[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 54 (Monday, March 20, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 15021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6817]
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NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD
Board Meeting; May 1, 2000--Pahrump, Nevada; Discussion of the
Current Design for a Potential Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada;
Update on Geochemistry and other Scientific Studies Undertaken at the
Yucca Mountain Site.
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 (Board) will meet in Pahrump, Nevada, on Monday,
May 1, 2000, to review the status of the U.S. Department of Energy's
(DOE) efforts to develop a design for a potential repository for
disposing of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at
Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The DOE also will present updates on
geochemistry and on other scientific studies, including chlorine-36
investigations. In addition, the Board will hear from representatives
of Nye County, Nevada, on recent scientific activities. The DOE is
evaluating the Yucca Mountain site, about 100 miles northwest of Las
Vegas, to determine its suitability as the location of a repository for
the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive
waste.
The meeting will be held at the Bob Ruud Community Center, 150
North Highway 160, Pahrump, Nevada 89048. The pay-phone number for the
community center is (775) 727-9991. The meeting will begin at 8:30 am.
An overview of recent developments in the repository program will
begin the meeting. The general overview will be followed by more-
extensive presentations on the subsurface and engineered barrier system
designs currently being considered by the DOE for a potential Yucca
Mountain repository. Later in the day, the DOE will update the Board on
the status of geochemical studies being conducted in connection with
the characterization or the Yucca Mountain site. Representatives of Nye
County, Nevada, also have been invited to comment and update the Board
on their recent scientific activities, including the drilling program
being conducted at the site under the auspices of the county.
The meeting will be open to the public. Time for public comment
will be set aside before the lunch break and at the end of the session.
Those wanting to speak are encouraged to sign the ``Public Comment
Register'' at the check-in table. Depending on the number of requests,
a time limit may be set on oral statements; written comments may be
submitted for inclusion in the record of the meeting. Interested
parties also may submit written questions to the Board. As time
permits, written questions will be answered during the sessions.
Interested members of the public also are invited to join the Board for
coffee from 7:30 to 8:15 am before the meeting begins.
A detailed agenda will be available approximately one 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. 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, beginning on May 29, 2000.
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Saddle West Hotel/Casino,
1220 South Highway 160, Pahrump, Nevada 89048. The telephone numbers
for Saddle West are (800) 433-3987 and (775) 727-1111. When making a
reservation, please state that you are attending the Nuclear Waste
Technical Review Board meeting.
For further information on the meeting, contact Karyn Severson,
External Affairs, NWTRB, at 2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 1300,
Arlington, Virginia 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.
March 14, 2000.
William D. Barnard,
Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[FR Doc. 00-6817 Filed 3-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-AM-M