**Environmental Management**

**Committee Meeting Minutes**

**Wednesday, March 19, 5:30 p.m.**

**DOE Information Center**

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+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[Committee Members             | **[Others Present]{.underline}**  |
| Present]{.underline}**           |                                   |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| John Coffman                     | Dave Adler, Department of Energy  |
|                                  | (DOE-ORO)                         |
| Luther Gibson                    |                                   |
|                                  | Steve Dixon, ORSSAB               |
| Gloria Mei                       |                                   |
|                                  | Spencer Gross, Spectrum           |
| Ron Murphree, Chair              |                                   |
|                                  | Pete Osborne, Spectrum            |
| ##### Bob Olson                  |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| ##### Kerry Trammell             |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| #####                            |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| ##### [Absent]{.underline}       |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Rhonda Bogard                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Darryl Bonner                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Susan Gawarecki                  |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Hubert Gibson                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Charles Jensen                   |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| John Kennerly                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Lance Mezga                      |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Norman Mulvenon                  |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Tim Myrick, Vice-chair           |                                   |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

**[Discussion of FY 2010 Budget Prioritization and Request and draft
recommendation on FY 2010 Budget]{.underline}**

The committee reviewed the draft recommendation on the FY 2010 DOE-ORO
Environmental Management (EM) Budget request (Attachment 1).

In looking a recommendation 1, Mr. Gibson asked about worker benefits.
Mr. Adler said that money has the highest priority in the budget. Mr.
Murphree suggested something should be added to the recommendation to
include support for worker benefits. Mr. Gibson agreed it should be
added to ensure that is not overlooked. Mr. Adler said worker benefits
is not truly an EM issue, but is a vehicle for paying those benefits. He
said there is already amount designated in the 2010 budget for those
benefits. Mr. Dixon asked what the impact of appropriations for worker
benefits has on the budget. Mr. Adler said that is an unchangeable
obligation unless Congress decides to change it. Mr. Adler said he would
find out how much is allocated for worker benefits.

The committee decided a separate recommendation be added to the list
addressing worker benefits.

Mr. Trammell asked about the reference to regulatory permit compliance
in recommendation 1. Mr. Adler those are things required by law such as
operation of the water treatment plant at East Tennessee Technology
Park. He said about half of the water going into the plant comes from
leachate and that is covered under a Comprehensive Environmental
Restoration, Compensation and Liability Act action.

Messrs. Dixon and Murphree asked about the reference to FY 2006 funding
allocations in recommendation 2 (number 3 with the addition of the
recommendation on worker benefits). Mr. Adler said that probably
referenced a high point in funding for EM in Oak Ridge and is a request
to return to those levels. Mr. Murphree suggested the wording be changed
to 'at least the FY 2006 funding allocation level.'

Mr. Gibson asked about newly generated waste referenced in
recommendation 4 (number 5 with the addition of worker benefits). Mr.
Adler said responsibility of newly generated waste at Oak Ridge National
Laboratory returns to the landlord of the lab in 2010. Typically, he
said such transitions haven't happened as planned and are pushed out. He
said EM would build into the budget request a provision to handle newly
generated waste. He said if EM didn't ask for enough money to handle
newly generated waste it would have a problem.

The committee made some additional minor revisions to the
recommendation. The revised recommendation is Attachment 2.

The revised recommendation will be forwarded the Board Finance & Process
Committee for additional work. It will then be forwarded to the
Executive Committee before being sent to the full board on April 9.

