One thing at least is now known about the Dec. 6 closed-door meeting of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB): it was the only one the five-member federal nuclear-site watchdog needed to mull a possible safety recommendation to the Department of Energy.
The meeting was one of two planned so the DNFSB could “discuss and deliberate regarding any outstanding proposed amendments to potential draft recommendations,” according to a Nov. 14 proposal from Jessie Hill Roberson, the board’s longest-serving member and a veteran of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
The DNFSB subsequently scheduled meetings for Dec. 6 and Dec. 18, but, during the Dec. 6 meeting, voted unanimously to cancel the later session.
The board has not publicly discussed the topic of the meeting. A board spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment Wednesday.
The DNFSB cannot force the Department of Energy to change its policies, but the board can make safety recommendations with which the secretary of energy must publicly agree with or dispute.
Even if the DNFSB does plan to issue a recommendation to Energy Secretary Rick Perry, it could still be months before that advice is published. In addition to the time it takes to debate and write the recommendation, Perry would have a federally mandated minimum of 30 days to review and respond to a draft of the advice before the DNFSB can publish it in final form.
