[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 4, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 64400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30882]
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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD
Pahrump, Nevada: Yucca Mountain Testing and Exploration Program,
Environmental Impact Statement, Interim Storage Studies, Transportation
Infrastructure, Options for Reducing Hydrogeologic Uncertainties in the
Proposed Repository Waste Emplacement Area, and Performance Assessment
Issues; Board Meeting
Pursuant to its authority under section 5051 of Public Law 100-203,
the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the Nuclear Waste
Technical Review Board will hold its winter meeting on Tuesday and
Wednesday, January 28-29, 1997, in Pahrump, Nevada. The meeting will be
held at the Bob Ruud Community Center, 150 N. Highway 160, Pahrump,
Nevada 89048; Tel (702) 727-9991. Sleeping accommodations are available
in the Saddle West Hotel, 1220 S. Highway 160, Pahrump, Nevada 89048;
Tel (702) 727-1111; Fax (702) 727-5315. To receive the preferred rate,
reservations must be made by December 27, 1996. The meeting is open to
the public and will begin at 8:30 a.m. both days.
On the first morning, the Board will hear presentations by
representatives of the Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractors
on the exploration and testing program at Yucca Mountain, Nevada; plans
for preparing the environmental impact statement for repository
development; and generic studies on the development of an interim spent
fuel storage facility. The Board is particularly interested in hearing
about how long it would take to construct such a facility and to
develop a transportation infrastructure to move significant quantities
of waste. The Board plans to invite Nye County representatives to
briefly summarize the results of their scientific investigations at the
Yucca Mountain site.
The afternoon session will examine the issues associated with DOE
plans to reduce, by late 1998, the current uncertainties about the
movement of moisture through the proposed repository waste emplacement
area. The focus will be on options for gathering additional data,
including what data would be sought, and how the data would be
obtained.
On the second day of the meeting, the morning session will address
the transportation of waste to a potential repository at the Yucca
Mountain site, including an update on the DOE's recent privatization
initiative and on more local issues such as route selection and
emergency preparedness. The Board plans to invite representatives from
Nevada state and local governments, industry associations, and public
interest groups to make presentations. A roundtable discussion will
cover key topics raised during the presentations.
The afternoon session will be devoted to a discussion of
performance assessment. The Board has asked for presentation on the
DOE's newly drafted siting guidelines, 10 CFR 960, including the basis
for the proposed revisions. The Board also would like to know about DOE
plans to make the logic and reasoning that underlie performance
assessment ``transparent'' to both scientific and lay communities.
Time has been set aside for public comment and questions on both
days. To ensure that everyone wishing to speak is provided time to do
so, the Board encourages those who have comments to sign the Public
Comment Register, which will be located at the registration table. A
time limit may have to be set on the length of individual remarks;
however, written comments of any length may be submitted for the
record.
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board was created by Congress in
the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987 to evaluate the
technical and scientific validity of activities undertaken by the DOE
in its program to manage the disposal of the Nation's spent nuclear
fuel and defense high-level waste. In the same legislation, Congress
directed the DOE to characterize a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for
its suitability as a potential location for a permanent repository for
the disposal of that waste.
Transcripts of this meeting will be available via e-mail, on
computer disk, or on a library-loan basis in paper format from Davonya
Barnes, Board staff, beginning February 26, 1997. For further
information, contact Frank Randall, External Affairs, 1100 Wilson
Boulevard, Suite 910, Arlington, Virginia 22209; (Tel) 703-235-4473;
(Fax) 703-235-4495.
Dated: November 22, 1996.
William Barnard,
Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 96-30882 Filed 12-3-96; 8:45 am]
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