[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9150-9151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04505]


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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD


Notice of Workshop on Recent Advances in Repository Science and 
Operations From International Underground Research Laboratory 
Collaborations

    Pursuant to its authority under section 5051 of Public Law 100-203, 
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act (NWPAA) of 1987, the U.S. Nuclear 
Waste Technical Review Board will hold a workshop on Wednesday, April 
24, and Thursday, April 25, 2019, on recent advances in repository 
science and operations from international underground research 
laboratory (URL) collaborations. Several countries, including Belgium, 
Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, 
and the United States, have operated URLs to support the development of 
deep geologic repositories for the disposal of high-level radioactive 
waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF). URLs enable research and 
technology development activities to be conducted under conditions 
prototypical of repository environments. The workshop objectives are to 
review DOE research and development (R&D) activities that are underway 
or planned and to elicit information that will be useful to the Board 
in its review and to DOE in its implementation of those R&D activities. 
The discussions of international experiences will focus on unique 
learning opportunities and recent advances in the scientific 
understanding of the long-term performance, and the technology and 
operation, of geologic repositories for HLW and SNF based on studies 
that have been performed in URLs.
    The workshop will be held at the Embassy Suites San Francisco 
Airport--Waterfront, 150 Anza Blvd., Burlingame, CA 94010. The hotel 
telephone number is (650) 342-4600. The workshop will begin on 
Wednesday, April 24, at 8:00 a.m. with a series of presentations on 
international URL programs, including those in France, Sweden, 
Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. These presentations will be 
followed by a facilitated panel discussion regarding international URL 
programs. Then DOE representatives will make a presentation giving an 
overview of DOE's geologic disposal R&D program and its integration 
with international URL research. The rest of the two-day workshop will 
include presentations on DOE's URL-related R&D activities, focusing on 
natural barriers, engineered barrier integrity, hydrologic flow and 
radionuclide transport, and integrated system behavior. A poster 
session is scheduled immediately following the last presentation on the 
first day of the workshop. On the second day of the workshop, a final 
plenary session will identify key issues and lessons learned from URL 
R&D programs. The workshop is scheduled to end at approximately 5:00 
p.m. on Thursday, April 25.
    The workshop will be open to the public, and opportunities for 
public comment will be provided before the end of each day. Those 
wanting to speak are encouraged to sign the Public Comment Register at 
the check-in table; those wishing to speak will do so in the order in 
which they signed up. Depending on the number of people who sign up to 
speak, it may be necessary to set a time limit on individual remarks. 
However, written comments of any length may be submitted, and all 
comments received in writing will be included in the record of the 
workshop, which will be posted on the Board's website. The workshop 
will be webcast, and the link to the webcast will be available on the 
Board's website (www.nwtrb.gov) a few days before the workshop. An 
archived version of the webcast will be available on the Board's 
website following the workshop. The transcript of the workshop will be 
available on the Board's website by July 31, 2019.
    The Board was established in the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments 
Act of 1987 as an independent federal agency in the Executive Branch to 
evaluate the technical and scientific validity of DOE activities 
related to the management and disposal of SNF and HLW and to provide 
objective expert advice to Congress and the Secretary of Energy on 
these issues. Board members are experts in their fields and are 
appointed to the Board by the President from a list of candidates 
submitted by the National Academy of Sciences. The Board reports its 
findings, conclusions, and recommendations to Congress and the 
Secretary of Energy. All Board reports, correspondence, congressional 
testimony, and meeting transcripts and related materials are posted on 
the Board's website.
    For information on the workshop agenda, contact Bret Leslie: 
[email protected] or Roberto Pabalan: [email protected]. For information 
on logistics, or to request copies of the workshop agenda or 
transcript, contact Davonya Barnes: [email protected]. All three may be 
reached by mail at 2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 1300, Arlington, VA 
22201-3367; by

[[Page 9151]]

telephone at 703-235-4473; or by fax at 703-235-4495.

    Dated: March 7, 2019.
Nigel Mote,
Executive Director, U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 2019-04505 Filed 3-12-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6820-AM-P