Department of Energy of officials are set to meet Wednesday with the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) to discuss the department’s consent-based siting initiative for nuclear waste storage, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management reorganization, and a number of other topics.
The NWTRB was established in a 1987 amendment to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act as an independent federal agency tasked with evaluating technical and scientific aspects of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste management activities.
Starting at 8 a.m. at the Westin Washington, D.C., City Center Hotel, NWTRB members will during their summer board hearing meet with acting Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Energy John Kotek, who is leading the department’s consent-based siting initiative, among other government and industry officials. That initiative is the Obama administration’s proposed alternative to plans for a geologic repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nev.
DOE Office of Environmental Management Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Whitney is also scheduled to appear, and will discuss his office’s recent reorganization, which included consolidating seven organizational stovepipes into three. Other DOE officials are expected to discuss spent fuel management in general and transportation activities.
