[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 154 (Thursday, August 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41912-41913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-19924]
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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD
Board Meeting
September 10-12, 2001--Las Vegas, Nevada: The Nuclear Waste
Technical Review Board will hold a meeting to discuss issues related to
the characterization of a potential repository site at Yucca Mountain,
Nevada. A program overview and status reports on site characterization
and evaluation will be presented by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Other topics on the agenda include uncertainty analyses, waste package
materials testing, performance assessment, consequences of igneous
intrusion, and repository development plans.
Pursuant to its authority under section 5051 of Public Law 100-203,
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the Nuclear Waste
Technical Review Board will meet in Las Vegas, Nevada, from Monday,
September 10, to Wednesday, September 12, 2001, to discuss the status
of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) efforts to characterize a site at
Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the possible location of a permanent
repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. At
the two-and-a-half-day meeting, the DOE and representatives of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the
State of Nevada, and Nye County, Nevada, will present updates on
important issues related to the technical and scientific evaluation of
the Yucca Mountain site. The meeting is open to the public, and several
opportunities for public comment will be provided.
The Board meeting will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 4255
South Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109. The telephone number is
(702) 369-4400; the fax number is (702) 369-3770. The meeting sessions
will start at 8:00 a.m. each day.
The Monday session will begin with a general overview of the DOE
program and the Yucca Mountain project, including a DOE perspective on
a potential site recommendation and a DOE presentation on long-range
decision processes. Additional topics to be discussed on Monday include
analyses of uncertainty and activities related to testing waste package
materials. The DOE also will discuss its comparison of higher- and
lower-temperature operating modes for a potential Yucca Mountain
repository. Updates on peer reviews being conducted by the DOE on the
biosphere and on performance assessment will complete Monday's agenda.
Tuesday's agenda includes discussions of standards and regulations,
the DOE's plans for addressing key technical issues, and a summary of
the DOE's preliminary evaluations of site suitability. The DOE will
present an update on the science program and a summary of the
Supplementary Science and Performance Analyses report. Representatives
of the Nye County drilling program will discuss the status of work
undertaken by that program. The day will end with a presentation on
[[Page 41913]]
structural controls on flow at the site by a contractor for the State
of Nevada.
The half-day session on Wednesday will include discussions of
repository development plans and of the consequences of igneous
activity.
Opportunities for public comment will be provided before
adjournment on all 3 days. Those wanting to speak during the public
comment periods are encouraged to sign the ``Public Comment Register''
at the check-in table. Additional comment periods will be provided
before lunch on Monday and Tuesday for anyone unable to remain at the
meeting until the evening comment periods. A time limit may have to be
set on individual remarks, but written comments of any length may be
submitted for the record. Interested parties also will have the
opportunity to submit questions in writing to the Board. As time
permits, the questions will be read during the meeting sessions or
during the public comment periods.
A detailed agenda will be available the week before the meeting.
Copies of the agenda can be requested by telephone or obtained from the
Board's Web site at www.nwtrb.gov. Beginning on October 8, 2001,
transcripts of the meeting will be available on the Board's Web site,
via e-mail, on computer disk, and on a library-loan basis in paper
format from Davonya Barnes of the Board staff.
A block of rooms has been reserved until August 18 at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel. When making a reservation, please state that you will be
attending the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board meeting. For more
information, contact the NWTRB, Karyn Severson, External Affairs; 2300
Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 1300; Arlington, VA 22201-3367; (tel) 703-
235-4473; (fax) 703-235-4495; (e-mail) info@nwtrb.gov.
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board was created by Congress in
the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987. The Board's purpose is
to evaluate the technical and scientific validity of activities
undertaken by the Secretary of Energy related to managing the disposal
of the nation's spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In
the same legislation, Congress directed the DOE to characterize a site
at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to determine its suitability as the location
of a potential repository for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear
fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
Dated: August 3, 2001.
William D. Barnard,
Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 01-19924 Filed 8-08-01; 8:45 am]
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