The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (NNFSB) this week held the first of a pair of closed-door meetings during which the five-member watchdog group will discuss what could become its first recommendation to the Donald Trump administration’s Department of Energy.
Jessie Hill Roberson, the board’s longest-serving member and a veteran of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, called for the closed-door meeting in mid-November.
Roberson asked her four colleagues to approve the meeting “to discuss and deliberate regarding any outstanding proposed amendments to potential draft recommendations.” The board voted unanimously to hold the meeting, which was later split into a pair of meetings. The first happened Wednesday, the second is set for Dec. 18.
“The Board has determined that it is necessary to close the meeting to the public since conducting an open meeting is likely to disclose matters that are specifically exempted from disclosure by statute, and/or be likely to significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed agency action,” according to its notice of the meetings.
The DNFSB cannot force the Department of Energy (DOE) or the White House to change federal policies or rules, but the board can make safety recommendations for both active and legacy nuclear-weapon sites. The secretary of energy must must publicly agree or disagree with these recommendations.
Eventually, the board must make its recommendation public. However, including for the time it takes to debate and write the recommendations, plus a federally mandated 30-day review period designed to let the Department of Energy weigh in, it could be months before the DNFSB publishes its advice.
Both meetings were scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon at DNFSB headquarters, 625 Indiana Av NW in Washington, D.C. Along with the five board members, anticipated participants at the meetings include DNFSB General Manager Glenn Sklar, Deputy General Manager Katherine Herrera, General Counsel James Biggins and two associate general counsels, and technical staff.
