House lawmakers are proposing a number of significant changes to the workings of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board in the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Authorization Act. The proposed changes, outlined in documents released yesterday by the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, appear to come in response to concerns over the potential cost impacts DNFSB recommendations have had on DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration projects, as well as concerns over the level of authority held by the Board’s chairman. Among the provisions in the defense bill is language that would:
- Require the DNFSB to first provide a draft copy of any formal recommendation to the Secretary of Energy, who would then have 45 days to provide comment before the Board could issue a final version;
- Change the Board’s mission to provide independent analysis, advice and recommendations to ensure that risks to public health and safety at defense nuclear facilities are “as low as reasonably practical and that public health and safety are adequately protected.” Currently, the Board’s mission is defined by statue as only to “ensure adequate protection of public health and safety”;
- Require the Board to “specifically assess” the technical and economic feasibility, the costs and benefits and the “practicability” of implementing its recommended measures; and
- “Clarify” that each Board member has “equal responsibility and authority for establishing decisions and determining certain actions of the DNFSB,” and that each member must have “full” access to Board information and that each member can propose individuals for senior staff positions. In addition, each Board member would have funds to hire at least one technical advisor that would not be subject to “the appointment, direction, or supervision” of the DNFSB chairman.