The leaders of site advisory boards for the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management complex will discuss waste cleanup with DOE officials, and members of the public, on Oct. 18-19 in Kennewick, Wash.
The chairs and vice-chairs of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB) local boards meet twice per year to get updates on cleanup progress as well as budget and other issues affecting DOE sites. A number of EM officials representing each site as well as members of headquarters staff in Washington, D.C., typically attend.
There are eight advisory boards representing DOE sites at Hanford, Idaho, Northern New Mexico, Nevada, Oak Ridge, Paducah, Portsmouth, and Savannah River. The boards represent various DOE community stakeholders from local and tribal governments, environmental and civic groups, labor, and other interested citizens. The panels work under guidelines set by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
The most recent meeting of the board chairs occurred in May in Paducah, Ky. Participants were briefed on EM milestones including the resumption of waste emplacement at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico and the tear down of five gaseous diffusion plants East Tennessee Technology Park at Oak Ridge.
Minutes and other material from the meetings are typically posted online within 60 to 90 days of the event.
The upcoming meeting will be held at Red Lion, 1101 North Columbia Center Blvd., in Kennewick, one the Tri-Cities near the Hanford SIte. For more information, contact David Borak at (202) 586-9928 or [email protected].
