96-21145. Thermal Testing, Repository Advanced Conceptual Design, Viability Assessment, 1997 Activities, and the Proposed EPA Standards for Yucca Mountain (if Available); Board Meeting

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 20, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 43095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21145]



[[Page 43095]]

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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD


Thermal Testing, Repository Advanced Conceptual Design, Viability 
Assessment, 1997 Activities, and the Proposed EPA Standards for Yucca 
Mountain (if Available); 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 fall meeting on Wednesday and 
Thursday, October 9-10, 1996, in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting will 
be held at the Days Inn Crystal City, 2000 Jefferson Davis Highway, 
Arlington, VA 22202; Tel [phone]; Fax [phone]; the 
nearest METRO station is Crystal City on the Yellow/Blue Lines. To 
receive the preferred rate, reservations must be made by September 20, 
1996. The meeting is open to the public and will begin at 8:30 a.m. 
both days.
    On the first day, the Board will hear updates on the Yucca Mountain 
exploration and testing program, the Yucca Mountain viability 
assessment, and repository advanced conceptual design. Presentations on 
the exploration and testing program will place an emphasis on the 
effects of different thermal loads on underground geology and 
hydrology. In looking at the viability assessment, the Board has asked 
how the assessment will be affected by the scientific program, 
repository design, and total system performance assessment. 
Presentations on the advanced conceptual design will include supporting 
system studies. The Board also has asked about the Department of 
Energy's planned activities for fiscal year 1997.
    The second day of the meeting is tentatively scheduled for a review 
of the proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards (40 CFR 
Part 197) for the release of radionuclides from a potential repository 
at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and their potential impact on the Yucca 
Mountain site-characterization program. If the proposed standards are 
not available by early September, the first day's agenda will be 
expanded into the second day. The meeting will conclude with a round-
table discussion of issues raised during the two days.
    The Board has invited representatives of the Department of Energy's 
(DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management and its 
contractors to make presentations on the issues. Representatives from 
the EPA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission also have been invited to 
offer their views on the proposed EPA standards. 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 a 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 November 6, 1996. 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: August 14, 1996.
William Barnard,
Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 96-21145 Filed 8-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-AM-M