and SNF stored at the Hanford site. The panel discussion will be 
followed by a non-Hanford-related update on analyses being performed by 
DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy on the potential for directly disposing 
of existing SNF storage canisters used by commercial nuclear utilities 
in a deep geologic repository. The last presentation of the day will be 
on DOE's Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel 
and High-Level Radioactive Waste. At the end of the day, an opportunity 
for public comment will be provided.
    Those wanting to speak during the public comments session are 
encouraged to sign the ``Public Comment Register'' at the check-in 
table. It may be necessary to set a time limit on individual remarks, 
but written comments of any length may be submitted for the record.
    A detailed meeting agenda will be available on the Board's Web 
site: www.nwtrb.gov approximately one week before the meeting. The 
agenda also may be obtained by telephone request at that time.
    Transcripts of the meeting will be available no later than May 10, 
2013, on the Board's Web site, by email, on computer disk, and in paper 
format on library-loan from Davonya Barnes of the Board's staff.
    For information on the meeting, contact Karyn Severson at 
[email protected]. For information on lodging or logistics, contact 
Linda Coultry: [email protected]. Both can be reached by mail at 2300 
Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 1300; Arlington, VA 22201-3367; by telephone 
at 703-235-4473; or by fax at 703-235-4495.

    Dated: March 12, 2013.
Nigel Mote,
Executive Director, U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 2013-06024 Filed 3-15-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-AM-M