Everything That’s Happened with DOE Order 140.1 So Far ECA Staff | 10/18/2018
In May of this year, the Department of Energy (DOE) quietly rolled out a new policy dictating how the
Department will interface with the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The policy, Order 140.1, was introduced with little fanfare, and with no input
from the DNFSB, relevant stakeholders, or the public.
Established in 1988, the DNFSB is an independent body that offers recommendations to the Secretary of Energy on DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) high-hazard and nuclear operations. Though DOE has its own internal review procedures, DNFSB provides additional information on the actual risk of
activities, and actions needed to mediate risk to both DOE and the public.
Critics of Order 140.1 argue that the new policy may lead to a decrease in the timely reporting of information to the DNFSB, limit DNFSB access to information on DOE activities or key DOE personnel, and silence the diversity of options that may exist between DOE and its contractors related to
critical safety issues.
Furthermore, in an August 28 public hearing, the DNFSB board members noted that the Order several fundamental
changes when compared to the previous policy governing DNFSB interaction, including a definitional change of “public health and safety” to include only individuals beyond the site boundaries.
Board member Joyce Connery stated, “Here we are with the Department defining for the Board that public health and safety and our consideration in determining adequate protection includes
only individuals located beyond the site boundary of DOE sites. … [Workers] are not our concern, according to this document. Yet, they are the mothers, the brothers, the bread-winners, and the soccer coaches in the communities of Aiken, Los Alamos, and Amarillo. They are the public.”
ECA sent a letter to DOE Secretary Rick Perry on August 28 requesting that the Department pause implementation of the Order until
after the DNFSB, local governments, other stakeholders, and the public have an opportunity to comment on the policy.
On August 29, New Mexico Senators Tom Udall (D) and Martin Heinrich (D) sent a letter to Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the leaders of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, requesting that the Committee include in the final FY2019 Appropriations bill language that: (1) prohibits funds from being used to
support a proposed reorganization and staff reduction at DNFSB; and (2) suspends Order 140.1. The letter contends that the Order “appears to restrict the amount of information the Board can access for its safety oversight work at DOE sites,” and
recognizes DNFSB board members’ unanimous opposition to the policy.
The final version of the FY2019 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, released in mid-September, bared the use of appropriated funds to implement the proposed DNFSB reorganization. And the conference committee issued a Joint Explanatory Statement, which called upon DOE to provide a briefing to House and Senate appropriators no later than 30 days after the bill’s enactment on “how the Order differs from the previous Manual, how the Department plans to incorporate concerns from the DNFSB and the public, and the Department's plans to implement the Order across the
organization.”
On September 17, the DNFSB sent letters to DOE Secretary Perry, House and Senate Appropriations Committees, and House and Senate Armed Services Committees laying out the Board's concerns with the
Order 140.1, and announcing that the Board will hold at least two additional public meetings on the Order to “solicit feedback and receive input from the public and stakeholders.”
DNFSB Chairman Bruce Hamilton has stated that the first public hearing will be held in Washington, DC this fall, with a second
hearing to be held in New Mexico in the wintertime.
On October 3, Bruce Hamilton, previously acting Chairman, was appointed Chairman by President Trump. The DNFSB now has a Chairman, three board members, and one
vacancy.
2018-2019 UPCOMING EVENTS |
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2018
Nov 14 ECA Board of Directors Meeting; New Orleans, LA (invitation only)
Nov 15-16 2018 Intergovernmental Meeting with DOE; New Orleans, LA (invitation only)
2019
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