[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 40 (Friday, February 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11980-11981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04133]


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DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD


Notice of Public Hearing

AGENCY: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

ACTION: Notice of Public Hearing.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Defense Nuclear Facilities 
Safety Board (DNFSB) will hold a Public Hearing regarding the status of 
the Savannah River Site (SRS). The purpose of this Public Hearing is to 
gather information and discuss Department of Energy (DOE) and National 
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) actions that could impact the 
safety posture of particular operations at SRS.

DATES: The Public Hearing will be held on March 19, 2020, from 3:00 
p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The Public Hearing will be held in the Etherredge Center at 
the University of South Carolina Aiken. The Etherredge Center is 
located at 340 Scholar Loop, Aiken, South Carolina 29801.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tara Tadlock, Manager of Board 
Operations, 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: This Public Hearing will be composed of four 
sessions. In Session 1, Board Members will address DOE's past actions 
and future plans for addressing Recommendation 2012-1 regarding 
Building 235-F. The Board's objective for this session is to gather 
information related to the proposed changes to DOE's Implementation 
Plan and deactivation strategy, the actions and steps for deactivation 
of Building 235-F, and the plans for decommissioning, including the end 
state of Building 235-F.
    In Session 2, Board Members will address Federal oversight and 
technical staffing needs. The Board will pay particular attention to 
the adequacy of current Office of Environmental Management (EM) and 
NNSA staffing to conduct oversight missions. This will include 
discussions of shortages in both facility representative positions for 
existing facilities and engineering positions with regard to personnel 
who review safety bases and perform safety system oversight, and the 
subsequent approach of delegating inherently federal functions to the 
contractor as a substitute for federal oversight. Session 2 will also 
include discussions of future technical staffing needs as new site 
missions, such as Savannah River Plutonium Production Facility 
operations and Surplus Plutonium blend-down, ramp up.
    In Session 3, Board Members will address the safety poster of the 
Savannah River Tritium Enterprise (SRTE) facilities. The Board's 
objective for this session is to discuss the SRTE safety basis, 
completed improvements, and ongoing and planned actions to

[[Page 11981]]

address the high radiological dose consequences to the workers for 
accident scenarios. In particular, the Board will focus on the ongoing 
actions at the SRTE that DOE cited as a basis to not accept Board 
Recommendation 2019-2.
    In Sessions 1, 2, and 3, the DNFSB Technical Director will offer 
testimony presenting the perspective of the DNFSB Staff. Participants 
representing DOE and NNSA will be announced at https://www.dnfsb.gov as 
soon as possible.
    In Session 4, Board Members will hear testimony from interested 
members of the public. Persons interested in speaking during Session 4 
are encouraged to pre-register by submitting a request in writing to 
the Board's address listed above, emailing [email protected], or 
calling the Office of the General Counsel at (202) 694-7062 or (800) 
788-4016 prior to close of business on March 17, 2020. The Board asks 
that commenters describe the nature and scope of their oral 
presentations. Those who pre-register will be scheduled to speak first. 
Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, 
depending on the number of persons who register.
    At the beginning of the hearing, the Board will post a list of 
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 deemed appropriate. 
Written comments and documents will be accepted at the hearing or may 
be sent to the Board's Washington, DC office. The Board will hold the 
hearing record open until April 20, 2020, for the receipt of additional 
materials. Additional details, including the detailed agenda for the 
hearing, are available at https://www.dnfsb.gov.
    The hearing will be presented live through internet video 
streaming. A link to the presentation will be available on the Board's 
website, and a recording will be posted soon after. A transcript of 
these sessions and the associated correspondence will be made available 
on the Board's website. The Board specifically reserves its right to 
further schedule and otherwise regulate the course of the hearing, to 
recess, reconvene, postpone, or adjourn the hearing, conduct further 
reviews, and otherwise exercise its authority under the Atomic Energy 
Act of 1954, as amended.

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 2286b(a).

    Dated: February 25, 2020.
Bruce Hamilton,
Chairman.
[FR Doc. 2020-04133 Filed 2-27-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3670-01-P