The acting head of the Energy Department’s nuclear cleanup program is due to brief the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board this week on the 45-day review of his office’s operations and other key issues.
An entry on the DNFSB calendar says the five-person board is scheduled to receive one of its periodic briefings from EM-1, the short title given to the assistant energy secretary for environmental management. James Owendoff, a longtime DOE EM hand dating to 1995, took over the position in June, replacing Sue Cange as acting head of the roughly $6 billion per year Office of Environmental Management.
The session is not open to the public, according to a DNFSB representative, who added that no decisions will be made at the briefing.
A memo on the DNFSB website says potential topics for discussion include Owendoff’s 45-day review of the EM office that is meant to prioritize key issues, as well as matters concerning the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico and the national transuranic waste program.
The DNFSB acts as a safety watchdog for DOE nuclear weapons and cleanup operations, with on-site inspectors at the Hanford Site in Washington state, Pantex Plant in Texas, Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, and other facilities.
