Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 / Notices 36423

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

Defense Policy Board Advisory

Committee meeting

AGENCY: Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of Advisory Committee

Meetings.

SUMMARY: The Defense Policy Board

Advisory Committee will meet in closed

session from 8 am until 6 pm, 19 June

2000 in the Pentagon, Washington, DC.

The mission of the Defense Policy

Board is to provide the Secretary of

Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense

and the Under Secretary of Defense for

Policy with independent, informed

advice and opinion concerning major

matters of defense policy. At this

meeting the Board will hold classified

discussions on national security

matters.

In accordance with Section 10(d) of

the Federal Advisory Committee Act,

Public Law No. 92–463, as amended [5

U.S.C. App. II, (1982)], it has been

determined that this Defense Policy

Board meeting concerns matters listed

in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(1)(1982), and that

accordingly this meeting will be closed

to the public.

Dated: June 2, 2000.

Patricia L. Toppings,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison

Officer, Department of Defense.

[FR Doc. 00–14415 Filed 6–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5001–10–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

Interim Range Rule Risk Methodology

(IR3M), Supporting DOD’s Range Rule

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: The DoD is making available

the Interim Range Rule Risk

Methodology (IR3M). DoD has

developed this guidance document to

provide a consistent methodology to

assess and manage risks posed by

military munitions, unexploded

ordnance, and other constituents. In

developing this methodology, DOD

consulted with U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency and various federal,

state, tribal, and public interest group

stakeholders. The IR3M assists

decisionmakers in the selection of

appropriate response actions on closed,

transferred, and transferring military

ranges covered under DoD’s rule

regarding Closed, Transferred, and

Transferring Ranges Containing Military

Munitions (also known as DoD Range

Rule) to be codified at 32 CFR 178. The

IR3M guidance document is available

on the World Wide Web at: http://

www.acq.osd.mil/ens/.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the IR3M may

also be requested from, and comments

may be submitted to: Interim R3M

Comments (MSR–3–3), c/o Science

Applications International Corporation,

11251 Roger Bacon Drive, Reston, VA

20190.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: R3M

Hotline at (888) 541–1081, e-mail:

r3m@aec.apgea.army.mil, or telephone

Scott Hill at (410) 436–7085.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DoD

proposed the DoD Range Rule to

identify a process for evaluating

responses to risks from military

munitions, unexploded ordnance, and

associated materials on closed,

transferred, and transferring (CTT)

military ranges (62 FR 50795, September

26, 1997). The DoD Range Rule requires

that response actions fully consider

explosives safety hazards, are protective

of human health and the environment,

and address risks based upon

reasonably anticipated future land use.

The DoD Range Rule contains a process

that is not inconsistent with the

Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation, and Liability

Act (CERCLA). It is tailored to the

special risks posed by military

munitions at the ranges that are no

longer used or needed by the military

for future training.

In the Proposed DoD Range Rule,

DOD proposed to develop, in

consultation with U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and other

stakeholders, a risk assessment model/

protocol to address risks from military

munitions, unexploded ordnance

(UXO), and other constituents. DOD

proposed to incorporate, to the

maximum extent possible, the EPA’s

procedures to assess acute and chronic

risks posed by releases at sites regulated

under CERCLA and the Resource

Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

The process described in this Interim

Range Rule Risk Methodology (IR3M), is

intended to satisfy, in part, the need for

tools, models, and protocols to support

decisionmaking under the DoD Range

Rule.

In developing the IR3M, DOD

established a Partnering Initiative to

solicit input from a wide range of

interested stakeholders. The Partnering

Initiative includes representatives from

DOD, EPA, federal land managers, state

regulatory authorities, American Indian

tribal governments, and several other

organizations. The IR3M supports the

process set forth in the DoD Range Rule

and meets the following goals for the

process, as established by the Partnering

Initiative:

b Protect human health and the

environment

b Minimize explosive safety risks to all

personnel, including response

personnel

b Emphasize risk reduction

b Identify threats from unexploded

ordnance (UXO), explosives, and

other constituents

b Focus on informed risk management

decision-making, adequately

supported with appropriate data

b Incorporate the National Contingency

Plan’s (NCP) nine criteria for

evaluating response alternatives and

consider reasonably anticipated future

land uses

b Promote Federal and State regulator,

tribal, and other stakeholders’

involvement in order to achieve the

greatest possible level of mutual

understanding

b Consider the limitations of existing

technology and promote the

development and application of new

technologies

b Complete response when the sitespecific response objectives identified

within the risk-based decision

document have been attained

b During the recurring review phase of

a response action, reevaluate response

actions to determine if the risk

assumptions were appropriate and

whether conditions remain protective.

Evaluate any finding of technical

impracticality against new technology

to determine if risk reduction can be

attained, and/or performance can be

maintained at significantly reduced

costs

b Continue to respond appropriately to

safety and environmental

contamination problems discovered

following administrative close-out

b Define risk attributed to military

munitions as a function of exposure,

detonation, and potential

consequences of detonation, although

the risk may not always be

quantifiable

b Ensure process continuously

improved upon by drawing upon

lessons learned in related

environmental programs

To achieve these goals, the Partnering

Initiative split the R3M development

into two parts—an Interim R3M and a

Final R3M. The Interim R3M focuses on

risk reduction and is aimed at the

assessment and development of

response actions at the ranges subject to

the DoD Range Rule. The Interim R3M