**[Discussion of Christine Gelles' waste disposition strategy
presentation to full board in January]{.underline}**

At the January 9, 2008 ORSSAB meeting Christine Gelles, the director of
the DOE Office of Disposal Operations, talked about the DOE Oak Ridge
Waste Disposition Strategy. From that presentation, Tim Myrick, EM
committee vice chair identified three areas he thought warranted further
discussion:

-   High level waste

-   The burn plan for the Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator
    (TSCA)

-   The status of transference of waste management at Y-12 National
    Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Mr. Myrick was not in attendance, but in an email provided prior to the
meeting he explained his interest in high level waste as a concern with
the apparent loss of momentum in Nevada to go forward with the Yucca
Mountain project and a concern for the country as a whole and not just
in Oak Ridge. Mr. Adler said at this meeting that there is no high level
waste on the Oak Ridge Reservation. Mr. Olson asked about cesium
canisters discovered at East Tennessee Technology Park. Mr. Adler said
they were determined not be high level waste. He said high level waste
has a very specific definition. Mr. Coffman said it is essential
processed fuel.

Regarding the TSCA burn plan, that topic will be discussed in detail at
the May committee meeting.

Regarding waste transference, Mr. Gibson said that was addressed in the
budget recommendation the committee approved earlier. Mr. Murphree said
it was a matter of figuring out a way to deal with the backlog of wasted
and providing proper funding to handle it.

Mr. Gibson asked to talk more about the presentation in its entirety and
specifically he talked about the Waste Information Management System
(WIMS) through Florida International University. By way of a computer
hookup he accessed the site over the internet and talked about some of
the features of the system, how to find information, and what it means.
The website for the system is <http://wims.arc.fiu.edu/wims/>. New users
must set up an account.

He accessed the Oak Ridge low level and mixed low level waste
disposition map. He noted that some of the descriptive names are short
and difficult to understand unless one is familiar with the waste
stream. He noted that waste streams with yellow or red indicator do not
have clear disposition pathways.

He also noted the disposition map from Paducah, Ky., to TSCA. He that
stream shows a schedule for transport after TSCA is scheduled for
closure.

Mr. Gibson said WIMS, while very useful, is only updated about once a
year.

Mr. Olson said the system is important enough that DOE should continue
to update it. Mr. Olson said it would be good if a person could ask for
certain items, such as all waste streams with no pathway for disposal,
and the system would pull up that information.

**[Discussion of any action on the presentation]{.underline}**

Mr. Murphree said a possible recommendation to DOE would be to update
the site more often and improve it to be easier to use and understand.
Mr. Gibson agreed to act as issue manager to develop a recommendation on
the WIMS.

**[Discuss draft recommendation on East Tennessee Technology Park
remedial investigation/feasibility study]{.underline}**

The committee reviewed the draft recommendation (Attachment 3). Some
minor revisions were made (Attachment 4). The committee approved the
revised draft recommendation.

**[Discuss top three issues on Oak Ridge Reservation for presentation at
EM SSAB Chairs' meeting]{.underline}**

The committee discussed topics to submit to the Executive Committee to
consider as top issues for Oak Ridge to present at the spring EM SSAB
chairs' meeting in Hanford, Wash., in April.

The committee chose the following issues:

Final closure of ETTP

Completion of Balance of Reservation project

Adoption of the Integrated Facilities Disposition Project

Preservation of K-25 north tower.

**[New Business]{.underline}**

Mr. Murphree agreed to act as issue manager for White Oak Lake
Embayment/Bear Creek Valley Uranium Disposals presentation for the April
ORSSAB board meeting.

The work plan was revised to move the TSCA Incinerator presentation from
April to May.

Mr. Murphree noted the release of FY+3 Non-Enforceable Projected
Milestones from DOE-ORO (Attachment 5).

Mr. Murphree noted the publication of the DOE-EM Engineering and
Technology Roadmap (Attachment 6)

**[Action Items]{.underline}**

*Open*

1.  Mr. Adler will check on amount allocated for worker benefits in the
    FY 2010 budget

2.  Mr. Gibson will act as issue manager on developing a recommendation
    on the WIMS.

*Closed*

1.  Mr. Myrick will draft recommendation wording based on this evening's
    ARCADIS presentation. **Complete.** Recommendation presented at this
    meeting.

    The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

    The next meeting will be April 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the DOE
    Information Center. The discussion will be an update on the Building
    3019 project

    Attachments (6) are available on request from the ORSSAB support
    office.

    rsg